HERE LIETH INTERRED THE BODY
OF THE LADY HARRINGTON, WIDOW
OF Sᵗ SAI (or SIR) COTES HALL
IN THE COUNTY OF LINCOLNSHIRE, DAUGHTER
OF MR JOHN AND ISABELL WOODWARD
OF MARSTON IN WARWICKSHIRE. SHE DEPARTED THIS LIFE
THE 26 DAY OF JANUARY 1662.
FOR PATIENCE, HUMILITY AND CHARITY
ONE OF THE BEST OF CHRISTIANS.
THIS IS A JUST CHARACTER GIVEN HER BY D(ominus)
EDM(undus) MORGAN RECT(OR) OF GAYTON.

The floor slab to Lady Harrington in St Mary’s Church, Gayton, is a fine example of 17th-century commemorative stonework, combining formal design with a strikingly personal tone. Carved from smooth local limestone, its simple border and restrained scrollwork at either end frame an inscription notable for both its clarity and warmth.

The text records that Lady Harrington, widow of Sir Cotes Hall of Lincolnshire and daughter of John and Isabell Woodward of Marston in Warwickshire, died on 26 January 1662. Her family connections show the interweaving of gentry networks across several Midland counties, and her burial at Gayton likely reflects ties through marriage or patronage within the parish.

Unlike many contemporary inscriptions that follow rigid formulae, this one concludes with a heartfelt commendation: “For patience, humility and charity, one of the best of Christians. This is a just character given her by Edmund Morgan, Rector of Gayton.” Such words bring the deceased vividly to life. They speak of a woman admired not for rank or wealth, but for personal virtue — patience, humility, and charity — qualities extolled in post-Reformation religious culture as the true marks of a Christian life.

The Rector’s authorship of the epitaph also suggests a close pastoral relationship, perhaps of long acquaintance, and an unusually direct clerical voice in the memorial record. In its combination of dignity, simplicity, and moral praise, Lady Harrington’s slab epitomises the quiet eloquence of provincial 17th-century memorial art, a testament both to the endurance of local faith and to the affection her community evidently held for her.