Historical Description of Westminster Abbey, Its Monuments and CuriositiesAnonymous
History
Historical Description of Westminster Abbey, Its Monuments and Curiosities
Anonymous
Westminster Abbey
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._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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