Edward de Carteret, Gentleman Usher to King Charles II. who died on
the 30th of October 1677, in the eighth year of his age. It is
ornamented with cherubs and with festoons of leaves and fruit.
57. The monument of Thomas Levingston, Viscount Teviot, is decorated
with the arms, supporters, and crest of that nobleman, and with
military trophies, alluding to his profession of a soldier. On the
face of the monument is a long inscription in Latin, shewing that he
was born in Holland, but descended from the Levingstons in Scotland;
that from his childhood he was trained to arms; and having attended
the Prince of Orange into Britain, as a Colonel of foot, rose to the
rank of a Lieutenant-General in the army, and General of the Scotch
forces, was made Master of the ordnance, and a Privy Counsellor; that
he secured Scotland to the King by one decisive action on the Spey,
for which he was advanced to the dignity of a Viscount, and that he
died on the 14th of Jan. 1710, aged sixty.
58. A handsome monument erected for the Lord Constable, ornamented
with a cherub below, and the family arms above. It has this short
inscription:
Near this lies the Right Hon. Robert Lord Constable, Viscount
Dunbar, who departed this life Nov. 23, 1714, in the
sixty-fourth year of his age.
59. A plain neat monument for Peter Heylin, D.D. and Prebendary of
this church, who died on the 8th of May 1662. It is adorned with a
pediment, and the arms of the deceased, and contains a long
inscription in Latin, mentioning the most remarkable incidents in his
life.
60. The tomb of Charles Williams, Esq; adorned with very remarkable
scroll-work, and scollopping; what is very singular is, its being
supported by a death’s head on the wings of Time. This gentleman died
on the 29th of August 1720, aged eighty-seven.
61. A small but elegant monument erected to the memory of the
celebrated Henry Purcell, Esq; well known by his admirable musical
compositions. The inscription consists of this short and comprehensive
sentence:
Here lies Henry Purcell, who left this life,
and is gone to that blessed place, where
only his harmony can be exceeded. He
died Nov. 21, 1697, in his 37th year.
62. The next is the monument of William Croft, Doctor in music. On the
pedestal is an organ in bas relief, and on the top, a bust of the
deceased,
63. The tomb of John Blow, Doctor in music, is adorned with cherubs,
flowers, and a canon in four parts set to music. In the center is an
English inscription, by which it appears he was organist, composer,
and master to the children in the chapel royal thirty-five years, and
organist to this Abbey fifteen years; that he was scholar to Dr.
Christopher Gibbons; and master to the famous Mr. Purcell, and to most
of the eminent masters of his time. He died Oct. 1. 1708, in his
sixtieth year; and his epitaph observes, that his own musical
compositions, especially his church music, are a far nobler monument
to his memory than any other that can be raised to him.
64. We come now to the neat and elegant monument erected to the memory
of Dr. Boulter, Archbishop of Armagh in Ireland. It is of the finest
marble beautified with an admirable new invented polish. The bust of
this worthy Archbishop is finely executed; his long flowing hair has
all the gracefulness of nature, without the smallest degree of that
stiffness which belongs to stone; and his venerable countenance
strikes the beholder with reverence. The ensigns of his dignity
wherewith the monument is adorned, are most exquisitely fine, and
every part about it discovers a masterly genius in the sculptor. The
inscription is inclosed in a beautiful border of porphyry, and is as
follows:
Dr. Hugh Boulter, late Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of all
Ireland, a Prelate so eminent for the accomplishments of his
mind, the purity of his heart, and the excellence of his life,
that it may be thought superfluous to specify his titles,
recount his virtues, or even erect a monument to his fame. His
titles he not only deserved, but adorned; his virtues are
manifest in his good works, which had never dazzled the public
eye, if they had not been too bright to be concealed; and as
to his fame, whosoever has any sense of merit, any reverence
for piety, any passion for his country, or any charity for
mankind, will assist in preserving it fair and spotless, that
when brass and marble shall mix with the dust they cover,
every succeeding age may have the benefit of his illustrious
example. He was born Jan. 4, 1671, was consecrated Bishop of
Bristol, 1718, translated to the Archbishopric of Armagh,
1723, and from thence to Heaven, Sept. 27, 1742.
65. A plain table monument erected to the memory of Dr. Samuel
Bradford, Bishop of Rochester, who died on the 14th of May 1731, in
the seventy-ninth year of his age. It contains a long Latin
inscription scarce legible, surrounded with the arms, and proper
ensigns of his several dignities.
