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VIVIENNE WESTBROOK

What Remains of Rawleigh/Raleigh/Ralegh (1554-1 1!"1

Nations do not remember spontaneously and collectively any more than smaller groups do. Essentially, the bearers of national memory since the arrival of capitalism in each country are the upper middle classes and the intelligentsia, who have inherited the mantle from the aristocracies, lawyers, and clergy of previous epochs. Memory on this level can be spontaneous or manipulated; it can involve rhetorical discourses directed at internal or at e ternal opponents; it can be internally divided and fought over. !ts articulation belongs essentially to political elites, however, and is relatively rarely contested by other social groups"and very rarely with success. #

$his paper e plores how societies fail to remember the figures they see% to memorialise, and the e tent to which those memorials retain, or fail to retain, significance across time and conte ts, by focusing on some of the more prominent literary historical and artistic representations of &ir 'alter (aleigh from the si teenth through to the twentieth century. !n his seminal wor% On Collective Memory, Maurice )albwachs argued that collective memory cannot be described as preserving, but rather as reconstructing the past *with the aid of the material traces, rites, te ts, and traditions left behind by that past, and with the aid moreover of recent psychological and social data, that is to say, with the present.+3 (ather than trying consciously to preserve, the memorialising process, too,

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intentionally and materially, reconstructs and in that process conveniently ignores the less desirable aspects of its sub/ect. 0nce constructed, all memorials re1uire some social enactments of remembering that continually revive, refocus and ma%e meaningful the figures of the past for the present. !n the absence of such enactments memorials can come to be perceived as obstructions in the space of progress. $here is a distinction to be made between internal conte t, a core memory of a thing that is usually retained, and an e ternal conte t, the social conte t of a thing that is usually not retained in transmission. !n his e tensive research into social memory 2ames 3entress has argued that versions of a tradition become blotted out as they are superseded by newer versions and that this happens in the first place because of changes in surrounding conte t.4 $his may help us to understand how a monumentalised figure may at one time occupy a significant space in the social memory of a society, only to be superseded by figures that better suit the changed conte t. $he deconte tualised monument must be reconte tualised- that is to say, it must ac1uire new points of reference within the new space in which it stands, and be redefined by it. !f it fails to do this it is, to all intents and purposes, a dead monument, signifying its own superfluity in the space of a society that has no desire or need to remember what it once stood for. 'hy societies choose to remember some figures and not others in the first place is a 1uestion that 5eter 6ur%e7s wor% on mythogenesis can help us to answer. )e has argued that the attribution of mythogenic status to figures in terms of their biography is the remit only of literal8minded positivist historians since *myth often attributes 1ualities to them which there is no evidence that they ever possessed.+9 6ur%e offers his theory of *fit,+

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which might be better understood in terms of typology, to e plain the perception of a relationship between an individual and a type, or stereotype. )e argues- *$his ;fit7 stri%es people7s imagination and stories about that individual begin to circulate, orally in the first instance.+6 6ur%e does not, however, e plain how such a *fit+ can occur without some element of biographical data to trigger this mythogenic perception. $he narratives attached to a figure may be appropriated, redefined, embellished and partially lost in social amnesia in the process of reconstructing, as society deems necessary, or fit, a monument to a figure of the past. $he monument itself and the space in which it stands synecdochically define the figure, erasing all other associations for which the monument might have stood. $o illustrate how this combination of social memory, social amnesia and synecdochical definition occurs in the process of memorialisation ! have, in (awleigh, chosen a figure whose biography contains a wide range of possibilities for triggering this process. 'illiam &tebbing has noted that the version *(aleigh+ that is most fre1uently used now to refer to him is one that (awleigh himself almost never used. $he spelling of *(awleigh+ is appropriated from a wor% entitled Rawleigh his ghost"a translation and parate tual appropriation of a 2esuit anti8atheistic treatise as a defence of (awleigh against the charge of atheism"to register not the immateriality, but the trace8materiality of (awleigh the man to (alegh the cultural monument, as it is determined by ever8 changing ideas about what it is useful and necessary to remember.. (awleigh was a <ourtier, =night, &tatesman, >dventurer, &ailor, 5oet and )istorian.: )e was also labelled as a traitor, pirate, seducer, and in ?ewis &tucley7s complaint to 2ames !, *an angel of dar%ness who did put on him the shape of an >ngel of

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light at his departure.+ )e was li%e the 2esuits at $yburn, he argued, insofar as they had died *in hope of false Martyrdome+ and he *with a desire of a false popular fame.+ 'hen facing death, he further carped, (awleigh was bent not on eternal rest, but on everlasting earthly fame bought at the cost of the reputations of his accusers- *No <oriolanus heart could bee more vindicative, then he was unto them to whom he did impute his fault.+@ 'hilst the ability to perform on all occasions was a must for EliAabethan men who aimed at (oyal advancement, (awleigh demonstrated that he was not only a man of many parts, but that he could play any part e tremely well. !t was perhaps his consummate ability as an actor, to conceal whilst revealing, that also made him an ob/ect of suspicion. (awleigh had a propensity for saying one thing and doing another. !n his History of the World we read, with some irony, that *no man can long continue mas%ed in a counterfeit behaviour.+1B 'hilst the generic e pectation of a conduct boo% is that any advice given will be in the interests of improving the reader, (awleigh7s Instructions to his son, nevertheless offers further e amples of his duplicity. )e warned against the evils of wine, though a great deal of his wealth accrued from it; and, even as he was ransac%ing what was to become New England for EliAabeth, insisted that riches ought not to be sought by evil means- *ta%e heed that thou see% not riches basely, nor attaine them by evill meanes, destroy no man for his wealth, nor ta%e any thing from the poore.+11 )e was able to adapt narratives of an event with all the de terity of a playwright when necessity re1uired it. !n 'alter 0a%eshott7s assessment, (awleigh was *li%e most EliAabethans, a champion liar.+1# >nna 6eer concludes her more subtle analysis by noting that throughout (awleigh7s life and career, *the rewriting of a failure as a success, or the defense of the seemingly indefensible, would become a familiar oneC. )e would attempt

