Monuments in Conversation: Westminster Abbey in the Eighteenth Century.
Exploring the intersections between monuments in the vast commemorative pantheon of Westminster Abbey.

This conference brings together experts in the fields of eighteenth-century studies, sculptural studies, and the history of Westminster Abbey. Conversations between the monuments and panellists will yield insights into themes of artistry and craftsmanship, race and empire, faith and ecclesiology and question what these complex and multifaceted displays of British sculptural identities mean in an increasingly contentious twenty-first-century context.

Monuments in Conversation is a collaboration between the University of York Department of History of Art and the Henry Moore Institute, with support from the University of York Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies.

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// Programme

I 10:15
Welcome and Introduction
Dr Clare O’Dowd, Henry Moore Institute
Gemma Shearwood, University of York

I 10:30
Panel 1: Identities and Identification
Chaired by Ruth Spindlow, University of York

'"Even their ashes”: The Monument to Mary Kendall and Lady Catherine Jones (c.1710), and Female Presence, Agency, and Romantic Friendship in Eighteenth-Century Westminster Abbey’
Dr Sarah Monks, independent

‘Caught Between Monumental Traditions: Grinling Gibbons’ Shovell Monument’
Dr Charlotte Davis, University of York

‘Redefining an Abolitionist: Conversations between the Caribbean, South Asia, and North America in the Earl Mansfield, Vice-Admiral Watson, and Earl Halifax Monuments c. 1760-1801′
Gemma Shearwood, University of York

I 12:00
Panel 2: Curation and Conservation
Chaired by Dr Sarah Burnage, Fairfax House

‘Putting Poets in their Place: Thomas Sprat at Westminster Abbey, 1667-1713’
Professor Claudine van Hensbergen, University of Northumbria

‘Death Strokes: Thinking about the conservation of monuments through Roubiliac’s Nightingale Monument and how we might approach this’
Izabella Gill-Brown, University of York

‘Sir Francis Chantrey’s “delicate and honourable conduct in all matters relating to the Abbey” 1814-1841’
Dr Greg Sullivan, University of York

I 13:30–14:30
Lunch (Included with your ticket)

Opportunity to view library display, featuring archival material relating to the monuments of Westminster Abbey

I 14:30
Panel 3: Reception and Reform
Chaired by Gemma Shearwood

‘Monument to Isaac Newton by William Kent and Michael Rysbrack (1730)’
Dr Marjorie Coughlan, University of York

‘Sculpting the Eye: Experiencing Reproductions of Westminster Abbey’s Monuments: Or… The Many Ceramic Lives of William Shakespeare’
Sammi Lukic Scott, University of York

‘From Memorial to museum piece? Flaxman’s monument to George Lindsay Johnstone’
Michael Smith, University of York

I 16:00
Roundtable plenary
Chaired by Professor Jason Edwards, University of York

I 17:00
Finish