In the next grave lies Gilbert de Clare, the first who bore the double title. His interest to us consists in the fact that his seal is one of those attached to Magna Charta, and he took a considerable part in the Barons' struggles against King John. He died in Brittany, but was buried here by his own wish. Very little of his coffin remains.
The tablet to him says: "Gilbertus de Clare, nomine primus, comes Glocestrie sextus et Hertfordie quintus, obiit 25o Octobris, anno domini 1230. Magna Carta est lex, caveat deinde rex"; i.e., "Gilbert de Clare, the first of that name, sixth Earl of Gloucester and fifth of Hertford, died October 25th, A.D. 1230. Magna Charta is law, let the King henceforth beware."[24]
The next grave is that of Richard, the second of that name, the son of Earl Gilbert. He is usually believed to have been poisoned at the table of Peter de Savoy at Emersfield in Kent. To his memory a most gorgeous tomb was set up in the Choir, composed of marbles, precious stones, mosaic, gold and silver, and bearing a large image of the Earl in silver on the top. Weever, in "Funeral Monuments," gives the epitaph:
"Hic pudor Hippoliti, Paridis gena, sensus Ulyssis,
Æneæ pietas, Hectoris ira jacet."
"Chaste Hippolite, and Paris fair, Ulysses wise and sly,
Æneas kind, fierce Hector, here jointly entombed lye."
The brass tablet says: "Ricardus de Clare, comes Glocestrie septimus and Hertfordie sextus, obiit 15o Julii, anno que domini 1262. Dum petit crucem sic denique petit lucem"; i.e., "Richard de Clare, seventh Earl of Gloucester and sixth Earl of Hertford, died July 15th, A.D. 1262. While he seeks the cross, he seeks thereafter light." This alludes to his having been a Crusader. Richard de Clare's entrails were buried at Canterbury, and his heart at Tonbridge, at which place he had founded a monastery of Austin Friars.
Despenser Graves.—Between the graves of the De Clares and the steps of the altar are the Despenser graves. The grave on the north side nearest to the Fitz-Hamon or Founder's Chapel is that of Richard Despenser. His brass runs: "Ricardus le Despenser baro octavus, et Burghersh baro quintus, obiit anno domini 1414, dum adhuc adolescens. Flos crescit et mox evanescit"; or in English: "Richard, eighth Baron Despenser and fifth Baron Burghersh, died A.D. 1414, whilst still a youth. A flower grows and soon passes away."
He was married to Elizabeth Nevill, daughter of the Earl of Westmorland, but, dying at Merton at the age of 19, left no family. He was the last of the male line of the Despensers, and is buried next to his father, Thomas le Despenser, who was laid to rest in the central grave of the three. His record on the brass is: "Thomas le Despenser, baro septimus, et Gloucestriæ comes tertius decimus et ultimus crudeliter interfectus 15o Januarii, anno domini 1400. Cibell angau na cywillydd." This being translated means: "Thomas, seventh Baron Despenser, and thirteenth and last Earl of Gloucester, was brutally killed on the 15th of January, A.D. 1400. Rather death than dishonour."
He had married Constance, daughter of the Earl of Cornwall and niece of the Black Prince. Being attainted in 1399 after the deposition of Richard II., whom he had faithfully served, he was deprived of both his titles and executed at Bristol in 1400. His grave was under the lamp which burned before the altar. In 1875 no trace of his grave was found, but there is a fragment of a statue in the "museum" in which he is clad in a blue mantle, wearing the badge of the Garter.