It is a tradition in the design of medieval and later tomb chests that the person depicted has his (or her) feet resting on an animal. Typically they are animals that feature on a coat of arms (lion, hind, dog, tiger, bear etc). On the tomb chest of Sir John Kyrle (d.1660) and Lady Sybil (d.1637) at the church of Much Marcle, Herefordshire, a hedgehog is favoured for him and a bear's paw for his wife.
Both refer to the heraldry of the families of the departed. In addition, the hedgehog's old name was "urchin" and this is used in the old name for the locality - Archenfield.
photo © T. Boughen Camera: Nikon Z 5
