William Pitt and family

Statesman

William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham, was twice Prime Minister and was buried in the north transept of Westminster Abbey on 9th June 1778. His was a magnificent public funeral. A stone, only measuring one foot square, was placed over the burial vault with just his initials on it (in the centre part of the transept and adjoining the Wilberforce grave). Later a slightly larger stone was laid down which included his name and dates and those of his son William. Only a small part of this inscription can now be made out.

His monument

His large monument of white marble, by sculptor John Bacon, is nearly 33 feet high and cost £6,000. At the base sits Britannia holding her trident, and below her are the reclining figures of Ocean (Neptune) with a dolphin and the female figure of Earth, with a globe, fruit and flowers. Above, on a sarcophagus, sit the figures of Prudence and Fortitude. At the very top, in a niche, is the standing figure of Chatham delivering an oration with arm outstretched. His arm points towards the site of the grave. The inscription reads:

ERECTED BY THE KING AND PARLIAMENT AS A TESTIMONY TO THE VIRTUES AND ABILITY OF WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF CHATHAM; DURING WHOSE ADMINISTRATION IN THE REIGNS OF GEORGE THE SECOND AND GEORGE THE THIRD DIVINE PROVIDENCE EXALTED GREAT BRITAIN TO AN HEIGHT OF PROSPERITY AND GLORY UNKNOWN TO ANY FORMER AGE. BORN 15 NOVEMBER 1708. DIED 11 MAY 1778.

His life

William was born in 1708, the younger son of Robert Pitt of Cornwall and Harriet, daughter of the Hon. Edward Villiers of Ireland. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge and entered Parliament in 1735. Although he suffered from gout and ill health he was known as a great orator in Parliament. He pressed for peace with America in 1777, which he declared could not be conquered, but his request for the recall of British troops was unsuccessful.

In 1754 he married Hester, daughter of Richard Grenville. She was buried with him on 16th April 1803 aged 83. Their son John (born 1756) succeeded as 2nd Earl of Chatham and served in the army, becoming Lord Privy Seal and governor at various times of Plymouth, Jersey and Gibraltar. His wife Mary Elizabeth Townshend, a daughter of Thomas, 1st Viscount Sydney, was buried in the vault on 30th May 1821 aged 59. As they had no children the title became extinct. John was buried on 3rd October 1835.

Another son James (1761-1781) died while serving in the navy. Their daughters were Hester, who married Lord Mahon, and Harriet who married the Honourable Edward Eliot at St Margaret's Westminster on 4th September 1785. Lady Harriet was buried with her father on 2nd October 1786.

Wax effigy

William's lifelike wax effigy, wearing Parliamentary robes and wig, is on display in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries in the Abbey triforium. The wax head and hands were made by American sculptor Patience Wright. Her daughter Phoebe helped set up the figure in 1778 in the upper Islip chapel where other wax effigies were on show.

William Pitt the Younger

William Pitt the Younger was born on 28th May 1759 at Hayes Place in Kent and became Britain's youngest Prime Minister at age 24 in 1783. Like his father he was educated at Cambridge and became a Member of Parliament for Appleby in 1781 and was soon the youngest Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports from 1792 until his death. He was known as an orator and pushed for the abolition of the slave trade with his friend William Wilberforce. Much of his ministry was dominated by the French Revolution and war with France. In 1798 he fought a duel with M.P. George Tierney. He left office in 1801 due to ill health but served a second term from 1804-1806.

He died of exhaustion through overwork, leaving many debts, and was buried with his father on 22nd February 1806. The funeral was a more low-key occasion than that for Nelson at St Paul's cathedral a few weeks earlier. His body lay in state for two days in the Painted Chamber at the Palace of Westminster. The procession left Westminster Hall at 12:30pm and entered the west door of the Abbey, with trumpets playing a dirge, and the choirs of the Abbey, the Chapels Royal and St Paul's singing. The coffin was covered by a black velvet pall with eight coats of arms on it. Towards the end of the service selections from Handel's Funeral Anthem were sung.

He died unmarried (having decided not to marry the daughter of Lord Auckland).

His monument

His monument by Sir Richard Westmacott, which cost £6,300, stands above the west entrance door (as there was not room for it near his father in the north transept):

THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED BY PARLIAMENT, TO WILLIAM PITT, SON OF WILLIAM, EARL OF CHATHAM, IN TESTIMONY OF GRATITUDE FOR THE EMINENT PUBLIC SERVICES, AND OF REGRET FOR THE IRREPARABLE LOSS OF THAT GREAT AND DISINTERESTED MINISTER. HE DIED ON THE 23 JANUARY 1806, IN THE 47th YEAR OF HIS AGE.

He stands in a similar pose to his father and at his feet sit the figure of a woman representing History, about to write his words in a book, and a youth in chains representing Anarchy (a reference to the French Revolution).