Monument To Grace Darling
History and description
Grace Darling's rescue, with her father, of nine survivors from the SS Forfarshire made her a national heroine. Darling received the Gold Medal for Bravery from the Royal Humane Society, the Silver Medal for Gallantry from the precursor of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, and a tribute fund included a contribution of £50 from Queen Victoria. Her death from tuberculosis four years later was an occasion of national mourning. Buried in the churchyard of St Aidan's, she was additionally commemorated by a large funerary monument to the north of her grave, designed by Anthony Salvin. Salvin's choice of Portland stone for the memorial was unfortunate, it weathered badly and by 1885 complete reconstruction was required. The original effigy of Darling was moved into the church and a replacement, carved from stone donated by William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong of Bamburgh Castle, was designed by C. R. Smith. Further damage was caused by a storm in 1895, and the canopy was replaced to a design by W. S. Hicks. In 2013, the 175th anniversary of the rescue was commemorated with a service.
Sir Nickolaus Pevsner and Ian Richmond, in the Northumbrian edition of the Buildings of England describe the monument as a "Gothic shrine". The style is Decorated Gothic. The recumbent effigy of Darling lies under a three-arched canopy with "metal colonettes" and topped by finials. The monument was given a Grade II* listing designation in 1969.
Notes
- ^ The Story of St Aidan's Church, Bamburgh, with notes on the Castle (18th edition, post 1981), p.25. British Publishing Company, Gloucester.
- ^ "1838: Grace Darling - Timeline - Our history". rnli.org. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ GraceDarling.co.uk. "Grace Darling Memorial". www.gracedarling.co.uk. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ Shute, Joe (7 September 2013). "Grace Darling anniversary: remembering 'the goddess of the sea'". Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2018 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ Pevsner & Richmond 2002, p. 154.
- ^ "Public Monuments and Sculptures Association". www.pmsa.org.uk. Archived from the original on 1 September 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ Historic England. "Monument to Grace Darling (Grade II*) (1206625)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
Sources
- Pevsner, Nikolaus; Richmond, Ian (2002). Northumberland. The Buildings Of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09638-5.