Nelson & His World

Mark, I'm learning more and more how dreadfully Nelson was treated, and I don't like it. How could they lay Wellington on top of him for TWO YEARS, no less ? Horatio must have been spinning

I could understand him having a flamboyant funeral had the British lost, to give the country something to ban together for, but obviously Nelson was very important to the country. Could it be that they were still on a high with Nelson's victory and death in the line of duty, (how can you beat that ?) that they wanted to repeat it with Wellington.

I just dont' get it

Margaret

On balance I don't think Nelson was treated too badly.

There have only been 10 or so "commoners" in the whole of British history who were given State funerals and Nelson was one of them. So he is a member of a very select "club".

IMHO it was pretty amazing how they managed to organise that lavish affair in the relatively short period they had available.

MB

Margaret:

I know it seems amazing that it took two years to deal finally with Nelson's remains; but it is not unknown for the final burial to take place after the grand ceremony (and Nelson certainly got that!) I believe King George V1, who died in 1952, was not finally placed in his crypt until 6 years after the State Funeral.

Strangely enough, I have not yet visited Nelson's tomb in St Paul's. I intended to pay my respects after the re-enactment of his funeral ceremony in 2006, but it was closed when I got down there.

To add to what Mark said, Nelson was in fact given his own sarcophagus. What is now the stone base was originally designed and built as a massive sarcophagus for Nelson by Robert Mylne, Surveyor to St Paul’s Cathedral. Cardinal Wolsey’s ornate black marble sarcophagus from Windsor was added on top in 1810.

There was an interesting article in the 2007 Trafalgar Chronicle by Robert Ward, which describes how Robert Mylne invited Matthew Boulton before the funeral to deposit a set of coins and medals inside the tomb in the sand below the coffin. The preparations were quite elaborate, with the coins and medals placed in pulverised glass between two panes of glass, sealed with a frame to keep the air out in order to preserve the condition of the coins and medals. No list of what was to be deposited has been found, but it seems it was to be quite an extensive collection.

Robert Mylne was himself also buried in the crypt inbetween Nelson and Sir Christopher Wren.

Mark,

I thought you were talking about what I'd written for a minute.

Yes, I imagined you'd like that. I always thought that Nelson's funeral car was eventually dismantled at Greenwich, with parts such as the drapes and the figurehead being saved - and why, actually, wasn't the whole car preserved? So far as I know, Nelson was the only one to use it. I can also remember seeing Wellington's funeral car in St Paul's (as you say a bit spooky.) Whatever happened to it? Perhaps it was moved to his home at Stratfield Saye? You are right, the body of SWC was carried on a gun carriage at his funeral, which I can also remember seeing on television, although I can't remember if it was the same one used for Royal funerals.

I sometimes think that these 'well, what do you know,' journalistic inventions, are only clever - if they get the facts right!

Margaret,

I am certain no disrespect was shown towards Nelson following Wellington's funeral; it all boils down to the logistics of moving one coffin over the tomb of someone else, which happens to be in the way. As Mark has said, he is in a select 'club' and that, together with all the honour and regard shown towards him down to this day, can't be taken away from him through what we might perceive as a slight. To be fair to Wellington he was a great war leader in his own right and was equally deserving of a State Funeral. This in no way diminishes Nelson's achievements, but recognises that both men were needed to defeat Napoleon, one on land and one at sea. In fact Wellington thought a good deal of Nelson, he met him briefly at the War office for about an hour in early 1805 and came away thinking him a superior being. Later it was the navy that Nelson had nurtured, and which Wellington acknowledged, that kept the latter's army in the field, both during the Peninsula War and the later Napoleonic War up to his victory at Waterloo.

With all the haste in preparing for Nelson's funeral, perhaps nobody thought much of the fact that, with Nelson being given such a prime position under the dome, it would be difficult to lower anybody else down there. Maybe someone should have thought of that!

Anna,

I hope you consoled yourself with a cup of coffee in the Crypt cafe, as I did once when I found the gates shut!