Grave of Charles Waterton

Grave of Charles Waterton, renowned naturalist and explorer, 1864.

MATERIALS: stone and replaced concrete cross, cast-iron railings.

DESCRIPTION: not inspected, information from other sources. The grave of Charles Waterton originally lay right alongside the lake edge, but in the latter half of the C20 the lake at Walton Hall was reduced in size slightly through the loss of an easternmost arm and water channel, and Stubbs Wood extended in its place. Thus, the grave now lies approximately 75 metres north-east of the south-eastern tip of the lake.

The grave consists of a tall Latin cross (now replaced in concrete and weathering to look like stone) surmounting a square base. The front face of the base has a plaque with a Latin inscription that reads: 'ORATE/ PRO ANIMA CAROLI WATERTON/ CUJUS FESSA/ JUXTA HANC CRUCEM/ SEPELIUNTUR/ OSSA' along with 'NATUS 1782' and 'OBITT 1865' - 'pray for the soul of Charles Waterton, whose wearied bones lie buried near this cross, born 1782, died 1865'. The grave vault is located behind the cross and is enclosed by pyramidal stone copings surmounted by cast-iron railings, which are an addition of 1866 by Waterton's sisters-in-law and his son, Edmund Waterton.