66. The next is a monument erected to the memory of Richard Kane, Esq;
Governor of Minorca, adorned with a curious bust of that gentleman in
white marble, placed upon a handsome pedestal, whereon are inscribed
the most remarkable passages of his life. He was born at Down in
Ireland, Dec. 20, 1661. In 1689 he first appeared in a military
capacity at the memorable siege of Derry; and after the reduction of
Ireland, followed King William into Flanders, where he distinguished
himself, particularly by his intrepid behaviour at the siege of Namur,
where he was grievously wounded. In 1702, he bore a commission in the
service of Queen Anne, and assisted in the expedition to Canada; from
whence he again returned into Flanders, and fought under the Duke of
Argyle and Greenwich, and afterwards under Lord Carpenter. In 1712, he
was made Sub-Governor of Minorca, through which island he caused a
road to be made, which had been thought impracticable. In 1720 he was
ordered by King George I. to the defence of Gibraltar, where he
sustained an eight months siege against the Spaniards, when all hope
of relief was extinguished. For which gallant service he was
afterwards, by King George II. rewarded with the government of
Minorca, where he died Dec. 19, 1736, and was buried in the castle of
St. Philip.
67. The monument of Percy Kirk, Esq; is adorned with a fine bust of
that gentleman, on each side of which is a winged seraph, one with a
dagger in his right hand inverted, and in his left a helmet; the other
resting on a ball, and holding in his left hand a torch reversed. The
inscription lets us know, that he was Lieutenant-General of his
Majesty’s armies; that he was son to Percy Kirk, Lieutenant-General in
the reign of King James II. by the Lady Mary, daughter to George
Howard Earl of Suffolk, and that he died Jan. 1, 1741, aged
fifty-seven.
68. We come now to the monument erected to the memory of that brave
commander the Lord Aubrey Beauclerk, ornamented with arms, trophies,
and naval ensigns, and in an oval nich on a beautiful pyramid of
dove-coloured marble, is a fine bust of that young Hero. On this
pyramid is the following historical inscription:
The Lord Aubrey Beauclerk was the youngest son of Charles Duke
of St. Albans, by Diana, daughter of Aubrey de Vere Earl of
Oxford. He went early to sea, and was made a commander in
1731. In 1740, he was sent upon that memorable expedition to
Carthagena, under the command of Admiral Vernon, in his
Majesty’s ship the Prince Frederic, which, with three others,
was ordered to cannonade the castle of Boccachica. One of
these being obliged to quit her station, the Prince Frederic
was exposed, not only to the fire from the castle, but to that
of Fort St. Joseph, and to two ships that guarded the mouth of
the harbour, which he sustained for many hours that day, and
part of the next, with uncommon intrepidity. As he was giving
his commands upon deck, both his legs were shot off; but such
was his magnanimity, that he would not suffer his wounds to be
drest, till he communicated his orders to his first
Lieutenant, which were, _To fight his ship to the last
extremity_. Soon after this he gave some directions about his
private affairs, and then resigned his soul with the dignity
of a Hero and a Christian. Thus was he taken off in the
thirty-first year of his age, an illustrious commander of
superior fortitude and clemency, amiable in his person, steady
in his affections, and equalled by few in the social and
domestic virtues of politeness, modesty, candour, and
benevolence. He married the widow of Col. Francis Alexander, a
daughter of Sir Henry Newton, Knt. Envoy Extraordinary to the
Court of Florence and the Republic of Genoa, and Judge of the
high court of Admiralty.
Over his inscription is the following epitaph:
Whilst Britain boasts her Empire o’er the deep,
This marble shall compel the brave to weep;
As men, as Britons, and as soldiers mourn:
’Tis dauntless, loyal, virtuous Beauclerk’s urn.
Sweet were his manners, as his soul was great,
And ripe his worth, tho’ immature his fate;
Each tender grace that joy and love inspires,
Living, he mingled with his martial fires;
Dying, he bid Britannia’s thunder roar,
And Spain still felt him, when he breath’d no more.
