Whist on our trip to East Anglia we visited Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury where there is a painting by the artist with a plaque saying it is William Cowper. However, it doesn’t look right. See that page for more information.

More importantly we also visited Dereham as Cowper is buried at St Nicholas Church. The side chapel includes a memorial and a stained glass window from 1900. Curiously the image in the window contains a similar do to that in the painting by Gainsborough.

The displays contain quite a bit of background information but were difficult to photograph because of the railings. Seemingly these were produced by the Cowper and Newton Museum in Olney.

I doubt that Cowper or Newton would be impressed by the spiritual estate of much of The Church of England today. Their hymns were not widely used until they had crossed the Atlantic and became popular in other churches. 

Dereham is also home to the Cowper Memorial Congregational Church. Not all such churches have stood firm over the years and this particular church it is not what it once was.

Visited 9th July 2025.