from the middle ages, rich families would often give money to a church or cathedral so that a family chapel could be built attached to the church. there were several reasons for this. the family might want a place where they could pray privately outsde the regular service time. they might want to give thanks to god that a member of the family had been healed or rescued. they might want to bury dead family members and have prayers said every day. they might want to give honour to a particular saint. they might want to avoid taxation by spending a lot of money quickly. they might want to beautify their favorite church and make it bigger. they might want to make something beautiful that the whole town can use.