Lichfield Cathedral in 1817

Description from A Topographical History of Staffordshire by William Pitt (1817)

LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL.

THE CLOSE AND CATHEDRAL. On the northern side of the city, beyond a beautiful sheet of translucent water which forms the boundary, the Close gradually rises into a gentle eminence, presenting to the admiring spectator, in all the majesty of gothic magnificence, the extensive Cathedral, with its ensculptured western front, and its three "heaven-directed spires." The admirer of human ingenuity cannot view this vast and beautiful pile without emotions of enthusiasm; and however we may ridicule the imposing pomp of Popery, we must confess that such costly and elegant edifices, erected to the glory of the Deity, were well calculated to excite sublime devotional ideas in the minds of the uninstructed multitude.

The Close, in which Lichfield Cathedral or Minster stands, was originally enclosed by a ditch, but by whom, or at what period, is not ascertained. Dr. Wilkes dates the origin of the Cathedral as far back as the year 657; but Fuller is of a different opinion, and asserts that Offa, King of Mercia, in 785 exalted Lichfield to an archiepiscopal see. "At this time (785) the archbishoprick of Canterbury was in part removed to Lichfield, five essential things concurring to that great alteration.

1. The puissance and ambition of Offa, King of Mercia, commanding in chief over England. He would have the brightest mitre to attend the biggest crown. 2. The complying nature of Pope Adrian, except any one will call it his thankfulness, to gratify King Offa for the large gifts received from him. 3. The easy and unactive disposition of Lambert, Archbishop of Canterbury; unless any will term it his policy, that finding himself unable to resist (a pope and a prince overmatch for a prelate), he would not strive to keep what must be taken away from him. 4. The commodious situation of Lichfield, almost in the navel of the land, and where should the highest candlestick stand (the metropolitan Cathedral) but in the midst of the table? whereas Kent itself was but a corner (whence it taketh its name), and Canterbury seated in the corner of that corner, a remote corner thereof. 5. The antiquity of Lichfield in Christianity, where the British church suffered a massacre from the Pagans three hundred years before St. Augustine's coming to Canterbury, witness the name of the place, being another Helkath-hazzurim, or Field of Strong Men, where so many worthies died for the testimony of the truth.

On these and other considerations, Adolph was made the first and last Archbishop of Lichfield (though others make Humbert and Higbert his successors in that dignity), and six suffragans, viz. Worcester, Hereford, Leicester, Sidnacaster, Helmham, and Dunwich, subjected to his jurisdiction. Yet was not the archiepiscopal See removed (as some seem to conceive), but communicated to Lichfield, Canterbury still retaining its former dignity, and part of its province. Anno Domini 799. Offa being dead, down fell the best pillar of Lichfield church, to support the archiepiscopality thereof. And now Canterbury had got Athelard, a new Archbishop, who had as much activity to spare as his predecessor Lambert is said by some to want. Wherefore he prevailed with Kenulph, King of Mercia, and both of them with Leo, the new Pope, to restore back the archiepiscopal See to Canterbury, which in the next century was perfectly effected.

From the ninth to the twelfth century little is recorded respecting Lichfield Cathedral, and the See during three centuries appears to have been of so little importance as to be sometimes united to that of Chester, and at others to that of Coventry, according to the will or caprice of successive Bishops. When Bishop Clinton succeeded to this See in 1127, he not only enlarged the Cathedral, but fortified the Close, and conferred many immunities on the prebendaries. His adventurous spirit, however, hurried him among other enthusiasts into the Holy war, and his untimely death deprived Lichfield of the benefits which it would have obtained from his munificence had he continued a resident.

At that remote period, the Cathedral was built of timber; but in 1269, Henry III. granted permission to the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield to get stone for building their church out of the forest of Hopwas. There is no record of the time employed in the erection of this fabric, but it must have been several years. Indeed, from the obscurity of Monkish historians, who were then the annalists of the age, there is no certain account in existence by which we might learn when and by whom the present beautiful edifice was erected. It was completely finished in Bishop Heyworth's time, who was appointed Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry in the year 1420. The principal contributor to the embellishment of the Cathedral was Bishop Langton, who laid the foundation of St. Mary's Chapel, and left money to complete it. Several other zealous friends of the church, whose names are unrecorded, doubtless contributed to promote the completion of this stately and beautiful edifice, and it was only by the efforts of successive prelates during the lapse of several ages that it was brought to perfection.

