The Soane Museum Study Group is an open forum for scholars – both established and emerging – to present new research into an aspect of architectural history and/or Soane’s collection.
Roger Bowdler – Death’s Triumph – Charnel Tombs of Stuart England
The age of the Metaphysical poets witnessed a parallel move in English tomb sculpture. The imagery of mortality thrived in the early 17th century as patrons and masons strove to depict the enormity of death and the inevitability of decay. A number of grandees commissioned monuments from the Cripplegate workshop of John and Matthias Christmas (1599- and 1605-1654) which featured intricate reliefs in alabaster of jumbled bones resembling a charnel house. This talk explores the image and sets it in its cultural context, including contemporary verse.
About the speaker:
Roger Bowdler is a partner at Montagu Evans, planning consultants. He worked at English Heritage/Historic England for 28 years, ending as Director of Listing. His specialism is commemorative art, from tombstones to war memorials. He contributed to the notable Soane and Death exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery (1996) and has published on the Soane tomb in St Pancras Gardens. His The British Cemetery 1700-2020, co-written with Brent Elliott, will be published by Liverpool University Press in 2026. He is currently working on a study of sepulchral depictions of decay.
Event details:
- Wednesday 28 January 2026
- Drinks reception 18:00, talk begins at 18:30
- On arrival, please come to No. 14 Lincoln’s Inn Fields. The door will be staffed from 18:00
- Tickets are free, but please do book yours to ensure capacity
- Your email confirmation serves as your ticket
Banner image: John and Matthias Christmas, detail of monument to monument at Clifton, Notts to the first three wives of Sir Gervase Clifton, Bart: Lady Penelope Rich (d. 1613), Lady Frances Clifford (d. 1627) and Mary Egioke (d. 1630). Photograph: Dr Eilzabeth Blood.