Memorial to Earl of Ellesmere, Ellesmere Chapel, Worsley

Memorial to Earl of Ellesmere, Ellesmere Chapel, Worsley

Sir George Gilbert Scott was commissioned by Ellesmere's eldest son, the second Earl, to design a memorial to his father. The Earl was buried in a vault in St Mark's below the family chapel, which was extended so that its east wall was level with the east wall of the chancel, and Scott placed a fine table-tomb in a new arch between the chancel and the chapel. The memorial takes the form of a recumbent figure of the Earl in the robes of the Order of the Garter and was carved by Matthew Noble (1817-1876) in white marble. The base is a highly decorative solid chest in Caen stone, by Philip, and an ironwork screen, which separates the chapel from the chancel, is considered to have been the work of Francis Skidmore (1816-1896), who was another of Scott's favourite craftsmen at that time. The Ellesmere Chapel is, said to have been ‘as impressive an example of Victorian craftsmanship of that character as could be found anywhere’.

Memorial to 2nd Earl of Ellesmere, Worsley

The second Earl died only five years after his father, on 19 September 1862, and was buried at St Mark's, where he is commemorated by a plain red granite slab with incised decoration, which was inserted into an arched recess on the south side of the family chapel. This is so typical of the dignified memorial slabs that Scott was designing at that time that it seems very likely to have been his work.