“Sir John Phelips” by Sir Francis Chantrey

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Monument to Sir John Phelips

Sir Francis Chantrey

1835

Marble

Wells Cathedral

Somerset

Margaret Whinney in Sculpture in Britain 1530-1830 (page 411) comments that "By no means all Chantrey's monuments in relief show mourning ladies...Perhaps the most successful of the seated men because the most informal is the Sir John Phelips (d. 1834) Wells Cathedral, Somerset who is quite frankly shown in a dressing gown."

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Inscription

Photograph and text by Tim Willasey-Wilsey.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL.]

The Reverend W. Phelips (a relative) writes in his History and Antiguities of Somersetshire of 1839, “Under the window at the east end of the aisle is an elegant monument of white marble, raised to record the worth of an active and intelligent magistrate of the county of Somerset, whose character is admirably delineated in the inscription below. He is represented seated in a chair in his study, clad in a loose robe, in the attitude of deep cogitation, holding in his right hand a pen, and the other hanging over the back of his chair. The head is remarkably fine, and bears a striking resemblance to its amiable original. An elegant cornice, surmounted by the Tudor flower, terminates the monument. On the tablet is the following inscription:

Sacred to the memory of John Phelips of Montacute, in this county, esquire, descended from a line of ancestors whose names for two centuries and a half abound in the annals of the county. He succeeded at an early age to his paternal estates, and sustained the wonted hospitality of his house. He soon became a most active and intelligent magistrate. In 1815 was High Sheriff, and in 1819 was unanimously placed in one of the chairs of the Court of Quarter Sessions; a station which he continued to fill until acute disease suddenly stopped his career of usefulness, on the 20th of April, 1834, at the premature age of 50 years. In testimony of the admiration and respect excited throughout the county by the able exercise of his judicial function, in which, though not educated to the law, he was equalled by few, surpassed by none, this monument is erected by his surviving friends.

Bibliography

Pevsner, Nikolaus, and Alexandra Wedgwood. Warwickshire. London: Penguin Books, 1990.

Last modified 9 July 2016