Other

Robert Seymour

Erection date: 27/7/2010

Inscription

Sacred to the memory of Mr Robert Seymour who died 20th April 1836, aged 38 years.

A nearby information board informs:

Probably the most prolific illustrator and cartoonist of his era, Seymour was the first artist ever to illustrate a work by Dickens when an extract from the tale 'The Bloomsbury Christening' was published in 'Seymour's Comic Album' (1834). Seymour is best known for his work as the original illustrator of Dickens's first novel 'The Pickwick Papers' and his 'Mr Pickwick Addresses the Club' (1836) which appeared in the first serial part of 'Pickwick' became, arguably, the most famous book illustration in the world. Many allusions to death occur in the pages of 'Pickwick', and shortly after completing 'The Dying Clown' for the work's second part Seymour shot himself. In his suicide note he wrote: "I hope my Creator will grant me peace in death, which I have prayed so for in vain while living."

He was buried in the graveyard of St Mary Magdalene Church, Islington, where his body remains, but his tombstone fell into disrepair in the late nineteenth century and was transferred to the church's crypt. In 2010, the stone was moved to the Charles Dickens Museum. Its position, near the cafe, is a reference to one of 'Pickwick's major themes: convivial eating.

This plaque was unveiled on 27th July 2010 by Michael Buss, great-great-grandson of R. W. Buss, Seymour's immediate successor as the 'Pickwick' artist.

The information board finishes with the two referenced illustrations.

In the Guardian article that alerted us to this "misplaced" gravestone you can see it was initially planted in the garden but, 2014, it was under plastic, awaiting restoration.

Site: Charles Dickens museum (4 memorials)

WC1, Doughty Street, Dickens Museum

All these memorials are in the back garden of the museum which is a tight space and, much as we'd like to, it's impossible to provide a photo with all four items in shot.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Robert Seymour

Subjects commemorated i

Robert Seymour

Illustrator.  Born Somerset.  In November 1835 Seymour, a successful illustra...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Robert Seymour

Also at this site i

Carol Paula Chapman

Carol Paula Chapman

With gifts from her family and friends, Friends of the Museum and the Dickens...

Read More

Charles Dickens - Museum / Devonshire Terrace

Charles Dickens - Museum / Devonshire Terrace

LookandLearn has a photo of the building, no.1, before it was demolished. The...

Read More

Charles Dickens - Museum / Johnson Street

Charles Dickens - Museum / Johnson Street

Johnson Street is now Cranleigh Street, where there is a plaque for Dickens.

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Muses - Polyhymnia

Muses - Polyhymnia

WC2, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery - Staircase Hall - Half-way Landing

Diana Mitford as Polyhymnia the muse of sacred poetry. At the time the mosaic was made Diana's fascist leanings were possibly not yet app...

1 subject commemorated
Oliver Plunkett

Oliver Plunkett

SW12, Nightingale Lane, 13, Oliver Plunkett Chapel

We think this chapel is/was closely associated with the school, St Francis Xavier College, behind.  Plunkett himself had no connection to...

1 subject commemorated
Eastern Fever Hospital

Eastern Fever Hospital

N1, Hoxton Street, Hoxton Trust Community Garden

The Hoxton Trust, which runs this garden, has: "Our distinctive clock tower is a unique feature of the garden. It was taken from the East...

1 subject commemorated
Virtues - Open Mind

Virtues - Open Mind

WC2, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery - Staircase Hall - North Vestibule

Earl Jowitt, in his Lord Chancellor robes and wig, raises both hands, palms towards us. Behind him stand two carved figures: that on the ...

1 subject commemorated
Mary Queen of Scots House

Mary Queen of Scots House

EC4, Fleet Street, 143-4, Mary Queen of Scots House

A nearby pub sign says "the building next door, Mary Queen of Scots House was built in 1905. The statue of Mary Stuart a romantic idea of...

1 subject commemorated