Object Details

Monument to Arabella, Duchess of Dorset

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Location
Makers
General Information
Classification
Object Parts
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Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright for Photograph:

Creative Commons

Location

Street:B2110 Withyham Road
Town:Withyham
Parish:Withyham
Council:Wealden District Council
County:East Sussex
Postcode:TN7
Location on Google Map
Object setting:Inside building
and in:Religious
Access is:Private
Location note:The Sackville Chapel, north east corner of the Parish Church of St. Michael and All Angels
In the AZ book:East Sussex
Page:13
Grid reference:M8
The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks.

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Makers

Name :Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey
     Role:Sculptor

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General Information

Commissioned by: Lady Mary Sackville, Countess of Plymouth and Lady Elizabeth Sackville, Countess De La Warr.
Construction period:1825
Installation date:1825
Work is:Extant
Owner custodian:Earl De La Warr
Description:Set against a dark grey marble background is a sculptural relief under a canopied top depicting the kneeling and weeping figures of the two daughters of Arabella, Duchess of Dorset. They support themselves with their left arms against a draped urn.
Signatures:Signature to eastern side of monument, carved letters:
CHANTREY. SC.
Inscription:To the front of the monument, underneath the relief, carved letters, painted black:

TO THE MEMORY OF
ARABELLA DIANA DUCHESS OF DORSET,
THE HOURS OF HER LAST ILLNESS WERE FEW AND HER DEATH SUDDEN,
BUT HER SORROWING DAUGHTERS HAD THE CONSOLATION OF KNOWING
THAT SHE WAS NOT UNPREPARED TO MEET IT,
FOR IN HER WAS ALL THE PIETY OF A CHRISTIAN
EXTENSIVE CHARITY TO THE INDIGENT
AND CONSTANCY IN EXERCISING THE DUTIES
WHICH ADORN AND RENDER HAPPY DOMESTIC LIFE.
SHE DIED AUGUST 1ST. 1825 IN THE 58TH. YEAR OF HER AGE.

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Classification

Categories:Sculptural, Funerary, Commemorative
Object type1:Sculpture
Object type2:Relief
Subject type1:Figurative
Subject type2:Portrait

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Object Parts

Part 1:Whole monument
     Material:White and dark grey marble
     Height (cm):285
     Width (cm):160
     Depth (cm):36

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Object Condition

Overall condition:Good
Risk assessment:No known risk
Date of on-site inspection:22/02/2008

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History

History:Arabella Diana Cope (1768 -1 August 1825) was the daughter of Sir Charles Cope and Catherine Bisshopp. She was the widow of John Frederick Cranfield Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset (25 March 1745 – 19 July 1799) and later married Lord Whitworth. Her two daughters, who commissioned the monument, were Lady Mary Sackville, Countess of Plymouth (30 Jul 1792 - 20 Jul 1864) and Lady Elizabeth Sackville-West, Countess De La Warr (11 September 1795 - 9 January 1870).

The Sackville Chapel was added to the church by Richard Sackville 5th Earl of Dorset (16 September 1622 – 27 August 1677). On 16 June 1663, the whole church was largely destroyed after a lightning strike. The heat generated was so great that even the bells melted. The original Sackville monuments were completely destroyed. The church was rebuilt but did not reopen until 1672 and the rebuilding of the Sackville Chapel was not completed for another eight years. The chapel is unusual in that it does not come under the jurisdiction of the Bishop but is privately owned by the 11th Earl De La Warr, who is patron of the church. The church was given a Grade I listing because of the monuments.
(Source: ‘The Sackville Chapel’)

This entry is included in the database with kind permission and support from Countess De La Warr.

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References

Source 1 :
     Title:'The Sackville Chapel'
     Type:Book
     Author:Countess De La Warr, & Innes-Smith, Robert.
     Publisher:English Life Publications Ltd. Derby.

Source 2 :
     Title:'Historical Notices of the Parish of Withyham in the County of Sussex, With a Description of the Church and Sackville Chapel'
     Type:Book
     Author:Sackville-West, Reginald Windsor.
     Page:58-100
     Publisher:John Russell Smith. London.


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Photographs





Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons

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