Thomas Ravenscroft

Thomas Ravenscroft was buried at the western end of the north cloister of the Abbey, opposite the wall monument to Christopher Chapman. His grave inscription is no longer visible but old guidebooks tell us it read:

"What I gave, I have

What I spent, I had

What I left, I lost by not giving it.

Thomas Ravenscroft, died 20 April 1708 aged 80"

The inscription had disappeared by the early 19th century.

He was the eldest son of eleven children of James Ravenscroft (died 1680), lawyer and merchant, and his wife Mary (Peck). His brother George (1632/3-1683) was a famous glass manufacturer and they were sent to the English College at Douai for an education. He was descended from the Ravenscrofts of Bretton in Chester. Thomas's first wife was Magdalen Paris and they had a son John, who died before his father. His second wife was Frances.

The family vault is at St John's, Chipping Barnet in Hertfordshire.