Samuel Taylor Coleridge

On a pillar in Poets' Corner Westminster Abbey is a bust in memory of poet and critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The inscription reads:

S. T. Coleridge. Born Oct 21. 1772. Died July 25. 1834

The bust is by the sculptor Sir Hamo Thorneycroft and was presented to the Abbey by Dr Mercer, an American citizen. It was unveiled on 7th May 1885 by the United States Minister in London James Russell Lowell. The bust is set high on the pillar above William Wordsworth's statue (it was moved from the base of this pillar when Wordsworth's memorial was re-located to Poets' Corner in 1932).

His Life

Samuel was born at Ottery St Mary in Devon, a son of clergyman and schoolmaster John Coleridge (died 1781) and his second wife Ann (Bowden). After the sudden death of his father he was sent to Christ's Hospital in London, a school for orphans. He was appointed by the school to Jesus College, Cambridge. He spent some time in the army.

In 1794 he met Robert Southey (whose memorial is near to that of Coleridge) and he later formed a close friendship with William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy (who wrote of him "He is a wonderful man"), and lived near them in Somerset and later in the Lake District.

He married Sara Fricker (1770-1845) and their children were Hartley, Derwent and Sara. His well-known works include 'Kubla Khan' and 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. He died of an enlargement of the heart, not helped by ill health and taking opium. He was first buried in a family vault in Highgate churchyard but when this fell into disrepair the remains of Samuel and his family were re-interred in St Michael's Church Highgate in 1961.

Further Reading for Samuel and his father:

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography