William Lamb
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
High on the wall, above the memorial to Mary Godkin, is the Funerary Hatchment* of William Lamb, commonly known as Lord Melbourne, who was first Home Secretary and then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
William was the second son of Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne and his wife Elizabeth. He inherited the title and estates due to the early death of of his brother also named Peniston.
William married Lady Caroline Ponsonby and they had a son George Augustus Frederick. Caroline was devoted to him but he was mentally handicapped, requiring constant care, and died in 1836, aged 25.
Caroline famously had a passionate affair with the poet Lord Byron, describing him as "Mad, bad and dangerous to know". This caused much distress to William and they eventually separated.
He became Prime Minister under King William IV and, in 1837, Sir Richard Bourke, the Governor of New South Wales, Australia asked permission to name 2 settlements, on either side of the Yarra river, Williamstown, after the King and Melbourne, after his Prime Minister. By a quirk of fate, Melbourne became the most important and, in 1851, the capital of the new Colony of Victoria.
When Victoria came to the throne in 1837 she was only 18 and very inexperienced. William was very helpful in teaching her how to govern and she looked on him as a father figure, calling him "Dear Lord M".
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| William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, 1844 |
On retirement William visited Melbourne regularly but lived mostly at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire, where he died in 1848. He was buried in Hatfield Church but a Funerary Hatchment was hung over Melbourne Hall entrance and then placed in Melbourne Church.
The Hatchment includes the Lamb family motto, "Virtute et Fide", (Virtue and Faith, or Courage and Faith).
Displayed above the hatchment is the Flag of the City of Melbourne, Australia, showing the 4 main industries of Melbourne's economy. Cattle, Wool, Shipping and Whaling. It was presented to Melbourne Church by the Bishop of Melbourne, Australia in 1948.
*A Funerary Hatchment is a large, diamond shaped, wooden or canvas frame, edged in black, showing the heraldic achievement of an important person. (The word hatchment is a corruption of word achievement.) On the frame will be the heraldic shield of the deceased, showing all their family connections and their motto. These became popular from the 16th to 19th centuries and would first be hung over the main door of the person’s hall or house, and then, after 12 months, moved to the church of burial.