This effigy is thought to be Edward of Middleham, only son of King Richard III. Edward died in April 1484 and is buried in Coverham Abbey. This monument in Sheriff Hutton church is a cenotaph ie it is empty.

This is what it says on the accompanying plaque:

This mutilated alabaster effigy of a child has for many years been identified as Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales, only son of King Richard III and his wife Queen Ann Neville, who died in April 1484, aged about 11 years.

This identification is a matter of great complexity, and rests mainly upon the evidence of armorial bearings in the church, described in the course of 17th C. heraldic visitations, and admitting of more than one interpretation. This ambiguity, and other considerations, such as the choice of an ordinary parish church for a royal burial, have led to doubts being expressed about the identity of the effigy, but it still is held by many that the balance of probability is in favour of Edward of Middleham.

The child is represented in a long coat or houppeland, with bag sleeves. He wears on his head a coronet or cap of maintenance; the head rests on a pillow and upon winged beasts, perhaps griffins.

The front panel of the tomb chest bears, under a pinnacled canopy, a representation of God the Father, and a kneeling suppliant (the child’s father?), in armour, a prayer (now lost) issuing on a label from his lips.

This group is flanked on either side by two angels, those in the centre bearing shields whose charges have been obliterated. The end panels also have large shields - the one at the west end with a raised cross of St. George - the emblem of the Order of the Garter.

The tomb chest has no panel on the North side, and it is not known whether it was originally designed to stand against a wall, or was free-standing.

At some unknown date the monument was dismantled, and up to thirty years ago remained in four separate pieces in St Nicholas’ chapel, its present site. Attempts at cleaning and conservation were made between 1881 &1885; c. 1929; and in 1949/50, when, thanks to the efforts of S. Saxon Barton, F.R.C.S; O.B.E; F.SA (Scot), founder of the Richard III Society, it was reassembled and provided with a new core and damp course.

Even this treatment did not stop the deterioration of the alabaster, and in particular the front panel, which was absorbing moisture from the floor & wall. Further conservation work, including the drying out, cleaning and surface treatment of the alabaster, and the provision of complete insulation of the top and side slabs from contact with the core or wall, was undertaken by Messrs Harrison Hill Ltd in 1985. The cost of the work was contributed by the Richard III Society, with the assistance of the Chase Charity and the Patricia & Donald Shepherd Charitable Trust of York.