eee oe oe ere ousereeuysasce + wevess a ‘scar: iene ! Reet rea eae ety pene or g says ects : : ; ee > oped * - me sare See oe The Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SOCIETY FORMED IN THAT County A.D. 1853 EDITED BY E. E. SABBEN-CLARE BisHorP WORDSWORTH SCHOOL, THE CLOSE, SALISBURY HON ASSISTANT EDITORS: OweEN MEyRICK RIDGELANDS, RAMSBURY J. M. Prest BALLIOL COLLEGE, OxFORD VOL. LVII Nos. 206—208. June, 1958—DECEMBER, 1960 DEVIZES: C. H. WoopwarpD LtTp., ExCHANGE BUILDINGS, STATION ROAD DeEcEMBER, 1960 CONTENTS OF VOL. LVII No. CCVI. JULY, 1958 ELGitOrial NOLES” Sisnc ete covs race das cong cnet ce 0h eyes erala igi oat a acd aianee tena nity sca cruel ag ne oe rere Excavation and Field-work in Wiltshire: 1957: By F.K. Annable ..................000. Second Excavation of the Strip Lynchets at Bishopstone, Near Swindon, Wilts, June, 1955 BysPeter WO0G 3 Sis i ost. calsitec, «tures SOs oe wget ae, deg ree ee ee A Romano-British Site Near Badbury, Wilts: By Alison Ravetz ...............00 000 cece The Roman Road from Old Sarum to The Mendips: The Grovely Wood—Old Sarum Section: By J. W. G. Musty, D. A. L. Davies, J. R. Hunter and D. Morgan ............ Notes on Eisey and Water Eaton: By T. R. Thomson ............ 0.0.0 c eee e eee eee An Excavation at St. Martin’s Church, Salisbury: St. Martin’s Church Construction: By Fath: de Malle Morgans 0ize...5 Steg 7g I ae PR era, a Pn wa wiaahe 8 Sen eee eae A Shropshire Gild at Work in Wiltshire: By E.G. H. Kempson ...........0.. ccc cee eees Alexander Fort and Salisbury Cathedral: By G. J. Eltringham................ 0.0.0.0 00. The Revolts in Wiltshire Against Charles I: By Eric Kerridge ............ 0... c cece cece The Broad Stones. Unrecorded Barrow on Manningford Bruce Down. Barrow Circles near Lockeridge. Prehistoric Objects from Wiltshire in the Lukis Museum, St. Peter Port, Guernsey. Four Ancient British Coins from Northwood, Colerne. A Roman Site at Colerne. Notes on the Place Names of Wiltshire, E.P.N.S. Ermine Street in Wiltshire. Probate Jurisdictions and Records for The Diocese of Salisbury. Crime in WaltS Hise F825 Ao sceceiecgee soe wibig. cca: ocd arsusteve ye Ft eda glee avoe ce ela ota hets argos te g Re eae BOOK IREVICWS'. 3s ce Soca ofie cn auctieved baw aun Wideo-o: SUpiart slo rave, Sai bao sae wld Serta relgtenane eat eee epee CU EGUTART ES: i625 oe < Sia geet la eigud aero seins, tice: eerers aia eh coreusn! ghee eeiare. 5) ities erates arene ae eranets ace neaae Annual General Meeting, 1957 ao f:24e i ose os ae Ae 3 a devi an Sloe Oe tic en ws crane Uae Seen SummenE Xcursions, 19560 205. ie os cpa re hiecoe icv overk se siete teeuate slam cre reenact eters ot ee Taree eee Report of The Honorary Treasurer for. 1956.0 65. fs civieie we io he Shs sce g Sata oe aa aeee Report of The Honorary. Librarian for 1956 0703. g.0 oe fos ase Be Ele see bom ene Accessions to The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society’s Library (at The Museum, Devizes) between November 1956 and December 1957...............2 0000s Curators Reports 1956-97 os55 ees ieishs vided owt areca eee ees oe © lee yeh ae oe eee ESS HOUKIOLE: SUTVEY . a)3 oc corss second takes ets © ree eae Stee wold eee ahem were Wet oe ee eee Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society Records Branch: Honorary General Editor’s Report, 1956-7. Honorary Secretary’s and Honorary Treasurer’s Report for NOS G25] ies5 sess ole scie 5 has 5 Sy sise shale ty glen, 6 ianetn, A erevee a) bee cue ai Sve ee taerters er heme ane eet etn eames Accessions to-1he County Records: Office: =.5 225.5, 62 feos ot aot oi dace is oe eee Statement of Accounts for The Year Ended 31st December, 1956 .......... 0.02.00 2 eee Natural History Section: MewiS: Guy: PEMSON 5.5 5 Gor pinta raises ent culonhetete eG euulaie arate soho uysnauel ta acabeter nic gnt aacekoaaee ts Field Meetings and Lectures, 1956: Report by the Hon. Meetings Secretary, Beatrice GAIN eras 5 ice aie bees Siw wsteelS ataceriaavh oete'e mists ratniel ala dual Re Tinta Gi ckeea aot ar cia HONS Secretarys REPOLt LOL) 956... 5.5 apis pearsis oop ceo coi Piater ane anata, ge tiotere @cNn teal eentees eae The:Weather‘of 1956, By R..A.-U; Jennings :b:5-2.024 sleds olkes enssindes Se. oeaes Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1956, Recorders, Ruth G. Barnes, M.B.0.U., Guy Peirson and Geoffrey Ee Boyle. cdi aera to ec nee ane oie Wesel ee senda ee vee viele iGeema.6 ahlee tema Wiltshire Plant Notes (18) (First Supplement to The Flora of Wiltshire) compiled by DV ONaIG Grose aecsehicace F 0 eisch wks scm os Sis Se nat ofel ph ru eilewe e where. cus essed aie estar mane e oteene eras Entomological Report for 1956; By B.. W. Weddell”. 2.n0ci. ovis ote asco tieieleee «oie veel ace Annual. Statement.of Accounts: 1956 7. ott ones Pen be oes ote ae ee acies ee tase Field Meetings and Lectures, 1957, Report by the Hon. Meetings Secreatry, Beatrice Gea a as Sas av basal whoa Sab oye aS «Meee taes soa viel cele Bin arals ade merechaysts 3 eee enna Hon. secretary s Report for LOST ioe recid sare oe aca ce Naty. tie, booties oi suctaeottin ole ua) eats eames rhe Weather of 1957; By:R. AU Jennings. 266 oi tisctossos oc seine s «ogee ceeomlens Wiltshire Bird Notes for 1957, Recorders, Ruth G. Barnes, M.B.O.U., and Geoffrey L. BOyles oii cael Sot eesc ie ae ica ove aha tes oheueanetn en dee stata sc nomorsee a aisle Foust te ob tokeroke wero PAGE 1 217 18 23 24— 29 3033 34— 39 40— 49 50— 55 56— 63 64— 75 16— 85 86— 88 g9— 93 94 94 95— 96 96— 97 97— 99 99—105 106—107 107—109 109 110 111 112 113 114 115—124 125—131 132—133 134 135 136 137 138—146 CONTENTS TO VOL. LVII ill PAGE MOPAR ALO PIC ALIN OC attest tacit ere aa sa afar are «wes a Sierdi ed tie Siessv tm BoD Hardee ae Os 146 Entomological Report for 1957, By B. W. Weddell .............. 0. ccc cece cee 147—148 EMM GIeSTACeMeNt OF ACCOUMLS A 997s, josscr. scat nc ccesesnsns cussave cece cceodsesbisducdeseeeusavers 148 No. CCVI. NOVEMBER 1959 Excavations at Windmill Hill, Avebury, Wilts, 1957-8: By Isobel Smith.................. 149—162 The Investigation in 1957 of Strip Lynchets North of the Vale of Pewsey: By Peter Wood AIG LEMCRVY DILIDSLOMN f, ses vss U5. 25 a eeabs nck ars che io © heanets Oars acs Ge Beeeone Ss onelsre Gesiencle coast ieee 146 ENTOMOLOGICAL, REPORT FOR. 19577 By B..W, Weddell” 5.0 oh. oi auc ne 6. we eee 147—148 ANNUAL STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS 1057 “2 cs2vie ick be cole © xk carae eit | eco Glecs te oh ure eee 148 ILLUSTRATIONS Excavation and Field-Work in Wiltshire: 1957 PN Ue teh ai 6 5 siren titan ce a eta ape ate aes ee ten Pea tas aes Loe tet oP dalle eee ee eee 4 FY sia a yola ost. waiona ie adele Riche lsh Minvoss Talevolavh siglors ale ayonlsca d seDislaiwiy qieleteieuesie ts © Otte Seine aaa 15 PVA CO RE es Sea ah sae EEG eto NSN ss abet dye ies Soa Tota: ha halo eT eg cess eee Opp. 16 Second Excavation of the Strip Lynchets at Bishopstone, Near Swindon, Wilts, June, 1955: TAO Take, sehen ssc song davis dees ME sy weet eed Sonia a See ete a crake eGhiael esse sata eae eNG g e e Opp. 18 PAO Disc eitie sla aiedia aise ols aerey Steg Sait Diiesers a Ace anh m, aptorar ae ass Heal Qidl aap a er shayatie late agli oral oe skaeaial es Oe eee 19 BRED Siac orth aad ose’ « die atti ga nee ailg MIS a ag ale laiets olslar ave ld a Ms tle mpcae, Casale acalume cence ey taqatoner ge cree Opp. 20 OAC sease.as pute: hw Os ails ob Bratt hater aha ade ne Sunk eye luvevana Sect aveves av clo eee a talatte aso tetas ctat coo ets ee Opp. 20 FIO Sigiarekd Siaceia aly Sag kY 2s Cate a WG elata tyormid Sua,b lees. eee a ae itm ast hina ha seats ered le aut oecie see 21 A Romano-British Site near Badbury, Wilts: sips Stand 2) cy ne ge vo Vs wt Slatted ie odes SoS ek Se wlee site cite eae ae 2 Slee eS eee eee 25 TSHR anT Ae! cacy cpaticgasetens iw cian hese Rates agsyare ciety 4 Senge ER Sinyery, screech eee Tee ciara eee me 27 The Roman Road from Old Sarum to The Mendips: The Grovely Wood—Old Sarum Section: 121 iy ae ERE ae RE er Ie Ce Re eiR een RnR PIN CEOS Sco tS ¢ Be) Notes on Eisey and Water Eaton Plate: Eisey Church, demolished 1844, after J. Buckler: Water Eaton Manor (demolished) .... Opp. 34 ITA Ears MO td tS chanel So! Sca: cia) Face tbea arose ave oot au hina tO al eal aisliai alan: ohcreletersunt Nh Sia oer ege Rett a ae nee Opp. 36 An Excavation at St. Martin’s Church, Salisbury: St. Martin’s Church Construction: EUS Sey pect atafet as cVovevotee'acee cs vie’ iS che 2-0) ic a)eve GoA« soko, shat eroes, OU Shake cane a) 1 a0 erence eae ayer gare ti een 41 Be asa sian ara Scrratwe oak ava talct as Sl ojae a eve etevermcleters co tiven Soy atch ovacd eaoey siavetaiee aeehehene eee etetel fea aetna 43 BID Bie sfcrac stein drei, ois ciara, sueeeTi hag 4 Tia ahs 6 Ka-beh ase dart Thshdalalels aie ated eit a tats avayeld tea) Piah he eae 45 FNS Ais catt ia sp, 5 ie\ of ate eas ov ats 6 A laveiay WalSie at «push othe a@ budge ca tup ere bu ets gay tosre ie eeeaps 5 tee ecge eme 47 A Shropshire Gild at Work in Wiltshire: VLA e: alae: acts ala eh Georelleng socp asa: stags wok bkeugsam 9,0 emayate eal arllod Sean tne ef Maateata aie ty GU oom OL eae s Gieeke gaara esa Opp §2 Alexander Fort and Salisbury Cathedral Plate Ae cd catclan’ cota Rasa Ca wlaaile oNa Sie ale ce Pg cae eeye fate Ene eee ee ee Opp. 56 Plates iin .d gayaee «Teed Yglegavera ice onihe Ootdets:puopa cape Sine ek MMe ia tats eased Galati Mes metre Rierey uata Reernt ies tages Opp. 60 Four Ancient British Coins from Northwood, Colerne: LE ral Cee A aad oy oka as eM Sanny Mabe Sun eae RSA rode. A RC a Ri Opp. 76 eke WEE SHIRE MAGAZINE MULTORUM MANIBUS GRANDE LEVATUR ONUS | No. CCVI 1957-1958 Vol. LVI EDITORIAL NOTES The Magazine in its new form. This is the first issue of the Magazine in its new form. The page is larger and there is a fresh cover. As I told readers in the last issue, the decision to adopt a larger page was taken on the advice of prominent archaeologists and will enable us to achieve a higher standard of illus- _ tration. At the same time it was decided to have a new cover. The block of Stonehenge, which has done service there for over one hundred years, was worn out and the rest of the cover, in the course of years, had accumulated a good deal of unnecessary letterpress and become farless simple than that of Vol.1 in 1854. We have attempted to produce instead something in accordance with the Society’s traditions and yet more in harmony with present ideas of magazine cover design. Hence we have retained the central place of Stone- henge on the page but removed from it superfluous wording such as that ‘ The authors of the papers printed in this Magazine are alone responsible for all statements made therein.’ (If that remark is meant to be a legal shield for the Editor, I doubt if it is adequate; if it isn’t, I doubt if it is worth making.) The cover colours have been changed to green and white, as the colours of this county. The designer of the new cover is Mr. Kenneth Lindley, who is at present teaching art at The College, Swindon. Mr. Lindley has produced a number of books and magazine covers for various publishers, includ- ing Penguin Books. The Magazine will also appear only once a year, at any rate for the present, and while it will go free to members as before, will cost twenty-five shillings instead of half a guinea to non-members. The inevitable rise in pro-duction costs over the past few years have unfortunately made both these measures necessary. The first means that we have to decide on a suitable publishing date. My own view is that the late spring or early summer is the best time. To my mind two of the most important features in this Magazine are the annual review of archaeology in the county which I started last year and want to make a regular feature and the similar bird, plant, and entomological notes on the Natural History side. The copy of these can not be ready at the beginning of the year and I think it would therefore be a mistake to try to bring out the Magazine at that time. On the other hand, members will want it well before the Annual General Meeting. Victoria County History. I am holding reviews of the latest Wiltshire volumes over to the next issue. Contributions. With the exception of Mr. G. J. Eltringham of Nottingham University, all the con- tributors of main articles in this issue have written for the Magazine before. While the last thing I want to do is to discourage old and valued contributors on whom the Magazine must depend for much of its success I hope I may have more from new writers as well. Perhaps they will be encouraged by the following ex- tract from the Preface to Vol. I of the Magazine * Such a form of publication presents the advantage of being opennot only to originaland finished Articles .. . but also to communications of a less original and elaborate character . . . even to queries on obscure points such as may elicit an answer in some following num- ber. Attention is particularly requested to the Rule which forbids the introduction of political, or religious discussions. It is hoped that such a work may not only be a means of providing popular amusement and instruction, but may serve as a valuable assistant to those who may hereafter undertake the more serious task of finishing the History of the County.” ! E. E. SABBEN-CLARE. 1 W.A.M,., I, tv. VOL. LVII-CCVI A 2 EXCAVATION AND FIELD-WORK IN WILTSHIRE: 1957. By F. K. ANNABLE. SUMMARY. During 1957 two important new groups have been formed to stimulate Wiltshire archaeology. The first of these is an Archaeological Sub-Committee under the aegis of the parent Committee of the Wilts Archaeological and Natural History Society. All who have communication with the parent body will not need reminding that it has possessed a tradition of active work in the field that is second to none. But since the death of B. H. Cunnington and his wife, archaeological research within the Society has lapsed, with the exception of Mr. Thomas’s work on the Snail Down group of barrows, and the Committee feel that it is time interest was revived. The new Sub-Committee, with the Rev. E. H. Steele as Secretary, hopes to carry out one, or possibly two, small excavations in 1958. These, it is hoped, will attract energetic Society members interested in actively helping towards the rediscovery of the past. The Sub-Committee does not intend to confine itself to spade archaeology. Amongst other projects envisaged are a programme of field- work, that much neglected occupation in Wiltshire, and the re-examination of finds in the Museum from already excavated sites. The second group is the Salisbury Museum Excavation Sub-Committee under the direction of J. W. G. Musty. Its main purpose is to hold a watching brief on sites affected by construction work, and, where necessary, to carry out rescue digging at short notice. The value of such a group of enthusiasts is apparent from the rescue excavations they have already carried out and noticed later in this article; their latest finds at Paul’s Dene, for instance, are all but proof, previously indicated by last year’s discoveries, of an Early Iron Age settlement in that area. Both groups are working in close co-operation. May they achieve the success and support they deserve ! It is also good news to learn that a start has been made on the publication of the long awaited reports of the great excavations carried out at Avebury and Windmill Hill by the late Alexander Keiller. The work of publication has been entrusted to Dr. Isobel Smith, who contributes a note on a supplementary excavation made at Windmill Hill in this connection. The Ministry of Works (Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments) has again been actively financing rescue work in the county. Of particular interest are the Earlswood Long Barrow dig, (the first excavation of a long barrow on Salisbury Plain since the days of Thurnam), a final season’s work at Snail Down, and the mesolithic finds at Downton, which along with Mr. Tucker’s addit- ional findings in the north of the county are going a long way towards corroborating Mr. W. F. Rankine’s statement in a recent paper that Wiltshire was not a mesolithic desert (W.A.M., LVI, p. 149). Two Iron Age sites have also been examined, These are on Cow Down, near Longbridge Deverell, and at Winterbourne Gunner. The examination of the latter was carried out by the Salisbury Field Club, whose archaeological section is still functioning, but now confines itself to work on sites not directly threatened with destruction. A further small, but useful, find is that of a Romano-British pottery kiln in Savernake Forest, the first of its kind to be excavated in Wiltshire; additional kilns representing a consid- erable industry must have certainly existed close to the kiln already found. Finally, a fillip has been given to fieldwork in Wiltshire by Mr. Anthony Clark’s discoveries made during flights over the county. New finds are always an event, and these particularly serve to suggest that there is still much to discover in Wiltshire without the need for that expenditure of energy and money so often demanded by the spade. A timely reminder in fact, in these days of economies. Mr. Clark’s work on the Wansdyke is also noticed below, and it is more than fitting that this summary of the year’s ‘ Excavation and Field-work ’ should end with an attempt to shed further light on so marked, but so enigmatic, a feature of the Wiltshire landscape. 3 The above matter, amongst others are dealt with in the detailed notes of work done which are given below. Iam most grateful to the following for their contributions :— Dr. Isobel Smith (Windmill Hill), P. Ashbee (Earlswood), N. Thomas (Snail Down), Miss Sonia Chadwick (Cow Down, Longbridge Deverell), J. W. G. Musty (Winterbourne Gunner, and rescue work in the Salisbury Area), P. Rahtz (Downton and Old Sarum), E. S. Higgs (Downton), Rev. E. H. Steele (Codford Down), J. H. Tucker (Mesolithic sites in N. Wilts), A. J. Clark (Air and ground reconnaissance, near ‘Silbury Hill and Sandy Lane, and Wansdyke). | EXCAVATION. Windmill Hill, Avebury. Neolithic Causewayed Camp. _ In connection with work now in progress on the publication of the excavation of this site by the late “Alexander Keiller, a small supplementary i investigation directed by Dr. Isobel Smith was carried out during the summer of 1957 with the permission of the National Trust and the Ministry of Works. The primary purpose was to obtain fresh charcoals, samples of ditch siltings and other specimens for analysis by modern methods. Cuttings were made through untouched sections of the Inner, Middle and Outer ditches, and, on the north and east sides of the camp, through the bank inside the Outer ditch. The ditch cuttings served to confirm stratigraphical observations previously made, save that no evidence was seen of any form of ‘ occupation’ of the ditches at any stage in the silting. In these sections the siltings showed an entirely natural sequence of layers, incorporating potsherds, flints, and other refuse which had fallen or been thrown into the hollows. Immediately below the turf and humus was a ploughsoil which almost certainly represents the fairly recent cultivation referred to by Colt Hoare (Ancient Wilts, I, p- 96). The two bank cuttings produced new evidence of neolithic occupation of the hill-top prior to the con- struction of the camp. On the north side the bank has been almost entirely destroyed by ploughing, but just enough of the structure remained, in the form of large blocks of chalk, to seal on the undisturbed level beneath a scatter of flint flakes, a leaf-shaped arrowhead, sherds of about a dozen pots, charcoal and animal bone. On the east side of the camp the bank still rises to a height of about 3ft. 6ins. Excavation revealed no traces of sockets for revetments or palisade posts, and well-defined tip-lines of coarse loose chalk rubble, finer rubble mixed with earthy material, and occasional streaks of clean or dirty puddled chalk, indicated that no formal structure had been attempted. The bank was built simply by piling up material as it was dug from the quarry ditch. Beneath the bank was a buried soil on which lay pottery and other debris. This soil has been examined by Dr. G. W. Dimbleby of the Imperial Forestry Institute, Oxford, who reports that it appears to be a culti- vation soil from which the turf and humus zone has been artificially stripped. The presence of pollen from cereals and weeds of cultivation suggests that crops had been grown on or near the site of the bank, and Dr. Dimbleby has put forward the tentative theory that with primitive methods of agriculture it might be difficult to get a good tilth and to eliminate the overwhelming competition from weeds unless the turf and root mat were first removed. The Earlswood Long Barrow. This excavation was undertaken on behalf of the Ministry of Works by Mr. Paul Ashbee, with the kind permission of Major S. Christie-Miller of Fussell’s Lodge Farm, Clarendon, the owner of the land. The barrow (SU/192324) was first observed from the air in July, 1924 by the late O. G. S. Crawford on one of his flights made during the compilation of ‘ Wessex from the Air’ (Crawford and Keiller, Wessex from the Air, p.31). 2A The excavation has proved that when first built the long barrow consisted of a ditch-flanked timber- walled enclosure of dimensions 140 x 40 X 2oft. (fig. 1). An entrance protected by a porch stood in the middle of its broad end. Within this mortuary enclosure the skeletal remains of some 17-19 individuals had been collected to- gether and interred beneath a flint cairn. Afterwards the rest of the enclosure had been filled in first with soil, and then chalk rubble dug from the deep flanking ditches, thus forming the barrow mound. Jo ae FUSSELLS LONG BARROW N25 on THE OS. MAP of NEOLITHIC WESSEX oN re ee 7 ¢, PLOUCHED LDCE OF MOUHD f FAULTING FLINT CAIRN OVER 2 BURIALS & PITS —_ ——. rad ° 10 Se EROS SE RTE EE) ae SCALE OF METEES y DEL REMS RA DEL ee Earlswood Long Barrow, Fussell’s Lodge Farm. Pig. es Evidence for the timber enclosures came from the palisade trench which was discovered under the chalk talus of the denuded barrow mound. This trench, about rft. 6ins. wide and dug to a depth of sft. below the ancient surface had held large timbers set 2ft. apart and originally standing to a height of 7 to 9 ft. The fill- ing between these posts was probably wattle or horizontal connecting timbers. Four postholes outside the entrance to the enclosure indicated the existence of the porch. Two pits (A and B in fig. 1) had been dug beneath the area subsequently occupied by burials. Both of these contained broken human bones, but pit A, at the western end of the cairn also contained a single crushed pot. Immediately within the enclosure entrance was a single articulated contracted burial with a small broken pot at the knees and an ox skull at the feet. 5 The main burial area however consisted of a great wedge-shaped mass of bones extending from the en- trance to beyond Pit A. From the disarticulate and fragmentary condition of the bones it was clear that, prior to their burial at the eastern end of the mound, the bodies had been removed when in an advanced _ state of decay from some previous place of storage, doubtless within the timber enclosure itself. After the deposition of the bodies, which were of varying ages, a cairn of weathered flint nodules had been erected over the top. A further mass of blocking flints had been built simultaneously over the enclos- ure entrance. Discarded flint cores and flakes, and a number of axe rough-outs were found amongst the cairn material. Two enormous ditches flanked the barrow but did not extend around its ends. At the eastern end they _ measured approximately 15ft. across, narrowing at the opposite end to about roft. Fragments of shed antler and flint flakes from knapping occurred in the rapid chalk silt of the ditch, whilst at a higher level was a mass of articulate ox bones representing the remains of meat joints. In the initial accumulation of humus, sherds of rusticated ware and Windmill Hill pottery were found, though apart from the pottery associated with the burials and stray plough sherds, nothing more was encountered in the barrow. The absence of beaker sherds in the upper layers of the ditch was particularly marked. The Snail Down Barrow Cemetery. Bronze Age. The third and final season of rescue-excavations among the barrows of this great cemetery took place from July 6th—August 8th. Once again the work was financed by a grant from the Ministry of Works. It was directed by Nicholas Thomas, released by the Wiltshire Archaeological Society for the purpose; he was assisted by Charles Thomas. The work of 1953 and 1955 has been described briefly in W.A.M., LVI, Dec. 1955. In 1957 we decided to complete our study of selected barrow-types by stripping a bow]-barrow (Site XVII) and a pond- barrow (Site XVI), and by surveying and examining the double bell-barrow (Site XIX), the peculiarly snail-like profile of which may have given Snail Down its name. In view of the discovery of a ring of post- holes around Site XV, dug in 1955, a mound which had no surrounding ditch, five similar mounds built between Sites VIII and II (plan, fig. 1, W.A.M., LVI, Dec. 1955, p. 131) were examined in detail. These were our Sites X-XIV. A number of trenches were dug across the boundary ditch which skirts the Down on its north side, particularly where one barrow, (our Site XX) appeared to interrupt the course of this ditch (W.A.M. ibid., plan, fig. 1) and also at a point about half-a-mile to the west where the ditch alters course and runs into another. Finally cuttings were made across the two other bowl barrows (Sites XVIII and XXI) to establish details of their structure and the presence of a ditch around each. Sites X-XIV. These five inconspicuous mounds areinarow extending westwards from the large bell-barrow, Site VIE. They do not conform to the general arrangement of barrows in the cemetery since they impinge upon the semi-circle of large mounds beween Sites III and VIII. They were excavated by a grid system in which a continuous section was exposed along their main axis, together with a series of radial sections across individ- ual mounds. In this way half of Site X (at the east end) almost all Site XI and much of Sites XII and XIII were stripped down to chalk. Site XIV (at the west end) was cleared completely, with much ground around it. Hoare had certainly examined some of these barrows in 1805 but his account (Ancient Wilts, I, - 183) does not establish which these were. Before our work began none of the mounds bore traces of a previous opening ; Sites X and XII-XIII were riddled with rabbit holes. Excavation revealed that each mound was composed of pale brown loam mixed with small chalk chips and flints. This material was paler, redder and a little more compact than the modern topsoil; beneath Sites XI-XIV a faint grey-brown layer containing less chalk indicated the presence of a land surface pre- served beneath the barrows. These mounds must have been built by scraping up turf and soil from the 6 immediate area, without digging surrounding ditches. They differed from Site XV in that no ring of posts had been set up in lieu of a ditch around any of them. They had diameters of 28-6oft. and heights of 1-2ft. The centre of each mound was cleared or examined, but only Site XIV yielded a burial; here, the pit which contained it was distinctly south of the centre, and for this reason was missed by Hoare. Itis possible that the activity of rabbits can account for the