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Death, Time and Commerce: Innovation and Conservatism in Styles of Funerary Material Culture in 18Th-19Th Century London

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Death, Time and Commerce: Innovation and Conservatism in Styles of Funerary Material Culture in 18Th-19Th Century London Death, Time and Commerce: innovation and conservatism in styles of funerary material culture in 18th-19th century London Sarah Ann Essex Hoile UCL Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD Declaration I, Sarah Ann Essex Hoile confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signature: Date: 2 Abstract This thesis explores the development of coffin furniture, the inscribed plates and other metal objects used to decorate coffins, in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century London. It analyses this material within funerary and non-funerary contexts, and contrasts and compares its styles, production, use and contemporary significance with those of monuments and mourning jewellery. Over 1200 coffin plates were recorded for this study, dated 1740 to 1853, consisting of assemblages from the vaults of St Marylebone Church and St Bride’s Church and the lead coffin plates from Islington Green burial ground, all sites in central London. The production, trade and consumption of coffin furniture are discussed in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 investigates coffin furniture as a central component of the furnished coffin and examines its role within the performance of the funeral. Multiple aspects of the inscriptions and designs of coffin plates are analysed in Chapter 5 to establish aspects of change and continuity with this material. In Chapter 6 contemporary trends in monuments are assessed, drawing on a sample recorded in churches and a burial ground, and the production and use of this above-ground funerary material culture are considered. In Chapter 7 a dated sample of mourning jewellery is explored in order to place the funerary objects of this study within a broader contemporary context. Limited innovation is identified in coffin furniture, in contrast with monuments and mourning jewellery, and it is suggested that its conservatism relates to the role of undertakers in its selection, as well as to the particular circumstances of its use. It is argued that coffin furniture was an important aspect of funerary rituals of this period and can be interpreted as one aspect of a broader emphasis on commemoration and the use of objects to materialise and manage experiences of separation and loss. 3 Impact Statement This thesis aims to contribute to archaeological and historical understanding of funerary material culture of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries through the analysis of coffin furniture. It draws on a range of comparative material to place it within a broad context of commercialisation and commemoration. Future dissemination of the findings will aim to reach researchers in the fields of post-medieval archaeology and historical material culture and funerary studies. This research could also be of broader public interest, particularly in the light of recent high-profile archaeological work on burials of this period. In both cases, engagement based on this research could have longer-term impact on narratives around the development of the funerary industry and burial in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The most direct impact of this thesis is likely to be within the study of coffin furniture in both commercial and academic contexts. This could include projects in the UK and in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, where British-made coffin furniture of this period has been recovered through archaeological excavation. Printed copies of this thesis will be sent to the sites of the primary collections studied so that future researchers will have direct access to this study which analyses and contextualises these collections. These are likely to include academic researchers from a range of disciplines and others, including church parishioners and volunteers, with an interest in aspects of these sites and collections. The research undertaken at the Museum of London has already contributed to enhanced catalogue entries for the objects studied and the additional analysis and contextualisation of this material within the thesis could contribute to future research of this collection. This thesis may have longer-term incremental impact on how the academic and heritage sector develop methodologies for interpreting eighteenth- and nineteenth-century burials and funerary material culture. This is likely to be of particular relevance over the next few years as forthcoming developments result in increased archaeological work in this area. 4 Notes on the text Missing or illegible words or phrases in inscriptions are indicated with square brackets, with ellipses used where it is not possible to reconstruct the text. Abbreviations used in citations: BM British Museum CWA City of Westminster Archives JJ Trade Cards John Johnson Collection JJZ John Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera, Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, Zegami LL FIR London Lives, Fire Insurance Policy Register, 1777-1786 MERL Museum of English Rural Life MoL Museum of London MoLAA Museum of London Archaeological Archive OBP Old Bailey Proceedings Online ROLLCO Records of London’s Livery Companies Online TNA The National Archives V&A Victoria and Albert Museum YCBA Yale Center for British Art YORCM York Castle Museum Details of the objects and archival documents cited are given in the bibliography. 5 Contents Title page .................................................................................................................................... 1 Declaration ................................................................................................................................. 2 Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Impact statement ....................................................................................................................... 4 Notes on the text ....................................................................................................................... 5 Contents ...................................................................................................................................... 6 List of figures ............................................................................................................................. 7 List of tables ............................................................................................................................... 14 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... 17 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 19 1 Context .................................................................................................................................... 26 2 Materials .................................................................................................................................. 55 3 Production, trade and consumption .................................................................................... 81 4 Coffin furniture in use ........................................................................................................... 105 5 The development of coffin furniture, c.1750-1850 ........................................................... 140 6 Monuments: Comparing styles above and below ground ................................................ 179 7 Mourning jewellery ................................................................................................................ 235 8 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 269 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 281 6 List of figures Photographs are by the author and reproduced by permission of the organisations credited. 0.1 ‘A man kneeling and praying at a tomb in a cemetery is joined by another gentleman’. Line engraving by Taylor after J. Thurston (1774-1822), 11.6 x 7.8 cm. Wellcome Collection. CC BY 4.0. ...................................................... 20 1.1 The first page of a trade catalogue of coffin furniture, dated c.1783 by the decorative letters illustrated. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (YCBA L 201.15 Folio B, 3) ...................................................................... 39 2.1 Map of central London showing the sites of the coffin furniture assemblages included in this study. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right (2019) ............................................................................................... 56 2.2 Mortality curve of individuals identified from coffin plates from St Marylebone and St George’s Bloomsbury crypts. Data for St George’s Bloomsbury from Boston et al. 2009, 96. .................................................................... 62 2.3 Lead coffin plate of 1826 with a stamped border from St Bride’s Church recording Sarah Edkins (70728) and her son Edward Edkins (70727, plate 1277), courtesy of St Bride’s Church. © Museum of London ................................. 66 2.4 Coffin plates of Robert Mael Seawell (d.1764, 71256) from Christ Church Greyfriars (MoLAA CCN80). © Museum of London ............................................. 68 2.5 Decorated ‘shield
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