 Eyre 1828 and 1733.jpg)
Gyles (Giles) Eyre entries for 1728 and 1733 in the Parish Register. The date November (2)8 on the gravestone below implies the 1733 one is Gyles (Giles) Eyre (4)
Source: Matcham page 20
A Whiteparish local history page from younsmere-frustfield.org.uk
Gyles (Giles) Eyre (4) 1664-1734 inherited the Brickworth estate in 1695 on the death of his father Sir Gyles (Giles) Eyre (3). The Pepperbox is claimed by experts to have been built in the early 18th century, so was almost certainly erected by Gyles (Giles) Eyre (4).
Much of this page is dedicated to exploring a number of inconsistencies in the records for Gyles (Giles) Eyre (4). His date of death is variously reported as 1733 or 1734 and he is attributed with serving as M.P. for Downton. A closer examination shows that this wasn't the case. There are other minor inconsistencies in the records, for instance whether his wife spelt her name as Mabel or Mabell. Then there is the spelling of his own name: should it be Gyles or Giles. Contemporary records seem unanimous that it was Gyles, but almost everything written since at least Matcham in 1844 uses Giles. I'm gradually changing over to Gyles within this website, but there are so many references to these five individuals that you'll be sure to spot some I haven't yet reached.
Matcham says that Gyles (Giles) Eyre (4) was the MP for Downton in the 5th, 6th and 7th Parliaments of Queen Anne, but this is not borne out by Parliamentary records. It appears that he mixed up both the Parliaments and the Gyles (Giles) Eyres. This should read that Gyles (Giles) Eyre (5) was the MP for Downton in the 5th, 6th and 7th Parliaments of Great Britain, under George I. Gyles (Giles) Eyre's (5) Parliamentary terms are given as 2nd Dec 1715 in place of John Eyre, deceased; 27 March 1722; 21 August 1727 by ParliamentOnLine. Matcham then goes on to list Gyles (Giles) Eyre (5) as MP for the same dates, and it was he who succeeded his uncle John as MP for Downton. Wiltshire Notes and Queries repeats this erroneous information for Gyles (Giles) Eyre (4).
After Sir Gyles (Giles) Eyre (3), Matcham digresses before stating that "It is not my intention minutely to follow his descendants in their respectable though less brilliant careers...". Gyles (Giles) Eyre (4) receives a brief mention in the Parliamentary Records that may help explain this, with a statement in his father's record as an M.P. that "His eldest son Gyles (Giles) was a lunatic, but a younger son [John] sat for Downton from 1698 (with one interlude) till his death in 1715." This is an isolated comment, so we have no way of knowing exactly what this meant or whether it was true in any sense. We do know that Gyles (Giles) Eyre (4) married, had a family including his heir Gyles Eyre (5) who subsequently ran the estate, and from the dating evidence of the building itself, that he almost certainly erected the Pepperbox, with its amazing views of the countryside all around.
In the Eyre family tree (page 56), Matcham states for Gyles (Giles) Eyre (4): "baptised May 26, 1664; M.P. for Downton in the 5th, 6th and 7th Parliaments of Queen Anne; buried at Whiteparish Nov. 28 1734, aged 70". For his wife Mabel Thayne, he puts: "Mabell, daughter of Alexander Thayne of Cowsfield, Esq. died March 6 1728, aged 74." Matcham used two spellings for Mabel or Mabell.
There were only two parliaments of Queen Anne, dating from 1702-1705 and 1705-1707, after which the Queen scheduled the First Parliament of Great Britain to "meet and be holden" on 23 October 1707. Matcham's facts work correctly for John Eyre (4) (seven parliaments) being followed by nephew Gyles (Giles) Eyre (5) (three parliaments correctly stated with dates). The 5th, 6th and 7th parliaments of Queen Anne didn't exist (there were only two), and the 5th, 6th and 7th parliaments of Great Britain which followed tie up correctly for Gyles (Giles) Eyre (5). This doesn't leave any spaces for Gyles (Giles) Eyre (4) to have served for Downton in parliament and we can be certain that he didn't.
There is confusion in the literature about which of two Gyles Eyres is Gyles (Giles) Eyre (4) on account of two entries close together in the Parish Register, one Gyles Eyre who was buried in 1728 and one, Gyles Eyre the Elder in 1733. These dates come from Matcham's list of burials from the Parish Register, but elsewhere Matcham lists his gravestone as showing 1734. The year has been worn off the gravestone, which possibly explains the origin of the problem, but the day and month 28 November point to 1733 or 1734 being the correct date. I'm working to identify who the other Gyles (Giles) Eyre was, maybe a son of one of the younger branches of the Eyres at Newhouse or Landford.
Gyles (Giles) Eyre entries for 1728 and 1733 in the Parish Register. The date November (2)8 on the gravestone below implies the 1733 one is Gyles (Giles) Eyre (4)
Source: Matcham page 20
Wiltshire Notes and Queries Volume 205 1905-1907, includes details of the Eyres; for Gyles (4) and Mabel see page 102 (118 in this digital copy). This states that Gyles (Giles) Eyre (4) died in 1733.
The New Style (Gregorian) calendar was adoped in Great Britain in 1752, at which time 11 days were missed (Wednesday 2nd September 1752 was followed by Thursday 14th September 1752). The civil year was changed to run from 1st January instead of 5th April as used up to that time (Wikipedia). Confusion over Gyles Eyre (4)'s date of death being 1733 or 1734 is therefore unlikely to have been the result of the change from the Old Style to New Style calendar.
 Eyre 4 from Matcham pedigree.jpg)
Gyles Eyre details from Brickworth Eyres pedigree in Matcham here
Gyles (Giles) (Gyles) Eyre's gravestone reads:
(Be)neath lye the bodyes of
(Gyles) Eyre Esq Eldest Son
(of) Sir Gyles Eyre Kn.
(and of Mabel his Wife)
(She dye)d y[e]' 6 March (1728) Aged 74 [photo 109-0861 shows "d y' 6" clearly]
(?He ye? 2)8 Nov (?1733 or 1734)
This is George Matcham's transliteration of the grave slab, although he has changed Bodyes to Body, so other changes may be present
The photograph below shows the gravestone exposed during work to move the font from the southwest corner of the church to the centre near the west door on 2nd August 2022. The slab had been the intended position for the font, but when the stone was found there, this was changed to the area behind, which is shuttered and was in the process of being filled with concrete when the photograph was taken. The radiator is shown in its original position, immediately behind the back pew, two pews having been removed. The left (nearer) edge of the stone is still covered by a single floorboard, under which pictures have been taken. This butts up against the Butterfield tiles in the central aisle, which are laid over the edge of the stone, hiding the writing on the edge. For future reference in locating the exact position, the westernmost north aisle pillar base is visible at the back right corner of the photograph and the carpet covering the Butterfield tiles in the central aisle is covered with plastic in the foreground. The new position of the radiator is immediately behind the pew shown, over where alternate floorboards have been lifted in the photograph.
 and Mabel his wife 109-DSC_0852.jpg)
The gravestone of Gyles Eyre (4) and Mabel his wife
A photographic record has been made of the visible parts of the inscription: the image below has being formed from some of these pictures, selecting the most effective lighting for each section to show the lettering.
Interim photograph of Gyles Eyre (4)'s grave pending further processing to create a clearer image