removal of bones or other deposits beneath the other mounds in this row. The burial beneath Site XIV was a large heap of cremated bone, probably contained in a bag, and placed at the centre of an oval pit dug 12ins. into the chalk. A flint round scraper had been placed with the bones; this was unpatinated. A thin scatter of stake holes occurred under all these mounds. Under Site XIV, however, a maze of stake and post-holes was found. They made no recognisable plan but it was clear that they were not associ- ated with the barrow, spreading as they did beyond its limits. They can only be interpreted as the remains of a flimsy tent, or tents, abandoned before the barrows were built. It was noticed that Site XIV contained an unusually high proportion of potsherds from Beaker and allied wares, together with patinated flint implements and a flake off a battle-axe of Wessex Bronze Age type, identified as rock of Group XIV, from the area of Nuneaton. These wares closely resemble the fragments of pottery obtained from the mound of Site III, the bell-barrow situated a few yards to the south of Site XIV and excavated in 1955 (W.A.M., ibid. p. 139). There were no post or stake-holes beneath Site III which were not associated with that barrow. Site XVII, a few yards north-west of Site XIV, yielded neither finds not post-holes which did not belong to it. It seems, therefore, that those who built Sites XIV and III collected soil which was packed with the occupation debris of an earlier habitation site, and that this had been situated very close to Site XIV but clear of Sites If and XVII. These postholes had been driven up to 12ins. into the chalk. Their ends were pointed and their diameters varied from 1-3ins. All had been rammed into the subsoil. Site XVI. This pond-barrow was discovered by Mr. H. C. Bowen earlier in the summer of 1957. It lies about sooft. south of Site VIII. Before excavation it showed as a slight depression in the turf, roughly circular and about 4oft. in diameter. The site was divided into four quadrants and cleared down to the undisturbed chalk. The chalk removed from this site to make the ‘ pond’ had been piled around the edge of the depression to form a bank. This showed as an accumulation of chalky rubble 8ft. broad and 6ins. thick, covering the faint remains of an old land surface. Immediately within this bank a sub-rectangular enclosure had been built by driving in a ragged line of stakes and, we presume, linking them with some form of hurdling. In the space thus defined three pits had been dug, and then probably left open. Of these, two were basin-shaped (in the chalk sub- soil), 6ins. deep and 14ft. in diameter. Each was filled with a dark brown loam resembling the overlying topsoil. At the bottom of both pits a few chips of burnt bone were found. Close to the centre of the pond- barrow, a third pit occurred. This was of unusual interest and importance because in shape it was a small version of the two-burial pits in Site IT, the saucer-barrow to the west (W.A.M. ibid., p. 134). Like these it consisted of an upper pit, in the floor of which a smaller pit had been dug. The filling of the upper pit was a brown loam with some flints. A small quantity of cremated bone, presumably human, had been placed in the lower pit. Site XVII. This bowl-barrow lies a few yards north-west of Site XIV. Since we had not previously excavated a mound of this type, Site XVII was cleared completely. Before excavation its surrounding ditch was not visible and a slight depression at the centre suggested that it had been opened by Hoare. ‘| We found that this barrow was untouched. Its sharply defined mound, 2ft. high, was surrounded bya ditch cut into the chalk to a depth of nearly 3ft., and about sft. wide at ground level. It had vertical walls anda flat floor, with an overall diameter of 4oft. Post-holes and other features found at the centre of the barrow suggested that the corpse due for burial had been exposed upon a wooden platform for the flesh to decay. Beneath this structure a burial pit had been dug and a large collared urn put in it. When the remains of the corpse had been collected and burnt the urn was deliberately smashed and the cremation remains put in the pit, on top of the broken urn. | The platform must have been dismantled but its uprights left in position, after which the barrow mound was built over the area. Subsequently, three small pits had been dug into the mound on its west side. One contained brown loam and a few chips of cremated bone; a second was filled with charcoal. In the third some sherds of a _ small collared urn had been carefully packed. There were no bones or other objects with this pot. The unusual discovery of two deliberately broken urns in one barrow suggests that both belonged to the same ritual act, although one may have been buried days or even months after the other. Site XVIII. This was a low mound, apparently without any surrounding ditch, situated immediately south of Site I. It had been a rabbit warren for several years. Hoare dug out its centre in 1805 and found a cremation in a very well-made collared urn (Ancient Wilts, I, p. 184: D. M. Cat. I, 255). This barrow has a diameter of about goft. and is 2ft. high. A substantial radial section was cut from the centre of the mound southwards. It revealed a surrounding ditch which in shape and size can only be matched by that around Site XXI below. _ It was slot-like, 41ft. deep and with a flat floor 1-2 ft. wide. Its sides had originally been almost vertical. The filling consisted mainly of loose chalk rubble—probably the material dug out of it, because there was no sign of a chalk _ capping over the turf mound which it surrounded. No burial-pit or other ritual features were found in our cuttings. The plan of this barrow-ditch did not make a perfect circle and its shape is matched at Snail Down only | by that of Site XXI (see below). Site XIX. The mounds of this double bell-barrow are of different heights and sizes. They are surrounded by a con- tinuous ditch. The larger mound has a diameter of about 8oft. and a height of 9}ft. The other mound was 4ft. high and 4oft. in diameter. The ditch was flat bottomed and its sides originally almost vertical. It is sft. deep and r1oft. wide at the surface of the chalk. It is separated from both mounds by a flat space, or berm, 13-2o0ft. in width. _ The larger mound had been built first. It has a core of earth and turves which had been kept in position by a ring of short stout stakes driven into the natural chalk. These timbers were 2ft. apart and would origin- ally have projected about one foot above ground. They indicated that the turf core had been about 6oft. in diameter. The smaller mound also had a central stack of turf and soil, retained by a similar ring of stakes, set a little closer together and having a diameter of about 30ft. The stakes around both mounds had been bent outwards by the pressure of turf and soil. Although a soil-profile indicating turf was preserved at the base of the larger mound, it was not visible beneath the smaller one. The turf and soil of the latter appeared to rest directly upon the natural chalk. This suggests that the larger mound had been built first,—that it had been augmented by turf and soil scraped from the place where the second mound was afterwards to be built. The surrounding ditch had been dug last. The chalk from it provided a capping for the two stacks of turf and soil and concealed the stake rings. 8 Site XXII. Immediately to the south of Site XIX there is a second bell-barrow. Their ditches almost touch. Site XXII has a maximum diameter of 175ft. Its mound is about soft. high and r2oft. in diameter. It is separated from its surrounding ditch by a berm some 2sft. wide. A small mound has been heaped up on the berm on the north side, opposite Site XIX. A tank track cuts across Site XXII from north to south, distorting and damaging both its mounds. A plan of this barrow suggested that the smaller mound might have been a later addition. Unfortunately, the passage of tracked vehicles during the last war had done too much damage for this relationship to be established. However, trenches cut during the last week of the season exposed a secondary burial by in- humation in the upper part of the smaller mound. This burial lay in a tightly crouched position, its head facing north-east. The bones were those of a youth. They had been placed in a shallow grave which did not penetrate the chalk, on the south-east side of the mound. Three tiny beads of amber and a perforated cockle shell beneath the chin of the skeleton suggested that it had been deposited here during the period in which this cemetery was in use—c. 1550-1250 B.C. This is the first inhumation of the Bronze Age to be recorded from Snail Down. Sites VI, VI, XX and XXI. The ditch which skirts the northern edge of Snail Down, Site VI, was excavated in 1953 and extensively in 1957. No dating evidence for it has yet been discovered, but it appears to have marked the boundary between a group of Celtic fields to the north and an area of pasture on which the barrows are located. This respect for the Bronze Age cemetery was seen more dramatically in 1957 when the ditch was shown to have altered course to avoid the barrow on its south side, our Site XX. A little further to the east a second barrow (Site XXI) also lies close to Site VI. This had a deep, narrow surrounding ditch resembling that around Site XVIII (above). There was no need for Site VI to alter course here, since the two sites were sufficiently far apart; nevertheless a slight ditch was dug between the two to ensure that the barrow was not isolated. Half-a-mile to the west, Site VI turns south, and then eastwards again to enclose the barrows. At its first turn it joins an earlier flat-bottomed ditch, Site VII, which runs from north to south. South of this junction Site VI has dug away Site VII. It now seems clear that the apparent extension of Site VI to Sidbury Hill, cutting through a disc-barrow in its path, is not the same ditch. The ditch which joins Site VI to Sidbury Hill must be a mediaeval boun- dary ditch, hence the lack of respect for the disc-barrow which it cuts across. Codford Down Barrow Group. (NGR 978427.) Four barrows in this group were examined during the first week in January, 1957, by the Rev. E. H. Steele and a party of friends. The barrows are those referred to by Colt Hoare as the Ashton Valley Group (Ancient Wilts, I, p. 78), in which he records 11 tumuli. The group is interesting in that itis enclosed on three sides by a Celtic field system, the cemetery area having been respected by the cultivators. Goddard, (W.A.M., XXXVIII, Dec., 1913, p. 228-9), noted that two barrows (1a, 1b), were no longer visible, and since his day No. 6 has been included in an arable field. As a result of damage from rabbits, and military wartime activity, permission was given for the plough- ing of part of the area including a large bowl barrow, (No. 5), and three small low barrows, (4a, b, c), one of which was barely visible. The proposal was brought to notice by Mr. R. H. Willoughby, and the very ready co-operation of the farmers, Messrs. J. & W. Collins, permitted a hurried examination during ten ain-soaked days before the plough began work. Barrow § is a large bowl barrow, without ditch, and is now over 80 feet in diameter. It is of the scraped- up variety, the material of which has spread considerably southwards with the slope of the hill. The bar- 9 row material contained a number of Beaker sherds. Hoare records that much digging took place before the primary cremation was reached, rather south of the centre, accompanied by a hammer axe. (D.M. Cat., Pt. I, 17). The cremation was not inurned, and has been recovered for examination. Near it lay a 1709 penny deposited by the earlier excavators. Just outside the line of Hoare’s cutting, only eight inches under the turf, lay a flexed skeleton, without dating evidence. Mr. Collins reported the finding of a human jaw- bone in a rabbit scrape on this barrow, and the quantity of human bones in the many rabbit burrows gave evidence of a further secondary burial, but this, if it still existed, was not discovered in the time available. The small low barrows were opened just before the ploughing started. 4a yielded a late Bronze Age urn substantially intact, in an inverted position, placed in a shallow socket in the chalk. The upper part, which projected into the humus above, was somewhat crushed. The urn is decorated with applied cordons bear- ing finger tip markings. 4b produced evidence of two urn burials of the same Late Bronze Age date, but in this case the urns were crushed as reported by Hoare. The area of 4c was dug, but although much burnt bone and many sherds were found, the centre of the barrow could not be satisfactorily determined in the time, and it had to be left to the plough to produce a further selection of fragments. A full report on this interesting area will be written when all the material has been examined. The Late Bronze Age burials are a striking parallel to the urnfield on Heale Hill described by the late Dr. Stone and Mr. Musty (W.A.M., LVI, June and Dec., 1956, p. 253-61). Cow Down, Longbridge Deverell. Early Iron Age A Enclosures. A group of enclosures on Cow Down, Longbridge Deverell (ST/887145) was excavated for the Ministry of Works by Miss Sonia Chadwick during the three separate months of October, 1956, and April and September, 1957. The main site consisted of a D-shaped enclosure (A) surrounded by a ditch and bank enclosing roughly one acre. Its straight side was aligned on the north-south axis. Air photographs taken before the second season’s digging showed however that this enclosure formed part of a much larger complex. To the east of Site A was a roughly circular enclosure (B) of the Little Woodbury type, some 3 acres in extent. The area inside the ditch was pock-marked with darker soil patches, visible from the air and on the ground, and interpreted as pits and working hollows. A further enclosure (C) of similar type to B was also partly visible on the photographs, approximately 100 yards north-west of A. Enclosure A. Sections were cut across the bank and ditch of this enclosure. The bank which was on the outside was only slight, and nowhere more than r8ins. high. The ditch was of V-section, measuring 2oft. across and oft. in depth, ending at the bottom in a narrow flat channel. Burnt flints and some bone occurred in the upper filling of the ditch; pottery fragments found in the primary silting made up the base of a coarse flat- _ bottomed jar of Early Iron Age A type. Trenching within the enclosure entrance revealed a complex of post-holes indicating a circular house, soft. in diameter and very reminiscent of that found at Little Woodbury. Three concentric rings of post- holes were traced, the outer ring consisting of shallow and intermittent post sockets, oval in shape and filled with chalk packing material. The main ring comprised 27 post-holes ranging between rft. 6ins. and 2ft. 6ins. deep and representing a regular circle of timber uprights, each averaging 1 foot in diameter, set vertically and some 4ft. apart. The diameter of this ring was 38ft. The third and inner ring consisted of six smaller post-holes set in an irregular circle inside the main ring. A further 4 post-holes projecting beyond the outer ring represented the main timber supports for a square porch facing towards the ditch. The main weight of the building was supported on the second ring of posts which also formed the frame- work of the principal wall of the hut, the filling between the posts probably being of cob. In the absence of heavy central posts, a feature employed at Little Woodbury, the roof was probably supported by substantial _ VOL. LVII-CCVI B 10 crossbeams and smaller upright timbers on the crossbeams to provide the steep conical elevation necessary for a roof of reed or straw thatch. The outer ring of posts may have been only light timbers used to prop the projecting eaves and perhaps to carry an outer screen of wattle, thus forming a verandah or lean-to behind which cattle could be stalled in the winter. No storage pits or working hollows were found, and the hut appears to have been completely isolated apart from a miscellaneous cluster of post-holes on its north side which may have belonged to a timber outbuilding. Chalk loom-weights and spindle whorls were found in the vicinity and Iron Age A pottery was present in the main ring of post-holes, and as a general scatter over the hut site. Enclosure B. The ditch of Enclosure B was found to be V-shaped in section and approximately 4ft. deep. Cuttings across the ditch at the north and south corners of Enclosure A also revealed that the ditch ends met A exactly at the corners and then curved outwards in a north-westerly and south-westerly direction respec- tively, the wide entrance (approximately 350 ft. across) being subsequently blocked by the straight side of Enclosure A. The south corner section further showed that the ditch of A had been cut down through B, and that B had silted up completely before A was dug. No trace of a contemporary palisade closing the entrance was discovered. Sherds of coarse and haematite coated wares from the ditch of B indicate an Iron Age A date for the construction of this enclosure. Chronology. The excavations have thus far shown the first occupational phase to be represented by the construction of Enclosure B. Subsequently Enclosure A was constructed after the final silting of the B ditch, but while it was still visible and still presumably a functioning boundary of the farmstead. It is difficult to assign the circular house with certainty to either of the two enclosures on account of its curious position, just outside Enclosure B and blocking the entrance to Enclosure A. Future excavation may shed further light on this problem. All three structures however on the present evidence appear to be of Early Iron Age A date. Down Barn West, Winterbourne Gunner. A trapezoidal enclosure of probable Early Iron Age AB date. This earthwork is No. 234 in the Victoria County History List of Enclosures and Hill-Forts (SU/167365). It is approximately half-an-acre in extent and consists of a single bank and ditch with an entrance in the south-east corner. The only other visible features are two or three shallow depressions inside the earth- work. During the spring the Salisbury Field Club, under the direction of J. W. G. Musty, undertook a selective examination of the site to obtain dating evidence. In this excavation five ditch sections were cut, part of the entrance area was stripped, and one of the shallow depressions was examined. The ditch was V-shaped, 6ft. wide at the top and 2ft. 6ins. deep. Unfortunately only one sherd of pottery was obtained from the ditch cuttings, and therefore definite dating evidence for the earthwork is still lack- ing. Excavation of the entrance showed that it had probably consisted of a 10ft. wide gateway, as two large post-holes were discovered at this spacing. In addition the post-holes of a palisade fence were found in the banknear the entrance. The posts had been set in a shallow trench, rammed in with chalk, and the bank had then been thrown up around them. A tumble of large flints into the ditch at the entrance is at present un- explained: they may have originally formed part of a bank revetment, but no similar feature was seen in any of the other ditch cuttings. The shallow depression was found to be the top of a grain storage pit oft. deep and 8ft. in diameter. This pit when emptied produced a quantity of pottery which Mr. J. Brailsford has dated as Early Iron Age AB. The only other finds were a few animal bones and pieces of a corn-drying oven. It is possible that the earthwork was constructed on ground already containing grain storage pits; on the 1] _ other hand the pottery from the pit provides strong presumptive evidence for provisionally dating the | earthwork as Early Iron Age AB. — Savernake Forest. A Romano-British Pottery Kiln. A note in Mrs. Cunnington’s ‘ Romano-British Wiltshire ’, (W.A.M. XLV, p. 202) records the occur- rence of quantities of broken pottery over an area of some 3 acres, approximately 100 yards south of - Bitham Pond, near Column Ride in Savernake Forest. At the beginning of the year a small reconnaissance was made of the area in question when it was decided to pursue small-scale excavations over a number of _ weekends, in an attempt to locate one or more of the pottery kilns of Romano-British date surmised to exist in the area. The site chosen for trial trenching lay approximately 220 yards south-west of Bitham Pond (SU/222652). With the kind permission of the Earl of Cardigan and the Forestry Commission trial digging over an area of some 300 square yards was carried out during the weekends of May and June by F. K. Annable, assisted by O. Meyrick, A. J. Clark, boys of Marlborough College, and other Society members. A kiln was eventually located in the south-east corner of the area under examination and proved to one of the type classified by W. F. Grimes as a “ horizontal-draught * kiln (Y Cymmrodor, XLI, 129). The kiln possessed three main features: (a) an oval oven, or firing-chamber sft. long, with a maximum width of 3ft. 9ins., carefully shaped in the natural subsoil, (b) a narrow tunnel at each end of the oven and connected with it, (the furnaces), leading out into (c) the stokeholes, which were simply two roughly cir- cular, unlined depressions dug once again into the clayey sand. Clay was the main material used in the con- struction of the kiln. It was not obvious whether wall and floor of the oven had been deliberately clay-lined, or whether the natural clayey sand after a preliminary firing had proved sufficiently stable to act as an adequate lining. The furnace walls, on the other hand, were clearly clay-lined. A number of flat, roughly circular plates of heavily baked clay, about 8ins. in diameter were found amongst the general debris of the site. Their precise use, at present unexplained, may either have been to _ reinforce the temporary oven roof, or to act as supports for the pottery load. Otherwise there was a _ noticeable absence of kiln furniture such as clay supports or firebars, which at other sites were commonly employed asa separate flooring over the central oven for the support of the load. It looks as if at Savernake _ the load was simply placed directly on to the oven floor, and the finding of a complete jar still standing upright on the floor would appear to confirm this suggestion. Considerable quantities of pottery were recovered from the interior of the kiln and stokeholes. All of it is clearly early, and a tentative end first century A.D. date is suggested for the series on the summary ex- _ amination so far carried out. The presence of a “ horizontal-draught ’ kiln in Wiltshire, where the type was not previously known to have been in use, is particularly interesting. Close parallels have been excavated at Tilford, Surrey, (A. J. Clark, Surrey Arch. Collns., LI, 1949, pp. 29-56) though noticeably in this case of 4th century date. Rescue Work in the Salisbury Area. Since its formation members of the Salisbury Museum Excavation Sub-Committee have undertaken a | number of watching briefs on sites affected by large-scale construction work, and, where necessary, have carried out small excavations to recover occupational evidence. The excavations in the environs of Old _ Sarum and in Castle Street, Salisbury which are reported below, were directed by J. W. G. Musty. East Suburb of Old Sarum and Bishopdown. Prehistoric, Roman and Medieval finds, including two rath _ century lime-kilns. Construction work was started on the Castle Hill Water scheme during 1957, when a pipe-line several 2B 12 miles long was laid down. The trench for this ran through the east suburb of Old Sarum and for the whole length of Bishopdown. Numerous archaeological features were revealed. These occurred in three groups: (a) three Secondary Neolithic pits and a number of Medieval (12th century) cesspits, foundation trenches, etc., in the field between the Amesbury and Ford roads; (b) an extensive lime-burning area lying between the Ford roads and the top of Bishopdown, and (c) an Iron Age and Roman settlement on Bishopdown. Neolithic. The Secondary Neolithic pits were U-shaped holes approximately 2ft. in diameter and rft. deep with a grey earthy fill. The pits were buried under 3ft. of plough soil which had undoubtedly assisted their preservation, and also that of an associated old turf line. A few small sherds of pottery decorated with finger nail ornament and (2) impressed cord were obtained from two of the pits, and pot-boilers from the old turfline. A careful search of the spoil removed in cutting the trench failed to reveal any other pottery or associated material. Iron Age and Roman. Details of Early Iron Age Az pits discovered at Paul’s Dene were givenin ‘ Excavations and Field- Work, ’ 1956, (W.A.M., LVI, p.241) when it was suggested that these were only part of a more extensive settlement area on Bishopdown. The pipe-line crossed the Paul’s Dene Estate and the field immediately west of it. Only one new pit was seen in the Paul’s Denearea, but in the field fifteen further pits were found includ- ing a large grain storage pit. Two bead rims were obtained from the latter, and Roman pottery from its upper layers. Pottery of a similar type was obtained from a number of the other pits. The newly discovered pits, therefore, are later than those at Paul’s Dene and probably date to the 1st century A.D. This evidence lends increasing support to the idea that a large Early Iron Agesettlementarea lay on Bishop- down opposite the East gate of Old Sarum, and that occupation of the site persisted into Roman times. Medieval. The nature of the first group of medieval pits cannot be determined solely from the evidence obtained from the pipe trench. A building must have been associated with the pits as, in addition to the two cesspits, there were two foundation trenches showing in section. On the western side of the site was a V-shaped ditch also of twelfth century date, and possibly the boundary of the medieval area on that side. The O.S. large scale maps and plans identify the site as that of St. John’s Hospital, but the reason for this identification cannot now be found. The second group of pits (the lime-burning area) comprised a large chalk pit 100ft. across and two lime- kilns; in addition there were three smaller chalk pits and two cesspits. Pottery of twelfth century date was obtained from the two cesspits and from a cess fill in the top of one of the kilns. It is likely that lime was being made here for use at Old Sarum where much building work was being undertaken in the twelfth century. Castle Street, Salisbury. (Construction of new City Car Park). Medieval and post-Medieval finds. These finds came to light during the construction of a road and bridge on land (formerly the garden and site of No. 39 Castle Street) lying between Castle Street and the river Avon. Before an archaeological watch on the site started, the mechanical excavator had already removed a con- siderable amount of spoil, and a number of objects were recovered and promptly handed to Salisbury Museum by the City Engineer’s Department. The Museum Excavation Sub-Committee then carried out an examination of the spoil heap and obtained from it pottery of the 14th-18th centuries, and a number of other objects. These included a 15th century arrowhead, a number of keys (13th-rsth centuries), and a gildeds trap