“Statesman, yet friend to truth, of soul sincere,
In action faithful, and in honour clear!
Who broke no promise, serv’d no private end,
Who gained no title, and who lost no friend.
Ennobled by himself, by all approv’d,
Prais’d, wept, and honour’d, by the muse he lov’d.”
—Signor Guelphi, sculptor.
A statue of William Wordsworth, placed here by the friends and admirers of the late Poet. Mr. Wordsworth was born at Cockermouth, in Cumberland, on April 7, 1770, and died at Rydal Mount, Ambleside, Westmoreland, on April 23, 1850. The statue is much admired; and the meditative attitude in which the Poet is represented, and the quiet and sacred spot in which it is placed, apart from the crowd, and in a peaceful retirement of its own, harmonize with and are expressive of, the tranquil tenour of his life, and the thoughtful, sublime, and philosophic character of his works.
Next to this is a bust of Keble, by T. Woolner. It occupies the middle of the three arcades on the west side of the South Tower, and adjoins the monument of Wordsworth. It has a pedestal of alabaster containing a black marble inscription panel, on either side of which is a green marble pillar, between the carved capitals of which is seated a vesica-shaped panel of alabaster, richly moulded, carved, and studded with gems of blue fluor-spar within ovals of gilt beads. Above this is placed a Calvary cross of alabaster with gemmed and inlaid arms and trefoiled ends. The internal part of the vesica panel is occupied with the white marble bust, life size, placed on an enriched corbel of alabaster, on which corbel are inclined pillars which support a trefoiled and gabled canopy overhanging the bust. The total height of the work is nine feet, and its width three feet.
A small tablet to Henry Wharton, remarkable only by the great name inscribed upon it, who was Rector of Chartham, in Kent; Vicar of the Church of Minster, in the Isle of Thanet; Librarian to Archbishop Sancroft, and one of the most voluminous writers of his years, perhaps, in the world. He died March 3, 1694, aged only thirty-one, and was an universally respected by the Bishops and clergy, that Archbishop Tillotson, and several other Prelates, with a vast body of clergy, the choir and King’s scholars, all in solemn procession, attended his funeral, and joined in the anthems composed on this occasion by the great Purcell.
Above this tablet of Wharton is a gallery, used by the Royal Family to see the procession of the Knights of the Bath: they enter at Poets’ Corner door, and proceed round the West end, and up the North Aisle, into Henry VII.’s Chapel, where the installation takes place.
In an oval frame is a half-length marble portrait of William Congreve, Esq., placed on a pedestal of the finest Egyptian marble, and enriched with emblematical figures alluding to the drama. Underneath is this inscription in English:—“Mr. William Congreve, died January 19, 1728, aged fifty-six, and was buried near this place, to whose most valuable memory this monument is set up by Henrietta, Duchess of Marlborough, as a mark how dearly she remembers the happiness she enjoyed in the sincere friendship of so worthy and honest a man, whose virtue, candour, and wit, gained him the love and esteem of the present age, and whose writings will be the admiration of the future.”—Bird, sculptor.
A bust of John Friend, M.D., on a pedestal of fine white veined marble; and beneath is a long Latin inscription, setting forth his great and distinguished acquirements. He was a physician of the first rank for knowledge and experience; was no less successful in his practice than ingenious in his writings. He was first educated at Westminster School, and afterwards at Christ Church College, Oxford, where his learning soon made him conspicuous. On his leaving the University, and adopting the profession of physic, he was chosen a member of the College of Physicians in London, and soon after a Fellow of the Royal Society. His writings are lasting monuments of his extensive genius. He died July 26, 1728.—Rysbrack, sculptor.
Sir Lumley Robinson, Baronet.—This monument is neatly designed and ornamented; the columns are supported by Death’s heads, and the arms upon the base by a cherub. On the top was a vase, and, rising to the pediments, enrichments of laurel branches, &c. The inscription has nothing remarkable. He was of Kentwall Hall, in Suffolk, and died August 6, 1684, aged thirty-six.—Settie, sculptor.
Thomas Sprat, D.D.—This monument seems to have been designed principally for the sake of the inscriptions, which are in Latin. Underneath are the arms of the deceased, and on the top his arms, with those of the see of Rochester, quarterly, between enrichments of books, &c. The first inscription informs you,—“That Dr. Sprat was the son of a clergyman in Dorsetshire; and that he was educated at Wadham College, Oxford; that he first applied himself to poetry, but quitted that study to pursue the beauties of prose, and polish the English language; that he was early made known to George, Duke of Buckingham, and by him recommended to Charles I., who made him a Prebendary of Westminster, and of Windsor; from which preferments he soon rose to be Dean of Westminster, and Bishop of Rochester; but at length, from his firm integrity to the Church and Monarchy, was brought in danger of his life. He died in 1713, aged seventy-seven.” The second inscription shows—“That the remains of Thomas Sprat, A.M. (son of the Bishop), Archdeacon of Rochester, and Prebendary of the Churches of Rochester, Winchester, and Westminster, lie near those of his father. He died May 10, 1720, aged forty-one.” The third inscription imports—“That John Friend, M.D., to show his respect for those two worthy personages, had caused this monument to be erected jointly to their memories.”—Bird, sculptor.