Signs of Zodiac - Squires Monument, St James - Burton Lazars, Leicestershire, UK
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SMacB
N 52° 44.688 W 000° 51.874
30U E 644143 N 5846020
Elaborate monument to William Squires (d.1781), made of limestone, formerly painted and gilt, with two weathered globes with carved signs of the zodiac.
Waymark Code: WM114ZH
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/16/2019
Views: 1
Elaborate monument to William Squire (d.1781), made of limestone, formerly painted and gilt, with two weathered globes with carved signs of the zodiac.
"Limestone monument in the churchyard at St James's Church, Burton Lazars, Leicestershire. Dedicated to local weaver William Squires, the monument is one of the largest and most ambitious in the county.
When William Squires died in 1781 he had amassed a small fortune, for his time. in excess of £600. He ordered that part of the sum should be used to build an impressive tomb to house his corpse. He intended that the remainder should be used to educate the local poor, but there was so little left over from the creation of his monument that his good intentions failed to reach fruition.
The 20 feet high monument is elaborately carved with many different symbols and it is thought that it was once painted to look like marble, and gilded.
It was added to the Buildings at Risk Register in 1998 but a programme of repairs and restoration in 2014 mean that it was removed from the register in 2015."
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The large monument cost so much that there was nothing left of his estate to pass on to his family.