end. From a large quantity of broken sack bottles was obtained a fragment witha seal bearing the arms possibly of the family of Wolston of Latimer, Northants. | | 13 Downton. A third season of excavations directed by P. Rahtz was carried out at Downton during the summer. An interim report on the previous year’s findings was included in ‘ Excavations and Field-Work, 1956’ (W.A.M., LVI, pp. 246-50), when structural and occupational evidence from Mesolithic to Saxon times was noted. Further areas were opened up this year and the prehistoric and post-Roman periods were again represented. With the exception of a number of coins however, little was found to add to the considerable body of information already obtained from the Roman villa site on the Moot Lane Council Housing Estate, excavated in 1955 and 1956. Numerous Mesolithic finds were made, and these are separately reported on by Mr. E. S. Higgs of the Faculty of Archaeology, Cambridge University. It is not planned to carry out any further excavations at Downton, but a watching brief will be kept on the site when building begins on the Estate. Mesolithic. In carrying out an exploratory survey of an area scheduled for house building, Mr. P. A. Rahtz found. indications of a working floor and a possible occupation area of the Mesolithic period. The area was sub- sequently excavated under the direction of E. S. Higgs, with financial assistance from the Ministry of Works, and the Faculty of Archaeology, Cambridge University. Very willing assistance was also given by residents of the Salisbury and Downton areas, Mr. W. F. Rankine and Mr. Philip Rahtz. The existence of a largely undisturbed chipping floor was established, and some 20-30,000 waste flakes and tools in mint condition were recovered. There was a heavy element of axes and axe sharpening flakes, a few burins and numerous scrapers were present, though end-blade scrapers were rarely represented. The _ micro-burin technique was also practised. Amongst the microliths were obliquely blunted points and _ various geometric forms, whilst the evidence from waste cores demonstrated a concentration on the pro- duction of narrow pointed flakes. A man-made hollow, too small to represent an actual living site, was also excavated close to the chipping floor. Mesolithic flakes were present in the primary filling. At the northern end of the chipping floor _ twenty postholes originally containing sharpened stakes were traced. In the postholes area was a hearth and fireholes with minor concentrations of waste flakes, cores and tools; a further hearth to the south was _ also found heaped over with a layer of burnt and cracked flints and stones. Faunal remains were rare, fragmentary, and too decayed for actual identification, the only recognisable fragment being a pig’s incisor, abraded to a sharp point. Though the study of the evidence remains to be completed, the information obtained so far suggests there was an occupation site comprising flimsy hut structures, or perhaps windbreaks with associated hearths, and a flint chipping floor, all possibly of late Boreal date. Neolithic B and Beaker. Further trenches were dug where finds of Neolithic B and Beaker pottery had been prolific in the 1956 trial excavation. Many more Neolithic sherds and a very fine polished axe were found, though there were no associated structures. In the Beaker area however, eighteen postholes, some shallow pits, and a single hearth were discovered within an area measuring some 50 X30 feet. The postholes do not form any con- vincing house-plan and may represent several hut or tent sites. Finds of coarse and fine B Beaker pottery _ were again plentiful. Medieval. Old Court. A trial cutting on the island below the site known as ‘ Old Court’ revealed a succession of strata of medieval and earlier date. The lowest stratum, a layer of clean gravel laid directly on to the alluvium may 14 well have come from the Saxon gravel pit discovered on the terrace in 1956, (‘Excavations and Field~ Work 1956, W.A.M., LVI, p. 248). Old Sarum. Trial excavations at Old Sarum were carried out for the Ministry of Works by P. A. Rahtz and J. W. G. Musty, assisted by the Salisbury Field Club. The work was in connection with a forthcoming volume ‘ A History of the King’s Works ’, edited by H. M. Colvin. Digging so far has shown that the curtain wall, previously assumed to encircle completely the outer bailey, does not in fact do so. During the major excavations at Old Sarum from 1909-15, the existence of a curtain wall was proved in the Cathedral sector (See plan, Archaeological Journal, CIV, p. 130). In the pre- sent dig, traces of the wall were found in the south-east sector as a core of masonry rubble, some 7 feet high; it was also attested in the south-west sector and between the northern radial banks by the presence of robber pits. In the north-east sector however, it was absent. The end of the curtain wall, a squared-off butt-end of masonry, was located behind the eastern of the two radial banks on the north side. It is not known yet why the circuit of the wall remained incomplete. The tunnel previously discovered in 1795, but subsequently blocked, was also located during trial trench- ing in the north-east sector. It was entered for a distance of 52 feet, where it was found to be blocked, although at the time of the original discovery , it had been possible to explore the interior for a distance of over 30 yards, (Gentleman’s Magazine Library, Pt. II, p. 351). The tunnel conformed roughly to the original description, and was approximately 8 feet wide, with a maximum height of 7 feet. The roof was arched and fine tool markings were visible on its surface; also visible on roof and walls were inscriptions covering the period 1801-22, though in all probability the tunnel is medieval and may well represent either a sally- port or a covered entrance. A survey made by the Royal Commission has shown that the tunnel must go under the outer ditch and rise to an exit in the ground beyond the outer bank. Further finds in the trenches indicate earlier occupation in the Iron Age A and Roman periods. Samian ware, one fragment of which was dated to 30-40 A.D., and native coarse pottery from the Roman level suggest an intensive occupation from the Ist to 3rd centuries A.D.; other finds of Roman date include a fine brooch and fragments of rooftile and building stone. . FIELDWORK. Mesolithic Sites in North Wiltshire. Two further Mesolithic sites have been discovered near Chippenham this year. The first is a riverine site in a ploughed field near Kellaways, (SU 945759); the second on a hill-top at Hardenhuish (SU/913747). The Kellaways site yielded one very fine microlithic bladelet (fig. 2, No. 3) similar to those illustrated by Clarke from the Star Carr Excavations. Besides this, a tip of a broken microlith (No. 4) several utilised blades, some with notches, and two scrapers were found. At Hardenhuish, one blade with a blunted back (No. 5), a core rejuvenating flake and four other waste flakes were found in close proximity to each other. Two further artefacts (Nos. 1 and 2) are illustrated from the Christian Malford gravel pit site (W.A.M. LV, p- 330). In spite of considerable search at these and the original Mesolithic sites, no vast accumulation of imple- ments similar to those of the Surrey Mesolithic have come to light. This, and the fact that odd implements (possibly Mesolithic) have been discovered in several ploughed fields, seems to indicate a general occupation of the Avon corridor, though a more permanent living site has yet to be found. The possible exception is in the Peckingell site where a fairly comprehensive set of artefacts has been discovered, (W.A.M. LVI, p. 250). 15 The implements so far discovered lack the uniformity of the Wealden series, consisting in the main of rather roughly shaped short blades. In this they seem to have much in common with the broad blade _ industries of the Pennine region. Fig. 2. Finds from Mesolithic sites near Chippenham. | 1. Graver. 2. Transversely blunted blade (Christian Malford). 3. Blunted bladelet. 4. A tip of broken microlith (Kellaways). 5. Blunted blade (Hardenhuish). 16 Air and Ground Reconnaissance near Silbury Hill and Sandy Lane. The following notes contributed by Anthony J. Clark, are the outcome of air sorties made over Wiltshire whilst he was primarily engaged in a fresh study of the Wansdyke. He records the discovery of an entirely new promontory earthwork at Pewsham; field systems, enclosures, and also the rediscovery of ‘lost’ barrows south of Silbury Hill. A brief summary of his latest conclusions on the problem of Wansdyke is also included here. Nash Hill Promotory Camp, Pewsham. Early Iron Age. The only remains of this earthwork, (pl. 1) that still command attention are the cultivation- softened rise and fall of the single eastern rampart and ditch across the neck of the promontory, among the poultry houses of Nash Hill Farm: the rest of its perimeter has merged subtly into the landscape. On the south side the ditch curves west to converge with the modern lane at a farm gate; this lane, and the old Bath Road which it joins in a few feet, are slightly sunken and must mark the ditch as far as Nash Hill Farm pond. Here the parish boundary that has been following the old road turns north along a lynchet inter- rupted by the farmhouse itself, and presumably representing the west rampart of the camp. Tackle- more Wood slopes precipitously towards the Avon, less than half-a-mile away, and the wood’s southern edge, the top of the slope, completes the circuit of the camp. On the eroded slope just inside the wood, fragments of Samian pottery and some undatable sherds of Romano-British coarse ware were picked up, sufficient to indicate that the occupation of the camp extended into the Roman period. The eastern rampart and ditch are much spread, and the dimensions are now of the order of 4 feet relief and 80 feet overall width. There seems to have been an entrance causeway about 150 feet from the edge of Tacklemore Wood. The area of the camp is about 11 acres. A plan (not reproduced) has been prepared from oblique air photographs; a ground survey would probably reveal traces of the south and west ramparts, as well as determining the eastern defences with greater precision. Crop and Soil-marks south of Silbury Hill. Prehistoric and Romano-British. During the flight to Nash Hill, in September, 1954, oblique photographs were taken of a newly ploughed downland a mile due south of Silbury Hilll, (approx. SU/090668-102672). These showed, as soil-marks, three round-cornered rectangular earthwork enclosures and a field pattern with straight, parallel boundaries contrasting with the usual haphazard ‘Celtic’ pattern. The writer examined the area on the ground in January, 1958, when it was again under plough, and found Romano-British pottery, including Samian, scattered thinly everywhere. No definitely late pottery was found. The enclosures were slight, with ditches now rarely more than 3 feet across. The photographs also showed a similar, but more substantial, enclosure in a ploughed field at 107668, in the eastern angle between the parish boundaries, and another as a crop mark at approximately 076674. Among the first-mentioned group of enclosures, the ditch of a round barrow was revealed at about 097670 and a group of four Wessex Culture barrows, described by the Rev. A. C. Smith (British and Roman Antiquities of North Wiltshire, Map Square F.VIIL, and p. 113), was rediscovered at 094672. Three of these, from west to east Smith’s h, e, f, showed as crop marks close to the southern fence of the field south- east of Beckhampton Penning; the fourth, Smith’s g, lies just on the other side of the fence. H, e, andgare bell barrows and still, in spite of ploughing, (g was under plough in January, 1958), show a relief of about one foot; fappears to be a disc barrow and was not perceptible on the fallow ground in 1958. None of these remains is marked on the O.S. maps. Copies of the photographs have been deposited in Devizes Museum. The field pattern (part of an Imperial estate 2), which on the circumstantial evidence may be Romano-British, would probably repay study, and this would be greatly facilitated by vertical air photo- graphs. Walking along the nearby Ridgeway, the writer has also observed apparently unrecorded ‘ Celtic ’ field systems centred on 114664, 117660 and, north of the Bath Road, on 128704 and 120720. "A'S Suryooy ‘are oy wr03; dures Aroquourosd [IY YSeN poAoostp ApMoU YT, “I AT 4 | | | 17 We pay a heavy price for these revelations of the plough. The stone circle at 097672, excavated by Smith, has been swept into a hole in the ground, and the innumerable ‘ waggon tracks ’ he shows wander- ing over the downs are yearly being eradicated by the plough, or blocked by fences of wire and railway sleepers; shell fire also ravages the turf just to the south under Wansdyke. Wansdyke. A post-Roman linear earthwork. In 1953, close observation of Wansdyke convinced the writer that there is no evidence that the earthwork was coincident with the Roman road from Sandy Lane (Verlucio)to Bath across the loop of the Avon as marked on the Ordnance Survey maps and generally accepted. Tactically and economically the Avon itself seemed a better link between the Wiltshire and Somerset stretches of the Dyke, anda lost portion of the Dyke connecting Verlucio with the Avon was therefore sought. The line of a disused stretch of the old Bath Road on Bowden Hill seemed likely: it is now known in part as Beech Walk (ST 941689-948686) and is followed by the boundary between Lacock and Pewsham parishes; it commands the ground to the north in a manner typical of Wansdyke, and has fairly heavy banks on both sides. Further, it was found to lead up to a hitherto undiscovered promontory camp (see above) of Early Iron Age type above the Avon on Nash Hill (935694) just as Wansdyke does in several other places. In 1954 the bank and ditch on the north side of Beech Walk were trenched in two places, but found to be too insignificant for Wansdyke; and in 1955 two trenches were cut across the old Bath Road itself, in the hope of picking up the silting of a ditch in front of the bank on the south side of the road, but with no success. As a constructed dyke, this line had therefore to be abandoned, but heavily wooded swampy clay outcrops all along the north side of Bowden Hill, and would have been an even more effective barrier. The absence of Wansdyke from the Roman road west of Verlucio was confirmed by two trenches, cut in 1956-7, across the road in Spye Park (964976), and the road was found to have three structural phases. This work was neatly rounded off by Sir Cyril Fox, who discovered what is almost certainly the western ter- mination of the Wiltshire Wansdyke at the corner of Smallgrain Plantation only 300 yards after the cele- brated junction with the Roman road on Morgan’s Hill, three miles from Verlucio. These researches, combined with other evidence, finally show that the Wiltshire Wansdyke rests its left flank on land once forested, and that the Somerset Wansdyke makes use of the Avon to protect its right flank: thus we now have two dykes, each well conceived to block the open corridors of migration into Wessex from the north, and not necessarily of the same date; and we no longer have the weak middle sec- tion barring us from a thoroughgoing acceptance of the Wansdykes as defensive frontiers. This work has been briefly described, with possible historical interpretations, in an article which should appear in the June, 1958, issue of Antiquity, and the excavation of the Roman road in Spye Park will be reported in detail in a future W.A.M. Scratchbury. A third course in archaeological fieldwork organised by the Department of Adult Education, University of Bristol, was held in April at St. Boniface College, Warminster on behalf of the Council for British Archaeology. It was directed by Professor W. F. Grimes, assisted by A. L. F. Rivet, H. C. Bowen and H. Ross. Trial cuttings were made across the innermost earthwork and a full detailed survey of the site was begun. Iron Age pottery was found in the primary filling of the ditch which was some 9 feet in depth. A further school is to be held again at St. Boniface College, from 8th to 15th April, when excavations will be continued at Scratchbury, and the survey will, it is hoped, be completed. VOL. LVII-CCVI . 18 SECOND EXCAVATION OF THE STRIP LYNCHETS AT BISHOPSTONE, NEAR SWINDON, WILTS, JUNE, 1955. By Perer Woop. This report! describes the section which was opened to continue southwards the line of Trench A, excavated in 1954.2 The six strip lynchets of the system examined (Fig. 1) roughly follow the contours of a slight combe towards the head of the large dry valley at Bishopstone; and the bottommost line of the combe has now been trenched, to reveal a concave pre-lynchet hillside with a form typical of chalkland slopes. The new trench mounted the * staircase ’ of strips to the fence at the edge of the Downs plateau, disclosing the structure of the remaining four terraces and the lithology of the rock beneath them. At 614 ft. O.D., underneath positive lynchet 4 (see Fig. 2), a well preserved belemnite, Actinocamax plenus, was found: it suggests that the plenus marls at the top of the Lower Chalk exist hereabouts.3 The solid chalk of this upper part of the hillside lacks the clear-cut contrast between homogeneous hard and soft layers which was characteristic in Trench A. It is moreover much more thickly covered by bands and lenses of decomposed chalk, so that the difficulty of working deep into the ground was less here than lower down the slope. Movement of such material on a large scale has resulted in the formation of treads which slope gently back to risers that are inclined at 30° or 40°. Their general dimensions are shown in Figs. 3 and 4.4 Like the lowest two positive lynchets sectioned in 1954, accumulations 5 and 6 are of light brown soil; but they lie between positive lynchets (Nos. 3-4 and 7) which are composed of medium brown soil containing chalk pebbles and charcoals of oak and hazel.5 Each of the accumulations was of uniform character throughout its depth, except for a small part of positive lynchet 3. This showed faint traces of layering in which, while horizon b was the same as the body of the accumulation, horizon ¢ contained larger lumps of chalk, and horizon a appeared to have a higher clay content. With the completion of a section across the whole system, from valley floor to plateau edge, it becomes possible to estimate the relationship between the quantity of material removed as the negative lynchets developed and the accumulation represented by the positive lynchets. Allowances must be made for the original soil which, though it is not preserved as a turf line, may remain undistinguished beneath the posi- tive lynchets; but it is extremely interesting that, with the exception of the northernmost pair at the foot of the valley side, nowhere does the cross section of removal equal that of adjacent down-slope accumu- lation. Indeed in aggregate there has, along the trench-line, apparently been three times as much accumu- lation (c. 600 sq. feet) as removal, a point which Fig. 5 demonstrates. A number of other observations are worth making about the new section. First, the black and dark brown layers mentioned in the earlier report were not found elsewhere than under positive lynchet 3: here the black layer, containing shells (Cepaea hortensis and Clausilia rugosa, for example) and coniferous wood charcoals, overlies for about twenty feet a fairly level surface of the chalk. Similarly, the extended cutting into solid chalk at the foot of the riser noted in 1954 is not duplicated in the second section, nor have any vestiges been unearthed of walling stone which might conceivably have been quarried in such a cutting. Secondly, a small ramp or “ semi-lynchet ’ about ten feet wide trends upwards from tread 5 in the east to tread 6 in the west, caught by the section about midway between the two levels. Its flattish top appears to be a remnant of the original surface, spared from any destruction as part of the negative lynchet §, and not covered by material from positive lynchet 6. The risers at Bishopstone are sufficiently high and steep to make movement from one tread to another a matter of some difficulty, except at either end of the system where the terraces merge into the hillside; and it is possible that the “ semi-lynchet ’ was an access way, although this is the only occurrence of such a ramp. S < ZS IO Te Je ZZ, Q Ashmolean Museum Photo c mechets, looking south. , | view of the Bishopstone Strip L eria A Fig. I. Humus i _ss0| L_] Accumulcted Material Upper Central Section ———> 6 | Me QS Bedrock x i os ~< feeeeconcl Centrol Section ” MAN . | Lisao’ | 5 | | i Northera Section—————> N-S profile of strip lynchets excayoted in 1955 Scale in feet 404 6204 | QQ) end, reach A. Northern Section Sone ees Loyer Key for all Sections | | | If TD Humus Soft gritty chalk. | | CSJcight brown soit with chalk pebbles (J Chalk rubble | (3Medium brown soil with pebbles. 227) Blocks and | fess) | | o0. | I Dork brown soil smooth chalk paste | Hib aiock layer, with shell ond charcoal, Lao] Bedrock chalk | ; | Red Medien brown gritty soit | 430° Lower Central Section Central Section Upper 10 Scale in feet for oll sections. The broken Sing within the sections indicates the floor of the trench, Below this line the character of the rock Is shown conjecturally Southern Section Fig. 2. Section through the upper strip lynchets, Bishopstone. AY 19 ~) e) 20 Thirdly, where the valleyside levels off to form the plateau surface at 670 ft. O.D., the topmost positive lynchet has been constructed without a superior negative lynchet. As far as the circumstances of the site allowed investigation, this accumulation appeared to consist of a core of medium brown gritty soil capped by medium brown soil with chalk pebbles; and like riser 3 its unconsolidated topsoil is greatly disturbed by burrows. Finally, and perhaps the point most worthy of emphasis, positive lynchets 3 and 4 together represent a single enormous assemblage of medium brown soil, altogether half the total accumulated material, com- pletely covering what is in fact a relatively large negative lynchet. FINDS. 1. Eight sherds of pre-Saxon pottery, all of which were very weathered. One of them, lying on the undisturbed rock 12in. below the surface of Riser 6, was too minute for proper identification. Four of the remainder are considered by Professor C. F. C. Hawkes® to be of Iron Age A date, earlier than 150 B.C., and these were found in (a) positive lynchet 4:—two pieces 12 feet apart and 38in. helow the surface (24in. and 29in. above the undisturbed ground) (b) positive lynchet 6:—a sherd goin. deep, lying on the original surface. (c) positive lynchet 7, in the medium brown gritty layer:— a piece 32in. deep and 7in. above the undisturbed chalk. The final three sherds were thought by Professor Hawkes to be (d) Two pieces of Belgic or Romano-British ware, probably manufactured after the Roman Con- quest:—from positive lynchet 3 (24in. deep and 46in above the undisturbed layer) and from positive lynchet 5 (40in. deep and lying on the original surface). (ce) asherd of Roman-British date, of the first or second century:—from positive lynchet 4 (39in. deep and 13in. above the undisturbed rock). Thus each accumulation contained at least one sherd, the upper three with sherds lying on or just above the original valleyside surface. In the combined positive lynchet 3-4, four pieces were found at somewhat higher levels. 2. Ten pieces of post-medieval pottery, scattered through the length of the cut, and dated by Mr. Hurst to the period 1650-1750, except for one piece which he thought to be sixteenth century. (a) This earlier piece and one of the later sherds were found beneath the turf on the tread of the topmost negative lynchet, resting on the undisturbed rock. (b) One sherd came from positive lynchet 7, and two from positive lynchet 4, in each case from levels about 2oin. above the neighbouring pre-Saxon pieces. (c) Five fragments were concentrated in positive lynchet § (18in. to 24in. deep) within 6 feet of one another. 3. Positive lynchet § in particular contained a number of other finds, including fragments ofa clay pipe stem; a piece of very corroded glass; and the remains of a square-cut nail (probably of wrought iron) which lay on the undisturbed chalk. None of them was of use as precise dating evidence. 