208 
WILLIAM SMITH : HIS MAPS AND MEMOIRS 
With regard to this bust at Northampton, Dr. Henry Woodward, 
both in the Geological Magazine and in the Bath Society's Transactions, 
states it is by Chantrey. The Vicar of St. Peter's doubted this. Dr. 
Woodward informs me that he cannot now remember where he obtained 
the information. The original marble bust of Smith was in the 
possession of his nephew, the Professor of Geology at Oxford. I 
therefore wrote to Professor W. J. Sollas, who informs me that the 
bust is still at Oxford, and that it bears the name of " M. Noble " at 
the back. Noble lived at Hackness for some years. There is a plaster 
replica of the Oxford bust in the possession of the Misses Turnbull, 
Scarborough. Mr. Barker informs m.e that on the back of it is in- 
cised "W. Smith, LL.D, M. Noble, 1848." 
I am indebted to Mr. P. H. Barker for the following note in 
reference to this sculptor : — 
Matthew Noble, the eminent sculptor, was a native of Hack- 
ness, near Scarborough, where his family, for at least three 
generations, were employed as Stone Masons on the estate of the 
late Sir J. V. B. Johnstone Bart, M. P. He was born in the year 
1816, and early in life, he assisted his Father in work on the 
Estate. 
As a young man, he was proficient in modelling in clay, and 
this attracted the friendly notice of Sir John Johnstone, who at 
his own cost, sent him to London, where he received tuition in 
the Sculptor's art, which became his life's profession. He became 
eminent, and many of his works survive. He was many times 
employed by the Royal Family, and among his many works are 
the effigy of Archbishop Harcourt in York Minster ; the Bust of 
Barrow, in the Chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge ; Statues 
of the late Lord Derby and other prominent statesmen ; and the 
Monument to the memory of Dame Margaret, the Mother of Sir 
John Johnstone, in Hackness Church, is the only local product 
of his chisel. 
He died 23rd June, 1876, in London, having shortly before 
his death suffered the shock of a son's death in a railway accident. 
A surviving son lives at Brighton, and near relatives of his still 
reside at Ayton, near Scarborough, where they continue the 
business of stone masons. In life, he was of a very modest and 
endearing character, and was much beloved by his many friends, 
