"T hough only stone salutes the readers eye,
H ere in deep silence precious dust doth lye,
O bscurely sleeping in Death's mighty store,
M ingled with common earth till time's no more;
A gainst Death's stubborn laws who dares repine,
S ince so much Merrit did his life resigne.
M urmurs and tears are useless in the grave,
E lse he, whole vollies at his tomb might have;
R est here in peace, who like a faithful steward
R epaired the church, the poor and needy cured.
E ternall mansions do attend the just,
T o clothe with immortality their dust,
T ainted (whilst under ground) with worms and rust."
In the pillar nearest to the north door in the nave is all that remains of the stoup or bénitier for the holy water. We may probably attribute the wanton damage it has sustained to one of the zealots who ministered here after the Reformation.
South Aisle.—This aisle has five Early Decorated windows. The western four have three lights each; the other, near to the south transept, has four lights, and the tracery in it is slightly more elaborate.
All the stained-glass windows in this aisle were presented to the church by the Rev. C.W. Grove, in 1888, as a memorial to his wife. The windows are by Hardman.
The first window, i.e., the westernmost, represents Christ walking on the sea; the second represents the cripple at the pool of Bethesda; the third, the raising of the widow's son at Nain; the fourth, the feeding of the five thousand; the fifth, the changing of the water into wine at Cana.
At the west end of the south aisle is a memorial window to Mr. H.P. Moore. This is also by Hardman, and represents the home at Nazareth.
At the easternmost end of this aisle is the door by which access was given the church from the cloisters. The entrance to this door consists of a depressed arch, with a square head over it; the spandrils are pierced with an open quatrefoil. This door stands within the original Norman doorway, which was filled in, and traces of the supporting shaft with its capital may be seen. Above are seven niches, with brackets and canopies of good carved work. Over the canopy on either side is an angel with a plain shield.
At the restoration of the church this doorway was very carefully dealt with at the cost of the then Mayor, Mr. Thomas Collins. Up to the time of the restoration of the church, 1891-92, this doorway had been walled up with many pieces of broken carved work from other parts of the church. The doors were designed by Mr. J. Oldrid Scott, executed locally, and given by the late Mr. Thomas Collins.
To the east of the cloister door [O] is a tomb with a fine crocketed ogee arch, and with an angel bearing a plain shield in place of a finial. On one of the cusps are to be traced the chevrons of the De Clares, and another bears a lion rampant. Beyond the fact that it was the tomb of a relation of the De Clares nothing definite can be said. Some have thought it to be the tomb of Sir Thomas Morley, the husband of Anne, daughter of Edward, Lord Despenser, and widow of Hugh, Lord Hastings, who died in 1417. It may here be noted that a lion rampant, sable, crowned or, are to be found on one of the shields at Lord Despenser's feet in the Isham register. This tomb is generally known as the Duke of Somerset's tomb, but the arms as they exist show no resemblance to the arms he would be entitled to bear, viz., those of the Beauforts.