Judges' Cave Tablet
PainterAttributed to
Robert R. Wiseman
(American, born 1836)
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width): 17 15/16 x 24 1/8in. (45.6 x 61.3cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Samuel Colt
Object number1902.1.2
DescriptionPainting of tablet on Judges' Cave done in greens and browns. The tablet is rectangular, with half circle at the top in the middle. In this half circle is a seal with word around it: "Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Conn." The main body of the tablet reads as follows: "Judges Cave/ here May fifteenth 1661 and for some weeks/ thereafter Edward Whalley and his son-in-law/ William Goffe member of parliament general/ officers in the army of the commonwealth and/ signers of the death warrant of King Charles/ first found shelter and concealment form the / officers of the crown after the restoration. ‘Opposition to tyrants is obedience to god'/ 1896"
NotesSubject history according to museum records: "Located on West Rock, New Haven. Not a cave today, but actually a cleft in the rocks. Bronze tablet was erected by the Connecticut Society of Colonial Wars, which records the fact that in 1661 Colonels Goffe and Whalley, two of the regicide judges were reputed to have found temporary refuge from the officers of King Charles. On the day of the election, there two men were hiding at Judges' Cave. Their place of concealment known only to a few persons."Status
Not on view
Fred. Koch Co.
2023 March 10
