The Tomb of Marigold Churchill is located in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in P ...

in the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often known by its initialism as RBKC) is an Inner London, Inner London borough with Royal borough, royal status. It is the List of English districts by area, smallest borough in London and the secon ...

, London, England. It commemorates Marigold, the fourth child of Winston and Clementine Churchill. Marigold died aged two in 1921 and the tomb at Kensal Green was her grave until her reinterment in the Churchill family plot at St Martin's Church, Bladon, Oxfordshire in 2020. Designed by

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as "the greatest artist-craftsma ...

, the tomb is a Grade II listed structure.

History

Marigold Churchill (15 November 1918–23 August 1921) was the fourth child of Winston and Clementine Churchill. She died of

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

at the age of 2 years, 9 months, while on holiday at Broadstairs in Kent. Her death devastated her parents. She was buried at

three days after her death, in a private ceremony attended only by the Churchill family. Photographers who had come to the cemetery left at Churchill's request. In 2020 her body was exhumed and reburied in the

Spencer-Churchill Spencer-Churchill is a British double-barrelled surname of a branch of the Spencer family, a British noble family associated with the Marlborough dukedom. Notable members * Lord Alan Spencer-Churchill (1825–1873), British Army officer * Albe ...

family plot at St Martin's Church, Bladon in Oxfordshire.

Description

The tomb takes the form of a cross. It is carved in Hopton Wood stone, a particularly fine form of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

much used for gravestones. The monument originally comprised a pedestal, with "exquisite" Gill

lettering Lettering or Lettering design is an act or result of artfully drawing letters, instead of writing them simply. Lettering is considered an art form, where each letter in a phrase or quote acts as an illustration. Each letter is created with attent ...

, topped with a shaft depicting the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

. The wording on the pediment reads: "HERE LIES // MARIGOLD // DEAR CHILD // OF WINSTON // AND CLEMENTIME // CHURCHILL // BORN NOV 15 // 1918 // DIED AUG 23 // 1921 //

R.I.P Rest in peace (R.I.P.), a phrase from the Latin (), is sometimes used in traditional Christian services and prayers, such as in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist denominations, to wish the soul of a decedent eternal rest and ...

". The upper part of the memorial was stolen in 1992 and was replaced by a stone cross. The designer was

. It is a Grade II listed structure.

Footnotes

References

Sources

External links

{{Commons category, Tomb of Marigold Churchill 1921 sculptures Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Grade II listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Kensal Green Tombs in the United Kingdom Winston Churchill