4. Positive lynchets 4 and § yielded sheep bones and, on the bedrock under positive lynchet 5, a deer bone; while a piece of antler, perhaps of red deer, came from the dark brown layer at the bottom of positive lynchet 3. ~-- --- 656 LYNCHETS AT ° 100 FEET. CONTOUR INTERVAL = 2 FEET BISHOPSTONE — WILTS SC MIGR: oop eule = armed ieee Fig. 3. Contour map of the strips. Trenches A & B are shown. "gq youcry, ‘ouoysdoystgq “h “St4 ee a a Tee ee Bibi 35 a Oe ie Co al ry bat m yey ‘ ‘ : To Ate 7 Mo mA i one eh ye ' 1 t 2 i fi . “gar. i ? . ; ane : , 21 “syayouk'T disig ayy jo soinqeag °S “31g pa A aes so g JOAdIPaW—~I50qG ° 09+ ‘papsorsoy Asdyyod Voxber on mne ‘ez ysnbny pudo 12 Jtsdy uo yasuns B3OpFQ SIYE PUD SSIUNS 43234D “SIY E SPOdIZ UO MOPKHYSs sO YUAOWY gg (aeuoudy dalyoG3u) jDAOW sy = "'333) BIDHSS U013938 JOdIIIZA UV! : Be 2B (22uoudl ALVISO) VO;PoOHuAIdyY + 22 CONCLUSIONS. The examination of the remaining strip lynchets has done nothing to weaken the conclusions reached in 1954 that this series at Bishopstone comprised a system of north-facing cultivation terraces. They were designed to run more or less along the contours, but each tread has a tendency to dip down at the middle in sympathy with the form on the ground, so that straight rather than curved strips have resulted. At present they are down to grass, and their utilisation as pasture is not to be ruled out for former times. But these benches were certainly not constructed as livestock pens. On the other hand, the theory that they were cultivated raises the important issue of their microclimate and of the climatic factors which affected the crops grown on them. They are to some extent sheltered from the prevailing winds by the lie of the Downs behind them, and they may very well suffer a reduced rainfall. Run-off, however, is also reduced on the terraces, and the soils of the positive lynchet, derived though they are from a porous parent rock, are quite definitely mois- ture retentive. It is interesting that, because of the disproportion of positive to negative lynchets, three quarters of the total width of tread surfaces are composed of such soils. Lack of water in fact was probably here not the problem for crop raising that it may sometimes be on the chalk lands. No signs of irrigation or drainage courses have been discovered, though (in view of the suggestions that strip lynchets may have been used for special crops like hemp, flax or vines) a watch was kept for unusual features. It might be expected that sunshine amounts, like rainfall, would be reduced on the north-facing slopes; but calculations based on the slope of the risers and on the sun’s altitude show that the sun’s rays penetrate to almost the full width of each tread from three hours after sunrise to three hours before sunset at the end of April. This gives about eight hours of sunshine; and the daily total is greater thereafter until late August. The amount of early morning and evening shadow on the treads at the beginning and end of this four month period is shown on Fig. 5. Generally speaking, the availability of sunshine effective for plant development during the growing and ripening seasons (e.g. for spring wheat and barley) is not much less than on flat land unmasked by higher ground to the south. The subsurface structure revealed in Trench B shows a number of features which may be related to the general question how these strip lynchets at Bishopstone were formed. Thus the topmost positive lynchet, 7, which merely carries northward the general level of the Downs, was very likely formed by moving top- soil forward from the plateau, probably from two distinct localities or in two main stages represented by the two layers. Developmental stages may also be reflected in the faint traces of horizons in positive lynchet 3, and in the manner, suggested in the first report, in which tread 1 was completed before riser 2 was finally formed. They are abundantly demonstrated by negative lynchet 3, which came into being before the combined positive lynchet was accumulated on top of it. This is an especially interesting part of the section, though the black and dark brown layers have yet to be explained. Possibly they are the remains of a pre-lynchet occupation site or of scrub clearance. Or it may be true that the black layer is the remnant of a turf barricade, behind and above which an initial positive lynchet (the dark brown layer) was formed, below a partially completed negative; and that this embryonic tread was finally covered by a new accumulation. The excessive amount of positive lynchet material is of considerable importance in this respect. The massive accumulation 3-4 accounts for much of the excess; it is very similar to the soil of positive lynchet 7, and may possibly have come from the same plateau-top source.7 The assertion cannot be denied expression that more than soil creep is involved in the formation of the Bishopstone strip lynchets, for they have all the appearance of deliberate terracing after careful laying out: and they fit rather neatly into the available slope. The question of the date of the constructional stages is still unanswered: an Early Iron Age camp, a Roman villa, a Saxon manorial village have all existed within a mile or two of the site. Thelatteris on prebendal land, but the early hope that accounts of land-holding boundaries might exist within the ! | 1 | 23 diocesan records has yet to be fulfilled. Meanwhile, it is not possible to see if the strips fitted into any phase of a manorial system. Nor do the recorded finds help very much. The early pottery is associated with the lower levels of the accumulations, while the post-medieval pottery lies in the upper parts quite distinct from the pre-Saxon sherds (Fig. 5). It seems likely either that the early pieces and the animal bones were distributed on the fields as household refuse (in which case the lower levels at least are more or less contem- porary with the pottery): or that the sherds lay for an unknown period of time in the soil which was later _ to accumulate on the terraces. It is true nevertheless that the fragments of later pottery lend a little weight to the conclusion that, however early the Bishopstone strip lynchets may have been devised, they were still in use for agricultural operations at a relatively recent time. 8 1 The delay in writing it has been occasioned by a year’s absence abroad. I wish to thank Mr. W. A. Smallcombe for the loan of equipment from Reading Museum; Mr. R. Wilson for his ready permission to excavate on his land; and all members of Reading University who helped to forward the digging and this report. The costs of the excav- _ ation and of reproducing Fig. 3 were borne by grants from the Research Board, University of Reading. 2 See W.A.M., LVI, pp. 12-16. 3 Positive lynchet—lynchet composed of accumulated material. Negative lynchet—formed by removal of material. 4 These dimensions are dealt with more fully in the report on the 1954 excavation. The contour map was drawn | by Mr. G. R. Lucas, and is reproduced here with his permission. It is based on a staff and level survey conducted by _ the Department of Geography, Reading University, in 1954. 5 Dr. G. W. Dimbleby has very kindly identified the charcoals mentioned in this report. 6 It is with considerable pleasure that I acknowledge my debt to Professor Hawkes for reporting on the early pottery; to Mr. J. G. Hurst for examining the recent sherds; and to Mr. W. A. Smallcombe for identifying the bones. 7 For the carrying of material to ancient fields in N.W. Germany, see Gudmund Hatt: Oldtidsagre. Copenhagen (1949) p. 143 and p. 169. It isa common custom in the terrace-lands of Europe and Asia. 8 Cf. the East Garston site (H. J. E. Peake and J. M. Birkbeck: Trans. Newbury District F. C., V1I(1934) p. 7). William | Cobbett in his Rural Rides (London 1893, Vol. Il, p. 114), described in 1826 the “ hundreds of acres of ploughed land in , shelves .... or steps’ which he had seen on his travels through the Downlands of southern England. This early _ nineteenth century reference to cultivated terraces was brought to my notice by Mr. H. C. Bowen. His help, and that _ of Mr. H. J. Case and Mr. N. Thomas, has once again been of inestimable value in preparing this report. 24 A ROMANO-BRITISH SITE NEAR BADBURY, WILTS By ALISON RAVETZ. In 1956 builders digging a land drain on a new housing estate at Meadow Way near Badbury uncovered Roman roof tiles and wall foundations. The owner and builder of the estate, Mr. R. W. Johns, reported these finds to the Swindon Museum, and building operations in the area were suspended. After an announcement in the local press many visitors came to the site and badly disturbed the ground. In an effort to save what was of value, masters and pupils from the Commonweal Grammar School, Swindon, organised an excavation, during which they uncovered a long stretch of the wall 1, shown in figure 3. This was again reported in the press, and the site continued to be much disturbed. During the winter it became apparent that building would soon have to be resumed, and early in 1957 the site was excavated by the writer on behalf of the Ministry of Works. The site (figures 1 and 2, O.S. ref. 41/194810, field 263 on 25in. map) lies just below the gooft. contour at the bottom of Badbury Hill. Humus was 1-2ft. thick, and below that was an alluvial or recent lake clay, light grey in colour and very chalky. The wall foundations were dug into this, and at about 3ft. from ground surface it ceased to show signs of human disturbance. At the time of digging the site was badly flooded. The year had been particularly wet, but from its situation the site would seem to have been always prone to flooding. The structures uncovered (fig. 3) are described as Wall 1 and Wall 2. Wall 1 forms three sides of a rectangle 76ft. long and about 4oft. wide. The short arms are of unequal lengths, and there is no sign of a fourth wall having existed. It is possible, however, that the foundations had been robbed wherever trenches were opened to find a fourth wall, and as they lay so close to the surface the robbing would have left no trace. Wall 2 was apparently an addition to Wall 1, and abuts on to it. It forms an enclosure 114 by 2sft. against the eastern arm of Wall 1, and also extends to the south. At the southern extremity the ground was badly disturbed, and it is not possible to say whether the wall once continued further. There is some sign that it did not do so, but turned westwards at this point. Two large chalk blocks, bigger than any others of chalk on the site, are firmly embedded in undisturbed soil here, and may represent the foundations of a wall which has otherwise been destroyed. (The chalk blocks have been represented as ‘ Wall 2’ on fig. 3). The walls are of different construction. Wall 1 had a foundation, 2}ft. wide, of massive sarsens, packed with chalk to make them lie more regularly. The superstructure, a 2ft. wall which survived in place to three or four courses, was of chalk blocks, neatly laid and bound with mortar. Wall 2 was a 2ft. wall built entirely of chalk,the foundation of unmortared blocks and the superstructure of chalk and a whiter, finer mortar. Though they are better known on the Marlborough Downs, sarsens occur commonly in the fields round about, and chalk is also a local building material. The method of using sarsens to serve as a damp course for a chalk wall was used locally until modern times. No internal walls were associated with Wall 1, and no post holes indicating internal partitions. Wall robbing could conceivably have removed all trace of internal dividing walls, but it could not have obliter- ated layers of occupation, had any existed. Neither Wall 1 not Wall 2, which made no provision against damp, can have had any domestic use. Indeed, it seems very unlikely that Wall 1 can have carried a roof, unless we think of it as the frame for a set of shelters with pent roofs—the timber supports resting on 25 (ef A4aUu0N0Ig “WH ‘4apj041U02 ays fo uojjouvs ay) YIM dou ,[ pub ujwIiUug uDWOY fo dvyp daaing aouvpig uo pasvg sdvjy) ‘spuly Ysig-ourwioOYy 12119 = X ‘ous Ainqpeg= | ‘ous UONVALIXS oy} pue AInqpeg °c "SITY 40] 6 pp27 ee (u4vy ay7hy y WAIAQNWOIOWNT QL *spvol ULWIOY O} UOTIePI UT AIngpeg “I “SLY a o——— Apuvg Troywann owwy mw OI1LIN AD ay | ‘al 0? yghuord auojs) ; ul MOPLIME ySnosoquoyy I AAON WODIOYAT 2 Seco VOL. LVII-CCVI 26 tylobates! which have been removed without trace2—but no kind of yard surface exists, and the northerly orientation seems unfavourable. We are left to explain Wall 1 as an open enclosure of which the fourth side has been destroyed. Wall 2 had then, perhaps, some farmyard use, and we may note that bones of sheep and cow were found on the site, though not in significantly large quantities. An alternative possibility is that the structures excavated represent a building which was planned and never finished. Chalk debris from the walls is widespread, though not dense enough to rebuild the walls to any great height. At least one massive sarsen was bedded in natural soil inside the enclosure, as though it had been dumped there and never used. Whichever interpretation is preferred, it remains to explain the roof tiles, slates, building stones and flue tiles which were found frequently on the site. They cannot have been used in this structure, and can only have come from a dwelling house nearby. The most likely place for this is the field on rising ground to the south. The tiles were localised mainly to the south of Wall 1, and one trench inside the field showed sub- stantial masonry and tile debris continuing at least 1oft. inside the fence. The pottery found indicates a continuity of occupation on or near the site of over 200 years. In the absence of stratification it isimpossible to date the structures with any precision. The bulk of the pottery and other finds came from the humus, and presumably reached the site after its disuse. Since the pottery series begins with Hadrianic types, the structures are most likely to have been builtin the first or early Second century. The site at Badbury is in an area of plentiful Romano-British remains. It lies 170 yards east of the Roman road from Cirencester to Mildenhall (fig. 1) and is only 24 miles from an extensive settlement at Nythe Farm near Wanborough, which is conjectured to be the Durocornovium of the Antonine Itinerary.3 At Swindon, about 34 miles away, stone was quarried in Roman times. Badbury lies to the south of, and outside the Gloucester—Cirencester area, where there is a strong con- centration of villas, and it is on the northern border of the Celtic field systems of the Marlborough Downs, where many upland settlements have yielded Romano-British remains. In the immediate vicinity, coins and pottery were found during the last century in a field at Liddington, and a Romano-British building has been excavated at the Plough Inn Chisledon.4 (Fig. 2.) Iam grateful to Professor K. C. Dunham, F.R.S., for identifying the building stone and giving me in- formation about the geology of the region. I wish also to thank those who came and helped me on the site, in very difficult working conditions. THE FINDS. Pottery. Samian Ware. Forms 33, 18 and 35 are represented. Coarse Pottery. I. Dark grey or black, polished ‘ fumed ware.’ I. Jars with everted rims, often polished on the inner lip, and with a zone of lattice decoration on an unburnished zone on the body. Hadrianic, Antonine, third and fourth century forms are repre- sented. Parallels are furnished by Leicester (Society of Antiquaries Research Report XV, K.M. Kenyon, Jewry Wall Site) fig. 26.3, 6, 10, 14 and 52.28. 1 (Stylobate—continuous basement supporting a row or rows of columns. Concise Oxford Dict. Ed.). 2 Cf. C. F. Hawkes, Iwerne, Dorset, Arch J. CIV, 1947, 55-7, and P. M. M. Cook, Asthall, Oxon., Oxoniensia XX, 1955, p. 32. Lam grateful to, Miss M. V. Taylor for calling my attention to the Asthall excavation, which yielded an inexplicable wall much like my own. 3 A.D. Passmore, Roman Wanborough, W.A.M. XLI, 1920-2, 272-80, and “ The Roman Road from Caerleon to Silchester’, Swindon, 1948. 4 A.D. Passmore, W.A.M. XLVI, ror. Ey On Cj nN “I | BADBURY WILTS aT oy bt : & A B S j ES M4 S Y : | m4 BE WALL 1 @4 WALL FELD p 10. Oo 020 30 40 30 Jeet ma Fig. 3. Plan of Walls 1 and 2. (The point x occurs on the line of the southern boundary of field 263, and is approximately 214 ft. from the south east corner of the field, and 182 ft. from the south west corner.) SS a) Hees . see] UNEXCAVATED ey ie ete, y HH) Vy ML NATURAL OIL SSsy VIII VA Me ele BADBURY WILTS SECTIONS A-B,C-D WALLS: G> arsen BS Chatk Fig. 4. Sections through Walls 1 and 2. = 28 19 2. Flat bottomed platters with straight sides and lattice or wave patterns on the sides, and scribble patterns on the bottoms. The form is Hadrianic-Antonine, but has a long life. (Leicester, fig. 20.1). One platter with bead rim (Leicester, fig. 20.7). 3. Pie dishes or flanged dishes with flat bases and lattice or wave patterns on the sides. Hadrianic- Antonine and third —mid-fourth century forms are represented. (Leicester, fig. 46.4; 52.6, 19, 21-3). II. Unpolished grey wares. t. Necked bowls or jars, mostly of fine, very light grey ware. The rims are everted, and there is sometimes a slight carination where the rim joins the body. The forms are early second-third- early fourth centuries. (Leicester, fig. 24.2, 6, 9; 25.14, 23; 50.32; 52.47). 2. Walls of medium to dark grey jars with a groove or cordon at the base of the neck. One has a zone of combed lattice pattern below the cordon, and below that a zig-zag decoration in white slip between two parallel grooves. (Cf. Leicester, fig. 25.10, 16, 19). 3. Wall ofa jar with lattice ornament on an unsmoothed zone. Several fragments of a very fine, hard, smooth, whitish-grey ware. One is the flat base of a jar or bowl, with protruding foot. lll Storage jars. 1. Thick, red, gritty ware, smoothed on the outside, the rim and shoulder probably covered with brown slip, with a chevron pattern in the slip below the shoulder. The rim is rolled over and rounded. (A similar jar—Leicester, fig. 37.15, A.D. 75-80). 2. A thin grey ware, smoothed and with a soapy texture, and squarish angular rim. (A similar jar— Leicester, fig. 29.29, third century.) 3. A thin, very fine, smooth, light grey ware, with a thin, everted rim turned in towards the neck with a very sharp, tooled edge. IV. Mortarium, pink-buff ware, close-textured, with small white and brown grits. The rim is vertical, slightly insloping, with two parallel grooves. The form is later fourth century. (Similar mortaria Ashley Rails, Heywood Sumner, New Forest Pottery Sites, pl. XA, 21; Crambeck P. Corder, Ant. J. XVII, 1937, fig. 3.9.) V. One fragment of Castor Ware, very fine, w‘th pink core and lustrous brown coating inside and out- side, and two zones of rouletted decoration. VI. Two sherds of unpolished red ware, thin and fine-textured, with incised decoration, evidently imit- ating Samian ‘ cut glass ’ decoration. VII. One fragment of colour-coated ware with pink body and dark brown slip on the outside. VIII. A few fragments of very fine, hard, buff ware, and of thin, fine, red ware. IX. Two bases of small jars or beakers, grey inside and white outside. Fumed ware is commonly found on Romano-British sites in Wiltshire (Cf. Mildenhall, W.A.M. XLI, 20-2, 159; Westbury, Devizes Museum Catalogue, Part II, 1934, pl. LVIII, 2, LX, 3.5.6.) Another pot frequently found on Wiltshire sites, the small, slip-coated beaker of New Forest type, has not been repre- sented at Badbury. Glass. an One fragment of pale green, thin glass: an oblique-angled junction between two walls, or between base d wall. Flint. Unfinished or waste blade-shaped flake, without secondary trimming. The blade is 2in. long and .sin. wide, and is typical of Mesolithic industry. 29 Building Materials. Roof tiles, and flue tiles with combing on the outer faces were found in considerable numbers. Roofing shingles and worked pieces of medium grained, micaceous sandstone were also plentiful. They have been _ obtained from deposits of Old Red Sandstone, and these occur at Bristol, on the margins of the Forest of Dean and in the southern Mendips. Most have the purplish-red colour characteristic of Old Red Sandstone, and others are pale buff. Iron. In addition to nails, cleats and hooks, a small socketed axe head was found. The blade is expanding _ in shape, 2.4in. long and 2.7 in. wide (at maximum). Coins. 1. Follis of Diocletian, 284—304. Obv. : IMP DIOCLETIANUS AUG. Rev: GENIO POPULI ROMANI. Cohen type 85. 2. AE 2 of Constantine I, 306—37. Obv: FL VAL CONSTANTINUS NOB C. Rev: GENIO POPULI ROMANI. Cohen type 228. 30 THE ROMAN ROAD FROM OLD SARUM TO THE MENDIPS THE GROVELY WOOD—OLD SARUM SECTION By J. W. G. Musry, D. A. L. Davis, J. R. HUNTER and D. MorGAN The Roman road from Old Sarum to the Mendips has received very little attention since it was first recognised and mapped by Sir Richard Colt Hoare in 1812.1! The Ordnance Survey show its probable route over the entire length from the Mendips to Grovely on their maps, ? and in 1906 sections were cut through it at Chewton Mendip.3 The most recent published description of the road is that of Margary4 who numbers it 45b in his classification. In Grovely, there are definite traces of the road in the western end of the wood, and a characteristic agger can be seen running parallel to the Second Broad Drive. In the eastern end of the wood, the road appears to change direction, and the Ordnance Survey 6in. map shows it as following a linear earthwork for some distance, until it parts from this to leave the wood above Custom Bottom in South Newton parish. From this point to Old Sarum the route is completely lost. The Ordnance Survey on their earlier tin. sheets adopted Colt Hoare’s conjectural line, but this has since been deleted. As yet no surface remains have been discovered along this hypothetical route either on the ground or by means of aerial photography. As a collateral study to investigations regarding the site of Sorviodunum, the writers, on behalf of the Salisbury Field Club, have sectioned the Roman road at a point west of Grovely Lodge and made a pre- liminary examination of the possible routes to Old Sarum. This paper reports the results and it is hoped that further work may reveal the course of the road from Grovely to Old Sarum itself. History and Purpose. One of the first Roman main roads to be built from London was that to the west. This ran to Silchester, at which point a branch led off to Winchester. The main road carried on to Old Sarum, and thence inclined southwards to Badbury Rings, Dorchester and Exeter. This road, the Portway, appears to have been well made, and follows a straight alignment over long stretches. Its method of construction has been demon- strated by excavation at Newton Toney by R. P. Wright and at Bokerly Junction by Gen. Pitt-Rivers.6 The road to the Mendips, on the other hand, is not of such elaborate construction, nor does it show the same careful alignment as the Portway. It is likely that it was a branch road linking the Mendips with the great west road, and the suggestion that it was built primarily for the transportation of lead and possibly coal from the Mendip mines seems reasonable. It is also possible that in its construction pre-existing track- ways were utilised. The lead ingot found in 1783 at Bossington in Hampshire, on the road from Old Sarum to Winchester, may have been brought along this Mendip road, and its intended destination may have been the Roman port of Clausentum (Bitterne). W. Dale records 7 the findings of two lead ingots at Clausentum and gives their sources as the Mendips. He suggests that there was a shipment of this metal to Gaul or direct to Italy. Construction. At the point chosen for sectioning (400 yds. west of Grovely Lodge, N.G.R. SU 045343) the road runs parallel and to the north of the Second Broad Drive at a distance from it of approximately 30 yds. The chalk here has a clay-with-flints capping and the ground slopes slightly from south to north. 1 Ancient Wilts, Roman Era, 38. 2 Map of Roman Britain, 3rd Edn. 3 McMuttrie, James, Bristol & Glos. A. S. Trans, XXIX, 303. 4 Margary, I. D., Roman Roads in Britain, I, p.93. Phoenix Press (1955). 5 W.A.M., XLVIL (1936), 573. 6 Excavations in Cranborne Chase, Ul, 69—70. 7 Proc. Soc. of Antiq., XXXI (2nd Ser.) (1918—19), 36. 31 Two full width cuttings were made; one exposed the metalling only, the other gave a section of the road. A further small cutting was made across the northern side of the road (60 yds. along the road to the west) to confirm rutting observed on this side in the other cuttings. The method of construction of the road was sean to be as follows (see Fig. 1. Note the horizontal scale is half the vertical scale). Over the area of the road to a width of approximately 2oft. the clay had been removed down to the chalk, and a cambered bank of chalk rubble (1ft. roin. high), derived from some other source, laid along the line of the road. The clay had then been replaced, and the flints carefully laid on it to give a metalled surface some 7in. thick. In replacing the clay, the builders left a drainage ditch on the south side of the road only (possibly to remove the surface water which might drain on to the road because of the slope of the ground), and this was revetted with large flints, presumably to give stability to the sides of the ditch. Over the south side of the road the metalling showed little signs of wear, buta series of ruts were observed on the north side in all three cuttings. In the section illustrated only two ruts can be seen (at 24ft. and 2oft. respectively), butin the other two cuttings four were found; the distance between adjacent ruts was approxim- ately 2ft. (centre to centre). It is not possible to decide on their origin, but it is unlikely that wheeled vehicles were used to any extent on this road; pack horses would have ipecmorec uted (or. the purpose of carrying lead. The method of construction of the agger is similar to that found by McMurtrie at Chewton Mendip, excepting that local geology has dictated the choice of materials. The Chewton Mendip sections do not, however, show the presence of any drainage ditches. _A Possible Route. The remains of the road uncovered during the excavation appear to be substantially as constructed, and no destruction of the agger had occurred. Through being in a wood this part of the road would have been protected from damage by cultivation in later times, but it is still surprising that all traces of the road _ should have apparently disappeared between Grovely and Old Sarum. Although the present investigation has so far yielded little new evidence in support of any certain route between Grovely and Old Sarum, it is of interest to review the available information, as the final identi- fication of the correct route may prove a lengthy process. If one assumes that the road left the wood on the same bearing as that shown on the Ordnance Survey 6 in. map, it could have been aligned on the highest point of the opposite ridge (Camp Hill), and from there could have been sighted on the west side of Old Sarum. No direct evidence for this has so far been obtained, but suggestive facts are:— (a) the existence of a paved ford over the Wylye (removed in 1940; information from Mr. W. M. Chalke of South Newton) approximately on the line, (b) a Roman site at Camp Hill (discovered when the Camp Hill Reservoir was built) and (c) a sunken track now disused and overgrown running up the down from Avon Farm, Stratford-sub-Castle, in the general direction of Camp Hill. A possible explanation for the disappearance of the road along this line may be that it fell into early dis- use, through the diversion of the road to Wilton on account of the rising importance of this centre in Saxon times. Such a diversion could have been along the track marked * Kanes highe waie A.D. 1589’ in Craw- ford’ s* Our Debt to Rome’.1 From Wilton it could have gone up the other side of the valley by the road now called Kingsway, and eventually descended to the Avon valley by the sunken track near Avon Farm. ‘Alternatively, i it might have continued along the side of the valley to join the Dorchester-Old Sarum road _at or near Skew Bridge. This route would have enabled a common ford to be used across the Avon at a site where a ford is known to have persisted well into mediaeval times. 1 Antiquity, II, (1928), 173. 32 996) Har 420Jpaq y}DY4> 319974 YO4D ho|D s4ul|4 snwiny OC Hf} "GS6l -JAUWIM = GOOM! ATJAOND YE AND YOI9g SdIGNIW 244 OF WAYVS GIO WO} GVOY NWWOYN AYL eons 33 Prof. C. F. C. Hawkes has kindly pointed out! that there is an example of a road going into disuse in Saxon times in that which ran north from Silchester to the Thames and Oxfordshire. The road was cut through by the frontier between the territory of sub-Roman Silchester and the carly established Saxons of the Oxfordshire district, was then unwanted and fell into disuse, and like our road has been very hard to trace in modern times. Mr. C. W. Phillips also has pointed out? that the Old Sarum-Mendips road is not the only good road, obvious and well preserved for many miles across country, which proves to be very difficult to trace over the last few miles before it reaches an important objective. Another such road, he observes, is the Akeman Street between Tring and St. Albans. It must be emphasised again that there is no direct evidence for the route via Camp Hill. Even if its dis- appearance can be explained by its falling into early disuse, it would be thought that some trace visible on land or from the air would be left, but although the whole of Custom Bottom was ploughed in 1955 after a lapse of anumber of years, no scatter of large flints or other signs of a ploughed out road were observed. A final possibility is that the made up road terminated in Grovely at the eastern end of the wood and that the rest.of the journey was undertaken over pre-existing trackways which have since completely dis- appeared, or follow a less obvious meandering route. Acknowledgements. We are indebted to the Wilton Estate for permission to undertake this excavation, and to the late Dr. J. F. S. Stone for his advice and encouragement. 1 Private communication. 