Footnotes

Provenance: Formerly the property of the Rev. Dr.Scott, Lord Nelson's Chaplain, and thence by descent.

Faced with the unprecedented decision to hold a State Funeral for a commoner, the Lord Chancellor's Office started to make detailed preparations as soon as the news of Nelson's death reached the Capital. There were many problems of protocol, not the least that due to Nelson's unusual marital arrangements, it was necessary to create a Grant of Arms for Lady Nelson, so that the Armorial display would be heraldically correct. Lady Nelson's arms were painted on a white ground to indicate that she was still living. After lying in state in the Painted Hall at Greenwich, The coffin was placed on a splendid funeral Barge decorated with black plumes and rowed to Whitehall Steps in one of the largest River Pageants ever witnessed on the Thames. Contemporary glass portraits of the barge indicate the panels clearly. The coffin then transferred to the monumental funeral car, constructed as a replica of the VICTORY complete with figurehead and made its way as part of a Grand procession to St Paul's Cathedral for the funeral ceremony itself. The funeral car was subsequently displayed at St James Palace initially, but was later moved to Greenwich Hospital because of the crowds it attracted. Neglected and riddled with woodworm, it collapsed around 1846, although the miniature figurehead of Victory bearing aloft a laurel wreath is preserved at the National Maritime Museum.

Of the six panels commissioned for the pall, only two are known to have survived, the other was sold at auction in London in March 1997.

The Rev. Alexander John Scott (1768-1840), known as Dr. Scott to differentiate him from John Scott, Nelson's Secretary, was Chaplain on HMS VICTORY from 1803-1805 and also acted as Nelson's interpreter. After the fatal shot, he held and supported Nelson's head as he lay dying in the cockpit on the Orlop Deck. With such a close association, it is not inappropriate that he should have obtained such a memento of the occasion and a reminder of his famous Commander.