Memorial: M1227

Memorial at St Aidan’s Church, Bamburgh, Northumberland commemorating Grace Horsley Darling, d. 1842

Location

St Aidan's Church, Bamburgh, Northumberland, England

Transcript

'Grace Horsley Darling / Born November 24 1815 / Died October 20 1842 / Aged 26 years'

Details

Description: A gothic tomb, with a recumbent figure under canopy holding an oar. It now has decorative metalwork round its parapet
Type: Memorial
Position: Churchyard
Materials: Portland stone [figure], sandstone
Date Erected: 1844
Artists: Hicks and Charles Wood, C. Raymond Smith

People

Darling, Grace Horsley
Age: 26
Date of Death: 20/10/1842
Cause of Death: Tuberculosis
Rank / Occupation: Lighthouse keeper’s daughter
Organisation: (father) Trinity House

Extra

Notes: Grace Darling lived on Longstone, Farne Islands, where her father was the Trinity House lighthouse keeper. On 7th September 1838, the steamship, Forfarshire, carrying 62 people, was wrecked in a storm. Grace and William together rescued five survivors and William returned to rescue a further four people. A further nine passengers were saved by a passing sloop.

William and Grave were awarded the Silver Medal for bravery by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (known known as the RNLI).

The original statue is in the church. The memorial originally had a pitched roof. By 1885 the stone had deteriorated badly, shortly after restoration was completed in 1893, it blew down in a gale and was restored again by Alnwick architect F.R. Wilson.

Bibliography: 'Illustrated London News' (22 Jan 1848) p. 43. Paul Usherwood, Jeremy Beach, Catherine Morris 'Public Sculpture in North-East England (Liverpool University Press, 2000).
Recorder: B. Tomlinson
Photographer: B. Tomlinson ©RMG

JSON

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  "post_id": "3024",
  "id": "M1227",
  "location": "St Aidan's Church, Bamburgh, Northumberland, England",
  "transcript": "'Grace Horsley Darling / Born November 24 1815 / Died October 20 1842 / Aged 26 years'",
  "content": "<p>Memorial at St Aidan’s Church, Bamburgh, Northumberland commemorating Grace Horsley Darling, d. 1842</p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://memorials.rmg.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/M1227Large.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6461\" width=\"332\" height=\"394\" srcset=\"https://memorials.rmg.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/M1227Large.jpg 500w, https://memorials.rmg.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/M1227Large-253x300.jpg 253w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 332px) 100vw, 332px\" /></figure>",
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  "categories": ["Lifesaving"],
  "details": {
    "description": "A gothic tomb, with a recumbent figure under canopy holding an oar.  It now has decorative metalwork round its parapet",
    "type": "Memorial",
    "position": "Churchyard",
    "materials": "Portland stone [figure], sandstone",
    "dateErected": "1844",
    "artists": "Hicks and Charles Wood, C. Raymond Smith",
    "vessel": ""  },
  "event": {
    "event":"",
    "date": "",
    "category": ""  },
  "people": [{"name":"Darling, Grace Horsley","age":"26","dateofdeath":"20/10/1842","causeofdeath":"Tuberculosis","rankOccupation":"Lighthouse keeper\u2019s daughter","organisation":"(father) Trinity House"}],
  "extra": {
    "notes": "Grace Darling lived on Longstone, Farne Islands, where her father was the Trinity House lighthouse keeper.  On 7th September 1838, the steamship, Forfarshire, carrying 62 people, was wrecked in a storm.  Grace and William together rescued five survivors and William returned to rescue a further four people.  A further nine passengers were saved by a passing sloop.<br />\n<br />\nWilliam and Grave were awarded the Silver Medal for bravery by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (known known as the RNLI).<br />\n<br />\nThe original statue is in the church. The memorial originally had a pitched roof. By 1885 the stone had deteriorated badly, shortly after restoration was completed in 1893, it blew down in a gale and was restored again by Alnwick architect F.R. Wilson.<br />",
    "bibliography": "'Illustrated London News' (22 Jan 1848) p. 43. Paul Usherwood, Jeremy Beach, Catherine Morris 'Public Sculpture in North-East England (Liverpool University Press, 2000).",
    "recorder": "B. Tomlinson",
    "photographer": "B. Tomlinson ©RMG"  }
}

Commemorating seafarers and victims of maritime disasters