Orignally the tombs would have been painted
The simplicity and beauty of 14th century craftsmanship mark the monument of the pigeon chested knight. His armour and his lady's coiffure confine them to the years 1380-1400. Sir John Thombury, Lord of Munden 1379-80, represented Hertfordshire in Parliament four times and died in 1396, being survived by his wife Nanarina, who lies in widow's weeds beside him. His head rests on a lion crested tilting helmet from which hangs his lady's kerchief. A mail head curtain, circled by a strawberry-leaved jewelled wreath, drops from bascinet to shoulders, and a thigh length mail shirt of banded rings peeps below his surcoat and from his armpits. The waist girdle enriched with flowers has on its right the remains of a chain from which hung the dagger of mercy, and on its left a sword now gone except for its point. His mail feet with spur ankle straps rest on a lion with an enormous tail. Another lion is outlined over his body.
His wife has a beautiful face and ears. Her braided hair is held in place by a honeycombed nebule headdress with plaited front. A kerchief falls to her shoulders. She wears a tight fitting sleeveless bodice with cut-a-way sides and a low square neck with a centre pearl adornment over a kirtle that drops to her ankles. Her dainty pointed feet rest on two lap-dogs, and her head lies on a cushion behind which kneel mutilated angels with delicate toes. In trefoil niches on the sides of the tombs are eight beautifully proportioned figurines, three male, five female. Their attitude and attire do not signify mourning. They probably represent John and Nanarina's children.
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Under the western arch of the same wall is another altar tomb of the late 14th century, probably that of Sir John Thornbury, who died about 1396. It has large shields in square quatrefoiled panels, alternating with niches containing small figures. One of the shields bears the arms of Thornbury. The effigies are those of a knight and lady. The former wears plate armour with a pointed basinet and a camail. The head rests on the great helm and the feet on a lion, while the head of the lady, who wears a honeycombed headdress, is supported by figures, now broken away, and her feet rest on a lap-dog. The figures are in very bad condition, the arms of both being gone, and many names being scratched upon them, but there are traces of gilding on the effigy of the knight. In the north wall of the north chapel is a tomb-recess of the 15th century.
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