Chatham Vase facts for kids

The Chatham Vase is a stone sculpture by John Bacon commissioned as a memorial to William Pitt the Elder by his wife, Hester, Countess of Chatham. It was originally erected at their house in Burton Pynsent in 1781. It was subsequently moved to Stowe House but sold in 1848, then purchased in 1857 by a member of the family and installed at Revesby Abbey. It was moved to the grounds of Chevening House in 1934, where it currently resides. It is currently grade II listed.

Pedestal inscription

The inscription on the pedestal reads:

Sacred to pure affection

This simple urn

Stands a witness of unceasing grief for him who

Excelling in whatever is so admirable

and adding to the exercise of the sublimest virtues

The sweet charm of refined sentiment and polished wit

By gay social commerce

Rendered beyond comparison happy

The course of domestic life

and bestowed a felicity inexpressible on her

Whose faithful love was blessed in a pure return

That raised her above every other joy but the parental one

and that still shared with him

His generous country with public monuments has eternised his fame

This humble tribute is but to soothe the sorrowing breast of private woe