It is with great sadness that we have heard of the death of the former President of the Church Monuments Society, Julian Litten. A founder member of the Society, he served with great distinction as its President from 2001 to 2006 and was subsequently a valued member of Council. His wealth of contacts and experience made him an invaluable guide and adviser.
Julian Litten did say (quite forcefully) that he did not want an obituary: so this is not an obituary but a short tribute to his remarkable achievements. His book The English Way of Death revolutionised our approach to the material culture of death and commemoration. In 1994 he produced the introductory essay to The Funeral Effigies of Westminster Abbey (2nd, revised, ed. 2003), the introductory essay to Grave Concerns: Death and Burial in England 1700-1850 in 1998 and an essay in Arthur, The Forgotten Prince in 2009. He was a regular contributor to this web site and to the Society’s more formal publications, Church Monuments and the Newsletter. His lectures were one of the high spots of our free online lecture series, and are still available on our YouTube channel:
Beneath the Ledgerstone: Vaults and their contents (2021) is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH6lz55-FQs
No Corpse, No Monument: Coffins for vault burial 1750-1900 (2022) is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKBhoOwE_XY
Julian was particularly interested in ledgerstones, the most unassuming of the monuments inside our churches. He established the Ledgerstone Survey of England and Wales and began a programme of surveying ledgerstones in churches, a programme which has now been taken over by the Church Recording Society. He was always generous in sharing his knowledge. We will miss him greatly, for his dry humour as well as his intellectual gifts.
The photographs below show Julian engaged in one of his favourite activities – peeping into church vaults.
Agnus dei, qui tollis peccata mundi
Dona ei pacem eternamque felicitatem et gloriam sempiternam.
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We will all sadly miss Julian as said above for his knowledge, enthusiasm (great photo btw) and his wicked sense of humour.
RIP
Moira Ackers
Moira
Sad news of Julian will be sadly missed at the Minster church King’s lynn
Mark ford
Julian was so generous in sharing his expert knowledge – gently, if he saw your ignorance; or firmly, if you needed correction; often with a gleam in his eye and a wry smile. He will be much missed.
Dana Josephson
Julian was churchwarden at St Michael’s Walthamstow for many years, and we still greatly miss him and his expertise regarding Victorian church buildings, of which our wonderful church is one. By strange coincidence, his fellow churchwarden Fred Thompson died just a month before him, and his funeral will be at St Michael’s on 21 November. We honour Julian’s memory and will raise a glass to him at a celebratory lunch this Sunday 3 November, following a Pontifical High Mass with baptisms and confirmations. Rest eternal grant unto him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him.
Glynne Williams
I’m so sad to hear this news. Julian’s lectures were a treat to listen to, with his dry wit, expertise and passion for his subject. He will be very much missed.
Lindsey Nicholls