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to e plain away his political Dand se ualE betrayal of Fueen EliAabeth in the poetry of 19@#, attempt to /ustify his lac% of gold in his 19@6 pamphlet, The iscoverie of !uiana" and deny his political betrayal of =ing 2ames in the series of te ts written in the months prior to his e ecution.+13 (awleigh7s rewritings e tended to &cripture. !n his Excellent o#servations, for e ample, he reinterpreted the message of peace at Matthew 9.@ as an endorsement of the violent means of ensuring it, on the grounds that God wor%s by secondary means- *blessed are the 5eacema%ers, and therefore doubtlesse blessed are those means whereby peace is gained and maintained.+14 !n fact, in the process of rewriting the past for present purposes, (awleigh appropriated the biblical te t7s generic styles, its typologies and the authority of the te t itself, continually rewriting in the light of the ever8changing spatial and political conte ts in which he found himself. )owever, some conte ts were easier to navigate than others. >s a $udor courtier at a &tuart court, (awleigh was out of place. 6eing implicated in the *Main 5lot+ to %ill 2ames and substitute >rabella &tuart did not ma%e that conte t any easier for (awleigh. )e protested vehemently against what he perceived to be an unfair trial, and, demonstrating his consummate s%ill for appropriation, he invo%ed the apocryphal narrative of &usanna in his defence- *&usanna had been condemned, if Haniel had not cried out- 'ill you condemn an innocent !sraelite, without E amination or %nowledge of the $ruthI+ !n this performative moment (awleigh elided the un/ustly accused &usanna with the /ust /udge Haniel, and created for himself what ! have elsewhere called a $udor supertype.19 6y invo%ing the innocent and defenceless &usanna, condemned by corrupt authority, and Haniel demanding /ustice, (awleigh configured himself both as the innocent victim and the wisest advocate of 2ames7 corrupt court.

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!n his letters, too, which &tephen Greenblatt has described as (awleigh7s *miniature stages on which to perform, spaces to be filled with grand"usually tragic" gestures,+ we can see (awleigh as the alienated Havid of the 5salms.16 !n his letter to 'inwood bemoaning the death of his son in the disastrous e pedition to Guiana he declares- *! would have left my body at &. $homes by my sons, or have brought with me out of that or other Mynes, so much Gold oar, as should have satisfied the =ing. ! propounded no vain thing; what shall become of me ! %now not, ! am unpardoned in England, and my poor estate consumed, and whether any 5rinces will give me bread or no ! %now not.+1. Escaping the wrath of 2ames, (awleigh imagined himself as Havid, desolate and desperate even for food. )e continued, ! *beseech you to give a copie of this to my ?ord <ecil- for to a bro%en mind, a sic% bodie, and wea% eyes, it is a torment to write many ?etters.+1: Even here (awleigh seems to be employing the e pressive mode of Havid as the 5enitential 5salmist. 3ollowing his failed Guiana e pedition, (awleigh was met by &tucley at 5lymouth. !n an attempt to delay his departure to the $ower, (awleigh employed Mannory to ma%e a potion that would ma%e him appear too sic% to be moved. >t his trial (awleigh defended himself through an appropriation of ! $amuel #1.1@ )e protested, *! have an E ample out of &cripture for my warrant, that in case of necessitie and for the safeguard of my life, Havid feigned himself foolish and mad, yet it was not imputed to him for sin.+#B 0f course, feigning sic%ness, or madness, was the least of (awleigh7s faults and certainly was not the foundation of the case against him, but by rewriting it as such, and by founding it in &cripture, he attempted to obscure the more serious charges and ally himself with the chosen =ing.

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0n the morning of #@ 0ctober 161:, the superlative actor delivered an e ecution speech by which he clearly intended to shape his own monument as one of England7s great heroes. 0ne surviving account describes the scene in vivid detailJpon $hursday morning this <ouragious, although <ommitted =night, was brought before the 5arliament house, where there was a &caffold created for his 6eheading- yet it was doubted over night that he should be hanged, but it fell out otherwise. )e had no sooner mounted the scaffold, but with a chearfull <ountenance and undaunted ?oo%, he saluted the <ompanie. )is >ttire was a wrought Night8cap, a (uff band, a hair8coloured &atin Houblet, with a blac% wrought 'aste8coat under it, a pair of blac% cut $assery 6reeches, a pair of ash8 coloured &il% stoc%ings, K a wrought blac% ,elvet Night gown; putting off his )at, he directed his &peech to the ?ords present.#1 (awleigh7s theatrical presentation of his final scene effectively subverted the punitive function of the e ecution and fi ed a heroic memorial in the collective memory of his age. &tephen Greenblatt has noted that *throughout his final declaration (alegh manipulated the facts of his life in order to present the desired last image of himself, /ust as the writer of a history play manipulates the chronicler7s facts to accord with his conception of the characters.+## $here was a great deal at sta%e in his final performance, and (awleigh demonstrated that there was more than one way to present a life. >nna 6eer has observed that (awleigh7s audience responded to his final scene as though it were a theatrical event!n (alegh7s case, one reporter uses the discriminating tone of the theatre critic, commenting that his *voyce and courage never failed him Dinsomuch that some might thin%e it forced than natural, and somewhat overdonneE+ D6ritish ?ibrary, M& )arley .B96, 3. 9BrE, whilst another argues that (alegh7s *performance+ at the arraignment and on the scaffold were such that even the *severest critic% could ta%e noe /ust e ception either against his countenance or carriage+ D6odleian ?ibrary , M& >shmole :3B, 3.1B3vE.#3

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!n the account of his final moments (awleigh7s biographer 2ohn &hirley notes that as he too% his leave of ?ord >rundel he *intreated him to desire the =ing, that no scandalous 'riting to defame him might be published after his Heath.+#4 (awleigh7s control over his own memorial was paramount.#9 !ndeed, the successful salvaging of his ruined reputation on the scaffold immediately generated published defences, or apologies, by those who were in some way responsible for his death, whose own reputations were now at sta%e.#6 !n % eclaration of the emeanor and Cariage of $ir Walter =ing 2ames7 defence began by maintaining that it was not the duty of a &overeign to /ustify himself to the people, but that because of (awleigh7s last speech it had been deemed necessary to offer some e planation as to why he deserved e ecution. $he =ing7s part in (awleigh7s disastrous e pedition to Guiana was reconfigured as a magnanimous gesture. )e didn7t believe that there was such a city of Gold, but because of the popularity of (awleigh and his power with the people it was deemed necessary to indulge him&ir '. (awleigh had so inchanted the world, with his confident asseveration of that which every man was willing to beleeve, as his maiesties honour was in a manner ingaged, not to deny unto his people the adventure and hope of so great (iches, to bee sought and atchieved, at the charge of ,oluntaries.#. >s <hristopher )ill has pointed out, (awleigh7s Guiana e pedition was, in fact, revealed to the &panish by 2ames himself, thereby ensuring its failure.#: !f (awleigh had been guilty, as the eclaration insisted, of monumental ruin, it was as the rescuer of acts and monuments from the ruins of time that he was chiefly remembered by 2ohn &hirley in 16... (awleigh was, he said, one *who hath been L..M successfully industrious in retrieving the >ctions of former >ges from the (uines of $ime, even in its very !nfancy, in a well8compil7d masculine, and learned )istory of the

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'orld,+#@ a claim that was emblaAoned on the title leaf of the History itself published in 1614. &hirley maintained that (awleigh was so accomplished that authors were perple t under what topic% to place him, whether of statesman, seaman, souldier, chymist, or chronologer, for in all these he did e cel. )e could ma%e every thing he read or heard his own, and his own he could easily improve to the greatest advantage.3B Rawleigh# O$li%ion an& Time !n (obert Naunton7s earlier &ragmenta Regalia D1644E (awleigh had been described as a handsome and well8compacted person, a strong natural wit, and a better /udgement, with a cold and plausible tongue whereby he could set out his parts to the best advantage, and to these he had the ad/uncts of some general learning, which by diligence he enforced to a great augmentation, and perfection; for he was an indefatigable (eader, whether by &ea or ?and, and none of the least observers both of men, and the timesC.31 6lessed with fortune7s gifts (awleigh was to become, as Naunton termed him, *fortune7s tennis ballC for she tost him up of nothing, and to and fro to greatnesse, and from thence down to little more, then to that wherein she found him Da bare GentlemanE.+3# >s a ladies7 man, seaman, and adventurer, (awleigh was certainly accustomed to a tossing. $o (ichard )a%luyt, (awleigh was the latest in a long tradition of England7s outstanding sea8faring adventurers.33 $o Edmund &penser, his friend and patron, (awleigh was clearly a source of inspiration for the &aerie 'ueene.34 6ut his subse1uent importance as a writer of influence rests chiefly on his History of the World, as >nna 6eer has noted$hrough the 16#Bs and 163Bs, (alegh was used in different ways, by different people, to develop new ideas which often challenged the monarch7s power. Huring the following two decades, the pro/ect of constructing a voice of authority, most clearly visible in The History of the World, had come to fruition- (alegh had become an authority himself, cited, applauded, imitated, challenged and, during the169Bs, relentlessly published by mainstream printers and boo%sellers. Many of

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the politicians and writers seen as important to this period, such as <romwell, Milton, ?ilburne and 6radstreet, negotiated in one way or another with (alegh and his written wor%, which had now achieved canonical status.39 !ndeed, (awleigh7s History of the World was one of only two te ts that <romwell thought worthy of recommending to his son; the other was the 6ible. !n a letter of # >pril 169B <romwell told his son (ichard to *labour to %now God in <hrist, which the &cripture ma%es to be the sum of all, even life eternalC. $a%e heed of an unactive vain &pirit. (ecreate yourself with &ir 'alter (aughleye7s )istory- it7s a body of history, and will add much more to your understanding than fragments of story.+36 3or <romwell, it seems, (awleigh7s History" which, of course, drew on biblical history, most fully represented the historical unfolding of God7s providential plan. !n 169:, as a tribute to (awleigh, Milton published an edition of The Ca#inet Council, a collection of aphorisms pertaining to liberty and the state, thought to be by (awleigh. !n his preface, Milton e plained that he had stumbled upon the piece among his papers and thought it a %inde of in/ury to withhold longer the wor% of so eminent an >uthor from the 5ublic%; it being both answerable in &tile to other 'or%s of his already E tant, as far as the sub/ect would permit, and given me for a true <opy by a ?earned Man at his Heath, who had collected several such pieces.3. Mar% Nicholls and 5enry 'illiams have suggested that Milton may have had other motives for producing the piece, either *as an ironic criticism of <romwell or because it gave advice on how best to endure tyranny.+3: (esistance to authority, a passionate defence of liberty and the promotion of alternative agendas for political and religious policy through writing are characteristic of (awleigh7s wor%, and discernible in the subse1uent generation of writers for whom (awleigh was clearly inspirational.

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!n post8(estoration England, <romwell was dug up and hanged and Milton was arrested. !n this new political space, (awleigh7s monument was also defaced. !n his biographical collection better %nown as (rief )ives" 2ohn >ubrey remembered a somewhat different (awleigh through a series of anecdotes of seduction and whoring, and the memorably disdainful address to (awleigh by 2ames ! upon their first meeting *! have heard (awly of thee+"a pun that suggests that 2ames, at least, was confident about the correct pronunciation of a name of which &tebbing has noted 6: versions in (awleigh7s own and other correspondence of the time.3@ !n his 16:# popular play The *nha++y Dor, unfortunateE &avourite 2ohn 6an%es depicted not (awleigh, but Esse as the hero- an admired, noble and ambitious courtier desired by EliAabeth but with deadly enemies in <ecil and (awleigh. !n this play a marginalised and envious (awleigh not only suggests that in dealing with Esse EliAabeth should have *snatch7d a )olbard from her nearest Guard, N >nd thrust it to his )eart,+ he is also a willing accomplice in the swift despatch of Esse before EliAabeth has a chance to sign a countermand.4B !n 1.1@ George &ewell published The Tragedy of $ir Walter Rawleigh, a short five8act play in which he was morally hand8polished. $he 5rologue written by Ma/or 5ac% and spo%en by Mr. (yan promised the audience, >n English Martyr shall ascend the stage, $o shame the last, and warn the present age. $he tragic scene with moving art will tell )ow brave he fought"how wrong7d the soldier fell.41 >s (obert ?awson85eebles has pointed out, *&ewell7s (awlegh is so irreproachable that he fills his nation not only with ;<ontempt of Hanger7 but also with ;the ?ove of ,irtue.7+4# &ewell addressed the play to the (ight )onourable 2ames <rags, es1.,

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&ecretary of &tate, who, in consummate prefatorial rhetoric, was assured that he bore the 1ualities of (awleigh and that by accepting the play he would be participating in the protection of the virtuous memory of &ir 'alter, and, by e tension, his own- *5rotect the virtuous memory of the dead, as you do the brave acts of the living, and the world will be afraid or asham7d to censure what you approve.+ ?awson85eebles reads this play as a portrait of (awleigh above all as a family man. !n fact, the play begins with (awleigh in the tower and ends with his e ecution, including only three domestic scenes between ?ady (awleigh and her son, of which (awleigh is present in one.43 (awleigh7s scenes with )oward, Earl of &uffol%, are at least as important. !ndeed, it is )oward who closes the play on a note of revenge for (awleigh7s death>rms are no more; the &oldier7s friend is lost. 6e idle then my sword, till happy time &hall bid thy <ountry arm; then shine again, 'ave on the Hec%, or glitter on the plain; (evenging (awleigh7s loss on guilty &pain.44 !t was, indeed, as a good 5rotestant soldier that in 1.39 &ir 'alter (awleigh too% his place between =ing 'illiam !!! and &ir 3rancis Hra%e in the $emple of 6ritish 'orthies at &towe &chool- one of eight sculptures to the right of the temple commemorating those who had performed outstanding political and military service for their country. $hese were complemented by a further eight sculptures to the left, of men of letters, ideas and architecture. >bove 5eter &cheema%er7s classically sculpted figure, rendered armless,

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George ?yttelton inscribed *&ir 'alter (aleigh a valiant soldier and an able statesman, who endeavouring to rouse the spirit of his master for the honour of his country against the ambitions of &pain, fell a sacrifice to the influence of that court, whose arms he had van1uish7d and whose designs he oppos7d.+49 !n the early eighteenth century, then, (awleigh was remembered primarily as a great soldier, his e ecution for treason was forgotten in the collective amnesia of a culture that preferred, and needed, to reconstruct a history of victorious England. 'ith such a morally ambiguous character and life as (awleigh7s, a certain amount of collective amnesia was certainly re1uired, but once reconstructed the attributes of the monument redounded synecdochically to represent the whole figure unambiguously as heroic. $hroughout what might be termed the monumentalising nineteenth century, (awleigh continued to be a popular inspiration for adventure stories and historical paintings, among the more famous of which is undoubtedly Millais7 painting The (oyhood of Raleigh D1:.BE. !n reading this painting as a discourse of boundaries, *between the e otic man8sailor and the aristocratic English boys; between the parrot DnatureE on one side and the toy ship DcultureE on the other; between the land and the sea and the sea and the s%ies beyond- between the representation and the real as emphasiAed by the bro%en frame,+ (egenia Gagnier also ac%nowledges that to the ,ictorian beholder of this painting, it might symbolise emigration from the J= and !reland.46 'hat we should not miss here is the fact that in this obli1ue memorial Millais has defined (awleigh in terms of time and tide, as the boy (awleigh avidly attends to seafaring tales of the %ind in which he will later feature.

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$he early twentieth century saw numerous appropriations of (awleigh7s glamour and seductiveness in the promotion of the habit of smo%ing. !t defined him synecdochically in the 1@6Bs, winning for him a dubious lyric memorial from the also *legendary+ 6eatles- *>lthough !7m so tired !7ll have another cigarette N >nd curse &ir 'alter (aleigh N )e was such a stupid git.+4. 6ut if (awleigh7s popularity was waning in the mid8twentieth century, ?awson85eebles argues that &eamus )eaney7s 1@.9 poem *0cean7s ?ove to !reland,+ in which (awleigh7s anecdotal seductions are translated into England7s rape of !reland, finished him off; since then, he observes, *(alegh, it seems, has absented himself from 6ritish iconography.+4: $he film industry, too, failed to optimise its technologies of capture to re8present a man who *enchanted the world+ during and beyond his own lifetime.4@ $o date, there are only three films of note in which (awleigh has featured- Michael <urtiA7s The ,rivate )ives of Eli-a#eth and Essex D1@3@E, 'alter 3orde7s Time &lies D1@44E and )enry =oster7s The .irgin 'ueen D1@99E. 3or a man with all of the panache and performativity of a *)ollywood Great,+ it is surprising to find that no late twentieth8century celluloid memorial was created. !ndeed the lac% of a (awleigh is very pointedly made in 2ohn Madden7s 1@@: $ha/es+eare in )ove as 2udy Hench7s EliAabeth trudges through a muddy puddle whilst her attendants fumble with their cloa%s in sudden recognition of a precedent. &he%har =apur is now directing a se1uel to his 1@@: film Eli-a#eth, the film that historians en/oyed so much, with <ate 6lanchett as EliAabeth and <live 0wen as &ir 'alter (awleigh, perhaps as an historical corrective to the omission in the prior film. !n considering the apparent demise of (awleigh as a monumental figure in the twentieth century, ! would li%e to turn to the debate over the removal of the (awleigh

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statue from 'hitehall as 6ritain prepared for the new millennium. $he controversy over &ir 'alter (awleigh7s small, three feet high, statue in 'estminster provides a suitable e ample of how memorials can become divested of meaning, divided from the figure they originally memorialised, and even come to memorialise something entirely different. 'hat we see in the parliamentary engagement is a growing frustration over where to relocate what is deemed to be a ridiculous monument in relation to the other monuments in that space. >t no point during the debate is it suggested that the monument be demolished. )aving agreed that its current location is inappropriate the debate circulates around what might be a more appropriate space in which to put it. 6ut it is precisely this problem of appropriate space that leads us to much more comple 1uestions about the role of memorials in society, and what topographical space they might /ustifiably occupy after they have ceased to occupy a space in the collective memory; after all, it is the collective memory that gives life to monuments, not the material from which they are constructed. !n the computer8enhanced photograph below, the statue of (awleigh that was at the centre of the debate has been deconte tualised in order to facilitate our conception of it in the variety of suggested conte ts that follow.9B 0n 1# >pril 1@@@ 6aroness $rumpington en1uired about progress regarding the removal of the (awleigh statue from 'hitehall *to a more appropriate site.+91 !t had been suggested that &t Margaret7s churchyard might be suitable, a

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suggestion that had been approved in principle but denied planning permission by 'estminster <ity <ouncil in May 1@@. and then again in November 1@@:. 6aroness $rumpington remar%ed, *$he point is to move the statue from its present site where it loo%s ridiculous.+ >ccording to ?ord Mc!ntosh of )aringey, the )ouse had agreed that *&ir 'alter (aleigh7s statue is out of place on (aleigh Green outside the Ministry of Hefence for no other reason than that it is much smaller than the other three statues sited there.+ >ttempting to circumvent the battle between 'estminster <ity <ouncil and the Hean and <hapter of &t. Margaret7s, ?ord &trabolgi argued that (awleigh was a *national figure of historic importance+ and that other sites associated with him throughout the country might be considered as alternatives. ?ord Mc!ntosh pointed out that the 5ublic &tatues Metropolis >ct 1:94 restricted Government intervention and that local authorities anywhere might similarly refuse permission for the relocation. 'estminster <ity <ouncil had refused permission for relocation to &t. Margaret7s on the grounds that it would create a precedent, suggesting an an iety that the locally cherished open space to the west of &t. Margaret7s might become a dumping ground for dead monuments. ?ord >nnan suggested the alternative sites of *5oets7 <orner, Millban%, near which &ir 'alter lost his head, and )orse Guards (oadC in a place between the statue of ?ord Mountbatten and the statue of ?ord <live, where it would be in competition with neitherLIM+ Meanwhile, ?ord Morris of Manchester was already thin%ing about what new memorial might replace &ir 'alter (awleigh7s and suggested an >nAac memorial, which he felt would be *warmly welcomed by the all8party >nAac group of M5s and 5eers+ of which he was the president.

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?ord Mc!ntosh, responding to ?ord >nnan, e plained that &t. Margaret7s churchyard was deemed more appropriate since (awleigh was already buried there, thereby suggesting a relationship between the dead man and the dead monument. &t. Margaret7s was, he said, *more appropriate than 0ld 5alace Oard"our car par%"where he lost his head.+ $he space in which the scaffold speech, with which &ir 'alter had changed the public perception of him, from pirate and traitor to national hero, had been delivered, had been culturally transformed to accommodate cars, and, it seems, it was this cultural transformation of what was undeniably an important space for (awleigh that made the monument inappropriate. 3rom the perspective of the cultural geology of the car par%, (awleigh7s historical moment was merely a layer of cultural memory amid other chronologically layered and obscured cultural memories that had lost the argument for memorialisation, ultimately, to the utilitarian argument for the car par%. 'hat ma%es ?ord Mc!ntosh7s remar% amusing is not only the anachronism which transforms the narrative from an e ecutioner7s euphemism to a modern idiom for acting rashly, but the visual flash of &ir 'alter in *our car par%.+ $he anachronism which ma%es this amusing and absurd stands in rhetorically for the inappropriateness of having such a memorial in such a space. !n spite of the ob/ections raised by 'estminster <ity <ouncil that to place the (awleigh statue in &t Margaret7s would be detrimental to the established character of the area, it remained, in many minds, the most appropriate space in which to resituate the memorial. ?ord 6urnham suggested that the monument would be no more detrimental than the hot8dog stands that currently occupy that space. $he debate as it stood on the afternoon of 1# >pril 1@@@ was that the (awleigh monument7s current site rendered it

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ridiculous, that the car par% where he lost his head would render it similarly ridiculous, and that it was considered to be a threat to the character of &t. Margaret7s in a way that hot8dog stands were not. 0n the 14 November #BBB at #.49pm the (awleigh monument was yet once more on the parliamentary agenda. >n e asperated 6aroness $rumpington as%ed again, *'hen is this ridiculous saga about moving that tiny little statue of 'alter (aleigh going to endI+ ?ord Mc!ntosh concurred- *! entirely agree with the noble 6aroness that it seems to be ta%ing a very long time and that it is inappropriate to have the small statue of &ir 'alter (aleigh ne t to three very much larger statues of #Bth8century generals.+9# ,iscount &lim then remar%ed that his own father7s statue was ne t to (aleigh7s, adding *he would be very proud to be alongside a pirate+LIM. $o this ?ord Mc!ntosh responded *My ?ords, yes, ! am well aware of that. ! am sure the noble ,iscount, ?ord &lim, is right to say that, if we are thin%ing about the character of &ir 'alter (aleigh. 6ut it is not the character that is the issue here; it is the scale of the monument.+ $his debate about the memorial was not about (awleigh at all, it seems, merely about the siAe of an ob/ect in relation to those with which it stood. 'ithin this debate (awleigh7s statue had become a dead monument occupying the space of a more appropriate memorial to come. ?ord 5uttnam argued that the current choice of figures to memorialise suggested to visitors that England was a nation obsessed with militarism and politics. ?ord Mc!ntosh concurred but added that *Jnfortunately, ! am afraid that it is true that the vast ma/ority of the population of this country and visitors pass by statues without ever loo%ing at them, let alone loo%ing at the names on the plinth.+ )is interesting reply raises a more provocative 1uestion as to the purpose of erecting public memorials. 5ublic

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memorials that have no purchase on living cultural memory of the community in which they are erected are still8born monuments. 'hy erect a monument in the full %nowledge that however public the space in which one situates it, the vast ma/ority will not even loo% at itI &uch memorials have less to do with cultural memory and more to do with private vested interest; they are merely claims to power through the very public claim to public space. $he ?ord 6ishop of 'a%efield argued that since 'estminster >bbey was full of memorials to poets, artists and musicians, it would not be true to say that ?ondon was full of military statues, to which ?ord Mc!ntosh responded that visitors had to pay five pounds to get into 'estminster >bbey. 'hat we might reasonably conclude from this engagement is that although memorials to 6ritish culture are housed and accessible to those with the money and the will to pay, military and political memorials are in the public space and free, to be ignored. ?ord >cton made the point that due to the prolonged debate over the (awleigh memorial it had become, to members of the house who had to pass it each day, a memorial, rather, of 6aroness $rumpington"very amusing"but once more demonstrating that it is not the ob/ect but the associations that are alive in the collective memory of a community that ma%e it a memorial for that community. >mid the growing e haustion over where to put the statue of &ir 'alter (awleigh, petitions for it from East 6udleigh, close to (awleigh7s birthplace, were met with repeated refusals. >s )ugo &wire, M.5. for East Hevon, reported on 1. 3ebruary #BB9, *My predecessor &ir 5eter Emery tried hard to get the e isting statue of &ir 'alter moved from 'hitehall Green near the )ouse of <ommons to East Hevon, but he and subse1uently ! were thwarted in our attempts.+93 Mr &wire decided to approach 6ritish

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>merican $obacco, and, much to his relief, they agreed to support financially the commission of a new full8length sculpture cast in bronAe by the artist ,ivien Malloc%.94 3ar from e pecting no one to notice it, Mr &wire hoped that it would become a tourist attraction, adding that *! thin% it is very e citing that, after all these years, we will finally have a lasting tribute to our most famous local son.+99 ! as%ed Mr Michael 5rideau , Hirector of <orporate and (egulatory >ffairs at 6ritish >merican $obacco, why 6.>.$. wanted to fund the pro/ect, to which he replied- *it seemed to us to be a pity that there was no statue of &ir 'alter near his birthplace.+ )e admitted that, unfortunately, it might be denounced by anti8 smo%ing groups as *a cunning plan to sell more cigarettes.+ 'hen ! as%ed ,ivien Malloc% what she hoped to convey in the new statue, pictured here as a ghostly apparition prior to bronAe casting, she replied, *$he brief was fairly open but essentially ! was invited to show him in his prime, with an air of arrogance and a whiff of mischiefP+96 ,ivien Malloc% has created a portrait sculpture of (awleigh, si feet tall, dressed in EliAabethan costume. )is sheathed sword, which rests on his left hip, is half obscured by *the cape,+ suggesting a negotiation between courtier and soldier. (awleigh7s shoulder carries all of the synecdochical weight of his representation to the new millennium. 0nly time will reveal whether this portrait sculpture of (awleigh will attract tourists, contribute to the

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economy of its locality, regenerate (awleigh7s reputation as a courtier and soldier in the collective memory of East 6udleigh, or, indeed, whether it will resist the pressure of progress to transform the space in which he is now defined. !n the meantime, the *tiny little statue+ of (awleigh which formerly resided both outside 'hitehall and within its debating arena as the new millennium approached, now stands outside the (oyal Naval >cademy in Greenwich and (awleigh is synecdochically redefined there as the *great+ >dmiral.9. $his paper has focused on /ust a handful of 6ritish monuments to (awleigh, but he has, of course, been memorialised elsewhere in the world. Oou would not be surprised to learn that the eponymous J.&. town of (aleigh, North <arolina, owns a larger8than8life eleven8feet8high bronAe statue of the man, but you may be surprised to learn that (awleigh is still on the move. Hue to the conversion of a pedestrian site to a vehicular route, &ir 'alter has been on e cursion to <incinnati where, it was reported, he was *lovingly hand polished and covered with a coat of protective wa .+ 'hen the sculpture returns to (aleigh the )istoric Histricts <ommission will have the transatlantic headache of where to put it. 0nce more an appropriate historical site for (awleigh7s monument has lost its argument to the utilitarian need for everyone else to travel.9: 3or the present, then, (awleigh seems to have survived the threat of oblivion. 'hat remains of (awleigh has yet to be determined.

