History

Henry Grattan, statesman and defender of the rights of Ireland, was buried next to Charles James Fox in the north transept of Westminster Abbey. The Abbey funeral fee book records "died Sunday June 4 1820 at his late English place of residence no 68 Baker Street, Portman Square aged 74 years, to be buried from Richmond House privy gardens on 16 June...". The small square gravestone reads simply:

HENRY GRATTAN

DIED

JUNE 4 1820

He had wanted to be buried in his native country at Moyanna, the estate given to him by the Irish people but on his deathbed, under pressure from his friends and colleagues, he consented to have his grave in the Abbey. Children from Roman Catholic charities attended the funeral with the Irish children dressed in green.

Henry was born in Dublin in 1746, a son of James Grattan M.P. and his wife Mary (Marlay). He was educated in the city and then studied law in London. In 1775 he entered the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Charlemont. He married Henrietta Fitzgerald and they had four children, James,  Henry, Mary and Harriet. His advocacy of Irish rights in the House of Commons in 1782 was crucial in securing legislative independence.

A photograph of the grave can be purchased from Westminster Abbey Library.

Further reading:

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004.