Caroline, wife of Lord William John Frederick (Powlet) Vane. She was born February 19 1792. William was the 3rd Duke of Cleveland. His father was William Harry Vane, 1st Duke. Caroline and William had no children.
That is clearly the remnants of what was once an ornate fabric cover. The rows of buttons still attached can be seen to be a continuation of those along the right upper edge of the casket.
Yes, the groundskeeper was working awfully close to the crypt and I wasn't sure if there was some English law that would nail me to the wall if I got caught in there. The dead people don't bother me much.
Potato - I doubt you'll see this comment due to the extreme amount of time since you posted but even with the solemness of the photos, you had be laughing out loud with your use of words: crypted, cryptified, and crypticated. I don't know which is correct...but I vote for crypticated. :-)
I realize this is a very old thread, but these images are just as wonderful as the day they were first posted. Richard, above, is correct about the ducal symbolism. Also, I just wanted to add that these were not crowns that were ever worn; they are burial crowns, meant to indicate poition/status, etc. Sometimes a burial crown was a duplicate of a real crown, cast in cheaper metal just for burial purposes.
.......I forgot to ask.......do you ever feel the urge to 'speak' to those resting there?....it would be so tempting...........but, if you got an answer THEN would be the time to 'catch out'......
Judging from the double row of (rivets? decorative head nails?), And that similarity to one of the other coffin's decorations, I am leaning towards a flap of the old cloth covering the lead interior.Just methinks!