Above, is a little tablet to the memory of Clement Saunders, Esq., Carver in ordinary to Charles II., James II., and William III., son of Sir W. Saunders, Knight, of the county of Northampton. Died August 10, 1695, aged eighty-four.
Sir John Malcolm.—His figure is in full uniform, on a pedestal.—“In memory of Major-General Sir John Malcolm, G.C.B., &c., born at Burnfoot of Eske, Dumfriesshire, 1769, died in London, 1833, employed confidentially in those important wars and negociations which established British supremacy in India. By the indefatigable and well directed exertions of those extraordinary mental and physical powers with which Providence had endowed him, he became alike distinguished as a statesman, a warrior, and a man of letters; disinterested, liberal, and hospitable; warm in his affections, and frank in his manners; the admirer and patron of merit. No less zealous during the whole of his arduous and eventful career, for the welfare of the natives of the East, than for the services of his own country, his memory is cherished by grateful millions; his fame lives in the history of nations. This statue has been erected by the friends whom he had acquired by his splendid talents, eminent public services, and private virtues.”—Chantrey, sculptor.
William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle.—This monument is a stately piece of architecture. Under a rich canopy of state, lie in a cumbent posture, on a double mat, “the loyal Duke of Newcastle (as the inscription beneath sets forth), and his Duchess, his second wife, by whom he had no issue; her name was Margaret Lucas, youngest sister of Lord Lucas, of Colchester, a noble family; for all the brothers were valiant, and all the sisters virtuous. This Duchess was a wise, witty, and learned lady, which her many books do well testify; she was a most virtuous, 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.”—So far the English inscription. The Latin shows farther, “that he was Knight of the Bath and Baron Ogle in right of his mother; Viscount Mansfield, and Baron Cavendish of Bolsover, Earl of Ogle, Earl, Marquis, and Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Lord Lieutenant of the counties of Nottingham and Northumberland, First Lord of the Bedchamber to King James I., Guardian to Prince Charles, Privy Councillor, and Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter; that for his fidelity to the King, he was made Captain-General of the forces raised for his service in the North, fought many battles, and generally came off victorious; that when the rebels prevailed (being one of the first designed a sacrifice) he left his estate, and endured a long exile. By his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress to W. Basset, of Staffordshire, Esq., he had two sons and three daughters; Charles, who died without issue, and Henry, heir to his honours; Jane, married to C. Cheyne, of Chesham, Bucks; Elizabeth, to John, Earl of Bridgewater; and Frances, to Oliver, Earl of Bolingbroke. He died December 25, 1676, aged eighty-four.”
A statue of Earl Canning, Viceroy of India, son of George Canning Foley.
On the left is one to the memory of George Canning, born April 11, 1770; died August 8, 1827:—“Endowed with a rare combination of talents, an eminent statesman, an accomplished scholar, an orator, surpassed by none, he united the most brilliant and lofty qualities of the mind, with the warmest affections of the heart; raised by his own merit, he successfully filled important offices in the state, and finally became first minister of the Crown. In the full enjoyment of his sovereign’s favour, and of the confidence of the people, he was prematurely cut off, when pursuing a wise and large course of policy, which had for its object the prosperity and greatness of his own country, while it comprehended the welfare and commanded the admiration of foreign nations.” This monument was erected by his friends and countrymen. The figure is on a pedestal, and represents him speaking in the House of Parliament.—Chantrey, sculptor.
