St. James's Church, Piccadilly Burial Ground

 

Bacon Traveller's Pocket Map of London
1890
George Washington Bacon

St. James's Church, Piccadilly Burial Ground. 

Following the blogs about the lost articles from April about auctions and auctioneers this blog will be looking at the founder of one of the most important auction houses in the country, Christie’s. 

Founded in 1766, by James Christie.  Its main premises are situated along King Street, St. James’s, London.  The first auction having been conducted was on 5th December 1766, at rooms in Pall Mall.  These rooms were formerly occupied by the print warehouse of Richard Dalton.

James Christie
Thomas Gainsborough 

James Christie was born in 1730, in Perth, Scotland, having moved to London and establishing auctions rooms.  During the late 18th century, the auction rooms dealt with some important sales. James moved next door to Gainsborough, who was living in the western wing of Schomburg House.

James was friends with Garrick, Reynolds, and Gainsborough.  James died aged 73, in November 1803 at his Pall Mall residence.  He was buried at the burial ground of St. James Church, Piccadilly.

Also buried at this burial ground is the unknown English navigator and cartographer Matthew Flinders.

Matthew Flinders
Antoine Toussaint de Chazal

Matthew was born 1774, Donnington, Lincolnshire.  Aged 15, 1789, Matthew joined the Royal Navy.  Initially ranked as a servant on board HMS Alert, then transferred to HMS Scipio as an able seaman.  The following year, 1790, Matthew was made into midshipman on HMS Bellerophon.

Five years later, in 1795, and with the desire for adventure, Matthew enlisted as a midshipman on board HMS Relliance.  The vessel was heading out to New South Wales, with the newly appointed governor, Captain John Hunter.  It was on this voyage that Matthew proved himself a fine navigator and cartographer. 

When the HMS Relliance arrived in September 1795 at Port Jackson, Matthew organised an expedition, along with the ship’s surgeon, George Bass.  The expedition was carried out in an open boat named Tom Thumb, sailing from Botany Bay and up to Georges River.  The following year, in March 1796, in another open boat, Tom Thumb II, this expedition went south but was forced to stop at Red Point, where they accepted help from two Aboriginal men who piloted the boat to the entrance of Lake Illawarra. 

1798, Matthew now ranked Lieutenant was given command of a sloop named Norfolk, along with George they circumnavigated Van Diemen’s Land.

1799, Matthew request to explore the northern coast of Port Jackson.  George had gone back to England; Matthew recruited his brother Samuel Flinders.  It was during this expedition that they made it to Hervey Bay.

With a new century, Matthew was back in England.  On the voyage back, the Antipodes Islands were discovered and charted.  Matthew’s work had come to the attention of many scientists of the day including Sir Joseph Banks.

1801, Matthew was given the command of the 334-ton sloop HMS Investigator.

During the exploration of HMS Investigator, the Southern coast of Australia was surveyed, charted, and mapped.

With the HMS Investigator being deemed not seaworthy in June 1803 at Sydney and condemned, Matthew took passage onboard HMS Porpoise back to England. 

Wrecked on the Wreck Reefs part of the Great Barrier Reef.  Matthew navigated the ship's cutter the 700 miles back to Sydney for a vessel to rescue the remaining ship's crew.  Matthew took command of the 29-ton schooner HMS Cumberland.  This vessel was in poor condition and Matthew was caught by the French.  Matthew was a prisoner of the French for several years and finally arrived back in England in 1810.

July 1814, Matthew aged 40 died at his London residence, 14 London Street.

1878, the burial ground, became St. James’s Gardens, with only a few gravestones lining the edges of the park.  1849, when part of the gardens was lost and built over for the expansion of the nearby Euston station.

In 2017 the Gardens were closed to the public, for work to be carried out the HS2. 

Two years later, in January 2019, archaeologists found Matthew’s grave.  His coffin was identified by the well-preserved coffin plate.  It was thought that his grave was lost in the earlier works.

Following the discovery of his grave, Matthew Flinders was reinterred in the church of St. Mary and the Holy Road, Donnington this year.  It was in this church that Matthew was baptised.