In the South transept of London’s Westminster Abbey you can find Poets’ Corner – an area filled with memorials and commemorations. From Geoffrey Chaucer – who was interred in the Abbey in 1400 – to, most recently, Beatrix Potter (whose memorial was unveiled in 2024), Poets’ Corner contains fascinating burials, plaques and statues.
To be fair, Chaucer was interred in the Abbey because he was Clerk of Works for the Palace of Westminster. A new tomb was erected – and his remains moved – in 1556; Edmund Spenser was then buried nearby in 1599, and so began the tradition of writers being commemorated in that area of the Abbey (along with the various Canons and Deans buried there – and one actor, Laurence Olivier).
In 2027, J. R. R.Tolkien will receive a memorial in Poets’ Corner – not far from his dear friend C. S. Lewis, whose marble stone was added in 2013, on the 50th anniversary of Lewis’ death. The installation of Tolkien’s memorial will be next Spring; 2027 is the 90th anniversary year of publication of The Hobbit, and the 50th anniversary year of publication of The Silmarillion. Tolkien’s memorial will be 2.5 metres (just over 8 ft) tall, and will capture his love of trees – as well as reflecting his own artwork. Read all about this wonderful memorial here.
Tolkien of course is buried in Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford, together with his beloved wife Edith. Lewis is also buried in Oxford – in the church yard of Holy Trinity, Headington Quarry. Now the two Inklings will be commemorated near one another. One likes to imagine what they might say, over a pint at The Eagle and Child, if they knew such honour would be accorded them. It might be a source of surprise and amusement – but certainly of pride. We look forward to visiting the Professor’s memorial in the Abbey next year.
