in chelsea old parish church there may be seen an altar-tomb of such marked beauty that dean stanley once declared that westminster abbey contained only three finer. it is dedicated to the memory of geoffrey, lord dacre and his wife.
on the west side is the following inscription—
"quos ardens amor juvenilibus annis
abstulit atra dies—mors inopina rapit.
ille prior fatis dacrorum nobile germen
occidit, in morbum ast incidit ilia prius
qu? languescendo miser? pr?t?dia vit?
sensit, tam dulci conjuge cassa suo,
ut teneri cordis concordia junxerat ambos
sic idem amborum contegit ossa locus.
quos jungit tumulus conjungant c?lica tecta
ut tensant coelum qui tenuere fidem.
nobilis iste vir nobilis iste mulier
obiit sept. 25, 1594 obiit maii 14, 1595."
the following is a free translation—
"those whom in youth love joined, death's day of gloom
with little warning sank into the tomb;
he, dacre's seed, first yielded to the blow,
she lingered on in weariness and woe;
their hearts responsive beat till life's calm close,
together here the bones of each repose,
united by one grave,—in faith they lie,
one blissful meed awaits them in the sky."
in chiddingly church there exists a noble monument to the memory of sir john jefferay, lord chief baron of the exchequer.
he died full of years and honours in the year 1578.
