STATUES AND MEMORIALS IN THE BRITISH ISLES.
(See 10 S. xi. 441; xii. 51, 114, 181, 401; 11 S. i. 282; ii. 42, 381; iii. 22, 222, 421; iv. 181, 361; v. 62, 143, 481; vi. 4, 284, 343; vii. 64, 144, 175, 263, 343, 442; viii. 4, 82, 183.)
Religious Leaders: Preachers, Theologians, &c.
St. Augustine.
Ebbsfleet, Isle of Thanet.—On the "desolate headland" where Augustine and his missionaries from Rome landed in A.D. 597, Earl Granville placed a Celtic cross in 1884. It is 18ft. high, and on the side facing the sea bears the following inscription:—
Augustinus
Ad Rutupina littora in insula Thaneti
post tot terræ marisque labores
tandem advectus
Hoc in loco cum Ethelberto rege congressus
primam apud nostrates concionem habuit
et fidem Christianam
Quæ per totam Anglicanam mira celeritate
diffusa est
feliciter inauguravit
A.D. DXCVII.
—
Quarum rerum
ut apud Anglos servetur memoria
hoc monumentum ponendum curavit
G. G. L. G. Comes Granville, portuum custos
A.D. MDCCCLXXXIV.
The thirteen hundredth anniversary of Augustine's landing was celebrated at Ebbsfleet, Canterbury, London, &c., in 1897.
Wiclif.
Lutterworth.—Just outside the village, at the junction of the Coventry and Hinckley roads, an obelisk was erected to commemorate Wiclif in 1897. On the base are the following inscriptions:—
John Wycliffe
Born 1324
Died 1384
Rector of Lutterworth
from 1374 to 1384
The Morning Star of the Reformation
The First Translator of the Bible
into the English Language
—
Search the Scriptures
The entrance of Thy Words giveth Light
Be followers of Them who thro' Faith
and Patience inherit the Promises.
Be Thou faithful unto Death.
—
Erected in the 60th year
of the reign of
Her Most Gracious Majesty
Queen Victoria, June, 1897.
At a cost of 500l., raised by subscription in 1837, a mural memorial of Wiclif was erected in the church. It is placed at the east end of the north aisle wall, near where he is supposed to have been buried. It is the- work of Sir R. Westmacott, R.A., and consists of an alto-rilievo of white marble, representing various figures—students, priests and others, in an attitude of deep attention around the grand figure of the Reformer, who, with hand uplifted, is in the act of addressing, them. Below is the following inscription:—
Sacred to the memory of
John Wiclif
the earliest champion of ecclesiastical reformation in England. | He was born in Yorkshire in the year 1324, | in the year 1375 he was presented to the rectory of Lutterworth: | where he died on the 31st of December 1384. | At Oxford he acquired not only the renown of a consummate Schoolman, | but the far more glorious title of Evangelic Doctor. | His whole life was one impetuous struggle against the corruptions | and encroachments of the Papal Court, | and the impostures of its devoted auxiliaries, the Mendicant Fraternities. | His labours in the cause of Scriptural truth were crowned by one immortal achievement, his translation of the Bible into the English tongue. | This mighty work drew on him, indeed, the bitter hatred | of all who were making merchandize of the popular credulity and ignorance: | but he found an abundant reward in the blessings of his countrymen, of every rank and age, | to whom he unfolded the words of Eternal Life. | His mortal remains were interred near this spot: but they were not allowed to rest in peace. | After the lapse of many years, his bones were dragged from the grave and consigned to the flames | and his ashes were cast into the adjoining stream.
John Bunyan.
Bedford.—On 10 June, 1874, a bronze statue of John Bunyan was unveiled by Lady Augusta Stanley. It was presented to the town by the Duke of Bedford, and stands on St. Peter's Green, a spot where five roads meet. The pedestal is of granite, and on the four sides are placed bronze relievos of scenes in 'The Pilgrim's Progress.' The sculptor was Sir J. E. Boehm, R.A., the head being copied
"from a contemporary painting by Sadler, now in possession of the Rev. Mr. Olive; and the costume is in accordance with that of the period. The attitude is that of a preacher, holding the open Bible in his left hand, the fingers of his right hand resting upon it. . . .At his feet have fallen the symbols of his prison."
The three tons of metal used in casting the statue were provided "from bronze cannon and bells recently brought from China." Below the statue appears Bunyan's signature in facsimile, and on the pedestal is inscribed:—
