The effigy of Lady St. John lies in this recess. She was daughter of Sir William Dormer, and widow of John, Lord St. John, of Bletsoe. She died on the 23rd of March, 1614.
Near this is a pyramid to the memory of Anna Sophia Harley, a child of a year old, daughter of the Hon. Christopher Harley, Ambassador from the French King, whose heart, as appears by the inscription, he caused to be enclosed in a cup, and placed upon the top of the pyramid. She died in 1601.
The next is a monument to the memory of Lady Winifred, married first to Sir Richard Sackville, Knt., and afterwards to John Paulet, Marquis of Winchester. The Latin epitaph imports, that she was descended of illustrious parents, and married first a gentleman of an ancient house, whose ancestors were renowned before the Conqueror’s time; that her second husband was of noble blood; and that being severed from both by death, her soul will rejoice in Christ for ever. She died in 1586.
Above is an ancient monument to the memory of Lady Ross, daughter of Edward, Earl of Rutland. She died April 11, 1591.
Next to this is a monument to the memory of the late Duchess of Northumberland. The figures on each side are Faith and Hope; and those above are two weeping Genii over her urn, mourning for her loss. The inscription, after reciting her Grace’s illustrious descent and titles, concludes with her character, who, “having lived long an ornament of courts, an honour to her country, a pattern to the great, a protectress to the poor, ever distinguished for the most tender affection for her family and friends, she died December 5, 1776, aged sixty, universally beloved, revered, and lamented. The Duke of Northumberland, inconsolable for the loss of the best of wives, hath erected this monument to her beloved memory.”—Read, sculptor.
Against the screen is a Gothic monument with the effigy of a lady in robes, very antique. The lady, by the inscription, appears to be Philippa, second daughter and co-heiress of John, Lord Mohun, of Dunstar; married first to Sir Walter Fitzwalter, Knt., secondly to Sir John Galofre, Knt., and lastly to Edward Plantagenet, Duke of York, who was slain in the battle of Agincourt, 25th of October, 1415. She died in 1431, without issue.
In the middle of the Chapel is a fine monument to the memory of Sir George Villiers, who died Jan. 4, 1605, and his lady, Mary Beaumont, created Countess of Buckingham in 1618. She died on April 19, 1632, aged sixty-two, whose son, by the favour of James I., was advanced to the dignity of the Duke of Buckingham.—Stone, sculptor.
Katharine Valois, Queen of Henry V., who died at Bermondsey Abbey, Southwark, in January, 1437, was buried in the Chapel of our Lady at the east end of the Abbey, where she remained till her grandson, Henry VII., built his chapel, when her remains were placed near to her husband in a chest, and finally deposited under Sir George Villiers’ tomb in 1776.
In this Chapel lies interred, Thomas Sprat, Bishop of Rochester, and Dean of Westminster, who died May 20, 1713. Also his son, Thomas Sprat, Archdeacon of Rochester, who died May 10, 1720, aged forty-one. Also many other persons of distinction, of the Percy, Seymour, and Burleigh families, which we have not space to insert.
At the door of this Chapel was buried that great and learned antiquary, Sir Henry Spelman, who died in 1641.