Baron St John's Monument in Battersea Church
Print coloured with watercolours by Daniel Lysons depicting the Baron St John's Monument in Battersea Church. Circa 1790
This watercolour depicts the finely carved funerary monument commemorates Baron Oliver Nicholas St John of Lydeard, Viscount Grandison, Lord High Treasurer and Lord Deputy of Ireland, and his wife Joan Roydon located at St Mary's Battersea. The couple are depicted in white marble busts beneath a Latin inscription, set on dark bases and framed by a Classical canopy with black-shafted columns. A painted heraldic shield crowns the composition.
St John wears plate armour beneath a cloak, with a pointed beard and broad collar typical of Elizabethan portraiture. Joan is shown in the stylised fashion of the time, with a ruff framing her chin and a headpiece. Her attire mirrors her husband’s, and her head is covered with a veil.
The monument is documented as the work of Nicholas Stone the Elder, master mason to the Crown and one of the leading sculptors of early 17th-century England. Its craftsmanship reflects the transition from Tudor to Baroque in commemorative art.
Oliver St John acquired the manors of Wandsworth and Battersea in 1627, though he had maintained a residence in Battersea since 1600. His marriage to Joan Roydon, daughter and heiress of John Roydon of Battersea, further cemented his ties to the area. Upon his death in 1630, he was buried at St Mary's Church, Battersea.
Painted in watercolour on top of a monochrome print
Artist Biography
Daniel Lysons (1762–1834) An English antiquarian and topographer, Daniel Lysons is best known for The Environs of London (1792–96), a four-volume survey of towns and villages surrounding the capital. Born in Gloucestershire and educated at Oxford, Lysons served as a curate in Putney, where he began documenting London’s outskirts with encouragement from Horace Walpole. His work, often produced in collaboration with his brother Samuel, remains a vital resource for understanding the historical geography of London and its surrounding counties.
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