69. A beautiful monument erected to the memory of Admiral Balchen, on
which is his bust well executed in the finest white marble. The
enrichments, arms and trophies, are admirably wrought, but in
fastening the cable to the anchor this excellent artist has shewn that
he is no mariner. In the front is a fine representation of a ship in a
storm. The inscription is as follows:
To the memory of Sir John Balchen, Knt. Admiral of the White
Squadron of his Majesty’s fleet in 1744, being sent out
Commander in chief of the combined fleets of England and
Holland, to cruize on the enemy, was on his return home in his
Majesty’s ship the Victory, lost in the Channel by a violent
storm; from which sad circumstance of his death we may learn,
that neither the greatest skill, judgment, or experience,
joined to the most firm unshaken resolution, can resist the
fury of the winds and waves; and we are taught from the
passages of his life, which were filled with great and gallant
actions, but ever accompanied with adverse gales of fortune,
that the brave, the worthy and the good man, meets not always
his reward in this world. Fifty-eight years of faithful and
painful services he had passed, when being just retired to the
government of Greenwich Hospital to wear out the remainder of
his days, he was once more, and for the last time, called out
by his King and Country, whose interest he ever preferred to
his own, and his unwearied zeal for their service ended only
in his death; which weighty misfortune to his afflicted family
became heightened by many aggravating circumstances attending
it; yet amidst their grief had they the mournful consolation
to find his gracious and royal Master mixing his concern with
the general lamentations of the public, for the calamitous
fate of so zealous, so valiant, and so able a Commander; and
as a lasting memorial of the sincere love and esteem borne by
his widow, to a most affectionate and worthy husband, this
honorary monument was erected by her. He was born Feb. 2,
1669, married Susannah, daughter of Col. Apreece of Washingly
in the County of Huntingdon. Died Oct. 7, 1744, leaving one
son and one daughter, the former of whom, George Balchen,
survived him but a short time; for being sent to the West
Indies in 1745, Commander of his Majesty’s ship the Pembroke,
he died in Barbadoes in December the same year, aged 28,
having walked in the steps, and imitated the virtue and
bravery of his good, but unfortunate father.
70. A noble and elegant monument erected in honour of General Guest.
It is adorned with a pyramid and base of the most beautiful Egyptian
porphyry, ornamented with the finest enrichments, and on the latter is
an admirable bust of the General of white marble. The whole is
executed in the most delicate and masterly manner. It has this short,
but apposite inscription:
Sacred to those virtues that adorn a Christian and a Soldier,
this marble perpetuates the memory of Lieut. Gen. Joshua
Guest, who closed a service of sixty years by faithfully
defending Edinburgh castle against the Rebels, 1745.
71. The next worthy of notice is the elegant monument of Sir Charles
Wager. The principal figure here is that of Fame holding a portrait of
Sir Charles in relief, which is also supported by an infant Hercules.
The enrichments are naval trophies, instruments of war and navigation,
&c. on the base is represented in relief the destroying and taking of
the Spanish galleons in 1708, The inscription is as follows:
To the memory of Sir CHARLES WAGER, Knt.
Admiral of the White, first Commissioner of the Admiralty,
And Privy Counsellor;
A man of great natural talents,
Who bore the highest commands,
And pass’d through the greatest employments,
With credit to himself, and honour to his country.
He was in private life
Humane, temperate, just, and bountiful:
In public station,
Valiant, prudent, wise, and honest:
Easy of access to all;
Plain and unaffected in his manners,
Steady and resolute in his conduct:
So remarkably happy in his presence of mind,
That no danger ever discompos’d him;
Esteemed and favoured by his King;
Beloved and honoured by his Country.
He died 24 May 1743. Aged 77.
72. The next tomb in the Abbey that demands our attention, is that
erected to the memory of John Hollis Duke of Newcastle, by his
daughter the Countess of Oxford. This is perhaps the loftiest and most
costly of any in the Abbey. A pediment is supported by beautiful
columns of variegated marble. The Duke is represented resting upon a
sepulchral monument, holding in his right hand a General’s staff, and
in his left a ducal coronet. On one side the base stands a statue of
Wisdom, on the other, of Sincerity. On the angles of the upper
compartment sit angels, and on the ascending sides of the pediment sit
two cherubs, one with an hour-glass, alluding to the admeasurement of
man’s life by grains of sand; the other pointing upwards, where life
shall no longer be measured by hours and minutes. On the base is an
inscription enumerating his Grace’s titles, and several employments;
his marriage and issue; and informing us that he was born Jan. 9,
1661–2, and died July 15, 1711.