2 Private communication. VOL. LVII-CCVI = 34 NOTES ON EISEY AND WATER EATON By T. R. THomson In the flat country through which the upper Thames flows rise three hills at the very river bank. Hail- stone Hill marks a crossing place of the prehistoric trackway from the Cotswolds and beyond to Avebury. ! It was marked by a stone pillar on the summit (halig stan) replaced by St. Helen’s chapel2 which was exist- ent in the twelfth century. Eisey Hill is covered by an apparently systemless series of banks and ditches so far unexamined by the archaeologist. On its summit was St. Mary’s church, in use in 1195, and probably much earlier. Below the hill is a ford and a bridge. The third hill is that of Castle Eaton, or Eton Meysi. On it is the ancient church, and next to it was the castle of the Zouches. Below is a bridge. Eisey presents no striking features except Eisey Hill,3 the Thames beneath it, the Ampney brook, and a smaller stream from Marston Meysey falling into the Thames from the north. Water Eaton, (Nun Eaton, West Eaton, Eton Mynchons, or Eton Monialum), a chapelry and tithing of Eisey parish, is separated by the Thames from Eisey proper and was connected to it by a series of large stepping stones said on Feb. 12th, 1306-7 to be in existence ‘ of olde time ’’.4 On geographical consider- ations one would expect Water Eaton to be part of the holding of Castle Eaton in the Hundred of High- worth. Its attachment to Eisey parish will be discussed below. The Churches. St. Mary’s Church on Eisey Hill, as shown in Buckler’s drawing of 1810, has a very ancient air. This building was pulled down, and the new church was consecrated on 4th September, 1844. This in turn was pulled down in 1953, and the graveyard is now a deserted tangle of thorns. The Inventory of Church Goods, temp. Ed. VI, shows a chalice of six ounces and four bells. Thacker (op. cit.) says ‘under the chancel is said to be buried a Georgian font, belonging to the old church’. The Inventory of 1928, revised 1929, lists a nineteen ounce chalice, a 64in. round paten of five ounces, and a square stone font. The chalice and paten are now at Latton, and the single bell remaining in 1953 is in the new church at Penhill, Swindon. The registers dating from 1571, the MS. notebook of the inscriptions within and without the church, and the churchwardens’ accounts books, are at Latton, as is also a copy of the Tithe Award of 1849, with a map. Water Eaton is not shown, as the whole of that chapelry was then tithe free. Little is known of the chapel of St. Lawrence at Water Eaton. The site is now covered by the cowsheds adjacent to Water Eaton House. Thacker (op. cit.) speaks of carved stones being found, and says ‘ An old man of Latton is remembered who in his youth saw the gravestones lying about in heaps.’ Mr. Douglas Gantlett, formerly the owner, told the writer that he had come across such stones in this place,5 A note “in the safe of Latton church says that Water Eaton Church was pulled down’ about 200 years ago and that ‘ the only remains of the site are some tombstones in a farmyard.’ The same memorandum, speaking of Latton, says that ‘ the piece of carved pillar... . . also the old Font near the Latton churchyard gate were found on the Vicarage premises when Canon Beadon came, and were supposed to have come from Water Eaton Church’. The larger of these is a drum of a fluted column of Coral Rag 2ft. 1oin. in diameter and hollowed out, apparently to serve as a font. The second is a base and fragment of a shaft which might have served 1 W.A.M., LVI, 271. 2 Cart. Monast. Glouc. I, 123, 246, 247, 3 Eisey means “ island by the river’: the termination ig or eg does not necessarily signify an island in the modern usage: it was used of high dry ground with fen or stream around it. Eisey Hill satisfies this meaning. See B. and T. 4 Godstow Reg. 857: for ease of reference I refer throughout to the English Register (E.E.T.S.). Some stones remained until recent years. One man I know has seen one or two. See Thacker, F., The Stripling Thames, 1909, p. 404. 5 No date; possibly about 1870. 6 W.A.M., L, 293 and LI, 373. Eisey Church, demolished 1844, after J. Buckler. Water Eaton Manor (demolished). (Photo by courtesy of D. Gantlett, Esq.) Sh) as support for the first. Both are Roman. They must have come from an important building, possibly _ from Cirencester where, I believe, Coral Rag is hardly used at all. It is reasonable to suppose that the original chapel of Water Eaton was built soon after the acquirement of the manor by Godstow Priory. A papal commission of about 1195 decided what obviously had been a dispute between the minchons and the Abbey of Cirencester which owned Eisey. Water Eaton was to be subject to Eisey but was to be served by the priest of Eisey. The men of Water Eaton were to have right of burial in their own churchyard, the great tithe was to go to Eisey, and the lesser tithes to Godstow, and land was assigned for the endowment of Water Eaton chapel.! Over a century later? a dispute arose between Adam de Bradfeld, vicar of Eisey, and the impropriators, the Abbot and Convent of Cirencester, about a manse called Poma, a curtilage and croft next Eton chapel, a hide of arable land and the great tithes in Eisey Parish belonging to Eton chapel. Both parties submitted themselves to the Bishop of Sarum, Roger Mortival, who awarded the whole to the Vicar of Eisey, he to pay annually to the Convent 20 marks for ever and to take an oath etc. He also to bear all burden, find books etc. and repair chancels both of Eisey Church and Eton Monialum chapel. This dispute may be followed in some detail by those interested by referring to Godstow Register (855 and 856). Edward III seems to have confirmed to Cirencester Abbey “in Lattona et in Eisey IX hides, et ecclesias earundem villarum, cum terra et capella de Eattona, quae pertinet ad ecclesiam de Eisi. ’. 3 Latton and Eisey parishes—the latter including the tithing of Water Eaton—were amalgamated by order of the County Council, confirmed by the Local Government Board in 1897. Ecclestisiastical union occur- redin 1819. Water Eaton has been recently split off and joined to Castle Eaton and there is now a United Benefice of Cricklade and Latton.4 A list of incumbents follows. It derives, as to most of the entries, from Phillipp’s Institutions. Incumbents of Eisey Patrons 1236 Nicholas Abbot of Circencester 1296 William Bracknell yack: 1311 Adam de Bradefield ge as 5 1349 Richard le Brut a5 ia} 5 Robert le White de Sutton Mandeville ia Fs ys 1361 Richard le Porter Sees 7 Robert Felawe ay . 1409 William Ameney ya 43 99 1429 William (the 1428 assessment was s18/8d.) er 5 1434 William Wyland ee i: 1434 Roger Hore a 8 ” Richard Bell (appointed Vicar of Latton 1446) yas 95 1455 Richard Dye 49 9 5 John Warde re 1469 Thomas Capron srs re 1476 David Saut aa? 5 1476 Thomas Pellyngton ea : 1 Godstow Register, 851 and 852. 2 Ordinatio, 24 July 1325: see also F/F Wilts, 1313. 2 Mon. Anglic. VI, 179; also Ing. Nonarum, Ed. Il, Com. Wilts (14 May 1341). 4 Containing the old parishes of St. Sampson Cricklade, St. Mary Cricklade, St. John Latton and St. Mary Eisey (with- | out Water Eaton Chapelry). 2E 36 Incumbents of Eisey. Patrons 1526 Aegidius (Giles) Test (mentioned in Valor Eccl.) Abbot of Cirencester 1538 Thomas Massy, D.D., St. Mary’s Coll. Oxon. (assessed to the subsidy, 1545) t Shire ie Humphry Gallymore athe es 1570 Humphrey Smythe John Pleydell and heirs of Virgil Pleydell 1623 Thomas Smart, in succession to the above Edward Sheldon 1643 Walter Jones, d. 17.v.1666, buried Eysey 1666 John Haugh, M.A., B.N.C. Oxon. Ralph Sheldon of‘ Beoly ’ 1683 Edward Head, B.A., New Inn Hall, Oxon. (appointed to Latton, 1710) Sir Stephen Fox 1723 John Dart Executors of Sir Stephen Fox 1731 Samuel Hill Stephen Fox of Redlynch 1737 Richard Clarke (resigned) EP s 1737. Peter Lewis Willemin, ‘a French clergyman of great merit and learning ’ i" va 3 1762 Robert Page, on the death of the above Earl of Ilchester 1780 Hugh Price aoe = 1782 Richard Nicholas Goldesborough, M.A., D.D., Magd. Coll., Oxon. See 3 1820 Henry Jonas Barton, M.A., B.N.C. Oxon.: Vicar of Latton cum Eisey 1838 HydeWyndham Beadon, Vicar of Latton cum Eisey, in plurality with other livings 1891 William Philpot Anderson, B.A., Jesus Coll. Camb., on the death of Canon Beadon Curates. 1 The years given are those in which it can be shown that the curates were officiating 1599 ThomasG.... 1731-2 S. Wells 1738 Robert Page 1755 C. Harries (a Charles Harries was appointed Vicar of St. Sampson Cricklade in 1751, and in the same year Rector of St. Mary’s Cricklade) Topography Both Eisey and Water Eaton are well defined in extent. They are separated from one another by the Thames. Eisey (1212 acres) is bounded on the west by the Ampney Brook, and on the north it is separated 1 From the following will proved 4 May 1404 (P.C.C., 6 March), it might be assumed that Godstow maintained, at times, a resident chaplain at Water Eaton. “JOHN CLERK (no description or residence) To be buried in Church of St. Lawrence, Eton Monial, Diocese of Sarum. To fabric of the Church of Sarum 12d. and to that of Eton afsd. r2d. To the Abbot of the latter church 4d. To Master Robert the Vicar, for celebrations and to the Clerk of the Church 4d. To Alice Dee, widow, 4d. Residue of goods to Exors., Master John Sanger Chaplain, and William Millewark, for “ the health of my soul”. Overseer, Symon Rusteler.’ L A T YF SHEPPEN O NoRTH FARM BRIDGE MUNDUS GROUNDS E R O south i \ FARM (WATER EATON FARM) | M: @ EISEY MANOR GAERSTUN (GASTONS } \ T sr mary's \ \ Z, @ WATER EATON MANOR \ . : + sT. LAWRENCE S ( CHAPE \ O,water EATON \ HOUSE ‘ A) aa O N | : \ \ \ | 4 O rOmRM \ \ ! / ‘ wv 4 : \ ey WAY uae ® yee port \ Or YGoO/LDEN ROSE Scale approx, 2}''"—1 mile. To Hi ghworth LANE Based on Ordnance Survey, by permission. * EISEY AND WATER EATON 37 _ from Latton by a small and ancient watercourse. Except for the hill above mentioned, Eisey is flat and featureless. It is traversed by the Thames and Severn Canal. Apart from Eisey Manor with its cluster of cottages, it contains but one settlement of note, Alix Farm. At Sheppen Bridge is a rectangular enclosure by bank and ditch of unknown age. Air cover (Ashmolean Mus. 387 and 388) has disclosed two perfectly straight parallel lines (see map) which suggests the site of a road. The line runs from Cowleaze cottages to a bridge on the old canal. No continuations are indicated. Nothing is visible on the ground, and no section has been made. The Merehead and its grassy way (the mereway) leading north-west from the Thames is a long-forgotten bound mentioned in a thirteenth century Forest Perambulation.! Gastons,? the slope be- tween Eisey Manor and the Church is the only other ancient name in Eisey. There are extensive meads beside the Thames. Water Eaton contains 1605 acres. It is bounded on the west by the Thames and the Ray (Worf) and on the south for some part by the old Portway from Cricklade to Highworth. (This exists in part as Golden Rose Lane). The eastern boundary appears to be arbitrary until it is noticed that it is heading almost due north towards the northward-projecting Marston Meysey.3 It may well represent an ancient track which seems to be continuous with the road through Meysey Hampton to Ready Token on the Icknield Way. Most of the Water Eaton bank of the Thames is steeper than that on the Eisey side and does not exhibit much true mead. There is a copse at the south-eastern extremity which may represent ancient woodland. The road system has been considerably changed, and the map shows the pattern before the opening of the direct road between Seven Bridges and Castle Eaton. There are five farms,—Seven Bridges, Port Farm, South Farm, formerly Water Eaton Farm, and North Farm (which is probably not ancient). The fifth is _ the Manor. This was between the chapel and the Thames. It was pulled down, and replaced to the south _ by the present Water Eaton House. The old manor house was illustrated in the Pall Mall Magazine of August, 1899. Rubble remains on the site.4 This was the head of the manor. The ground around is much _ broken and the remains of a fishpond can still be made out. A few yards from the site of the Manor House is a backwater of the Thames which has served as a wharf. Ancient names are few. Vedermorfurlong, Beringersland, Ford Mead, Hide Mead, and Poma occur in the Godstow Register. Ford Mead may _ be identified, and Poma is probably the orchard near the Manor. Scores Ground can be identified by the _ peculiar system of selions and drainage near the present Scores Stalls. Mundus grounds are in North Farm and the name was recently in use. Proprietors Of the two early charters5 apparently referring to Eisey the first is a grant by Offa to Worcester Mon- _ astery of land at Ductune and Esig. Ductune is probably Doughton in Tetbury parish, and the second can- _ not be identified. The bounds as given seem to suggest that the properties were contiguous. I am con- _ vinced that they do not apply to our Eisey. The charter is probably a forgery. The second is a grant by Burgred to Alhun, Bishop of Worcester, of Esege and various Gloucestershire properties not far from the Wilts border. The bounds are not given. Neither charter is helpful, and we pass to Domesday Book where Regenbald the priest holds Latton and _ Eisey. ‘ Two thegns held them for 2 manors in the time of King Edward. Earl Harold united them into 1 See my Bradon Forest, O.U.P., 1953. 2 Gaerstun = paddock. 3 The other Wiltshire projection north of the Thames, Latton, is “ spined ’ by Ermine Street. 4 Some is Cotswold stone. It is known that Godstow employed Cotswold stone about 1176, and some may well have been left at Water Eaton in the course of its barge transport from Ashton Keynes to Oxford—see V.C.H. Oxon. 5 B.C.S. 226, c. 775; and B.C.S. 487, A.D. 855. 38 one manor, and it paid geld for nine hides.’ 1 The Geld Rolls suggest that the holding of Latton cum Eisey was in Cricklade Hundred. In the V.C.H. Wilts II, under Domesday entry 429, is printed “ Herman de Drewes holds Etone [Water Eton (in Latton)] of the King. Edric held it in the time of King Edward and it paid geld for 2 hides. There is land for 2 ploughs. There is 1 plough in demesne and there are 2 bordars and 2 coscez, and 1 villein with 1 plough. There are 2 acres of meadow. The woodland is 2 furlongs long and 1 furlong broad. It was and is worth 30s.’ The entry in brackets is Professor Darlington’s.. There is no evidence that this holding, (if it does in- deed refer to Water Eaton), was ‘in Latton’ at this time. The circumstances detailed above suggest most strongly the reason why Water Eaton was drawn to Eisey and became part of Eisey parish after its acquis- ition by Godstow Priory. I believe that all Regenbald’s manors went to Cirencester Abbey, and there is no evidence that Ciren- cester ever held Water Eaton. Whether the small 2 hide holding of Herman de Drewes represents Water Eaton may never be known. At the present time, the history of the priorietorship of Water Eaton begins with the grant of Reginald FitzCount, son of Roger Fitz William Earl of Hereford, to Godstow in about the year 1143. The grant was confirmed by Reginald’s son Reginald Ballon. Itis possible that it belonged to Reginald’s maternal uncle. 2 Less than a hundred years later, Godstow was exempted from suit to the court of the Hundred of Staple which then belonged to Thomas de Sanford.3 In 1259 it can be shown that Latton and Eisey were in the Hundred of Cricklade.4 The union of Water Eaton and Eisey was ecclesiastical only. At the Dissolution, Latton and Eisey were bought by Sir Anthony Hungerford of Down Ampney who held also the impropriate Rectory of Latton. The impropriation of Eisey, however, seems to have gone to the Pleydells who presented in 1570. Water Eaton was bought by Sir John Brydges, afterwards Lord Chandos. His father Giles Brydges lived for a time at Blunsdon House.5 The tithe of Water Eaton was bought by Sir Thomas Seymour. The early leases of Water Eaton are unknown. John Goddard of Ogbourne St. George in his will dated March 16th 1500—o1 mentions * the yeres of my farm at Eton.’ (No Goddard is mentioned under “ Easy’ in the 1544 Subsidy Roll). His son Thomas was the father of John Goddard of Water Eaton who died in 1560.7 John Goddard’s assessment of 1545 was by far the largest in ‘ Water Yetton and Esye’. In 1576 there are five assessments given under ‘ Eesey ’’. No Goddard. Bishop Compton’s census of 1676 gives for Eisey $4, no papists or Nonconformists. At some time in the course of his long and distinguished life, Sir Stephen Fox (1627-1716), bought Water Eaton, and in his family it remained until the Local Act for Sale and Settlement of the estates of Henry Thomas, Earl of Ilchester.8 1 V.C.H. Wilts, Il, D.B. 133, and p. 9: see also Notification of Grant, c. 1067, from Cirencester Cartulary printed in Davis, Regesta Wm. I and Wm. II. 2 Godstow Register 847, 848, 849, 850: see also Round, ‘ Studies in Peerage and Family History’; 181—215. Godstow was founded about 1133 and surrendered in 1539. 3 Godstow Register 853, 854: F/F 16 Hen. [II: for Thomas de Sanford, see pedigree in Bradon Forest. The adjoining manor of Calcut was in Staple Hundred. 4 E/E Wilts. 5 See Wilts N. and Q.., I, 371. 6 Cal. State Papers: 1540, (Grants), 942 (69) (two entries): ib 1541, 947(44). Latton and Eisey passed to Dunch, Craggs, Elliott (W.A.M. XLII, 13) (Lord St. Germans was lord of the Manor in 1915). 7 See the Goddard Wills printed in Crisp, Fragmenta Genealogica VII; and Monast. Anglic. IV, 374. 8 41 Geo. III, cap. 107. 39 Of the four farms of Water Eaton beside the Manor Farm I am inclined to think that North Farm and Seven Bridges Farm are relatively modern subdivisions. Water Eaton Farm (South Farm) and Port Farm are, I think, older and may even represent the sites of * bordars ’ houses. A natural and almost equal divis- _ ion into halves by a water course is Manor Farm and Seven Bridges Farm together, and Port Farm, North _ Farm and South Farm together. It appears that about 1600 Anthony Hungerford held * 90 acres of land, meadow and pasture, in Water Eaton and.Eysey ...... called Jones Leaze’.1 Sir Anthony Hungerford by deed dated 24 Aug. 1604 charged {10 annually on Eisey and Water Eaton land for an apprentice charity at Great Bedwyn. This is now paid by the proprietor of (what was) Manor Farm.2 North Farm, South Farm and Port Farm were sold in 1812,3 and the farm boundaries have since been altered as between all five holdings. There is in the County Record Office a quantity of eighteenth and nineteenth century farm leases, etc., also parts of the Eisey Court Books dating from 15794. 1 .P.M. Wilts, Sir Anthony Hungerford (1628), the son of the above. Hen. VIII had granted to Sir T. Seymour _ (Lord Sudeley) a rent of 14/- reserved for closes called Jones Leaze. Seymours had held land in the neighbouring Eton Meysi before 1347. See Cal. State Papers, Hen. VIII 942, 69: 947, 443 947, 83. 2 W.A.M. VI, 290. 3 Sale Bill, Devizes Museum. E 4 Acc. 54.3; 79 b, 1; 84, 2; 177, 7; and some Land Tax Assessments. 40 AN EXCAVATION AT ST. MARTIN’S CHURCH, SALISBURY ST. MARTIN’S CHURCH CONSTRUCTION By FaitrH DE MaLLeT MorcGAN St. Martin’s Church, Salisbury, stands on rising ground about 200 yards from the river, in the south-east part of the city, and is approached from St. Ann Street. It is situated in what used to be the parish of Mil- ford before the city of New Sarum was in being. The date of its foundation is not known: no mention of a church is made in the Domesday survey, which merely refers to a tenure of land in the village of Milford or Meleford. It is mentioned for the first time in 1217,! when the clergy from Old Sarum visited St. Martin’s in their Rogationtide procession, and at this date it may have been in existence for some time. The present chancel was built about 1230, and although it is the oldest recognisable feature of the present church, it would seem to be an addition to the original structure, since it is wider than the existing choir. Part of a wall plate above the arch in the north wall of the choir is perhaps a trace of an older church. In the late 13th or early 14th century the tower, which is not on the same alignment as the rest of the church, was built, and the spire was added. On the east wall of the tower there is a weather course indicating a small lean-to aisle to the south. It is probable thata chantry chapel was added at the east end of the south aisle late in the 14th century, but the easternmost arch of the south arcade is all that survives. It was in the 15th century that the church assumed its present form. A north aisle was added early in the century and this was later heightened together with the arcades of the nave. In conjunction with this work the south aisle and the chantry chapel were demolished, and the new south aisle built corresponding in size with the one in the north. Furthermore the chancel arch was moved one bay to the west and considerably heightened, forming the present choir with the earlier four-centred arches of the nave arcades to the north and south. The whole building is chiefly of flint, although the tower and some parts of the west end are now faced with ashlar. Excavation in Churchyard, 1956. In April, 1956, an excavation was undertaken in the churchyard, following the appearance of some chalk footings while the foundations of the south wall were being investigated during repairs to the church. (See Fig. 1.) Two cuttings were laid out beside the south wall where these footings first appeared. The area was very much disturbed to some depth by successive burials and several brick-lined graves severely hampered the scope of excavation. In cutting I (See Fig. 2) the westernmost of the two, a mass of rough chalk blocks appeared at a depth of ift. 6in., with a sharply defined edge running north-south for a distance of 12ft. 4in. nearly at right-angles to the church. At the south end this edge turned a right-angle to the east and formed a projection, 2ft. 6in. wide, from a second edge which ran west-east parallel to, and at a distance of oft. 9in. from, the church wall. This west-east line was picked up again as a few blocks of chalk in position in cutting II (See Fig. 2); although the angle had disappeared, the wall turned north towards the church as a clear edge, thus forming the outer perimeter of a rectangular foundation, most of which would appear to lie underneath or be obliterated by the present church. As the plan shows, the only inner edge of these foundations appeared in cutting II, running west from the approximate corner of their inner angle at a distance of 4ft. 4in. from the church wall, giving them a thickness of sft. Most of the large chalk blocks used to form the edges of the footings were regularly laid and roughly 1 Register of St. Osmund (Rolls Series, 1884) Vol. IL, c. ii. 41 rectangular, but those in the centre were irregularly placed lumps of chalk of varied size and shape. In _ several places the upper surface of the wall had been cut away by grave digging. In cutting II only one course of the wall remained, except for part of the less disturbed eastern edge where there were still two. Between the inner and south wall face most of the blocks had been robbed and only a chalky scatter remained where the side of the cutting crossed the wall. The whole of the wall at this its south-east angle, rested on red clay, except for a detached group of a few small chalk blocks further south which lay on disturbed mortar and rubble. S$. MARTINS CHURCH SCALE IN FEET EXCAVATIONS i Fig 1. St. Martin’s Church, Salisbury, showing site of excavations In cutting I the structure was more complicated. Over most of the south-west angle two or three courses remained, but 8ft. from the church wall on the west face of the footings these increased to five or six, the lowest level dipping in a sharp curve to a depth of 4ft. gin. and continuing on this level to the south- ernend. (Fig. 3, Section 1.) The whole of this projecting part of the structure was on the same massive scale. At the southern end the upper courses overhung the lower by an overall measurement of rft.: the top course, however, was set back giving the appearance of a plinth. Two large squared blocks of sandstone strengthened the extreme end at its base. VOL. LVII-CCVI E 42 Adjacent to the east corner of the upper course at this point, a single oblong moulded stone, rin. x rft. 4in. x 6in., lay on a dressed sandstone block about the same size. This stone was chamfered on two sides of its upper edge. Immediately below the chamfer the moulding consisted of a shallow recessed roll about 2in. wide between marginal beads. It is thought to belong to the 12th century and was possibly the capital of the respond of a doorway. A squared corner was cut out of the green sandstone block on which it rested. Neither of these stones was in its original position as they lay on soft disturbed soil. Of two other large sandstones, now incorporated in the bases of the adjacent buttresses of the church, it is possible that one is in its original position as a reinforcement for the inner angle of the south-west corner of the wall. A further structure was found in cutting I, 1ft. south of the main footings but apparently unrelated to them. This was a short length of walling, parallel to the rest, built of two double courses of squared chalk blocks, the upper courses consisting of two blocks and the lower of three. At its east end it had been dis- turbed by a modern soakaway. Many pieces of rough red tile were found, including part of a glazed ridge tile probably of early 13th century date. The complex stratification in the first cutting is shown in section 1. The natural subsoil, which was a sandy clay, can be seen to follow a curve or bank below the wall, until it dips sharply to a depth of over 8ft. at a distance of 12ft. 6in. from the church wall. It was not possible, owing to water and subsidence, to excavate further at this point. On section 2 the natural clay is seen to flatten out for about 3ft. 6in. before it rises almost vertically and then more gradually to a depth of sft. sin. at the south limit of the section. On section I the clay is more than 1ft. lower here. The course of the natural clay suggests the cutting of a flat-bottomed ditch, the soil from which, thrown up as a bank, may be indicated by the disturbed red clay directly underneath the stones of the wall at the north end of section 1. A scatter of flints lay on top of this bank. Within the ditch there was a filling of dark clay ( Fig. 3 Sections 1 and 2) in which were traces of ash and mortar, animal bones and many sherds of pottery. The greatest depth at which sherds were found was 7ft. 7in., below the extreme end of the wall, where several large pieces were grouped together; the other sherds were scattered in the same layer but not at such a low level. The mortar on which the projecting part of the wall was bedded overlay this filling, and extended be- yond the south end of the footings, where it appears to have collapsed into a robber trench. Where the mortar lay under the wall the clay bank had been cut back to allow the foundations to be built over the ditch at a constant depth. (Fig. 3, Section 1.) A thick layer of black ash crossed from the west side of the cutting to just below the corner of the wall, overlying part of the mortar above the ditch filling. This contained blackened flints and a great quantity of large sherds. In section 2, this layer of ash was seen to be at the base of a pit, dug into the mortar laid as part of the bedding for the wall and therefore later than the wall itself. In the west extension to the cutting, which bisected the pit, the ash was intersected with layers of chalk or weathered lime, red sandy clay, chalk subsoil, burnt flints and burnt chalk. Altogether these layers were 15in. thick and were very compressed and highly fired. There were a good many small sherds but only in the ash between the layers. Three large sandstones were found at the base of the pit. These were dressed, squared stones, all about 2ft. x 1ft. 6in. x 8in., carefully laid to form a level platform. All three were blackened by fire, and were overlaid and surrounded by a thick layer of very highly fired flints. (See Fig. 2.) It was not possible to determine the extent of the flints as circumstances prevented further undercutting below modern graves. The upper part of the pit above the compressed layers consisted of dark clay soil, with charcoal, animal bones and many sherds of pottery. This filling appeared to slope down towards the wall, but graveyard disturbance made the stratification indistinct near the foundations at this level. (Fig. 3, Sections 2 and 3.) 