Monument to Martha Bianchi in Hampstead Cemetery

The monument to Martha Bianchi is located in Hampstead Cemetery and dates from 1936. It is a walled structure featuring a sculptured angel and relief panels. The monument is set within a large triangular plot, enclosed by a low stone wall with small rectangular piers flanking the entrance at the apex. The base of the triangle includes a stone gateway with a wrought-iron gate designed with rays emanating from a star with a nimbus.

Atop the gateway stands a large sculptured figure of Martha Bianchi, depicted in a Futurist style as an angel with outspread wings and arms raised towards the heavens. This angel is flanked by two pillars and stands on a stepped base inscribed with the name "Bianchi."

On either side of the gateway, there are two carved relief panels. The left panel shows a couple in contemporary clothing sitting on a bench in paradise, with the woman holding a baby, and is inscribed with the words, "Oh for the touch of a vanished hand and the sound of a voice that is still." The right panel depicts Martha ascending to heaven in flowing robes, supported by two wingless angels against a background of clouds with emanating rays.

In front of this arrangement is a stone pavement, and before the gateway lies a ledgerstone with a plaque inscribed with a poem reading "To Mattie in Heaven."

Historically, this monument was erected by an Italian chef in memory of his wife, Martha, who died in childbirth.