History

In the north west tower chapel in the nave of Westminster Abbey is a memorial bust to Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marquess of Lansdowne, politician. The bust is by sculptor Sir J.Edgar Boehm and was paid for in 1873. The inscription, with the Latin parts translated, reads:

"Henry, Marquis of Lansdowne, a patron of the liberal arts, a pattern for mankind, without taste for faction, a bulwark of his country. Born July 2nd 1780. Died Jan 31st 1863. Buried at Bowood".

He was a son of William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne and Prime Minister from 1782-3, and his second wife Lady Louisa (Fitzpatrick). Born at Lansdowne House in London he was educated at Westminster School and Edinburgh university. He toured the continent and became a Member of Parliament and succeeded to the title as 3rd Marquess on the death of his half brother in 1809. He married Lady Louisa Fox-Strangeways and had three children: William, Earl Wycombe and later Earl of Kerry, Louisa who married Hon.James Howard and Henry, later Earl of Shelburne. In a long career in politics he was Home Secretary and strongly supported the abolition of slavery and the repeal of the Penal Laws. He refused a dukedom and was buried at his country seat of Bowood in Dorset.

A photo of the bust can be purchased from Westminster Abbey Library.

Further reading:

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004.