"_Hic jacet JOHANNIS GOWER,
Armiger, Anglorum Poeta celeberrimus,
ac huic sacro Edificio Benefactor, insignis
temporibus Edw. III. et Rich. II._"

Here lieth John Gower, esq., a celebrated
English poet, also a benefactor to
this sacred edifice, in the time of Edward
III. and Richard II.

The base of the monument has seven trefoil niches, within as many
plain-pointed ones.

The effigy of the poet is placed above, in a recumbent posture, beneath
the canopy just described. He is dressed in a gown, originally purple,
covering his feet, which rest on the neck of a lion. A coronet of roses
adorns his head, which is raised by three folio volumes, labelled on
their respective ends, "Vox Clamantis," "Speculum Meditantis," and
"Confessio Amantis." Round the neck hangs a collar of SSS. Over the lion,
on the side of the monument, are the arms of the deceased, hanging, by
the dexter corner, from an ancient French chappeau, bearing his crest.
The dress of this effigy has, probably, given rise to the conjectures
concerning the rank in life which Gower maintained; but that is too
precarious a ground on which to form a decided opinion on such a point.

Gower's arms are, Argent on a cheveron, azure, three leopard's heads, Or.
Crest. On a chappeau turned up with ermine, a talbot, serjant, proper.

A little eastward of Gower's monument is part of a pillar, descending
from the roof, with a conical base. It is said to be hollow, and has,