Cie towon | Bor < ts , ; +m 4S ee ; oe AA A * - ” . , u y s ay Pit) (rhea ry ak ete f red 2 ‘ 4 * oe 2 pg ° Nene Ly * ‘ nS 7 #3 eeeae . - : . ‘ + ; z 7 ‘ é . ‘ ’ ; See oS : > : ; ; e ~~ ; ’ ; ‘ | . 3 ‘ ; )% : a! 7 a . ; Lae | é Mids i738 '- ‘ ‘ ih i Lipty : The Wiltshire Archeological and Natural History Magazine PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SOCIETY FORMED IN THAT COUNTY A.D. 1853 EDITED BY H. C. BRENTNALL, F-.S.A. GRANHAM WEST, MARLBOROUGH ASSISTANT EDITOR: OWEN MEYRICK, RIDGELANDS, RAMSBURY VOL. LV Nos. 198—201. JUNE, 1953—DECEMBER, 1954 DEVIZES: C. H. WOODWARD. EXCHANGE BUILDINGS, STATION, ROAD. DECEMBER, 1954 CONTENTS OF VOL. LV No. CXCVIM.. JUNE, 1953 PAGE The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire: By Pip en eg es ohne boo ca vene lowe vaeteahiaes 129 A Decorated Bronze Axe from Stonehenge Down: Bye ocotone bh SAR 2 or cee eS. 30— 33 A Roman House at Kingshill Farm, Cricklade: By Drv Callendar-and Nicholas Thomas.:.....2:.... 34— 39 Natural History Section: Field Meetings and Lectures, 1952: Report by the Hon. Meetings Secretary, Margaret E. Nurse... 40— 41 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1952: Recorders, Ruth G Barnes’ M,B-O.U., and: Guy Peirson2. ......... 42 58 Breeding of Hoopoe in Wiltshire in 1948 and 1950 59 Wiltshire Plant Notes [14]: Recorder J. Donald (SSP OS® Ss UO oe Rae oes eat oe Ae 60— 62 Entomological Report for 1952: By B. W. Weddell 63— 66 Moth Trap at Holt Manor: By Charles Floyd...... 66— 68 Annual Statement of Accounts of the Natural PISEOLY SCCEION, ODO. oe ae ode boo oas in vcs eesed Sug 69 Wiltshire Place- and Field-Names III........2........... 70— 74 NOTES.—A Flamboyant spear from Bidcombe Down. Ketes “Grave. A Diminutive Coffin Lid in Winterbourne Earls Church. Three lost South Wiltshire Crosses. The Flying Monk of Malmes- bury. Manton Long Barrow. The Projected Marlborough Canal in the 18th century. On a point of law. Swans in the Kennet Valley.......... 7>—. 86 Wiltshire Books, Pamphlets and Articles............... 87— 96 Wwaikesinnne Obituaries, 700 ue ed, ere lice. oleae 97— 98 Accessions to the County Record Office... 4.05.0. 99 evddittons to. Museum and Lrbraty../.032.)...0e i... 100—101 Accounts of the Society for the Year 1952.............. 102—104 ii CONTENTS OF VOL. LV. PAGE No. CXCIX. DECEMBER, 1953 The Floating of the Wiltshire Watermeadows: By Bric Kerridgser Uy ees eae ee eae 105—118 ' The East End of Wansdyke: By O. G. S. Crawford, CBee irr. BUA es ye ee eee 119—125 Wansdyke West and South: By Lieut.-Colonel Alfred Ho Burne} DiS ORG ee ee oe 126—134 The Mere, Roundway, and Winterslow Beaker Culture Knives: By Humphrey Case..........2 43 135—138 Long’s Stores, Devizes: By W. E. Brown............... 139—145 The Wiltshire Local Militia in Training, 1809—1814: By PUFF. Chettle, CONE Ga) ae ieee ee 146—150 ‘The Centenary leuncheom es 5 yg 151—152 The Chantries of Mere and their Priests: By the Reve Co J. Godbney tay saa onal ote ae 153—160 An Inventory of Gifts to the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre that was at Edington: Edited by D. U. Seth Smith and G. M: Ac Cunnington:...22-..:.7. 161—164 Wiltshire: Books, Articles, ete......21.21.450... 4 165—174 NOTES.—Josiah Wooldridge of Bedwyn. Further Note on Charter Headings. A Flint Dagger from Avebury. A Roman Villa at Downton. The Pembroke Survey, 1631-1632. 3-0 ).60. ee - 175—180 Gricklade: Excavation, 1953.) (2. 2 181 Annual General Meeting, 1953—and Excursions...... 182—185 Annual Report, 1953-535. ey eee 185—187 Wiltshire Archeological and Natural History Society,Records Branch.) gee ee ee 188—189 Accessions to the County Record Office............... 190 Waltshire Obituaries. 23h = eee ee 191—192 Additions to-Museum and Wibranys 8 193—195 List of Members..3..0. eh ee ee eae 196—209 CONTENTS OF VOL. LV. lil PAGE No. CC. June, 1954 The Cunningtons of Wiltshire: By Lt. Col. R. H. (CUTIETTENS C0 1 Re 211—236 The Idovers of North-West Wilts: By H. C. [Byer ie bh 0) sees aang Se a ee le a 237—242 Natural History Section : Field Meetings and Lectures, 1953: Report by the Hon. Meetings Secretary, Clifford Owen......... 243 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1953: Recorders, Ruth G. Barnes, M.B.O.U., and Guy Peirson............ 244257 Wiltshire Plant Notes [15]: Recorder, Donald IGROSe ES eh Be ioe eke see gees 258—262 A Botanical Survey of Spye Park: By Donald (GHrORS ES IB IS ae te ee aa 263—276 Entomological Report foe 1953: By B. W. Weddell 277—280 An Experiment with Marked Butterflies: By Ge RY Pitman coeds pees LS hes CasCs weve ceeas 281 Annual Statement of Accounts of the Natural IMIStOLY SECtION, 19535. 6... cokes ccc Sune ndede odds eves 282 Roman Pottery Repairs: By A. Shaw Mellor.......... 283—284 A Lost Window of Great Bedwyn Church: By Georse Smith Cand-others) 2.02.05 occ eek csed ede eenee oo 285—288 NOTES.—Daggers and axes at Stonehenge. The Normanton Barrows. The Wiltshire Times....... 289—290 Additions and Corrections to Previous Articles and Notes. Late Bronze Age Razors. A Flint Dagger from Avebury (?). Initials on Rainwater Heads. G@inanter FICAGIN GS...) ee es sekcelacdea bocce eeens 290—291 Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc... 0.0.5.6. ..0.cscie cess eees 292—299 Re mleshine Obituaniesi 06. ceskecke lee l degwegelaceeaeegeaet 300—302 Accessions to the County Record Office............... 303—304 Accessions to the Society's Museum and Library.... 305—306 Accounts of the Society for the Year 1953............. 307—309 iv CONTENTS OF VOL. LV. PAGE No. CCI. DECEMBER, 1954. Notes on some Early Bronze Age Grave Groups in Devizes Museum: By Nicholas Thomas, Curator... 311—332 The Roman Site in Colerne Park: By A. Shaw Niello ne er tA Ok, 2 nae, ey Bel See tal eae 333—340 The First Name of Celia Fiennes: By R. P. Wright, LS. Cas cone OI Ma MCC Mme naan Cine UE Sale 341—343 A Medieval Timber-Framed House in Cricklade: By Stanley Jones and J. To Smith 307023 344 —352 The Early Bounds of Purtonanda Pagan Sanctuary: By TI. R. Thomson, F.S.A., F-R.Hist:S........2.. Res 353—363 Some Historical and Architectural Notes on No. 12 St. John’s Street and Nos. 2 and 3 St. John’s Alley, Devizes: By EB) AY Rendell, 25) 2 ee ae 364—366 Annual General Meeting 1954... 4 367—372 NoTES.—Thirteenth Century Remains in Chippen- ham. Roman Stones at Latton. Ancient Monu- ments. The Saxon mint at Wilton. Stonehenge. The Font of Edington Church. Ubinunc sapientis Ossa Wer ae ee ee ee 373—380 Books, Articles, Etec 7 a ee ee ee 381-—384 Waileshire Obituaries: 2.00.50 er aes ses eee 385—386 Accessions to the County Record Office................ 387 Additions to Library and) Museum. .2-.-2).0. 3; 387—388 | frp ifa Voy: clean eee SONORA A APPA ene UNC MALIA in sean 389—397 ILLUSTRATIONS Map of Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire, 4. Decorated bronze axe from Stonehenge Down, 31. Roman House, 35. Spearhead from Bidcombe Down, 75. Plate :—Coffin Lid in Winterbourne Earl’s Church, 78. The Flying Monk of CONTENTS OF VOL.~- LV Vv Malmesbury, 81. Eastern Section of Wansdyke, 120. Plates I, Il; Wansdyke, 122—123. Fig. 1; The Roman road and the ditches, 130. The eastern ends of Wansdyke, 133. Beaker Culture Knives, 136. Rainwater Head, 140. Marlborough High Street, 166. A Flint Dagger from Avebury, 177. Plate, William Cunnington and his daughter Elizabeth in 1802, 228. Plate, B. H. Cunnington and Mrs. M. E. Cunning- ton, 1926, 229. Survey Plan of Spye Park, 263. Plate, Roman Rivets, 284. Plate, Lost Window of Great Bedwyn Church, 285. Early Bronze Age Grave Groups: Fig. 1, 312; Fig. 2, 318; Fig. 3, 322; Fig. 4, 328. Wiltshire Microliths, 331. Mounds in Colerne Park, 334. Plate I, No. 46, High Street, Cricklade, opp. 344. Plate II, Interior Elevation of the Medieval House, opp. 345. Fig, 1, Plans of the Medieval House, 347. Map, The Bounds of Purton, 358—359. ‘ Ou} ‘ WA i BAF 52h WN Ne ©CXCVIIl .- e 7 JUINE, 1953 Vol. LV The Wiltshire Archeological and Natural History Magazine PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SOCIETY FORMED IN THAT COUNTY IN THE YEAR 1853 HON. EDITOR HON. ASSISTANT EDITOR H. C. BRENTNALL, F.S.A. OWEN MEYRICK GRANHAM WEST, MARLBOROUGH RIDGELANDS, RAMSBURY ie authors of the papers printed in this Magazine are alone responsible for all statements made therein DEVIZES PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY BY C. H. WOODWARD, EXCHANGE BUILDINGS, STATION ROAD Price ros. 6d. Members gratis The Wiltshire Archzological & Natural History Society The annual subscription is £1 with an entrance fee of 10s. A payment of £20 secures life-membership of the Society. Members who have not paid their subscriptions to the Society for the current year are requested to remit the same forthwith to the Hon. Treasurer MR. R. S. CHILD, Brighstone, The Breach, Devizes, to whom also all communications as to the supply of Magazines should be addressed. : The numbers of this Magazine will be delivered gratis, as issued, to members who are not in arrear of their annual subscrip- tions; but in accordance with Byelaw No. 8 “ The Financial Secretary shall give notice to members in arrear, and the Society’s publications will not be forwarded to members whose subscriptions shall remain unpaid after such notice ” An Index for the preceding eight volumes of the Magazine will be found at the end of vols. viii., xvi., xxiv., and xxxil. The subsequent volumes are each indexed separately. Articles and other communications intended for the Magazine, and correspondence relating to them, should be addressed to the Editor, Granham West, Marlborough. The Records Branch Founded in 1937 for the publication of original documents re- lating to the history of the county. The subscriptionis £1 yearly. New members are urgently needed. Hon. Assistant Secretary, Mr. M. G. Rathbone, Craigleith, Snarlton Lane, Melksham Forest, Wilts. The Branch has issued the following :— ABSTRACTS OF FEET OF FINES RELATING TO WILT- SHIRE FOR THE REIGNS OF EDWARD I AND EDWARD II. Edited by R. B. Pugh. 1939. Pp. xix + 190. ACCOUNTS OF THE PARLIAMENTARY GARRISONS OF GREAT CHALFIELD AND MALMESBURY, 1645—1646. Ed- ited by J. H. P. Pafford. 1940. Pp. 112. (Out of Print). CALENDAR OF ANTROBUS DEEDS BEFORE 1625 Edited by R. B. Pugh. 1947. Pplv + 165. MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS IN SESSIONS, 1563, 1574— 1692. Edited by H.C. Johnson. 1949. Pp. xxviii + 246. LIST OF WILTSHIRE BOROUGH RECORDS EARLIER IN DATE THAN 1886. Edited by Maurice G. Rathbone. 1951. Pp. xiii + 108. THE TROWBRIDGE WOOLLEN INDUSTRY as illustrated by the stock books of John and Thomas Clark, 1804-1824. Edited by R. P. Beckinsale, D. Phil. 1950. Pp. xxxvi + 249. CALNE GUILD STEWARDS BOOK, 1561—1688. Edited by A. W. Mabbs. 1953. Pp. xxxiii + 150. he Wiltshire Archeological and Natural History Magazine No. CXCVIII JUNE Viola EN CONTENTS PAGE THE SPAS AND MINERAL SPRINGS OF WILT- Sui en wide Pat Onde eo ey or ed j= 29 A DECORATED BRONZE AXE FROM STONE- PHeNGcE DOWN: By J. F.S. STONE, F.S.A....7...... 20-33 A ROMAN HOUSE AT KINGSHILL FARM, CRICK- LADE: By Dr. M. Callender and Nicholas Thomas 34 — 39 NATURAL HISTORY SECTION : FIELD MEETINGS AND LECTURES, 1952: Report by the Hon. Meetings Secretary, Margaret E. INTER ASE SO ITO rh ee ca 40— 41 WILTSHIRE BIRD NOTES FOR 1952: Recorders, Ruth G. Barnes, M.B.O.U., and Guy Peirson...... 42=— 58 BREEDING OF HOOPOE IN WILTSHIRE IN 1948 J WTB ISIS) 5 S04 ee SO ee 59 WILTSHIRE PLANT NOTES [14]: Recorder J. Hirai Cr Smee. yn lode. hr ik os ae iee coc ose’: 60—. 62 ENTOMOLOGICAL REPORT FOR 1952: By B. W Weddell...... sical i aR Ei MUS Ce er 65> 66 MOTH TRAP AT HOLT MANOR: By Charles LLG PA le sl a iy i rr 66— 68 ANNUAL STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS OF THE DATURA —AISTORY SECTION: 1952...:.....:0.0:. 69 il PAGE WILTSHIRE PLACE- AND FIELD-NAMES III......... 70— 74 NOTES.—A flamboyant spear from Bidcombe Down. Kitt’s Grave. A Diminutive Coffin Lid in Winterbourne Earls Church. Three lost South Wiltshire Crosses. The Flying Monk of Malmes- bury. Manton Long Barrow. The Projected Marlborough Canal in the 18th century. On a point of law. Swans in the Kennet Valley.......... 75— 86 WILTSHIRE BOOKS, PAMPHLETS AND ARTICLES 87— 96 WILTSHIRE OBITUARIES (0s ee ee 97— 98 ACCESSIONS TO THE COUNTY RECORD OFFICE.. 99 ADDITIONS TO MUSEUM AND LIBRARY............ 100—101 ACCOUNTS OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR 1952 102—104 ILLUSTRATIONS Map of Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire....... 4 Decorated bronze axe from Stonehenge Down........ 31 Roman» FlOUSE iON ee Figs Rs ef 35 Spearhead from Bidcombe Down.......................... 75 Plate :—Coffin Lid in Winterbourne Earl’s Church 78 DEVIZES: C. H. WOODWARD, EXCHANGE BUILDINGS, STATION ROAD : Ba ay Aye ‘ oe Sees wg oo Bid ed Z Cu, ry THE WILTSHIRE-IMAGAZINE MULTORUM MANIBUS GRANDE LEVATUR ONUS No. CXCVIII JUNE Vol-LV ill THE SPAS AND MINERAL SPRINGS OF WILTSHIRE by J. H. P. PAFFORD I. INTRODUCTION British spas had their chief vogue in the period roughly from the latter part of the seventeenth century to the first quarter of the nine- teenth. Spas were popular, there was a demand for them, and consequently there were persons anxious to provide and profit from them. They grew up in astonishing numbers in all parts of England so that it has even been claimed that “ The eighteenth century in England was an age of watering-places ’’ (20 Mowat)!. The spas declined in popularity at the end of the eighteenth and in the early nineteenth century though there was an attempt to revive the fashion both by stimulating interest in the existing spas and by founding others. Wiltshire moved with the times and four “ spas ”’ were established in the eighteenth century—a number which may be increased to eight by the addition of four wells apparently discovered in the seventeenth century—and two more were opened during the nineteenth century revival of the fashion. These ten “ spas,” with approximate dates of the discovery of the wells and of their use as spas, are:— Poulshot (Well, 21650, Spa) Seend (Well, 21667, Spa?) Box (Well, 21670) Box, Middlehill (Well, 1783, Spa, 1786—soon failed). Wootton Bassett (Well, 21670, Spa2) Holt (Well, 1688, Spa, 1713 - 1830 (2) ) Chippenham (Well, 21694, Spa) [Road (Well, 21726, Spa, 21730) ]? West Ashton (Well, 1731, Spa, 1731—soon failed). Melksham (Well, 1810, Spa ?1813—soon failed). Purton Stoke (Well?, Spa, 1859—still active). They were all small, and although some—notably Holt and Purton Stoke—had a certain fame in their heyday, and a fairly long life, they 1 Throughout this article references to a number and name, e.g., 1 Guidott, are to items in the Bibliography on pp. 21-28. VOL. LV—CXCVIII A Z The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire all—in common with most spas of the period—failed to become distinguished; most were short-lived and none could have achieved any great commercial success. All are now practically unknown except in their own localities—and often hardly known there—and apparently none appears in modern treaties on the subject. The immediate cause of the fashion was no doubt the popularity of continental, especially Belgian and German spas in the seventeenth century and the news of these which was brought to England by Charles II’s Court and by foreign visitors—as well as by returning English visitors to the Continent—in the period following the Restora- tion. Yet the medicinal waters of Bath, Buxton, Epsom, Scarborough and Tunbridge were well known before 1660, and it may be true that “the use of springs for therapeutic bathing, and the drinking of medicinal waters, had become firmly established . . . in England before the Civil War ” (19, Lennard, p. 16). But it is in the fifty years after Nash’s arrival in 1705, that the Queen of the spas, Bath, rose to the height of its fame, and it is to these years that the first and chief phase of the Wiltshire spas belongs. There can be no doubt that the fame, prosperity and close proximity of Bath did most to stimulate the formation of spas in Wiltshire®. Two difficulties in this subject are to define a spa and to decide when the term is justified. Perhaps a Wiltshire spa might be defined as a commercialized medicinal well, or at least as such a well whose fame and usage spread beyond local inhabitants. The definition may be so limited because none of the Wiltshire spas became fashionable, none became a holiday watering-place. The normal meaning of “spa” includes not only the well but the place, the village or town, or at least the buildings and organization for supplying the waters, and that is the understood sense of the term in this article. But the word is sometimes used simply of a well—so Bartley (50) refers to “ another spa being found in the same field” at Melksham, and Parsons (25) also uses “spa”? as synonymous with “ medicinal spring” or “ well.” The difficulty of deciding whether a mineral well qualifies to be rated as a spa is great, and it may at once be said that the claims of Poulshot, Seend, Wootton Bassett and Chippenham are shaky: they are at best border-line cases, as are Luckington and Christian Malford, which are excluded. It is, with some spas, even more difficult to date their origins—and this calls for a brief note on the history of medicinal wells and spas. — What is a spa? 3 The veneration! of wells, springs and streams is very old, and this veneration is as natural as that sources of such an important element as water should also be social centres, from pre-historic days to the time when “ the Company’s water ” was laid on at the mains. There is no doubt that many (but not all) of the holy wells, wishing wells, petrify- ing streams and so on came by their reputation because of mineral qualities in the water, and it might be natural to suppose that most of the spas developed from such waters which had long been known. Indeed a recent writer (22, Addison, p. 1) makes the sweeping general- ization “ The spas began as holy wells... At the Reformation . . . the holy wells became wishing wells . . . Consequently there were fewer cures, and by Cromwell’s time, when most of the wells were neglected, the saints were despised and the cures forgotten.” That this is true for the country as a whole may be doubted: it is certainly not true of the Wiltshire spas. Those at Box (Middlehill), Holt, Road and Melksham are specifically stated to have been dis- covered accidentally by the sinking of wells not long before the spas were formed. West Ashton is recorded as having been discovered during “ the rage” for spas in 1731, and neither there nor at Seend is there any known earlier tradition of a mineral or holy well. At Purton Stoke there is certainly a tradition of a medicinal well but not of a holy well, and at Poulshot and Wootton Bassett nothing is known of the antiquity of the wells. The overwhelming evidence therefore is that the Wiltshire spas were based on mineral wells first discovered at the time, or shortly before, the craze for spas swept the country. Most of them have no previous history, and it is not unreasonable to assume that many spas throughout the country were also new discoveries at the time when the demand for spas was strong. But, although there is little continuity between the old holy or healing wells and the Wiltshire spas, it is necessary to notice other medicinal wells in the county because it is sometimes hard to say whether such a well should not be classed as a spa, and it is also of geological interest to see where all the reputed mineral wells are. However, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to trace all Wiltshire wells of this kind: many are disused and even filled in and many are now un-named: nothing more has been done than to compile a_ list (see p. 28) of such wells as are known and indicate them on the map (p. 4). At this stage it may be noted that most of the reputed medicinal wells and all tile spas are in the north and north-western part of the county. They are not found in the chalk land. That mineral waters 2A 4 The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire exist in this area has long been known. Aubrey (9 Nat. Hist., pp. 21, 25) had noted it in the seventeenth century and his comments are quoted by H. B. Woodward (11) in 1886, who also summarizes the geological origin of the saline waters: seems Kimmeridge Clay Coral Beds (ro Oxford Clay with iit Kellaways Beds Cornbrash VZZZ4 Greensands RAY Gault ’ Great » Gc ds i Oolites 7-11) Sealy ® Luckington).\U— , "CGe, Somerford | Germ eis Great ass Oolites ae } King ton “ arco Malford x x x Sc. oe : ae i {Inferior Oolites and __Lias IBATH y ® BOX Great (as aA Cpr digheon ete ge: Ar eas ry ® r West Ashton on j \\ Pius bo ol } Za Sa Christiann "x * Alluvium. Peat 3 Rodbourne =~ ere 7 D SWINDON N Lydiard Tregoze - WOOTTON BASS aa \ eee eer SS Scale of miles. 10 N.W. WILTS (based on 17 by permission of H.M. Stationery Office) In certain localities, as at Melksham and Trowbridge, at Swindon. . . where the Great Oolite series has been reached, the prevalent salt is chloride of sodium; and that while saline water has been found at higher levels in the Corallian beds, the water obtained is less saline, and the prevalent salt is in several cases sulphate of soda . . the saline waters of Swindon, Melksham, etc., having regard to their local distribution, and to the occurrence of comparatively fresh water in Properties of the well-waters 5 neighbouring wells, there can be little question that they rise from a consider- able depth, and that the supplies of water in the upper strata are rendered saline by the waters that come from below . . . The conclusion . . . is, that the saline waters issue from Palzozoic strata, against a ridge of which the Lower Second- ary strata abut in more or less attenuated form. This underground ridge may be some miles to the south of Swindon. In another work (12, p. 332) Woodward comments that “ The well- waters of Wiltshire are notably saline.” Although the spa and other medicinal wells all seem to be shallow (e.g. Box, 80 feet; Holt, 11 feet; Purton Stoke, 10 feet) nothing is, of course, known about the ultimate depths from which the springs may rise. The map opposite shows the positions of the wells and also the area of the chief geological formations. If Woodward’s conclusions are correct—that the main saline waters issue from deep Paleozoic strata— then it is possible that the position of the wells may be some guide to the position of these strata, although some wells probably owe their mineral content entirely to shallow rocks, especially to corallian or iron deposits. It will be seen from the map that many of the wells occur at junctions of two or more geological formations. As to the mineral contents of the waters, the methods of taking them and reputed cures, it should be noted in the first place that all the eighteenth century analyses must be treated with caution since appa- rently “ It was not until 1825 . . . that a reliable method of analysing . . . waters was established ” (22, Addison, p. 1). Water was often analyzed after it had been some time bottled—Rutty analyzed in Dublin water sent from Wiltshire—and it is unlikely that the bottles were clean. Iron is found in the district (especially at Seend and Westbury), and therefore it is not surprising that most of the waters are described as “ chaly- beate.”” But all contain various salts, and the terms “saline”? and “nitrous” are also used. The following table is a record of some general descriptions of the waters. The best collection of detailed analyses of all, including the mineral, waters, seems to be that in 17, Geol. Survey: The water supply of Wiltshire from underground sources, pp. 98 — 126:— Water Description (with approximate date of analysis) Poulshot ... .. Chalybeate (1780) (4, Elliot). Seend .. Chalybeate (1780) (4, Elliot). Box (Middlehill) .. Saline, not chalybeate (1785) (24, Falconer). Chalybeate (1901) (17, Geol. Survey). Wootton Bassett .. Whitehill: Calcareous saline (1855) (25, Parsons). Wootton Bassett .. Huntsmill: Chalybeate (21895) (25, Parsons). 6 The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire Holt .. Bs .. Nitrous (1750) (3, Rutty) Saline purging (1780) (4, Elliot). Chippenham .. Chalybeate (1750) (3,. Rutty) Strong chalybeate (1780) (4, Elliot) Saline chalybeate (1759) (17, Geol. Survey). West Ashton .. Chalybeate (1740) (46, Hankewitz) Salino-nitrous (1750) (3, Rutty) Weak chalybeate (1780) ( 4, Elliot). Melksham ist well Saline or Muriatic aperient (1813) (51, Melksham), Saline chalybeate (17, Geol. Survey). Melksham 2nd well Chalybeate (1813) (51, Melksham), Saline chalybeate (17 Geol. Survey). Purton Stoke .. Sulphate and bromo-iodate saline (1860) (62, Sadler). The water is also radio active (1929) (70 Neville). The waters were taken everywhere by drinking, but at Box, Holt, West Ashton and Purton, and apparently at Melksham, washing the affected parts was also an important part of the treatment. Although the Historical Account of the... Mineral water at Holt, (26, p. 7) tenta- tively recommends that for leprosy “ probably the bathing of the body all over in this water might be yet more efficacious,’ Melksham is the only place at which baths are specifically mentioned and it would appear that these were private baths. The reference to a cold bath at Holt in the Bath Chronicle (38) appears to be to a bath of ordinary, not medicinal, water. At some of the spas—notably Holt, West Ashton and Purton—the proprietors also bottled and sent the waters for sale to depots in London and other centres and directly to patients at a distance. Some confirmation of Smollett’s well known account of the lack of even the most elementary sanitary precautions at Bath® is given by the story of one Holt cure (30, Eyre, p. 120, Cure xcv). A plumber repairing the New well had a running sore in one leg. He had to stand in the well at his work and, the next day, his wound was found to be healed. That people were apparently at this same time drinking and washing wounds with water from this well seems of no concern to manager or patients; and this casual attitude to the purity of the waters is probably typical of the eighteenth century spas. As to reputed cures there are several lists of these noted in the sections on each spa. By far the most common are of “ scrofulous”’ ailments—all manner of skin diseases and running sores. Most of the waters were aperients and piuretics, and Purton waters are claimed to be good for rheumatism and—as is now the fashion—to be “radio active”. At most of the spas special buildings were put up and the customary ¢é 99 ° Ol water” doctor was in attendance, and there was—particularly at Individual spas—Poulshot 7 Holt—some seasonal (i.e. summer) assembly which could be called “the Company.” And if this “ Company ”’ was not aristocratic, and therefore left no record of its activities, there must certainly have been a social life in such a community. However, it is clear that at Box, Holt, West Ashton, Melksham and Purton there were attempts to form spas which should be financially and socially successful, and it is equally clear that none really was successful. Holt succeeded more than the others and had the longest life; Purton is still continuing the struggle, but the other three were comparatively quick failures. The difficulties in determining a chronological order have been mentioned. Some spas have traditions of earlier mineral wells of unknown age; and sometimes it is not known if the old mineral well and the well of the spa are the same. Sometimes the origin of the spa well is specifically dated, but it is still not known when the spa began. In an article which is historical an attempt at chronological arrange- ment must be made: but it will be obvious that the dates chosen for the origin of some of the spas must be arbitrary. II. INDIVIDUAL SPAS Poulshot Aubrey (9, Nat. Hist., p. 24) says that “ the spring was first taken notice of about thirty years since” which would place its medicinal origin at about 1650. He also records that there were several springs— apparently saline—in the village. He mentions (p. 21) one near Somersham (Summerham) bridge (O.S. 31/96; 58 : 14) belonging to Sir Walter Long and a well belonging to Richard Bolwell, and also gives a typical note (p. 74) that “in the spring time the inhabitants appeare of a primrose complexion.” Elsewhere (10, pp. 300-1) he says that he first heard of the springs in 1668, and J. E. Jackson notes (p. 301) that the mineral spring “is near “The Five Lanes’ and its virtues are well known.” The “Five Lanes” cross-roads are in Potterne—O.S. 31/95; 82 : 86. Guidott (1, pp. 407-8) and Elliot (4, 1781, p. 196; 1789, p. 245) say that the water is a chalybeate similar to that at Seend. Poulshot can only be justified for inclusion among the spas because of the age of its mineral well and the statement that, as late as 1862 (Jackson’s note), its virtues were “ well known.” There is no evidence that the waters were ever commercialized, but they would probably have been used by invalids visiting Seend and their virtues were 8 The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire accepted by Guidott in 1686, when he examined the Seend water. But that neither Poulshot nor Seend can ever have been widely known is proved by the few references to them in the literature of the subject and especially by the fact that Rutty (3)—the Melksham Quaker doctor who was keenly interested in mineral waters—does not mention them and that they are ignored by Britton. Seend® Aubrey (9, Nat. Hist., pp. 21-2) gives the specific date, “June, 1667, as the time when he sent bottles of Seend water to London for analysis. Encouraged by the result, he tried to make the waters known to the Bath doctors, “ But my endeavours were without effect till August, 1684” (ibid.) since these doctors “did not desire to have patients drawn from ye Bath” (ibid.). He records that on November 1, 1665, “I made my first addresse (in an ill howre) to Joane Sumner.” Her family lived at Kington St. Michael (where there was a mineral well) and she had a brother at Seend. It was when carrying on his ill-fated courtship at John Sumner’s house at Seend Green that Aubrey found a mineral well in the courtyard of that house. It was apparently in 1684 that “ there came so much company that the village could not contain them, and they are now preparing for building of houses against the summer. John Sumner sayth (whose well is best) that it will be worth to him £200 per annum,’ (23, Powell, p. 118) and Aubrey adds that “it would be a prudent way of laying out money, to build a handsome convenient house of entertainment for the waterdrinkers at Seende and to make a fine bowling green there”’ (ibid. note). Guidott examined (at Whaddon) one bottle of the Seend waters in 1686, and another (at Broughton Gifford) in 1690, and in 1691, pro- nounced the Seend and Poulshot waters to be a similar chalybeate (I, pp. 405-07). This is repeated by Elliot (4, p. 196; and ed., pp. 244-5) who refers to two chalybeate springs at Seend, both being ‘diuretic but not purgative.” Some of Aubrey’s comments on the well are repeated and others given in his Memoir by J. Britton (8), pp. 16-17, where Britton notes that the property then belonged to W. H. Ludlow Bruges, “ who preserves the well, but its waters are not resorted to for sanatory purposes.” The house now (1952) belongs to Miss I. Usher and the well is in a field nearby. The other iron spring, locally known as the “ spout,” is by the side of the road at Rowcroft. In spite of the fact that the wells obviously had some sort of vogue towards the end of the seventeenth century and that they continued Seend—Box 9 to be used probably into the nineteenth century, it is clear that the spa could never have fulfilled Sumner’s and Aubrey’s expectations, and that such fame as it had was short-lived. The Melksham Guide (51) notices medicinal waters in the district, but although it gives some account of Seend village it makes no mention of the wells; and these were also apparently unknown to Rutty in 1757. Box’ Aubrey (9, Nat. Hist., p. 24) says that Guidott had told him that there was “a medicinall well in the street at Box, near Bathe, which hath been used ever since about 1670.” Guidott (1, p. 154) himself says that the Box water, which he tested in 1686, contained the same salts as the Bath waters. This may have been Becket’s well, a holy well near the Church dedicated to St. Thomas 4 Becket (W.A.M., 47, 1936, pp. 347, 349). The exact site is not known, but there is still a spring near the Church although it apparently has no marked mineral content. At all events the Guidott/Aubrey well must be quite distinct from that of the spa at Middlehill (O.S. 31/86; 15 : 90), which was discovered in 1783 by a local baker named West when sinking a well for domestic purposes. It is described by William Falconer in 1786 (24), who gives details of tests of the water and some cures and records (p. 4) that a Pump room had already been built. In 1814, Britton (6, pp. 501 — 2) says that the two mineral springs: called Middle-Hill-Spa . . . remained neglected for some time; till at length a medical practitioner at Bath . . . entered into a plan with another individual for erecting a... boarding house, pump-room, and other buildings, suitable for the reception of company . . . The plan was accordingly carried into effect, but eventually proved unsuccessful; so that the buildings, thus raised at an immense expense, are now let as lodgings to such persons as are disposed to retire econo- mically from Bath during the summer. The Bath doctor must have been Falconer, but Britton’s comment that the springs remained neglected conflicts with Falconer’s statement that they were discovered in 1783, and that a pump-room had been built by 1786. The Melksham Guide (51), p. 66, makes a brief reference to the Spa which is almost certainly taken from Britton. In 1825, Britton (5, Vol. 3, pp. 194-5), probably summarized the spa’s history well enough: At... Middle Hill. . . are two mineral springs, one of which contains iron and neutral salts, and forms a mild aperient chalybeate; the other . . . hydro- sulphuric and carbonic gases . . . [is] an alterative. This Spa, [gained]... some notoriety, but the place has never been much frequented. 10 The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire The Geological Survey, 1925 (17) gives an analysis made in 1901, recording the waters as chalybeate and noting no variant. The wells have long since been covered, but the house adjoining the site is still known as “ Spa House.” Wootton Bassett This is included on the strength of the article by W. F. Parsons entitled “The chalybeate spas or Saline springs at Whitehill Farm, Wootton Bassett, and at Christian Malford, (25). The saline spring is at O.S. 41/08; 48 : 34. Parsons notes that the spring has long been known to benefit cattle and that in the summer “ large quantities of water are taken away by visitors from the town and villages within a radius of ten miles or more.’ On one day in May, 1879, nearly 400 people were counted coming to the well. The water was analyzed about 1855, and shown to be calcareous saline derived from the Coral Rag. The analysis is given by Parsons and is repeated by the Geological Survey, 1925, (17). The analyst (a Mr. Gyde) is reported as saying that “ there was only one other saline spring known to exist which was richer in sulphate of soda, namely, that of Leidchutz’, in Germany.” A note of the mineral water here and elsewhere in the neighbourhood is given in Memoirs of William Smith by John Phillips, 1844, pp. 80 — 84 from which extracts are printed in 17, Geological Survey, 1925, pp- 22 - 23. Aubrey (10, p. 204) says that, “In the parke [at Wootton Bassett] is petrifying water... and... At Hunt's mill here is a well where the water turns the leaves, etc. of a red colour ’—as it still did in 1895, according to Parsons. The Geological Survey, (17, p. 97) notes the Hunt's Mill (O.S. 41/08; 58 : 17) spring as chalybeate. Aubrey (9, pp. 25-6) probably refers to Whitehill when he mentions a medicinal spring “ some small distance ” from Wootton Bassett. The Geological Survey, 1895 (13, p. 340) notices the Whitehill well as “said to contain traces of iodine ’’ and (p. 341) the “‘ well at town, 85 grains sulphate of soda etc.” Holt? Holt is the chief of the eighteenth century, if not of all, Wiltshire spas. Its origin can be specifically dated from certain copper tokens which carry the legend that the waters were “ Discover’d 1688” (40: Cunnington)! and this agrees well enough with the statement by Henry Eyre made in 1731, in the chief work on the Holt wells (30), Wootton Bassett—Holt 11 that they were discovered “ about forty years ago.” On pp. 6-7, 77, Eyre records that the waters were first used medicinally in 1713, and the achievement of “‘ fame” may be dated from the marble plate still (1952) to be seen over the pump, inscribed: Sacred to the Memory of Lady Lisle and Rev. John Lewis, the persons who patronized this spring and rendered it famous, in the year 1720." It is thus known with unusual exactness when the waters were dis- covered, when they were first used medicinally and when the main life of the spa began. There were at least four wells—called ‘“‘ The Old,” “ The New,” “ The Great Nose” and “ Harris’s ’’—all within a few yards of each other in “The Midlands’? on the site now occupied by Messrs. Sawtell’s bedding factory (O.S. 31/86, 63 : 22) where one of the original pump heads may still be seen and where one well was re- discovered and sealed in 1952. This factory may include parts of some of the spa buildings and the cottage immediately to its left may even have been occupied by the resident who discovered the first spring in 1688. The spa buildings were extensive and many still exist. The most striking is the “ Great House ’’—now locally called the “ Big House ”—which was certainly built before 1731, since Eyre (30, p. 136) says: “ Care will be taken that the Lodgers at the Great House, may never want Water, in preference to all other Houses.”’!2 The “other houses’’ may include private homes in the village at which patients lodged but, according to local tradition, certain buildings still standing were specially built or used in connection with the spa. These include (1) “Arboyne,”’ opposite the wells. Here for a time lived the Lisle family, who were lords of the manor and owners and patrons of the wells; (2) the cottages adjoining the site of the wells, now numbered 125, 126, 127. By tradition No. 127 was occupied by the spa doctor and is still sometimes referred to locally as ~ the doctor’s house ”’; (3) “‘ Dixcroft,’’ No. 124, possibly the house of the proprietor; (4) the cottages now numbered 134 — 140 at the top of the Midlands; (5) the row of nine houses known as “ the Rank” and numbered 324-332. The spa area, now very industrialized, must, in 1688, have had much rural beauty. All the houses mentioned are now used entirely as dwelling houses. The “ Big House ’’ was a boarding school for a time in the mid nineteenth century: it was subsequently used partly as a glove factory by Messrs. J. and T. Beaven and partly to house two or three families and is now wholly used to accommodate six families. 12 The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire There is the usual spate of proprietory advertising literature: and a glance at the Bibliography (pp. 24-26) will show that publications continued to appear till late in the century. The advertisement in the Bath Chronicle, 1780 (38), reads:— Holt Wells, nine miles from Bath. The Great House is open, and everything is provided in the genteelest manner for the reception of Company. A carriage with able horses is also kept, and safe horses that carry double for the convenience of airings. (These would no doubt carry two riders a-pillion). The Waters of this place, so long known for their great efficacy in all scorbutic cases, are administered as usual by Mrs. Read, who has resided more than twenty years on the spot. At the distance of five minutes walk from the Wells is an excellent Cold-Bath, constantly kept in order, with a convenient dressing room and fireplace, and proper attendance. There are three turnpike roads to the house, thro’ Melksham, Bradford and Wraxall; and the most respectful treatment may be depended on from the public’s most obedient humble servant, Charles Nott. N.B.—There is a fourth road turning off at the right- hand close to the six mile stone near the Horse and Jockey; but the road through Wraxall is the nearest and best. In 1784, Walpoole (39) says nothing else about Holt except that “a medicinall spring was discovered in the year 1718, the waters of which have ever since continued in repute for the cure of scorbutic and scrophulous distempers.” This indicates the importance of the spa since no other Wiltshire spa is mentioned in the book. These show that the spa was active up to 1784, and that it continued into the nineteenth century is proved by references to it by Britton (6, 1814, pp. 495 — 6) and others. The first spring was discovered by accident: an inhabitant sank a well and got water at 11 feet which proved to have medicinal qualities. It did not give a plentiful supply, and so, before 1731, three other wells were sunk nearby. The spa rapidly became well known. In 1728, John Wynter says on p. 4 of Of bathing in the hot-baths at Bathe “ Holt... waters, from the cures by them performed, are at present advanced to a great degree of reputation.” The diary of Thomas Smith has a reference to a visit of a party from Broughton to Holt Wells on 15th October, 1722 (W.A.M. xi, 1869, p. 311) and Stephen Williams in An experimental history of Road water in Wiltshire, 1731, p. 67 speaks of “ the waters at Bristol, Holt, Road, Bath’’ as being each able to cure particular diseases and as if all, except Road, were so well known as to need no further description. The basis for any account of the Holt spa must be Eyre’s book (30) of 1731, which repeats much of the information in the 1723 and 1725 Holt waters 13 pamphlets. In spite of his Wiltshire name Eyre was probably not a local man. He was “ Master” of the Holt wells by March, 1731 (30, p. 140) and had presumably taken up the post after 1725, as he is not mentioned in 27. But in 1731 he is also “ sworn Purveyor to Her Majesty for all Mineral Waters ’’ and must therefore have been in London before that time. He left Holt for London probably in 1731, for in 1733, he published (33) in which he mentions that in 1731, the Holt waters were under his management and that he had been told that “several very eminent cures had been performed by those waters during the last two seasons.” He visited Belgium and published (after July, 1733) in The case of Henry Eyre a patent granted to him by the Bishop-Prince of Liége to be the sole purveyor of Spa waters in England. He apparently had some sort of monopoly and sold in London many mineral waters—including those from Holt. He was probably a mineral water dealer brought to Holt to develop the spa— probably by Edward Lisle, (see dedication of 30)—staying only from one to three years in the village. The first keeper of the wells was the widow Grace Harding." In 1713, she used the water to cure a child of the King’s Evil and thereby started the spa. The well had “ come into her hands ” in 1713, and she saw and used its possibilities and remained keeper certainly until 1731 (30 Eyre, pp. 6-7, 137). She was clearly an enterprising and able person and is the real originator of the spa. The 1723 and 1725 pam- phlets (26, 27) seem to have been written by someone with medical knowledge, but she published the former—and probably the latter— and probably caused both to be written. 26 (p. 4) records that Dr. Guidott examined the water “near thirty years ago.” The Brief Account of 1776 (37) says that the book is sold by “* Mrs. Read at the Great House.” The Bath Chronicle of 1780 (38) indicates that Mrs. Read was then the keeper and had perhaps held the post for some twenty years, and that a Charles Nott was the proprietor or doctor. In Andrews’ and Dury’s map of Wiltshire, 1773 (reprinted 1952) the wells are marked as the property of Daniel Jones: the second edition (1810) records no owner. Holt, like some other spas, bottled its waters and sent them for sale to depots in London, Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, Bristol, Winchester, Southampton, Reading, Salisbury and Chichester (30, pp. 150-1) and also directly to patients: $s. worth of Holt waters were bought in 1737 by the Chippenham Overseers for an invalid (W.A.M., 46, 1934, 14 The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire p. 316). The bottles each contained three wine pints™ and price varied according to distance. At Eyre’s “ Water-Warchouse in Fleet St., London ” they sold at 10s. a dozen (30, pp. 11, 155). The bottles were “‘ Fatted, and marked on the side, and sealed with the arms of Edward Lisle,” and fragments are still sometimes unearthed in gardens near the “ Big House.” Eyre indicates that Holt had some sort of “season ”’ in the summer and speaks of the autumn as a time when, “ the Company being gone,” the place has become less agreeable. But from his frequent reference to a Captain Gustavus Scot as a erateful patient it is clear that “ the Quality,” or indeed anyone bearing a name or title of distinction, were rare, and this is borne out by the list of cures. But still, patients came from afar to the spa, and it may, without cynicism, be noted that the burials entries in the parish registers slightly increase after about 1720, and include names of several people coming from a distance. The reference to a cold bath (38) is probably to ordinary, not medicinal water, and may have been a bath, filled from the brook at one of the two cloth mills, on the site of the “ Court’ or of Messrs. Beaven’s tanneries. | Dr. Rutty, the Melksham Quaker who moved to Ireland in 1724 at the age of 26, had probably visited Holt spa. He refers to it extensively in (3) (publishedin 1757, but largely written in 1750). Hesuspected that the wells had been adulterated with marine salt, but noted that the proprietor “‘ will probably take care to rectify any abuse of this kind.” (p. 98). That the wells did run dry at times seems certain, for Eyre refutes the charge in 1731 (30) and Hankewitz makes it in 1741 (46). The spa probably had its heyday from about 1725 — 45 but certainly went on through the century, although most of its later visitors were probably from the neighbourhood, of the type indicated by the record that in 1751, Lacock paid 25s. from poor relief “ for Bett Sams Board and Lodge at Holt for the benefit of the waters for her eyes.” (W.A.M., 49, 1942, p. 176). The unsupported statement by B. H. Cunnington that “ the popularity of the Holt waters began to decline soon after 1730 (40) is obviously untrue. The spa was tenacious of its life. Even at the turn of the century Britton (5, Vol. 2, pp. 309 — 10) speaks of Holt as a little scattered village of about fifty houses “ more famous for its medicinal waters than for any other peculiarity.” He notes that David Arnot, author of Commercial Tables, is the proprictor of the spa. Arnot is known to have produced several medals and tokens in and about 1796, including tokens on the Holt spa bearing his name and the head of George III.1° In 1814 Britton (6, pp. 495 —6) says that the spring Holt patients—Chippenham 15 discovered “ upwards of a century ago ” has “ ever since continued to dispense the blessings of health to numerous patients.” He speaks of Arnot in the past tense as if he were no longer proprietor. The Melksham Guide (51, pp. 53 — 4) says that the Holt spring was :— discovered many years ago, and has never fallen into disrepute, though it has not been numerously visited . . . Here are commodious lodging houses and the distance affords an agreeable ride to Melksham Spa. Although this may be suspect as an ex parte statement by a new and rival spa, it confirms that Holt spa had been in continuous use since its foundation in 1713; and it may also well be the truth that in 1817 the spa was nearing the end of its life. It is likely indeed that there were then vacancies in the Holt boarding houses and that by about 1850 the waters had ceased to be used even by local inhabitants for Messrs. Sawtell’s bedding factory was built over the wells at that date. An indication that Holt may have had an older mineral well is given in the obsolete field name “ Doggel”’ (=Dog well). This field (now called Homefield) is about three-quarters of a mile from the spa site and contains a disused well at O.S. 31/86; 57 : 15 which may formerly have been considered of medicinal virtue to animals. Chippenham There are, or were, two or three medicinal wells in Chippenham. J. J. Daniell (41, p. 34) says that:— in 1694, Judge Holland erected a vaulted building over a well in his garden, on the slope opposite Monkton Park, which was called “ Chippenham Spa,” and was supposed to be possessed of medicinal virtues. The fame of its waters as a fount of healing is gone, but part of the ornamental structure remains. Similar information is given by G. A. H. White (42, p. 24) and a note in W.A.M., 43, 1925, pp. 132 — 3, says that Holland built this structure “and called it Chippenham Spa,” and although there may be no authority for this statement, it well indicates the casual way in which “spas” could and did come into existence. E. N. Tuck (43) records that the Judge’s house was called “the Grove” in 1938, and was previously known as “ Monkton Cottage” and that the pump room was pulled down in 1863 or 1864, but the portico was re-erected in the garden and was still standing. The pump itself had gone before 1863. Mr. Tuck gives a photograph of the portico. A. Platts (44) writes in 1947, that in 1694, there was a public room called the Pump Room and that Monkton Cottage is in St. Mary’s Street. He also notes that other chalybeate wells were “ Arthur's well ”’ at the end of the wall enclosing 16 The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire Nestlé’s milk factory, and the well at Orwell House which had been used medicinally within living memory. The earliest notice of the well seems to be that by Rutty (3) who says that Holland’s well was “ first taken notice of” in 1750. He gives an analysis with details of a cure and pronounces the water “a pretty strong chalybeate,’’ which was repeated by Elliot (4). Britton in 1801 (5, Vol. 2, pp. 258 — 9) and in 1814 (6, pp. 530 — 1) says that the Holland well “ obtained for a time a degree of celebrity ” but that his pump room “is now never visited.”” He records that the motto over the pump was © Mille malis prodest’’1® and comments on the strong iron content of the water. He adds that “the other spring ” (which he does not locate) is still often used medicinally by the inhabitants “ especially the poorer classes.” The source of the 1694 date—apparently first given by Daniell—is not known, but Rutty is probably right in giving the mid eighteenth century as the time when the spa first became known. There is no means of measuring the “ degree of celebrity ” to which Britton refers, but since the spa was dead by 1801, and since no other references to it can be traced, it is reasonable to conclude that its fame was slight and its life short. West Ashton Little is known about this mineral well, and even its site is uncertain, but it is clear that an unsuccessful attempt was made to commercialize it in rivalry with Holt. The first mention of the well is apparently that in 1733 (45) which reads :-— Attendance is now daily given at the Westashton Mineral Well . . .which was discover'd in the year 1731. By drinking and washing with this water, more than 100 persons have been already ened Of i sconbadcal eruptions, of sore- eyes, sore breasts, the leprosy, and the kine’s ail: N.B.—Lodgings may be had at the same place, and in the town of Trowbridge. The advertisement adds that the water is sold in London, Bristol Salisbury and Bath. In 1741 (46), Hankewitz describes the well as a good chalybeate “ more plentiful . . . all the year round, than the well at Holt, which spring diminishes much at a certain time of the year ’— but similar in virtues to the Holt water. Rutty analyzed, in Dublin, some bottles of the water and published the results in 1757 (3, pp. 172-4). He disagreed with Hankewitz and called the water salino- nitreous saying that his nephew tested it at West Ashton in 1749 and found it only slightly chalybeate. Elliot (4) classes the water as a r —o _ West Ashton—Melksham 17 “weak chalybeate.” In 1895, the Geological Survey (13, p. 340) records the waters as being “A saline chalybeate, chloride of sodium, etc.” and this is repeated by the Survey in 1925 (17, p. 97). This latter work mentions—among the numerous wells in the district—two at East Town Farm, but there is nothing to indicate that these were the - spa wells. It seems clear that, although the spa was active for a few years from 1731, it never achieved fame and, indeed, never really became estab- lished as a spa. It was probably used medicinally by inhabitants of the district through most of the eighteenth century, but all knowledge of it is now practically extinct even in local tradition. Melksham The site of this comparatively modern spa is still named and well known although the spa has long since fallen into disuse. It is on the left of the Spa road, leading to Devizes, as the road slopes up to Bower Hill, and less than a mile from Melksham market place (O.S. 31/96; 14 : 28), and here still stand the spa buildings consisting of houses (now called Agra, Belmont, Craycroft, Hillside and Enfield) which were to have been completed as a double crescent—one on each side of the road. A print of the houses (originally built as six in three semi- detached pairs) and of the baths and pump-room is given in The Melksham Guide (51). The baths and pump-room are in the grounds of Agra. Other spa buildings are the houses now numbered 8 — 14 in the Spa road nearer the market place. The earliest known record of the spa (47, The Courier, 1813) says that “A strongly saline aperient and chalybeate spa has been discovered at Melksham.” Although the wording indicates that the “ discovery ” was recent, the note adds that the waters have already “ produced the happiest effects in many bilious and scorbutic habits.” In the same year a similar notice (48) repeats the information that the waters “ have been analysed and brought forward by Dr. Gibbes of Bath,” but no copy can be traced of Gibbes’s publication (52). In 1814, O. W. Bartley (50) gave the first indication of the second spa [here = well] which was in the same field as the original saline or “ muriatic aperient ’ water. The second (i.e. the chalybeate) had in 1814 been very recently discovered. Bartley lists eleven cures, mostly of scrofu- lous diseases. Probably the fullest account of the spa is that in The Melksham Guide (51) [21817]. This elaborate advertisement of the two springs makes it clear that the proprietors saw visions of Melksham VOL. LV—CXCVIII B 18 The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire becoming a fashionable and prosperous watering-place. The work says that the original saline wells were “ lately discovered ”’ (p. 3) and, more specifically, that although “ many people in this neighbourhood have for some time past” used the waters they were first “ brought to notice” in the summer of 1813. To develop the “ New Spa” (the chalybeate) in the same field, and apparently under the same manage- ment, several “respectable gentlemen” formed “The Melksham Spa Company ” in 1815. They sank a new well, which got water on ist March, 1816, after a year’s work (pp. 9-10). This “ Company ”’ must have put considerable funds into the spa from which there was little return. On pp. 35 - 37 the Guide speaks of the value of taking a bath—even though this practice “ is considered by many as a luxury.” In 1814, Britton (6, pp. 499 — 500) spoke hopefully of the spa and its two springs “ lately discovered,” one “a strong chalybeate and the other a saline aperient ” and gives the name of the proprietor as Mr. Phillips. In 1825, Britton (5, Vol. 3, pp. 222 - 3) gives a little more detail saying that the original spring was discovered “ about sixty years ago’ when sinking a shaft to find coal. The venture was clearly a failure, for after the small spate of advertis- ing literature from 1813-1822, there is silence for some years, and when references to the spa are again found they practically all refer to it as a failure. So, in 1841 Granville (7, p. 446) repeats the infor- mation that there are two kinds of water, and that a company had been formed and buildings put up, and concludes “‘ But I am not aware that the fortunes of this new health-giving source, so near the great levia- than spa, have been prosperous.” Apparently in 1841, the story of Melksham spa was already past history; and the same was true of all other Wiltshire spas—except Purton Stoke, as yet undiscovered—for Granville refers to none of them. in 1845, Britton—who had been hopeful in 1822 and 1825—makes it even more clear that the spa’s short day was over ; he says (8, p. 17) that “ waters . . . at Melksham . . . were formerly much used, and a pump-room and lodging houses were built around them; but fashion, that fickle goddess, has not given them the fiat of her approval.” Purton Stoke!’ This, the latest of the Wiltshire spas, and the only one still showing any activity, developed from a medicinal spring which had long been known and used locally. It is a well, to feet deep, known as Salt’s Hole (O.S. 41/09; 85: 06). In the 1850’s this was owned by a Dr. Purton Stoke 19 S. C. Sadler, who had the well filled in and thereby caused an outcry among the villagers, who claimed that the spring had been used—in the traditional phrase—‘ time out of mind,’ and that when they were ill they used to drink the waters and “ were always cured.’ In conse- quence, after some years, Dr. Sadler not only re-opened the wells—in September, 1859—but decided to commercialize his property and to establish a spa. He built the pump-room in 1859, and he is no doubt responsible for the flood of advertising literature which rapidly appeared. Old inhabitants told the present proprietor in 1927, that the opening of the spa in 1859 or 1860 was indeed a gala day: there was a band and a gathering of “ hundreds ”’ of people. Apart from notices in the local press the first record of the new spa seems to have appeared in April, 1860 (54), and about a dozen pamph- lets, articles or other notices, appeared within four years; one was published in Germany and some were printed several times. A reference to articles in local newspapers is given in 56.18 After 1863, there were several re-issues and new editions of some of these pamph- lets, but nothing new seems to have appeared until the anonymous pamphlet of 1881 (65), and since then there have only been a few sporadic references to the spa until 1931 (68) and the leaflet of 1932 (70), which seems to be the latest publication referring to the subject. The antiquity of the original well in its medicinal usage cannot be established. Sadler considered that such usage could be dated “ some 150 or more years ” before 1862, and although the evidence he offers is slight the estimate may be true, and indeed, may be an under- estimate. On the other hand, the history of the spa is well documented. Bakewell in 1861 (55), notes that Sadler had “ erected a convenient pump-room, etc.’ and records that the charge for water at the spa, including hamper and packing, was Quarts, 13s. a dozen; 14 Pints, tos. 6d.; Pints, 8s. 6d. This must have included carriage and is apparently more expensive than the Holt water was in 1731.!° Locally, Purton water was much cheaper: F. Large records (69) that a man used to carry it weekly into Swindon in vessels made to fit over his shoulder, one in front and one behind, selling the water at 1d. a half-pint and doing a brisk trade over a wide district. P. de V. in 1863 (64), says that although the water was used for bathing diseased parts, as well as for drinking, there were no baths at the spa and adds that the water “ is never used for baths ”’ (p. 4). Sadler, besides being the owner, was also the spa doctor. The manager was a John Strange, who had then just opened the Spa Boarding House. Grounds had been laid out for B2 20 The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire promenaders, and other developments were projected to meet “ the ever increasing demand.” P. de V.’s context makes it clear that the Spa Boarding House with its seven acres of grounds was over two miles from the spa and probably in Purton. The house at the spa itself has only three bedrooms and was presumably built for the manager in — about 1860. By 1879, the Spa Boarding House was apparently no longer used as such as P. de V. in his sth edition omits the reference to it and says (p. 6), “ There is no hotel, but many of the tradespeople let lodgings for patients.” In 1879, the manager was apparently a Mr. Greenaway. It is clear that the spa gained some fame in its early days. The 1860 article (54) records that a pump-troom “ had been hurriedly erected to satisfy the immediate requirements of the public who are in increasing numbers flocking to the spa” and the tenor of most of the early literature is one of great demand with which the spa can hardly cope and of extensive developments proposed for the immediate future. This is, of course, partly to be discounted as being largely propaganda; it is the normal tone in early spa “ proprietory ”’ advertising literature. However a ledger book still (1952) in the possession of the proprietor— Mr. F. G. Neville—records sales of the water despatched from the spa from 1869 to 1880 and 1927 to 1948—including at least one consign- ment sent abroad (to Norway)—but not sales at the spa. A flourishing life up to about 1872 followed by a decline to a non-economic existence by 1880 seems indicated by this ledger as a likely history of the spa.?° The 1881 pamphlet (65) gives extracts from earlier literature and adds that the spa was then owned by Messrs. Hirst and Co. and that the bottled water (presumably quart bottles) would be sent carriage free, including case, to any railway terminus in London for 15s. a dozen. The 1879 edition of (55) says that charges, including hampers and packing, are Quarts, 15s. a dozen; Pints, r1s. The 1881 pamphlet was probably produced to revive the spa’s faded fortune, but clearly without success, for no mention of the spa.is made in Views and history of Purton, published by E. J. Webber about 1890, and in 66 (Elyard) the only reference to the spa is the passage:— At Purton Stoke—now sadly neglected and almost unknown beyond the bounds of the parish—is a mineral spring. At one time its virtues were highly approved, but long since their name and fame has passed away, and now no visitors resort to the neighbourhood to drink the waters. : The phrase “ long since” probably indicates that visitors had ceased coming to the well before 1880, although the ledger proves that the Wiltshire’s last medicinal spring 21 bottled water was certainly sent away up to that date, and no doubt the well continued in use by local residents. This was apparently still the only use in 1919, when Mrs. Richardson (67) gives less than two out of 143 pages, to the spa. She records that ““ The waters are to this day drunk by the country-folk as a cure for many ailments, a cart full of bottles dispensing to the customers ” (pp. 86 — 7) but makes no mention - of visitors. The fact that even in 1939 Kelly’s Directory for Wilts states that the waters are “ extensively made use of” shows that the constant reprinting of this phrase in editions since 1903 (and probably earlier) has no significance. A print of the pump-room built in 189, which is still standing (1953) is given in 64 and 65 and 68. In 68 it is noted that the gardens had gone wild but that Mr. Neville, the proprietor, renovated them and sells the waters—on which he has to pay a duty of 8d. a bottle as it is classed as a table water.?! The article claims that the water is a valuable specific for rheumatism, neuritis, arthritis, sciatica and is an aperient.?? Mr. Neville did indeed attempt to re-vitalize the spa when he came in 1927. He took the water around Swindon and district by a pony and trap and later by car until 1940, selling it first at 6d. and later at 8d. a bottle or Is. carriage paid. He has put some of the gardens in order and has renovated the small pump room, but his praiseworthy efforts have so far met with little success. III]. BrpL1IoGRAPHY There is an extensive literature on the subject as a whole: Dr. Wm. Falconer, writing towards the end of the eighteenth century, said that there were then more than a thousand treatises on mineral waters (quoted in 22, Addison, p. 5) and many have appeared since. Much has been written on the Wiltshire spas and many of the pamphlets are now excessively rare—of some indeed no copies can be traced. The bulk of the literature was usually produced when the spa was “discovered ”’ in order to promote its success, and the advertising energy and skill of spa proprietors in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are by no means to be despised, even if they fall short of the efforts of their successors—the advertisers of modern proprietory medicines and health and holiday resorts. The following list is certainly not exhaustive; the chief omissions probably being of newspaper articles. Much difficulty has been met in tracing copies of some of the works listed and in order to save the time of anyone wishing to see them some locations are given. Many of the entries have been obtained from item 18 Goddard, 22 The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire 1920.23 The abbreviations used for libraries? possessing copies of works cited are:— B. Bodleian Library, Oxford. *Ba. Bath Public Library. B.M. British Museum, London, W.C.1. B.M.A. British Medical Association, Tavistock Sq., W.C.1 *Br.P. The Public Library, Bristol. *Br.U. The University Library, Bristol. Op Cambridge University Library. D. Wilts. Archeological Society, Devizes. *L-U. ~ London “University “Library; Senate “House WCa: PS. The Spa House, Purton Stoke, Cricklade, Wilts. R.C.P. Royal College of Physicians, Pall Mall East, S.W.1. R.C.S. Royal College of Surgeons, Lincolns Inn Fields, W.C.2. R.S.M. Royal Society of Medicine, 1, Wimpole St., W.1. *S.M. Swindon Mechanics Institute. SIP. Swindon Public Library. W. Wellcome Historical Medical Library, 183, Euston Rd., N.W.3. *W.C.L. Wilts County Library, Trowbridge. The relevant abbreviations are given after each entry. References to the Wilts. Archaeological and Natural History Society Magazine are abbreviated W.A.M. Complete sets of this magazine and of Wiltshire Notes and Queries are in B., Ba., B.M., C., D., L.U., S.M., S:P. W.CLL., and no locations are given for these magazines in this list. GENERAL This section is comprised of books giving information on two or more Wiltshire spas, with one or two books on spas generally. These works are referred to in the sections on each spa by reference to their number in this list usually followed by the name of the author. It should be noted that if, in the section on any spa, no reference is made to a particular work in this general list, it may be assumed that that work has nothing to say, or nothing of importance to say, on the spa in question. 1 Guidott, Thomas: De thermis Britannicis tractatus, etc. 1691. [B., Ba., B.M., Br. R.GeP RoG:S., R.S:ME, W.] 2 Allen, Benjamin: Natural history of the chalybeat and purging waters of England. 1699. (Revised edition entitled Natural history of mineral waters of Great Britain. 1711). [1699:—B., Ba., B.M., R.S.M., W. 1711:—B., B.M., Br.U., CG, RCS, W] 3 Rutty, John: A methodical synopsis of mineral waters, etc. 1757. [B., Ba., Bovey Br. RG: Pe RS. MW | 4 Elliot, John: An account of the nature and medicinal virtues of the principal mineral waters of Great Britain and Ireland, etc. 1781. (Second edition, Io ey 12 13 14 TS 16 17 18 19 Bibliography 23 corrected and enlarged. 1789). [1781:—Ba., Br.U., R.C.P., R.S.M., W. -780:—=b.ME; R.C.P.,, R.C:S., R.S-M., W.] Britton, John: The beauties of Wiltshire, etc. 3 vols. (Vols. 1-2, 1801. Bola hac2s).-|[b:,-Ba-,.B.M...C., D4 L.U.;,S.M.;.S.P., W.C.L.| Britton, John and Brayley, E. W.: The beauties of England and Wales. Vol. 15, Wiltshire by J. Britton. 1814. [B., Ba., B.M., Br.P., C., D., L.U., RGGzE SM S:P., W.C.L.] Granville, A. B.: The spas of England. [Vol. 2] Southern spas. 1841. [Melk- sham is the only Wilts. reference]. [B., Ba., B.M., B.M.A., Br.P.,C., Paws RCP: R.CS., R.S:M.] Aubrey, |p> Memoir . .-. by J. Button. 1845. .[B..Ba., B.M., .D., L.U., SMe SP. W.CL] Aubrey, J.: The natural history of Wiltshire; written between 1656 and 1691. Eeited)s... by. John Britton. 1847. [B., Ba., B.Ms C.,.D.,.L.U:, S.M., SS WEW.CL] | Aubrey, John: Wiltshire. The topographical collections ...1659-70... edlarecu by J. EB. Jackson: 1862, “[B., Ba.; B:-M., -Br:P., Br-U., C., D., HEA Sev S.P.5 W. WC.L] Woodward, Horace, B.: Account of a well-sinking made by the Great Western Railway Company at Swindon. (Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 42, 1886, pp. 287 - 308). [Discusses several mineral wells in north and west Wilts.] [B., B.M., Br.P., Br.U., C., L.U.] Geological Survey of the United Kingdom. Memoirs of: The Jurassic rocks... Vol. 4. The Lower Oolitic rocks... by H. B. Woodward. 1894. [Beeibas. BM:, Br-U., C., L.U.] Geological Survey of the United Kingdom. Memoirs of: The Jurassic rocks... Vol. 5. The Middle and Upper Oolitic rocks...by H. B. Woodward. MeO57 [be B-M., Br.U., C.; L.U:]. Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of London: The Climates and Baths of Great Britain. 2 vols. 1895 — 1902. [No mention of Wilts.] [B., B.M., BMEALBEW., Cy, LU. RCP.) ReC:S.,.R'S:M.; W.] Metcalfe, R.: The rise and progress of hydropathy in England and Scotland. 1906. [Second edition, 1912]. [No mention of Wilts.] [B., B.M., B.M.A., ei), ©. R-C.S., R3S.M. 1912:.W.] Wordsworth, Chr.: Some Wiltshire springs and holy wells. (Wilts. Notes and Queries, No. 55, Sept., 1906, pp. 308 — 09). [Consists mainly of short extracts from Aubrey’s works]. Geological Survey of the United Kingdom. Memoirs of: The water supply of Wiltshire from underground sources, by W. Whitaker and F. H. Edmunds. noe yee[..b-Vi.s Br.U., GC..).; LU, S.M., S.P:, W.C-_L.] Goddard, E. H.: A Wiltshire bibliography. 1929. [Many of the references to spas in this work were probably taken from W. Whitaker’s List of books... on the geology . . . of Wiltshire (W.A.M. XIV, 1874, pp. 107 — 20) | fis Ba 5: Mer. BrU., ©. )., L.U., S.M:,-S-P.,,. W.C.L.] Lennard, Reginald: Englishmen at rest and play . . . 1558 — 1714, etc. 1931. (Chapter 1, pp. 3-78 The watering-places). [No mention of Wilts.] [B: Ba BM BrP, Br U.. GC. LULW-C.L.| 24 20 21 22 The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire Mowat, R. B.: England in the eighteenth century. 1932. (Chap. 6, pp. 70 ~77 Spa life). [No mention of Wilts.] [B., Ba., B.M., Br.P., Br.U., C10, W.CL] Mullett, Charles F.: Public baths and health in England, sixteenth—eighteenth century. (Supplements to the Bulletin of the history of medicine. No. 5) Balti- more, 1946. [An excellent list and discussion of the literature of the subject up to about 1850]. [B., Ba., B.M., B.M.A., Br.U., L.U., R-C.S., R.S.M., W. Ms William: English spas. 1951. [No mention of Wilts.] [B., Ba., BW, BrP BeUy CU w.CL] . THE SPAS These lists consist of references to the items in the General list followed by works, if there are any, containing information only on the spa in question. 23 24 25 Poulshot 1 Guidott, pp. 407 - 08; 4 Elliot, p. 196 (Second edition, p. 245); 9 Aubrey 1847, pp. 21, 24-25; 10 Aubrey, 1862, pp. 300-01; 17 Geol. Survey, 1925, p. 97. . Seend 1 Guidott, pp. 405-07; 4 Elliot, p. 196 (Second edition, pp. 244-5); 8 Aubrey, Memoir, 1845, pp. 16-17; 9 Aubrey, 1847, pp. 21-22; 10 Aubrey, 1862, pp. 303 - 304 (note 2); 17 Geol. Survey, 1925, p. 96. Powell, Anthony: John Aubrey and his friends. 1948, pp. 116 -— 9, 178, 240. [BevMo Brees Br Ue Ce. DL UPS Rs Wee Box 1 Guidott, p. 154; 5 Britton, Vol. 3, 1825, pp- 194-5; 6 Britton & Brayley, 1814, pp. 501-2; 9 Aubrey, 1847, p. 24; 17 Geol. Survey, 1925, pp. 48, 96, 108; 51 Melksham Guide [21817]. p. 66. Falconer, Wm.: A brief account of the qualities of the newly-discovered mineral water at Middle-Hill, near Box, in Wiltshire. Bath, 1786, pp. 24. (Second edition, 1789, is merely a reprint of the first). [1786:—Ba., R.S.M. 1789:—Br.U., D.,] Wootton Bassett 9 Aubrey, 1847, pp. 25-6; 10 Aubrey, 1862, p. 204; 13 Geol. Survey, 1895, pp- 340-41; 17 Geol. Survey, 1925, pp. 23, 97, 104. Y Parsons, W. F.: The chalybeate spas or saline springs at Whitehill Farm, Wootton Bassett and at Christian Malford (W.A.M. 28. Dec., 1895, Pp. 252-4.) ? Holt 3 Rutty, PP- 97 — 100, 103 — 104AA, BB, 172, 174; 4 Elliot, pp. 147-8 (Second edition pp. 287-8); 5 Britton, 1801, Vol. 2, pp. 309-10; 6 Britton & Brayley, 1814, pp. 495 - 6; 11 Woodward, p- 302; 12 Geol. Survey, 1894; 13 Geol. Survey, 1895, p. 340; 17 Geol. Survey, 1925, pp. 65, 97; 51 Melksham Guide [21817], pp. 53 - 4. y, Pe 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 35 36 37 Bibliography 25> An historical account of the cures done by the mineral-water at Holt, etc. Bristol: Printed by Sam. Farley, for Grace Harding, Widow, at the old Mineral- Wellin Holt. 1723. [B:| An account of the virtues and method of taking the Holt waters. Discovered . . . some years ago .. . To be sold at the Green Lamp in Swallow-street, Piccadilly . . . pure . . . the person who sells it . . . bringing it up every week ... Note. The bottles are seal’d thus, The Holt-Water from Grace Harding at the Old-Well. London. 1725, pp. 16. [B.M.] Lewis John: An account of the . . . earths and fossils found in sinking the mineral wells at Holt. By the Rev. Mr. Lewis, Vicar of the Place. Com- municated by John Brome. [Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Vol. 34, No. 403. Pe. pp. 480.- o1|.. (B:, B.ML, Br P_:C.°L-U_, Ree.S_] Lewis, John: A letter to Dr. Rutty . . . of the Nature and Virtues of the ~ Holt-waters. [Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Vol. 36, No. 408. 1729, pp. 43 — 45]. ioEM. BrP. C., LU, R.CS.] Eyre, Henry: A brief account of the Holt waters, containing one hundred and twelve eminent cures, etc. London, Printed for J. Roberts, 1731, pp. [10], 155. fee BM Br.U, 1. RCS. W:C.L. ‘Sce also'35; 37]. Hoffmann, Friderich: New experiments and observationsupon mineral waters . . . [Translated] with notes by Peter Shaw, 1731. [Holt, pp. 211, 220 — 222, is in the appendix by P. Shaw. This appendix is not included in the second edition of this work, 1743]. [B., R.C.P., W.] Holt Mineral Waters. The great virtues of the mineral waters at Holt, etc. [Single sheet folio, with no imprint. 21731]. [B.M., D. (facsimile), W.C.L. (facs.) ] Eyre, Henry: An account of the mineral waters of Spa... the German Spaw. 1733. [Holt, pp. 28 — 9]. [B5 B.M., Br.U.] [Discourse on the nature and uses of Holt Water. Hen. Eyre. 1742. This is given in 18 Goddard, p. 130, but no copy has been traced and it is probably a “ ghost” resulting from a confusion of 35 with a pamphlet A discourse on the nature and use of Neville-Holt-Water, etc. 1742. [W.]. Neville-Holkt is in Leicestershire]. Eyre, Henry: A brief account of the Holt waters . . . second edition etc. London. Printed for G. Hawkins, 1743, pp. [4], 131. [This edition reprints 30 omitting the frontispiece, dedications and errata list and the Appendix on pp. 135 — 55 of the 1731 edition. The second edition corrects the errata of the first edition but, except for the omissions, is otherwise unchanged. [Br.U.] Some remarkable cures performed by the use of the mineral waters at Holt. London, printed by E. Say, 1747, pp. 53. This list of cures is the same as that on pp. 61 — 131 of 30, but the verification footnotes have been put in the past tense. [B]. A brief account of the Holt waters... third .. . edition, etc. Bath: Printed by S. Hazard . . . and may be had of Mrs. Read, at the Great House at Holt, 1776, pp. 84. [An abbreviated version—with some additional matter—of 30, and with the same list of cures. It does not bear Eyre’s name and almost certainly had no authority from him.] [B.M.] 26 38 39 40 AI 43 45 46 47 48 49 $0 The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire Holt Wells (Bath Chronicle, 13th April, 1780, p. 1, c). [Ba., B.M.]. [See p- 12 above]. Walpoole, G. A.: The new British traveller, etc. [21784], p. 330. [B.M., Ie-U;| [See p: 12 above}: Cunnington, B. H.: Some eighteenth ... century Wiltshire tokens. (W.A.M. 44, Dec. 1927, pp. 1-9). [On pp. 2-5 is an account of the Spa tokens and of the Spa—the latter chiefly summarized from some notes in the Holt Parish magazine which had been abstracted from 30.] Chippenham 3 Rutty, pp. 357-8; 4 Elliot, p. 126 (Second edition, p. 160); 5 Britton, 1801, Vol. 2, pp. 258 — 9; 6 Britton & Brayley, 1814, pp. 530-1; 17 Geol. Survey, 1925, p. 96. Daniell, J. J.: The history of Chippenham. 1894, p. 34. [B., B.M., Br.P., C.D. LU., SM S.2., WiC] White, G. A. H.; Chippenham in bygone days. 1924, p. 24. [Review in W.A.M., 43, 1925, pp. 132-3]. [B., B.M., Br.P., C., D.] Tuck, E. N.: Chippenham Spa (The Wiltshire Gazatte, 31st March, 1938, p- 14 b.c.) (Summarized in W.A.M. 48, Dec., 1938, p. 350). [B.M.] Platts, A.: The history of Chippenham. A.D. 853-1946. [21947], p- 47. [BPs De ew, ww): West Ashton 3 Rutty, pp. 172-4; 4 Elliot, p. 226 (second edition, p. 280); 13 Geol. Survey, 1895, p. 340; 17 Geol. Survey, 1925, p. 97. London Evening-Post, No. 850. From Thursday, May Io, to Saturday, May 12, 1733, p. 2. (Quoted in The Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. 298, April, 1905, p. 392 and reprinted in W.A.M. Vol. 35, Dec., 1907, p. 332). [B:, BMG. (Seep: 16/above:| Hankewitz, A. G.: An examination of Westashton Well-waters, belonging to Tho. Beach, etc. (Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. 41, 1741, pp. 828-30). [B., BMC. 1ULR.CS] Melksham 5 Britton, Vol. 3, 1825, pp. 222-3; 6 Britton & Brayley, 1814, pp. 499 - 500; 7 Granville, 1841, p. 446; 8 Aubrey, Memoir, 1845, p. 170; 9 Aubrey, 1847, p. 23 note; 11 Woodward, pp. 300 — 2; 12 Geol. Survey, 1894, pp. 513 -4; 13 Geol. Survey, 1895, pp. 27, 340; 17 Geol. Survey, 1952, pp. 20, 73, 116. The Courier, August 11, 1813. [Extract reprinted in W.A.M. 50, June, 1944, pp. 419 - so]. [B., C.] Philosophical Magazine. Vol. 42, 1813, pp. 145-6. [B., B.M., Br.P., Br.U..C4 Ud Edwards, G. F.: A comparative view of the analysis of the Cheltenham and Melksham waters. 181 3. [See 6. Britton, 1814, pp. 499 — 500]. [No copy traced ee O. W.: Observations on the properties . . . of the saline and chalybeate spas at Melksham, illustrated with some remarkable cases. Printed by Richard Cruttwell, Bath; and sold by Thomas Ward, Melksham, etc. 1874, pp. 28. [Melksham, June 25, 1814]. [B.M.A., Br.U.] SI $2 53 54 5 56 oy/ 58 $9 60 61 62 63 64 65 Bibliography ai, The Melksham Guide: containing an account of the saline aperient and chalybeate spa; the hot, tepid and cold baths, the disorders in which the waters have been found efficacious; and the best method of fusing them ..- Embellished with two engravings. Melksham: Printed and published by T. Ward, etc., pp. iv, 92 [21817]. [No date, but published after March, 1816, as that date appears on p. 10]. [B.M., D., S.M.] Gibbes, George S.: Account of the Melksham waters. 1818. [No copy traced]. Towsey, Will: Melksham spa. 1822. [No copy traced]. Purton Stoke 11 Woodward, p. 300; 13 Geol. Survey, 1895, p. 340; 17 Geol. Survey, 1925, pp. 102 — 3; 18 Goddard, p. 186. Bell’s Weekly Messenger, No. 3,303, April 2, 1860, p. 6b. [Quoted in 64 and 67]. [B.] | Bakewell, R. H.: A visit to Purton Spa: with a short account of . . . its sulphated and brom-iodated spring. 1861, pp. 21. [Reprinted, 1862 (R.S.M.) and 1863 (R.C.P.) New edition, 1879, pp. 20 (P.S.) ]. [The 1861 issue is reviewed in the Medical Times and Gazette, Vol. 2, 1861, p. 66]. IR-CP., R.CS.] Purton Spa (The Leisure Hour, No. 488, 2 May, 1861, pp. 285 — 6). (Quoted in 64, pp. 22-3). [B., C., D. (facsimile) ]. Noad, H. M.: Analysis of the saline water of Purton. (Quarterly Jul. of the Chemical Soc. Vol. 14, 1862, pp. 43 — 46). [B., B.M., Br.U., C., L.U.] Voelcker, A.: On the composition of Purton saline water. (Ibid., pp. 46 - 7). Boxall, W.: Efficacy of the Purton Spa water in Hepatic Colic (Medical Times & Gazette, 17 May, 1862, p. 517. A letter. Reprinted in 64, 00. Toto} (B B.M.A.. C., R.C.S., R.S.M] Althaus, J.: Zwei neue englische Mineralquellen (Deutsche Klinik, Vol. 14, 1862, pp. 307-8). [One of the wells is that at Purton Stoke]. [D. (facsimile), R.C.S., R.S.M.] Althaus, J.: The spas of Europe. 1862. [Purton, pp. 131, 361 — 3. No other Wilts. reference]. [B., B.M., C., R.C.S., R.S.M.] Sadler, S. C., F.R.C.S.: Analysis of the Purton sulphated and bromo-iodated saline water with . . . its history, properties and use. Published at the Spa, Purton, 1862, pp. 16. [W.] [At least seven editions. The Seventh edition (pp. 15, [1] of 1879 has a title page otherwise identical with the first of 1862. On the back of title page is the note “. . . after six large issues, a seventh is called for, and is now published, after careful revision, and with some additions. Purton Court, September, 1879.” [P.S.] ] Sadler, S. C.: Purton Spa water in Psoriasis (Medical Times & Gazette, 14 Mar. 1863, pp. 281-2. A letter. Reprinted in 64, pp. 17-18). [B., Beuy €.. R.C.S] P., V. de.: Six months at Purton Spa, under treatment by its bromo-iodated water, etc. London and Cirencester. 1863, pp. 15. [At least five editions. Fifth edition, 1879, pp. 16.] [1863:—B., B.M., C., D. 1879:—P.S.] Purton spa: with a brief account of the history, properties, uses and effects of its bromo-iodated and sulphated spring. London, 1881, pp. 23. [C., P.S., R.CS., R.S.M] 28 The Spas and Mineral Springs of Wolters 66 Elyard, S.J.: Annals of Purton (Wilts. Notes & Queries, No. 16, Dec., 1896. » 1$4). 67 eae Ethel M.: The story of Purton. 1919. [B., Br.P., Br.U., C., D., LU SM Sho WL 68 Purton Stoke Spa, by N. J. Butcher (North Wilts. Herald, 24, July, 1931, p. sc, d. [S.P.] Also Swindon Advertiser, same date. [B.M., P.S., S.P.] [Reviewed in W.A.M. 45, Dec., 1931, pp. 512 - 3]. 69 Large, F.: A Swindon retrospect, 1855 — 1930. (third edition) Swindon. 1932. (Purton Spa, pp. 64— 5]. (D.°L.U., S'M..'S.P.] 70 [Neville, F. G.]: Purton Spa Water, pp. [4], [1932]. [P.S.] Mineral Wells BIDDESTONE .. 2: 9, Aubrey, p..25;, 10, Aubrey, p55. BRAYDON .. .. 13, Geol. Survey, p. 341; 17, Geol. Survey, pp. 96, 98; Journal of Roy. Agric. Soc., Ser. 2, Vol. 2, 1866, pp. 392 — 3. BROUGHTON GIFFORD W.A.M., XI, 1869, p. 311; W.A.M., 46, 1934, pp. 315-6; W.A.M., 49, 1942, p. 176. CHRISTIAN MALFORD.. 17, Geol. Survey, pp. 97, 110; W.A.M., 28, 1895, pp- 252-4; Hofmann, A. W.: Analysis of the saline water of Christian Maltord (Quart. Jnl. of the Chemical Soc., Vol. 13, 1861, pp. 80-84). CRICKLADE .| 121/13, Geol. Sutvey, Pp. 341.) 17, Geol. Sunveva pe Lit. CRUDWELL .. 4s. 9, Allbtey, p. 21; 10, Aubrey, p. 216. DAUNTSEY .. .. [Defoe, D.]:A tour thro’ . . . Great Britain, by a gentle- man. Third edition, 1742. 4 vols. Vol. 2, p. 46. [B.M.] DRAYCOT CERNE... 9, Aubrey, p. 21; 10, Aubrey, p. 233. HEYWOOD .. .» 6, Britton “& Brayley, Vol 15, p- 466. HIGHWORTH -. 113, Geol.\Survey, p. 341; 17, Geol. Survey, p. 97. KINGTON ST. MICHAEL 9, Aubrey, p. 20; 10, Aubrey, p. 139. KNOYLE [East Knoyle] "=. 9, Aubrey, p. 24: LUCKINGTON“4 Childrey, J.: Britannia Baconia, 1660 [1661 and 1662], [Hancock’s Well] p. so [B., B.M., C., L.U.]; 9, Aubrey, p. 20; 10, Aubrey, pp. 105 - 6. LYDIARD TREGOZE .. 9, Aubrey, p. 23. RODBOURNE CHEYNEY 13, Geol. Survey, p. 341. ROWDE a 79, Aubrey, p. 20; 10, Aubrey, p: 300. SHELDON... ;. 9), Aubrey, p: 20; 10, Aubrey, p..72; 41, Daniell: SOMERFORD } [ :Great Somerford] 13, Geol. Survey, p. 340. j SWINDON... .. 11 Woodward, pp. 287 — 308; 13, Geol. Survey, p. 341; 17, Geol. Survey, pp. 85 —7, 122-4. TROWBRIDGE .. Rivers Pollutions Commission 1868, Sixth Report, 1874, pp. 105, 405; 12, Geol. Survey, pp. 513-4; 17, Geol. Survey, p. 21. NOTES 29, 2 Road (Rode) is now in Somerset and the spa is not described in this article. 3 No doubt, the proximity of Bath is also one of the reasons for the failure of the Wiltshire spas. 4 Surviving in well dressing, wishing, coin-throwing, etc. 5 Humphry Clinker (First published, 1771). Especially the letter to Dr. Lewis from ‘‘ Matt. Bramble, Bath, April 28.” 6 T am indebted for information on Seend to the Rev. J. E. N. Phillips. 7 I am indebted to Dr. A. Shaw Mellor for information on Box. 8 No place with this name can be traced. It is probably an error for Leibitz (Lubica) in Czecho-Slovakia, which has a sulphur spring. 9 T am indebted for help in this section to Mr. Stanley Stillman, Rev. F. Brewis and Mrs. H. Couzens. 10° See also: W.A.M. 10, 1867, pp. 326-7 (where 1688 is misprinted 1588), and F, M. Willis, Catalogue of the .. . Wiltshire trade tokens... Devizes, 1893, pp. QI - 22. 11 The Rev. J. Lewis died 28th October, 1761, aged 76 (Holt Parish Reg. 3, fo. 19a) and Mary, widow of Edward Lisle in 1749 (Genealogist, 7, 1883, p. 267). 12 Andrews and Dury’s map of Wiltshire (1773; 2nd ed. 1810. 1773 ed. reprinted by Record Branch of W.A.S., 1952) shows the Great House, but no Arboyne or any other large building near the wells. A good photograph of the Great House is in A proud record, issued by J. and T. Beaven, Ltd., Holt, [1948]. 13 Probably referred to in the Parish Register—Burials, 12 July, 1744. ““Grace Harding, wid. Aged 70, Febre Arthritica.”” Harding, a very old Holt name, is still found in the village. 14 An eighteenth century wine pint was apparently about four-fifths of a modern pint. 15 See p. 10 and note 10. 16 Valuable for a thousand complaints. : 17 Much indebtedness for information in this section has been incurred to Mr. F. G. Neville, the present proprietor of the spa. 18 Devizes Advertiser, 8 March, 1860, records that owing to the great increase in traffic caused by the fame of the well the turnpike gates in Purton parish were let for £20 more than in the previous year. Salisbury Journal, 12 April, 1860, records that ‘‘ a pump room has been hurriedly erected . . . and the public is flocking there in increasing numbers.” 19 See pp. 13-14. 20 There are pages missing before 1869 and after 1880. Sales (in pints) during August—usually the busiest month—from 1869 to 1880, were:—516, 438, 468,696, 252, 288, 420, 228, 168, 216, 120, 84. From 1927 to 1938 August sales were:— 153, 113, 84, 110, 206, 74, 74, 57, 29, 29, 24, 21. When war came in 1939 trade practically ceased and has not revived. 21 ‘The duty is not levied now. The bottles are of the size six to a gallon. *2 The analyses of the water made in 1859 and 1862 by Voelcker and Noad (57, 58) are reprinted in 17, pp. 102 - 3. The analyses differ in some important points, but it is not unusual to find differences in analyses of the same water taken at different times. 23 Only one reply was received to an appeal for information made in W.A.M. 44, 1952. 24 ‘Those libraries marked with an asterisk lend certain of their books. I am indebted for information to all libraries and other institutions mentioned in the list. 25 Mrs. H. F. Farr of the Rectory, Luckington, informs me that, as in Childrey’s day, Hancock’s well still (1953) has a reputation for curing bad eyes. 30 A DECORATED BRONZE AXE FROM STONEHENGE DOWN By J: Fes.) STONE, FSU. In spite of the comparative richness of Wiltshire in objects of the Wessex Culture, the floreat of the British Bronze Age, decorated bronze axes of the period have been up to the present conspicuous by their complete absence, a fact commented upon by R. B. S. Megaw and E. M. Hardy in their study of the typology and diffusion of such implements, which they considered without reference to undecorated specimens. A map illustrating the diffusion of decorated and undec- orated flat and hammer-flanged axes of Irish type was subsequently published by Miss L. F. Chitty, based upon work up to 1938.2 And Professor Stuart Piggott in his analysis of the Early Bronze Age in Wessex, whilst noting the absence of decorated specimens in Wiltshire, found himself unable to account for their strange peripheral distribu- tion.2 He was, however, able to adduce satisfactory evidence to prove that bronze axes, both of the flat and flanged varieties, were com- ponents of the Wessex Culture; though, in Wiltshire, specimens were confined to plain undecorated examples only. Undecorated specimens have been found both in barrows and as strays.4 Thus from barrows we have the well known flat axe without flanges from Bush Barrow, Normanton, the small slightly flanged axe from Wilsford barrow H.18°, a very small specimen, possibly a chisel, with slight flanges from Wilsford barrow H.9’, and another from barrow H.1 on Overton Hill.8 As strays, we may note the flanged axe from “ Amesbury near Stonehenge” found by Lukis and now in the Lukis Collection, Guernsey Museum; one with prominent flanges and slight stop-ridge from West Lavington Down;® a flanged axe 44 inches long from Wootton Bassett near Swindon;} a flanged axe, formerly in the Duke Collection, from Lake; one from Dinton or Fovant about 5 inches long, the whereabouts of which is not now known; and another described as from “ Salisbury Plain ”’.12 A more recent example of a flanged axe, found between Old Sarum and Ford, is now in the Bishop Wordsworth’s School Museum, Salisbury. And finally we should recall the only decorated hammer- flanged axe originally stated as from a “ long barrow at Stonehenge ’”8 and now in the British Museum. Thurnam pointed out!‘ that this axe was described in the Sloane M.S. Catalogue (S.L. 249) as having come from Yorkshire, but he clearly appreciated that some error may have Se ae ee ee en TO 4 ee ee eee rather te alan agi Flat and flanged axes from Wiltshire 31 crept in due to a remark by Stukeley.4® In their catalogue of decorated axes, B. R. S. Megaw and E. M. Hardy appear satisfied that thir axe was in reality found in Yorkshire.1® But in view of the decorated specimen from Stonehenge Down about to be described can we be so sure of this: The axe in the British Museum, which is 54 inches long, is decorated in a very similar manner with vertical herring-bone iw . SLT 4 Wy ip VOLE (LULL MIE 1 VL \ 2S Aan van ’ bh KS << Ly \ Zoe QA 444 WOO Lf Li x < Piste ay SY ANAK 74, KK KK Z/, SEQ a NS AN ye Ke ey, NAC AY; Uy Gd Vike i ZN - \4 =S ~ ™~ fy PAK Lf, LEIS I SININ IRs Ce: _—- — Decorated bronze axe from Stonehenge Down. (full size) punch marks on its faces, and there now seems really no reason to doubt its originally described provenance. If then we include this hitherto doubtful specimen we find that we have records of twelve flat or flanged axes from Wiltshire, seven or eight of which come from the Stonehenge district, the Bush Barrow 52 A Decorated Bronze Axe From Stonehenge Down specimen being associated with a very rich burial including gold objects made from imported Irish sheet gold. It is therefore of considerable interest to be able to record the discovery of a well decorated hammer-flanged axe on Stonehenge Down within about soo yards of the monument itself during agricul- tural pipe laying operations in November 1952. The exact site of the find is not known with absolute certainty, though it is known that it was found in the cultivated field close to Stonehenge Bottom to the south-east of Stonehenge, in the vicinity of National Grid reference 41/126419, and about a quarter of a mile north of barrow Amesbury 16. Nor is it known whether the axe accompanied a burial or formed part of a hoard; and subsequent cultivation of the field obliterated all traces of the trench before it was possible to examine it with care. It was found by Mr. E. Noyce, a farm worker, about 9 inches below the surface, and was therefore probably a stray. We have to thank Mr. A. St. J. Booth for recognizing its significance and acquiring it for the Salisbury Museum,!? where it has been deposited on loan by permission of the National Trust upon whose ground it was found. The axe itself is 4.3 inches long with crescentic cutting edge 2.45 inches wide, and weighs 199.7 gm. No actual stop-rib is present though a gradual thickening towards the centre ends in a just percept- ible ridge. The flanges are well defined though not pronounced, and have clearly been hammered into shape and not cast; their overhang is no more than I to 2 mm., and the results of hammering along each edge are clearly recognizable. Their surfaces are decorated all over with a complex “cable”’ pattern produced by hammering with a blunt tool; the decoration on one flange being somewhat blurred presumably through having rested in contact with an anvil. Both faces of the axe are decorated with a vertical “ herringbone ” pattern of fine incisions, bordered horizontally with similar ornament, and produced by the skilful use of a tracer as punch; these are confined _ to the cutting end only. The incisions or indentations survive in dis- — torted form under the edges of the flanges proving that this tracer tooling was executed before the process of hammering over the square — edges to form flanges. Towards the cutting edge these incisions are blurred, which appears to show that the axe had been used probably — in wood work. The faces of the butt are generally plain, though a few ~ chatter marks, of no decorative significance, can be clearly seen. The An Irish import 33 actual butt is thin and sharp, and would have tended to split any notched shaft of wood into which presumably it was hafted. The axe is thus a most welcome addition to the general assemblage of Wessex Culture imports to the Stonehenge district. Its character and decoration proclaim it to be a typical Irish import, and it probably arrived from Ireland along with some of the beaten gold sheet, so plentifully distributed and worked up locally. Commercial relations had already been established in Secondary Neolithic times with the exchange of Preselite stone axes from South Wales to Ireland, and from Tievebulliagh Hill in Northern Ireland to Salisbury Plain ;8 and these had been extended to the import of fabricated Irish gold discs by the Beaker Folk (at Mere?® and Farleigh Wick)?°. It is therefore not at all surprising that with the growth of the Irish bronze industry decorated axes of the type under discussion should have been sought after or traded over the same western route along which also probably came the Presely boulders, at an earlier date, for the erection of the Wessex Culture headquarters at Stonehenge. It is indeed astonishing that others have not hitherto been discovered on the Plain. r 1 Proc. Prehist. Soc., iv (1938), 272. 2 Personality of Britain, 1943, Pl. vi. 3 Proc. Prehist. Soc., iv (1938), 58. 4 I have had the advantage of consulting the gazetteer of the Prehistoric Volume of the Wiltshire Victoria County History compiled by Mr. L. V. Grinsell, F.S.A., prior to publication, for a few of the axes cited. 5 Ancient Wilts, i, 202, Pl. xxvi. Devizes Museum. ibid., 209, Pl. xxix. Devizes Museum. ? ibid., 208, Pl. xxviii. Devizes Museum. 8 ibid., ii, g0. Devizes Museum. 9 W.A.M., i, 62; Devizes Mus. Cat., Pt. ii (1934), 63. 10 Devizes Mus. Cat., Pt. 11 (1911), 30, No. Ba7a. W.A.M., xxviii, 261; xxxviil, 354. ibid., Xxxvili, 317. Salisbury Museum; probably found between Stonehenge and Fargo. 13 Archaeologia, v, 115, Pl. vili, 14; Evans’ Bronze, 46. 4 Archaeological, xiii, 444. 15 Stonehenge, 46. 16 Proc. Prehist. Soc., iv (1938), 280, No. 113. 17 Accession No. 33/53 18 Axe No. 405 from Old Sarum, Proc..Prehist. Soc. xvii (1951) 126 19 Ancient Wilts., i, 44. 20 W.A.M. lii, 270 Rr 12 VOL. LV—CXCVIII Cc 34 A ROMAN HOUSE AT KINGSHILL FARM, CRICKLADE by Dr. M. CaLLeNDER and NicHoras THomas In November, 1952, the writers were shown by Dr. T. R. Thomson a group of Roman walls uncovered at Kingshill, Cricklade. They were also shown the pottery found on the site, some of which is on display in Cricklade Museum. As it is the intention of the writers to find and excavate a well-stratified site of the Roman period, so as to provide the county with a sorely needed dated type-series of domestic pottery, it was decided to cut a trial trench across some of the exposed foundations. However, the results were so negative, only a handful of indeterminate sherds being found, that a large-scale examination of the site is con- sidered undesirable at the present time. But they wish to put on record the presence of the farmstead, and to describe the group of walls that were visible at the end of 1952.1 The Roman house at Kingshill farm is situated about 200 yards to the west of Ermine Street, and nearly a mile and a half south-east of Cricklade. Mr. F. Freeth’s farmhouse is too recent to appear on the Ordnance maps; it lies about 700 yards north-east of Farfield farm, and its grid reference is 41/19. 173258. The land hereabouts is quite flat and low-lying, Kingshill farm being about 260 feet above sea-level. Cricklade itself is also at this height. But one and a half miles to the south-east the land rises very steeply to Blunsdon Hill, and on the edge of this Coral Rag scarp at least one Iron Age camp (Castle Hill) is known to exist. The site is bounded on the south-east and south-west by high ground, and to the north there lies the valley of the Thames, with its two small tributaries, the Ray and the Key. Beyond that, there is gently ascending country. In Roman times this part of Wiltshire would have supported thick woods, the sub-soil being heavy Oxford Clay. And alongside the rivers we would expect much water-logged meadow. But Cricklade itself and Kingshill were always well drained, standing clear of the flood plains of these local watercourses.” Mr. Freeth first discovered traces of this Roman building when digging the foundations for his Dutch barn. He reported large quanti- ties of domestic pottery, with a little imitation Samian ware, a bronze ligula, and a mass of bricks and tiles. Under the barn itself he noted what seemed to be a broad pit filled with dark soil: herein occurred the largest quantities of pottery. But he found the remains of the building 35 B STOKEHOLE ones a P FLAGSTONE S AG 1 / Ul é ROMAN HOVSE é¢ KINGSHILL EARM wear CRICKLADE 36 A Roman House at Kingshill Farm, Cricklade which is the subject of this note immediately to the south, in the angle formed by the barn and his new house. Here the land is quite flat, and would always have been well clear of the River Ray, even when in spate. Mr. Freeth has uncovered enough of the building to make a fairly extensive plan possible. A main wall was traced for over 40 feet in an east-west direction (hereafter referred to as the east-west wall). Ata point some 10 feet from its east end another wall (hereafter called the north-south wall) branched off due south and was traced for over 17 feet. These two walls were both about 2 feet thick and were constructed entirely of roughly rectangular slabs of Coral Rag set in pink mortar. The area within the western angle made by these main walls was divided into a series of rooms. Here, about 6 inches below the present surface, a rough mortar floor had been laid bare by Mr. Freeth and was confirmed in our excavated section. And 8 feet south of the east-west wall, a second wall was found running parallel to it, and springing from the north-south wall. This was roughly built of coral rag blocks and mortar and was about 8 inches thick. It must have been an internal partition wall. The plan (fig. 1) shows, in addition, the presence of a door step? roughly set into the north-south wall and clearly giving access to this room. The corner formed by the junction of the two main walls was constructed, in typical Roman fashion, almost entirely from tegulae set in mortar. | Immediately to the east of the north-south wall a series of channels was found, branching out from a gap in the east-west wall which was considered to be a stoke-hole. The channels were about 1 foot wide with fairly vertical walls dug to the same depth into the natural clay. They were lined with horizontal Coral Rag slabs. Clearly, they represented a channelled hypocaust rather like that at Atworth,® though much less regular in plan. Mr. Freeth reported that much of the earth in them had been black. At least one of these channels ran through the north-south wall, and where this happened a square hole for it had been cut through the wall and bridged over with flagstones, as shown in the plan. This particular channel followed the thin partition wall already described. The room on the south side of the east-west wall does not seem to have been heated by the hypocaust, which was evidently intended for those to the south and east of it. Despite appalling weather conditions a trench 2 feet wide was cut across the northern unheated room to see whether there were any Conclusions 37 stratified deposits between it and the undisturbed clay subsoil. It was found that foundation trenches for the main and partition walls had been dug through a layer of disturbed earthy clay, containing building debris and charcoal flecks, into the natural Oxford Clay. The walls had then been erected by setting flat slabs of Coral Rag in pink mortar. Mortar had also been used to line the buried northern face of the partition wall. These walls seem to be contemporary. Apart from a few indeterminate sherds, one of which was Samian ware, no finds were made in the earthy clay or in the foundation trenches. On top of this disturbed clay an uneven black earthy layer had been deposited, perhaps as a base for the rough mortar floor which lay on it. The top foot of humus as well as the mortar floor had been much disturbed in recent times, so that it was not possible, in the short time at our disposal, to discover the real relationship between the black earth and the mortar floor. CONCLUSIONS Little of real importance resulted from our brief examination of the Roman building at Kingshill. The use of a channelled hypocaust system, the extremely rough construction of the walls and the re-use of roof-tiles for a corner by the stoke-hole suggest that the building must fall within the latest phase of Romanized life in Wiltshire: The pottery which Mr. Freeth has recovered from various parts of his farm appears to be extremely late, imitation Samian, New Forest, and other colour-coated wares being very common and real Samian, apart from one minute fragment, being significantly absent. We presume that this building formed a late third or fourth century addition to an already existing Romano-British farm-house. It probably took advantage of the delightful south prospect, with the River Ray at the foot of what must have been their arable land, and then flat luxuriant country reaching to the foot of Blunsdon Hill. Comparison with Atworth Villa is not entirely apposite because this latter was, perhaps in part, a country house connected with Bath. But it is worth noting ® that, whereas the hypocaust of period I at Atworth had included square pillars as a floor support, the channelled hypocaust system belonged to the latest periods (III - IV). Atworth was probably built early in the third century and must have flourished for nearly two centuries. Kingshill farm doubtless owed its position to the existence of a 38 A Roman House at Kingshill Farm, Cricklade Roman town at Cricklade. It is becoming increasingly clear that there was an extensive settlement here, at an important crossing of the Thames.? Even if the excavations of Mr. Maddison and Group Capt. Knocker on the earthwork surrounding the town have shown it to be post-Roman, it may yet be shown that an earlier Roman fortifica- tion had preceded it. This has, in fact, been suggested by Dr. Thom- son,® who believes that a first century marching camp may have been built here by Vespasian to secure a bridgehead over the Thames before pushing further on in the campaign to secure the West country. When the pax romana had been extended over the south-west, Ermine Street was constructed, and it crossed the river just outside the town.? We have already shown that our site lies just off this important highway, which linked Cirencester and South Wales with Silchester. The farm was therefore conveniently situated for marketing its produce both in Cricklade and in the Roman town north of Wanborough.!° Likewise the river Ray, which it overlooked, may have been navigable in Roman times, while the Thames must certainly have been important in this respect. Apart from these factors, the site of Kingshill was the best that could have been chosen in the neighbourhood, being, as we have already shown, clear of the marshes to the south and safe too from the river whenever it flooded. Indeed, the area of the Roman farm became, in medieval times, the arable land of Cricklade. It was probably the meeting place of Cricklade Hundred. It is therefore clear that Romano- British farms are to be expected round about Cricklade. Kingshill is the first of these to be found. The writers have not so far found, in the Kingshill site, a likely source of pottery as a basis for a chronological type series for the county; but they have added somewhat to the history of Roman Cricklade, and have thereby justified a day spent digging in the rain. 1 Acknowledgments. ‘The writers would like to thank Mr. Frederick Freeth, on whose land the Roman house lies, for providing tools for the trial excavation, and for his co-operation and interest in the work. They are much indebted to Dr. Thomson, who first drew attention to the site, and to Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Holloway who helped dig and provided lunch. Lastly, they are grateful to Dr. Wallis, Director of the Bristol Museum, who identified the stone from which the door-step was made. : The Society is indebted to the authors for the cost of the block which illustrates their article. 2 See Materials for the history of Cricklade, 1951. Chap. II 1ff. and map. N ates 39 3 Dr. Wallis informs us that the door-step is made of the Bath or Great Oolite. The Coral Rag would have been quarried on Blunsdon Hill, within sight of the farm. See Grinsell, in Studies in the history of Swindon, 1950, p. 16. 4 See for example, Reports of the Research Committee of the Soc. Antiq. Lond. No. XI. Verulamium, 1936, Pl. CVI. A+B. > W.A.M. XLIX. 1940. 50ff. SEW AM. ibid. P. 50ff. * Roman pottery and coins are constantly turning up in the town; part of an inscription, and a sculptured stone fragment were incorporated in the Saxon town-wall; and there is part of a Roman relief set high up in the south wall of St. Sampson’s Church. See Materials for the History of Cricklade, Chap. II, (1950) D. 3-4. 8 Materials, Chap. I P. 1 + Chap. II, map. ® Probably it was built on a causeway over the marshes. See W.A.M. XLI. Dec., 1921, 390. 10 Studies in the history of Swindon, 1950, P. 15. 11 Another probably exists somewhere in Latton parish, across the Thames north-east. 40 NATURAL HISTORY SECTION FIELD MEETINGS AND LECTURES, 1952 Report by the Hon. Meetings Secretary, MarcareT E. Nurse In 1952, the Section held three indoor meetings. The first, at Devizes Museum, was a business meeting at which about twenty members were present. It was decided to publish a Handlist of Wilt- shire Birds, if possible within the next two years. A sub-committee was set up to consider the method of procedure. , Also in the spring, a visit was made to Marlborough College, where members of the Section were the guests of the Marlborough College Natural History Society. Mr. J. H. Halliday explained the workings of the mercury vapour light trap for attracting high-flying moths. Aquaria of tropical fish, collections of birds and the beautiful Wede- wood herbarium were kindly shown to us. In October, a joint meeting with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was held at Swindon. Films of Birds of the Orkneys, Birds of Minsmere and Havergate Island and of a breeding colony of Avocets were exhibited to appreciative audiences and were commented upon by Miss M. G. Davies and Lt.-Col. J. K. Stanford. Twenty-one field meetings were held and of these six were ornitho- logical in purpose, twelve botanical, two entomological and one was of general appeal. In addition, a Whitsuntide course on general Natural History was held at Urchfont Manor: members of the section took part, both as students and as tutors. The ornithological meetings included some which were designed to further our inquiry into the breeding distribution of the Corn-Bunting in the county. One very pleasant afternoon was spent by fifteen members who split into small groups and quartered the woodlands about Braydon Pond, recording all the singing males of all the species of birds present. For our botanists an interesting new venture was started. During the summer a few members visited no less than five times the same square metres of thin soil on the steep slope of Morgan’s Hill, there to study the changing plant life. Further very instructive and enjoyable rambles were held and unusual plants were seen. One short walk near Winsley revealed almost one hundred species of flowering plants. We were fortunate to have as leader of a dragon-fly expedition Miss Cynthia Longfield, who is the most enthusiastic and helpful authority on the subject. Annual General Meeting 4] The Section’s Annual General Meeting was held at Trowbridge on June 28th; twenty members were present. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. The Secretary’s report was read by Mrs. C. Seccombe Hett and the statement of accounts by Mr. G. W. Collett. In the absence of Mrs. Peall, Mr. Peirson made a brief report on the Corn-Bunting inquiry. Reports were read by the Press Secretary, Miss E. M. Gliddon, and by the Meetings Secretary. The Chairman, Mr. C. Rice, spoke of the importance of serious work done by small groups of members and emphasized that this should be done in addition to the holding of general nature rambles and the instruction of beginners. Our thanks are given to all those people who acted as leaders but owing to lack of space it is impossible this year to mention them all by name. 42, WILTSHIRE BIRD NOTES FOR 1952 Recorders: Ruta G. BARNES, M.B.O.U., and Guy PEIRSON These notes for 1952 begin with “ Great Northern Diver,” instead of with “1. Raven” and that is the sign that we have takenthe plunge and have changed to the Westmore system of classification. The change would have had to be made soon anyway and, as the transition period will be troublesome, it seemed best to get it over quickly. We follow the arrangement of the Check-List of the Birds of Great Britain and Ireland published by the British Ornithologists’ Union but, as small changes may yet be made in the sequence, we have not this year numbered the species. English names, unlike scientific names, are not subject to official rules and we have changed a few earlier and rather stilted forms for those commonly in use today. The sequence followed in these notes is: Divers, Grebes, Petrel, Gannet and Cormorant, Heron and Bittern, Ducks and Geese, Hawks, Game Birds, Rails, Waders and Gulls, Pigeons, Cuckoo, Owls, Nightjar, Swift, Woodpeckers, Passerines. And that list of English names is meant as a help for readers unfamiliar with the new sequence, not as a lure for some hawk-eyed critic. Tempest-driven stragglers include two Divers, our share of the pitiful “ wreck” of Leach’s Petrel, a Gannet and a Puffin, while the White Stork that joined the flock of White Turkeys for company seems to have been a wild bird. The long list of ducks includes several species that we rarely see in Wiltshire. The record of the Pink-footed Goose seems to be the first for the county and we have only once before had a Wood Sandpiper. Unusual passerine visitors were Black Redstarts, White Wagtails and a Great Grey Shrike, and we record with deep regret the death of a Little Bustard. The Dartford Warbler just hangs on in the county; the Dippers seem unable to recover their former numbers but the Cirl Buntings are, perhaps only temporarily, well established in some places. In the last number of these notes it was written that “ the Curlew still manages to present a successful challenge to those who try to find out how commonly, if at all, it nests in Wiltshire.” In 1952 the Curlew’s bluff was called: at least six nests were found. - We have kept the best to the last. At the end of these notes will be found the evidence for believing that Hoopoes have twice recently bred in Wiltshire. 43 CONTRIBUTORS: E: C. Barnes, Seagry Mrs. Barnes, Seagry Geoffrey L. Boyle, Semington G.L.B. Ase dburras) Rediynch:. 2 AEB. Miss M. Butterworth, Warminster M.B. John Buxton, Colne Rogers, Glos. j.B. W. A. Chaplin, Salisbury W.A.C. G. W. Collett, Chippenham G.W.C. Major W. M. Congreve, Farley W.M.C. Dauntsey’s School Bird Trust DS: Charles Floyd, Holt CB. Mrs. Forbes, Codford E.V.F. IMiss)- MC. » Foster, Aldbourne M.C.F. Brigadier F. E:- Fowle, Charlton F.E.F. Mrs. Gandy, Aldbourne LG. Miss Catherine Gurney, Bradford-on-Avon C.G. J. H. Halliday, Marlborough J.H.H. R.H. R. Haskell East Grimstead Victor Hawtin, Longford Major R. K. Henderson, Marlborough R.K.H. Major C. J. Jacobs, Great Cheverell -@.);); E. Grant Longman, R.A.F. Hullavington E.G.L. John M. Lucas, Salisbury J.M.L. Miss Mary Luckham, Salisbury MLL. A. Maxwell Macfarlane, R.A. Larkhill A.M.M. Marlborough College Nat. Fust:. Society «... M:C. F. H. Maundrell, Inglesham F.H.M. ECB. R.G.B. Mrs. Newton Dunn, Salisbury D.N.D. Nurse, Little Cheverell M.E.N. E> E. Owen, Lockeridge -C.E.O. Oscar Peall, Oare O.P. Mrs. Peali, Oare D.P. L. G. Peirson, Marlborough L.G.P. C. Mi: 2 Rez =Pitman, Clarendon C.M.R.P. Countess of Radnor, Mrs. Salisbury LR. Cyril Rice, Chippenham. C:R. David Rice, Chippenham D.J.R Revd: Ke ?Si- Rich. Hilmarton K.S.R Peter Roberts, Chippenham PR. Richard Sandell, Potterne RS: Mrs. Seccombe Hett, Box C.S.H. Arnold Smith, Trowbridge A.S Geoffrey Spencer, Corsham A.G. S. Re. J. Spencer, Melksham R_J.S. Colonel” J.,°K.