Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer

A white marble memorial to Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, O.M., statesman, was unveiled in the south aisle of Henry VII's chapel in Westminster Abbey on 12th May 1920. The tablet is shaped with a profile portrait relief medallion within the chain of the Order of the Bath. An inscribed panel is surrounded by roses and incised "And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose", with a figure of a Fellah (Arabic) woman with children above. The sculptor was Sir W. Goscombe John. The gilded inscription reads:

To the glory of God and in memory of Evelyn Baring 1st Earl of Cromer 1841. GCB. OM. GCMG. KCSI. 1916. Regenerator of Egypt

He was born on 26th February 1841 at Cromer Hall in Norfolk, a son of banker Henry Baring and his second wife Cecilia (Windham). His brother Edward later headed Barings Bank. After education at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich he was posted to Corfu, Malta and Jamaica and became private secretary to the Viceroy of India. In 1876 he married Ethel Stanley and their sons were Rowland and Windham. He was Consul General in Cairo and was created Earl of Cromer in 1911. He married secondly Lady Katherine Thynne and their son was Charles. He was awarded the Order of Merit. He died in 1916 and was buried at Bournemouth cemetery in Hampshire. A committee was formed a year later to raise donations for the memorial.

Further reading

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004

"Memorial to the late Earl of Cromer: report to the contributors", 1920, British Library