The Blisse monument is a typical example of an eighteenth century monument. It shows Richard Blisse, a member of St Saviour's Vestry, in a full-bottomed wig with attendant weeping cherubs. The Vestry was the basis of British local government from the late Sixteenth century until, in London, 1900. Based around the ecclesiastical parishes the Vestry took responsibility for local government. Responsibilities varied over the centuries but included building and maintaining roads, running the workhouses under the Poor Law, and general improvements such as the introduction of street lighting and a sewerage system.