Month: May 2025

Symbol of the Month – An Angel with Trumpet

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Close-up of relief on the headstone of Edward Du Bois who died aged 13. West Norwood Cemetery © Carole Tyrrell

It wasn’t until late in the 19th century that angels fluttered into large Victorian cemeteries and there is undoubtedly a story to be written as to how they changed sex once they had perched themselves on top of monuments. Prior to that they had been seen as ‘Popish’ symbols and I have visited cemeteries where there is a lone angel or maybe just a scattering of them. There is a hierarchy of angels and they can be identified by what they hold in their hands; a sword, shield, a book or, in this case, a trumpet.   The angel holding a trumpet is the one that features as this month’s Symbol.

I have seen several examples and this one comes from West Norwood Cemetery.  It’s on the headstone dedicated to Edward who died aged only 13 years.  As the epitaph states,

‘Edward

THE ONLY SON

E. du Bois Esq

BARRISTER OF LAW’

I’ve always considered it to be a very striking, almost 3D image, with the detail on the angels wings, clothes and the clouds that surround her.  It depicts an angel blowing on a trumpet with a Biblical quotation surrounding her.  The angelic figure is definitely a woman. and it’s always intrigued me how angels which are traditionally male in the Bible became pretty, pensive young women when they appeared in cemeteries and churchyards.  The quotation reads:

‘WAITING

THE LAST TRUMPET (words unreadable)………

ALL SHALL RAISE AGAIN

In this case, the angel trumpeter on this headstone is a representation of the Last Judgement Day as she is the herald of the resurrection. 

Full view of the du Bois headstone, West Norwood Cemetery © Carole Tyrrell

There are many references to angels blowing trumpets in the Bible and their association with the dead rising on the Day of Resurrection. For example in Corinthians 15:32, it says:

‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,

At the last trumpet.

For the trumpet will sound, and the

Dead will be raised imperishable,

And we shall be changed.’

There are also references in the Book of Revelation and Matthew 24:32.

However, it is the archangel, Gabriel, who is most associated with blowing a trumpet to announce the resurrection of the dead and images of this began to appear in the 14th century.  There is a very stern and definitely male angel figure holding a trumpet at the entrance to Queen Victoria’s mausoleum at Frogmore.  There is also a geometric figure known as Gabriel’s horn or Torricelli’s trumpet. It has infinite surface area but finite volume. According to Wikipedia:‘The name refers to the Abrahamic tradition identifying the archangel Gabriel as the angel who blows the horn to announce Judgment Day, associating the divine, or infinite, with the finite. The properties of this figure were first studied by Italian physicist and mathematician Evangelista Torricelli in the 17th century.’

Angel with trumpet on the Abreu monument, St Mary’s Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green © Carole Tyrrell
Another view of the angel trumpeter on the Abreu monument, St Mary’s Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green © Carole Tyrrell

Angels appear in most religions and it’s appropriate that one of the most well-known is associated with communication. In fact angels are usually seen as messengers as the word ‘angel’ is derived from the Greek word, ‘angelos’, which means ‘messengers.’    They also appear in Islam as the word for messenger, Mala’ika, is the Islamic term for angel.  The Koran, like the Bible, also has references to angels especially Djibril or Gabriel nd Mikhail or Michael. According to Douglas Keister:

‘Angels appeared to grow wings in a 5th century mosaic in Rome. After all they are seen as messengers between heaven and earth.’

Gabriel is also associated with the Annunciation.  He is, with his trumpet blowing, an obvious choice for announcing the departure of a soul and its arrival in Heaven. 

I have seen an example of an angel blowing a trumpet in Tower Hamlets Cemetery and this lovely example above comes from St Mary’s Catholic cemetery which nestles beside its larger neighbour, Kensal Green.

Crossed trumpets on a 17th century headstone, St Andrews, Strood
©Carole Tyrrell
Detail of tombstone showing trumpet, St Andrews, Strood ©Carole Tyrrell
Another headstone with an angelhead and trumpets radiating out. St Mary’s, St Mary Cray, Kent © Carole Tyrrell

While exploring Kent churchyards prior to the Coronavirus outbreak I found 17th headstones with angel heads on them with trumpets surrounding them.  In this one the trumpets are crossed like long bones beneath the angel head.   So, in many ways this is a very ancient symbol which has come down through the centuries as a message of comfort to those left behind.  The one dedicated to Edward du Bois has an epitaph that expresses his father’s grief as well as his anger at his son’s untimely death.

©Text and photos Carole Tyrrell unless otherwise stated.

