I.—Chapel of St. Benedict.
| 1. Archbishop Langham, 1376. 2. Countess of Hertford, 1598. 3. Dr. Goodman, Dean of Westminster, died 1601. | 4. Son of Dr. Sprat, 1683. 5. Cranfield, Earl and Countess of Middlesex, 1645. 6. Dr. Bill, first Dean under Q. Elizabeth, 1561. |
| Under the Monuments of Deans Goodman and Sprat, was interred (Dean Vincent), the late Dean, 1815. | |
n the Chapel of St. Benedict is an ancient tomb of stone, having formerly a canopy of wood, on which lies the effigy of Archbishop Langham, who, as the Latin epitaph round his tomb sets forth, “was Monk, Prior, and Abbot of this Abbey; afterwards elected Bishop of London; but Ely being then also vacant, he made choice of that see; that he was Primate and Chancellor of England; Priest-Cardinal, afterwards Bishop-Cardinal, of Preneste, and Nuncio from the Pope; and that he died on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalen, in the year 1376, on whose soul God have mercy, and grant him the joys of heaven for the merits of Christ.”
On the east, where stood the altar of St. Benedict, is a fine monument to the memory of Lady Frances, Countess of Hertford. The Latin inscription sets forth, “that she was wife to the noble Earl of Hertford, son to the renowned Prince Edward, Duke of Somerset, Earl of Hertford, Viscount Beauchamp, and Baron Seymour; that she was daughter to the noble Lord William, Baron Howard of Effingham, Knight of the Garter, High Admiral to Queen Mary, and Lord Chamberlain and Privy Seal to Queen Elizabeth, &c.; that, for her many graces, both of mind and body, she was highly favoured by her gracious Sovereign, and dearly loved by her noble Lord, who, in testimony of his inviolate affection, consecrated to her memory this monument. She died in the forty-fourth year of her age, May 14, 1598.”
On the south side is a monument to the memory of Dr. Gabriel Goodman. The Latin inscription intimates, “that he was the fifth Dean of this Church, over which he presided for forty years with much applause; that he founded an hospital, and instituted a school at Ruthin, in Denbighshire, where he was born; that he was a man of regular and devout life, and that he died in 1601, aged seventy-three.”
On the same side is a monument to the memory of George Sprat, second son of Dr. Thomas Sprat, Bishop of Rochester, and Dean of Westminster, by his wife Helena, descended from the ancient and honourable family of the Wolseleys, in Staffordshire, who lies interred in the Chapel of St. Nicholas. He died an infant of a year old, in 1683.