All the pomp of Popish superstition was subverted by the Reformation; and at the Dissolution, the costly and venerated shrine of St. Chadd, and several images of exquisite workmanship, were re- moved from Lichfield Cathedral. A celebrated writer on Ecclesiastical history, says, "in the time of William Heyworth, the Cathedral of Lichfield was in the vertical height thereof, being (though not augmented in the essentials) beautified in the ornamentals thereof. Indeed, the west front is a stately fabric adorned with exquisite imagerie, which I suspect our age is so far from being able to imitate the workmanship, that it understandeth not the history thereof. But alas! it is now in a pitiful case, indeed, almost beaten down to the ground in our Civil dissentions. Now, lest the church should follow the castle, and vanish quite out of view, I have at the cost of my worthy friend (Elias Ashmole) here exemplified the portraiture thereof."

Whatever zeal the Protestants, in the first era of the Reformation, might evince in the removal or destruction of shrines, crucifixes, images of saints, and other objects of Popish idolatry, they did not attempt to deface the exterior of Lichfield Cathedral, which continued for upwards of two centuries in all its magnificence, an object of admiration to travellers, and the principal architectural ornament of Staffordshire. But when Charles the First, by unconstitutional and arbitrary measures opposed the Parliament, and levied imposts without controul, a most sanguinary Civil war ensued, and the Close and Cathedral of Lichfield were exposed to three destructive sieges. These events are of too much importance in this history to be overlooked, and the following authentic particulars will not only demonstrate the deplorable state of ruin to which this noble pile was brought, but prove illustrative of the manners of that age.

The situation of the place on an eminence, surrounded by water and by deep ditches, and fortified with walls and bastions, rendered it unhappily a proper place for a garrison. In the year 1643, Sir Richard Dyott, and some of the principal nobility and gentry of the country, under the Earl of Chesterfield, more remarkable for their loyalty to their sovereign than their experience in the arts of war, garrisoned this Cathedral, when it underwent the attack rendered memorable by the death of Lord Brook, commander of the Parliamentary forces. The loss, however, of that furious fanatic, and professed enemy to the church, gave but little respite to the garrison, the siege of which was continued, and soon after taken by Sir John Gell, as appears in the following curious account:

The attempt upon Lichfield Close made by Robert Lord Brook, wherein he lost his life, the manner whereof is not a little remarkable, which was thus. This Lord being strangely tainted with fanatic principles by the influence of one of his near relations, and some schismatical preachers, though in his own nature a very civil and well-humoured man, became thereby so great a zealot against the established discipline of the church, that no less than the utter extirpation of episcopacy, and abolishing all decent order in the service of God, would satisfy him; to which end he became the leader of all the power he could raise for the destruction of the Cathedral of the diocese of Coventry and Lichfield, in order whereunto, when he had marched within half a mile of Lichfield, he drew up his army, and there devoutly prayed a blessing upon his intended work, withal earnestly desiring that God would, by some special token, manifest unto them his approbation of their design, which being done, he went on and planted his great guns against the south-east gate of the Close, himself standing in a window of a little house near there to direct the gunners in their purposed battery: but so it happened, that there being two persons placed in the battlements of the chiefest steeple to make shot with long fowling-guns at the cannoneers, upon a sudden accident which occasioned the soldiers to give a shout, this lord coming to the door (compleatly harnessed with plate armour cap-a-pie) was suddenly shot into one of his eyes; but the strength of the bullet so much abated by the glance thereof on a piece of timber, which supported a pentiss over the door, that it only lodged in his brains, whereupon he suddenly fell down dead. Nor is it less notable that this accident fell out upon the second day of March, which is the festival of that some-time famous Bishop St. Chadd, to whose memory Offa, King of the Mercians, first erected this stately church, and devoutly dedicated it.

After the fall of Lord Brook, Sir John Gell assumed the chief command of the besieging army, which continued the siege with such vigour that the garrison surrendered on the 5th of March upon condition, "that their Earl and Governor, (the Earl of Chesterfield,) should surrender the garrison, called the Close of Lichfield, forthwith, upon condition of free quarter to all in general within the said Close; and for any other terms to cast themselves upon the mercy of the Parliament." Accordingly, the Royalists were made prisoners of war, and the Parliamentary troops took possession of the Close, where they left a strong garrison. These soldiers were guilty of the most indecent outrages in the Cathedral, where they demolished the monuments, pulled down and destroyed the carved work, broke the windows, and destroyed the records. Colonel Russel, the Governor of the garrison, carried away the communion-plate, and whatever moveables he found of value in the Cathedral.

In the month of April following, Prince Rupert, after the reduction of Birmingham, came with a strong body of forces to Lichfield, and besieged the Close, which was bravely defended by the garrison. But Prince Rupert erected batteries in Gayfield, an eminence north of the Cathedral, and which commanded the Close, and he also sprung a mine under the wall and effected a breach, which he entered, but after a sanguinary conflict was repulsed with great loss. In consequence of the loss suffered by the garrison in defending the breach, Colonel Russel agreed to capitulate on honourable terms on the 21st of April, 1643. Prince Rupert then appointed Colonel Henry Bagot the Governor of the Close, who kept possession till the 10th of July, 1646.

The unshaken fidelity of the citizens of Lichfield to the cause they espoused was truly memorable and praise-worthy; and when Charles I. was in his greatest adversity, they still maintained their loyalty, and sympathized with their Sovereign. Of the truth of this assertion there is a sufficient record, for after the battle of Naseby, in 1645, in which the royal army was defeated, the King came to Lichfield on Sunday June 15, when the following Address was immediately presented to him by the Corporation of Lichfield:

Most Gracious Sovereign, June 15, 1645. Though the sad report of the late ill success hath so oppressed our souls with grief, that we are rendered more apt to express our loyall affections in tears than words, yet the safety and presence of your sacred person (as dear to us as our lives) hath so much revived and restored us, that we have taken the boldness, though suddenly and rudely, in a few words, to present to you the most zealous affections and loyall services that a most obliged and gratefull people can possibly bear to a most gracious Sovereign. And as we are not so stupid as not to be sensible of God's corrections, where he is pleased so sharply to punish us for our sins, so we are not so unchristian-like as to despair of God's final blessing upon a most just and righteous cause, nor so unmanly as to lay down our courage and confidence for one cross event, as knowing that man's necessity is God's opportunity, and that God's power is most glorified in man's weakness. And albeit the sunne may be for a time eclipsed, even by that plannett which itself enlighteneth, and for a time be obscured even by those clouds which itself drew from the earth into an higher region, yet the light and virtue of the sunne is not thereby made lesse conspicuous: eclipses and clouds last not always. Mendacia diu non fallunt: men will not always be worked into this sin of rebellion. Truth at last prevails; right never dieth; but will shortly, by God's blessing (all clouds being dispelled), restore the sunne of this our firmament to his former splendour and glory, and therein his faithfull subjects to their former peace, plenty, and happiness, which is our daily prayer, and shall be our incessant endeavour to the utmost expence of our estates and blood. Nec plus obire possutnus, nec fat est minus. More we cannot undergoe, less we may not.

Sir, your most humble and loyal subjects, the bailiffs, sheriffs, and their mases, etc. citizens of this your citty of Lichfield, doe humbly, according to their duty, surrender into your Majesty's hands these ensigns of their authority, which they are resolved to beam from you and under you, or not at all, and, whether they live or die, to live and die your Majestie's most faithful and loyal subjects. His Majesty was pleased to answer that they were eminent for their loyalty, and required Richard Dyott to give them all thanks in his name. Then he gave his hand to the head officers to kiss, and they with their chief gentlemen of the towne, waited upon his Majesty to his quarters.

In March, 1646, the Close was invested by the Parliament's army, under Major-General Lothian, and continued to harass the garrison till the 10th of July, when Colonel Bagot being satisfied that the King had not an army in the field, and that all the fortresses and garrison-towns in possession of the Royalists were besieged, he surrendered on very honourable terms.

As this was the first Cathedral that was seized by the republicans, from the circumstance of its being situated in a fortified place, it was damaged more than any other, by the cannon of the besiegers and the fanaticism of the soldiers. According to the most moderate computation, the damage done to the Cathedral alone was estimated at £14,000. It continued in a ruinous and neglected state till the Restoration, when Bishop Hackett was appointed to this See. This magnanimous and pious prelate came to Lichfield in the beginning of the year 1662, and found his Cathedral in an indescribable state of ruin; 2000 cannon-shot and 1500 hand-grenadoes having been discharged against it. He resolved to restore this venerable edifice to its former magnificence; and the very morning after his arrival he roused his servants by break of day, and set his own coach- horses with teams, and hired labourers, to remove the rubbish. By his own contributions, the benefactions of the Dean and Chapter, and the money which he collected by a personal application to every gentleman in the diocese, this excellent and public-spirited man in eight years completely restored the magnificence of the Cathedral to the admiration of the country.