° Stanford; Amesbury J.K.S. Gunner Philip J. Stead, Larkhill’--P.J.S. Major Peter Straghan, Warminster P.H.L.S. Miss M. Thouless, Calne M.T. H. W. Timperley, [sine shi: H.W.T. William Washbrook, Marlborough W.LW. C. A. White, Southall, Mddx. C.A.W. Ralph Whitlock, Pitton.. R.W. Brigadier H. Willan, Teffont H.W. Miss June Wilson, Norton J.W. Mrs. Yeatman Biggs, Stockton M.B.Y.B. 44 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1952 GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. One was found dead, floating on Coate Water about Nov. roth. It had only partially changed into winter plumage. (M.C.F.) The skin is now in the Marlborough College Museum. RED-THROATED DIVER. A bird, reported in the local press as a Great Northern Diver, flew into the Old Material Stores of British Railways in Swindon, in the middle of January, and owing to its injuries was killed and its body buried. It was dug up and partially eaten, but the beak, wing and some feathers were recovered, by which it was identified as a Red-Throated Diver by L.G.P. GREAT CRESTED GREBE. Fifteen birds on Coate Water, March 11th (M.C.F.), and eight on April 12th (W.I-W). At Braydon Pond six pairs on March 23rd, and in late May, two broods of three young each (R.G.B.). Two pairs nested at Bowood Lake (G.L.B.); and a bird was seen on Aug. 17th taking a fish to a hidden nest on Corsham Lake, where there were two young birds on Sept. 21st (C.R.) A pair was seen displaying on Fonthill Lake, March 23rd (J.M.L.), and April 23rd (A.M.M.) Two pairs seen at Shearwater (R.J.S.) LEACH’S PETREL. After the widespread “ wreck ”’ of this species in late October, twelve birds were found in Wiltshire. One found dying in the Carriage and Wagon Works, Swindon, was reported in the local press on Nov. sth as a Storm Petrel but confirmed as Leach’s by Mr. H. Sargent. One, found dead in Marlborough, Nov. 5th, was identified by J.H.H. (M.C.). One, found dead outside the Rex Cinema, Pewsey, Oct. 31st, was reported by Gordon Smart in the Wiltshire Gazette of Nov. 6th and identified later by J.H.H. (M.C.). Three were found dead close together in water at Longleat by a water keeper; one of them was identified by M.B. and Mr. Jelly on Nov. toth. One, found dying near the Greencroft, Salisbury on Oct. 30th, by Mr. V. G. Smith, was later photographed by W.A.C. (W.A.C., M.L.). One, found at Clarendon on Jan. 14th, 1953, appeared to be a relic of the same wreck (C.M.R.P.). The following five records were kindly forwarded by the Severn Wildfowl Trust: near West Kington, Oct. 30th (D. A. Hope), near Trowbridge, Nov. 3rd (Miss E. Carter), Downton, Oct. 28th (G. W. Parker), West Tytherley in early November (Miss Valerie Brice) and one, perhaps of this species, at Dean (Miss Valerie Brice). GANNET. One was caught in a field among cattle by Mr. R. G. Pottow of Cadley Farm, Potterne. cf. Daily Telegraph, Aug. 12th, 1952. The bird was handed over to the R.S.P.C.A., but died before it could be returned to the sea. It proved to be a female, about four years old; the skin is now in the possession of C.R. CORMORANT. An immature bird was captured in an orchard at Tinhead where it had been seen in the early morning of Aug. 19th, and was later released on the Avon near Reybridge. It was found shot close by a few days later G.L.B., — C.R., R.G.B.). One bird seen flying along the Salisbury Avon, Oct. 19th, five flying below Clarendon, Dec. 22nd, and some near Britford, Dec. 27th (C.M.R.P.). : HERON. At the Bowood heronry one bird was sitting, Feb. 24th, and on March 23rd, nine nests appeared to be occupied, although a new nest on the mainland did not seem to be in use (G.L.B.). Heron, ring No. 507564, ringed as a | Great Northern Diver—Tufted Duck 45 nestling at the heronry at Fawley Court, Henley-on-Thames, on 13.5.51, was found dead in Draycot Park in late February with a water-vole stuck in its throat. On dissection by J.H.H. it was found to have cancer of the throat (ER RGB). BITTERN. One was in the Clarendon district during the summer (W.A.C.), and one was seen by the Avon at the Salisbury gravel pits in October (C.M.R.P.). WHITE sTORK. A bird was seen at Downton on June oth and roth on Mr. Forwood’s farm. He had seen storks in Austria and described it as “ white with black wings, a large xed bill and, when it flew, long red legs dangling down.” It first appeared in a flock of white Turkeys and was later seen flying in from the river from a northerly direction. It was wild and could not be easily approached (D.N.D.). No escapes from captivity were reported at that time. MALLARD. Highest counts: Coate Water, c.220, Jan. 27th (M.C.); 230, Dec. 12th (M.C.F.); 258, Dec. 29th (W.I-W.). Braydon Pond, 48, Aug. 17th; 34, Wee ymin (iG B): Corsham’ Lake, 30, Jan: 17th; 30; Sept. 21st (C.R.). Bowood Lake, c.210, Sept. 14th, (G.L.B.). Ramsbury, 276, Aug. 16th (W.I.W.); c.150, Jan. 27th; 100, Feb. 24th (M.C.). Chilton Foliat, 25, Aug. 16th (W.I-W.). Wilton Water, 50, in March, (M.C.). Shearwater, 200 in September, 150 in November (M.B.). Longleat, 200 — 300 all through October (M.B.). Very large numbers to be seen on the Salisbury Avon at the end of August, and 200 — 300 flighting to barley stubble at night on Aug. 30th (J.K.S.). TEAL. Highest counts: Coate Water, 207, Jan. 22nd, (M.C.F.); 120, Dec. 29th (W.I.W.). Last seen there in spring: a pair, April 7th; first seen there in autumn: Sept. 22nd (M.C.F.). Braydon Pond, 10, Jan. 13th (J.B.). Corsham Lake, 10, Feb. 24th (C.R.). Wilton Water, 9, Jan. 27th; 10, March 27th (M.C.). Claren- don Lake, 6 pairs, March 24th (R.W.) GARGANEY. Two on Clarendon Lake, Nov. 9th (C.M.R.P.). WIGEON. At Coate Water 3 — 18 birds were seen on dates between Jan. 1st and Feb. 25th (M.C.F., W.LW.). At Braydon Pond 25 — 70 on dates between Jan. Ist and March 23rd. (J.B., R.G.B.), and c.20 on Dec. 27th(J.B.). At Clarendon Lake, 30-40, Feb. 12th (R.W.). Very small numbers at Bowood (G.L.B.), Ramsbury (M.C.F.), Chilton Foliat (M.C.), and Shearwater (M.B.). PINTAIL. One shot at Longford, Oct. 20th (J.K.S.). A male on Braydon Pond, Wee: 14th (R.G.B.); and a pair, Dec. 27th (J.B.). SHOVELER. At Coate Water, eight birds on Jan 8th, a pair on Feb. 23rd, and a drake Nov. 6th (M.C.F.). A pair on Braydon Pond, March 23rd (R.G.B.). Birds also seen on Clarendon Lake, Feb. 12th (R.W.), Nov. 9th, (C.M.R.P.), and on the Avon below Longford, May 15th, (C.M.R.P.). TUETED DuCK. A Coate Water 10 — 30 birds were seen on dates in January, and a pair on April 27th (M.C.F.). At Braydon Pond 18 — 23 birds between Jan. 13th and Feb. 26th (J.B., R.G.B.). On March sth, when thirteen birds were present, coition was seen to take place. A pair remained, April 2nd, and a male until May 22nd (R.G.B.). Highest numbers at other waters were: Corsham Lake, twelve birds on Jan. 27th and Dec. 14th (C.R.); Shearwater, 120 on Jan. 20th (M.B.); Longleat (where two broods of young were reported) sixteen birds 46 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1952 on Dec. 16th (M.B.); Stourhead, 60-70 on March ist (R.J.S.); Clarendon Lake, 20 - 30 on Feb. 12th and March 24th (R.W.); a single male remained until April 23rd (A.M.M.). At Chilton Foliat, where nine birds were present on April 9th, a female with seven ducklings was seen on April 17th (W.LW.). A pair at Bowood, April 27th, (G.L.B.). Small numbers were also recorded at Ramsbury, Wilton Water (M.C.) and the Salisbury gravel pits (C.M.R.P.). POCHARD. At Coate Water 2-18 birds were seen during January and up to Feb. 25th (M.C.F., W.I.W.); eight on Dec. 29th (W.LW.). At Braydon Pond 6-14 birds between Jan. 9th and Feb. 26th (J.B., R.G.B.) 14, Dec. 27th (J.B.) Highest numbers at Corsham Lake, forty-five on Jan. 27th; eleven on Dec. 14th (C.R.). Bowood, seven on March 21st (G.L.B.). Wilton Water, eight on March 23rd (M.C.). Longleat, twenty-seven on Dec. 16th (M.B.). There were 20 — 30 on Clarendon Lake, Feb. 12th (R.W.). Small numbers were also seen in winter at Stourhead Lake, Lacock and Salisbury gravel pits, and Shearwater. GOLDEN-EYE. A brown-headed bird on Braydon Pond, Jan. 13th (J.B.). GOOSANDER. A brown-headed bird was seen on Corsham Lake on Jan. 27th. Almost immediately it took flight, showing the broad wing-bar covering the secondaries and the grey wine. (C.R., D.J.R.). Three brown-headed birds seem there on Feb, 17th (CR). sMEw. Two birds watched for forty minutes with x8 fieldglasses on Coate Water on Dec. 29th, were about the size of Teal and almost totally white in appearance. In flicht they appeared as agile as Teal, and darker colouring could be seen on the extremities of the wings. There was some black on their faces. The birds kept away from the other duck and appeared to be more shy. They dived several times. (W.1.W.). The next day thick fog prevailed but M.C.F. and W.I.W. caught a glimpse of three birds which had very light undersides and flew like Teal but were slightly larger. SHELD-DuCK. A single bird on Shearwater, Jan. 13th, (M.B.). GREY GEESE. Seven, flying into the wind in a south-westerly direction near Inglesham, Jan. 16th (F.H.M.). A single bird and a flock of 10 — 12, seen near _ Aldbourne at intervals during August by W.I.W., were most probably free- flying tame birds. Major Sturgis saw four grey geese on his ground by the Bristol Avon at Great Somerford during hard weather in mid-December CB) PINK-FOOTED Goosr. An adult male, flighting with duck over flood water at Imber, was shot on Feb. 12th and identified by P.H.L.S. This appears to be the first record for the county. CANADA Goose. A single bird on Coate Water, Jan. 22nd (M.C.F.). BUZZARD. In North Wiltshire three occupied nests were found and a bird was seen carrying nesting materials. It is not known if young were reared at any of these nests (A.G.S., G.L.B.). In South Wiltshire one nest was found (C.M.R-P.): and a pair were seen ‘throughout early summer and on Aug. 4th with two immature birds (J. S. C. Robinson per A.M.M.). In addition, at least six other pairs were seen during the breeding season (R.W., R.J.S., J.M.L., P.J.S.). Many flight records throughout the year. Pochard—Quail 47 A bird was found near Aldbourne, Dec. 19th, apparently unable to fly. It allowed two people to approach it and even to examine its wings and body which seemed totally undamaged. The bird had disappeared by Dec. atst, and it is thought possible that it was gorged (W.I.W.). HEN HARRIER. A female was seen twice near West Down during the week ending Dec. 21st (J. S. C. Robinson per A.M.M.). MONTAGU’S HARRIER. Returned to its old haunts in South Wilts. April 11th (C.M.R.P.). A female reported several times during the two weeks before and after April 17th, on which date it was seen by A.M.M. A female seen quartering the Plain near Netheravon, July 29th (P.J.S.). Several records in Larkhill district between Aug. 1 — 16, including an adult male (J. S. C. Robinson per A.M.M.). HOBBY. First seen April 9th (G.L.B.). No breeding records and only three pairs seem (C.R. G.W-C., A.M.M., J.K.S.).. Last seen. in_autumn: Aug. 15th (W.I-W.); Sept. roth, (A.M.M.); Sept. 13th (C.M.R.P.). A Salisbury news- paper reported on Aug. 29th that a golfer had been attacked by a falcon on Hich Post Golf Course. W.A.C. writes that it was a Hobby trained for falconry which was not attacking, but inviting the golfer to extend a wrist on which it could alight. The golfer killed it with a club. PEREGRINE. A female was killed at Stype, April 1st (M.C.). Single birds were seen flying over Chippenham, April 20th (G.W.C.); and stooping at and killing a Wood Pigeon at the Salisbury gravel pits (C.M.R.P.). One frequently harried Wood Pigeons around Pitton and Farley in late autumn (R.W.). MERLIN. Two birds near Alton, Jan 3rd (L.G.P.) and a fine male at Wilsford Down, Jan. 27th (A.M.M.). One was watched for some time on Aldbourne Common, Aug. 11th (W.I-W.). Two seen flying very low towards S.E. at Clarendon, Nov. 12th (C.M.R.P.). KESTREL. At Keevil aerodrome, April 26th, a male was bathing in wood ash, shuffiing round and sending up clouds of dust. The female watched from a fence post but did not join in (G.L.B.). RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. Noted near Aldbourne, January and August (W.I.W.), | near Baydon (M.C.), and near Biddestone (P.R.) in May. Remains found near _ Christian Malford in June (R.G.B.). Quam. Single birds were heard calling in the following places: Britford, May Tsth (W.A.C.); in barley by the Ridgeway above Bishopstone, May 16th (H.W.T.); in long grass on Enford Down, when the bird was flushed, May | 2and, (P.J.S.); in Bishopstone Coombe, June 15th (H.W.T.); near Greenlands Camp later in June (P.J.S.); near Aldbourne, July 30th (M.C.F.). At Larkhill the call first heard on May 23rd, but not again until June 30th. On July 6th, up to six birds were calling and several were flushed. Small “ bevies ” were seen there and one bevy north of Shrewton by shooting parties in September _ (A.M.M.). The call was often heard in late evening during June and young were seen with an old bird in a freshly cut field between Downton and Trafalgar in August by Mr. Clarke who farms the land (C.M.R.P.). Three birds seen and 48 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1952 heard near Robin Hoods Ball, no date (P.J.S.). One, found dead, under telegraph wires near Woodford, Aug. 26th (J.K.S.). Four single birds flushed near Winterslow, Sept. 15th, (R.W.). : WATER RAIL. Seen at Coate Water, Jan. 22nd (M.C.F.) and Dec. 29th (W.I-W.). One was brought to H.W.T. by a cress-grower at Bishopstone, who sees 3 - 4 about the cress beds throughout the year and calls them “ water-runners.” Three at Erlestoke in January (D.S.). Single birds at Ramsbury, Jan. 15th, Chilton Foliat, April 29th (W.I-W); Mildenhall, March 3rd (M.C.); Salisbury gravel pits, Oct. 31st, and Britford, Nov. 26th (C.M.R.P.). One reported to M.B. by Mr. Castellain at Longbridge Deverill, (M.B.). A juvenile was found dead in a garden at Pitton, Sept. 6th (R.W.). A single bird at Lacock gravel pits, Sept. sth and 7th (G.L.B.). CORNCRAKE. On May roth a bird was heard at Fonthill, (M.L.), and another at Semington by Mr. and Mrs. Overton, (G.L.B.). A family of adult and young birds were seen at the end of June near Trafalgar by the farmer, Mr. Clarke, when cutting grass (C.M.R.P.). During corn harvesting the following were seen—three near Oare Hill, Aug. 20th (Mr. R. Bull per R.K.H. who also put up a bird there Sept. 6th); one on another farm near Oare, Aug. 26th (O.P.); one near Great Cheverell, Aug. 26th (Mr. Norman Giddings per C.J.J.); one near Norton, Aug. 29th (J.W.). Single birds seen near Pitton, Aug. oth and 26th (R.W.). One was found dead on Walker’s Hill in early August (Mr. Banks per C.E.O.). The last autumn record was Oct. 28th near Box (C.S.H.). MOORHEN. At Lacock gravel pits on April 3rd two birds were seen to run very fast towards each other with heads held low. They met beak to beak with considerable force, and staggered backwards. One bird then stood hunched up with its head down and its beak pointing to its toes. The observer was certain that the two birds were paired and that no aggression was intended. Normally in such a display, the birds run past each other or stop before they meet (G.L.B.). LITTLE BUSTARD. A male of this species was shot by a malefactor with a rifle on Salisbury Plain in the middle of May. The corpse was identified by L.G.P.: it has been stuffed and is in the Marlborough College Museum. It was critically examined at Oxford but, though it resembles the Western race rather than the Eastern, it cannot be attributed with certainty to either. OYSTERCATCHER. An immature bird by floodwater in a ploughed field near Slaughterford, May 4th, where Ringed Plover and Dunlin had been seen on the same day (G:LB., €.Ro DR.) RINGED PLOVER. Three birds seen with Dunlin by foodwater on a ploughed field near Slaughterford, May 2nd and 4th (G.L.B., C.R.). GOLDEN PLOVER. Several large flocks near Pitton in February (R.W.). Thirty with Lapwing near Horningsham, Feb. 1st and 2nd (M.B.). In a meadow near Hilperton there were seventeen with c.300 Wood pigeons on Jan. 30th.—By Feb. 2nd the number had increased to c.120. On Feb. 12th, when twenty were present, one bird with a dark patch showing on its lower breast was showing signs of breeding plumage (G.L.B.). Last spring observation—z birds on Keevil aerodrome that flew off in a southerly direction, April sth (G.L.B.). In autumn Water Rail—Green Sandpiper 49 a flock of c.30 were on Enford Down, Sept. 2oth, (A.M.M.); c.12 flew in to settle on stubble near Bishopstone at 7 p.m. (Mr. Hickman per H.W.T.); a small flock near Clarendon, Oct. 11th (C.M.R.P.). sNipE. A pair nested in the Old Deanery Garden, Salisbury, and “ drumming ” was heard near the river bank in the Cathedral Close (M.L.). JACK SNIPE. Single birds seen near Rodbourne, Swindon, March 16th (M.C.) and by the Avon near Holt during November sleet and snow. Two were seen in autumn near Ford with some Common Snipe for comparison (C.M.R.P. with Mr. Hayward). woopcock. Seen on Clench Common, March 2nd (M.C.). An immature bird, Aldbourne, Aug. 11th (M.C.F.). A fair number seen in Savernake Forest and elsewhere in the neighbourhood in autumn (R.K.H.); but fewer than usual in the Clarendon district (C.M.R.P.). curLEW. As reported in the Wiltshire Times in July, 1952, A.G.S. found a nest | containing three eggs on grazing land in Sandridge Park in early May. These eges disappeared (ee On May 21st another nest with four eggs was found within 200 yards of the first one, presumably belonging to the same pair. These eggs hatched on June 22nd. Including the day of nest discovery the incubation period was thirty-three days; the average period is 29 — 30 days (A.G.S.). On May 18th a nest with four eggs was found near Etchilhampton (M.C.), and on May 21st another nest with two eggs was found in the same district by H.W.T. with Mr. J. D. Grose. On June Ist two pairs were seen near Urchfont, both of which behaved as though they were breeding, and one young bird and an empty egg shell were found by Miss Gillham. On June sth, two pairs were seen in the same district __ mobbing something in an elm tree (C.S.H.). There was strong circumstantial evidence of breeding near West Lavington where three pairs were under observation in one field, but no nest or young were seen (D.S.). On July roth, it was reported that Curlews had nested near the Avon at Bulkington and that four young birds had been seen. An adult bird and one young were found by G.L.B. and again on July 11th with C.R. A pair were feeding on Keevil aerodrome, April 29th, when the male gave a display flight, and again on May 13th. On May 15th only one bird was seen, which may have meant that the female had started to sit (G.L.B.). A bird was seen near Oare, May 2oth, and once again during the summer (O.P.). Two birds were seen between South- wick and Tellisford, March 24th, and three near Chippenham in December (PR), GREEN SANDPIPER. A ane bird in late June on a small stream near Bulford (J. S. C. Robinson per A.M.M.). From late June until early October, one or more were seen almost daily at Lacock gravel pits. It was noticed that before preening the birds invariably dipped their bills into the water, this being a regular part of the preening routine (G.L.B.). Single birds at Lockeridge, July Ist (M.C.), at Trowbridge Sewage Farm, Aug. 16th (G.W.C.), and at a cress bed at the uppermost springs above Bishopstone, Aug. 21st—Sept. 14th (H.W.T.). Two birds at Christian Malford gravel pits, Aug. 22nd, and one VOL. LV—CXCVIII D 50 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1952 bird still there Sept. 13th (R.G.B.). A single bird at the Salisbury gravel pits on 3 dates from Aug. 30th to Nov. 18th (C.M.R.P.); and one at West Amesbury, Dec: 14th (J.K'S.). WOOD SANDPIPER. On Aug. 22nd at Lacock gravel pits, four Green Sandpipers were feeding and preening. Their call was answered by another wader which flew down to join them. It was noticed immediately that this bird was slimmer and of a lighter colour. Its back was mottled with light markings giving it rather the appearance of a Starling in winter plumage. There was a pronounced eyestripe and the hard line which is normally apparent across the breast of Green Sandpipers where the dark colour finishes was not noticeable in this bird, the grey on the breast fading gradually to merge with the whiter underparts. The legs were definitely yellowish green and when the wings were raised slowly they showed light grey underneath as opposed to the nearly black underside of the Green Sandpiper’s wings. The next day the bird appeared again and circled round, clearly showing the barring on its tail and a much smaller display of white than is normal with the Green Sandpiper. Unfortunately the call was not heard (G.L.B.). This appears to be the second record for Wiltshire, the previous record being in 1879 (Smith’s Birds of Wiltshire). COMMON SANDPIPER. Single birds at Lacock gravel pits, April 22nd (G.L.B.); Chilton Foliat, April 29th (W.IW.); Coate Water, May 16th, (M.C.F.); and Braydon Pond, May 31st (R.G.B.). Two at Fonthill Lake, April 23rd (A.M.M.). Pairs were seen during the months of March—September inclusive (1) near the Kennet and Avon Canal below Seend Cleeve, (2) by the Avon between Melksham and Lacock, (3) by the Avon between Monkton House, Whaddon—Staverton. No nest was traced (R.J.S.). On May toth a pair were by Bowood Lake on the opposite side to where they were found in 1951. One bird flew out over the water with very slow deliberate wing beats, then re- joined the other bird, and they both disappeared in the reeds (G.L.B.). A juvenile feeding by the Bybrook below Box, July 27th (C.S.H.). A bird seen by the Avon at Kellaways, Sept. roth (R.G.B.). Birds were to be seen at the Lacock gravel pits almost daily Aug. 20th—Oct. 8th (G.L.B.). Two at Erle- stoke, on date (D.S.). REDSHANK. Two pairs had arrived at Clarendon Lake, March 24th (R.W.). Several pairs in watermeadows near Netherhampton, but nests not located (M.L.). During the breeding season birds seen on water-cress beds near Broadchalke (M.E.N.); many at Chilton Foliat and Littlecote; a few at Whit- tonditch; but none at Preston this year (W.I.W.). A pair which appeared to have young or nest were watched for some hours by the Avon near Chippen- ham, June 16th—17th, but breeding not proved (G.W.C.). Birds seen at Coate Water, Aug. 16th (M.C.F.) and Dec. 29th (W.I.W.); and at Britford, Nov. 26th (C.M.RP.). DUNLIN. Three birds in summer plumage by floodwater on a ploughed field near Slaughterford, May 3rd (G.L.B.), and one at the same spot, May 4th (G.L.B., C.R.). A small flock 10-20 in company with Lapwing on the Whaddon reaches of the Bristol Avon in November (R.J.S.). Wood Sandpiper—Black Tern 51 STONE CURLEW. One, which may have been an over-wintering bird, seen near Imber, Jan. 28th (P.H.L.S.). Spring arrival—March 15th (C.M.R.P.); April t1th, (M.C.); April 14th (A.M.M.). Eggs seen, May 22nd (M.C.). R.W. records usual numbers but a later arrival. Autumn departure, Oct. 12th (L.G.P.); Oct. 24th (C.M.R.P.). Records also received from H.W.T., P.J.S., and W.1.W. GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. Single birds at Ford, Feb. 17th (D.N.D.); flying up the Bristol Avon at Kellaways, Feb. 12th (R.G.B.); at Larkhill, April 24th, (A.M.M.), and Marlborough, June 21st (M.C.). LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. One at Lackham, Jan. 16th. By floodwater near Melksham there were three birds with yellow legs and two with flesh-coloured legs on March toth. From March 18th one bird with yellow and another with flesh-coloured legs were seen in the same place for several days. The one with pink legs had a lighter coloured bill, which did not appear to be so massive as that of the other bird. Mr. J. A. G. Barnes commented that birds with flesh- coloured legs appear to be comparatively rare among the spring immigrants (G.L.B.). Two birds at Coate Water, April 12th (W.I.W.), and 16th (M.C.F.). One bird flying up the Bristol Avon at Great Somerford, March 22nd, and two at Seagry, April 29th. Two birds in second summer plumage on Christian Malford gravel pits, June 2nd, and one adult there on June 22nd—23rd. One flying over Braydon Pond, June 20th (R.G.B.). By Corsham Lake one adult and one immature bird were seen, April 15th, one on July 20th and one Aug. 17th (C-R.). A few birds by the Salisbury Avon, Oct. roth (C.M.R.P.). HERRING GULL. Eleven at,Coate Water, Feb. 2nd (M.C.F.). One flying W. near Marlborough, Feb. 25th (M.C.). One flying over Aldbourne and c.80 near Axford, April 1st (W.I-W.). COMMON GuLL. A flock of c.100 near Tilshead, March 26th (R.G.B.). On Aug. 21st a flock of c.200 near Castle Combe. Birds seen from October— December near Corsham and Chippenham, possibly a decrease from other years. There was an evening flight line at about 15.00 — 15.30 hrs. from the Avon valley over Corsham Park and Thingley towards N.W. (C.R.). Num- erous on the Whaddon reaches of the Bristol Avon in November with Black- headed gulls (R_J.S.). A flock of 20 - 30 near Hullavington, Aug. 24th. Flocks of eighty-two near Corston and ninety-two near Malmesbury, Oct. 25th (R.G.B.). BLACK-HEADED GULL. More frequent occurrences all the year round in Cor- sham—Chippenham district; are now seen regularly at Corsham Lake (C.R.), c.800 on a grass field near Chippenham, March 3rd (P.R.). Single birds near Aldbourne, July 19th (M.C.F.) and Aug. 25th, (W.I-W.). Twenty-two near Upton Scudamore, Oct. 13th, and three at Braydon Pond, Oct. 20th (R.G.B.). c.60 feeding at the Chippenham sewage farm, Nov. 26th (C.S.H.). BLACK TERN. Two were seen at Longford on April 29th, and on May 3rd one bird was seen there and later seven more birds. All were travelling very fast and hardly paused. (ILR., V-H.). 2D 52 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1952 PUFFIN. A young Puffin was found alive on Coombe Bissett Down and brought to D.N.D. on Nov. oth. Probably a casualty of the gale on the night of Nov. ath. WOODPIGEON. Many reports of large winter flocks. TURTLE-DOVE. First seen April 28th, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); May 1st, Larkhill (A.M.M.) and Farley (W.M.C.). Last seen Sept. 15th, Aldbourne, (W.I.W.); Sept. 27th, Marlborough (M.C.). cuckoo. First heard April oth, Oare (D.P.); April 11th, Axford (W.I-W.) and Longford (C.M.R.P.). First egg found in Reed Warbler’s nest, May 23rd (C.M.R.P.). Last seen Aug. 8th, Box (C.S.H.); Aug. 15th, Chippenham (C.R.); Aug. 21st, Aldbourne, (W.I.W.). BARN OWL. Seen hunting by day in every month of the year. A pair were feeding young throughout July at Great Durnford and hunting continuously all day (J.K.S.). LONG-EARED OWL. Seen at Totterdown, March rst (M.C.), and near Charlton (F.E.F.). The distinctive note could be heard most evenings and throughout the night in March at Clarendon. A pair reared a brood there (C.M.R.P.). One was shot by mistake at Winterbourne Gunner, Oct. 18th. The skin is now at Devizes Museum (J-.K.S.). SHORT-EARED OWL. Four, flushed from conifers on Wilsford Down during deep snow, Jan. 27th (A.M.M.). About ten had arrived near Lake, where it is a regular winter visitor, by Nov. 21st (J.K.S.). One seen hunting in mid-morning over open ground near West Woods, Dec. 31st (M.C.). NIGHT JAR. First seen at Aldbourne, April 14th, when a single bird flew over at 06.30 hrs. giving the observer an excellent view (W.I.W.). Noted at Claren- don, May 14th (R.W.), and in West Woods where a pair were calling and displaying, June 3rd (C.S.H.). swieT. First seen, April 23rd, Amesbury (A.M.M.), and Alderbury (C.M.R.P.); April sth, Salisbury (R.W.). Last seen Aug. 20th, Semington and Aug. 23rd, Lacock, (G.L.B.); Aug. 26th, Chippenham (C.R.). GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER. Noted near Hullavington (E.G.L.); Chilton Foliat, Braydon and Coate (W.I.W.); Inglesham (F.H.M.); Pitton (P-J.S.); Clarendon, (C.M.R.P.); Alderbury (M.L.); and in Salisbury (D.N.D., M.L.). Nests in gardens at Hilmarton (K.S.R.) and Seagry (R.G.B.). A bird drummed in Corsham Park, Aug. 17th; and one was seen on fence posts and telegraph poles near Chippenham during hard weather in December (C.R.). LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. One was tapping the reeds at Coate Water, Jan. 14th (W.LW.). Noted near Chippenham (G.W.C., C.R.); Chilton Foliat (M.C.F.); Ramsbury and Axford (W.I-W.); Bodenham (M.L.); and Dinton (J.M.L.).. A pair were feeding two, possibly three, young in an apple orchard at Seagry, June 19th (R.G.B.). WRYNECK. Two seen in Grovely Wood, April 25th (M.B.Y.B.). Pufin —Dipper 53 WOODLARK. A singing male in Spye Park in April (G.L.B.), and two in June (G.W.C.). One bird, singing in flight, pursuing another on Nash Hill, April 26th (C.R.). c.4 pairs in the East Grimstead district (R.H.) and one or two pairs between Dean and Whiteparish, and between Pitton and Winterbourne (R.W.). Also reported near Salisbury (W.A.C.) and about Longleat (M.B.). Often seen in small parties flying over Clarendon during the winter (C.M.R.P.). SWALLOW. First seen March 23rd, Alderbury (C.M.R.P.); March 27th, Bean- acre (G.L.B.); April 5th, Salisbury (R.W.). The main contingent were much later than usual at Aldbourne, not more than three or four birds being seen until April 28th (W.LW.). Last seen Sept. 30th, Semington; Oct. 1st, Bradford-on- Avon, (G.L.B.); and Oct. 21st, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.). HOUSE MARTIN. First seen April 7th, Chilton Foliat, (W.I.W.); April roth, Alderbury (M.L.). Last seen Oct. 1st, Clarendon, (C.M.R.P.) and Bradford- on-Avon (G.L.B.); Oct. 4th, Salisbury (M.L.); Oct. 15th, Bulford, (A.M.M.). SAND MARTIN. First seen April 2nd, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); April oth, Staver- ton, (G.L.B.). A nesting colony in the Sahara sand pits, Sandridge, July 27th (Re 2-G.B)™ Last seen Aug. 25th; Lacock (G-E.B.); Sept. 17th, Axford (W.LW.). CARRION CROW. On July 2oth, a hot sunny day, a crow was watched “ anting ” (G.L.B.). HOODED CROW. One bird, in company with a Carrion Crow, was pecking about on the turf on Knap Hill, Oct. 16th, (C.E.O.). ROOK. Early breeding records: several birds sitting at Semington, March roth; completed clutches’near Farley, March 16th (W.M.C.); and one nest with young near Porton, March 22nd. In the latter large rookery most of the nests were in hawthorns which were bowed down with the weight of many years’ accumulation, nine to a dozen nests in some of the bushes (C.M.R.P.). A pair seen mating on the ground near Ogbourne, April 4th (R.W.). Courtship display seen in two pairs on the ground, Oct. 22nd, an early date (C:S 1 BLUE TIT. In late February a bird was seen opening the cover of a milk bottle in Seagry. The householder reported that the habit had first started there in the spring of 1951 (E.C.B.). This is the first record of this well known habit reported to this Society. WILLOW TIT. Seen and heard in a garden at Clarendon in January and February, and again in November and December (C.M.R.P.). Seen and heard also near _ Alderbury, March 31st, where there are three small areas each usually occupied _ bya pair (R.W.). Also noted at Totterdown, March 2nd (M.C.). _ LONG TAILED TIT. Reports of breeding and of winter parties throughout the | county indicate that numbers have returned to normal after the casualties in | the spring of 1947. DIPPER. A pair seen near Iford in April and May (A.J.S.). Single birds seen at Fonthill, March 23rd (J.M.L.) and near Castle Combe, Aug. 25th (R.G.B.). Seen on the R. Frome near Tellisford (R.J.S., P-R.). Still absent from an area near Salisbury where seven pairs were known up to 1950 (W.A.C.). 54 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1952 MISTLE THRUSH. A pair built in Seagry during the last week in June, and the first egg was laid July ist, a late date (R.G.B.). FIELDFARE. A flock of 300-400 between Wroughton and Bassett Down on April roth. (J.W.). Last records, April 29th, Chilton Foliat, and May 1st, Aldbourne (W.1.W.). Gunner P. J. Stead writes: ““ On July 15th, I flushed a Fieldfare from a field of oats near Springbottom Farm (about one mile S.S.E. of Stonehenge). The bird flew into a birch tree where I had an excellent view of it. I am well acquainted with this species and I am absolutely certain about my identification as I watched it at a range of 10-15 yards for several minutes. The slate blue rump and head were unmistakable.” First seen in autumn, Sept. 6th, East Grimstead (Major Martin per D.N.D.); Oct. 7th, a flock of twenty near Bishopstone (H.W.T.); Oct. 9th, Marlborough (M.C.). Larger flocks than usual were reported by G.L.B., W.LW., M.B., and C.M.R.P. SONG THRUSH. Increase noted about Ramsbury and Chilton Foliat (W.1.W.); Inglesham (F.H.M.) and Clarendon (C.M.R.P.). A nest on the ground among the roots of a clump of bamboos in a Seagry garden (R.G.B.). REDWING. Last seen in spring, March 15th, Alderbury, (C.M.R.P.); April 28th, Urchfont (A.M.M.). First seen in autumn Sept. 17th, Laverstock (R.W.); Oct. 9th, Marlborough (M.C.); Oct. 13th, Larkhill (A.M.M.). An early and very large influx in October and November, during cold spells (R.W.). A flock of c.700 at the foot of Ogbourne Hill from Dec. 21st — 30th (W.I.W.). Numbers greatly in excess of normal (G.L.B.). RING OUZEL. One was watched for some time at very close range in a paddock at Clarendon on the morning of Nov. 24th (C.M.R.P.). BLACKBIRD. A female built three nests at Clarendon in March and April, sitting on the clutches of three, four and one infertile eggs in turn (C.M.R.P.). A nest and eggs on level ground at Seagry, exposed in scything rough grass, May 14th; and another on a sloping roof 20 ft. high, in which the pile of materials grew to _ 3 ft. in length (R.G.B.). WHEATEAR. Spring: Hackpen, March 11th, where male birds were doing the “trench display ” (L.G.P.); March 20th, Oare (D.P.) and Larkhill (A.M.M.); March 22nd, East Kennett (G.W.C.) and Porton (C.M.R.P.). Fourteen birds in one field near Southwick in spring, where there seems to be a migration route (P.R.). Several birds frequented wet ploughed land near Slaughterford, May 2nd, 3rd and 4th (G.L.B.). A single bird which spent some hours in a garden at Seagry on April 29th, was considered by its larger size and upright carriage, warmly rufous colouring below and grey back, and tendency to perch on high netting to be almost certainly of the northern race (R.G.B.). Autumn: A single bird near Southwick, Sept. 12th (P-R.); on Hullavington aerodrome, Sept. 16th (E.G.L.), and at Clarendon, Oct. 2nd (C.M.R.P.). STONECHAT. Seen on Hinton Down, Jan. 3rd (M.C.F.) and Jan. 4th (W.I.W.). A female at Stratford-sub-Castle and a male at Old Sarum, Jan. 6th (C.M.R.P.); near Marlborough, Feb 23rd (M.C.). A pair wintered in Bishopstone Combe until Feb. 22nd (H.W.T.), and another pair were seen at Larkhill until the end of March and from Oct. 4th onwards (A.M.M.). Three pairs found breeding Mistle Thrush—Blackcap 55 and later feeding young near Downton (A.E.B.), and a pair were seen with young on Plaitford Common, June 16th (G.W.C.). A single bird near Maiden Bradley, Dec. 21st (M.B.), and one at Dauntsey’s School, no date, (D.S.). A pair visited a bird table near Warminster regularly from the beginning of November until the end of the year (P.H.L.S.). WHINCHAT. Spring: April 23rd, three males and one female near Melksham (G.L.B., C.R.); April 26th, Porton (W.M.C.). Breeding records: map references were made of the breeding areas of seven pairs, all seen with young, near Larkhill and Tilshead (A.M.M.). A pair, possibly breeding, near W Lavington (D.S.); a pair of four fully grown young near Upton Scudamore, June 14th (A.G.S.). Autumn: Single birds were seen July 13th, King’s Play Hill (G.L.B.), July 28th and Aug. 1toth, Aldbourne (W.I.W.); Southwick, Sept. 12th (P.R.). Several in cornfields in the Pitton, Winterbourne, Winter- slow district from Aug. 14th until Sept. 17th (R.W.). Last seen in Bishopstone Combe, Sept. 23rd and Oct. 12th (H.W.T.). REDSTART. Spring: April 9th, a male in Spye Park, where later a female was seen with food in its bill (G.L.B.). Very few seen near Longleat, only two nests found (M.B.). One immature bird near Long Dene, July roth (C.R.), and another at Lackham, Aug. 21st (G.L.B.). A pair at the foot of Charlbury Hill, Little Hinton, July 24th (H.W.T.). A female flying on the Fosse Way at Broad Mead Brook, Aug. 24th (R.G.B.). One seen in Savernake Forest, Sept. 13th (W.LW,). BLACK REDSTART. A single bird at West Dean in January (R.H.), another in _ Chippenham, Nov. 18th (C.R.). NIGHTINGALE. First noted April 11th, Little Frith (M.C.); April 13th, Great Ridge Woods (R,J.S.), and Clarendon, (C.M.R.P.). Numerous records throughout the county. / GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. First heard April 13th, Ramsbury (C.A.W.); April 14th, Salisbury gravel pits (C.M.R.P.); Little Frith (M.C.). Others reported in April and May near Sandridge where it had not previously been seen (R.J.S., A.G.S.); in two areas near Chilton Foliat (W.I.W.); about Axford (M.C.F.) and Britford (C.M.R.P.). REED WARBLER. First noted near Salisbury, April 14th, (C.M.R.P.). A good colony at Coate Water, April 26th, (M.C.F., W.I.W.); numerous in the Nadder valley near Burcombe (J.M.L.), and at Axford, where it had not been heard before (W.LW.). Also noted on Corsham Lake, April 27th (C.R.), and on the Kennet and Avon Canal near Rowde, Aug. 24th (R.G.B.). Last seen Sept. r7th, Westbury (C.S.H.); Oct. oth, Salisbury (C.M.R.P.). SEDGE WARBLER. First noted April oth, Clarendon, (C.M.R.P.); April rath, Ramsbury (C.A.W). Several records throughout the county. Last noted, Sept. 8th, Lacock (G.L.B.); Oct. 23rd, Salisbury (C.M.R.P.). BLACKCAP. First noted April sth, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); April 8th, Aldbourne (M.C.F., W.I.W.). Last noted, Sept. 17th, Axford and Ramsbury (W.1.W.); Sept. 19th, Castle Eaton (C.S.H.). 56 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1952 GARDEN WARBLER. First noted April 9th, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.), and Lacock (G.L.B.); April 11th, Box (C.S.H.). Last noted, Aug. 21st, Chippenham (C.R.). WHITETHROAT. First noted April 11th, Box (C.S.H.); April 13th, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); April 14th, Aldbourne (W.I-W.) and Manton (M.C.). More plentiful than usual in Semington district (G.L.B.). Last noted Sept. 8th, Aldbourne (M.C.F.). LESSER WHITETHROAT. First noted April 13th, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); April 17th, Chilton Foliat (W.I-W.). Last noted Sept. 1st, Chilton Foliat (W.1.W); Sept. 17th, Axford (W.I.W.). DARTFORD WARBLER. One pair seen, April 11th, in South Wilts. (C.M.R.P.). WILLOW-WARBLER. First noted April 1st, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); April 7th, Salisbury (J.M.L.) and Chippenham (G.W.C.). Last noted, Sept. 21st, Cor- sham (C.R.); Sept. 22nd, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); Sept. 25th, Box (C.S.H.). CHIFFCHAEF. This species made an early arrival in spring: Feb. 24th, Warminster (M.B.); March 3rd, Alderbury (C.M.R.P.); March 11th, Granham Hill (L.G.P.), and Larkhill (A.M.M.). There were six other records earlier than March 2oth. Last noted: Sept. 21st, Corsham (C.R.); Oct. 23rd, Clarendon (CMRP). WOOD WARBLER. First noted April 25th, Alderbury (C.M.R.P.); April 26th, Braydon (Nat. Hist. Section); April 28th, Savernake (M.C.). Also reported at Flinty Knapp (C.R.); Pepperbox Hill, Grovely Wood (P.J.S.); and Alderbury (C.M.R.P.). Last seen and heard trilling at Axford, Sept. 17th (W.1.W.). cotpcrest. Building at Clarendon, March 8th, an early date (C.M.R.P.). SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. First seen April 29th, Chilton Foliat (W.I.W.); April 3oth, Aldbourne (W.I.W.); May 7th, Calne (M.T.) and Clarendon (C.M.R.P.). At Lackham on Aug. 21st there were at least thirty adults and juveniles within an area of 300 yards by 20 yards. On the following day there were none. A similar assembly was noted there on Aug. 31st, 1951, which tends to bear out the theory of pre-migratory assembly (G.L.B.). Last seen Sept. 13th, Aldbourne (W.I.W.); Sept. 24th, one at Seagry a month after the birds which bred there had left (R.G.B.). MEADOW PIPIT. Breeding at Pound Bottom, Downton, where a brood of four were hatched, May 8th (A.E.B.). A bird seen carrying food near Larkhill in May and broods of young seen later, but no nests found (P.J.S.). A pair near Chilton Foliat, May 3rd (C.S.H.), and birds seen on Barford Down during April and May, though no evidence of breeding there (J.M.L.). There were four pairs near West Dean and the same number near East Grimstead (R.H.). Six birds at Bremhill on Sept. 6th, and a large number 150 — 200, near Christian Malford on Oct. 5th. The bird does not breed in either of these areas (R.G.B.). Several near the School of Infantry, Warminster, in winter, absent during the breeding season (P.H.L.S.). TREE PIPIT. First noted at Clarendon, April 13th (C.M.R.P.); Marlborough, April 15th (L.G.P.) and Fonthill, April 23rd (A.M.M.). Reported from Nash Hill (C-R.), Spye Park (G.W.C., G.L.B.), Sandridge Park (R.J.S.), Weavern Garden Warbler—Starling 57 Valley (G.W.C.), Chilton Foliat (W.I-W.), Savernake (M.C.F.) and Downton (A.E.B.). ¢.15 pairs in the West Grimstead district (R.H.). PIED WAGTAIL. Thirty-six or more were roosting in the reeds at Coate Water March 11th and 14th (M.C.F., L.G.P.). Increase noted at Clarendon in autumn; 100 — 150 roosted in the reeds at the Salisbury gravel pits (C.M.R.P.). c.70 roosted in clematis over an archway at Police H.Q., Devizes (P.R.). A pair at Christian Malford built their nest underneath an angle iron lying on a road (R.G.B.). WHITE WAGTAIL. Two birds watched on wet plough land near Slaughterford, May 4th, near Pied Wagtails with which their colouring could be compared (Re Gis. RGB.) GREY WAGTAIL. Breeding recorded at Castle Combe (C.R.); by the Bristol Avon near Christian Malford, where the nest was inside a _ building (R.G.B.); at Bowood Lake (G.L.B.); Coate Water (M.C.F.) and Longbridge Deverell (M.B.). One pair nested in the yard of an upholstery factory in Warminster far from any water (M.B.). Pairs seen by the Avon in Salisbury in May and June (M.L.); by the Kennet and Avon Canal near Rowde, Aug. 23rd (R.G.B.), and the Thames near Inglesham, Sept. 2nd (R.G.B.). Several reported in winter far from water. YELLOW WAGTAIL. First seen April 13th, on Keevil aerodrome (G.L.B.) and Strattord-sub-Castle (C.M.R.P.); April 14th, Ramsbury (M.C.). There were two pairs and two females on Christian Malford gravel pits, June roth, and a third pair nearby June 23rd. By August 25th these birds had formed a flock _ of: twenty-four adults and young (R.G.B.). Young birds seen at Longbridge Deverell (M.B.). Pairs also reported at Harnham (M.L.), Clarendon Lake, West Grimstead and West Dean (R.W.), and a small party by the Avon at Chippenham, July 12th (C.R.). Many birds in winter plumage along the banks of the Thames north of Inglesham, Sept. 2nd (R.G.B.). Last noted Sept. 17th, Axford (W.I.W.) and Oct. sth, Netherhampton (M.L.). A bird of the “ Blue-headed ” subspecies was watched for twenty minutes at Chilton Foliat on April 29th with two Yellow Wagtails. It had a blue-grey crown, white eye-stripe and chin (W.L.W.). Variant birds: a female with a very pale eye-stripe, breast and belly and faint yellow on the outer tail coverts was feeding with a normal male in attendance at Keevil aerodrome, April 26th. Another, which was very grey with an almost pure white eye-stripe, but show- ing yellow on the belly and under tail coverts was seen at the Lacock gravel pits, Aug. 23rd (G.L.B.). GREAT GREY SHRIKE. One watched on a roadside hedge near Rockley for some time on Nov. oth by L.G.P. and others. RED-BACKED SHRIKE. A pair near Marlborough, May 18th, young seen June 23rd (M.C.). STARLING. Roosted at Clench Common January to March. Did not return there until about Dec. 12th (L.G.P.). On May 12th at Semington a Starling was seen to attack a Swift and bear it to the ground. Both species were nesting under the eaves of a cottage (G.L.B.). 58 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1952 HAWFINCH. Single birds near Aldbourne, April 1st, and Chilton Foliat, April 29th (W.I.W.). A pair bred in Hartham Park ; young seen in June (A.G.S.). GOLDFINCH. Abundant about Barford St. Martin in January (J.M.L.). Many in mixed flocks in North Wilts. from January to March (C.S.H.). Charms of fourteen at Foxham and sixteen at Braydon in January (R.G.B.); ten near Aldbourne in August, where they appear commoner this year (W.LW.). SISKIN. Parties noted near Longford, Feb. 3rd, and in larches near Clarendon, Nov. 23rd — 24th (C.M.R.P.). LINNET. Pairs returned to gardens on April 1st, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); April and, Granham Hill (L.G.P.); April 6th, Great Cheverell (C.J.J.). A total of forty-seven nests with eggs or young found in the garden of the Packway Mess, Larkhill and in the fir plantation on two sides of it, a total area of approxi- mately one acre which includes large lawns, chicken runs, allotments and a huge building. Young flew from only about seven of these nests (A.M.M.). CROSSBILL. Birds seen at Longford in spring (I.R.), and at Redlynch where they bred in 1950 (C.M.R.P.). BRAMBLING. Well over 100, sometimes alone and sometimes with mixed finch flock near Aldbourne, Jan.—Feb. 17th (M.C.F.). Single birds or small parties noted near Clatford, Jan. roth (M.C.); Tilshead, Jan. 22nd (M.E.N); Clarendon, Feb. 2nd (C.M.R.P.); on the Ridgeway above Bishopstone, Feb. 3rd—March roth (H.W.T.); near Burbage, Feb. 24th (L.G.P.). Over twenty with chaff- inches near Hindon, March 2nd, and over a dozen with chaffinches and yellow buntings near East Knoyle, March 16th (G.L.B.). Last seen in spring were single birds at Great Cheverell, March 22nd (C.J.J.), and at Aldbourne and Liddington, April 1st (W.I.W). First seen in autumn at Notton, Nov. 13th (G.L.B.); Clarendon, Nov. 24th (C.M.R.P.); about ten birds near Aldbourne, Nov. 25th (M.C.F.). Several in Stockton village and Grovely Wood, Dec. sth (A.M.M.) and plentiful near Inglesham (F.H.M.). One at Ogbourne St. George, Dec. 20th, and a flock of too with chaffinches near Mildenhall, Dec. 29th (W.I.W.). Birds seen at Longford, first time for several years (I.R.). CORN BUNTING. Notes on this species will be included in the findings of the Corn Bunting Inquiry, 1951 - 53, and published in next year’s Report. CIRL BUNTING. Three young reared in a garden at Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); nest and three eggs, later deserted, in a garden at Farley (W.M.C.). Noted at Chilton Foliat (M.C.). Many pairs nesting in thickets and old hedges on chalk hills N. and E. of Pitton and Winterslow, and about two pairs near West Dean (R.W.). REED BUNTING. A flock, estimated by M.C.F. as between 50 and 100 birds were roosting in reeds at Coate Water, March 14th. Returned to nesting areas at Clarendon, Feb. 23rd, and an increase in numbers noted there (C.M.R.P.). Frequent by the Bristol Avon near Beanacre and Holt, also near the Kennet and Avon Canal below Seend Cleeve in breeding season (R.J.S.). TREE SPARROW. Nesting at Urchfont, May 31st (C.S.H.). Perhaps carrying nesting material at Chippenham, May 24th (C.R.). Also reported from Hinton Down (W.I-W.), Alton (L.G.P.), Kington St. Michael (C.S.H.), Harnham (M.L.), Thingley (C.R.), Hag Hill and Semington (G.L.B.). 59 BREEDING OF HOOPOE IN WILTSHIRE IN 1948 and 1950 We are now permitted to publish the following record from Col. J. K. Stanford. Mr. J. A. Tolman, head gardener at Wilsford House, first saw a pair of birds several times at the end of June and early July, 1948. He described them as “a little bigger than a thrush, with black and white barred wings and tail, pinkish breast, reddish-gold head, erect crest which he believed was black tipped and long beak. Their flight was butterfly type or sometimes like a Lapwing.’ He formed the impres- sion that their nest was in a hole in some tall beech trees. There are several holes in these trees and also in an adjoining building. He missed them for a time, but at the end of August or early September saw a pair and four young ones. They were feeding, as earlier, on the lawn and sheds and at one time were within a few yards of Mr. Tolman, his wife, and daughter who were watching through a cottage window. The birds were all very timid, especially the male, who was continually watching and shepherding the young ones. Nothing was seen of the Hoopoes in 1949, but about May 25th of 1950, Mr. Tolman first noticed a bird flying towards some fruit trees in the kitchen garden. He did not see much of them that year, but for the first time heard the call from an ilex tree. It sounded like a soft “ Ooop-ooo.”’ On June 8th, he saw the pair with three, much smaller, young ones feeding together on the lawn. He saw them again on June 14th and 16th, on each occasion in different parts of the garden. They were also seen by the under-gardeners. A few days later two roadmen working close to Wilsford Farm told Mr. Tolman that they had just seen two birds like “ large butterflies, very brightly coloured.” On or about June 23rd two birds were flushed from the Wilsford side of the Avon by Mr. M. Ward, keeper to Lord Tryon at Great Durn- ford, with his son Kenneth. When informing Colonel Stanford of the incident in early July, 1950 they gave an accurate description and had identified the birds from a book. This was the last date on which the birds were seen. Colonel Stanford collected full notes from Mr. Tolman and Mr. Ward and is satisfied that they are both very accurate observers and reliable wit- nesses and that they were not deceived. 60 WILTSHIRE PLANT NOTES [14] Recorder: J. DONALD GROSE Downs Edge, Liddington CONTRIBUTORS : A.A.H. A. A. Hooper, Lavington J.F.H-S. Dr. J. F. Hope-Simpson, A.G.S. A. G. Spencer, Corsham Bristol A.O.B. A. O. Barton, Lavington J.-H. J. Hayward, Orcheston A.R. A. Ridout, Swindon JHH. J. H. Halliday, Marlborough B.W. Mrs. Welch, Richmond L.G.P. L. G. Peirson, Marlborough C.C.T. C. C. Townsend, M.E.N. Mrs. Nurse, Little Cheverell Cheltenham M.M. Mrs. Mills, Sidmouth C.E.O. C. E. Owen, Lockeridge P.H.McN. P. H. McNally, Devizes C.G. Miss Gurney, Turleigh P.R.F. Mrs. Farquharson, E.C.W. E. C. Wallace, Sutton Homington E:f. Mrs. Timperley, R.S. R. Sandell, Devizes Bishopstone R.S.N. R. S. Newall, Fisherton G.E.C. Mrs. Chuter, Worton Delamere GG. G. Gregson, Broad Town I.G:C.;~ 2. G. Collen, Halme G.W.C. G. W. Collett, Chippenham W.G.G. W. G. Goldstraw, Lavington H.M.H. Miss Hughes, Bratton W.O:C. Col W. OF Cobbett: H.W.T. H. W. Timperley, Worton Bishopstone ILM.G. Mrs. Grose, Liddington tIndicates that a plant is not native in the given locality. All records, except where otherwise stated, are for 1952. The nomenclature adopted is that of the newly-published Flora of the British Isles by Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. + Eranthis hyemalis (L.) Salisb. Winter Aconite. 7, Durrington, J.H. Berberis vulgaris L. Barberry. 3, Near Rodbourne Cheney Church, A.R. + Papaver lateritium C. Koch. 8, Roadside between Wylye and Dinton. R.S.N. Rorippa sylvestris (L.) Besser. Creeping Yellow Cress. 1, Between paving- stones, Devizes, P.H.McN. R. islandica (Oeder) Borbas. Marsh Yellow Cress. 7, All Cannings, E.T. + Sisymbrium altissimum L. 2, Corsham, A.G.S. Chippenham, G.W.C. { Diplotaxis muralis (L.) DC. forma caulescens Kittel. 2, Chippenham, G.W.C. + Lepidium sativum L. Garden Cress. 2, Wadswick, A.G.S. + Cardaria draba (L.) Desv. Hoary Cress. 2, Lacock, W.G.G. Viola tricolor L. Wild Pansy. 4, Russley, E.T., det. R. D. Meikle. Melandrium album x rubrum. 3, Upper Wanborough, I.M.G. + Agrostemma githago L. Corn Cockle. 7, Durrington, 1951, J.H. Stellaria neglecta Weihe. 2, Between Rowde and Rowde Hill, C.C.T. + Claytonia perfoliata Willd. 4, Naturalized at Chilton Foliat, J.H.H. eee dubium Leers. Imperforate St. John’s Wort. 2, Near Pitter’s Wood, J.H. | \ | | | } ! | | | Eranthis hyemalis—Echium valgare 61 + Impatiens glandulifera DC. Himalayan Balsam. 1, Near Westbury Station, I.M.G. 2, Heddington, A.G.S. Ononis spinosa L. Spinous Rest Harrow. White-flowered form. 4, Foot of Knap Hill, C.E.O. Astragalus glycyphyllos L. Wild Liquorice. 2, Murhill, C.G. Lathyrus aphaca L. Yellow Vetchling. 4, South-west slope of Woodborough Hill) £-G:P- L. Nissolia (L) Grass Vetchling. 2, Sandridge Park, A.G.S. + Spiraea hypericifolia L. 5, Hedge near Redlynch, B.W. Potentilla reptans L. Cinquefoil. Form with very long epicalyx segments. 1, Devizes, P.H.McN. P. palustris (L.) Scop. Marsh Cinquefoil. 5, Bog north of West Grimstead, G.W.C. A welcome discovery, particularly as the other bog where this plant grows near Grimstead is being drained. Rosa arvensis x sherardi. 2, Derriads, T.G.C. Sedum telephium L. em. Gren. & Godr. Orpine Stonecrop. 2, Pigsty Copse, M.M. Silaum silaus (L.) Schinz & Thell. Sulphurwort. 2, Broad Town, G.G. Solidago virgaurea L. Golden Rod. 2, Between Castle Combe and Truckle Hill, G.W.C. + Inula helenium L. Elecampane. 4, Roadside between Oare and Park Copse, Bal. Bidens tripartitus L. var. integra Koch. 2, Broughton Gifford Common, C.C.T. Chrysanthemum segetum L. Corn Marigold. 8, Chilhampton, R.S.N. Tanacetum vulgare L. Tansy. 2, Between Dauntsey Church and Great Somer- ford, G.G. Senecio integrifolius (L.) Clairv. Field Fleawort. 7, Milton Hill, J.F.H-S. Carduus nutans L. Musk Thistle. White-flowered form. 4, Below Knap Hill, H.W.T. : Cirsium tuberosum (L.) All. Tuberous Thistle. 1, Border of cornfield, Combe Hill, H.M.H. Probably windborne from the downs south of Bratton. Cirsium acaule x tuberosum. 4, Sparingly on Milk Hill and abundantly on Knap Hill, J.F.H-S. + Onopordum acanthium L. Cotton Thistle. 1, Heron Bridge, A.A.H. Centaurea scabiosa L. Great Knapweed. White-flowered form. 8, Near the Ridgeway above West Lavington, A.O.B. Form with densely arachnoid phyllaries. 1, West Lavington, A.O.B. + Campanula rapunculoides L. Creeping Bellflower. 8, Orcheston Down, J.H. Monotropa hypophegea Wallr. Yellow Bird’s-nest. 1, Hill Wood, W.O.C. Anagallis arvensis L. var. pallida Hook. f. 8, Orcheston Down, J.H. Gentianella anglica (Pugsi.) E. F. Warburg. 2, Morgan’s Hill, G.E.C. 4, Milk Hill, J.E.H-S. T aia intermedia Fisch. & Mey. 1, Little Cheverell, M.E.N. det. R. D. Meikle. _ T Borago officinalis L. Borage. 1, Little Cheverell, M.E.N. + Trachystemon orientale D. Don. 2, East Tytherton, T.G.C. Echium vulgare L. Viper’s Bugloss. 7, Durrington, J.-H. 8, Orcheston, J.H. 62 : Wiltshire Plant Notes + Datura stramonium L. Thorn-apple. 1, Little Cheverell, M-E.N. + Hyoscyamus niger L. Henbane. 10, Foot of Gallows Hill, J.F.H-S. Kickxia spuria (L.) Dum. Round-leaved Fluellen. Peloric form. 8, Orcheston, + Mimulus guttatus DC. Monkey-flower. 1, West Lavington, A.O.B. + Veronica filiformis Sm. 1, Devizes, R.S. Little Cheverell, M.E.N. 2, Chippen- ham, T.G.C. A rapidly spreading species. Euphrasia pseudokerneri Pugsl. 3, Bishopstone Downs, H.W.T. det. J. E. Lousley. Parentucellia viscosa (L.) Caruel. Yellow Bartsia 7, Manningford Abbots. Lathraea squamaria L. Toothwort. 2, Winsley, C.G. 10, Ashcombe, E.C.W. Mentha arvensis L. var. densifoliata Brig. Corn Mint. 2, Broughton Gifford Common, C.C.T. Salvia horminioides Pourr. Clary. 8, Winterbourne Stoke, M.E.N. Atriplex patula L. var. bracteata Westerlund. 3, Hay Lane, Wroughton, P.R.F. Polygonum rurivagum. Jord, 1, Etchilhampton. Hill, R.S. 3, Bishopstone Downs, E.T. 7, Near Old Sarum, G.E.C. Epipactis vectensis (Steph.) Brooke & Rose; sensu lato. 1, Hill Wood, W.O.C. Himantoglossum hircinum (L.) Spreng. Lizard Orchis. 10, Railway bank near Downton, comm. Dr. B. Whitehead. Orchis fuchsii x praetermissa. 7, Near Hatfield Farm, H.W.T. Ophrys insectifera L. Fly Orchid. 1, Flinty Knapp, a plant 47 cm. high, R-.S. Gymnadenia conopsea x Orchis fuchsii. 2, Morgan’s Hill and near King’s Play Hill, E.T. det. V. S. Summerhayes. Platanthera bifolia (L.) L. C. Rich. Lesser Butterfly Orchid. 4, Clifford’s Hill, C7: @! Allium vineale L. var. compactum (Thuill.) Bor. Crow Garlic. 2, Broad Town, G.G. Juncus subnodulosus Schrank. Blunt-flowered Rush. 2, Pool on Sandridge Hill, G.W.C. Lemna polyrrhiza L. Greater Duckweed. 2, Canal near Rowde, G.W.C. Alisma lanceolatum With. Narrow-leaved Water Plantain. 7, Near Patney Station, C.C.T. Isolepis setacea (L.) R. Br. Bristle Club-rush. 1, Sleight Wood, G.W.C. Carex humilis Leyss. Dwarf Sedge. 1, Edington Hill, J.F.H-S. The only tecord for this range of hills. C. laevigata Sm. 7, Manningford Abbots, E.T. The only record for the Vale of Pewsey. Calamagrostis epigejos (L.) Roth. Wood Smallreed. 2, Avoncliff, C.G. Festuca arundinacea Schreb. Tall Fescue. 8, Henford’s Marsh, G.W.C. | - er onisattiontienreen tities en OPEN derail 63 ENTOMOLOGICAL REPORT FOR 1952 by B. W. WepDDELL If ever a season opened with tremendous promise and then deterio- rated steeply, disappointing everyone, it was 1952. A number of rare immigrants were recorded in this and other southern counties. On March 4th Mr. C. M. R. Pitman found, at rest on a fence in Salisbury, a Ni moth (Plusia ni). That night and the next he took a Bordered Straw (Heliothis peltigera) and a Small Mottled Willow (Caradrina exigua) at light. These are all exceedingly rare migrants, and it was obvious that a big immigration had taken place. Given normal condi- tions we fully expected a most interesting season with many more good species appearing in numbers as the summer drew on. Alas, later in March we were enduring a return to midwinter with deep snow. This must have definitely killed off all the progeny of these early adventurers from the Continent, for not a trace of the next generation was seen, with the possible exception of a Small Mottled Willow (C. exigua) recorded by Capt. R. A. Jackson on August 14th. Of the commoner hardier species there seemed to be no scarcity in - June and July, though again we have to record that the one time infallible attraction, namely “ sugar”, is still under a cloud. Nobody can suggest a reason for this, but there it is. It is quite another story _ however when we turn to mercury vapour lamps. They are irresistible except in a frost. I had occasion to use one of these traps at Urchfont Manor on May 31st/June ist. On visiting the trap at 3 a.m. I found a tremendous congregation of moths of all sizes, in and around the trap. Poplar _ Hawks (scores), Eyed Hawks (dozens), Privet Hawks (dozens), Lime _ Hawks (a few) and one Elephant Hawk, were sitting on the lawn up to 1o yards from the light. It was a wonderful sight. They were quiet, docile, and looked like grounded bombers. As usual lam omitting from the undernoted list most of the com- _ moner species which have already appeared there, excepting where there is an interesting observation added. Thanks go to all who have sent in records, which are duly logged. In the five years during which we have compiled these notes 511 species have been recorded: No doubt many more will be observed and verified against the time when a list of Wiltshire Lepidoptera is prepared. With a number of mercury vapour lamps in action in various parts 64 Entomological Report for 1952 of the county it is a much easier task to pile up a long list of species. At the same time it is well to remember, that while this apparatus reveals the presence of the imagines, it gives no assistance as to life history, habits, foodplant of larvae, etc. So any observations of this kind will be of the greatest value and interest. We welcome another article by Mr. Charles Floyd on his exper- iences with a M.V. trap. PHENOLOGICAL RECORD Average 1952 Difference Large White Aprile) 13 April 15 —I2 Brimstone Moth May 13 May 10 a 2 Garden Carpet May 15 May 4 Joi Cinnabar May 19 May 14 + 5 Meadow Brown June 19 June 16 + 3 Marbled White June 19 June” 12 + 7 CONTRIBUTORS B.W. B. W. Weddell, Trowbridge (Ce Charles Floyd, Holt CMERCP: C. M.R. Pitman, Salisbury IDS: Dauntsey’s School N.H.S. G.W.C. G. W. Collett, Chippenham JES: J. A. J. Smith, Bradford J.M.B. J. M. Blackie, Urchfont M.C. Marlborough College N.H.S. M.C.F. Miss Muriel Foster, Aldbourne M.L. Miss Mary Luckham, Salisbury ROA]. Capt. R. A. Jackson, R.N. (Retd.), C.B.E., Codford St. Mary R.W. Ralph Whitlock, Pitton Clouded Yellow Colias croceus C.M.R.P. 5.7, only one of season Purple Emperor Apatura iris C.M.R.P.. 13-7, four-2s once on the wing White Admiral Limenitis sibylla M.L. abundant this year in Grovely Woods Pearl-bordered Fritillary Argynnis euphrosyne C.M.R.P. L. pupated 29.4 Green Hairstreak Callophrys rubi R.A.J. 19.4, very early date Chalkhill Blue Lycaena corydon R.A.J. reports many local- ities destroyed by culti- vation Humming-bird Hawk = Macroglossa stellatarum =M.C.F. 13.7 (scarce) C.F. 26.6, G.W.C.: 26168 C.M.R.P. 26.9 Poplar Kitten Cerura bifida G:F 37:5 "and" 30.7, | i Clouded Yellow—Grey Pine Carpet Sallow Kitten Marbled Brown Great Prominent Chocolate Tip Frosted Green Black Arches Pale Oak Eggar Least Black Arches Water Ermine Orange Footman Miller Coronet Triple-spotted Clay Pale Shining Brown Pale-shouldered Brocade Broom Hedge Rustic Grey Chi Butterbur Downland Wainscot Mottled Rustic Small Mottled Willow Pale Mottled Willow Northern Drab Yellow-line Quaker Flounced Chestnut Brown-spot Pinion Pink-barred Sallow Dusky-lemon Sallow Tawny Pinion Chamomile Shark Silver Barred Bordered Straw Ni moth Burnet Companion Mocha 7 Yellow-barred Brindle | Small Seraphim | Scarce Tissue Brown Scallop | Grey Pine Carpet VOL. .LV—CXCVIIL C. furcula Drymonia trimacula Notodonta trepida Phalera curtula Polyploca ridens Lymantria monacha Trichuria crataegi Nola confusalis Spilosoma urticae Lithosia sororcula Acronycta leporina Craniophora ligustri Noctua ditrapezium Aplecta advena Mamestra thalassina Mamestra pisi Tholera cespitis Polia chi Hydroecia petasitis Synia musculosa Caradrina morpheus Caradrina exigua Caradrina quadripunctata Taeniocampa opima Amathes lota Amathes helvola Amathes litura Xanthia lutea Mellinea gilvago Lithophane semibrunnea Cucullia chamomillae Hapalotis fasciana Heliothis peltigera Plusia ni Euclidia glyphica Ephyra annulata Lobophora viretata Lobophora sexalisata Eucosmia certata Scotosia vetulata Thera variata 65 R.A.J. 14.8 R.A.J. 14.5, common this year R.A.J. 14.5, M.C. 16.5 CMRP. ia.5, MC. 20:5 R.A.J. Larvae commoner than usual C.F. 12.7 C.F. 29.8 R.A.J. 14.5 C.M.R.P. 19.5 NYC 1255 R.A_J, 26.6 Seck.7 CUMLR RY 37.5 C.F 3: 10:5;; MC. 17:6 M.C. 16.5 M.C. 31.6 R.A.J. 27.8 J.S. 29.8 R.A.J. 13.8 - 19.8 locality very restricted RAJ. 21.7" onwards: Locally in great numbers M.C. 21.6 C.M.R.P. 7.3, R.A.J. 14.8 M.C. 16.6 RUA... 27-4 C.M.R.P. 22.10 C.M-_R.P. -3: 10 C.M.R.P. 16.10 C.M.R.P. 9.10 C.M.R.P. 1.10 CMRP? 17.10 R.A.J. 3.5 C.M.R.P. 25.5 C.M.R.P. 7.3, rare immi- grant C.M.R.P. 7.3, rare immi- grant R.A.J. 22.8, apparently second brood—unusual CUMERSP. 13:4. C.M.R.P. 19.4 GC.MCR..P! 15.4 M.C. 23.6 M.C. 20.6 M.C. 18.5 66 Entomological Report for 1952 Mottled Grey Malenydris multistrigaria C.M.R.P. 1.4 Sandy Carpet Perizoma flavofasciata C.M.R.P. 14.5 Flame Anticlea rubidata R.A,J. 27.6, brood reared Dingy Shell Euchoeca obliterata M.C. 24.5 White-pinion Spotted Bapta bimaculata M.C. 15.5 Barred Red Ellopia prosapiaria C.M.R.P. 20.7 Canary-shouldered Thorn Ennomos alniaria C.F; 14-9 Small Brindled Beauty Apocheima hispidaria CE Brindled Beauty Lycia hirtaria (GAE, ine) 71 Mottled Beauty Boarmia repandata M.C. 17.6 Engrailed Tephrosia bistortata M.C. 2.6 Scarce Forester Ino globularia J.M.B. 5.6. Urchfont. New locality Leopard Zeuzera pyrina ‘J°S: 1.7, avieGs 52826 Map-winged Swift Hepialus fusconebulosa M.C. 27.5 R.AJ. reports scarcity of all species in the autumn, and ivy hardly worth visiting. Is the lack of attraction due to shortage of sunshine to ripen ivy bloom: C.M.R.P. recorded a Painted Lady coming to light at 1.45 a.m. on June 12th. They were abundant round Salisbury in May and June. Dauntsey’s School N.HLS. report very large numbers of immigrant Painted Lady butterflies, first seen on May sth. They were abundant throughout the summer term. MOTH TRAP AT HOLT MANOR by CHarLes FLoyp Last year I wrote a few notes on a first season’s experience with the Robinson Mercury Vapour Light trap for moths. Mercury Vapour lamps are now becoming increasingly common and no further general description seems necessary. During 1952 my plan was to set the trap one night in each week and to record the species taken within 40 yards of the house; that is to say within reach of a moderate length of flex. It was not always possible to keep to a regular time-table and there were many intervals when — no trapping took place. Once the trap was out of action for three weeks as the bulb burst on May 16th, when the flex was connected to a faulty plug in the house which gave a poor connection and inter- mittent current. There was no fault in the apparatus supplied with the trap but I mention the rather spectacular incident as a warning to stand | | | Moth trap captures 67 well clear of the light when it is first turned on and to watch from a safe distance until the lamp is at full brilliance and burning steadily. On March 3rd I took a Small Brindled Beauty (A. hispidaria), a few Small Quakers (O. cruda) and several Hebrew Quakers (O. gothica); the latter species became very numerous during the following weeks and nearly as abundant during early spring as any of the common species of high summer in their season. On April 11th I took two freshly emerged male Oak Beauty (B. strataria). ‘These handsome moths are not uncommon in certain old oak woods, but it was a surprise to find them so near home and a pleasure to admire again their rich browns and lichen greys which seem to mirror all the colours of the winter woods. On April roth two Brindled Beauty (L. hirtaria) came to the light and although these moths are not quite so imposing as the strong strataria, their brown and olive mottled pattern is scarcely less beautiful. May brought the White Ermines in force and a fine variety with the normal black spots run together into hard black lines came to our lighted bedroom window. In June the common Hawks arrived, Poplar, Eyed and Large Elephant. The first Poplar Hawk was taken on June 8th, and they continued to come singly or in pairs, without any apparent break to mark different broods, until August 26th. Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings (L. fimbria) and Lappets were more numerous than last year while Tigers, Buff Tips and Gold Tails were noticeably fewer. The sth and 6th July were close cloudy nights when the moths swarmed to the trap in such numbers as to make it impossible to leave the light burning without risk of the container getting over-full and _ the moths spoiling themselves by overcrowding. July 26th was the same. This danger of overcrowding led us on July 30th to set the lamp without the trap on a sheet on the lawn and to capture the moths as _ they came down in more or less orthodox fashion; before long we had taken two Poplar Kittens (C. bifida) which had never before been _ caught in the trap set in the usual way. From July 30th to August 18th _ We were away, but on August 23rd we tried the sheet method again j and another Poplar Kitten followed by an Iron Prominent (N. drom- | edarius) came down as did also a fine specimen of the large water | beetle Dytiscus marginalis. 1 have seen it suggested that water beetles | fly from pond to pond on moonlight nights when the reflection of the E 2 i | | 68 Moth trap at Holt Manor moonlight on the surface of the water makes ponds and lakes clearly visible from the air. On the night in question, however, it was very cloudy and dark, being only three days from new moon. The nearest water, except for a very small stream, was the moat at Chalfield three quarters of a mile away. We are told insects do not have long sight. How do these beetles and other water insects find their way? On August 26th there were a great many Feathered Gothics (T. popularis) and two Common Vapourer (O. antiqua) which we did not see last year. August 29th was a peak night for Common Yellow Underwings and one Pale Eggar (T. crataegi) was taken. September 6th was a very cold night for the time of year with frost in early morning. Few moths were on the wing, but the first of the autumn hoard of Beaded Chestnut (A. lychnidis) arrived and a very brilliant specimen of the Brindled Green (D. protea). On October t7th the Beaded Chestnuts were still coming and in as a bewildering variety as ever. The same night I noted Red Line Quaker (A. lota), Satellite (E. transversa), Figure of Eight (D. caeruleocephala), Frosted Orange (G. flavago), Common Sprawler (B. sphinx) and the first of the Mottled Umbers (E. defoliaria). The Umbers came spasmodically until Christmas, also a few December Eggars (P. populi) and Winter Moths (C. brumata). These notes make no attempt to record all the species taken, the names of which appear in the general list. The most remarkable thing was still the astonishing abundance of such moths as the Hart and Dart (A. exclamationis), Common Rustic (A. secalis), Yellow Underwing (T.pronuba), and Beaded Chestnut (A. lychnidis) and the great variation of the last three species. When the lamp was lighted on July sth the sudden gathering of the host of insects could only be described as appearing magical. What makes the “ mothy” nights? The usual answer is “right conditions of temperature, moisture and pressure coupled with an absence of bright moon or strong wind.” One would like to know whether there is some other factor which produces mass emergence and what proportion of the gatherings are insects which may have emerged a few days previously or possibly be on migration. NATURAL HISTORY SECTION ANNUAL STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS, 1952 Lo sand OSI 25 14 4 Members’ subscriptions :— RECEIPTS Balance, 31st Dec., 120 at 7/6 . \ AS3.04, O Donation aN 126 Reprints Coie) Museum Birds Recon struction Fund i410: 0-0 £8116 10 Hon. Treasurer: G. W. CoLtetTrt. 31st Dec., 1952. PAYMENTS Postages & Stationery :— Hon. Secretary Estate Hon. Treasurer ee Printing & typing... 13 Magazine reprints D8 Wiltshire Archeological Society, 1/-permember 5 Hire of meeting room .. British Trust for Omi- thology He I South Western Nigar alists : B R.S.P.B. meeting Sue Balance, 31st Dec., 1952 32 £81 Audited and found correct, E. C. Barnes, 12th Jan.;-1953- II 10 70 WILTSHIRE PLACE- AND FIELD-NAMES (III) Marlborough is renowned as a Wiltshire place-name of uncertain meaning. The Place-names of Wiltshire (1939) postulates an OE name Maerla, making it the (artificial) mound of a Merla who owned the mound or was buried there, Maerlanbeorg; an interpretation also suggested for Malborough in Devon. Ekwall disliked the coincidence involved, and he derives Marlborough and Malborough from OE meargealle, a plant name, + beorg. In The Anglo-Saxon Dictionary of Bosworth and Toller mersc meargealle is interpreted as the rare Gentiana pneumonanthe L., leading the editors of The Place-names of Wiltshire to retort that “ the coincidence of this rare plant-name ” (do they mean name of a rare plant, or rare name of a plant?) “ being found twice with beorg would be almost as great as the coincidence involved in assuming a lost personal name.” Turn to Ekwall’s Studies on English Place-names (1936). Malborough, Marlborough, Marwell in Devon, and Marldell in Hampshire, accord- ing to him, all contain meargealla—Marwell, the meargealla stream, Marldell, the meargealla dell or valley. All this might stand if mear- gealla referred to some other species than the rare gentian (which is a plant of acid soil, by the way, never likely to have grown at Marl- borough). Outside its possible occurrence in place-names, meargealla (with mersc meargealla) is found only in the OE medicine-man’s manuscript known as the Lacnunga, newly edited by the late J. H. G. Grattan and Charles Singer in their Anglo-Saxon Magic and Medicine (1952). They emphasise the difficulty of identifying the plants of the Lacnunga, and for merscmeargealla or meargealla they give no species, gentian or otherwise. If Professor Ekwall is on the right track, a common, not a rare, plant is surely required. Obviously merscmeargealle and meargealla were used for Caltha palustris L., called Marsh Marigold by confusing meargealla, or a.form descending from it, with the golden-flowered “ marigold *’ (Calendula officinalis) of mediaeval gardens. This supposition is re-inforced by comparing local names for Caltha palustris. Meargealla (see Ekwall, op. cit.) is compounded of OE mearh, “horse,” + gealla, “ gale,” swelling,” “ blister.’ In Somerset, Gloucestershire, Northampton- shire, etc., Caltha palustris is ““ Mare-blob’’; in Surrey, Northampton- shire and other counties, ‘‘ Horse-blob ”—“ blob (or “ bleb ”) being a dialectical word for “ blister.’ Possibly the element gealla refers to the old use of buttercup species (which are like small marsh marigolds) The Devil’s Den 71 in raising counter-irritant blisters; and it may be mentioned that in the Lacnunga a salve for eruptive rash is compounded of red nettle, brownwort and merscmeargealla. Marsh Marigold is a feature of the Kennet water-meadows, and “ (Marsh) Marigold Barrow,” the barrow rising out of (marsh) marigolds, makes an excellent and unstrained interpretation, without having to postulate an improbable gentian or an unknown Meerla. Caltha palustris for meargealla also fits Marwell and Marldell. Since writing this note I see that Marsh Marigold is equated with mersemeargealla in R. C. A. Prior’s Popular Names of British Plants (3rd ed., 1879), a book notoriously wild, but not always wrong. GEOFFREY GRIGSON. The Devil's Den. This name was first applied to the well-known megalith west of Marlborough by Stukeley in his notes of 1723, now in the Bodleian. The use of the word “ den ”’ is sufficiently curious to attract attention; but a straightforward origin for the name may be suggested. Den or dene is the name applied to all the dry chalk valleys in the district. There are Lockeridge Dene (or Den, as Colt Hoare had it); Pickledean, known to the Saxons as pyttel dene or “ hawk’s dene’; Barton Dean, at the outlet of which stood the King’s Barton of Marl- borough; Langdean in East Kennet, where stands a small stone circle. Finally there are the two valleys coming from south and north to join the Kennet at Clatford, each of which on recent maps is labelled with the name of Clatford Bottom. The southerly one in medieval times was part of Savernake Forest: in it the prior of Clatford pastured his flocks; it was known as Clatford dene. The northerly one is not entirely within the tithing of Clatford, so the name Clatford Bottom cannot well be old, though Stukeley uses it (Abury p. 49 and plates 32, 33, 34). It is in any case remarkable to find the same bottom on both sides of a river. In 1570 it was referred to as Stancheslade (presum- ably for stan-chest-slade, the valley of the stone burial-chamber). In the upper reaches of the dean, above the Devil’s Den and the striking sarsen deposit of the Grey Wethers, lies the cottage of Delling —Dyllinge it was in 1570. So probably the old name for the valley would be Delling Dene; and it was an easy step to alter Delling Den to Devil’s Den and to confuse it with the group of mysterious stones; nor was Stukeley one to miss such an opportunity, if, indeed, he was responsible; in his Abury he only calls it a kistvaen. 72 Wiltshire Place- and Field-Names III Granham. Overlooking the old railway embankment, and until 1952 in an extra-parochial enclave of the parish of Preshute, lies Granham Farm. This farm was one of the nine or ten farms that were carved out of Savernake Great Park in the early years of the seventeenth century. Granham in The Place-names of Wiltshire is referred back to a medieval Grendon, which clearly means Green Down and seems to have some affinity with it. But until the following sequence of forms was found, Grendon seemed an improbable origin for Granham. Here however is the list: Grendon (1290), Grandon (1503), Grandham (1560), Grannam (1561) and Granham (1563). Wernham. It would be tempting to find a comparable derivation for Wernham Farm, which was one of the other farms cut out from The Great Park. But its name changed with its tenant. It had been known as Nicholas Farm and later as Ivy’s. Ivy was tenant from 1755 for a term of 21 years; but towards the end of his tenancy he assigned it to one Joseph Wirdnam, who hoped to be able to renew his lease. But Wirdnam was a bad farmer, and the Earl of Ailesbury was ultimately forced to turn him out. In the following year, 1780, in revenge, Wirdnam set fire to the place, thus branding it apparently with his name, or an easier form of it, in perpetuity. Windmill Edge Field (Tithe Award Map). This name would excite no comment, were it not for the fact of its local pronunciation as Wymill. It appears to mean Wydemill or Woadmill (from the ~ German Waid and Old French waide). The woad crop was the main source of blue dye for the woollen industry, until the import of indigo from the east ousted it. Woad had for long been imported from the Somme valley and from Ger- many, but it was now found easy to grow it at home. As larger acre- ages were turned over to it, there began to be an outcry against dear food. Orders against the sowing of woad near towns were passed in 1585 and again in 1600. In 1586 nearly s000 acres were planted in England, mainly on the downlands of Hampshire, Dorset, Sussex, Berkshire and Wiltshire. Arguments for its cultivation were obvious: the need for it at home, the saving of expenditure abroad, the high return to the grower. Against it however could be set: loss of customs revenue, loss of trade and shipping, loss of good farm land and the consequent rise in the price of arable land; butter, milk, cheese, lamb, veal and grain were all made more expensive; the labour to harvest it was needed just at ' | | ~ | | | holding of Evesbury was not far away, near the present Savernake Granham—Wiindmill Edge—Easley 73 the same time as for the grain harvest. Moreover it was reputed to destroy the fertility of the soil. “ By turning up both pasture, arable and meadow grounds to woad, a husbandman shall neither be able to maintain his plow cattle in good state to till withall, nor sheep to maintain his arable grounds, neither kine to make his provision for his household, which is his chiefest stay.” In 1594 on Barton Farm during the tenancy of Sir Thomas Wrough- ton, 98 acres were sown with woad: 31 acres in Barton Deane, which adjoins Windmill Edge Field and 60 more acres on Rowe Downe. Two woad mills were grinding woad night and day, some from the Barton lands and some from a further 60 acres on Ashridge four miles away. Were it not for the fact that the sub-tenant reaped his crop some weeks too soon, we should not know of all this; but it led to a suit in the Court of Requests, an account of which can still be seen in the Public Record Office. Windmill Edge Field was evidently the site of these two woadmills; nor does it even appear that they were windmills at all: the most recent in England were horse-driven. It is worth remark that the growing of woad crops was forbidden on various properties at the time; thus the lease of Large’s Close at the eastern end of Marlborough was to be void “if sown with oade”’ (1640); and the use of various Amesbury fields was similarly restricted (1600-8). Easley. Below the White Horse on Granham Down lie two fields, one of them containing hard tennis-courts and both known as Bell Meadows, in memory of Canon Bell, who was Master of Marlborough College from 1876 to 1903. But in the 1843 Tithe Award they are described as Great Easby and Easby. Now Easby with its Danish _ second syllable is unexpected in Wiltshire and is probably a mistake for Easley. Two grounds in Preshute parish called Upper Easley and the Lower Easley occur in John Lovell’s will of 1592. Moreover the two properties of Easley and Panterwick were sold by the Duke of Northumberland in 1767; parts of them are described as in Preshute parish, the rest as extra-parochial, for Panterwick was then the Lodge of one of the Keepers in the Forest. The original name seems to have been Evesley (1486); and it was in Eysley coppice that Robert Weare, alias Browne, mayor of Marl- borough in 1553, shot his buck with his bow and arrow. The manorial 74 Wiltshire Place- and Field-Names Hospital; and Evesbury or Isbury coppice stood on the crown of Postern Hill. Both names point to the Old English efes, the borders of Savernake Forest and the parish of Preshute. Werg Mill in Mildenhall parish proved a difficult name, until it was found that an earlier form of it had been Wythege or “ willows’. The documents show: la Wythege 1237, Wythigge alias Wyrge 1584, Werg and Withig (parish registers, first half of 17th century). It may be compared with Werg across the Berkshire border in Kintbury and with The Wergs near Wolverhampton, for which Ekwall gives an early form Witheges. It is not unlikely that the Latin virgae or vergae for osier-rods, as commonly in medieval documents, may have influenced an otherwise extraordinary corruption of the Old English withig. E. G. H. KEMPSON. 75 NOTES A flamboyant spear from Bidcombe Down This flamboyant iron spearhead was brought to the Museum by its finder, Mr. H. V. Hale of Westbury, over two years ago. Because of the death of Mr. Cunnington, no notice was taken of it, and it remained in the custody of the caretaker. It was shown to the Curator early in 1953, and Mr. Hale was immediately asked if he would consider presenting it to the Society. This he generously consented to do, and Devizes Museum thereupon came into possession of an almost unique type of spearhead of the later Iron Age, which is only the second example of its class to occur in the British Isles. CENTIMETRES NdeLE WT. The spear (Accession No. $/53/106) was found among some loose flints about one mile north of Bidcombe Hill, on Bidcombe Down (6"O.S. Sheet lvii, N.W. + N.E.). It is thus significantly close to Cold Kitchen Hill and to the Iron Age farmstead with earthworks on _ Whitecliff Down. a il — 76 Notes The weapon is of iron, its present length being 5%”. It has a hollow socket which still retains traces of a wooden shaft: this was kept in place by one iron rivet fixed close to the mouth of the socket. The blade, although badly corroded and lacking its tip, clearly possesses the wavy outline which gives this type of spear its name. There is a well-defined mid-rib running the length of the blade. Only one other flamboyant spearhead has been found in the British Isles. It occurred at the Iron Age Camp on Bredon Hill, Glos. in the top filling of the ditch at the inner entrance. This one fairly closely resembles the Bidcombe Down spear, but it was rather longer (10.7ins.) and its blade also displays a crimped pattern. Its rivet, too, is of bronze instead of iron. At Bredon Hill this spear was dated on stratigraphical evidence to — the second half of the rst Century B.C., lying as it did in the top silting of a ditch which was evidently dug between 100 and 50 B.C. The people who used it had belonged to the South-Western group of Iron Age B. folk, whose pottery, often decorated with a stamped duck- motif, betrays their West-European origin. In Europe, flamboyant spears are always rare and seem to have been parade pieces. They are generally well over 1ft. in length and display fantastically curved edges: often there are perforations through the blade as well. Sockets are long and slender. These examples seem to be restricted to Southern France and to Switzerland? Until further examples of these spears turn up in Britain and Europe we are unable to explain the relationship of the English pieces to the others. All we can do is to note the obvious contrast between the — two small English ones, which are essentially functional, and the altogether grander European ones, which can have served no practical purpose at all. Mrs. Hencken suggested that the example from Bredon Hill was an import from the Continent. It may yet appear, instead, that it was a rare British product, restricted to the West of England, and made for the same purpose as the plain leaf-shaped spearheads of the Iron Age. NiIcHOLas ‘THOMAS. 1 Hencken, T. C., Arch. 7. xcv. 1938. 75. 2 Keller, F. The lake dwellings of Switzerland and other parts of Europe. London, 1866. Pl. Ixxvii. Gross, V. La Tene, un oppidum Helvete. Paris, 1887. Pl. v + vi. Vouga, P. La Téne. Leipzig, 1923. Pl. xi + xii. Hencken, T. CG. Op. cit. 76. Notes TE Kitt’s Grave is situated at the point where the parishes of Bowerchalke (Wilts), Martin (Hants) and Pentridge (Dorset) converge to a point. In the Middle Ages it was, also, the point of convergence of the monastic estates of the Abbess of Wilton, who held the Hundred of Chalke, the Abbot of Glastonbury, who held the Hundred of South Damerham, of which the parish of Martin was a part, and the Abbot of Tewkesbury, to whom the priory of Cranbourne was transferred in IIO3. Cotelesburgh mentioned in the boundary appended to the South Damerham Charter of 9451 is identifiable with Chetoles Beorh of an earlier Bowerchalke Charter of 917, and their identification with Kitt’s Grave has been put beyond controversy by the late Dr. Grundy.? Chettel Head, the Cheoteles Haefde of the charter, and Chettel Wood are modern survivals of the Anglo-Saxon name. The former existence of a long barrow at Kitt’s Grave is attested by persons whose memories go back to the last century and, although now ploughed flat, vestiges still remain. It is situated at the north-west corner of Martin Down, here overgrown with scrub, and about 200 yards north of Grimsditch, midway between Vernditch and Chettel wood, which in the Middle Ages were usually coupled together.’ In modern legend Kitt’s Grave is the place where a girl, in some versions a gypsy who had committed suicide, lies buried, and it is said that in its neighbourhood no bird has ever been heard to sing.‘ The situation of Kitt’s Grave, therefore, conterminous with the estates of three great monastic foundations, was such as to invite controversy among the three conventual heads. In 1100 the Abbot of Cranbourne, by virtue of holding the church at Pentridge, collected the tithes of Coetel.® In the following century, the Abbess of Wilton complained of trespass in her woods of Vernditch and Chettel.6 In the beginning of the 16th century she erected gallows at Chutelborghe, and in 1518, the Abbot of Glastonbury protested on the grounds that it had been set up within the bounds of his manor of Damerham.? After the suppression of the monasteries, the parish of Bowerchalke, together with the nunnery at Wilton and other vast property, was granted to William, the first Earl of Pembroke, who in 1560 caused to be made a comprehensive survey of his newly-acquired estates. In their description of the cow down in the parish of Bowerchalke his agents wrote “ The Rotherdown (i.e. cow down) which begins at the western end of Vernditch at a certain barrow called Gallows 78 Notes Barrow, and so passes by the ditch which divides Chalke and Martin so far as the eastern end of Rowgore and so ascends to the plain by well-known bounds to the highway leading to Salisbury.’ The ditch separating Chalke from Martin can only be Grimsditch; the highway leading to Salisbury would seem to be the ox-drove, and Gallows Barrow at the east end of Vernditch must be the barrow at Kitt’s Grave. The Cotelsburgh of the 945 Charter, the Chutelborghe of 1518, the Gallows Barrow of 1560 and Kitt’s Grave of to-day are all one and the same place. The damsel’s suicide of tradition may perhaps be connected with the Abbess of Wilton’s sinister gibbet. E. EH LANE Poors, 1 Birch, Cont. Sax. ., 579. 2 Arch. Fourn., xxxi., 68. 3? Place Names of Wiltshire (English Place Name Society, vol. xvi), p. 204. 6in. O.S. Hampshire liv N.W., Wiltshire Ixxv. N.W., Dorset ix and x. in extreme N.E. Corner. 4 Edith Olivier and Margaret Edwards, Moonrakings, 72, 74. ® Hutchins, Hist. of Dorset, (3rd edit.) ili, 382. © West, History of Cranbourne Chase, 44. 7 Terrarium Abbatis Ricardi Beeve, printed in Hoare, Hundred of South Damerham, 64. Memorandum quod Abbatissa de Wyltone noviter ... erexit furcas apud Chutelborghe super solum domini et infra bundas manerii de Domerhame. 8 Pembroke Survey (Roxburgh Club 1909) i. 90. Rotherdowne qui incipit apud finem occidentalem de Vernditch apud quendam Barrowe vocatum galowes Barrowe et sic extendit per lez trench qui dividit Calke et Martin... A Diminutive Coffin Lid in Winterbourne Earls Church. Fixed in the north wall of the chancel of the Church, there is a small freestone coffin lid, two feet in length and fifteen inches broad at the head, tapering to thirteen inches at the base. It has recently been moved from the outside west wall of the vestry on the north side of the Church. On it is carved in high relief the demi-effigy of a priest in eucharistic vestments, issuing from clouds and holding a heart in his hands (see illustration). The work can be dated as thirteenth or very early fourteenth century, and no doubt originally covered a heart burial. A great deal of the detail is lost owing to weathering and the growth of vegetation, but the outline of the amice on his neck and the folds of the chasuble at his wrists are quite distinct; the hands too are well preserved. Recent careful removal of the overlying growth has disclosed further details and improved the general appearance. The style of this work conforms generally to the type of diminutive coffin lids carved in relief with effigies or crosses, sometimes with the tip Wf tify yh Ing “gp Ly Y Y Coffin Lid of Heart Burial, Winterbourne Earl’s Church ite Photograph by Mr. B. F. Wh Notes 79 addition of incised inscriptions, which were particularly popular in the 13th century for heart or visceral burials. G. Dru Drury. Mr. C. H. Bray has kindly established the fact that the slab came from Winterbourne Dauntsey Church. It appears with other archi- tectural details of the church in a water-colour drawing of 1864 by Robert Kemm,! in the Society’s library. Under the drawing is the note: ““ Recumbent figure on floor under tower.” This fact makes any attribution of the effigy extremely difficult, since Winterbourne Dauntsey was a Perpetual Curacy and a Peculiar and there are no institutions for the parish until the middle of the nineteenth century. Charters of the thirteenth century show that it _ was then annexed to the prebend of Chute and Chisenbury.? There is, unfortunately, little internal evidence for dating the slab. We are reminded of the Purbeck marble slab of Bishop Aymer de _ Valence (1261) in Winchester Cathedral, but Mr. G. E. Chambers has pointed out to me that the form of the Dauntsey example suggests a rather later date, perhaps even in the first years of the fourteenth | century. In view of Hoare’s statement? that the church of Winterbourne Dauntsey was consecrated by Robert Petyt, Suffragan Bishop of Annaghdown in 1326, evidence for earlier dating, part of which is the presence of the diminutive slab, should be given. The church is dedicated to St. Edward, probably the Confessor. _ This is likely to have been an early dedication, indicated in one of the _ two roundels of thirteenth century glass moved from the old church | to the present building, which depicts angels watching over a curatined bed, on which lies the body of a crowned king. The twin east windows _ have been dated by Mr. Chambers at about 1200, from a photograph in the Salisbury Museum. They appeared to be untouched, although _ the chancel was drastically restored in 1858.4 Finally, although the nave seemed from photographs and another water-colour by Kemm in the Salisbury Museum to be considerably later than the chancel, Borenius dated frescoes found in it to ‘ the very end of the thirteenth century. ® It would appear, therefore, that Winterbourne Dauntsey possessed a church at the time the slab was made, if not long before, and we must suppose that it was a reconsecration that took place in 1326. 80 Notes Hoare® shows that the village was held by the Dauntsey family at least as early as 1163, until the fifteenth century, and if one of their sons was a priest late in the thirteenth century, he would have a fair claim to the ownership of the slab. H. ‘de S.. SHORET. PVC aieee 1) 2 Jones. Fasti Ecclesiae Sarisberiensis (1879), 373- note. 8 Hundred of Alderbury, 84. 4 Post Office Directory (1859). ° Antig. Journ. xii, 399. 6 Hundred of Alderbury 83. Three lost South Wiltshire Crosses. As will appear from the accounts which follow, though the site of each can be determined with distinct probability, only the base survives. Winterbourne Stoke Cross Roads. ‘This cross road lies just within the parish of Wilsford a mile and a half W.SW. of Stonehenge. The one- inch Ordnance map shows, slightly north of the true position, “ Win-— terbourne Stoke Cross” in Old English lettering and I seem to remem- ber it being always so called fifty years ago. In Andrews’ and Dury’s map of Wiltshire, 1773, it is called Long Barrow Cross. The six-inch map shows a “ Drinking Stone” about 150 feet east of the long barrow. This stone is 31 inches square and 18 inches high, about 8 inches of that being in the ground. There is a hole on the upper side 18 inches square and 8 inches deep. This then is surely the base of the cross which once stood here. A “ drinking stone” without a water supply is an unlikely thing to find here, and no stone trough would have a base 10 inches thick. R. S. NEWALL. Ham Cross in East Tisbury. The name survives in the extreme east corner of the parish where the road to Teffont leaves the road from Tisbury to Fovant some 200 yards north of the railway. The actual site of the cross seems to have been on that corner, but its base is now _ by the front door of Ham Cross Farmhouse a little west of it. It is of | Chilmark stone, 2ft. 7}in. x 2ft. 6in. x 1ft. 9in. high. The outside edge | is chamfered. The socket for the shaft is one foot square and 6 inches deep. The shaft was probably used for road metal years ago: all the stone gate-posts thereabouts are a little too wide and clumsy to have had a glorious past. Mr. W. Sweatman of Chilmark told me that his father moved this stone to its present position more than 50 years ago. Though I have never heard of any fair or market being held at these cross roads, it may well have been a meeting-place when the Chilmark quarries were in their heyday. Notes 81 In Chilmark churchyard is another base-stone similar to that at Ham Cross. I believe it came from the Chilmark cross roads by the Manor House. In the attic of the Parish Clerk’s house, cut in the plaster wall, is the following record: “ Chilmark Cross reset, 1776." R.E. Lever. The Flying Monk of Malmesbury. At the instance—and expense— of a member who wishes to remain anonymous we publish a photo- graph which he saw in Everybody's in February of this year. We do so by the courtesy of the Editor of that paper and of the original photo- grapher, Mr. Denton Robinson of Darlington. This modern glass fills one light of the double Norman window in the South Choir Vestry of Malmesbury Abbey.’ It commemorates an event which should place Wiltshire in the forefront of aeronautical experiment, VOL. LV—CXCVIII 82 Notes though this Magazine seems hitherto to have passed it by. For that reason, and not for its intrinsic merits as a window, we reproduce it here. Aethelmaer, Eilmer, Elmer or Oliver—the last variant appears to have originated in France—was a monk of Malmesbury in the eleventh century. He is described as an astrologer and a mechanician, and he certainly doubled the parts of Cassandra and Daedalus. In the former he gained European notoriety by his prediction of the woes of England as heralded by the comet of April, 1066, which looks like a shuttlecock in a panel of the Bayeux Tapestry (headed Isti mirant stellam) and is now regarded as an early appearance of Halley’s. This comet enables us to date Aethelmaer, for we are told that in that year he was in the prime of life. It was some time before this that he emulated Daedalus and narrowly escaped the fate of Icarus. The story was first told by William of Malmesbury who may just conceivably have known him. We translate his Latin: “A certain monk, of our monastery, whose name was Eilmer, .. . attempted in his early youth an act of monstrous audacity. By some device or other he fastened wings to his hands and feet in order to fly like Daedalus, whose story he took for truth. He availed himself of the breeze on the top of a tower and flew for two hundred yards and more. But the wind was violent and gusty, and realizing his own recklessness he lost his nerve and fell. Both his legs were broken, and he was crippled for the rest of his life. His own explanation of his fall was that he had forgotten to fix a tail behind.”’ (Gesta Regum, lib. Il, cap. 225.) 1 Ex inf. Mr. H. J. Blacker of Malmesbury. Manton Long Barrow was “ scheduled” as an ancient monument about 30 years ago. At that time it belonged, with the gallops around but not the stables beneath it, to the Olympia Agricultural Co. of York. It passed to the present owner in 1947 and was destroyed in the course of agricultural operations in June, 1952. But the loss was only realised when Mr. Grinsell and our Curator visited the site with members of the Y.H.A. in April last. The chance presence of a re- porter ensured a wide publicity for the damage, and questions were asked in Parliament. Letters to the Times from Mr. Thomas and Professor Piggott have emphasised the inadequacy of the soothing answers given by the Minister of Works. Punch for May 6th, 1953, found in the incident material for half an article from a pen once familiar at Marlborough College. In it Mr. Thomas and Mr. Grinsell were the objects of some humorous comment which they doubtless SS ee ee — “es _—_—_—S= Notes 83 accepted with the best of grace. Archaeologists are always fair game ! We have not heard the last of this unhappy event, but there is a limitation clause in the Ancient Monuments Act precluding legal proceedings after the lapse of six months from the date of the offence. What we want is a stronger Act, and one, we understand, was in preparation when the last Government went out of office. It is time a new bill was presented to Parliament. Here we would make two appeals. The first is for any photographs taken of the barrow before its destruction, which would be most welcome at the Museum (one such gift is recorded in the Accessions list); the other appeal is for a literary reference. A. C. Smith in his Antiquities of N. Wilts tells us, but without the customary footnote (page 199), that Aubrey and Dr. Charleton pointed out the capstone of this barrow to King Charles II as one of the stones intended for Stonehenge “ resting on three low stones as a suffulciment as in order to be carried away’. Where does Aubrey tell this? The word “suffulciment ’’ (which is not in the N.E.D.) seems a sufficient guarantee of his authorship. That Aubrey should have failed to recognise the real nature of the heap was pardonable enough: the interpretation he put on it showed a knowledge of the provenance of the Stonehenge sarsens which has only won complete acceptance in the present century. ~The Projected Marlborough Canal in the 18th century In the Act of 1794 authorising the construction of the Kennet and Avon Canal there is a clause guaranteeing compensation to the people of _ Marlborough for loss of trade. The full significance of this has only _ just become apparent through the discovery amongst Boulton and Watt papers in the Birmingham Reference Library of estimates in _ Watt’s handwriting dated December, 1789, for asteam engine intended for the “ Marlborough Canal”’.? It is now clear that one section of _ the main waterway was originally intended to pass from Marlborough along roughly the line of the Great West Road to Calstone Welling- _ ton, where, according to Watt, it was “ to join the Kennet & Avon 99 Whichever route was chosen the canal would have to climb the _Kennet-Avon watershed. To replenish water lost by lockage powerful pumps would be required, and it was natural that Boulton and Watt should be asked to submit an estimate. _ place it at Calstone and raise 320,000 cubic feet of water daily to a Watt suggested two alternate possibilities for the engine: either to Fig 84 Notes height of 178 feet from the River Marden for eight months in the year, or to lower the summit in the neighbourhood of Yatesbury by 24 feet, “ which will occasion much digging and tunnelling”, and pump the same volume of water from the Kennet at Marlborough to a height of 44 feet for a period of six months in the year. Watt estimated the cost of a double-acting rotative engine (presumably Sun & Planet) at Calstone to be about £2300. This sum included £1520 for the engine, {200 for “ extra Iron work beam’, and £500 for the iron boiler, but excluded the cost of “pump & house & pit work’. In addition, an annual premium of £450 based upon coal consumption was to be charged. A smaller engine costing £850 would suffice at Marlborough, the corresponding premium to be £105 per annum. This project was eventually given up in favour of the Pewsey Vale route, but although the Bill in its final form received support from Hungerford, Calne, Chippenham, Trowbridge, Bradford,? Great Bedwyn? and Devizes® (not Marlborough, be it noted) it was strenu- ously opposed by certain landowners along the line of the canal near Devizes who complained of “ the very short Notice given of a Measure so injurious to them by the Promoters of the Canal in Question, who, for several Years past, fixed on, and gave Notice of, a different Line, and only altered the same, and adopted the last-mentioned Cut a few Months ago”. As the Marlborough project thus seems to have been under consideration for at least four years it is perhaps surprising that more is not known of it. R. A. PELHAM. 1 An award of compensation dated 1811 is in the custody of the Town Clerk. of Marlborough. 7? Watt’s Blotting Book No. 3. 3 J.H. of C., 1794, p. 358. 4 bid’. 397. —© Ibid:, 450. °°. Ibid:; 326. On a point of law. Early this year our Librarian was called upon to help an American State in the solution of a constitutional problem. A question of jurisdiction had passed by successive appeals to the Surpreme Court of New Jersey: could a Justice of the Peace, sitting alone, adjudicate on a question of assault and battery? The basic laws of New Jersey were taken over bodily from England on the Declara- tion of Independence, and the question had not arisen since 1776. No law book could tell the Chief Justice what the English practice: had been 200 years ago, but he found at last a footnote referring to: the Diary of William Hunt, J.P., for the years 1741 - 1749, now in Notes 85 the possession of the Wiltshire Archaeological Society at Devizes, and a hint that it might contain some entries throwing light on the point at issue. The Chief Justice wrote to ask if we could supply him with a copy of any relevant passages. Search was duly made and the copy sent, which helped him, he was good enough to say, in reaching a decision. He did more, he enclosed a £5 note as a token of his gratitude. We are glad to think that we could contribute in any way to the elucidation of a problem so far beyond our ordinary scope, but actually it would appear that William Hunt, J.P., of West Laving- ton concerned himself less with the law of England than with the friendly arbitration of his neighbours’ quarrels. It may be that this view of English eighteenth century practice was itself of service to the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Swans in the Kennet Valley We are told (WAM, liv., 107) that swans were kept by the Bayntons in Ramsbury Park during the Tudor period. But there were at least three other places in the neigh- bourhood where they were to be found. Thomas Hallam, brother of the Bishop of Salisbury, in letting his Ramsbury manor of la Throop on the eastern edge of the parish, expressly reserved the swannery in I4ITI. John Seymour in 1490 had his swans at Crofton, probably above the Upper Mill near the site of Wilton Water, which was later to become the highest reservoir for the Kennet and Avon Canal. Richard Weare alias Browne, whose family was connected by marriage with the Bayntons, in 1577 bequeathed his “Game of Swannes being uppon the Ryver of Kynnett” to his son Thomas. Now Richard had the lease of Barton Farm; and his swans may have been kept on Manton Water. But he also owned Great Poulton in Mildenhall parish and leased the adjoining Bay Mead, which lay on the Marlborough side of the parish boundary within the Barton lands. This meadow contained the original Baylake or King’s bay, the water of which extended for three-quarters of a mile from Bay Bridge on the present Marlborough-Swindon road to the dam beside Poulton Farm and thus occupied a reach of the Og not far from its junction with the Kennet. Baylake had existed from the time of Henry II and was for long stocked with bream for the King’s Castle at Marlborough. When the Castle decayed, the fishing was let, and for a full century before Browne’s time, it ranked in value with the Manton fishing, which lay below the then derelict Manton Mill. Each was worth three 86 Notes times as much as the intervening lower reach between Culbridge and New Bridge (the present London Road and Stoney Bridges). On this reach the fishing on the north bank is Borough property, but on the south bank it has belonged to the Duke of Marlborough ever since he disposed of this part of his property in St. Margaret’s | in 1798. By 1602, although Baylake and Manton Water still went with Barton Farm, swans were no more mentioned. From time to time even nowadays these sites are the breeding- places of the semi-domesticated swans that usually prefer the Canal: here they can find deepish water and suitable food. E. G. H. K. 87 WILTSHIRE BOOKS, PAMPHLETS AND ARTICLES Archeology in the Field, by O. G. S. Crawford, C.B.E., Litt.D., F.S.A., Phoenix House, 1953 (42s.) Two years ago a handsome Fest- schrift was produced in honour of Dr. Crawford. One contributor, in happy allusion to a well-known book, wrote of “ The Man and his Past.” He sketched Crawford’s career to date, and even this reviewer, who knew him as a boy at Marlborough and has not been unmindful of his later activities, must confess to a new admiration for the diversity of his achievements. To follow him in the fields he knows—and loves, as this book amply proves—is to realize that archeology has left its dryasdust collections, invaluable as they still must be, for the study of the men whose handiwork they represent. He describes archeology as “the past tense of anthropology ” and shows from his own observa- tion in Africa how much may be learnt of prehistoric life by linking its evidence with the present. On this head he has also something to say about the future tense of anthropology, and if the Editor of Antiquity tends to speak from a dais he has some right at least to stand on it. Yet no one is more ready to admit his own early errors: of archeology assuredly the saying holds that the man who never made a mistake never made anything. Field archeology in the sense of surface observation is a term Crawford borrowed from his old friend Williams-Freeman. It is not, he admits, the only sense, and he has himself extended it by the vast addition of air-observation, which he was the first to interpret to an astonished world. But this book was written “ primarily to assist the field worker to recognize and understand what he sees in his rambles.” Fifteen of his twenty-three chapters are devoted to that task, and every one of them is illuminating. He is generous in his recognition of honest observers, even if they proved imprudent theorists like the Hubbards. Their strange explana- tion of the “ Shepherd’s Steps ’”’ under Martinsell as “ wolf-platforms” may still be remembered: yet their Neolithic Dewponds—though the name may be doubly unfortunate—have come nearer proof by Craw- ford himself than their critics anticipated. But Watkins’ Old Straight Track he rightly relegates to his list of “ Crankeries ’’ along with “ pyramidiocies ’’ and other follies. He forbears to mention Glozel and his part in exposing that absurdity five and twenty years ago. The loss of all his notes in the bombing of Southampton was a disaster with some inevitable effects, but there is one confusion that had 88 Wiltshire Books, Pamphlets and Articles another origin. The Avebury-Manton track was not the herepath of a tenth century charter as stated on page 70. That name belongs to the Ridgeway, and the error was Grundy’s in trying to make two charters, of East and West Overton, fit a single land unit. The mistake appears, unfortunately, on all the Ordnance maps of the district. The illustrations are generally excellent, but some of the maps taken from other sources are less helpful here. Figure 20, for instance, refers to another subject. Figure 15, reduced from an unpublished map, is almost undecipherable, and no scale is given. The frontispiece is rather scantily described in the book. Its most conspicuous features are two modern roads entangled in the ancient traffic-ruts to which the text refers. Other tracks, which served medieval settlements on the edge of Savernake Forest, would have been clearer if the left-hand margin of Major Allen’s remarkable air-photograph had not been cut in the reproduction. Of the appendices the first four should lure the field-worker to investigations of his own, which is their purpose. One is intended to correct the late Albany Major’s views on Wansdyke by severely reducing the authentic sections of the earth work—perhaps in some areas too severely, but this is not the place to cross swords with so redoubtable an antagonist. It remains only to commend his book to all who want to study the “ palimpsest ’’ of the countryside. And there is some urgency as the author often hints, for the face of this island is changing rapidly. Spadework, by Sir Leonard Woolley, Lutterworth Press, 1953 (12s. 6d.). The record of Sir Leonard’s great excavations must be sought elsewhere: here he has another object. “Although in this book”, he says, “I deal with my own experiences, and that in the order of their happening, I am not writing an autobiography, nor even giving an account of archeological discoveries, although such do, of course, play their part in it; what I want to do is to show how very alive the science of archeology is .. . Out of our broken pots and pans we hope to build up a vision of a vanished world. To that vision everything contributes, the pots and pans themselves, their position in the ground, their association, all that, but also the country with its natural features and the men who today live in it and work for you; one can neglect none of these if the past is really to be re- called to life, and it is the all-roundness of field archeology that makes it the fascinating study which I have found it to be.” Field archeology has here that other sense which Dr. Crawford in the book reviewed above does not adopt. Yet the purpose of both Wiltshire Books, Pamphlets and Articles 89 schools is the same—"* to build up a vision of a vanished world,” and the two methods combine to present the past in all its dimensions. Sir Leonard’s field-work began in 1907, on the Roman Wall: his last excavations straddled the recent war and were made in the Levant. In the long interval he worked in Nubia and Egypt, South Italy and Mesopotamia, where he spent some sixteen seasons on Carchemish and Ur. The former task he was forced by the first world war to leave unfinished. He returned to it in 1919, to find a Franco- Turkish war in progress with the French headquarters established in his own and his workmen, all belonging to the enemy, across the river. The story of the Truce of the Spade which he somehow effected between the local combatants is one of the most remarkable he has to tell. His last dig was prompted by an intuition that the Minoan civilisa- tion must have derived from Asia and by the geographical deduction that the place to look for its origin was the old trade-route of the Orontes valley—that, in fact, if we may take a liberty with a line of Juvenal, transferring the outfall from Rome to Knossos, Jampridem Syrus in Cretam defluxit Orontes. (Long years ago The Syrian river into Crete did flow.) The triumphant justification of his theory was found in Tell Atchana at Alalakh. The success of an excavation depends at least as much on good rela- tions with the men employed as on the skill of the archzologist. Sir Leonard undoubtedly possesses the knack of sympathetic yet firm handling of his men, whatever their nationality, and he also had the luck to find a series of excellent foremen, Italian, Cypriot and Arab, which lasted till the end of the excavations in 1948. __ His active career covered forty-five of the most fruitful years that archeology has yet known, and his part in its development needs no _ stressing. He passes lightly over the inevitable trials and disappoint- ments and occasional ugly moments and tells us nothing of his war-time _ experiences, which included two years as a prisoner of the Turks. _ He dwells rather on the enjoyment he got from an exacting profession, and his account of it all makes a very interesting book. The Year Returns, by Elizabeth Hamilton, Michael Joseph, 1952 _(15s.). About the end of the Second War, so she tells us in her Preface, Miss Hamilton was in exile—and at that point the reader, who of 90 Wiltshire Books, Pamphlets and Articles course has read the book before the Preface, may well wonder how she resisted the temptation to introduce a quotation from her beloved classics. But hers was a happy exile, not to Tomi, but to Longleat. In that exile she turned her thoughts to the world immediately about her and found it so full of a number of things that she was impelled to try and capture some of them in words. To that impulse we owe the pages of pleasant descriptive writing that make up much of this book. In the rest of the book, however, the reader may feel that second- hand material is being introduced to fill out this section or that paragraph. Some of the information is interesting and not easily accessible, but surely matter such as brief descriptions of the differences between male and female plumages and a catalogue (which omits the woodcock !) of examples of form and function in the bills of birds would have been better left to textbooks of ornithology. Tales that were a little too much even for the good Herodotus are great fun when set out just as he told them and with his delicious comments, but slightly condensed they lose their charm. The publishers’ inane blurb may tell us that to Longleat “ comes nearly every species of bird known in this country ’’ yet it does seem odd to devote a page and a half of “ Summer at Longleat ” to the wryneck which Miss Hamilton never found there, _ while as for the Phoenix . . . but he comes under “ Holiday in April: The River Fal,” and so a Wiltshire reviewer may be excused from further comment. Driving through the Park at night Miss Hamilton sees the fantastic world in the beam of her headlights “ as though the scene were set for a ballet,” and much of the book is conceived in those terms. The Great House and its surroundings are the scenery, the flowers, the animals and the birds are the actors, and Miss Hamilton in her privileged seat on the stage is the sole spectator. Miss Hamilton lived at Longleat long enough to get to know it intimately. Whether it looms through the November mist like a huge ship ablaze with lights or stands close by the Lake, gracious, restful, serene, the colour of an ancient vellum, whether snow rests on the noses of the stone dogs on the roof or the orangery is cool and green in the heat of summer, with great skill she paints it for us from her curiously detached point of view, for the fate of a stately home in a social revolution seems hardly to touch her. It is the same with her actors, the birds and beasts. Their lives off- | stage, what pictures of the world those bright eyes may transmit to the | Wiltshire Books, Pamphlets and Articles 91 busy brains in the furred or feathered skulls, that is not her concern. But the reader who has watched such things for himself may well let the fire (or his pipe) go out while he reads her accounts of the other world of the upper branches of a great oak tree, the single Golden Plover caught in the sudden shaft of sunlight and “ seen from a bus, a Buzzard caught in a trap, shuffling across the road, trailing his splendid wings in the dust.” These and hundreds of others are the pictures that reward the reader of this book, these and Miss Hamilton’s vivid delight in that bright world of created things which includes the wild birds. L.G.P. Surveys of the Manors of Philip, Earl of Pembroke and Mont- gomery, 1631 -2, ed. Eric Kerridge, Ph.D., Devizes, 1953 (25s.) Dr. C. R. Straton’s work of more than forty years ago has been happily resumed in this, the ninth of the Records Branch publications. A brief comparison of the recorded surveys of 1566 — 7 and 1631 — 2 discloses omissions in the later group which are not always to be explained by a change of ownership: Wardour, for instance, the subject of one of the pleasantest illustrations in Dr. Straton’s work, had passed to Sir Matthew Arundell in the meantime, but Ramsbury was not sold until many years after 1632. On the other hand, Barford St. Martin had been acquired in the interval, and Fovant, appearing briefly as a * villata ’’ in the Hundred of Chalke in 1566-7, was now an established Pembroke manor. And in small details, such as the case of Flamston, manorial fluidity—appearance or disappearance, fission or consolida- tion—may be found, as Aaron Rathborne and other seventeenth century writers admitted or assumed. Lastly, as Dr. Kerridge reason- ably conjectures, other surveys, now lost, were probably carried out in 1631 —2. The seventeen estates which formed the subject of the later surveys fall, geographically, into six groups. West Overton is on the Kennet, Stanton St. Bernard on the southern slopes of the Marlborough Downs. The other fifteen lie in south-west Wiltshire, in or between the valleys of the Wylye, the Nadder and the Ebble. From Wylye south to Chilmark, Dinton and Teffont, Fovant, Barford St. Martin, South Burcombe and North Ueford, Bulbridge and Washerne and South Ugford, Wilton, Fugglestone, Netherhampton (a broad west-east belt); south again, across White Sheet Hill to Alvediston; then further east to Broad Chalke, Stoke Farthing, Bishopstone, Flamston—they 92 Wiltshire Books, Pamphlets and Articles formed an impressive series of almost contiguous manors, based upon Wilton House. The editor’s tribute to the value of the muniment room at Wilton, and to its accessibility, is fully deserved. Dr. Kerridge’s brief introduction discusses the seventeenth century manor, its courts and the periodical surveys. The transcripts or abstracts of the surveys are followed by a copy of the order of 1832 for floating the meadows at Wylye, and by a glossary and indexes. This reviewer would have been grateful if “ Keb.” had been included in the glossary, and if the fact that “ Affuratores Curie” (p. 140) were the assessors of fines had been explained. The surveyor’s interests were limited by his instructions and by professional practice. He refers to churches and almshouses only as points to fix the boundaries of holdings. He mentions the right of pasturing sheep in almost every entry, but the fleece appears once only, as part of a rent, and tucking-mills three times; we can only confirm the negative impression that south Wiltshire (or at any rate those manors) had no clothing trade. At Fovant he notes, as included in Thomas Jarvis’s holding, the Grinding-stone Mill and a house called the Blade Mill. So much for any trade but agriculture. Again, the surveyor makes a single item of Bulbridge, Washerne and South Ugford, but he clearly follows an earlier document in referring to them as “ parishes, mannors and hamletts.” But within his limits the surveyor gives generous aid to the local historian. He shows the capital messuage at Bulbridge, with two storeys and twenty-five rooms in all; or at Broad Chalke, with fifteen rooms; at Dinton, a fair dwelling-house with many rooms; or at South Burcombe, with about twenty; and all the others with five or six or seven or eight. He shows us the Lawes family, copyholders at Broad Chalke and at Ridge, and the Hydes, already “ gentle,” tenants — by indenture at Flamston. He gives the lease of the Chilmark quarries. He mentions the common fields in every manor, and here and there “ land lately enclosed.” Above all, he shows all these properties, from north to south, as devoted to sheep—from the 1,200 for which a “ gentleman ” at Bishopstone had common of pasture to the twenty- five which a certain widow at South Burcombe might graze. Some recurrent arithmetical formulae may be noted. Of twenty- three copyholders at Burcombe, eight had common of pasture for three horses, three kine and fifty sheep; one had double these figures; five might graze three kine and twenty-five sheep. At Netherhampton Wiltshire Books, Pamphlets and Articles 93 the prevailing allowance was three horses, three beasts and thirty-one sheep. At West Overton the copyholders’ sheep were in multiples of thirty. Those tenants by indenture at Wylye who kept live stock were allowed each one cow and 100 sheep. In Bishoptone tithing multiples of forty-two were established, but not in Croucheston tithing—where the custom of the manor is quoted for a ratio of three horses to two yardlands (and the problem of Hugh Kinge, with one yardland, is left unsolved). We are tempted to exceed the limits of a review, and to ask how many centuries earlier such figures had been settled by the lord, or by agreement of a former generation of occupiers. ELE. Guild Steward’s Book of the Borough of Calne, 1561—1688, edited by A. W. Mabbs, Devizes, 1953 (25s.). This record of Calne’s early administration is in the original a noble volume. From the careful handwriting of the Elizabethan entries it can be seen to have been an object of veneration to the burgesses of those days, as it is to their successors. The Records Branch edition contains only a portion of the original book, which was not filled up till 1814. It consists mainly of the accounts of the Guild Stewards and of the Constables with a few pages of memoranda. Let it be said at once that this edition is a model of its kind and will doubtless be used as such. It contains all the information in the manu- script of any significance in minute detail but seeks by rearrangement and the elimination of purely formal phraseology to reduce the work to a printable size. This is not an easy task, and the manner in which it has been done leaves nothing to be desired. The finished work s clear, concise and readily comprehensible. A glance at the original shows the amount of labour which the record searcher is spared by this means. A word must also be said in praise of the paper and typography supplied by the Dutch printers. The editor leaves us to wonder, however, why the Guild Stewards’ book was selected for printing. It must appear dull to many subscrib- ers, even in spite of an introduction so informative that it probably contains all the generalization that could be made about Calne’s history. They may reflect that Calne was a manorial borough of a somewhat unsophisticated type. What can the historian of the English borough learn from the details of Calne’s almost parochial administration? The editor himself says modestly, 94 Wiltshire Books, Pamphlets and Articles 6 “even in the 16th and 17th centuries it cannot be pretended that the responsi- bilities of the guild stewards were commensurate with those of the officers of a borough of greater political and economic importance and with a larger measure of corporate jurisdiction ”’. If it may be doubted, however, whether there is much in the record of Calne to interest the historian of the boroughs’ notorious diversities, it cannot be questioned that there is much here of incidental interest to others. Economic historians may notice among other things the stability of the income from the town fields and of the prices paid for various commodities and for labour. Parliamentary historians should remark how the borough retained its independence from aristocratic representation; an expensive matter in 1610, when by reason of the long parliament the borough was © growen in depte ’ to the extent of £19 for the members’ fees, and perhaps explain what is meant by the payment in 1659 of 4s. 8d. “for charges when the indentures were sealed between the burgesses and the sheriff for a free parliament ’. These are but two examples. It would always be rash to try and fore- tell to what use a document may be put when it thus becomes readily available on the desk of every historical writer. This is the true value of the work the Records Branch is doing. It cannot attempt always to interest its subscribers. Only by printing documents ranging as widely as possible in time and type can it earn the gratitude of scholars, making sure that somewhere there is a historian enabled to strike truth from the flint of Wiltshire’s own history. The selection of the best of the available material to print for this purpose must be a gamble, and if a reviewer hazards his opinion that few generalizations can be based on the mass of material presented in this volume he is gambling no less. J. P. M. Fowte. Wiltshire Harvest by H. H. Bashford, Constable, 1953 (10/-). This is not a large book and makes no claim to be a deep one. It centres on a village of the Pewsey Vale, anonymous but undisguised and known to everyone but the Post Office as Easton Royal. This voyage autour de mon village, though Sir Henry would protest at any implied comparison with Xavier de Maistre’s masterpiece or, indeed, with Miss Mitford’s nearer parallel, is a most readable series of short essays woven from the lightest of materialk—Walking About, Next Week, Bathroom Noises, Borrowing, are some of the chapter-headings (and the last owes nothing to Polonius). But the author has a wealth of varied reading and experience to lend substance to his comments Wiltshire Books, Pamphlets and Articles 95 and comparisons; above all, he loves his garden. “‘ The pride of my heart and the delight of my eyes,” cried Miss Mitford one Whitsun Eve, “is my garden”: Sir Henry must approve the words of his exemplar even if he may not actually echo them. He has something to say of the site of Easton Priory and the Roman road to Sarum, of Salisbury Close and the greens of the Kennet Valley as it strikes “ one long in city pent.” He has a chapter on Wiltshire village-names, and here, in his choice of those he finds most satisfying, he must expect the kind of altercation that selectors of perfect cricket teams, untram- melled by the accidents of mortality, are apt to set afoot. How would he have us pronounce Alvediston? Might not Hardenhuish claim a place if it were not commonly reduced to a drunken form of “ har- ness’? And who will not lament the absence of Swallowcliffe, the most beautiful of all (if we need not call it Swakely !): But we must not altercate for this is not the least enjoyable chapter of a very enjoyable book. The Ancient Burial Mounds of England, by L. V. Grinsell, _F.S.A., Methuens, 1953 (25s.). This is a new edition of a work we have known and used for 16 years. The publishers describe it as “ revised and reset’, but in fact it is almost completely rewritten. The most constant feature, apart from the general arrangements, is the 24 plates that illustrate it, but even here there are eight substitutions. Some of these, like Crocker’s sketch of Hoare and Cunnington “digging”? a barrow, are very welcome, but the reconstructed funerals in impossible cairns and the (18th century?) sketch of the Bartlow barrows are hardly worthy of their admirable company, even as curiosities. Silbury Hill now appears in impressive silhouette against a sunset sky, still posing the berm below its crest for the answer that never comes; from this feature all eyes have been rapidly averted— even Flinders Petrie’s. Already in 1937 Mr. Grinsell established his reputation as an authority on English barrows: this recasting and amplification of his material in the light of all that has been discovered and discussed in the interim cannot fail to enhance it. The topographical survey is now carried to the Cheviots by the inclusion of the Lakes and North- umbria, regions unvisited in the earlier version. The chapters on Folklore and Local Names have both been slightly expanded and an Interesting one added on Barrow-digging in Britain from the days 96 Wiltshire Books, Pamphlets and Articles of the Romans to our own. The indexes have been increased to three, but none of them mentions the Rollright Stones, though these occur in the text and the Whispering Knights are even illustrated. But Rollright seems to be under a cloud as a site of long barrows. The text-figures, of which there are now a dozen, are most helpful, and a word may be added in praise of the apposite quotations that head the chapters. With one of them, from Warne’s Celtic Tumuli of Dorset, we close this review:— Such traces are fortunately of a character that time has dealt leniently with : and would it could be said that man had been equally considerate. Council of British Archaeology. Two publications of this active body have appeared since our last number. One is a pamphlet on the Preservation of Buildings of Historic Interest in the form of a note on the Town and Country Planning Act, 1947. It may be had for 6d. from the Council at to Bolton Gardens, S.W.5. Its topics are: the listing of buildings of merit (two such lists, we seem to remember, were compiled independently after the last war); the Preservation clauses of the Planning Act with notes on their limitations, and the proper Societies to be informed of any threat to an historic building. The other is the Archaeological Bulletin for 1948-1949, an invaluable, if somewhat belated, list of articles published in more than 120 journals of Great Britain and all Ireland by nearly 1000 contributors during those years. The entries are listed by localities, periods and subjects, though often, where the article seemed of sufficient importance, a brief account of its contents is added. Finally a Bibliography (dated rather mysteriously 1952) enables references to be traced to their sources—but not all: there is a category of entries, sometimes without comment or reference, sometimes described as “ reported” merely, which cannot be followed up. It is hard to see what use these entries serve. But what is more deserving of comment is the remarkable amount of information supplied in the clearest of type in so small a space. The price’of the Bulletin is 4s. 6d. 97 WILTSHIRE OBITUARIES CLAUD WALKER-HENEAGE, 0.B.E., died in London on July 2sth, 1952, aged 77. Youngest son of Major C. Walker-Heneage, v.c., of Compton Bassett, and educated at Eton and University College, Oxford, he was called to the Bar but did not practice. He was keenly interested in archaeology and antiques and possessed a fine collection of china. A generous benefactor of this Society, of which he was a life member. ARTHUR LOCKYER INGPEN, M.V.O., O.B.E., died at Aldbourne on Dec. 23rd, 1952, aged 75. Eldest son of A. R. Ingpen, k.c., educated mainly in Switzerland and Germany, he was called to the Bar in 1898. Joined Naval Division 1914; later commissioned in Intelligence Corps and served in France, being twice mentioned in dispatches and awarded O.B.E. 1917. After the war he did valuable service on Imperial War Graves Commission in France and Belgium, being made an Officer of the French Legion of Honour and of the Order of King Leopold. On retirement to Aldbourne in 1928 took an active part in village life and was Head Warden in the last war. He collected materials for a history of the parish, now in the hands of a friend in London, who destines them for preservation at Trowbridge or Devizes. Obit.: Marlborough Times, Jan. 2nd, 1953. LIEUT.