3-028-456 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Martyrs' Memorial, Smithfield, [London], 1870. 'A memorial of the martyrs who suffered at Smithfield has been erected by a committee formed through the exertions of the Protestant Alliance. The monument occupies one of the arched recesses in the external wall of St. Bartholomew's Hospital. It consists principally of red and grey polished granite, the more ornamental parts being executed in bronze. The general character of the design is classic, in harmony with the style of the building. Between the mouldings of the semicircular head of the memorial is the text - "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord"; the cornice bears the words, "The noble army of martyrs praise Thee"; and on the panel beneath is the following inscription: "Within a few feet of this spot, John Rogers, John Bradford, John Philpot, and other servants of God, suffered death by fire for the Faith of Christ, in the years 1555, 1556, and 1557". On the base is a further inscription. "Near this place is erected a church to the memory of the said martyrs." The design was presented by Messrs. Habershon and Pite, architects, of Blooms- bury-square, and was executed by Messrs. Cox and Son, of Southampton-street, at their works in Lambeth'. From "Illustrated London News", 1870.