Richard Wightman and His Wives

  


A Monument in Burbage Church

    Above is a photograph of the alabaster panel in Burbage Church. The slab was originally on the floor, where some detail was worn away and became illegible. It is now on the wall of the church.

Beside it is a sketch of the same panel which was published in "Records of the Wightman Family" (1917) by Bryan I'Anson.

    The words near the bottom of the slab read:

Here lyeth the bodie of Rycharde Wightman late of Burbage in the
Countie of Leir gentleman and of Marie his first Wife by whome he
had the issues here onder set and also of Dame Margaret Constable his seconde Wife which Rycharde disceased the VIII day of April 1578.
The eight small figures along the base of the panel represent the eight children of Richard Wightman. Apparently there were five sons and three daughters. (Small children of both sexes were dressed very much alike until they were about 5 or 6 years old.)