To the memory of Thomas Lloyd Esquire.
In this character eminently displayed
Loyalty to the King
Zeal for his country
And all the social virtues which mark
the English Gentleman.
A grand monument to Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Lloyd (1751–1828) stands in a side chapel of Leeds parish church. Commissioned by former members of the Leeds Volunteer Infantry, the memorial was completed by the prominent sculptor Joseph Gott in 1834. Lloyd’s bust is styled in the classical funereal fashion of the time, with his hair and pose echoing the virtues of Roman statesmen. Two officers stand alongside, dressed elegantly in their military uniforms, their heads bowed in mourning and prayer. The epitaph resting between them extols the ‘social virtues’ of ‘the English Gentleman’ by giving a hagiography of Lloyd’s public life:
He was twice called by the general voice
of the inhabitants of this borough
To the important trust of Lieut. Col. Commandant
Of the Leeds Volunteer Infantry
First in the year 1794
For the protection of their property
Endangered by the spread of anti-social
And revolutionary principles:
Secondly in the year 1805
For the preservation of their homes and liberties
Under the menace of foreign invasion.
… He contributed greatly to raise
That spirit of loyalty and patriotic devotion
Which secured domestic order
And finally achieved the country’s triumph
Over her foreign foes.
Here was an education in modern chivalry, patriotism and more importantly, loyalism, in material form. The surviving former volunteers who commissioned the monument were not just concerned with remembrance of their leader and his past achievements, but also ‘to hand down his bright example to future ages’.
In some respects, there was nothing particularly unusual about Lloyd’s monument. Cathedrals, parish churches and town halls are full of this late Georgian statuary. Indeed, in Manchester Cathedral, or the Collegiate Church as it was then, Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Taylor (1772–1820) is commemorated by a marble plaque. It is smaller and more simple and restrained than Lloyd’s sculpture. Situated on the left-hand side of the entrance to the north aisle of the choir, the memorial’s position indicated the respect given to and respectability of this gentleman from a modest estate in nearby Moston. Taylor raised, financed and commanded the regiment of Manchester and Salford Volunteer Rifles and acted as justice of the peace.