Cowper was seized with edema, or dropsy, in the spring of 1800 and died on 25 April. He is buried in the chapel of St Thomas of Canterbury, St Nicholas's Church in East Dereham, and a stained-glass window there commemorates his life.[2]
In St Peter's Church in Berkhamsted there are two windows in memory of Cowper: The east window by Clayton & Bell (1872) depicts Cowper at his writing desk accompanied by his pet hares, and bears the inscription "Salvation to the dying man, And to the rising God" (a line from Cowper's poem "The Saviour, what a noble flame"); and in the north aisle, an etched glass window is inscribed with lines from "Oh! for a closer walk with God" and "The Task". In the same church there is also a memorial tablet to the poet's mother, Ann Cowper.[15][16] Cowper is also commemorated (along with George Herbert) by another Clayton & Bell stained-glass window in St George's Chapel, Westminster Abbey.[17][18]
In 1823, Cowper's correspondence was published posthumously from the original letters in the possession of his kinsman John Johnson.[19][20]
Near the village of Weston Underwood, Buckinghamshire, where Cowper once resided, is a folly named Cowper's Alcove. The folly was built by the Lord of the Manor of Weston House, a member of the Throckmorton family in 1753.[21] Cowper was known to visit there frequently for inspiration for his poetry. The alcove is mentioned in Cowper's "The Task".[22] The folly was dedicated to Cowper by the Buckinghamshire county council green belt estate, and a plaque with the verse from "The Task" referencing the alcove was installed.
