“Foot of Bishop Wilberforce's tomb,” by H. H. Armstead and Sir George Gilbert Scott

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Foot of Bishop Wilberforce,” by H. H. Armstead and Sir George Gilbert Scott

Foot of Bishop Samuel Wilberforce's Tomb

H. H. Armstead (sculptor)

Sir George Gilbert Scott (architect)

1873

South Transept, Nave, Winchester Cathedral

Hampshire

Other Views and Related Material

Wilberforce's Review of The Origin of Species (1860)

St John depicted as an eagle (stained glass” by William Burges)

Photograph and text Jacqueline Banerjee

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Bishop Wilberforce was "one of the most popular bishops of his day" (Mee 12), and the fine eagle with outspread wings at the foot of his effigy carries a whole weight of symbolic meaning: it represents the hope of resurrection and acsension into heaven, and is probably also be a reference to the bishop's reputation for spreading the gospel through his deeply affecting preaching (see Burns; note that because of the power of his gospel, St. John is often depicted as an eagle, and that church lecterns are often carved with an eagle supporting or even forming the Bible rest).

Bibliography

Burns, Arthur. "Wilberforce, Samuel (1805-73)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Viewed 22 November 2009.

Mee, Arthur, ed. Surrey: London's Southern Neighbour (The King's England series). London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1938.

Wilberforce, Reginald G. The Life of the Right Reverend Samuel Wilberforce, DD, Lord Bishop of Oxford and Afterwards of Winchester. Vol. 3. London: Murray, 1883.

Content last modified 27 November 2009

Reformatted 16 March 2015