Part 12 (1/2)
Mrs. MARY BEAUFOY.--The princ.i.p.al figure is represented in a devout posture, with cherubs crowning her; on each side are Cupids lamenting the early decay of virgin beauty; and underneath, the arms of her family, quarterly, upheld by cherubs. The inscription on the base:--”_Reader!_ whoe'er thou art, let the sight of this tomb imprint on thy mind, that young and old (without distinction) leave this world; and therefore fail not to secure the next.” This lady was only daughter and heiress of Sir Henry Beaufoy, of Guy's Cliff, near Warwick, by the Hon. Charlotte Lane, eldest daughter of George, Lord Viscount Lansborough. She died July 12, 1705.--_Grinling Gibbons, sculptor._
”ROBERT KILLIGREW, of Arwenack, in Cornwall, Esq.; son of Thomas and Charlotte; Page of Honour to Charles II.; Brigadier-General of Her Majesty's Forces; killed in Spain, in the battle of Almanza, April 14, 1707, _aetatis suae_ forty-seven. _Militavit annis_ twenty-four.” A fine piece of sculpture, cut out of one stone. The embellishments are distinct and very picturesque, and the inscription modest and soldierlike.--_Bird, sculptor._ In front of this monument Ben Jonson was buried.
On a small tablet is the following inscription:--”In memory of THOMAS BANKS, Esq., R.A., Sculptor, whose superior abilities in his profession added a l.u.s.tre to the arts of his country, and whose character as a man reflected honour on human nature. His earthly remains were deposited by his desire on the north side of the churchyard at Paddington. His spirit is with G.o.d. He died Feb. 2, 1805, aged seventy years.”
JOHN HUNTER.--The remains of this celebrated anatomist were removed from the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields to the Abbey in 1859. ”The Royal College of Surgeons of England have placed this Tablet over the grave of Hunter, to record their admiration of his genius as a gifted interpreter of the Divine power and wisdom at work in the laws of organic life, and their grateful veneration for his services to mankind as the founder of scientific surgery.” Born, 1728; died, 1793.
Sir ROBERT WILSON and Lady.--A very fine bra.s.s beside that of Hunter. He was born in 1777, died 1849.
Colonel JAMES BRINGFIELD.--This monument is ornamented with military trophies, cherubs, &c., and surrounded by a mantling, enclosing a table on which are written the deceased's military preferments, the manner of his death and burial, and the praises of his piety and virtue. He was born at Abingdon, Equerry to Prince George of Denmark, and Aid-de-Camp to the great Duke of Marlborough; was killed by a cannon ball, as he was remounting his General on a fresh horse, at the battle of Ramilies, on Whitsunday, May 12, 1706, and was interred at Barechem, in the province of Brabant, aged fifty.
One of the windows in the north aisle of the nave of Westminster Abbey has recently been filled with stained gla.s.s in memory of the late Mr. BRUNEL.
Along the bottom of the window (which consists of two lights, each 23 feet 6 inches high, and 4 feet wide, surmounted by a quatrefoil opening, 6 feet 6 inches across) is the inscription, ”In memory of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Civil Engineer. Born April 9, 1806. Died September 15, 1859.” Over this are four allegorical figures (two in each light): Fort.i.tude, Justice, Faith, and Charity. The upper part of the window consists of six panels, divided by a pattern-work of lilies and pomegranates. The panels contain subjects from the history of the Temple. The three subjects in the western light represent scenes from the Old Testament: viz., the Dedication of the Temple by Solomon, the Finding of the Book of the Law by Hilkiah, and the Laying the Foundations of the Second Temple. The subjects in the eastern light are from the New Testament: viz., Simeon Blessing the Infant Saviour, Christ Disputing with the Doctors, and the Disciples pointing out to Christ the Buildings of the Temple. In the heads of the lights are angels kneeling, and in the quatrefoil is a representation of Our Lord in Glory, surrounded by angels. The work was placed in the hands of Mr. R.
Norman Shaw, of the firm of Nesfield & Shaw, Architects, who prepared the general design, arranged the scale of the various figures, and designed the ornamental pattern work. The figure subjects were drawn by Mr. Henry Holyday, and the whole design was executed in gla.s.s by Messrs. Heaton, Butler, & Bayne, of Garrick Street, Covent Garden.
”To the memory of WILLIAM LEVINZ, Esq., grandson of Sir Cresswell Levinz, Knt., who was Attorney-General in the reign of Charles II., and afterwards one of the Justices of Common Pleas, from which station he was displaced in the reign of James II. for opposing the dispensing power, and was one of the counsel for the seven Bishops. William Levinz, the son of Sir Cresswell, represented the county of Nottingham in Parliament, as did his son, William Levinz, till the year 1747, when he was appointed a Commissioner of his Majesty's Customs, and in 1763, Receiver-General of the said revenue, in which office he died, the 17th of August, 1765, aged fifty-two years.”--_R. Hayward, sculptor._
HENEAGE TWYSDEN.--This monument is to the memory of a young hero slain in the battle of Blarignies, in Hainault, while Aid-de-Camp to John, Duke of Argyle, who commanded the right wing of the confederate army. He was the seventh son of Sir William Twysden, Bart., a youth of the greatest expectations, had not the fortune of war put an early stop to his rising merit, in the twenty-ninth year of his age, 1709. Above this are two small monuments to the memory of two of his brothers, JOSIAH and JOHN. Josiah was a Captain at the siege of Agremont, in Flanders, and slain by a cannon shot, in 1708, aged twenty-three. John was a Lieutenant in the Admiral's s.h.i.+p under Sir Cloudesly Shovel, and perished with him in 1707, aged twenty-four.