When the Cathedral was finished, the Bishop consecrated it with great pomp and solemnity, and composed a service for the occasion. The following account of this memorable ceremony is truly interesting:

His Lordship being arrayed in his episcopal vestments, attended by the Dean, Dignitaries, Prebendaries, and other members of the church, accompanied by many of the nobility and gentry, the bailiffs, citizens, and civil officers of the city and county of Lichfield, with an immense concourse of people, entered at the great west doors of the Cathedral. The Vicars, Choristers, etc. first walked up the south aisle of the church, when the Bishop, with a loud voice, repeated the first verse of the 144th psalm. Afterward, the whole choir alternately sang the psalm to the organ. In the same order they proceeded to the north aisle. The Bishop sang the first verse of the 100th psalm, which was repeated by the whole company. Then the train passed to the body of the church, where the Bishop began the 102d psalm, which, when the Vicar's choral had concluded, he com- manded the doors of the choir to be opened, and, in the same form, first encompassed the south side. The Bishop began the first verse of the 122d psalm; the company finished it, and, with the like ceremony, proceeded to the north side, and sang the 131st psalm. At the conclusion of the procession, Bishop Hackett went to the faldisdroy, in the centre of the choir, and, after praying privately, he with a loud voice called upon the people to join him in the Lord's Prayer, and other devotions, suitable to the awful occasion. He pronounced a solemn blessing upon the act in which they were engaged, and upon all that were present. Then followed the usual service of Morning prayer, two especial anthems being added, contributions made for the poor, etc The expences of the repairs of the Cathedral amounted to £9092. 1s. 71/2d. of which Bishop Hackett contributed out of his own purse the sum of £1,683. 12s.

DESCRIPTION OF LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL IN ITS MODERN STATE.

The extent of this edifice from east to west is 411 feet in length, and from north to south 67 feet in breadth. It is adorned by three light and elegant spires; the central spire is 258 feet 7 inches high, and the two others in the west front 183 feet. The south steeple contains ten bells.

The west front is adorned with a rich variety of sculpture particularly several figures the subjects of which were taken from Sacred history. They are now rather indistinct, several of them having been injured during the sieges of the Close. It is to be regretted that the reddish stone of which the western front and its ornaments are composed, is porable and of a very perishable nature. It was, however, easily wrought by the sculptor, and as the stone was to be procured in the neighbourhood, any mutilations might be the more readily replaced. Bishop Hackett repaired such figures as had been defaced; and although time has again considerably injured them, they present a variety of curious and interesting objects, the effect of which is peculiarly grand and impressive. On the top of the pointed roof, between the two spires, a statue of Charles II. was placed by Bishop Hackett on the spot where a figure of Adam formerly stood, and on both sides of the steeples were the figures of the Patriarchs. The next two rows of figures represent Judges, Prophets, and Prophetesses, and below them the Kings of Judah and Israel in various attitudes, and amongst others that of King David playing on the harp.

Over the centre of the beautiful porch is the figure of a Bishop, supposed to be St. Chadd. Within the porch the four Evangelists are represented, holding the Gospels in their hands. On the two sides of the porch stood Moses and Aaron, and between the two great doors stands the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus in her arms. On the top of the central pillar, there is a figure of Christ between two Cherubs, with his arms open, inviting all those that are heavy laden to come unto him, and he would give them rest, as it is said in the gospel of St. Matthew, ii. 28. On the outside, the vacant spaces in the walls between the doors were filled with the statues of the twelve Apostles, but they were removed in 1749 by Dean Penny, The ornaments in sculpture around the doors were originally very elegant and beautiful, but they are now much defaced by violence and time. Over the west doors, a magnificent circular window was made at the expense of James II. In 1776, the Rev. Dr. Addenbrooke, who was Dean of Lichfield upwards of thirty years, adorned this window with painted glass.

