James and John's Bull Funerary Monument at St Mary's Battersea
Watercolour by Daniel Lysons, depicting James and John's Bull Funerary Monument at St Mary's Battersea. Late 18th Century- Early 19th Century.
This watercolour depicts one of the Bull family's funerary monument from St Mary's Battersea.
The most prominent feature is the central shield showcasing a coat of arms, with 3 bull's heads and a bridge, on top of an inscription dedication to the deceased. The text reads "In a a vaulr near this place lyes interr'd the Body of Mr. JAMES BULL Merchant/ Aged 44 years./ Dyed August 16 Anno Domini 1713 to the unspeakable Grief/of his mournful Relict and two children/By whom this Monument is erected to his Memory. In the same vault lyeth ye body/of John Bull only son of James and and Frances Bull who died February the 2nd 1729/Aged 33 years and left behind him a widow and two sons/John and Edmond" . The shield is topped by a helmet crowned by a winged bull's head.
Several cherubic faces are framing the monument, as well as elaborate draperies and vegetation decoration. Two smaller and more complex heraldic coats of arms are located at both sides of the bottom area of the monument. These coats of arms are divided in 2 sides. On the left side there are three bull's heads and a bridge. On the right side there is a blue field background with a blue dolphin naiant separated by a diagonal line with three shells.
The Bull family, prominent merchants in early 18th-century Wandsworth, are commemorated through a series of richly sculpted cartouche monuments at St Mary’s Church, Battersea. James Bull (d.1713) and his son John Bull (d.1729) are honoured with an exceptional memorial featuring a carapace-shaped panel, elaborate drapery, six winged cherub heads, and painted heraldic shields. A second monument commemorates Frances Bull (d.1738) and her son John Bull (d.1738), adorned with broad scrolling and a sculptural festoon of flowers and corn. These works reflect the family’s social standing and the high craftsmanship of funerary art in Georgian Wandsworth.
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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