John was his name (ah, was!) wretch, must I say;
Lord Russel once, now my tear-thirsty clay.
In this chapel is a monument partly enclosed, to the memory of Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury and his Lady, who are represented lying on a black marble table supported by an alabaster pedestal. This monument is adorned with variegated marble finely carved. The inscription contains his titles and character, which is a very noble one, and informs us that he died on the 8th of February 1617, in the fifty-seventh year of his age.
In this chapel are several other monuments, adorned in their ancient manner, with statues lying flat on the backs; and also some other monuments affixed to the walls.
The Chapel of St. Benedict, which is that next to the south cross, has a monument erected to the memory of Lionel Cranfield Earl of Middlesex, Lord High Treasurer of England in the reign of King James I. This monument was erected by his relict the Lady Anne, and is of black marble, on which are two statues in a recumbent posture, representing his Lordship lying in his robes, with his Lady. It has a long Latin inscription, representing his various employments and honours, and that he finished his life in a retired leisure, and died on the 6th of August 1645, aged seventy.
On the east side, where stood the altar of St. Benedict, is a monument of various kinds of marble, in memory of Lady Frances Countess of Hertford, who died on the 14th of May 1598, in the forty-fourth year of her age. It is of various kinds of marble, and the Countess is in the old taste represented in her robes, lying with her head resting on an embroidered cushion, and her feet on the back of a lion.
On the south side of this chapel is a table monument of white marble to the memory of George Sprat, the second son of Dr. Sprat, Bishop of Rochester, an infant of a year old.
Near it is the monument of Dr. Gabriel Goodman, the first Dean of this church, who founded an hospital, and instituted a school at Rathven in Denbighshire, where he was born. He was a person of great piety, and was the first who raised the learned Camden from obscurity. He is represented kneeling, in his proper habit. He died in 1601.
The Tombs in the open parts of the Abbey.
1. At the corner of the last mentioned chapel is a plain neat monument to the memory of Mr. Dryden, adorned with no other ornaments than an elegant bust of that great poet. It was erected by the late Duke of Buckingham, who thought no inscription necessary to transmit the fame of that great poet to posterity; we therefore only see these few words, J. Dryden, born 1632, died May 1, 1700, and underneath, John Sheffield Duke of Buckinghamshire erected this monument, 1720.