The Sleeping Children

The statue of The Sleeping Children is one of the treasures of Lichfield Cathedral.

The Sleeping Children

The sculpture depicts the two daughters of Ellen-Jane Robinson (née Woodhouse) lying asleep on a bed in each other's arms. The tragic story depicted by the sculpture begins in 1812 when Ellen-Jane's husband the clergyman Reverend William Robinson, who has recently become a prebendary of Lichfield Cathedral contracted tuberculosis and died. Reverend William Robinson was in his thirties at the time of his death and left his wife with their two daughters.

In 1813 Ellen-Jane and her daughter, Ellen-Jane were on a trip in Bath. During the trip the daughter's nightdress caught fire while she was preparing for bed and she died of the burns she received. The following year the youngest daughter, Marianne, sickened and died while they were in London.[1] Within three years Ellen-Jane had lost her entire family and in her distress she commissioned Francis Chantrey to secure a likeness of her lost children.[1]

During a meeting with Chantrey, Ellen-Jane expressed to him a clear idea of what she wanted. She told Chantrey of how in the past she had watched as her daughters fell asleep in each other's arms and this is how she wanted them represented. She had also taken inspiration from Thomas Banks' Boothby Monument in St Oswald's Church, Ashbourne. The statue depicts the daughter Sir Brooke Boothby who had died during childhood. Chantrey visited this monument and then returned to his home to make a model of his proposed sculpture.

I have a friend visiting from the United States and we spent a couple of hours exploring the cathedral. The St Chad's Gospels, the replica of items from the Staffordshire Hoard, and, of course, the Lichfield Angel, are also to be found in this gorgeous cathedral which receives so little publicity.

It's well worth a visit, if you are in the area.