The first of these Appreciations of Burke was delivered at Bristol on October 30th, 1894, at a time when Lord Rosebery was Prime Minister. The occasion was the unveiling of a statue to Burke, the work of a Bristol sculptor, Mr. Havard Thomas. Continuous rain prevented the actual unveiling ceremony being anything more than merely formal, with the result that Lord Rosebery's speech was delivered at the Colston Hall. The second Appreciation was delivered on July 7th, 1898, at Hall Barn, where a distinguished company were entertained at luncheon by Sir Edward Lawson, after a memorial to Burke had been unveiled by Lord Rosebery in the church of St. Mary and All Saints, Beaconsfield. The memorial consists of two panels— the upper containing a portrait of Burke, the lower the following inscription: "Edmund Burke, patriot, orator, statesman, lived at Butler's Court, formerly Gregories, in this parish, from 1769 to 1797. This memorial, placed here by public subscription, records the undying honour in which his name is held." |