43 WW sre If pue | sdunino Jo uryg a Be sa LTS NS ITO (PRA 7 cel er a =MOILIIR NID PA ey ae . = ULLLWIE ATWHD ~ SHNOLESANWS Fg SLNITA LNAINT @D CLNITA DD SzAwND | If ONIL4A3 “Aingsyes ‘yoinyD suv I$ eT BIy wrasse upy uo va a (Mg LD a Hip AVAL YOR z a jiss (| bat x Lno fa g Ls ALD Pp NIVEC cola hd ate nan, qe ir 7 x} ‘D). {)) ae, Bo I ONILLAD —) wee G0 LP? My) : penser units LD — SIAWY? — NIT HLNITE -— TIWM HLNOB - “HIYAHD S,NILUYW LS 2F 44 Towards the corner of the wall the graveyard rubbish merged with a layer of mortar, rubble and chalk which continued against the south end of the reinforced foundation filling the supposed robber trench and overlying the primary filling of mortar. (Section 1.) Here it was packed with many flints, which were not present in this layer further east, where there had been more disturbance. The stratification below the main south wall face consisted of layers of mortar, clay, sandy gravel, chalk and greensand, which sloped down towards the south side of the cutting. (Section 3.) Although com- pletely dissimilar to the ditch filling further west, it is probable that these layers nevertheless represent a filling, to obtain a more stable base in what was a particularly wet part of the ditch. There were many large sherds of pottery in an area of charcoal beside the blocks of the detached structure and in the layer of dark soil on which they rested. This charcoal extended into the mortar layer below. More sherds were scattered in the mortar, and a rim (Fig. 4, No. 5) was found just under the stones of the main south face. Finds, Pottery—(See Fig. 4. Numbers in brackets below refer to the illustrations in that figure). Within the excavation there were four main areas of pottery; the ditch filling, the south lip of the ditch, the secondary pit and hearth, and the small hearth area south of the detached section of wall. There does not appear to be very much typographical sequence in the pottery from the different areas, but as the pro- bable total time involved in the various phases is no more than about 100 years and perhaps less, that is hardly surprising. With the exception of a few pieces of glazed ware, and plain sagging-base cooking pot, all the sherds consisted of scratch-marked pottery. A. Scratch-marked pottery. This ware consists almost entirely of fragments of cooking pots, usually globular, with a round base con- tinuous with the curve of the sides, and with a wide mouth and strongly everted rim. Another form is that of a wide shallow dish with a flat, scratched base and inward-turning sides. The technique is primitive; the pots are thrown on a slow wheel with much handworking, about din. thick at the sides, very gritty, the clay having been mixed with coarse sand. The colour ranges from dark grey to light brown and red. The distinctive feature of this ware is the treatment of the surface, which is entirely covered, except for the neck, with scratch-markings. These markings are quite deeply scored, generally horizontal, often crossing, with loops and return strokes. They were probably made with a brush or tuft of coarse bristles rather than with the grit on the potter’s fingers: in section the scratches are rounded and it is the angular grits which would catch on the fingers. Furthermore the grits would often be found sticking in the scratches. Scratched-ware has been dated at two sites by coin evidence. At Old Sarum it was found in pits associ- ated with a coin of William I, dated not earlier than 1080-2. Excavations at Southampton revealed a pit containing scratched-ware and a coin of Etienne, Comte de Penthi¢vre, 1093-1108, a cousin of the ducal house of Brittany, minted at Guingamp. This indicates a range between 1080 and, say 1130 for the date of scratched-ware, but the evidence is incomplete and until moreis forthcoming it would be unwise to attempt closer dating. The distribution is concentrated in South Wiltshire, Dorset and Hants. The ware is found sporadically to the west as far as Bristol and to the north as far as the Thames Valley; there is also one instance at Leices- ter. At St. Martin’s a great many large sherds were found, but no complete pot although it has been possible to reconstruct about a third of two pots. Most of the rims are of the strongly everted type belonging to the globular form. Probably these rim flanges were sometimes added to the globular pot, as there is Z SS te pee Cs CHURCHYARD RUBELE =] y__t © Gp teas Des COU} aa noe aes a . x ¥ am) A= aT e foam ) : 0 A | CHURCHYARD RUBBLE 2 6 ae \ Seen pear MORTAR & 2 on SOU ane OSD GANDY GRAVEL GS Se ane A Shere ioe seeds * gENDSTONES” SA MORTAR GREENSAND “3 ORS Eto en ee ae = 7 a oar. & Gs UNEXCAVATED SECTION 3S, WEST—EAST ACROS$ PIT AND SOUTHERN E, OF FDE MM. Fig 3. Excavations at St. Martin’s Church, Salisbury. Sections. (Scale rin. to 3ft. 6ins.) 45 46 a fairly general thickening at the neck (Fig. 4, No. 4). Some of the rims are plain (2, 5), or finger-pressed into hollows at intervals, raising the upper surface unevenly; this is the most common form (1, 4). Others are grooved (3), or moulded into more complicated forms; one or two appear to have been flattened with a knife (7, 10). Some of the simple rim flanges and those with finger-pressed hollows are similar to the rims from the sequence of late rith and early rath century pottery from Whittington Court Roman Villa whichis com- parable with pottery of the same date from the Castle Mound at Oxford.! The finger-pressed rims may also be compared with one from the late 12th century well filling at St. John’s College, in a shelly ware, which may date from earlier in the same century;? and with the similar rims in scratched-ware from the pits at Old Sarum. 3 In a few cases the scratch-marks cover the outside of the neck immediately below the rim; and in two or three the brush has been used inside the neck and shoulder. Ihave however been shown sherds from the site excavated by Mr. J. G. W. Musty at Laverstock with scratches inside the body of the pot; and sherds from Mr. N. Teulon-Porter’s field-site at Sedgehill near Shaftesbury with intermittent yellow glaze on the inside. There were two examples of an unusual type of wide bow] (13, 14), of which the larger sherd comes from immediately on top of the clay bank south of the ditch. The fabric is very coarse and gritty and heavily scratched. It may have analogies with the large pan from the late 12th century, well filling at St. John’s College, Oxford, but the rim flange is more everted than the St. Martin’s sherd. Similar in shape is the pan from Shilton, Oxon, but here the everted rim is more evolved and it is likely to be of early 13th century date. The distribution of these large unglazed pans with everted rims indicates that they are a West of England type. There is also a deeper pan from Grosmont Castle which may be analogous; this has a less everted rim, but others here of the same type have a definite shoulder angle and vertical sides. 4 With these large pans various methods of strengthening the rims were used by medieval potters5. The earlier forms, late Saxon and 12th century, have a strongly inturned flange, but by the late 12th or 13th centuries the out-turning of the medieval cooking pot appears. The St. Martin’s bow], the rim of which is everted but curves upwards, may, Mr. E. M. Jope considers, be an early forerunner of the large pans, in shape and purpose, possibiy of late 11th or early 12th century date. Three sharply angled base sherds, (15, 16, 17), from the secondary pit and the small hearth area south of the wall, belong to a wide, shallow flat-bottomed form of vessel, with everted rim similar to a cook- ing pot, and datable to the late rith or early rath century. It is well known in the West Country® and there have been examples found as far south as Poole: three similar sherds were found with the other scratched-ware at Old Sarum, in the pit containing the coin of William 17. Their use is unknown; some have holes halfway up the sides, made before firing (16); of two sherds of this type from a site at Laver- stock one had a particularly large well-formed hole; possibly they were a kind of strainer. Mr. Jope says that the type was current certainly in the first half of the rath century and probably for much of the 11th. Most of the scratch-marked pottery is of similar fabric, hard, rough-textured and very gritty. The clay even contains an occasional small pebble or piece of grass, in the thicker walled coarser pots (4, 2, 14): in the 1 B.G.A.S., 71 (1952), 62, 7- 2 Oxoniensia, XV (1950), 52—54, Fig. 18, 6. 3 Antiq. Journ. XV (1935) 187. 4 Antiq. Journ. XV (1935), 332, 28. 5 Oxoniensia VIII, 1X (1943—4) 102—4. 6 B.G.A.S., 71 (1952) 65, map. 7 Antiq. Journ. XV (1935) 189, fig. 5, 28. en Naartinne Charch Salichnry TD APE Ares ric] CT SAAT OAT CLAP OE 48 thin walled pots the fabric and the grits are much finer and the hardness has a metallic feel. The colour is mainly reddish-brown to black, with a grey core; some sherds are bricky-red on both surfaces, and a few are grey throughout with an almost bluish-white surface. B. Plain unglazed ware. There are a few sherds of plain smooth ware in a fine sandy fabric which has a slight glitter and a soft feel. One of these, from the ditch filling, belongs to the sagging-base type of cooking pot; it is dark brown on the exterior, red on the inside, with a grey core, and has been knife-trimmed round the sides (18). It is similar to a pot from Lydney Castle, which has a simple everted rim1, and also to those from the St. John’s College well filling. Both this base-angle sherd and a rim (19) in the same fabric and colour except that it is red on both surfaces, may be paralleled exactly by sherds which I was shown by Mr. J. W. G. Musty from the site at Laverstock, and which appear to have been made by thesamehand. Thisis particularly in- teresting in view of the fact that since 13th century pottery wasters were found on this site, there may have been a kiln in the vicinity earlier. C. Glazed ware. Two glazed sherds are of interest because they are of the same gritty fabric as the scratched ware. One, from the layers of ash in the bottom of the secondary pit, is part of the shoulder of a fairly wide pitcher, with patchy, greenish yellow glaze on a buff-grey surface, and four vertically curving grooves. The interior is black and it has a grey core. This is a piece of early glazed ware and may be compared with the pitchers from the St. John’s College well filling. The other is the foot of a tripod pitcher (22), pinkish-surfaced, with a patchy yellow glaze, from the clay and rubble overlying the south edge of the ditch. This belongs to a West Country type of pitcher with three stubby feet and a tubular spout, which, in the Oxford region,appears to have beenin current use in the second half of the 12th and early 13th centuries, but may be earlier: these pitchers may be descended from late Saxon shapes and represent a persistent Saxon strain in potting after the Norman Conquest. A similar foot sherd was found in the cess-pit at Old Sarum, dated by the late Dr. J. F. S. Stone at about 1100. On grounds of fabric the St. Martin’s sherd should belong to the 12th century. A typical tripod pitcher is illustrated from the site of the Bodleian extension.2_ Part of a tubular spout was also found at St. Martin’s, in unglazed fine buff-pink clay. This should belong to the same type of pitcher, and is repeated at Old Sarum.3 This form of spout coalesces with the neck of the jug instead of standing clear of it, as in the Bodleian example. Two base sherds in very much finer fabric (21), off-white throughout and glazed in speckled greenish- yellow with flecks of undissolved colouring matter on the outer, dimpled surface, belong to the same type of pitcher, either tripod or plain slightly convex base with thumb-pressed edge. It is likely that these, with their primitive, uneven glaze, date from the early 13th century. Other finds. The only other finds, besides animal bones, were a few large nails in a very corroded state. One of these came from the ditch filling and the rest from the base of the wall footings. 1 Antiq. Journ. X1 (1931) 258, 18. 2 Oxoniensia IV (1939), 98, 117. For this type of tripod pitcher see also Antig. Journ. XX (1940) 103. 3 Antiq. Journ. XV (1935), 189. 49 Animal bones. Animal bones were found with the pottery in all areas, and were especially plentiful in the ditch filling and secondary pit. These were chiefly cattle, sheep, and pig bones, with a small proportion of deer. There were also a few oyster shells. Summary and Interpretation. There seem to have been five main phases of activity within the excavation at St. Martin’s, separated, according to the pottery evidence, by no great length of time. This is borne out by the documentary evidence, which indicates that a church was constructed between the Domesday Survey and 1217. The structure excavated does not bear any relationship to the layout of the chancel, built about 1230, or to any part of the present church. Therefore it is unlikely that the structure formed part of the church existing in 1217. If it were, there wouldhave been less than thirteen years forits destruction and rebuilding on a completely different layout; the pottery found in the pit subsequent to the wall robbing would also have to be of later date than appears possible. It is more likely that the structure was part of a church built around 1100 and that it was a small affair, which did not last long before it was rebuilt in the form existing in 1217 from which the 1230 building developed. Alternatively, the structure may have been the end of a south transept of an altogether bigger 12th century church, still in existence in 1217, and to which the 1230 chancel would have been added. There is also the possiblility that the early church was never completed. It is unlikely that the foundations were secular: walls sft. thick would have meant a defensive building of some size, not earlier than the pottery in the ditch dated around 1100, and the building would have had to become obsolete very quickly for the church of 1217 to have been built on top of it. It is however odd that so much domestic pottery should be found in association with a church, and the possiblility that it was a secular building should not be altogether excluded. The first phase, that of the ditch, which cut through a previous occupation containing pottery little earlier than 1100, may have been a boundary or enclosure. There was possibly a spring at the bottom of it: it is very damp there still. In the second phase, the ditch was filled in, the bank cut away and the site made as level as possible for the third phase, the building of the foundations. These had to be substantially rein- forced at the corner overlying the ditch as there was always the risk of subsidence. Later, the foundations needed no longer, a robbing trench was apparently dug. Finally, in the last phase, a pit of unknown dimen- sions was dug beside the wall, through the filling of the old robber trench, and a hearth used for some time and some purpose in the bottom, before it was filled up with refuse containing a great deal of pottery. Acknowledgements. I am indebted to a great many people. In particular I should like to thank Canon A. D. F. McKenzie _ for permission to dig in the churchyard; Mr. H. de S. Shortt for much helpful discussion and advice; Mr. E. M. Jope for kindly examining the pottery; and Mr. F. H. Edmunds for analysing the samples of material. I should also like to thank Professor Stuart Piggott who, with the late Dr. J. F. S. Stone, visited the site and gave me their valuable opinions. VOL. LVII-CCVI G 50 A SHROPSHIRE GILD AT WORK IN WILTSHIRE By E. G. H. Kempson A chance reference! to some property in Marlborough owned in 1547 by ‘ the Yeeld or Fraternytie of Ludlow ’ has led to some interesting light being thrown on the workings of such a society. Gilds, as is well known, are usually divided into three classes: religious (and social), town or merchant gilds and trade gilds. This gild belonged to the first category. It was known as the Gild of St. Mary and St. John the Evangelist and had been renamed in 1284 as the Gild of Palmers. It met in the South porch of the parish church of St. Lawrence in Ludlow in Shropshire. In Edward III’s day it was known to have existed from ancient days (ab antiquo) and was traditionally connected with Edward the Confessor. Its association with pilgrims is obscure, though comparable gilds in Lincoln laid down that their members should pay a halfpenny each to any of their number who went on pilgrimage to St. James of Compostella, Rome or Jerusalem. 2 The purposes of the gild are recorded in ordinances that date from 1284, of which these are the main head- ings3: Help to be given to members if in want through theft, fire, shipwreck, the falling down of their houses or such like, on not more than three occasions. Release from false imprisonment to be obtained and illegal distraint of goods to be resisted by the gild, if possible at the charge of the member himself, but otherwise freely. Relief to be granted to poorer members when sick; most especially when leprous, blind or other- wise incurable. Dowries to be given to girl members either on marriage or on entry into a religious house, if they have no fathers capable of supplying them. Services for dead members to be attended by all brethren and sisters. If any man wishes to keep night-watches with the dead, 4 it is allowed provided he does not set out either to conjure up evil spirits or play any practical jokes with the dead man or his reputation (dumtamen nec monstra larvarum inducere, nec corporis vel fame sue ludibria, nec ludos alios inhonestos, presumat aliqualiter attemptare). No woman to keep night-watch unless she be of the household of the dead. We do not know to what extent such ordinances as would nowadays come under the heading of insurance were carried out in practice, but it is abundantly clear that masses for the dead were duly sung: in fact a large proportion of the recorded expenditure was used for that purpose. The figures produced at the time of the Dissolution give us an idea of the amounts then involved, though considering the purpose for which they were collected they must clearly be treated with reserve. The gild expenditure included payments to 7 priests (£38-13-4), 2 (or 4) singing men (_£6-13-4), 2 deacons (40/8), 6 choristers (34/-), a schoolmaster of grammar (£10), poor alms folk (27/-), the alms bellringer (2/-), the porter (44/4), as well as obits ({/14~5-6), holy bread (12/3), lights (28/-), gifts to poor people (8/2), salaries of the Warden and clerk of the works (46/8) and of the treasurer (collector of possessions) (£5). The balance of £6-1-114d. was available towards the repair of property. Other records show that the incidence of repairs to property was very heavy, but we are not here concerned with them. The gild’s income came from entrance fees, annual payments and rents. The entrance fee for a married couple was usually 13/4 and for a single person 6/8. It was common to join after death: thus William Bowyer of Marlborough and his wife, defuncta, were admitted in 1485 to the fraternity at achargeof Io/-. This represented a reduced risk for the woman and payment was only necessary for the singing of masses. It is not clear how large annual subscriptions were or what their purpose was but they may well have been for wax for lights to set before the altars: they seem to have varied from 4d. up to as muchas 2/-. 5 51 Many of the members lived in the neighbourhood of Ludlow and there was no difficulty in collecting their dues; but for more distant parts of the country there were two stewards, who worked on six different itineraries. For instance in the year 1538 (see map) there started off in Lent one Thomas Hore with his man. They were mounted and their circuit lasted for 60 days. Their daily allowance was 1/2. They covered the counties of Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Leicester and Northampton. Hore’s second and third journeys were through North and South Wales and took another 60 days. His fourth journey only lasted 15 days: it covered Cheshire and Staffordshire. The other steward, William Philipps, also starting in Lent, took 30 days in passing through South Gloucestershire, Bristol, Glastonbury, Shaftesbury and across South Wiltshire possibly to Eton and London. Philipps’s second journey, which we shall give in more detail, started at Marlborough and continued through Marshfield, Painswick, Bishop’s Cliff, Cirencester, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Pershore, Evesham, Worcester, Hanley, Bodenham, Ross, Monmouth, Newland, Chepstow, Hereford, Leominster and Brom- yard. It lasted 45 days and besides the daily charges there were other expenses, amounting to 42/1, and the steward’s fee of 40/-, making a total of £6-14-7; this left a net gain of £1-3-4, for he had collected £7-17-11 on his rounds. Presumably this sum did not include any admission fees that he may have col- lected, but only the annual charges: it is described as being due to finibus diversorum fratrum et sororum.® The general layout of these itineraries is confirmed by a list of admissions to the gild in 1520.7 There were two stewards, who divided out the area as the stewards of 1538-9 did, but the district marked P 1 (see map) was apparently not visited. Of the 1,500 persons admitted to membership in 1520, 42% came from Shrop- shire and Hereford, 25% from Gloucester and Warwick, 7% from Worcester and the remaining quarter from farther afield. Roughly one thirtieth of the members were admitted after death, at half-fee (3/4). Confining our attention now to Wiltshire (see AppendixI) it appears that there were only two main groups of members, the larger at Marlborough and the smaller at Salisbury. Amongst some 2,100 admission fees received in nine separate years within the period 1485-1525, 26 were from Marlborough and 3 from Salisbury. Amongst the annual payments for 1513 and 1514 there were 25 further names from Marlborough and 15 from Salisbury. The main strata of society from which members were drawn may be typified by the Marlborough names; these included one gentleman,’ two merchants, a chandler, a saddler, a goldsmith, a fletcher, a brewer, an innkeeper, three bakers, a barber, two drapers, a glover, a tailor, a weaver and many of their wives. In one respect, however, these are not typical of the whole area for there are no clerics in the list; whereas in 1520 we find that one in fifteen of the entrants to the gild was a monk or a priest. A great deal of property was owned by the gild in Ludlow and elsewhere, but in Wiltshire there was only one item. (See Appendix III.) In 1499 Robert Somerfeld, after arranging for a life interest for himself, left to the gild his two tenements in Marlborough. They now form 43 Kingsbury Street, which is the house at the lower corner of the Silverless Street turning. These houses brought in a rent of 33/4, which went to the gild after Somerfeld’s death in 1518. There was an annual charge made for repairs which re- duced this to 28/- net. There are records of the payment of this rent from 1525 onwards. However in 1552 the gilds were expropriated and the lands of the Palmers’ Gild were handed over to the Town of Ludlow with the stipulation that thenceforward the Town would be responsible for running the grammar school and the almshouse. In 1616 the property was rebuilt as one house and became the home of Thomas Clerk, vicar of St. Mary’s, Marlborough. By 1650 it had fallen into decay and the rent was owing by Clerk’s executors.9 However, in 1653, immediately after the great fire which swept through the town of Marl- borough, it was rebuilt with a tiled roof and let to one Richard Edney. Later the property was again divided into two and the tenants from 1679 to 1698 were Edney and Nathanie Proffit. It is not clear for how much longer it remained in the hands of the town of Ludlow. 