Public Art Research Archive, Sheffield Hallam University
PUBLIC ART IN SHEFFIELD

Philip Hardwick
‘Chantrey Memorial’, 1854
Norton Church Road and Norton Lane
cheesewiring granite
Location:
The memorial stands on the small surviving area of what was once Norton Green, in a prominent position near to the Parish Church and Vicarage. (A-Z p.111 6F)

Description:
This strikingly simple Obelisk, in Grey Granite, stands 22 feet tall as a memorial to the English sculptor; Sir Francis Chantrey (1781-1841). Cut from one piece of "Cheesewiring granite, it is fixed upon steps, three feet high.

Inscription:
On rear face: 'CHANTREY'

Commission:
This monument was paid for by public subscription and was designed by his friend Philip Hardwick R.A. The stone was brought from Cornwall to Hull by sea and then overland to Sheffield. [1]

Comment:
Chantrey was born in Sheffield although he spent most of his working life in London. At the height of his career he was the most successful sculptor of portrait busts working in England.
Chantrey is known to have left instructions regarding his burial in the nearby Churchyard cemetery and to have made arrangements regarding the upkeep of his tomb. The inscription is cut very deep and according to Armitage this is owing to the fact that; 'Chantrey had noticed, in Westminster Abbey, how stone crumbles, and how inscriptions disappear' [2]. The tomb, which is large and set behind wrought iron railings, is still in good condition and the inscription remains clearly legible.

References:
[1] p182, Francis Chantrey Donkey Boy and Sculptor. Armitage. 1915
[2] p178 op cit.


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Last updated September 5, 2006