CH4. Marble tablet shaped as a sarcophagus with a black surround
Sacred / to the memory of / Sir WILLIAM SALTONSTALL WISEMAN, Bart. / a Captn. in the Royal Navy / who departed this life July 1st 1845 / aged 62 years / Also of ELIZABETH, Dowager Lady WISEMAN / relict of the above; who departed this life / October 27th 1862, aged 74 years.
As you enter St John’s by the main west door, the first monument you come to on the left is that of Sir William Saltonstall Wiseman and his wife Elizabeth. It’s high up on the wall but lower down you will see another stone that marks the entrance to the Wiseman vault.
Sir William was born 5 March, 1784; and died, 1 July, 1845, at Hillingdon End, Uxbridge. He entered the Navy, 30 July, 1797, (aged 13!) on board the Warrior 74, employed in the North Sea and Mediterranean. It would appear that he had a successful career in the Royal navy and by 1811 he was promoted to the rank of Commander. The Royal Navy at that time was busy taking control of key locations to open up new markets for the British economy. Sir William was instrumental in the capture of Maldonado at the mouth of the River Plate near Buenos Aires.
He married his first wife, Catherine in Baghdad in 1812. She died in 1822 and he married his second wife Elizabeth, who was the daughter of the Vicar of Cranfield, in 1827.
In his will he left all his property to his wife apart from his telescopes and Turkish sabre which he bequeathed to his son James.
Christine Bartlett