Title:

Knight

First Name:

William

Last Name:

Davenant

Memorial Type:

Memorial - Funerary

Does the monument still exist?

No

Installation Date:

1668

Inscription:

O Rare
S. William Davenant

Allegiance:

Royalist

Condition:

Good

Condition Description:

Some cracking on the marble stone, but otherwise in good condition

Memorial Notes:

Davenant was a poet and sided with the King during the Civil War. He was appointed to the position of lieutenant general of the ordnance under the Earl (later Marquess) of Newcastle, but he seems not to have served in this capacity. Sir Philip Warwick suggested Davenant was appointed due to his literary abilities and Newcastle’s
penchant for poetry. His absence in the Low Countries assisting the Queen with military procurement and a period of service with the Oxford army - he was present at the siege of Gloucester in 1643 where he was knighted - also prevented him fulfilling his ordnance responsibilities.