Dean and Chapter of Westminster.
A photograph can be purchased from Westminster Abbey
Library.
Charles James Fox (1749-1806) was a son of Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland and
his wife Lady Georgiana Caroline Lennox. He became a well known statesman and Foreign Secretary
and was an opponent of the American War of Independence. He also worked towards the abolition
of the slave trade. His private life was scandalous and he left several illegitimate children.
In 1795 he married his mistress, Elizabeth Armitstead. Fox died on 13 September 1806 and was
buried in the north transept (known as Statesmen's Aisle). His gravestone simply gives his name
and dates. A large white marble monument, by the sculptor Sir Richard Westmacott, was erected
near the grave in 1822. A few decades later this was moved to its present position at the west
end of the nave. It depicts Fox lying on a mattress, his head and shoulders supported by a
figure of Liberty. At his feet kneel a mourning slave and a figure representing Peace. The
inscription reads: CHARLES JAMES FOX B: 24 JAN.1749 N:S: D:13 SEPT.1806. (NS stands for New
Style, referring to the dating).
Charles' elder brother Stephen (1745-74) became the 2nd Baron
Holland and a younger brother, Henry Edward (1755-1811) was in
the army. Henry Vassal Fox, 3rd Baron Holland (1773-1840),
Charles' nephew, was a statesman and writer and has a large
monument (without inscription) behind that to his uncle but is
not buried in the Abbey.
Further reading on the family: Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography (2004)