Richard Elford

Richard Elford, tenor singer and composer, was buried in the west cloister of Westminster Abbey on 1st November 1714 aged 38. He seems never to have had an inscribed gravestone. He was born in 1677 in Lincoln, son of Thomas Elford, vicar choral at Lincoln cathedral, and his wife Ann. Richard sang as a chorister in the cathedral and later became a choirman at Durham. His brother Thomas was in the choir at St George's chapel Windsor. Richard's career in London as a stage singer was not successful due to his "ungainly figure and clumsy actions". He was appointed to the choir of St Paul's Cathedral and became a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal. From 1712-1714 he sang in the Abbey choir. Solos were written for him by Handel, Blow and others and he composed songs for the theatre. In 1706 he married Catherine London in the chapel of London House in Aldersgate street. Their children were Anne and Bridget. Catherine was buried with him on 15th December 1715.

In his guidebook to the Abbey published in 1722 J. Crull says of Elford:

His voice had all the advantages man could wish for, or Nature bestow which, together with his excellent acquirements of manner and judgment, rendered him the most compleat and agreeable performer produced in this age...His singular humanity, plainness and good nature, made him universally beloved...

Further Reading

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography