Francis Tanfield was a member of a gentry family long settled at Gayton, Northamptonshire. The Tanfields held land in the county from at least the 14th century, and like many such families, maintained their position through estate management and service in local administration. Francis died in 1558, and his monument in St Mary’s Church was probably commissioned by his widow soon afterwards.

The tomb is an engraved alabaster chest rather than a brass or sculpted effigy. On the top surface, Francis is shown in full armour, his wife beside him in a formal Tudor gown. Beneath them runs a line of small figures representing their children.

The carving distinguishes between older sons and daughters and a number of infants shown in swaddling clothes—these wrapped forms are not decorative but denote children who died in infancy. Such imagery is common on 16th-century tombs, especially among the gentry, who often commemorated all their children, living and dead, together.

High infant and child mortality was a normal feature of 16th-century life. Even in prosperous households, disease, infection, and poor medical understanding meant that a third or more of children did not survive to adulthood. It was usual for families to have many children, and for several to die before the age of five. Including these infants on family tombs served both as a record and as an expression of faith—each soul, however short-lived, was part of the family’s hope for salvation. The Tanfield slab, with its mix of adult and swaddled figures, reflects this pattern directly.