Notes

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$his paper was first presented at *$he $udors and &tuarts on 3ilm+ <onference, )ampton <ourt 5alace, ?ondon, .8: &eptember #BB9, organised by Hr. $homas 3reeman and Hr. $homas 6etteridge. $han%s are also due to the following for their %ind cooperation with this research- Han 6ec%er, Michael 6evington, Hean 3o , ,ivien Malloc%, Hr. Mar% Nicholls, Michael 5rideau . $he three ma/or spellings of (awleigh7s name have been included in the title to facilitate electronic searches. # 2ames 3entress, $ocial Memory D0 ford- 6lac%well, 1@@#; 1@@:E, 1#.. 3 Maurice )albwachs, On Collective Memory" trans. ?ewis >. <oser D<hicago- Jniversity of <hicago 5ress, 1@@#E, 11@. 4 3entress, .#. 9 5eter 6ur%e, *)istory as &ocial Memory+ in $homas 6utler, ed., Memory0 History" Culture and the Mind D0 ford6lac%well,1@:@, @.8113E, 1B1. 6 6ur%e, 1B4. . ?eonardus ?essius, Rawleigh his ghost" trans. >. 6. D&aint 0mer- G. &eutin, 1631E, &$< 199#3. &ee 'illiam &tebbing, $ir Walter Ralegh D?ondon- 1:@1E, 2(? @4#.B99N(.. : &tephen Greenblatt, $ir Walter Ralegh0 The Renaissance Man and His Roles DNew )aven- Oale Jniversity 5ress, 1@.3E. @ ?ewis &tucley, To the 1ings Most Excellent Ma2estie3 The Hum#le ,etition D ?ondon- 6onham Norton and 2ohn 6ill, 161:E, &$< #34B1, 19816. 1B 'alter (aleigh, The History of the World D?ondon- 'illiam &tansby, 1614E, &$< #B63. Dsig. >#rE. 11 &ee- *$a%e especiall care that thou delight not in 'ine, for there never was any man that came to honour or preferment that loved it; for it transformeth a man into a 6east, decayeth health, poisoneth the breath, destroyeth natural hear, brings a mans stomac%e to an artificiall heat, deformeth the face, rotteth the teeth, and to conclude, ma%eth a man contemptible, soone old, and despised of all wise and worthy men; hated in they servants, in they selfe and <ompanions; for it is a bewitching and infectious viceC.+ $ir Walter Raleigh4s Instructions to His $onne D ?ondon, 1633E, &$< #B644, :384. 1# 'alter 0a%eshott, The 'ueen and the ,oet D?ondon- 3aber,1@6BE, @6. 13 >nna 6eer, $ir Walter Ralegh and his Readers in the $eventeenth Century0 $+ea/ing to the ,eo+le D6asingsto%eMacmillan, 1@@.E, 4. 14 *! confesse that peace is a great blessing of God, and blessed are the 5eacema%ers, and therefore doubtlesse blessed are those means whereby peace is gained and maintained. 3or well we %now that God wor%eth all things here amongst us mediatly by a secondary means, $he which meanes of our defence and safety being shipping, and &ea83orces, are to be esteemed as his gifts, and then only availeable and beneficiall, when he withall vouchsafeth his grace to use them aright.+ 'alter (aleigh, Excellent O#servations and 5otes" Concerning the Royall 5avy D?ondon- $. '., 169BE, 'ing (161, 46. 19 &ee ,ivienne 'estbroo%, *5arate tual $ypologies in (eformation <onte ts+ D$un 6at7sen 8ournal of Humanities 1., #BB3E, 11.8134. 16 Greenblatt, #4. 1. Remains of $ir Walter Raleigh D?ondon, 169.E, 'ing (1:B, 1#813. 1: !bid., 4:. 1@ &ee 3rancis 6acon, % eclaration of the emeanor and Cariage of $ir Walter Raleigh D?ondon- 6onham Norton and 2ohn 6ill, 161:E, &$< #B69#.9, 4:. #B !bid., #B1. #1 Remains, 1@@. ## Greenblatt, 1@. )e cites &ir Edward )arwood7s letter to &ir Hudley <arleton concerning (awleigh7s conduct at his e ecution, as such that it *made all believe that he was neither guilty of former treasons nor of un/ustly in/uring the =ing of &pain,+ and *&ir 2ohn Eliot, who had been present as a follower of 6uc%ingham, the %ing7s favourite, recalled, ;&uch was his unmoved courage and placid temper that, while it changed the affection of the enemies who had come to witness it, and turned their /oy to sorrow, it filled all men else with emotion and admiration,7+ #3. #3 <app suggests that the successful salvaging of his ruined reputation on the stage of the scaffold immediately generated memorial ballads on his e ecution, which were promptly suppressed. 6ernard <app, *5opular ?iterature+ in 6arry (eay, ed., ,o+ular Culture in $eventeenth7century England D?ondon and &ydney- <room )elm, 1@:9E, 166. #4 2ohn &hirley, The )ife of the .aliant and )earned $ir Walter Rawleigh D?ondon- 2.H., 16..E, 2(? ##63@, #36. #9 Even his invitation to his audience to pray with him was perceived by &hirley as a sign of his evident belief in God- *he abundantly baffled their <alumnies who had accus7d him of >thiesm,+ #3:. #6 6acon e plains- *because of (awlegh7s e ecution speech it has been deemed necessary to offer some e planation as to why he deserved e ecution.+ 3rancis 6acon, % eclaration of the demeanor and carriage of $ir Walter Raleigh D?ondon6onham Norton and 2ohn 6ill, 161:E, &$< #B69#.9. #. ibid., 4. #: <hristopher )ill, Intellectual Origins of the English Revolution D0 ford- <larendon 5ress, 1@69; 1@:BE, 194. #@ &hirley, >3r8v. (awleigh maintained in his preface to his History of the World that his te t was a mirror only to those who saw it as a mirror, a rhetorical manoeuvre that enabled him to escape responsibility for any historical connections with the present that his readers might ma%e. (awleigh feared nothing from malicious readers of his History that had not already

