Clifford Memorial, St Mary's Church, Stafford

Description:Located high on the wall of the north transept of Stafford St Mary's, the dedication inscription on this ornate wall memorial (carved into the black stone) is obscured by distance.

However, beneath the classical pediment bearing a sculpted phoenix rising from the fire can be seen the following poem inscribed on a white marble plaque:
‘The fabled bird who when his days expire/ Soars from his funeral pile of wings of fire
Too true an emblem on this tomb appears / Of her whose fate still claims our tenderest tears
But though our deep struck bosoms bleed anew / Whene’er this mournful monument we view
Yet Faith will teach us, weeping o’er her shrine / To lift our thoughts to images divine
Enflamed with heavenly zeal for things above / She lived and died a holocaust of love;
Cleansed from all dross to her pure soul ‘twas given / To rise a flaming sacrifice to heaven.
Arthur Clifford’