Painting of the monument to the Countess Shrewsbury (Bess of Hardwick) in All Saints Church, Derby

John Joseph Briggs (1819-1876) was an antiquarian, poet and naturalist of Kings Newton near Melourne in Derbyshire. After attending schools in Wymeswold, Leicestershire and Darley, Derbyshire, he was apprenticed to W. Bemrose & Sons, printers of Derby. Ill health forced him to leave his apprenticeship and he spent the rest of his life farming, recording natural history observations in Kings Newton, researching local history and writing.

As part of his researches he produced a volume of illustrations, mostly in watercolor, of sepulchral monuments in Derbyshire. This painting at 1/3 inch scale shows the monument to Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, who is more commonly known as Bess of Hardwick. An enormously wealthy and powerful woman, Bess died in 1608 at the age of 81 and was buried in a vault under the monument.