Christopher Chapman

Christopher Chapman was a member of the Westminster Abbey choir 1642-1648 and 1660-1681. He was a son of Peter, chief brewer to Westminster College to which office Christopher succeeded in 1638. An alabaster tablet on the wall of the north cloister, to the side of the door into the church, records his burial, with that of his daughter and his wife:

Underneath lye interr'd the bodyes of Mr Christopher Chapman & Elizabeth his daughter. Elizabeth dyed ye 11th day of March 1680, and Mr Chapman dyed ye 14th of June 1681. Also Mrs Melior Chapman wife of the said Christopher who dyed the 6th day of July 1707 in ye 87th year of her age

His coat of arms is shown "a chevron argent and gules, a crescent counterchanged"

On the other side of the door is a plain black marble tablet to three of his sons:

Underneath lyeth the bodyes of 3 sonns of Mr Christopher Chapman, Richard, Christopher and Peter. Peter dyed the 11th of September 1672, Richard dyed the 1 of February 1672 and Christopher Chapman, Mr [Master] of Artts dyed the 25th of March 1675

His daughter Anne married John Clayton, also Abbey brewer, in the bishop's palace at Bromley in Kent (the Dean of Westminster at this period was also bishop of Rochester who had a palace at Bromley). She was left land in Iver and Langley in Buckinghamshire in her father's will. A cousin of Christopher, James Chapman, was buried in the Abbey in 1664.