The next is a magnificent monument to John Holles, Duke of Newcastle, whose effigy rests upon a sarcophagus of darkish-coloured marble, having in his right hand a general’s staff, and in his left a ducal coronet. On one side of the base stands the statue of Wisdom; on the other of Sincerity. On the angles of the upper compartment sit angels in no very meaning attitude; and on the ascending sides of the pediment sit cherubs, one with an hour glass, alluding to the admeasurement of man’s life by grains of sand; the other pointing upwards, where his life shall be no longer measured by duration. On the base of this monument is this inscription:—“John Holles, Duke of Newcastle, Marquis and Earl of Clare, Baron Haughton, of Haughton, and Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, whose body is here deposited under the same roof with many of his noble ancestors and relations of the families of Vere, Cavendish, and Holles, whose eminent virtues he inherited, and was particularly distinguished for his courage, love to his country, and constancy in friendship, which qualities he exerted with great zeal and readiness, whenever the cause of religion, his country, or friends, required. In the reign of Queen Anne he filled with great capacity and honour, the several employments of Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal and Privy Councillor; Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of Middlesex and Nottingham, and of the county of the town of Nottingham, and of the East and North Ridings of the county of York; Lord Chief Justice in Eyre, north of Trent, and Governor of the town and fort of Kingston-upon-Hull; to all which titles and honours his personal merit gave a lustre, that needed not the addition of the great wealth which he possessed. He was born January 9, 1661-2, and died, July 15, 1711. He married the Lady Margaret, third daughter and heiress of Henry Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, by whom he left issue only one child, the Lady Henrietta Cavendish Holles Harley, who caused this memorial of him to be here erected in 1723.”—Bird, sculptor.
Admiral Vernon.—On a pedestal is a bust of that gallant Admiral, with a fine figure of Fame crowning him with laurels. This monument is elegantly ornamented with naval trophies. Beneath is the following inscription:—“Sacred to the memory of Edward Vernon, Admiral of the White Squadron of the British Fleet. He was the second son of James Vernon, who was Secretary of State to King William III., and whose abilities and integrity were equally conspicuous. In his youth, he served under the Admirals Shovell and Rook. By their example he learned to conquer; by his own merit he rose to command. In the war with Spain of 1739, he took the fort of Porto Bello with six ships—a force which was thought unequal to the attempt. For this he received the thanks of both houses of Parliament. He subdued Chagre, and at Carthagena conquered as far as naval force could carry victory. After these services he retired, without place or title, from the exercise of public, to the enjoyment of private virtue. The testimony of a good conscience was his reward—the love and esteem of all good men his glory. In battle, though calm, he was active, and though intrepid, prudent; successful, yet not ostentatious, ascribing the glory to God; in the senate, he was disinterested, vigilant, and steady. On the 30th day of October, 1757, he died as he had lived, the friend of man, the lover of his country, and the father of the poor, aged seventy-three. As a memorial of his own gratitude, and the virtues of his benefactor, this monument was erected by his nephew, Francis, Lord Orwell, in 1763.”—Rysbrack, sculptor.
Sir Charles Wager.—On this elegant monument, the principal figure is that of Fame, holding a portrait of the deceased in relief, which is supported by an infant Hercules. The enrichments are naval trophies, instruments of war, navigation, &c., and on the base, in relief, is the representation of the destroying and taking the Spanish galleons in 1708:—“To the memory of Sir Charles Wager, Knight, Admiral of the White, First Commissioner of the Admiralty, and Privy Councillor: a man of great natural talents, who bore the highest commands, and passed through the greatest employments, with credit to himself, and honour to his country. He was in his 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 manner, steady and resolute in his conduct; so remarkably happy in his presence of mind, that no danger ever discomposed him. Esteemed and favoured by his King, beloved and honoured by his country, he died May 24, 1743, aged seventy-seven.”—Scheemakers, sculptor.
Lord Palmerston.—A magnificent statue, representing the distinguished statesman in the robes of a Knight of the Garter.—Erected by authority of Parliament to Viscount Palmerston, in testimony of the public admiration and attachment and heavy loss which the country sustained by his death.—R. Jackson.
The Right Hon. William Pitt, First Earl of Chatham. He is represented as speaking in the Houses of Parliament. At his feet are figures of Prudence and Fortitude; below is a figure of Britannia, with the trident supported by Earth and Ocean. On the base is the following inscription:—“Erected by the King and Parliament as a testimony to the virtues and ability of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, during whose administration, in the reigns of Geo. II. and III., Divine Providence exalted Great Britain to a height of prosperity and glory unknown to any former age. Born November 15, 1708. Died May 11, 1778.”—Bacon, sculptor.