73. The monument of William Cavendish Duke of Newcastle is also very
pompous, but is in the old taste. Under a rich canopy of state lie, as
the inscription expresses it, “The loyal Duke of Newcastle, and his
Duchess, his second wife, by whom he had no issue: her name was
Margaret Lucas, youngest sister to Lord Lucas of Colchester, a noble
family; for all the brothers were valiant, and all the sisters
virtuous. The Duchess was a wise, witty, and learned Lady, which her
many books do well testify: She was a most virtuous, and a loving and
careful wife, and was with her Lord all the time of his banishment and
miseries; and when he came home, never parted from him in his solitary
retirements.” This is the English inscription. The Latin gives his
titles and employments; and observes, that for his fidelity to King
Charles I. he was made Captain-General of the forces raised for his
service in the North, fought many battles, and generally came off
victorious; but that when the rebels prevailed (being one of the first
designed a sacrifice) he left his estate, and endured a long exile. It
then gives his issue by his first wife, and concludes with observing,
that he died Dec. 27, 1676, in his eighty-fourth year.
74. On the adjoining pillar is a neat tablet, on which is this
inscription:
Grace, eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Mauleverer of Allerton
Mauleverer in Yorkshire, Bart. born 1622, married unto Col.
Scott, a member of the Hon. House of Commons 1644, and died
Feb. 24, 1645.
He that will give my GRACE but what is hers,
Must say her death has not
Made only her dear SCOTT,
But Virtue, Worth, and Sweetness, widowers.
75. The monument of Dame Mary James is neatly ornamented with an urn,
wreathed and crowned with a Viscount’s coronet, on a handsome pedestal
The inscription observes that this Lady was wife to Sir John James, of
the ancient family of the Lords of Hostrick in Holland, and that she
died Nov. 6, 1667.
76. A magnificent and elegant monument of white marble to the memory
of Sir Peter Warren, done by Roubiliac. Close to the wall is a large
flag hanging to the flag-staff, and spreading in very natural folds
behind the whole monument. Before it is a fine figure of Hercules
placing Sir Peter’s bust on its pedestal; and on the other side,
Victory, with a laurel wreath in her hand, is seated gazing on the
bust with a look of melancholy mixed with admiration. Behind her a
Cornucopia pours out fruit, corn, the fleece, &c. and by it is a
cannon, an anchor, and other decorations. The inscription is as
follows:
Sacred to the memory
Of Sir PETER WARREN,
Knight of the Bath,
Vice-Admiral of the Red Squadron
Of the British Fleet,
And Member of Parliament
For the City and Liberty of Westminster.
And a little lower:
He derived his descent from an ancient Family of IRELAND,
His fame and honours from his virtues and abilities.
How eminently these were displayed,
With what vigilance and spirit they were exerted,
In the various services wherein he had the honour to command,
And the happiness to conquer,
Will be more properly recorded in the annals of
GREAT BRITAIN.
On this tablet, affection with truth may say,
That deservedly esteemed in private life,
And universally renowned for his public conduct,
The judicious and gallant officer
Possessed all the amiable qualities of the Friend,
The Gentleman, and the Christian.
But the ALMIGHTY,
Whom alone he feared,
And whose gracious protection he had often experienced,
Was pleased to remove him from a life of honour
To an eternity of happiness,
On the 29th day of July 1752, in the 49th year of his age.
On the bottom of the base:
Susannah, his afflicted wife, caused this monument
to be erected.
77. The monument inscribed to the memory of Sir Gilbert Lort, of
Stackpole in Pembrokeshire, who died Sept. 19, 1698, was erected to
his memory by his sister Dame Elizabeth Campbell of Calder in
Scotland. The author of _The Review of the public buildings_, &c.
observes, that the two boys here placed on each side a little tomb,
are in a very pretty taste, and a perfect contrast to each other; one
representing passionate, exclamatory grief, and the other still and
silent; and adds, “’Tis pity they are divided by so bad an ornament in
the middle: had they leaned on a single urn, which, in the antique
taste, might have been supposed to hold his ashes, they would have had
a fine effect, and challenged more admiration than many a more pompous
and expensive pile.”
78. The monument erected to Hugh Chamberlayne, M.D. was some years ago
esteemed one of the best pieces in the Abbey; but some of the later
monuments greatly exceed it. The principal figure lies, as it were, at
ease, upon a tomb stone, leaning upon his right arm, with his hand
upon his night cap, and his head uncovered. In his left hand, he holds
a book, to shew his intense application to study. On each side are the
emblems of Physic and Longevity; and over his head, is Fame descending
with a trumpet in one hand, and a wreath in the other. On the top are
weeping cherubs, and on the pedestal a long Latin inscription, which
mentions his great knowledge and industry in his profession, his
humanity in relieving the sick, and his affinities and connections in
social and private life. He died June 17, 1728, aged sixty-four.
