William Shield

William Shield, musician and composer, is buried in the south cloister of Westminster Abbey, in the same grave as his friend and fellow musician Johann Peter Salomon. The grave adjoins that of Muzio Clementi. He was buried in the Abbey at the request of George IV, as Shield was a special favourite of this monarch.

Among the many mourners at the funeral were Thomas Broadwood (his executor) and Vincent Novello. The choirs of the Chapel Royal and St Paul's cathedral augmented the Abbey choir. The service was in G minor by William Croft. On the entrance of the coffin into the quire Henry Purcell's funeral chant was sung. This was followed by Dr Greene's anthem "Lord, thou knowest the secrets of our hearts". Then the coffin was moved to the cloisters for the burial service.

The Dean of the time would not allow a tablet to be erected to his memory at the Abbey. The rejected tablet is now in the village church at Brightling in Sussex, where Shield used to give concerts for the local squire. The gravestone was not inscribed until 1892. It reads:

William Shield musician and composer born March 5th 1748. Died January 25th 1829.

An inscription to Salomon is below this, added in 1938.

His life

William was born at Swalwell in County Durham, son of William (d.1757) who was a music teacher. He was apprenticed to a boat builder but continued his music studies and became a professional musician and conductor. In 1773 he moved to London and wrote songs and music for operas and pantomimes. The tunes to Auld Lang Syne and Comin' through the rye are his. He became composer at Covent Garden and in 1817 was master of musicians to the King. His partner was Ann Stokes, who he may possibly have married.

Further Reading

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography