History

Admiral Sir Edward Spragge was buried in the “north aisle” of Westminster Abbey (most probably the north ambulatory near the chapel of St John the Evangelist) but his grave was never marked nor was any monument erected for him.

He was a son of Lichfield Spragge, Governor of Roscommon in Ireland, and his wife Mary (Legge). He was probably born about 1629 and married Clara Colaert but he had children by his mistress Dorothy Dennis (Elizabeth, William, Edward and Dorothy). After commanding privateers he entered the navy and fought at the battle of Lowestoft, where he was knighted for his gallantry. His ship the Royal Prince was disabled by the Dutch at the battle of Texel and he was drowned while transferring to another ship. The body was recovered and buried in the Abbey on 23 September 1673. Samuel Pepys, the diarist, knew him and called him “a merry man that sang a pleasant song pleasantly”.

A photocopy of the engraving can be purchased from Westminster Abbey Library.

Further reading

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004