3-092-101 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Two men in a medieval crypt next to a coffin, 18th century. The lid is inscribed 'Tumba Rosemundae' - the tomb of Rosamund. Rosamund Clifford (died c1176) was the mistress of Henry II of England. Her resting place became a popular shrine among locals, which was noticed by Hugh of Lincoln, the Bishop of Lincoln in 1191. Seeing the flowers and candles that covered the tomb, he ordered her remains to be moved and buried outside, "with the rest, that the Christian religion may not grow into contempt, and that other women, warned by her example, may abstain from illicit and adulterous intercourse". Clifford's body was moved to the cemetery by the nuns' chapter house and was destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries.