Erection date: 7/4/2004
Oliver Goldsmith
Born Pallas Co. Longford, Ireland 1728. Died London 1774. Poet, novelist, playwright. Author of: The Deserted Village; The Vicar of Wakefield; She Stoops to Conquer.
"... who left scarcely any style of writing untouched and touched nothing that he did not adorn" - Samuel Johnson.
Goldsmith died at his home in Middle Temple and was buried in the grounds of the Temple Church.
This plaque was installed following a 2003 visit from members of the Goldsmith Summer School who wanted the grave restored and the site appropriately marked. The 'stretched pyramid' behind the plaque is presumably the same one as that shown in the colour photo (probably late 20th century) at Poets Graves.
We've read that Goldsmith's grave monument was destroyed/damaged in an air-raid in 1941. However we found a 1941 photo at Alamy showing rubble from a bomb strike but the stretched pyramid is undamaged. And indeed it seems be the same one in this Historic England photo (1875-95) and this other Historic England one (1900-1930).
Site: John Hiccocks & Oliver Goldsmith (2 memorials)
EC4, Middle Temple, Falcon Court
The Goldsmith plaque is laid into the ground and can be seen towards the lower right of our photo.
