Sir Henry Blackwood

On the wall of the west aisle of the north transept is a white marble tablet in memory of Vice Admiral the Honourable Sir Henry Blackwood. The sculptor was W. Behnes and was erected by Arthur Blackwood. The inscription reads:

Sacred to the memory of Vice Admiral the Honorable Sir Henry Blackwood, Bart. [Baronet], K.C.B., G.C.H. who died Decr. the 13th 1832 aged sixty three years, fifty one of which he had spent in the active service of his profession, distinguished by his energy, promptitude and bravery, qualities which derived addtional lustre from the virtues which adorned his personal character; with valour combining a strong sense of religion and the elevation of an upright noble mind with all the endearing feelings of a manly, generous and benevolent heart. This tribute of sorrow and affection to the memory of one so justly honored and beloved is offered by his deeply afflicted widow and his surviving children.

He was born in co. Down in Ireland, a son of Sir John Blackwood, 2nd Baronet of Ballyleidy and his wife Dorcas (Stevenson) and joined the navy as a young boy, serving in the Mediterranean, and on the Newfoundland station. Admiral Nelson commended him for his service in the blockade of Malta and Henry served with him at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. He witnessed Nelson's will together with Captain Hardy. and was at the great admiral's funeral at St Paul's cathedral. Later he was awarded a baronetcy and served as Commander in Chief in the East Indies. His first wife was Jane Mary Crosbie, his second was Eliza Waghorn, by whom he had a son, and his third wife was Harriet Gore, by whom he had several children. Two of his sons were captains in the navy. Henry died from typhus fever caught from his son Henry Martin, who survived. He is buried in the family vault at St John's church in Killyleagh in co. Down and there is another tablet there.

Further reading

"The Trafalgar Captains. Their lives and memorials" by Colin White and The 1805 Club, 2005

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004