-GENERAL SIR NOEL MONSON DE LA POER BERESFORD-PEIRSE, K.B.E., C.B., D.S.0., died at Watergate House, Bulford on Jan. 14th, 1953, aged 65. One of the commanders in the earlier campaigns in the Western Desert before Alamein he retired in 1947 and had repre- sented Bulford on the County Council from 1950. Obit.: Wiltshire Times, Jan. 17th. MISS K. J. STEPHENSON, C.B.E., third daughter of Sir A. K. Stephenson, K.C.B.; died at Bodenham House, Salisbury, on Jan. rsth, 1953, aged 78. She devoted her life to public service, pre-eminently on the County Council. On this body she had served for some 40 years, an alderman since 1919, and an active and valued member of many committees. Though crippled in an air-raid and almost blind, she continued to attend meetings to the end with unflinching courage. Obit.: Wiltshire Times, Jan. 24th. VOL. LV—CXCVIIL G 98 Wiltshire Obituaries WILLIAM HERBERT LEE EWART, C.B.E., died in Jersey on March rath, 1953, aged 71. Son of W. L. Ewart, educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, he entered the Diplomatic Service and became assistant private secretary to the Foreign Secretary, being created C.B.E. in 1920. Succeeding to the family estate at Broadleas, Devizes, in 1922 he resided there till he went to Jersey in 1946 and was promin- ent in organising the Local Defence Volunteers in 1940. Appointed High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1942. Married in 1911 Miss Katherine Cassandra Gassiot, who survives him with one son and two daughters. Obits.: Times, March 16th; Wiltshire Gazette, March toth. CAPTAIN WILLIAM BROWN died at Manor Farm, Aldbourne on April 29th, 1953, aged 69. Served in 1914-18 war and in last war commanded Aldbourne and Ramsbury H.G. Elected to County Council in 1913, he served on various committees and was chairman of Roads and Bridges committee for many years. Appointed J.P. 1925, succeeding Sir Francis Burdett as chairman of County Bench. Active in village life and a devout churchman, he was also an all-round sportsman and had captained the county tennis team. Obit.: Marlborough Times, May Ist. THE REV. C. S. PUGH died at East Burton, Dorset, May oth, 1953. Son of the late S. S. Pugh, a Nonconformist minister and founder of the Old Devizes Grammar School at Heathcote House, South- broom. The school was carried on after the father’s death in 1899 by his sons, C. W. and C. S. Pugh, till the latter left in 1909 to take Holy Orders. He was ordained priest in 1911 and was Curate of Holy Trinity, Weymouth from 1910 to 1918, Rector of Buckland Ripers, 1918 to 1927 and Vicar of Winfrith Newburgh with Chaldon Herring, 1927-1948, when he retired. Obit.: Wiltshire Gazette, May 14th. | | ; i 1 } i 99 ACCESSIONS TO THE COUNTY RECORD OFFICE SINCE THE LIST OF DECEMBER, 1952 Single deed: mortgage of a cottage in Atworth by Robert Webb of Box to Michael Sumsion of Colerne, 1766. Ground plan of West Lavington church with names of pew-holders inserted, and memorandum of agreement concerning the allocation of pews, 1625. (Deposit). Eleven deeds, relating to the manors of Melksham, Whitley, Shaw, Erle- stoke, Hilperton, Semington and Steeple Ashton, 1285-1574: they include a charter of Edward I to Amesbury priory, 1285, and an award of arbitration by George, Duke of Clarence, in a case arising from a claim by the prioress of Amesbury that John Halle of Salisbury, merchant, is her bondman, 1468. Six tailor’s bills, 1828-47, and a small note-book containing details of a personal property with estimated values, 1851, relating to the Haden family of Trowbridge. Three deeds: royal grant of the rectory of Tilshead to Robert Hopton of Witham (Som.), 1602, and 2 deeds relating to the mortgage and sale of the Wardour estate by the parliamentary commissioners for the sale of forfeited lands, 1653. (Deposit). Copy of court roll, 1741, and 10 court papers, 1785-1810, of the manor of Durrington and Knighton. (Deposit). Account and prospectus relating to a private school in Box and the family of Vine, 1783. 136 deeds, mainly leases, 1669-1875, 3 estate account books, 1890-1906, and _ other estate papers and accounts relating to the Northey family’s estates in Box. Certified copy (1819) of a certificate of redemption of land tax in Wingfield, by John Wadman, 1799. Two printed posters concerning elections to the school board, 1892, 1895, and report of charity commissioners, 1904, all relating to Corsham. Indenture of apprenticeship, 1896, Herbert Coates to Walter Belcher to learn printing. M. G. RATHBONE 100 ADDITIONS TO THE SOCIETY’S LIBRARY Presented by Dr. W. B. Maurice: Copies of W.A.M., vols. 49-53. Mayor C. J. Jacoss: W.A.M. various numbers, 1904-1952. Bric. K. M. F. Hepces: A Wiltshire Home, by Dorothy Devenish (1948). Cot. N. K. Watson: Extracts from Oxford Economic Papers, Woll s3INo} 1.1093) Tue Recorps Brancu: Stockton House, Wilts. Catalogue of Sales, 1906. Tue PususHers: Witchcraft by Pennethorne Hughes (Longman’s, 1952). THE PusuisHers: More Battlefields of England by A. H. Burne (Methuen’s, 1952). H. V. Case: Brief History of the Tabernacle Church, Trowbridge, 1884; History of the Wilts and East Somerset Congregational Union, by the Rev. A. Antrobus, 1947. May. E. T. Carver. Dove, 1639. An Almanack and Prognostica- tion for the year of our Lord, 1639. Found in the wall of the Manor Farm, Eastcott, Easterton. Victoria and Albert Museum. English Prehistoric Pottery, 1952. The Society is indebted to its Hon. Life Member, Mr. R. de C. Nan Kivell of the Redfern Gallery, who very kindly cleaned at his own cost the portrait in oils of William Cunington by Samuel Woodford. This portrait will now form an excellent centre-piece in the proposed picture gallery to be located in the present entrance hall. ACCESSIONS TO THE SOCIETY’S MUSEUM Accession Nos. 1/53/55 A sea-trunk or travelling chest, hair-covered. 18th century. Inside is the manufacturer’s label: “James Bryant, Trunk- maker, London... .” It is said to have belonged to Capt. J. Cook, but the initials on the top of the trunk are W.C. Donor, Mrs. Eartz, Bradley Corner, Seend. Accessions to the Society's Museum 101 Accessions No. 3/53/56-104. The grave group from the Manton round barrow. This includes the famous gold-bound amber disc, of a type found also in Crete, a shale bead, with gold bands, and a model in gold and bronze of a halberd, used as a pendant. An urn, a grape-cup, incense cup, bronze awls, knife, and other beads, etc. accompanied these objects to make this one of the most important groups of relics ever found in a Wiltshire barrow. Donor, Dr. W. B. Maurice, Lloran House, Marlborough. [See Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 1938. 105, No. 68.] 3/53/105. Large group of medieval pottery, and irons object (including a rush-light holder, stirrup, part of small cannon, and cannon balls) from the Castle, Devizes. An important addition to our collections of pottery and other objects of this period. Donor, Mr. W. B. Meptam, B.Sc., The Castle, Devizes. 5/53/106. Flamboyant iron spear-head. Bidcombe Down, Nr. Westbury. Donor, Mr. H. V. Hate, Westbury. [See note, p. 75]. 5/53/107. Large flint arrow-head, barbed and tanged. Overton Down, surface find. Donor, THE CURATOR. RECENT A large quantity of Romano-British sherds from various sites Accessions. for inclusion in the teaching collections. Donor, Dr. A. SHAW MILLER. Negative of photograph of Manton Long Barrow (for an an enlargement). Donor, the Rev. R. H. Lang, Marlborough. 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FJ “Dy 2 78a7: AUNLIGNaAdX| wS61 {p "Stee 7 ‘ps ae AWOONT cS61 “YadWaodd #1 LY SV LNQNODOV SHONVIVd zg GoIks G. Go -clG7 ¢ € 19% yuegssuIALS ‘AA 29 °S UTJUNODDY Wsodaq—sourreg “16 “ | o1 1 L ze - “Sine 7 AWOONT GNNdA dIHSUaaNGN FAT “rE «6 G1 caidy ‘0G “AON v1 ‘uel oS61 4adnsvas], *UoF] SAUIHD *S °Y divjasjay “UofT “HON “M ‘OD FeO LIGNad XY €S61 0} sourleg "+ saseyoing °1¢ (14 "1G ‘00q oS61 o1g Oo 0 Oo F 019 9 ‘Ds Lopipnp ‘uopy ‘AWAY ° TL, CU ‘UdAIS ~suUOT}VULIdxS puU¥ sI9YyYINOA ‘syoog 243 YUM JoUepIOIDe UT 1991109 puNo} pue poyIpny LT urenag JO [PANSOq uO juswihed uonesusdwoyn “Si ‘[dy 9 eC = 1661 Woy souejeg ‘1 ‘uel oi WOON] 261 GNNaA SASVHOUNd WNEsnn 17 JUL 1953 Records Branch publications continued— ANDREWS’ AND DURY’S MAP OF WILTSHIRE, 1778. A reduced facsimile. Introduction by Elizabeth Crittall, 1952, Pp. iv + 19 plates. SURVEYS OF THE MANORS OF PHILIP EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY, 1631—2. Edited by Eric Kerridge, Ph.D. 1953. Pp. xiv + 176. Publications to be obtained from the Librarian, The Museum, Devizes THE BRITISH AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES OF THE NORTH WILTSHIRE DOWNS, by the Rev. A. C. Smith, M.A. Atlas 4to. 248 pp., i7 large maps and 110 woodcuts, extra cloth. One copy offered to each member of the Society at {1 ls. A few copies only. CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES IN THE SOCIETY’S MUSEUM. Part II, illustrated, 2nd Edition, 1935. Price 3s. 6d. A BIBLIOGRAPHY or THE GREAT STONE MONUMENTS oF WILTSHIRE: STONEHENGE ann AVEBDURY, with other references, by W. J. Harrison, F.G.S., pp. 169, 4 illustrations. No. 89 (1901) of W.A.M. Describes 947 books, papers, &c., by 732 authors. Price 5s. 6d, A CALENDAR OF THE FEET OF FINES FOR WILTSHIRE, 1195 ITO 1272, BY E. A. FRY. 8vo., pp. 103. Price 6s. WILTSHIRE INQUISITIONES POST MORTEM: HENRY III, EDWARD Iand EDWARD II. 8vo. pp. xv + 505. Fully indexed. In parts. Price 13s., complete. DITTO. EDWARDIII. 8vo., pp. 402. Fully indexed. In parts. Price 13s., complete. THE CHURCH BELLS OF WILTSHIRE, THEIR INSCRIPTIONS AND HISTORY, by H. B. WALTERS, F.S.A. (In3 Parts.) Price 16s. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WILT- SHIRE FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PAGAN SAXONS, by M. E. Cunnington, C.B.E. Fourth Editon, 1949, 6s. 6d. _ (by arrangement with the Publishers, C. H. Woodward, Devizes). BACK NUMBERS oF THE MAGAZINE. Price from 2s. 6d. to 10s. 6d. according to date and condition (except in the case of a few numbers the price of which is raised). To Members, 25 per cent. less. The late Capt. B. H. and Mrs. CUNNINGTON gave all remaining copies of the following to the Society for sale :— ALL CANNINGS CROSS (1923), By MRS. CUNNINGTON, Hon F.S.A., Scot. 4to. cloth, 53 Plates. 21s. WOODHENGE (Excavations, 1927—28), By MRS. CUNNINGTON, Hon. F.S.A., Scot. 4to. cloth, 2ls. RECORDS OF THE COUNTY OF WILTS, EXTRACTS FROM THE QUARTER SESSIONS GREAT ROLLS OF THE 171TH CENTURY By CAPT. B. H. CUNNINGTON, F.S.A., Scot. Cloth. 12/6, DEVIZES BOROUGH ANNALS. EXTRACTS FROM THE CORPORATION RECORDS’ By CAPT. B. H. CUNNINGTON F.S.A., Scot. Cloth. (Vol.I is out of print) Vol. II, 1792 to 1835, 1és. The Society’s Museum and Library, Long Street, Devizes All members of the Society are asked to give an annual subscription towards the upkeep of these collections. The Museum contains many objects of especial interest, and the Library is the only one in Wiltshire devoted to material for the — history of the county. Subscriptions should be sent to Mr. R. S. CHILD, Brighstone, The Breach, Devizes. Old printed material and photographs of Wiltshire buildings or other objects of interest will be welcomed by the Librarian at the Museum. The repository for old deeds, maps, plans, etc., is now the County Archives collection at the County Hall, Trowbridge. Natural History Section The object of this Section is to promote the study of all branches of Natural History in the county by encouraging field observations, maintaining records, arranging field and other meetings and by putting observers in touch with each other. Members and others who wish for particulars of the Section and its activities should write to the Honorary Treasurer of the Section :— Mr. G. W. COLLETT, 174, Sheldon Road, Chippenham. Membership of the Section does not entail any further subscrip- tion from those who are already members of the Society. Observations should be sent to the Recorders: BIRDS. Mrs. Egbert Barnes, Hungerdown, Seagry, Chip- penham, Wilts. FLOWERS. Mr. J. D. Grose, Downs Edge, Liddington, near Swindon. LEPIDOPTERA. Mr. B. W. Weddell, 13, The Halve, Trowbridge. REPTILES AND AMPHIBIA. Mr. C. E. Owen, Newtown, Lockeridge, Marlborough. Back numbers of the Report of the Section can be obtained from Mrs. Egbert Barnes. Prices: Report for 1946, 1/6; 1947, 2/6; 1948, 2/6; 1949, 2/6; 1950, 2/6; 1951, 2/6. Post free. ‘BOOKBINDING. Books carefully bound 0 pattern. Wilts Archaeological Magazine bound to match previous volumes, or in special green cases. C. H. WOODWARD, Printer and Publisher, Exchange Buildings, Station Road, DEVIZES Woodward, Printer, Devizes a AS a5 Oe oe No. CXCIX DECEMBER, 1953 Vol. LV = 6 JAN 1954 The Wiltshire Archeological and Natural History Magazine PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SOCIETY FORMED IN THAT COUNTY IN THE YEAR 1853 HON. EDITOR HON. ASSISTANT EDITOR H. C. BRENTNALL, F.S.A. OWEN MEYRICK GRANHAM WEST, MARLBOROUGH RIDGELANDS, RAMSBURY a2 authors of the papers printed in this Magazine are alone responsible for all statements made therein DEVIZES PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY BY C. H. WOODWARD, EXCHANGE BUILDINGS, STATION ROAD Price ros. 6d. Members gratis The Wiltshire Archeological & Natural History Society The annual subscription is £1 with an entrance fee of 10s. A payment of £20 secures life-membership of the Society. Members who have not paid their subscriptions to the Society for the current year are requested to remit the same forthwith to the Hon. Treasurer Mr. R. S. CHILD, Brighstone, The Breach, Devizes, to whom also all communications as to the supply of Magazines should be addressed. The numbers of this Magazine will be delivered gratis, as issued, to members who are not in arrear of their annual subscrip- tions; but in accordance with Byelaw No. 8 “ The Financial Secretary shall give notice to members in arrear, and the Society’s publications will not be forwarded to members whose subscriptions shall remain unpaid after such notice ” An Index for the preceding eight volumes of the Magazine will be found at the end of vols. viii., xvi., xxiv., and xxxil. The subsequent volumes are each indexed separately. Articles and other communications intended for the Magazine, and correspondence relating to them, should be addressed to the Editor, Granham West, Marlborough. The Records Branch Founded in 1937 for the publication of original documents re- lating to the history of the county. The subscriptionis £1 yearly. New members are urgently needed. Hon. Assistant Secretary, | Mr. M. G. Rathbone, Craigleith, Snarlton Lane, Melksham Forest, Wilts. The Branch has issued the following :— ABSTRACTS OF FEET OF FINES RELATING TO WILT- SHIRE FOR THE REIGNS OF EDWARD I AND EDWARD II. Edited by R. B. Pugh. 1939. Pp xix + 190. ACCOUNTS OF THE PARLIAMENTARY GARRISONS OF GREAT CHALFIELD AND MALMESBURY, 1645—1646. Ed- ited by J. H. P. Pafford. 1940. Pp. 112. (Out of Print). CALENDAR OF ANTROBUS DEEDS BEFORE § 1625 Edited by R. B. Pugh. 1947. Pplv + 165. MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS IN SESSIONS, 1563, 1574— 1592. Edited by H.C. Johnson. 1949. Pp. xxviii + 246. LIST OF WILTSHIRE BOROUGH RECORDS EARLIER IN DATE THAN 1886. Edited by Maurice G. Rathbone. 1951. Pp. xiii + 108. | THE TROWBRIDGE WOOLLEN INDUSTRY as illustrated by the stock books of John and Thomas Clark, 1804-1824. Edited by R. P. Beckinsale, D. Phil. 1950. Pp. xxxvi + 249. : CALNE GUILD STEWARDS BOOK, 1561—1688. Edited by A. W. Mabbs. 1953. Pp. xxxiii + 150. : The Wiltshire Archeological and Natural History Magazine No. CXCIX DECEMBER, 1953 CONTENTS THE FLOATING OF THE WILTSHIRE WATER- MEADOWS. By Eric, Kerridge un.) ses ese nce ees THE EAST END OF WANSDYKE: By O. G. S. Grawtord, -C.B EE. LIv?.D. bi B.Al lk. WANSDYKE WEST AND SOUTH: By Lieut.- Golonel Alfred: H.: Burne, D.S.O..:....2000.42 0000.2. THE MERE, ROUNDWAY, AND WINTERSLOW BEAKER CULTURE KNIVES: By Humphrey Case LONG’S STORES, DEVIZES: By W. E. Brown........ THE WILTSHIRE LOCAL MILITIA IN TRAINING, 1809—1814: By H. F. Chettle, C.M.G THE CENTENARY LUNCHEON e@core esse ee eee 8 eoeeeeeeeeece eee oe ee HBeeeooe Oe THE CHANTRIES OF MERE AND THEIR PRIESTS: ythe kV C: >, Godtrey.. 00. Slee ie ee AN INVENTORY OF GIFTS TO THE CHAPEL OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE, THAT. WAS: AT EDINGTON: Edited by D. U. Seth Smith and Crow AL Gunnin stom 30) ccteG co bla eh ase WILTSHIRE BOOKS, ARTICLES, ETC...07.00.06.05. 006. NOTES.—Josiah Wooldridge of Bedwyn. Further Note on Charter Readings. A Flint Dagger from Avebury. A Roman Villa at Downton. The Pembroke Survey OS l=1632.0 402) dudes cece keeus, Vol. LV PAGE 105—118 119—125 126—134 135—138 139—145 146—150 151—152 153—160 161—164 165—174 175—180 i PAGE CRICKLADE EXCAVATION 1953". 0.00.40 9 ee 181 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 1953—AND Ex- CURSIONS pur p 5s tara ahh ee 182—185 ANNUAL REPORT d9952-93. 0 eae 185—187 WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL | HISTORY SOCIETY RECORDS BRANCH............. 188—189 ACCESSIONS TO THE COUNTY RECORD OFFICE... 190 WILTSHIRE OBITUARIES) 00 7 Vee ge ae 191—192 ADDITIONS TO MUSEUM AND LIBRARY............ 193—195 LIST OF” MEMBERS 2) o).0 he ee Te. 196—209 ILLUSTRATIONS Mastern Section-ab /Wansdyke.. 2... )o2 4. 23 120 Plate 1s Wansdyke!. 2.2 oa ee {122123 Fig. 1.. The, Roman road andthe ditches. ..2.:..5..... 130 The eastern ends of Wansdyke. 4.002 133 Beaker Culturé Knives.) ce os a See 136 Rain-water Plead! 4.09) 2. a ee 140 Marlborough Eiltghy Street 2G De 166 A. Flint Dagger trom Avebury.:.020:.:.)..2.:52... : We a IVF DEVIZES: C. H. WOODWARD, EXCHANGE BUILDINGS, STATION ROAD THE WILTSHIRE MAGAZINE MULTORUM MANIBUS GRANDE LEVATUR ONUS No. CXCIX DECEMBER Vol. LV THE FLOATING OF THE WILTSHIRE WATERMEADOWS By ERIC KERRIDGE From the latter part of the seventeenth century to the latter part of the nineteenth the floated water-meadow was one of the greatest achievements of English agriculture and an integral part of the sheep- and-corn husbandry of the downlands of Wiltshire, Dorset, Berkshire and Hampshire. In Chalk Wiltshire in this period the overwhelming majority of the several and common meadows by the streamside were floated.1 The floated water-meadow? was a “ hot-bed for grass”. April— the month of “interregnum” between hay and grass—this was the crucial time of the farmer’s year. His hay was spent and his spring grass not yet ready for feeding. The livestock he was able to maintain depended on the feed available at this time of the year. Nor was lambing possible until the spring grass had sprouted, and the rams had to be put to the ewes at a time that would ensure an adequate supply of feed to the ewes and lambs. Two main types of floating were used in England: the“ catchwork ” system for land on the inclines of hills watered by small brooks, and the “ flowing ’’ meadow for floating low-lying land near rivers. The latter system, which was also the more expensive of capital, was the one suitable to the Chalk country of Wiltshire and generally used there. In floating the watermeadow a large weir or hatch was con- structed to dam the river and control the flow of water. When the water was allowed through the hatch it passed down a main trench, work or duct to the meadow and then down smaller ditches or car- tiages branching out from the main all over the “ pitch of work”, which was thus all floated from a single hatch. In the main and branch carriages “ stops ’’ were erected to obstruct the course of the water and keep it high enough to flow through the “ sluices”’ into the carriages that carried it over the surface of the land. These carriages, some thirty or forty feet apart, depending on the lie of the land and the quantity of water available, intersected the whole pitch of work. Between each pair of carriages was a drain which took off the water VOL. LV—CXCVIX H 106 The Floating of the Wiltshire Watermeadows at the other end of the meadow to a main drain that rejoined the river below the pitch of work. Thus the whole meadow was covered with a “regular disposition of the water-carriages and water-drains, which in a well laid-out meadow bring on and carry off the water, as systematically as the arteries and veins do the blood in the human body.’ The lay-out of the works depended on the lie of the land to be floated and on whether the meadows were common or in severalty. Different modes of construction were devised to meet all circum- stances; but, whatever the design adopted, great capital expenditure was necessarily involved. The whole pitch of work had to be levelled and prepared under the direction of an expert “ floater ’’ or “ water- man’’. The land had to be gathered and twice-gathered in ridge and furrow and an immense number of works dug and constructed. All the ducts and carriages, drains and ditches had to be floored and walled with timber. Weirs and sluices had to be made of timber and iron. Finally grass had to be seeded over the whole meadow. Vaughan spent £2,000 on the trenches for his floated meadows in Herefordshire at the end of the sixteenth century. In 1808 Wright reckoned the cost of construction at between {2 and {5 an acre,® but Davis estimated the cost of the South Wiltshire floated meadows in the eighteenth century at between {12 and £20 an acre,’ while Boswell allowed just over £6.8 Blith, much earlier, said that the cost was £2 an acre at the most.® It would appear that the lower estimates exclude at least some of the cost of labour. The tenants of Wylye in the early seventeenth century paid the “ floater” 14s. an acre, but this was only his fee: labour and materials they largely supplied themselves.1° The cost of maintenance, however, was not great. The carriages and works had only to be scoured and repaired annually. The improved values of floated meadows were high ; estimates of the improvement range between three- and sixty-fold increases over the unimproved values.1 The effect of the winter rains on the height of the water-table in the Chalk country is to cause a marked increase in the flow of the rivers in the late autumn and early spring. The turbulent flood-waters bore down with them a high proportion of chalk sediment and the muck and mud washed from the villages in the course of the stream. The greater the suspension in the water, the more valuable it was for floating. Even if the water, as often, was apparently clear, it was charged The yearly round 107 with a solution of chalk of the highest nutritive value to the moisture- loving grasses of the water-meadows. But this was by no means all, for the water flowing over the meadows provided a warm blanket for the grass, protecting it from the winter frosts with their retarding effect on the growth of the sward.! It was in this sense that the floated water-meadow was a hot-bed for grass. When the meadow was floated it was covered by an evenly distributed sheet of howing water to the depth of about one inch. Thus, in addition to the warmth provided, all the sediment of the stream passed through the grass and was deposited among its stalks and blades. The nutritive value of the sediment lasted long after the hatches were closed and floating sus- pended.18 When the autumn rains had swelled the river, the floater passed the stream in a sheet over his meadow. The water was then “ thick and good ’’,!* since it was the first washing of the arable land and of the roads and ditches. This sheet was kept owing over the meadow for the greater part of the winter months and as long into the early spring as ground frosts remained sharp and harmful. But if the water was left too long on the meadow the effects were harmful, and the floater would suspend the ow now and then for a short time to allow air to the grass. The danger signal for which the floater watched was the appearance of scum on the surface: this meant that the grass needed air. Normally, the forced growth of grass, now five or six inches high, was ready to be fed by sheep about the middle of March, long before an early bite was obtainable anywhere else. To render the meadows fit for sheep they were left a day or two to dry off, and, that this period might be as short as possible, it was important that the soil should be absorbent. Loose gravel and broken flints provided a good bottom; generally no difficulty arose in this respect in the Chalk country. Subject to this short period after floating, the meadows were perfectly fit for sheep in the spring. By about the end of April the sheep would have eaten the meadow off close and the flow of water would be resumed for a few days before the meadow was put up for hay. In June the meadow would be ready for mowing, since the hay was long, stalky and juicy and had to be cut young. It made excellent fodder for sheep and cattle. A floated water-meadow could be relied upon to give a hay crop about four times as great as an unfloated riverside meadow of the same size, and this crop could be obtained in all weathers and every year, drought or not. If the need for hay was Ege 108 The Floating of the Wiltshire Watermeadows great, the same method could produce a second or even a third crop on part or whole of the water-meadow, and the farmer with a reason- able amount of such meadow need never fear for winter fodder. But more usually the farmer contented himself with one hay-crop and preferred to use the meadows in high summer and early autumn for his dairy cattle. It became necessary for the farmer to keep dairy cattle if he were to reap the fullest advantage from his mead, because in the early autumn a floated meadow was unsafe for sheep. In September the meadow was made to carry the greatest possible stock of cattle in order that it might be eaten off fairly bare. Then, in the middle of October or thereabouts, the carriages and drains were cleansed of the year’s accumulation of dirt and the sides repaired from the damage inflicted by the feet of the cattle. This task completed, the meadows were ready for the free admission of the highly-prized November flood-waters. The great advantage and purpose of the floated meadows of the Chalk country was in the early bite of grass they provided for the ewes and lambs, whose weaning was timed to coincide with the opening of the meadows, of which they then had the exclusive use. Thus the feed of ewes and lambs was improved and the breeding of early lambs made possible. The grass was hurdled out to them in portions daily, and creep-hurdles were used so that the lambs could feed forward on the fresh grass. Since the water-meadow grass was so moist, the ewes were often provided with some hay while they were on them. While the ewes and lambs were folded on the water-meadow in the day, they were folded on the barley field at night. One acre of water- meadow grass for one single day was sufficient feed for the 500 ewes and lambs requisite for the efficient folding, in a single night, of a tenantry acre of arable. The couples were not allowed on the floated meadow with empty bellies or while the dew was still on the grass, and their hours of feeding were from ten or eleven in the morning to four or five in the afternoon. The floated water-meadow was essential to the development of the sheep-and-barley farming of the Chalk country and “none but those who have seen this kind of husbandry can form a just idea of the value of the fold of a flock of ewes and lambs, coming immediately with bellies full of young quick grass from a good water-meadow, and partic- ularly how much it will increase the quantity and quality of a crop of barley. The value of it may fairly be taken at the value of a quarter of barley [per acre.|” Uses and advantages 109 Some lands that suited barley also suited water-meadows, and barley- fields and water-meadows often lay together, especially near Salisbury. Sheep in water-meadows were never suffered to lie down or drop their dung or urine on the meadow. All the dung was kept for the arable and “ when full and seen disposed to lie down”’, the sheep were immediately driven in haste to the arable field. Floating did not merely improve old meadowland: all sorts of land could be floated. Marshes and boggy lands beside streams were highly suitable for floating, which rendered them as good meadow as any. Arable land was also often floated and converted to meadow. In this way entirely artificial meadowland was created. Although many types of indigenous meadow-grass were recommended for seeding such created newly meadows, the actual variety used was not of much consequence, since floating itself induced the growth of the grass most suited to the particular meadow to the exclusion of other types. And, although it was an advantage that the land floated should be naturally well drained, no matter how bad the land was, floating continued over a number of years deposited a fresh top-soil of the greatest pos- sible fertility, and this improvement continued year by year. Finally, since the milk and early grass feeding of young livestock largely de- termine their constitution, it was accounted one of the greatest virtues of the floated meadow that it played an important part in the increase of size of the Wiltshire horned sheep between the seventeenth and the early nineteenth centuries.1* Without the floated meadow the district could not have supported and raised so many sheep of so great a size. In discussing the origins of the floated water-meadow, Davis says that the winter flooding common to all the old wet meadows must have convinced farmers of the fertility of the flood-waters and en- couraged them to undertake artificial flooding. But this, if continued too long, would have produced harmful effects only to be countered by artificial drainage and control of the flood-waters. “ This”’, he surmises, “by degrees, produced that regular disposition of the water-carriages and water-drains’’ characteristic of the floated meadows of his day.17 Some meadows naturally flooded did in fact produce excellent, not to say extraordinary, grass,1® and the watering, as distinct from the floating of meadows, was a well-known practice in the sixteenth century. Fitzherbert says, for example: “ An other maner of mendyng of medowes is, yf there be any rynnynge water or lande flodde, that may be set or brought to ronne ouer the medowes, from 110 The Floating of the Wiltshire Watermeadows the tyme that they be mowen unto the begynninge of Maye, and they wyll be moche the better, and it shall kyll, drowne, and dryue away the moldye warpes, and fyll up the lowe places with landes and make the ground euyn and good to mowe. All maner of waters be good, so that they stande not styl upon the grounde. But specyally that water that cometh out of a towne from euery mannes myddyng or dunghyll is best, and wyll make the medowes most rankest. And fro the begynnynge of Maye tyll the medowes be mowen and the hay gotten in the waters wolde be let by and ronne an other way for dyvers consideracyons etc.”!® It would not be fanciful to see in this advice a hint of the artificial flooding or “drowning” that preceded the floating of water- meadows. It must have been to such methods that Marshall referred when he said that the famous Orcheston meadow was 6 ‘one continuous pool of sTAGNANT waTER ! Not on the scientific principle of crrcuLaTION ; but on the more simple and natural one of FLOODING ; agreeable to the obsolete practice of FLOATING UPWARDS: a practice which, it is highly probable, was once prevalent in this part of the Island. The term “ DRowNnING”’, which is now inaptly applied to the modern practice, strongly corroberates this suggestion.” ?° Folkingham says similarly ‘. . . land-flouds, fatte Riuers and Gulfs of water participating of a slimie and muddy substance induced and brought into Meddowes and pastures in the spring by draines, dams, inuersions from towne ditches, sewers, wayes, streetes, Tilthes, do very much comfort and reuive them.”?! Much the same impression is gained from Norden, who, after speaking of a meadow near Salisbury, perhaps at Orcheston or Ebbesbourne Wake,22 adds: “those that I speake of, require little or no help at the owners hand, onely the aid of these riuers and the fat of the hils ouerflowing, doe feed them fat, giues great burden, and very sweet . . . the cause of whose goodnesse is the soyle, and overflowing, with the most muddy water . . . Boggy and spungie ground . . . though in its owne nature it be too moist, yet if it be ouerflowed with water often, it will settle and become firme...” And again: “I perswade men to make meanes, where it may be done, to induce out of streets, lands, wayes, and ditches all the water, that by some extraordinarie raine passeth through them, into their grounds: for the matter which this water bringeth with it, is commonly so rich and fat, as it yieldeth a maruailous refection to all the grounds, high or low, into which it may be brought.” Such means, he says, are used in Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and elsewhere. And further: “you seldome or neuer see bogges, where the water ouerflowes, and stands in the winter time. But if it be more permanent, and of a longer stay, there must Origins of the practice 111 be means vsed for euacuation .. . And therefore it must be a principall care, to haue all riuers, Sewers, and water draines, well cleansed and scoured, that vpon occasion, when time requireth, when you will convey the water from the Meddowes, it may haue a due current, and likewise vpon occasion to stoppe the riuers, to the end the water may ouerflow at time conuenient . . . It is thus not without cause that Davis, after saying that floated water-meadows were generally introduced into South Wiltshire in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, should have added: “ An imperfect scheme of watering, had undoubtedly been practised before that period. Perhaps indeed its introduction into this district is almost coeval with that of the folding of sheep, with which it is intimately connected.’’4 Whatever the previous improvements in meadow management in England,*® there is no doubt that meadows were being floated at the end of the sixteenth century in Herefordshire. The first description of a flowing floated water-meadow is to be found in Rowland Vaughan’s book published in 1610. He dictated this book in his old age after 1604, and in it he refers to the Court of Wards suit that brought his ruin and says that it “ bredd more white haires in my head in one yeare then all my wetshod water-workes in sixteene.” Also, in the course of a careful and authentic description of floating he remarks that he had to clean out his “trench-royal”’ in 1601. Vaughan claimed to have originated the floated water-meadow of the flowing variety, and this claim appears to be justified, at least as far as Hereford- shire is concerned.26 Davis says that floated water-meadows were generally introduced into South Wiltshire from 1650 to 1750,2” but disclaims knowledge of the time of their first introduction. Aubrey is more explicit: “The improvement of watering meadows began at Wylye, about 1635, about which time, I remember, we began to use them at Chalke. Watering of meadows about Marlburgh and so to Hungerford was, I remember, about 1646, and Mr. John Bayly, of Bishop’s Down, near Salisbury, about the same time made his great improvements by watering there by St. Thomas’s Bridge. iihis'is;as old’as the Romans . . . 77° It stili remains unclear, however, whether Aubrey meant that Wylye was the first place to have floated meadows or not. Nevertheless it is certainly to floating that Aubrey was referring, since he says “The watred meadows all along from Marlborough to Hungerford, Rams- bury, and Littlecot, at the later end of Aprill, are yellow with butter flowers. When you come to Twyford the floted meadowes there are all white with little flowers . . . The graziers told me that the yellow meadowes are by much the better, and those white flowers are produc’t by a cold hungry water.”?° 112 The Floating of the Wiltshire Watermeadows There are indications that some form of watered meadow may have been in use in the Wiltshire Cotswolds in the seventeenth century.?° Thus Hugh Speke esquire had six acres of enclosed meadow called ““ Water meade”’ at Wadswick in Box in the 1620s.31 In 1661 Mr. Mountjoy of Biddestone St. Peters turned a brook into a pond and made a wonderfully fertile “leasowe”’.22 But floating never became general in this district, and by far the greatest field for floating, and this of the flowing meadow type, was in the Chalk country. Indications of the development of South Wiltshire floating are found among the presentments at quarter-sessions. In 1639 the constable of Shalbourne presented Richard Clifford, gentleman of that place, for “ raysing up a new hatch in his meadow whereby the water is bayed back in such wise ’’ that the way to the church is barred. In the same year Richard Constable, a gentleman of Broad Hinton, was presented for turning an ancient water-course to the annoyance of his neighbours. In 1641 the “ Floodyate ”’ lately set up in Tidpit common meadow in Damerham by Henry White, gentleman, and maintained and used by the occupiers of Toyd Farm, was presented as a common hurt and damage to the commoners having the herbage of the meadow, since the overflowing water was said to give the sheep “ coathe”’ or rot.?3 A particular of Mildenhall dating from the middle of the century confirms Aubrey’s statement about floated meadows in that part of the country. In the Upper Farm there were ten acres of “ meadow watred ”’ valued at £25 a year. The Lower Farm had fifteen acres of “watred meadow” and sixteen of dry. Meanwhile in “ The Mannour ” Mr. Richard Constable had a copyhold tenement, valued at £90 per annum, which included eleven acres of dry and eleven of “ watred Meadow.”*4 In Damerham, where Henry White had been active, a particular of 1661, after a summary account of the two demesne farms, refers to “ Battingtons a meadowe taken out of Farmes improued by Water.’’®5 Another particular of about the same date for Downton Newcourt values at £105 per annum “ Of Medowe, drowned by art, 70 acres att 30s. the acre.’’36 Aubrey is not likely to have been mistaken about the meadow at Chalke, since he farmed there himself. From the survey of the manor made in 1631 it can be seen that the meadow was nearly all enclosed and that Alice Watkinson, widow, held by copy dated April 19, 1605, a close of one and a half acres ‘‘ called the wett mead ’’.37 Evidence of | Progress in the 17th century 113 floating is found in the surveys of other of the Earl of Pembroke’s manors. The lease that William Jesse took of the demesne farm of Chilmark in 1619 specified ten acres of meadow called “ water mead.’’8 At Netherhampton a copy in reversion of a tenement taken in 1627 included one acre of meadow called “wette meade.’ Christopher Bell, by copy dated 1609, had a close of one acre called “* water close ”’. Joan Roberts had half an acre with the same name. Anne Smith, by copy dated 1592, held an enclosure of “ wett ground ”’ called “ water close’. By 1632 the marsh of Netherhampton had been divided among the tenants and was largely enclosed. Even if this marsh was not floated already, it is unlikely that many years passed before it was.*° At Donington the meadowland was mostly enclosed and, what is more unusual, largely measured by statute acre. William Baberstoke, who had three copyholds valued at £46 per annum, all the meadow of which was enclosed, held “ one Close of meadowe called water mead containing Three acres’. John Barnes had a one-acre “ Arrable close converted into meadowe”’. It would be easy to believe that Barnes, whose copy was dated 1624, had converted his arable by seeding and floating. But Baberstock was earlier in the field: his copy dated from 1616. Symon Newe, a cottager with two acres of enclosed meadow, occasioned a later seventeenth century marginal addendum in the survey book: “Memorandum: not to grant any new estate in the premisses unlesse they submitte to the flotting of the Demesnes lands (gratis) except the charge of flotting the meadow belonging to the premisses, which is improoved by the drowning (above the damage) 20s. per Annum. For the consent of this Tenant to drowne and Flott the farm meadowes, the Farmer was constreined also to 99 giue 10 Sheeplease in his Flockes”’. Thus the floating, commenced, at least experimentally, from 1616 onwards, was already firmly established by about the middle of the century and shortly after had improved one meadow at least by five shillings per acre per annum.*° Striking confirmation of Aubrey’s account in respect of Wylye is not found in the survey of 1631,42 which only shows that the common marsh had been divided and enclosed, but in the court roll of the manor in 1632, in which one order is for the general floating and watering of the meadows of the township.42 From the terms of this agreement it is plain that the theory and practice of floating were already well understoodin Wiltshire, and one has the impression that the inhabitants 114 The Floating of the Wiltshire Watermeadows of Wylye, or some of them, had seen a floated meadow elsewhere. Nor is it likely that this floating was in any sense imperfect or that the order was not implemented. An order in the manor court of 14 September 1633 is for the scouring of the meadow ditches.“4 Since the floating was under common management it is not surprising that the dates for bringing the water on and off and other necessary opera- tions should have been the subject of orders in the manor courts. In this order the tenants can be seen fulfilling their part of the bargain to do the manual work required for righting up the meadows before the autumn floods. The mutua! cooperation of the tenants for flock and fold was thus extended to the floating of meadows for their provision. In the order for floating an agreement is made between Sir Giles Mompesson and Guy Everley, freeholders, the undertenants of the other freeholders, the customers and others of the one party and John Knight of Stockton of the other party, by which the latter, perhaps a professional floater, undertook to float, manage and maintain the Marsh, Nettlemead and the Moors. The people of Wylye, for their part, undertook to make and maintain all the timber works, flood-hatches and bays, to allow John Knight and his workmen to dig trenches and conduits and make bays, to pay him 14s. for every acre floated and then 2s. per annum per acre for the maintenance and to pay all damages out of the common purse. The fact that some of the meadows were enclosed in no wise deterred the tenantry from establishing common management over them, and without this common management it is doubtful if the works could have been undertaken, since it would have been beyond the means of any individual farmer in the township. It is not impossible that similar floating was undertaken in another of the manors of Lord Pembroke at about this time. On 25 September 1634 there was an order in the court of Stanton St Bernard couched in precisely similar terms to the scouring order at Wylye.44 Certainly township after township floated its meadows in the later seventeenth century, and the task of improvement was still continuing in Wiltshire in the eighteenth. Sometimes, as at Wylye, the tenantry as a2 whole decided on the commencement of floating operations; sometimes the lead might be taken by the demesne farmer; but either way. a great deal of cooperation was necessary or advantageous. An entry, for example, in the court book of Burcombe and Ugford in 1716 reads: “Ttem wee present that whereas Mathew Pitts Esquire intends to sett up a pair of hatches att the End of Holletts Meadow in order for drowning not only Floating or drowning 115 his Three Meadows within this Mannor called by the severall names of Holletts, Longdraughts and After Ham; but alsoe for drowning severall other Meadowes within the said Mannor belonging to Elias Chalke, William Selwood, Thomas London and Elias Downe, Tenants of the said Mannor: It is thereupon ordered and agreed upon by and between us the said Homage That the said Mathew Pitts being att and paying all the Costs Charges and expences in or about setting up the aforesaid Hatches all and every of them They the said Elias Chalke, William Selwood, Thomas London and Elias Downe shall and will permitt and suffer the said Mathew Pitts to bring the said water (soe comeing through the said hatches to be erected as aforesaid) throw any part of their Meadow grounds where workmen shall adjudge it most Convenient for their worke and it is agreed that every one of them . . . shall have priviledge to drowne their Grounds or Meadows with the same water comeing throw the said hatches in due and equall time and proporcion one after another as their lands severally lay A workman or head drowner being Choosen between the said Mr Pitts and all other the Tenants aforesaid to direct and sett out every one of the said parties their respective Stemms of drowning as aforesaid.’ Floating was undertaken somewhat earlier in some parts of the country and much later in other parts, but already in the seventeenth century the farmers of Chalk Wiltshire were overcoming fodder deficiencies, improving the estates of their landlords and ensuring better food to the increasing population of the country. 1 For the extent of water-meadows see T. Davis, General View of the Agriculture of the County of Wiltshire, (London, 1794), frontis. 2 The following summary description of flowing meadows is based on: Row- land Vaughan, Most Approved and Long Experienced Water-Workes, (London, 1610) and the re-edition by E. B. Wood, Rowland Vaughan His Booke, (London, 1897); Davis, op. cit., pp. 30 ff.; T. Wright, The Formation and Management of Floated Meadows, (Northampton, 1808); An Account of the Advantages and Method of Watering Meadows, (Cirencester, 1789), pp. v-vii; W. Smith, Observations on the Utility, Form and Management of Watermeadows, (Norwich, 1806), pp. 19-20, 70 ff,; E. H. Carrier, The Pastoral Heritage of Britain, (London, 1936), pp. 117 ff.; B. W. Adkin, Land Drainage in Britain, (London, 1933), pp. 33 ff.; J. Worlidge, Systema Agricul- turae, (London, 1669,), pp. 17 ff.; J. Browne, A Treatise on the Irrigation or the Water- ing of Land, (London, 1817); G. Boswell, A Treatise on Watering Meadows, (London, 1801), pp. 34 ff,; W. Marshall, The Rural Economy of the Southern Counties, (London, 1778, 2 vols.), II. 331 ff.; W. Blith, The English Improver Improved, (London, 1652), pp. 14 ff. Numerous variants of technical terms are employed by various writers. Marshall justly pours ridicule on Wright who thought he was an expert by virtue of being curate at S. Cerney, where the practice was only rudimentary and imperfect, “‘ such as a ‘ drowner’ of Salisbury or Amesbury would smile at”’, without any perceptible current and hardly more than accidental land-flood.— A Review of the Reports to the Board of Agriculture from the Western Department of England, (York, 1810), pp. 441-2. 116 The Floating of the Wiltshire Watermeadows Davis, op. cit., p. 31. Boswell, op. cit., p. 78 suggests using the seeds of the hay-loft. Wood, op. cit., p. xiii. § Wright, The Formation and Management of Floated Meadows, p. 89. Davis, op. cit., p. 34. Boswell, op. cit., p. 118. Blith, op cit., p: 41. 10 E. Kerridge, Surveys of the Manors of Philip First Earl of Pembroke and Mont- gomery, (Record Branch, Wilts Arch. Soc., Devizes, 1953), Appendix. 11 ‘Wood, op. cit., p. xiii; Vaughan, op. cit., fav.; Blith, op. cit., p. 41; Wright, An Account of the Advantages and Method of Watering Meadows, p. 1. 12 ““ Tf you exclude the chilling blasts of winter, any land that is in tolerable heart will continue to encourage vegetation even in the month of January ”’— Wright, The Formation and Management of Floated Meadows, p. 29. In the 19th century a controversy arose between the advocates of clean and muddy water respectively. But the ‘ clean’ water was never in fact without a solution, as of chalk. See especially Wright, op. cit., pp. 49 ff., who indulges in much useless logic-chopping. 18 “The courteous Avon makes this fatt water both an outguard and a Nilotick Improver to this mannour. For its chalky floods inrich the pastures ’’—from “A Longford MS.’ (of the late 17th cent.), Wilts Arch. Mag., lii, 8. 14 Davis, op. cit., p. 37. 15 Davis, op cit., pp. 35, 38 ff.; Smith, op. cit., p. 70. 16 The writers seem to think improved feeding much more important than culling or selective inbreeding. 17 Davis, op. cit., pp. 30-1; Marshall, Southern Counties, I1, pp. 342-3 makes a similar suggestion. 18 fi.g., at Orcheston, for which see J. E. Jackson, ‘ The Vale of Warminster ’, Wilts Arch. Mag., (1878), xvii, pp. 301-2. Cf. W. Folkingham, Feudigraphia, (London, 1610), p. 27. 19 Fitzherbert, Here beginneth a ryght fruitefull mater: hath to name the boke of Surveyinge and improuementes (London, 1534), f. 43Vv. 20 Marshall, loc. cit. Cf. J. Britton, The Beauties of Wiltshire, (London, 1801-25, 3 vols.), Il, pp. 75 ff. 21 Folkingham, op. cit. p. 33. 22 For Ebbesborne Wake, see J. Aubrey, The Natural History of Wiltshire, (ed. J. Britton, London, 1847), p. 51. 23 J. Norden, The Surveyors Dialogue (London, 1618), pp. 199-200, 205-6. Norden may well have been acquainted with floated meadows and perhaps he is referring to them here, though in an unprecise way. Cf. J. E. T. Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, (Oxford, 1886-1902, 7 vols.), V, 44. 24 Davis, op. cit. p. 30. Perhaps some such imperfect scheme was in use at Amesbury already in the sixteenth century.—Devizes Museum, Liber Supervisus maneriorum de Amisburie Erles et Amesbury Pryorye, f. 18, Priory Farm lease of May 15, 2 Eliz. I, included all the flood-hatches in the Avon but no mill. One of the farm meadows was called ‘ Water meade’. The Avon here is so serpentine that its waters could have flooded the meadows and not much art would have been needed to drain them off. Notes 117 25 Ernle, English Farming Past and Present, (London, 1927), p. 114: ‘‘ The irri- gation of meadows, which M. de Girardin described as a sound insurance against drought, is said to have been first practised in England in modern times by the notorious Horatio Pallavazene of Babraham, who robbed the Pope to lend the Queen.” W. Smith, op. cit. pp. 116-7, says there were ancient water-meadows between Abington and Babraham, imperfectly constructed, established after the Italian method, by the pope’s legate who bought the manors from Queen Mary. 26 Wood, op cit. pp. xiii ff., 126. Cf. Ernle, op. cit. pp. 106-7; G. E. Fussell, Old English Farming Books from Fitzherbert to Tull, (London, 1947), pp. 32-3. In view of the later introduction of floated meadows on the estates of the Earl of Pembroke it may not be without significance that the Vaughans were relatives and henchmen of the Herberts. A member of the family was one of the surveyors of the Earl’s English estates in 1567-8, while in the early seventeenth century a Sir Walter Vaughan was lord of Faulston near Bishopstone and at one time deputy-lieutenant while the Earl was lord-lieutenant. Charles Vaughan was one of the Earl’s servants in 1571. In the dedicatory letter addressed to William, E. of Pembroke, Rowland Vaughan refers to his floating as a “‘ Remedy which cannot well bee done, unlesse your Lordship doe promise to countenance my discovery; if you do Ile make your glory shine... .’’ He suggests the improvement of the Earl’s Monmouth and Glamorgan estates.—Wood, op. cit. pp. vil. ff., 25, 27-8, 33, 52, 63; C. R. Straton, Survey of the Lands of William First Earl of Pembroke, (Roxburghe Club, 1909, 2 vols.), I, p. 1; Abstracts of Wilts Inquisitiones Post Mortem, Car. I (ed. G. S. and E. A. Fry, British Record Society, London, 1901), pp. 196-7, 427 ff.; B.M., Harl MSS., 7186; P.R.O., S.P.D., Charles, vol. 203, no. 106, f. 225; Privy Council Register, vol. 41, pp. 236-7 (ff. 118-9). 27 Davis, op. cit. p. 30. 28 Aubrey, op. cit. p. 104. ae bid. 51. 80 Meadows were later watered in the Thames valley of North Wiltshire also, and about 8S. Cerney (Glos.) in the same country, where conditions were favour- able. At S. Cerney the practice was poor, but elsewhere hereabouts were tolerable imitations of Salisbury and Amesbury water-meadows.—Marshall, Review of Reports, Western Dept. pp. 440-2. ‘The watering of meadows had long been prac- tised, according to Marshall, only on a corner of the south-eastern margin of the Cotswolds.—ibid. p. 403. 31 Wilts Inquisitiones Post Mortem, p. 8. 82 J. Aubrey, Wilishire Topographical Collections (ed. J. E. Jackson, Devizes, 1862), P- 55- 83 Records of the County of Wilts (ed. B. H. Cunnington, Devizes, 1932), pp. 129, 139-40. Constable had the lease of 7 virgates in Hinton Waze in 1636.— Devizes Museum, Deed Room, BH/8. 34 Wilts Record Office, Savernake Coll., box 27, bdle. 248. Possibly the same Constable. See previous note. 35 Wilts Record Office, Accession no. 84, Clayton MSS., no. 6. 86 Wilts Record Office, Accession no. 84, Clayton MSS., No. 8. 37 Wilton MSS., Surveys of Manors, 1631, vol. I, Survey of Chalk, ff. 9 (13) et passim. Since the surveys are compiled from the leases of the tenants, the particu- lars date from the day of the grant, not from that of the Court of Survey. 38 Wilton MSS., Surveys of Manors, 1632-3, Survey of Chilmark and Rudge, ff. (3), 118 The Floating of the Wiltshire Watermeadows 39 Wilton MSS., Surveys of Manors, 1631, vol. II, Survey of Netherhampton, ff. 2 (3), 10 (11)—12 (13) et passim. Many marshes were floated as meadows. 40 Wilton MSS., Surveys of Manors, 1631, vol I, Survey of Dinton and Teffont, ff. 8 (9), 13 (14), 19 (21) et passim. 41 Wilton MSS., Surveys of Manors, 1631, vol II, Survey of Wylye, passim. 42 Wilton MSS., Court Rolls of Various Manors, 1632, (box 25), Court of Wylye, 10 Sept. 1632, m. 4. Transcribed in Kerridge, loc. cit. 43 Wilton MSS., Court Book of Various Parishes, 1633-4, f. 2. 42 Tbid., fai. 45 Wilton MSS., Court Rolls of Manors, 1689-1754, box II, vol 2, Court Book of Burcombe and Ugford, pp. 40-1. 119 THE EAST END OF WANSDYKE By O. G. S. CRAWFORD, C.B.E., LITT.D., F.B.A. Although the eastern end-point of Wansdyke seems to be securely determined, at the foot of the chalk escarpment in Inkpen, Berks, its course between there and New Buildings, west of Savernake Forest, still remains uncertain in many places. Mr. Brentnall proved? that it continued beyond its present end west of New Buildings; and one would have expected to find it in the virgin tracts of Savernake Forest. But with one possible exception, one does not. That exception is in a broad valley between Birch Copse and Belmore Copse in Little Bedwyn parish, one and a half miles due north of Tottenham House. Here Colt Hoare marked on his map a bank which he thought might be a fragment of Wansdyke. Since his time—and even since I first inspected it over thirty years ago—the bank has been much lowered by cultivation. I inspected it again in April, 1953, and have come to the conclusion that, while only excavation can decide, it is unlikely to be part of Wansdyke. The bank is plainly visible as a white soil-mark running south-eastwards from Birch Copse to an east-west fence and erass bank dividing two arable fields. (In the southern field some linear crop-marks are visible, probably old enclosure ditches). The soil mark seems to merge with the field-boundary, taking an easterly course to Belmore Copse, where it appears as a low bank and ditch, far too small for Wansdyke, on the north side of the track along the south side of the copse; then it makes a right-angle turn northwards, such as Wansdyke could never make. It is just possible, of course, that this bank in Belmore Copse is not a continuation of the soil-mark, though it seems to be so. A trench across the soil-mark would soon settle the matter; if it is part of Wansdyke it would have a deep, broad ditch. In my article on “The Anglo-Saxon Bounds of Bedwyn and Burbage ’’? I stated that the bounds coincided “ with a hitherto unrecorded section of Wansdyke, of which a small but perfect fragment is visible in the wood immediately south of a large gravel-pit” at the cottages, about 250 yards south-west of Chisbury Lane Farm. Last April I rediscovered this alleged fragment quite accidentally, having en- tirely forgotten about my earlier claim, whichI fear must be attributed to wishful thinking and rejected. With the benefit of subsequent experience I feel sure that it has nothing to do with Wansdyke, though it is certainly 1 Marlborough College Nat. Hist. Soc. Report, for 1924. ) (EG6T) PrOFMVID “SH 0 ‘Pa ay) ur ABojosvyauyy Wort ‘ay kpsue WN JO UOIIDIG U194sey 3 / Ry, \ PG Bae 2 J AOE ZZ \ (assay 0. 21noy) ro As oe RAD Qe WNsvs A710 Wod SdvOY *.. UOSCT / % ee aE : I asawsoyjng AC KG ar “Aang [RU 3 ws G PN. Be pucg® ~SSOUD gi. SNe a Oe (\\W) efequng : 0 ee cues Wit J4nag|\ s9Aq ++ “ a WLI ee @ EN seta: RE ee wi aw! SAIS ages a oH fF: fF eagbaege \ \\\ 214939 : ee h\\ i evalicn Mi sieasty. Se: i cco ED oh Ny | Sj 4g 3 ! ~~ We Fa Wz VIA NvWow y : Aali. MAOGIOYS | LO4y! oS 1uOy'+ =e If uhkepeg Z 5 ae & UdIOLS 8/0 U4aAGS = | se sf . 2 a No vaa a J Anunou ae 4 yi Nie fc Pe asnoy snoisdsory2 BJHACSNYM 7» S 0 Ly AW fy wkapag VLS TUOT ts \ “ao, Uf SNIW NVvWOU!® IN VMUTAVS etn ll : \ puog woune=2 << Il NS Sam ie * ie hangsiy> \ : “ Il aN \ parussesd jam - 0, uioe 2d /fLYCI-F1H »\ | omen S yuog = i * MV KaHAS 13 UD é a a = 4youig co I} “1, JHAQSNUM a ae oe , _pucdo- | , — sbuipjings nS SNGeTOUL Ts Stee aN yIMIpLEg Wott , uapse “ P RAS) I od (soarjod) Po Iq [24249 BIMOUY 21, II nee ee == QyoOu. chive “S I bs ee —— ee if 3d0R ¢ ee S\N a i\\NYSdon SY <\ LL, < \ Hi ]y, =e = ss N) Ou \} i ZZ SESS wy Sai 2 Z Ye a ‘/7 POOAA SOT SS \" eS a ‘ WT) -*°* sppo4u unwe aad scoua EN Ul \\\" ins : Se \ wis : : QULANAD v Chisbury Wood to Burridge Heath 121 a very ancient earthwork. For one thing it is very short—only thirty yards long—and although the wood south of it seems to be original and virgin there are no signs of a continuation through it. The direc- tion is north and south, and there are no signs of a ditch. There is a slight depression in the middle, and the north end (which is slightly higher) has an old beech-tree growing on it. It has more the appearance of a Long Barrow than anything else, though the absence of any visible side-ditches is rather against this explanation. This might, however, be explained by silting, which in woods is very considerable’. I think the Long Barrow hypothesis is at present the most plausible explanation. The next alleged fragment of Wansdyke is in the north part of Chisbury Wood, west of the hill-fort and south of the lane. When I first saw it the wood was a natural glade, with bracken and an open erowth of oaks. It has now suffered the fate of so many of our finest natural forest tracts and become a “ State Forest ’’ contaminated with conifers. The banks and ditches—for there are more than one—are very hard to see, but one of the banks seems to be big enough for Wansdyke. When, however, there is more than one ditch it is very difficult, in dense woodland, to be sure of anything. There is no trace of any continuation in the arable fields to the east and west; and I fear that this fragment too must be regarded as doubtful. Trenching in the adjacent arable should decide the matter. | It is certain that Wansdyke used the hill-fort of Chisbury, as it did those of Maes Knoll and Stantonbury, as a strong point, for remains of it are still plainly visible beside the lane leading from the hill-fort to the Bedwyn road. It can be seen climbing the hill beyond the Bedwyn river to Jockey Copse and along the south-western margin of the wood to the open fields, now arable, east of the disused brick and tile works. It bends round to the south, and just before it meets the parish boundary it is still unploughed and under grass; it no longer consists of a single bank and ditch but is a broad ditch, twelve feet wide between two banks, with an overall width of nearly seventy feet. This is rather disconcerting, but this bivallate affair can be followed without any break into the undoubted portion near the hill-fort. It seems as if, in the scrubby gravel and clay lands, it took a different shape; at any rate I can see no other explanation, except possibly a medieval adap- tation of the original earthwork to serve some purpose of enclosure. 2 W.A.M. XLI, 1921, 291-2. 3 If there had been a ditch on one side only the angle of the present slope would probably indicate this. VOL. LV—CXCVIX I 122 The East End of Wansdyke Where it meets the parish boundary it turns abruptly westwards and seems to revert to its original form of bank and ditch, the latter being on the south side. (That would be normal, in view of the change in direction). It can be followed, as marked on the map, down through Round Copse to the Bedwyn-Shalbourne road. I do not feel at all satisfied with this portion. There are many old banks and ditches hereabouts, and a far more thorough investigation than I have so far been able to make is required. This would have to be done in early spring, before the vegetation gets too high; and in view of possible attack by the Forestry Commission it should be done as soon as possible. The country between the Bedwyns and Shalbourne is difficult for field-work. It is mostly small fields and woods, and there are large tracts that can be reached only on foot. Even the old tracks marked on the maps of fifty years ago are often overgrown and impassable. But it is a lovely region in spring and well worth exploring. I bicycled across Burridge Heath and explored (on foot) Gully Copse and Baverstock’s Copse near Polesdon’s Farm, but without finding anything. The next certain remains of Wansdyke are at the place where it crosses the Shalbourne stream just below East Court. The bank here is marked on the the right (east) bank of the stream (Wilts 37 N.E.), butn ot west of it. I discovered a small but quite certain fragment in Westcote Copse on the left bank*; it passes beneath an oak pollard (marked on the map) continuing the alignment of the fragment on the right bank, and runs for a few yards north-west through the copse, gradually fading out before it reaches Annett’s Lane at the corner of the copse. The part by the oak pollard consists of a well-marked scarp, with a change of level below it. I searched everywhere on the west side of the lane but could find no trace of a continuation. North of a cottage there is a narrow belt of trees on the west side of the lane, in which at some time not very remote there have been buildings. Flint foundations and fragments of brick are numerous, and there is what looks like a fine hut-circle of flint. The name Blacksmith’s Copse probably provides the explanation and may also account for the disappearance of Wansdyke. It should be possible to find it, however, in the Polesdon enclosures, for this fragment proves that it continued across the Shalbourne stream. Continuing our course eastwards we come to the Shalbourne— Hungerford road. East of this Wansdyke is still visible on the south side of Daniel’s Lane to the Ham road. Then it enters a large arable 4 This section, I find, is marked by Major, Mystery of Wansdyke (1926) 116. Bitham | Lane Wansdyke PLATE 1 Wansdyke in the fields west of Prosperous House. Ph. George Allen (copyright Ashmolean Museum, Oxford) LSA suey f sored sue ayAq PIO OL Daniel's Lane to the Berkshire boundary 123 field belonging to the farm of Prosperous House. I traced it across this field many years ago, before air-photography was called into service, but my six-inch map was lost; the course here was rediscovered independently by Major Allen, whose air-photograph is reproduced here (Plate 1). It is perfectly clear as an S-curve 700 yards in length making for Prosperous House; but as it seems to have formed the northern limit of the medieval fields of Ham, it has the form of a lynchet. There can however be no doubt, I think, that this lynchet represents Wansdyke. The air-photograph shows this lynchet as a marked white band passing to the left (eastwards) into what was then a grass field, where it shows up as a bank (the field is now under plough). Just left of the point where the change occurs a broad curved dark band can be seen running up to a hedge; this was a hollow way whose lower continuation continues as a footpath past a haystack. This was the medieval way from Ham to Bagshot Mill and the farms of Slope End. On the left (east) of this hollow way can be seen the parallel lines of strip-lynchets in one of the medieval fields. The long hedge running from east to west across the upper middle part of the picture is Bitham Lane. Before it reaches Prosperous the lynchet fades out; and although its direction is continued by the county boundary, along which I walked, no trace of any bank can be seen, nor are there any signs of it in the arable fields north of Bitham Lane between Prosperous and Sadler’s Farm. It is possible that prolonged cultivation may have completely obliterated it. Prosperous Farm was the home of Jethro Tull from 1709 to 1741, the champion of horse-hoeing, and one imagines that his agricultural enthusiasm would have paid little regard to an ancient earthwork, even if it had survived the activities of medieval cultivators. The obvious course on the map would follow the 500 foot contour-line to Sadler’s Farm, but there are no signs on the ground along it. The last fragment of Wansdyke (which is in Berks) was discovered by Mr. Harold Peake and is described in my last book®. It is just three- quarters of a mile long, starting from Bitham Lane and running south- wards along the west side of Old Dyke Lane to the north-east corner of Ham parish; then it follows the county boundary for a furlong, thence continuing along a hedge and as a crop-mark, ending just after 5 Archaeology in the Field (1953) 257- Plate I]. The Eastern End of Wansdyke in Inkpen, Berks. Ph. George Allen (copyright, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford). 12 124 The East End of Wansdyke it has crossed a small rivulet, which was quite dry in April, 1953. This portion was discovered and photographed by Major Allen, whose photograph is reproduced here (Plate II). It will be seen that at the southern (right hand) end the crop-mark curves eastwards and ends in a round black mark. That is the last point where it has been identified and it may be the point at which the great earthwork originally ended. Less than half a mile beyond on the south is the steep 350-foot escarp- ment of the chalk downs whose brow, one would have thought, would have been a better terminal point. But there is no trace of a continuation across the intervening ground, and the “ broad shallow depression” which in my book I suggested might be a continuation of it proves on a recent inspection to be a linear earthwork of the bivallate type. It is unfortunate that the Saxon bounds of Ham®, which followed a part of this last fragment, do not name it; but I think that dyrnan geat (the hidden gate) and lin leage geat (the gate of flax lea) may refer to gaps where roads from Inkpen to Ham breached the ramparts. [hoped by field-work to discover whether these discontinuities at the eastend of Wansdyke were real ones and part of the original scheme, or merely due to subsequent obliteration, but I must admit failure. The problem still remains; either air-observation or excavation or both may eventually solve it. One feature seems to favour discontinuity; The two last eastern portions both run across important old thorough- fares, one leading past Shalbourne to Salisbury in the south and Wantage in the north’ and the other being probably a continuation of the great Pewsey herepath. ‘This latter is well evidenced in Saxon boundaries; it may be regarded as starting at the village of Pewsey, to which many roads converged from the west, and continuing by Grafton, Shalbourne and Ham to Inkpen. Beyond Inkpen there is only topographical evidence of the route followed, but at least two routes, possibly contemporary and alternative, can be traced, both leading to Brimpton Common (where there is another defensive linear earthwork, Bury’s Bank, across the ridge) and so on to Silchester. For the existence of two roads from Inkpen to Ham there is not only the presumptive evidence of the two “ gates ”’ in the Ham bounds. In a fourteenth 6 Birch, Cart. Sax. No. 677, A.D. 931; see also Grundy in Arch. Journ. LX XVI, 1919, 224-6. 7 Mr. Harold Peake maintained, probably rightly, that it originally crossed the Kennet at Denford, not Hungerford. 8 In the library of the Duke of Portland, numbered Welbeck 1, A, 2; the roads are mentioned on f. rroV. Was Wansdyke a continuous work ? 125 century survey of the roads of Inkpen the Titchfield cartulary mentions “le zassock que ducit de inkepenne versus hamme’”’ and “ Stonystret que ducit”’ etc. as before, both being described as “via regia et communis universis hominibus.”’ There is no evidence of the exact course of these two roads; one of them must surely have been the present road. The term “ Stonystret’’ usually denotes a metalled Roman road, and its use here may indicate a road which was in use in Roman times, though not one of the aligned military roads. There seems evidence at any rate for an important thoroughfare along the foot of the escarpment, along which invaders from the east might advance, and if the purpose of Wansdyke was to restrain such it would be necessary to cover that route. On the other side, in favour of a continuous Wansdyke, one might cite the fragment on the left bank of the Shalbourne stream. If road- blocking was the aim, and the road here blocked was the one leading to Salisbury, what better flank could there be than the Shalbourne valley and stream? Why continue beyond it? It is in keeping that this inconclusive note should end with a query. 126 WANSDYKE WEST AND SOUTH By Lieut.-Colonel Atrrep H. Burnez, D.s.0. The sector of Wansdyke between Morgans Hill and Savernake Forest must be known to most readers of W.A.M. Not so the Somerset sector. Few folks visit it—even Somertonians—for its course is difficult to trace. The problem involved is the precise opposite to that en- countered in the Wilts sector. There the fact of the dyke is self-evident but its raison d’étre has to be deduced by the brain. In the Somerset sector (assuming that we have discovered the raison d’étre from the Wilts sector) the nature of the dyke is known, but its course has largely to be inferred. assume that the Wiltshire reader will agree that the dyke is a military work, facing north; I also assume that the Somerset sector as marked in “The Mystery of Wansdyke” by Albany F. Major and Edward J. Burrow, is part of the same work. Possessed of this knowledge and armed with their book!, I traced the dyke from Dundry, south of Bristol, for over five miles in an easterly direction. I was enabled to trace its course over most of the route in the light of what the Wilts sector had told us of its nature and purpose. What are its salient features? I think they are four in number:— 1. Wansdyke seeks out an east-west ridge. 2. It travels as near the crest of this ridge as possible. 3. It keeps to the northern slope of the ridge. 4. Itselects a line that gives a maximum field of view and a minimum of dead ground. The military reasons for these features should be obvious and in any case need not concern us here. In conformity with the above features, or desiderata, the dyke bends and winds along the northern slope of a long ridge, just below the crest. Seldom is it very visible, and in places it disappears entirely. In such places one pushes boldly forward in the supposed footsteps of the _ original surveyor, and a field or two later one picks it up again. In 1 The book has been criticised in weighty circles, and some of its conclusions are open to doubt, as I shall show later, but I pay tribute to the thoroughness and care with which the work is produced: it is safe to say that without its aid I should not have attempted to explore the Somerset sector, nor indeed any portion treated of in this paper. The exploratory field work was Major’s: Burrow’s part was the lavish illustration and the final editing. The supposed south-eastern branch 127 one place it follows the course of a curving wire fence, which all unconsciously preserves a line over a thousand years old. Approaching Bath, quarries and buildings make its course almost impossible to follow with any certainty, but one has seen enough to be impressed with the grandeur of the design of what I have called “a gash seventy miles long across the face of southern England.” Though no doubt portions of previous works have been utilized, the dyke as a whole is the creation of one master mind, forming, as it does, a comprehensive defensive line against some northern foe. I believe that foe to be Mercia}. Let us now pass on to the eastern sector of the dyke in Wilts and Berks. Whether it existed as a defensive work through Savernake Forest is not proven. Possibly it conformed to the same type as Offa’s Dyke through the Herefordshire forest, and consisted merely of a stockade in a clearing through the forest. However that may be, on emerging on the eastern side it continues in an easterly direction to Chisbury Camp, to which it hitches itself. Thence it runs SSE., crosses the railway and canal just east of Great Bedwyn and ascends the bank to the south. It enters Jockey Copse and runs through it in a well-defined state. Emerging on the southern edge it starts bending slightly to the south, but after 150 yards across the arable it apparently turns practically a right angle to the east, in a most un-Wansdyke-like manner, and ends at Inkpen Beacon, according to Major. This sharp turn worried me, especially as an unmistakable dyke continued in the original line to the south. It certainly looked as if this southern extension was the original line and the Inkpen Beacon branch a later work. If this were indeed so, a surveyor planning a dyke from Inkpen Beacon to join up with the original line would very naturally select this spot for the junction. I will revert to this point later. From here to the south the dyke is called by Major “ the supposed south-eastern branch,” and he traces it to a supposed end at Ludgershall Castle, a Norman castle on an earlier site just north of Ludgershall. Let us follow it up. It soon plunges into Round Copse and leaves it along a well-defined dyke at the S.W, corner. Major makes it then bend sharply to the south, but I prefer a course with a gentler bend, 1 See the author’s article on The Age and Purpose of Wansdyke, English Review, 1950, discussed in W.A.M. June, 1950, vol. liu, 382—Editor. 128 Wansdyke West and South crossing the valley up the slope to Bedwyn Brail.1 The ground is arable and perfectly smooth, but I was fortunate in visiting it before the crops were well up, and a white deposit of chalk clearly marked its course almost into the Brail. The dyke now runs approximately along the eastern edge of the long wood for 1,200 yards, and then on reaching the Shalbourne road makes (according to Major) another of its incomprehensible right-angled turns to the east. This takes it straight up on to Wilton Down. Admittedly it was necessary to bend to the left if the Down was to be crossed, but there seemed no need for this right-angled re-entrant. I wondered whether the explanation could be the same as I had toyed with in the case of the Round Copse right angle, and that it marked a junction, the left arm being a later addition to the original, which presumably continued straight on. Major does not mark any possible earthwork on this line, and I did not pursue the investigation on my first visit. But I returned to the spot a few days later, and this is what I found. The dyke at this point is running along the road to Wilton. Thinking that perhaps the road onwards preserved the course of the dyke I walked along it. For 400 yards the road bent very slightly to the west, following the contour of the ground, a very usual course for Wansdyke to take. Then a modern straight road branched off to the south, and at this point the northern bank was noticeably high. If the road I was travelling marked the line of the ditch this bank would be the vallum. I attach no weight to this as—where roads are concerned —it is dangerous to draw positive conclusions. So it may merely bea coincidence. The present road here continues to bend, which takes it, soo yards further on, just to the north or rear side of the hill at point 557 where there is the disused Wilton windmill. If the dyke continued on the line of the above-mentioned high bank it would 1 ‘Two Saxon charters mention a dyke in the neighbourhood of the present Round Copse. The Little Bedwyn boundary of 778 A.D. ran along quoddam vallum, which it struck just north of what is now the Copse. Nearly 200 years later. the Great Bedwyn bounds passed a dyces geat somewhere hereabouts. These charters present many difficulties, but both references were claimed for Wansdyke by Crawford in 1920 (W.A.M. xli, 293, 284) and by Grundy (Arch. Journ. LX XVI, 151; LXXVII, 76), though Grundy put the gap in the dyke north of Round Copse and Crawford where Wansdyke ‘“‘ emerges south-westwards”’ from the Copse. In neither charter has the dyke a name. ‘That is not surprising in the 8th century case, for Wansdyke was apparently unknown to the early surveyors, but by the roth century it was recognized in the land-charters, if in no other pre-Conquest document.—Editor. Great Botley copse 129 have passed to the south of the summit of this hill; but it is arable and there are now no signs of a dyke. The hill on which the windmill stands is a puny affair when ap- proached as we have approached it from the NE. But from the south- east—the enemy side—it is a conspicuous hill, and from the summit a splendid field of view extends right round the flank, if the hill may be considered the end of the dyke. I do suggest that this hill would make a suitable and likely end for the Dyke unless it was decided to continue it considerably further. I will discuss this point later on. Meanwhile let us retrace our steps to the right-angled turn and follow up Major’s line. Crossing over Wilton Down it bends slightly to the south, following, or being followed by, a thin fence, reminiscent of the fence following the bend of the dyke between Jockey and Round Copses, and of that curling wire fence in Somerset mentioned above. Leaving the crossroads Piccadilly (what a name!) 100 yards on its east it follows the road, heading straight for Great Botley Copse. All this way it conforms to the four criteria for Wansdyke. A deep valley now comes in on the left hand. Near the head of this ravine-like valley it throws out a tiny salient just to the left of the road in order to cover what would otherwise be dead ground. Here it is very discernible and quite un- mistakable. Thence the dyke follows the slight bank or bluff on the right of the road and so enters Great Botley Copse. Major’s line runs through the middle of the wood, but, though there are a number of ditches therein, none seemed to me to conform to the Wansdyke character. Eventually, groping about in the undergrowth on the flat summit of the hill, still in the copse but near its south border, I stumbled on what looked like the end of a genuine vallum-cum- ditch. I followed it back till it reached the eastern edge of the copse. Here it bent to the north and followed exactly the winding line of copse all the way back to its north edge. Clearly the curious curving edge of the copse had been laid along the older earthwork, which took a natural line for a military work (but not for a copse edge) in order to obtain the best possible field of view. If Great Botley Copse marked the end of this branch of Wansdyke one would expect it to bend back, as it does, making a refused flank, though the bend seems over-sharp. Perhaps the existing dyke repre- sents a second or switch line and the front line extended further south on to the forward slope of the hill but had since been lost in the arable. On the west edge of the copse there is an earthwork facing west. 130 Figure 1. The Roman road and the ditches Td combe : ? Qe a rk co as : to Collingvouyney .. Ww : Ge SCOTS POOR VA ae } 5 i ; fi , AN ry a vi a { ‘ C res eT CH Min EG SCALE i ° 4 »% ’ The road to Scots Poor 131 This would hardly do for Wansdyke, but its proximity to a long barrow probably indicates that it is prehistoric. The prehistoric track about to be mentioned that skirts the western side of the copse passes through this earthwork. Botley Copse Hill is over 700 feet high and commands an even better view than Wilton windmill, forming an attractive feature on which to anchor the end of the Dyke. Continuing along Major’s line, the course descends the hill through arable fields, heading straight for the Tidcombe cross-roads, where the Roman road and the Oxenwood road join the above-mentioned prehistoric track. Unfortunately this route runs along the reverse side of the crest, and it is barely conceivable that the Wansdyke surveyor could have aligned it thus. The obvious course for it to take would be about 100 yards further to the east, but all along these 600 yards there is not a trace of it. Continuing up the hill to cross the 850 feet high Tidcombe Down ridge, Major shows the Dyke running along the Roman road. This would be an admirable line for a dyke facing west, but for Wansdyke, facing east, it should run well to the east of the road, particularly when it nears the top of the ridge. As a matter of fact I think there can be no doubt that the line was not intended as a defensive line facing either way, for the road here conforms to the line of our pre- historic track. Thus only can we explain the sudden angle in this Roman road. Hitherto it has been running in its usual straight line from the north-west. In order to cross the ridge near Tidcombe Long Barrow it could have curved gradually round, but instead it is the prehistoric track that adheres to a continuous line, like the main line of a railway, while the Roman road is a branch line joining it near the crossroads (see Figure 1). There is thus no evidence that any dyke whatever ran along the Roman road, and when the road descends to the south side of the ridge the road line becomes quite impossible. But as the road crosses the west end of Hippenscombe Bottom valley and begins to ascend to Scots Poor, Major marks the Dyke along a bank clear to the west of the road. Here, it is true, it faces in the required direction, but I doubt if it is a dyke for two reasons. First, spoil has been thrown up from the ditch on both sides, making it appear more like a roadway than a dyke and ditch. Second, this supposed dyke rejoins the road at Scots Poor crossroads in exact prolongation of the continuation of the Roman road, whereas the Roman road has now to make a sudden turn at Scots Poor—again an 132 Wansdyke West and South unnatural feature, unless the road was here returning to the trackway. Thus I deduce that Major’s line is not the line of the Dyke but of the prehistoric track which the Roman road has deserted for the last half mile. At the Scots Poor crossroads Major’s Dyke makes another sudden bend, this time one of 120 degrees westwards, and runs along the road to Gammans Farm and Collingbourne Woods. This road runs approximately along the top of a flattish ridge, but for the most part slightly on the NW. side of the crest, whereas Wansdyke should run along the SE. side. Moreover the vallum, here quite conspicuous, is on the SE. side of the ditch. Both these features prove that the ditch here faces NW., not SE., so it cannot be Wansdyke. Such as it is, this dyke enters Collingbourne Woods and disappears from view. Major hereabouts becomes increasingly cautious and vague. He tentatively suggests that the Dyke follows a track through the middle of the wood emerging just two miles further on on the southern edge at Blackmore Down. I can detect no dyke at this point, still less along the footpath thence towards Ludgershall Castle, which, according to Major, “ may have marked the course of the dyke,” to its supposed end at the Castle. A more unlikely place on which to end the mighty Wansdyke than this puny hillock nestling under the shadow of Windmill Hill, which towers above it only 1,200 yards to the west, can scarcely be conceived. Major, it is true, points vaguely to the possibility that it “ may have turned west towards the ditches on Windmill Hill... which seem to point towards Sidbury Camp.” On this dubious note Major’s account disappointingly ends. It is time to sum up and draw what conclusions are possible. From the description I have given of Major's line from Great Botley Copse (which was originally suggested by Sir Richard Colt Hoare) it will be seen that I cannot descry a single yard of Wansdyke. For exactly two miles, from Great Botley Copse to Scots Poor, I can see no trace of any dyke, and from Scots Poor to the supposed end what dyke is visible incontestably faces west, not east, so it cannot be Wansdyke. I am drawn thus to the conclusion that Major’s south-eastern branch of Wansdyke is anchored on Great Botley Copse, where it ends. But that is not all. We return to the puzzle of the two right-angle turns. Now if my small-scale sketch-map is examined it will appear that there is a certain similarity in the lay-out of the dyke at these two turns. From its general course the dyke seems to have been originally designed, and at least partially constructed, along the line to the Successive alterations 133 THE EASTERN ENDS OF WANSDYKE to SAVERNAKE _, CHISBORY FOREST Se CAPA P eo € wma qa 22 OFF a NS | Ce atl hd © Corse LN Cc b, a j 4 WILTON JA ee) 2) Oe nea ANKPEN 7 WINDMILL, IGERCON, .B Gl Boney 1B copse ft: o ' By rn x SCALE GF MILES FR Figure 2 windmill, marked AAA. Here I dabble in a little imagination—or pure conjecture, if you will. I picture that Surveyor A marked out and started to construct the line AAA. Meeting with an accident in the course of the work, or encountering the displeasure of his overlord, Surveyor A was replaced by Surveyor B. Now “ B,” as often happens, did not see eye to eye with his predecessor “ A’’; and he took the first opportunity of putting his own ideas into practice. He preferred Botley Copse Hill for his anchor, and proceeded to construct his dyke back from that spot to join up with the “A” line at the foot of Wilton Down, the line BBB. In the course of time Surveyor “ B”’ also passed out of history and was succeeded by Inspector “C.” It may be that by this time the political situation was not so threatening or time urgent, and it became practicable to construct a third branch further forward, anchoring it on the still loftier eminence of Inkpen Beacon. Drawing his line back from this place, Surveyor “ C” constructed Line CCC as shown on my small-scale sketch-map. (Fig. 2). If the above reconstruction be not deemed too fanciful, it would seem that Wansdyke has three “ ends ”’ two of which can be pinpointed within close limits, though the third is more conjectural. In that case, 134 Wansdyke West and South what are we to make of Major’s line, or at least the visible dyke from Scots Poor to Gammans Farm: Of course it may be prehistoric, in which case all speculation is a waste of time. If, on the other hand, it was constructed in historical times its raison d’étre will depend on the date of that construction. But first, can we trace this line further north than Scots Poor? I think that may be possible. In the first place the dyke seems to continue a short way in a NE. direction from Scots Poor in prolongation of the visible dyke, descending into the Hippenscombe valley (an additional reason against Major's line which tuens north at this point). On much the same line 1,200 yards further NE., on Maccombe Down, a ditch facing NW. runs for some way along the escarpment. It may once have extended still further. The whole area where the three counties of Hants, Wilts and Berks meet is covered with earthworks, and much warfare and many a long forgotten fight probably took place in those far-off days. I suppose we shall never know. 135 THE MERE, ROUNDWAY, AND WINTERSLOW BEAKER CULTURE KNIVES By Humpurey CASE Re-examination of the three “ daggers’! found in Wiltshire in graves with B Beakers has shown them to be of greater interest than even their important Late Neolithic associations presupposed.2 (The Mere and Roundway finds are in the Devizes Museum, and those from Winterslow are in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford). Figs. 1-43 show, omitting details of patina, two hitherto unrecog- nized features: (1) Small flanges on the tangs plainly produced by hammering and lacking any careful finish. (2) Shallow well-finished grooves running parallel with and adjacent to the cutting edges on both faces (best preserved on the Winterslow knife). The discovery of grooves suggests that the smiths who made these knives were more skilled than has been imagined, and raises three important questions: What was the purpose of the grooves, how do they compare with those on other grooved weapons, and how were they made: As they stand, they seem pointless; but if the knives are considered as semi-finished goods, then they had a practical purpose—for by whetting down their outer ridges, razor-sharp hollow-ground edges could have been made. It is quite likely that this was their purpose. For the manufacturer, this semi-finishing would have been of ad- vantage; the goods could have been sent out with fairly blunt and not easily nicked edges, for the customer to sharpen to his taste. (Despatch of semi-finished axes was a feature of the flint mines, and modern semi-finished tools are, for example, screwdrivers sold with blunt heads for the user to grind to the pitch-and fineness he needs). Making comparison with other weapons, the grooves are in every way similar to those around the edges of a Type 5 halberd from Ireland’. Those on the true daggers of the Wessex Culture are, by contrast, decorative and may be multiple, relatively narrower, or placed further from the cutting edge®; while the rivetted knife found with A Beaker Culture associations in the grave at Fovant, Wiltshire, has a simple bevelled edge lacking grooves®. The second tanged knife in the Winterslow finds’ has a fine hollow-ground edge, and a similar edge of blunter angle is on a grooved ogival Wessex Culture dagger from Ashbury, Berks’. The edges of both these would best have been made with grooves in the way described in the last paragraph; other 136 The Mere, Roundway, and Winterslow Beaker Culture Knives I Z 3 Y | Fig. 1. Roundway. 2. Mere. 3. Winterslow. Scales: 4. 4. Sections of Winterslow knife. Scales : horizontal x 11 ; vertical x 25. Wessex Culture daggers (e.g., Barrow 15, Winterborne Stoke®, and Lake, Barrow 8, Wiltshire!) were sharpened by simply whetting down the edge as cast. How were the grooves made ? 137 In default of microphotographed sections, the question remains as to how these grooves were made. There are two possibilities—either they were engraved and finished by polishing, or they were made in the process of casting in a closed mould. As all three are probably of copper! either possibility can be considered, but that of casting is less likely?. No closed moulds or valves are known from Britain for such thin daggers or knives!*; but, theoretically, the required accuracy was not beyond smiths of the subsequent Early Bronze Age. On the single valve for a mould for an ogival dagger of Wessex Culture type found at Broughshane, Co. Antrim!*, the midrib recess has a maximum fluctuation from an even curve of only .003 ins. either way, and the recess for the left hand outer rib! only .003 ins. one way from a plane surface. However, the mould from Ireland for a flat axe and a tanged knife probably of the Mere, Roundway and Winterslow type!® is an open mould for casting a plain blank!’?, which would have needed finishing by forging, engraving and polishing. It seems most likely that this open mould process was used to make these Wiltshire knives!® —which in any case show evidence of hand finishing on the tangs. Iam grateful to Mr. A. H. Gearing of the Engineering Laboratory, Oxford University, for taking micrometer measurements, and to Mr. H. H. Coghlan, A.M.I.Mech.E., F.S.A., for advice. 1 Functionally they seem better adapted for cutting than stabbing, and thus are knives rather than daggers. 2, Mere: Hoare, Ancient Wilts, (1812), 1,44 ; Catalogue... of the Museum... at Devizes, Pt. I, (1896), No. 81, with references. Roundway: WAM, III, 185-6; Catalogue . . . Devizes, Pt. II, (1911), No. X50a, with references. Winterslow: WAM, XLVIII, 178, and references. 3 The face shown of the Roundway knife is the one labelled in the museum case, and that of the Mere knife is the one marked with sealing wax. Both faces are shown of the Winterslow knife. Fig. 4 shows sections of the Winterslow knife measured with a micrometer across a—b and c-d; the horizontal scale is one-and-a- quarter times true size, and the vertical scale is twenty-five times true size. 4 Arch., LXXXVI, 264, No. 69, fig. 47 and 308. Ashmolean Museum, 1927. 2830. ‘This is the same type of halberd as that in the Birr hoard. _—‘[bid., 197, fig. 1. 5 Compare the Breton type (e.g., Bush Barrow. PPS, IV, 63, fig. 3, 1) and the ogival type (e.g., Camerton. Ibid., 76, fig. 14, 4). § Ancient Wilts, 1,239; Catalogue... Devizes, Pt. 1, No. 184, with references. ? Of uncertain stratification. WAM, XLVIII, 179. 8 Ashmolean Museum, N.C. 422. ® Ancient Wilts, I, 122; Catalogue ... Devizes, Pt. I, No. 21 with references. 10 Ancient Wilts, I, 210-1; Catalogue... Devizes, Pt. I, No. 179 with references. 11 Mere and Roundway: Catalogue... Devizes, Pt. II, 18; WAM, XX XVII, 98. VOL. LV—CXCVIX K 138 The Mere, Roundway, and Winterslow Beaker Culture Knives 12 Since the edges, with the constriction at the grooves, would make a gas trap. (Information from Mr. H. H. Coghlan). 18 The greatest thickness of the Winterslow blade is around .068 ins. Between the grooves the thickness varies around and within .025-.030 ins., and is as little as .019 ins. in one place. 14 Evans, Ancient Bronze Implements (1881), 433, fig. 519. Ashmolean Museum, 1927. 2898. ‘There is no reason not to accept this as a genuine antiquity, although the mould for a trunnion celt and other marks cut on the reverse seem spurious. A casting made of the dagger is unlikely to have been less than .050 ins. at its thinnest point. 15 As illustrated, loc. cit. 16 PPS, IV, Pl. LIII, c. National Museum, Edinburgh, CN 1. The tang appears to have an anomalous swelling at the tip. 17 The blade must have been around .150 ins. at its thickest point. 18 And indeed some of the Late Bronze Age tanged razors. PPS, XII, Pl. VIII, fig. 10. However, the blank for the Type 5 halberd mentioned above, with its massive midrib on both faces, was made in a closed mould. 139 LONG’S STORES, DEVIZES By W. E. Brown Familiar to all Devizes residents and those who pass through the town by way of New Park Street, the tall many-windowed building forming part of Messrs. Anstie’s Tobacco Factory has recently afforded opportunity for inspecting at close quarters many of its more inaccessible features. Originally built by John Anstie as a silk factory, it remains one of the few relics of the clothing industry, that phase of local history whose roots lie buried in the early fourteenth century, when Devizes manu- facturers were exporting their cloth of Ghent to the merchants of St. Omer. In the year 1779 John Anstie was in partnership with his brother Benjamin Webb as clothiers and snuff manufacturers; but possibly finding the clothing side of the business of more appeal, he decided in 1783 to branch out on his own. Pending the completion of his new factory, it is more than likely that use was made of the water-mills at Rowde and Seend Head. The site of the New Park Street premises, according to indentures and conveyances kindly placed at our disposal by the Town Clerk, was formerly occupied by a Malt House and an Inn known as “‘ The Feathers.’’ This is interesting as no house of that name figures in the list drawn up by the late Edward Kite for 1766. Immediately opposite, however, and on the corner of Couch Lane now the premises of Messrs. Morgan & Son, monumental masons, there stood an inn with a very similar name—'‘“The Plume of Feathers ”—afterwards renamed “ The White Horse,” and when in 1780 John Anstie bought the pro- petty now known as “ Haselands,’”’ the large house two doors away —where he lived for some years—the Inn premises may have been included. When he died in 1830 the house came into the possession of the Haseland family, whence its present name. The question of Devizes inns, however, has always proved somewhat involved, and it has been said that every building in the Market Place has at one time or other been registered as an Inn. 1 Although very much altered and modernised, this house dates from about 1595 and during its early days was occupied by members of the Nicholas family, a name well known in the county for centuries. In 1460 one John Nicholas is said to have been ‘slain without the gatehouse of Roundway ’—the ancestral home—a moated manor believed to have stood below Roundway Hill in what is now known as ‘ Autumn Crocus’ field. K2 140 Long's Stores, Devizes John Anstie’s factory was completed about 1784 or 1785, and our illustration shows one of several rain-water heads recently removed from the building for repair. Of thick lead and measuring twenty inches in height, ten inches in depth and twenty and a half inches at its widest point, this particular one, needless to say, is of considerable weight. The initials J.A.M. appear above the date 1785, both in relief. These initials are intriguing. Are they to be read J.A.M. or A.J.M.? If the J.A. stands for John Anstie, what does the letter M mean? Although a silk merchant or mercer, it seems improbable that the John Anstie’s silk factory 141 letter M would be added to denote his calling. The ornamentation, also in relief, include a combination of cross, orb and acorn, which may or may not have some significance. There is no reason to suppose these rain-water heads were designed for any other building, and the initials are hardly likely to be those of the lead-founder. Possibly a reader may be able to suggest an explanation. The following extract from The Wiltshire Gazette of June, 1907, when the property was put up for sale, refers to the ground on which the factory stands:— F Lomg’s Stores’ “(as it was described) “7... . 2. in New Park Street is split up peculiarly. Although one building, it has hitherto belonged to three owners, the representatives of the late Mr. Stiles owning the eastern end, the Devizes Corporation the centre and the Devizes Municipal Charity Trustees the western end. The representatives of the late Mr. Stiles held unexpired leases which have three years to run under the Corporation and Municipal Charity Trustees and were now settling their entire rights in this property....” “Mr. W. R. Sudwecks,” it adds, ““ who it is understood was acting for the Corporation, became the purchaser at £240.” Through the years some changes have naturally been made to the structure; but the original plan was that of a simple four-storeyed rectangular building with basement. Provision was made for as much daylight as permissible with safety, as witness the large number of windows—more than a hundred—some of which were later bricked- up,no doubt to avoid payment of window-tax, which must have been considerable. It is difficult to say whether the bricks are of local origin, many brickyards in the vicinity of Devizes having long since been closed or worked out; but apart from the stone-faced base, most of the bricks are of the usual sand-faced, hand-made type of the period and more than likely came from the Chippenham area. Those used for the back of the premises, being similar to many in the town, are probably local. One is surprised at the thickness and formation of the basement walls, which below ground-level are reinforced with arched buttresses, not discernible from the street, giving the appearance of a colonnade if viewed from any corner. There were at least two wells of considerable depth, now filled in, and last year during alterations a large pit, some seven feet square and about twelve feet deep, cut in the green-sand, was uncovered. Its purpose is not known. That it had never held water was plain from the fact that the marks made by the spades of the original excavators were quite clean and sharp. 142 Long’s Stores, Devizes Many of the beams are of oak some fourteen inches square, and even in the basement the ceiling was carefully lathed and plastered, weaving or some other work having no doubt been carried on here as elsewhere. One striking feature noticeable in the upper floors concerns the elm joists, the ends of which are carried over to the centre of the window lintels. Such unusual building practice, however, does not appear to have influenced the stability of the structure, although some slight sagging of the floors as a result was inevitable. The flooring is of elm almost throughout. An additional wing was added to the rear of the premises at some time or other, and in places the bricks have not even been keyed to the original wall!. Part of this wing was used as a private dwelling house. The early days of John Anstie’s activities as a silk merchant were undoubtedly prosperous ones, and a considerable trade was done in brocades, in great demand by the well-to-do of those days for fancy waistcoats. George Sloper, an influential Devizes Baker whose diary, now in the Museum, provides fascinating information on local and national affairs, noted that “ Mr. Anstie keeps 300 looms a work, as he tolde me himself.” The clothing trade generally, however, was soon to receive a set-back throughout the country, partly as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, and John Anstie lost the whole of his stock of silk in France valued at £100,000. Such misfortune brought about his bankruptcy in 1799, following which he does not appear to have entered business again. His brother carried on the factory for the manufacture of cloth and, according to his account books, was carrying woollen stocks to the value of £10,000 in 1808. A large part of this was probably produced at Poulshot Mill, which he had acquired in 1794 for over £1,400. Poulshot Mill, it will be recalled, unfortunately fell into such a dangerous condition a few years ago that it was pulled down. Many changes were to occur from 1808 onwards. In 1810 the factory was being used as a barracks by the 2nd Wilts Militia, and, although newspaper accounts of the time differ slightly in their reports, it was 1 The services of a qualified architect were rarely called upon for small indust- rial undertakings, and it was a common practice of the times for local labour to carry out the work under the direction of the owner-builder. The adjoining Tobacco Factory, extending almost the length of New Street, was completely re-built in 1831 by Paul and Benjamin Anstie, who were their own architects and themselves specified the size of every piece of stone and length of timber. Later uses 143 generally agreed that unnecessary discipline caused the mutiny which broke out there on June 7th of that year. The Guard Room was broken into and a sergeant confined there allowed to escape. The resulting riot spread throughout the town and forced the mayor to call in the help of the Yeoman Cavalry. Under Colonel Lord Bruce order was eventually restored and those responsible for the uprising subjected to a flogging, the punishment being carried out on the Green. The Military had apparently moved elsewhere by 1818, for in that year a Mr. Knight used the building, or part of it, temporarily as an Auction Room. A sale of considerable importance took place there in February of that year and merited a 38-page catalogue priced at one shilling and sixpence. The effects were those of Mr. John Collins, deceased, of Devizes, and apart from household furniture, plate, china, glass and numerous objets d’art there were fifteen thousand “ scarce and valuable prints.’’ The sale lasted for nine days. Such an event would invoke no little interest to-day. Among the many documents in the possession of the Corporation relating to the premises is an indenture, part of which is quoted as follows :— “The Mayor and Burgesses to Mr. B. W. Anstie, Counterpart. Lease for 94 years of part of the buildings called Anstie’s workshops. This indenture made the 8th April in the 57th year of our Sovereign George 3rd between the Mayor and Burgesses of the Borough of Devizes... .. and B. W. Anstie, snuff manufacturer... .. in consideration of a surrender by B. W. Anstie of a former lease of the building land and appurtenances hereinafter described and intended to be hereby demised bearing the date Jan. 2nd, 1776, and granted by the then Mayor and Burgesses of thesaid Borough, to John Anstie the younger, then of the said Borough, Clothier, for 96 years, of which 56 years are un- Expired: ..).