The northern and southern entrances are also adorned with a variety of ornaments, particularly the former, which is beautified with sculptured mouldings, three of foliage, and three of small figures in ovals. In one of the lowest is the representation of a Bishop baptizing a person kneeling before him. Antiquaries suppose that the former was intended to represent St. Chadd, the original founder of the Cathedral, and the latter Wulferus, whom he converted to Christianity. The roof of this Cathedral was formerly covered with lead, but it grew so out of repair that the Dean and Chapter were obliged to substitute slates on account of the smallness of the revenue left to maintain the grandeur of this ancient pile. The western doors open in the main body of the Church, which is lofty and spacious, supported by pillars formed by a variety of slender columns with foliated capitals. Along the walls of the aisles are rows of false arches in the gothic style, with a seat beneath each. The upper rows of windows are triangular. The length of the body of the Cathedral from the west door to the choir, is 213 feet, the breadth 153 feet; the breadth of the side aisles 67 feet, and the height of the nave 60 feet.

In the year 1788, the present Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and the Dean and Chapter, circulated an address throughout the diocese, inviting individuals to contribute by subscription to the internal improvement of this Cathedral. Upwards of £5000 was soon collected, but as the sum requisite, was, according to the estimate of Mr. Wyatt, the architect, nearly £6000, the borrowed sum of £1800 was added as a debt upon the edifice. The improvements suggested by Mr. Wyatt were then speedily realized. The pulpit and pews in the nave were removed, the decayed brick floor taken up, and a new floor of Derbyshire Hopton stone laid instead of the former. The choir was also enlarged, by throwing it and St. Mary's Chapel into one, and it is now sufficiently capacious to contain the whole congregation. In the upper part of the choir are nine windows, three on each side, and three at the end. In the central window at the east end is a fine painting of the Resurrection, from a design by Sir Joshua Reynolds. The chaste but brilliant effect of the preternatural light, the graceful form of the ascending Saviour, and the animated expression of the countenance, have excited the admiration of all visitors, and the approbation of connoisseurs.

In 1797, the groins, walls, and roof of the north transept underwent a thorough repair, the whole edifice was completely pointed, the middle spire taken down a considerable way and rebuilt with renovated beauty, and new buttresses erected to support the south transept.

The Chapter-House is an octagon of two long and six short sides, ornamented with gothic arches: the approach to it is from the north choral aisle, through an arched passage: above it is the library, of the same form. It contains some curious manuscripts, the most remarkable of which is called St. Chadd's Gospels, not because it was used by that venerable man, but because it was used in his church. It is said to be 1000 years old, but no antiquary has hitherto been able to ascertain the fact: the writing is in ancient Saxon characters, illuminated with several drawings. There is also a manuscript copy of Pope Nicholas's Valor, a fairly- written folio of Chaucer's poems, illuminated, and a beautiful heraldic list of the Knights of the Garter, etc. This library contains a copy of the Koran, taken from the Turks at the siege of Buda. There is also a considerable collection of printed books, chiefly on divinity.

The Close contains several houses, built at a convenient distance from the Cathedral, so as to allow a sufficient space for passengers. The Bishop's palace is situated at the north-east corner of the Close: it is a spacious edifice of stone, adorned with the arms of the bishopric in front, with the date 1687. This palace is generally occupied by tenants, the Bishops having for ages chosen Eccleshall Castle for their residence. Westward of the palace stands the Dean's mansion, re-built in the reign of Queen Anne. The houses of the Prebendaries are situated in different parts of the Close. The vicarage consists of two small quadrangles of houses, situated in the north-west corner. Several other handsome buildings occupy the rest of the Close, the most remarkable of which is a building of brick, faced with stone, at the west entrance, erected by Andrew Newton, Esq. and liberally endowed by him, for the reception and support of twenty aged and necessitous widows, or unmarried daughters of clergymen. This structure is supposed to occupy the scite of the ancient Castle.

From the first foundation of Lichfield Cathedral in 655 to the present year, 1816, or more than eleven centuries and a half, eighty Bishops, many of them men eminent for learning and piety, have been seated in the episcopal chair. The members of Lichfield Cathedral are a Dean, Precentor, Chancellor, and Treasurer; a Sacrist, Sub-sacrist, Organist, eight Choristers, and two Vergers. The Cathedral is governed by the Dean and six Canons, who constitute the Chapter, and hold their court every alternate Friday to hear and determine causes. The Close is a peculiar jurisdiction, distinct from and independent of the city of Lichfield, and the county of Stafford, the Dean and Canons being sole justices within its precincts.

