Hatton Family

Sir Christopher Hatton

The black and white marble monument to Sir Christopher Hatton was originally in the lower Islip chapel in Westminster Abbey - he and his wife Alice both lie buried near the entrance to this chapel. In 1939 the monument was removed so that the altar in this chapel could be re-instated where it had been originally against the east wall and the chapel renovated. The monument and Alice's separate wall tablet were removed to the Abbey 's north east triforium. Both were re-located in 2017 to the south west triforium (not accessible to the public).

The figure of Sir Christopher is in armour and Alice, who erected the monument, wears a mourning veil. Above the reclining figures is a shield of arms with two putti holding drapery. The inscription to Sir Christopher can be translated:

Christopher Hatton Kt. of the Order of the Bath, kinsman and heir of the Lord Chancellor of England, felicitously took to wife Alice Fanshaw, daughter of Thomas Fanshaw Esq. Remembrancer of the Exchequer, by whom he had twelve children, of whom six survive: Christopher, John, Francis, William, Elizabeth and Jane. He predeceased her Sept 10th 1619; she has yet, in this year of 1623, to follow, and awaits union both with her husband and with Christ.

The inscription tablet to Alice was separate from the monument, on the wall to the south when it was in the chapel, and is now framed on the triforium wall. (It could be that the blank panel on the base of Sir Christopher's monument was originally intended for an inscription to Alice, to be added later).

The Latin can be translated:

Here, where he laid down his ardent marriage vows and his icy limbs, full of lively hope, lies Christopher Hatton, heir of that flower of Lord Chancellors, himself the flower of chivalry, whom all honourable men loved in life, and mourn in death. For he had a great power of drawing friends to himself, and of constancy in his loves, and a kindliness that was innocent of all guile: a sincere benevolence that reached out without artifice: as his table, so was his soul open, always easy of access. Indeed, though blest with many offspring, he cherished, nourished, and fostered his brothers as might a childless man, as though they were sons. As an example over and above that of his brothers, his equals in equestrian status and in resources, let the poor, who now feel the loss, tell of the tender depths of his compassion and of his open-handedness. How genuine his piety, how great his love for the learned, and reverence for the priesthood, is known to learned and devout clerics everywhere; the remainder is overwhelmed with lamentation. Alice, his future companion in the tomb, as she was the companion of his bed, in her grief raised this dwelling for her husband and herself, that they might not be divided in death

Christopher was the son of John Hatton and his wife Jane (Shute) and was created a Knight of the Bath by James I. Alice was baptised in London on 24th December 1581 and they married at Barking in March 1602. She was buried on 19 March 1640 (although she is not in the burial register which is defective in this decade). A young daughter Jane died in 1624 of the spotted fever and was buried in the Abbey.

Christopher, Lord Hatton

He was born in 1605, son of Christopher and Alice, and was knighted by Charles I and created Baron Hatton of Kirby in Northamptonshire. He became a Member of Parliament and was later Controller of the Household to the king. In 1648 he went to France in exile. He inherited a large estate from his cousin, the famous Lord Chancellor Hatton. On his return to England he developed his property at Hatton Garden in London and was made Governor of the island of Guernsey. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Charles Montagu. 

Four of their children were buried in the Abbey: Charles in 1638, Alice in 1639, Francis in 1642 and Jane, who died unmarried in June 1712. He was buried in the vault in the Islip chapel on 4th July 1670. A simple modern stone records his burial:

CHRISTOPHER LORD HATTON 1670

Elizabeth and Cicely Hatton

Christopher, son of Christopher and Elizabeth, was created 1st Viscount Hatton. He was born in 1632 and married on 12th February 1667 Lady Cicely Tufton. They had three daughters of whom Anne married Daniel Finch, Earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham. He succeeded his father as Governor of Guernsey. On the night of 29-30th December 1672 the powder magazine at Castle Cornet exploded, after a lightning strike, and his mother Elizabeth and wife Cicely were killed. He had a very lucky escape however. Their bodies were returned to the family vault in the Abbey for burial and two modern stones record their burial:

ELIZABETH LADY HATTON 1672

CECILIA LADY HATTON 1672 

He married twice more but is not buried in the Abbey.

Further reading for the Hattons

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography for Christopher Hatton

www.historyofparliamentonline.org

Kirby Hall is open to the public and administered by English Heritage