- « Rete. It is possible this same land was earlier leased from the Corporation by Richard Anstie, grandfather to John and Benjamin Webb, as far back as 1698 and included with the property he acquired in Market Place at the further end of New Street. That lease unfortunately is not at present available. Another interesting document amongst the Archaeological Society’s records is worth quoting in part:— “ Articles of Agreement made the 31st December, 1823, between Robert Waylen the younger of Devizes, silk throwster and Peter Walker of Snakesmead Mill in the parish of Bishops Cannings, also silk throwster.... . contract and agree to become co-partners in the trade of silk throwing for 7 years from 144 Long's Stores, Devizes 1st day of January 1824 under the firm of Waylen & Walker..... that they, the said partners shall and will respectively complete the fitting up of their several Mills with all the necessary gearing machinery and appurtenances whatsoever, in a good workmanlike and substantial manner, the Mill which he the said Peter Walker is to fit up being the one situate in Back Street in Devizes aforesaid, the property of Mr. Benjamin Webb Anstie..... “Throwing” was an important process, the term being derived from the old Anglo-Saxon word “ thraw ” meaning “ to spin or whirl” and was—and still is—applied to the means whereby the fine raw silk threads are twisted and doubled into stouter and more serviceable yarn of various thicknesses. New Park Street, or that part of it at the top of New Street, was often referred to as “ Back Street,” being as it is at the back of the Market Place. In Hunt's Directory for 1848 mention is made of a Frederick Walker, silk throwster of Belvedere Mill, who was more than likely Peter Walker’s son. Belvedere Mill was in the meadow at the bottom of Dyehouse Lane between Rotherstone and the Cemetery, and the stream used to turn the mill wheel still flows through a culvert beneath the field. Whether throwing and dyeing were carried on at the same time is uncertain: but the last cloth produced in Devizes was certainly taken there to be dyed. Some light is thrown on subsequent occupiers of the New Park Street premises from an old fire insurance policy of about 1825 when the building was insured for £800. A memorandum to this policy states: “ The premises insured in this policy are now occupied by John Bethune Bailey” (writing indistinct) “and Alfred Waylen, silk merchant, and Joseph King, coach maker, under tenure to Peter Walker.” A second endorsement added in 1839 names the occupiers as Messrs. Leach & Box, corn merchants, with Mr. Gane, timber merchant, as resident. Yet a third endorsement appears in April 1845 as follows: “ The interest in this Policy is now become the property of Richard Biggs as Executor to the late B. W. Anstie, the within mentioned building is now partly occupied by Richard Box, Corn Factor, as a store and partly by Mr. Gane, Timber Dealer, as a dwelling house private. There are two stoves therein used for warmth only, standing on metal or stone with not exceeding one foot of pipe to each, terminating in a chimney.” In 1867 it was again in use as a corn store by Messrs. William and John Long, since which time the premises have always been referred to as “ Long’s Stores,” this name appearing on subsequent leases. Faintly to be seen painted on the wall at the New Street end is the The Ansties return 145 name of yet another merchant—J. Parr, dealer in corn, hay, chaff and straw. Certain structural alterations to the front of the premises are discer- nible, carried out presumably to facilitate the loading and unloading of grain, and it is to this period that the large doors and steel hoist on the first floor may be assigned. These modifications, together with the substitution of windows for the main and subsidiary entrances, have not enhanced the facade, which, for a building of this type, was not originally unpleasing. For some years prior to the first world war the premises were being utilised extensively for the display of antique and modern furniture by Messrs. Bennetts, who are still in business at St. John Street, but early in 1917 the Ansties were again in possession. During the last war, however, when so many bonded warehouses in Bristol and London were destroyed by enemy action, the Customs and Excise authorities made use of asection of the first floor as a bonded store, the Women’s Land Army occupying the top floor. Variously adapted to meet changing conditions, the one-time silk and cloth factory now houses Messrs. Anstie’s cigarette-making department. Leland, the sixteenth century antiquary, wrote: “The town of Vies standeth on a ground somewhat clyving and is mostly occupied by clothiers.”” Of the numerous cloth factories once so much in evidence here, only one other survives, hidden from view in Northgate Street. 146 THE WILTSHIRE LOCAL MILITIA IN TRAINING, 1809 - 1814 By H. F. CHETTLE, C.M.G. The Jesses had been settled at Dinton at least as early as 15211. In 1611 Leonard Jesse was returned as fit to lend the King {£20 by way of privy seal?; five years later, John Jesse was a tenant of the Earl of Pembroke’, and a new grant by copy to John and his sons, Leonard and John, was dated in 16224. Another Leonard was a Church Warden in 1740°; Samuel was a tenant of the Earl in 1800°. The family continued to farm their land at Dinton until late in the nineteenth century, when “ Jesses ’’ passed to the Jukes family’; in 1938 it was conveyed to the late George Bovill. The house was then re-thatched, and a notebook and some loose papers, found in the old thatch, were passed to me by Mrs. Bovill in June, 1953. The loose papers do not concern my story. The first part of the note book revealed, incidentally, that one of the Jesses had played a minor part in protect- ing England against Napoleon’s fleets and armies; but it has some wider interest as a fragment of English military history. The General (or Regular) Militia had been re-established in 1757 as a home defence force, and Edward Gibbon had spent eighteen months under arms as a Captain in the Hampshire Militia in 1760 —1762.8 It had been permanently embodied since 1792 and treated as a reinforcement service for regiments fighting overseas; its original function was assumed by the Yeomanry cavalry’, first raised in 1794, and by other new formations. An “ Armed Associa- tion” was formed at Salisbury in 1798, and a body of “ Armed Volunteers” in 1803'°; the Local Militia was established in June, 1 Survey of the lands of William first Earl of Pembroke, ed. C. R. Straton (Roxburghe Club, 1909) 221. f 2 W.A.M., ii, 185. 3 Court Roll at Wilton House. 4 Surveys of....1631-2 (W.A.S., R.B. IX) p. 29. 5 W.A.M. xlvi 107. 6 Brit. Mus., map 5710 (52). 7 Wilts Directories; local information. 8 Autobiography. His battalion was quartered in “‘ the populous and disorderly town of Devizes” 23 October 1761 to 28 February 1762, and at Salisbury from the latter date to 9 March 1762. ®° The West Wilts Cavalry were among the earliest Yeomanry regiments. 10 Benson & Hatcher, 551-7. The manuscript from the thatch 147 1808, as a part of Castlereagh’s scheme of Army reform. His first inspiration had been to call it the Sedentary Militia’. The Militia Act, 1808, was designed “ for enabling His Majesty to establish a permanent Local Militia Force....to be called forth and employed in case of invasion in aid of His Majesty's Regular Militia Forces for the Defence of the Realm.’ Men between 18 and 30, selected by ballot, were to be enrolled for a four-year period of service. The new force was to be based on regimental districts within counties; to carry out annual training for not more than 28 days; and “ to march [no] further than some adjoining county ”; in case of invasion, to “be embodied and marched to any part of Great Britain’’; to sup- press riots, if necessary, for not more than fourteen days in the year; and to receive the same pay, clothing and allowances as the Regular Militia. Wiltshire, Carmarthenshire and Denbighshire produced their quotas without a ballot?. Five Regiments were raised in Wiltshire; the 3rd Regiment, based on Salisbury*, was commanded by Lieutenant- Colonel John Hungerford Penruddocke, M.P., of Compton Chamber- layne, and Samuel Jesse was a Sergeant in Captain George Wyndham’s | Company. The Regiment was fully representative of South Wiltshire. Lieut- enant-Colonel William Wyndham (whose new house at Dinton was then building) was second in command; Major James Charles Still and Captain Robert Still represented East Knoyle and Mere®; Captain Thomas Groves, of Ferne House, came from Donhead St. Andrew®, and Captain Henry Foot and Ensign Samuel Foot from Berwick St. John’. Another Ensign bore the locally interesting name of James Wyatt. The other ranks were the officers’ tenants and neighbours. The notebook found at Jesses was evidently used by the Company Quartermaster Sergeant of “ Mr. Wyndham’s Company.” Its pages are largely a record of underpayments, overpayments and rectifications; of the exceptional case of Sergeant Sweetman, who has an entry to 1 J. W. Fortescue: The County Lieutenancy and the Army, ch. IV. 2-48 G. III c. 111. Amending Acts were passed in 1809 and 1810 (Fortescue, 228-9). 3 Fortescue 216. + A List of the Officers of the Local Militia of Great Britain (War Office, 1810, 1811). Penruddocke’s mother and grandmother both belonged to the Wyndham family. 5 Hoare’s Modern Wiltshire (Mere). 6 ibid. ” Hoare’s Modern Wiltshire (Chalk). Ensign Foot was promoted to Lieutenant n 1811. 148 The Wiltshire Local Militia in Training, 1809-1814 himself in almost every circumstance!; and of detailed calculations leading up to summaries. The dates dovetail (where they are given) and often defy dissection. But the broad outline of six annual trainings may be discerned. The Company comprised three Sergeants, four Corporals, two “ Drums,” two “ Bugles,” and 75 (more or less) Privates. It “ Marched into Sarum,’ with the rest of the 3rd “ Battalion,” in May, 1809. Colonel Penruddocke found it necessary to order the arrest of any man found out of quarters after 9 p.m.; but when the Wiltshire Yeomanry had assembled in the city (on the 24th) he made it clear, at Lord Bruce’s request, that his order applied only to the Militia?. On the sth and 6th June 32 men of the Company occupied quarters (at 1s. 2d. a man for the two days) in fifteen licensed houses; the Buil, Red Lion and Sun at Fisherton; Queen’s Arms in Ivy Street; Star; Antelope; Lamb; White Horse cellar; Six Bells; Roebuck; Plume of Feathers; Three Swans; Saracen’s Head; ““ Maiden Head”’, and Haunch of Venison. The list is followed immediately by the names of three men who “ delivered in no Stocks,” eight who “ delivered in no Gaiters ’’ and Jacob Burbidge, whose gaiters were “‘ at the Tailors.” The Jubilee of King George III was celebrated at Salisbury in October, 1809 (presumably on the 25th’), by the Local Militia, the Armed Volunteers and the Salisbury Troop of Yeomanry*. The ten Companies paraded at the Stores at 6 a.m. “ to receive the Remainder of their Necessary,’ and arms were inspected at eleven. The Com- panies were drawn up in two columns, Captain Wyndham’s leading the left column. The Sergeants went later to “ the Play,” apparently at the cost of Captain Wyndham (who paid also 3s. for “ Plumes ”’ and two guineas for a quart of beer for each of 85 men). The greater part of May 1810 was spent at Salisbury ; on the 12th, 16th, 18th and 23rd the C.Q.M.S. received from “‘ Mr. Child ”’ sums amounting in all to £55, and £62 7s. 9d. from Captain Wyndham.-: Training seems to have ended on the 30th, when the Sergeants’ Fuzees and Sashes, with the Muskets, Sets of Accoutrements, Coats, ‘“ Wais- coats,’ Breeches, Caps, Gaiters and Stocks of the remaining other ranks, were delivered into store at Salisbury; but two pairs of Breeches and three of Gaiters and nine “ White Waiscoats’’ were at first 1 The position of Sweatman’s Farm, between Dinton and Tisbury, may explain his irregularities. ? * H. Graham: The Yeomanry Cavalry of Wiltshire, 55. 3 George III succeeded his grandfather on the 25th October, 1760. 4 Benson & Hatcher, 551-7. The C.Q.M.S’s entries 149 “Wanting.” In that year there were mutinies of Local Militia in two other counties and in another of the Wiltshire regiments, “ all nominally due to the miserable marching-guinea?”’. In May, 1811, quarters for 80 men were found at the Wilton Arms, “Angle,” Bull, Sun, Cross Keys, Rose, “ Red Lyon,” “Tap Room,” Malmesbury Arms, Weaver's Arms, Lamb(2) and “ Private Quarters ” numbered 1 to 42. The Company’s total expenses for the last eleven days of May were apparently {110 7s. 1d.; “ Marching ” was entered as\-27 19s. 6d.,~ Landlords increased Pay ’ .as {5 16s. 7d. and “* Pay of the Whole” as £72 15s. 7id. They “draw’d” 1,148 loaves of bread at 14d. each, and 8664 lbs. of meat for {22 6s. todd. On Inspection Day Mr. Nicholson and Mr. Foot provided, at a cost of £2 3s. od., a quart of beer for each of the 86 men. It does not seem possible to decide which of the notes refer to 1812 or to 1813. A consolidating and amending Act was passed in 1812, under which time-expired men might volunteer to continue their service®. By other Acts, of December, 1813, and June, 1815, the King was authorised to accept offers by units to serve out of their counties until the 25th March, 1815, for not more than 42 days in the year— and the Local Militia, as a whole, accepted the challenge’. The 3rd Regiment “ Assembeld at Sarum” on the 18th February, 1814, and “ returned” on the 20th. It resumed its training from the end of April to the 4th June®. On the 2nd May it “ Marchd from Sarum to Rumsey & 3rd Rumsey to Southamton, 4th and 5 from thence to Haslar Barraks’’; “‘ meals’’ on the 3rd cost 3s. for each Sergeant and 2s. 6d. for each of the Corporals and Privates. Meat was “ drawd”’ (apparently at Salisbury) on the 12th, 14th and 16th May; 884, 914 and 93 lbs. for 59, 61 and 64 men. On the 19th May the C.Q.M.S. paid 8s. tod. for “ Sheets and Towels.” Two Privates spent five days in hospital and Sgt. Burch three days, and each suffered “ Stopiges ”” of rod. a day. The expenses incurred during this Spring training seem to have amounted to something over £170. The C.Q.M.S. closed his notes. The Local Militia continued in being, but we do not know how he and his Company performed their 1 Fortescue, 249. It was the 2nd Regiment. 2 All, presumably, in Salisbury, though the ‘‘ Weaver’s Arms” has not been traced in the city. 8 Fortescue, 261, 264. 454 G. IIc. 19,55 G.III c.76; Fortescue 277—8; Annual Register, 1813,215—6. 5 The city of Paris had surrendered on the 30th March, and Napoleon abdicated on the 4th April. 150 The Wiltshire Local Militia in Training, 1809-1814 duty of guarding our island during the anxious months from March to June, 1815. At last, in May, 1816, the King was empowered to suspend the ballot for the Local Militia’. In the course of his notes, but without a date, the C.Q.M.S. entered the following rates of pay: 3 Serjeants’ Pay 29 days 2: Fike March 3 days a 2 9 Quarters 26 days i 3 Serjeants each Lo oi oe 2 Corporals? each 29 days eT TO TOr 3 days March ie 2410 Each to be paid ek no 27k Quarters; 37). bes eae £2 0 8} Bugles 29 days each fies 8 3 days March af Bi AO £118 42 Quarters .. i toa £1 10 52 On another page a Private’s pay for 22 days was set down at £1 3s. 10d., his three days’ March at 2s. 9d. and his Quarters at 94d. In 1824 “‘ Samuel Jesse came to lodge at Frances Barnetts ”’ at Dinton, and from that year to 1829 the notebook carried details of farming’ operations and prices; the few loose papers (1819-1830) are of the same character. Samuel and Leonard Jesse, Mr. Barnes (presumably the owner of Hayters, the “ Little Clarendon” of this day) and Mr. Baily (perhaps the Sgt. Baily who is named in the C.Q.MLS.’s notes) appear in these records; but here also the writer remains anonymous. I am greatly indebted for information on points of detail to Mrs. Bovill, Miss Engleheart, Major H. de S. Shortt, Mr. Cecil Clark and Mr. Michael Rowett. 1 56 G. Ill c. 38. * Two others drew only 22 days’ pay. 151 THE CENTENARY LUNCHEON Mindful of the ‘sumptuous dinner’ which signalized its inauguration on 12th October, 1853, the Society decided to celebrate its hundredth anniversary by a ceremonial luncheon. It seemed best that this should be held in the summer rather than the autumn, and the celebration was accordingly fixed for 18th July, 1953, just three months before the completion of the centenary. As the Society was founded in Devizes and has always had its headquarters in that town, Devizes was chosen as the venue, and it seemed peculiarly fitting that the lunch should be served in the Town Hall where the ceremonies of 1853 were opened and concluded. The arrangements, ceremonial and hospitable, were entrusted to Mr. R. B. Pugh and Miss Elizabeth Crittall respectively, to whom the gratitude of the Society is due for the successful performance of their exacting functions. All members of the Society were given the opportunity to attend the luncheon and some who did were able to bring guests. In all ninety-three members were present with their guests. In addition, the Society had the privilege of entertaining sixteen distinguished visitors. ‘These were Professor Sir Mortimer Wheeler, C.B.E., M.C., F.B.A., and Lady Wheeler, Alderman J. L. Calderwood (Chairman of the Wiltshire County Council), the Mayors of Devizes, Calne, Marlborough and Swindon, Sir Frank Stenton, F.B.A. (President of the Berkshire Archaeological Society) and Lady Stenton, Mr. H. St. George Gray, O.B.E. (representing the Somerset Archaeological Society), Brigadier A. R. Purches, O.B.E. (Principal Administrative Staff Officer, Southern Command), Air Commodore Coats (Air Officer Commanding No. 62 (Southern) Group, R.A.F.), Professor D. C. Douglas, F.B.A. (representing the University of Bristol), Dr. D. B. Harden, V-P.S.A. (Keeper of Antiquities, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford), Mr. P. K. Baillie-Reynolds (Inspector of Ancient Monuments for England) and Mr. W. B. Alexander (Librarian of the Edward Grey Institute, Oxford). The guests were received by the President of the Society (Mr. James Oram, M.B.E.) who was in the chair at the luncheon. Representatives of The Times and of three local newspapers were also entertained. After lunch had been served the President proposed the health of “ The Guests,” paying tribute to them one by one. He referred to the long association of the Cunnington family with Wiltshire archaeo- 152 The Centenary Luncheon logy and welcomed the presence of three of its members at the luncheon. He also mentioned that a centenary history of the Society had been written by the Hon. Librarian (Mr. C. W. Pugh) and would shortly be distributed to members; its appearance had been delayed by the author’s illness. In replying Mr. Calderwood referred to the grant which the County Council had recently made to the Society and said he was glad to have been associated with it; local government bodies were beginning to replace private persons as the patrons of culture, and this was to his mind a beneficial development. In proposing the health of “ The Society ” Sir Mortimer Wheeler referred to the fact that the Society was one of several of the sort to be founded in the ‘forties and “fifties of the last century. Like Alderman Calderwood he also dwelt upon the inevitability of subsidies from central or local government if learned societies were to survive. He saw no danger in this, but felt that it must increase a society’s responsibilities. He emphasized the important part that local societies could play, in co-operation with the State, in preserving ancient monu- ments. In replying Mr. R. B. Pugh (an ex-President) described some recent events in the Society's history: the appointment of a curator and a technical assistant and the formulation of a five-year plan for the Museum. He looked forward now to a revision of the Society’s constitution and to an enquiry into its Library. While he strongly favoured appeals to public bodies for funds he believed that the petitioners were unworthy of support if they did not help themselves. After the lunch members and their guests visited the Museum where they were shown a special centenary exhibition. This had been arranged by the Curator (Mr. Nicholas Thomas) and consisted of a small selection of the most interesting objects in the Museum arranged in sixteen cases. The exhibition was designed to show the variety of the Society’s collections. Some live harvest-mice and a bed of down- land flowers were included. A printed catalogue was distributed to each person attending the lunch. 153 THE CHANTRIES OF MERE AND THEIR PRIESTS By the Rev. C. J. GODFREY Amongst the religious phenomena of the later middle ages the movement which led to the foundation of chantries holds a prominent place. By liberal provision our forefathers endeavoured to secure the well-being of their souls after death. The result was a system which makes an interesting chapter in ecclesiastical history and has left to us some of our finest pieces of architecture. In the notable parish church of Mere! there are three chapels, two at least of which were connected with the early stages of the chantry movement. That on the north side of the chancel was founded in 1324 by John de Mere, in order that a chaplain might pray for his soul and that of Alianer his wife, as well as those of his ancestors and heirs and of Margaret lately Queen of England. But the one on the south side of the chancel is more important. This is the well-known chantry founded by Sir John Bettesthorne c. 1350, and known in more recent times as the Grove chapel. It is interesting architecturally as an early example of Perpendicular. It has some small yet precious examples of original glass. It distinctly reminds us of the great contemporary church of Edington. Its founder, who was lord of the modern Charnage, died in 1398 and was buried in this chapel, his grave being marked by a well-known brass with the inscription: “ Hic jacet John Bettisthorn quondam dns de Chaddenwitch primus fundator istius cantarie.’ On his death his possessions passed to Sir John Berkeley, of Beverstone, Gloucestershire, who had married his daughter Elizabeth. For the remaining years of the middle ages this chantry was to be known as the Berkeley chantry?. A certain amount of confusion now begins. On November 2zoth, 1399, in consideration of a payment of 50 marks, a licence was granted to Sir John Berkeley and his wife Elizabeth “ to augment a chantry in the chapel of St. Mary in the parish church of Mere, Wilts, founded of old of one chaplain in honour of the Annunciation, of which they are patrons as in her right.” They are to augment the chantry by two chaplains, making three in all. To those three chaplains they grant 1. “* Notes on Mere Church.”” C. E. Ponting... W.A.M. LXXXVI. p. 60. * Hoare (Modern Wilts., Hundred of Mere, p. 13) identifies the Berkeley chantry with John de Mere’s on the north side; Jackson, on the other hand, (Anc. Chapels in Wilts., W.A.M. X. 297) calls the north chantry ‘‘ Forward’s,” a name I would attach, as I show later, to a 16th century creation. Hoare (ibid. p. 14) assigns this name to the south chantry, where he was perhaps nearer the mark. VOL. LV—CXCYVIX L 154 The Chantries of Mere and their Priests in mortmain nine messuages, 80 acres of land, 4 acres of meadow and an acre of wood in Mere, one messuage, 140 acres of land and 12 acres of meadow in Clopton, Somerset, and Io acres of land and 2 acres of meadow in Gillingham, Dorset, “ for their sustenance and the support of the charges of the chantry.” At the same time, in consideration of a further 10 marks, Sir John and Elizabeth granted a messuage and 85 acres in Gillingham and Milton, Dorset, to the chantry chaplain of St. Catherine in the parish church of Gillingham, “ in aid of his sustenance and for the support of certain charges according to their ordinance.’”! It would appear from this licence that there was only one chantry- priest in Mere church before 1399, though it is certain that there were two chantry-chapels. The earlier one does not seem to have prospered, and it is likely that at an early date it became fused with the one founded in the middle of the century. Throughout the fourteenth century the Mere chantries were apparently a somewhat uncertain and individual affair. Their real history as an institution begins with the eranting of the licence in 1399. It can hardly be said that the endow- ment of the chantries, with ten messuages and 249 acres, was on a meagre scale, and it is incredible that the benefactors intended that the net revenues from this property should be purely and simply for the support of three priests. The wording of the licence indicates that something wider was actually intended. The endowment is for the sustenance of the priests and the support of chantry-charges. That this latter does not mean routine outgoings is evidenced by the fuller wording of the licence with respect to the Gillingham chantry, where it is distinctly stated that the revenues are to be used not only for the maintenance of the priest but also for “the support of certain charges”’ ordained by Berkeley and his wife, the amount of the endowment being proportionately about the same as that of Mere. The Mere foundation was in fact made into one of some importance, commensurate with the importance assigned to the town in general: The importance of Mere as a market-town about the beginning of the fifteenth century is shown by a grant, in January 1408, to Henry Prince of Wales of two annual fairs in the town, each lasting for a week, and of a weekly market on Wednesdays? The chantry-house soon to be erected would be a large and substantial building. It still stands, not sreatly changed, a little to the south of the church. We shall now consider the clerics who served these chantries, and 1 Calendar Patent Rolls. 1 Hen. IV 1399. p. 126. 2 Calendar Charter Rolls. go Hen. IV 1408. p. 435. Chantry Priests 155 trace their fortunes so far as the evidence will allow. From 1399 there were three clergy serving the chantries, and subsequent lists show that this was the normal number, though a fourth priest appeared shortly before the Dissolution. The first priest whose name is known to us was Richard Hill. Ina lease dated 1372, a cottage and garden were granted to him by Walter Parker and his wife Edith—thus indicating that a chantry-house was not yet in existence. But as soon as there were three priests it was time to bring them under one roof, that they might lead the communal life so characteristic of medieval times. For the year 1408 we have the names of Henry Rochell and Robert Carpenter®. In 1418 John Dudley appears, on the death of Richard Rede.? This last-mentioned person may have been related to Philip Rede, who is mentioned as having gone to London on certain business. John Culpek is mentioned under the year 1423.5 Now the dean and chapter of Salisbury, who were (and still are) corporately the rector of Mere, owned land on the south side of the church as well as a house called “ Dean’s Orchard” which was used by the dean when he visited Mere. In 1424 Henry VI granted per- mission for the dean and chapter to give some of this land, about an acre in all, for the building of “ mansiones” for the chantry-priests. ® The erection of the present Chantry House would seem to date from this time. The priests are stated to be Richard Cheddesey, Henry Rochell, and John Culpek, “ chaplains of the chantry of the Blessed Mary in the church of Mere.”’ Both the north and south chapels had been dedicated in honour of the Annunciation, and though each was a distinct foundation, they seem as the years went by to have been regarded as a single unit in practice, their priests leading a collegiate life. At the Dissolution, when the endowments were being sorted out and handed round, this was to cause some confusion, as we shall see. There follows a blank of a little over a century after the building of the chantry house in or soon after 1424. And then there is a crop of evidence. The “ Valor Ecclesiasticus,” the great assessment of Church property made by Henry VIII in 1535, states that there are three 1 Zeals papers. (The author is much indebted to Major G. V. Troyte-Bullock of Zeals for permission to consult documents in his possession). 2 Hoare, Modern Wilts: loc. cit. 3 Hoare. 4 Zeals papers. 5 Hoare. 6 Vide “‘ Notes on the History of Mere,” T. H. Baker. W.A.M. LX XXVIII, p. 263. IZ 156 The Chantries of Mere and their Priests chantries in Mere church. Henry Duvall is the custos, and he says that his portion is £6 13s. 2d. a year, subject to a deduction of 14s. 1d. John Smith has £6 6s., Richard Swayne has £7 12s. 2d., with a deduction of £1 ss. Out of the total net income of £18 1s. 3d.) ros. was distributed annually to the poor, a rent of tos. was paid to Roger Stourton, and 5s. to the dean of Salisbury. The “ Valor” is apparently wrong in stating that there are three chantries, though as we have already noticed, there were three altars in the church in addition to the high altar. As we shall observe presently however, a third chantry apparently was founded just before the Dissolution. The “ Valor” reveals that it was not accurately informed about the Mere chantries when it states that they were all of the foundation of Sir John Berkeley. Berkeley in fact had founded none of them—though he was their principal benefactor—and his father-in-law Bettesthorne, so far as we know, had founded only one. But the name of Berkeley had by this time, and for obvious reasons, come to be inseparably connected with the chantries of Mere. In 1537 Henry Duvall, Richard Swayne, and John Smythe are still the chaplains! In a lease of 1539 their names again appear. In a further lease of 1540 John Smythe has dropped out of the list, and only Duvall, called the “ warden,’ and Swayne are named. In this lease a “ chantry court ’’ is mentioned, and the original signatures of the two chaplains and their seals are on the lease. The next extant lease is dated 1545, in which Henry Duvall and Richard Swayne reappear, with the addition of John Fezar, who has undoubtedly taken the place of John Smythe. According to a lease of 1547 the warden Duvall has died or otherwise disappeared—just in time to escape the coming troubles. Only the names of Richard Swayne and John Fessar appear on the document, in which they grant a lease of a tenement and lands at Mere to Edith Bentyll, widow of the late John Bentyll, and William Caron. This deed was witnessed by Thomas Chafyn of Zeals. That Chafyn was not uninterested in the neighbouring church lands is shown by the fact that as early as 1533 he had secured a lease from Richard Pace, dean of Salisbury, of the rectorial tithes of Mere, “farming” the tithes in accordance with a practice which was very common in the case of appropriated benefices, and which arose out of the difficulty a distant rector had in collecting his tithes and rents.2 By this time “farming” 1 Zeals papers. * On the practice of ‘‘ farming,” vide R. A. R. Hartridge, “‘ History of Vicarages,”’ pp. 201-4. The Dissolution and after 157 or renting ecclesiastical lands had increased enormously. It was obviously a practice which would make the transference of this property to lay ownership very easy. In 1569 this particular lease was still in operation, however, and was renewed in that year by William Bradbury, dean of Salisbury. In 1547 the storm broke, and the chantries were suppressed. Edward VI’s commissioners quoted the net value of “* Berkeley’s chantry ”’ as £21 9s. 9d., an income derived from land in Mere and Clopton. There was plate weighing ten ounces, and other ornaments valued at £3 15s. tod. The three priests were said to be Richard Swayne, aged 63 years; John Ferarde, aged 4o years, and John Gelebrand, aged 48 years. Butin addition to Berkeley’s chantry, by which we are no doubt to mean both the north and south chapels, Forward’s chantry is named, an entirely new one. The masses of this chantry most likely were celebrated at the altar in the south aisle of the church, the piscina of which survives. A fourth chaplain is named in connexion with it. He is Richard Chafyn, aged 20 years, and his net income is {/5 6s. 4d. This chantry was probably founded by a member of the Forward family, which was prominent in the affairs of Mere in the mid-sixteenth century. In 1569 John Forward the elder is a churchwarden, and John Forward the younger is reeve. It is possible that John Forward the elder founded this chantry somewhere round about 1540. If so, he must surely have been an optimist. It is of course possible that Forward’s chantry was already in existence in 1535, hence the “ Valor’s ” mention of three chantries and not two. But this would seem to be discounted by the fact that the “ Valor” did not mention any increase in the number of the chaplains. In a deed of August, in the second year of Edward VI, lands in Clopton and Cucklington, Somerset, in Gillingham, Dorset, and in Mere, belonging to Berkeley’s chantry, were granted to Sir John Thynne and Lawrence Hyde. The deed contains a list of names of the tenants, including one by the name of Chafyn. Four years later we find Thynne granting to Thomas Chafyn a lease of the chantry-lands for fifty-one years, ata rent of {£12 14s. 6d.1 On November 11th, 1563, Sir John Thynne of Longleat sold the south chapel to Thomas Chafyn, whose descendants, the Chafyns and the Groves, used it as a family burying-place.? In 1592 Elizabeth I granted to Edward Downinge and 1 A copy of this lease is amongst the Zeals papers. 2 Vide Fry’s “ Dorset Chantries.” D.N.H. & A.S. Proceedings Vol. XXXI, Pp. 105. 158 The Chantries of Mere and their Priests Roger Mant a chantry known as “ Berkeley’s,”’ together with certain lands and tenements. We can only assume that this was the north chapel, as the main part of the establishment as a whole, Berkeley’s chantry proper, had already been disposed of Amongst the Zeals records are documents mentioning an interesting law-suit which followed the death of William Chafyn in 1627. Thomas Awbry claimed the south chapel, or “ isle,” as lord of the manor of Charnage and thus the successor of Bettesthorne. This was disputed, naturally enough, by Richard Chafyn, son of William. Richard won the legal case which followed, though in the meantime Awbry installed his servants in the chapel during service time. A brawl succeeded between these men and the servants of Chafyn, which so frightened the wife of ‘the latter, Lucy Chafyn, that she nearly hada miscarriage. In the papers containing the deposition of witnesses in this lawsuit the names of some of the chantry-chaplains are given, i.e., Richard Swayne, John Gellibrand, Henry Devell, and also a priest named Giles. One of the witnesses says that he knew them, and that they lived in the chantry- house. As this would be some eighty years after the Dissolution, it is unlikely that the witness was referring to a time when the priests were saying mass in their chapels. It appears that they were still living in the chantry-house some years after the Dissolution. Of any priest called Giles we have not previously heard, but it is not stated that he had ever been a chantry-chaplain; he may have joined the survivors in the chantry-house. But we can hardly help identifying the Henry Devell of this deposition with Henry Duvall, the chantry priest last heard of in 1545. The presumption is that he had died before the surrender in 1547, which assumes in the witness of 1627 a memory that went back 80 years at least, unless, as is not improbable, he was confusing hearsay with personal knowledge. On the face of it, at any rate, the chaplains did not come off too badly. John Ferard (or Fezar) and John Gelibronde each received a pension of £5. Richard Swayne, whose term of service in the chantry had been longer, received £6. Richard Chafyn, in spite of his youth and a term of service which could not have lasted for much more than a few months, obtained a pension of £6. He clearly received preferential treatment and was actually left better off than he had been before. Swayne was a little down on his stipend, but not by much; perhaps by a few shillings only. Ferard and Gellibrand each seem to have lost about a pound per annum. It must be remembered that these priests 1 For these details see Baker loc. cit. pp. 265 & 266. Fredeassors of William Barnes ? 159 had now lost their landed endowments and had been compensated by a fixed amount of money during a generally inflationary period. The two older men, Gellibrand and Swayne, though mass-priests no longer, stayed together and continued to occupy the chantry-house or at any rate came back to occupy it in later years. At least this would appear from an “ Inquisitio post mortem, ’! in which it is said that when William Chafyn died on July 2oth, 1627, he died seized of “ Berkeley’s chantry-house”’ in Mere, of which John Gellibrand and Richard Swayne, clerks, were “sometime in the tenure.” What caused the two men to rent the house ? It is possible that they kept a school there, as William Barnes was to do from 1827 to 1835. It is possible in fact that teaching was a recognized and specific part of the Mere chantry chaplains’ duties before the Dissolution. It is quite unfair to assume that all chantry-priests were idle men. In some chantries the duty of teaching the local children was particularly laid upon the chaplain.* It is certain that the Mere chantry-clergy had assisted the vicar of Mere in his pastoral work. Again this was a common practice. Such priests, besides saying their daily mass for the soul of their founder, which was their daily obligation, were expected to join with the parson or parish priest in the recitation of the divine office. A chantry-priest was required to help the parson at Easter in the hearing of confessions. The Commissioners of 1547, in their report on Mere, speak very well of the chantry-priests. They are worthy men, held in high praise by their neighbours. “Also there be within the parish of Mere 800 people which receive the blessed communion and no preste beside the vicar to help in administration of the sacraments, savynge the sayde chauntry Preests, wherefore the Parishioners desyre the King’s most hon. Councell to consider hit accordinglye.”* If the vicar of Mere was single-handed, a certain amount of help from the warden and his fellow chaplains must have been essential. For there were three outlying chapels dependent on Mere church, at Zeals, Deverel, and Chadenwych. It might be maintained that these chapels were served by assistant priests responsible for them alone. But this does not seem to have been the case. These chapels went out of use after the Re- 1 Wilts. Inq. p.m. Charles I, p. 355. 2 A. F. Leach “ Schools of Medieval easel ” pp. 320 ff. He gives details of chantries with schools attached, and emphasizes that his lengthy list is not exhaustive. 3 A. Hamilton-Thompson, “‘ English Clergy in the later Middle Ages,”’ p. 144. * Quoted from Kite’s “* Brasses of Wiltshire,’? by T. H. Baker, loc. cit. p. 265. 160 The Chantries of Mere and their Priests formation. This was quite certainly the case at Zeals, where in 1585 the chapel of St. Martin was granted to Edward Morrice and James Mayland.1 This chapel has totally disappeared—there is not so much as a tradition of the spot on which it stood. A garden wall at Charnage is said to be all that remains of the Chadenwych chapel. That these parochial chapels fell into disuse seems to indicate that they had been served by the chantry-chaplains, who alone were able to assist a vicar explicitly stated to be single-handed. It can hardly be maintained that Mere was any better off as a result of the Dissolution. The wishes of the parishioners were ignored. Three neighbouring hamlets were deprived of spiritual ministrations which they had possessed since at least 1220. (The well-known Inventory of Dean Wanda, made in that year, mentions St. Martin’s chapel at Zeals, St. Martin’s at Chadenwych, and St. Andrew's at Deverel). So much negatively. Positively, a good opportunity was missed of forwarding the work of education in the district. The chantry-house would have made an admirable little grammar-school; there was a valuable endowment in land; and there was a staff available, possibly sufficiently educated for the purposes of instruction. We have seen what happened to the two senior priests, Richard Swayne and John Gellibrand. The two younger men went their own ways. There is not a hint of what became of John Ferard. Richard Chafyn did well, and indeed he belonged to a family whose star was in the ascendant. He was appointed vicar of Mere in 1556, at the age of 29 years, and held the benefice until his death in 1586. It was this man whose duty it now was to familiarise the people of Mere with the austere beauties of the Book of Common Prayer. At the threshold of his life, he no doubt adapted himself to the change satisfactorily. About Swayne and Gellibrand we cannot feel so sure. Members of the older generation, they probably often gazed wistfully across the churchyard to the noble church of Mere, with its chapels which they knew so well, as they passed their declining years in the house which they could not bear to leave. It is the minds of such men that we would give much to know. 1 Batten. W.A.M. XXVIII, p. 210. 161 AN INVENTORY OF GIFTS TO THE CHAPEL OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE THAT WAS AT EDINGTON Edited by D. U. Seta SmirH and G. M. A. CuNNINGTON In his article on Edington Monastery (W.A.M. XX, p. 277) Canon Jackson writes of a pilgrim who presented gifts to Edington Church. This pilgrim was a Devonshire man, William Wey, (in his own words) “sacre theologie Baccularius collegie regalis beatissime Marie Etone juxta Wyndosoram’’. He made two pilgrimages to the Holy Land, in 1458 and 1462, (see W.A.M. LIII, p. 375), and on his return he resigned his fellowship at Eton and joined the Bonhommes at Edington. He died in 1476. The Itineraries of his pilgrimages, written on vellum and bound in a quarto volume, are now in the Bodleian at Oxford. This book is believed to have come from the library of Edington Monastery. The Itineraries were edited by the Rev. Boriah Bottfield and printed for the Roxburghe Club in 1857. With them he printed the following list of gifts to the chapel of the Sepulchre at Edington taken from a fly-leaf of the original volume. Many of these commemorate the sacred sites visited by Wey during his two pilgrimages, and the stones preserved as reliques may well have been picked up on the actual sites. Apart from this inventory nothing appears to be known of the chapel or its position in the church, unless a clue can be found in the Edington Cartulary now in the British Museum. Thes be goodys of Master William Wey, ys yefte to the chapel made to the lykenes of the sepulkyr of owre Lord at Jerusalem. Furst as for the avter an her,! and a canvas,? iiij auter clothys wrowt,® ij auter clothys playne, ij tuellys for the stagys,‘ iiij tuell ordeynyd to wypeyn. Also y clothys of blw bawdkyn.® Also ij clothys of oworke® stayned,” in that one ys owre Lorde wyth a spade in hys Hande® in that other ys owre . . .[half a line scratched out.] Also iij other right wele staynyd clothys of oworke; in the furst ys a crvcyfyxe in the myddys; in the secvnde oure lady yevying owre Lorde sowke; in the therde ys the assumcyvn of ovre blessyd Lady.® Also ij other clothys of lyn- clothe!® wyth thre blac crossys in eche of hem. 162 An Inventory of Gifts at Edington Off Vestymentis. Fyrst a peyre™ of vestymentis of grene, the orfray!? rede. Also a peyre of red vestymentys of the flex"® of red velwet, orfray red sylke. Also a peyre of grene vestymentis of bawdkyn with byrdys of golde, the orfray of red bawdkyn. Also a peyre of vestymentis of whyte bustyan,“the orfray of grene. Also bysyde theot ij aubys!®and ij amyse1® and 1 gerdelys.¥ Off Corporas. Fyrst iiij corporas clothes.1® Also, iiij corporas casys,’® the fvrst of clothe of golde wyth Jaochym and Anna;?° the secvnde of blak selke wrowte; the thyrde of whyte bustyan; the fowrthe of grene wyke.7! For the hangying of the sepulkyr wythowte and whythyn. Furst ij cvrteynys of blw bokeram.”” Also a clothe stayned wyth the tempyl of Jerusalem, the Movnte of Olyvete, and Bethleem. Also a chalyse, selvyr and overgelde, weyeng .. . . unses, made faste wyth a vyse 73 of selvyr in the fote. Also iij peyre crwetys of pewtyr. Also iij dysches of pewtyr. Also a paxbrede** with a crwcyfyxe. Also the vernakyl®> and a crucyfyx in pawper closyd to bordys,?6 the wheche came fro Jerusalem. Also a relyquary of box in the wheche be thys telyks. A ston of the Mownte of Calvery, a stone ofsepulkyr, astone of the hyl of Tabor. A stone of the pyler that ovre Lord was stowrchyd?’ too. A stone of the plase wher the crosse was hyd and fvnde.® Also a stone of the holy cave of Bethleem. Also a sacryng bel®® halwyd, wryt aboute © Jhesus Johannes pyt ney ”.®° Also ij priketis*! of latyn. also ij stondyng candylstykys of latyn. Also a quayer of paper wyth the peyntyng of owre Lorde ys passyvn. Also ij pylwys* of sylke. Other goodys longyng to the [se]pulkyr. Furste a clothe stayned wyth thre Maryes and thre pilgremys.™ Another wythe the aperyng of owre Lord Cryste Jhesu vnto hys moder.®> Also a mappa Mundy. Also a mappa of the Holy Lond wyth Jerusalem in the myddys.3* Also ij levys of parchement, on wyth the tempyl of Jerusalem, another wyth the holy movnte of Olyvete. Also a dex keveryd wyth blakke and thereupon the bokys; one of materys of Jerusalem, the second folio. To every bayok3’ Another of Synt Anselme ys worke the second fo. Meditacio vii. Another de vita Sanctorum Patrum, the second fo. rat®?® amicus abbatis. Also a stone in the whech ys the depnye of the morteyse of ovre Lordys crosse.*® Also iiij qwystenes®® ordeyned to the sepukyr. An Inventory of Gifts at Edington 163 Other thyngys of the Holy Lond mad in bordys. Fvrst in a borde byhynde the qveer the lengthe of oure Lorde ys sepulkyr wyth the hythe of the dor, the brede of the dore, the lengthe of oure Lordys fote," the depnes of the morteyse of the crosse, and the rvndenys of the same. Also by the clokke howse of the sepulker of ovre Lorde wyth too howses at the endys of the same. Also in the chapterhowse ther be thre thyngs, the chapel of Caluery made in bordys; the Cherch of Bethleen made wyth bordys; the Mownte of Olyuete, and the Vale of Josaphath made wyth bordys. My wy] is that thes afore wret be nat alyened fro the chapel of the Sepulke, nether fro the holy monastery of Edyngdon. 1 A haircloth covering? Haircloth had a warp of linen yarn and a weft of horse’s hair. This material is mentioned in Layaman’s Brut 1205, also in Caxton’s edition of The Golden Legend printed 1470. 2 A piece of cloth, a covering. “‘ Items in canvas for a bed as.”’ from inventory, Lacock end 14th century. Fine and coarse canvas were extensively used both as a foundation and as a lining for embroidery. > Worked. * Pede cloth? A cloth laid on the altar steps. 5 A material with a warp of gold thread and a weft of silk. 6 ““May suggest a place of origin ”’—-Textile Dept., Victoria and Albert Museum. 7 “ Printed or painted ’—Victoria and Albert Museum. 8 In his Itineraries Wey mentions the hole in a rock, said to have been made by Our Lord’s spade when “as a gardener’? he met Mary Magdalen after His resurrection. ® Wey three times mentions the site of the Assumption and the dropping of the Biessed Virgin’s girdle which was caught by St. Thomas. This version is fairly frequent in embroideries of the Middle Ages, also mentioned in the Golden Legend. TO Linen:s. ao Sct. 18 The border to a vestment, either of gold or other rich embroidery. 18 “ Unknown ”’.—Victoria and Albert Museum. O. E. fleece, a velvet witha deep pile? 14 A cotton fabric of foreign manufacture used for certain church vestments. A superior kind of fustian. 15 Alb. A white linen vestment worn by the priest when celebrating. 16 Amice, an embroidered strip like a collar about the neck. 7 Girdles. 18 Eucharistic corporal cloth. 19 Burse. A cover for the Communion Cup, often embroidered. 30 The meeting of Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem is mentioned in the Itineraries. Shown on other embroideries of this period. 21 “* Might be green linen or cotton ’—Victoria and Albert Museum. Or of a natural colour, unbleached. 164 An Inventory of Gifts at Edington 22 A costly delicate fabric, sometimes of iinen, sometimes of cotton 12th—-15th century. #3 Spiral, screw. 24 A table of metal or wood with a crucifix upon it, at which the kiss of peace was given during the mass. *5 A reproduction of St. Veronica’s handkerchief on which Our Lord’s features remained imprinted after she had wiped the sweat from His Face on the way to Calvary. 26 Either fastened to a panel or in a wooden box. 27 The pillar to which Our Lord was bound when he was scourged. Stowrchyd should probably be Scowrchyd: to, as frequently, for at. 28 The place where St. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, is said to have found the true Cross. 29 A small bell rung at certain stages of the mass. Halwyd=hallowed. 30 “* Jesus, John put nigh ”’, would seem to be the meaning. There is no mention of any figures on the bell but a representation of the Last Supper with John lying on Jesus’ breast would suit a sacring bell. 81 Spikes on which candles are impaled. 32 Latten, an alloy, mostly brass. 33 Cushions. 34 Two pictures on one cloth? ‘“ The three Maries at the Sepulchre’? was frequently chosen for embroidery. Our Lord and the two disciples meeting on the road to Emmaus was also shown. ‘‘At evensong time Jesus Christ . . . he mani- fested and showed himself unto his disciples in habit of a pilgrim ’’.. Golden Legend. 35 Wey mentions the appearing of Our Lord to his Mother on the first Easter Day. 36 In the Middle Ages Jerusalem was thought to mark the centre of the world. 37 Materys of Jerusalem, the second folio. ‘‘ To every bayok”’. ‘These entries could be explained by the practice in mediaeval inventories of quoting the opening words fo a given page. This would identify the MS. as it was unlikely that a scribe, in writing another copy, would space the words so as to make an exact duplicate. Bayok, a copper coin (Italian bazocco), is listed in changes of money in the Itineraries at Bologna, Venice and Rome. Maiterys of Jerusalem may have been Wey’s own book. 38 “* Lives of the Holy Fathers ”’ the second page beginning “... rat...” This would be the termination of the last word on the first page of the MS. 39 The socket of the Cross was shown to pilgrims. Wey describes it as a round hole in the rock of the depth of half an ell, and with a diameter of more or less one palm. 40 Meaning doubtful. Qwzne or quine-stones is a word used in Somerset. In the Dialect Dictionary it is given as “‘a corner in masonry, an interior or exterior angle of a wall’’, quoin. 41 Tn the Chapel of the # Sessler Wey was shown a footprint in the rock, said to be that of Our Lord. 42 By the middle of the 15th century a number of churches had clocks. Or this could be a bell-cote with niches on either side. 39 165 WILTSHIRE BOOKS, ARTICLES, ETC. It is given to few to discover a new subject in art and to resurrect the names of many sculptors whose names had long been forgotton, but this is what Mr. Rupert Gunnis has done in his **Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851.’? Odhams Press, 1953 (£3 3s. od.). On the dust cover of this remarkable book Mr. A. L. Rowse has written: “ This is not only an invaluable, an indispensable work of reference and a magnificent example of scholarship, but a book of fascinating interest full of entertaining reading.” This high praise is fully justified and we may confidently recom- mend the book to all those who delight in wandering round the countryside and enjoying the interest and beauties of our churches. The preface gives an idea of the immensity of Mr. Gunnis’s task and the thorough way in which he tackled it, for he visited no less than six thousand Churches, examining monuments and, where they existed, the written records. He also spent numberless hours reading documents in public and private collections for details about the lives of the artists. As a result the book contains no less than seventeen hundred biographies. It would be true to say that the majority of those who visit our churches from an interest in architecture and art, do not look for works of artistic merit later than the Reformation; their interest in the later works is in the quaint and eulogistic epitaphs that record the remarkable virtues of the deceased. But this book creates a new interest by drawing attention to the fine designs, the excellent figure sculpture and the technical skill that is to be found in so many examples between the Restoration in 1660 and the year of the Great Exhibition, 1851. ; The period saw many changes in artistic fashion. At one time no work was considered worthy unless its forms suggested a knowledge of Classic art; at another the Gothic style had to be in evidence. We may regret that so many artists who possessed technical skill were unable to free themselves from prevailing fashions, for it often produced a certain selfconsciousness in their work. There are in this book fifty-nine illustrations on thirty-two plates. We should like to have seen more, though these are admirably chosen to show the different styles of the period covered. Wiltshire readers will be interested to find that memorials in upwards of seventy Wiltshire churches are mentioned and one, that to John Duval the 166 Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. younger at Cliffe Pypard, is illustrated. There is a very complete index, and it is certain that the possession of this book will add very sreatly to the pleasure of studying the art to be found in our churches. It will help us to get to know the style of many sculptors, to recognise their work and so possibly find other works that they did not sign. No one interested in this subject can fail to offer his most grateful thanks to Mr. Rupert Gunnis for having undertaken to write on this very difficult subject and for having produced such an outstanding book. C. W. HUGHES. ua l~ WEIGH BRIDGE REBUILT 1854: MARLBOROUGH HIGH STREET 1895 Marlborough—The Story of a Small and Ancient Borough by Christopher Hughes, published by the author, 35 Kingsbury St.,. Marlborough, n.d. (1953) 5s. N.P. Marlborough has for long been without a guide-book of repute. Mr. Brentnall’s scholarly Borough Guide had its last edition in 1928. In the meanwhile only ephemeral pamphlets have appeared. Those who do not possess the invaluable but irritating Waylen are left to rummage in periodical literature; the passerby is left helpless. Colonel Hughes now presents us with a paper-covered quarto of 96 pages. He first takes us a walk round the town and points out what is interesting in architecture and association. There are separate chapters on the Castle and the Churches. The bulk of the book however is arranged chronologically: it may be described as the Annals of Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. 167 Marlborough. Colonel Hughes mainly depends, as we all must, on the varied contents of the Chamberlains’ Accounts. Naturally he uses too Waylen, Hulme and Wordsworth. Moreover he has imbibed local lore and he has picked the brains of all and sundry during the long years in which he has known the town. His retentive memory and artist's eye have served him well. He uses his own drawings most happily for illustration, as the sketch on the cover (here reproduced) will show. We might single out for special mention his views of the Town Halldown the ages, Walter Han- cock’s steam-carriage of 1836, the Elizabethan house that once stood on the site of Lloyd’s Bank and the various coats of arms of the borough, though we do not remember seeing so realistic a castle on the shield of 1565, at any rate before the days of the nineteenth century (fig. 3, p. 84). As we proceed at our leisure through the centuries we are told of Cornmarket and High Cross, of destructive fires and of old James who lost his pound, of travelling players (was it Shakespeare or not 2), of rogues being whipped, of gallows, of Civil-War road-blocks, of William Houlbrook the smith, of cutting down the maypole and of brandy at the mayor’s feast. The general effect is that of an aperitif: we ask for more. Certainly an anthology can never satisfy everyone; but rich material must be ruthlessly selected, and the selection is carefully done. Some errors there are and repetitions too. The Bowling Green (p. 19) is placed—as on the Ordnance map—in the fork of the Swindon and Wootton Bassett roads; but it was to the west of these roads, near the tennis courts; for it lay in St. Peter’s parish and in 1808 is described as “ below Gough’s Close,” now known as St. John’s Close. Again King John’s almsgiving to Eve the recluse (p. 33) is given the almost inevitable romantic twist that it suggests. But she was merely the fifth or sixth in succession of royal beneficiaries, the first of whom dates back to Richard I’s reign in 119s. A more serious error occurs when St. Mary’s gallery (pp. 21 and 51) is ascribed to a period before the fire of 1653, for there used to be an inscription on it to show that it was put up in 1707. It was St. Peter’s gallery that went up in 1627. Perhaps this change will enable Col. Hughes to frame a working hypothesis to account for the chequered growth of St. Mary’s Church; so far he has found it something of a nightmare.! 1C. E. Ponting (W.A.M. XXXIV 200) gave a very clear account of the architecture of the church. 168 Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. Small errors are soon disposed of. Jewish beggars (p.48) should be Irish. Mr. (Thomas) Seymout’s house (p. 67), burned down in 1688, was not a previous version of the Castle Inn, but a draper’s shop that stood near the Bear of that day at the east end of the High Street. Incidentally Evelyn’s comment of “nothing observable at Lord Seymour's except the Mount” must surely mean “nothing note- worthy ” (pp. 14 and 61). The High Cross (p. 45) certainly existed before it was rebuilt so grandly in 1572 (it was there in 1514);a Town Clerk (p. 46) held office as early as 1565; and the solitary watchbell noticed only in 1618 (p. 50) was in fact frequently rung. There are many pitfalls for the local historian connected with inns and none so deep in Marlborough as those linked with the sign of the White Hart. There have been five Harts in Marlborough. The earliest was set up in 1456 on the north side of the High Street; con- fusingly enough, the original indenture in the P.R.O. is labelled C 1399, which has led more than one authority to exaggerate its age (p. 15). However our author has also brought it to a premature close; for it disappeared in about 1730, not 1705; and the assertion that an * assessor was put in at the old Hart ” in 1705 depends on a misreading, for it was not an “ assessor ” but an ‘answer’ that some local Scrooge put in, the contents of which were happily digested or forgotten at the old Hart. Another White Hart (p. 77, ll 9, 10) was later famous for its “North Wiltshire loaf and truckle” cheeses; these were highly esteemed by early Marlborough race-goers. Its site long persisted as Hart Yard, the old name for Alma Place. Yeta third White Hart was in Kingsbury Street (p. 19). The others lay, one on either side of the exit from the Green to St. Martin’s (pp. 11 and 77). The earlier was on the site of Church House (5 the Green, not 7); and it was in the garden here that a dissenting chapel lay, on land that has been church property for three and a half centuries. Here also Cornet Joyce ensnared William Houlbrook in 1659 (p. 62). The last of the White Harts is still remem- bered by old inhabitants to have been the one at 7, the Green. It is a pity that the origin of Gresley’s school is not given. It was founded in 1780 by the Rev. John Davis, a dissenting minister. The contemporary comment of Joseph Edwards, clerk, M.A., Master of the Grammar School, upon Mr. Davis appeared in the pages of the Salisbury and Winchester Journal: “ He is neither a member of the established church nor a native of this kingdom”. However, despite these insinuations, the school flourished. Gresley succeeded him in 1791; and in 1804, the year in which his pupils cut the White Horse on Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. 169 Granham Hill, he continued “to genteelly board and judiciously and carefully instruct young gentlemen in every branch of useful and polite learning.” One special point of interest is discussed. Until 1631 the Guildhall had stood on the north side of the High Street, not far east of the Castle and Bull. Where was it from 1631, the year in which Town Hall and Market House were combined, until the fire of 1653 2 It is not a simple problem, but the author leads us to suppose that it was on the site of the Cinema on the south side of the street. We hope that the public will recognise the worth of this book. There are many signs of careless proof-reading, particularly in punc- tuation, which the publisher would do well to remove in a second edition. But it is a fascinating volume and repays careful study. E-G.ELE: Two articles by Mr. K. G. Ponting on The West of England Cloth Trade appeared in the periodical Wool Knowledge (1952—3) and greatly extended that knowledge in the case of at least one reader. They are full of interest and can only be glanced at here. In the 13th Century the trade was confined to towns and controlled by guilds. Since then it has migrated to the country and back again to towns, but not those in which it started. “In the 13th and early 14th centuries Bristol wasthe chief cloth-making centre in England followed by Salisbury, London and Winchester”’, but Bristol trade was ruined by the substitution of mills for human feet in the fulling process. There was no room there for the sluices and dams that would have hampered navigation. Mills however were built on tributaries of the Avon and in greatest numbers along the Somersetshire Frome. “ The history of the West of England cloth trade”’, says Mr. Ponting, perhaps too summarily, “ could be written as the economic history of that river valley ”’. Bristol’s energies were now bent on killing the trade it could no longer share, and the new class of employers of rural labour, the clothiers, turned to London for their markets as their successors do still. It was later developments in mechanisation, first the spinning jenny in the later 18th and finally the power loom in the earlier roth century, that completed the painful process of destroying the cottage cloth- makers. The fight against machinery went on even in the factories, where the shearmen found themselves being ousted by the rotary VOU. LV—CXCIX M 170 Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. cutting blade. The decline of the West of England trade is ascribed to the dearth of inventive skill in that region and, of course, to the growing competition of Yorkshire based on natural advantages denied to the West. Mr. Ponting’s account is illustrated by an excellent series of photographs and old drawings. The Victoria History of Wiltshire edited by R. B. Pugh, M.A., F.S.A., assisted by Elizabeth Crittall, M.A. Volume Seven. Pub- lished for the University of London Institute of Historical Research by the Oxford University Press, London, 1953. (Three and four guineas.) So the V.C.H. of Wiltshire is launched! It has entered the water sideways, as it were, presenting first its beam to a curious public in the form of volume VII, but what of that: Ships commonly leave the slipway stern first— it would have been disconcerting if we had been offered an Index volume to begin with; but there will be none for Wiltshire since each volume is to be indexed separately. This alteration of V.C.H. practice has much to commend it, but the arrangement of six topographical volumes by hundreds will mean considerable difficulty in finding one’s way among them. In 1823 John Britton found 29 hundreds in Wiltshire: in 1939 Place-Names of Wiltshire made the number 40, and in either list 14 were “ ragged” or scattered. Volume VII deals with Bradford, Melksham, Potterne and Cannings: is that three or four? By one reckoning it is three and a half, for Potterne is one half of the old hundred of Rowborough. In as much as it includes Highway beyond Calne, Cannings itself is ragged. But the Place-Names editors put Highway in Kingsbridge hundred. In this volume the towns, Bradford, Melksham, Trowbridge and their members, naturally occupy the lion’s share of the space, but the need for a general map of Wiltshire hundreds as presented by the V.C.H. becomes insistent. The General Editor, however, has no doubt thought of that. What is topography: “The accurate and detailed delineation of any place, city, town, manor, parish or tract ofland’’. The O.E.D. has said it, and the V.C.H. has been doing it for the past 50 years whenever a troubled world allowed. To follow a contributor, his general des- cription ended, forging steadily ahead through a sea of documents, separating out from each the relevant facts and leaving at the bottom of every double-columned page a three-column precipitate of references, is to be moved to admiration not only for his skill and determination but equally for his catholic, if prescribed, sympathies, embracing Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. 171 manorial descents to rejoice the genealogist, field-names that have escaped the net of the toponymist, churches and mills, eels and aletasters, pack-roads, skittle-alleys, charities, gasworks and everything else that finds its place in the ordered history of a town or parish. The scheme of each is arranged, so far as appropriate, under the same recurrent headings and the record traced from Domesday to the present century. The reader is left with the conviction—which future historians will doubtless disprove—that there can be nothing left to say. But those same historians will owe an immense debt to the V.C.H. Impartially, impassively, the tale is told. The surviving glories of our best monu- ments are listed as coldly as the worst ravages of the restorer. Only here and there may we detect the private feelings of the recorder, as when he finds a ‘ good’ piscina at Potterne, ‘pleasant’ ashlar at Hilperton, an ‘excellent’ brass at Bradford, a “ fine’ screen at South Wraxall or— we note it almost apologetically—those two * remarkably fine’ pieces of domestic architecture at Bradford. But such exceptions only emphasize the normal self-restraint. For the first time in the V.C.H. Nonconformity and primary schools have been given ample space. The inclusion of Dissent is a welcome addition, but the history of the schools is apt to be jejune, being concerned largely, though not exclusively, with expense accounts and attendance figures. It could hardly be otherwise with the meagre sources available. Secondary schools are for the most part recent in this part of the county, but Dauntsey’s is an exception. Its vicissitudes are traced from its foundation in the 16th century: it is a pity that the story stops in 1891. Comment on place-names is rare, but evidence for a ee at Bradford is found in the year 652, when Cenwalh fought aet Bradanford be Afne. Yet it is questioned on the ground that it may only refer to the ford itself. Could there be a ford beside a river? The adoption of the modern form, Bradford-on-Avon, in 1858 is men- tioned only in a foot-note, but it surely had significance in the history of the cloth trade. The vexed name of Limpley Stoke is brought a short stage nearer elucidation. Of Roundstone Street, Trowbridge, though the index is unhelpful, an explanation will at last be found under ‘Markets’. A reference to Mother Anthony’s Well above Rowde, once seen but not indexed and now lost again, offered no clue to that pleasant name. For the normal paucity of picturesque detail in the narrative the illustrations afford from time to time a substitute. The coloured M 2 172 3 Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. frontispiece of Bradford bridge, with the still mysterious building on the second pier, is the forerunner of a number of Buckler’s unrivalled drawings. The view of Place House, Melksham, bears no attribution : house and artist are now, perhaps, alike forgotten. The photograph of Belcombe Court is hardly as satisfactory as that which appeared in Country Life, but that of Bradford Hall below it is surely unsurpassed. The other photographs include four good landscapes and many notable buildings and details, though a search of text and index has yielded no reference to the Round House at Melksham, a photograph which deserved some notice. But criticism, captious or otherwise, is not the first purpose of this review. Omissions and errors there must be in a work of this scope : what is remarkable is that on a first examination they appear to be so few. The editors, who added to their over-riding responsibilities their own extensive contributions to the text, earn our sincerest con- gratulations on the successful issue of their labours. The V.C.H. is now adopting a new policy. It is inviting the co- operation of local authorities in meeting the greatly increased cost of production which falls on London University. It is gratifying to know of the lead given by Swindon, Salisbury and the County Council in this direction—a lead which is being followed in other counties whose Histories are in progress. And a member of the local V.C.H. committee may be allowed to express appreciation of the hospitality extended twice yearly since its meetings began in 1948 by the Corporation of Swindon, one of whose committee-rooms and another room not far removed have been the cradle and the nursery of its deliberations. Stephen Duck, the Wiltshire Phenomenon, 1705—1756, by R. G. Furnival, appeared in the Cambridge Journal for May 1953. It is an acceptable estimate of the thresher-poet from Charlton in the Vale of Pewsey, who rose to favour with Queen Caroline and won, which is more remarkable, the good opinion of Pope. Even in the latest recensions of the Dunciad we do not find his name. Perhaps the “wasp of Twicknam ” had never heard what Mr. Furnival tells us,— that a Winchester divine had called “ the Thresher, with all his defects, a superior genius to Mr. Pope’. In one of his Imitations of Horace ' Pope, addressing Colley Cibber (who has a large place in the Dunciad), declares in mockery of that Laureate : “Lord ! how we strut thro Merlin’s Cave to see No Poets there but Stephen, you and me.” Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. 173 There is doubtless some patronage in the Christian name, but there is friendship too, and in fact there was much to attract in this self-taught poet, whose head was never turned by the extravagant estimates sometimes made of his very modest attainments. ‘ Merlin’s Cave’? was a free-standing “grotto”? in the royal gardens at Richmond (singularly ugly as portrayed in a contemporary print). Grottoes at this date were all the rage, but few were contrived in hillsides like that in “ Merlin’s Mound” at Marlborough. It was probably Lady Hertford who suggested the name to her royal mistress. She is also credited, if not by Mr. Furnival, with bringing Duck to the notice of the Queen, who had a certain taste for literature. Caroline gave him a pension, made him a Yeoman of the Guard and then put him in charge of the royal library housed in Merlin’s Cave, which explains his presence there with Pope. Then, as he had by ten years’ labour qualified for ordination, he was made Royal Preacher at Kew and finally Rector of Byfleet. Thus provided for, he sank into obscurity and suffered bitterly from the neglect which he had no philosophy to explain or to withstand. Four years later he drowned himself. The judgment of a contemporary wit Mr. Furnival forbears to quote. “ A duck drowned on Parnassus ”’ was an unkind cut delivered before the tragedy, but it sums up well enough the failure that produced it. The Thresher had had many friends, from Stanley, the rector of Pewsey who first discovered him, to that “ Lady of Quality attending on the Queen who made my low circumstances known to Her Majesty ”’. Among them were the first Lord Palmerston, the “Temple” of his poems, and a humbler man whom he calls “ Menalcas”’ and identifies in a footnote with the farmer for whom he had worked at Charlton, ““ once the Author’s Master and still his Friend ”’. With him he returned to Charlton in the course of the “Journey ” that supplied the subject of a poem. There he described the Threshers’ Feast given in his honour every 30th of June by Lord Palmerston and afterwards endowed by him with the rent of “ Palmerston’s Piece ”. Mr. Furnival failed to trace the entertainment later than 1869, but it was reported in these pages 80 years after that and is still celebrated, though threshers have long ceased to enjoy it exclusively. “ Oft as this Day returns, shall Threshers claim Some Hours of Rest sacred to TEMPLE’s Name ; Oft as this Day returns, shall Tempre chear The Threshers’ hearts with Mutton, Beef and Beer.” 174 Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. “ By the standard of Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth and Pope,” says Mr. Furnival, “ he shows up rather badly ’’. The irony is heavy- handed, but perhaps its very unfairness will reconcile us to the unas- suming couplets of the peasant-poet of Charlton St. Peter who found a niche in the D.N.B. 175 NOTES Josiah Wooldridge of Bedwyn. Mr. E. R. Pole contributes the following “from a notebook of the Rev. John Ward, commenced in 1835, in which he noted his records for inclusion in his ‘His- tory of Great Bedwyn”’, published inW.A.M. Vol. VI. Later there was a letter in the W.A.M. from him saying he wished he had been fuller. This extract is presumably among those he would have wished toadd.”’ Ivy Cottage, the birthplace of Thomas Wyllis, M.D. The house now be- longs to Mr. Wooldridge. Josiah Wooldridge was a most worthy man and an excellent mathematician. He kept a school at Bedwin and was the first master on Cox’s Foundation. He was many times Portreeve of the Borough and always filled that Office with great credit to himself and with unbounded satisfaction to his fellow townsmen. He was particularly active during the Riots of 1830. On the evening of Sunday the 21st day of November it was reported that three mobs were lying in the vicinity of Bedwin. Early on Monday morning Mr. Wool- dridge swore in 140 Special Constables, 45 of whom were mounted, all supplied with a tough ashen cudgel, and a few with pistols. Not one rioter ventured into the town. On the following day, Tuesday, the example set at Bedwin was made known at Marlborough Fair, and the Farmers and others attending there got themselves sworn and ready for anything that might happen. The Marl- borough Troop of the Wilts Yeomanry was also called out. The Mobs still remained in the neighbourhood, about Crofton, Shalbourne, and Hungerford, doing immense mischief among Threshing Machinesand other farm mechanism. The Cavalry and Mounted Constables were employed near Marlborough and Pewsey on the 24th. On the 25th they came through Bedwin amounting to about 400 men headed by Magistrates and Officers. They proceeded to Shal- bourne, one party going forward upon the hills to the South and another on the hill to the North, so that the village was completely invested and the rioters could not escape. Many prisoners were taken to Marlborough Jail. In a few days the whole country was quiet. Special Assizes were held at Winchester and numbers of the prisoners were transported for various periods. At the age of 16 Mr. Wooldridge officiated on Easter Day 1787 8 the Parish Clerk in place of his Uncle Batten, who was ill, and continued in that Office to the day of his death, omitting one Sunday only during health, when he was obliged to be at Salisbury under a Subpoena, and from Christmas 1836 to the day of his death, during the only severe illness he had through life. He never wore a coat and only white cotton stockings with short breeches on his lower man. To this fashion he probably owed his early death for he caught cold in his legs and they became sore and could not be healed. Further Note on Charter Readings. Since the publication in the Magazine of my article on “ Royal Portraits in Charter Readings ” and my additional note on the same subject!, the County Archivist, Mr. M. G. Rathbone, has called my attention to a document deposited 176 Notes in the County Record Office, which portrays a lithographed initial portrait of Queen Victoria, with the’ conventional lithographed “ surround ”’. It is a Grant under Letters Patent of May Ath 1847 of the care and management of the estate in Middlesex and elsewhere of James Mann the younger of Leighton House, Westbury, to the Rev. William Henry Galfridus Mann of Bowdon, Altringham, Cheshire, Clerk. The Great Seal, originally attached, has been removed. This is evidence that the practice of including a printed portrait of the reigning Sovereign in the initial heading of this type of docu- ment continued in use as late as the year 1847. A. SHaw MELLoR 1W.A.M. li, Dec. 1949, pp. 223—230 and Dec. 1950, p. 489 A Flint Dagger from Avebury I am indebted to Mr. Murray Dowding, of Chipping Sodbury, for permission to publish the flint dagger here illustrated which was found inside the Avebury circle, north of the centre (at approximate grid reference SU 103700) in the garden of a house occupied by a Mr. Shipway some 20 or 30 years ago. The implement, which is now in Mr. Dowding’s collection, is 6.15 inches long and 0.8 inches in maximum thickness, being unusually thick for this type of implement. It is well flaked on both sides, and protuberances have been removed by grinding. It was shown by Mr. W. F. Grimes in 1931 (Proc. Prehist. Soc. East Anglia, vi, 1931, 340-355) that flint daggers of this type are normally associated with beakers of the type A (or necked) variety, though they occur occasionally with later associations. Their rarity in Wilt- shire may well be connected with the abundance of bronze daggers in this county; but other examples have been recorded from barrow AMESBURY 54 (=Hoare’s no. 39), an interment covered by a sarsen slab at Durrington Walls, and an interment at Lockeridge, which was accompanied by a bell-beaker (type B1)—an unusual as- sociation which can be explained by the extent to which cultures became mixed on the Wessex chalk. Portions of six daggers have been found on the downs near Aldbourne. Details of all will be given in the forthcoming Victoria County History of Wiltshire, vol. I. L. V. GRINSELL. A Roman Villa at Downton. Last May the tenant of a new Council house some 200 yards from Downton Moot found his efforts to sink a Loe 178 Notes post in his back-garden halted by an obstruction. He dug down and came upon what proved to be a tessellated floor 14 ins. below ground- level. He promptly reported his discovery, and a team of amateur excavators under the direction of Mr. Morley-Hewitt of Fordingbridge received his permission to examine the site, which was soon found to extend over the next-door garden also. Trial trenches revealed vestiges of four rooms of a Roman villa which probably extended over other neighbouring gardens. The one coin found was of Constantine II, and fragments of New Forest ware confirmed a dating to the 4th century. The roof had been of Purbeck tiles, and some of those found still retained their nails. The walls were decorated with coloured plaster, and the mosaic floors were mainly of red or white tesserae about one inch square. But the principal room had an ornate pattern of red, grey and black pieces measuring only 3-eighths of an inch across. The centre of the design showed a vase with flowers, and the sym- metry of the whole suggested a room about 20 feet square. Traces of Roman remains have been found within a few hundred yards in every direction; a Roman well is now known to have been found and filled in during the making of a new road for the housing estate. The tenants of the two houses concerned have willingly surrendered their gardens to the cause of archaeology, but the full ex- ploration of the site would probably involve their neighbours’ land and must await their decision as well as that of the Rural Council and the Ministry of Works. No later news than the Times report of August 20th has so far reached North Wilts. The Pembroke Survey 1631-1632. In his review of the surveys of the Manors of Philip, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, 1631-1632, Mr. Chettle raises the interesting question of the principle upon which the number of beasts allowed to the copyhold tenant for pasturage on the commons was calculated. John Aubrey, when he was collecting material for his ise of the northern hundreds of Wiltshire, copied from what he called “ the Legier Book of Glastonbury” a document dated 1243 entitled De admensuratione pasturae!. The issue was one where three persons of the village of Christian Malford, a Glastonbury manor, were charged with overstocking the common pasture, and a sworn jury pronounced that to every virgate there belonged for its cultivation and sustenance four oxen, one draught horse, two cows, three pigs and twelve sheep?. For the hide the numbers were multiplied by four. Notes 179 The jury do not say that the commons can support that number of animals; they say that that number of animals is required for the proper cultivation of the virgate and to keep the land in good heart (ad tantam terram colendam et sustinendam). If this is the correct interpretation, it follows that the number, e.g., of sheep, was con- ditioned, not by the extent of the common pasture, but by the extent of the arable tenement. Just as the oxen were necessary for the plough team, so the sheep were essential, for their manure and their treading the ground when hurdled at night, to prepare the soil for the sheep- and-arable system of farming universally practised in Wiltshire. Writing a report for the Government at the end of the eighteenth century about the now extinct breed of Wiltshire Horn sheep, Davis enumerated their uses in the following order: first their dung, second their wool and third their carcase. “So long,” he concluded, “as Wiltshire remains a corn country, the sheep-fold must be the sheet anchor of husbandry.’’ Rights of common pasturage were appurtenant to the tenement, and, as Bracton observed, the size of the tenement being known, it was easy to calculate not only the number of beasts, but also the kind _ of beasts belonging to it according to local custom.* The sheep were assigned, not so many to the acre, but so many to the tenement (virgate, etc.) and were computed according to rates laid down by local custom. The virgate varied in size from manor to manor. At Christian Malford there is some evidence that the virgate was an unusually small one®, which would account for the small number of sheep allotted to it. In my own village of Martin in the old South Damerham Hundred of Wiltshire (since 1895 transferred to Hampshire), another Glastonbury manor, the virgate was between thirty-three and thirty-four statutory acres and the allocation of sheep would seem to have been about fifty to the virgate, or one and a half to the arable acre. On the Pembroke manors the virgate fluctuated from thirty acres at Broad- chalke to sixteen acres at the neighbouring village of Bishopstone. But the number of sheep allowed to the arable acre of the virgate varied between the relatively narrow limits of one-and-a-half and three. The formula quoted above for Christian Malford shews that local custom had been well established by the thirteenth century and probably much earlier; it also shews that even at that time the tenants were prone to exceed their allotted number of animals. Thus, in 180 Notes addition to the restrictions imposed by the size of the tenement, there must also in practice have been a stint on the common pasturage. In 1567 the first Earl of Pembroke held land in the South Damerham Hundred, and in the survey made in that year the following passage occurs about one of his demesne farms:— “At Toyd and Allenford there are 240 acres of pasture, upon which may be grazed 720 sheep; the value of the pasture is 1/- and the value of a sheep 4d.’”6 Now fourpence was the market price of a sheep in the twelfth century, and in succeeding centuries it increased considerably. The inference is that the equation of three sheep to the acre was a traditional economic formula originating many centuries previously. Commonage was not restricted to the downs; between certain dates the open fields and the fallow were thrown open; at Teffont and Dinton there were limited rights of common in Grovely Wood. Numeratores ovium, later called sheep-tellers, occur in records of the early Stuarts. Their duty was to count the flocks four times a year and to impose a fine, which rose from sixpence in 1609 to five shillings in 1900, on those who de- pastured sheep in excess of their allocation.’ E. H. LANE POOLE. 1 Aubrey, Topographical Collections, 4.23. ‘“‘Ad unam virgatam terre pertinent 4 boves et I averium et 3 porci et 12 bidentes ad tantam terram colendam et sustinendam.”’ See also Vinogradoff, Villeinage in England, who quotes the passage from Wood’s MSS in the Bodleian Library. Davis, A general view of agriculture in Wilts (1794), 143. Bracton, 228b, quoted by Vinogradoff. ‘“‘Quia cum constet de quantitate tenementi, de facili perpendi poterit de numero averiorum, et etiam de genere, secundum consuetudinem locorum.”’ A. L. Poole, From Domesday to Magna Carta (Oxford History of England) 48. Survey of the lands of the first Earl of Pembroke (1566-1567) (Roxburghe Club, 1909) p. 312. Damerham, Martin and Tidpit Court Rolls, 1609. bo > & ao ao L | 181 CRICKLADE EXCAVATION 1953. In the first season of Dr. F.T. Wainwright’s excavation at Cricklade attention was concentrated on one quarter of the site, and the line of the “wall” was revealed at several points. It was also demonstrated that the “ wall” consisted of a wide clay bank faced by what once must have been an impressive stone wall. Early in the Middle Ages the stone wall was removed, presumably for building material; the defences were never restored, and the bank quickly became the broad low “ spread” which now runs round the four sides of Cricklade. A close dating of the various features of the wall and bank will depend upon the Sanhiess of pots- herds now being examined. In 1953 work proceeded during the four weeks ees 22nd June and 18th July. It was assisted by grants from the Society of Antiquaries, the Russell Trust, the Wiltshire Archaeological Society and other learned bodies. A strong force of 20-30 volunteers was accommodated in Cricklade, and the costs of accommodation were met by the Crick- lade Historical Society from its funds and from the proceeds of an appeal launched in 1952. This is the third post-war excavation at Cricklade. In 1948 Mr. Francis Maddison cut a trench across the line of the wall in the south- east corner, and in 1952 the Ministry of Works exposed a length of stone wall near the middle of the west side of the site, in an area marked out for the extension of the cemetery. Dr. Wainwright’s 1953 trenches cut the northern and western walls in the north-west quarter of the site. In 1954 work will continue in other quarters and along other stretches of the wall. Dr. Wainwright wishes to thank all who have contributed to the success of the Cricklade Excavation to date: the volunteer labour corps of students from various universities, the learned bodies (including the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society) which have made grants, and, above all, Dr. T. R. Thomson, whose energy and enthusiam transformed an idea and a hope into the concrete operation now going forward. pel82 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 1953—AND EXCURSIONS The Annual Meeting was held at the Town Hall, Devizes, on Saturday, August 15th at 11.30 a.m. The President (Mr. J. Oram) was in the chair, and about 50 members were present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read, and signed. The Acting Secretary then presented his report, which, he said, was largely the work of Mr. C. W. Pugh, who had recently resigned from the Secretaryship. On the motion of the President, the report was adopted and will be found on another page. In the absence of the Treasurer, Mr. R. S. Child, it was reported that the accounts for 1952 were now published in the Magazine. A scheme for obtaining covenants for subscriptions from members was being pursued by the Treasurer with some success. The next business was the appointment of a President. Mr. R. B. Pugh, proposed by Mr. H. C. Brentnall and seconded by Mr. M. G. Rathbone, was unanimously elected. Mr. Brentnall expressed the warm thanks of the Society to Mr. Oram, for undertaking the Presidency and its many duties in the centenary year of the Society’s history. The President then informed the meeting that Mr. C. W. Pugh and Mr. G. M. Young had been nominated as Vice-presidents, in recognition of their great services to the Society. They were thereupon elected amid applause. Mr. C. W. Pugh had felt obliged to relinquish the post of Secretary for reasons of health. He was warmly thanked for the work he had done in this office. Until a successor could be found, the Curator, Mr. N. Thomas, was appointed as Acting Secretary. The remaining officers, and members of the Committee, with the exception of Mr. R. B. Pugh, the new President, were re-elected. In addition, Mr. C. Rice and Mr. Oram were elected to the Committee. The Hon. Auditor, Mr. R. T. Kemp, had been reluctantly compelled to give up his office. In his place, Mr. W. E. Brown, of Devizes, had kindly agreed to be appointed. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. R. B. Pugh, Miss E. Crittall and those other members who were responsible for the Centenary celebrations held in July, an account of which will be found elsewhere. It was agreed that there ought to be at least one meeting of the Society during the winter, at which a lecture should be given. It was suggested that the Curator be asked to give a talk at such a meeting on his excavations at Everleigh. There being no other business, members were invited to inspect a display of objects unearthed during the course of the Society’s excavations at Snail Down, Everleigh, which were still in progress. At the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting, a second excursion was held. After lunch at the Castle Hotel, members made their way to Bromham Church. Here they were met by the Rector, the Rev. J. F. Collins, who gave an interesting account of the building. The church is chiefly of Perpendicular date, though there are some remains of Norman work in the north and west walls. A south chapel built by William Beauchamp, Lord St. Amand, is a magnificent example of late Gothic. It is almost an exact counterpart of St. Annual General Meeting 183 John’s, Devizes, which was erected by the same founder. The chapel contains. a fine altar-tomb with a recumbent effigy of Sir Roger Touchet; and there are other tombs and brasses to members of the Bayntun family. The retiring President then gave an address on the life of Thomas Moore, the Irish poet who lived in the parish for nearly half his life. Mr. Oram began. by saying that as a compatriot of Thomas Moore, whose death occurred just a century ago, he was interested in the poet, and he hoped that a short account of his life would not be unacceptable to members. He then described Moore’s career from his University days at Trinity College, Dublin, where he became friendly with Robert Emmett and narrowly escaped being drawn into the plots of the United Irishmen. Leaving Dublin in 1799 he came to London to: study law, but his poetic and musical gifts, together with his personal charm, took London society by storm, and he became a social success. His fame and popularity were greatly increased by the publication of his * Irish Melodies.’ Some years later he decided to leave London, and finally in 1817, settled at Sloperton Cottage, a small house in the parish of Bromham. There is no doubt that his reason for doing so was that it was close to Bowood, the home of the Marquis of Lansdowne, his friend and benefactor. For the rest of his life Moore remained peacefully and happily at Sloperton, where he died at the age of 72. He is buried in the churchyard of Bromham, bis grave being marked by a Celtic cross. After the President’s address, the company visited the charming gardens. of Sloperton Cottage, which had been kindly thrown open to them by Sir William Baynes, the present owner, and then moved on to Collingbourne Ducis, where tea was provided in the Village Hall. After this, they travelled to Snail Down, where Mr. N. Thomas conducted the party over his excavations. First, members were shown the Disc-Barrow, which was being completely cleared. The chief feature so far exposed was. its encircling ditch, which was of monumental proportions; originally the floor of the ditch had been flat and its walls vertical. Finds were few, but sherds of Beaker pottery had been found in association with the construction of the monument. Both central mounds appeared to have been robbed. The party then moved down to the other main site, a Saucer-Barrow, on the way viewing sections cut across a second Disc-Barrow and a Late Bronze Age boundary ditch. The Saucer-Barrow was nearly stripped. The central burial pit, opened by William Cunnington in 1805, had not yet been reached, but a similar one had been found just to the south-west which had not been opened before. It had contained the cremated bones of a youth, from whose skull a circular disc had been cut, evidence for the early practice of the operation called tre- panning. A Beaker sherd, and a Group I axe were among the important finds associated with the early phase of the site. Mr. Thomas said that already enough had been found to suggest that these two types of burial-place were closely connected with ritual, apart from being for the interment of the dead. The external bank found in each and the great size of their ditches showed that they had much in common with ceremonial monuments like Avebury and Stonehenge. 184 EXCURSION INTO BERKSHIRE On Wednesday, June roth, 1953, in fine weather, the Society held its first excursion of the season. A motor coach from Devizes, and a number of private cars, took a party of about 80 people to Compton Beauchamp Manor. It was regretted that Mrs. Lloyd Thomas, by whose generosity her house was open to the Society, was unable to be present owing to illness. But in her place Mr. A. G. Shireff kindly acted as guide. Compton Beauchamp is a rare example of a moated manor house. Its stone front, approached by a short avenue of elm-trees, is 18th century work, but the back of the house shows the original 16th century structure, a splendid example of Elizabethan domestic architecture. Beautiful lawns stretched far up the hill. Members also visited the tiny church situated behind the manor. It has features of the Early English period onwards, including traces of 14th century glass. The party then moved up onto the Berkshire Downs, where Mr. P. P. Rhodes was a most lucid guide, first at the chambered long barrow called Wayland’s Smithy and then at Uffington Castle with its White Horse. At Waylands Smithy, members saw a splendid example of the Cotswold-Severn tombs, characteristic of an early phase of the Neolithic period. The mound of this barrow is much more rectangular in shape than others of its class, but the cruciform plan of the burial gallery and its side chambers link the monument with the Cotswold group. It is significantly close to the Icknield Way, an important route in prehistoric times from Wessex to East Anglia. The next place to be visited was Uffington Castle, the imposing uni-vallate camp on Whitehorse Hill. The entrance to the camp is on the west, where there is a simple gap through the bank, ditch, and smaller outer bank. Ex- cavations in the 19th century by Mr. E. Martin Atkins suggested that the outer face of the main bank had been shored up with a double row of timber posts, acting also as an imposing breastwork. The simple plan of this earthwork coupled with its wooden revetting indicates that it was built at a fairlygearly period in the Iron Age, but surface finds show that it remained in use until Roman times. The White Horse, which was visited last, was probably cut only a few years before the Roman occupation. After a picnic lunch, the party moved off to the church at Uffington, where the vicar, the Rev. S. W. Doran, gave a fascinating account of its architectural features. He suggested that it had been built for a community of priests, because of its great size and numerous chapels. Its cruciform plan, and the unique octagonal tower, whose spire fell 100 years ago, were the chief features of this Early English church. The 17th century village school-house, lying just outside the church-yard entrance, proved a great attraction, with its original list of injunctions to pupils and parents inscribed on a board fixed to one wall of the school-room. The party then proceeded to the Blowing Stone. At least two people were able to produce a sound through this curiously perforated sarsen. Sparsholt church was the last place to be visited on this memorable day. Once again Mr. Shireff acted as guide. Although this church dates from the Transitional period, it was completely rebuilt about 1330, and its delightful Annual Report, 1952-53 185 chancel bears witness to this. Originally it had a cruciform plan, but the north transept has been destroyed. The nave has a fine Decorated roof, and here and there a little old glass remains. There are still nine brasses in the church, the oldest being to William de Herelston, rector in 1353. But perhaps the most unusual features are the three well-preserved wooden effigies, one of a knight and two of females, that lie in the south transept. They are of the 14th century and belong to a small group of wooden church monuments in Britain. The day ended with tea in the Bear Hotel and the Windmill Café at Wantage. The party then returned to Devizes via Aldbourne and Marlborough ANNUAL REPORT, 1952-3. Presented to the General Meeting on August 15th. Membership. Fifty-four new members have joined the Society since the last Annual Meeting. Losses by death or resignation numbered twenty, leaving a total membership of 570, which is thirty-four more than at the corresponding period last year. The Museum. The equipment of a laboratory and a work room was put in hand on the appointment of the Curator a year ago and has now beeu completed, so that the repair and preservation of specimens in need of treatment can now be undertaken. In January the Curator submitted a plan for the development of the Museum over the next five years. Since then his main work has been the arrangement of an exhibition to celebrate the centenary of the Society’s foundation. The large room formerly let to the Wiltshire Federation of Women’s Institutes and the redecorated hall of No. 41, Long Street, have been furnished with cases moved from other parts of the Museum, and these have been filled with a series of objects illustrating the most important of the Society’s collections. In accomplishing this work the Curator has had substantial help from other members of the Society and also from the care- taker, Mrs. Cole, and her husband, Mr. A. Cole, whose skill in carpentry and electrical work has been invaluable. The most notable gift to the Museum during the year has been the collection of grave goods from a barrow at Manton opened many years ago, which has now been given to the Society by Dr. W. B. Maurice of Marlborough, the owner of the land on which the barrow is situated. The Society has reason to be grateful to Mr. R. de C. Nan Kivell, who had the portrait of William Cunnington, by S. Woodforde, cleaned and repaired at his gallery in Bond Street. The negotiations with the County Council for assistance towards the _ maintenance of the Museum referred to in last year’s report have resulted in a very welcome grant of £250, which has enabled the Society to engage a technical assistant to help in the urgent repair work alreayd alluded to. Miss A. S. Mottram was appointed to this post and started work on July 16th. | The Salisbury Museum has undertaken to augment the County’s grant, so long as that grant shall run, by a sum of £50 a year, in return for which the Society will lend them Miss Mottram’s services for the equivalent of one day’s work a week. VOL. LV—CXCIX N 186 Annual Report, 1952-53 Implements in the Bradford-on-Avon Barn. Some time ago the Society offered to deposit the obsolete farm implements, hitherto stored in the Bradford tithe barn, with the County Council School of Agriculture at Lackham on permanent loan. This offer has now been accepted, and most of the implements have already been transferred. The Sheriff’s coach, also in the barn, has been accepted on the same terms by the Bristol City Museum and will be transferred as soon as circumstances permit. The Library continues to fulfil its useful purpose as a fruitful source of information for local historians and genealogists. The Magazine. Two numbers have as usual been published during the year. Centenary Celebrations. An account of these is appended to this Report. (See p. 151). A short Centenary History of the Society has also been prepared and will shortly be distributed to all members. The Natural History Section. This Section now has 215 members, of whom 93 are full members of the Society. The meetings held during the year were fully reported in the last number of the Magazine. The Section continues to take part in and supply information to several national societies. A new Wiltshire Flora is now being printed, though its progress is slow. A county check-list of birds and an entomological list are also in preparation. The Section has given valuable help to the Curator in the reorganization of the bird-room, and he would especially like to thank Mr. C. Rice and Mr. C. E. Owen for their assistance in preparing the natural history part of the centenary exhibition. The Records Branch. A full report upon the activities of this Branch in 1952 will be printed separately in the Magazine. It may be noted that since the last Annual General Meeting of the parent Society three volumes have been issued, and the publication programme is no longer in arrears. Snail Down Barrows. The matter of the damage done by tanks to this group of barrows which was reported last year, has been further considered by the Society in conjunction with the Ancient Monuments Department of the Ministry of Works and the military authorities. It was decided that the best thing to be done would be to excavate some of the group so that at any rate their contents, etc., might be recorded. Arrangements were therefore made that this work should be done under the supervision of Mr. Thomas, the Ministry of Works undertaking all financial responsibility. Accordingly ex- cavations began at the end of July and are now in full swing, and it seems probable that interesting and important results may be obtained. The Society acknowledges with gratitude the help given by Messrs. Rendell & Sons, of Devizes, who have kindly lent practically all the tools and equipment required. The army authorities at Headquarters, Salisbury District have also been most helpful and deserve hearty thanks for supplying the excavating party with a hutted camp, beds, bedding, and coal for cooking. Annual Report, 1952-53 187 Resignation of the Hon. Secretary. Mr.C. W. Pugh, who succeeded Canon Goddard as Honorary Secretary in 1942, has decided that owing to indifferent health the time has come when he must give up some of his activities. He has consequently resigned the Secretaryship with very great regret; but he hopes to continue his work as Hon. Librarian for the present. No successor has yet been found as Secretary, but in the meantime the Curator, Mr. Thomas, is carrying on as Acting Secretary. Mr. P. W. Tanner, who has been assisting Mr. Pugh for the past year, has also resigned, as he is unable to find time to devote to the work. An Archaeological Research sub-committee was formed early in 1953 to co-ordinate and stimulate research by members of the Society. Manton Long Barrow. The Society did all that was possible to call attention to the destruction of this ancient monument, and in consequence of their action considerable publicity was given to the matter. No legal penalty, however, could be enforced upon those responsible. Arrangements are under consideration with the Ancient Monuments Department of the Ministry of Works for the excavation of the site of the barrow, possibly next year. Lecture. On the suggestion of the President an indoor meeting was arranged in November, in the Devizes Town Hall at which the previous year’s President, Mr. L. G. Peirson, delivered the address which he had intended to give at the Annual General Meeting. This was followed by a short lecture by Mr. Thomas, illustrated by specimens from the Museum collections. Both addresses were listened to with interest by a large audience, and this new departure was voted to be a great success. Excursion. A whole day excursion organized by Mr. O. Meyrick was held on June roth toWayland’s Smithy, the Uffington White Horse and other places in the Vale of White Horse and was largely attended. N2 183 WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY RECORDS BRANCH Honorary Secretary’s Report for 1952-3 1. Scope of Report. It is more than a year since the last Annual General Meeting of the Branch was held, and a change in the Secretaryship is contem- plated at this one. It has therefore seemed best to make this report cover not only the whole of 1952 but the first nine months of 1953 as well. 2. Annual General Meeting, 1952. This was held at Marlborough College on 14 June, 1952 by kind permission of the Master. Mr. Philip Styles, Reader in English History at the University of Birmingham, gave an address on “ Law and Order in Tudor and Stuart England.” 3. Membership. The Branch now numbers 125 individual and 64 institutional members—a total of 1809. 4. Finances. At the end of 1952 the Branch had a credit balance of approximately £950. Out of this the costs of printing Volumes VII and IX have subsequently been met. The present credit balance amounts to £530 approximately. The number of members paying their subscriptions under seven-year covenant now totals 55. 5. Publications since June 1952. Volume VIII, a reduced facsimile of Andrews’ and Dury’s Map of Wiltshire (1773), with an introduction by Miss Elizabeth Crittall, was issued in November 1952 in return for the sub- scriptions of that year. Five hundred bound copies and one hundred sets of unbound sheets were produced and efforts have been made by the widespread distribution of a circular and by other means to secure sales outside our membership. Vol. VII, Guild Stewards’ Book of the Borough of Calne 1561- 1688, edited by Mr. A. W. Mabbs, was issued early this year in return for 1951 subscriptions, and Vol. IX, Surveys of the Manors of Philip, First Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery 1631-2, edited by Mr. Eric Kerridge, at approx- imately the same time in return for 1953 subscriptions. The publications of the Branch are therefore no longer in arrear. 6. Volume for 1954. The text of this volume, Two Sixteenth Century Taxation Lists (1545 and 1576), edited by Mr. G. D. Ramsay, is all in galley proof. The introduction has been written, but the index has still to be prepared. 7. Volume for 1955. Mr. J. P. M. Fowle has undertaken to complete his abstracts of the proceedings at Wiltshire Quarter Sessions in 1736 in time for publication in 1955. He will prefix to the text a description of the various classes which have constituted the records of Wiltshire Quarter Sessions since the early 17th century. 8. Volumes for the years after 1955. Work continues on editions of (i) the rolls of Highworth hundred, 1275-85 (Mrs. Brenda Farr, née Tidman), (ii) the charters of Lacock Abbey (Miss Joan Gibbs), (iii) the Crown Pleas of the Wiltshire Eyre, 1249 (Mr. C. A. F. Meekings). Further contributions to a volume of collectanea are promised. September, 1953. : R. B. Pucu. 189 PAAINCE SHEET FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 1952 LIABILITIES MSW G: Cash at Bank on 31st Dec TOST .- e307). 10... 6 Cash in hand on 31st Dec, 1OS1 /.. I I 10g P.O. Savings Bank a/c asaatasmst Wec.. LOST-381 14 0 Balance for 1952 TSO» 7.8 £947 3-04 ASSETS fee ose: Cash at Bank on 31st Decaosae: 56553 10-8 Cash in hand on 31st Dec. 1952: =: We Lele P.O. Savings Bank a/c aS at. 34StIDeG.,.5052, 301-4 ~ 6 £947 3 of STOCK ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 1952 LIABILITIES WS cae Value of stock as at 31st Dec., 1951:— Vol.I 30 copies 28 15 O Wer copy. ==. {- 70; <0 III 110 copies 1LO* 07,0 EVi208 -. ;; 208. <0'>0 Wilerares 5 TAL 0.0 Balance for 1952 252612— 6 L7AE 7 6 ASSETS Value of stock as at 31st Dec., 1952:— y hears Vol. I 25 copies 24 10 II Nil - - III 104 copies 104 0 IV 109s; 199 O Ne 9S 5: 9572.0 Vil OAR a TO2 “+2 Vib2r7 216: 15 LIAL -7 INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 1952 EXPENDITURE Le 883d. To Postage and_ secre- tarial expenses 20,15). I Stationery, typing, etc. ss ve OSE. 6 Postage of pro- spectuses for Vols. VI and VIII $6 I. 2 Printing Vol. V 160 16 II Printing prospectuses 73 6 9 Refund on one copy of Vol. VIreturned I 5 0O Cheque book 5 0 BALaNceE, being ex- cess of income over expenditure 246 4 2 £507 18° 7 INCOME eS: By Subscriptions: 1948 I I : 1949 6 I a 1050-8... i 195I 43 17 2 19§2 150 II 99 1953 2 I Extra vols. distri- buted to members 31 7 Sales to non- members :-— Vols. II, IV and V =. 22::_ Io al 64 15 » VII 68 3 Donations .. EDS) A Income Tax re- covered (Covenant scheme) wee ADE LS, Postage refunded .. 5 £507 15 d. OoNnNnOodt! Oo nN ro) ON HOO O & Oo 0 OO i Audited and found correct in accordance with the books and vouchers and explanations given. EC. Por, Hon. Auditor. March 23rd, 1953. M. J. LANsDowN, Hon. Treasurer. 190 ACCESSIONS TO THE COUNTY RECORD OFFICE SINCE THE LIST OF JUNE, 1953 Two volumes of minutes of Chippenham Turnpike Trust, 1727-1818, 3 volumes of minutes of Chippenham Division Highway Board and 3 volumes of surveyor’s reports of the same division, 1864-1888. Approximately 3,750 documents relating to the civil and ecclesiastical parish of Trowbridge, including deeds to parish lands from 1487 and numerous poor law records of settlement, removal, apprenticeship and militia, corres- pondence of the overseers and other documents. (Deposit). Approximately 2,550 papers from a solicitor’s office including minute-book and other documents relating to the making of an enclosure award for Aldbourne, 1805-1809, land tax and income tax records for the hundred or division of Kinwardstone 1808-1869, and a few other deeds and papers. (Deposit). to2 deeds relating to Frankley Farm and other property in Bradford-on- Avon and the families of Silby, Bailward, Stevens and others, 1636-1866. Four folders of documents selected to illustrate the business of the Trowbridge and Whorwellsdown Petty Sessional Division, 1884-1911; one folder relating to military manoeuvres in 1898 and 1903; and one folder of documents selected for their relevance to the history of Trowbridge. Ten documents relating to the Devizes Board of Guardians, 1796-1926, including a minute book of the assessment committee, 1862-98; and 40 docu- ments of the Wiltshire Joint Poor Law Establishment Committee, including minutes and ledger account book covering the period of the committee, 1912-25. (Deposit). Court book of the manor of Highway, 1728-1773. (Deposit). A volume being a general entry book of a benefit society connected with the Independent Chapel, Bradford-on-Avon, 1818-1841. M. G. RATHBONE. 191 Wiltshire Obituaries MAJOR JOHN KINDERSLEY MAURICE, O.B.E., M.C., died in Cyprus on May 17th, 1953, aged 69. Ninth son of Dr. J. B. Maurice, educated at Marlborough, he served with Wilts Yeomanry in S. African War. After ranching in Canada joined Canadian Army August, 1914; transferred to Egyptian Army 1916-25, winning M.C. at Gallipoli. Awarded the Egyptian Order of the Nile. After a year with Sudan Defence Force he was attached to Sudan Political Service 1927-49. As district commissioner in W. Abyssinia, he became a legendary figure, universally popular with all creeds and colours, remaining in the country during the Italian occupation and resuming office when they left. For his great work there he was awarded the O.B.E. Obit: Marlborough Times, May 29th, 1953. WILLIAM GOUGH died at Nore Marsh, Wootton Bassett on Aug. 3rd, 1953, aged 82. The son of a farmer, he became a solicitor and practised for many years at Wootton Bassett. Secretary of the Town Trust and Chairman of Council School managers ; for over 50 years organist to the Congregational Church. A keen historian, who published a book on Wootton Bassett in 1912 and wrote many articles on local matters, leaving a considerable collection of books and antiques. Obit : Wiltshire Gazette, Aug. 6th, 1953. THE REV. WILLIAM ALBERT BUTLER died at Salisbury on Aug. 21st, 1953, aged 80. Graduating at Worcester Coll., Oxford, he was ordained at Salisbury in 1900. Curate successively at North Bradley, Aldbourne and Alton (Hants), then Missioner of Society of St. Andrew (Salisbury). Vicar of Aldbourne 1910-15 ; Rector of Woodborough 1915-24 ; Vicar of Seend 1924-37. On leaving Seend settled in Devizes as a diocesan preacher and took charge of St. Mary’s Church in early years of war. Throughout his career he and his wife, who died in 1951, took a leading part in the social life of the community. A man of genial humour and kindly character. Obit : Wiltshire Gazette, Aug. 27th, 1953. MISS MAUD BOSANQUET, of Beechingstoke, died on Aug. 25th, 1953, aged 88. A native of Monmouthshire, she travelled widely before settling in Wiltshire in 1930, being a keen motorist from the early days of cars. She studied Old French verse, and her love of the countryside was reflected in several books of poems which she wrote in later years, including one for children. Obit : Wiltshire Gazette, Aug. 27th, 1953. ALFRED HERSCHELL HARRIS died at Corsham on Sept. 11th, 1953, aged 89. He had spent many years in the Far East as a Commissioner in the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, being prominent in negotiating the Anglo-Chinese customs agreement. Retiring over 30 years ago settled at Bradford-on-Avon, which he represented on County Council. Later moved to Bath before coming to live at Corsham, where he did valuable work on the Rural District Council. He left three sons. Obit : Wiltshire Times, Sept. toth, 1953. 192 Wiltshire Obituaries THE REV. DR. CHARLES TUNNACLIFF DIMONT died at Salisbury on Nov. 6th, 1953, aged 81. Son of Rev. C. H. Dimont, educated at King’s School, Wor- cester, Worcester Coll., Oxford and Wells Theological College. After holding curacies at Mirfield and Leeds appointed vice-principal of Leeds Clergy School 1900-05 ; vicar of Holy Trinity, Halifax 1905-09 ; vice-principal of Wells Theological College 1909-13. Principal of Salisbury Theological College 1913-37, training over 300 students; chaplain to St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury, 1917-36; became Canon Residentiary of the Cathedral 1928 and Chancellor 1938. As an authoritative theologian he contributed to several standard works. Married in 1906 Nora, daughter of Sir Frank Green, Bt., former Lord Mayor of London, and had one son and three daughters. Obit: Times, Nov. 7th, 1953. FRANS BALJON who died at Marlborough on Nov. 12th, 1953, aged 52, was an artist of considerable scope, specializing of late in abstract design. A Dutchman by birth, he spent many years painting in Italy, Spain, S. America and elsewhere before settling in Chelsea. Returning later to Holland he bought a yacht and was in English waters when war broke out. Coming to Marlborough he started a small industry extracting pith from plants for use in precision instru- ments, employing many out-workers up to his death. A man of varied talents, whose wide knowledge of the world made him an entertaining raconteur. He leaves a widow. Obit: Marlborough Times, Nov 20th, 1953. BRIGADIER S. R. OSMOND, D.S.0., died in November, 1953, aged 50. Son of Mr.J.W.Osmond, formerly of West Kennett, educated at Wellington School, Somerset, and R.M.A., Woolwich, where he returned as instructor 1933-37; served with 3rd Division, B.E.F. at outbreak of war, commanding an R.A. Regiment in Sicily landings and later at Rome, and being awarded the D.S.O, Appointed British instructor at Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, U.S.A., 1945-48; Chief of Staff, W. African Command 1952; Chief of Staff, Amphibious Warfare 1953. He leaves a widow and one son. Obit,; Marlborough Times, Nov. 27th, 1953. 193 MUSEUM ACCESSIONS. MAY, 1953—NOVEMBER, 1953. $/53/108. 5/53/109. 9/53/TxO. 9/53/11I. 9/53 /112. 9/ 53/113. 9/53/1214. 9/53/115. 9/53/116. 9/53/17. 9/53/118. 10/53/19. 10/53/120. 11/53/121. 11/53/123. On Loan. t9th cent. shoe-maker’s tool for removing nails from clogs; used at Trowbridge. Donor, Mr. Rossirer, Pans Lane, Devizes. Fragment of medieval spur, whetstone, etc., from Manor Rd., Trowbridge. Donor, Mr. James, Manor Road, Trowbridge. Palaeolithic knife-blade of Broom chert, Marlborough. Donor, Prog. Stuart Piccott, Rockbourne, Hants. Model in brass of sheaf of corn, built into foundations of Corn Exchange, Devizes; it was recovered by builders when making alterations to the building in 1953. Donor, THE Mayor oF DEVIZES. Green-glazed incense bottle, : 17th cent. Donor, Mr. C. J. P. Hucues, Keevil, Wilts. Cooking pot of grey wear, with sagging base, from site of the castle, Devizes. 2 12th cent. Donor, Mrs. P. Lorrs, Devizes. Plaster-cast of the medal deposited by General Pitt-Rivers in all prehistoric sites that he excavated; it was designed by John Evans. Donor, Mr. L. V. GRINSELL, Bristol. Rough-outs of an axe and a blade from the factory-site at Dinas, Gt. Langdale, Cumberland (Group VI). Donor, Mr. W. T. Pritcuarp, Higher Tranmere, Cheshire. Geological hammer used by Mr. William Cunnington, r.c.s. (1813-1906). Donor, Cot. R. H. Cunnineton, Botley, Oxford. Early 2oth cent. fireman’s uniform, Devizes. Donor, Mr. F. G. RENDELL, Devizes. Four round scrapers, flint, patinated white, from Windmill Hill. Donor, Mr. N. K. Rocers, Trowbridge. Four clay pipe-stems showing makers’ marks, Devizes. Donor, Miss M. Braipwoop, Devizes. Copy in glass of a Roman beaker, made for Sir R. Colt Hoare and given by him to William Cunnington, 1804. Donor, Cot. R. H. Cunnincton, Botley, Oxford. Examples of spotted dolerite and rhyolite—the famous bluestone (Group XIII). i Donor, Dr. J. F. S. Stone, Winterbourne Gunner. Brass and pewter name-plates put on the door of his wine-shop by William Cunnington (II), early in the roth cent. Donor, Mr. R. SANDELL, Hillside, Potterne Road, Devizes. Important group of sherds from Windmill Hill, Avebury, and a comb of deer-antler. These pieces make our Western Neolithic collections fully representative, and, with the Secondary Neolithic 194 Additions to the Library material we already possess, will make the Neolithic Room in the Museum as important and informative as the Bronze Age Room. We have to thank Mr. ALEXANDER KEILLER for the loan of this valuable material. Laboratory. The gift of a large china sink, for use in the metal-cleaning room. From Mr. M. G. RatHsone, Melksham, Wilts. Dentist’s drill, for use in cleaning metals. From Mr. R. J. C. ATKINSON, Edinburgh. ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY. Donors : Mr. E. G. Burtt: Waylen’s History of Devizes. Mr. J. H. P. Parrorp: Historical Manuscripts Commission, vol. IV. Coro- nation Programme, (Holt 1953). Cambridge Journal, May 1953 (containing article on Stephen Duck). Mrs. R. Baynes: Thorburn, British Birds, four vols. T. A. Coward, Birds of the British Isles and their eggs, three vols. E. Step, Wayside and Woodland Trees. Mrs. D. WynDHAM: reproduction, “ The Salisbury and Coombe Express.” Cot. C. W. Hucues (Author): “ Marlborough, the story of a small and ancient Borough.” Mrs. R. W. Awpry: Andrew & Dury, map of Wilts (large), 1773, bound. Piggott, reprints of papers on Lanhill Long Barrow and the Wessex Culture. Dukedom of Somerset, Attorney General’s Report, 1750, Goddard Pedigree, 2 MSS. Extracts from visitations of various counties, MS. Correspondence with W. A. Webb & T. H. Hill, MS. Britton, “ Beauties of Wiltshire,’ 2 vols. Photographs of damage to Barbury Castle by U.S. troops during the war. Photograph of Capt. Charles Penruddoke, R.W.Y., 1853. Assorted prints of Wilts places. R. B. Pucu: Catalogue of exhibition of pictures, documents, etc., relating to Old Trowbridge, 1951. R. S. Comp: W. D. Bavin, “ About Swindon,” 1946. J. A. ARNOLD-ForsTER: Cassels French/English Dictionary. Tauchnitz German/ Enelish Dictionary. Tauchnitz Italian/English Dictionary. L. J. TREMAYNE, F.Z.S.:_ The London Catalogue of British Plants, London, 1908. Exors oF Miss M. Braprorp: A. C. Smith, Birds of Wiltshire, B. H. Cunnington, Quarter Sessions Records of the County of Wilts (17th Century). ti Nos. of W.A.M. Southbroom Parish Magazine, 1950-52. THE PusLisHers (OpHAm’s Press): Rupert Gunnis, Dictionary of British Sculptors, 1660-1851. : THE PusLisHeRs (PHeNIx House): O. G. S. Crawford, Archaeology in the Field. Additions to the Library 195 Mr. F. C. Pirr: Funeral Sermon preached at Somerford in Wiltshire at the funeral of Mr. Robert Strange, together “ with a narrative of his short but well-spent life.”” Tract, published 1645. Gives biographical partic- ulars of Robert Strange, who was a grandson of Sir Anthony Hunger- ford. His aunt was a Mrs. Goddard of Standen, in Wilts. A Plain Narrative of the Sickness and Death of Ann Nichols of Bremhill, Wilts. Tract by W. L. Bowles, “the Minister.” Published 1816. Mischiefs of the Malt Tax, by John Large of Wootton Bassett, 1864. Secrets of Farming by John Large, 1863. Contains a long list of Wiltshire Subscribers. Some Last Words in a Country Church by Henry Harris, B.D., late Rector of Winterbourne Bassett. Published 1897. Mr. R. B. PuGH : Stonehenge and Midsummer : a new interpretation by A. T. Hatto (Reprint from Man, 1953). Mr. J. D. Grosz : ten back numbers of W.A.M., various dates. Bought by the Society: Social Provision in Rural Wiltshire by H. E. Bracey, PH.D. 196 LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAOLOGICAL & NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY [Any member whose name and address is incorrectly printed in this List is requested to communicate with the Acting Secretary, the Museum, Devizes.] NOVEMBER, 1953 Patron: Tue Lapy CoLtuM CRICHTON-STUART. Trustees: E. C. Barnes, Sir Patrick Devlin, Lt.-Col. Sir Michael Peto, Bt., Bonar Sykes. Committee : R. B. Pucu, F.S.A.: President. J. A. Arnold-Forster, 0.B.£.: Vice-President. H. C. Brentnall, r.s.a.: Vice-President and Hon. Editor. G. J. Kidston, c.M.c.: Vice-President. C. W. Pugh, M.B.E.: Vice-President and Hon. Librarian. G. M. Young, c.B., LITT.D.: Vice-President. R. S. Child: Hon. Treasurer. Owen Meyrick: Hon. Meetings Secretary and Assistant Editor. Sir Charles Chitham, c.1.z. Representing the Wiltshire County Council. Brigadier K. M. F. Hedges, pD.s.0. ss Ss s is si Mrs. EB. C. Barnes L. V. Grinsell, F.s.a. J. A. U. Jennings, F.s.a. A. Shaw Mellor James Oram, M.B.E. L. G. Peirson Professor Stuart Piggott, F.B.A., F.S.A. Cyril Rice M. G. Rathbone Harry Ross H. de S. Shortt, F.s.a. Dr. T. R. Thomson, F.s.A. Curator and Acting Secretary: Nicholas de l’E. W. Thomas, The Museum, Long Street, Devizes (Devizes 765). Hon. Auditor: W. E. Brown. List of Members 197 Hon. Life Members: R. de C. Nan Kivell, Redfern Gallery, 20 Cork St., Burlington Gardens, London, W.1. J. J. Slade, 22 Pellhurst Road, Ryde, Isle of Wight. Subscribing Private Members: [L]—Life Member. Mlexander. | Lt.-Col... E:T. -H., Rosebank, Gloucester Road, Trowbridge Andrews, J. R. B., Brookside, Leigh, Cricklade aokcil Wi J... D.S:C., F.G.S. Id Cranmer Road, Cambridge Armin, W. L., The Orchard, Bath Road, Devizes Arnold-Forster, J. A., O.B.E., Sal- throp House, Wroughton, Swin- don. [L] Arundell, R. J. A., Hook Manor, Donhead St. Mary, Shaftesbury Atkinson, R. J. C., F.S.A., 4 North East Circus Place, Edinburgh, 3 Atwood, Cmdr. George E. L., Pythouse East, Tisbury, Salisbury Austin, Mrs. R. E., Southridge, Hindon Awdry, C. E., Nolton Lodge, Lacock Awdry, Miss H. E., Fairview, Littleton Panell, Devizes Awdry, Mrs. O. M., 0.B.£., Little Cheverell, Devizes Bailey, Lady Janet, Lake House, Salisbury Baker, J., Georgian House, Wilton, Marlborough Barnes, E. C., Hungerdown, Seagry, Chippenham Barnes, Mrs. E. C., Hungerdown, Seagry, Chippenham Barrington-Brown, C., Tapshays, Burton Street, Marnhull, Dorset Bashford, Sir H. H., The White House, Easton Royal, Marlboro’ Bateson, Mrs. F., The Manor House, Great Cheverell, Devizes Batten-Pooll, A. H., c/o Irish Tourist Association, O’Connell Street, Dublin, Ireland Battersby, the Rev. R. St. John B., Chittoe Vicarage, Chippenham Bayley, H.. E., Passheld Hall, Endsleigh Place, London, W.C.1 Beale, Mrs. J. S., Dryfield, Bristol Road, Chippenham Beale, the Rev. F. W., Stathel Stans, Totterdown, Amesbury [L] Bell, Sir Eastman, Bt., Fosbury Manor, Marlborough Bell, Lt.-Col. W. C. Heward, D.s.o., Cleeve House, Seend, Melksham Bennett, John F., Oak Lodge, Alderbury, Salisbury Beswick, A.E., 0.B.E., 58 Bath Road, Swindon Bevan, Mrs. T. R., Blagdon House, Keevil, Trowbridge Bevir, Miss M., The Little House, Wootton Bassett Bibbing, E. H., Penolver, Hill View, Henleaze, Bristol Bird, Miss K. M., Stowe, Victoria Road, Trowbridge Birley, N. P.,.p:s.0.,. Netherfield, Sidmouth Road, Lyme Regis, Dorset. Blacking, W. H. Randoll, 21 The Close, Salisbury Blake, T. N., Glebe Farm, Tilshead, Salisbury 198 List of Members Blease, H. F., Lausanne, 78 Bradley Road, Trowbridge Blease, Miss E. M., Lausanne, 78 Bradley Road, Trowbridge {L] Blunt, C. E., F.s.a., Ramsbury Hill, Ramsbury Borough, R. J. M., Park Nook, Market Lavington, Devizes Boulding, J. J., 45 The Avenue, Yeovil, Som. Bouthower Le-Col.E. €: Bourton House, Bishop’s Cannings, Devizes Boutflower, Mrs. V. E. D., Bourton House, Bishop’s Cannings, Devizes Braidwood, Miss I. M., 22 Victoria Road, Devizes Brain, Miss N. G., The Cottage on the Green, Patney, Devizes Brakspear, Oswald, Pickwick, Cors- ham Bray, C. H., Westcombe, Gomel- don, Salisbury {L] Brentnall, H. C., Fs.a., Gran- ham West, Marlborough Brentnall, Mrs. J. L., Granham West, Marlborough Brice, G. R., 34 Hazelwood Road, Cudham Lane, Sevenoaks, Kent. Bridges, Miss M. H., Quaker’s Lane, Goatacre, Hilmarton, Calne Briggs, Mrs. E. W., Axford’s Patch, Lacock, Chippenham Brockbank, Major I. M., The Manor House, Steeple Langford, Salisbury Brocklebank, Mrs., Charlton House, Shaftesbury Brook, | Mis Marearet’ Ra, 34 Launceston Place, London, W.8 Brooke, Mrs. T. C., Sandfield, Potterne, Devizes Brown, Mrs. J., Anstice, Ladymede, Stoke Poges, Bucks Brown, Capt. R. C., Lukes, Com- mon Edge, Marlborough Brown, Mrs., Lukes, Common Edge, Marlborough Brown, W. E., 30 Victoria Road, Devizes Browne, Rev. F. B. R., The Rec- tory, Marlborough Bryden, Col. R. A., Hill Cottage, Netheravon Road, Salisbury Buck, A. G Roy _Fs-A= Dunkery, House, Weare, Axbridge, Som- erset Buck, Mrs. L. D., Dunkery House, Weare, Axbridge, Somerset Buckeridse, |. MS 20 ihe (Green; Calne Burford, J. The Old Manor; Codford St. Peter, Warminster Burge, Mrs. E., Huish, Marlborough Burn, L. V., Wickfield, Wick, evizes Bussell, Mrs., Seven Stars, St. Martin’s, Marlborough Butterworth, Rev. H. W., The Parsonage, Great Cheverell, De- VIZES Buxton, Major G. J., Tockenham Manor, Wootton Bassett Calderwood, J. L., The Hermitage, Swindon [L] Calkin, J. B., Virginia House, Langton Maltravers, Swanage, Dorset Callender, M. H., Pu.p., 32 Bel- vedere Court, Lyttelton Road, London, N.2 Galley, - “Miss J. -M > Burderop Park, Swindon Canning, Col. A., Restrop House, Purton Cardigan, the Earl of, Sturmy House, Savernake Forest, Marlborough Carter, Miss C., Greenways, Silver- less Street, Marlborough Cary, Commander H., Wans, Chip- penham Cassels, Mrs. S., Beech House, Seend, Melksham Catterns, B. G., Tidcombe Manor, Marlborough List of Members 199 Chamberlain, S$. G., Ambrose Farm, Ramsbury, Marlborough Chandler, J. E., Orchard Close, London Road, Marlborough @handler, 1. H., ‘Vine Cottage, Aldbourne, Marlborough Cherrington, P., Urchfont Manor, Devizes @hettle? Hl.’ F.,.. C.M:G., -/ O:B:E., Fonthill, Tisbury Child, -R: S.,; Brighstone, The Breach, Devizes GinldyMirs., .G- R., Brighstone, The Breach, Devizes Chilton, G., Merle Cottage, Marl- borough Chitham, Sir Charles, c.1.£., The Old Rectory, Great Cheverell, Devizes Christopher, R. T., West View, St. Margaret’s Street, Bradford- on-Avon Churchill, C. R., Sunnycot, Lower Chicksgrove, Tisbury, Wilts. Chuter, Mrs. E., Ballyraine House, Arklow, Co. Wicklow, Ireland Clappen, Mrs. E. M., Eaglescroft, Potterne Road, Devizes Clark, Miss G. F., Knole, Manor Road, Milford-on-Sea, Hants. Clarke, H. Pallister, m.c., 23 Market Place, Warminster Clay, Dr. R. C: C., F.a., Manor House, Fovant, Salisbury Cleverley, E. V.,.76 New - Park Street, Devizes Cochrane, Mrs. E. B., 23 Mulberry Close, Beaufort Square, London, S/W .3. Codrington, Cdr., C. A., Wrough- ton House, Swindon Codrington, Col. SirG.R., K.c.v.o., C.B.,D.S.0., Roche Court, Winter- slow, Salisbury Codrington, Miss N. E., Wrough- ton House, Swindon Coffin, Dr. S:, 1 Turner Drive, London, N.W.11 Coggin, F. L., Summerfield, Marl- borough Collier, Mrs. M. W., Wevarholkt, Bradford-on-Avon [L] Collins, V., Hatchet Gate, Hale, Fordingbridge, Hants. Cook, A. B., Police Station, High- worth, Swindon Cooper, R. H., Lisfannon, Gadding- ton Road, Strood, Kent Corbyn, Mrs. N. L., Hillside House, Kineton St. Michael, Chippen- ham Cormwall vA. E. Cy-The Priory, Marlborough Cossar, Ian M., 5 North Street, Thame, Oxon. Cowling, W. J., The School House, Bishop’s Cannings, Devizes Craig,."Capt. the Ixt. Hon. "CC. Old Brewery House, Malmesbury Crawford, Mrs. E. C., Talboys, Keevil, Trowbridge Crichton-Maitland, Miss M., Knook Manor, Upton Lovell, Warminster Crichton-Maitland, Mrs. P., The Island House, Wilton, Salisbury Crichton-Stuart, The Lady Colum, 23 Charles Street, Berkeley Sq., London, W.1 Crittall, Miss E., 69 Clare Court, Judd Street, London, W.C.1 Cunnington, Lt.-Col. R.H., Round- way, Stanley Close, Botley, Oxford Currey, Mrs., 41 Pickwick, Cors- ham Cuss, C. T., Viewlands, 51 Brooklyn Road, Cheltenham Cuss, H.W: Ji. 20, Heh. Street; Cricklade Dann, S. W. H., Hardenhuish, Chippenham Davis, Walter, 207 Quemerford Cottage, Calne 200 List of Members Davys, the Rev. Canon S. D. M., The Vicarage, North Bradley, Trowbridge de Udy, Mrs. A. R. G., Windygates, Bratton, Westbury Devereux, Miss M., 24 Penywern Road, London, $.W.5 Devlin, Sir Patrick, West Wick, Pewsey Dineley, Mrs. D.; (The ‘Priory, Berwick St. John, Salisbury Dix, Mrs. G., Dairy House, Bishop’s Cannings, Devizes Dobson, Mrs., Glaisters, Wrington, Somerset Dobson, the Rev. J. O., Sandown, Breachfield, Devizes Dobson, Mrs., Sandown, Breach- field, Devizes Downs, L. T., Plough Cottage, Bath Road, Marlborough Drewry, H. R., Rainscombe, Oare, Marlborough Dugdale, H. J., Apple Tree Cottage, Wilton, Marlborough Dumas, Mrs. R., Manor Farm, Hill Deverill, Warminster Eastwood, Lieut.-Gen. Sir Ralph, K.C.B., D.S.0., Vasterne Manor, Wootton Bassett [L] Elderton, Sir William P., K.3.z., Quill Hall Cottage, Amersham, Bucks. Elphinstone Fyffe, the Rev. J. M., 22-St. John’s Park,-S.E.3 Farquharson, Mrs. J. P., The Manor, Homington, Salisbury Fasken, Miss M., Hyde Lodge (Flat), Marlborough Felce, Miss W., Wilcot, Marl- borough Fellowes, C. E., 25 Hedgeway, Onslow Village, | Guildford, Surrey Fisher, Maj. Gen. D. R. D., South- cott House, Pewsey Fitch, E. H., Marden Manor, Devizes Flower, Sir Cyril, c.B., F.B.A., F.S.A., 2 Lammas Park Gardens, London, W.5. [L] Floyd, C., Manor House, Holt Forbes, Mrs., Bury House, Codford, Warminster Forbes, Mrs. M. S., Beckford Lodge Tisbury Foss, K. J., Southwick Court, Trowbridge Foster, Miss M. C., Ivy Cottage, Aldbourne, Marlborough Fowle, the Rev. J. S., Queen Eliza- beth Cottage, Broadtown, Swin- don Fowle, J. P. M., Northcote, Bratton, Westbury Free, D. W., Salisbury Road, Marl- borough Free, E. J., Halfpennies, High Street, Marlborough Frost, O. H., Manor House, Og- bourne St. George, Marlborough Fry, “Sir Geoflitey, KeBs 1ew.o:, Oare House, Marlborough Fry, J. F., Cole Park, Malmesbury Fuller, E. H. F., 6 Lauriston Road, London, S.W.19 [L] Fuller, Major Sir Gerard, Bt., Neston Park, Corsham Fuller, Major R. F., Great Chalfield Manor, Melksham Gandy, Mrs. L, Lower Sixpenny, Aldbourne, Marlborough Gardner, Mrs. M. IL, Bell Farm House, Uckfield, Sussex Garnett, T. R., The Lodge, Marl- borough College, Marlborough Gee, T. R., The School, Alton Barnes, Marlborough : Ghey, S. H. R., 62 Robson Road, Worthing, Sussex Gibbs, Miss M. J., Purlieu Dene, Redlynch, Salisbury Gillett, Miss B., Far End, 52 High Street, Marlborough Gimson, H. M., Grey Wethers, Stanton St. Bernard, Marl- borough Girdlestone, Miss H. N., Turleigh, Bradford-on-Avon Gladwin, R. I., 8 Oxford Street, Malmesbury Glyn, Miss E. F., 37 New Street, Salisbury Goddard, Miss J. E., Brow Cottage, Seend, Melksham Goddard, Miss R., Brow Cottage, Seend, Melksham Godfrey, the Rev. C. J., The Rec- tory, Donhead St. Andrew, Wilts Godwin, Miss J. D., Budbury, Brad- ford-on-Avon Golden, Lt.-Col. H. A., Caen Hill House, Devizes Golden, Mrs. F. M., Caen Hill House, Devizes Gotch, M. S., 9 The Green, Calne Gough, C. O., Chilvester House, Calne Grigson, Geoffrey, Broad Town Farm, Broad Town, Swindon - Grimston, Sir Robert, Bt., M.P., 36 Lowndes Square, London, S.W.1 Grinsell, L. V., F.s.a., c/o the City Museum, Bristol Grose, J. D., Downs Edge, Lid- dington, Swindon Grudgings, N. U., 1 Bank Street, Melksham Grudgings, Mrs. D., 1 Bank Street, Melksham Gumey, Miss C., Turleigh Mill, Bradford-on-Avon Gutmann, K., 36 Devonshire Road, Salisbury [L] Gwynne, Mrs., 8 Sonning, 355 Innes Road, Durban, South Africa VOL EV—-CXCIX List of Members 201 Haines, W., The Croft, Quemer- ford, Calne Haines, Mrs. K. M., The Croft, Quemerford, Calne Hallows, Mrs. M., The Green, Marlborough Hammond, L. O., Cricklade Hancock, Dr. B. O., Beecroft, Devizes Hancock, Mrs. M. J., Beecroft, Devizes Harding, A., Euridge Manor Farm, Colerne, Chippenham Hardwicke, the Countess of, Rockley Manor, Marlborough Harling, W: .F., 9 ‘The -Green, Marlborough Harling, Mrs. W., 9 The Green, Marlborough Harris, A. G., 23 The Peak, Purton, Swindon Harrison-Smith, Miss M., Wilcot Lodge, Marlborough Hayes, the Hon. Mrs. T. O. C., The Old Manor, Overton, Marl- borough Hedges, Brig. K. M. F., Dss.0., Wedhampton Cottage, Devizes Helliar, Miss G. C., 18 South- broom, Devizes Henderson, Miss L. S., Bennetts, Oare, Marlborough Henderson, Major R. K., M.B.E., Crabbe’s Close, Marlborough Heneage, Miss, 45 Willbury Grange, Hove, Sussex Herbert, the Lord, c.v.o., The Chantry House, Wilton, Salis- bury Hereford, F. F., Dawn Cottage, Aldbourne, Marlborough Hewer, G. T., 15 Norman Road, Swindon Hewitt, A. T. Morley-, The Old Manor House, Fordingbridge, Hants. 202, List of Members Higgins, Commander H. G., The Croft, Winterbourne Dauntsey, Salisbury Hill, H. E., Poulton House, Marl- borough Hill, J. K., 17 Sutherland Avenue, Wahroonga, New South Wales Hill, W. Bramwell, Stratton St. Margaret, Swindon Hoather, H. M., 31 Buckingham Avenue, Whetstone,London N.20 Hodge, A., Widdington, Wick, Devizes Hodge, Dr. B. L., Gloucester House, Malmesbury Holloway, Miss S., The Old Manor, West Lavington, Devizes Holloway, W. G., Box Cottage, Potterne, Devizes Hony, H. C., Sunny Brow, Marl- boroug Hony, Miss J. M., Stack House, Woodborough, Marlborough Houghton-Brown, Col. J., Lower Pertwood Farm, Hindon, Salis- bury Howells; (“E. “Hi G),, Berkeley, Nursteed Road, Devizes Hudson of Pewsey, the Viscountess, Fyfield Manor, Pewsey Hughes, C. J. Pennethorne, South View Cottage, Keevil, Trow- bridge Hughes, Col. C. W., 35 Kingsbury Street, Marlborough Hughes, Lt.-Col. G.W.G., 31 Court Street, Moretonhampstead, Devon Humby, Miss J., Ethandune, Hil- perton Road, Trowbridge Humphries, K. P., Milton, Cam- bridge Hurd, Mrs. Anthony, Winterbourne Holt, near Newbury, Berks. [L] Hussey, Miss J. M., Royal Holloway College, Enfield Green, Surrey Hussey, Wm., Trinity Villa, Trow- bridge Inchbald, the Rev. C. E., 8 Belfrey Avenue, St. George, Bristol 5 Jennings, R. A. U., Bs.a., Little- field, Marlborough Joliffe, M., Newbold Library, Gor- don Memorial College, Khar- toum, Soudan John, D. W., 3 Stanley Terrace, Pans Lane, Devizes Johnson, Col. T. W. M., The Green Farm, Hallwood Green, Dymock, Gloucestershire Judd, J. S., The Manor House, Winterbourne Dauntsey, Salis- bury Kaye, Mrs. H. W., Littlecourt, Shalbourne, Marlborough [L]} Keiller, Alexander, F.s.a., Ave- bury Manor, Marlborough Kelly, Brig:- Ey-H., DS.0., M.c., Dane House, Bratton, Westbury Kemp, R., Newington House, Potterne Road, Devizes Kemp, R. T., Paddocks, Breach- field, Devizes Kempson, E. G. H., Preshute House, Marlborough Kendall, Miss C. V., Far End, Great Bedwyn, Marlborough Kennet, the Lord, Leinster Corner, 100 Bayswater Road, London, W.2 Kerr, J. A., F.R.c.S., Woodford, 57 Wykeham Road, Hastings [L] Kidston, G. J., c.m.c., Hazel- bury Manor, Box King, D. Grant, Beltane School, Shaw Hill, Melksham Knight-Bruce, Mrs., Dial House, West Lavington, Devizes Knocker, Group-Capt. G. M., Brook House, Ashton Keynes, Swindon List of Members 203 Lambert, Mrs. R. E., Upham House, Aldbourne Lamplugh, the Rev. B., Littleton Drew Rectory, Chippenham Latter, Miss P. G., Beechingstoke Manor, Marlborough Laurie, F. G., Darley House, Hullavington, Chippenham Lawson, Lt.-Col. G. W., Knap Cottage, Ramsbury Lawson, Mrs. V., Knap Cottage, Ramsbury Layng, the Rev. T. M., The Vicarage, Kemble, Gloucester- shire Lever, R. E., Read’s Close, Teffont Magna, Salisbury Liddiard, E., Holmwood, 37 Love- lace Road, Long Ditton, Surrey Lister, E. C., Westwood Manor, Bradford-on-Avon Longland, F., South Point, Somer- ford Road, Cirencester, Glouces- tershire Lucarotti, Lt.-Col. U. R., Oriel Cottage, West Lavington, Devizes Luce, Mrs. M. D., at Fittleton House, Netheravon Lupton, Mrs. M., Granham East, Marlborough Macdonald, A. H., Half Acre, Marlborough Macintyre, Miss A. S., Mitre Cottage, Dinton, Salisbury Mackay, Mrs. G. M., Courtfield _ House, Trowbridge Mackay, A. Donald, Slade’s Farm, Hilperton, Trowbridge Mackay, Major E. A., Hilperton House, Trowbridge McErvell, Miss A., Johnings, Shal- bourne, Marlborough McNeile, D. H., Nonsuch, Brom- ham, Chippenham McWilliam, Mrs. H., Manor House, Hanging Langford, Salisbury Maggs, F. H. C., End Farm, Marston, Devizes Mann, Mrs. I., Weathervane House, 1 Chelsea Studios, Fulham Road, London, S.W.6. Mann, Miss J. de L., St. Hilda’s College, Oxford Manning, W. F., 64 Nore Marsh Road, Wootton Bassett Marsden-Jones, Mrs. P., Littleton Panell, Devizes Marshall, Mrs. M. H., Cranford, Warminster Mather, Miss L. I., Case Hayes, Membury, Axminster, Devon Maurice, Dr. W. B., Lloran House, Marlborough May, D. G., South Royd, Devizes Mayell, A. Y., St. James’ House, 173 Holland Park Avenue, Lon- don, W.1I. Mellor, A. Shaw, Box House, Box Mellor, J. F. Shaw, The Old Vic- arage, Marden, Devizes Merores, Miss M.,PH.D., 4 Caen Hill Gardens, Devizes Merritt, F. W. C., Tawsmead, Eastleigh Road, Devizes Messiter, L. C., c/o Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds, 16 Clare Street, Bris- tol Methuen, Lady, Corsham Court Methuen, the Hon. Anthony, Ivy House, Corsham [L] Meyrick, O., Ridgelands, Rams- bury, Marlborough Meyrick, R., Corchester, Corbridge on-Tyne, Northumberland Miller, Mrs. A. R., Forest School, Snaresbrook, London, E.17 Mitchell, Miss E. C., Little Ridge, Alderbury, Salisbury Moody, G. C., Montrose, Heytes- bury Road, Wilton Moore, C. H., 60 Park Lane, Hayes, Middlesex Morris, Miss B., 37 Frome Road, Trowbridge O02 204 List of Members Morris, E. J., Lower Sixpenny, Aldbourne, Marlborough Morrison, Major J. G., M.P., Font- hill House, Tisbury Morten; F. J. Clench/ House’ Wootton Rivers, Marlborough Morton, Sir George B., 0.B.E., Rectory House, Ogbourne St. George, Marlborough Musty, J. W. G., 6 Paul’s Dene Crescent, Salisbury Nest, H. C., Green Meadows, Marlborough New, R. G.,, London Hovse, Cricklade Newall, R. S., 8.s.a., Fisherton Delamere House, Wylye Newton, Miss H. M., Kingsfield, Bradford-on-Avon North, E. H., Artillery Mansions, 75 Victoria Street, London, $.W.1 Nosworthy, Mrs. M. H., Highfield, Great Cheverell, Devizes Nurse, Mrs. M. E., Little Cheverell, Devizes Ogilvie, Mrs. H. I., The Hermitage, Box Oliver, Gapt.(S) F.°N/ 1, RIN c/o Lloyds Bank, 6 Pall Mall, London, S.W.1. Oram, J., M.B.E., Belle Vue House, Devizes Oram, Mrs., Belle Vue House, Devizes O’Regan, Mrs. A., Killycoonagh, Marlborough Owen, C. E., Newtown, Locker- idge, Marlborough Owen, R. D., 19 Queen Square, Bath [L] Pafford, J. H. P., 62 Somerset Road, London, S.W.19 Palmer, A. E., Brookfield, Twyford, Winchester Parker, H. N., Tau Cross, West Lavington, Devizes Parsons, E. G., Little Wishford, Salisbury Parsons, R., Hunt’s Mill Farm, Wootton Bassett Partridge, Mrs. F.,) Ham Spray House, near Marlborough Patton, Dr. D. S., Merchiston, Stratton St. Margaret, Swindon Peirson, L. Guy, Four Winds, Marlborough Pelham, Dr. R. A., The Court House, West Meon, Petersfield, Hants [L] Pembroke and Montgomery, the Rt. Hon. the Earl of, Wilton House, Salisbury Perkins, E. H., Applegarth, Og- bourne St. George, Marlborough Peto, Lt.-Col. Sir Michael, Bt., Iford Manor, near Bradford-on- Avon Phillips, A. J., Philsden, Pewsey Phipps, Lady, 15 Lanchester Court, Seymour Street, London, W.2 Piggott, Professor Stuart, F.B.A., F.S.A., Priory Farm, Rockbourne, Hants. Pitt,, F.C... The jOld\ Rectory: North Bradley, Trowbridge Piper, J. E. C., Fawley Bottom Farm House, Henley-on-Thames,Oxon Pole, Sir Felix, Calcot Place, Reading Pole, E. R., Great Bedwyn, Marl- borough Ponting, K. G., 4 Becketts, Tinhead Poole, E. H. L., Martin, Fording- bridge, Hants. Portal, C., 2 Burton Avenue, Manchester, 20 Potter, R., 21 The Close, Salisbury Prest, Major C. A., Mascalls, Broad- chalke, Salisbury List of Members 205 Prest, Mrs. C. A., Mascalls, Broad- chalke, Salisbury Brest ja Wi, 21°. Lower Road; Tadworth, Surrey Prismall, S. E., 17 Broome Manor Lane, Swindon Pugh, C. W., M.B.z., Hadleigh Cottage, Devizes Pugh, R. B., F.s.a., 6 Lawn Road Flats, London, N.W.3 Pyemont Steeds, Mrs. P., Stone House, Pewsey Quinnell, N. V., The Shoe, Old Hollow, Mere Rathbone, M. G., Craigleith, Snarl- ton Lane, Melksham Forest Reed, Mrs. M. G., Breakspears, The Breach, Devizes Reeves, Miss M. E., The Elms, Bratton, Westbury Rendell, E. A., Wimereux, Wick, Devizes Rendell, F. W., Stavordale, Pot- terne Road, Devizes Rendell, W. J., Stavordale, Pot- terne Road, Devizes Renton, Dr. H. B., Littlecroft, Devizes Reynolds, H. W. F., The Four Winds, Limpley Stoke, Bath Rice, C., 184 Sheldon Road, Chippenham Rich, the Rev. K. S., Hilmarton Vicarage, Calne Rickards, E., Siddington House, Siddington, Cirencester Rickards, Mrs., Siddington House, Siddington, Cirencester Ridout, A. H., 23 Okus Road, Swindon Roberts, J. B. Boyd, 40 Monkton Farleigh, Bradford-on-Avon Robertson, A. W., Forest Farm, Easterton, Devizes Robins, W. R., 318 Cricklade Road, Swindon Robinson, A. C., 40 Rivers Road, Highworth, Swindon Robinson, Comdr. V. J., Henford, Warminster . Robinson, Mrs. D. S., Henford, Warminster Rogers, G. B., Corporal, 3 Wing R.A.F., Yatesbury, Calne Rogers, K. H., 24 Drynham Road, Trowbridge Rooke, Capt. J. W., Ben Mead, Box Ross, H., Leighton Villa, Wellhead Lane, Westbury Ross, Miss J. M., The Livery, Winterslow, Salisbury Ryde, J. W., Redhurst, 19 Elgood Avenue, Northwood, Middlesex Sabin, C. W., 0.B.z., Tadorne, The Fairway, Devizes Sabin, Mrs. M., Tadorne, The Fairway, Devizes Sainsbury, H. J., The Close, Little- ton Panell, Devizes Salmon, -A, J. The «Breach, Devizes Sandell, R., Hillside, Potterne Road, Devizes Sandford, E. G., The College, Marlborough [L] Scott-Ashe, Major C., Langley House, Langley Burrell, Chippen- am [L] Scott, Miss G. L., Langley House, Langley Burrell, Chippen- am Scott, Lt-Commander M., 101 Highway, Fish Hoek, C.P., South Africa Seekree, E. L., Silver Birches, All Cannings, Devizes Seth-Smith, Miss D. U., Old Monas- tery Garden, Edington, Westbury Seymour, Sir H., Bratton House, Westbury Shadbolt, Mrs. L., Penn Stowe, Penn, Bucks 206 List of Members Shearing, E. A., PH.D., 1 Cranleigh Drive, Brooklands, Sale, Man- chester Shortt, H. de S.,F.s.a., The Museum, St. Ann Street, Salisbury Skillman, B. T. H., St. Edmunds, 8 Pans Lane, Devizes Slade, Miss M. E., 63 Avenue Road, Swindon Slade, W. Goold, Ferfoot, Chippen- ham Smethurst, the Rev. Canon A. F., PH.D., Hungerford Chantry, 54 The Close, Salisbury Smith, George, The Old House, Great Bedwyn, Marlborough Smith, J. D., 24a Ashford Road, Swindon Smith-R ogers, J., Manora, 36 India Avenue, Salisbury Speer, Dr. J. M. C., Campfield, Devizes Speer, Mrs. M., Campfield, Devizes Spillane, Mrs. C., Manor House, Manningford Abbots, Marl- borough Stedman, A. R., Greenlands, Lon- don Road, Marlborough Stephenson, Mrs. M. N., Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, London, W.6. Stewart, Miss H., Court Hill House, Potterne, Devizes Stone, Dr. J. F. S., Fs.a., The Poplars, Winterbourne Gunner, Salisbury Story, D. P., 13 Westlecot Road, Swindon Stringer, P. A., Selborne, D. L., Jackson’s, Langley Burrell, Chip- penham ! Sturton, T. W., Clyffe Hall Hotel, Market Lavington, Devizes Sykes, Bonar, Conock Manor, Devizes [L] Sykes, Tristram, Diana’s, Stock- ton, Warminster Talbot, Miss M., Lacock Abbey, Chippenham Tanner, Miss J. M., 155 Shrivenham Road, Swindon Tanner, P. W., Wessex, Bath Road, Devizes Tayler, Dr. H. C., 13 Westfield Avenue, Barnstable, Devon Tennant, the Hon. Stephen, Wils- ford Manor, Salisbury Thelwall, Miss G. M. de C., Kingsbury Hill House, Marl- borough Thomas, A. C., Lowenac, Cam- borne, Cornwall Thomas, Miss J. G., Restharrow, Great Wishford, Salisbury Thompson, A. S., Westbury Lodge, Heywood, Westbury Thompson, Miss G. E., Blaxall House, Rowde, Devizes Thompson, Major G. Malcolm, West End, Shipton Moyne, Tet- bury, Gloucestershire Thompson, Mrs. M. C., South- bridge House, Devizes Thomson, Dr. T. R., F.s.A., Crick- lade Tilley, C. N., 17 Stokke, Great Bedwyn, Marlborough Tilley, Mrs C. V., Lloyds Bank House, Devizes Timperley, H. W., Brooklyn, Alderholt Road, Sandleheath, Fordingbridge, Hants Tompkins, E. S., 223 Pineapple Road, King’s Heath, Birming- ham 14 Tower, W. E., F.S.A., 17 The Close, Salisbury Tratman, Professor E. K., Penrose Cottage, Burrington, Bristol [L] Trumper, L. C., Drew’s.Pond, Devizes Tucker, J. H., 43 Park Lane, Chip- penham {[L] Turner, G. C., C.M.G., M.C., List of Members 207 1 St. Martin’s Square, Chichester, Sussex Tweed, Mrs. M., The Ivy, Worton, Devizes [L] Twine, W., 16 Carlton Drive, Baildon, Shipley, Yorks. Vandy, Dr. K. W., Dunkirk, Devizes Wadsworth, Mrs. Theo., Walden, West Grimstead, Salisbury Warcht, E. -A.,° Church. Farm, Woodborough, Pewsey Wait, Miss M. E. K., The Green, Urchfont, Devizes Walrond, R. D., Aldbourne, Bram- cote Road, London, S.W.15 Wand-Tetley, Mrs. T. H., Conock Old Manor, Devizes Wardle, A. C., Green Pastures, Manor Road, Mere Waterfield, Mrs., Cowcroft Farm, Aldbourne Waterlow, Lady M., Parsonage House, Oare, Marlborough Watkins, W. T., 114 Leigh Road, Westbury Watson, Col. M. K., Jessamine Cottage, Coulston, Westbury Watson, Mrs., Jessamine Cottage, Coulston, Westbury Webb, A. W. Miles, 25 Portland Rise, Finsbury Park, London, N.4 _ Webb, W. J., 83 Argyle Road, London, W.13 Webster, D. A. S., A.Rr.1.B.A., Old Wyatts, Seend, Melksham Wells, Mrs. E. L., The Orchard, Wilton, Marlborough Weston, Miss E., The Home Farm, Stockton, Codford St. Mary, Warminster White, Capt. C. F. T., Broadford Bridge, Billinghurst, Sussex Wheelwright, E. H., Pittsmead, Stratford-sub-Castle, Salisbury Whitehorn, A. D., The College, Marlborough Whiteman, Miss E. A. O., Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Whittet, Mrs. D. F., Hollybrook House, Broughton Gifford, Melk- sham Willan, Brigadier R. H., Bridges, Teffont, Salisbury Williams, Major R. S. A., The Old Rectory, Poulshot, Devizes Williams, Mrs., The Old Rectory, Poulshot, Devizes Willoughby, R. W. H., Berwick St. James, Salisbury Wilson, Col. F. W. FE, p.s.o., Purton House, Purton Wilson, Miss J., Norton Manor, Malmesbury Wiltshire, A. W., 8 Avon View, Bath Road, Devizes Woodward, C. F. R., Exchange Place, Devizes Woolley, Sir Leonard, D.Litt., LL.D., F.S.A., Sedgehill Manor, Shaftesbury, Dorset Worrall, Miss K. M., 23a Market Place, Devizes Wright, R. P., Fs.a., 5 Victoria Terrace, Durham City Wright of Durley, the Lord, Durley House, Savernake, Marlborough Wylie, H., The College, Marl- borough Yeates, Mrs. C. G., St. Andrews, Warminster Yeatman-Biggs, Mrs. M. B., Long Hall, Stockton, Codford St. Mary Yeatman-Biggs, Miss B. M., Myr- field, St. Nicholas’ Road, Salis- bury Young, Dr. G. M., c.B., The Old Oxyard, Oare, Marlborough Young, Lady M., South Wraxhall Lodge, Bradford-on-Avon Young, W. E. V., The Museum, Avebury, Marlborough 208 List of Members INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS : UNITED KINGDOM Aberystwyth: Bath: Birmingham: Bristol: Cardiff: Chessington : Chippenham: Corsham: Devizes: Lavington, West: Leicester: London: Manchester: Marlborough: Reading: Salisbury: Swindon: Trowbridge: National Library of Wales. Corporation Library. Public Libraries; University Library. City Library; University Library. National Museum of Wales. Ordnance Survey. Grammar School. Bath Academy of Art. Wiltshire Gazette; Wiltshire News. Dauntsey’s School. University College. British Museum (Bloomsbury), Department of Anti- quities; British Museum (Natural History); Guild- hall Library; Institute of Archaeology, University of London; Institute of Historical Research, Uni- versity of London; London Library; Public Record Office; University of London Library; Victoria and Albert Museum. John Ryland’s Library. College Library; College Natural History Society. Public Library. Cathedral Library; Clerical Library, Church House; Public Library; Salisbury, South Wilts and Black- more Museum. British Railways Mechanics’ Institute; Public Library. County Library, Headquarters and 17 Branches; Wiltshire Record Office, County Hall; Wiltshire Times. INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS : OVERSEAS Germany Gottingen; Universitaetsbibliothek. United States of America Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Library. Baltimore, Md.: Boston, Mass.: Cambridge, Mass. Chicago, Ill: Cleveland, Ohio: Peabody Institute. New England. Historic Genealogical Society; Public Library. : Harvard University Library. General Library; Newberry Library. Public Library. East Lansing, Mich.: Michigan State College Library. List of Members 209 New Haven, Conn.: Yale University, Library. New York, N.Y.: Public Library. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah. San Marino, Cal.: Henry E. Huntington Library. Urbana, IIL: University of Illinois. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. EXCHANGES Berkshire Archaeological Society, Central Public Library, Reading. _ Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, City Library, Brunswick Road, Gloucester. British Naturalists’ Society (Hon. Librarian), City Museum, Bristol 8. Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Cambridge Antiquarian Society (Librarian), University Library, Cambridge. Cotteswold Naturalists’ Field Club (Hon. Librarian), Public Library, Gloucester. Dorset Nat. Hist. and Antiquarian Field Club, County Museum, Dorchester. East Herts Archaeological Society, The Museum, Bell Place, Hertford. East Riding Antiquarian Society (Hon. Sec.), Municipal Museum, Hull. Essex Archaeological Society (Secretary), Castle Museum, Colchester. Essex Field Club (Secretary), Passmore Edwards Museum, Romford Road, Stratford, Essex. The Geologists’ Association, Geological Survey and Museum, South Kensing- ton, London, S.W.7. - Kent Archaeological Society (Hon. Sec.), The Museum, Maidstone. Kungl Universitetsbiblioteket (Chief Librarian), Uppsala, Sweden. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Librarian). Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, Central Library, Manchester 2. Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 63 Merrion Square, Dublin. Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-on-Tyne (Librarian), Blackgate, New- castle-on-Tyne. Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London. Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (Secretary), Queen Street, Edinburgh. Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies (Librarian), 50, Bedford Square, London, W.C.1. Somerset Archaeological Society (Secretary), The Museum, Taunton. Surrey Archaeological Society (Librarian), Castle Arch, Guildford. Sussex Archaeological Society, Barbican House, Lewes, Sussex. Societé Suisse de Préhistoire, Haus Ratia, Speicherstr. 39, Frauenfeld, Switzerland. Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Librarian, Queen’s University, Belfast. Universitetsbiblioteket (Librarian), Lund, Sweden. Yorkshire Archaeological Society (Librarian), 10 Park Place, Leeds. “Se )- 6 JAN 1954 Records Branch publications continued— ANDREWS’ AND DURY’S MAP OF WILTSHIRE, 1773. A reduced facsimile. Introduction by Elizabeth Crittall. 1952. Pp. iv + 19 plates. SURVEYS OF THE MANORS OF PHILIP EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY, 1631—2. Edited by Eric Kerridge, Ph.D. 1953. Pp. xiv + 176. Publications to be obtained from the Librarian, The Museum, Devizes THE BRITISH AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES OF THE NORTH WILTSHIRE DOWNS, by the Rev. A. C. Smith, M.A. Atlas 4to. 248 pp., 17 large maps and 110 woodcuts, extra cloth. One copy offered to each member of the Society at {1 1s. A few copies only. CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES IN THE SOCIETY’S MUSEUM. Part II, illustrated, 2nd Edition, 1935. Price 3s. 6d. A BIBLIOGRAPHY oF THE GREAT STONE MONUMENTS of WILTSHIRE: STONEHENGE anp AVEBURY, with other references, by W. J. Harrison, F.G.S., pp. 169, 4 illustrations. No. 89 (1901) of W.A.M. Describes 947 books, papers, &c., by 732 authors. Price 5s. 6d. A CALENDAR OF THE FEET OF FINES FOR WILTSHIRE, 1195 TO 1272, BY E. A. FRY. 8vo., pp. 103. Price 6s. WILTSHIRE INQUISITIONES POST MORTEM: HENRY III, EDWARD Iand EDWARD II. _ 8vo. pp. xv + 505. Fully indexed. In parts. Price 13s., complete. DITTO. EDWARDIII. 8vo., pp. 402. Fully indexed. In parts. Price 13s., complete. THE CHURCH BELLS OF WILTSHIRE, THEIR INSCRIPTIONS AND HISTORY, by H. B. WALTERS, F.S.A. (In3 Parts.) Price 16s. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WILT- SHIRE FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PAGAN SAXONS, by M. E. Cunnington, C.B.E. Fourth Editon, 1949, 6s. 6d. (by arrangement with the Publishers, C. H. Woodward, Devizes). BACK NUMBERS oF THE MAGAZINE. Price from 2s. 6d. to 10s. 6d. according to date and condition (except in the case of a few numbers the price of which is raised). Io Members, 25 per cent. less. The late Carr. B. H. and Mrs. CUNNINGTON gave all remaining copies of the following to the Society for sale :— ALL CANNINGS CROSS (1923), By MRS. CUNNINGTON, Hon. F.S.A., Scot. 4to. cloth, 53 Plates. 21s. WOODHENGE (Excavations, 1927—28), By MRS. CUNNINGTON, Hon. F.S.A., Scot. 4to. cloth, 2ls. RECORDS OF THE COUNTY OF WILTS, EXTRACTS FROM THE QUARTER SESSIONS GREAT ROLLS OF THE 171TH CENTURY By CAPT. B. H. CUNNINGTON, F.S.A., Scot. Cloth. 12/6. DEVIZES BOROUGH ANNALS. EXTRACTS FROM THE CORPORATION RECORDS’ By CAPT. B. H. CUNNINGTON F.S.A., Scot. Cloth. (Vol. I is out of print) Vol. II, 1792 to 1835, 1és. The Society’s Museum and Library, Long Street, Devizes All members of the Society are asked to give an annual subscription towards the upkeep of these collections. The Museum contains many objects of especial interest, and the Library is the only one in Wiltshire devoted to material for the history of the county. Subscriptions should be sent to Mr. R. S. CHILD, Brighstone, The Breach, Devizes. Old printed material and photographs of Wiltshire buildings or other objects of interest will be welcomed by the Librarian at the Museum. The repository for old deeds, maps, plans, etc., is now the County Archives collection at us County Hall, Trowbridge Natural History Section The object of this Section is to promote the study of. all branches of Natural History in the county by encouraging field observations, maintaining records, arranging field and other meetings and by putting observers in touch with each other. Members and others who wish for particulars of the Section and its activities should write to the Honorary Treasurer of the Section :— Mr. G. W. COLLETT, 174, Sheldon Road, Chippenham. Membership of the Section does not entail any further subscrip-: tion from those who are already members of the Society. Observations should be sent to the Recorders: BIRDS. Mrs. Egbert Barnes, Hungerdown, Seagry, Chip- penham, Wilts. FLOWERS. Mr. J. D. Grose, Downs Edge, Liddington, near Swindon. LEPIDOPTERA. Mr. B. W. Weddell, 13, The Halve, Trowbridge. | REPTILES AND AMPHIBIA. Mr. C. E. Owen, Newtown, Lockeridge, Marlborough. Back numbers of the Report of the Section can be obtained from Mrs. Egbert Barnes. Prices: Report for 1946, 1/6; 1947, 2/6; 1948, 2/6; 1949, 2/6; 1950, 2/6; 1951, 2/6. Post free. BOOKBINDING.,. Books carefully bound to pattern. Wilts Archaeological Magazine bound to match previous volumes, or in special green cases. C. H. WOODWARD, Printer and Publisher, Exchange Buildings, Station Road, DEVIZES Woodward, Printer, Devizes Br - i We Nj ; a JUNE, 1954 Vol. LV No CC i ude 19542 O The Wiltshire Archeological and Natural History Magazine PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SOCIETY FORMED IN THAT COUNTY IN THE YEAR 1853 HON. EDITOR HON. ASSISTANT EDITOR Fi. €. BRENT NALL, F.S.A. OWEN MEYRICK GRANHAM WEST, MARLBOROUGH RIDGELANDS, RAMSBURY The authors of the papers printed in this Magazine are alone responsible for all statements made therein DEVIZES PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY BY C. H. WOODWARD, EXCHANGE BUILDINGS, STATION ROAD Price ros. 6d. Members gratis The Wiltshire Archzological & Natural History Society The annual subscription is £1 with an entrance fee of 10s. A payment of £20 secures life-membership of the Society. Members who have not paid their subscriptions to the Society for the current year are requested to remit the same forthwith to the Hon. Treasurer Mr. F. W. C. MERRITT, Tawsmead, Eastleigh Road, Devizes, to whom also all communications as to the supply of Magazines should be addressed. The numbers of this Magazine will be delivered gratis, as issued, to members who are not in arrear of their annual subscrip- tions; but in accordance with Byelaw No. 8 “ The Financial Secretary shall give notice to members in arrear, and the Society’s publications will not be forwarded to members whose subscriptions shall remain unpaid after such notice”. An Index for the preceding eight volumes of the Magazine will be found at the end of vols. viii., xvi., xxiv., and xxxil. The subsequent volumes are each indexed separately. Articles and other communications intended for the Magazine, and correspondence relating to them, should be addressed to the Editor, Granham West, Marlborough. The Records Branch Founded in 1937 for the publication of original documents re- lating to the history of the county. The subscriptionis £1 yearly. New members are urgently needed. Hon. Assistant Secretary, Mr. M. G. Rathbone, Craigleith, Snarlton Lane, Melksham Forest, Wilts. | The Branch has issued the following :— ABSTRACTS OF FEET OF FINES RELATING TO WILT- SHIRE FOR THE REIGNS OF EDWARD I AND EDWARD II. Edited by R. B. Pugh. 1939. Pp. xix + 190. ACCOUNTS OF THE PARLIAMENTARY GARRISONS OF GREAT CHALFIELD AND MALMESBURY, 1645—1646. Ed- ited by J. H. P. Pafford. 1940. Pp. 112. (Out of Print). CALENDAR OF ANTROBUS DEEDS BEFORE 1625. Edited by R. B. Pugh. 1947. Pplv + 165. MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS IN SESSIONS, 1563, 1574— 1592. Edited by H.C. Johnson. 1949. Pp. xxvili + 246. LIST OF WILTSHIRE BOROUGH RECORDS EARLIER IN DATE THAN 1886. Edited by Maurice G. Rathbone. 1951. Pp. xiii + 108. THE TROWBRIDGE WOOLLEN INDUSTRY as illustrated by the stock books of John and Thomas Clark, 1804-1824. Edited by R. P. Beckinsale, D. Phil. 1950. Pp. xxxvi + 249. CALNE GUILD STEWARDS BOOK, 1561—1688. Edited by A. W. Mabbs. 1953. Pp. xxxiii + 150. The Wiltshire History Magazine No. CC JUNE, 1954 CONTENTS THE CUNNINGTONS OF WILTSHIRE: By Lt. Col. R. H. Cunnington eer esas seerserseeseeteazaeeeeaereaeeeetsesaaaaaaa THE IDOVERS OF NORTH-WEST WILTS: By H. C. Brentnall ee | NATURAL HISTORY SECTION: _ FIELD MEETINGS AND LECTURES, 1953: Report by the Hon. Meetings Secretary, Clifford Owen WILTSHIRE BIRD NOTES FOR 1953: Recorders, Ruth G. Barnes, M.B.O.U., and Guy Peirson WILTSHIRE PLANT NOTES [15]: Recorder, Mare eeG Ose: BL Sie oo on ks cee Rac sss ib ka ve A BOTANICAL SURVEY OF SPYE PARK: By peat GOSS Pr S sR ao od en a cece tn co the: ENTOMOLOGICAL REPORT FOR 1953: By B. W. Weddell ee eee eases eee eee eet er eeasereeeeeeaeereseeeaee scree eessseeaae AN EXPERIMENT WITH MARKED BUTTERELIES: Peer Pe PPT INOAING oo cheb cols nh ewes ANNUAL STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SECTION, 1953 a ROMAN POTTERY REPAIRS: By A. Shaw Mellor... Archeological and Natural Vol. LV PAGE 211—236 237—242 243 244—257 258—262 263—276 277—280 281 282 283—284 212 The Cunningtons of Wiltshire John and his wife were “ chapel ”’, and a good deal of space, especi- ally in the wife’s letters, is given to exhortations to be a good boy and not fail to attend Sunday Meetings. In the five long letters to him, dated from 1800 to 1809, and a sixth to their niece, Elizabeth, there is no mention whatever of his uncle William’s scientific activities, which were probably considered the eccentricities of genius—as perhaps they were. The first, from his mother, dated July 8th, 1800, must have been written soon after his arrival at Heytesbury. My dear William We received yours of May and was happy to hear you was all well hope you are comfortable and contented in your Situation which becomes more Familiar to you and consequently will be easy and pleasant to you more than at the first-—the knowledge of any Business cannot be attained withour Labour and Study strive to the utmost of your Power to Learn and to Acquit your- self with Diligence and Honesty in all your uncles concerns make his interest your own that will secure you his favour and will make you happy now and ina future day nothing will give your Father and myself so much Pleasure as to hear that you discharge the Duties of your Station as you ought and that your uncle is satisfied with you I am glad to hear you go to a Meeting hope you spend the other Part of the Sabbath with your Bible and Hymns do not Neglect or trifle away that day Remember your creator in the Days ot your youth that it may be well with you. After this the letter goes on to give home news. It ends with the complaint, doubtless common enough during the Napoleonic wars, that “every thing is uncommon dear”, and an exhortation not to neglect his French, with a list of some books to study. The father adds a few words of farming news. The second, dated 1st Aug., 1801, from the father, is more genial; but he writes as if his son was in a very unfamiliar world where it behoves him to mind his P’s and Q’s. My dear William We was happy to hear from you by your uncle Thomas! but shall be much happier to see you whenever it is agreeable to the friends you are with in all things we must submit to them in what concerns you as it is in there power to promote your interest and advance you in the world more than we can you must consider it a great thing for you to be taken in so genteel a Business hope you will think so and exert your utmost Abilities to please in all points strive to behave with all the politeness as possible to all people that you may not be a discredite to your uncle who is in a very geentel line of Life. my Dear 1 A younger brother of whom little more is known than that he lived at Heytes- bury and was employed in his brother’s business. Letters from home 213 William do not resent any thing that is said to you in the way of reproof but take it patiently smile and let it go by never look cross nor out of humour it shows a bad temper think you are in fault and endeavour to mend you will sooner be forgiven do not be catch in teling a lie upon no consideration I beg and pray you will make your uncle’s concerns and interests your daily study take care of every thing that belongs to him do not keep low company but get into that that will improve you and watch there behaviour and let them bea rule for you do not let bashfulnes nor fear keep you from exerting yourself from Acting with propriety let your uncle command you in what he will obey—if you think it unreasonable never mind you are young it will not hurt you beside you should do it by way of seting the servants a pattern you must expect troubles and difficulties go where you will there is no stage of life without them my Dear I am glad you go to the Meeting still go on let none keep you from that I hope you will go to profit. After telling him again not to neglect his French, the letter gives him news, including the dispatch of a cake and pudding; and his father ends with “ My best love and wishes to all your Dr. friends at Heytesbury.” William did better for himself than his parents could have expected, for he fell in love with Elizabeth, his uncle’s daughter, and eventually married her. The engagement at first was kept secret, and while William at the age of twenty-one was on holiday at Duddington, Elizabeth, who was eighteen, wrote him a letter which must be quoted in full. A note of some of the people she mentions is given at the end of the letter. The original is very neatly written, almost without erasure. Heytesbury, July 2 1807 My dear William Isafely received your letter Wednesday night and was happy to hear you had enjoyed yourself so much and sincerely hope you may have nothing to obstruct the pleasures you are anticipating, but enjoy them to their full extent. I had almost made up my mind not to write as you delayed writing me so long and thought you had nearly forgotten me, or cared but very little whether you heard of me or not, and from the formality of your letter I was nearly convinced my opinion was right—I would have you remember that formality in letter writing only proceeds from an indifference towards the person you address—it does not denote that warm friendship you showed for me before you left—but if this conjecture should be wrong, you will I hope forgive the writer and accept the remaining part of my letter as a peace offering. Now for the journal —the day you left us Sir R. and Mr. Lambert with Crocker dined here at 2 o'clock—they rode out from 4 to 8 then returned and had some tea. Sir R. hever eats any supper—Mr. L. went home before they rode out—On Friday they dined at Mr. Lambert’s, and on Saturday Mr. L. breakfasted here and went immediately after with Sir R. etc. to open the barrow on Clay hill, they found nothing—it was only erected as a Beacon—Lord Bath and his brothers stayed P2 214 The Cunningtons of Wiltshire there till 4 0’clock and then took Mr. Lambert with them home to dine at Longleat—Sir R. went to Stourhead to dine and Mr. Cunnington came home here to dinner. Sir R. gave us very little trouble eat heartily was in very good spirits and seemed to enjoy himself uncommonly—he gave his servant for Sally and Molly half a guinea—s/3 each—they would have no objection to more Sir Richards—Sunday evening I stayed at home all alone—Papa rode out —but I suppose if you had Fortunatus’s wishing Cap, you would not have made use of it—Monday and Tuesday Mamma was very poorly and kept her bed till 12 o'clock each day—she is now quite recovered—her illness was occasioned by a cold—Ann and I could not go to Upton—however we crawled at night, I was first led by good or bad fortune (I dont know which) to the rine—next to the water and lastly to the old Maid—Ann went twice following to the old Maid—On Wednesday no one here and nothing particular happened—Thurs- day Ann and I called on Mrs. Everett, and on Friday we drank tea there with Miss Kirkpatric—she is a very dull companion and very stiff—On Saturday I took a Cucumber down to the Mill and one to Miss Godwin—Jenny takes snuff —Mrs. Curtis of Upton offered to fill her box whilst I was there—she seemed much confused at the offer and pretended she had not got it—On Sunday we had a West Country beau come to see us he took tea here and made fine fun for us (Papa rode out before tea) One of his speeches was “my Mother had zeven Zuns rinnen (viz. following), he he he! and when we were going to Meeting he told Ann if he had not zoo vur to goo whom, he would go with us, we thought it was very lucky he had zoo vur to goo—It was young Croom of Friary—Monday Ann and I went to Mr. Lambert’s to breakfast and dinner, he wanted me to make a drawing of a very curious plant to send to Lord Bland- ford’s, he could not take it out of the hot house, so I was obliged to draw it in there, you may think I was warm enough standing in a hot house for two or three hours in a summers day—Mr. L. was very much pleased and would not trouble me to paint it, as it gave so exact an idea of the plant as it was—we drank tea at Raxworthy’s that afternoon, Tuesday Papa dined at Mr.‘Lambert’s—Old P. Scammel dined with us—Wednesday Mrs. Everett her family, Miss Kirk- patric and Miss Clark drank tea here, Mr. E. is in London, Today, Thursday, Papa and Mamma are gone to Frome, aunt Hammond is there—they will bring Mary home with them this evening. We have got the kitten from Sutton it is named Merry—I fetched one of the prettiest kittens you ever saw from Farmer Harmans this morning I have named it Carrol—they don’t agree well yet— You will think this a long and uninteresting journal, so I will allow, but you desired to know every day’s adventure. The cucumbers come on wonderfully now, we cut one and sometimes two a day ever since you have been gone—one of the three seeds you sowed is come up and looks just like a french bean—the melons look well but we don’t think there will be much fruit—Ben Moody is run away from Harwoods and has not been heard of since. Sir W. and family came home last evening—Sir Richard is to be at their house the 13th and will spend a week there—he told Papa he should not wait for their breakfast but come and breakfast with him. Mr. Everett’s sheep shearing was on Wednesday and Thursday in the last week, there was a little pudding sent for Ann with Master Joss Comps Ann goes a fishing with him almost Elizabeth’s letter 215 every evening—she went last night which was very lucky for me as I wrote part of this while she was gone and got up early this morning to finish it—I have had five thousand interruptions sometimes writing in the Cabin then in the Count- ing house and parlour, and obliged to run at every footstep—I amuse myself in gardening most of my leisure time—I have no more news to add perhaps you will say I have told you none—but as nothing more interesting has happened you must excuse it and think me dear William Your aftectionate EAC. Mrs. Prate-apace of Warminster and Mrs. J. Everett of Salisbury breakfasted with us at Mr. Lambert’s—The former made Mrs. L’s. head ache. I don’t know when Iam to go to Warminster, it wont be yet for some time— perhaps not at all—however I can’t go till Aunt H is gone home and she is not yet come to Warminster— To Mr. W. Cunnington Post Office Stamford From E.C. July 1807 (added in the margin) Friday morn 7 o’clock Mary is grown very fat—Frome agrees with her—they are not up yet. Sir Richard is Sir Richard Colt Hoare of Stourhead, the Wiltshire antiquary. Mr. Lambert is the celebrated botanist and naturalist of Boy- ton House near Heytesbury. Crocker is the surveyor and artist who made sketches and plans for William, including the water-colour of his house. Ann is Elizabeth’s younger sister, and Mary the elder. Of “crawling ”’ as a game information is lacking. The letter is addressed to the Post Office Stamford, four miles from William’s home at Duddington. They had no doubt arranged that he should call there for Elizabeth’s letters. The writer of this lively letter played a necessary, though subordin- ate, part in her father’s pursuits, for she and her two sisters acted as his amanuenses almost from the start. There is a large collection of his letters and memoranda in the Devizes Museum Library, and another, rather smaller, in the library of the Society of Antiquaries at Burlington House. Almost all of both was written by these three girls. At Bur- lington House there is hardly anything (apart from the notes) in his handwriting, and at Devizes very little, and that confined almost en- tirely to the earliest in date. In a letter dated 1800, signed by him, but written in a childish hand, William tells his correspondent that ~ my little girl” is his amanuensis; and in another, a year later, he explains “I want more time than I have to spare for arranging these papers in order and also my girls to write for me—the latter are now 216 The Cunningtons of Wiltshire at school in Bath.’ They were then eleven, twelve and thirteen respectively. Particulars of both manuscript collections are given in Appendix I, and it is enough to say here that the Devizes material constitutes his office copy of memoranda and letters, and the Burlington House manu- script was apparently transcribed from these specially for Colt Hoare’s use in compiling his History of Ancient Wiltshire. Among the Devizes letters are some personal and some purely geological, neither of which were wanted by Hoare and are therefore not to be found in the Burlington House collection. The former tell us more about William than any other source, and several quotations from them will be given. The first is from a letter to Cobb, dated January, 1804, telling him how he became an antiquary :— I have been a great reader in the early part of my life, and I have read books of antiquity till late at night—yet for 22 years I paid as great attention to business as any man I know nor even till within this four or five years! ever rode a quarter of a mile out of my way to see any antiquities—it was only two years ago I first saw Old Sarum when Doctors Fothergil and Beddoes told me I must se out or die—I preferred the former, and thank God though poorly I am yet ve. He suffered badly from headaches and believed, no doubt with reason, that the fresh air of the downs was the best specific.” He enjoyed | the scenery too, though he seldom mentions it. Writing to Colt Hoare on Oct. 30th, 1807, he does allow himself to stray from strict archaeo- logical business to say how the scene and air delighted him:— I rode to Lake Downs through a fog with no other guide but the different barrows I passed by, when within half a furlong of our group the Sun burst out all at once and disclosed such a scene that few excepting Poets could enjoy. Stonehenge never looked more grand. The headaches continued to trouble him all his life. The letter to Colt Hoare dated Oct. 5th, 1809 (not Sept. 5th as in one copy) begins:— Left home Tuesday sth inst. (error for ult.) with a pain in my head which continued all the way to Devizes where I was obliged to go to bed. The next morning when passing Shepherds Shore into the downs about Abury I felt as much enlivened as if entering the Garden of Eden, Abury Silbury Hill etc. etc. all before me, here the pain in my head and all its gloomy attendants left me and only returned for an hour or two that evening, and in the further progress of my journey I felt increase of strength and spirits. 1 There is a slight underestimate here, for a letter to Britton describing some of - his excavations is dated 1798. 2 William Stukeley had adopted the same remedy for a like complaint (see W.A.M. liii, p. 387, June, 1950). Geologist and archaeologist 217 Three months later his Gretton doctor wrote to suggest the cause and remedy :— Your mother and I fancy we have discovered the cause of it (which is half the cure) and that when you come again—or follow our Prescription—we shall put you quite to rights. Your intense application to Books and Business deprived you of that relaxation and rest which nature requires. Your abstemiousness, which you so strictly adhere to, instead of making up the loss the Animal Spirits sustained by such conduct, was gradually lessening the supply they receive from exercise and rest; and of course laying the foundation of many complaints. You should have... Often used a little wine for your stomach’s sake. For I am told, and verily believe it, that most of the Diseases of the Head originate in the stomach; and your mother and I hope it is not yet too late to derive much advantage from a more generous use of the grape. If the remedy was tried and would have been useful, it came too late, for William died eleven months after this. William’s chief interests, apart from his business, were geology and archaeology. In his day he was in the happy position, with these two hobbies, of being able to make discoveries almost wherever he went. It was all virgin soil and, to his observant eye and enquiring mind, full of interest. His practice was to write a sort of diary of his travels, mingling antiquities with geology, just as it came to his notice; and sending it all off, after his daughter had copied it, to his correspondent, generally Colt Hoare. His letter of 21st Nov., 1808, for instance, begins :-— Having experienced much nervous debility within the last fortnight, I was almost compelled to try what change of air and exercise would do, I therefore moved off to Lacock where I took up my quarters for three days. My objects were Antiquities and Fossils, to assist me in these pursuits I sent John Parker two days before. In the following pages I mean to describe things as they occurred, from considering that in some future day I might want to look over the remarks on Fossils etc., for it is not worth my while to take the trouble to separate them. Similarly after his ride to Gretton the following year, his letter of Oct. 5th, 1809 (of which the opening sentences have already been quoted) goes far beyond anything Colt Hoare could have wanted for his History of Wiltshire, for which it was primarily intended. It tells of his visit to the Swindon stone quarries, remarks on the heaps of stone used for road metal on different parts of his route and the pits it has come from and what fossils he has collected. And he compares what he has seen with other exposures observed elsewhere and notes how they all bear out William Smith’s theory of systematic strata. He makes up however for all this extraneous information byalong description of the 218 The Cunningtons of Wiltshire Rollright Stones and other archaeological features, noting how his daughters have collected British and Roman pottery. None of it has much bearing on Hoare’s work; but William was interested, and down it goes. Before Colt Hoare undertook his history in 1803, both Wyndham and Coxe, afterwards Archdeacon of Wiltshire, had ideas of doing so. Some of William’s informative letters were addressed to them, and Coxe paid the expenses of some of his excavations. The copies of these letters were afterwards again copied for Hoare, (vide Appendix), who undertook to pay expenses in future. With Colt Hoare on the scene, anxious for “ copy,” William seems to have worked harder than ever. We have a specimen of Hoare’s programme for the summer of 1806. William was no doubt pleased, but it seems formidable. I wish all this summer to be devoted to the accurate investigation of the numerous British and Saxon earthen works with which our county abounds. I shall not mention those in your immediate neighbourhood with which you are well acquainted. The Country between Heytesbury and Tilshead, and between Tilshead and Everley, demands particular attention—from thence you will proceed to Upavon or Pewsey at both of which places I find good accommoda- tion may be had. Casterley, Marden and Broadbury as well as Lidbury and Chisenbury are planned and will be sent you—there are some curious excava-_ tions between Lidbury and Everley which must be dug into—for John! must be your constant attendant with his Pick axe, without which nothing positive can be ascertained. Observe two beautiful twin barrows which some time or other I shall attack. Some works on Roundaway Hill above Mr. Sutton’s should be examined. You may then proceed to Avebury. Go from Scots poor along the Wansdyke to Saint Anne Hill. Observe some earthen works apparently connected with it—and afterwards a ditch intersected by the dyke. I wish none of the tumuli near the Dyke to be touched as I have fixed upon two nice groups to be opened in October. The line of Hill beyond St. Anns Hill is very interesting—the Hill above Hewish astonishing. Here the spade must be very active. From the Summer house? observe the finest view in Wilts. And the works running along Hewish Hill. Go to Shaw Farm built upon the dyke and examine some meadows to the east of the house which are full of irregularities? Pewsey would be a good station for you to examine this verge of the hills—or they may be very easily reached from Marlborough. 1 Parker, see previous letter. 2 On the spur of Martinsell above Rainscombe; shown on Andrews’ and Dury’s map but long since removed. 8 Due, as was proved more than 120 years later, not to prehistoric earth works but to the foundations of a medieval church (W.A.M. xlv. 156 Dec. 1930). A plan of campaign 219 From Marlborough you will of course examine our Roman station at Folly Farm—where you will clearly see that it was founded on a pure British work. Go to Barbury Castle, from whence on looking Northwards you will see the most surprising remains in a bottom; in these banks rough unhewn Stones were found—and here also you must dig. The Ridge way coming from Streatly in Berks and Liddington Castle, Wilts, passes between the Castle and these works in the bottom. Mr. Leman thinks it is continued to Abury—and I think very probably to Marden and Stonehenge. You must also visit Liddington Castle—which we could not—and examine on which side the ditch of a dyke called Wansdyke, on that hill runs—This I beg you always do, as much will depend on it towards determining the nations they separated. The Country about Auburn etc. is quite unknown to us. I forgot to mention a work with a ditch inside on Hewish Hill. Chisbury Castle may be commodiously visited from Great Bedwyn where there is a good inn. There is also another large camp called Maenbury! situated towards Baydon. In examining all the camps, I beg you will particularly observe to what point of the Compass they point, and on which side they are the strongest either by nature or art—note also particularly all the ditches you see and on which side is the vallum. In this curious investigation, we must form no previous system either about Britons, Romans, or Saxons. Our object is Truth. Mr. Leman? told me he had sent you a paper on the subject describing the peculiarities of the British trackways, towns, and works— If he did not, I will get him to do it. We know that Badbury Castle Dorset was made by a Saxon King. Chisbury also was probably the stronghold of Cissa King of the West Saxons. These are useful data, to bear in mind, when we compare different works together. Abury must be examined most attentively and the country about it. Dig in the oblong earthen work in Wansdyke. This is a long bill of fare, but I hope you will have good health to enjoy it. I should not wish the expenses to exceed Fifty Pounds.” Three years later William’s letter to Hoare, dated Nov. 1809, tells something of the strain he was feeling :— Sir, I thank you for the brace of pheasants received by John; yesterday I sent off a Cargo of Fossils for Dr. Parry. I should have answered your questions sooner, but the whole of my time and almost as much of my Daughters having been taken up for three weeks preceding your last visit to Heytesbury in writing and attendance on the Barrows has thrown me entirely behind in my business, there- 1 Presumably Membury. 2 A Norfolk antiquary and F.S.A. with whom William corresponded (see Appendix I). 8 This letter was quoted in an abbreviated form by O. Meyrick, W.A.M. lii, 215. 220 The Cunningtons of Wiltshire fore I have not a moment’s time in these short days to do anything out of the ordinary way—again my head is so bad I am obliged to go to bed almost every evening at six or seven o'clock. . It is plain that there was eur in the Gretton doctor's pigenoe although he may not have hit upon the right cure. William certainly accomplished a good deal in his ten or so years of “ riding out,” as Stukeley had done before him. His archaeological work is more valuable than his geological and has found a permanent record in Colt Hoare’s monumental History. But it would be hard to say which interested him most. As a contemporary and correspondent of William Smith, he watched and assisted in the development of his exciting theory of successive strata distinguished by their fossils. He had not the latter’s opportunity of testing it over a great part of England, and did not live to see Smith’s epoch-making map; but whenever he could he sent him information and was an early and strong supporter of his views. Lambert, writing 29th Jan., 1807, seems to have thought that the theory originated with Cunnington, for the letter reads:— Wishing you every success in your new theory of different species depending on different strata but I believe you will never make converts of the Lin. Soc. etc. if I rightly understand your meaning. By December of the same year Lambert was less sceptical: he recog- nised that the theory was Smith’s, and offered to ensure Cunnington’s election to the Linnaean Society, should he wish to become a member. William's more famous archaeological discoveries are described in Colt Hoare’s History of Ancient Wiltshire. Most of them came from the opening of barrows. Colt Hoare mentions the first of these explora- tions on page 82, with the remark that he wished particularly to notice it because it was the first. William’s account of it, which Hoare much abbreviates, is also of interest in showing how barrow opening was at that time treated as a spectacle for the local gentlemen, and affords evidence of William’s thoroughness, doubtless a part of his business training. It is about $0 ft. in diameter and 24 high. Upon the native chalk we found a coarse urn inverted containing burnt human bones intermixed with black and red earth, ashes, etc. also a brass spear head. This had been broken into two parts, yet both were in high preservation having been secured from the wet by the urn. The gentlemen! with me were so very eager in moving out the 1 Mr. Wyndham, Mr. Knatchbull, Col. Strode “ etc.”” (There is something ominous about that “‘etc.”” One wonders how many eager spectators clustered round William on that first dig, and what a nuisance they were to him.) | | | Archaeological methods PIN contents of the urn that in their haste the largest piece of the lance head was not discovered at that time, but about twelve months after I determined to examine the tumulus with more attention and then found the remainder. Owing to William’s scrupulous care in re-examining and in report- ing, we have here good evidence, though William himself didnot know it, that the “ brass ’’ spearhead, covered by the urn, was ritually broken before burial. The method of opening a barrow was, as then usual, by digging down to the primary burial, so that sometimes the secondaries, if any, were missed. Two men were generally employed, armed with pick and shovel as illustrated in Plate VIII of Grinsell’s The Ancient Burial Mounds of England (1953). The method was quick but has its obvious disadvantages. William himself tells a tragic story of opening a barrow on Upton Lovel Down. It is much to be regretted that this little vessel of such superior taste, which was found whole, should have been beaten to pieces by the pick-axe; and what occasioned me greater vexation, I saw the pick-axe go into it before I could cry out to the man to stop. In spite of such crude methods, William was a careful observer, not merely the seeker for relics, or “ trinkets ” as he called them; and he had the great merit of filling in his excavations and reburying skeletons; so that we find no gaping holes such as some of his contemporaries and successors were content to leave. To show that a barrow had been excavated, he at first deposited among the reburied bones “ one of Mr. Bolton’s new penny or halfpenny pieces”’;! but afterwards used a specially made metal disc, telling by whom it was opened and the date. Several of these have been dug up again, and are now in our museum. Under the Slaughter Stone at Stonehenge, perhaps for the same reason, he left a bottle of port—for Col. Hawley to find (undrinkable) more than a hundred years later. There remains to say something of the Britton correspondence, which by its sober wisdom, seems to bring him more vividly before us than any other. John Britton (1771-1857), though touchy and often complaining, was a devoted admirer of William and one of his first and most faithful correspondents. When he was bringing out the first volume of his Beauties of Wiltshire (1801-1825), he wrote to tell William about it, and this is the reply, dated rath April, 1801 :— 1 Mr. Bolton of Birmingham had the contract for supplying copper coinage to the Royal Mint. There is no difference in appearance, and excavators may suspect the hand of Cunnington when they find a George III penny or halfpenny piece earlier in date than 1803 or 1804, when he began to use his own token. 222 The Cunningtons of Wiltshire I do not like some part of your letter wherein you say your work will “create some consternation among the gentry of the County, ’ and again “ to a few it will prove a goading lash, to the illiberal, the churlish, and ignorantly proud.” Believe, my Dear Sir, one who has had a little more experience than yourself, when he says there rarely comes any good to the Author of lashes.... If you have introduced politicks it will create you many enemies, but get not one friend. A few years peace, and Jacobinism will become as stale as Wilkes and liberty. To such as Sir Richard Hoare, Lord Radnor etc., etc., you will of course render acknowledgements proportionate to their civilities. To many others (among these perhaps myself) a bare mention would be enough. I want no more nor indeed any but I would scourge none or very few, but make allowances for temper, ill health, business, a want of taste, any thing but the lash. I have considered you as a young man of parts, which if cultivated by study and conversation with people both learned and genteel, you might become an Author of consequence—these opportunities you have had. In this light I have seen you, and more, I have thought you without friends and felt for you— a few more words and I have done—if you have introduced much satire or politicks in your first production you are to blame. I am just going to smoke my evening pipe and tell my children a story round a cheerful fire, now as acceptable as at Christmas. Mrs. C. and all join in Compts. Dr. Sir. Your most humble servant Wm. Cunnington. The letter is neatly written, but in a childish hand. At the foot William has added in pencil “ my middle girl of twelve years wrote the above.” This of course was Elizabeth. The peaceful atmosphere of Heytesbury is noticed by another friend and correspondent, the geologist J. A. Sowerby, in a letter dated 28th July, 1810. Mrs. Martyn must esteem my Wiltshire friends for their benevolent hearts much, but it is their characteristic, and is the grand cause of that tranquillity which reigns so happily at Heytesbury. I wish it would spread to every corner and space of the world, but it happens otherwise and we can only deplore it... wishing you everyone a continuance of that tranquillity that so particularly belongs to you, I remain My dear Sir most gratefully and faithfully yours J. A. Sowerby. The next letter to be quoted is William’s reply (dated 12th April, 1803) to a complaint that Britton was not getting from him all the information he would like for his Beauties. It tells us a good deal about his work, how at first Coxe helped him with the expense, and how the partnership with Colt Hoare, which was to prove so fruitful, has now begun:— I am sorry to see you so much hurt at my remarks to you when last at Heytesbury. ... I only remember saying that Mr. Coxe requested I would not John Britton 223 communicate my discoveries to anyone. Now consider my situation with Mr. Coxe and Sir Rich. Hoare the former has paid a great deal towards the expenses of opening several barrows during this last year, and the latter offers to pay the expenses, viz. for the labourers, in opening Barrows, examining camps etc. etc. in future.... The most remarkable discoveries I have made previous to the above arrangements were communicated to Mr. Wyndham. He writes again in Sept., 1808, to pacify his excitable friend, who has again taken offence :— From reading your last letter one might be led to suppose that your know- ledge of human nature was much limited—what ! because I cannot spend a day with you in London and again because when at Heytesbury I did not invite Mrs. Britton and yourself to stay at my house, I am to be blamed as slighting you! In times like the present a man in trade, to live, must make great exertion and I am with a very crasy constitution obliged to employ my mind intensely upon this subject; although I have people to do the more active part, yet it remains for me to plan the whole. Thus circumstanced in regard to business and being obliged from poor health to get frequently on the Downs I have very little time to spare with my friends... . When in London I never have good health, therefore my great object is to get out of Town as soon as I can... I have never attended a meeting of the Anti- quaries yet, although I have been a member so many years. Even William’s patience is exhausted by Britton’s complaints, and he continues with a counter accusation :— But you on your part have certainly been to blame, you have shown yourself _ dissatisfied with me ever since my connection with Sir Rich¢ Hoare, and even the last time when at my house you threw out some expressions intimating that what Sir R. and myself were about would not be worth much etc. Now Iam often times of this opinion myself, yet it does not often happen that we are in a disposition to receive such hints, even from a friend. However to put an end to these bickerings if I live to go to London again I shall be very glad to see you and Mrs. Britton at my quarters to dinner for this will be in my way—and I shall be _ glad to see you both in the County for a day or two as suits my business etc., again if possible we will drink a cup of tea with you in Tavistock St. Upon these and every occasion you will ever have a welcome from me. Having now both explained, in future let us live in peace. Britton never got over his jealousy of Colt Hoare. Long afterwards he was to write to William’s grandson (William IL), Sept. roth, 1840:— I was much gratified in meeting with you and your good mother at Devizes as reminding me of one of my oldest and best friends, your grandfather. I have often thought of him with emotions of gratitude and esteem. To see his large collection of mss. for the History of Ancient Wiltshire—the whole credit of which was usurped by another who devoted but little labour and not much intellect to the taskk—gave a painful pleasure. I was pleased to find you had perused the m.s.s. and mortified to think that the whole collection of Wiltshire 224 The Cunningtons of Wiltshire Antiquities were not in the custody and keeping of the same ne for I learn with sorrow that many of the articles are broken and neglected. . Britton shows his devotion to his old friend, but is ae unfair to Hoare, whose dedication to Cunnington in Ancient Wiltshire gives him full credit:— To Mr. William Cunnington ESSeA. Men illustrious either for their noble birth, conspicuous charac- ter, or distinguished literary abilities have in general engrossed the homage of dedications, but on the present occasion I shall deviate from the long established custom and gratify my private feelings by paying a tribute that is due to justice and friendship. To you therefore, Sir, who first projected the plan of this history and by your interesting collections and important dis- coveries encouraged me to pursue it, this work is most gratefully and appropriately dedicated 2 Your sincere friend Richard Colt Hoare Stourhead Ist January, 1810 The conclusion to the second volume reads:— And here again I must repeat that the source of whatever information the foregoing pages may have afforded is derived from the late Mr. Cunnington of Heytesbury, who from ill health being recommended to breathe the salutary air of our Wiltshire downs, there found, in an apparently barren region, food for his intelligent mind; and to him alone the discovery of the numerous settlements of the Britons dispersed over the hills, must be justly attributed. . . . R. C. HOARE Stourhead A.D. 1821. An engraving of William’s portrait (now in Devizes Museum) serves as frontispiece for the first volume and one of Colt Hoare for the second. William was asked to sit in the following letter dated 1808 (probably April) :— Now talking of your going to London I have a request to make to which you must not say nay, for I should be wanting in duty both to the county and myself were I not to secure a portrait of the primary and chief investigator of our British antiquities. You must therefore prolong your stay a couple of days for the pur- pose, for till your business is completed I conclude you cannot spare time to go to the west end of the town—for my artist Mr. Woodforde lives in Great Appreciations 225 Marlboro St. The arrangement we will talk of at Heytesbury—it is already in embryo... : ; yours R.C.H. Philip Crocker, who knew him well and worked so long with him, wrote to Britton 7th February, 1813. In your memoir of Cunnington let me beg you to look over, and if you like make use of it without cutting, the following beautiful sketch written by my friend Mr. Cranch. William Cunnington, Esq. That even the severest dispensations of providence are virtually and ultimately beneficent to this object the history of this extraordinary man may be contem- plated as an eminent proof. Out of his heaviest affliction sprang up a source of greater temporal felicities than it is likely any other circumstances could have procured. The permanent derangement of his health by a fever first led Mr. Cunnington to seek amusement in books of philosophical theory and historical disquisition. Amusement unawares graduated into Science and natural history and antiquities, especially mineralogy and the monumental vestiges of Ancient Britain, became the favourite (and at length exclusive) object of his researches. His appropriate learning and knowledge, thus acquired, were very consider- able, his observation profound, acute, discerning, and unremitting. Deliberate, founded on facts, on actual appearances, or on the closest analogies—and guarded by caution—his judgement and conjectures on these topics were therefore in general as cogent and decisive as they were characteristically bold and original... . And so it goes on for another page or two. A panegyric couched in these extravagant terms is characteristic of the time, but does not really tells us much about the subject of it. The wall tablet on Heytesbury Church is more sober:— Without the church wall at the back of this tablet are deposited the remains of Mr. William Cunnington, fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, a native of Northamptonshire and many years resident in the town of Heytesbury where he died on December 31st, 1810 aged 56. By his decease the literary world has lost a persevering antiquary and skilfull geologist, the community of Heytesbury a good neighbour and active fellow citizen, the poor a humane advocate and charitable protector, his own lamenting family an affectionate husband and indulgent parent. THE SECOND GENERATION William II married his cousin, Elizabeth, in 1813. He carried on his late uncle’s business as woolstapler, first at Heytesbury, and then at Upavon where he had moved in 1822. While at Upavon he gave 226 The Cunningtons of Wiltshire evidence on the Wiltshire wool trade before a Parliamentary Com- mittee in 1828. In 1829 he finally settled with his growing family at Devizes, where in 1836 he bought the wine business as an addition to that of woolstapler, which was not given up till the sixties. Southgate House, of which there is a print in the Centenary History (mistakenly dated as their home since 1827), was bought three or four years after arrival at Devizes, and remained the Cunningtons’ home for the rest of the century. This is all that need be said, and almost all that is known of William II, for he neither collected fossils nor opened a barrow. His wife, as already indicated, is for our purposes more important. It would perhaps have been indelicate at that time for a woman to indulge actively in archaeological pursuits, even if she could and had not been occupied in bearing and rearing fourteen children; but her interest cannot be doubted. In her father’s lifetime she acted as his amanuensis, made drawings of some of his discoveries, and joined with him in the search for potsherds. Her most valuable contribution was perhaps in preserving his manuscripts—the Devizes collection—which she gave to her eldest son, William II, from whom they passed to B. H. Cunnington and the Museum Library; and her influence in keeping up the tradition may be seen in the life-long activities of her three sons. She died in 1866, having outlived her husband by twenty years, and having, it must be allowed, well earned a place in the story. Her portrait, presented by my brother, Dr. C. W. Cunnington, is now in the Museum. THE THIRD GENERATION The three sons were William III (1813-1906), Henry (1820-1887), and Edward (1825-1919). There is an obituary of William III in our Magazine for June, 1906 (vol. xxxiv) which gives the main facts of his life and work; and the important part he played in helping to found our Society is told in C. W. Pugh’s recent Centenary History. His chief interest was geology, with archaeology a close second; and he is said to have collected fossils from the age of seven. The earliest record of his pursuits is in his diary of 1834, when he was staying with his uncle John Cunnington at Warminster. (John, a younger brother of William II, had married another of William of Heytesbury’s daughters. He too collected fossils, but in America, where he migrated with his family soon after this visit). William III and Henry 227 Aug. 13 I and uncle went to Vallis Rocks?, found some pretty good things and came home well loaded—talked all the way very pleasantly of family affairs etc. Aug. 14 and uncle set off to Tisbury and John [his cousin] overtook us— went into the caves at Fonthill and found some shells etc. at Tisbury Lane,— went to Chicksgrove quarries, found some good things and then bought some at Tisbury especially some trigon. gib. Uncle told me that my company and conversation had been such a treat to him and he seldom enjoyed any intellectual talk with anyone at Warminster, that he should always consider my stay with him a bright spot in his life. One gathers that William III had a pretty good opinion of himself, which was however justified. A remembered saying of his, concluding a discussion with his younger brothers, was “‘ You may think so, but I know.” A list of his publications, geological and archaeological, is given with his obituary.” He was a born collector, and his gifts of fossils originated our Society's collection and perhaps comprise the finest of the geo- logical specimens in the Museum; he presented also the portrait of his grandfather, which he had bought from Stourhead. William III was living at a time when roads and railways were under construction, and he took full advantage of the exposures made by the new cuttings. When he left Devizes for London in 1874 he had amassed over 20,000 specimens, and his knowledge of the geology of _ Wiltshire and the neighbouring counties was unrivalled. His depar- ture did not end his connection with the county, for he continued with his contributions to the Magazine until the year of his death, and was excavating with his brother, Henry, at Boles Barrow as late as 1886. Henry, my grandfather, was interested chiefly in archaeology, opening barrows etc., sometimes with William and sometimes assisted _ by his children. Reports of his work may be found in current numbers of the Magazine. He was also Curator for the Museum and was responsible for bringing to Devizes, arranging and labelling the much neglected Stourhead Collection, our most valued exhibit. His great delight was to drive in a brake across Salisbury Plain to Stonehenge with friends and members of his family. They would picnic there and generally be photographed, he in his black tail-coat and tall silk hat. Stonehenge was then without its fence, and, but for the sheep, very solitary in the open plain. 1 Near Frome. 2 W.A.M. xxxiv, 324. VOL. LV— Q 228 The Cunningtons of Wiltshire Edward went to Dorchester about the same time as William went to London, and carried on there the family tradition of wine-merchant and archaeologist. He is the antiquary in Thomas Hardy's short story, A Tryst at an ancient Earthwork in the volume entitled A Changed Man. It should however be said in his justification, that the bronze figure of Mercury, which he is alleged to have slipped into his coat pocket for his private collection, was in reality destined for the Dorset Museum, where it may still be seen. I have been assured too that the dig was by permission and not so secret as Hardy says; but Hardy may be right, and I have no wish to spoil a good story. The earthwork was of course Maiden Castle. THE FOURTH GENERATION Of the three brothers, only Henry’s sons kept up the family tradition, and of these only B. Howard Cunnington (hereafter to be shortened, as was usual in his lifetime, to B.H.C.) was able through residence in Wiltshire, to take an active part in furthering Wiltshire archaeology. There can be no need to give much space to B.H.C. (1861-1950) and his wife (1869-1951), not because their work was unimportant, but on the contrary because it has been so fully published (see Appendix II), and because of the recent informative Memoirs in W.A.M. for December 1950 and June 1951 (vols. liii and liv). My object here will be to try and fill in the gaps rather than attempt a complete story. B.H.C.’s interest in archaeology was almost inevitable in such a household as Henry’s, and began at an early age, his first work in the field being to help his father excavate at Beckhampton in 1884. He married in 1889, and his wife, my cousin (hereinafter to be called Maud), knew little or nothing of prehistory before her marriage. She was interested in church architecture, a subject that attracted her, but not him, all her life; and her first publication, in The Reliquary for April 1899, was on a medieval linen-smoother found at Ramsbury. Pre- history of course was “ in the air,” especially after they had moved from Foxhangers at Seend to 33 Long St., Devizes; and when she found her son becoming interested and an adept in chipping flints she began, with characteristic thoroughness and determination, seriously to study the subject. Her first field-work with her husband was at Manton Barrow! in 1 This round barrow beside the Bath Road must not be confused with the long barrow on the downs. William Cunnington and his daughter Elizabeth in 1802. (From a drawing in the possession of the Society.) ‘OZ6T ‘UOISUIUUND “YF WG ‘SI pue Digs of the fourth generation 229 1906; and it is significant that the report of this excavation, first pub- lished in The Reliquary and afterwards in W.A.M., was written by her, while the excavation was stated to have been made by him. The finds, which have recently been given to the Museum by Dr. Walter Maurice of Marlborough, proved to be the most interesting and valuable as yet discovered in North Wilts, and the report indicates how well equipped she already was to deal with them. In spite of the success of this, their first, dig, and perhaps influenced by Pitt-Rivers, whom they had seen excavating on Wansdyke five or six years earlier, they believed that not much more was to be learnt from opening barrows; and unless these were in danger of being ploughed out (like the Manton Barrow) gave their attention henceforth to other fields. They were also convinced of the iniquity of excavating without publishing; and Maud’s reports provide an almost complete record of their work. I shall say nothing more about these reports, but the reader may care to know something of their way of working. They, especially she, disliked publicity, though always glad to see a fellow archaeologist and discuss what they were doing. I remember the haste with which a half exposed skeleton (an unfailing attraction for sightseers) was covered up and further work on it suspended, when strangers appeared at Wood- henge. So too the news of the burial found at the Sanctuary was with- held from a visiting party of the Society and revealed to the single lingerer thereafter. Anything sensational came under the same ban, which might be carried to an extreme. I was told that at Figsbury Rings they had found definite evidence of cannibalism; but this was considered too sensational, and suppressed in the report. It was before the last and most famous excavations, and later in their career she would not, I think, have been so apprehensive. As regards their method of excavation, I have first-hand knowledge only of the last three, Woodhenge, The Sanctuary and Yarnbury. At that time their respective roles were well defined. He would engage the diggers, never more than half a dozen, and organize the work to economize labour as much as possible but without scamping it. As they made no appeal for a public subscription and had no pupils to train (except myself and C. W. Pugh, who was however past his pupillage before I joined them), this was necessarily a big consideration. It meant however that the site looked untidy, and indeed meaningless except to a trained eye. Wheel-barrows were used only as a last resort, and the Q2 230 The Cunningtons of Wiltshire earth from one excavation was made whenever possible to fill another, already dug and measured. This needed careful planning, and incident- ally kept the surveyor very much on the go. Besides organising labour, B.H.C. would usually act as pioneer, with one of the men opening up the ground for subsequent excavation. At Woodhenge, for instance, he found the position of the holes in advance; and as these always had some animal bones near the surface he would make a little pile of bones to indicate the spot. Maud’s part was to decide what should be dug, and in what order, and to exercise general supervision. It was first-rate team work, both happy and neither wanting to do what the other could do best. Neither actually dug unless to take out some ticklish object needing special care; but both kept a sharp watch on the diggers, and B.H.C. was especially quick in spotting objects of interest as they were turned up or thrown out. When anything of special importance appeared, W.E.V. Young, the foreman digger, now the Curator at Avebury Museum, who was very skilful and experienced, was called upon to take over with a trowel. From time to time, if they were living away, the finds would be taken to 33 Long St. to be afterwards washed and examined; and Maud would spend the following winter in assembling and mending broken pots, in which she was very proficient, and in writing the report. Though liking good literature, Maud had no gift for writing and could seldom be persuaded to write a letter. All her reports were scrutinized by B.H.C. before going to press, but only to correct the style, not the matter: his admiration for her and her work was too deep ever to call that in question. He wrote with facility and enjoyed writ- ing, as his numerous contributions to the Press testify. His forte how- ever was in the spoken rather than the written word, and he was a magnificent story-teller. Those privileged at our Hungerford meeting to hear him and Canon Goddard capping each other’s yarns beneath the — gibbet by Inkpen Beacon will never forget the experience. Like many good story-tellers however, he was too anxious to embellish to be quite reliable as a reporter of facts. Maud was always more concerned with the facts than the expression. She was slow to make up her mind and would listen patiently to argu- ments for and against; but once she had made it up, nothing but the presentation of new facts would alter it. Though willing to discuss, she disliked controversy; while he rather enjoyed a scrap. She did not The fifth generation 23 suffer fools gladly and has been heard at a meeting to mutter under her breath—and not so very much under—“ Stuff and nonsense! ’’ when she disagreed with a speaker. Another characteristic expression, uttered with a sigh, was a faint’ Oh lor!” when unwelcome visitors approached a dig. For recreation, instead of the drive across the Plain, now alas! in military occupation, they would go “ flinting”’ over the ploughed fields. It was good training for the eye, and the Museum benefited by the best of their finds. In temperament they were very different: he confident, and she distrustful, a good blend for fruitful exploration. She took things more to heart than he, but never showed it: on the eve of the second world war she was overwhelmed by the tragedy of another such war in her life-time, while he gaily offered his services to the War Office—at 78 ! I question if she ever quite got over it. He enjoyed life, and one of his last sayings to me, looking back over the years, was that “it was nice to have lived.” FIFTH GENERATION Besides Edward, the only son of B.H.C. and Maud, whose promising career was cut short in the first world war, the only Cunnington of this _ generation to take at all an active part in Wiltshire archaeology is myself, Robert Henry. Not having the advantage of an obituary, I must be excused some autobiography. Born in 1877 at Devizes, and grandson of the aforesaid Henry Cunnington and of Robert Valentine Leach of Devizes Castle, both original members of our Society, my early recollections are of making barrows in the Castle grounds with an apple and nuts for the skeleton, and of collecting belemnites from _ the gravel paths. There is then a gap of forty years, most of which were spent serving as an officer in the Royal Engineers. I retired as Lt. Col. in 1926, just as the Cunningtons had undertaken to excavate Wood- henge; and hearing they wanted a surveyor, I offered my services, was taken on the strength and in due course both dug and measured. I assisted in a similar capacity at The Sanctuary and Yarnbury. My chief contributions to W.A.M. are The Recent Excavations at Stonehenge (vol. xliv, June, 1929), River Captures near Devizes (xlvii, June, 1937), and Tabular Sarsen and Mud Cracks (li, December, 1944); and to the British Archaeological Journal for June, 1935, a paper on Military Engineering in the Early Iron Age. The Stonehenge paper was after- 232 The Cunningtons of Wiltshire wards expanded into a book (out of print and now much of it out of date) called Stonehenge and its Date (1935). Before I was fortunate enough to join in the Wiltshire digs, I had collected fossils, chiefly from Portland, which are now in the British and Dorchester Museums; and had written a paper called The Scenery of Dorset and the Geological factors to which it is due, which was published in the Dorset Field Club Proceedings for 1928. Appendix I THE DEVIZES AND BURLINGTON HOUSE MANUSCRIPTS The Devizes collection includes over two hundred letters written to William Cunnington I, as well as those he wrote; but our present concern is only with the latter. As a man of business, Cunnington had no doubt been in the habit of keeping copies of his important letters and also memoranda of his trans- actions; and, not unnaturally, he continued to do so for his archaeo- logical work. These two sets of records are bound up in the thirteen “ Books” of the Devizes collection. The memoranda and almost all the letters are transcriptions by the three daughters—not in his own hand, nor signed. The Britton correspondence however is an excep- tion, for the letters are in his hand or signed by him. They were probably given to William’s grandson, William III, with other Wilt- shire papers when our Society was founded in 1853. When Colt Hoare undertook to write his History in 1803, all the relevant matter in these office copies was again copied for him, and it is these transcriptions that comprise the material at Burlington House which I have been enabled to see by kind permission of the Society of Antiquaries. It is in five bound volumes catalogued no. 217, and described as:— William Cunnington’s account of the excavations he made for Sir Richard Colt Hoare in the barrows of Wiltshire, with notes by Sir R. C. Hoare and others. From the Stourhead Library. Presented by A. W. Franks Esq., May 10, 1894. : The MS. is in a very neat hand and on one side of the paper so as to leave room for notes on the other. There are some 670 quarto or small folio pages in all, and the last volume is only just started, with but four pages filled. Cunnington letters at Devizes and Burlington House 233 The matter is sometimes Cunnington’s description of a barrow excavation, a camp, etc., and sometimes a copy of one of his letters. This use of letters was a common means of giving information, and was no doubt done partly to save trouble. It was used for instance by Wyndham in publishing three of Cunnington’s letters in Archaeologia vol. xv. The letters are interspersed with descriptive matter in the same way and in much the same order as in the Devizes collection: vols. I and II, Burlington House, for instance, correspond almost if not quite exactly with Books 1-8, Devizes. The volumes were not all compiled at the same time, as may be seen from the account of the Upton Lovel “ Golden Barrow.” The first excavation of this is described in vol. I by quoting Cunnington’s letter to Wyndham dated 20th July, 1803 with corrections and notes. (In the Devizes collection there are copies both of the original letter and of this transcription). The chief amendment is to correct the size of the gold plate (3 x 6} instead of 2} x 54), and the error is explained as due to “ the hurry in writing to Mr. Wyndham.” We learn too why there are ten gold beads in the Devizes letter, and thirteen in Archaeo- logia, for Cunnington says that three were found a few days after his first letter. Cunnington opened the barrow again in July, 1807, and gave some further information about it in a letter in vol. IV, which tells of the re-opening and of the finding of “ two rude drinking cups.” This evidence of successive dates for the Burlington House volumes is confirmed by a letter to William Smith, now in the Geological Museum at Oxford, dated Dec. toth, 1806, an extract from which reads :— Since I saw you we have made considerable progress towards a History of the Antiquities of Wiltshire. I have written two small folios for Sir Rich? Hoare, and have just rec? from him a third to fill at my leisure. Re-writing for Colt Hoare gave opportunity for improving the style as well as making material alterations and additions. In a letter to Coxe William had made some reflections on the manner of burial in a barrow :— Before I conclude this paper I cannot help remarking that I scarcely remember opening a barrow wherein I have found a skeleton, but the latter has laid with the legs and thighs drawn up together and never at full length’. I therefore 1 Skeletons found on the top of a barrow, which I consider as subsequent interments, often lay at length. 234 The Cunningtons of Wiltshire suppose that they did not, as in this day, lay out the body, as it is called, but interred it in the position in which the person expired. This puts me in mind of the frequent Scripture expression of being gathered to his fathers etc. And of the death of old Jacob-Genesis 49 and 33“ And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.” The Burlington House version, more tersely expressed (vol. I page 24) reads :— I scarcely remember a barrow wherein I have found a skeleton, but it has lain with the legs and thighs drawn up together, and never at full length. I therefore suppose that they did not (as in this day) lay the body out, as it is called, but interred it in the position in which the person expired. This puts me in mind of old Jacob—Genesis 49 and 33, (etc. as above). 1 Skeletons found on the top of a barrow, which I consider subsequent inter- ments, often lay at length. The Burlington House MS. is the actual data from which Hoare compiled his History; but he usually abbreviates, omitting what he considered unimportant. His opinion may not always be ours, and the MS. affords a convenient means of supplementing it. _ On one occasion there is a definite difference of opinion. Colt Hoare wrote to Cunnington, probably in May, 1809, to report the finding of a skeleton near Durrington Walls, which was covered by a sarsen stone, but without a barrow. He considered it “ another proof that the Britons had other modes of interment but under barrows.” At the foot of his letter, which is included in vol. IV, Cunnington has written in pencil “I conceive in the first place a tumulus existed here, but was afterwards levelled for the plough.” Colt Hoare however stuck to his opinion, as may be seen on page 172 of his History, and made no men- tion of Cunnington’s hypothesis. (As an illustration of the care with which letters, etc., were copied, it may be noted that Hoare’s letter with the comment was copied and is now in the Devizes collection as well at as Burlington House.) The notes on the blank sheets are most frequent in vols. II and III of the Burlington House MS.; and these two volumes were sent to Leman for his comments. Here Colt Hoare was quite justified, for Cunnington must have known that Coxe and Leman were helping in the History. But after Leman had made his criticisms, Hoare sent the volumes back to Cunnington for his rejoinder; and this must have been rather a strain on their friendship. Cunnington on the whole shows a good deal of patience; but it may be significant that the practice was Leman’s criticisms 235 discontinued after these two, for there are none of Leman’s remarks in vols. IV and V. The Rev* T. Leman had made a special study of Roman roads and had published a long commentary on Richard of Cirencester’s Itinerary. The Itinerary has been proved a forgery; but Cunnington possessed a copy of it and acknowledged Leman’s scholarship, though doubting how far it was applicable to the matter in hand. When, in the 1806 programme, he was advised to read Leman’s paper, he replied :— You recommend that when I take the field, I leave all my systems at home, and the same time recommend me to a system of Mr. Leman, which system I received from him some years ago. I bow with gratitude before Mr. Leman, yet a great deal in his systems of camps, trackways etc. cannot be supported by the slender data he brings forward. Leman’s criticism in vols. II and III of the Burlington House MS. may be severe. Against Cunnington’s long account of camps and other earthworks, he wrote ‘ This chapter is full of very material errors.” And a little later “ This is a grievous error.”” Cunnington’s rejoinder to the first of these is ‘‘ No wonder when it treats of subjects which admit of so much dispute.’ And to the second he merely remarks that Leman’s assertion is not borne out by any discoveries he has yet made. Sometimes he is less patient. When Leman wrote re- garding the sarsens of Stonehenge “If I recollect right Whitehurst supposes these stones to have been the consequence of a volcano,’ -Cunnington’s rejoinder was “ A child in mineralogy knows better. y.C.'4 Leman’s most startling comment (page 98 vol. II) began “ Surely much knowledge has been gained even by the few tumuli opened by Mr. Cunnington,” to which Cunnington has “‘ Mercy upon us—the few tumuli! What would poor Carter say to our few. W.C.” (Is Carter a mistake for Parker :) Leman’s comments are in his own hand, and the rejoinders may be ‘in that of Cunnington or his amanuensis; and they may both have been transcribed for the Devizes MS. There is in both collections the copy of a letter intended for Leman, but apparently never sent, which gives his reasons for dissent more fully and more politely than the rejoinders, which were of course intended only for Colt Hoare’s eye. + See W.A.M. vol. lii (June, 1948) p. 213 for a similar comment on another of Leman’s inept remarks, though his name is not given. 236 Appendix II PRINCIPAL PUBLICATIONS OF Mrs. M. E. CUNNINGTON In Wilts Archaeological Magazine : June 1907, Manton Barrow (vol. xxxv.) June 1908, Oliver’s Camp (vol. xxxv.) December 1909, Lanhill ; Long Barrow on Barrows King’s Play Down (vol. xxxvi). December 1910, Morgans Hill Earthwork (vol. xxxvi). June 1911, Knap Hill Camp (vol. xxxvii). December 1912, All Cannings Cross, and Barrows on Arn Hill (vol. XXXVIii). June 1913, Re-erecting fallen stones near Avebury, and Casterley (vol. XXXVIii). December 1917, Lidbury Camp (excavated in 1914). (vol. xl.) June 1925, Figsbury Rings (vol. xliii). December 1926, Beaker burials at Netheravon (vol. xliii). December 1930, Romano-British Wiltshire (vol. xlv). June 1931, The Sanctuary (vol. xlv). December 1932, Chisenbury Trendle, and Chisbury (vol. xlvi). June 1933, Wiltshire in Pagan Saxon Times, and Yarnbury Camp (vol. xlvi). Besides the above, there were several minor contributions, the latest of which was for June 1942 (vol. xlix). Other Publications (in book form): All Cannings Cross (1923). The Pottery from the Long Barrow, West Kennett (1927, for private circulation). Woodhenge (1929) ! An Introduction to the Archaeology of Wiltshire (1933, revised 1938). Guide to Avebury (1931, and later edition, n.d.). 1 An interim report entitled Prehistoric Timber Circles was published in the first number of Antiquity, March, 1927. Col. Cunnington has been good enough to provide the blocks which illustrate his article—Editor. 237 THE IDOVERS OF NORTH-WEST WILTS by H. C. BRENTNALL On the modern map the name Idover occurs only in the two Demesne Farms on the north of Dauntsey Park (Wilts XIV, NW). In the first Ordnance map of 1816 and in Greenwood’s of 1820 the bridge that spans Brinkworth Brook between Little Somerford and Dauntsey was called Idover Bridge. Andrews’ and Dury’s map knew it by the same name in 1773; do did Saxton’s in 1610. Today the maps call it Somerford Bridge, which earlier cartographers recognized as the name of the bridge over the Avon at Great Somerford. The usurpation is curious. Greenwood’s map of 1820 marks, but does not name, the two Idover Demesne Farms and between them and Brinkworth Brook shows Idover Cowlease. Andrews and Dury show neither Demesne Farm, but near the Brook and north of an enclosed Cowlease a farm (2) called Idover. There is no such establishment on the modern map. So much for the map evidence. It is clear that the name is to be associated with the wet area in the north-west of Dauntsey parish up to its boundary, Brinkworth Brook. “ The soil of the parish,” says Kelly’s Directory, “is various; subsoil clay ’’; and the meandering of the Brook is sufficient evidence of sluggish drainage. We go back now not 300 but 1100 years to the grant of Dauntsey by King Aethelwulf to Malmesbury Abbey in 850 A.D. Attached to the charter is a special survey of an area called Swanhammes Mede, which Grundy translated “ the Mead of the Herdsman’s Croft.”! It might also be translated “ Swanflat Mead,” but we are less concerned with the meaning than with its position. Only one landmark offers any hope of identification — rivulus qui dicitur Ydoure. On the strength of it Grundy placed the meadow in Idover Cowlease and identified the Ydoure with Brinkworth Brook. His view has been adopted by the Ordnance Survey, who print Idoure as the early name of the stream. Idoure not Ydoure. Why: Perhaps we shall see in a moment. We must now consider another charter dated a hundred years later than the Dauntsey grant —to the year 956. This is the great Broken- borough charter, a grant by Eadwig (to Malmesbury Abbey again) which seems to surround Malmesbury on a wide, though doubtful, radius. Grundy’s efforts to solve its problems are impressive. Again and again he calls in aid the evidence of other charters of the region to help in identifying an occasional landmark; but Brokenborough was 1 Saxon Land Charters of Wiltshire, Arch. Journ., Vol. 76 (1919). 238 The Idovers of North-West Wilts Grundy’s Waterloo. Round fifty-five points he stumbled, encouraged by a friar’s lantern here and there that seemed to show him where he ought to be, at one time on the Fosseway, at another lost in the thickets of Braydon Forest, but the remaining twenty-one landmarks he had to abandon. Two lights he saw ahead - Woodbridge Brook, called Garesbourne, and a watercourse called Idoure, which he naturally associated with Brinkworth Brook; but how to steer from the one to the other by the landmarks given — Bradene Wood, Lindebourne and Bethamhamme — he could not discover. Nor can anyone else unfamiliar with the district and its history. We see, however, where the Ordnance Survey got the Idoure form, though we are by no means clear, for reasons that will appear, that Brinkworth Brook is the feature referred to in both charters. Nor indeed was Grundy. So far, then, we have met the modern representatives of the name, the Idover Demesne Farms, and certain of their ancestors, immediate and remote. But there are others, poor relations of the present day, who must be taken into account. The Wiltshire volume of the Place- Name Society lists Idover names from nine other parishes: three of them are on the Great Oolite — Littleton Drew, Grittleton, Crudwell; two on the Kimmeridge Clay -Wootton Bassett, Broad Town; four on the Oxford Clay —- Hankerton, Charlton, Brinkworth and Crick- lade. The geological formations are significant, for even those parishes on the Great Oolite, a name that covers many kinds of rock, have a clay subsoil. The whole area measures some nineteen miles by twelve and lies on the watershed between the Thames and the Severn, a region of unceasing conflict between the rival systems with that problem- child of the Severn, the Bristol Avon, beheading the southern affluents of the Upper Thames. The Catchment Board of the Thames Con- servancy has laid down a water-parting between the two rivers on the map, but it is only true for today. In some geological tomorrow there must be a readjustment of the line at the expense of either the eastern or the western streams. Probably, for reasons that have to do with the fascinating subject of river-capture, the Thames and its tributaries must eventually withdraw yet further to the east. In these nine parishes at least a dozen fields preserve the Idover name. Sometimes the form is plural. In Brinkworth, at the south-west corner of Webb’s Wood, we find Grass Idovers and Little Idovers: in Wootton Bassett there is a small island by Hunt’s Mill called Idivers in the stream that later becomes Brinkworth Brook, and still higher up, on one of its sources just north of Cotmarsh Farm in Broad Town, Distribution of the name 239 there is a field called Idovers. In Charlton, at the north west corner of Nineteen Acre Wood, there is another Idovers as also in Cricklade at the head of a rivulet whose name seems to be contained in that of Bournelake Farm. Elsewhere the form is singular: two fields in Chedglow are distinguished as Idover and Grass Idover. In Hankerton the name occurs three times, on streams two miles apart. In Grittleton Park an Idover lies in the south east corner, and at the south end of the village of Littleton Drew there are fields called by the same name. In all we have at least fifteen instances of the name collected and located by the Place-Name editors. Are there more? We cannot say. The experiment of enlisting the elementary schools of the county in the search for field-names proved less successful then the editors of the Wiltshire volume hoped. Many schools made no return, and Idovers may yet be found in other parishes of the area. As for the adjoining counties, all that can be said is that Grundy collected many hundreds of local names from the tithe-maps of Gloucestershire and Somerset, but there was no Idover among them. Some medieval forms of the name however, all showing curious accretions — for the most part an initial T, must be considered. In the Feet of Fines we find two: “ One Knight's fee in Tidoure” (5 2 John), and again “‘ Lands in Danteseye, Tydonere [for Tydovere], Smythecote..” (41 Henry III).t Members of the Dauntsey family are parties to both fines, and the places in the second are clearly recognisable on the modern map: the Demesne Farms are obviously meant. Fry would explain the T as representing Th’, but that form of The would be more natural in the Midlands or the North. Still stranger forms occur in a perambulation of Braydon Forest of 1228.2 The bounds run from the River Ray by water to Lydiard Tregoze and thence “ by the said watercourse to Antidoure and from Didoure down to the place where Garseburn falls into Tideur: and from Tidoure down Garseburn to the mill of Garseden.”’® This much is clear: we pass, mainly by water, from Lydiard Tregoze to Garsdon. We know too that Garseburn is the stream now called Woodbridge Brook, which flows past Garsdon into the Avon. We are crossing, in fact, the Thames—Avon watershed, and we may expect, on the Oxford Clay, to find the going deep. Antidoure-Didoure, then, must be placed at the head of Lydiard Brook. Both forms are corrupt. If we may, with Ekwall, dismiss the An- as a confusion with a preceding ad in the Latin (to Tidoure) 1 Fry’s Calendar. 2 Close Rolls of 1227-8. 3 Grundy’s translation. 