According to the population returns of 1801, the three parishes of Lichfield contained:
.........................Houses Inhabited.....Families......Males......Females.
Saint Mary..................444.....................498...........1058.........1364
Saint Michael.............187.....................227............450.............457
Saint Chadd...............242.....................264............537..............646
Total..........................873.....................989...........2045...........2467

In the census for 1811:
Saint Mary...............450.....................487..........1069............1313
Saint Michael..........214.....................237...........476...............518
Saint Chadd.............291....................317...........614...............791
Total........................955..................1041..........2159............2622

Before the Civil war between Charles I. and the Parliament, there were many handsome altar-tombs of Bishops, and other eminent characters, interred in this Cathedral, and above one hundred coats of arms, and other heraldic ornaments, in painted glass, in the windows, all of which were defaced or destroyed by the licentious soldiery belonging to the republican army. The Cathedral is now adorned with several modern monuments to the memory of individuals, among which the following are most remarkable.

On the north side of the west door, the large mural monument of marble, erected to the memory of Lancelot Addison, reminds us of his eminent son, whose writings improved the morals and the literature of Englishmen. On the south side a monument of mixed marble is inscribed to the memory of Gilbert Walmsley, the friend and early patron of Dr. Johnson.

A marble monument, to the west of the north door, is remarkably elegant. It represents a female figure leaning upon an urn, or Beauty weeping over the ashes of her preserver. The urn is inscribed with the cypher M. W. M. and the following epitaph:

Sacred to the memory of
the Right Honourable
Lady Mary Wortley Montague,
who happily introduced, from Turkey
into this country,
the salutary art
of inoculating the small-pox.
Convinced of its efficacy,
she first tried it with success
on her own children,
and then recommended the practice of it
to her fellow-citizens.
Thus, by her example and advice,
we have softened the virulence,
and escaped the danger, of this malignant disease.
To perpetuate the memory of such benevolence,
and to express her gratitude
for the benefit she herself received
from this alleviating art,
this monument is erected by
Henrietta Inge,
relict of Theodore William Inge, Esq.
and daughter of Sir John Wrottesley, Bart.
in the year of our Lord m.dcc.lxxxix.

Near the south door, a large and beautiful mural monument, erected by conjugal affection to the memory of a virtuous and patient wife, attracts the attention of the curious visitor. It is adorned with a celestial crown, and other emblems of immortality, with the following inscription:

Lucy Grove,
eldest daughter of Edward Sneyd, Esquire,
and wife of William Grove, Esq. LL. D.
late of Coventry, now of Lichfield Close,
died the sixth of December,
M.DCC.LXXXVII. in the
fortieth year of her age,
and the twentieth of her marriage, leaving
two sons, and two daughters
Grief, love, and gratitude, devote this stone
To her, whose virtues bless'd an husband's life,
When late in duty's sphere she mildly shone,
As friend, as sister, daughter, mother, wife,
In the bright morn of beauty, joy, and wealth,
Insidious palsy near his victim drew:
Dash'd from her youthful hand the cup of health,
And round her limbs his numbing fetters threw.
Year after year her Christian firmness strove
To check the rising sigh, the tear repress;
Soothe with soft smiles the fears of anxious love,
And Heaven's correcting hand in silence bless.
Thus tried her faith, and thus prepar'd her heart,
The awful call at length th' Almighty gave,
She heard - resign'd to linger or depart
Bow'd her meek head and sunk into the grave.

In 1793, two monuments were erected against the east wall of the south transept, to the memory of Dr. Johnson and David Garrick; the former at the expense of the gentlemen of the Close, and the latter by the widow of the English Roscius. They are of mixed marble, alike in size and form: the busts, of white marble, are not considered good likenesses of the great originals. Upon the sarcophagus, under the bust of Garrick, is the following inscription:

Eva Maria, relict of David Garrick, Esq.
caused this monument to be erected to the memory
of her beloved husband,
who died the 20th of January, 1779, aged 63 years.
He had not only the qualities of private life,
but such astonishing dramatic talents,
as too well verified the observation of his friend,
'His death eclipsed the gaiety of nations,
and impoverished the public stock of harmless
pleasure.' - Johnson.

The inscription under the bust of Dr. Johnson is equally comprehensive and panegyrical:
The friends of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.
A native of Lichfield,
erected this monument,
as a tribute of respect to the memory of
a man of extensive learning,
a distinguished moral writer, and a sincere Christian
He died the 13th of December, 1784,
aged 75 years.