sps1955's photos with the keyword: St Martin

By Giovanni Maria Benzoni of Rome, 1864.

Memorials to members of the Cecil family buried in Kensal Green cemetery: the lower memorial is to Lord Thomas Cecil (1797-1873), "formerly Colonel of 10th Hussars", the second son of the first Marquis of Exeter; the upper memorial is to Lady Sophia Cecil (1809-1902), daughter of Charles, 4th duke of Richmond, "who gave the ball at Brussels (of which she was a spectator) on the eve of Waterloo".

The monument is by Pierre-Étienne Monnot , a French sculptor working in Rome. Although it carries the date 1704, the inscription [of which there is a translation in Samuel Sharp's A handbook of Burghley, Northamptonshire (1851), p.17n] says that the earl commissioned it during his lifetime: "when he was in Italy, whilst he thoroughly examined and as curiously collected the works of choicest art, there he caused this monument to be made, where it could be most exquisitely done". "Being well instructed in polite letters, he went abroad more than once and, from the most refined parts of Europe, brought home much knowledge of antiquities, languages and civil affairs"; his wife, Anne, daughter of William Cavendish, earl of Devonshire, was "the companion of his virtues and travels, and, in a manner, of his studies" - hence, presumably, the book that she holds, as well as the books beneath the cushion on which the earl rests. The flanking figures represent victory and art.

Presumably erected at the behest of the 3rd marquess of Exeter , who had served as Lord Treasurer of the [royal] Household in 1866-7. On succeeding to the marquessate, he was appointed Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms, a post which he continued to hold under Disraeli's premiership, but he never held major political office.

Cecil was one of Queen Elizabeth I's leading advisers, holding the post of Lord Treasurer from 1572 until his death. The monument is attributed to Cornelius Cure , an English-born sculptor of Dutch parentage.

Incorporating 15th-century glass presented to the earl of Exeter, mostly from Tattershall church, re-set by William Peckitt in 1759-60. For details see the RCHM report: www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/stamford/pp6-36 , item 31.

Seen from beneath the early C20 tower screen. The church was rebuilt c.1482-85. The pews date from the internal re-ordering in 1845 designed by Edward Browning and carried out at the expense of the Marquess of Exeter of Burghley House. The tomb of the Marquess's ancestor, William Cecil, 1st baron Burghley , is just visible on the N side of the chancel, with the Cecil family chapel to its N. List description: list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1169102 . RCHM report: www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/stamford/pp6-36 , item 31