240 The Idovers of North-West Wilts may we also suppose that Didoure stands for de Tidoure ( from Tidoure) by a like confusion? The corresponding landmark in another peram- bulation of Braydon from the same reign? is “ the mill of Midgehall.” We cannot say how far west the feeder of Lydiard Brook was rising in the 13th century, but a mill at Midgehall surely implies some length of stream above it. The 6-inch map shows a moat and various ponds and rises thereabout and, most significant for our present enquiry, a “ marsh” just west of the Purton road. Here above Midgehall then, but across the divide as laid down by the modern Catchment Board, we run a Tidoure to earth —or water. So too the following Tidoure must also be a place or feature through which the Garseburn could pass. One might have expected the two Tidoures to be somehow distinguished, but they lay at least two miles apart and the perambu- lation last quoted takes the line by way of an extra landmark, Ballard’s Ash on the Brinkworth road, to the “ Three Boundaries,’ a term found more than once in forest perambulations for the point where three land-units meet. The likeliest place is the junction of Lydiard Millicent, Lydiard Tregoze and Brinkworth at the south-west angle of Webb's Wood. There the Garseburn, or Woodbridge Brook, emerges from the cover of the wood and bends north-west across the Idovers which we have already noted at that corner. This surely is the point where Garseburn “ falls into ’’ Tidour and comes out again below, and Tidour can only have been another marsh. As for the persistent initial T, the most probable explanation is that offered by the Place- Name editors, namely that it represents the Saxon aet (at) which so constantly precedes the names of places in the land-charters. Ekwall adopts the same explanation in two widely separated cases, one a Northumberland stream and the other a Kentish village.” But what- ever the explanation it is clear that in this district the T is an accretion. So we come back to the Idovers, but provided, it would seem, with an intelligible meaning — “marshy ground.” If we follow them through the parishes listed by the Place-Name editors we find the name associated with streams but applied to fields where springs or, as the map more appropriately calls our sedater water-issues, “rises” are now, or were 1 P.R.O., E.32, 225, dated 1330. Grundy was at pains to show (W.A.M. xlviii 547) that this perambulation could not really belong to Edward III’s reign. He failed to notice that the forest officers of that date begin by reciting the bounds as they ran in the time of K. Henry son of K. John”’ and then give the reduced bounds of their own day. We are here concerned with the earlier version. * Dict. of English Place-Names; Tipalt Burn and Tudeley. | Antidoure-Didoure-Tidoure-Idoure 241 once, to be found. Land-drains may have carried off the stagnant water, but the field-name bears witness to its former presence, for the ‘ dover ’ element is generally admitted to represent the Celtic dwfr—‘ water ’ as in Andover, Candover, Wendover and Dover itself. But in two cases at least, the early name of Brinkworth Brook (which has four Idovers on its banks) and that other Idoure which looms through the mists of the Brokenborough Charter, the water had at least a channel, obvious in the former case and implied in the latter, since the bounds pass “ by that water’ from one landmark to the next.1 It may be that the continuous undercutting by the Avon, into which the Brinkworth Brook emerges, had increased the pace of that still meandering stream till it ceased to qualify as an Idover though it still retained the name. The same may be true of the other, though we cannot yet identify it. Having dismissed the occasional, and always medieval, T, we are brought face to face with the I in Idover, a much more difficult letter to account for. The word had interested John Aubrey,” who solved it to his own satisfaction in the case of the Brinkworth Brook, the only case he seems to have known. He quoted an alleged Welsh wy dwfr= “ wandering water.” But no one else seems to know this wy — not even the dictionary. Ekwall* has tentatively propounded a British yw = “ yew, but even he was unaware how widely the name was distributed in the area. It would be extraordinary to find yews at every one of the fifteen occurrences, even if yews were partial to a clay soil, and not very helpful as a means of distinguishing them. Grundy’s solution was ieg-dwfr, ieg being the Saxon for “island” or “ land in a marsh.” He found it appropriate for the Brinkworth Brook, which enters the Avon close to Dometis-ieg or Dauntsey, but he again knew only two cases and could not place the second. And it must be admitted that etymologists shy at hybrids of this type, though they accept them in the reverse order as in Cricklade or Conkwell. Another and much simpler explanation suggested itself. Why not take the name at its face value as the Welsh y dwfr, “‘ the water ’’? The idea was submitted to the Welsh Department of Cardiff University, where it received serious consideration. It was pronounced unusual, but not perhaps impossible in a pocket of British survivors in Saxon Wiltshire. At least it was considered more acceptable than either * Landmark 67, adusque Idoure: 68, per eandem aquam usque Limesule (from Kemble’s text of the Brokenborough Charter). * Wilshire Collections. s.v. Dauntsey. 3 English River-Names, p. 209. 242 The Idovers of North-West Wilts Yw-dwfr or ieg-dwfr. But when it was presented to the Professor of Celtic at Oxford its shrift was short. The definite article y, it ap- pears, was not yet in use at the time of the Saxon invasions. Nor did later consideration of a region so well supplied with water indicate that the term, alone and undifferentiated, would be a very sensible name for the sites in question. “ Names of British origin,” says the Introduction to Place-Names of Wilt- shire, “are more prominent in Wiltshire than in any other district, except perhaps Devon, with which the Survey has so far dealt,! and they occur in every part of the county. For many — perhaps for most — of them no certain expla- nation can be offered. Even so, the mere fact of their survival points clearly enough to a period of peaceful intercourse between the Britons who had survived the first impact of the Saxon invasion and the new lords of their country.” The italic type is an emphasis of my own. That sentence must excuse my own failure to solve the problem of the Idovers. Up in the densely wooded north-west the conditions for British survival would be most favourable and the adoption of Celtic terms by the Saxons most likely. No doubt the Wealas had a word for these wet patches, which differed in some way from the marshes, sloughs, strouds, quells and quobs which the Saxons found round Braydon and named from the resources of their own language. But just what preceded the dwfr element we cannot say — something at least for which the Saxons may have substituted ieg much as Grundy supposed. And in support of the hybrid there is the case of Hackpen, “the (British) hill with the (Saxon) hook.” That name occurs three times in different parts of Wessex-—in Berks, Wilts and Devon. But what if we are all wrong from the start, and the word should really be divided Id(e)-over: Ide is a river-name of obscure origin®, and over seems to be connected with the name Woevre in Lorraine.*® But, as a French correspondent informs me, “‘ce qui caractérise la Woevre, c'est bien certainement la nature marécageuse du terrain.” Which is just what I have been saying about the Idovers. 1 That is, by 1939. Since that date they have visited Cumberland. 2 See Ekwall, English River-Names. 8 Id. Dict. of English Place-Names, s.v. Waverley. 243 WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL . HISTORY SOCIETY NATURAL HISTORY SECTION FIELD MEETINGS AND LECTURES, 1953 Report by the Hon. Meetings Secretary, CLIFFORD OwEN In 1953, the Section held two indoor meetings. The first, at Devizes, was a joint meeting with the British Trust for Ornithology. Mr. C. A. Norris spoke on “The Survey of Breeding Distribution, 1952.” The second, at Marlborough College, was an illustrated lecture by Lt.-Col. J. K. Stanford on “ Spring Migration and Bird Life in the Desert of Cyrenaica.” Seventeen field meetings were held, of which pes were ornitho- logical, nine botanical, one entomological, one mammalogical, and one general. The botanical meetings included a demonstration at Savernake by the Forester, J. T. Wildash, who also sought out some fine specimens of Fly Agaric for the Fungus Foray in September. The Plant Survey at Horsecombe Bottom continued. An instructive afternoon was spent among the Order Beds at Dauntsey’s School, and several perambu- lations in various parts of the Country showed interesting and some- times exciting plants. Among the ornithological meetings were a visit to Leckford Abbas to see the waterfowl, a census of breeding birds on Braydon Pond, and a continuation of the Corn Bunting Inquiry. A growing interest in mammals is indicated by the attendance of eight members to watch badgers at Chapel Knapp. The Annual General Meeting of the Section was held at Chippenham on 4th July. Satisfactory reports were received from the Section’s Officers. The Chairman congratulated the Section on its year’s progress and asked particularly for support of the work on the new Natural History Room at the Devizes Museum. Our thanks are given to all the leaders of our meetings. VOL. LV—CC R 244 WILTSHIRE BIRD NOTES FOR 1953 Recorders: RutH G. BARNES, M.B.O.U., and Guy PEIRSON The attentive reader of these notes will notice yet another change this year: the species are numbered. The numbers are those used in the Check-List of the Birds of Great Britain and Ireland published by the British Ornithologists’ Union. They are also used in the Field List of British Birds published by the British Trust for Ornithology at 2 King Edward Street, Oxford. The Field List costs only sixpence and is designed to help observers, both in their field work and in arranging their observations at the end of the year. But the most attentive reader cannot detect another change that has been made. Contributors were invited to send in their 1953 obser- vations on cards, one or more cards to a species. These cards were an outstanding success. It was a rapid and mechanical operation to sort the mass of the year’s observations under species, particularly when contributors were so considerate as to send in their cards already arranged in the right order and to write very legibly! The many valued observations, which would be out of place if printed in extenso in a year's Bird Notes, can be kept in a form that makes them readily available for future use. It is possible in a moment to set out, side by side, all the cards dealing with one species for the year under con- sideration and to compare them. Such comparisons make it clear how very unwise it nearly always is to base any statement about a change in status of a species on the observations of one year only. It was noticeable how often one observer's suggestion that a species was becoming more common was contradicted by the opposite opinion on the card of a neighbouring observer. But it is safe to say that the Curlew is spreading rapidly in Wiltshire as a breeding species and that 1953 was a remarkable year for Quail. Salisbury Cathedral had its Kestrel’s nest and might some day have its Peregrine’s eyrie if local gunmen would hold their fire. There were several records of Corncrake. It is difficult to see any pattern in the many records of Gulls. The remarkable photographs of a Great Spotted Woodpecker opening milk bottles which appeared in British Birds in February 1954 were taken in Wiltshire in July, 1953. Perhaps Dippers, Stonechats and Dartford Warblers are recovering their numbers slightly. The Crossbills recorded from the extreme South- ast of the county may not be part of the “irruption”’ of 1953. e Contributors 245 Of rarities seen or recorded this year in Wiltshire we may mention :— a Red-throated Diver; a Manx Shearwater (1951); two Gannets; a Goshawk; a Kittiwake, the first authentic record for the county since 1881; a Little Auk; two Hoopoes, members of a species that we shall soon have to consider a regular spring visitor; a Golden Oriole; a party of Waxwings; and the first Lapland Bunting to be seen in Wiltshire, one of the remarkable number that came to the British Isles in late 1953. The notes about the rarer species that breed in Wiltshire are deliber- ately left vague. To quote from the resolution passed in January 1954 by the British Trust for Ornithology “ egg collection, in the manner in which it is usually practised today in the British Isles, is not only without scientific justification but is a serious hindrance to field research in ornithology.” Readers of these notes who do not know Wiltshire may wonder why certain species are omitted. Can it be that they do not occur at all in the county: This question is not as absurd as might be thought. During the Second World War an ornithologist was stationed for a time in one of the bleaker parts of Wiltshire. When she left, she kindly sent in the notes that she had made during her stay; they included the complaint that she had not once seen a Robin! So we have printed a list of the Check-List numbers of the species which, though not mentioned in these notes, were recorded in 1953. CONTRIBUTORS: Col. E. T. H. Alexander E.T.H.A. A. Maxwell Macfarlane, Mics: Barnes’ .°.. ae R.G.B. RA ACME IM. Geoffrey Boyle ot GLB. Marlborough College ee ipurras -..). a AEB: Nat. Hist. Society M.C. Miss M. Butterworth . . M.B. F. H. Maundrell F.H.M. John Buxton .. ns j.B. Owen Meyrick a O.M. D. Clarke i, on DiG: Mrs. Newton Dunn DIN: G. W. Collett G.W.C L. G. Peirson .-. ia L.G.P. DA. E.: Cross D.A.E.C GoliCeF Perkins: s =. C.E-P) |. Cruse an Ny EEC. C. M. R. Pitman +) CMRP: Christopher Cutforth .. ~ | C.A.C. R. H. Poulding RVELD. Miss M. C. Foster Me M.C.F. Countess of Radnor .. LR. Mirs.,Gandy |... Wi LG. D. A. Rawlence D.A.R. Miss B. Gillam ae B.G. Gyril Rice ae CRs: Major R. K. Henderson R.K.H. David Rice =... a Dj: Co). Henty, RAF, .: C..H. Peter Roberts .. i, PRS E. H, Jelly as ve E.H.J. Mrs. Seccombe Hetts: ., | .°@:S Hi: Miss M. Luckham _.... NEE. Arnold Smith . Ss R 2 246 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1953 Geoffrey Spencers, 46 U% 7ANG:S. G. L. Webber eee MY. Ro Jspencer 2. te R.J.S. C. A. White. .: C.A.W. Col]. K: Stanford) 3" LES. Dr. Brian Whitehead . B.W. Major Reter Straghan.... P.ELL-S. Ralph Whitlock a R.W. B. M. Stratton 1 VES: Brigadier H. Willan .. H.W. Miss Thouless .. ole! ake Niele, H. E. Williams. . oa el BW Miss Irene Usher “a LO Miss June Wilson... jJ.W. William Washbrook .. W.LW. [2. GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. A diver in winter plumage, perhaps belonging to this species, on Shearwater, Feb. 14th. Oil was seen on its breast as it rose on the water to shake itself. (M.B.).] 4. RED-THROATED DIVER. One on the Avon in Salisbury, March 13th-14th. From its apparent tameness and the way in which it constantly flapped its wings it is thought that this bird may have been affected by oil. Seen by the Bishop of Salisbury and M.L. 5. GREAT CRESTED GREBE. Four pairs on Braydon Pond, only 2 young seen (R.G.B.). Two pairs on Coate Water (M.C.F., W.1.W.), and on Shearwater (P.H.L.S.). Single pairs on Corsham Lake (C.R.), Bowood (G.L.B., E.J.C., E.M.T.), Longleat (P.H.L.S.), Westbury Ponds (R.G.B.), Stourhead (C.R., P.H.L.S.), Fonthill and Wardour (B.M.S.). 16. MANX SHEARWATER. The following record has recently become known. One, ringed at Skokholm, July ist, 1951, was found shot near Westbury station, July 8th, 1951. Ring No. AX 3165 (P.R.). 27. GANNET. One, in second or third year plumage, was found in a field near Pewsham, Aug. 23rd and died 3 days later. One, in second year plumage, was unfortunately shot on a farm near Rowde, Sept. 22nd (C.R.). 28. CORMORANT. One seen flying W. near Cadley, Oct. 6th (D.J.R.). The water keeper at Longleat reported that one spent two days there in early November (M.B.). Three flew along the Avon at Clarendon, Dec. 27th (CMRP). 30. HERON. The heronry, listed No. 6 in Smith’s Birds of Wiltshire, moved some years ago from Compton Park to a small island in a lake at Hurdcott House, an adjoining property. It now occupies some 8 or Io stunted trees, some of which are quite dead. In the last 10 years or so the colony has varied from 11 to 16 nests until this year when there are 20 occupied nests (C.F.P.). The Savernake heronry was again in the tall beeches near Warren Farm. Only 3 occupied nests could be seen (M.C.). At Bowood, April 12th, 11 nests were occupied (G.L.B.). No nest known at Longleat since 1950, the nesting trees on the island having been cut down (M.B.). 45, 46, $0. Winter records of Mallard, Teal, Wigceon, Tufted Duck and Pochard are not being printed but are being filed in the hope that after some years it may be possible to build up from them a composite picture of the winter duck population of the county. 52. PINTAIL. One drake on Coate Water, Jan. 22nd (M.C.F.) and Feb. ist (J.B.). Great Northern Diver—Peregrine 247 53. SHOVELER. A pair seen on Bowood Lake, Jan. 18th (G.L.B.); two at Shearwater, Jan. 26th (M.B.) and a pair on Braydon Pond, Dec. 6th (J.B.). Single birds at Braydon Pond, Feb. 4th, Mar. 25th and Nov. 28th (R.G.B.), Longleat, Feb. 15th (M.B.) and Dec. 6th (P.H.L.S.), and on the Avon near Salisbury, Dec. 22nd (C.M.R.P.). SGW57.. See 45. 7O. GOOSANDER. One female at Coate Water, Apr. 11th (G.L.W.). 73. SHELD-DuCK. An adult pair were watched for 15 minutes on Braydon Pond, April rath, before they flew off S.E. (R.G.B.). Three females seen to fly in to Corsham Lake, Dec. 31st (C.R.). | GREY GEESE. Six flying N.N.W. over Seend, Jan. 4th, (I.U.); six flying over Pewsey, Jan. 14th (M.C.); nineteen flying S. over Cadley, Oct. 2nd (D.J.R.). QI. BUZZARD. Three definite nesting records this year, two by C.M.R.P. and one by R.W. Four other pairs seen frequently in breeding season, but nests not found (P.H.L.S., R.J.S.). A party of six, apparently two adult and four juveniles, were wheeling together and making mock attacks on one anothert in N. Wilts, March 15th (G.L.B.). Many flight records throughout the year. A juvenile was unfortunately shot on King’s Play Hill, Sept. 28th. The crop contents, identified by C.R., were 15 dung beetles, 3 worms and 1 small bird’s wing. 94. GOSHAWK. One was clearly seen for about 15 minutes circling over Woodford during a partridge drive, Oct. 19th. There was no sign of jesses. Two buzzards and a kestrel were in the air at the same time for comparison of size and appearance. The observer was fairly sure that he saw one a day or two earlier near Lake (J.K.S.). 102. MONTAGU’S HARRIER. First seen in South Wilts, May 2nd. Two pairs reported, but only one confirmed. Last seen Sept. 17th (C.M.R.P.). In another area a pair and a single bird were seen by Col. Gillman, Col. Warren and P.H.L.S., and in a third area one was seen, Aug. 18th (R.W.). 104. HOBBY. First seen Apr. 21st (A.M.M.); a pair Apr. 22nd (J. S. C. Robin- son per A.M.M.). Pairs seen as follows: throughout the summer (Mr. Blakeley per M.C.); chasing swallows and later playing together, July 6th (G.L.B.); in August (H.W.). Single birds seen by M.C.F., W.I-W., C.R. and R.G.B. Last seen Sept. 3rd (C.M.R.P.). Correction. The trained hawk killed by a golfer on High Post golf course, reported in Bird Notes for 1952 to be a Hobby, was a Lanner Falcon brought from Egypt by Mr. Mavrogordato (D.N.D.). 10S. PEREGRINE. One roosted on a hangar at Keevil aerodrome from Dec. 14th, 1952 to Jan. rst. Remains of Lapwing and pellets were found (G.L.B.). One frequently killed pigeons in the Pitton-Winterslow area in January (R.W.). A juvenile, shot near Tilshead, March 11th, was brought to A.M.M. for identification. One was seen on a number of occasions in April near Longford Castle, once eating a moorhen on the lawn (LR.). Single birds over Stourhead, Oct. 15th (M.B.) and Trafalgar, Dec. 20th (C.M.R.P.). The following notes are from Salisbury Cathedral Close: a pair at dusk, Jan. 2oth (C.M.R.P.); on May 3rd a tiercel was found dying, having been shot in the mandible, and was 248 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1953 taken by the police to Mr. P. Glasier. The Bishop of Salisbury reported that three were seen circling, July 8th, and a decapitated pigeon was found. A pair seen, July 31st (M.L.). A tiercel being mobbed by rooks, Nov. 13th (C.M.R.P.) 107. MERLIN. One near Pitton on several days from Jan. 22nd and again in autumn (R.W.). One seen chasing a lark near Lake, Nov. tath (J.K.S.), and another being mobbed by rooks near Clarendon (C.M.R.P.). TIO. KESTREL. On June 6th a pair brought off two young from their nest ou an upper pinnacle of Salisbury Cathedral (M.L..) 117. Quai. An unusual number of records of Quail were sent in for 1953. Heard calling in July near Chippenham at the following places: Sheldon Manor (Mrs. H. E. M. Thomas, C.R., G.W.C.), Biddestone (C.R., R.G.B.), Derriads Farm (G.W.C.). Also near Norton (J.W.). Quail have not been recorded from these areas in recent years. Heard near Alton Barnes, June 29th (L.G.P.) and in many barley fields and some wheat fields near Aldbourne, July and early August (M.C.F., LG., W.I.W.).: At least two at Snail Down, Aug. 8th, and one near Everleigh, Aug. 9th (D.J.R.). Heard near Nunton in June and in May and June near Great Durnford and breeding suspected (Mr. M. Ward per J.K.S.). Pair first seen by Mr. Pierce of Upper Pertwood, Hindon, July sth, and on a later day 5 were heard on different parts of the farm. At harvest a brood was disclosed in barley by a combine and an adult was killed. Neigh- bours at Lower Pertwood, Hindon reported that they “ had never known so many.” Quail were also heard at Berwick St. James in July (J.K.S.). Near Downton three were heard in barley in July and three single birds and a bevy of 7 flushed from clover in September (B.W.). 120. WATER-RAIL. Noted at Coate Water, Jan. 3rd (M.C.F.) and April 24th (W.I.W.), Clatford, Feb. 15th (M.C.), Corsham Lake, March 16th (C.R.), and Amesbury, March 29th (A.M.M.). Three seen at Harnham, March 7th, and in winter at Clarendon (C.M.R.P.), and two immature birds at Rodbourne sewage farm, Nov. 29th (G.L.W.). 125. CORNCRAKE. Heard near Downton, May roth and June 17th (C.M.R.P.). A pair near Avebury, breeding not proved (EJ.C.). One picked up near Corsley, Aug. 6th (E.HJ.), and one seen at Axford, Aug. 12th (W.IW.). Single birds also seen on Oare Hill, Sept. 2nd, near Lockeridge, Sept. 22nd, and Clench Common, Oct. 1st (R.K.H.). One was found in a rabbit tra inside a burrow near Corsley, Oct. 1oth (E.H.J.). : 133. LAPWING. Larger flocks than usual were seen in autumn: over 300 near Downton, Oct. 1st (D.A.E.C.); 200 at Rodbourne sewage farm, Oct. 25th (G.L.W.); ¢.200 near Chiseldon, Oct. 28th (C.S.H.); c.1,000 near Britford, Nov. 25th (R.G.B.); c.1,500 near Thingley, Nov. 28th (C.R.); 200-300 on Zeals aerodrome from Nov. 28th (P.H.L.S.); c.250 near Chippenham, Dec. tath (C.R.); c.s00 near Inglesham, Dec. 20th (F.H.M.); very large flocks near Clarendon (C.M.R.P.). 140. GOLDEN PLOVER. Broad Hinton, c.s0, Jan, 3rd (C.S.H.); Downton, 50-60, Jan. toth (C.M.R.P.); Zeals aerodrome c.300 in three or four groups, flichting towards dusk, Jan, 4th (M.B.); Semington, c.50, Feb. 11th (G.L.B.). Most of these flocks were with large mixed flocks of Lapwings, Fieldfares and Merlin—Green Sandpiper 249 Redwings. Last seen in spring: three birds, one in full breeding plumage at Zeals, May 6th (M.B.). First seen in autumn: four birds at Cherhill, Sept. 22nd, an early date (G.L.B.); c.30 near Britford in November (C.M.R.P., R.G.B.); c.200 on Zeals aerodrome from Dec. 13th (P.H.L.S.). 145. COMMON SNIPE. Drumming began in February at West Amesbury and continued until July 2nd (J.K.S.). Drumming also heard at Wilsford (J-K.S.), Netherhampton, (M.L.) and Britford (C.M.R.P.). A flock of c.60 was seen near Coate Water, Oct. 20th (M.C.) and c.100 at Rodbourne sewage farm, Dec. 27th (G.L.W.). 147. JACK SNIPE. Four were flushed with a wisp of Common Snipe near Britford, Jan. 11th (C.M.R.P.). At Rodbourne sewage farm two were seen, Oct sth; four, Oct. 25th; three, Dec. 20th; stx,)Dec. 27th, (G.L.W:). Two seen at Clatford, Nov. 22nd—23rd (M.C.). 148. woopcock. Two seen in flight near Ramsbury, April 6th (C.A.W.). On three evenings in July at Longleat one was seen to follow the same flight path at dusk. The head gamekeeper there reported that in late June he had seen in daylight an adult in flight carrying a young bird (P.H.L.S.). Breeding near Alderbury, Farley, Whiteparish, Clarendon and Grovely (C.M.R.P.). 150. CURLEW. Correction: The breeding record in 1952 at Sandridge Park should have been attributed to R.J.S. and not to A.G.S. A pair were seen in the same meadows in Sandridge Park this year from April 2oth to the beginning of May when farming operations disturbed them. They were located near Seend Cleeve and four eggs found May toth. Two eggs had hatched, June and, and the remaining two, June 4th. On June 2nd a second pair joined them in circling and calling (R.J.S.). A pair were first heard in early March at Potterne Wick (where according to local report they have bred for the last few years). On May 22nd a nest was found with shell fragments and the inner membrane of the eggs, but no young located. On May x9th another pair joined them in calling agitatedly. As in the previous record, the second pair did not appear in the territory until about the hatching period (R.J.S.). A pair returned, April 2nd, to a field at Cray’s Marsh, Seend, where Curlew had nested in 1952 and been robbed. They remained for several weeks, but the nest was not found (LU.). A pair were seen near Ogbourne St. George, July roth and 14th by Col. R. T. Foster and Mrs. Nugent. The gamekeeper, Mr. Hassell, reported that they had nested in a field of mustard and that he had seen two young. (M.C.F.) A pair near Urchfont brought off 3 young, one other was trodden on in the nest by cattle (E.J.C.). At least two pairs near Patney Station, June 13th, uttering breeding notes and mobbing crows. Two birds seen near Patney, June 27th, from their actions appeared to have young (J.K.S.). Pairs were also seen near Etchilhampton (D.A.E.C., J-K.S.), Redlynch (C.M.R.P.), and Inglesham (F.H.M.). ISI. WHIMBREL. Two at Wilton Water, May 1st (M.C.). Heard calling several times on passage over Marlborough, July 18th (L.G.P.). 156. GREEN SANDPIPER. Single birds at Lacock gravel pit, April roth (G.L.B.), and by the Avon near Whaddon, May 6th (R.J.S.). One near Berwick St. 250 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1953 John, Aug. 30th, and three near Bemerton, Sept. 6th (D.A.E.C.). One by the Avon at Figheldean, Sept. 4th-sth (D.A.R.). A single bird seen at Lacock gravel pit, Sept. 9th (G.L.B.); throughout the autumn at Rodbourne sewage farm (G.L.W.); by the Avon near Hants border, Nov. 28th (J.K.S.). Two birds at Clarendon gravel pits from Aug. 31st to end of year (C.M.R.P.). 159. COMMON SANDPIPER. Single birds at Lacock gravel pit, April 1st and May 6th (G.L.B.); Coate Water, April 24th (W.I-W.) and 25th (M.C.). Two at Shearwater, May roth (P.H.L.S.). Three birds seen by the Avon on the Whaddon-Staverton reach and the same number on the Melksham-Lacock reach throughout April and May (R.J.S.). Four seen with Green Sandpiper at Clarendon gravel pits, Aug. 31st (C.M.R.P.). 161. REDSHANK. First seen in spring: March 15th, Clarendon (R.W.); March 17th, Axford (L.G.P.). Several pairs near Netherhampton, April 18th (M.L.). Also seen in usual haunts near Ramsbury (C.A.W.), Chilton Foliat (M.C.F.), and Marlborough (W.I-W.). Two small young found by Kennet and Avon Canal near Seend Cleeve, June sth (R.J.S.). Seen throughout December at Axford (W.LW.), and on Dec. 6th and 13th at Rodbourne sewage farm (G.L.W)). 189. STONE CURLEW. First heard calling all the evening, Feb. 13th; more heard, Feb. 19th. Very noisy on breeding grounds in early April (C.M.R.P.). Ten birds seen in this area, June roth (C.M.R.P.) and July rst (M.L.). Plentiful in another area in 1953 but no nests found (J.K.S.). A pair were seen with one young bird, which ran to cover in stinging nettles, June 6th (B.G., C.R.). Twelve feeding on plough land, Sept. 27th (B.G.). Last seen, Oct. 11th (C.M.R.P.) and Oct. roth (J.K.S.). Other records from D.J.R., A.M.M., W.IW., M.C. 198. GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. One on the Avon near Harnham, Jan. 5th and one at Old Sarum aerodrome. Feb. ist (C.M.R.P.). Two adults flying over Larkhill, Jan. 6th (A.M.M.), and two adults flying down the Avon at Seagry, April roth (R.G.B.). One at Longford Park, Dec. 6th (M.L.). 199. LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. One, sometimes two, birds at Coate Water in January, March and April (M.C.F.). Two at Lacock gravel pits, April roth (G.L.B.). Single birds near Britford, April 12th, and Harnham, April 14th (C.M.R.P.). Two by the Avon at Seagry, April 18th and five flying E. up the river, April 24th (R.G.B.). Two near Biddestone, May 31st (C.R.). and two yearling birds down the Avon near Lackham, July 7th, and one juvenile at Kingsdown, Sept. 20th (G.L.B.). One at Seagry Mill, Aug. ist, and eight in Hartham Park, Aug. 7th (G.W.C.). One seen frequently from March to October over the Avon from Bradford-on-Avon to Staverton. Two have wintered at Bradford-on-Avon during the past 3 or 4 years (I.U.).. One near Axford, Dec. 7th (W.1LW.). 200. HERRING GULL. Four at Clatford, March 11th (M.C.). Two flying down the Avon at Seagry, March 26th (R.G.B.), ten in the Weavern Valley, May 31st (C.R.), and one over the Kennet at Axford, Aug. 4th (W.I.W.). Many big flocks passed over Clarendon at dawn and dusk during the autumn and Common Sandpiper—Short-eared Owl 251 winter with Black-headed Gulls (C.M.R.P.). Small flocks fly daily from S.W. to the Warminster Downs (B.M.S.). Seventeen adult and immature birds near Bohune Down, Dec. 24th (B.G.). 20I. COMMON GULL. Small flocks, up to 40, by the Avon at Seagry, March 12th to April 6th (R.G.B.). Two at Thingley, April 14th (C.R.). One juvenile bird on plough near the Ridgeway, June 28th; an early date (G.L.B.). Ten circling over the canal at Devizes, Aug. 7th, feeding with Starlings on swarming ants, and three immature birds on Easton Down, Aug. 12th (B.G.). Eighteen below Tan Hill, Aug. 13th; c.too near Easton, Dec. 26th and flocks near Sheldon and Slaughterford, Dec. 28th (C.R.). 208. BLACK-HEADED GULL. Eight at Coate Water, Jan. sth (W.I.W.); and _ c.50 near Durrington, March 8th (R.G.B.). At Corsham Lake c.50 were seen, Jan. 18th and c.30 Nov. 8th. Five of these birds attacked a Great Crested Grebe which was attempting to feed fish to its young, forcing it to dive continually until the second adult grebe swam over, when they desisted (C.R.). A daily movement noted over the Warminster Downs from the $.W. in autumn, numbers 50-70, (B.M.S.). Numbers of birds in Clarendon area now greatly increased, chiefly following the plough in autumn (C.M.R.P.). 211. KITTIwAKE. A male, in first year plumage, was found dead at the edge of the Half Mile Lake, Longleat, March 23rd. It had been dead about 24 hours. There was no evidence of disease or injury, and it had apparently died of starvation (R.H.P.). This appears to be the first authentic record for Wiltshire since 1881, vide The Birds of Wiltshire by Rev. A. C. Smith, p. 532. 217/218. TERN, COMMON OR ARCTIC. One seen near the foot of Ogbourne Hill, Aug. ist (W.LW.). Six flying S.W. over Clarendon, Aug. 28th (CMRP). 226. LITTLE AUK. One which was found in an exhausted condition on a farm near Calne, Feb. 12th, was seen there next day swimming in a brook, (D.C.); vide Wiltshire Gazette, 19.2.5}. ; 235. TURTLE DOVE. First noted: April 22nd, West Amesbury (A.M.M.); April 23rd, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.), April 24th, Totterdown (M.C.). Last noted: Sept. 30th, Axford (W.I.W.); Sept. 27th, Marlborough (M.C.). 237. CucKoo. First noted, April sth, Farley (W.M.C.); April 8th, Seend (I.U.). Last seen: Aug. 31st, Notton (C.R.); Aug. 17th, Marlborough (WLW). 248. LONG-EARED OWL. Four young seen in nest in fir windbreak at Preshute Down (M.C.). Returned to Clarendon district, Dec. roth, but only heard on two nights (C.M.R.P.). 249. SHORT-EARED OWL. Eight seen together near Robin Hood’s Ball, Larkhill, Feb. 1st (A.M.M.). One, freshly killed, found in a gamekeeper’s larder near the Bustard Inn, March 8th (R.G.B.). A single bird was flushed on open ground near Axford, Aug. 28th (W.I.W.), and one stayed on Rodbourne Sewage Farm for three hours, Sept. 26th, then moved on S.E. (G.L.W.). Owls were first seen at Lake, Oct. 4th, and after this they were very plentiful in rough grass and in two different parts of the Lake estate. As many as twelve were seen in the air during a partridge drive. Brigadier Lipscomb also reports 252 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1953 many in the Tilshead-Market Lavington area (J-K.S.). One was seen near Liddington, Oct. 19th, and one near Codford St. Mary, Nov. 2oth (C.A.C.). 252. NIGHTJAR. First seen: May 4th, Bedwyn Common (M.C.); May 12th, Redlynch (C.M.R.P.); one near Ramsbury, June 17th (M.C.F.). Several present and wing clapping of courtship display audible during flight in a fir plantation near Longleat, June 18th (P.H.L.S.). Flushed from 2 eggs near Clarendon, July 15th (C.M.R.P.). Single birds seen at Stock Close, Aug. 1st (W.LW.) and flying over Warminster at dusk, Aug. 8th (M.B.). Last seen: two at Alderbury, Aug. 30th (C.M.R.P.), and one, perhaps on passage, near Bemerton, Sept. 6th (D.A.E.C.). 255. SWIFT. First seen: April 22nd, Amesbury (A.M.M.); April 27th, Claren- don (C.M.R.P.); April 28th, Winterslow (R.W.). Last seen: Aug. 17th, Marlborough and Aug. 14th, Axford (W.I-W.); Aug. 11th, Semington (ie 258. KINGFISHER. A nest containing young was found in a chalk pit at Alder- bury about one mile from the Avon, June 4th (C_.M.R.P.). 261. HOOPOE. One seen on a lawn at Hilperton, May toth. After a few minutes it flew into a tree for a few minutes, where it erected its crest. The observer has often seen Hoopoes in India (E.T.H.A.). On June rath, Mr. Marshman saw a strange bird, which he was able to describe satisfactorily, alight on a clothes post in his garden at Semington. Afterwards, on being shown an illustration of a Hoopoe, he was positive that it was what he had seen (G.L.B.). 263. GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER. During July and August a male was seen regularly opening milk bottles at Southwick, sometimes 3 times a day. The centre piece of the cardboard top was pushed in or else a hole was drilled. It often drank as much as 4 inch of cream from the top of the bottle. cf British Birds, Feb. 1954 and Sunday Times, Feb. 28th, 1954(P.R.). One seen climbing up a house wall on the bare bricks (R.K.H.). 271. woop LARK. A flock of c.20 at Zeals aerodrome, Jan. 21st-26th (M.B.). Many parties seen near Clarendon in February (C.M.R.P.). Noted in April in Spye Park (G.L.B.), Sandy Lane (C.R.) and near Tidworth (A.M.M.). A pair reported near Longleat (E.H.J.). A nest and three eggs on Pepperbox Hill, April 26th, and young birds seen near Redlynch, May oth. A large party flew W. over Clarendon, Nov. 25th (C.M.R.P.). 274. SWALLOW. First seen: March 20th, Marlborough (M.C.); March 25th, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.). Last seen, Oct. 27th, Clarendon, (C.M.R.P.); Oct. 16th, Inglesham, (F.H.M.). 276. HOUSE MARTIN. First seen, April 4th, Redlynch (C.M.R.P.); April 8th, Warminster (P.H.L.S.). Last seen, Nov. 1st, Aldbourne (M.C.F.); Oct. 2oth, Chippenham (C.R.). : 277. SAND MARTIN. First seen, March 26th, Semington Brook (G.L.B.); April 3rd, Alderbury (C.M.R.P.). Several hundred, apparently on passage, over Braydon Pond, April rath (R.G.B.). Nesting noted on the banks of the Avon near Lackham (G.W.C.). A number of new nests were excavated this Nightjar —Wheatear 253 year in the sandpit near Great Bedwyn where the population was larger than for several years past (R.K.H.). A colony in a chalkpit had made their nests just under the surface of the turf in a 6 inch layer of loam, no nests being visible in the chalk (C.M.R.P.). 278. GOLDEN ORIOLE. A male was seen at Stock Close by Col. and Mrs. Horn on April 11th, and again later. On April 20th, one was seen by the road from Stock Close to Ramsbury by the gamekeeper, Mr. Hassall, and the following day W.LW. saw a “ bright yellow bird with black wings” flying between two fir trees: its undulating flight was noticeable. 281. HOODED CROW. One at Manton, Jan. 16th; two at Stock Close, April 12th; two at Totterdown, April 20th; one at Coate, Oct. 20th (M.C.). 284. MAGPIE. Started to build a nest near Clarendon, Feb. 27th, an early date (C.M.R.P.). About 20 flew into a roost in Colerne Park and there were still quite a number on nearby fields, Dec. 28th (C.R.). 289. BLUETITMOUSE. Blue Tits were seen to open milk bottles in Trowbridge in 1948 by P.R.., an earlier year than that given in last year’s Notes. 293. WILLOW TIT. Singing at Petersfinger, Jan. Ist. A pair seen there, Jan. sth, and another pair at Whiteparish, Sept. 6th (C.M.R.P.). Noted in Saver- nake Forest, May 12th (M.C.). 299. WREN. Started building at Clarendon, Feb. roth, an early date (CMRP). 300. DIPPER. In the Castle Combe area a pair were seen in April (R.G.B.), and three birds including one juvenile, June 27th (C.R., G.W.C., C.S.H.). Sinele birds near Nettleton, June 23rd, Slaughterford, June 25th (G.W.C.), and Gatcombe, Aug. 28th (C.R.). Also recorded by the Wylye at Knook, April 14th (P.H.L.S.); at Trafalgar, June roth; Fonthill Lake, July 1st; Coombe Bissett, Sept. 20th and Oct. 18th (C.M.R-P.). 302. HIELDFARE. Larger numbers than usual noted by many observers. On Feb. 14th after heavy snow, large flocks, with Redwings, were flying south almost continuously between 09.00 and 16.00 hrs. (G.L.B.). Last seen in spring: April 2sth, two at Seagry (R.G.B.); April 22nd, Aldbourne (M.C.F.). First seen in autumn: Oct. 11th, Rodbourne sewage farm (G.L.W.); Oct. 17th, Inglesham (F.H.M.). 304. REDWING. Last seen in spring: April and, Seagry (R.G.B.); March 28th, Marlborough (M.C.). First seen in autumn: Oct. 6th, East Knoyle (B.M.S.); Oct. 11th, a large flock at Milk Hill (M.C.); Oct. rath, heard passing over Yatesbury in small numbers at o1.15 and 22.00 hrs. when it was misty, no stars visible and little wind (C.J-H.). 311. WHEATEAR. First seen: March 15th, Marlborough (L.G.P.); March aist, Salisbury Race Course (C.M.R.P.). Ten pairs with young seen above track ~ from Redhorn Hill past Ell Barrow to Enford, June 6th (C.R.). Last seen: Oct. 3rd, Tan Hill, (B.G.) and Aldbourne (W.I.W.). On Oct. 3rd single birds of upright stance and large size, which often perched on fences, were seen at Milk Hill (L.G.P.) and Windmill Hill (C.J.H.). These were presumably of the northern race. 254 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1953 317. STONECHAT. Single birds seen in January at Walker’s Hill and Alton Barnes (M.C.); Ogbourne St. George, (W.I.W.); Box Hill (DJ.R.); in February near Kingston Deverill, attending a bird table near Warminster (P.H.L.S.), and near Hinton Down (M.C.F.); and in March on Beacon Hill (A.M.M.). Two birds were seen on Zeals aerodrome, Jan. 23rd (M.B.) and two pairs bred near the New Forest border (A-E.B.). One was seen feeding young near Redlynch, May oth, and one was found dead near Trafalgar, Oct. 1oth (C.M.R.P.). | 318. WHINCHAT. First seen: April 24th, Stonehenge (A.M.M.); May oth, Aldbourne (M.C.F.). No breeding records, single birds on autumn passage. Last seen: Sept. 27th, Totterdown (M.C.); Sept. 25th, Pertwood (B.M.S.), and Westbury Downs (G.L.B.). 320. REDSTART. First seen: April 1ath, a pair at Spye Park (G.L.B.); April 15th, West Amesbury (A.M.M.); Pairs were seen feeding young near Gat- combe Mill, June 27th (C.R.), and near Longleat, July 4th (M.B.); a pair bred in an old Great Spotted Woodpecker hole near the New Forest border (A.E.B.); and 3 pairs were seen in Savernake Forest (M.C.F.). A male and 2 young were seen in Spye Park, Aug. 8th (G.L.B.). Last seen: Sept. 26th, Beacon Hill (B.G.); Sept. 25th, Wanborough (M.C.F.). 321. BLACK REDSTART. One seen at Pitton at the end of March (R.W.). 322. NIGHTINGALE. Notes on this species will be included in the findings of the Nightingale Enquiry in a later report. 327. GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. First noted: April 18th, Ramsbury, (C.A.W.); April 24th, Coate Water (W.LW.); April 28th, Petersfinger (C.M.R.P.). Also heard in May at Stapleford (A.M.M.); Bratton Camp (M.E.N.); Knowle Hill (M.C.), and at Trafalear, Alderbury, and in June at Clarendon (C.M.R.P.). Two pairs in June in the watermeadows between Longford and Charlton All Saints (LR.). Last seen: Aug. 27th, at Heddington (C.R.). 333. REED WARBLER. First seen: April 11th, Coate Water (M.C.), and Clarendon (C.M.R.P.). Many colonies along the Salisbury Avon, mostly in withy beds (C.M.R.P.). Last seen: Sept. 6th, Corsham Lake (C.R.); Sept. 5th, Coate Water (M.C.F.). 337. SEDGE WARBLER. First seen: March 25th, Clarendon, (C.M.R-P.); April oth, Axford (W.LW.). Last seen: Oct. 3rd, Salisbury (C.M.R.P.); Sept. 16th, Axford (W.I.W.). 343. BLACKCAP. First seen: April 7th, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); April 15th, Inglesham (F.H.M.), and Amesbury (A.M.M.). Last seen: Sept. 26th, Beacon Hill (C.R.). 340. GARDEN WARBLER. First seen: April 18th, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); April 20th, Stock Close (M.C.). Last seen: Aug. 27th, Heddington (C.R.). 347. WHITETHROAT. First seen: April 13th, Axford (W.I-W.); April 18th, Warminster (P.H.L.S.). Last seen: Sept. 13th, Stonepit Hill (B.G.). 348. LESSER WHITETHROAT. First seen: April 16th, Axford (M.C.); April 2oth, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.). Last seen: Aug. 27th, Heddington (C.R.);Aug. 4th, Reybridge (G.L.B.). Stonechat—Yellow Wagtail 255 352. DARTFORD WARBLER. Two pairs were seen in an old nesting area in South Wilts, May oth (C.M.R.P.), and another pair, Aug. 6th (M.L.). 354. WILLOW WARBLER. First noted: April 2nd, Marlborough (W.I.W.); April 3rd, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.). Last noted: Sept. 20th, Seagry (R.G.B.). 356. CHIFFCHAFF. First noted: March 20th, Marlborough (M.C.); March 22nd, Larkhill (A.M.M.), Devizes (B.G.) and West Ashton (A.S.). Last noted: Oct. 2nd, Semington (G.L.B.) and East Knoyle (B.M.S.). 357. WOOD WARBLER. First heard: April sth, Box (C.S.H.); April roth, Littlecote (C.A.W.). Bred at Alderbury, Clarendon, Whiteparish, and Grovely Wood (C.M.R.P.). Also noted in Braydon Wood (C.S.H.), near Nettleton (C.R.), and Ramsbury (M.C.). Only three pairs seen in an area near Redlynch where the average number used to be in the thirties. Decrease attributed by observer to Grey Squirrels (A.E.B.). 366. SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. First seen: April 14th, Axford, an early date, (W.I.W.); May 3rd, Pitton (R.W.). Last seen: Sept. 26th, Seagry (R.G.B.); Sept. 23rd, East Tytherton (C.S.H.). 368. PIED ELYCATCHER. Single male birds were seen in the following places: in a garden at Trowbridge, April 12th (A.S.); in a garden at Norton, April 14th (J.W.); at Temple Farm near Marlborough by Mr. Blakeley, April 14th (L.G.P.); near Marlborough, April 17th, and in Preshute churchyard, April 2and (W.1.W.). 371. HEDGE SPARROW. Nest building started at Clarendon, Feb. 6th, an early date (C.M.R.P.). 376. TREE pPipir. First seen: April 12th, Spye Park (G.L.B.); April arst, Pepperbox Hill (C.M.R.P.); April 22nd, Aldbourne (M.C.F.). Breeding near Woodford and Durnford, May 29th (C.M.R.P.). Also noted near Nettleton (G.W.C.) and Ford near Chippenham (C.R.); near Robin Hood’s Ball (A.M.M.), and in Savernake Forest (M.C.F.). A marked decrease this year at Redlynch (A.E.B.). Last seen: Oct. 11th, three at Rodbourne sewage farm, identified by call note and leg colour (G.L.W.). 380. PIED WAGTAIL. Exceptional number of c.350 at Rodbourne sewage farm, in mid December, where average is c.so (G.L.W.). Over 100 roosted in dead reeds at Salisbury gravel pits in September (C.M.R.P.). A bird at E. Knoyle, Sept. 29th, with grey head, back and rump, may have been a White Wagtail (B.M.S.). 381. GREY WAGTAIL. Pairs seen in spring at Ramsbury (M.C.F.); Amesbury and West Amesbury (A.M.M.); Marlborough (W.I.W.); and Seagry (R.G.B.). Evidence of breeding at Chilton Foliat and Axford (W.I.W.) Gatcombe Mill (C.R.), Christian Malford (R.G.B.). Also at Britford, Stratford, Trafalgar, Coombe Bissett and Fonthill (C.M.R.P.). 382. YELLOW WAGTAIL. First seen: April 13th, Axford (W.I.W.); April rsth, West Amesbury (A.M.M.), Inglesham (F.H.M.) and Lacock (G.L.B.). A variant bird with pronounced white superciliary stripe and white chin near Christian Malford, April 27th, with others of normal type (R.G.B.). Last seen: Sept. 20th, Yatesbury (C.J.H.); Sept. 5th, Pitton (R.W.). 256 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1953 383. waxwinc. A party of c.24 were watched in excellent light feeding in a scattered flock on fallen berries near the Trowbridge-Devizes road after hard frost, Feb. roth. Their colouring was noted, crest and “‘ patch like sealing wax ” on the wings (H.E.W.). 384. GREAT GREY SHRIKE. One was seen by many observers on Rockley Down, March 24th (L.G.P.). 388. RED-BACKED SHRIKE. Near Urchfont a pair was seen, May 24th, and a male, June 20th (C.S.H.). A male was also seen near Hullavington in June (E.J.C.). Near Swindon, a pair were building, June 20th, were seen to mate, June 24th, and had two eggs, June 27th (G.L. Ww, A nest contained young near Keevil aerodrome, June roth (G.L.B.). A pair were seen with young, just out of the nest, near Ford, Aug. 16th (C.M.R.P.). 389. STARLING. Notes on roosts will be included in the findings of the Starling Roost Enquiry in a later report. On Jan. 9th at about 6 p.m., when it was dark and foggy a considerable number of starlings fell dead in the High Street, Marlborough and were swept up thenext day, vide Marlborough Times (L.G.P.). Large flocks near Druid’s Lodge, March 8th, still had dark beaks (R.G.B.). 394. SISKIN. A party of c.24 seen in larch and Austrian pine at Clarendon, Feb) oth’ (CMR: P.). 404. crossBitt. At Redlynch four immature birds were seen by C.M.R.P., June 27th; a flock of c.12 first noted in fir trees in a garden, June 20th, and still in the neighbourhood, Aug. 1st (A.E.B.). A flock of 10-12 birds, mostly immature, frequented Alderbury for several days in early August (C.M.R.P.). As a pair bred in Redlynch in 1950, it is possible that the above records from this area have no connection with the “ irruption” of 1953. Two males and at least two females were seen in a garden at Norton all day on June 3oth, engaged in nipping off the leaves from poplar trees, which they let fall (J.W.). 408. BRAMBLING. Last in spring: March 12th, Broad Hinton (C.S.H.); March 8th, Westbury Downs (G.L.B.). First in autumn: Oct. 16th, Fonthill (B.M.S.); Nov. 9th, Bowood (G.L.B.). 410. CORN BUNTING. Notes on this species will be included in the findings of the Corn Bunting Enquiry and published in a later report. 415. CIRL BUNTING. Singing at Clarendon, March 23rd, where an increase in breeding pairs is noted, and at Ford, April 21st (C.M.R.P.). A male and a probable female seen near West Amesbury, April 16th (A.M.M.). A pair bred in a garden at Ramsbury, where they were first seen May 26th (O.M.). A dead male was received for identification from Tollard Royal, Nov. 25th, (CMRP). 422. LAPLAND BUNTING. G.L.W. made the following record at Rodbourne Sewage Farm on Dec. 13th. Four or five brown birds with dipping flight were first noticed with a large flock of Pied Wagtails. Two birds broke away and were watched at a distance of 20 yards with field glasses. G.L.W. was able to sketch the characteristic markings and noted among other points: head and nape, brownish chestnut; back, Frown, streaked dark brown or black; throat and sides of neck, white; underparts, senerally buffish-white, streaked black; Waxwing—Tree Sparrow 257 beak, yellowish; double call-note “ tick-tick.” This appears to be the first record for Wiltshire. 425. TREE SPARROW. ,Seen near Walker’s Hill, Jan. 4th (M.C.). Several in a mixed finch flock near Kington St. Michael, April 1st (C.S.H.); one near Redlynch, April 4th, (C.M.R.P.). Two pairs near Stapleford, April 15th (M.L.) and one pair ina garden near Calne (E.M.T.). One with House Sparrows near Melksham, Sept. 23rd (G.W.C.). Check-list numbers of the species which, though not mentioned in the notes, Wiehe ECORGCH 1M,.1953‘'O, 45,/ 46, 50; 56, -57;) 03, 1155116, X18, 126; 127, Dee 2 aAni24l 240, 247; 202, 204, 272: 280; 282,283; 286, 288, 200, +202; 294, 296, 298, 301, 303, 308, 325, 364, 373, 392, 393, 395, 401, 407, 409, 421, 424. 258 WILTSHIRE PLANT NOTES [15] Recorder: DONALD GROSE, F.L:S. Downs Edge, Liddington CONTRIBUTORS: A. G. Spencer, Corsham A. Ridout, Swindon A. Whiting, Stratton B. M. Stratton, East Knoyle Dr. B. Whitehead, Downton C. E. Owen, Lockeridge Miss Gurney, Turleigh C. M. Floyd, Holt Mrs. Hett, Box Dr. D.E. Coombe, Salisbury Miss Gill, Tilshead . Miss Frowde, Colerne Dr Ps Young, Sanderstead Miss Stevens, Clarendon . Miss Wright, Devizes Mrs. Timperley, Bishopstone E. V. Wray, Wroughton Mrs. Partidge, Ham F. Tidball, Wroughton G. Grigson, Broad Town Mrs. Lywood, Harnham Mrs. Brown, Bournemouth . G. W. Collett, Chippenham H. J. Hunt, Chippenham H.W.T. I.M.G. J.B. J-H JHE. [KO K.M.M. UG H. W. Timperley, Bishopstone Mrs. Grose, Liddington Miss Bryden, Salisbury J. Hayward, Orcheston J. H. Halliday, Marlborough J. K. Quick, Marlborough Miss Marks, Richmond L. G. Peirson, Marlborough M.B.D.H. M. B. D. Halford, Marlborough Miss Foster, Aldbourne Miss Fasken, Marlborough O. Meyrick, Ramsbury Mrs. Crichton Maitland, Wilton Miss Gillman, Tilshead Mrs. Farquharson, Homington Col, R.2A. Bryden, Salisbury R. Campbell, Stokke R. L. Bland, Marlborough R. Sandell, Devizes. .R.S.R. Fitter, Burford R. Whitlock, Pitton T. G. Collett, Ealing + Indicates that a plant is not native in the given locality. All records, unless otherwise stated, are for 1953. Thalictrum flavum L. Common Meadow Rue. 2, Spye Park, C.M.F. + Adonis annua L. Pheasant’s Eye. 5, Cornfield east of Brickworth House, J.B. 7, Netheravon, C.E.O. 10, Still at Wick Farm, B.W. Helleborus viridis L. var. occidentalis Rouy & Fouc. Green Hellebore. 2, Near the Roman Villa, Nettleton, A.R. 3, Stream-bank near Liddington Mill, I.M.G. 4, Broad Hinton, A.R. Papaver hybridum L. Rough Round-headed Poppy. 5, Whitepansh Hill, D.S. 8, Orcheston and Ghee on! J.-H. 9, West Harnham, I.M.G. 10, Harnham Ell Gale Near Noydy Poker: Thalictrum flavum—Sedum telephium 259 Cardamine pratensis L. Cuckoo-flower. Form with double flowers. 5, Red- lynch, D.S. 8, East of Maiden Bradley, C.M.F. + Cardaria draba (L.) Desv. Hoary Cress. 7, The Butts, Salisbury, D.S. 10, Wick Farm, B.W. Viola canina L. Dog Violet. 7, Down west of Middle Woodford, D.E.C. Polygala serpyllifolia Hose. Heath Milkwort. 4, Chisbury Wood, I.M.G. Saponaria officinalis L. Soapwort. 4, Edge of Ramsbury Manor Park, O.M. Silene anglica L. English Catchfly. 4, Beckhampton, 1952, M.B.D.H. Melandrium album x rubrum. 7, Ram Alley, 1.M.G. 8, Orcheston Down, J.H. M. noctiflorum (L.) Fries. Night-flowering Catchfly. 10, Kennel Farm, Clarendon, 1952, D.S. + Agrostemma githago L. Corn Cockle. 10, Harnham Hill, G.L. Charlton, R.S. Cerastium semidecandrum L. 4, Walker’s Hill, 1952, J.H.H. Spergularia rubra (L.) J. & C. Presl. Sand Spurrey. 2, Near Silverstreet Wood, C.M.F. 4, Ramsbury Manor, O.M. Hypericum androsaemum L. Tutsan. 8, Streambank, Wilton, P.C.M. 9, Between Grovely and Middle Hills, J.B. Malva moschata L. Musk Mallow. White-flowered form. 2, Gatcombe Hill, D.M.F. Erodium cicutarium (L.) L’Herit. Stork’s-bill. 8, Rollestone, J.H. Acer pseudoplatanus L. Sycamore. Fasciated form. 3, Bishopstone, H.W.T. Genista tinctoria L. Dyer’s Greenweed. 2, Wadswick, C.S.H. + Trifolium incarnatum L. Crimson Clover. 2, Winsley, C.G. T. pratense L. Red Clover. Blue-flowered form. 1, Urchfont, E.T. Lotus corniculatus L. Bird’s-foot Trefoil. Form approaching var. hirsutus Rouy. 1, Sleight Wood, D.M_F. Lathyrus aphaca L. Yellow Vetchling. 4, Roundway Hill, E.M.W. L. nissolia L. Grass Vetchling. 2, Roadside between Corsham and Whitley, A.G.S. i L. montanus Bernh. Tuberous Bitter Vetch. 4, Rabley, 1952, J.K.Q. Chisbury Wood, I.M.G. + L. tuberosus L. Earth-nut Pea. 7, Rough field near Bulford Camp, P.G. 8, Grassy track, Tilshead, D.G. Rubus idaeus L. var. asperrimus Ed. Lees. Raspberry. White-fruited form. 5, Downs near Pitton, R.W. Geum rivale L. Water Avens. 3, On the chalk, Bishopstone, E.T. A common plant over much of Wilts, but rare in the north-east. G. rivale x urbanum. 5, Clarendon, D.S. 8, Grovely Wood, 1938, R.A.B. + Potentilla recta L. 6, Everleigh, F.P. Aphanes microcarpa (Boiss. & Reut.) Rothm. 8, Woodland ride near Shear Water, R.S.R.F. + Cotoneaster simonsii Baker. 8, Copse above Park Bottom, 1938, R.A.B. Sedum telephium L. Orpine Stonecrop. 4, Near Ramsbury, O.M. VOL; Y—-CC 260 Wiltshire Plant Notes Epilobium hirsutum L. Great Willow-herb. White-flowered form. 2, Near Monk’s Park, H.J.H. + E. adenocaulon Hausskn. 5, Cowesfield, D.E.C. 9, Harnham Hill, D.E.C. E. palustre L. Marsh Willow-herb. 4, Canal near Crofton, F.P. Conium maculatum L. Hemlock. 8, Orcheston Down, J.H. 10, Near Toyd, P.R.F. A common plant in the north and west but rare elsewhere. Oenanthe fluviatilis (Bab.) Coleman. River Water Dropwort. 3, Inglesham, R.S.R.F. + Erigeron canadensis L. Canadian Fleabane. 2, Thingley, H.J.H. E. acris L. Blue Fleabane, 4, Railway bank between Savernake and Bedwyn, E.P. Bidens cernua L. 2, Kellaways, H.J.H. 7, East Harnham, P.R.F. Anthemis cotula L. Stinking Camomile. 10, Near Toyd, P.R.F. A. arvensis L. Corn Camomile. 2, Nettleton Green, G.W.C. 10, Near Toyd, P.R.F. Chrysanthemum segetum L. Corn Marigold. 2, Heddington, L.G.P. + Doronicum pardalianches L. Leopard’s Bane. 2, Wood north of Devizes, G.W.C. 8, Still at Stapleford, P.R.F. t Senecio squalidus L. Oxford Ragwort. 2, Limestone quarry, Neston, GW.C. 9, Increasing at Salisbury, D.S. S. integrifolius (L.) Clairv. Field Fleawort. 2, King’s Play Hill, C.M.F. Cirsium eriophorum (L.) Scop. ssp. britannicum Petrak. Woolly-headed Thistle. 1, Upton Scudamore, R.S.R.F. 8, This species is spreading rapidly in the Wylye basin. C. tuberosum (L.) All. Tuberous Thistle. 8, Corton Down. t Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. Milk Thistle. 3, Wroughton, E.V.W. 8, Codford, G.W.C. + Centaurea cyanus L. Cornflower. 2, Waste ground, Nettleton, G.W.C. Cichorium intybus L. Chicory. 3, Stratton Park, A.W. Chisledon, R.L.B. 4, Tan Hill, F.T. Picris hieracioides L. Hawkweed Oxtongue. 10, Homington Down, P.R.F. P. echoides L. Prickly Ox-tongue. 10, Harnham Hill, G.L. + Cicerbita macrophylla (Willd.) Wallr. 10, Homington, G.W.C. & T.G.C. Wahlenbergia hederacea (L.) Reichb. Ivy-leaved Bellflower. 2, Spye Park. Monotropa hypophegea Wallr. 9, Fonthill Terrace, T.G.C. Harnham Hill, D.E.C. Primula veris x vulgaris. 2, Kington Langley, H.J.H. + Cyclamen sp. 2, A single plant, species not known, was found under a log near the canal at Murhill, comm. C.G. Lysimachia vulgaris L. Common Loosestrife. 8, Wilton, P.C.M. Centaurium pulchellum (Swartz) E. H. L. Krause. 9, Grassy margins of track | on Lady Down, D.E.C. Cynoglossum officinale L. Hound’s-tongue. 9, About Fonthill Lake, G.G. Epilobium hirsutum—Epipactis helleborine 261 + Borago officinalis L. Borage. 2, West Kington, G.W. C. + Anchusa officinalis L. Alkanet. 8, Rollestone, J.H. Cuscuta epithymum (L.) Murr. Lesser Dodder. 10, Homington Down, P.R.F. Kennel Farm, D.S. Atropa belladonna L. Deadly Nightshade. 2, Gastard, A.G.S. + Datura stramonium L. Thorn Apple. 3, Ferndale Road, Swindon, comm. E.V.W. + Hyoscyamus niger L. Henbane. 6, Burbage, F.P. 10, White Sheet Hill, 1931, R.A-.B. Still at Alderbury, D.S. + Verbascum speciosum Schrad. 4, Bailey Hill, det. J.E. Lousley. t V. virgatum Stokes. 2, Between Chippenham and Biddestone, H.J.H., det. J.E. Lousley. + V. blattaria L. Moth Mullein. 7, Salisbury, D.S. + Linaria maroccana Hook. f. 8, Cabbage field near Warminster, R.C., det. R.D. Meikle. Antirrhinum orontium L. Lesser Snapdragon. 7, Devizes road, Salisbury, D.S. + Veronica longifolia L. 2, Thingley, H.J.H. Pedicularis palustris L. Marsh Lousewort. 10, Barford Park Farm, B.W. Lathraea squamaria L. Toothwort. 4, Near Stock Close Farm, M.C.F. Calamintha ascendens Jord. Common Calamint. 2, Colerne, D.M.F. Between Ford and Slaughterford, D.M.F. Glechoma hederacea L. Ground Ivy. Form with flesh-coloured flowers. 5, Hound Wood, D.S. + Chenopodium bonus-henricus L. Good King Henry. 3, Inglesham, R.S.R.F. Polygonum convolvulus L. var. subalatum Lej. & Court. 10, Near Toyd, P.R.F. P. rurivagum Jord. 4, Barley field near Membury, I.M.G. + P. cuspidatum Sieb. & Zucc. 9, Naturalized near East Knoyle House, B.M.S. Rumex maritimus L. Golden Dock. 9, Lake at Wardour K.M.M., det. J. E. Lousley. New for South Wilts. Viscum album L. Mistletoe. 3, Bishopstone, on hawthorn, E.T. + Euphorbia dulcis L. var. purpurata (Thuill.) Koch. 8, Bradley Park, C.M.F. Salix cinerea L. 2,Great Wood, Grittenham; the first record for Wiltshire, det. R.D. Meikle. Populus nigra L. var. betulifolia (Pursh) Torrey. Black Poplar. 3, By the Thames near Inglesham Church, R.S.R.F. Neottia nidus-avis (L.) L.C. Rich. Bird’s-nest Orchid. 1, Hill Wood, Erlestoke, D.P.Y. 9, Down south of Grovely Wood, 1931, R.A.B. 10, Near Manwood Copse, 1932, R.A.B. Spiranthes spiralis (L.) Chevall. Lady’s Tresses. 8, Stockton Down, 1931, R.A.B. 9, Down south of Grovely, 1931, R.A.B. 10, Tollard Royal, G.M.B. Epipactis helleborine (L.) Crantz. Broad-leaved Helleborine. 8, Grovely Wood, R.A.B. 9, Hindon, B.M.S. Var. chlorantha Vermeulen. 1, Flinty Knapp, D.P.Y. $2 262 Wiltshire Plant Notes E. vectensis sensu lato 9, Harnham Hill, D.E.C. Himantoglossum hircinum (L.) Spreng. Lizard Orchid. 10, Reappeared at Downton, B.W. Orchis ustulata L. Burnt Orchis. 9, Barford Down and Hoop Side, 1931, R.A.B. O. latifolia L. sec. Pugsl. Early Marsh Orchis. 2, West Kington, H.J.H. Weavern, D.M.F. 3, Ashton Keynes, M.F. 10, Barford Park, B.W. O. praetermissa Druce. Common Marsh Orchis. 2, West Kington, H.J.H. Weavern, D.M.F. Sutton Benger, R.B. 3, Marsh near Acorn Bridge, A.W. 4, Still at Axford and Chilton Foliat, M.F. 9, Marsh south of Donhead St. Andrew, 1951, C.M.F. 10, Barford Park, B.W. O. fuchsii Druce. Spotted Orchis. Form with white flowers. 4, Walker’s Fall RES: Ophrys insectifera L. Fly Orchid. 8, Near Hadden Hill, 1931, R.A.B. 9, Hoop Side, 1931, R.A.B. Ebbesborne Wake, 1939, R.A.B. 10, Downton, B.W. Herminium monorchis (L.) R.Br. Musk Orchid. 9, Hoop Side, 1932, R.A.B. Platanthera bifolia (L.) L.C.Rich. Lesser Butterfly Orchid. 1, Bratton, R.S. P. chlorantha (Cust.) Reichb. Greater Butterfly Orchid. 4, Mildenhall; a plant 244 in. high with 24 flowers, M.F. Allium vineale L. var. bulbiferum Syme. Crow Garlic; the form with flowers and bulbils. 7, Beechingstoke, I.M.G. 8, Wilton, P.C.M. + Ornithogalum umbellatum L. Star of Bethlehem. 8, Orcheston, J.H. Colchicum autumnale L. Meadow Saffron. Form with white flowers. 4, Roundway Hill, E.M.W. 8, Great Ridge Wood, 1938, R.A.B. Alisma lanceolatum With. Narrow-leaved Water Plantain. 4, Marlborough, 1952, R.L.B. Sagittaria sagittifolia L. Arrowhead. 4, Honey Street and Crofton, F.P. Butomus umbellatus L. Flowering Rush. 4, Honey Street, F.P. Zannichellia palustris L. Horned Pondweed. 2, Gravel-pit near Lacock, G.W.C. Carex nigra (L.) Reichard. Common Sedge. 10, Harnham, P.R.F. + Phalaris canariensis L. Canary Grass. 2, West Kington, G.W.C. 4, Marl- borough, L.G.P. + Osmunda regalis L. Royal Fern. 9, On masonry at Stourton, probably wind- borne from a distance, R.S.R.F. 263 A BOTANICAL SURVEY OF SPYE PARK By DONALD GROSE, F.LS. At the request of the Nature Conservancy and with the kind per- mission of the owner, Capt. F. F. F. Spicer, a botanical survey of Spye Park was made in the late summer months of 1953. The object of the survey was to study the main types of vegetation occurring in the Park together with their relationship to one another, to assess the factors influencing these associations, and to plot the localities of the rare and interesting plants. The writer wishes to thank Mr. C. M. Floyd, of Holt Manor, for helpful comments and information. Boundaries Since it was the intention to investigate only the more natural plant communities, those parts of the Park devoted to cultivation and to cattle-grazing, together with the immediate surroundings of houses, were excluded from the survey. The areas omitted are:— 264 A Botanical Survey of Spye Park 1. The north-east corner from the Home Farm to the Wansdyke. This section is largely pasture and there is little of interest botanic- ally except around the Leech Pool. 2. The south-west corner from Spye Park House to Clink Lane. This embraces the Dairy Farm and several tracts of arable land. 3. An area west of the road from the White Lodge to Spye Park House which has been cleared of bracken and is now coming into use for cattle-grazing. Silverstreet Wood in the south, while not in the Park proper, is part of the Estate and is included owing to its special interest. Situation The north of the Park is in an elevated position (c. 500 ft. O.D.) with extensive views. The terrain slopes southwards and south-westwards and is drained by several small streams which eventually discharge into the Bristol Avon. Much of the Park is on the Lower Greensand and it is at the junction of the sands with the underlying clay that many of the rarer plants occur. The Park contains areas, particularly in the stream- valleys, which have apparently suffered no major disturbance for centuries and bear a near approach to a natural vegetation; in this respect, for Wiltshire and for large parts of the adjoining counties, it is unique. Several of the plants which occur are not known elsewhere in North Wilts; these, and other species of particular interest, are marked * in the lists below. Localities numbered below are numbered also on the map. The following abbreviations are used in denoting frequency: a... abundant; f)) irequene: oO... occasional; r... rare; d... dominant; lloeal: SEMI-NATURAL WOODLAND A. Oak. Semi-natural woodland dominated by the Oak, Quercus robur, is extensive along the southern borders and in the western section of the Park. Much of it is damp and Carex pendula is a conspicuous plant. 1. A small tract of oakwood with some ash; it passes to alder wood north- wards. 2. Damp oakwood with some birch (B. verrucosa) and maple. Viburnum opulus is plentiful in one part. The south border is immature ash-hazel coppice without standards. By Donald Grose, F.L.S. 265 3. Silverstreet Wood. Young oakwood with some ash and a moderately varied shrub layer. The following list was taken of a small, damp, rather open portion at the lower end. Cornus sanguinea i Quercus robur d Corylus avellana fe) Rubus sp. fe) Fraxinus excelsior O Viburnum opulus f Ajuga reptans ri * 2B): borrert r Anthoxanthum odoratum r D. filix-mas ) Cardamine flexuosa r Galeobdolon luteum Carex hirta tr “Isolepis setacea r C. otrubae r Lotus uliginosus i *C. pallescens I Lysimachia nemorum C. pendula fe) L. nummularia r *C. pilulifera r teridium aquilinum 0 C. remota fe) Valeriana dioica 16 *C.. strigosa r Veronica beccabunga C. sylvatica r V. serpyllifolia : Circaea lutetiana r Viola reichenbachiana r Dryopteris austriaca a 4. Damp oakwood with some ash. Prunus avium occurs. The shrub layer is rather sparse but varied and includes Corylus avellana, Salix atrocinerea and Sambucus nigra. Pteridium aquilinum is dominant over much of the field layer; among other species are Allium ursinum (r), Equisetum telmateia (0) and several sedges. Westwards is a narrow belt of scrub developed on the banks of the stream; it consists mostly of Alnus glutinosa, Crataegus mono- gyna, Fraxinus excelsior and Ulmus glabra. 5. Oakwood. Trees of medium age. Shrub layer sparse and consisting chiefly of hazel. Although the wood is much less damp than others already considered, Carex pendula and Equisetum telmateia are frequent. Orchis fuchsii and Veronica montana occur. At the south-eastern corner of this wood a stream flows through a deep gully which is notable for the luxuriance of its ferns: Athyrium filix-femina r Phyllitis scolopendrium £ Dryopteris austriaca fe) Polystichum lobatum r D. filix-mas f XP, setiferum Oo 6. Foxbury Wood. The central and lower parts are oak-ash wood vith alder, hazel, hawthorn and elder as the chief shrubs. 7. Powney’s Wood. The southern part is chiefly oak and sycamore with a little beech and alder; the dominant of the field layer is bracken. A drive to the House passes through this wood and is bordered with oak and planted horse-chestnut and laurel. The northern part is semi-natural oakwood; characteristic species are:— Corylus avellana fe) Sambucus nigra fe) 266 A Botanical Survey of Spye Park Athyrium filix-femina I Polygonatum multiflorum Circaea lutetiana f Pteridium aquilinum ld Mercurialis perennis fe) Valeriana officinalis r Orchis fuchsii z Isolated oaks and small clumps also occur in many parts of the Park grassland. Other groups are a feature of the steep slopes in the stream- valleys but they are largely replaced by alders towards the water. B. Ash. Ash occurs in most of the woods, particularly in oakwood, and is occasionally co-dominant with oak over small areas. Typical ashwood was noted only in one place. 8. Foxbury Wood, east end. Almost pure ashwood:— Fraxinus excelsior ad Rubus ulmifolius rx Rubus sp. o Ajuga reptans Arctium minus Brachypodium sylvaticum Carex pendula Centaurium minus Circaea lutetiana Cirsium arvense C.palustre Dryopteris filix-mas Epilobium montanum Equisetum telmateia Filipendula ulmaria Geum urbanum C. Birch Betula verrucosa has a scattered distribution and is, in general, uncommon. 9. The woodland north of Home Farm was cleared a few years ago and birch is now colonizing vigorously. *Aquilegia vulgaris has occurred here. D. Alder. Many small groups and several small woods of Alnus glutinosa occur on the damp slopes of the two main river-valleys. The woods, some of them quite pure, regenerate naturally and remain undisturbed. It is on record that much charcoal-burning of alder took place in the Park during the Napoleonic Wars and in one place stools were seen which may indicate more recent activity. 10. Pure alder wood near source of western stream; dense bushy growth from old stools. Alnus glutinosa d = *Juncus bulbosus r J. effusus fe) Glechoma hederacea Holcus lanatus Hypericum hirsutum Juncus inflexus Mercurialis perennis Myosotis arvensis Prunella vulgaris Pteridium aquilinum Ranunculus repens Rumex viridis Senecio jacobaea Teucrium scorodonia Urtica dioica MR ARR ORORAAANAR 6 oO Ms 6-0 6-7 © 6'O Mh By Donald Grose, F.L.S. 267 Lotus uliginosus Mentha aquatica Oxalis acetosella Potentilla erecta Preridium aquilinum Pulicaria dysenterica Ranunculus flammula Urtica dioica Cardamine flexuosa Carex remota Deschampsia caespitosa Dryopteris austriaca *Epilobium palustre E. parviflorum Galium palustre *Holcus mollis oornrrRt ROR tro ogOoO 0.0 11.¥Alder wood on lower slopes of valley of eastern stream; merging into oak- wood above. Here grows Mountain Ash (with seedlings), probably native and rare as such in North Wilts. Alnus glutinosa d = *Sorbus aucuparia i Callitriche stagnalis r= *Juncus bulbosus r Carex paniculata a J. effusus fe) C. remota fe) Mentha aquatica fe) Chrysosplenium oppositifoliam rx Myosotis caespitosa Cirsium palustre r Oxalis acetosella Oo Deschampsia caespitosa var. Polygonum hydropiper o parviflora r Preridium aquilinum £ Digitalis purpurea r Ranunculus flammula o Dryopteris austriaca r R. repens r Equisetum palustre r Scutellaria galericulata r Galium palustre fe) Urtica dioica r *Holcus mollis f 12. Alder wood developed on rather drier ground with a consequent increase in the number of associated species. Alnus glutinosa d Salix atrocinerea 6 | Quercus robur E Sambucus nigra r Rubus idaeus t | Lonicera periclymenum r Tamus communis r | Ajuga reptans r Galium aparine r Anemone nemorosa r G. palustre r Angelica sylvestris r Geum urbanum r | Arctium minus r Hypericum hirsutum r | Athyrium filix-femina r Lysimachia nemorum 0 Cardamine flexuosa r Lythrum salicaria r Carex pendula re) Mentha aquatica r C. remota fld M. x verticillata r Chrysosplenium oppositifoliuam r Mercurialis perennis f£ Circaea lutetiana a Poa trivialis r Cirsium palustre I Prunella vulgaris r 268 A Botanical Survey of Spye Park Deschampsia caespitosa r Pteridium aquilinum Dryopteris austriaca f Ranunculus repens D. filix-mas r Rumex viridis Epilobium hirsutum r Urtica dioica E. parviflorum Ir Valeriana officinalis Filipendula ulmaria i Viola riviniana Equisetum telmateia r E. Elm. Ancient examples of Ulinus procera grow here and there in the Park grassland particularly south of the House. Ulmus glabra is rare and was noticed only by the stream on the south boundary and in a wood border east of the Lower Lake. SoS Set et oes ARTIFICIAL WOODLAND F. Beech. Fagus sylvatica is not native in the Park and natural regeneration is weak and uncertain. There are, however, many fine trees especially in the shelter-belts along the north and south-east boundaries. 13. Planted woodland in which beech is frequent. 14. Planted woodland with much beech and pine. 15. A long narrow belt entizely of beech. 16. A long narrow belt of beech with a few conifers. 17. Open beechwood with some pine and oak. G. Sycamore. Acer pseudoplatanus is generally uncommon but attains local dominance in two woods. 13. Planted woodland with sycamore locally dominant. 7. Powney’s Wood. Sycamore co-dominant with oak in the southern part. H. Pine. Plantations of Pinus sylvestris are, as yet, not extensive. There are, however, numerous small clumps of very old trees (see below, under “ Raven Fir.’) scattered in the open places chiefly in the east; other trees are planted in the shelter-belts and are often associated with beech. 6. Foxbury Wood. The west end is of planted pine and some of the upper east end has a mixture of pine and ash. 14. Mixed woodland with much pine. 18. The “ Raven Fir.”” Some of the pines in the bracken-covered tracts in the east of the Park are large and old. A sample tested by boring recently was found to be between 180 and 190 years of age. Mr. Floyd has studied a still larger tree growing in a damp place at the junction of the sand with the clay. This tree, the last survivor of a group formerly known as the “ Raven Firs,” has a girth of 18 ft. at 4 ft. 6 in. from the ground and is about 70 ft. high. A boring made by the Forestry Commission indicates that it has a By Donald Grose, F.L.S. 269 minimum age of 260 years and is likely to be even 300 years old. Mr. Floyd (Quarterly Journal of Forestry, xlvii, July 1953) discusses characters serving to separate this form from the Scottish races and, although his investigations are not yet complete, there appears to be a great probability that this tree is a representative—perhaps the last one—of a native English strain. I. Other planted trees. Ornamental trees and shrubs, including Rhododendron ponticum and various conifers, are concentrated mostly in the south-east corner of the Park in the woods and valleys around the Lower Lake. There is no indication of recent planting and these parts are very much overgrown and wild. Snmmary of woodland. South and west. Oakwood, mostly damp and often with much ash. Central valleys. Small alder woods and oak clumps. North and east. Beech and conifer shelter-belts. South-east. Mixed woodland with exotic trees. SCRUB Active development of scrub is retarded in many places by the dense growth of bracken and in others by the dampness of the ground. Rabbits and deer also hinder colonization by woody plants. Only in one place was vigorous scrub-formation observed. 19. Open ground between Foxbury and Powney’s Woods. Teucrium scoro- donia dominant over large areas. A most unusual and interesting association of plants without a single gramineous species. Acer pseudoplatanus (young) 0 Rubus ulmifolius fe) Quercus robur (young fe) Salix atrocinerea fe) Sambucus nigra fe) Ajuga reptans Centaurium minus Cerastium vulgatum Cirsium palustre *Euphrasia confusa Fragaria vesca Glechoma hederacea *Hypericum humifusum Juncus articulatus J. effusus Leontodon leysseri Potentilla erecta Prunella vulgaris Ranunculus repens Rumex acetosella Sagina procumbens Senecio jacobaea Teucrium scorodonia ad Veronica officinalis r -KFORA HOR EMO gea Oats Ont Ons GRASSLAND Park grassland occupying much of the central area is characterized by many fine old trees growing individually or in small groups. Oak 2/0 A Botanical Survey of Spye Park and elm (U. procera) predominate with occasional ash and alien conifers. In places the turf is thin with many bare sandy patches caused by rabbits; damper parts bear a denser growth but the grassland is nowhere luxuriant. 20. Rabbit-infested grassland. Agrostis tenuis f Luzula multiflora Anthoxanthum odoratum f *Polygala oxyptera Carex hirta(stuntedform) 0 “*Potentilla anglica Festuca ovina r P. erecta Galium verum fe) Pteridium aquilinum Geranium molle I Rumex acetosella * Holcus mollis (under bracken) r Stellaria graminea Leontodon leysseri Thymus pulegioides my) al eta my Opt rat rh 21. Damp grassland. An incomplete list of the more prominent species. The juxtaposition of Orchis ericetorum and O. fuchsii is remarkable. Centaurea nemoralis oO *Orchis ericetorum Chrysanthemum leucanthemum + *O. fuchsii Filipendula ulmaria Id Poa trivialis Galium palustre r Potentilla erecta Holcus lanatus Lotus uliginosus Lychnis flos-cuculi Lysimachia nummularia Malva moschata Myosotis caespitosa Ranunculus flammula Serratula tinctoria Stachys officinalis Stellaria graminea Succisa pratensis ONFA HARA ARO Moe O< OO 22. Marshy grassland. This wet meadow is notable for a fine display of Anagallis tenella and for a few plants of Samolus valerandi, both species being rare in Wiltshire. I understand that it is proposed to drain this marshy ground in the near future. The list was taken over c.200 sq. yds. of the wettest part. P. erecta Prunella vulgaris Ranunculus repens Sagina procumbens *Samolus valerandi *Epilobium palustre Equisetum palustre Festuca rubra Filipendula ulmaria Galium palustre Ajuga reptans tr * Isolepis setacea r *Anagallis tenella £ Juncus articulatus fe) Anthoxanthum odoratum o J. effusus fe) Caltha palustris r J. inflexus fe) Carex hirta i2 Lotus uliginosus r *C. nigra 3 Lychnis flos-cuculi r Cerastium vulgatum E Lysimachia nummularia o Cirsium arvense r Myosotis arvensis r C. palustre o *M. discolor r C. vulgare r Potentilla anserina fe) r fe) r oO r f r r fe) r By Donald Grose, F.L.S. 271 *G. uliginosum r Senecio jacobaea r Glechoma hederacea r Stellaria alsine r Glyceria fluitans forma S. graminea Oo triticea r Succisa pratensis fe) Holcus lanatus f Trifolium repens Hypericum quadrangulum fe) Veronica beccabunga oo 23. A similar marshy area, also imperilled by the proposed drainage. Species much the same as in locality 22 above with the addition of *Juncus acuti- florus. PTERIDIETUM Ground over which bracken has become common or dominant can be conveniently divided into two classes: A, the level or gently-sloping areas between the river-valleys, at their heads, and in the east; and, B, the steep slopes of the river-valleys. A. Plateau Pteridietum The phrase is coined for this particular case and has no general application. The type of vegetation is anomalous in that it is akin to grassland and to heathland and yet has a coverage of Pteridium aquilinum varying from sparseness to near dominance. I judge this to be not a stage in a succession, but a subclimax vegetation the composition of which is determined largely by biotic factors. Mr. Floyd has drawn my attention to the three factors which he considers of prime importance; withdrawal of any one would substantially change the vegetation-type in a very short period. These factors are (i), annual burning of the bracken; (ii), moderate grazing by sheep (a black mountain race); and (iii), rabbit-infestation. Exposure, also, may be a contributory cause. The type is characterized by scattered stretches of bent-fescue grassland (often very thin), small bare patches, closely nibbled Calluna vulgaris, and an extensive though not very vigorous growth of bracken. 24. “Plateau” Pteridietum near the east boundary. Clearance of this and similar areas is contemplated. Agrostis stolonifera Hypochaeris radicata A. tenuis Juncus effusus (dry ground) Aira caryophyllea Leontodon leysseri A. praecox Linum catharticum — Anthoxanthum odoratum Brachypodium sylvaticum Calluna vulgaris Campanula rotundifolia Cerastium vulgatum Cirsium palustre Luzula multiflora * Myosotis discolor *Ornithopus perpusillus *Plantago coronopus Potentilla erecta Prunella vulgaris OR AAR A RAR RY QaleMyckt: bt Fyn ht Opes is 2/2 A Botanical Survey of Spye Park C. vulgare Crepis capillaris *Euphrasia confusa Festuca ovina *F. tenuifolia *Filago minima Pteridium aquilinum Rumex acetosella Sagina procumbens *Sieglingia decumbens Stellaria graminea Trifolium campestre Galium saxatile T. dubium Geranium molle (dwarf) T. repens Hieracium pilosella Veronica arvensis (dwarf) Holcus lanatus V. officinalis *H. mollis *Hypericum humifusum V. serpyllifolia Vulpia bromoides RAARAR ORR RH OA A ARARAA ORR OR FR HD B. Valley Pteridietum On the steep slopes to the streams which run through the centre of the Park, Pteridium aquilinum has complete dominance except in wet places and sometimes under trees. Here it is not burned. WET PLACES A. Valley sides Small, and occasionally rather large, patches of marshy or boggy ground occur at intervals on the valley sides. Some, as already de- scribed, form suitable habitats for alder wood; others are open and can be picked out easily from the opposite slope by the absence of bracken. A few of these wet places are situated on broad ledges and in these (as by the streams lower down) Carex paniculata forms giant tussocks, sometimes 3 ft. high and denoting great age. These tussocks are usually closely spaced, more so than is the case elsewhere in Wiltshire, and in places they almost touch one another. Often they are crowned with mats of Ovalis acetosella and occasionally with Viola riviniana, Geranium robertianum and other woodland species which here find shade, moisture and freedom from keen competition. Dryopteris austriaca and *D. spinulosa also often occur but they grow from the sides rather than from the tops of the tussocks. After C. paniculata the most frequent sedge seems to be C. acutiformis which is dominant in two of the larger marshes. 25. Several small bogs on the north-east slopes of the valley above the Upper Lake. They are noteworthy for the occurrence of * Viola palustris, a species not known in North Wilts outside Spye Park. *Anagallis tenella and *Scutellaria minor are also present in small quantity. 26. The boggy ground which forms the source of the east stream holds several rare species, one of which, *Wahlenbergia hederacea, is confined to this one spot in North Wilts. Characteristic plants include:— By Donald Grose, F.L.S. 273 Alnus glutinosa o *Dryopteris spinulosa r Equisetum fluviatile r *Carex echinata r E. palustre r *C. laevigata r E. palustre var. polystachyum x C. ovalis r Hydrocotyle vulgaris Oo C. paniculata f Lotus uliginosus fe) var. simplex rt *Molinia caerulea f C. remota r Ranunculus flammula 6 *Epilobium palustre fe) Scutellaria galericulata fe) *Wahlenbergia hederacea r 27. Hillside marsh lower down the same valley. An incomplete list. Alnus glutinosa fo) Juncus articulatus a *J. bulbosus E Carex acutiformis ald =f. effusus fe *C. echinata r Lotus uliginosus fe) *C. laevigata tr *Molinia caerulea fe) *C. nigra r Myosotis caespitosa Oo C. ovalis r Phalaris arundinacea r C. paniculata ald — Scutellaria galericulata ) Eupatorium cannabinum o B. Streams Six small streams have their sources in the Park; of these, four are very short or soon pass the boundary. The two main streams rise in the north-west and north-east respectively and drain into the (at present almost dry) Lower Lake. Their courses lie in steep-sided valleys, thickly wooded in places, and everywhere so overgrown that the streams are almost hidden. There are small marshes at intervals in which the most conspicuous plant is Carex paniculata, more abundant here than in the hillside marshes described above but with rather shorter tussocks which rarely exceed two feet in height. Scirpus sylvaticus is locally common and Thalictrum flavum has been recorded (Floyd). 28. The eastern stream. Characteristic species noted at one spot included :— Alnus glutinosa 0 *Dryopteris spinulosa (tussocks) r Fraxinus excelsior o © *Epilobium palustre fe) Quercus robur oO Lotus uliginosus fe) | Lysimachia nummularia i | Carex acutiformis f Oxalis acetosella (tussocks) 0 | C. paniculata ad = Phalaris arundinacea r C. remota r Scutellaria galericulata fe) | Digitalis purpurea r Viola riviniana (tassocks) rr 29. The western stream. An incomplete list taken near the Upper Lake | included :— | Acer campestre r Fraxinus excelsior r Alnus glutinosa f£ Quercus robur r 274 A Botanical Survey of Spye Park Angelica sylvestris Athyrium filix-femina Carex paniculata C. remota Chrysosplenium oppositifolium Cirsium palustre Dryopteris austriaca Eleocharis palustris Equisetum palustre Galium palustre Hypericum quadrangulum Tris pseudacorus C. Lakes The Upper Lake is divided into two by the road to the House and the lower section of it holds little water. Juncus articulatus J. effusus Lotus uliginosus Lycopus europaeus Mentha aquatica Myosotis caespitosa Oxalis acetosella (tussocks) Pulicaria dysenterica Ranunculus flammula * Scirpus sylvaticus Scutellaria galericulata Solanum dulcamara HHRMA ROH OQOOORAM FOmRAmMrA AO CO O00 O 30. The Upper Lake and its borders. An incomplete list. Caltha palustris Myriophyllum spicatum Epilobium parviflorum Nuphar lutea Equisetum telmateia Nymphaea alba Hypericum quadrangulum Polygonum hydropiper Tris pseudacorus Potamogeton natans Lycopus europaeus *Ranunculus drouetti Lysimachia nummularia tr Sparganium ramosum Oo The Lower Lake is divided into two by a track; the small upper portion holds water but the lower section has been completely drained. *Scirpus sylvaticus grows in the upper section. MH OM = Hs im. {2) © =e) ©) (©) 31. The bed of the lower section of the Lower Lake. Alnus glutinosa ro) Salix atrocinerea r Athyrium filix-femina Caltha palustris Carex paniculata C. remota Chrysosplenium oppositifolium Cirsium palustre *Epilobium adenocaulon E. parviflorum Equisetum fluviatile E. palustre Eupatorium cannabinum Galium palustre Hypericum quadrangulum Iris pseudacorus - Juncus articulatus Lychnis flos-cuculi Mentha aquatica Myosotis caespitosa Poa trivialis Polygonum persicaria Prunella vulgaris Ranunculus acris R. flammula R. repens Scrophularia aquatica Scutellaria galericulata Senecio jacobaea Stellaria alsine Typha latifolia Urtica dioica HRA OF HAHAH OHH O OAH HHOHR ORR HAHAH OM WM HH By Donald Grose, F.L.S. 2715 J. effusus o *Viola palustris r Lotus uliginosus O O O Lycopus europaeus * Myosotis secunda has been Lysimachia nummularia found (Sandwith) D. Ponds Only one pond was found to be of interest. 32. Pond near the east boundary. Partly dry. The rarer plants found were:— Carex ovalis tr “Juncus conglomeratus I *Eleocharis palustris ssp. micro- — *Peplis portula Oo carpa tr Ranunculus flammula oo * *Veroni Il “Juncus acutifiorus fe) eronica scutellata fe) TRACKS The unmetalled tracks are little-used but there appears to be sufficient disturbance to hold the larger-growing plants in check. 33. A grassy track near the Lower Lake. Species seen iuicluded:— *Aphanes microcarpa r Myosotis caespitosa f Callitriche stagnalis a *Plantago coronopus r *Centaurium pulchellum tr Sagina apetala r C. minus o *S. nodosa f *Euphrasia conjisa o — S. procumbens r *Isolepis setacea rt *Samolus valerandi ) 34. A damp track near the Raven Fir. Centunculus minimus red:~it 71s known in only one other locality in North Wilts. Callitriche stagnalis tr *Juncus kochii i *Carex echinata r Pedicularis sylvatica r *C. nigra r *Peplis portula Oo *Centunculus minimus r Ranunculus flammula f Gnaphalium uliginosum r *Sieglingia decumbens r *Isolepis setacea r rs Juncus bufonius tr ™*Montia verna has been J. bulbosus O found (Collett) SANDPITS There are two large disused sandpits which are largely grass-grown. The plants found were very much the same as those listed above for locality 24. Additions were: 35. Old sandpit near the Upper Lake. *Viola canina. 36. Grass-grown sandpit near the Wansdyke. *Spergularia rubra. VOL, EVY--CC a 2/6 A Botanical Survey of Spye Park Additional species noted by the writer in the Park:— Carex demissa Trifolium filiforme Cerastium semidecandrum T. striatum Gnaphalium sylvaticum Viscum album Additional species which have been recorded but are not known to the writer within the restricted area covered by the survey :— Agrostis canina Erica cinerea (2 extinct) Alchemilla vestita Luzula sylvatica Blechnum spicant Nardus stricta Blysmus compressus Thelypteris oreopteris Calamagrostis epigejos Turritis glabra (known nearby) Carex binervis Ulex gallii C. distans (2 error) Vicia sylvatica C. pulicaris 217 ENTOMOLOGICAL REPORT FOR 1953 by B. W. WEDDELL The reports which have reached me, and there have been fewer than usual, all indicate a disappointing season for moths and butterflies. One very experienced observer describes it as the worst ever, and from my own experience I can well believe it. The early summer produced reports of some very interesting migrants, quite the most notable being the Small Marbled (Eublemma parva), of which at least one reached Wiltshire. The Ni moth (Plusia ni), and Striped Hawk (Celerio livornica) were again recorded; sce list below These early pioneers were, alas, unable to produce a British generation. Our climate was no doubt too much for them. At any rate no late appearances were reported. Even in a poor season interesting and valuable observations are possible and can be more important than a long list of species given without comment. One gets so much mote satisfaction from spotting a moth at rest in its natural surroundings, and protected only by its camouflage, than from identifying a plethora of moths attracted into a trap by a Mercury Vapour light. The extraordinarily mild autumn which persisted till after Christ- mas was very favourable to the late species. The Sprawler and Decem- ber moth were unusually abundant. The emergence of some of the spring insects was hastened. For instance, the Small Quaker (T.cruda) normally out in March was taken on December 14th, I believe a record. I commend to your attention the following article by C. M. R. Pit- man on an experiment he is engaged upon, in which our members’ observations may be of great assistance. In conclusion, let me thank all who have sent in reports, however brief. Many have not been acknowledged but all are safely collated in a card index which has been prepared as a first step to the establishing of an official Wiltshire list of Lepidoptera. PHENOLOGICAL RECORD Average 1953 Difference Large White April 28 May 2 — 4 Garden Carpet April 28 May 2 —4 Cinnabar May 15 May 5 +10 Brimstone Moth May 15 May 18 — 3 Meadow Brown June 24 June 24 — Marbled White June 23 June 28 — 5 The 278 Entomological Report for 1953 CONTRIBUTORS B.W. B. W. Weddell, Trowbridge C.F. Charles Floyd, Holt C.M.R.P. C.M.R. Pitman, Salisbury DS. Dauntsey’s School, N.H.S. G.H.W.C. G. H. W. Cruttwell, Frome G.W.C. G. W. Collett, Chippenham js. J. A. J. Smith, Bradford-on-Avon M.C. Marlborough College N.HLS. M.C.E. Miss Muriel Foster, Aldbourne R.A. Capt. R. A. Jackson, R.N. (Retd.), C.B.E., Codford R.W. Ralph Whitlock, Pitton — S.B. S. F. M. Burge, Marlborough Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria C.M.R.P. 23.3, G.W.C. 2-5, M.C.F. 25.9 Wall Brown Pararge megera M.GC, 24.5,, GW.C5.6 Gatekeeper Maniola tithonus M,C. 12.77-G WC. 24497 Rinelet Aphantopus hyperanthus C.M.R.P. 5.7, G.W.C. 21.7 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary Pearl-bordered Fritillary Argynnis euphrosyne Silver-washed Fritillary Marsh Fritillary Red Admiral Painted Lady Peacock Comma Long-tailed Blue Common Blue Argynnis selene M.C. 7.6, G.W.C. 8.6 M. C1245, COMER. PB: (scarce) M.C. 2.7, S.B. increasing C.M.R.P. 5.5, M.C. 20.5 G.W.C. 1.8, M.C.F. 9.8, C.M.R.P. 10.11, -very late record Argynnis paphia Euphydryas aurinea Vanessa atalanta Vanessa cardui M.C.F. 4.6 (pale), C.NCRIPS "519° tte light !) Nymphalis io R.W. 29.1 Polygonia c. album (var hutchinsoni) M.C. 8.7, G.W.C. 12.7 Lampides boeticus G.H.W.C. 26.9. Very rare Polyommatus icarus M.C-F: 30.52°C:MaREBs 13.8, female paired with male coridon Chalkhill Blue Small Copper Small White Orange Tip Clouded Yellow Lysandra coridon Lycaena phlaessa Pieris rapae Anthocharis cardamines Colias croceus C.M.R.P. 12.7 M.C.F. 27.8, G.W:C. re- ports complete absence GW.C. 23.3—7.10 G.W.C. 22.4, C.M.R.P. 8.5, 23.6 (L) on cabbage C.M.R.P. 28.7 1 only i i Speckled Wood—Small Angleshades 219 Death’s Head Hawk Convolvulus Hawk Striped Hawk Poplar Kitten Sallow Kitten Lunar Marbled Brown Pebble Prominent Chocolate Tip Figure of Eighty Lesser Satin Lutestring Lesser Lutestring Frosted Green Pale Eggar Emperor Pebble Hooktip Barred Hooktip Scalloped Hooktip Least Black Arches White Ermine Garden Tiger Scarlet Tiger Large Footman Orange Footman Alder Garden Dart White-line Dart Green Arches Marbled Coronet Antler Dusky Sallow Deep Brown Rustic Black Rustic Merveille-du-jour Small Angleshades Acherontia atropos Herse convolvuli Celerio livornica Cerura hermelina Cerura furcula Chaonia ruficornis Notodonta ziczac Clostera curtula Tethea ocularis Tethea duplaris Asphalia diluta Polyploca ridens Trichura crataegi Saturnia pavonia Drepana falcataria Drepana cultraria Drepana lacertinaria Celama confusalis Spilosoma lubricipeda Arctia caja C.M.R.P. 6.7 (Tollard Royal) S.B. 11.9 C.M-ER-P 23.6 ‘at: xest’ ‘on St Martins Church, Salisbury Another on same day from Tollard Royal. Migrants from Continent. RIAY. 9 $2552. C.F: B.W. 24.5 R.A.J. 5 and 8, B.W. 24.5 B.W. 4.5, M.C. 6.5 M.C. 6.5, C.F. 13:5 M.C. 19.5, B.W. 24.5 C.M.R.P. 5.8 (L) M.C. 5.7, B.W. 13.8 C.M.R.P. 10.10 BIW. 5§.5 C.M-R.P. 2.9, C.F. 8.9 R-A.J.. 5-5 B:W. 5.5, M.C. 7.6 M.C. 23.5 M.C. 8.5 B.W. 5.5 CLP. 4.5,-B. W «24.10, un= usually late date C.F..8.5) very: early .date, M.C.F. 4.7 23-5; Panazia dominula C.M.R.P. 3.7 Lithosia quadra C.F. 3:8 Eilema sororcula B. W. 24.5 Apatele alni C.F) 24.5,'31:5 Euxoa nigricans IMEC 17-7 Euxoa tritici (var aquilina) C.F. 27.7. An interesting Anaplectoides prasina Hadena conspersa Cerapteryx graminis Eremobia ochroleuca Aporophila lutulenta Aporophila nigra Eriposia aprilina Euplexia lucipara capture, as the normal form is not known nearer than coast C.F. 124.63 M:G.:25.6 C.M.R.P. 28:6 IM. Co r77, C.M.R.P. 15.8 C.M.R..P. 2.9 C.F. 17.10, unusual inland in the South Ae] 27.9; 23.10 CLF224:6 C.MER:P: 280 Old Lady Small Clouded Brindle Cloud-bordered Brindle Double Lobed Butterbur Large Wainscot Downland (or Brighton) Wainscot Small Quaker Northern Quaker Lunar Underwing Orange Sallow Common Sallow Dark Chestnut Mullein Shark Striped Shark Chamomile Shark Four-spotted Small Marbled Ni Moth Maiden’s Blush Clay Triple-lines Birch Mocha Shaded Belle Small Seraphim Scallop Shell Grey Pine Carpet Sharp-angled Carpet Royal Mantle Beautiful Carpet Small White Wave Marbled Pug Pinion-spotted Pug Oak-tree Pug Fern Brindled White-spot Horse Chestnut Mormo maura Apamea unanimis Apamea crenata Apamea ophiogramma Hydraecia petasitis Rhizedra lutosa Oria musculosa Orthosia cruda Orthosia advena Omphalosceles lunosa Tiliacea citrago Cirrhia icteritia Conistra ligula Cucullia verbasci Cucullia lychnitis Cucullia chamomillae Acontia luctuosa Eublemma parva Plusia ni Cosymbia punctaria Cosymbia linearia Cosymbia pendularia Ortholitha chenopodiata Mysticoptera sexalisata Calocalpe undulata Thera obeliscata Euphyia unangulata Euphyia cuculata Mesoleuca albicillata Asthena albulata Eupithecia irriguata Eupithecia insignata Eupithecia dodoneata Horisme tersata Ectropis extersaria Pachycnemia hippocastanaria Entomological Report for 1953 C.F, 28.8 R.A.J. common May and June CLE .6.7, M:Gi2as C.M.R.P. 28.6 B.W. 25.8, R.A.J. very rare this year R.A.J. 12.10 R.A.J. 2.8 and onwards, common C.F? 1.4; CANEReRiag. 3? 14.12, and early record CLF. 535; RaAGE 1045 7.5, common to light B.W. 22.9 (melanic form) CF 20:0 B.W. 20.9 C.M.R.P. 24.11 C.M.R.P. 19.7, found lar- vae of these feeding to- gether M.C. 6.5 B.W. 2.7 R-A.J. 26:5; tovlight. A notable capture R.A.J. 9.6. another rare migrant M.C. 9.6 M. 23.5 C.M.R.P. 4.4. M.C. 14.7 B.W. 5.5 M.C. 7.7 B.W. 25.5 M.C. 27.6 R.A.J. 6.7 M.C. 11.7 M.C. 21.5 Ay $25 RAS ASS R.A]. 20.5 B.W. 3.7 M.C. 7.6 C.M.R.P. 10.5 281 AN EXPERIMENT WITH MARKED BUTTERFLIES The movement of birds has been studied by ringing the adults and nestlings, with some interesting results. To follow the movement of butterflies is however a much more difficult problem, which has inter- ested me for a very long time. After several unsuccessful attempts, a further experiment was carried out here in 1953. This consisted of rearing, marking and liberating largenumbers of Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies with a view to tracing their wanderings. The method of marking adopted was to apply one or more spots of old gold lacquer, to one or more wings, with a fine camel hair brush. The advantages of this method were that it did not impede flight, was permanent and most readily observed in flight. From June to August 2581 Peacocks and 1333 Small Tortoiseshells were bred, marked and released from Clarendon, S.E. of Salisbury. Of these 36 Peacocks and 74 Tortoiseshells were recovered from over one mile away from the point of release. It is of special interest that nearly all of the long distance recoveries were from the north or north east. The most distant was a Small Tortoiseshell found at Bulford 19 days after release. The farthest Peacock was found at Amesbury 16 days after liberation. Apart from notices in the local press, in The Entomologist’s Record and contact with local organisations, the experiment was not widely known. Many of the butterflies may have travelled long distances and have remained unrecorded. However as both of these butterflies are well-known hibernators, it is more than likely that many of the marked butterflies will reappear in the spring, probably well to the worth of the point of liberation. If any should be seen, the author —nould be most grateful to have the report; if possible, with the return of the insect. Full details of the experiment, with tables of release and recovery, may be found in the Entomologist’s Record, vol. 65, p. 221; vol. 66, pp. 8—12. C.EM. R. Prrman, Malvern, Clarendon, Salisbury. 282 NATURAL HISTORY SECTION ANNUAL STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS, 1953 RECEIPTS Win sand Balance, 31st Dec.; 1952 32 13 11 Members’ subscriptions— TZ at gO ua. i AG Eee Reprints oe I5 0 Museum Bird Fund Lee SOMO £85 16 II Hon Treasurer: G. W. COLLeETT. 31st Dec., 1953 PAYMENTS Postages & Stationery :— Hon. Secretary Hon. Treasurer Printing and typing Magazine reprint Wiltshire Archzological Society, 1/- per member 6 Hire of Rooms .. Affiliation Fees :— British Trust for Orni- thology South Western Niéeinalintg Press and Field Meeting Museum Bird Fund 4 Balance—31st December, 1953 Audited and found correct, E. C. BARNES, 2oth Jan., 1954. . 46 eI 4 A wn AO 000” eI (oe) oo 00 oo i) £85 283 ROMAN POTTERY REPAIRS by A. SHaw MELLoR In March 1954 Mr. H. Morrison of Euridge, near Colerne, while making some investigations on a recently discovered Roman site in that neighbourhood, un-earthed a quantity of Roman debris, inclu- ding much broken pottery; among these sherds was a piece of a shallow bowl of undecorated terra sigillata. This fragment was of unusual interest in that it had retained in situ, on one broken edge, a complete metal rivet of a peculiar shape, which had evidently held in position a similar fragment.1 The writer has, on several occasions, un-earthed sherds of terra sigillata displaying drilled holes on their edges, evidently for the purpose of holding wire rivets such as are used in the modern practice of rivetting broken pottery, but he has never beforecome across an actual rivet in situ, particularly one of this odd shape; however, on making some investigation at the Devizes Museum, he found several instances of broken Samian vessels which had been repaired in Roman times with rivets of the same shape and kind as the Euridge example. He has also found the following statement by Thomas Wright in his book “ The Celt, the Roman and the Saxon” :—“ It is by no means unusual to find bowls and paterae of Samian ware that have been broken by their possessors in former times and subsequently mended, generally by means of leaden rivets.” He was sufficiently interested to make some experiments to try to discover how this peculiar method of rivetting pottery was accom- plished. The shape of the rivet is roughly that of a St. Andrew’s Cross, and the material of which it is composed is apparently of the nature of a hard lead alloy; this fact led to the conclusion that the rivet-holes had probably been formed first, and subsequently filled with molten metal. How could such odd shaped holes be made? A practical trial appeared to be necessary; a sherd of plain Samian was selected as corpus vile, and to the surprise of the writer he found that the material could be easily cut with a fine-toothed saw or file, and he was able to form holes in the edge of the sherd more or less similar in shape to that of the rivet. He next proceeded to break a sherd of Samian ware into two more or less equal portions, a somewhat tricky operation; a suitable position on the line of fracture was marked, and holes were cut into 1 The author has kindly defrayed the cost of tbe plate which illustrates this article. VOL. LV=-CC U 284 Roman Pottery Repairs both sides of the fracture, so that when the two portions were replaced in position a cross-shaped hole resulted. The two portions were then bound together temporarily with wire, and laid on a bed of fine sand. Next a soldering bit was heated and tinned, and some ordinary fused solder was dripped into the hole, either with or without a flux. After the material had cooled and the wire had been removed, it was found that a reasonably firm joint had been made between the two frag- ments. This experiment has been repeated several times with variations, and, in the opinion of the writer, was the method used in Roman times for this type of repair, at any rate in this region; similar experiments were made with the inferior kinds of pottery, but the results were not very satisfactory, owing to the more friable nature of the paste and the difficulty of cutting properly shaped holes. It is doubtful if the Romans had any kind of waterproof cement which could have been used in connection with such rivetted joints; if they had not, I am afraid that the repaired vessels would not have been of much use, save for decorative purposes, for they would ob- viously not have been water-tight. The fact that the Romans were willing to go to the trouble and expense of this rather complicated method of repairing terra sigillata is evidence that they attached considerable importance to its artistic value. Upper figure. Roman rivets; 706K, 706C, Devizes Museum recently unearthed. Lower figure. Modern experimental rivets in Samian sherds. ; Euridge specimen GSVPERISPELAVI RERADE SEGEGLIS q | SV SRPOCMNGESV PVE SPVEGOGENCELEGISE MONN PAY: ENOYNE ABE VERE ISINSFEING: LAY | MOK OGAM ONDEREBRISSELINOVELEGY: ‘SE DEMONPOG GHONUN PSREY § VSG (SE | REN\ LN{BEYVESANSNEVAY MACENG OM (sé 285 A LOST WINDOW OF GREAT BEDWYN CHURCH By GrorcE SMITH (and others) The illustration that accompanies this article is reproduced by permis- sion of the Earl of Leicester and of Dr. Hassall, his librarian, from a coloured drawing preserved among the MSS. of the great judge Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634) in the Library at Holkham Hall, Norfolk. Below the figure as there drawn is written:— This antiquitie was taken outt of a glass window within the church off Bedwin Magna in the countie off Wilshire with those versis on the other side written in such wise by this picture as it is sett down there.? The hand that wrote these words is stated by Dr. Hassall not to be that of Sir Edward Coke, and the same early 17th century hand has added on the last folio of the book a slightly altered version of the Anglo-Norman verse which does little to improve it. The drawing and the inscription were seen at Holkham early in the 18th century by Peter Le Neve (1661-1729), Norroy King of Arms, from whom Stukeley obtained the particulars and, perhaps, the translations. Le Neve’'s chief interest was in Norfolk history, and he searched the Coke MSS. with that in view, but the Dictionary of National Biography tells us that he corresponded with Bishop Tanner and offered to help him with his contemplated History of Wiltshire. Hence, we may suppose, his interest in this drawing. When Stukeley visited Great Bedwyn the glass was no longer in existence, and his description? opens with two mis-statements:—" In the east window of this church was the picture of a priest...” Wherever this portrait stood, at least we cannot believe that it was in the east window, nor does the note quoted above suggest that it did. To the other mis-statement we shall come shortly. Stukeley’s description of the figure is followed by the inscription. He reproduces the Lombardic original in Gothic type, the nearest no doubt available, and he, or his informant, Le Neve, suppressed a dittography in the second line, where it will be seen that SAPVE follows SV APVE (suis appuye) and suggests that the original copyist was not 1 Holkham MS. 712. See also Hist. MSS. Comm. 7th Report. II. p. 372. 2 In the plate opposite, which we owe to Mr. George Smith, the inscription is placed below the figure, where it presumably stood in the window—Eprror. 3 Ttinerarium Curiosum (1724) p.61. In the two volume edition of 1776 it comes a few pages later in vol. I. U2 286 A Lost Window of Great Bedwyn Church at ease in Anglo-Norman or perhaps confused by the absence of all divisions in the Lombardic lettering. G SV PERIS APELE VIKERE DE SET EGLISE SV MA POTENTE SV APVE [SAPVE] TOT EN TELE GYSE MON HANAP AY EN POYNE E BEVEREI SANS FEINTISE MON POT A MON DERER MISS E LA NOVELE GYISE DE MON POT E MON HANAP SEREY IVSTISE KE NVL NI BEYVE SANS NE Y AY M ATENTE MISE Thereafter Stukeley printed a version in modern French and another in English, but, as the French was scarcely accurate, even in his own century, and both mistake the meaning of the last line, we may be excused for substituting another translation. The original, for all its dots, remains unpunctuated, and hitherto it seems always to have been read as if a comma followed APELE (appele). That explains the second misconception in Stukeley’s description, since, if we suppose a comma to precede APELE, we need no longer assume that the man was in holy orders. I am Peris, called vicar of this church. I am leaning on my crutch dressed just as you behold; My cup is in my grasp, and I'll drink without pretence; Behind me stands my can as cans are placed today. My can and cup I'll keep under my jurisdiction That none who drinks therefrom escape my eye.! The subject of this sorry doggerel (and we are not referring merely to the translation!) loses much when he appears in black and white. We have received however this account of the original drawing from Mr. R. B. Pugh who had, through the kindness of Dr. Hassall, an opportunity of examining it : — The figure of Peris was originally sketched in pencil. He stands on an olive- green mount. His headdress is trimmed with gold. The triangular object below the headdress? is red with gold lattice work. The inner garment is red, the outer white with gold trimming on the sleeves. The stockings are red, 1 Stukeley’s French version reads in the last line: Que nul ne boive sans que ny ai m’autant mis which is translated: “‘ For none shall drink without putting in as much again.” The grammar of m’autant is baffling. Miss Louise Stone of King’s College, London, confirms our conviction that m’atente represents the modern mon attention. She regards the Anglo-Norman verse as late, i.e. of the 14th or 15th century, and the work of one more used to English idiom than French. 2 Perhaps an exposure of the inner garment, showing ornamentation on the reast, or an embroidery.on,.the outer one. 1 i A Lost Window of Great Bedwyn Church 287 cross-gartered' in black. The shoes are white. The background (or is it the lining of a cloak?) is black, trimmed with red. The jug and bowl are gold’, the crutches buff. That should surely dismiss any idea that the costume is ecclesiastical, as the whole precludes any thought of serious intention. Yet the cut of the costume’, the can, the inscription* and the name may all belong to the 14th or isth century, though they appear only, at second hand, in the 16th. The mockery, then, is of some well-known medieval character of Bedwyn. There was a Henry Perys at Durnford in 1309 and others of the name at Avebury and Wraxall about the same time’. But when we ask how a member of that family found himself in a stained glass window with so sportive an inscription, an answer is not immediately forthcoming—unless it be that he never did. But that involves the supposition that Sir Edward Coke allowed himself to be hoaxed, which is extremely unlikely. The figure suggests either a congenital cripple or the victim of an early accident.” For such a man the readiest means to a livelihood was begging, and the most profitable place for a beggar was the church door. The cup he holds has a strong suggestion of a begging bowl and may have served that purpose too, but it is evident that he solaced his bodily ilis with the clink of the cannikin and had, in the matter of liquor at least, a strong sense of the rights of property. And we may guess it was his constant attendance at the church door that won him the nickname of “ the Vicar.” Mr. E. R. Pole, on the other hand, would like to associate the portrait with the custom of Church Ales. He quotes an entry from Doran’s History of Reading:— 1449. Paid for making the church [of St. Lawrence] clean against the day Gimemmcnc it the said Church) 202) eet iid. and passages from Aubrey’s Collections and Warton’s History of Poetry showing that at Church Ales collections were made for the poor, 1 The effect of cross-gartering, which we connect with the 17th century, might be produced by a pattern in black on the red stocking. 2 Perhaps to indicate brass, though the can is mainly of wood. 3 Prof. Francis Wormald regards the costume as indicating ‘“‘ the 15th or possibly 14th century.” 4 The matrix of a vanished brass of the middle 14th century shows traces of an Anglo-Norman inscription preserved for us by Stukeley in his account of Bedwyn church. ROGER.DE.STOCKE.CHEV.ICI.GYCHT.DEU.DE.SA.ALME.EYT.MERCI. 5 I.P.M. Wilts. p. 365 and F.F. (Records Branch Vol. I) pp. 75, 83. ° A disability which would have debarred him from holy orders, were there still any question of his having entered them. 288 A Lost Window of Great Bedwyn Church church repairs and like objects. Did Peris preside at them in this resplendent costume? What Peris had done to earn commemoration in a church window remains a mystery. His was probably nota large figure, but the drawing gives no hint of the original scale. Medieval wood-carvers, sculptors and illuminators were allowed to indulge in frivolity and satire to a remarkable extent. It would seem that the glazier, in one instance at least, enjoyed a similar privilége.1 Who commissioned or permitted the work we shall never know, but it proclaims a certain affection for an afflicted man with a weakness that has often been condoned. 1 A delightful modern example occurs at the foot of the memorial window to Lewis Carrollin Daresbury church, N. Cheshire, where Bill the Lizard, the Dormouse and the Cheshire Cat as Tenniel drew them appear in separate glass panels with other characters from Alice in Wonderland as supporters. This article owes much to many hands. The authors acknowledge particular obligations to Mr. R. B. Pugh, whose assistance was by no means confined to the description of the coloured drawing, to Mr. H. de S. Shortt and Mr. P. E. C. Hayman, Chaplain of Marlborough College, as well as to those whose opinions are quoted elsewhere. 289 NOTES Daggers and axes at Stonehenge. The discovery of carvings on stone 53 and others was published by Mr. R. J. C. Atkinson in Proc. Prehist. Soc. this spring. More effective photographs, doubtless: from the same camera, appeared in the IIlustrated London News for March 13th. A Mycenaean dagger is there seen beside what looks very like an Irish axe-head of the period, and the same figures appear elsewhere. A similar association of carvings comes from a barrow at Badbury, Dorset. These daggers have been interpreted as the sign manual of some Mycenaean master-builder, but his particular qualifications for employment on the Stonehenge job are not clear. Moreover, there are as many axes as daggers on these stones. There seems some danger of the daggers stealing the lime-light and adding yet another injustice to Ireland’s lengthy list. Her Neolithic masons had already produced at New Grange the only other dressed stones of comparable date known in Northern Europe. Was it not from “ Killaraus, a mountain in Ireland ” that Merlin took the very stones we are now considering ? Geoffrey of Monmouth would not have been so far astray after all— if we left the actual stones out of account! These Irish axes are well enough known, but no such Mycenaean dagger has been found in Britain, though other wares from Greece and Crete contributed to the Wessex Culture of the period. The Irish and the Mycenaean trade-routes met in Wiltshire: these carvings seem to symbolize the fact. The Normanton Barrows. The letter of Mr. Guy Underwood drawing attention to the assault on this scheduled and supposedly protected group was given all possible prominence by The Times on April 23rd last and brought many other expressions of indignation including a pronunciamento from a distinguished group of British archaeologists in Madrid. The day Mr. Underwood’s letter appeared the Minister of Works himself arrived on the site, where Mr. Mey- tick, who went with equal promptitude on behalf of our Society, happened to meet him. Some days later, in answer to a question in the House, the Minister expressed his intention of examining the situation in conjunction with the Ancient Monuments Board to discover what further steps could be taken. Later the Ministry of Agriculture revealed that an application for a grant in order to plough 290 Notes the land concerned had been previously refused because scheduled barrows were involved. Pao A careful report made by Mr. Meyrick has been sent to the Ancient Monuments Department, which expressed its thanks for the full picture of the destruction and its hope that positive action might in this case result (a clear reference to the unsatisfactory conclusion of the Manton Barrow inquiry). Mr. Meyrick’s report showed that the recent damage by the “ prairie-buster’’ involved four barrows. Two had been almost obliterated by deep ridge and furrow; another large barrow had lost its ditch on two sides, and the small long barrow was much defaced and had lost the ditch of its southern half. He also noted that ordinary ploughing had damaged the group over a number of years and that this previous destruction involved three disc barrows and two others, one of which, though still seven feet high, is now all under the plough. The Normanton group is one of the few groups still remaining (despite much scheduling) in the neighbourhood of Stonehenge. It lies just south of the National Trust property surrounding Stone- henge as another important group lies just west of it by Winter- bourne Stoke cross-roads. It has been urged by Dr. J. F. S. Stone that every effort should be made to have both these barrow groups, so significant in the history of Stonehenge and the Wessex Culture, included in the National Trust area, where they might be secure from possible further danger. In the meantime it is some consolation to know that “ busting” has at least been stopped. The Wiltshire Times celebrated its centenary in the month of May 1954. Like the Salisbury Journal six years ago, it can boast of remaining for a hundred years in the hands of the same family, though it cannot vie with the Journal in length of days or continuity of title. We extend to the present representative of the Lansdown family and to a staff on which long service is traditional the congratulations of this Magazine, which crossed the same line a year earlier. ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS TO PREVIOUS ARTICLES AND NOTES Late Bronze Age Razors Mr. H. J. Case writes: In a footnote on page 168 of the December issue (WAM lv), I gave my opinion that the blanks of some of the Late Bronze Age razors were likely to have TE Notes 291 been cast in open moulds. I should have made it plain that this was based on the apparent thinness of the razors in finished condition—the one from Winterslow, Wilts. (WAM x\lviii, 177), for example, being only about -063 in. thick, slightly thinner than the Beaker Culture Knife from the same barrow—and that the mould from Ballymena, Co. Antrim (P.P.S. XII, Pl. VU, x0), which in use could only have been the valve of a closed mould (Mrs. Piggott, loc. cit., 141), was evidence to the contrary. A Flint Dagger from Avebury (?). Since my note appeared in WAM ly, p. 176, I have discussed this implement with Mr. W. E. V. Young, who informs me that it was evidently obtained from an antique dealer who used to live at Avebury. It cannot therefore be regarded as a properly attested archaeological find. In the words of Colt Hoare, fronti nulla fides ! L. V. GRINSELL. Initials on Rainwater Heads. Following the appearance of my article on “ Long’s Stores, Devizes”’ in the December Magazine I have had two replies from readers respecting the initials JAM on the rain-water heads. Mr. E. G. H. Kempson of Marlborough states. “From similar instances, e.g. on the 17th-century token coinage, it is almost certain that the “M’ is the initial of John Anstie’s wife. Thus one can read both J. A. (John Anstie) and M. A. (Margaret or Mary Anstie).” Mr. A. D. Passmore of Wanborough writes in like vein as follows: “The three letter formula is common in the 17th and 18th centuries and the top letter is always the surname, the left-hand the man’s name and the right the woman’s, thus . . . John and Mary Anstie.” Mr. Passmore goes on to say he has many such initials on pottery in his collection. I think the explanation fits the case very well. John Anstie’s wife was a Mary Veysie whom he married in 1780 and there was one daughter, Mary Ann, b. 1781. Wn. E. Brown. A similar explanation has also been received from the Rev. B. Lamplugh of Littleton Drew. Charter Headings. By a regrettable oversight these words were twice allowed to appear as Charter Readings in Mr. Shaw Mellor’s “ Further note’ on the subject on page 175 of our last issue. 292 WILTSHIRE BOOKS, ARTICLES, ETC. Stonehenge in the light of Modern Research by Dr. J. F. S. Stone was published last year, as was also the Ministry of Works guide, Stonehenge, Wiltshire, by Mr. R. S. Newall. Professor Piggott’s Stonehenge Reviewed appeared in Aspects of Archaeology (1951). The three authors have recently collaborated in excava- tions on the site and agree upon the sequence recognizable in the monument. First came the Ditch, Bank, Aubrey Holes and “ some unknown central feature,” perhaps a cremation cemetry. The radio- active carbon dating of charcoal from an Aubrey Hole agrees closely enough with the Late Neolitihc period deduced archaeologically. The Stone Circles and Avenue came next, the former perhaps a copy in stone of a wooden original, though that process has no parallel in archaeological experience till the 2nd century B.C., and then as far away as India. The substitution of stone for wood in the Overton Hill Sanctuary at a date not far removed from the second phase at Stonehenge involved, of course, no imitation of carpenter's work. Piggott and Stone assign this phase to the period 1500-1300 B.C., but here Newall parts company, regarding both phases as earlier than 1900 B.C. As for the third phase, the untidy Y and Z Holes, they are agreed that it came after the erection of the sarsen circle. In Piggott’s account “ certain outlying stones ’’ belong to the second phase, but Stone distinguishes between the untrimmed Heelstone and the Slaughter Stone, which is dressed like the inner sarsens, a process to which Piggott finds no parallel in North Europe of like date save at New Grange in Ireland. Stone connects the Four Stations with the Circles, and the axis of the monument with the midsummer sunrise, but finds no evidence of sun-worship in the Bronze Age. No one seems to have suggested it till the later 18th century. In this connection Newall develops a theory first put forward by Abercromby 150 years ago. The solstitial alignment, he suggests, has. reference not to the midsummer sunrise but to the midwinter sunset diametrically opposite. We must in fact turn our backs on the Heel- stone and look through what was once the opening in the great trilithon at 4 o’clock on a December evening to see (if we are lucky) the sun set over the downs to the south-west. The argument involves the Four Stations by the outer Bank and the central stone of the Blue-stone Horseshoe, which served a purpose like that commonly assigned to the Heelstone in the other direction. We cannot here Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. 