References and further reading:

Stories in Stone, Douglas Keister, Gibbs Smith, 2004

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel%27s_Horn

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel

https://www.cityofgroveok.gov/building/page/angel-blowing-trumpet

https://www.openbible.info/topics/angels_trumpets

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel

The pet cemetery of Lamb House, Rye, April 2025

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View of Lamb House pets cemetery © Carole Tyrrell

In April, I was on a literary weekend in Sussex and Kent. We made the town of Rye our base. The town has a rich literary tradition with several famous writers having lived there.  Several of them were lucky enough to live at Lamb House, a red brick Georgian house with spacious rooms and a garden that was just beginning to take shape on my visit. Neatly labelled rows of vegetable seedlings gave an indication of what was to come later in the year. There is a magnificent view of St Mary’s church from an upper window and Henry James is commemorated with his writing desk and ‘The Telephone Room’. I love finding pet cemeteries as I find them fascinating and touching.

© Carole Tyrrell

Lamb House is now owned by the National Trust and when I last visited over 20 years ago, it looked very different. There was an upstairs tenant – lucky them! Now the upstairs rooms have been opened to visitors and on my visit there was an exhibition, ‘Ghost Written’, which featured the house’s most well known writers through their ghost stories.

Lamb House Rye Shared under Wiki Commons © Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD

The American writer, Henry James, (1843-1916) wrote three of his most famous books at Lamb House:  ‘The Wings of the Dove’, ‘The Ambassadors’ and ‘The Golden Bowl’. He discovered Lamb House while visiting a friend and instantly fell in love with it. He leased it in 1897 and, two years later, he finally bought it.

The house appears in his novel, ‘The Awkward Age’, where it is Mr Longdon’s home. During James’s time there a literary circle came into being that included Rudyard Kipling and H G Wells amongst others. In 1916, James was very ill in London and wanted to be taken back to Lamb House but he was too ill to be moved.

He was followed by E F Benson (Edward Frederic) Benson (1867-1940) who is known for his Mapp and Lucia novels which are set in a fictional town called Tilling that was based on Rye. They were adapted and made into a successful TV series. I know him through his ghost stories or ‘spook stories’ as he called them. He became Mayor of Rye twice and was awarded the Freedom of Rye which was the town’s highest award. He is buried in the local cemetery on the outskirts of town.  ‘Fred’ as he was known bequeathed two colourful windows, the East and the West, in the local church, St Mary’s. 

View of Fred Benson’s monument © Carole Tyrrell

Another view of Fred Benson’s monument.© Carole Tyrrell

Other writers who lived at Lamb House were Montgomery Hyde and the prolific author of ‘Black Narcissus’, Rumer Godden.

It was in the south western corner of the garden that I found the pet cemetery which was dedicated to Henry James and Fred Benson’s pet dogs. I remembered it from my first visit where it was hidden behind vegetation.  The cemetery is a small collection of headstones. There are no cats as, although Henry James, was;

‘A great lover of animals he would chase them (cats) away from the garden’

National Trust guidebook

The first headstone in what James called his:

‘domestic mortuary’

was dedicated to Tosca, his black and tan terrier who died in 1899.   

Tosca was followed by Tim who was another terrier, then came:

‘my admirable little Peter’

Then there was another terrier, Nick.  But James’s heart was undoubtedly given to Maximilian or Max, a red dachshund. According to his owner Max had

‘a pedigree as long as Remington Ribbon.’

He also described Max as:

‘the gentlest and most reasonable and well mannered as well as most beautiful small animal of his kind to be easily come across.’

Max loved being taken on long walks but, due to his love of chasing sheep, had to be kept on a long leash. 

Henry was very upset at having to leave Max behind when he went on an  extended trip to the US.  He wrote to his lodgers of his homesickness and how much harder it was when thinking of:

‘poor sweet pawing little Max.’

© Carole Tyrrell

© Carole Tyrrell

© Carole Tyrrell

Fred Benson also adored dogs and his favourite was a collie called Taffy. This is a photo of them together and Taffy is also commemorated in the East Window of St Mary’s church.

From the exhibition, ‘Ghostwritten’ at Lamb House

Taffy is the black dog in the lower part of the window, East window, St Mary’s, Rye. © Carole Tyrrell

© Carole Tyrrell

Rumer Godden loved Pekingese dogs and she owned several throughout her life.

I didn’t recall the pet cemetery being so large but the Trust’s intention is to recreate the garden so that it resembles

‘ the space that delighted and inspired Henry James and Fred Benson’

National Trust guidebook

I found the little cemetery with its little plain, simple stones very touching and a poignant reminder that these much loved pets were not forgotten.  And as I read the names on the stones they seemed to come alive again racing around the garden at play.

©Text and photos Carole Tyrrell unless otherwise stated.

References and further reading

National Trust guidebook

Lamb House, Rye | History & Photos

Lamb House – Wikipedia