Charles Abbott

Captain Charles Abbott was buried in the middle aisle of the nave of Westminster Abbey on 17th August 1793. His original gravestone was taken up when the nave floor was re-laid in 1834 and only a small lozenge stone now gives his name and date of death but this is very faint. (The grave is to the north east of that to the memorial of Octavia Hill).

An early 19th century book on the Abbey gave the original inscription:

Here lieth the body of Captain Charles Abbott of the Royal Regiment of Artillery who departed this life the 8th of August 1793 aged 59 years

He entered the Regiment in 1761 and rose to be a Captain by 1782. His will was proved by his son Charles Frederick Abbott. The son was at Westminster School from 1770 and was a King's Scholar. In the school record his father is said to have come from Dublin (no mother's name is mentioned). After university at Cambridge he was an Ensign in the 68th foot and retired as a Lieutenant in 1793. The son was left various estates in Cork in Ireland by his father, which is presumably why he left the army. The Captain also mentioned his sister Susanna Abbott in his will.

Further reading

His will is at The National Archives and a copy can be purchased from them