2G 52 It may be noted that Robert Somerfeld gave other land in Marlborough to the borough of Marlborough for somewhat similar purposes!9: thus rent from Chiminage Close was to be used to discharge the town from payment of chiminage, that is, charges levied on passage through a forest (in this case the Forest of Savernake). Also rent from Cowlebridge Close was to be used for the repair of Cowle or Cow Bridge, the main road bridge leading towards London. He also gave other property, so that obits could be said for his soul in St. Peter’s Church. Marlborough had its own local gilds or fraternities. Four at least of the five chantries there11 were fra- ternities. At St. Peter’s were the Fraternity of the Blessed Name of Jesus 12 and that of the Blessed Mary; 13 and at St. Mary’s, two others of the same dedications.14 Nothing however is known of their activities to differentiate them from other chantries. The remarkable feature of the Ludlow Gild is its country-wide membership. Nowadays we are some- what slow to acknowledge what was possible, and indeed commonplace, in the middle ages; but long dis- tances and slow travel seemed to offer small obstacles to the stewards of a gild such as this. Acknowledgement. I should like to express my grateful thanks for all the help given me by Miss M. Jancey, assistant archivist at Shrewbury where the Ludlow records are kept. Her very thorough knowledge of the documents made my visits far more profitable than they would have been otherwise. APPENDIX I Wiltshire names from Stewards’ Registers of Admissions to the Ludlow Palmers’ Gild. 1° Henry VII(1485)out of a total of 133 entries Nicholaus Long de Marleburgh defunctus admissus est in fraternitatem dat de fine 3/4 Johannes Stodeham de M’15 et Margareta uxor eius admissi sunt et dant de fine 13/4 Margareta Long de eadem vidua admissa est et dat 6/8 Nicholaus Long de M’ defunctus vir dum vixit prefate Margarete, solut’ per eandem Margaretam 3/4 eee ee, de M’ defunctus admissus est in fraternitatem inter defunctos orandos et dat 3/4 Willelmus Bowyer de M’ et Margareta uxor eius defuncta admissi in fraternitatem dant de fine 10/- Ricardus Malebroke de M’ chandler et Editha uxor eius admissi dant 13/4 Johannes Heryott alias Pigeon de M’ et Alicia uxor eius admissi dant 13/4 2° Henry VII(1486) out of 157 entries Thomas Skery de M’ et Juliana uxor eius admissi et dant 13/4 3° Henry VII(1487) out of 95 entries Johannes Bowyer de M’ et Editha uxor eius admissi et dant 13/4 4° Henry VII(1488) out of 79 entries, no Wiltshire names 21° Henry VII(1505) Johanna uxor Johannis Bithewey de M’ tannar admissa dat [6/8] Agnes Vynsam alias Tanner de M’ in parochia beate Marie admissa dat de fine [6/8] Ricardus Drynkwater de M’ apud signum penarii [draper] admissus [6/8] Ricardus Dyganson de M’ sadler pro Katerina uxori eius admissi sunt et dant 13/4 Thomas Brodgate de Salusberi mercator et Katerina uxor eius admissi et dant 13/4 22° Henry VII(1506) Radulphus Lancaster [alias Somerfeld (M’101)] de M’ mercator et Alina 13/4 Willelmus Adys de M’ sutor et Margeria 13/4 Thomas Whelar de Sarum generosus admissus est et dat de fine orandus 6/8 Denbs Llangollen @ Machynlleth ._ = We ee Newlown or" Aberystwyth. A oe é Haverfordwest ore ‘ Pris ' wor” -eQCarmar then = &Kidwelly 6 Tenby LUDLOW PALMERS GILOD Stewards’ Annual Itineraries. IS38- 9. RICHARD HORE Hu. 0 Days in Lent W228 Dayé: HS. 32 Days. H4 15 DAYS. P.2.45 Days. ah e” Se. s@Chester. Ruthin B.. “S00 Wresham. Hen oe 4 Whitchurch. . o 4 s a 9 Oswestry s New port , Welsh pool ¢ eo ac verhonplagy - a > Sine Brcyeeey e eee ee LA DILO Ww ow L) / eerie ? b ann we Bodenham. Sess = i ‘ wi Hevefovd. re vomyard GF retucrory Fag Bishops Cleave. ig o . Brecon & 4 He bs ‘ . es Abergavenny gitormoutn Glastonbury Oe... gBruton. . . Shaftesbory®--” WILLIAM PHILIPPS). Ps! 30 Days in bent. oe P.. “Old Gwinford@ _-- se ee ad Devby Burton "Ravy _Ditebfeld , , ? Atherstone, f. Coleshill +” Pane Biv minghum : = ] Warwiel b mae @. Worcester yp Pevehove ® Eyasham . i. f ‘fp ctevee Her ne oes ~* @Civencester Pinesbory, SB Salrabury Pesstm ‘ -----@ Notbingham ; a ‘ ' 1 4 4 ¢ 4 4 4 1 \, ® Leicester a A A 4 Puvneaton. aoeerey Puortbampton. \ 0 4 2-776 6Toweester, Bonbury 4 Wherwell, 52 Iti for s¢ from Saver main souli Ma ternit and a differ: Th what tance: Ackne I sk archin docui = ° ry Be an! Ae F J ged a aN E- je Aaa Pes & Je f R R T piph di R Vv T _ 23° Henry VII(1507) out of 180 entries | Margeria uxor Ric. Drynkwater de M’ admissa est et dat de fine Thomas Grandowne de Sarum vyntner et Emotta uxor eius 24° Henry VII(1508) out of 175 entries Johannes Avale de M’ aurifaber et Isabella uxor eius admissi sunt et dant de fine From an undated document c. 1520 [Ludlow 8366] out of about 1030 entries Marleborowe Willelmus Busshell de Lokeriche et Amicia uxor eius concess’ Ricardus Hore alias Bowier de eadem [M’| mercator concess’ Ricardus Wothen de eadem Kerver [Ric. Wethen alias Carvar (M’14)] et Margareta uxor eius Johannes Matthowe apud signum le georg et Margaret uxor eius Thomas Truslowe de Dauynsey paroch’ prope Malmisbery et Isabella uxor eius concess’ Johannes Frangklyn de Polton prope ibidem [M’] et Agnes uxor eius Thomas Heywarde de eadem[M’] pistor et Agnes uxor eius Alicia uxor Willelmi Childe de eadem pistor concess’ APPENDIX II Marlborough and Salisbury members. Stewards’ Receipts for 1513 and 1514 (2) from amongst many hundreds of names Marlborough 1513 1514 Ric. Fermor de M’ Joh. Baily Alicia Dobie widdow Joh. Sawnders wever Geo. Colls de eadem Will. Semon de M’ 8d Will. Semon de eadem _ Joh. Peche 8d Joh. Peche generosus _ Agnes uxor Mr Tarrant 12d Will. Child pistor Thos Napper | Ric. Dyganson 8d Ric. Dycanson de M’ _ Ric. Drynkwater 16d Will. Adye 20d Will. Adye de eadem - Reynold Browne 8d Reynold Brown Thom. Morris 4d Margeria uxor Ric. Drynkwater 16d Margeria uxor Ric. Drynkwater Joh. Lace ibidem flechar 8d Joh. Lace flechar Joh. Avall 12d Thos Avall aurifaber Thos. West de eadem | Joh. Lancaster 8d et 4d lo. 4d Radulpus Lacestra _ Will. Persons absque debitis glover 4d Will. Persons de eadem _ Joh. Poll 8d Joh. Poll draper _ Joh. Smyth pistor 4d Joh. Smyth pistor | | | 53 6/8 13/4 6/8 (sic) [13/4] [6/8] 13/4 13/4 13/4 13/4 13/4 6/8 16d 8d 4d 12d 4d 8d 12d 8d 8d 8d 1od 8d 16d 8d 12d 16d 8d 8d 12d 4d 54 Joh. ap Hok 16d Joh. ap Hok de eadem tad Marthen Morris 8d Marten Amors 20d dominus Nich. Patynson 4d dominus Nich. Patenson 8d Thos Parker 8d Thos Pickett 8d Joh. Davis 12d et 8d loco. 4d Agnes uxor quondam Galfridi Milleny de Thom. Leiceter sub M’ 16d Remysbery ad Alic. uxor Ric. Wiott de M’ 4d Will. Clerk de Chypnam 2d Salisbury (1514) Thos Brekehed 8d, Thos Wheler gent. 12d, Thos Grondowne vyntner 16d, John Ludow mercator 12d. John Cuffe 20d, John Wagayn draper 2/-, Nicholas subdean 8d,Wm Love de Salusbery 16d. mr Ric. Whittokrzd, Wm Blanyhand 2d, Wm Mownshett 12d, John Weston 8d, Edith uxor W. Love 4/8. John Woodhall rad, Atkyn James 12d, Johanna uxor Ric. Gor 12d, Thos Barker 8d. APPENDIX III Robert Somerfeld’s Gift. Deed of gift, 11 June 1495 (? but certainly betw. 1486-95) [Ludlow 808] Alex. Darell lately of Polton gent. to Robert Somerfeld of his 2 tenements in Kyngsbury strete, bounded on E. by an empty site lately belonging to Wm Colyngborn next to St Mary’s churchyard and on S. by a ten. lately belonging to Wm Chepman and Agnes his wife but now in tenure of Edw. Assheman by right of Agnes his wife. Witnesses. Rob. Foster mayor, Jn Stone & Ric. Croke constables, Thos Wynter & Geoffrey Tanner bailiffs, Jn Mile & Jn. a Paris underbailiffs, Jn Mermyn, Jn Childe, Ric. Austyn, Jn Spicer, Thos Bowier. 11 June,—H vii (torn) Two seals, one of the borough of Marlborough. Deed of gift, 12 Aug.1499 — [Ludlow 1286] Robert Somerfeld to Jn Heriett of same 2 ten. bounded on N. and W. by the street and on E. by empty site of Jas Loder [son-in-law of Colyngborn] and on S. by ten. of Wm Cosyn alias Chapman. Witnesses. Thos Sley mayor, Hy Pengryf & Jn Fryse constables, Ric. Farmer & Jn Wever bailiffs, Jn Myle & Giles Payne underbailiffs, Rob. Forster, Wm Fyssher, Jn Stodham, Jn Bayle, Thos Edene. Indenture, 31 Aug 1499 [Ludlow 1292] Ric. Malybroke & Jn Heryott of M’ of the same 2 ten. to Rob. Somerfeld for his life and after to Walter Morton Warden of the Gild of Palmers of the Blessed Mary & of St. John the Evan. and his brethren. Witnesses. Wm Peche gentilman, Wm Fissher, Jn Stodam, Rob. Bengier, Wm Skery. Grant, 13 June 1617. [Ludlow Corp. Minute Bk 1590- , f:116v]. To Thomas Clerke clerk & Mary his wife for 31 yrs, fora fine of £8. Grant, 26 May 1653 [Ludlow Bundle 29] To Ric. Edney of M’ blacksmith those 2 meesplaces, tofts or late dissolved dwelling-houses here before converted into one ten. late in the poss. of Thos Clarke, clerk, betw. 2 meesplaces or tofts of Rob. Browne esq. on the N. & S, paying 30/- yearly and discharging all payments and taxes either military or civil hereafter to be imposed and also building on the same premises to the full extent thereof a good and substantial dwelling house within the next 5 yrs, the house to be covered with tyle or slatt. 55 1 Rents called Langable due to Princess Katheryne [Parr], Queen of England, Dec. 1547 (Savernake Bundle 98A: Wilts Record Office, Trowbridge). 2 H.F. Westlake: Parish Guilds of Mediaeval England, Appendix. 3 Toulmin Smith: English Gilds, E.E.T.S., 1870, pp. 193199. 4 Cf. Abp. Stratford’s ordinance of 1345: Statuimus quod, peractis a viris ecclesiasticis mortuorum memoriis, nulli_ in privatis domibus, in quibus mortuorum corpora usque ad sepulturam frequenter requiescunt, decetero receptentur ad consuetas nocturnas vigilias peragendas defunctorum, amicis propinquis et his qui psalteria forsan pro defunctis dicere voluerint dumtaxat exceptis, sub pena maioris excommunicationis. Lyndwode: Provinciale (Paris, Bretton, 1506, f.93). 5 Stamford Gild charged 6/8 or 13/4 for admission in four quarterly instalments and 2d. or 4d. for wax each year. The gild of the Holy Cross at Stratford-on-Avon and the Gild of the Assumption at Westminster admitted many mem- bers after death (Westlake, op. cit., pp. 42, 86, 15). 6 For the gild hospital of Roncesvalles near Charing Cross in 1520, Mistress Clerke, widow, was the proctor for the | collection of alms for Hampshire and Surrey and she collected 33/4; Thomas Grove for Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall collected £4. Other counties tapped were Lancashire, Cheshire, Lincolnshire, Kent and Herefordshire. For this gild the collections seem to have been farmed out, as they are always round sums of money. (Westlake, op. cit., p. 96.) 7 This list is transcribed in Trans. Shropshire Arch. Soc., VIL, i, but its date is there left undetermined. However the entry under Leominster: “dominus Hugo Faryngton, monacus, nunc abbas de Redyng, vj* viij*”’ fixes the date, for Hugh Farington was elected Abbot in Nov. 1520 and the cell of Leominster was dependent on Reading. In- cidentally the abbot was executed for ‘high treason’ nineteen years later, though the historian of Reading Abbey describes him as a martyr. 8 John Peche in 1547 held the freehold of the ‘ Mansion place ’, that is the site of the Castle, where now stands the nucleus of Marlborough College, but he lived at Knowle Farm(J. Busshell’s will, 1552). 9 Ludlow bundle 29 and Marlborough Archives, no. 231. 10 W.A.M., XXXVI, $70. 11 For the chantries, see C. Wordsworth, W.A.M., XXXVI, 571—583. 12 W.A.M., XXXVI, 572; Marlborough Archives, no. 15, p. 42 (1525), where a fraternity house is mentioned; no. 236, pp. 9, 73; and a deed of gift of 1529. 13 The wills of William Hows (1457) and John Wynter (1501), P.C.C. 14 W.A.M., XXXVI, 572 and Marlborough no. 15, p. 11 (1524). 1S M’ in this and succeeding entries means—Marlborough. 56 ALEXANDER FORT AND SALISBURY CATHEDRAL By G. J. ELTRINGHAM Fort’s Life. Although it is well known that Alexander Fort or ffort, son of Thomas Fort of Salisbury, held high office as Master Joiner in the late 17th century and was one of the most noted of Sir Christopher Wren’s group there are relatively few records which give details of his works outside London. Iam very grateful indeed to Dr. A. E. J. Hollaender of the Guildhall Library, London, and Honorary Archivist to Salisbury Cathe- dral for bringing to my notice a number of hitherto unprinted papers. Before describing these papers it may be helpful to recall some of the main events of Fort’s career. His date of birth and place of training are unknown, but he waited an unusually long time before taking up the livery of the Joiners’ Company of London in 1689.1 During his career he was closely associated with Wren, and undertook a considerable amount of work at royal palaces. In 1677 a royal warrant was issued for the grant to Fort of the office of Master Joiner in reversion after Thomas Kinward, and this was re- affirmed in the following year.2_ At Thomas Kinward’s death the office became vacant, but in spite of his patent Ford was not immediately to occupy the place. In 1687 he asked Wren to intervene on his behalf, claiming that he had been misrepresented at Kinward’s death because he was at that time employed in building the Duke of Monmouth’s house in Soho. 3 About this time he designed the Farley Almshouses in Wiltshire, for which he received £50, and about 1685 made a model for Sir John Lowther’s house in Westmoreland. In 1691 he measured the carvers’ and joiners’ work at Chatsworth for a fee of £50.4 By now he was a man of some standing and wealth, so that in 1690 he and a Mr. Hayward agreed to lend £20,500 on the Temporary Excise, out of which they were to have £10,500 towards the discharge of the debt incurred on the royal works at Kensington. The outstanding amounts enumerated by the Paymaster of Works were £3,500 to Fort himself, £4,000 to Hayward (carpenter), £2,000 to Hughes (bricklayer) and £1,000 to Hill (mason).5 The salaries of most of the senior officers of the Office of Works were, as usual, sadly in arrears, but in September 1691 the royal warrant was issued for their ‘ fees and wages’ for 1} years up to Christmas 1690. From the individual items it is interesting to note that Fort with £92. 1. 10}d., received more than even Wren( £79. 16. 104d.) and almost three times as much as the Master Mason (John Oliver), Carpenter (Matthew Banks), Brick- layer (Maurice Emmet), Plaisterer (John Grove) and Sergeant Plumber (Charles Atherton), each of whom received (31. 18s. 9d.6, This was no isolated piece of evidence; for, in 1692 the yearly salaries were Wren— £45. 12. 6d., Fort— £52. 12. 6d., and the others £18. 5. od.7 Although Fort was enjoying the full fruits of his office, he and Atherton, the sergeant plumber, made a petition in 1694 against the employment by the Royal Mint of master craftsmen other than themselves. 8 This protest no doubt arose out of a desire for increased prestige rather than of a need for extra work, although the delay in settling accounts and paying official salaries must have been a source of annoyance, if not of actual embarrassment. In July 1696 the Auditor of Receipt was authorised to pay £1,000 out of the Hereditary and Temporary Excise to Fort in part settlement of ‘ a greater sum due to him in the Office of Works ’.9 In the same year he was promised £47. 4. 4d. for work done in Mr. Keydell’s lodgings and £58. 11. 13d. for work at the Office of the Secretary to the Commissioners of Trade.19 In the following year, the Paymaster of Works was ordered to pay out of malt dues allocated for works a further £1,000 in part payment.11 Six months later, in December 1697, his petition for £500 was granted out of the malt lottery tickets.12 But he had to wait until May 1698 for settlement of the £58. 11. 13d. approved eigh- teen months beforehand. 13 From the same series of Treasury accounts we note that Fort, Grinling Gibbons, William Ireland, the glazier, and one John Luftus were engaged on the building of barges for the King, presumably for State | 4 : % é = : « scsapunsslamunaats see Photo—T. Sabben-Clare Plate 1. The Dean’s stall, 1672, Salisbury Cathedral. Probably Forts’ work, except for the front which has been restored. ay occasions, at a cost of just over £725. 1. 3d.14 Fort also presented an account in 1700-1 for £60 for making the coffin of Queen Anne’s last surviving child, the Duke of Gloucester. The Declared Accounts of 1697-9 give a detailed list of main works on which Alexander Fort had been engaged which may be summarised as follows:15 Kensington House — £123. 18.10d. for repairs to several lodgings, the Chapel and ante- Chapel. .. St. James’s — £5. 1. 24d. for joiner’s work done in the footman’s room under the Great Stairs. Westminster Palace — £4. 15. 10d. for joiner’s work at a lodging. Whitehall —£76. 15. 1d. for making ‘scrutores’ for several of the Treasury offices. Windsor — £398. 17. 24. for work unspecified. At the death of William III, when a reckoning was drawn up of the Civil List Debt (Office of Works Account), Fort’s outstanding account was £1,614. 15. 1od., made up of 797 days’ wages (£59. 15. 6d. or 1s. 6d. per day) and £1,555. 0. 4d. for bills.16 On the Exchequer Account he was shown as being owed £131. 11. 3d., which were the arrears over two years and two quarters (Midsummer 1699 to Christmas 1701) at a fee of £16. 2. 6d. per annum and a wage of 2 shillings per day.17 In July 1703 he was again shown on the Office of Works list receiving a salary of £13. 3. 4d. per quarter. His petition of six months earlier, to be continued in the office of ‘ Master Joiner of the works for which he had a patent dur- ing the life of Charles II’, had been successful. 18 Fort himself died in 1706 and his wife, Elizabeth, was granted probate of his will. She spent a consider- able time collecting the fees and monies owing to her late husband, but this was a common problem of widows of Government officials in the eighteenth century, as the Calendars of Treasury Books only too painfully show. His son, Thomas Fort, applied for his father’s official post, but was unsuccessful, on the _ grounds that he lacked enough capital ‘ to carry on the works of the Crown, where often the business re- quired is sudden and seldom ready money ’.19 The examples of delay in paying his father’s fees and bills bear witness that this was no overstatement. Fort’s work at Salisbury. Choir Alterations. The papers on which the following account of Fort’s work at Salisbury is based are in the Salisbury Cathedral Archives among a collection of bills and other papers of the 16th and 17th centuries. They _ relate principally to the alterations of the choir, and the making and carving of the Bishop’s throne in 1671-2, and are important for a number of reasons. There is a well itemised set of Articles of Agreement _ between Dr. Ralph Brideoake, Dean of Sarum, and Alexander Fort, and then a shorter, much more in- formal document between the Bishop (the famous Setus Ward) and Fort, to which Christopher Wren was witness. Wren had been called upon to plan the choir alterations, and to design the Bishop’s throne, which was the subject of the second agreement, and there was evidently a considerable amount of friendliness _ between the three men. In neither of the documents was there a penalty clause for failing to complete the _ work satisfactorily within a given period, although such clauses had been known in building trade con- _ tracts for a long period of time. The full text of the agreement for the alterations to the choir is as follows: Articles of Agreement Indented, made, concluded and fully agreed upon by and between the Rev- erend Dr. Ralph Brideoake, Deane of Sarum for himself and the Chapter of the one pte and Alexander fforte, Cittizen & Joyner of London on the other pte the thirtieth day of November in the three and twentieth yeare of the Reigne of our Soveraign Lord Charles the Second by the grace of God of England Scotland ffrance and Irelande King, Defender of the faith etc Annog Dom 1671. As followeth VOL. LVII-CCVI H 58 Imp". Item Item Item Item Item Item Item. Item The above named Alexander ffort doth covenant pmise grant & agree to and with the said Deane to make and performe all the Carpenters worke, and Joyners worke & carvers worke in the repairacon & new modelling & adorning the Quire of the Cathedral Church of Sarum according to the Modell already drawn upp by the Right Woffull Dr Wren His Ma‘ Surveyor’. He the said Alexander fforte Doth further convenant pmise grant & agree to and with the said Deane that he will finde and pvide all the timber for the said worke to be used by Carpenters, loyners & Carvers at his owne sole Cost & charges Excepting such Plancks & Boards & Seates of the old worke as may be usefulle and serviceable in the new. Hee doth convenant & agree to raise the Prebends Stalls & the ffloores of the said stalls one ffoote in the ffirst or highest seates ppendicular & pporéonably in the Lower & Second Seates. Hee doth covenant & agree from the Elbowes of the said stalls to work all upwards accord- ing to the Draught or modell directed by Dr Wren & Downward from the elbowes they are to remain as now they are onely raised & amended when they are amisse:—The Ante Seates or Desks before the Second Seates must be Decent and handsom according to the modell & directions given by Mr Surveyor. Hee doth covenant & agree to make two Rowes of Deskes of ffine oaken Wainscottin the Second or Lower [Seats?] & to raise up the singing mens Seates within twelve Inches as highas the upper or Prebendaries Seates & to make the front of the Lowest seate of fine Spanish Wainscott with an Ante Seate or Neale Bench w™ Armes or Elbowes in equall Distance Accord- ing to Directions Given. And a place under the singingmen on each side of the Quire for the Choristers to stand as high as the singingmen w(i)thin twelve Inches w'" a movabe Deske before them. Hee doth convenant & pmise to make the Deanes seate very Decent and Handsome. Hee doth convenant & agree to finishe the said new worke in the Quire of the Cathedral Church aforesaid at or before the ffirst Day of September next ensueing the Date hereof. The said Deane of Sarum for himselfe and the Chapter Doth convenant pmise & agree to & w'" the said Alexander fforte that for the said Worke to be finished compleated & ended according to the modell & Direction of the Right Woffull Dr. Christopher Wren his Ma"™ Surveyor Gen(er)all he will pay him the said Alexander fforte the sum of three hundred and thirty Powndes of Lawfull money of England in manner & forme following (that is to say) ffifty pownd parte thereof on the ffourth Day of Decemb(er) next & ffifty pownds more the ffirst Day of January the next following and ffifty pownds more on the flive & twentieth Day of March next ensucing, flifty pownds the Sixth of May following thirty pownd upon the twenty seaventh of May aforesaid And the Other hundred pownds residue of the said three hundred and thirty powndes of Lawfull money of England when all the worke is finished & approved of by two Skilfull Surveyors to be named in Case of any Dispute, one by the Deane or the President of the Chapter And the other by the said Alexander fforte And that such view or approbaton be made within three weekes after the said workeis compleately finished. It is further agreed that the Backs of the Prebends seates shall be of good choise Dram (2) Deale Dry & fitt for good worke, the carving worke to be of good Deale and to be as well pformed as the patterne already thereon & approved w™ patterne of carving is to be reserved at Sarum till the worke be done. The Deanes seate to be pformed according to the modell given & sign’d (designed) w"™ cheekes in pannells suitable to the rest and a shield between Palmes (2) well Carved with Loose ffestoones falling from the shields to the Scrowle of the 59 Cantilevers and soe falling Downe the edge of the Cheekes: the materialls of the Backs of the Prebends Seates to be good & yellow Dram Deales according to these scantlings ffollowing: The Stiles one inch and a quarter (;) The pannells halfe an inch and half a Quarter the said Aleaxnder fforte to Leave in both the upper and Lower seates Substantiall good flooers of oaken Boards. The Wainscott before the second seates is to be of good Wainscott w™ stiles of inch & a quarter mitred upp and downe with an Ogee and pannells raised of halfe an inch and Better one over against each Prebends seate w'" moulding suiteable. The Cheeks of the Deske to be two Inch stuffe sawen out of Wainscotts and to beare up a vaus well carved & according to directions. Item The said Alexander fforte is to ffinde all materialls, carriages, Journeys, Scaffolding, Glew nailes and all things apptaining to the Joyners, carpenters & carvers worke Excepting necessary Iron worke as cramps and holdfasts and is allowed all old materialls. Item _ It is further agreed upon that the Cheeks & vaus above last mentioned is to be paid for over and above the foresaid Bargain as much money as any Skilfull & Judicious pson shall Judge them to be worth: In witnesse whereof to the one pte of these psents remai(n)ing with the said Alexander fforte the said Deane of Sarum hath sett his hand & Seale & to the other pte remaineing with the said Deane the said Alexander fforte hath sett his hand & seale the Day and yeare above written. _ Sealed & delivered in the presence of Ralph Brideoake DS Geo. Evans (seal) Edw. Hardwicke The arrangement for paying Fort in six instalments is set out in another document, which is written _ ina mixture of Latin and English, presumably by Ralph Brideoake or his clerk. It contains a curious error _ in that the sum of £660 is given in the Latin preamble but this does not agree, of course, with the details asset out. A second undated note in Latin repeats the dates and instalments but also shows how tight was _ the Treasurer’s budgeting for the work: ’Suma taxato Reparando et Ornando Choro— £344. 7. 14 Deme Taxationem Prebendary de Shipton non solutam— iI. 530 Restat— £333.2.14 Qua suma soluta est Alexandro ffort Fabro Lignario ut patet p Acquietancia per Mr Rich. Drake Cancell.’. The margin of income over expenditure was nothing like enough, and caused difficulties as will be seen later. _ The agreement dealt, as might be expected, particularly with the woodwork and carving work of the _ Choir, and a separate contract had to be made on December Ist 1671 for the paving of the stalls. Fort agreed ‘ to lay or cause to be laid, White Purbeck stone well rubbed and dressed betwixt fourteen and eighteen inches square all equally sized except the border and to be laid in Mitchell Arrasse wise ’.2° The work had to be finished by May 1st 1672 ‘ or as otherwise shall be fitt with all convenient speede as the said Deane shall agree to’. The rate of payment was 12d. the foot but the step to the Presbytery at 2s. 6d. the foot. Fort was to receive £30 on January 30th, or when the stone was broughtinto the Close, and the rest when the work was completed. The two witnesses to this were George Evans and Watkin Nicholas. Fort sub-contracted the mason’s work, which was finished by August 1672. The bill came to | £61. 5. 0., made up of 1,135 feet at 1s. od. for the main body of the Choir and 36 feet at 2s. 6d. for the step. 2H 60 Of Fort’s own work as a carver there are some details given in two undated notes, the first being possibly in his own handwriting: (a) “ The King’s shield — 10.0.0. The Pop’s shield — 2.10.0 The Deane’s shield he SE 2COLG: The oke 2 lia peece _ £54..0.0: Flour de lui = 15.0. King’s shield on ye quire dor — 5.0.0. String of leaves over ye quire dor — 5.0.a foot The bedding moulding — 6d.afoot The pediment over ye quire dor — 6d. The freeze at 3s. a foot 8s. a yard The capitals (blotted) £1.0. 0. (2) The cantilevers 3:0" (b) ‘ An Acompt of Carven Woorck Don for ye quier at ye Cathederall Church in Sarum ’ (The total of the account is £60. 10. 0. of which the principal items are as follows:) “ ffor 31 Rich flower doluges cut throw in foldige at ye End of every Deske at 18s. yepeece. >. J) he Shee aL BOs Biota Ghiinemiesiicaflancfeatanes 9 foot iene over ave eae Dore seein On Onn “ ffor 29 foot of ye Benches of Leaves & flowers Round ye ae Dore at 3s. 6d. ye toot! 2° 29.2.5 : SLaSeTOnng Fort was to have received about eneuhie H of dhe: contract ise sum. Hbe 330 wie six rimdailis of the sign- ing of the agreement, which might lead one to assume that the whole of the work was expected to take about twelve months. It was hoped according to the contract that the work would be finished by Sept. 1 but it is was perhaps rather optimistic. However there is no evidence in the documents examined of the actual date of completion, although Fort received a £'50 instalment on April 2nd 1673 (not one of the dates mentioned in the contract), and a final settlement on May 6th 1673 as follows:— ‘Rd of ye Reverend Deane & Chapter of ye Cath. Church of Sar/ ye sume of nine pounds Fourteen Shillings being in full of ye general sume of ffoure Hundred ffifty Two pounds Sixteen Shills. e ffoure pence worke done in ye Quire of ye said Church. I say Rd in all by me— £452. 