been done to him by those who had misread his life, ill readers to whom he owed than%s for this leisure time in the $ower in which to write the History. &ee 'alter (aleigh, The History of the World D?ondon- 'illiam &tansby, 1614E, &$< #B63..63. 3B 2ohn &hirley, The )ife of the .aliant and )earned $ir Walter Rawleigh D?ondon- 2. H., 16..E, 2(? ##63@, #4#. 31 (obert Naunton, &ragmenta Regalia D?ondon, 1641E, 'ing N#9B. 3# &ee also 2ohn Honne7s letter, addressee un%nown, circa 16BB, in which he uses the same analogy to describe 5hilip )oward, Earl of >rundel D19#4816BBE- *that last dyed Dthat tennis ball whome fortune after tossing and banding bri%wald into the haAardE in his imprisonment used more than much reading, and to him that as%ed him why he did so he answerd he read so much lest he should remember something.+ 33 &ee (obert ?awson85eebles, *$he many faces of &ir 'alter (alegh+ DHistory Today 4:.3, 1@@:, 1.8#4E, for a discussion of )a%luyt7s treatment of (awleigh. 34 &ee 2. <. &mith and E. He &elincourt, eds., $+enser0 ,oetical Wor/s D0 ford- 0 ford Jniversity 5ress, 1@.BE. &penser playfully describes (awleigh as a rival poet for <ynthia7s DEliAabeth7sE affections in the poem, addressed *$o the right noble and valourous %night, &ir 'alter (awleigh, ?o. 'ardein of the &tanneryes, and lieftenaunt of <ornewaile,+ 413. !n *$he $hird 6oo%e of the 3aerie Fueene <onteyning $he ?egend of 6ritomartis or 0f <hastitie- 4+ &penser praises (awleigh7s poem to *<ynthia+ DEliAabethE as *Cthat sweet verse, with Nectar sprinc%eled, N !n which a gracious servant pictured N )is <ynthia, his heavens fairest lightI N $hat with his melting sweetnesse ravished,+ 4. 48.. 39 6eer, 13@. 36 'ilbur <orteA >bbott, The Writings and $+eeches of Oliver Cromwell vol. !! D<ambridge- )arvard Jniversity 5ress, 1@3@E, 6. 3. &ee The Ca#inet7Council Containing the Chief %rts of Em+ire" and Mysteries of $tate (y the Ever7renowned 1night" $ir Walter Raleigh D?ondon, 169:E, >#r8v. 3: Mar% Nicholls and 5enry 'illiams, *&ir 'alter (alegh+ in 5ew 5( on7line D0 ford- 0 ford Jniversity 5ress, #BB48 #BB6E. 3@ 3or what is still considered to be the best biography of (awleigh, see &tebbing. >ubrey7s )ives were deposited in manuscript in 16@3 in the >shmolean, 0 ford, and went through many editions in the nineteenth century, often bowlderised. 4B 2ohn 6an%es, The *nha++y &avourite D?ondon, 16:#E, 'ing 6663. 41 George &ewell, The Tragedy of $ir Walter Rawleigh D ?ondon, 1.1@E 2(? (66::B. 4# ?awson85eebles, .. 43 &ewell, 1.3, 3.3 and 4.3. 44 !bid. 9.3. 49 5hotograph by courtesy of Michael 6evington. <opyright, Michael 6evington, &towe &chool 5hotographic >rchives. $he other statues in the collection are as follows- on the left are the men of letters, thought and architecture">le ander 5ope, &ir $homas Gresham, !nigo 2ones, 2ohn Milton, 'illiam &ha%espeare, 2ohn ?oc%e, &ir !saac Newton, and &ir 3rancis 6acon. 0n the right are those familiar for their actions in political and military service to their country"=ing >lfred, the 6lac% 5rince, Fueen EliAabeth !, =ing 'illiam !!!, &ir 'alter (awleigh, &ir 3rancis Hra%e, 2ohn )ampden, and &ir 2ohn 6arnard. 16 in all. $hey represent the 'hig ideals of ?ord <obham7s group at this time. 46 (egenia Gagnier, *6oundaries in $heory and )istory+ D.ictorian )iterature and Culture 3#.#, #BB4E, 4B384. 4. $he 6eatles, *!7m so $ired+ from the White %l#um, 1@6:. 4: ?awson85eebles, 11. 4@ &ee 6acon, 4. 9B 0riginal photo by ,ivian ?u and Mulan 'ong. 91 Hansard on7line- http-NNwww.publications.parliament.u%NpaNld1@@:@@NldhansrdNvo@@B41#N te t N@B41#8B1.htm. 9# $he statue of ,iscount Montgomery of >lamein, <ommander of the 6ritish :th >rmy is by 0scar Nemon. $hat of ,iscount &lim, <ommander of the 6ritish 14th >rmy, is by !vor (oberts82ones. $he third sculpture is of ,iscount >lanbroo%e. &ee Hansard 'ednesday 4th March 1@@# *written answers to 1uestions+ in which the matter of the removal of &ir 'alter7s statue is first raised in connection with a planned statue of ,iscount >lanbroo%e at (aleigh Green. 93 )ugo &wire, http-NNwww.hugoswire.org.u%Ninde ./sp. 94 $he actual cost of the sculpture was Q#9,BBBR ,>$, according to Michael 5rideau , Hirector, <orporate and (egulatory >ffairs, 6.>.$. 5ersonal email, # &eptember #BB9. 99 &wire. 96 5hotograph of (awleigh8in8process courtesy of ,ivien Malloc%. 9. $he statue was resituated in #BB1. > statue of (awleigh occupies a site in 5erth, 'estern >ustralia, called *?ondon <ourt.+ $his street of little shops was built in 1@3. to represent England during EliAabeth7s reign. $he statues of &ir 'alter (awleigh and Hic% 'hittington face each other from the far sides of the court, encapsulating for the >ustralian public EliAabethan EnglandP $he absent (awleigh statue in (aleigh Green, li%e the absent synecdochical cape in $ha/es+eare in

)ove occupies a space in the collective memory of the moment, more noted in its absence. 9: >ccording to Han 6ec%er, E ecutive Hirector of the (aleigh )istoric Histricts <ommission, the statue is *presently undergoing another restoration and cleaning. No final decision or arrangements have been made regarding its ne t location.+ 5ersonal email, 9 2une #BB6.