A window for Sir Francis Drake in deepest Devon

NO ONE KNOWS exactly where the Explorer and naval commander Sir Francis Drake (c1540 – 1596) was ‘buried’ at sea. What is known is that his corpse clad in armour was put into a lead coffin, and then dropped into the sea somewhere near Portobelo (now in Panama).

On the 400th anniversary of his death, a stained glass window which is part of a sundial was installed at the Drake family home in Devon: Buckland Abbey. The window depicts a chart of the Atlantic Ocean on which a small cross has been marked in the approximate location of Drake’s burial. The window/sundial was designed by Christopher Daniel.