William Cole

The Reverend Dr William Cole, classical scholar and author, was a Prebendary (clergyman) at Westminster Abbey from 1792 and was buried in the north choir aisle. The inscription on his gravestone, next to that of William Croft, has now worn away but it read:

The Reverend William Cole D.D. Prebendary of Westminster, Rector of Mersham and Vicar of Shoreham in Kent. Died September 25 1806 aged 53 years

His father was William Cole and he had a brother Robert and sister Mary (Long). He was born on 8th December 1753 at Mersham and educated at Eton college and Cambridge university. Later he was assistant master at Eton, chaplain to the Duke of Marlborough and Rector of Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire. In 1795 he married Mary Blackstone but had no children.

Further reading

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography