Nelson & His World

Hello everyone

This is a bit of a daft question! (you can tell I'm still a bit of a Nelson newbie)

Which bit of his 'tomb' is Nelson actually in? By looking at it, you'd think he'd be in the black sarcophagus (that would have been Cardinal Wolsey's) perched on the top. But a pamphlet in St Paul's suggested he's actually in the stone beneath the sarcophagus. Or is he in the ground underneath the whole thing? I'm curious as, having stood next to it alone in the early morning, I wonder how close I actually was to him.

Oddly, I can't seem to find any definitive answers by googling.

Vicki

I am not surprised that you are confused but I am virtually certain that Nelson is in the granite base.

I have a book here titled: "The Man Who Buried Nelson - the surprising life of Robert Mylne." by Robert Ward.

Mylne was surveyor to St Paul's at the time of Nelson's death and played a key role in the funeral arrangements.

Ward states the following: "This multi-tiered layer cake structure has sometimes caused confusion about where precisely the coffin is, but original documents and reliable contemporary texts confirm that it is where it has always been, inside Mylne's rough granite base". He then gives references to Dugdale's "History of St Paul's" and various documents at the National Archive.

But don't forget that 3 of Nelson's close relatives are also nearby i.e. his brother William, William's wife, and their son and Nelson's nephew, Viscount Trafalgar.

They are under the floor close to Nelson's tomb. I asked somebody at the cathedral once how this could possibly be and was told that burial in St Paul's is totally at the discretion of the Dean. So William must have got on the right side of him and obtained permission for these close relatives of Nelson to be buried close by him.

From what I can remember there is a plaque on the wall recording the fact and also an engraved stone set in the floor. The engraving on the latter is almost completely worn away. There is no cover over it and hundreds of tourist feet trample over it each and every day. Sacrilege!!

MB

Thanks for raising the question! I'd always been curious about that.

Oh that's made me happy If Nelson's in the granite base, it means that when I touched it, I was only a couple of feet from him and on the same level. I like that idea.

I must admit, I was one of those people who walked over the plaque on the floor, and I didn't realise til I came back again It is directly in a place where pretty much everyone coming in to or leaving the crypt would have to walk over. It's interesting that anyone can get buried in St Paul's. I wonder what Nelson would have felt about sharing his final resting place with his brother, sister in law and nephew? Do you think if I added the Dean to my christmas card list, he'd be happy enough to let me be buried there?

I do find it odd, though, that it's not been made obvious in any accounts that I've read of his funeral and burial. They all simply say 'he was lowered into the crypt', or words to that effect. And on the face of it, you wouldn't expect a sarcophagus to be placed on top of a tomb, rather than the body be in the sarcophagus. But then again, it's also a bit strange to think of a body being placed high up instead of being buried! The definitions of the words 'coffin', 'sarcophagus', 'crypt' and 'tomb' seem to overlap depending what you read, so it's hard to be 100% sure what the writer is talking about. I guess it's the kind of detail that only an obssessive would care so much about

Thanks Mark

Just to add confusion to this subject, I clearly remember it being stated in at least two accounts of the funeral, that the Garter King of Arms took the broken staves of office from Davison, Hazelwood and Marsh and placed them upon the coffin as it was lowered by machinery into the black sarcophagus.

I was at St Paul's two weeks ago with an American friend of mine, and the lady who was on duty in that part of the crypt, also said in general conversation with us, that Lord Nelson was placed in the sarcophagus.... surely there is 100% accurate information somewhere?