Monuments

SPCAA/SP/3

1890-1977

{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang2057{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 MS Shell Dlg;}} \viewkind4\uc1\pard\f0\fs17 The sub-series contains files concerning the erection of monuments and memorials commemorating individuals and corporate bodies in the cathedral. Permission from the Dean and Chapter was required to erect a memorial, either on the church floor or, more commonly in the 20th century, in the Crypt (recorded in Chapter Minutes, held in the Cathedral Library). Designs for all new memorials had to be approved both by Chapter and those involved in the commissioning process. Although some of the people commemorated in the Cathedral are also interred at St Paul's, many of the memorials, both individual and corporate, are cenotaphs and there is a particularly strong tradition of regimental memorialisation. Up until the end of the 19th century intramural burial took place in the Crypt but was generally reserved for members of clergy, privileged officers of the cathedral and famous people or very high ranking members of the forces. The Surveyor, Somers Clark (1897-1906) objected strongly to the deliterious effect this had on the foundations of the building and gradually burial was superseded by cremation. Since the 1930s almost all interments have been subsequent to cremation and the ashes are often marked by separate Ashes Tiles in the Crypt, close to the memorial of the deceased. For information on burials and cremations, see the modern burial registers (1814-) held in the Cathedral Library. Coverage of the process of erecting memorials in the cathedral is variable within each file and dependent on how far the Surveyor became involved in each case. His role generally involved correspondence with the artist commissioned to design a memorial, or the artist's agent, and with other interested parties, such as the relatives of the deceased, or the commissioners of the work. Occasionally the Surveyor designed the memorial, and staff at the Cathedral, acting on the Surveyor's instructions, always fixed the memorial for which work they invoiced the person who commissioned it. If necessary the provided the foundation-work. With a few exceptions, most of the paperwork in the sub-series concerns these practical processes of commission and design. The bulk of each file is generally correspondence, but this is also occasionally accompanied by sketches, draft inscriptions and sample lettering, accounts and invoices. The funeral arrangements are rarely mentioned, but for many commissions there was an associated unveiling ceremony and occasionally the printed Order of Service was kept in the file (a more substantial collection of Orders of Service is held in the Cathedral Library). The majority of the files record new memorial commissions, although the sub-series also includes any additional works on, or inscriptions added to, existing memorials in the Cathedral.\par }

166 files

Monuments and memorials, burials, cremations

Access is strictly by appointment only with the architectural archivist. Material dating from 1990 to the present day is not currently available for public consultation. Some records are subject to a closure period of 75 years under the Data Protection Act.