Historical Description of Westminster Abbey, Its Monuments and CuriositiesAnonymous
History
Historical Description of Westminster Abbey, Its Monuments and Curiosities
Anonymous
Westminster Abbey
On the right of the West door, in the middle of a pyramid, is a large
medallion of brass, resting on a cherub below, and suspended by another at
the top. Round the medal is a Latin inscription, thus translated:--"JOHN
CONDUIT, Master of the Mint." This gentleman succeeded his relation, the
great Sir Isaac Newton, in that office, and desired to be buried near him,
as appears by a long Latin inscription on the base. Died May 23, 1737,
aged forty-nine. Catherine, his wife, died Jan. 20, 1739, aged fifty-nine,
and lies interred in the same tomb.--_Cheere, sculptor._
A stone arch has been turned over the west door, on which is erected a
monument, voted by Parliament to the memory of the Right Hon. WILLIAM
PITT. This illustrious statesman is represented habited in the robes of
Chancellor of the Exchequer. To the right of the base of the statue, is
History recording his speeches, whilst Anarchy, on the left, lies subdued,
and writhing in chains at his feet. The Statues composing this group are
nine feet in height. Inscription:--"This monument is erected by Parliament
to William Pitt, son of William Earl of Chatham, in testimony of gratitude
for the eminent public services, and of regret for the irreparable loss of
that great and disinterested Minister. He died Jan. 23, 1806, in the
forty-seventh year of his age."--_Sir Richard Westmacott, R.A., sculptor._
On the left is a lofty pyramid of a bluish coloured marble, to the memory
of Sir THOMAS HARDY, Knt., whose effigy is reclining upon a tomb of
elegant workmanship, with a naked boy on his left side weeping over an
urn. The inscription, a little history of the deceased's life, is here
copied:--"Sir Thomas Hardy, to whose memory this monument was erected, was
bred in the Royal Navy from his youth, and was made a Captain in 1693. In
the expedition to Cadiz, under Sir George Rook, he commanded the Pembroke;
and when the fleet left the coast of Spain to return to England, he was
ordered to Lagos Bay, where he got intelligence of the Spanish galleons
being arrived in the harbour of Vigo, under convoy of seventeen French
men-of-war. By his great diligence and judgment he joined the English
fleet, and gave the Admiral that intelligence which engaged him to make
the best of his way to Vigo, where all the aforementioned galleons and
men-of-war were either taken or destroyed. After the success of that
action, the Admiral sent him with an account of it to the Queen, who
ordered him a considerable present, and knighted him. Some years
afterwards he was made a Rear-Admiral, and received several other marks of
favour and esteem from her Majesty, and from her Royal Consort, Prince
George of Denmark, Lord High Admiral of England. He died August 16, 1732,
aged sixty-seven."--_Cheere, sculptor._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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