Military Rank:

Colonel

First Name:

John

Last Name:

Hampden

Memorial Type:

Monument - Battlefield

Does the monument still exist?

Yes

Installation Date:

18 June 1843

Inscription:

on the western side of the monument the inscription reads:

Here in this field of Chalgrove John Hampden after an able and strenuous but unsuccessful resistance in Parliament and before the judges of the land to the measures of an arbitary court first took arms assembling the levies of the associated counties of Buckingham and Oxford in 1642.
Within a few paces of this spot he received the wound of which he died while fighting in defence of the free monarchy and ancient liberties of England June 18. 1643
In the two hundreth year from that day this stone was raised in reverance to his memory.

The inscription on the eastern side of the monument says that it was raised by subscription on June 18th, 1843 before listing the names of the subscribers.

On the northern side of the monument is a profile bust of John Hampden with his name underneath and the family motto 'Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum' (no retreat/no step backward) above.

The southern side of the memorial includes the Hampden coat of arms with the family motto below.

Allegiance:

Parliamentarian

Condition:

Average

Condition Description:

The profile medallion of John Hampden is heavily weathered and indistinct. Much of the inscription is hard to read because of weathering

Memorial Notes:

Whilst there are different interpretations about precisely where the battle of Chalgrove was fought, the claim in the monument inscription that Hampden received his death wound 'within a few paces' of the location of the monument is almost certainly incorrect.