79. The tomb of Almericus de Courcy, Baron of Kinsale, in Ireland, is
ornamented with the figure of his Lordship in armour, reposing himself
after the fatigues of an active life, under a gilded canopy. The
inscription shews, that he was descended from the famous John de
Courcy, Earl of Ulster, who in the reign of King John, in
consideration of his great valour, obtained the extraordinary
privilege for him and his heirs, of being covered in the King’s
presence. Almericus de Courcy died Feb. 9, 1719, aged fifty-seven.
80. The monument of Sir Thomas Duppa is adorned with flowers and
foliage, and on the top with an urn wreathed. The inscription shews,
that Sir Thomas in his youth waited upon King Charles II. when Prince
of Wales, and at length became Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, in
which office he died April 25, 1694, aged 75.
81. We come now to a monument that has been much admired, and as much
censured, that of Dame Elizabeth Carteret, who died on the 26th of
March, 1717, aged fifty-two. This Lady is represented springing
upwards, with only one foot fixed to the earth, and a little winged
seraph descending to receive her; but the disproportions are so great
between them, that one cannot help thinking, that it is much more
likely she should pull the aerial messenger down, than he raise her
one inch from the ground; but what is still worse, her attitude is
such, that it is impossible she should know that he is coming to give
her a lift. Below her hovering on the base, is another of these
heavenly spirits unfolding a very indifferent epitaph.
82. We come now to the grand and magnificent monument of the great Sir
Isaac Newton, whose statue is formed recumbent, leaning his right arm
on four folios, thus titled DIVINITY, CHRONOLOGY, OPTICS, and PHIL:
PRIN: MATH: and pointing to a scroll supported by cherubs. Over him is
a large globe projecting from a pyramid behind, whereon is delineated
the course of the comet in 1680, with the signs, constellations and
planets. On this globe sits the figure of Astronomy, with her book
closed, in a very thoughtful composed and pensive mood. Beneath the
principal figure is a very fine bas relief, representing the various
labours in which Sir Isaac chiefly employed his time: such as
discovering the cause of gravitation, settling the principles of light
and colours, and reducing the coinage to a determined standard. The
inscription on the pedestal is in Latin, short, but full of meaning,
intimating, that by a spirit nearly divine, he solved on principles of
his own, the motion and figure of the planets, the paths of the
comets, and the ebbing and flowing of the sea; that he discovered the
dissimularity of the rays of light, and the properties of colours from
thence arising, which none but himself had ever dreamt of; that he was
a diligent, wise and faithful interpreter of nature, antiquity, and
the holy scriptures; that by his philosophy he maintained the dignity
of the Supreme Being; and by the purity of his life, the simplicity of
the gospel; and it concludes with a just exclamation, What reason have
mortals to pride themselves in the existence of so great an ornament
to the human race! He was born Dec. 25, 1642, and died in 1726.
So noble a monument erected to real merit, is a greater honour to the
nation than to the great genius for whom it was raised; in this light
it is viewed by all Europe.
83. On the other side of the entrance into the choir is another lofty
and pompous monument. This last was erected to the memory of Earl
Stanhope, who is also represented leaning upon his arm in a recumbent
posture, holding in his right hand a General’s staff, and in his left
a parchment scroll. Before him stands a cupid resting upon a shield.
Over a martial tent sits Minerva, holding in her right hand a javelin,
and in the other a scroll. Behind is a slender pyramid. On the middle
of the pedestal are two medalions, and on each side the pilasters one.
In short, under the principal figure is a Latin inscription,
displaying the merits of this great man, as a soldier, a statesman,
and a senator: observing, that in 1707, he concluded an advantageous
peace with Spain; and the same year was sent Embassador to Charles
III. In 1708, he took Port Mahon: In 1710, he forced his way to the
gates of Madrid, and took possession of that capital: In 1715, being
of the Secret Committee, he impeached the Duke of Ormond. In 1717 he
was made first Commissioner of the treasury, and Chancellor of the
exchequer; and in July following was created a Peer. He died in 1721,
in the forty-seventh year of his age.