293 discuss the details of this interesting theory, but we note that two stones which Newall does not mention, 15 and 16 of the sarsen circle, offered at least no obstruction to the line of sight. The theory might even serve to explain why the whole monument culminated in that central trilithon. An Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Petersfinger near Salisbury, Wilts, by E. T. Leeds and H. de S. Shortt, Salisbury, South Wilts and Blackmore Museum, St. Ann’s Street, Salisbury, 1953 (7s. 6d.). The site of the cemetery is a quarry, and the graves were disclosed in the course of operations in 1948 and 1951. The fragmentary—some- times bull-dozed—grave-goods found with the 64 interments thus exposed suggest a long occupation of some neighbouring site, as yet unidentified but possibly at Britford across the Avon, which began somewhere about the middle of the 6th century. At that time the mixed horde of ancestors whom we convention- ally call the Anglo-Saxons were recovering from the blow dealt them by the British 50 years earlier at Mount Badon. For a whole generation their energies had been turned to continental adventure, but now the settlers in South Hampshire and the Isle of Wight—Franks or Jutes or Franco-Jutes—advanced up the Avon towards the river-junctions near Salisbury which promised to open to them five valleys for settlement once the British were overpowered. Evidence of that advance has not been plentiful in South Wiltshire, which suggests that the initial move- ment into this country was a rapid one and water-borne. Mr. Leeds, however, describes it as slow and more of a military adventure than a large-scale immigration, an association of pace and purpose unusual, we venture to think, in 6th century England. Barrow burials at Combe Bissett and Winterslow, cemeteries at Witherington, Harnham Hill and Winterslow, and a few isolated finds are all that has hitherto been reported in this area. But now we have a cemetery comparable in size and contents with that at Harnham Hill. As in that case, its occupants were men, women and children, and when you have disentangled them they prove to be fairly equally divided into those categories. The skulls from Harnham examined by Thurnam were all brachy- cephalic, while those from Petersfinger are described (but with less evidence to go upon) as typically longheaded. Arms, especially swords, were perhaps more plentiful at Petersfinger, but in general the new evidence strongly confirms the old and points to the prevailing Frankish characteristics of the invaders, as also to the settlements that followed 294 Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. the year 552, when “ Cynric fought with the Britons in a place called Searabyrg and drove them into flight.” - Much attention is given in this report to the typology of the finds. Full accounts of the separate graves are followed by notes on the different classes of objects recovered and their probable dating. There are appendices on the weapons, textiles and skeletons, many illustrations in the text and eleven well-filled plates of the more interesting finds. The whole is preceded by a couple of maps which make us at once acquainted with Petersfinger in its physical setting. The Conquest cf Wessex in the 6th Century, by Gordon J. Copley, Phoenix House, 1954 (30s.). There is no Darker Age in the history of England than the sixth century, the first indeed in which “ England” has any meaning. Many attempts have been made to construct a reasonable account of it; some of them, like the picturesque narrative of J. R. Green or the sweeping strategic assumptions of Major Godsal—if the two may be mentioned in the same sentence—owe more to the imagination than to the evidence. But the advent of the archaeologist and the scientific study of place-names have made recent interpretations more cautious. No one ventures on a theory today without a good look round ail the latest materials, and Mr. Copley has spent, he tells us, ten years on the preparation of this book. In his opening chapters he summarises the previous history of the island and discusses in detail the sources of his evidence. Whether or not he accepts Aurelius Ambrosianus from Gildas as a real person is not very clear, but he believes in Arthur, for whom our only ultimate authority is Nennius. He does not consider whether, as E. K. Chambers hinted, these two “ Romans” may be one and the same. He makes no comment on those names from the stable-yard, Hengist and Horsa, about which Bede himself seemed sceptical. Among West Saxon leaders he accepts Cedric with his British name but rejects Port with his Latin one and Wihtgar as too reminiscent of his Isle of Wight. Regarding the views of his predecessors Mr. Copley is eclectic, as he has every right to be. From Leeds he accepts a reconquest of the Middle Thames but rejects his condemnation of the Chronicle. The British victory at Mount Badon is essential to his areument, but he declines to locate it as Liddington or anywhere else. He welcomes Stenton’s Fethanleag in N. Oxfordshire but rejects his Wodnesbeorg in favour of Grundy’s. His use of grave-goods and place-name evidence Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. 295 seems usually convincing, but it is unfortunate that he should select Braydon and Grovely as the only Wiltshire forests not “* completely renamed by the English.” Both seem wholly English names. Wansdyke he uses as a convenient line to separate the Thames Valley Saxons from the South Coast invaders, so that Middlesex and even Silchester are reckoned north of it. For its construction he can allow no date later than 500, since the threat from the south would have made it a waste of labour, as Bokerley was not. His explanation of the name Wansdyke takes no account of the only evidence, the Saxon charters. In his final chapters Mr. Copley has done with the denials and dubieties which other interpretations of the evidence have sometimes caused him and writes his own version of the West Saxon advance. Wibbandun is Wimbledon once more and Bedcanford Bedford, what- ever its early forms. From Charford to Banbury, from Wimbledon to Woden’s Barrow he carries his narrative, cautiously but persuasively, over 60 years and more of ill-charted history. But who defeated Ceawlin in that last battle we shall never surely know — only that it was the culmination of an internecine struggle whereafter ** Ceawlin was driven out.” There follow some highly useful appendices, especially that on place-names, burials and habitation sites, each carefully located and referred to printed sources. Much toil must have gone to this admirable compilation, and comment can only here be made on the Wiltshire sections. Dr. Young’s heathen site in Purton is said to be obscure. Surely the reference is to Teowes Thorne in the Saxon bounds as an instance of Tiw’s name. A British survival in the heart of Savernake Forest has escaped the author’s notice. The old name of Thornhill Pond there was Waellesmaere (for Wealasmaere) in 968 and still Walesmere in 1300, and the district immediately south of the pond, where a Romano-British kiln and other evidence of a British settle- ment were found many years ago by Dr. Crawford, is still known to the forest-dwellers as “Walesmore,”’ though the name is recorded on no official map. It happens to coincide with the only area in the Forest where the oak is still the dominant tree. To for names in Wiltshire might be added Tor Hill in Kington St. Michaei and the Tory heights of Bradford-on-Avon. There are ten useful maps in the text designed to show the distri- bution of an almost overwhelming variety of features. The most novel and notable is the indication of potential arable soils and probable 296 Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. wooded areas throwing more light on the pattern of settlement than the inclusion of contour lines would have done. It is not clear why in some maps a point is made of rivers that originally bore Celtic names. It must be true of every river in the island, even if they showed some lack of originality. Finally we must commend the plates, which are mostly of downland landscapes. Two of them provoke some Wiltshire criticism. Plate II purports to show the Kinwardstone and the moot of that Hundred. The moot idea is surely new, and the hole so called would not strike anyone who knows it as well adapted for such a purpose. But the sarsen (it lies north of the Chute Causeway) is of purely geological interest, if any; its identification with the Kinwardstone was never seriously accepted, and Mr. Copley’s caption shows some uneasiness about it. The likeliest site is on the Pewsey herapath where Burbage meets Grafton near Kinwardstone Farm. Plate IVb shows the ancient track climbing the combe under Knap Hill, which Mr. Copley would like to associate with the battle of 592. In the Alton charter it is called the Ealde Walweg which he would interpret as the Waelweg,”’ “ the slaughter road” in allusion to the Chronicle entry about the micel waelfill that there took place—a flight of fancy beyond the Saxons of the Pewsey Vale. The walweg was probably the Wealaweg, the road to the British village on Knap Hill where the Cunningtons found traces of occupation as late as the sixth century. Nor is this track to be identified (as on page 192) with the Ridgeway, which runs west of it, as is clearly shown on Plate Xa. But such errors detract little from our appreciation of Mr. Copley’s book. It is not perhaps as easy reading as he hoped—there is too much. in it for those who have not his long familiarity with the material to master at first sight. But he has woven it all into a story that holds the attention and persuades us that we have found a trustworthy guide through the wilderness of early Wessex. Bradon Forest, by T. R. Thomson, Oxford University Press for the Cricklade Historical Society, n.d. but 1953 (10s. 6d.). To write the history of a Forest in 30 pages is not easy, and Dr. Thomson makes no concessions to popular tastes. A brief survey of early references is followed by five pages on the extent of the Forest at different dates. It is hardly the author’s fault is they make hard reading. A section on the Woods is followed by one on the Wardens which owes its com-_ pleteness, as a prefatory note implies, to the industry of Dr. Grant. Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. 297 But Dr. Thomson has added some earlier material, and genealogical notes with a folder Pedigree illustrate a line of inquiry in which he excels. There are notes on other Forest officers and Courts followed by the story of the Disafforestation and subsequent ownership down to the present century. “ The word Bradon is pre-English and the meaning is unknown.” For this statement, with which his History opens, there is the best authority: it is the opinion of Ekwall and the Wiltshire Place-Names editors. Nevertheless one may be allowed to recall that Braydon Bottom in Savernake first appears (in a Bedwyn Charter of 996) as Braecdene, which is good Saxon for “the valley ofthe newly-ploughed land.” In the Brokenborough charter of 956, as Dr. Thomson reminds us, Bradon Forest is called, ““Ordwoldes wode now called Bradene,’’ which shows at least that Braden was not the original name. (Whether Ordwold was a man or a region, like Cottswold, we need not now inquire). The —-don form first occurs in a charter of which we only have the 12th century copy, and the form in the MSS of the A.S. Chronicle (sub anno 905) is commonly Braedene. The lands given to Malmesbury by King Ine lay in Garsdon and at the source of the Corsaburn. Dr. Thomson assumes that they lay on the same stream, but Grundy has shown that Corsaburn was the name, not of the Garesbourn or Woodbridge Brock, but of a west bank tributary of the Avon on which Corston lies. The relation of the different groups of surviving perambulations is clearly set out in a table. There is also a map which would have bene- fited from the attentions of a professional draughtsman, for the reduc- tion from the original scale and some other defects make it hard to read. Another table shows by a comparison of texts that a perambulation of 1606 was founded on the latest medieval bounds. Exigencies of space, no doubt, leave too much in the way of bridging gaps and interpreting difficult terms to the intelligence of the reader, which, as in the present instance, may prove inadequate. (What, for instance, does “Brochure”’ mean?). But we are grateful to Dr. Thomson for the elucidation of much Forest topography and for disentangling again the intricacies of later ownership. An account of this was given in considerable detail by Canon Manley in WAM, vol. xlv. Archaeology from the Earth, by Sir Mortimer Wheeler, Oxford University Press, 1954 (25s.) Those who heard the author speak at the 298 Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. Society’s centenary lunch will know that he can be relied on to enter- tain. A book dealing with the scientific principles involved in a properly conducted excavation might not be expected to offer scope for anything of the kind. Dead archaeology, in his own words, is the driest wind that blows; he is however a master of the vivid phrase, and the result is a lively account that should be read by all who take part in an excavation and invaluable for those who conduct one. Whilst making due allowance for the deficiencies of earlier excavators, he reserves more caustic comment for those, both past and present, whose work is not up to the standard of their era; the point is rubbed in by some very happily chosen photographs from their published reports. The broad rules laid down here apply to all excavations, but much of the detail is pertinent only to operations on the grand scale, which require such specialists as a whole-time photographer, a field-chemist and a plurality of draughtsmen. An excavation of this magnitude is now impracticable in this country, except as an occasional exercise in field-work for an army of students. Instead, Sir Mortimer issues a call to “‘ adventure ’ in the more advanced early civilisations of the East, leaving “the huts and graves of the uttermost rejects of the ancient world” who lived in these islands as a primary training-ground for budding archaeologists. One can but hope that all will not fall for the lure. The essential purpose of all excavations is to seek clearer evidence of the past; dare we suggest that clarity not only begins at home? O.M. Teach Yourself Archaeology, by S. Graham Brade-Birks, English Universities Press, (6s.) This is a primer of archaeology in the widest sense of the term, ranging in rather over 100 small pages from eoliths and soil-composition, through such by-ways as Runes and Ogham, and heraldry, to roth-century church architecture. This may seem to attempt too much, but the title is apt. Twenty-three short chapters comprise the rudiments of each topic; exercises set the reader on the path to follow this up, aided by a short but well-chosen list of books for further study. It will be found up-to-date on the theoretical side and full of practical instructions on such matters as rubbing brasses and deciphering old documents (the illustration of different 17th-century scripts copied from parish registers is eloquent of its pitfalls). The many drawings, though necessarily small, admirably support the text. Dr. Brade-Birks can be commended for maintaining a uniformly high standard in the very wide field that he has sethimself to cover. O.M. | | | Wiltshire Books, Articles, Etc. 299 The volume on Anthropology in the same series is by J. Manchip White. To this Society it is hardly of equal concern, for it soon leaves the subject of prehistoric anthropology to embark on studies of typical communities in the world today and the various aspects of cultural, social and “applied ” anthropology. It is all attractively written and tempts the reader to follow into regions he may not hitherto have explored—the origins of Mau Mau, for instance. There is a fortunate last minute addition (in the fullest detail that the smallest of type permits in the space contrived) of the recent discoveries about the Piltdown Skull, reinforcing the doubts already entertained by definite proof of an elaborate deception. Eoanthropus Dawsoni now gives place to the Swanscombe Skull as the earliest known remains of man in this part of the world. Two recent guides, to the Churches of Marlborough by the Rev. P. E. C. Hayman and St. Mary’s, Steeple Ashton by P.C. Yerburgh, are deserving of notice alike for the information they contain and their attractive appearance. The former sets right some misconceptions commonly entertained. Most notably perhaps as to the work of T. H. Wyatt, who has suffered from the reputation of his kinsman James of the preceding generation. The latter is a careful description of the Church of Steeple Ashton, and the twofold destruction of its vanished steeple by “the uncontroulable providence of Almighty God” in the year 1670 is recorded from contemporary sources. VOL. LV—CC VA 300 WILTSHIRE OBITUARIES EDWARD HILL FITCH, died at Marden Manor in Dec., 1953, aged 77. He was born at Howden, Yorkshire, his forbears having come over from Holland with Vermuyden in 1621 to drain the Lincolnshire fens; he had lived in Wiltshire for the past nine years. Keenly interested in etymology, particularly in the derivation of place-names, he was an enthusiastic supporter of this Society’s activities. He leaves a widow and family. MAJOR-GENERAL SIR EDWARD NORTHEY, died in Dec., 1953, aged 85. Son of Rev. E. W. Northey, educated at Eton, he was a member of a prominent Wiltshire family, owning much property in Box. Served through S. African War; went to France, Aug., 1914 in command of 1st King’s Royal Rifles, and promoted Brig.-General 1915. Commander of Nyasa-Rhodesia Field Forces in German E. Africa 1916-18; Governor of Kenya and High Commissioner Zanzibar Protectorate, 1918-22, G.O.C. 43rd (Wessex) Territorial Division 1924-26. He leaves two sons and two daughters. Obit.: Wiltshire Times, Jan., 2nd, 1954. JOSHUA WATTS BROOKE, died at Hastings on Feb. ist, 1954, aged 88. Born at Burbage and educated at Sydney College, Bath, he followed his father as district surveyor of Marlborough, a post which he held for 36 years, combining with it the Hungerford district for 26 of these; he retired from office in 1934. During this period he prepared a rights-of-way map which reclaimed for the public a large number of tracks either obstructed or closed, and this has been of great use during the recent survey. He was also a qualified architect. He early developed a bent for archaeology and in the course of his duties had exceptional opportunities for acquiring specimens; he amassed a large and varied collection, which necessitated adding a wing to his house in Marl- borough to hold it. Perhaps his chief interest centred on coins, of which more would be brought to him than anything else. He became an authority on this subject and a Fellow of the Numismatic Society. Apart from these he had a notably fine series of flint and bronze implements. Refusing an offer from America to buy the whole collection, he sold the greater part of it, excepting the coins, in 1916 to Devizes Museum, adding to it objects acquired later. There it is preserved as the Brooke Collection. He opened Roman wells at Lower Cunetio and Silbury and also some barrows. Obit.: Marlborough Times, Feb. 12th, 1954. ALEX HERBERT MACDONALD, died at Marlborough on Feb. sth, 1954, aged 83. Son of W. H. Macdonald, educated at Marlborough and Keble Coll., Oxford; Science master at Cheltenham 1894-7. Practised as a solicitor 1901-35; served with the R.A. in 1914-18 war. Settling in Marlborough on retirement, he was Hon. Treasurer and Assistant Secretary of the Records Branch of this Society 1938-47, keeping a skeleton organisation in being during the war years, to the Branch’s great advantage. : Obit.: Marlborough Times, Feb. 12th, 1954. | Wiltshire Obituaries 301 GEORGE AYLMER LAVERTON died on Feb. 8th, 1954, aged 65. Son of W. H. Laverton, of Westbury, educated at Harrow; with Wilts Regt. in India in 1914-18 war, becoming A.D.C. to Lord Willingdon as Governor of Bombay. A keen naturalist and sportsman, playing cricket forWiltshire. He leaves one son Obit.: Wiltshire Times, Feb. 13th, 1954. LIEUT.-COLONEL GEORGE THEODORE ELPHINSTONE KEITH, D.S.O., O.B.E., of The Limes, Oare, died on Feb. 11th, 1954, aged 73. Of Scottish stock and educated at Eton, he served in the S. AfricanWar and in France 1914-18, being awarded D.S.O. 1917 and gazetted O.B.E. After commanding 1st Bn. King’s Own Royal Regiment he retired to Oare in 1932. Taking up poultry farming, he was for many years Chairman of the County Poultry Committee. A local magistrate, entering whole-heartedly into public life, and extending help unobtrusively to many people and organisations. Though serving at one time on 24 committees, he found time whilst living at Oare to compile a history of his Regiment. In the last war he commanded a battalion of the Home Guard. He leaves a widow. Obits.: Wiltshire Gazette, Feb. 18th; Marlborough Times, Feb. roth, 1954. EDWARD TOM YOUNG, died at Ebbesbourne Wake on March 28th, 1954, aged 89. Last of a long family line of blacksmiths who had worked at the same forge since 1743, he was a master of his craft, holding an unrivalled record for ornamental ironwork and being awarded the Gold Cross at the Arts and Industries Exhibition in London for the three years 1906-8. Fine examples of his work are preserved at Wilton House, as well as much farther afield He had a great knowledge of local history and folklore and his genial disposi- tion won him a wide circle of friends. He leaves a widow, two daughters and two sons, one of whom is Curator of Avebury Museum. Obits.: Salisbury and Winchester Journal, April 2nd; Western Gazette, April 2nd, 1954. SIR GEORGE BOND MORTON, 0O.B.E., M.C., of Rectory House, Ogbourne St. George, died on April roth, 1954, aged 61. Served with the Royal Fusiliers in France, being awarded the M.C. in 1917. After the war he was in business in Calcutta and on the board of Imperial Bank of India, being President 1942-4; Sheriff of Calcutta and President of Associated Chambers of Commerce of India and Ceylon 1941; a member of National Defence Council of India 1914-5; on Post-War Reconstruction Committee, 1942-6. Returning to Europe in 1946 was a member of British Economic Mission to Greece. He leaves a widow, a son and two daughters. Obits.: Times, April 12th; Marlborough Times, April 16th, 1954. SIR EVELYN FRANCIS EDWARD SEYMOUR, 17th Duke of Somerset, D.S.0., 0.B.E., died on April 26th, 1954, aged 71. Only son of Brig.-Gen. Sir E. H. Seymour, K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G., (who established his claim to the dukedom in 1925), edu- cated at Blundell’s School; served through S. African War and 1914-18 War, commanding roth Bn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers from 1916; awarded D.S.O. Way 302 Wiltshire Obituaries 1918, and made O.B.E. 1919. He retired in 1920 but returned to the Army in the last war, first in command of a battalion of the Devonshire Regt. and later on General Staff. Succeeding to the dukedom in 1931, he lived at the family seat at Maiden Bradley, enjoying many country pursuits and maintaining his father’s interest in farming; he was also a highly skilled conjuror. He had been Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire since 1942; both in and out of office he was active in promoting many good causes. He was assiduous in his duties as Chairman of the Warminster Bench so long as his health permitted. He married Edith Mary, daughter of William Parker of Whittington Hall, Derbyshire, who survives him with a son and daughter. Obits.: Times, April 27th; Wiltshire Times, May Ist, 1954. 303 ACCESSIONS TO THE COUNTY RECORD OFFICE SINCE THE LIST OF DECEMBER 1953 Case for the opinion of counsel concerning the exercise of the franchise in the borough of Westbury, 1767. Volume originally a justice’s notebook of cases brought before Sir Richard Colt Hoare, 1815-34, later used by Thomas H. Baker for historical notes concerning Mere and transcripts of the parish register, and a folder containing two printed lists of the prisoners sentenced at Assizes 1797 and 1800, and other papers. Volume of estate accounts: estates of Miss Martha Parker in Priston (co. Som.) and Southwick, 1741-49. Two original wills of John Maulden Rogers of Warminster dated 1878 and 1884 respectively. (Deposit) Letter of attorney by Willoughby, Earl of Abingdon, appointing Samuel Sainsbury of Market Lavington his attorney to receive seizin of an estate in Hurst (then Wilts, now Berks) from the Dean and Chap- ter of Salisbury, 1746. Twenty-four deeds and a few other miscellaneous papers, part of two artificial collections, concerning various families and various parishes, 1581-1829, including decaied accounts of the expenses of the agent of William Long Wellesley in the parliamentary election of 1818. Four deeds, three concerning the family of Bellville and the parish of Codford, 1844-58, and one concerning the London Inn, Salisbury, 1856. Sixteen various deeds: 1619-1819. A further group of documents relating to the Heytesbury estate: 4 volumes of court books, 1821-1924; 3 packets of court papers, 1795-1830; survey of estates, 1861; an inventory of furniture, etc., in Heytesbury House, 1817, and about 54 deeds and other estate papers. (Deposit) Twenty-eight deeds relating mainly to the Old (then called the New) Town Hall in Devizes and the families of Ings and Cunnington, 1823-1906. (Deposit) Small notebook of memoranda concerning the execution of the will of Mrs. Melior Mullens of Salisbury, 1774-1779. 304 Accessions to the County Record Office 242 documents, mainly agents’ vouchers, relating to the campaign of Ambrose Goddard, a candidate in the bye-election of 1772 to elect a knight of the shire for Wiltshire. (Deposit) Parish records of Box, comprising three registers of baptisms, marriages and burials, 1538-71 and 1580-1784, churchwardens’ account book, 1810-82, vestry minute book, 1797-1806, overseers’ disbursements book, 1727-48, and a parish survey, 1827. (Deposit) Minute book of the Colerne Parish Council and Parish Meeting, 1894-1908; survey and valuation of the manor of Colerne with map, 1767; and modern copy of notice of 1774 concerning the fire at Colerne in that year. (Deposit) M. G. RATHBONE 305 ACCESSIONS TO THE SOCIETY’S MUSEUM 11/53/122. 11/53/123. 12/53/124. 1/54/126- 128 1/54/129. 1/$4/130. 1/54/132. 2/54/133- 2/54/134. 2/54/136. 2/54/137. 3/54/1238. 5/54/141. On LoANn 2/54/135. Sherd of Grooved Ware from Amesbury. Donor, Dr. J. F. S. STONE. Bronze and pewter trade-plates from the Cunnington wine shop, Devizes. 19th Cent. Donor, Mr. R. SANDELL. Rough-outs from the Neolithic stone-axe factories at Langdale (Westmorland), Cwm Mawr (Salop) and Cornwall. Donor, Mr. A. C. THOMAS. (i) Portrait of Elizabeth Cunnington by Waylen. (ii) Victorian hand-bag owned by Elizabeth Cunnington, together with small purse, the property of her grandmother. (iii) Portrait of Dr. Sloper. Donor, C. W. CUNNINGTON. Wine bottle with label ““ W. Leman, Chard, 1771”. Donor, Mr. R. SANDELL. Drug pot, lead-glazed, spout and pedestal-foot, 17th Cent. Donor, Mr. R. SANDELL. Roman disc-brooch, gilded bronze set with glass, 2nd Cent. A.D. Winterbourne Monkton Downs. Donor, Mr. D. A. BALL. Wine bottle from Cunnington’s shop, said to have gone down with the Royal George at Spithead, 1791. Encrusted with barnacles. Donor, Mr. R. SANDELL. Clay pipes from the Harris factory, Calne. Donor, Mr. J. BUCKERIDGE. Coachman’s whip used by the donor’s great grandfather on the Bath-London coach. 18th Cent. Donor, Mr. W. BRIDEWELL. Coin, silvered bronze, Roman, Julia Augusta. Coombe End House, Marlborough. Donor, WiLTS COUNTY COUNCIL. Three small bronze coins, Roman, A 3, from :Roman barrow at Colerne Park. Donor, Mr. A. SHAW-MELLOR. Clay oven (“Dutch oven’’) found built into a wall in the Manor House, Gt. Cheverell. 15-16th Cent. Donor, Mrs. A. S. BATESON. Electrotype of the gold sun-disc from Farleigh Wick. Beaker type, late Neolithic. Lender, Mr. G. UNDERWOOD. 306 3/54/139- 140 NATURAL HISTORY GIFTS Accessions to the Society's Library Medieval ring (16th Cent.) and key (14th Cent.). Donor, CORSHAM ParRisH COUNCIL. Collection of bird skins, some mounted, including Norfolk plover, Goldcrest, Raven. Donor, Cot. J. R. STANFORD. Otter skin, mounted. Shot in Sussex, 1900. Donor, Mr. C. G. Taytor. Collection of mounted bird-skins, also that of a Pike. Donor, Mr. INMAN. ADDITIONS TO THE SOCIETY’S LIBRARY Presented by Mr. H. C. B. Mynors: MS. notes on the Eyles family of South- broom, Devizes. Mr. J. P. Parrorp: Stephen Duck (R. G. Furnival, Cambs. Journ. May 1953). Mp. F. C. Pirr: W.A.M. vols, 1-9 bound; others unbound. Mr. K. G. Pontinc: Two numbers of Wool Knowledge (nos. 8-9) containing his papers on the Wilts. woollen industry. SALisBURY Museum: Excavations at Peter’s Finger, 1953. Miss SetH-SmiTH: Photographs of Lacock Abbey and Edington church. Mr. J. J. Stape.: Cat. of paintings belonging to the late Sir Francis Burdett. Sold Dec. 1953. Mrs. WALKER: 39 back numbers of W.A.M. Dr. G. M. Youne: Willm. Camden and the Britannia by S. Piggott (Proc. Brit. Acad. XX XVII, 37). Lantern slide, Sudden Farm, Wilts., showing the Hundred meeting place. Air photograph. Tue Auruors: An Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Petersfinger near Salisbury, by E. T. Leeds and H. de S. Shortt, Salisbury Museum, 1953. Tue AutHor: Bradon Forest by T. R. Thomson, O.U.P. for Cricklade Historical Society (1953). THE PusiisHers: Archacology from the Earth by Sir Mortimer -Wheeler, O.U-P., 1954. . The Conquest of .Wessex in the 6th Century by Gordon J. Copley. Phoenix House, 1954. fe Teach Yourself Archaeology by S. Graham Brade-Birks. English Universities Press, 1953. ip Teach Yourself Anthropology by J. Manchip White. English Universities Press, 1954. Purchased: Tian County History of .Wiltshire, vol. VII. 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A reduced facsimile. Introduction by Elizabeth Crittall. 1952. Pp. iv + 19 plates. SURVEYS OF THE MANORS OF PHILIP EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY, 1631—2. Edited by Eric Kerridge, Ph.D. 1953. Pp. xiv + 176. Publications to be obtained from the Librarian, The Museum, Devizes CATALOGUE OF ANTIQUITIES IN THE SOCIETY’S MUSEUM. Part II, illustrated, 2nd Edition, 1935. Price 3s. 6d. A BIBLIOGRAPHY or THE GREAT STONE MONUMENTS oF WILTSHIRE: STONEHENGE anp AVEBURY, with other references, by W. J. Harrison, F.G.S., pp. 169, 4 illustrations. No. 89 (1901) of W.A.M. Describes 947 books, papers, &c., by 732 authors. Price 5s. 6d. A CALENDAR OF THE FEET OF FINES FOR WILTSHIRE, 1195 TO 1272, BY E. A. FRY. 8vo., pp. 103. Price 6s. WILTSHIRE INQUISITIONES POST MORTEM: HENRY III, EDWARD ITand EDWARD II. 8vo. pp. xv + 505. Fully indexed. In parts. Price 13s., complete. DITTO. EDWARDIII. 8vo., pp. 402. Fully indexed. In parts. Price 13s., complete. THE CHURCH BELLS OF WILTSHIRE, THEIR INSCRIPTIONS AND HISTORY, by H. B. WALTERS, F.S.A. (In3 Parts.) Price 16s. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WILT- SHIRE FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PAGAN SAXONS, by M. E. Cunnington, C.B.E. Fourth Editon, 1949, 6s. 6d. (by arrangement with the Publishers, C. H. Woodward, Devizes). BACK NUMBERS oF THE MAGAZINE. Price from 2s. 6d. to 10s. 6d. according to date and condition (except in the case of a few numbers - the price of which is raised). To Members, 25 per cent. less. The late Capr. B. H. and Mrs. CUNNINGTON gave all remaining copies of the following to the Society for sale :— ALL CANNINGS CROSS (1923), By MRS. CUNNINGTON, Hon. F.S.A., Scot. 4to. cloth, 53 Plates. 21s. WOODHENGE (Excavations, 1927—28), By MRS. CUNNINGTON, Hon. F.S.A., Scot. 4to. cloth, 2ls. RECORDS OF THE COUNTY OF WILTS, EXTRACTS FROM THE QUARTER SESSIONS GREAT ROLLS OF THE 171TH CENTURY By CAPT. B. H. CUNNINGTON, F.S.A., Scot. Cloth. 12/6, DEVIZES BOROUGH ANNALS. EXTRACTS FROM THE CORPORATION RECORDS By CAPT. B. H. CUNNINGTON F.S.A., Scot. Cloth. (Vol. lis out of print ) Vol. II, 1792 to 1836, 1és. The Society’s Museum and Library, Long Street, Devizes All members of the Society are asked to give an annual subscription towards the upkeep of these collections. The Museum contains many objects of especial interest, and the Library is the only one in Wiltshire devoted to material for the history of the county. Subscriptions should be sent to Mr. F. W. C. MERRITT, Tawsmead, Eastleigh Road, Devizes. Old printed material and photographs of Wiltshire buildings or other objects of interest will be welcomed by the Librarian at the Museum. The repository for old deeds, maps, plans, etc., is now the County Archives collection at the County Hall, Trowbridge. 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Prices : Report for 1946, 1/6; 1947, 2/6; 1948, 2/6; 1949, 2/6: 1950° 2/6; 1951, 2/6. Post free. BOOKBINDING. Books carefully bound to paHere Wilts Archaeological Magazine bound to match previous volumes, or in special green cases. C. H. WOODWARD, Printer and Publisher, Exchange Buildings, Station Road, DEVIZES Woodward, Printer, Devizes No. CCI DECEMBER, 1954 Vol. LV The Wiltshire Archeological and Natural History Magazine PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SOCIETY FORMED IN THAT COUNTY IN THE YEAR 1853 HON. EDITOR HON. ASSISTANT EDITOR: H. C. BRENTNALL, F.S.A. OWEN MEYRICK GRANHAM WEST, MARLBOROUGH RIDGELANDS, RAMSBURY The authors of the papers printed in this Magazine are alone responsible for all statements made therein DEVIZES PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY BY C. H. WOODWARD, Price ros. 6d. Members gratis The Wiltshire Archeological & Natural History Society The annual subscription is £1 with an entrance fee of 10s. A payment of £20 secures life-membership of the Society. Members who have not paid their subscriptions to the Society for the current year are requested to remit the same forthwith to the Hon. Treasurer Mr. F. W. C. MERRITT, Tawsmead, Eastleigh Road, Devizes, to whom also all communications as to the supply of Magazines should be addressed. The numbers of this Magazine will be delivered gratis, as issued, to members who are not in arrear of their annual subscrip- tions; but in accordance with Byelaw No. 8 “The Financial Secretary shall give notice to members in arrear, and the Society's publications will not be forwarded to members whose subscriptions shall remain unpaid after such notice ”. An Index for the preceding eight volumes of the Magazine will be found at the end of vols. viii., xvi., xxiv., and xxxil. The subsequent volumes are each indexed separately. Articles and other communications intended for the Magazine, and correspondence relating to them, should be addressed to the Editor, Granham West, Marlborough. The Records Branch — Founded in 1937 for the publication of original documents re- lating to the history of the county. The subscriptionis £1 yearly. New members are urgently needed. Hon. Secretary, Mr. M.G. Rathbone, Craigleith, Snarlton Lane, Melksham Forest, Wilts. The Branch has issued the following :— ABSTRACTS OF FEET OF FINES RELATING TO WILT- SHIRE FOR THE REIGNS OF EDWARD I AND EDWARD II. Edited by R. B. Pugh. 1939. Pp. xix + 190. ACCOUNTS OF THE PARLIAMENTARY GARRISONS OF GREAT CHALFIELD AND MALMESBURY, 1645—1646. Ed- ited by J. H. P. Pafford. 1940. Pp. 112. (Out of Print). CALENDAR OF ANTROBUS DEEDS BEFORE 1625. Edited by R. B. Pugh. 1947. Pplv + 165. MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS IN SESSIONS, 15638, 1574— 1592. Edited by H.C. Johnson. 1949. Pp, xxviii + 246. LIST OF WILTSHIRE BOROUGH RECORDS EARLIER IN DATE THAN 1886. Edited by Maurice G. Rathbone. 1951. Pp. xiii + 108. THE TROWBRIDGE WOOLLEN INDUSTRY as illustrated by the stock books of John and Thomas Clark, 1804-1824. Edited | by R. P. Beckinsale, D. Phil. 1950. Pp. xxxvi + 249. CALNE GUILD STEWARDS BOOK, 1561—1688. Edited by A. W. Mabbs. 1953. Pp. xxxiii + 150. The Wiltshire Archeological and Natural History Magazine No. CCI DECEMBER, 1954 Vol. LV CONTENTS PAGE NOTES ON SOME EARLY BRONZE AGE GRAVE GROUPS IN DEVIZES MUSEUM: By Nicholas BIB oan ASHE UGA COL: ioicl oti a a ello icles eldae tls Sones pas Sli 332 THE ROMAN SITE IN COLERNE PARK: By A. SRW RNCII@ een oer he ee, 333—340 THE FIRST NAME OF CELIA FIENNES: By R. P. SATCU] EIS Sl ae a Ao 341—343 A MEDIEVAL TIMBER-FRAMED HOUSE IN CRICKLADE: by Stanley Jones and J. T. Smith... 344—352 THE EARLY BOUNDS OF PURTON AND A PAGAN SANCTUARY : By -T.. R.- Thomson,.°F3.A., Jel IS, TATUSSIE SIS) ee ase eae aon oop ee 353—363 SOME HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL NOTES ON No. 12 ST. JOHN’S STREET AND NOS. 2 AND 3 ST. JOHN’S ALLEY, DEVIZES: By E. A. Rendell 364—366 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 1954.................... 367—372. NOTES.—Thirteenth Century Remains in Chippen- ham. Roman Stones at Latton. Ancient Monu- ments. The Saxon mint at Wilton. Stonehenge. The Font of Edington Church. Ubi nunc sapientis OScaw WINNT fo. oe he re ee a ee 373—380 BOOKS. ARTICLES, ETCx.....:. Sh PRIN ie EES ene AS NUE 381—384 Wik tSHiRE © BETUARITES oro e a oie 385—386 1 PAGE ACCESSIONS TO THE COUNTY RECORD OFFICE... 387 ADDITIONS TO LIBRARY AND MUSEUM............ 387—388 SEND EX i) see a aU UU EN ee 389—397 ILLUSTRATIONS Early Bronze Age Grave Groups: Fig ee ed be ee 312 Fisica ee e ee 318 PSB tec Nt Sees Ce SR a ae 322 Ba a 38 oe ts nl ee a 328 Wiltshire Microliths. 3:09... oe ee 331 Mounds in Colerne Park... 354 oe 334 Plate I. No. 46, High Street, Cricklade................ opp. 344 Plate II. Interior Elevation of the Medieval House opp. 345 Fig. 1. Plans of the Medieval House.................... 347 Map..; Ehe Bounds of -Purton...(...).. 358—359 DEVIZES: C. H. WOODWARD, EXCHANGE BUILDINGS, STATION ROAD THE WILTSHIRE MAGAZINE MULTORUM MANIBUS GRANDE LEVATUR ONUS No. CCI DECEMBER, 1954 * Vol. LV | NOTES ON SOME EARLY BRONZE AGE | GRAVE GROUPS IN DEVIZES MUSEUM ' by NicHoras Tuomas, Curator. | : These notes on six grave groups in the Society’s Museum at Devizes are published because the writer considers them to merit more attention than they have hitherto received. With the exception of the Scratch- ey barrow group, most of the other objects have been illustrated sefore, either by Sir Richard Colt Hoare or in part .I of the Devizes Museum Catalogue. The illustrations, however, are incomplete or nadequate, and three newly drawn figures are here printed containing ll the objects discussed below. One other figure is also included, showing the curious bronze object said to have been found in Wilsford Barrow 18 (fig. 4). The writer of these notes, like Colt Hoare himself, ‘eaves its “ancient use....to my learned brother antiquaries to ascertain....”.1 Here, his friends Messrs. A. M. ApSimon and Paul Ashbee will discuss its use, age and significance in the Appendix. The exciting discoveries at Stonehenge in 1953, which included the carving of a Mycenaean dagger on one of the trilithons, have tended ‘o over-emphasize the foreign components of the British Early Bronze Age, particularly its special version termed the Wessex Culture. The little groups to be discussed are therefore of importance, indicating as they do that however much certain individuals in prehistoric Britain decked themselves out in exotic finery, they were, fundamen- tally, solid native stock, Neolithic in culture and insular in outlook. The preponderance of bone objects from these graves reminds us that even in the Bronze Age the bones and sinews of animals provided most of the raw material with which men fashioned tools and orna- ments. In the early centuries of the Bronze Age, bronze, gold, shale and amber must have belonged only to the wealthiest. | The following notes are intended to help fill in the material picture of this Wessex culture, and to remind us that if it has undoubted foreign elements, yet its basis is native and insular. 1 A.W. I, 209. _ 2 That no more bone has been found is probably due to early excavators’ selective instincts rather than to archaeological fact. _ 8 A point brought out strongly by the first season of excavations at Snail Down, where Beaker sherds in a fresh condition were found under the bank of a disc- yarrow, and were probably contemporary with it. MVOL,. LV-—CCI Ww Notes on Some Early Bronze Age Grave Groups 312 "T emm3ry W/ILSFORD, BARROW 9 NEWTON BARROW INS CMS by Nicholas Thomas 313 The Grave Groups? Scratchbury Camp—Barrow 2 (V.C.H. Norton Bavant 2) (Fig. 1). As described by Sir Richard Colt Hoare,’ this Iron Age hill-fort con- tains within its defences at least seven barrows of the Early or Middle Bronze Age. The objects shown in fig. 1 were found in No. 2. This is a bowl-barrow, today about 40-45 feet in diameter and 34 feet high.° In a pit dug into the chalk beneath the mound a cremation was found; among the bones there were three objects of which two are in the Devizes Museum, a bone pin and a perforated bone plate.’ The Bone Pin: This has been cut from one end of the long-bone of an animal about the size of a sheep. The end of the bone has been com- pletely removed. A sharp point has been worked at the other end. The section is trough-like along its whole length. The writer has not located any parallels for this pin, either in Wessex or in the Yorkshire Wolds. It is an unusual type in that all traces of the end of the bone have been removed. In this it differs from the perforated pin from Snail Down (fig. 2). The pin from Scratchbury was probably stuck in the hair.® Perforated Bone Plate: Hoare records that two such plates were found and gives their length as 2 ins. The one which survives, in a damaged state, is 24 ins. long. It is a rectangular plate of bone, probably cut from the shoulder blade of some large animal. One side is flat, the other convex. The undamaged end tapers slightly and is squared off. Two cylindrical holes have been bored at this end. Below the holes a series of at least four wide flat grooves have been made across the plate on the convex face. There are no corresponding ones on the other face nor any hollows along the edges. Where the grooves appear the plate is rather worn on the convex face. Clearly this object is not, as the catalogue asserts, a wrist guard, being too frail and belonging to a pair. The grooves would seem to have been intended to keep in place four or more threads or cords 4 The names used by Sir R. Colt Hoare are here followed by those to be adopted in the Victoria County History. 5 A.W. I, 70; plan opp. p. 68. 6 T am indebted to Mr. L. V. Grinsell for permitting me to quote his dimensions (destined for the V.C.H.) throughout these notes. For the.types of barrow men- tioned in the text, see his book Ancient Burial Mounds of England, (1953), Fig. 2. 7 D.M. Cat. I, 19 a-b; not illustrated. 8 For ascries of similar pins see Mortimer, £40 Years Researches in the Burial Mounds of N.E. Yorks, pl. XX and p. 76; but these retain traces of the ends of the long-bones. W 2 314 Notes on Some Early Bronze Age Grave Groups and may therefore have served the same purpose as the plates from Snail Down and Wilsford (see below, figs. 2 and 3). Alternatively, the two holes, originally, perhaps, duplicated at the other end, may have been for its attachment to some other material, perhaps leather; the grooves on the upper face might then have received a series of threads running across the plate. Cop Heap Hill—Warminster (V.C.H. Warminster 10) (Fig. 1). The manuscript account by William Cunnington adds nothing to the description of this barrow by Hoare.® Today, this mound appears to be a bowl-barrow which, in Hoare’s day, had a bank outside the ditch. It may therefore originally have been a bell-barrow, a specialized type which sometimes has an outer bank. It is now about 75 feet in diameter and 3 feet high. This mound covered at least three separate interments, one of them accompanied by the antler mace, another by the beads and sea-shell and the third being without grave goods. While the beads must be considered copies of a Wessex Culture type (see below) the antler mace seems to have been found with some flint tools with polished edges. The habit of grinding the edges of tools other than axes is, character- istic of Secondary Neolithic people. The mace itself is also common in Neolithic contexts. The Antler Mace: This has been formed from the lower part of an antler which had probably been shed naturally. Through the thickest part of ita hole rin. in diameter has been carefully cut; its slight irregu- larity implies that it has been carved, not drilled. Just above this the antler has been cut across, leaving an object 4 ins. long, one end formed by the root of the antler, the other cut across, leaving a socket into which a blade could, if necessary, be fitted. A branch at the root, the brow-tine, has been trimmed off and could also have been used as a socket. No other trimming has been attempted. This object was either used as a mace-head or else it could have been functional. If the latter, then a blade fitted into its main socket would have made it an adze rather than an axe, as the sketch shows. Antler mace-heads and blade-holders are now known to be typical of Secondary Neolithic culture in Britain. A number of good parallels are forthcoming. The best was found in a Neolithic communal barrow at Duggleby Howe, Yorks E.R.° At Aldro, barrow C.76, 9 In the Devizes Mus. Library; Cun. MSS, Vol. 11, p. 18: A.W.I, 67ff. 10 Mortimer, op. cit., pl. VIII, fig. 63. Cop Heap Hill, Warminster 315 Seamer Moor, E.R. and Liffs Low, Derbys.,4 similar objects were found. W. C. Lukis found yet another mace-head in Barrow 5 at Collingbourne Ducis.1? Such objects probably derive from pre- Neolithic times. The Bone Beads: Six bone beads were found in a burial pit with the skeletons of an adult and a child and with a cremation. It is not clear to which of the burials they belonged. The beads are of two types, seg- mented and cylindrical. The segmented ones have been carved in two ways. In the first (upper row right) the segments are defined merely by grooves cut in the bone. In the second (bottom row, left and right) the grooves have been carefully enlarged until curved segments have been achieved. None of the perforations are circular; they appear to be the natural hollows of small long-bones from which the beads have been made. The ends of the beads have been carefully chamfered. These segmented bone beads have been fully discussed by Beck and Stone together with their West European analogues. Doubtless they are humble copies of the green faience beads which reached Britain in great profusion during the first centuries of the Early Bronze Age. The cylindrical bead has an exact parallel from Barrow 4 at Upton Lovell, associated with a secondary interment of this period.1* The Fossil Shell:!5 A fossil sea-shell, a phasianellid, was found with the beads. This fossil occurs in great numbers in the Jurassic for- mations of England. It can be found to the north, south and west of Devizes. Prehistoric man often treasured fossils; doubtless this one was picked up in the Devizes region, carried to Warminster and eventually put in the barrow, perhaps with its owner. Newton Barrow (V.C.H. South Newton 1) (Fig 1). William Cunnington’s account differs a little from Hoare’s version and is therefore printed here as he wrote it: “Newton Barrow is situated in a ploughed field, about a hundred yards south west of the turnpike road from Salisbury to Devizes. It is now a large 11 Tbid., pl. XVIII, fig. 152: Journ. Brit. Arch Assoc., 1848, 101 ff; Sheffield Public Museum Cat. of the Bateman Coll., p. 20. 12 D.M. Cat. II, 1934, p. 35 and pl. XVI, 1. 13 Arch. LXXXV, 1936, 212ff. 14 Hoare A.W.I, 75ff. 15 The writer is grateful to Mr. C. A. Raffray and Mr. A. G. Davis for identifying this shell. 16 A.W.I, 214: Cunnington MSS., vol. 5, 39. 316 Notes on Some Early Bronze Age Grave Groups circular barrow, but before it was ploughed over must have been much larger. Unfortunately for us it had had a prior opening and probably as we conjectured by Stukeley or Lord Pembroke. We learn from the former that his Lordship opened a great many in Stukeley’s time, and from its being in the vicinity of Wilton it is very probable he opened this. In a very deep cist cut in the chalk we found the greater part of the bones of a skeleton in a heap, the skull on the thigh bone, which circumstance sufficiently proved they had been disturbed .... but we had convincing proofs of this from finding so many of the bones stained of a fine verditer from having laid in contact with Brass, we even found part of an arm bone at nearly three feet from the above spot that was tinged with the verditer. From the discoveries made in other barrows of Brass on the bones, we might naturally suppose there must have been spearheads and many other articles of Brass, and from our having found one large amber bead and a great many articles made from the teeth of some animal. I have not a doubt that this must have been a rich barrow. It is therefore to be regretted that Lord Pembroke or whoever opened this tumulus did not publish an account of their discoveries.” Today, this is a bowl-barrow, about 25 paces in diameter and 4 feet high. This barrow may possibly have covered two interments. A deep grave produced bronze or copper-stained bones, while in the area of the cist and in the make-up of the mound a Wessex Culture bead of amber and the perforated teeth were found by Cunnington. If the amber bead and the bronze object (suggested by stains) belong to a fairly rich grave-group, the much cruder necklace of teeth may have belonged to another burial less rich, more native and perhaps earlier. The Teeth: 18 teeth of wolf and dog?” are preserved in the Museum. Each has been ground flat on either face, so that only a little of the enamel is left; this has been indicated in the figure. All are perforated. Two have two holes, while a third has the beginning of a second hole. These teeth seem to represent four adult wolves, some very old. Dr. Cornwall was able to pair off four sets of upper and lower canines. The two smallest teeth (at each end in the figure) he believes to belong to a dog; one at least, belongs to an animal of some age. Two per- forated dog teeth were found at All Cannings Cross! in the Iron Age Village, but these are not ground flat. We must therefore consider why our teeth have been flattened. Dr. Cornwall has suggested that the teeth have been thinned to allow them to go on a string short enough to encircle a wrist or ankle rather than a neck. At present there are not even sufficient teeth for an anklet, but several may have 17 ‘The writer is indebted to Dr. I. W. Cornwall for examining the teeth. 18 M. E. Cunnington, All Cannings Cross, Devizes 1923, p. 78, figs. 36-7. S. Newton Barrow and Snail Down 317 been missed in the excavation. All we can suggest is that the owner of the teeth wanted to achieve a very closely spaced string of beads; where they were hung, we cannot now say. The maker evidently was designing the beads as he worked, for the first two that he made were perforated at the root. He was half way through the third one when he decided on a central perforation, having, perhaps, strung the first two only to find that they did not hang as he wished. All three were then bored centrally and the rest of the teeth treated likewise. Some crescentic pieces of perforated bone found in Kenslow Knoll Barrow, Derbyshire, clearly are copies of perforated teeth although they are made of bone. They are flat on one face and domed on the other.!® The Amber Bead: In H. C. Beck’s paper on beads, this specimen is an elliptical bead of his group II.?° It is a fairly rare variety of the more common globular beads of the Wessex Culture, occurring in amber, shale, jet, and clay. There is one similar but unlocalised bead in the Devizes Museum. Snail Down, Everleigh—Barrow 2. (V.C.H. Collingbourne Kingston 4). This, a large bowl-barrow, together with a smaller one, lies a little apart from the main group on Snail Down”. The objects (fig. 2) were found without any trace of a burial, burnt or otherwise, in a cist cut in the chalk at the centre of the barrow. Beside the things illustrated, Hoare records that there were two other stone tools, now lost. The Axe and Handle: The handle has been made from a piece of antler 33 ins. long and ground smooth all over. At the narrower end a socket has been hollowed out sufficiently large to take a small bronze axe, which is embedded to a depth of 3 inch. The axe, the smallest in the Museum, is so corroded that it is not possible to show whether it is flat or flanged. Its shape is typically British; the sides are almost parallel until they splay sharply to form the blade. The butt is convex. The best parallel is provided by the axe from Overton Hill, Barrow 1,?* which is slightly bigger. This little axe is in fact a scraper rather than an axe or chisel. Its 19 Sheffield Public Museum: Cat. Bateman Coll., 1899, p. 182. J.93—551-2. 20 Arch. 77, 1927, pl. I. 21 A.W. I, map opp. p. 180; p. 182 and pl. XXI. 22 A.W. II, go. 318 Notes on Some Early Bronze Age Grave Groups ie rere ee —_— ee — Se —————— See a Se ae TS a = . = ES Es. — a 0 ee eo a anmment apee SNAIL DOWN, BARROW Z Figure 2. : | Snail Down, Barrow 2 319 handle is too fragile for use as the latter, and as it must have been held in the hand it cannot be an axe. It would also have been ideal for cutting materials like leather. A miniature blade like this must have been a woman’s tool as much as a man’s. Perforated Bone Plate: This is a rectangular plate cut from the rib of a horse or cow and ground smooth all over. One face is flat, the other convex. At one end a perforation, starting on the convex face, emerges at the opposite edge. At the other end holes have been bored through the convex face to emerge at either edge. Here we have a bone copy of the elaborate jet and amber spacer plates used in crescentic necklaces. Sometimes, however, these bone plates formed collars on their own. The specimen from Wilsford Barrow 18 served a similar purpose (below, fig 3), as also, perhaps, the plate from Scratchbury Barrow 2. The best parallel comes from Beacon Hill Barrow, Barton Mills, Suffolk,?? where four such plates, probably made of stag’s rib, show three lateral! perforations, but are otherwise identical. They occurred with one of several secondary burials by cremation in a barrow which was primarily of Secondary Neolithic culture. In Derbyshire shale and jet crescentic necklaces are sometimes found with elaborate bone spacer-plates, often highly decorated on the faces. Barrows at Windle Nook, near Wormhill, Arborlow, and Grindlow, near Upper Haddon, include bone plates.24 Three similar plates from Feltwell Fen, Norfolk, are. in the British Museum. They have a dotted decoration on the upper face and double their perforations from one edge to the other.” In all these instances, the perforations of these are as complicated and subtle as the diverging holes found in amber spacer-plates in Wessex and in Southern Germany. Perforated Bone Pin: This is one of three types described in these notes. Formed from part of the end of a long bone, it is trough- shaped in section with part of the proximal end of the bone running across it. Perforated pins of this type are very common all over Britain, particularly in Wessex and Yorkshire. They were used chiefly as pendants. Barrow 4 at Upton Lovell yielded more than 60 such points, 23 Proc. Camb. Ant. Soc., XXVI, 1924, 34, fig 4. 24 Sheffield Public Museum: Cat. Bateman Coll., 1899, p. 59, G79; p. 61, G113; p.63, G158. Iam indebted to Mr. John Bartlett for notes on these pieces. 25 Norfolk Archaeology VIII, 319. 320 Notes on Some Early Bronze Age Grave Groups which had here formed a collar and a fringe to a dress. Another was found in the bottom of the ditch at Woodhenge.?¢ Bone Points: The two pointed pieces are the ends of antler tines sharpened and smoothed. They could have served a variety of purposes. The third fragment, more rectangular in section and squared off at one end, represents part of a bone tool often described as a mesh rule for making nets. There are several parallels from Wiltshire.?? The Grooved Whetstone: These tools are frequently found in graves of the Wessex Culture. They must be smoothers of some sort, perhaps for straightening the shafts of arrows. This specimen resembles one from Goddard’s Barrow 8528 at Amesbury, in that it has more than one groove. As the drawing indicates, our specimen has two deep grooves on opposite faces and two more grooves on a third face. These two, however, were made so that the whetstone could be broken from the parent-block with a straight edge, and are therefore not functional. Like the whetstone from Barrow 4 at Upton Lovell, it is made from weathered Bath Stone (Great Oolite age) and must have come from the Bath district.2° Grooved whetstones, in Paras have a Neolithic origin. Wilsford Barrow 9*° (V.C.H. Wilsford (S.) 64) (Fig. 1). This is a bowl-barrow 15 paces in diameter and 3 feet high. Hoare described it as large, with a height of 8 feet. It forms part of the Wilsford group. Cunnington’ s original account is here printed: “A large and almost bowl-shaped tumulus, 113 feet in the base diameter and 8 feet in elevation... .In a neatly formed oval cist, two feet deep was found a little pile of burnt bones, with the bones lay a small brass celt, an ivory pin, and a rude ring of bone. This cist was covered with a vast pile of flints, and immediately over the cist was discovered the skeleton of a dog.” The objects lay then in a cist, presumably at the base of the barrow and central. The cist had been covered with a cairn of flints. It is not clear whether the body of the dog was under or over the flints. The deposit of a dog to follow his master or mistress into the after life has also been recorded from Barrow 17 at Snail Down.*! The bone ring mentioned by Cunnington no longer exists. 26M. E. Cunnington, Woodhenge, Devizes 1929, p. 106-7’ pl. 19A, 4;-++refs. 2” D.M. Cat. II, 1934, pl. XVI, 9-10; W.A.M. XLV, p. 445, pl. 1. 28 W.A.M. XLV, ibid., pl. II, 11 #9 The writer is grateful to Dr. Wallis for examining the grooved whetstones. 30 A.W. I, 208; Cunnington MSS., 13, p. 12-13; D.M. Cat. I, 189, 207. 81 A.W. I, 183-4, : Wilsford (S. Wilts) Barrows 321 The Axe: This bronze axe, like those from Snail Down Barrow 2 and Overton Hill Barrow I, must be classed as a scraper, it being only a little larger than the former. In shape it has no parallel outside Germany. The writer thinks that it is, in fact, an import from that country, or else a copy of the typical German axe. It will be seen that its edges are distinctly S-shaped; the blade splays gently in two even curves. The butt tapers and has a slight notch in it. The axe is flanged, with a thickening nearer the butt than the blade. There is indeed almost a stop-ridge. A large axe almost identical in shape comes from a hoard at Krtenov, Bohemia, associated with bronze Hungarian shaft-hole battle-axes.** Another comes from Kysice, in the same country, associated with a palstave.33 Similar axes from a barrow at Langquaid, Bavaria,34 however, were associated with a type of bulb-headed pin more parallel in time to the Wessex Culture and represented, for example, at Camerton, Somerset.®® Perforated Bone Pin: This pin seems to have been made from a piece of antler. Its section is oval at the head, becoming more circular towards the point, which is missing. The pin already described would have required little effort to make. This specimen, however, has involved some trouble and seems to be more than a pendant. It is, perhaps, a needle or bodkin, for which purpose its shape is admirably suited. Wilsford Barrow 186 (V.C.H. Wilsford (S.) 58) (Fig. 3). This is a bell-barrow, 121 feet in diameter, and 11 feet high. Cunnington described his excavation of it thus: “A large bell shaped barrow, 121 feet in the base diameter and is 11 feet in elevation. This fine tumulus is on the western edge of the group, at the depth of 11 feet we found the skeleton of a very tall stout man, lying on its right side with its head to the south east. At the feet were found, a stone hatchet or hammer, a brass celt, a curious tube of bone, a bone handle to some instru- ment, a very curious whetstone with a groove up the middle, and some more articles of bone....but the most curious article found in this tumulus is the brass instrument....” (ie., the object described by ApSimon and Ashbee, fig. 4). This is the richest of the grave-groups discussed in these notes. It 32 Richly, Die Bronzezeit in Bohmen, pl. XIII: Childe, Danube in Prehist., Fig. 148, c. 83 Richly, ibid., pl. XV. 84 Behrens, Bronzezeit Stiddeutschlands, 1916, p. 13. #57 E{P.9:, 1930, p. 70, fig: 14. 38 A.W. I, 209: Cunnington MSS., 13, p. 9. ire Ses. 322 Notes on Some Early Bronze Age Grave Groups Sere WILSFORD, BARROW 18 Nae VEWT} Figure 3 Wilsford Barrow 18 323 would seem to have been the barrow of a man of importance, and it can well be compared to the most princely of all graves of this period, Bush Barrow, Normanton.?? It may be no coincidence that both the skeletons were of “ tall stout men.” The Bone Tube:?8 This has been carved from a long-bone, possibly human, but it has been so completely smoothed that it is not possible to identify it. Itis complete in length, but in recent years one end has been damaged. In Part 1 of the Devizes Museum Catalogue, Goddard is the authority for saying that there was a side hole at the damaged end. All traces of this have now been broken away. Both ends have been squared off, and the interior of the bone has been scraped out and made circular. The use to which this tube has been put must remain a puzzle. If it did possess a hole at the side, near the narrow end, it might possibly have been a horn, although it is rather short for this class of wind instrument. The expanded end has been stained green, but this may be due to contact with the axe rather than an implication that it was a handle. Evans states that the chain for the forked instrument was fixed to this tube.29 This can only be his conclusion, and it is clearly incorrect. The nearest Wessex parallel is from Normanton Barrow 139.!° There seems little doubt that this is a flute made from the ulna of a large bird, perhaps a swan. It is 62 ins. long, with a carefully shaped mouth-piece; one, and possibly three, finger-holes are visible, the first beginning 3 ins. from the mouth-piece. The Bone Handle: This must be the handle to a knife, the blade of which was removed before burial. It is made of antler, ground to shape all over. At the narrow end, a short socket has been hollowed out, per- haps to receive some sort of pommel. The other end expands to fit the butt of a knife; it resembles the normal Bronze Age hilt, but lacks a semi-circular opening for the thumb. The four holes through the wider end are of two different types, one pair being counter-sunk, the other being cylindrical. The latter pair are so inclined that it would not be possible to fit a rivet of the same diameter as the holes; each inclines Bb P.9!,.1990;, pt. 2, p. 63, fig. 3. 38 The writer is grateful to Mrs. J. Butler, of Horniman’s Museum, who examined this and the flute from Normanton; the opinions are hers. 39 Evans, Ancient Stone Implements of Great Britain, p. 203. 207 PS: 1936, bt. -1,".00, fig.: 17. 324 Notes on Some Early Bronze Age Grave Groups towards the centre of the handle. All the rivet holes, if such they are, fail to show any signs of wear. The socket of this handle however is rather rough, although this may be due to natural decay. The mark of the edge of the haft on the axe (see below) precludes its use as a scraper fitting into this handle. | We suggest that this bone object may have been a model rather than a functional knife-handle. If it was such, it forms a close parallel to an exotic bronze handle from a hoard found at Blackrock, Sussex.*! The chronological difficulties that arise, should this analogy be correct, are considered at the end of these notes. The Sussex handle, a North European type, is dated between 1250 and 1050 B.C. Perforated Bone Plate: This resembles the plate from Snail Down Barrow 2, except that its greater thickness has allowed its maker to bore two holes straight through it. No further comment seems neces- sary. Boar’s Tusk: A boar’s tusk, measuring 44 ins. from root to tip is preserved from this barrow but is not illustrated. It has been sharpened along the concave edge, which is clearly worn with use; it has not been perforated. In the Secondary Neolithic culture it was common to use tusks as scrapers and knives.™ The Grooved Whetstone: This specimen has one groove on the flat face. It has been better finished than that from Snail Down (see above). It is made from weathered Forest Marble of fine grain, which may have come from the Atworth area of Wiltshire. A larger whet- stone, from Roundway Oval Barrow 6% is made of a similar rock, though with a coarser grain. The Stone Battle-axe: The much-used battle-axe, or axe-hammer, of ereenstone4* seems to have been partly functional, partly a symbol of authority. It is a fine example of a Wessex Culture perforated axe, except that it is rather larger than usual and is not just a parade-piece. Its cylindrical perforation is parallel-sided but was probably bored initially by a hole started at each end. A similar axe, which has also been much used, was found in a barrow 41 PPS. 1949, p. 168, fig.’ 1. 42 Fg. Mortimer, op. cit. pl. VII, fig. 53-4. 43 T.M. Cat. TI, p. 24, X. 64. 44 P.P.S. 1951, Pt. 2; p. 146, no. 294. by Nicholas Thomas 325 on Windmill Hill, Avebury,** associated with a Grape Cup. This one was made of picrite, from the factory at Cwm Mawr, Shropshire. Another axe of picrite, from Chippenham, Cambs.,*6 also has a parallel- sided hole, but it is slightly oval in plan. The Bronze Axe: This is sufficiently large to have been a wood axe rather than a scraper. It has a central thickening and cast flanges. It may be considered a classic example of the British flat and flanged axes, its sides being nearly parallel, its blade expanding sharply and its butt thin and convex. CONCLUSIONS Six grave-groups of the Early Bronze Age have been discussed in an attempt to draw attention to the less exotic elements of the Wessex Culture. In some respects these simple objects give us better evidence for the origins of our Wessex Culture than do those groups which contain articles of gold and imports from Europe. We have tried to show how many of the objects discussed are of Secondary Neolithic origin and indicate that the roots of the Bronze Age population of Wessex had been planted many centuries earlier. Just how wide a span of years these minor groups cover we must, finally, attempt to assess. The writer does not agree with those who ascribe a duration of two centuries to the Wessex Culture. Among these his friend Mr. ApSimon is the ‘most recent protagonist.*7 Recent work on bronze awls and on grooved daggers with six rivets at the hilt has convinced the writer that the Early Bronze Age in Wessex must have lasted for at least three centuries, starting about 1550 B.C. The largest awl from the famous barrow at Manton is the latest type in a classification which is at present being worked out. The Bush Barrow assemblage, on the evidence of its rapier-length daggers and its shield, would also be considerably later than has hitherto been accepted. The evidence from Wilsford Barrow 18 tends to confirm our belief in a long Wessex chronology, particularly if the interpretation of the bone handle is allowed. This piece, being a copy, should be dated nearer toso than 1300, the limits of the dagger-type in Northern Europe, where it belongs to Period II in Montelius’s system. The stone battle- axe may also be quite late. Those most like it are from the Cwm A5 PPS. 1938; Pt. 1, ,71,-fig..9: ibid., 1951 pt. 2; 134, fig 8. 46 Ant. J., XV, 1935, p. 65, pl. 9. 47 Inst. of Arch., roth Annual Rep., 37 ff. 326 Notes on Some Early Bronze Age Grave Groups Mawr factory, which seems to have been trading farther into the Bronze Age than most quarries. Moreover, our specimen is so worn that it must have been buried generations after it was made. The twisted bars of the bronze object from Wilsford seem alien to British Early Bronze Age metallurgy, where the emphasis was on sheet-metal work. The little “axe-scraper ’ from Barrow 9 in the Wilsford group ought likewise to fall late within the Wessex Culture, since its in- cipient stop-ridge is already hinting at the type known as a Bohemian palstave. This type was used in Germany in phase C of Reinecke’s system, about 1250-1100 B.C. We suggest that the two Wilsford groups are the latest of those discussed here, and that they may have been deposited between 1000 and 1300 B.C. The bone beads from Cop Heap Hill seem to occupy a middle position, though the faience beads they copy can occur at any date within the Wessex period. The antler mace was associated with polished flint tools of Secondary Neolithic culture and must itself be of Neolithic date. It was not necessarily contemporary with the bone beads. It is not really possible to assign a precise date to the groups from Barrow 2 at Scratchbury or from Newton Barrow. The perforation of teeth started in Palaeolithic times and was still being done in the early Iron Age. There is not a typology of bone pins that would allow us to attribute the Scratchbury hair-pin to any particular period or culture. Cop Heap Hill may be the only Late Neolithic barrow of the six, while Wilsford Barrow 18 perhaps occupies a position which, elsewhere in Britain, would be the true Middle Bronze Age. The other groups were deposited in the inter- vening period. APPENDIX THE BRONZE STANDARD FROM HOARE’S WILSFORD BARROW 18 by P. AsHBEE and A. M. ApSimon The “ most curious article . . . of twisted brass ”’ referred to in the original account quoted above of the openingsof this barrow, has subsequently been described and discussed by several authors. It was however left to Reginald Smith to suggest that the object may have been attached by the rivets to a pole for use as a standard! As far as is 1 Smith, R. A.; Antiquaries Journal, I, 136. The Wilsford “ Standard” 327 known this object is without precise parallel in prehistoric Europe. It is the purpose of this note to suggest that the closest affinities to the Wilsford “standard ”’ are to be found in the celebrated standards from Alaca Hoyuk in Central Anatolia.” These include two main forms, one a circular twisted torc or annular plate framing the small bronze figure of a stag, the other resembling a circular “ gridiron” and sometimes provided with radial projections or rays arranged about the circumference. In both, provision for attaching a shaft or handle is made in the form of an H-shaped double tang, whose shape is recalled by that of the centre piece of the Wilsford standard. The second or gridiron type, whose form is apparently derived from that of the sun-disc, may also have one or more small cruciform “ sun-pendants ” attached to the periphery by short chains analogous to that on the English standard. This latter chain may have originally been completed by such a pendant, rather than, as has been supposed, to have served to hang up the standard. The Anatolian sun-disc and stag standards have been assigned to the third millennium B.C;? the stone battle-axe and the bronze axe found with the Wilsford standard show that the grave belongs to the Wessex Bronze Age. On the basis of the dating for this period accepted by the present writers this would imply a date of about 1500 B.C. for this grave. From the condition of the standard it seems unlikely that it was much more than one generation old when committed to the grave. Before we accept this dating with all its implications, it is necessary to satisfy ourselves on two points. For the first, the account by Cunnington quoted above, as well as that published by Colt Hoare, would seem to provide sufficient assurance that the standard was a part of the grave group. Only a serious objection on the second score, that of anachronism, could justify our setting this association aside. This second charge must be answered by a critical examination of the object. With the exception of the chain, the standard seems to have been made from a single T-shaped casting, the two arms of the cross- piece being afterwards drawn out by hammering to form the “ horns or prongs.” The tang may indicate the position of the jet. Both the horns have been twisted in a clockwise direction as is “ natural to a * Kosay Dr. Hamit Ztibeyr; Les Fouilles d’Alaca Hoéyuk (Preliminary report 1937-39) Tomb D, Pls. clii—cliv. 3 Gurney, O.R. The Hittites (1952) pp. 195-6. VOL. EV—CCI x 328 Appendix: P. Ashbee and A. M. ApSimon on right-handed man.” For this the “‘ centre-piece ’’ would have been clamped down and the free end of the prong twisted with the aid of a hard-wood block. The bending of the horns would have been done The -WILSFORD. STANDARD UNDERSIDE OF LOOP ———————EEE INS. Figure 4 concurrently. There are two and a half complete turns of the longer prong left and one and a half of the shorter. The method used to make the twisted bar excludes the possibility that the prongs were originally 4 Maryon, H. The Technical Methods of the Irish Smiths in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages, Proc. Royal Irish Academy, xliv (Section C) p. 206. | The Wilsford *‘ Standard”’ 329 joined. This is confirmed by the thinness of the end of the longer prong and by the increased pitch of the twist near the tip. The tang has been broadened and its edges slightly flanged by hammering. These flanges have in turn been beaten down and the tang completed by punching the necessary rivet holes, the marks of which process can be seen on one face. The edges of the slot have been hammered down and this part completed by decoration made with a tracer. In one place a redundant line shows where the smith mis- calculated the layout of his design (Fig 4). The arrangement of this design tempts one to compare it with the “rays” on the sun-disc standards described above. | The chain is formed of three cast links, the friction of which has quite markedly worn the upper limb of the centre-piece. The basic techniques required by the production of this standard, the use of double-valved moulds, of hammer and tracer, are well attested in the Wessex Bronze Age. In particular the design and execution of the decoration are identical with that on certain British ogival daggers,® whilst the multi-riveted tang can be found on a contemporary British spearhead.6 The chain is more difficult to parallel, as except for some chain—-headed pins’ the only contemporary chains from Western Europe have links of spiral wire.® The best early parallel to the twisted bar technique would seem to be a gold bracelet from the Rhineland.® Less certain are some twisted versions of the Early Bronze Age ingot torcs found in Switzerland, that are unfortunately undated.!° However, “ corkscrew ”’ pins from Central Europe and Wessex!! show that the idea of twisted bronze cannot have been altogether foreign to the Wessex period bronze smiths. Granted a model, it is hard to see in the Wilsford standard anything beyond the powers of the smith who could make the tanged-and-ferruled spear- heads from Arreton Down and Snowshill. 5 Evans, J. Ancient Bronze Implements. 2nd Ed. (1881), figs. 308-9. 6 Greenwell, W. Arch. lii (i) pp. 70-2 (Snowshill, Glos.) 7 Hoare’s Everley Barrow 24; A.W. 185; Arch, xliil, p. 452. Radewell Kr. Halle, two pins chained to “ ingot-torc ”’, Ebert Reallexicon I, p- 392. Taf. 192. 8 Eg. Carnoet. Quimperlé, Finistére; Matériaux Sér. 3, 1 (1884) pp. 449-50. 9 Hoard,—Trassem, Kr. Saarburg, Rheinprovinz. Behrens, G. Die Bronzezeit Stiddeutschlands (Mainz 1916), S. 19, No. 63. 10 Kraft, G. Anz. f. Schweiz. Alttm xxix (1927) p. 6, Taf. I, 7, 8, 9. 11 Cf. Hoard; Vosov, Bohemia. Richly; Die Bronzezeit in Bohmen, Taf xli. Brigmerston; Barrow on Silk Hill. Dev. Mus. Cat. I. No. 116a. G7 330 The Wilsford “ Standard” It has recently been suggested that this object is really the handle ofa bronze cauldron, and more particularly of a “ wheeled cinerary urn” proper to the beginning of the Central and North European Late Bronze Age.!? This argument rests on the fact of these handles being pouble and formed of twisted bronze wire. However, the slotted centre-piece of the Wilsford standard is totally unlike the cauldron handles, and the tang appears quite unsuited for attachment in the manner of the wheeled cauldron handles. The bronze chains sometimes found on these hang from the rim of the vessel and not from the base of the handles. There is of course no question of any similarity to the handles of British Late Bronze Age cauldrons. Finally if the wide chronological gap that separates Alaca Hoyuk from Wilsford is felt to be a hindrance to our acceptance of a close relationship, it may be recalled that the Sutton Hoo standard has been cited as an ultimate descendant of the Anatolian series.1? We may well suppose that other standards intermediate in date still remain to be discovered in the East Mediterranean world. 12 Cf. Grinsell, L. V. Ancient Burial Mounds of England, 2nd Ed. (1953) p. 170. 18D. E. Martin Clarke. Significant Objects at Sutton Hoo (in the Early Cultures of North West Europe, Cambridge 1950, pp. 112-119). This deals with the implications of these standards. MESOLITHIC SITES IN WILTSHIRE By J. H. Tucker Although several reports of microlithic industries, mainly surface finds, have been made in Wiltshire, no true Mesolithic industry complete with micro-burins has been recorded. Recently, however, two sites yielding micro-burins have been discovered, both on the gravel spread of the river Avon near Chippen- ham. The first is in a gravel pit on Summerlands Farm, Christian Malford; the second is on the bank of a flood channel at Peckingell near Langley Burrell. The flints occur in a light brown sandy soil 331 ScaAe. ActuaL Size. Wiltshire Microliths 332 Mesolithic sites in Wiltshire which overlies the river gravel. It would appear that the flint used in the manufacture of the artifacts was derived from this gravel, sO varied is its colour and poor its quality. Besides the micro-burins, a few other microlithic artifacts have been found at both sites, but these are not sufficiently numerous to form a comprehensive assemblage of implements from each individual site. However, a few characteristic mesolithic types have occurred at both sites, and these, grouped together, are illustrated. Number 1 is a micro-burin from the Christian Malford site. It is made of grey flint which has patinated to blue-white. Number 2 is a small micro-burin of unpatinated honey-coloured flint from the Peckingell site. Number 3, also from Peckingell, is a small point, blunted on the right-hand side with typical steep microlithic flaking. It is of dark brown, horn-like ,unpatinated flint. Nos. 4 and § are pointed implements which are sharpened by the removal of small flakes at the point in the ‘graver’ technique. Both are of unpatinated dark brown flint. No. 6 is a very thin flake of light brown coarse- textured flint. Its edges are very sharp, the right being slightly serrated. No. 7 is a thin blade, perhaps broken, which has minute flaking along one edge; this however is on the surface of the blade unlike the usual steep microlithic flaking. It is made of almost transparent, colourless flint. Nos. 8 and fo are scrapers, the former being of light brown flint patinated to a creamy brown, and the latter is of grey flint patinated blue-white. No. 9 is a small blade core of grey flint with incipient white patination. With the exception of No.6,which is from Peckingell, © Nos. 4-10 are from the Christian Malford gravel pits. Besides the above, another rough micro-burin, some few dozen flakes, a few cores and a burnt flint have been found. The grid re- ferences of the sites are as follows:— Christian Malford 31/955794 Peckingell (Langley Burrell) 31/939746 399 THE ROMAN SITE IN COLERNE PARK. by A. Saaw MELLoR In John Aubrey’s “ Topographical Collections of Wiltshire ” there is a reference in his notes on the parish of Colerne in these words “At Colern Parke, above Slaughtenford, they tell me there is a single workes camp: i.e. Roman, which see. Mem. At Ford-hill is a rampard, with Graffe eastward, but no camp; it was to obstruct the enemies comeing; the like whereof is to be seen in several other places. Q. If the trench aforementioned, at Colerne Parke, is not of the same nature?’ It is clear, from Aubrey’s note, that he had not visited the so-called “ camp ”’ in Colerne Park; if he had, he would certainly not have described it as a “‘ camp ’’, for it in fact consists of three circular mounds. There is a note on page 77 of Canon Jackson’s edition of Aubrey’s “ Collections ’’ as follows: “A few irregular hollows in Colerne Park (now a wood) may have been mistaken for trenches; but nothing seems to be known of any regular camp there. At the top of the wood there is said to be a large hillock called “ The Dane’s Tump ’, where tradition buries a Danish King.” On the 25” Ordnance map of this region there are marked three circular mounds on the site, as well as several tracks in its neighbour- hood; on the 6” map only two mounds are shown. I can find no other published references to any earthworks in this area. Many years ago the late Canon Ketchley of Biddestone called my attention to some earthworks which he said existed in Colerne Park, but I do not think he ever visited them. I went to see them and found that they consisted of three circular mounds, and came to the conclusion that they were probably Bronze Age round barrows. However, in 1945 Canon Ketchley put me in touch with Major W. J. Dowding of Slaughterford Paper Mills, who informed me that he had picked up on the surface of the largest mound numerous pieces of broken pottery; I visited the site again with him, and found that the pottery was in fact Romano-British, and that quantities of it were lying on the surface of the mound and of its surrounding ditch. This led me to the conclusion that Romans had occupied the largest mound, and had used it for some purpose of their own, possibly as a base for a watch tower, and, in view of the quantity of sherds scattered about, for a considerable time. While investigating the surface of the mound and of the surrounding ditch I picked up, in addition to numerous 334 The Roman Site in Colerne Park & os oy egy ay ‘ { EEE re A jek. < Ee gal z= | 7 7 LA Lr TE ashes eS a eg e EVEL AvERAGE GRoynod + CROSS See ao Ry: 7 pao STE reer Mounds in Colerne Park = || ee —— | | The three mounds 335 potsherds, two bronze coins, part of a bronze fibula, and two small indefinite bronze fragments; the coins were later identified by Mr. Mattingly of the British Museum as an As of Vespasian (or Titus) and a small Brass of the late 4th century, probably Theodosian. The surfaces of the two smaller mounds were likewise inspected but with entirely negative results. It may be as well to describe here in detail the present external features of the site. It is situated on a slight hill spur which falls away towards the north east, at a height of about 450 feet above O.D., in Colerne Park wood, which consists of mixed trees and copse wood; this wood has existed on the site at least since 1760, according to a contemporary map. If the surrounding trees and copse were removed, the site would command extensive views to the north, east and south; it is 13 miles distant as the crow flies from the nearest point of the Fosse-Way, and is within easy walking distance of the Villas at Colerne, Castle Combe, Ditteridge, Box and Hazelbury, and within one mile of a Roman site at Euridge, recently discovered by Mr. H. Morrison. The nearest obvious water supply is the By or Box Brook, distant about 1 mile, down a steep slope. The group consists of one large circular mound with surrounding ditch, having a flat, circular top 25 feet in diameter; there is no berm at the foot of the mound, which fades directly into the ditch. The apparent diameter of the mound at the inner edge of the ditch is 72 feet, and its height is, as nearly as one can judge, about 9 feet; it is difficult to decide on the exact height, for the ground is on a considerable slope towards the N.E. The average width of the ditch is about 20 feet. A second smaller circular mound, 34 feet in diameter at base, with no obvious ditch, height about 34 feet, is situated almost due south of the large one at a distance of 88 feet from centre to centre. The third and smallest mound, 24 feet in diameter, with no ditch, and a height of about 2 feet, is placed S.W. of the large mound at a distance of 72 feet from centre to centre. (See Plan.) As above mentioned the site is in a wood of large trees, with inter- vening copse wood, and some large trees are actually standing or have recently stood on the two larger mounds; as the reader may imagine, this is not a favourable state of affairs for an archaeological investigation! Also the presence of so much obscuring material shrouds the neighbouring area and renders it difficult to survey the surround- ings; but there are many irregularities in the surface of the ground 336 The Roman Site in Colerne Park near the site, as well as many “ tracks’’, which may represent the remains of some kind of habitation site. In order to try and obtain evidence of the date of the construction of the mounds, I came to the conclusion that the simplest method to pursue would be to open the smallest one in the hope of finding an interment or some artifact that might constitute a clue. I approached the owner of the land, Miss G. A. Peters of Colerne, who most kindly gave me permission to make an exploration. After some delay, I was fortunate in obtaining the assistance of a keen archaeologist, Mr. L. Mortimer, a master at Box School, and he produced some budding archaeologists in the shape of some of the older boys of the School; I was also fortunate in making contact with Mr. H. Morrison of Euridge, another expert archaeologist and indefatigable digger. By the end of May 1953 we had made a trench 4 feet wide into the middle of the smallest mound, starting from the S.W., and had cleared a circular area in the centre about 8 feet in diameter down to original ground level. The material excavated consisted almost entirely of small, flattish stones of the local Oolite “ Brash’, up to about 6 inches across, with very little accompanying soil. No artifacts were unearthed except two very small pieces of a red pot, which were found immediately under the surface near the centre. There was no evident “ turf line ’’, but there was a slight discolouration of the soil at ground level, which may represent it; a few small fragments of charcoal were found at the same level. The structure of the mound appeared to be of the nature of a“ cairn ’’ or heap of stones, the only peculiarity being that for the depth of about one foot from the surface in the centre there was some blackening of the stones and intervening soil, which might possibly be the remains of fires kindled on the surface. On the advice of Mr. N. Thomas, the Devizes Curator, some trial holes were dug in several places in the central area to a depth of 18 inehes, but they only disclosed undisturbed local subsoil. Thus the results of this partial excavation of the smallest mound were entirely negative, and, short of a complete removal of the whole structure, nothing further seemed feasible. Meanwhile, I thought that it might be of interest to trench the sur- rounding ditch of the largest mound, primarily to discover its original depth, width and profile. Mathematicians will agree that the circum- ference of this ditch must be, at least, about 226 feet, and the question arose where to dig the trench. I cannot lay claim to prophetic powers, The ditch of the large mound 337 but something impelled me to select a position almost due south of the centre of the mound. We began to dig, and it was at once evident that we had struck the site of a large Romano-British rubbish heap; the soil was black, in fact almost sooty, and contained many fragments of wood charcoal. We began to unearth large quantities of broken Romano-British pottery of many different types and periods, including Terra Sigillata, fragments of broken glass, hundreds of iron nails of all shapes and sizes, a few coins and other interesting objects, of which a more detailed account will be given later on. It was found impossible to “ stratify” the material excavated, as it was all of the same nature, and the sherds and other objects occurred at all levels; the presence of the numerous roots of trees extending in all directions in the material of the heap made it almost impossible to ascertain at what level the pottery and other objects were lying, and as an example of the difficulty of forming an opinion of the period of deposit in an excavation of this sort I may point out that, as above mentioned, I had picked up on the surface, within a few feet of one another, a coin of Vespasian and one of the Theodosian family! The bottom of the ditch was found at a depth of about two feet, where the black materia! faded into the local reddish subsoil of brash. We extended the excavation of this part of the ditch on both sides of the trench, following the apparent extent of the heap, which was fairly easily defined owing to the black, sooty nature of its compo- sition. The extent of the “dump ” as finally ascertained is roughly 64 feet by 20 feet. An illuminating fact emerged as the digging of the heap proceeded, and this was that 2 number of pieces of dressed stone of varying sizes, and which were evidently some of the remains of a stone building or monument, were found; the composition of these worked stones is local Bath oolite, and it is reasonable to suppose that they represent part of the remains of a stone building that was originally situated on the flat upper surface of the mound, and that when this building became ruinous, or was purposely destroyed, some of the stones had rolled down the slope of the mound into the ditch. It is quite possible that, if the whole ditch was examined, more broken building stone might be found. Local experts are of the opinion that this variety of stone comes from quarries at Castle Combe, and is similar to that used in the construction of the mediaeval market cross in that village. A few trial holes were dug in the ditch at varying intervals, but no evidence of other rubbish heaps was discovered. 338 The Roman Site in Colerne Park An examination of the ground surrounding the mounds, especially towards the north, revealed the presence of a good many pieces of partially dressed stone of varying sizes, both lying on the surface, and partly buried; there may be many more, but the presence of so much undergrowth makes it difficult to discover them. With regard to the flat top of the mound, an attempt was made to try and discover wall footings or post holes, but the presence of so many tree roots, both large and small, which extended over the whole area and had caused much disturbance of the ground, rendered this completely abortive. In order to complete the exploration of these mounds as far as possible, a trench 3 feet wide was cut into the middle-sized mound from the east down to virgin soil, extending to the centre, which had been occupied by a large tree. The conditions found were exactly similar to those prevailing in the smallest mound, and nothing was discovered which had any bearing on the period of its construction. Such are the principal facts discovered during this investigation; the interpretation thereof remains to be found. The main indication, about which there can be no dispute, is that the site was occupied by Romans or Romanized Britons for a great many years, and the arti- facts unearthed point to the inference that this occupation was largely of a domestic character; the presence of many mortaria lends weight to this inference. Again, the presence of many pieces of dressed stone, roof tiles, stone flooring, hundreds of nails, points to the supposition that the occupation was connected with a permanent building of some kind; and the most likely situation for such a building appears undoubtedly to have been on the flat top of the largest mound. So far we are more or less on firm ground; but an explanation of many of the remaining facts is still to seek. Why were the two small mounds constructed? Why was there such a large amount of unconsumed charcoal present in the vast rubbish heap? Was the large mound made as a foundation for the probable building? Was a very con- spicuous position selected for a definite purpose, and if so, for what purpose? The solution of these and other riddles the writer leaves to his readers; he has attempted to make solutions on his own account, but not with a great measure of success. With regard to the finds made during the excavation, the following deserve special mention :— Finds on the site 339 COINS (In order of date) Number Emperor Date r As Vespasian (or Titus) Circa 75— 81 1 Sestertius ?Trajan Decius (oval blank) s DAO=2GIE 1 Small bronze Tetricus II mn 270-274 Tae ie Radiate head Later 3rd Century alae ‘ Constantine I (Urbs Roma) Circa 330 pee st Constantine I (Constantinopolis) ,, 330 ae x Valentinian I ie 364-375 TS aes ul Valentinian I is 364-375 ica ae Valens ss 364-378 aa » Malentinian I or Valens » 364-378 (Rev. Securitas Reipublicae) Bil se: i Valentinian dynasty Later 4th Century (Rev. Securitas Reipublicae) 3 oo a Uncertain (Two riveted tog’r)!_ Later 4th Century * om Theodosian family Later 4th or early sth Century 2 Minimi Later 4th or early sth Century * Probably part of a small ornament, possibly a bangle. POTTERY No whole vessel was found. Innumerable fragments of all sorts of bowls, cups, dishes and flasks, chiefly of the smaller, domestic character, including many pieces of undecorated Terra Sigillata and of New Forest ware. Portions of at least ten individual mortaria, mainly of 2nd and 3rd century periods. It is hoped to give a more detailed account of this pottery in the future. OBJECTS OF IRON Literally hundred of nails, of all types and sizes, especially those with large, flat heads used for fixing stone roofing tiles. Various other objects, much obscured by rust, including a good specimen of half a horse’s bit, which has been most successfully renovated by the Curator of the Museum at Devizes. BRONZE Portions of six fibulae, a pair of ladies’ tweezers, and a number of indefinite fragments of bronze of various shapes and sizes, some of 340 The Roman Site in Colerne Park them ornamental. A peculiar small terminal mounting of cast bronze, with the remains of an iron shank and hook; this is almost exactly simi- lar to one found at Caerleon in Monmouthshire, which is illustrated in Archaeologica Cambrensis Vol. XXXVIL Part I. Use unknown. ROOFING TILES No pottery tiles. Many pieces of sandstone tiles, the lower edges ending in obtuse points, similar to the type of tile found in several neighbouring Villas, e.g. at Atworth. The material very likely came from the Old Red Sandstone at Abbot’s Leigh, near Bristol. FLOORING No Tesserae, or Opus Signinum. A good many fragments of the same sandstone as the tiles, but considerably thicker and heavier, with one surface, at least, tooled; the edge of one fragment had evidently been used as a whetstone at some period. GLASS Numerous small pieces, chiefly light blue, but some colourless. My grateful thanks are due to many friends who have given me much valuable help and advice during this investigation. In the first place to Miss G. A. Peters of Colerne, the owner of the site, who has been most kind and forbearing; to the chief volunteer excavators, Mr. L. Mortimer, Mr. H. Morrison and P. C. Meaney of Box, without whose help the excavation would never have been accomplished. To Mr. N. Thomas, the Curator at Devizes, to Mr. L. V. Grinsell and Professor Whittard of Bristol University, to Dr. M. Callender and to Mr. R. A. G. Carson of the British Museum, who has most kindly identified the coins discovered. 341 THE FIRST NAME OF CELIA FIENNES By RP. WRIGHT; “ESA. The renown of Celia Fiennes rests upon her descriptions of her journeys undertaken at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. These were first published in 1888 under the title Through England on a Side Saddle in the time of William and Mary. In 1947 a definitive edition was published by Mr. Christopher Morris as The Journeys of Celia Fiennes, and so a wider public has been able to enjoy this document of social history. Celia was one of the five daughters of Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes by his second wife Frances; three of her sisters, however, died young. Mr. Morris (Introduction, p- xvii) has described the career of Nathaniel (1608-1669), who was an ardent supporter of the Parliamentarian cause. He did not make his peace with Charles II, but retired unmolested to his manor of Wilbury in the parish of Newton Toney, nine miles north-east of Salisbury, in the south-east angle of this county. Here Celia was born in 1662, and until the time of her mother’s death in 1691 her journeys begin from this village. She retained her interest in the place? of her nativity, as she calls it, for by her will she provided five pounds for the poor of Newton Toney, and stipulated that she should be buried in her “father’s sepulchre’ there. The form of her first name is usually given as Celia. In his edition (p. xxi) Mr. Morris misunderstands the way in which Celia’s name appears twice near the end of her father’s memorial stone, and gives no indication that the longer form, Cecilia, was otherwise ever used except in a lawsuit? before the House of Lords in 1705-6, when her name is cited as one of a group of mortgagees, once in its shorter and once in its longer form. Yet there are three pieces of evidence, apparently unappreciated hitherto, which show that around the time of her death in 1741 she was apparently officially known as Cecilia. First, in the north wall of the nave of Newton Toney church stands a large memorial slab of Purbeck marble erected to her father, the Hon. Nathaniel, second son of William Viscount Say and Seale, (for Saye and Sele) who died on 16th December 1669. The lower part of the slab commemorates his second wife, Frances, née Whithed (for Whitehead), who died in 1 The Fiennes family sold the manor in 1709 to Auditor Benson. 4 Hist. MSS Comm. (new ser.) VI p. 316 for 4 Dec. 1705; p. 352 for 23 Jan. 1706. 342 The First Name of Celia Finnes 1691. The style of the lettering and the arrangement of the main text suggest that no portion of the main inscription was cut until after the death of Frances. This primary text ended thus: ‘ leaving | only two daughters| Mary and Celia’. An addition,! cut in a slightly different style of lettering was made in 1741 as follows: ‘ Cecilia | Born June ye 7th 1662 died roth April 1741|at Hackney’, and at the same time the letters CI with a caret mark were inserted above E and L in the name Celia which terminated the primary text. The end of the inscription is here illustrated from a transcript made by the present writer by contact-drawing. HERE LYES ALSO HE Hon.” FRANCES FIENNES WHO DYED THE ocr. }69j IN THE 7O YEAR OF HER AGE LEAVING ONLY TWO DAVGHTERS MARY AND CELIA.CECILIA BORN JUNE Y 7° 16069 DIED IO" APRIL I7AI AT HACKNEY The second piece of evidence comes from the parish register? of Newton Toney. The register of baptisms under the year 1662 contains no reference to Celia Fiennes. It may well be that her parents, with their Nonconformist tradition, chose to avoid the Church of England’s rite of baptism. But in the register of burials under 1741 the Rector of the day, John Price, records: | Cela (corrected to, (@ecila } “Fiennes was buried April ye 17th. Affidavit bro(ugh)t ye same day ’. From this entry it appears that the Rector thought of her primarily as Celia and amended this to Cecilia. It seems clear that her niece, Mrs. Jane King, as executrix of her will, thought that she ought to use the fuller form of her aunt’s name when she added two lines at the end of the parental memorial, and this may have prompted the Rector to lengthen the name Celia in the record of burials. The third piece of evidence is provided by her will which owing to war-conditions was not accessible to Mr. Morris until after he had written his introduction to his edition of the Journeys. She describes 1 Made under the terms of Celia’s will which says: ‘ only an addition on the marble monuement for my father to be inserted my agge and tyme of death &c’. 2 The Rev. B. Wright, until 1953 Rector of Newton Toney, kindly granted access to the registers. Her will 343 herself as ‘ Cecelia Fiennes ’ in the first line, and may well have made a slip in using E instead of I as the fourth letter, for in the course of her will she spells the name Cecilia four times in referring to three of her beneficiaries. But in her signature of the will and in one marginal codicil she uses Celia with a long horizontal bar through the letter L, closely resembling the facsimile of her signature which Mr. Morris prints on p. 3 at the end of her introduction “ To the Reader’, written apparently in 1702, preceding the account of her Journeys. These three instances of the horizontal bar in her short name must indicate the omission of one or more letters, as if she felt that Celia, current in her family at the time when her mother’s memorial was cut, must be marked as a shortening of her fuller name Cecilia. e VOE-"*LV-—CEL Y 344 A MEDIEVAL TIMBER-FRAMED HOUSE IN CRICKLADE STANLEY JONES and J. T. SMITH On the south side of the junction between High Street and Gas Lane stands a small house (No. 46, High Street) which despite its unimpres- sive external appearance is nevertheless of considerable architectural interest, since to the best of our knowledge it is the only medieval house so far discovered in Cricklade, and one of the very few known to be of timber construction.1 The east frontage, towards High Street, has entirely lost its original appearance after being recased in stone, fitted with new windows, and rendered with plaster, so that only an inspection of the interior can reveal the substantial medieval timber structure still remaining beneath successive modifications.? The House Today The stone frontage is plastered and painted with modern windows (pl. 1); the front door is placed not in the middle but some distance towards the south end. Entering, we come into a passage which leads straight through the house to the back (plan, fig. 1A). To the left is a room with a low ceiling, to the right a blank wall which is in fact the back of a large chimney. At the end of this wall a short passage flanking the chimney leads into the main room of the house, where the ceiling is noticeably higher than in the passage and the first room; a further difference is that here the ceiling-joists are exposed. The dominating feature is the wide fireplace flanked by two doors, one opening into the short passage by which the room is entered, the other giving access to a winding stair. The stairway goes up alongside the chimney-stack to a small landing, the east wall of which is timber-framed and contains an original two-light window (fig. 1B)—the first clear indication that we are dealing with a timber-framed structure. The two rooms south of the chimney-stack (plan, fig. 1B) are floored at the same level as the landing, whereas there is a rise of three steps (a total of rft. 8in.) into the north room, corresponding to the disparity in ceiling levels noted downstairs. 1 The Cricklade list of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government includes no medieval houses and mentions only one timber-framed building, at the back of No. 35 High Street. 2 We have to thank Dr. T. R. Thomson, F.S.A., for pointing out to us that a timber building lay beneath the later masonry. We wish also to thank Mr. and Mrs. Godwin, the present tenants, for so kindly allowing us to make a he cuey examination of their house. Plate I. No. 46, High Street, Cricklade, as it is today Interior Elevation of the Medieval House, later stage, seen from the N.W. Plate II. The medieval house 345 Between the west side of the stack and the wall is a second flight of stairs into the attics, where all the timbers of the roof are open to view. There is more accommodation in the house than this. The entrance- passage leads directly into a lean-to kitchen, and there is also a stone wing, older than the present kitchen though obviously secondary to the main block, which is now only of one storey after being re- duced from two; it is divided into a pantry and bathroom. Such is the house at the present time, modernised and greatly changed from its original form, the evidence for which we next discuss. The Medieval House The roof is the most informative part of the house for this purpose, since there alone the medieval structure has survived almost unal- tered.’ It is of three bays (pl. Il), the middle and north bays being blackened and encrusted by wood smoke, the one at the south end not. This is sufficient proof that the house was of medieval type, having an open hearth and a two-bay hall. The main truss spanning the hall is chamfered continuously with the principal posts and has arch-braces below a cambered collar-beam. The other trusses all have cambered tie- and collar-beams: the north gable has two incurved braces and a short plain king-post, the truss at the south end of the hall was probably similar but the subsidiary timbers have been removed, and the south gable has two raked braces. Both slopes of the roof have in each bay a single purlin with two curved windbraces.” The absence of smoke-staining in the south bay shows that this part of the original house must have been divided from the hall by a structural partition extending from floor to roof. Although no trace of its original structure can now be seen, the wall on the south side of the entrance-passage cither incorporates or stands on the site of most of it. Since the entrance is contrived within the former hall it is probably the successor of the medieval screens-passage; we infer that when a chimney replaced the open hearth it was built backing on to the site of the screen itself, so that neither the actual living-space 3 There is no evidence of the original roofing material, and a few rafters have been renewed. 4 Where windbraces have been removed there are mortises to show their former existence. Vio 346 A medieval house in Cricklade nor the space for access were effectively reduced in area.’ If this be accepted, the ‘dais’ was at the north end. The position of the open truss supports this view; it is placed not in the middle of the hall but slightly to the south suggesting that the hearth was immediately north of the truss, i.e., within the dais bay.* If there was ever any permanent structural division on the line of the screen no trace of it remains. It is interesting to find that the only medieval window now observable, the one noted earlier at the head of the stairs, originally lit the screens-passage.’ It is of two trefoiled lights (fg. 1B), now blocked, which no doubt were never glazed.. So far we have established a hall and screens-passage; what then was the purpose of the third bay? Was it a solar or a service bay, and had it one storey or two? There is no useful evidence in what little timber-framing is visible. The most significant feature is the difference in floor-levels north and south of the chimney-stack. Had the medieval house been of a single storey throughout it is highly unlikely that the 16th century builders, when they inserted an upper floor, would have contrived a change of level. On the other hand, given a two-storeyed bay, it seems quite possible that they would have covered in the screens passage on the same level as an existing floor, and in the rest of the building put the new storey at a height more suited to ground-floor comfort. Technically this procedure would have been very con- venient. The joists over the screens-passage would rest at one end on the transverse beam already carrying a floor, and at the other end were tied into the stonework of the new chimney-stack. Our hypo- thesis is strengthened by the different placing of the main joists: the one in the south room (fig. 1A), midway between the partition and end walls, is related to the primary layout only; the one in the north room runs longitudinally from the chimney to the gable wall; and significantly, there is no main joist over the passage, because the 5 The main divisions of a medieval house were normally preserved during the late 16th and 17th century alterations, as has been noted in, e.g., Monmouthshire and Herefordshire. See Fox and Raglan, Monmouthshire Houses, 1, Medieval (esp. Pit Cottage, Llanarth, p. 55 ff., and Hendy, Llantilio Crossenny, p. 84 ff.); and Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, Herefordshire (3 vols.), where many instances are noted more briefly. 6 This feature was common in smaller medieval halls; examples may be found in Henry Taylor, Old Halls of Lancashire and Cheshire (1884). 7 Proof that the window is original is provided by the pegged mortise-and- tenon joints it makes with the surrounding framing. 347 PRESENT KITCHEN SITE Je KITCHEN WING SCREENS D | GROUND FLOOR PLAN SIAN jm ARCH-BRACE 2- ROOF TRUSS Sookas pa eames anaes vee IOC ; 7 EES 74/7 am VA Ac ee 74 SS SS eo 5 ses A SEO Ah INLAYS I SS ITEMS PEELS 2a Pn ea Ct TS ae EIRST« FLOOR . PLAN ————— SCALE. SCALE FOR INSET. Fig 1. Plans of the Medieval House, as from the S.E. 348 A medieval house in Cricklade span did not require it. Furthermore the lowness of the ceiling in the south room is particularly noticeable, giving proportions which are uncomfortable and slightly oppressive by comparison with the main room. For these reasons we think this part of the house was always of two storeys. The only published analogies seem to be in Monmouthshire where some two-storeyed solar wings have just such a low ceiling in the ground-floor rooms.* There they served probably for storage. It may be argued that this analogy is prohibited by the position of the one storeyed block which is at the inferior end of the hall. The question must be decided on a balance of probabilities. There is no solar in the normal position at the dais end, and in a house of this restricted size the provision of a service bay without any solar would seem dis- proportionate. Furthermore parallels exist for town houses having a screens-passage between hall and solar, the best-known example being Tackley’s Inn, Oxford.? We therefore consider the upper storey of our Cricklade house to have been a solar, and the ground floor a place for the storage of goods or produce. The kitchen of the original house was no doubt a separate structure, as was customary at that period. The date of the house, which is clearly late medieval, is hard to fix more precisely. The two chamfers of the open truss cannot be dated closely; the trefoiled lights may belong to the 15th or 16th century. The incurved braces of the north gable truss provide an upper limit not later than the early years of the 16th century and are normally somewhat earlier.” The principal posts of the south truss thicken gradually towards the top, a feature we consider to be common in the 15th century. On these grounds we assign our house provisionally to the end of the 15th or the beginning of the 16th century. Changes in the late 16th and early 17th Centuries. It was no doubt at this period, when throughout England medieval buildings were being converted into two storeys, that the stone 8 e.g., Hendy, Llantilio Crossenny, and Old Court, Llangattock Lingoed; Fox and Raglan, op. cit., 84-87. 9 W. A. Pantin, Domestic Architecture in Oxford; Antiquaries Journal, XXVII (1947), 124-127. Mr. Pantin suggests that the plan is “ perhaps more common than we realise ’’; it certainly occurs in Shrewsbury, and one of us has examined a similarly planned house in Devizes (Nos. 6-8, Monday Market Street). 10 We cannot quote a dated example; the statement is based on observations in Midland counties. Later alterations 349 chimney and upper floor were inserted in the hall, although there is no structural and ornamental detail to confirm the date. It is hard to be sure whether the casing of the timber-framed walls took place then or later, because no dateable feature can be seen in the masonry.” The one exception to this is a small first-floor window (plan, fig. 1B) of two lights with an ovolo-moulded mullion and wooden lintel- The type of mullion in any case ranges fairly widely in date, from the late 16th to at least the middle of the 17th century. The back wing, now only of one storey with a lean-to roof, cert- ainly had two storeys as built because the truncated roof survives as a blind gable (pl. 2). The wing itself has been shortened by about four feet—the lowest quoins of the north-west angle are visible alongside Gas Lane—and in its present mutilated form offers few clues to its date. The way in which the north wall of the wing joins the north gable wall suggests the two are not a single build, in which case they would surely have been coursed through continuously, without this awkward stepped junction; the wing, in fact, must be of a later build than the casing of the medieval house.” In the north wall of the present pantry is a wooden two-light window with ovolo-moulded mullion. The wing was surely built as a kitchen, with a large fireplace and chimney at the west end which have now been demolished. There is no sign of a kitchen in the 16th century alterations, and many smaller Elizabethan houses seem not to have had one as part of the house proper, continuing with the medieval arrangement of a separate building for cooking. Only in the first half of the 17th century did it become normal to join them.” At this point it will be useful to examine the house in the light of a 17th century Oxford probate inventory “ in order to see how it com- pares with the kind of accommodation demanded by a town-dweller of the period. The ‘hall’ of the Oxford house clearly corresponds to this main room at the north end (plan, fig. 1). There was a kitchen with "A careful survey of other houses in Cricklade would no doubt establish dating criteria for masonry of different periods, but this we were unable to do. 12 Such differences in masonry technique as we observed were so slight as to be of no evidential value. 13 A good example of an early Elizabethan house altered and provided with a kitchen wing in the mid-17th century is No. 14, Frankwell, Shrewsbury, which has been studied by one of us in detail. 14 Inventory of Roger Acton’s goods, taken 1626; W. A. Pantin, art. cit., pp. 131, 149-150, and fig. 7. 350 A medieval house in Cricklade a ‘spence containing kitchen utensils; the latter may have been the small room at the east end of the wing. ” There were two first-floor chambers over the hall and kitchen respectively, both with fireplaces; at 46 High Street, larger by a wing than the Oxford house, there were three. The south room, the old solar, was heated; the south face of the chimney stack is carried up vertically from the ground-floor, and since there is no obvious sign of alteration, the fireplace must be original. The Oxford house had three cocklofts or attics, corresponding to the three which formerly existed here. It is interesting to note that the main block cannot have had ceilings to the first-floor rooms, and therefore attics, before the middle of the 17th century, because there is a small two-light diamond-mullioned window in the north gable which is much too near the floor to have lit an attic, but would have been quite useful to a first-floor chamber. This window may in fact have been inserted after the wing was added, in order to counter- balance the loss of a window in the back wall. Had a gable light been intended for the attic, it would, we think, have been placed in the normal position above the collar. By the early years of the 17th century the open roof had gone completely out of fashion for new construction, and from the surviving fragment of the wing roof it is clear that it was built with a first-floor ceiling above which attics could be formed. The interesting point is that there are no dormer windows, hence these cocklofts can never have been used as bedrooms, as they were in the Oxford example. 18th Century and later alterations. In the early 18th century a fireplace was added to the ground-floor room beneath the former solar; the bay window was added about a century later. The partitioning of the south room on the first-floor involved the blocking of the fireplace, and may be mid-r19th century work. Architectural details. Under this heading will be mentioned certain constructional features of interest to students of vernacular architecture, particularly one or two which we have not encountered in timber-framed buildings elsewhere; when comparative study is sufficiently advanced, all such details will probably form useful dating criteria. If, as we think, the type of open truss having an arch-braced collar 15 "The kitchen wing of No. 14, Frankwell, Shrewsbury is divided similarly. Architectural interest 351 is not very common in timber-framed houses,"* it may be because it created a considerable thrust on the wallplates which could only be countered by buttressing, as in a stone building. The use of only a single purlin on each slope of the roof seems quite typical of small late-medieval houses.” Two became usual during the 16th century, during say, the middle fifty years of the century, hence the kitchen wing was built that way. Accompanying this change was a decline in the importance of windbraces. The large curved windbraces seen in the medieval roof (pl. 2) were intended to stiffen the purlins and share with them the weight of the rafters, although it may be noted that the latter were not pegged into the windbraces as they are in some houses. A third idea in using them, to provide an impressive decorative feature, disappeared with the introduction of ceilings, and at the same time the addition of a second purlin removed one of their functions. One sign of a fairly late medieval date may be the relatively small number of pegs employed at mortise-and-tenon joints; three only are used in fastening the arch-braces to each principal rafter of the open truss, and all the visible minor joints have only a single peg. The purlins are slotted into the back of the principal rafters except at the gable end where they are tenoned through and project beyond the truss in order to carry barge-boards. When a building has been extended this can be a useful means of determining an original gable end. The General Interest of the House. To outward appearances Cricklade is a stone-built town with scarcely a sign of timber-framed building. In this respect it resembles most other towns of the Cotswolds and their fringes, hence it is often supposed that vernacular building in these districts has always been of stone. It would be rash to generalise from a single example and say that in the middle ages the Cotswolds knew no other material than timber for smaller houses, but this house in Cricklade suggests that there must have been a considerable amount of timber buildin there at least as late as the early 16th century. And if a fairly substantial house was of timber, most of the smaller ones would certainly be 16 No example is recorded from Oxford (Pantin, art. cit., and Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, Oxford City), nor from Herefordshire and Essex (see R.C.H.M. Inventories of these two counties). 