JOHN WOODWARD, M.D.--This is an elegant monument, and the figures most admirably finished. The head of the deceased (who was Professor of Physic in Gresham College) in profile, is very masterly, and the lady that holds it inimitable. The inscription is a kind of panegyric upon the great parts and learning of the deceased, which ent.i.tled him to the distinction he received. He died in May, 1728, aged sixty-three.--_Scheemakers, sculptor._
MARTHA PRICE.--This monument is ornamented with festoons of fruit, flowers, and foliage, and the inscription shows that she was the wife of Gervase Price, Esq., who served Charles II. in the double capacity of Sergeant-Trumpeter and Gentleman of the Bows. She died April 7, 1678.
Above is a monument to the memories of Captains HERVEY and HUTT, who were engaged in the naval action under Lord Howe. It is princ.i.p.ally composed of two colossal figures, Britannia and Fame, placed one on each side a large vase, on which are portraits of the deceased Captains. Britannia is decorating the vase with laurel, while Fame is pointing to the names of the heroes engraven on the base which supports the vase.--_Bacon, jun., sculptor._
Beneath is the effigy of ANNE, Countess Dowager of CLANRICKARD, resting upon a tomb, and under it is the following inscription:--”Here lies the Right Honourable Anne, Countess Dowager of Clanrickard, eldest daughter of John Smith, Esq., who is interred near this place. She married first, Hugh Parker, Esq., eldest son of Sir Henry Parker, of Honington, in the county of Warwick, Bart., by whom she had the present Sir Henry John Parker, Bart., three other sons, and three daughters. By her second husband, Michael, Earl of Clanrickard, of the kingdom of Ireland, the head of the ancient and n.o.ble family of the Burkes, she had Smith, now Earl of Clanrickard, and two daughters, Lady Anne and Lady Mary. She died January 1, 1732, in her forty-ninth year.”
GENERAL LAWRENCE.--This monument was erected at the expense of the East India Company, in memory of the man who, by the conquest of Pondicherry, and the defence of Tritchinopoly, reduced the power of the French in the East, and paved the way for one of the richest empires that ever a trading people aspired to command, which, however, was in the year 1783, in so lamentable a situation, wasted by war, and oppressed by European plunderers, that, from being one of the richest countries in the world, it became the most deplorable. On the top is an admirable bust of the General, to which the genius of the Company is pointing, while Fame is declaring his n.o.ble exploits, at the same time holding in her hand a s.h.i.+eld, on which is written:--”For discipline established, fortresses protected, settlements extended, French and Indian armies defeated, and peace concluded in the Carnatic.” Close under the bust is written: ”Born March 6, 1697; died January 10, 1775.” On a table of beautiful marble in relief, is represented the siege of a great city, and under it is the word TRITCHINOPOLY.--_Tayler, sculptor._
Up high is a tablet to Colonel JOHN DAVIS, President of the Council of the Island of St. Christopher, who died December 13, 1725, aged sixty-three.
PENELOPE EGERTON.--The lady for whom this monument was erected, was daughter of Robert, Lord Nedham, Viscount Kilmurray, and wife of Randolph Egerton, of Bentley, in Ches.h.i.+re, an eminent Loyalist, Major-General of Horse to Charles I., and Lieutenant-Colonel to Charles II.'s own troop of Guards. She died in child-bed, April 13, 1670.
A tablet placed high above to the memory of JAMES EGERTON, son of Major-General Egerton, who died April 13, 1687, aged nine years.
The west window is filled with painted gla.s.s: the figures of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, and the twelve Patriarchs; the arms of Sebert, Edward the Confessor, Queen Elizabeth, George II., and Dean Wilc.o.c.ks, Bishop of Rochester: date 1735.
In the window at the end of the North Aisle, is a figure in stained gla.s.s (supposed to be Edward the Confessor), but the colours being of water blue, no particular face can be distinguished.
In the window of the South Aisle, the figure is supposed to be that of Edward the Black Prince.
North-West Tower.
The Right Honourable CHARLES JAMES FOX is represented on a mattress, falling into the arms of Liberty. Peace (with the olive branch and dove) is reclining on his knee. An African thanking him for the part he took in the cause of Freedom. Born Jan. 24, 1749; died Sept. 13, 1806, aged fifty-seven.--_Sir Richard Westmacott, sculptor._
In the North-west Tower is a monument to Captain MONTAGUE. He fell with Captains Hervey and Hutt in Earl Howe's engagement, on the 1st of June, 1794, when a signal and important victory was obtained over the French fleet. The King and Parliament, in consequence, directed this monument to be erected. The Captain is represented with his hand resting on his sword; Victory, alighting, is waving the laurel crown over his head; a trophy of naval flags hangs over a ba.s.so-relievo of prisoners behind; on the front of this pedestal is the engagement; on the right side is Neptune's trident, and a crown of oak; on the left, a wreath of laurel containing the word ”Const.i.tution;” the base is guarded by two lions.--_Flaxman, sculptor._
On the right, upon a pedestal with appropriate emblems, is an exceedingly animated and life-like bust of the Right Hon. Sir JAMES MACINTOSH, M.P., one of the most distinguished men of his time, and who attained to great eminence in literature, philosophy, history, and politics. He was born at Aldonric, on the banks of Lochness, Scotland, on the 24th October, 1765; was knighted in 1804; in 1830 he was appointed to a seat at the Board of Control, and died 30th May, 1832, regretted (it is said) with more sincerity, and admired with less envy than any man of his age.--_Theed, sculptor._