History

In the west cloister of Westminster Abbey is a memorial to engraver William Woollett. He was the most celebrated English engraver of his time with an international reputation. The monument is by sculptor Thomas Banks which includes a bust at the top with a relief of Woollett's studio, with the engraver attended by symbolic figures. The inscription reads:

"William Woollett. Born August XXII. MDCCXXXV. Died May XXII. MDCCLXXXV. Incisor Excellentissimus.

The Genius of engraving handing down to posterity the works of painting, sculpture and architecture: whilst Fame is distributing them over the four quarters of the globe."

He was a son of Philip Woollett and his wife Ann (Hinkley) and was born at Maidstone in Kent. Having a talent for drawing he was apprenticed to an engraver in the Goldsmiths' Company. He earned a reputation as a draughtsman and did views of country houses and landscapes, becoming a fellow of the Society of Artists. His best known work is probably his engraving of West's Death of General Wolfe which so pleased George III that he gave William the title of Historical Engraver to His Majesty. All his children by his first wife Hannah died young and by his second wife Elizabeth only Elizabeth, Anne and George survived him. He is buried in Old St Pancras churchyard in London.

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

Further reading:

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004

"The church memorials of Thomas Banks" by Julius Bryant in Church Monuments I, 1985.