Bagehot is buried, along with his wife, his parents, and his half-brothers, in a grave in the south-east corner of the churchyard of All Saints’, Langport.
It is a Grade 2 listed structure, referred to in the official Historic England listing as the Bagehot Monument. The list entry gives this description:
“Tombstones and enclosure, 1877. Ham stone. Two matching headstones, with scroll heads and leaf side decoration, and in front square enclosure in Gothic style, open balustrading on plinth with coping, having quatrefoil and leaf decoration.”
The people commemorated on the gravestones are:
On the left-hand gravestone:
Thomas Watson Bagehot, his father (1795-1881)
Edith Bagehot, née Stuckey, his mother (1786-1870)
Vincent Estlin, his half-brother (1807-1869)
George Stuckey Estlin, his half-brother (1809-1829)
(Joseph) Prior Estlin, his half-brother (1811-1821)
On the right-hand gravestone:
Walter Bagehot (1826-1877)
Eliza Bagehot, née Wilson, his wife (1832-1921)
Watson Bagehot, his brother (1824-1827)
Unfortunately two of the dates engraved on the headstone are incorrect. George Stuckey Estlin died on 10 June 1829, not 1 June 1829, and Edith Bagehot died on 21 February 1870, not 21 January 1870.
The grave has been a place of pilgrimage for many of his admirers, notably the future US President, Woodrow Wilson, who sent his wife a leaf taken from it. Sadly no -one was there to photograph his visit- and the leaf’s whereabouts are unknown!, but others have been recorded paying their respects.
Click on an image to enlarge it and see the caption
Looking after the grave
The History Society takes responsibility for looking after the Bagehot gravesite.
In October 2021, delayed for over a year due to the pandemic, we were finally able to tackle the overgrown site. We removed the weeds and took out the old gravel. Then we replaced the old plastic membrane underneath and replaced it with a new weed-suppressing one. The old gravel went back, and then we topped it off with new gravel to give a smart, clean finish.
History Society members Colin Edwards and Simon Taylor did all the hard work.