1” Most of the general observations in this section are based on work in the Midlands. 352 A medieval house in Cricklade the same, not of the more expensive material, stone. Burford and Winchcombe are two Cotswold towns now almost entirely built of stone, yet in each case the earliest houses appear to be timber-framed, probably of 15th century date. The same is apparently true of Mon- mouthshire, where medieval cruck buildings were replaced by stone structures from the middle of the 16th century onwards." The plan of the house is of considerable interest because it departs from the layout accepted as normal in the middle ages, with screens passage, hall and solar in that order. The variation we find here is certainly, as Mr. W. A. Pantin has suggested, more common than has been recognised hitherto, but more examples are necessary before it can be explained. Finally, the stone recasing of the house exemplifies that humbler Cotswold vernacular style to which attention has recently been drawn,” and which existed alongside the better-known regional architecture with ashlar details. ‘8 Fox and Raglan, op. cit. 19 [bid., 102, 104 n.2. 353 THE EARLY BOUNDS OF PURTON AND A PAGAN SANCTUARY By T. R. THOMSON, F.S.A-, F.R.HIST.S. In the year 688 Cedwalla of Wessex gave to Abbot Aldhelm of Malmesbury thirty manentes (holdings) of the eastern part of Bradon Forest!. This land was taken away from the Abbey by King Offa of Mercia whom William of Malmesbury calls a “ downright public pilferer ”’?. Offa's son Ecefirth made restoration in 796 at the request of his sister’s husband, Beorhtric of Wessex3. The restoration is of thirty five manentes, possibly a confusion arising from a following reference (in Reg. Malm. Cap. XIX) to five manentes elsewhere. The bounds are given, and these are the earliest bounds of the land called in this grant ‘‘ Aet Piertean.” PURITONA In villa de Puritone .XXXV. hydae terrae sunt . et hii sunt termini terrae ejusdem . In primis a loco qui dicitur lortinges Bourne ; usque teowes thorne . Et ab eodem loco ; usque hermodes thorne . Et ab eodem usque blake mere . Et ab illo loco ; usque hassukes more . et ab eodem versus aquilonem ; usque ad fossatum quod appellatur olde dich . et per illud fossatum directe ; usque richsbed . et ab eodem ; usque ad aquam quae vocatur Worfe . et sic directe per aquam ; usque la steorte . Et ab illo loco ; usque la Wythie . et ab eodem ; usque helnes thorne. Et ab illo loco ; usque La Westapele . et ab eodem usque Butles leye . et sic usque Wrkeleye . Et ab eodem ; usque Brokouere fortwarde . id est . in principio . et ab illo loco ; usque la pinne . vel penne . et ab eodem ; usque crokrigge . Et ab illo loco ; usque Woburne. et ab eodem ; usque fossatum quod extendit se in Wulfmere . Et ab illo loco per le appeldore ; usque ad la freynne . et sic ab eodem usque ad calofurcia . et ab illo loco ; usque in appeldore sele wyke . Et ab eodem . usque Wetherstoche . et ab eodem usque le esc ultra Gustin- geleye . Et de gustingeleye usque la rode versus aquilonem . Et ab eodem rode ; usque ad locum primo scriptum videlicet lortinges bourne . The bounds! start with Lortinges Bourne. The River Key has been 1 K.C.D. XXIX, B.C.S. 70, Reg. Malm. I, 284, 285, Caps. XVIII and XIX. 2 trs. Sharp, rev. by J. A. Giles. 3 K.C.D. CLXXIV, B.C.S. 279, 279a, Ad. MS. 15667. The extant copy seems to be of post-Conquest date. 4 The large map on the wall in Cricklade Museum shows all the known place names, of all periods, in this district. 354 Early bounds of Purton known at different times and in different reaches as Bradon Water, Stokkenlake (near the Thames), Spital Brook (in the Spittle fields, Cricklade), Weramere (“muddy brook”), Dance Brook (in the Dance, Cricklade), Lortingesbourne, Worwinckel (“ dirty corner,” near Calcut), and Stoke Brook (at Purton Stoke). For reasons which will appear later, I choose as our starting point Scholars Cross, which is the place where the northern boundary of the modern parish of Bradon meets the River Key just west of Bentham Farm. In what follows reference will be made to Grundy’s study of these bounds (Arch. Journal, LXXVI) and Akerman’s remarks made sixty-two years before in Archaeologia, XXVIL. The next two marks Teothes (Teowes) Thorn and Hermodes Thorn will be discussed later. The fourth mark is blake mere (Black Pool). This is the site of Pond Farm. Grundy was right in this attribution. There is no other site for a notable pool within a mile. He did not observe, however, that this ancient habitation site has been formed by the extension and consoli- dation of an island in a large pool, not by digging a moat round a farmhouse. The “moat” has been partly filled in; even now it consists of a series of ponds. The natural and artificial ditch drainage for some hundreds of yards around repays study. © The next is hassukes more, the tufty and wet waste. Half an inch south of the “ m” in Pond Farm (6” O.S.) there is a watershed. Hence one ditch runs east to Watkins Corner (Watkins was hanged herein 1819) the field south-east of which, in Haxmore Farm, still displays the tuftiness of constantly wet ground. Hence the boundary follows this ditch or streamlet versus aquilonem usque ad fossatum quod appellatur olde dich (northwards to the dug dike which is called “ The Old Dike ”’). The old ditch is the southern boundary of Cricklade Town Lands and joins the Key and Worf systems at their closest convergence. It runs over the low watershed between them and is not a watercourse but obviously a very ancient mound. It will be seen on the map as a parish boundary and can be identified by Pylchards Stalls, just to the west of which it starts eastward from the streamlet. Here Grundy erred. He did not realise the formation of the old property of Purton Stoke. This consists of a round head containing the present village and a long tail stretching westward (the Rags) into the parish of Cricklade St. Sampson. The head is notably on high ground and its natural eastern bound is the ditch flowing “ versus aquilonem.” East bounds 355 The head is separated from the tail by the River Key which is crossed at Stoke Bridge by the chief service road of the property. Having excluded Purton Stoke, the boundary turns east along “ The Old Dike’. This is still the parish and hundred boundary. As noticed above, this dike is not a natural drain. It was excellently conceived as joining the Key and Ray systems by the shortest line and there is no reason to believe that it has ever been changed. Reaching the Worje (ic. R. Ray) the boundary follows the stream south from the richsbed (Rushbed), to the steorte, (the tail or promontory) to the wythie, (willows) and to helnes thorne. The first is still traceable by the double watercourse, the steorte is the eastward projection and curve whose limit is near Elborough Bridge (Elvers Bridge and Ayldeford in other documents). It seems probable that Helnes (read Helves) Thorne was near Sparcell’s Farm, in other documents called Sparsholt!. The association of helves and holt (spearshafts) is curious. The course of the Worf has been used for many boundaries. Grundy has put himself out of step by missing “ the old dike’s” significance and putting it down to be one of the two courses of the Ray. The charter says per illud fossatum directe usque richsbed. That is, by the dyke to Queen Ham and to Reeve Lake which terminate the old dike but cannot quite be said to be the river itself. La Steorte is obviously what is described above. The question now arises as to where the willow tree or the willows were and why this bound is introduced. It is obvious that the main stream is to be left. The words of the charter read “ . . . Worfe et sic directe per aquam usque la steorte et ab illo loco usque laWythie”. The main stream is to be followed to the steorte and thence to the willows. As we must turn west, and as there is here no other natural bound, we must accept the streamlet flowing northwards from Sparcell’s Farm, and the willows as being immediately south of the junction with the Ray. This makes sense without strain. The next bound must mark where we turn west to leave the stream- let. With Akerman I prefer Helves Thorn to Grundy’s choice of Helnes Thorn. I do not think the Helnes Thorn of the Ellendune charter (B.C.S. 948), is near this place. LaWestapele is to my mind a corrupt reading, and I prefer Lawe- stapele.© This is near the junction of three land divisions and might well 5 see Bradon Forest, C.H.S., 1953 for several perambulations, K.C.D. MCCCV., for the bounds of Moredon, and Arch. Journal LX XV, 184-7. 8 in Add. M.S. 15667. 356 Early bounds of Purton be a very early meeting place. When the hundreds were defined, that containing the “ stapol,” or “law post,” would naturally be called Stapol Hundred. Common Platt where the modern boundary crosses the N-S road fills the bill. Here we have the meeting of four roads, two footpaths and a rising stream. Halfa mile to the N.W. (not where marked on the O.S.) was a pagan Saxon burial ground described in W.A.M. XXXVI, 606. The next bound is Butles lye. Place names are not helpful here. Akerman suggested Butslake Farm, but this is five miles to the north- west! I suggest “ the clearing or pasture round the dwelling ” (butl). This would signify the demesne of Lydiard Millicent Manor House.’ This is an ancient enclosure bounded on the north and west by a water- course (which is the present parish boundary) and on the south and east by roads. It is an oval shaped enclosure very obvious on the map. If from Common Platt we follow the present parish boundary we find that it runs along a ridge with fine views to the north and south. Near the I of Isolation Hospital on the 6” map, the hedge and ditch which form that boundary meet a small watercourse which runs in a curved course down to the valley bottom where it meets the stream. This small watercourse, although natural, is insignificant. It has very obviously been enlarged and in places a large bank remains. I wish to stress the picture of a natural ridge boundary meeting a small ditch which soon runs into a very obvious valley stream. This valley stream runs up to be the northern boundary of the demesne of Lydiard Millicent House. Passing westwards we come to Wrkeleye. The first syllable provides a number of guesses, but the line along the high ground, the present parish boundary, is very obvious. My own guess is that the reference is to the fertile valley clearing immediately to the north of the line and between it and Ringsbury Camp which would be referred to as the weorc. The charter now has usque Brokouere fortwarde id est in principio. This is a teaser. I have long disagreed with Grundy’s suggestion, reading Broc Ofer, “the slope going down to the brook” (at Greenhill). In the first place we must notice the present names Brockhurst Farm and Brockhurst Wood. In the second there is no “‘slope’’, the present boundary runs down a steep lane. I therefore read Brokouere as Badgers 7 The name Lydiard, if the second element is equivalent to the Welsh, garth, ‘hill’, would be given more aptly to Lydiard Tregoz; Lydiard Millicent was probably the site of a nameless butl (habitation). South bounds 357 Hill in the sense of a steep declivity. “In principio ” has puzzled many scholars. If this is corrupt, what suitable word could be substituted: It came upon me suddenly that praecipitio would do excellently. Mr. H. C. Brentnall immediately went one better and suggested a known thirteenth century form precipio. This is undoubtedly the solution, and the words including fortwarde, now fit the locus with ease, even with elegance. My interpretation is “ straight to Badgers Bank : so down the steep hill”. The next step is to la pinne vel penne. This is the “ Pin Oak” of the Purton parish perambulation of 17338 where the boundary turns westward at a right angle. The ground here is very low and the reference is probably to a pound at the side of Purton Common on the parish boundary. It is worth noting that the boundary line from Pricketts Leap at the top of Greenhill Lane to the “ Pin Oak ”’ was part of the thirteenth century boundary of Bradon Forest.? By missing the “ Pin Oak” Grundy has misdirected himself in the ensuing marks. Thence to Crockrigge. The line keeps to the modern parish boundary following the road past Drill Farm along the Thames and Avon water- shed. The road commands fine views on both sides and has been known until recently as Cockride or Cockridge. A fine natural boundary which needs no mark for over a mile and a half. Akerman knew the modern names and found “ traces of ancient potteries”’. He clung to the first syllable as “ croc’”’. Grundy was quite at sea in considering Brickkiln Copse, quite close to the top of Greenhill Lane. These workings were started probably in the eighteenth century and local information is to the effect that clay was dug there in “ grandfather’s time”, although it may well have been dug there a thousand years before. The lesson is not to strain to find a locality to fit the charter- word-exactly-as-we-have-it. Cockridge is a noble natural boundary. Why then strive to find a place of crocks which to my mind would be too feeble a circumstance to give rise to a Saxon place name? Our next mark is Woburn. This has nothing to do with Woburn in Hankerton parish. I am inclined to think that Woburns were as common as Idovers! The most likely “ twisty ditch ” is one rising at the 413 mark on Queen Street, following it westward to where Blackberry Lane meets the southern termination of Minety Green Lane, and running down it for about 500 yards before turning east. This ditch is not marked on the O.S. Iam of opinion that the southern BW Ad XL 219. ° C.HLS., Bradon Forest p. 8 and map. 358 Early bounds of Purton half of the western boundary of Purton, that is, between Cockridge (now in part called Queen Street) and the Purton-Malmesbury road has varied or has remained undefined until the eighteenth century or later. The present slanting boundary looks to me modern, based on land mensuration rather than on natural features. This part of Purton Common, called Momes Leaze, was the subject of a special Enclosure Act (5 Geo. II). Unfortunately no map is lodged with the Act, but the Act discloses that this 277 acres was part of the Manor of Lea and Cleverton. The perambulation of Purton, mentioned above, made either immediately before or immediately after, is clear enough except at this place. The natural western boundary is obviously the Woburn (true to name) and it is equally obvious that the ancient boundary, Minety Green Lane, referred to below, received its angulation as it ran south at Little Charlton on purpose to avoid crossing this gutter. From Woburn usque fossatum quod extendit se in Wulfmere, (from Woburn to the ditch which runs out to Wulfmere). Here we have a deliberate contrast. Obviously, the Woburn did not run to Wulfmere. We are still on the watershed, and the ditch which flows westward to Braydon Pond rises a few yards N.E. of B.M. 393 close to Eighty Acre Farm. The watersheds were noticed at a very early date. The Woburn waters find their way to the Thames. The waters of the ditch which runs down to Braydon Pond (Wulfmere) find their way to the Bristol Avon. The only notable pool nearby (11 miles) on the Avon system is Braydon Pond, said to be the largest piece of water in the county. . Grundy seems to be still near Greenhill. His marks 15-18 seem to be bunched together within a mile. In fact, after 18, (the Woburn, which he identifies “ undoubtedly ’”’ with one of the source ditches of the River Key), he seems to give it up! Proceeding, we are confronted by per le appledore usque ad la freyne, (by the apple tree to the ash). Looking northwards from our last point near Eighty Acre Farm we see the ancient boundary of Minety Green Lane has a slight angle at Little Charlton. The reason for the angle has been noticed. Little Charlton was a bound in the 1591 perambulation of the Duchy Woods. The next notable point along the old and modern boundary is Charlton Oak, (Charnam Oak, or Beostocke). This point is the meeting place of Cricklade St. Sampson’s, Charlton, and the Duchy Lands, and has been a known landmark since about 1228. Before plantation this must have been a magnificent site for a landmark. 10 The Act directs that the survey be made before 1st May 1733. The Goes lation of the parish took place on 3rd and 4th May 1733. THE BOUNDS OF PURION A.D. 796 tt =S = BURT HILL Fy CHARTER NAMES SHOWN THUS———HASSUKESMORE on yersv QUILOME;, % 4 ° HG wepuy SOON TERN R RSE a EE SEO N ERR IRS c ° t a Y Jae Ms: SAM A, PLAIN Ay ty, Miy us an HELVES THORNE) Sporsholt Farm ‘ ‘ ’ ' . s MANOR HO.% . LYDIARD MILLICENT Braydon boundary 359 Indeed, now, looking south from Jaques’ oak on the Minety-Malmes- bury road Minety Green Lane running over Worthy Hill" presents a striking picture not easily forgotten. Notice that we have now left the modern boundary of Purton for the boundary of the parish of Braydon, born out of Purton in modern times and coterminous with the Duchy Woods. Note per appledore, which suggests that the apple tree was on the same boundary as regards general direction. At the Ash (afterwards Charlton Oak) we havea change of direction—ab eodem usque ad calofurcia (from the same to the bare crossways). From Charlton Oak we turn eastward along the Cricklade-Braydon boundary and the first notable place we come to is the crossing of our tidgeway boundary by the old road from near Minety Station (and possibly from Ashton Keynes and beyond) to the Ridgeway near Brinkworth village. This road is still in use for most of its length, and might well be the descendant of an ancient track. The crossing place in 1300°° was known as Heremyte Crofte (Hermit’s Croft) and in 1591 as Armyn Cross." It was a place with a name over halfway backwards in time to our charter. The point is arresting to the viewer, and is especially notable from the north, and from the south from the Purton-Malmesbury road. Either “ the bare crossways ”’ or “ the lonely Cross’ would do well. Grundy has “the Place where the Roads fork’. He ignores the first element (“ bare”) and suggests no place. A forking of roads suggests a measure of comparability in the importance of the tines, and true forking is rare in pre-Conquest times, Roman roads excepted. Next” we have usque in appeldore sele wyke. Maple Sale, formerly il Worthy is an ancient name derived from O.E. Worthig enclosed property, or Worthign a land division. 12 These were forinsec woods belonging, anyhow as early as the thirteenth century, to the manor of Aldbourne. This manor was given in 1229 by Henry III to William Longespee II whence they eventually passed to Thomas Earl of Lancaster by his wife’s mother Margaret d. and h. of William Longespe III. No difficulty arises at their being found within this Bocland of 796. E.P.N.S. Wilts wrongly places Braydon in Cricklade Hundred. It was always in Staple Hundred, and was probably never in St. Sampson’s, Cricklade. 13 Peramb. of 1oth June 1300; Reg. Malm. Abbey and Chanc. Misc. Roll 113, m.6. 14 Survey of D/L manors in co. Wilts, 1591. ~ > The map shows Ravenhurst House Lodge as the next feature. The Old Lodge, Great Lodge, or Timberhurst, set in the middle of the moat was not then in existence. The island site has been dug into for brick clay, and has been almost destroyed. Wi@iES EV _CCk Z 360 Early bounds of Purton Maple Zell, remains as the name of a farm in the middle of Braydon, as a copse and an oak on the south side thereof, and it was at one time the name of the farm now called by the fancy name of Braydon Manor (formerly Lukers Wood Farm). The Duchy was divided in the seventeenth century into eight holdings of approximately 180 acres each, by north and south lines. It isnot unreasonable to suppose that the third holding from the west was in some sense a unit before this time, and was known as Maple (or Apple) Zell. A feeble clue is given by the rather awkward word “in”. If the “ dairy hall” was on the site of the present Gospel Oak Farm, the bank and ditch passes immediately to the south of it and could be described as passing within or ‘in’ it, We are proceeding eastward along the present northern boundary of Braydon parish. This boundary is in places a hedge and ditch, in others a green lane (right of way) with a very heavy ditch-and-bank. Grundy noticed Maple Sale on the map. In these five words we must admit the possibilities of the scribes’ misapprehension of the meaning of, to them, old-fashioned words, carelessness, bad writing or spoiled letters in the matter he is copying, a too constant familiarity with similar charters, and false emendations. There may have been confusion between mapulder, a maple; apeldre, an apple tree, and, possibly, maer-apeldre, an apple tree serving as a bound. As regards the last two words sele wyke, | do not for a moment accept Grundy’s “ Dairy Farm with the Hall”, nor that a wic must be “ always on or near the mead’. I feel we must either group appeldore sele together,—and we have the modern Maple Sale or Maple Zell,—or we must group sele and wyke together. If we postulate the latter we seem to have two nouns associ- ated as in berewic, barley farm, or heordwic, sheep farm. But if we postulate an error, and consider seld as the original, the imagination can run riot ! The next bound is wetherstocke. The meaning, Rams Post, is not helpful. We must therefore turn to our principle and seek a “ feature ” or a change of direction. There is no change of direction but the next feature along the present boundary is the old site, Black Dog. This is exactly 3” north of the middle of the “O” in BRAYDON on the 6” map. There is nothing to be noted on the site, which is beside the broad green lane and ancient bank which here form the present boun- dary. (The name is preserved in Black Dog railway bridge which took its name from a beer house which existed in the nineteenth century on the road just south of the bridge, an example of double movement North bounds 361 of place name.) In 1733, Black Dog was the alehouse of John Stoneham. One must presume that the boundary lane then carried some traffic. We proceed eastwards along the green lane with bank and ditch which was called in 1630 “‘ Turn thro’ Meare ” to le esc ultra Gustingleye (the ash beyond Gustingleye). Gustingleyes and its variants have been applied through the centuries to that part of Bradon which became the fourth and fifth of the seventeenth century divisions of the Duchy Land. If these divisions were in some degree ancient, the ash would mark the north-east corner of Gustingleye, that is, where the word Turne occurs on the map. As we are proceeding in a straight line the ash thereon must have had some significance, and the “ ultra” seems to refer to a mark immediately beyond the land division suggested. The word Gustingleyes” may refer to a battle near here. Battlend refers to the northern part of Gustingleyes, and Bernwood to the southern part. Battle Lake and Battle Lake Farm are modern, as is the lake itself, but there are many battle names in the Dogridge neighbourhood immedi- ately to the east. The Dogridge-Pavenhill scarp is a magnificent defensive position. Next we have usque Ia rode versus aquilonem (to the “ rode”’ towards the north). Two difficulties are evident, the phrasing, and the meaning of “rode’’. Is la rode going or pointing northwards or is the peram- bulator directed to proceed northwards to la rode? From the context it would seem that the boundary does not proceed along la rode. If the meaning of the word is constant, la rode cannot mean “ cross ” for there are charters where the context is strongly against a point, e.g. “the cross’. Bosworth-Toller gives the suggestion “ clearing ”’ but this has been rejected by several scholars. The form of the word is against equation with the predecessor of “ road”’. As this is the last mark before the starting point, its position would be at the final angulation. It seems that la rode must be the ride or clearing going north, i.e. Lovelocks Lane (near Davenport Bridge) in its pre-railway straight course through scrub or wood. The slight northern bulge in the line at this angle suggests that the predecessor of Lovelocks Lane was a wide clearance strip going north. I therefore accept rode as “clearing” but in the special sense of a longitudinal one in use as a boundary or a ride. 16 Tf this is an -inga name it has passed unnoticed together with two others associated with the R. Key, Lortingesbourne and Wallingers (at Calcut), and with Millington in Lydiard Tregoz, and Brimings Bridge in Brinkworth, all unnoticed by the E.P.N.S. Wilts. Lie 362 Early bounds of Purton We have now returned to Lortingesbourne (R. Key) at Scholars Cross, our starting point, and find that we have two unnecessary marks between here and Blakmere. If the angulation or curve is to be north- wards, the stream itself would be the natural bound. If a boundary proceeds along a stream for any considerable distance, it is usually so stated, but here we are given two thorn trees, the first named after Tiw, the pagan war god, and the second after the god!” Heremod whom the A.S.C. gives as a forbear of Cerdic, ten generations earlier than Woden, but himself the great-great-great-great-grandson of Noah! If the line does not turn north along the river, and if it does not proceed direct to Blakmere (by reason of the existence of two un- wanted marks), then it is reasonable to suggest that it follows the Braydon boundary south in its curious semicircle, and north again from its equally curious eastern projection. Here are circumstances worthy of note. If, on the 6” map we take centre as 2mm. north of the “u” of Plummers Bridge and describe a circle with radius 2.75 cm. the curve of the Braydon boundary lies on its circumference. This land was known as the Temple Closes.'* There is no known association with the Templars, or with a family of the name of Temple. Teothes (Teowes) Thorn must be very close. The very ancient ditch (which is neither part of a defensive work nor a land boundary) running south from Purton Stoke Lane, makes for this circle.’ The ground is flat and featureless. The view of, and from, Pavenhill is excellent. It seems to me reasonable to suggest that the boundary turned south round this circle and then proceeded to Blak- mere. I suggest that Teowes Thorn was the eastern acute angle where . the parish boundary now turns back, and Heremod’s Thorn was near New Farm where another turn had to be made. Tiw’s Thorn must have preceded the drawing of the land boundary and it was the only mark in a featureless neighbourhood to which a boundary line could be drawn. All sudden and peculiar turns in land boundaries, where there is no geographical or mensural reason, are stimulating to the imagination of the topographer. Here we have a holy tree of pagan 17 Dr. G. M. Young draws attention to the part played in Matthew Arnold’s Balder Dead by one, the first of all the Gods For speed, and Hermod was his name in Heaven.—Editor 18 Survey of D/L manors 1591 (W.A.M. VI, 200); I.P.M. Wilts Chas. I 58, 59. I shall search for earlier references. 19 ‘This ditch has no connection with the “‘ Ancient Bank ”’ north of Stoke Common Lane. The position of the latter suggests a defensive work. The pagan sanctuary 363 Wiltshire more than thirteen centuries ago, marking the turn of a line to which our Local Governments show respect. The circle, which I suggest was a heathen sanctuary, is deliberately avoided in this monastic grant. St. Augustine’s advice was not always taken. That there were very early settlements of pagan Saxons in North Wiltshire deriving from migrations up the Thames Valley or from the north-east, or both, is beyond question. St. Birinus and the Venerable Bede refer to their religion in interesting terms. When exactly they came under the effective control of the people of Cerdic coming north- wards we do not know. In or near the circle referred to we have some early, andsome possibly early, names : Tiw’s Thorn, Heremod’s Thorn, several Weolands, Lortingesbourne, Wallingers, Hardings, Gusting- leaze. Our bounds are complete and reasonable. The land of the charter is seen to comprise the whole of the modern parish of Braydon and the whole of the modern parish of Purton except the Temple Closes and Purton Stoke, which is cut off by the only reasonable natural line of demarcation. The grant thus comprises all the old parish of Purton less Temple Closes and Purton Stoke, no more and no less. The difficulty with the undefined western boundary has been solved, and a suggestion has been made to account for the peculiar eastern boundary of Braydon. Where we have old parish and hundred boundaries which are natural features, they demand our first attention. We cannot expect always to understand both the literal meaning and the significance of words used a thousand years ago, but if we can adjust them to a meaning which is still significant of the unchanging land, that adjustment will be a right one. Work is proceeding on other Saxon grants to Malmesbury Abbey, notably on Brokenborough, Norton, Eastcourt, Rodbourne, More- cott, and Chelworth-in-Crudwell. The results are being entered on sheets of the 6-inch O.S. map for deposit in Devizes Museum where those illustrating this article now lie.” 20 ‘The map which accompanies this article has kindly been supplied (and hand-coloured) by the author-—Editor. 364 SOME HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL NOTES ON No. 12 ST. JOHN’S STREET AND Nos. 2 AND 3 ST. JOHN’S ALLEY, DEVIZES By E. A. RENDELL These buildings are believed to have been erected in the last quarter of the fifteenth century or the first decade of the sixteenth. They are the oldest structures in commercial occupation in Devizes, and possibly in any other Wiltshire town. No. 12 St. John’s Street was acquired by the late Alderman Frank Rendell, trading as “ Frank Rendell,”in 1898, when it was practically derelict. The purchaser readily appreciated the archaeological interest of the premises, which he proceeded to partially restore, using a portion as additional offices to the original accommodation in 29 St. John’s Street and other portions as stores for materials and plant. ) The adjoining cottages known as 2 and 3 St. John’s Alley, which were void and derelict, were bought in 1926, the Company recognising that they were contemporary with the property previously purchased. It is interesting to note that the wide sweep in St. John’s Street facing the Town Hall, which commences at the new building, erected in 1903 and known as No. 11 St. John’s Street, from mediaeval times constituted the Tanners Market of the Borough. This is believed to have been an open-air market, held at stated intervals which are not now known, somewhat on the lines of the Old Candlemas Fair held annually in the open space in Monday Market Street adjoining the Castle Hotel. The area of this open space, until approximately the first quarter of the last century, was considerably larger than it is now. No. 12 in those days must have exhibited an imposing half-timbered front, which is exemplified by the gables visible above the lean-to roof of the present entrance to the range of offices. This fact is further proved by the diagonal stringer on the termination of the projecting half-timber work in the Alley towards the Town Hall. The half timber work in the Alley is a very fine example of the then prevailing domestic architecture in England. Attention is specially drawn to the considerable oversail of the first storey and the construction of the curved wind braces which reinforce the structure. The timber framing is of English oak, which possibly emanated from Melksham Forest or standing timber from the Old Park. No nails are used in its construction, the whole being put together and secured by oak pegs, probably driven in with the head of the axe which cut them. It is interesting Construction 365 to note the strength which this ensures. In cases of fire the writer has on many occasions observed the tenacity with which the structure remains together until the pegs have been burnt through. The inter- stices between the timbers are filled in with “ wattle and daub.” This is constructed of plaited hurdles which are secured with hand-made nails to the timbers of the structure, which are then plastered with a mixture of lime, sand, grit and some cow dung. This mixture is remarkably durable and down the centuries has effectively excluded the rain. Particular attention is directed to the very fine cambered frame of what unquestionably was the main entrance door to the building in the Alley, the workmanship of the sunk spandrels on the quarters being in an excellent state of preservation. The door is under- stood to be the original one, and though it is not any longer used this entrance has aroused much interest in archaeologists, painters and photographers who have reproduced the general conception in many media. A considerable amount of external restoration was carried out between 1920 and 1939, and as the structure showed signs of disin- tegration, steel tie rods and plates were inserted from the front to the rear of the building laterally, which has prevented any further move- ment. The iron casements are old frames which were collected over the years and inserted during the period of conversion to office accom- modation in new English oak frames. Very little of the original glass remains, and the lead lights are, of course, of modern construction. Care has been takenas far as possible to preserve the original appearance. Entering from St. John’s Street, the internal face of the timber construction previously referred to is visible in the Jobbing Manager’s office, together with the exposed oak floor joists of the structure above. These features are reproduced on a larger scale in the adjoining Board Room, the joists in particular and the beams in which they are housed being of a large area and possibly taken from some previous structure. The large stone open fireplace was discovered during the original restoration in 1926. The jambs and shelf have been carefully restored, but much of the original remains; the herringbone lining to the flue and hearth are, of course, restorations. The ground floors of the two adjoining cottages, Nos 2 and 3 St. John’s Alley, call for no special comment. On the first floor of these two structures the Wages Office exhibits some rather exceptional timber both in partitions and lateral beams 366 Notes on No. 12 St. John’s Street Devizes being left from the adze and showing the considerable girth of the virgin oak which was then more general than is the case today. The adjoining Cost Office is probably the most intriguing feature of the whole of these buildings. Here again the timber construction is very apparent laterally in the main beams, together with the struts which are necessitated by the height of the room, which occupies a large portion of the roof space. The “ wattle and daub” wall filling is indicated here very clearly, whilst the curved wind braces are a com- paratively rare feature and show the ingenious way in which the stresses of the roof were compensated by the builders. The fireplace is con- sidered to be of Jacobean type. It is possible that this room was the Refectory or “ Great Hall’ of one of the mediaeval Wool Guild Merchants. The structure which forms the front of the building, built on the original Tanners Market, is believed to have been erected towards the close of the eighteenth century or the first decade of the nineteenth. Its erection was permitted by the Devizes Municipal Charity Trustees and it was used at that time as a “‘ common ale house” or “ victual- ling house” and was known as “ The Boot Inn,” stated as “ being situate lying and being in the new port or Parish of St. John the Baptist, next to a place called or known as the Tanners Market, in the occupation of R. Fennell and was formerly in the occupation of one Noah Hughes.” It is possible that it was owned, at the time this extension was made, by Messrs. James Gent and John Tylee, brewers, who were mayors of the town at various times from 1794 to 1825. An “ outset rent” of 10/— per annum is payable in perpetuity to the mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the Borough of Devizes, this being the ground rent for the portion erected on the Tanners Market. The Trustees’ and Secretary's names on the conveyance of 1898 were well known to the writer of these notes and represented the leading citizens at the close of the last century. St. John’s Alley at one time communicated with Wine Street. This is clearly shown in the remarkable piece of cartography known as Dore’s map, dated 1759, a copy of which is available for inspection in the Town Hall. The Alley is clearly delineated on this map as emerging on Wine Street and is described thereon as “ Wine Street Alley.” 367 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 1954 The Annual General Meeting was held at Amesbury Abbey on Saturday, 4th September, at 11.15 am. The President (Mr. R. B. Pugh) was in the chair. The minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting were read and signed. The Acting Secretary then presented his report which was adopted. It is printed below. The Acting Treasurer assured the meeting that the membership showed no sign of declining and that income from the Cunnington Bequests was up to expectations. So far the Society was keeping within the terms of its budget for the year. It was proposed that in future the published annual statement of accounts should be somewhat differently presented and accompanied, if necessary, by explanatory notes. The following officers and committeemen were then proposed under the new Code of Rules adopted at the Special General Meeting of 27th March and elected: Mr. R. B. Pugh (President); Mr. F. W. C. Merritt (Hon. Treasu- rer); Mr. C. W. Pugh (Hon. Librarian), assisted by Mr. J. P. M. Fowle; Mr. H. C. Brentnall (Hon. Editor), assisted by Mr. Owen Meyrick and Mr. J. M. Prest; Mr. Meyrick (Hon. Meetings Secretary); Mr. T. R. Gee, Mr. L. V. Grinsell, Mr. R. A. U. Jennings, Dr. A. Shaw Mellor, Mr. James Oram, Professor Stuart Piggott, Mr. M. G. Rathbone, Mr. Cyril Rice, Mr. Harry Ross, Mr. H. de S. Shortt, Dr. T. R. Thompson (Members of the Committee). It was resolved that the Curator should continue to act as Hon. Secretary. Mr. W. E. Brown was reappointed Hon. Auditor. Damage by ploughing to the barrows on Normanton Down last April was next discussed. It was felt by members present that the existing system for the preservation of Ancient Monuments was not satisfactory. ” Among those who spoke on this subject, Mr. C. E. Owen suggested that much could be done to interest the public in antiquities by exhibiting material at county shows. Mr. Pallister Clarke proposed that explanatory notices should appear beside the more important antiquities. It was pointed out that this was already being done in some cases. Mr. Bray urged that members should submit annual reports on scheduled sites in their areas. Mr. Brentnall, speaking as Ministry of Works Correspondent for Wiltshire, stated that the Ministry itself must take the lead by declaring what it intended to do and showing in what way the Society could help. The following resolution for communication to the Council for British Archaeology, was moved from the chair and adopted: “ This meeting views with grave concern reports that barrows on Nor- manton Down, scheduled under the Ancient Monuments Acts, were damaged last April. It earnestly hopes that no effort will be spared to ensure that some adequate system of protecting ancient monuments is devised and enforced.” Mr. Victor Collins invited members to visit the excavations at East Winterslow which the Archaeological Society of Bishop Wordsworth School, Salisbury were then conducting. The President then delivered a paper on Amesbury Priory. 368 ANNUAL REPORT 1953-54 Presented to the Annual General Meeting on 4th September, 1954. Membership. Forty-three new members have joined the Society since the last Annual Meeting. While there have inevitably been losses by death or resignation the total membership remains at 569, which is nearly the same as at the Annual Meeting in 1953. Finance. The Hon. Treasurer will render his own report. Here, however, it may be recorded with appreciation that the Wiltshire County Council has renewed the grant of £250, mentioned in last year’s report, and that the Trustees of the Salisbury, South Wilts and Blackmore Museum have begun paying the Society the annual sum of //50 in return for a share of the Assistant Curator’s services. It may also be mentioned that an annual budget for the Society has for the first time been worked out, with fixed sums allotted to the different departments of the Society’s work. Constitution. A new code of rules revising that adopted on 16th May, 1877 was laid before a Special General Meeting on 27th March. It was resolved that the officers then serving should remain until the present Annual Meeting. The officers and Committee submitted for election today will be elected under the new code. Hon. Officers of the Society. In September, Mr. R. S. Child informed the Committee that on grounds of health he could not continue to serve as Hon. Treasurer. His resignation was accepted with much regret, for during the 34 years of his service he had completely reformed the list of members and induced many more than ever before to undertake to pay their subscriptions by covenant. Mr. Child generously agreed to carry on as Treasurer until a suitable successor had been found. In April the Committee invited Mr. F. W. C. Merritt to succeed Mr. Child and he has agreed to do so. The Hon. Librarian, Mr. C. W. Pugh, who has unfortunately suffered from ill health during the year, has been obliged to ask for assistance in administering the library. Mr. J. P. M. Fowle has agreed to act as Assistant Librarian for the present. Owing to the proposed change in the format of the Magazine, to which reference will later be made, Mr. Brentnall has felt it necessary to ask for some assistance in addition to that which Mr. Meyrick is so valuably furnishing. Mr. J. M. Prest has been invited by the Committee to act as a second Assistant Editor. So much work has fallen on the Committee in selecting these new or additional officers that it has not yet been possible to find a person to fill the post of Hon. Secretary. The Committee, however, have the problem very much at heart and will tackle it early in the next session. Meanwhile the Curator continues to act as Secretary. The Museum. Miss A. S. Mottram resigned her post as Technical Assistant in October and was succeeded in February by Mr. F. K. Annable, B.A., of the University of Reading, who bears the title of Assistant Curator. Mr. and Mrs. Annable are in residence in the flat at 41 Long Street, Devizes. The Curator, with the help of Mr. Annable since his appointment, has been pressing forward with the reorganization of the Museum. The room devoted to objects of the Neolithic Period, which lies between the old entrance hall and the new, was opened in April, and great progress has been made with Annual Report 1953-54 369 a Recent History Room, not provided for in the plan of January, 1953. The room at the back of the old museum, in which the Stourhead Collection was formerly housed, is to become a Natural History Room and some work has been done on getting it ready. In order that members may see what has been accomplished an * Open Day,’ at which it is hoped there will be a large attendance, will be held at the Museum on November 6th. This will enable the Curator to explain to members what he has already done and what are his future needs. The Museum Laboratory, having been fitted with a sink kindly presented by Mr. M. G. Rathbone, is now fully equipped and has been used throughout the year forthe repair and cleaning of many objects from our own collec- tions and from the Salisbury Museum. Some repair work has also been done, on commission, for the City Museum, Bristol. The most important additions to the Society’s collections during the year have been a portrait of Elizabeth, daughter of William Cunnington (I) by James Waylen, given by Col. R. H. Cunnington, a collection of neolithic objects lent by Mr. Alexander Keiller and a collection of six water-colour drawings of Edington by John Buckler, formerly the property of Sir Richard Colt Hoare, Bt., purchased out of a fund specially raised. During the year ended 1st July, 1,854 visitors paid for admission to the Museum—an increase of 549 over the corresponding period in 1952-3. Four- teen societies and schools, representing about 400 adults and children, also paid visits. Three miscellaneous matters connected with the Museum deserve mention. First, in the spring, Mr. Justus Akeredolu, a student from Nigeria, came to us to gain some experience in the working of a small museum and remained for a few weeks. Secondly, Mr. D. A. S. Webster has most generously consented to survey the fabric once a year without charge to the Society. Thirdly, three postcards of objects in the collections have been prepared and will shortly be on sale. Publications. The Society’s centenary celebrations were completed in October by the publication of a Centenary History. This was mainly the work of Mr. C. W. Pugh, though sections on the Records Branch and the Natural History Section were contributed by Mr. R. B. Pugh and Mr. L. G. Peirson respectively. The booklet was distributed to all members and is on sale to the public. At the suggestion of Professor Piggott the Committee has resolved to change the existing octavo format of the Magazine to a quarto. This will enable adequate plans and illustrations of archaeological sites and objects to be published in conjunction with their descriptions and should help to attract to or retain in the Magazine articles of good quality. It is not, however, intended to convert the Magazine into a journal for the specialist alone. The date when this change can be made has yet to be determined. Meetings. On the day of the Special General Meeting in March, the Curator gave a lantern lecture on the Excavations at Snail Down, Everleigh, which he directed in 1953. Three excursions have been held this summer: on June 12th to Edington, Steeple Ashton and Keevil, on July 17th to Broad 370 Records Branch 1953-54 Hinton, Wroughton and Aldbourne, and on August 7th to White Sheet Hill, Mere and Alvediston. The increase in the number of expeditions, which it is hoped may be maintained, is due to the assistance rendered to Mr. Meyrick by Mr. Ross. The Society has every reason to be grateful to them both for what they have done. Library. There is little to record this year, except that a sub-committee, on which the County Librarian and Librarian of the University of London have consented to serve, has been set up to consider the future of the library. The Records Branch. The Annual General Meeting was held at the Civic Offices, Swindon, in October, when Professor Jack Simmons of University College, Leicester, gave an address on railway records, the Mayor of Swindon receiving the members. The membership of the Branch now amounts to 195, a higher figure than has ever formerly been attained. A full account of the Branch’s recent activities will be found below. The Natural History Section. This Section has 229 members, including 97 full members of the Society. Its activities continue to expand: notable reports to Nature Conservancy have been made. The new Flora makes progress through the press; the Check-list of Birds is receiving its final editing and basic work on the Entomological List continues. RECORDS BRANCH 1953-54 HONORARY EDITOR’S REPORT FOR 1953-4 1. Volume for1954. Volume X, Two Sixteenth Century Taxation Lists (1545 and 1576), edited by Mr. G. D. Ramsay, is in the press and should be ready for distribution at the end of October. 2. Volume for 1955. The text of Mr. J. P. M. Fowle’s Wiltshire Proceedings in Sessions, 1736 is all in galley proof. The introduction, which describes in detail the various classes of Quarter Sessions Records down to the Local Government Act of 1888, is ready for the printer. The volume also contains the proceedings before the Justices of Assize. The indexes are being completed. 3. Volume for 1956. The text and introduction of the Crown Pleas of the Wiltshire Eyre, 1249, edited by Mr. C. A. F. Meckings are in an advanced state and should be ready for the printer this autumn. 4. Collectanea. The edition of a collection of medieval documents, each complete in itself, is in hand. The volume will comprise the accounts for the building of a mill and of the castle at Marlborough, 1236-8; the Veredicta of Chippenham Hundred, 1281; pleas in the liberty of the Abbot of Battle at Bromham, 1289; clerical poll-taxes in Salisbury Diocese, 1377-81; twelve Wiltshire deeds in Bath Public Library, 1437-60, and a fifteenth century Wilton larderer’s account. 5. Other future Volumes. Work continues on editions of (i) the rolls of Highworth Hundred, 1275-85 by Mrs. Brenda Farr, and (ii) the charters of Lacock Abbey by Miss Joan Gibbs. (iii) Dr. Helena M. Chew, reader in medieval history, Queen Mary College, London, has begun an edition of the first Dean and Chapter Act Book of Salisbury, generally known as “ Hemyngs- by’s Register,” covering the early fourteenth century. (iv) Mr. R. L. Rickard, assistant librarian of New College, Oxford, is preparing an edition of the Progress Notes of Warden Woodward for the New College estates in Alton Records Branch 1953-54 371 Barnes, Colerne and Stert, 1659-78; and (v) Mr. M. Farr, an assistant archivist to the county of Stafford, has started work on the ministers accounts of the lands of Adam de Stratton at the end of the thirteenth century. toth August, 1954 N. J. WILLIAMS. HONORARY SECRETARY’S REPORT FOR 1953-4 1. Annual General Meeting, 1953. The Annual General Meeting for 1953 was held at the Civic Offices, Swindon, on 3rd October by kind invitation of the Mayor of Swindon. Professor Jack Simmons of University College, Leicester, gave an address on “ The Records of English Railways: Official and Unofficial.” 2. Membership. The Branch now numbers 126 individual and 66 institu- tional members—a total of 192. 3. Finances. At the end of 1953 the Branch had a credit balance of approximately £360. To date the figure is approximately £640. The number of members paying their subscriptions under seven-year covenant now totals fifty-seven. Maurice G. RATHBONE. 28th August, 1954. ACCOUNTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 1953 BALANCE SHEET 31st December, 1952 fis. cd.» | 31st December, 1953 CI (a Cash at Bank 9 0§$3110.-8'. | Cash at Bank fa 2134 5 6 Cash in Hand ae 2 7 10% | Gash im hand .. a 12 en8 P@nrSavines Bank \.. 391° 4 6 | P.O. Savings Bank ... 146.6: 3 Balance reduced by .. 586 18 74 £947 3 0o8 £947 3 O8 STOCK ACCOUNT 31st December, 1952 Jo Ses Gh. 31st December, 1953 a esica: Vol. I 222s 54 108 O--|) Vol. 1 an 24. 234-5 6 II =. nal II se nl Ill 104 TOA LON © III 97 O97) 101.0 IV 199 199..@ 0 IV 196 196; 0 © V 95 O5700'0 Vi 88 88: 0 0 VI Pe TOA KOZ 122516 VI Se OF O20 2 250 VII Sy emil VII LOL Lie Ono Vill ae PHEg/ PHO ASS 0} VI a LO 170; 0 “0 IX Sevobl| IX .2 80 80) 6: 10 Increase in 19§3 1070) +0 £848 7 6 £848 076 372 Records Branch 1553-54 EXPENDITURE AND INCOME EXPENDITURE aL suitdogn INCOME BS: id Postage and secretarial Subscriptions :— expelses @ a ike pas 1950 I. 0 0 Stationery, tYPINS, etc. TS 3 3 1951 7:17.09 VIII, printing . KS) a TESS 2) 1952 28 1G VILL, postage .. a 7 10 II FOS3) lors VI, printing ot Sama OM Sri O 1954 AO 0 IX, printing .. B40, Syd ——- 219 II 9 One copy of II pur- Salesito members) ) em gorge chased for resale .. rors Sales to non-members Ito V 715.0 VI 10 1 0 VII 2-15.20 VIll 6I 4 6 IX 8° 0 0 90 15 6 Donations ue ne 267 1as 1 Covenant Scheme (tax recovered) .. 47. 9 Io Refund on printing Vil B26 Withdrawn from POISTB. 7 a vo 2501.0) 30 Excess of expenditure over income a RAO Sue, TOS iy Act YU PEOSt 1) 00 Audited and found correct in accordance with the books and vouchers and the explanations given. E» C. Pirr; Hon. Auditor. M. J. LANSDOWN Aueust sth, 1954. Hon. Treasurer. 373 NOTES Thirteenth Century Remains in Chippenham. In September, 1951, while passing through Chippenham, the writer of this note came across scattered remains of early mediaeval pottery and glassware which are probably of some interest to Chippenham historians. These remains, fragments of wine-jars and bottles, were found quite acciden- tally while walking across the site of the new Post Office on the corner of St. Mary Street just after the old property there had been demolished. According to other reports a well was also found, but it had been filled in before the writer’s visit. As the writer left Wiltshire shortly afterwards the pottery was identified by Mr. T. C. Lethbridge, M.A., F.S.A., of the Cambridge Archaeological Museum as being very probably thirteenth century, showing the coarse decorative slashings on the broad handles of this period. Remains of this date and at this particular spot arouse interest since it can be reckoned that this is one of the oldest inhabited parts of Chippenham. It will be recalled that directly opposite is the Yelde Hall whose exact date of building is unknown but is said to be fifteenth century. A few yards away, also, is the site of the sixteenth century “Ye Hart” Inn of which little now remains but the name “ White Hart Yard”’ and across the Market Place is the reputed site of King Alfred’s hunting lodge (ninth century). Although these remains are sparse they represent a link between Saxon times and the fifteenth century, a period for which there is very little to show in Chippenham. Indeed, we may surmise that just here stood a thirteenth century inn, perhaps the forerunner of “ Ye Hart,” standing on the edge of Chip- penham on the London Road, since St. Mary Street (or Cook Street) was for several centuries the main route into the town, and doubtless many weary travellers were gladdened by the sight of a hostelry there. The writer apologises for the delay in the publication of this record. K. P. HUMPHRIES. Roman Stones at Latton. In W.A.M. Vol. 50, (p. 293) itis suggested that these pieces of a fine Roman column now in Latton churchyard may have been removed from Water Eaton church, and that there is no record of this building. Water Eaton was a well-known cell of Godstow, and it is probable that there was a small chapel there. The present owner has found many bones in a small area near its probable site. There are still traces of a fishpond in the vicinity. The Godstow Register has several references to the property. It seems improbable 374 Notes that such a fine column ever existed at Water Eaton; it is much more likely that the fragments came from Cirencester or Cricklade. T.R.T. Ancient Monuments. Two attacks in successive years on some of our most cherished prehistoric monuments have raised doubts in the Wiltshire County Council about the protection afforded by the Ancient Monuments Act. A meeting of the Town and Country Planning Committee was therefore called on October 4th under its chairman, Sir Charles Chitham, to hear a statement from the Ministry of Works with regard to the monuments under its care. Invitations to send representatives were accepted by the Ordnance Survey, Southern Command, the National Farmers’ Union, the Agricultural Executive Committee, the Parish Council’s Association, the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, the Salisbury Museum, the Country Landowners Association and our own society—a formidable list which produced an attendance, of twenty-one persons. The speaker for the Ministry was the Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments, Mr. B. H. St. J. O'Neil, whose sudden death before the month was out must be deplored by all who knew his devotion to his duties and his passionate interest in the preservation of the remnants of our past. The discussion, as was natural after the damage done at Manton and Normanton, centred upon barrows, though the scope of the Ancient Monuments Act is of course far wider. It was passed in 1913 and revised in 1931 and 1953. Itnow extends the period during which prosecution may be instituted for an offence from six months to twelve: it was the shorter limitation which made the proceedings in the case of Manton Long Barrow abortive; the Normanton case failed on another count. It was hoped that Mr. O’Neil would have something to tell us of new safeguards, but all he could announce was the intention of the Ministry to issue reminders of their responsibilities to owners and tenants at intervals of, perhaps, five years, and the Ministry's aim or wish—a curious phrase—to mark all monuments listed in its schedule with an unmistakable sign. It will be noted that the Ministry, or its predecessor, the Office, of Works has had forty years in which to put this obvious precaution into practice and has availed itself very sparingly of its opportunities save in the case of monuments in the possession of the War Department, which in this county are certainly numerous. The yearly additions Notes 375 to the schedule have not been so considerable as to make the annual cost of such a policy prohibitive, however formidable delay may by this date have made it. We should in fairness record that the attitude of landlords and tenants, civil or military, is commonly benevolent towards these relics once their antiquity is recognised. Most people in this county are acquainted with them, and when the defendant in a recent case asked what a barrow was, it may be supposed that he was usurping a privilege reserved to the higher judiciary. But some may fail to identify a particular excrescence with the thing they have heard or read about. No one could have been more genuinely grieved than the American sappers who found they had destroyed part of the vallum of Barbury, nor more anxious, had it been deemed advisable, to put it all back again. It must be conceded that the presence of ancient monuments may have consequences not contemplated by the Act. A protected barrow, particularly if it has been disturbed at any time by excavation, may become a prolific nursery of nettles and rabbits. Sometimes, too, the disposition of barrows may render ploughing among them unprofitable if not impossible, a fact which troubled no one so long as the downland turf was one of our inviolable treasures and food- production at such elevations confined mainly to mutton. Mr. H. J. Street and Mr. N. L. Whatley voiced the feelings of the farmers. They did not see why they should have to spend money on what the State wished to preserve, but they were prepared to co- operate by surrendering the more important monuments on their land to the Ministry for proper care and protection provided the rest could be abandoned to the plough in the interests of food-production. But Mr. O’Neil was not to be lured from his commission: he was there to explain the intentions of his Department, not to discuss proposals outside the provisions of the Act, and it must be admitted that a number of questions were raised at this meeting, and not only by the agriculturalists, to which the Ministry would appear to have no answer. We seem to be very much where we were before. H.. CoB: The Saxon mint at Wilton. In an article titled ‘The Sack of Wilton in 1003 and the Chronology of the “Long Cross” and “Helmet” Types of Acthelraed IL’ published in Nordisk Numis- matisk Unions Medlemsblad for May, 1954; Mr. R. H. M. Dolley, VOL. LV—CCI 2A 376 Notes Assistance Keeper of Coins and Medals at the British Museum, has demonstrated the corroborative evidence of coinage for the destruction of Wilton by the Danes in 1003 A.D. Using the evidence of Scandinavian finds, recently made available by Dr. Rasmusson, and adhering broadly to suggestions put forward by B. E. Hildebrand in 1846, Mr. Dolley arranges Aethelraed’s six substantive types in the order: First Small Cross, Hand, Axe, Long Cross, Helmet and Second Small Cross. Allowing six years to each type, the Long Cross issue would end in 1003. An analysis of the mints and moneyers shows that with this type, not only did the Wilton Mint cease striking, but three of the moneyers moved to Salisbury (Old Sarum) and began there to strike coins of the Helmet type. Evidently Wilton suffered heavily and was not considered safe for a mint. The Chronicle says it was © plundered and burnt.’ It is equally certain that Salisbury, though visited, remained immune behind her ramparts. One moneyer, Wensige, may have struck coins in Wilton of Aethctraed’s last Small Cross type, but it is not certain that a mint was again set up there until the reign of Cnut, and the moneyers who went there were new men. Wilton’s former moneyers chose to remain in Salisbury. H. de S. S. Stonehenge. Mr. Atkinson, Professor Piggott and Dr. Stone have been so active about and within our most famous monument in the course of the last two years that a brief summary of their discoveries announced in the public press may be welcome. We approach the circles by the old ceremonial route of the Avenue. The existence of its course in the neighbourhood of the Avon at West Amesbury, for which Dr. Crawford found evidence from the’ air thirty years ago, has now been confirmed by excavation. Stukeley, it may be recalled, 200 years before that, had assumed a termination for his discovery opposite Ratfyn above Amesbury. Another assump- tion of Stukeley’s, the existence of a western branch of the Avenue leading to the Cursus, is now definitely proved to be mistaken. The causeway at the point where the Avenue reached the Ditch of the earliest phase, already known from the investigations of the 1920's to have involved the refilling of a section of it, is now proved to have been distinctly later than the erection of the Heelstone, the only sarsen belonging to the Ditch-Bank-Aubrey Holes circle of Phase I. Notes 377 So far we have been dealing with features already familiar. The work of the past summer revealed something quite new, the evidence of a double bluestone circle which preceded on the same circumference the existing bluestone circle, now so fragmentary that doubt has some- times been thrown on its completion. Each of these earlier circles consisted of some thirty stones, and the two corresponded radially. The stones in fact had been erected in pairs occupying the ends of a dumb-bell-shaped cavity with their sockets six feet apart. There appear to have been two extra stones within the inner circle to mark the entrance from the direction of the newly constructed Avenue and emphasize the axis of the whole monument as aligned on the mid- summer sunrise (or, according to Mr. Newall, the midwinter sunset). This arrangement completed, so far as is at present known, Phase II. Phase III began with the removal of the double bluestone circle. Its place was taken by the far more imposing circle of lintelled sarsens, and inside that were set the five great trilithons of the sarsen horseshoe. To this stage, perhaps preparatory to it, are also assigned the Four Stations, the small upright sarsens just inside the Bank, so set that the two on mounds can be joined by a line which crosses the line joining the other two at the centre of the circles. It is also supposed that at this stage the now recumbent sarsen Slaughter Stone was one of an upright pair flanking and further emphasizing the axial line. The mysterious Y and Z holes may, it is suggested, have been dug to take the bluestones, but they lie so unsymmetrically that no master-builder, Mycenean or native, could long have entertained the project, nor does it seem, as commonly assumed, that the problem of setting them out correctly, with the sarsen circle obscuring lines of sight, would really have proved insuperable. Be that as it may, the sixty bluestones were te-erected in the single circle that still in part survives, and nineteen new ones were procured to form the inner horseshoe. Thus Stonehenge as we know it was finally completed. Many details, some controversial, are here omitted, and nothing has been said about the axes and daggers carved on some of the sarsens, whose discovery was recorded in our last issue. But it should perhaps be mentioned that a correspondent in the Times of February 3rd last drew attention to daggers carved on menhirs in Abyssinia, Tibet and Java, and suggested (not for the first time) that light might be thrown on Stonehenge by certain aspects of the ritual of those tribes in Assam which still erect such monuments. It would seem that we should look further afield than Mycenae for light on Stonehenge III. H.C.B. 2A 2 378 Notes The Font of Edington Church has been restored and modernized at least thrice in the past 600 years. The original font survived from the late Norman church pulled down by William of Edington, Bishop of Winchester, to make way for the present building. There are indication that it resembled the 13th century fonts remaining in St. Edmund’s and St. Martin’s, Salisbury (W.A.M. liv. 33). Both the latter have octagonal bowls of Purbeck marble decorated with shallow arcading and are supported on a central stem and eight round detached columns. At some moment after the building of the new church (1353-1361) the font was brought up to date. The stem and columns were discarded and the bowl replaced on an octagonal stone pedestal carved with window tracery of perpendicular type. In 1626 it was given its pyra- midal oak cover, on which was carved the date and the initials W. G. and E.C. William Gunston and Edward Carpenter were the church- wardens in 1625—26. Owing to a gap in the churchwardens’ accounts during the Com- monwealth period, nothing can be gleaned as to what happened when the House of Commons ordered fonts to be removed and basins used for baptism. It may well be that the Edington font was thrown out and needed extensive repairs when at the Restoration fonts were brought back into churches. In 1888 Harvey Priddam included a drawing of it in bis Church Fonts of Wiltshire (Devizes Museum). The bowl appeared to be then in two parts, the upper plain, the lower carved with the bases of uprights which would have formed arcading. C. E. Ponting writes (W.A.M. xxv. p. 221, 1890): “ The font has been much muti- lated; it has a bowl of Purbeck marble.” A year later the font was once again modernized. This time the bowl and octagonal base were removed and only the pedestal retained. A bowl of black foreign marble, truly Victorian in its solidity, replaced the old, and the new circular black base was given a surround of incongruous, but not unpleasing, mosaic set by Italian workmen. Writing 20 years after the change Harvey Priddam says: “ Parts of the old font now lean on the floor against a wall.” This has been confirmed by an ex-churchwarden. Two pieces, now in the south transept, consist of the lower portion of the bowl and part of the base. A hole is pierced through both to allow water to drain away. On the underside of the bowl and the upper surface of the base are sockets for a central stem and eight columns. The measurements of this 13th— century marble bowl, 14th—century stone pedestal and 17th—century Notes 379 oak cover (all octagonal) correspond closely enough to show they were intended for each other. What remains in the south transept, however, may have a special claim to interest. If, as seems possible, it was the font of the parish church at the time William of Edington was born, then it could be the one in which the future Bishop of Winchester was baptized. D. U. SetH SMITH, G. M. A. CUNNINGTON. Ubi nunc sapientis ossa Merlini. The claim under Marlborough’s town arms remains unproved, nor have we much information about the first half of the 1500 years that separate us from the supposed life- time of that magician. But the second half of the period began with an event of which the town is reasonably proud. To celebrate the 750th anniversary of the granting of Marlborough’s first charter, an exhibition, opened on June 21 by the Earl of Cardigan, was held in the Town Hall. Much interest was shown during the three days when it was open, and some forty persons lent items for it. Unfortunately the borough’s original charter, King John’s, is not extant, but those of Henry V and of James II were shown, as well as a deed referring to the earliest known mayor, John Godhyne in 1311. The name of Marlborough itself, in the form Mierleber or Mierlebi, first appears on the coinage of William I, and one of his silver pennies was shown. In addition there were full collections of the seventeenth century token coinage and of the silver tokens of the Marlborough Old Bank as well as a selection of local postal covers of the first half of the nineteenth century. There have not been many industries in Marlborough whose pro- ducts are recognisable, but clocks by Hewett and by Howse, including the grandfather clock from the Castle Inn, were there. A brass tobacco- box from the Roebuck Inn, which delivered a pipefill on the insertion of a penny, excited interest and acted as a complementary exhibit to a collection of pipestems recently dug up at Panterwick. Agricultural implements included a fine saw-edge sickle from Stitchcombe, a flail, a sheep bell and yoke made at the local Wilton, and buttons for supporters of the Savernake Stag Hounds. Amongst a wide collection of pictures, prints, handbills and other documents was the 1845 prospectus of an almost topical plan to convert 380 Notes the Kennet and Avon Canal to other uses: it was to become the London, Newbury and Bath direct Railway, but the shareholders never saw a return on their money. Of more general importance was a small but beautiful manuscript of the Statutes of the Realm, written in 1300 and appropriately opened at the Statute of Marlborough of 1267. To mark the occasion there was also published a pamphlet containing a translation of King John’s Charter and lists of Members of Parliament and Mayors. E.G.H.K. 381 BOOKS, ARTICLES, ETC. The Council for British Archaeology issued at the end of June its fourth Report and therein commemorated the completion of the Council’s first ten years. They have been years of continuous growth in reputation and influence, and fortunately also in resources. The C.B.A. takes all British antiquity for its province and its voice is heard and harkened to in many quarters. We learn that the only two pro- visions for the better protection of our monuments which the Ministry had to lay before the Trowbridge meeting (recorded above) emanated from the C.B.A. In the case of Normanton, the C.B.A. urged the Minister to take drastic action that might act as a deterrent for the future. The risible (or enraging) results of that action were not known when this Report was compiled. We note with pleasure the references to the work of Mr. Thomas at Snail Down and of our Assistant Curator, Mr. F. K. Annable on the Romano-British kilns at Cantley (Yorks) and to the opening of our Neolithic Room at the Museum. We note also the increasing part played by the younger generation. Schools at Poole in Dorset, Yeovil in Somerset, Knighton in Radnorshire are mentioned as providing active archaeologists, and we may add in this county, Bishop Words- worth’s School, Dauntsey’s, at least in the past, Box School and Marlborough College, though this last has lacked even local publicity owing to the failure of the College N.HLS. Sara to make its appear- ance for the last eight years. Archaeological Bibliography for Great Britain and Ireland 1950—1951. This is a continuation under another title of the Archaeo- logical Bulletin for 1948-1949 and also comes from the C.B.A. It covers all periods from the Pleistocene to 1600 A.D. and consists of two parts. There is a Topographical Section listed under county, period and subject headings and preceded by three other lists : of the journals consulted ; of publications already containing bibliographies, and of books and articles which transcend the limits of county or country. Though philology and history are professedly exciuded, it would seem that the rule admits of some exceptions. Then follows the Bibliography proper and a final Subject Index. It is difficult to imagine how the arrangements of the whole could be improved or the infor- mation presented with a better combination of clarity and economy. We are glad to see that the practice of including finds for which no 382 Books, Articles, Etc. published account can be quoted has been discontinued. The Biblio- graphy is obtainable from 10 Bolton Gardens, S.W. 5, for 5s. 6d. Cricklade and Wootton Bassett. Official Guide. E. J. Burrow & Co. (1954). This is really a guide to the Rural District of that name and is published with the authority of its Council. It bears neither date nor ptice,t and it may be supposed that it is circulated in the interest of the advertisers who occupy a third of its space. But it falls in no way below the standard that we have learnt to expect from Messrs. Burrow’s Official Guides. The information, whether about the two towns of its title or the twelve rural parishes included, is interesting and reliable. We have noticed only one mistake : the remains of the Barn and Guest- house of Bradenstoke Priory were removed by Mr. Randolph Hearst, the American newspaper proprietor, not to America, but to St. Donat’s in S. Wales, where, when last heard of, the numbered stones were still lying. There are eight most attractive photographs and a useful road map of the district. 4A later edition says od. How to Write a Parish History by R. P. Pugh. Geo. Allen & Unwin, 1954. (8s. 6d.) The Society should be pleased that its President has prepared the sixth edition of this book written in 1879 by Dr. J. C. Cox, the late general editor of the Antiquary’s Books. There is no possible doubt that the book will be of great help to the more intelligent enthusiast of the present day. It is possible, however, that its very merits may deter the less intelligent enthusiast from setting pen to paper at all. We have all been grateful at times to the scatter-brained and uninstructed local historian amongst whose chaff we have come across a grain which has been a valuable clue. This book indeed might have been better titled “ Records Useful to the Parish Historian.” If then we have a general criticism, it is not that too much is said about records, but that too little is said about objects. No instruction is given as to how properly to examine a village. Little or no attention is given to the situation of the village or its individual houses and smaller land divisions, the lay-out of its street or streets, the reasons for the sites of church, manor house, and mill, or the courses of its roads, footpaths, and parish boundary. Watercourses and woodlands and their changes and external communications are hardly touched upon. Pottery, coins, and earthworks, Roman, Saxon, and Norman are neglected. Books, Articles, Etc. 383 Should not the local historian ask such questions as these: What smaller houses have remains of mediaeval construction, bays or crucs? To what other uses have their sites been put? What has been found the wells and stream beds? Are there many old photographs to be found by house to house call? Where were the blind house, the stocks, the ducking-stool, the fire-hook: What have road works, quarries, and pits revealed? Are there any customs peculiar to the village: What local objects have found a resting place in the county or any other museum? These and a host of other questions which will occur to the reader are more or less neglected. Maps as one of the most valuable sources are duly stressed, but every parish history should be accompanied by a series of historical maps and by a full list of place-names collected from enclosure maps, tithe award maps, estate maps, the relevant volume of the E.P.N.S. (if published), and the cross-examination of inhabitants. A parish history without maps is a dull and lifeless thing indeed. A few omissions are worthy of note. The magnificent series of footpath maps now lodged with the County Councils are worthy of inspection, and disputed cases will be of great interest. Custumals of manors, when found, should be printed in full. Startling infor- mation sometimes comes when looking through a mass of dull eighteenth century parchment. The book seems remarkably free from mistakes. The best edition of Burke’s Armory is 1884, not 1844. Compulsory registration was started in 1837 not 1838. In the remarks on the indentures of apprentices, no reference is made to the magnificent index in the possession of the Society of Genealogists. TReF: The Kennet and Avon Canal. The September, October and November issues of the Edgar Allen News, a Sheffield steel publication, contain a series of articles by Mr. Martin H. Press on this derelict waterway. By 1723 boats of 100 tons were reaching Newbury via the Thames and the Lower Kennet. Rennie’s canal, surveyed in 1793, was opened in 1810. Mr. Press quotes from W.A.M. June 1953 Dr. Pelham’s account of the projected but abandoned route via Marl- borough and Calne. On its present more southerly line there are ninety-nine locks in the seventy-cight miles west of Reading, including the famous Devizes flight of twenty-nine, which surely contributed 384 Books, Articles, Etc. as much as any policy of the Great Western Railway to the present stagnation and the fact that the shareholders never saw more than one and a half per cent on their investments and had commonly to be content with 7s. 6d. per cent. The article on the Crofton Pumping Station at the highest point of the canal is much too technical for this magazine, but we note that a critical examination of the two beam engines leads to the conclusion that No. 1, supplied by Boulton, Watt in 1808, was at some time transformed to work on the Cornish cycle, and that No. 2 is un- doubtedly a replacement built at Hayle in Cornwall. So only the cylinder and pump-bucket of No. 1 really belong to the original Watt engine of 1808, and the reverence of visitors will be much diluted. The Claverton Station at Limpley Stoke feeds the nine mile stretch from Bradford to Bath, but here the original machinery has been replaced by a diesel engine. 385 WILTSHIRE OBITUARIES MISS GLADYS LETITIA JULIA SCOTT, died at Langley House, Chippenham, on June 26th, 1954, aged 61. Daughter of Edward Scott, of Matfield, Kent, she had lived at Langley House since 1936, serving for many years on the Rural District Council. In her younger days a keen mountaineer, making many ascents in Switzerland, she was a member of the Ladies’ Alpine Club. A life member of the W.A.S. PERCY HUGHES, died at Melksham on June 2gth, 1954, aged 64. An official of the Avon India Rubber Co., he had served on Melksham U.D.C. for 32 years, as Chairman 1936-40 and Chairman of the Finance Committee for the past 22 years. The moving spirit in providing a public park, a town band and other varied benefactions. Amongst other offices had been Chairman of Wilts U.D.C. Association, Vice-Chairman W. Wilts Hospitals Management Committee; Chairman Wilts Allotments and Gardens Council; President Wilts and E. Somerset Baptist Association. He leaves a widow and a son and daughter. Obit.: Wiltshire Times, July 3rd, 1954. BRIGADIER HAROLD ST. GEORGE SCHOMBERG, C.B.E., D.S.O., died at Seend on July tith, 1954, aged 67. Son of Lt-Gen. H. St. G. Schomberg, educated at Kelly College, Tavistock and gazetted to East Surrey Regt., 1908. Served in France from 1914 to 1917, when he was given command of tst./6th Bn. Glos. Regt., in Italy. Four times mentioned in dispatches. After the war commanded Ist Bn. E. Surreys. In command of Shorncliffe Garrison 1939 before taking over an Infantry Brigade. Coming to Seend about 12 years ago, became Sector Com- mander of Home Guard, and up to his death Vice-Commandant, Wilts Army Cadet Force. He married Miss Madeline Stancomb, of Blounts Court, Potterne. Obits.: Wilts Gazette, July 15th, Wilts Times, July 16th, 1954. COLONEL WILLIAM LLEWELLEN PALMER, M.C., D.L., died at Great Somerford on Aug. 11th, aged 71. Second son of Brig.-Gen. G. LI. Palmer, formerly M.P. for Westbury. Educated at Harrow, he served through 1914-18 War with 1oth Hussars. On leaving regular army commanded 4th Bn. Wilts Regt. (T.A.) 1929-32 and later the Malmesbury Bn. Home Guard. High Sheriff of Wilt- shire 1933 and 1944; Deputy Lieutenant 1950. Before moving to Somerford in 1938 had lived at Bradford-on-Avon and Rushmoor Park, Salisbury. Won many awards with pedigree livestock; had been Master of Wilton and Avon Vale Hunts. His business interests included the Wessex Associated News and the Mendip Press. He married Lady Alexandra Carrington in 1910 and had four sons, two of whom were killed in the last war. Obits.: Wilts News, Aug. 13th, Wilts Times, Aug. 14th, 1954. JOHN JAMES SLADE, died at Ryde, Isle of Wight on Sept. 27th, 1954, aged 91. Born at Bath, he joined the staff of the Devizes (now Wiltshire) Gazette in 18905 and was editor 1914-35; after retirement contributed regularly to its columns on such matters as County history, of which he had a profound knowledge, till shortly before his death. Formerly on the committee of the Wilts Archaeo- 386 Wiltshire Obituaries logical Society and always its most helpful friend, he was later made an honorary member in recognition of his services. Nine years a member of Devizes Town Council, he initiated the collection of photographs of past mayors and prints and photographs of historical events which are a feature of the Town Hall. He was an ardent church worker and Rector’s warden at St. John’s for many years and attended all Diocesan Conferences. He leaves two daughters. Obits.: Wilts Gazette, Bath and Wilts Chronicle, Sept. 30th, 1954. MISS MONA WILSON, of Oare, died in London on Oct. 26th, 1954, aged 82. - Eldest daughter of Canon J. M. Wilson, formerly headmaster of Clifton College. Educated at Clifton High School and Newnham College, Cambridge, she became absorbed in the strugele for better conditions for working women, being appointed Secretary of the Women’s Trade Union League. After under- taking investigations into social conditions at West Ham and Dundee she was appointed sole woman member of the original National Health Insurance Com- mission in 1911, an office which she held till 1919. Retiring to Oare, she devoted her talents to literature. Her books, written in a scholarly and lucid style, in- clude These were Muses (1924), The Life of William Blake (1927), Sir Philip Sidney (1931), Queen Elizabeth (1932), Queen Victoria (1933), Jane Austen and Some Contemporaries (1938) and Johnson, an anthology (1950). For many years a county magistrate. Obits.: Times, Oct. 30th; Wilts Times, Nov. 6th, 1954. SIR JOHN MIDDLETON, K.C.M.G., K.B.E., of Lacock, died at Bath on Nov. 12th, 1954, aged 84. Born in Scotland he made his career in the Colonial Service. Assistant District Commissioner, S. Nigeria, 1901; later held posts in S. Africa till becoming Colonial Secretary, Mauritius, 1913-19. Governor of Falkland Islands, 1920-27; Governor of Gambia, 1927-28; Governor and Commander- in-Chief, Newfoundland, 1928-32. On retirement came to live at the Red House, Lacock. Married in 1920 Mrs. Mabel Granville, daughter of Lt.-Col. G. W. Northey, of Ashley Manor, Box, who died in 1947. Obit.: Wilts Times, Nov. 14th, 1954. ARTHUR LANGDALE SANDS, died at Woodborough on Nov. 13th, 1954, aged $5. Son of Canon H. Sands, Vicar of Burbage, 1913-22. After service with R.F.A. in 1914-18 War went to Malaya as a rubber planter. Joined Malaya Volunteer Forces, holding Long Service Medal and bar for continuous service until disbandment after last war. Interned by Japanese for 34 years. Returned to England from Malaya owing to ill-health early in 1954 shortly before he was due to retire. He married Margaret, daughter of Rev. G. Soames of Milden- hall and had two sons. 3 Obit.: Marlborough Times, Nov. 19th, 1954. 387 ACCESSIONS TO THE COUNTY RECORD OFFICE SINCE THE LIST OF JUNE 1954 Two exemplifications of recovery concerning the manor of Pertwood and the Mervin family, 1655 and 1685. Minute book of Stratford-sub-Castle parish council, 1946-1951. Quitclaim of property in West Ashton by Ralph, called the shepherd, to Thomas and Katherine de Heydore, 1311. Six various documents including land tax assessment (1696) and poor rate assessment (1683) for Lyneham, and a pedigree of the family of Kinneir of North Wilts, 17th-1oth centuries. The records of the Trowbridge and District Fabian Society, 1950-53, including minute books, correspondence and other papers. Minute book of the Parish Meeting of Berwick St. Leonard, 1899-1936. Minute book of the Parish Council of Tilshead, 1894-1948. (Deposit). Minute book of the Parish Council of Monkton Farleigh, 1894-1946. (Deposit). Minute book of the Parish Council of Donhead St. Andrew, 1894-1926. (Deposit). | Three parish copies of the enclosure awards for the tithings of Charlton, Downton and Wick in Downton parish dated 1807, 1822 and 1847 respectively. (Deposit). Minute book of the Parish Council of Grafton, 1894-1945. (Deposit). Two volumes of minutes and three account books of receipts and payments of the parish of Limpley Stoke, 1894-1946 and 1910-1953 respectively. (Deposit). M. G. RATHBONE. ADDITIONS TO THE SOCIETY’S LIBRARY Gifts: R. B. PucH: How to write a Parish History, R. B. Pugh, Esq. KirKMAN & JourDAIN: British Birds. Mrs. R. C. Barnes. E. Saunpers: A Butterfly Book for the Pocket. Mrs. R. C. Barnes. M. Sxene: A Flower Book for the Pocket. Mrs. R. C. Barnes. A. DryDEN: Some Wiltshire Houses. Mrs. D. A. Cole. Uco ANTONIELLI: La Prima Nave Imperiale del Lago di Nemi, Rome 1930. Dr. A. Shaw Mellor. Album of Photographs of Barrows in W. Wiltshire with descriptive notes. E. Hughes, Esq. 388 Additions to the Society's Library Tottenham House; engraving of the West facade, 1792. 4 in. x 6 in. Colonel W. Le Hardy. Ordnance Survey maps of Wiltshire, 6 in. scale. L. G. Peirson, Esq. Museum of Fire-making Appliances; catalogue of exhibits, with supplement. Messrs. Bryant & May. T. W. Tilley: Potterne—Some Historical Notes. The Organising Committee, Potterne Local History Exhibition. Borough of Marlborough, 1204-1954: pamphlet issued to commemorate the 7soth anniversary of the Borough. 16 pp. M. G. Rathbone, Esq. Purchase: Devizes Market Place: Water-colour drawing by R. Kelsey, c. 1847. 12 in. x 15 in. Mrs. D. A. Cole also presented copies of the Society’s publications for resale. GIFTS AND LOANS TO THE MUSEUM Gifts: Arms of Cricklade (modern) painted on metal. Dr. T. R. Thomson. Licence to Wm. Cunnington, 1836, to sell wines, etc., in Devizes. R. Sandell. Silver coin of Septimius Severus from Burbage. Mrs. Smith, Swansea. Ginger-beer bottle with glass marble stopper, Messrs. Wadsworth’s, Devizes. Glass brandy bottle marked “ Three Crowns, Devizes.” J. C. Bartholomew, Seend. Slate wine label from cellars of Roundway House, inscribed “ Light Madeira, Cunnington, 1880.” P. White, Devizes. Goffering iron. Mrs. T. P. Bevan, Devizes. Clay pipe commemorating the Great Exhibition, 1851. W.E. Brown. Loans: Bone pin or gaming piece, carved to show forearm and clenched fist. Reign of Mary I. Mrs. Moore, Devizes. Flute said to have been played in Potterne church about 1800. Miss E. Miles, Potterne, on behalf of the late T. D. Miles. Twelfth century unglazed jug from the Kington Langley housing estate, Chippenham. Calne and Chippenham Parish Council (permanent loan). 389 INDEX TO (June, 1953, to December, 1954) Addison, W., on Spas, 3, 5 Aethelred II, King, coinage, 375 f Agriculture, Ministry of, and Normanton barrows, 289-90 Aldbourne, flint daggers, 176 Amber bead, 317 Amesbury, bronze axe, 30; flint dagger, 176;, Priory, President’s Address, 367 Ancient Burial Mounds of England by L. V. Grinsell (new edition, 1953) noticed, the 5 Ancient Monuments Act, discussion at Trowbridge, 374 Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Petersfinger, Near Salisbury, Wilts by E. T. Leeds and H. de S. Shortt, noticed, 293-4 Annable, F. K., Assistant Curator, 368 Anstie family, 139-45 Antler mace. 314 Anthropology, Teach Yourself, by J. Manchip White, noticed 299 ApSimon, A.M., on Bronze standard, 326; on Wessex Culture, 325 Archaeological Bibliography, 1950-51, 380 Archaeology from the Earth by Sir Mor- timer Wheeler, noticed, 297 f Archaeology in the Field by O. G. S, Crawford, noticed, 87 Archaeology, Teach Yourself, by S. G. Brade-Birks, noticed, 298 Arno!d-Forster, J. A., gift, 194 Ashbee, P., on Bronze standard, 326 Atkinson, R. J. C., gift, 3194; on Stonehenge, 289, 376 Aubrey, J., on Colerne Park, 333; on Idover, 241; on Manton Long Barrow, 83; on pasture rights, 178; on water meadows, I1I; on Wiltshire spas, 8 ff Avebury, flint dagger (illus.), 176; note on, 291 Avon (Bristol), 238, 241 Awbry, Thos., of Mere, 158 Awdry, Mrs. R. W.., gifts, 194 Axes, bronze, 30; 317, 321, 325 Bailey, J. B., of Devizes, 144 Bakewell, R. A., on Purton Spa, 19 Baljon, F., obit., 192 Ball, D. A:, gift, 305 Barbury Castle, 219; damaged, 375 Barnes, Mrs. R. C., Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1952, 42; for 1953, 244; gifts, 194, 388. Rev. Wm., 159 VOL. LV. Bartholomew, J. C., gift, 388 Bartley, O. W., on Melksham Spa, 2, 17 Bashford, Sir Henry, Wiltshire Harvest, noticed, 94 Bateson, Mrs. A. S., gift, 305 Bath, “ Queen of Spas,” 2} 6 Bath, a and the Cunningtons (1807), 213 Baylake, Marlborough, 85 Bayly, John, of Bishop’s Down, 111 Baynton fam., of Ramsbury, 85 Beaker Culture Knives, The Mere, Roundway and Winterslow (illus.) by Humphrey Case, 135-8 Becket’s Well, Box, 9 Beckhampton excavation, 228 Bede, Venerable, 363 Bedwyn, Great, 219: A Lost Window of Great Bedwyn Church by George Smith and others, 153-60; Ivy Cottage, 175; riots of 1830, 175; course of Wandsyke, 119-22, 127f; Common, possible long barrow on, 121 Bentyll, Edith; John, 156 Beresford-Peirse, Sir N. M. de la Poer., obit., 97 Berkeley, Sir John, of Mere, 153-4 Bettesthorne, Elizabeth; Sir John, 153 Bevan, Mrs. T. P., gift, 388 Biddestone water meadows, 112 Bishops Cannings, Snakesmead Mill, 143 Bishopstone, virgate, 179 Bishop Wordsworth’s School Society, excavations, 367, 381 Bluestone circle, double, at Stonehenge, 376 £ Boar’s tusk from barrow, 324 Blunsdon, Castle Hill Camp, 34 Bolton’s copper coins placed in opened barrows, 221 Bone: beads, 315, 326; handle, 323; pins, 313, 319, 321; plates, 313, 310, 324; points, 320; tube, 323 Boot Inn, Devizes, 366 Bosanquet, Miss M., obit., 191 Botley Copse, Wansdyke at, 129-133 Boulton and Watt, engineers, 83, 384 Box, Richard, corn factor of Devizes, 144 Box Spa, I, 3, 5, 9 Bradbury, Wm., Dean of Salisbury, 157 Bradenstoke Priory, stones of, removed, 382 Bradford, Miss M., Exors. of, gift, 194 390 INDEX Bradford-on-Avon, date of settlement, 171;,. bridge, 172 Bradon Forest by T. R. Thomson. noticed, 296 Braidwood, Miss M., gift, 193 Braydon Forest, Idovers in, 239, 240 Bredon Hill Camp (Glos.), flamboyant spearhead from, 76 Brentnall, H. C., on Wansdyke, 119; Idovers of North West Wilts, 237-42 Brinkworth Brook (Idoure), 237f, 241; Aubrey on, 241 Bridewell, W., gift, 305 Britton, J. on Wilts. Spas, 9, 14, 16; relations with Colt Hoare, 222 f; with Wm. Cunnington, 221 f, 232 Broadchalke virgate, 179; water meadows, III Broad Hinton, water meadows, 112 Broadtown and Idover place-names, 238 Brokenborough Charter, grant to Malmesbury Abbey, 237, 241 Brokouere, Purton, 356 Bronze Age, Early, 311; axes, 30, 317, 321, 325f Bronze Standard from Wilsford (illus.), by P. Ashbee and A.M. ApSimon, 326 Brooke, J. W., obit., 300 Brown, W., obit., 98 Brown, W.E., Long’s Stores, Devizes (illus.), 139-45; note on rainwater head, 291; gift, 388 Bruce, Lord, Col. of Yeomanry, 143, 148 Bryant and May, Messrs., gift, 388 Burcombe, court book, 114; field names, 115; tenants, 115 Buckeridge, J., gift, 305 Burne, A. H., Wansdyke West and South (illus.), 126-34 Burrow, E. J., on Wansdyke, 126 Burtt, E. G., gift, 194 Bush Barrow, Normanton, bronze axe, from, 30; 323 Butler, Rev. W. A., obit., 191 Butles lye, Purton, 356 Butterflies, marked, experiments with, 281 Callendar, M., Roman House at Kingshill Farm, Cricklade, 34-39 Calne and Chippenham Parish Council, loan to Museum, 388 Calstone canal scheme, 84 Canal, Kennet and Avon, 1794, 83 Cannibalism, evidence for, at Figsbury Rings, 229 Caron, Wm., of Mere, 156 Carpenter, Robert, priest of Mere, 155 Carroll, Lewis, Memorial window, 288 n VOL. ‘LV. Carver, Maj. E. T., gift, 100 Case, H.J., on Bronze Age razors, 290-1; H.V., gift, 100; Humphrey, The Mere, Roundway and Winterslow Beaker Culture (illus.), 135-8 Casterley Camp, 218 Chadenwych, St. Martin’s Chapel, 159-60 Chafyn fam. of Mere, 156-6o Chambers, G. E., on Winterbourne Dauntsey Church, 79 Charles II at Manton Long Barrow, 83 Charleton, Dr., on Manton Long Barrow, 83 Charlton (N. Wilts), Idovers, 238-9; (Charnam) Oak, 358 Charlton (Pewsey Vale) Threshers’ Feast, 173 Charnage (Chaddenwyck) 153, 158-60 Charnam Oak (Braydon Forest), 358 Charter Headings, Further Note on, 175-6 Cheddesey, Richard, priest of Mere, 155 Chettle, H. F., 178; The Wiltshire Local Militia in Training 1809-14, 146-50 Chicksgrove quarries, 227 Child, R. S., gift, 194; Hon. Treasurer, resignation, 368 Chilmark cross-base, 81; watermeadows 113 Chippenham Spa, 1, 6, 15; 13th Cent. remains, 373 Chisbury Castle, 219; course of Wans- dyke, 119—121, 127 Chisenbury, 218 Christian Malford, 2; common pasture, 178; miicroliths, 332; virgate, 179 Cissa, W. Saxon King, 219 Claverton pumping station (Limpley Stoke), 384 Clay Hill, “ barrow” on, 213 Clifford, Richard, of Shalbourne, 112 Cloth Trade, West of England, by K. G. Ponting, noticed, 169 Cockridge, Purton, 357 Coffin Lid at Winterbourne Earls, 78 Coke MSS, Holkham (Norf.), 285 Cole, Mrs. D. A., gifts, 388 Collingbourne Woods, dyke at, 132 Collins, John, of Devizes, 143 Constable, Richard, of Broad Hinton, 112 Cop Heap Hill, Warminster, finds, 314 Copley, G. J., The Conquest of Wessex in the 6th Century, noticed, 294-6 Corsham Parish Council, gift, 305 Council for British Archaeology pub- lications, noticed, 96, 380 County Record Office, accessions, 99, 190, 303-4, 387 Coxe, Archdeacon, 218, 222, 233-4 INDEX TO VOL. LV. Crawford, O. G. S., The East End of Wansdyke, 119-126 Cricklade excavation (1953), 181; Idover names, 238-9 Cricklade and Wootton Bassett Guide, noticed, 382 Crittall, Miss E., 170 Crocker, P:, artist, 211 n; 213, 225 Crofton Pumping Station, 383; swan- nery, 85 Crosses, S. Wilts, lost, 80 Crudwell, Idover names, 238 Culpek, John, priest of Mere, 155 Cunnington, Ann, 214-6; B. Howard, 228-30; C.W. gift to Society, 226, 305; Edward, 226, 228; Edward (son of B. Howard), 231; Elizabeth, 213-6, 222, 226; Henry, 226-7; John, 211-3; John (nephew), 226; Mary, 214-6; Maud E., 228-31, 236; R. H., 231-2, gifts, 193, The Cunningtons of Wiltshire, 211-36; Thomas, 212; William (1), 211, 215-25, 232-5; William (ID, 211, 213-5, 225-6; William (Ill), 223-4, 226-7, 232 Cunnington, Miss G. M. A. ed., Invent- ory of Gifts to the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, Edington, 161-4; on Edington font, 379 Cunningtons of Wiltshire, The, by R. H. Cunnington, 211-36; letters of W. Cunnignton (I) in Devizes Museum and Library of Society of Antiquaries, 215 f, 232-5 Cwm Mawr, axes, 325 Damerham, (now Hants), 112; Bat- tingtons (field name), 112 Daniell, J. J., on Chippenham Spa, 15 Dauntsey family, 239 Dauntsey, grant to Malmesbury Abbey, 237; Park, 237 Dauntsey’s School, 171, 381 Davis, Rev. J., of Marlborough, 168; T., quoted, 106, 179 Decorated Bronze Axe from Stone- henge Down by J. F. S. Stone, F.S.A., 30-33 Deverel, Chapel of St. Andrew, 159-60 Devil’s Den, origin of name, 71 Devizes, Anstie’s factory, 139-45; Back Street, 144; Belvedere Mill, 144; cloth factories, 139-45; Couch Lane, 139; ‘‘ Haselands,”’ 139; inns, 139; Long’s Stores, 139-45, 291; Market Place, 139; New Park Street, 139, 144; New Street, 143; Waylen & Walker, 144 Devizes, Mayor of, gift 193; map, 366 Dore’s VOL. LV—CCI 391 Dictionary of British Sculptors, 1660-1851, by R. Gunnis, noticed, 165 Dimont, Rev. Dr. C. T., obit., 192 Dinton bronze axe, 30; Hayter’s, 150; Jesses, 146; Little Clarendon, 150 Doggell (Dog Well), Holt, field name, 15 Dolley, R. H. M., on Saxon coins, 375 f Dore’s map of Devizes, 366 —dover in place names, 241 Dowding, W. J., of Slaughterford, finds, 333 Downinge, Edward, 157 Downton, Newcourt, villa and well, 176-8 Drury, G. Dru., on Coffin lid from Winterbourne Dauntsey, 79 Duchy Woods, Braydon, 359 Duck, Stephen, the Wiltshire Phenomenon by R. G. Furnival, noticed, 172 Dudley, John, priest of Mere, 155 Durrington Walls, flint dagger, 176; skeleton, 234 Duval, John, of Cliffe Pypard, 165 Duvall, Henry, priest of Mere, 156-8 112; Roman Earle, Mrs., gift, 100 Early Bounds of Purton and a Pagan Sanctuary (map), by T. R. Thomson F.S.A., 353-363 Easley (Marlborough), derivation, 73 Edington cartulary, 161; font, 378; Inventory of gifts to the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, ed. D. U. Seth Smith and G. M. A. Cunnington, 161-4; Monastery, 161 Eilmer, the flying monk, 82 Edwards, Joseph, of Marlborough, 168 Ekwall, Einar, Dictionaries of English Place- and MRiver-names quoted, 239-41 Elborough Bridge, Purton, 355 Elyard, S. J., on Purton, 20 Entomological Report for 1952 by B. W. Weddell, 63-66; for 1953, ditto, 277-80 Everley, Guy, 114 Euridge, Roman site, 335 Everett, Mrs. J., of Salisbury, 214-5 Ewart, W. H. L., obit., 98 Eyre, H., of Holt Spa, 10, 12 ff Falconer, W., on Box waters, 9, 21 Farleigh Wick, gold disc, 33 Ferarde, John, priest of Mere, 157 Fezar, John, priest of Mere, 156 Fiennes, Hon. Nathaniel, 341 Figsbury Rings, evidence of cannibalism, 229 First Name of Celia Fiennes (illus.), by R. P. Wright, F.S.A., 341-3 2B 392 INDEX TO VOL. LV. Fitch, E. H., obit., 300 Flamboyant spears, 75 f Floyd, Charles, Moth Trap at Holt Manor, 66-8 Folly Farm, Marlborough, 219 Fonthill caves, 227 Forward, John, of Mere, 157 Fossil sea-shell (Phasianellid), 315 Fovant, bronze knife from, 135 Fowle, J. P. M., Assistant Hon. Librarian, 368 Franks, A. W., 232 Frome (Somerset) chief market for Wilts wool, 211 Fry, Calendar of Feet of Fines, Wilts, 239 Furnival, R. G., Stephen Duck, the Wiltshire Phenomenon, noticed, 172 Garsdon and Tidoure, 239 Garesbourne, 238 Gellibrand, John, priest of Mere, 157-60 Giles, priest of Mere, 158 Goddard, Canon E. H., 220 Godfrey, Rev. C. J., The Chantries of Mere and their Priests, 153-160 Godhyne, John, Mayor of Marlborough (1311), 379 Gough, Wm., obit., 191 Granville, A. B., on Melksham Spa, 18 Great Bedwyn, see Bedwyn Greenstone battle-axe, 324 Gratton (Northants), Cunningtons at, 200.) 217, 220 Grigson, Geoffrey, on name of Marl- borough, 70 Grinsell, L. V., gift, 193; on flint daggers, 176, 291; Ancient Burial Mounds of England, noticed, 95; quoted, 221 Grittleton and Idover place-names, 238 f Grose, Donald, Botanical Survey of Spye Park, 263-76; gift, 195; Wiltshire Plant Notes [14] 1952, 60-62; [15] 1953, 258-62 Grove fam., of Mere, 157 Grovely Wood, common rights, 180 Grundy, G. B., on place-names, quoted, 237 f, 241 Guidott, T., De Thermis Britannicis, 8, 13 Guild Steward’s Book of the Borough of Calne, 1561-1688, ed. A. W. Mabbs, noticed, 93 Gunnis, R., Dictionary of British Sculptors, noticed, 165 Gustingleye (Braydon), 361 Hale, A> V5 eit, 75 Ham, medieval fields, 123; Saxon bounds, 124 Hancock, Walter, of Marlborough, his steam carriage, 167 Hankerton and Idover place-names, 238f Hankewitz, A. G. on West Ashton waters, 16 Hardy, Thomas, A Tryst at an Ancient Earthwork, Edward Cunnington in, 228 Harris, A. H., obit,. 191 Haxmore Fm., Purton, 3$4 Hassall, W. O., Librarian at Holkham, 285 Hawley, Col. W., 221 Hayman, P. E. C., Guide to The Churches of Marlborough noticed, 299 Hedges, Brig. K. M. F., gift, 100 Helves Thorne, Purton, 355 Heremod, Saxon God, 362; Hermodes Thorne, Purton, 354, 362 Heremyte Crofte (Armyn Cross) Purton, 359 Heytesbury, cloth mills, 211; Cunning- tons at, 211, 218 Historical and Architectural Notes on No. 12 St. John’s St. and Nos. 2 and 3 St. John’s Alley, Devizes by E. A. Rendell, 364-6 Hertford, Lady, 173 Hill, Richard, priest of Mere, 155 Hoare, Sir R. Colt. and W. Cunnington, 2154, 2086, 224, 292.234 and. J. Britton, 222; on Wansdyke, 119, 132; on Winterbourne Dauntsey, 80 Holt Spa, 1, 6, 10ff; houses, 11; keepers, 13; Doggell (Dog Well), 15 Holy Wells, 3 Hoopoe, breeding in Wilts, 1948, 1950, 59 How to write a Parish History by R. B. Pugh, noticed, 382 Hughes, C. J. P., gift, 193; C. W., gift, 194; Marlborough, noticed, 166; E., gift, 387; Percy, obit., 385 Huish, 218 f Humphries, K. P., on 13th Cent. remains at Chippenham, 373 Hunt, W., Diary, 84 Hyde, Lawrence, 157 Idoure, Idover, see The Idovers of North West Wilts by H. C. Brentnall 237-42 -inga names in N. Wilts, 361n Ingpen, A. L., obit., 97 Inkpen Beacon, 230 Inman, Mr., gift, 305 Jacobs, Maj. C. J., gifts, 100 James, Mr., gift, 193 Jesse fam., of Dinton, 146-50; Wm., of Chilmark, 113 “‘Jesses ’’ (house), 146 Jones, Stanley, Medieval Timber- framed House in Cricklade, 344-52 John, King, first charter of Marlborough, 379 Jukes fam., of Dinton, 146 INDEX TO Keiller, A., loan to Museum, 193-4 Kemm, Rob., drawing, 79 Kempson, E. G. H., on Kennet Swan- neries, 85 f; on Marlborough place- names, 71-4 Kennet and Avon Canal, 380; Article on, noticed, 383 f Kerridge, Eric, The Floating of the Wiltshire Watermeadows, 105-118 King, Joseph, of Devizes, 144 Kite, Edward, 139 Kitt’s Grave (Bowerchalke), E. H. Lane Poole on, 77 f Knight, John (Stockton), 114 Lacock, 217 Lake, bronze axe, 30; bronze dagger, 136; Downs, 216 Lambert, of Boyton House, 213-5, 220; Sir Ri, .213:£ Lamplugh, Rev. B., 291 Lane, Rev. R. H., gift, 101 Lane Poole, E. H., on Kitt’s Grave, 77 f; on Pembroke Survey, 178-80 Large, F., on Purton Spa, 19 La Throop Manor, Ramsbury, Swan- nery, 85 Latton, Roman Stones at, note, 373 Laverton, G. A., obit., 301 Lawestapele, Purton, 355 Leach, R. V., of Devizes Castle, 231 Leeds, E. T., An Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Petersfinger, noticed, 293-4 Le Hardy, Col. W., gift, 388 Leicester, Earl of, 285 Leland, on Devizes, 145 Leman, Rev. T., 219, 234f Lever, R. E., on lost S. Wilts crosses, 80 Lidbury Camp, 218 Liddington Castle and the Ridgeway, 219 Limpley Stoke, origin of name, 171 Littleton Drew and Idover place-names, 238 f. Lockeridge, flint dagger from, 176 Lofts, Mrs. P., gift, 193 Long’s Stores, Devizes (illus.) by W. E. Brown, 139-45; Initials on rainwater-head, 291 Lortingesbourne (R. Key), Purton, 362 Luckington, 2 Ludgershall Castle, 127, 132 Lydiard Brook, 239 f; Millicent, 240; Tregoze, 239f Maccombe Down ditch, 134 Macdonald, A. H., obit., 300 Major, A. F., on Wansdyke, 126-34 Malmesbury: Abbey, grants to, 237; Flying Monk (illus.), 81; William of, quoted, 82 VOL. LV. 393 Mann, Jas., of Westbury, 176 Mant, Roger, of Mere, 158 Manton: (Round) Barrow, excavations, 228 f; Long Barrow damaged, 82 f; Water, 85 Maple Sale, Purton, 359 Marden earthwork, 218 Marlborough by C. W. Hughes, noticed, 166; canal scheme, 83; charters, 379; derivation, 70; Saxon coins of, 379; Statute of, 379; The Churches of, by Rev. P. E. C. Hayman, noticed, 299 Marlborough, Bowling Green, 167; church galleries, dated, 167; Church House, 168; Gough’s Close, 167; Gresley’s school, 168; Guildhall, 169; Hart Yard, 168; High Cross, 167-8; inns, 168-9; watermeadows, III; weighbridge, 166 Martin (now Hants), virgate, 179 Martinsell, Summerhouse, 218 and n 2 Maurice, Major J. K., obit., 191; Dr. Walter B., gifts to the Museum, Ioo, 229 Mayland, James, 160 Meares, Mary, married William Cun- nington (I), 211 Medieval Timber-framed house in Cricklade (illus.), by S. Jones and J. T. Smith, 344-352 Medlam, W. B., gift, ror Melksham, Place House, 172; Round House‘172; Spa, 1, 6, 17;, Spa Co.,)18 Mellor, A. Shaw, on Charter Headings, 175 Membury Camp (“ Maenbury’’), 219 and nI Mere, The Chantries of, and their Priests, by Rev. C. J. Godfrey, 153-60; Alianer de, 153; Berkeley chantry, 153; bronze knife from, 135-7; chantry house, 154-60; chan- try priests, 155-60; chapels, 153, 159-60; Dean’s Orchard, 155; For- ward’s chantry, 153, 157; Gold disc, 33; grant of fairs, 154; John de, 153 Merritt, F. W. C., Hon. Treasurer, 368 Mesolithic Sites in Wiltshire (illus.), by J. H. Tucker, 330-2 Micro-burins from Bristol Avon Gravels, 330 Meyrick, O., on the damaged Nor- manton barrows, 289 f; Cunnington letter, 219n Middlehill (Box) wells, I, 3, 5, 9 Middleton, Sir J., obit, 386 Mildenhall farms and “floated” meadows, II2 Midgehall (Braydon Forest), 240 Miles, Miss E., loan to Museum, 388 2B2 304 INDEX -TO Militia in Training 1809-1814, The Wiltshire Local, by H. F. Chettle, 146-150; established, 146 f; in Salis- bury, 148f; officers, 147-9; and Wilts mutiny, 143, 149; 3rd Wilts, 147-50 Mineral wells of Wilts, bibliography, 28 Mompesson, Sir Giles, 114 Moore, Mrs., loan to Museum, 388 Morrice, Edward, 160 Morrison, H., of Euridge, 283, 336 Morton, Sir George B., obit., 301 Moth Trap at Holt Manor, by Ch. Floyd, 66-68; at Urchfont, 63 Mynors, H. C. B., gift, 306 Netherhampton tenants, 113 Neville, F. G., of Purton Stoke, 20 f Newall, R. S., on Winterbourne Stoke cross, 80; Stonehenge, Wiltshire, noticed, 292 f New Jersey, Supreme Court of, 84 Newton, South, Barrow finds, 315 Nicholas fam. of Devizes, 139; John, 139 Normanton barrows, 289-90 Northey, Major-Geheral Sir Edward, obit., 300 Notes on some Early Bronze Age Grave Groups in Devizes Museum (illus.), by N. Thomas, 311-326 Nurse, M. E., Nat. Hist. Report, 40 Odham’s Press, gift, 194 ** Old Dike,’ Purton, 355 O'Neil, B. H. St.J., on Ancient Monu- ments Acts., 374 Orcheston, watermeadow, I10 Osmond, Brig. S. R., obit., 192 Owen, Clifford, Nat. Hist. Report, 243 Pace, Richard, Dean of Salisbury, 156 Pafford, J. H. P., Spas and Mineral Springs of Wiltshire, 1-29; gifts 194, 306 Pagan Sanctuary at Purton, 362 f Palmer, Col. W. L., obit., 385 Parker, J. Cunnington’s assistant, 218, 235; Walter, of Mere, 155 Parr, J., corn dealer of Devizes, 145 Parsons, W. F., on Wilts Spas, 2, 10 ““P. de V.” on Purton Spa, 19 Peckingell (Langley Burrell) microliths, 332 Peirson, L. G., gifts, 388; Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1952, 42-62; for 1953, 244-57 Pelham, Dr. R. A., on Marlborough Canal Scheme, 83 f Pembroke Survey, 113, 178-80 Penruddocke, Lt.-Col. J. H., commands 3rd Militia, 147 VOL. LV. Peris, of Great Bedwyn, 286-8 Petyt, Rob., Bishop, 79 Pewsey herepath, 124 Phoenix House, gift, 194 Piggott, Stuart, at Stonehenge, 376; Stonehenge Reviewed, noticed, 292 f; gift, 193 Pin Oak, Purton, 357 Pitman, C. M. R., An Experiment with Marked Butterflies, 281 Pitt, F. C., gifts, 194, 306 Pitt Rivers, Col., 229 Pitts, Mathew, of Burcombe, 114 Pole, E. R., 175, 287f Ponting, K. G., The West of England Cloth Trade, noticed, 169; gift, 306 Potterne: Five Lanes mineral spring, 7; Local History Committee, gift, 388 Poulshot Mill, 142; Spa, 1, 2, 5, 7 ** Prate-apace,” Mrs., of Warminster, 215 Preselite axes, 31 Press, M. H., on Kennett and Avon Canal, 383 Prest, J. M., Assistant Editor, 368 Pritchard, W. T., gift, 193 Pugh, Rev. €: S:;. obit; 98: C)-Wws Centenary History, 226; work with Cunningtons, 229; R. B., President, 170, - 286, , 2883"? gifts’ mon = 388); How to write a Parish History, noticed, 382 Pump-rooms, Wilts, 15, 17, 19, 21 Purton, early bounds, 353-363 Purton Stoke, 354; Salt’s Hole, 18; Spa, 1, 6; 18 ft CS) Sadler 19: F. G. Neville, 20; J. Strange, 19 Ramsbury, 228 Rathbone, M. G., gifts, 194, 369, be Ray River, 239 Rede, Philip, 155; Richard, priest of Mere, 155 Rendell, E. A., Notes on No. 12 St. John Street and Nos. 2 and 3 St. John’s Alley, Devizes, 364-6; F.G., gift, 193 Richardson, Mrs. E. M., on Purton, 21 Ridge Way, The, 219 Ringsbury Camp, Purton, 356 Rivets in Roman Pottery, 283. Road Spa (now Somerset) 1, 29 Rochell, Henry, priest of Mere, 155 Rode, Purton, meaning, 361 Rogers, N. K., gift, 193 Rollright Stones (Oxon.), 218 Roman finds: bronze, 339; coins, 337, 339; glass, 340; hypocaust, 36; nails, 339; pottery, 37, 339; tiles, 340 Roman House at Kingshill Farm, Cricklade, by Dr. M. Callendar and N. Thomas, 34-9 INDEX TO VOL. LV. 395 Roman Pottery Repairs (illus.), by A. Shaw Mellor, 283-4 Roman Sites in Colerne Park (illus.) by A. Shaw Mellor, 333-40; Roman villas in W. Wilts, 335 Rossiter, —., gift, 193 Roundway, bronze knife from, 135-7; gatehouse, 139; moated manor, 139; Hill earthworks, 218 Rutty, Dr., of Melksham, Analyst, 5, 14, 16 St. Anne’s Hill, 218 St. Birinus, 363 St. Donat’s (Glam.), Stones of Braden- stoke Priory at, 382 Salisbury inns, 148-9 Sanctuary, The (Overton Hull), 229, 231 Sandell, R., gifts, 193, 305, 388 Sands, A. L., obit., 386 Saxon coin types, 375 Scammell, P., 214 Schomberg, Brig. H. St. G., obit., 385 Scott, Miss, G. L. J., obit. 385 Scratchbury Camp, finds, 313 Scots Poor, dyke at, 131-4, 218 Seend, 228; Spa, 1, 5, 8 Seth Smith, Miss D. U., ed. Inventory of Gifts to the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, Edington, 161-4; gift 306; on Edington font, 378 Severn—Thames watershed, 238-40 Seymour, John (1490), 85; Thos. of Marlborough, 168; Sir Evelyn F. E., obit., 301 Shalbourne, course of Wansdyke, 122 f; Prosperous Farm, 123; riots, 175; watermeadows, I12 Shaw Farm, Overton, earthworks, 218 Shaw Mellor, A., gifts, 101, 305, 388; Roman Pottery Repairs (illus.), 283-4; Roman site in Colerne Park, 333-40 Sheep, Wiltshire horned, 109, 179 Shortt, H. de S., 288; gift, 306; Anglo- Saxon Cemetery at Petersfinger, noticed, 393 f; on Winterbourne Earls coffin lid, 79 f Slade, J. J., gift, 306; obit. 385 Sloper, George, of Devizes, 142 Smith, George, A Lost Window of Great Bedwyn Church (illus.), 285-288 Smith, J. T., Medieval Timber framed House in Cricklade, 344—<52; William, geologist, 217, 220, 233 Smith, Mrs. (Swansea), gift, 388 Smythe, John, priest of Mere, 156 Snail Down, Collingbourne, Barrow 2, 317 Society of Antiquaries Library, letters of W. Cunnington in, 215 f, 232-5 Somerford Bridge, 237 Sowerby, J. A., letter to Wm. Cunning- ton (I), 222 Spadework, by Sir L. Woolley, noticed, 88 Sparcell’s (Sparsholt) Fm., Purton 355 Spas and Mineral Springs of Wilt- shire, by J. H. P. Pafford, 1-29; bibliography, 21 ff Spearhead from Bidcombe Down (Hill Deverill), 75 Speke, Hugh, of Box, 112 Standards, bronze: Wilsford 326; Anatolia, 327; Sutton Hoo, 330 Stanford, Col. J. K., on the Hoopoe in Wilts, 59; gift, 305 Stanley, Rev. -., rector of Pewsey, 173 Stanton St. Bernard court, 114 Stapol (Staple) Hundred, 356 Steeple Ashton, St. Mary’s Church, by P. C. Yerburgh, noticed, 299 Stephenson, Miss K. J., obit., 97 Stone, Dr. J. F. S., Decorated Bronze Axe from Stonehenge Down, 30-33; on Normanton barrows, 290; Stonehenge in the light of Modern Research, noticed, 292f; work at Stonehenge, 376; gifts, 193, 305 Stone, Miss L., on Anglo-Norman texts, 286n Stonehenge, Cunnington’s bottle of port recovered, 221; discoveries, 376; Avenue, 376, bronze axe(?), 30; Heelstone, 376; double bluestone circle, 376; Slaughter Stone, 377; carved daggers and axes, 289, 3773 solstitial axis, 377 Stonehenge in the light of Modern Research, by J. F. S. Stone, noticed, 292 f Stonehenge, Wiltshire, Ministry of Works guide, by R. S. Newall, noticed, 292 f Stonehenge Reviewed by Stuart Piggott, noticed, 292 f Stourhead Collection presented to Museum, 227 Stourton, Roger, priest of Mere, 156 Street, Ho F-57375: Stukeley on Great Bedwyn Ch. window, 285 f; on Stonehenge, 376 Surveys of the Manors of the Earl of Pembroke, 1631-2, ed. Eric Kerridge, noticed, 91 Swans in Kennet Valley, 85 Swayne, Richard, priest of Mere, 156-60 Tanners Market, Devizes, 364, 366 Taylor, C. G., gift, 305 Teeth (canis) from barrows, 316 Temple Closes, Braydon, 362 396 INDEX TO VOL. LV. Teowes Thorne, Purton, 354, 362 Thames-Severn watershed, 238—40 The Year Returns, by Eliz. Hamilton, noticed, 89 Thomas, A. C., gift, 305; Nicholas, Roman House at Kingsmill Farm, Cricklade, 34-39; on flamboyant spearhead, 75f; gift, 101 Thomson, T. R., Early Bounds of Purton and a Pagan Sanctuary, 353-363; Bradon Forest, noticed, 296 f; on Roman stones at Latton, 373; gifts, 306, 388 Thynne, Sir John, 157 Tidcombe Down, Roman road on, 131 Tievebulliagh Hill (N. Ireland) stone axes, 33 Tilshead, 218 Tisbury, 227; East, Ham Cross, 80 Tiw, Saxon god, 362 Tremayne, L. J., gift, 194 Trowbridge, discussion on ancient monuments, 374; Roundstone St., origin of name, 171 Tucker, J. H., Mesolithic Sites in Wiltshire, 330-2 Tull, Jethro, of Prosperous Fm., Shal- bourne, 123 Ugford, watermeadows, 114 Underwood, Guy, and the Normanton barrows, 289; loan to Museum, 305 Upavon, Wm. Cunnington (II), at, 225 Upton Lovel, ‘‘ Golden Barrow,” 233; Down, barrow on, opened by W. Cunnington, 221 Vallis Rocks, near Frome, 227 Vaughan, Charles, 117; Rowland, 106, 117; Sic Walter, 117 Victoria and Albert Museum, gift, 100 Victoria County History of Wiltshire, vol.’ Vil, ed. BR. .B. Pugh: and. E. Crittall, noticed, 170; purchased, 306 Wadswick (Box), 112 Wadsworth, Messrs., gift, 388 Wainwright, Dr. F. T., excavates at Cricklade, 181 Walesmore (Savernake), 295 Walker, Fred, 144; Peter, 143 Walker, Mrs., gift, 306 Walker-Heneage, Claud, obit., 97 Walpoole, G. A., on Holt waters, 12 Wanda, Dean, Inventory of, 160 Wansdyke, The East End of (illus.) by O. G. S. Crawford, 119-125 Wandsyke West and South (illus.) by A. H. Burne, 126-34 ““ Wansdyke,” Liddington, 219 Ward, Rev. J., of Bedwyn, 175 Watermeadows, The Floating of the Wiltshire, by Eric Kerridge, 105-118 Watkinson, Alice, 112 Watson, Col. N. K., gift, 100 Watt, James, and the Marlborough Canal Scheme, 83 Waylen, Robt., 143; Alfred, 144 Wealasmaere (Savernake), 295 Weare al. Browne, Rich., of Marl- borough, 85 Weddell, B. W., Entomological Report for 1952, 63-66; for 1953, 277-80 Wensige, Saxon, moneyer, 376 Werg Mill, Mildenhall, derivation, 74 Wernham (Savernake), derivation, 72 Wessex, Conquest of, in the 6th century, by Gordon J. Copley, noticed, 294-6 Wessex Culture, 311; duration, 325 West Ashton Spa, 1, 6, 16 f; East Town Bm 7. Westbury, Leighton House, 176 West Lavington, bronze axe, 30 Wetherstocke, Purton, 360 Wey, Wm., of Edington, 161 Whatley, N. L., 375 Wheeler, Sir Mortimer, Archaeology from the Earth, noticed, 297-8 Whetstone, grooved, 320, 324 White, G. A. H., on Chippenham Spa, 15; Henry (Damerham) 112; J. M., Teach Yourself Archaeology, noticed, 299; P., gift, 388 Wilsford (S. Wilts), barrow finds, 320 f; bronze axe, 30 Wilson, Miss Mona, obit., 386 Wilton, Saxon mint, 375 f Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society; Accounts (1952), 102; (1953), 307; Additions to Museum and Library, 100, 193, 305, 387; Annual General Meeting (1953), 182; (1954), 367; Centenary lunch 151; Excursions (1953), 182; (1954), 369; List of Members, 196; Publica- tions, 369; Report (1952-3), 185; (1953-4), 368. Records Branch, Accounts (1952), 189; (1953), 371; Report (1952-3), 188; (1953-4), 3703 gift, 100. Natural History Section, Field Meetings and Lectures (1952), 40; (1953), 243; Annual Meeting (1952), 41; (1953), 243; Accounts (1952), 69; (1953) 282 Wilton Down (N. Wilts), Wansdyke, at, 128-9, 133 Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1952, Mrs. R. G. Barnes and Guy Peirson, 42—58; for 1953, 244-257 INDEX TO VOL. LV. 397 Wiltshire County Council, gift, 305 Wiltshire Harvest, by Sir H. H. Bashford, noticed, 94 Wiltshire Obituaries, 97, 191, 300, 385 Wiltshire Place- and Field-names (II), 70-74 Wiltshire Plant Notes (14), by J. D. Grose, 60-62; (I5), 258-62 Wiltshire Times, Centenary, 290 Windmill Edge (Manton), derivation, 72 Winterbourne Earls coffin lid, 78; from Winterbourne Dauntsey, 79 Winterbourne Stoke, bronze dagger from, 136; cross, 80 Winterslow, bronze knife from, 135-7 Winterslow, East, excavations, 367 Woburn, Purton, 357 Woodbridge Brook (Garesbourne), 238 ff Woodforde, -., Artist, 224 f Woodhenge, excavated, 229 ff Woodward, H. B., on mineral wells, 4 f Wooldridge, Josiah, of Bedwyn, 175 Wootton Bassett, bronze axe, 30; “Tdivers ” place-name, 238; Spa, 1, 2,.5, 10 Worfe (Ray) river, 355 Wool Guild Merchants’ Hall, Devizes, 366 Wormald, Prof. Francis, 287n Wright, R. P., First name of Celia Fiennes, 341-3 Wulfmere (Braydon Pond), 358 Wryllis., Dr. Thos., 175 Wylye watermeadows, 106, Il1, 113; Nettlemead, 114 Wyndham, Mrs. D., gift, 194 Wynter, J., on Holt waters, 12 Yarnsbury Camp, excavated, 229, 231 Yatesbury canal scheme, 84 Ydoure (Brinkworth Brook), 237 Yeomanry, Wilts, 143, 148, 175 Yerburgh, P. C., St. Mary’s, Steeple Ashton, guide to, noticed, 299 Youngs, Es 1., obit. jor; -Dr.G.M:, gift, 306; W. E. V., Curator of Avebury Museum, 230 Zeals records, 155-8; chapel of St. Martin, 159 Printed and Published by C. H. Woodward, Exchange Buildings, Station Road, Devizes, is Se, Records Branch publications continued— ANDREWS’ AND DURY’S MAP OF WILTSHIRE, 1773. A reduced facsimile. Introduction by Elizabeth Crittall. 1952. Pp. iv + 19 plates. SURVEYS OF THE MANORS OF PHILIP EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY, 1631—2. Edited by Eric Kerridge, Ph.D. 1953. Pp. xiv + 176. 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