16s. 4d. Alex ffort Witness Mathew Houlden (Houlden was a master carver, who on the same day received £40 as part payment of a total account for £60, subject to Wren’s ‘ judgment ’). Even if one ignores Houlden’s account, which was probably incurred in the alterations to the Choir the final cost to the Dean and Chapter was well beyond the contract price, or indeed, the budget which had been prepared for the occasion. Without a complete set of records it is clearly impossible to determine what were the reasons for the overspending, but part of it may have arisen out of slow progress during the year 1672. In the document consisting of a single sheet describing ‘ The Charge of the Worke about the Quire ’ there are only 40 items (mainly wage payments to craftsmen for one or two days), between April and August. Moreover, only at this stage were poles being bought with which to make a joiner’s workshop. In other words, the work must have moved somewhat slowly. The Dean and Chapter, as one might expect, disputed the final account, and drew up a memorandum on the day of final settlement (May 6th 1673) of points to be raised with Wren. There are two copies of this memorandum, but one is particularly interesting, because at the side of each item is a pencilled comment Wore Photo—T. Sabben-Clare Plate 2. The Dean’s stall, 1672, Salisbury Cathedral. Details of the ends, punning on Dr. Brideoake’s name eek te - = | 61 by an unknown person (perhaps by Wren himself?). _ In the transcript given below the pencilled notes are given in brackets. May the 6th 1673 ‘Memorandm the day and yeare above written it was agreed and concluded by and betweene the reverend Deane & Chapter of Sarii on the one ptie And Alexander Fort Joyner on the other ptie that it be referred to the right Worpll Dr. Wren his Matie’s Sarveior Generall, whether payment for the works _undernamed was not included in the generall suine for repairing the Quire, viz. Impr. the brickwall laid under the seates instead of the old Groundsill of wood (Forts covenant is to rayse the Seates). / It. | The three wings of the Charter’s (2), the Chancellor’s and Treasurer’s Seates; put up new instead of the old wings of those seates. | (Noe mention of these in ye Articles.) | It. | Whether the vaus under those wingsat the several corners or endes of the Quire were notincluded in the generall payment. - (These were in the Estimate and are particularly mentioned in the Articles to be pd. over and above). It. Whether the Sd. Mr. Fort shall not allow for ye canteleveres etc. and all the other worke which | should have been where the organ stands, the Deane and Chapter having pd. the sd. Mr. Fort for all the new worke about the Organ. | (fort is to allow it). » | It. | Whether the Desks (undecipherable) seats should not have (been) of oke. | | | (They should have been of Wainscott). It. | Whether the Deane’s Seate was not to be done according to Dr Wrens direccofi in the Articles. These things are submitted to Mr Surveyor by us. Aliex. ffort Ralph Brideoake. _ The Articles seemed to be detailed enough and it is not easy to see how the misunderstandings arose. Presumably Wren’s inspection of the work in dispute took place before Fort received his final payment. | The Bishop’s throne. _ Thesecond series of documents about Fort’s work at Salisbury is the short but important set relating to the new Bishop’s throne. The agreement, which is written on asingle sheet measuring 12in. x 8in., is in strange ‘contrast with the elaborate specification for the alterations to the Choir. Moreover, this is not a contract between the administrators of the Cathedral and an artisan, but a personal commitment between the Lord Bishop himself and a craftsman who was on friendly terms with his employer. Even the sum to be paid was altered after the agreement had been signed! Again ,Christopher Wren was the witness and technical adviser. The agreement was as follows :— i Agreement Jan. 4th 1672 Mem”. it was then agreed between the Rt. Rev‘. Fath" in god Seth L*. Bp. of Sarti on the one part, & Alexander Forth on the other, that the s*. Alexander Forth shall in the Quire of the Cathedrall ) Church of Sarii erect a seat for the Bishop after the forme and modell allready agreed & directed & | hereto annexed the lower part to the Deske to be of good wainscote, the upper part of Deale with the proper carvings & moultings already agreed & directed according to the sd. modell by Dr Christo- pher Wren his Maj" Surveigh". to whom for the well performance of w*" according to the trew in- tent of what hath been discovered & directed concerning the sd.seat the sd. Alexander Forth doth 62 referre himselfe & doth agree to beare all charges of materialls carpenters worke Joyners worke Carvers worke and Smithes worke. And the sd Rt Rd the L. B®. of Sarti doth covenant for himself His Heires Execut™ & Adminis- trat™. to pay to the sd. Alexander Forth for the sd. seat well & workemanlike performed & approved according to the trew meaning of what hath been directed & discoursed the sume of fifty (written over what appears to be‘ forty ’) eight pound that is to say twenty poundes in Hand when the mater- ialls shall be brought to Sari & the worke sett in hand & the residue being thirty eight pound when the worke shall be compleated & ended. In witness heerof wee have heerto as alsoe to the modell annexed set our hands and seales Signed sealed & del* in Seth (seal) Sarum ye psence of Alex (seal) ffort?1 Chr. Wren Fr. Bowman. To this agreement are appended two memoranda. The first is a curious note to say that instead of fifty- eight pounds the Bishop promised to pay Fort sixty pounds. A possible reason for this addition is sug- gested later but it is strange that the correct sum should not have been written into the agreement in the first place. It suggests that the whole scheme was discussed in an informal manner as amongst friends. The second memorandum indicates that the design was handed over to Fort the same day, and for this reason it has been lost. On the reverse of the agreement is the following rough estimate of the cost of the Throne, presumably in Fort’s own writing, but some of the detailed measurements are difficult to understand. ‘for 18 \ foot i.e. $4 foot 6 yards of Base wainscote with proper mouldings raised pannells worke Bie & halfe at per yard 18s. £4. 4.0. (next item all deleted) (for 9 \ —i 3 yardes of the same single worke at per yard 12 s.) £1 16.0. 3S — for 3 yards wainscote boards in deskes & benches with armes £1. 10.0 for 9\—i 9 yards of Deale wainscote with fair moulding at p yard 7s. £,3-3- 0. a 3) for 18 foot of Architrave enriched & freese (‘ suffice’ deleted) had been 18s. od.)) £1. 16.0. for 27 foot of Cornice enriched with modilions roses egges & lace at p foot 9s. P2350: (had been £10. 3.0.) for 4 yardes 4 of ceiling in deale wains(c)ote with fair pannells & mouldings at p yard 7s. eat ©: for 27 foot of moulding round the same fe 7; O: for ye floore and timber {1.0; 0: for Iron worke & hinges L550. 0: £27. 14.6 The special carving is given in a separate addition, viz:— ‘ for 4 palmes £16. 0.0. for 4 vases £4. 0.0. for shield & palmes belonging £5.0.0. for enrichment of the back wainscote £1.0.0. for 18 foot of enrichment in ye freese £4. 10. 0. | | | | _ first memorandum. _ there is a second account in Fort’s writing as follows :— * The Joyners bill for the right reverend ffather in god Seth Lord bisshope of Sarum ffor Aditionall work in my Lordse set 8 yards of base wainskot at 18 sh per yard £07. 17 ffot of modillion cornish inriched with rapp (rope) & all proper members toitgs. per foot. [Should be 19 feet] £08. 2 ffot 6 inches of freeze at per ffot 5s. £00. for timber ffor the Carving & Caridge of it to Sarum £04. 9 fot of Cornish without modillon 3s. per fot £o1 for 40 fot of (2) at per ffot 2s. 6d. BG Se for bringing up A brik wall for ffoundation Lor 04. ifs 2) 00. . OF. 00. . 10. oo. 00. 06. 00, 00. 00. 00. 63 The total estimated was therefor £58. 5. 6. which was just over the first sum agreed upon. It was no doubt this quick calculation which prompted Fort to ask for more and persuaded the Bishop to add his As with the Choir alterations, the first estimate did not make adequate provision for all eventualities and By strange coincidence this account totals £/27. 14. 6d., the same as the first half of the original estimate. The extra wainscot and cornice work suggest that Fort’s earlier calculations, no doubt taken from a meas- urement of the plan, had been too hurriedly made. Alternatively, there may have been material alterations _ to the design during construction but as the original plan is not with the papers all this can be nothing more _ than surmise. Possibility of further papers regarding Fort’s work. These notes refer only to the account papers recently discovered. A full search of the fabric accounts _ should now be undertaken for the period to complete the story of the works as far as possible. 22 1 In the Joiner’s Company Records in the Guildhall, London, Fort is shown as being apprenticed to Henry Phillips for 7 years from 26 May 1659 and was admitted as a freeman on 12 November 1689. Guildhall MSS. 8052/1 fol. 78 recto | | and 8051/2 fol. 9 verso. 2 Cal. of Treasury Books, Vol. V, Pt. If 1676-79, p. 747 and p. 970. 3 Cal. of Treasury Books, Vol. II, Part III, 1685-1689, p. 1652. 4 Colvin H.M. Bibliographical Dictionary of English Architects, 1660-1840, p. 209. 5 Cal. of Treasury Books, Vol. IX, Part II, 1689-1692, p. 390, p. 619. © Cal. of Treasury Books, Vol. IX, Part Ill, p. 1311. 7 Ibid, Vol. IX, Part IV, p. 1827-8. Cf. also Vol. X, Part III, p. 1137 and Vol. XI, p. 260 for similar rates. 8 Ibid., Vol. X, Part Il, p. 778. | 9 Ibid., Vol. XI, p. 194. | 10 Ibid., p. 305 and p. 337. 11 Cal. of Treasury Books, Vol. XII, p. 211. | 12 Jbid., Vol. XIII, p. 45 and p. 188. | 13 Ibid., p. 343. 14 Jbid., Vol. XIV, p. 244. 15 Jbid., Introduction to Vols. XI-XVII, p. dxciv, p. dxcvi, p. dxcviii, Vol. XVII, Part II, p. 1069. 16 Cal. of Treasury Books, Vol. XVII, Part 2, p. 1061/2. 17 Ibid., p. 958. 18 Jbid., Vol. XVIII, p. 332, Vol. XIX, p. 129. | 19 Publications of Wren Society, Vol. XX, p. xxi, and Colvin, H.M. op. cit. 20 Mitchells are Purbeck stones, probably from 15in.x1sin to 24in.x24in. Arrasse wise means laid in diagonal fash- _ ion, as frequently in wooden floors. 21 Fort’s seal was of a ship’s rigging and sails. | _ 22 How much of Fort’s work exists to-day in Salisbury Cathedral is uncertain, The illustrations show the Dean’s stall _ of 1672 restored in parts which is probably his. Perhaps its ends with their pun on Dr. Brideoake’s name were the items _ referred to above as ‘ The oke 2 li a peece fulfilled his promise ‘ to make the Deane’s seate very decent and Handsome ’.—Ed. £,4.0.0.’. Ifthe work is Fort’s, I think readers will agree that the 64 THE REVOLTS IN WILTSHIRE AGAINST CHARLES I. By Eric KerripGE Until recently little attention has been directed to the agrarian revolts against Charles I in the years pre- ceding the Long Parliament and the Great Rebellion. There was a whole series of such revolts in different parts of the country and the years 1625-1640 can no longer be considered as ones of civil peace.! So far, however, there has been lacking an analysis of the var- ious forces engaged in these outbreaks and of the way in which they operated. This task is here attempted solely for the revolts in and about the county of Wiltshire. Arbitrary enclosure a cause of revolt. Arbitrary enclosure was one of the immediate causes of the revolts. There was in Wiltshire, as elsewhere, much enclosure by agreement. Such enclosure sometimes gave rise to disputes that might in turn lead to levelling.2 Nevertheless, even a disputed enclosure by agreement was radically different from arbitrary enclosure. John Norden, for example, heartily approved enclosure by agreement but took a different view of arbitrary enclosures which * have depopulated the places and converted the soyle to such endes and uses as have bene neyther pleasinge to God, beneficiall to man, nor fitt for a Commonweale. Theis kindes of inclosures are not onlie not tollerable but greyvously punishable. And although the frorde of the Maies- trate passe by suche offenders, because they be commonlie great, yet doth the hande of God find them owt and suffereth seldome the issue of suche depopulators to enioye suche extorted reuenewes manie gener- ations *.3 Arbitrary enclosure in Wilts, 16th and early 17th centuries. Of the arbitrary enclosures in Wiltshire the most considerable were the emparkments and disforestments. In the reign of Henry VIII there was a widespread movement for the formation of new parks and the en- largement of old ones.4 When Nicholas Snell bought Kington St. Michael, with money said to belong to Glastonbury Abbey, whose reeve he had been, he emparked the West Field there, either in whole or in part.5 Sir William Herbert emparked a large part of the fields at Washern Grange.® Henry VIII enclosed into Vasterne Park some of the common lands of Tockenham and Wootton Bassett, the manor and park later being granted by Mary to Sir Francis Englefield.?7 The king, however, allowed the former common- ers certain grazing rights in the park at Vasterne.8 Similarly Sir John Thynne gave lands at Corsley in ex- change for others taken into his park at Longleat.® It was necessary for the Duke of Somerset to refrain from rounding out his great new park at Savernake, lest, as his agent says, ‘ the tenants of Wilton should have no maner of common for their rudder beasts in that side, which would have been to their utter un- doing .-; 34). I brake with the tenants afar off therein, but I perceive that should be much grief to them. And as it is an old saying, Inough is as good as a feaste, I pray God we may finde owte land, medowe and something to satisfy them for that which they shall now forego ’.19 Thus Somerset tried to satisfy at least some of the tenants dispossessed by emparkment.1! In the troubles in Wiltshire at this time emparkment was nevertheless one of the main grievances. An outbreak at Potterne in 154212 was followed by a rising of levellers about Salisbury, directed in particular against the emparkment of Wilton by Herbert, who him- self played the leading part in its suppression. 13 The widespread nature of the discontent, not to be gathered clearly from contemporary accounts, is shown in the total absence of new farm takings and so of entry fines in 1549 in both the Herbert and Seymour estates; even on Crown lands only one entry is to be found. !4 There were some emparkments in Wiltshire after the middle of the century, but these were probably outweighed by growing disparkment.15 Sir Francis Englefield, for example, let out the Great and Little Parks at Vasterne almost as soon as they were granted him. In addition to two large leaseholds in single hands, two large partnerships, composed mostly of Wootton Bassett burgesses, farmed 600 and 200 acres 65 respectively. The inhabitants of the town continued to hold too acres at will in Wootton Lawn, which they allotted among themselves to make up for the common of pasture lost at the parkment.16 According to John Rosyer alias Hooper, a later mayor, the burgesses had only agreed to take the tenancy at will from Englefield in licu of their rights because he was a man of great power and their landlord. Francis Engle- field, the grand nephew, cancelled the tenancy at will and Rosyer and his fellows then claimed the occupa- tion of either Wootton Lawn or their former common of pasture in the disparked Great Park. A suit in Chancery did not prevent Englefield two years later leasing the whole of the Lawn for a peppercorn rent to John North, a yeoman freeholder of the manor. At the same time the townsfolk were induced to sign individual capitulations. Thus Jeffrey Henley, mayor in 1611, releases all claim in the Lawn to Englefield ‘as belonginge or challenged or pretended to be belonginge to the said office of Maior for this yeare, and for the depasturynge of such cattle which I the said Jeffrey Henley (as Maior aforesaid )haue or shall haue in the said pasture grownd called the Lawne, I wholly submit myselfe to the will and pleasure of the said Francys Englefyelde . . . to be rated at suche some of money for the depasturynge of the cattle aforesaid for this yeare as the said Mr. Englefyeld’ shall deem fit. Similar submissions were signed by a glazier, a tailor, a wheeler and others of the townsfolk. A running fight continued, the mayor and freemen even- tually petitioning Parliament for redress. Their story is certainly an odyssey of misfortunes but as we shall see the blame does not lie solely with the Englefields. 17 The commons of other boroughs also suffered. Jasper Moore and other lords surcharged and enclosed the common lands of the borough of Heytesbury.18 A glover of Malmesbury complains for himself and his fellows that some of the richer sort have * late deuided and seuered the . . . Heathe with ditches and hedges . . . to theire own pryuate use. The enclosers ploughed up the common that they leased from the new and exclusive town government, but they had to defend it against a crowd ‘ of the meanest and basest sort of people.’ These latter, led by a baker, a blacksmith and a strongwaterman, assembled and rioted, ‘ throwing downe gates and stiles, pulling downe hedges and fences.’ The ringleaders were arrested but rescued by a keeper of Cole Park. Because ‘ the people did cry out att him,’ a burgess gave up his close and resigned his freedom, while a glover refused for similar reasons to become a burgess. One Robert Berry organised the continued resistance of the townsfolk, who ‘ did furnish him clothes, shirts and money to inable him for that purpose as often as need required.’ Although the ruling faction complain that the town ‘ is very full of poore people ’ and are not backward in ascribing the unrest to a paid agitator, the enclosures appear to have been opposed by most of the craftsmen of the town. 19 Some enclosures were carried out by farmers or cultivating squires; such instances may be cited from Chalke, Coulston, Highway and elsewhere.29 Edmund Ludlow enclosed a good deal of farm land in his manor of Hill Deverell. Since he continued sheep-and-corn husbandry, there was little or no depopu- lation, at least in the modern usuage of the word, but “ whereas the ancyent tenantes kept ploughes . . .the nowe cotagers do lyve by theire hand labor.’ A farmhouse is converted into a tenement for Ludlow’s “ servantes in husbandry,’ some of whom are employed in ploughing up the wastes of the township. Mean- while the former family farmers ‘ lyve but barely, onely by theire day labor.’ ?! Protests. Sometimes, as at Malmesbury, enclosures were followed by riotous levelling. Although encoppicement was legally sanctioned, the hedges of a coppice are thrown down under cover of a storm.?2 At Winter- slow a party of yeoman pull up 83 lugs of quickset and 180 of dead hedge in four hours of levelling.23 At Cricklade enclosures are levelled again and again and a book of grievances is circulated for signature among the tenants.24 The tenants of Dauntsey collect a common purse and level enclosures in twos and twos in order not to create a legal riot, while Sir Walter Long, to satisfy a private vengeance, encourages them with cried of ‘ Well done, Masters! This is the way. If you do not prevaile, I will give you as much land VOL. LVII-CCVI I 66 out of my park. Hold together, for there was never multitude held together and failed of their purpose.’ 25 At Great Wishford a party of levellers is organised into companies of ten, uniformed with red feathers and badges, put under the command of captains and paraded as an army in a disputed meadow. 26 Early Stuart enclosures in Wilts extensive and violent. Judging by Laud’s severity against persons accused, probably unjustly, of depopulating enclosure at South Marston,27 one might suppose that the two early Stuarts were opposed to arbitrary and forcible enclosure. Nothing could be further from the truth. Of all the enclosures in Wiltshire in the hundred years preceding the Great Rebellion, those undertaken by the two Stuart monarchs were at once the most extensive and the most violent in their execution. Melksham Forest. The first Wiltshire forest to be enclosed was Melksham alias Blackmore. Preparations for this enclosure were being made already in 160728 and 1612 a complete survey of the soil of the forest was completed. Each assart was measured, the names of occupiers and owners noted and the holdings then sold off in fee- farm in return for compositions which ranged up to £200 a head and totalled well over £2,000.29 High- ways were laid out and lands granted to lords of manors in lieu of rights of pasture.30 The commoners of the forest, however, appear to have suffered hardship. Before the disforesting the inhabitants of Melksham had 300 beasts feeding in the forest and those of Rowde and Bromham 100 each, paying only sixpence per house. Over and above this, they had become accustomed to surcharging the forest, regularly paying the moderate amercements when the cattle were impounded. The modest allotments in lieu of common rights can hardly have been adequate compensation for the feeding previously enjoyed.31 To add insult to injury, the disforested forest was granted to Christopher Villiers, Earl of Anglesey, brother to Bucking- ham, to whom the erstwhile commoners paid their fee-farm rents from some 4,750 acres. 32 Pewsham and Melchet. Next to be disforested was the adjacent but smaller Pewsham alias Chippenham, where just over one thousand acres were enclosed in 1623.33 Here too the commissioners, including John Pym, then a receiver general of land revenue, treated with the claimants for common rights, without giving them complete satisfaction. The disforested forest of Pewsham’s rents were also granted to Anglesey and at first everything passed peacefully. It was not until the bad harvests of 1630-1 that serious riots broke out in the neighbour- hood of Chippenham and Melksham.34 The enclosure of Melchet forest also led to disturbances.. Already in 1577 the commoners had protested, without success, against emparkment and when the whole forest was now enclosed, the inhabitants of Plaitford broke down the rails. 35 Selwood Forest. Resistance at Cley Hill Farm. In 1627 and 1628 it was arranged to enclose Selwood Forest, of which Gillingham formed part. The lands were to undergo tripartite division, one third going to the king, one third to the land- owners and one third to the commoners. Of the landowners in the Wiltshire Walk of Sel- wood, Sir John Thynne was the most considerable.36 At Corsley, in this walk, the Thynnes had already emparked a good deal of the forest soil. Here the Carrs were one of the leading farming fam- ilies. Thomas Carr had a lease of Cley Hill Farm from Thynne. Now a dispute arose between Carr and one Hopton Haynes, the former being in debt to the latter and apparently giving his lease as security. Whatever the exact position, which is not at all clear, the matter ended in Haynes claiming and Carr deny- the possession of the farm.37 It is difficult to believe, however, that this disputed possession was the sole cause of the troubles that ensued. Certain it is that Carr claimed common of pasture in Whitemarsh, within the bounds of the forest, and put his cattle there from time to time. 38 The enclosure commissioners were already at work in Selwood in 1628, so there were probably already grievances over common rights 67 and only a spark was needed to lead to an outbreak of popular feeling. At all events, in October 1631, John Toppe, the sheriff, in response to a writ of habere facias possessionem out of Chancery, reports that Carr is defending possession by force of arms, assisted with a multitude of base persons and that possession is not to be gained without an effusion of blood. Since Hayne’s estate is grounded on the life of Carr, the latter’s death would be disadvantageous to both parties, but ‘ terror’ might succeed. Since there is no ordnance in the county,Haynes intends to petition for guns to be brought from Bristol.39 That field artillery was needed is to be explained by the conical eminence and precipitous slopes of Cley Hill itself. Some days later, Pembroke and Montgomery, Lord Lieutenant, is commanded to call out the trained band, since Carr is defending his position by musket fire, * assisted with divers lewd and desperate persons’ who are com- mitting ‘ insolencies not to be suffered in a Civill State.’40 The people of Warminster, however, were inattentive to the calling out of the band and even those who did put in an appearance were ill-equipped and so disinclined to the task that Toppe felt compelled to withdraw his force. According to Toppe’s report about twenty Warminster men were summoned, * of which foure or five came furnished, some of the rest of the better rancke did nott appeare and the rest came altogether vnfurnished and all seemed vnwilling of the service . . . Attendance . . . was verie carelessley performed by the said soldiers,’ in- cluding Captain Wallis. The musketeers pleaded lack of powder, shot or match when called upon to fire. ‘ All apparently seemed vnwillinge, especially William Casseway, whoe beinge required by me to chardge answered he would chardge, butt he knowe yt would never come forth again vntill it were pulled forth.’ The pikemen refused to put on their corslets. ‘I rather thought fitt to excuse my departure, by reason of the fouleness of the weather and the neereness of the night, then to go upon the service.’41 The Privy Council preferred to say nothing of disinclination when writing to Pembroke and Montgomery complain- ing that the directions “haue beene so far neglected that the seruice could not be perfourmed. For there was sent one onely company of fowerscore men vnder Capt. William Wallis, but the pikemen without corslets and onely foure of the shott well prouided, the rest wanting either powder, or bullets, or both, and their match not fitt for seruice, so that if they within the house had made a saly vpon them, the ordinance which was brought for batterie might haue beene taken.’ Copies of this letter were sent also directly to the deputy lieutenants.42 The people of Warminster were not alone in their refusal to fight. Toppe summoned Sir Edward Baynton and Sir Walter Vaughan to report at Warminster with fifty pike and fifty musket. As Baynton made no answer, Toppe sent him a second and personal summons. To this Baynton made only a verbal reply to the effect that he ‘ would willingly giue the Sherriffe a meeting att some other time, butt he did nott much fancy that service.’43 In explanation of this answer, it should be borne in mind that for a deputy lieutenant to kill a man while suppressing riot was accounted murder at law, for the deputy had no legal standing. Shortly afterwards Baynton was arrested by a messenger of the Privy Council for failure to enforce the clothing regulations, though in this he was by no means the only offender. 44 Topp now prepared to mount a fresh offensive, calling for more ordnance. George Gigger, a gunner of Wareham in Dorset, was persuaded against the service ‘ and he said that the voice of the country was against the business and every mann for Carr and against Haynes.’ Nevertheless Toppe obtained two gunners from Bristol and appointed a day for the ‘ performance of the service.’ But the Bristol gunners were averse from serving and Toppe had to apply for special powers exonerating them from possible charges of murder. Still refusing to serve, three gunners were arrested, though one of them in error. The Privy Council continued to discount Toppe’s pleas of unwillingness and arrested him for “ remisse and negligent carriage, either through want of resolucion or cleere affeccion’ and discharged him ‘ from any further proceeding or medling therein.’45 Although Cley Hill Farm presumably yielded to the next assault, the government must have been disturbed by the long defence, partly to be explained by the topo- graphy of the site, and also by the varying degrees of reluctance and hostility displayed by wide circles of the local population. [2 68 Gillingham Forest. Resistance from 1627. To the South, in Gillingham Forest, there had been intermittent fighting ever since 1627. In that year a company of armed levellers, about one hundred strong, had filled in ditches, burnt the plants, sawn up the rails and fences and buried them in the ground. Privy Council messengers were ‘ whipped at a post’ and letters and processes burnt. The sheriff of Dorset brought soldiers to fight the levellers but found ‘ them too strong and resolute to be meddled withall, for they are a great and well armed number and say “ here we were born and here we stay.’ He was fain to leave them be.’ The levellers here formed a veritable partisan band, with colonel, captain, lieutenant and corporal. Moreover, many of the rebels were mutinous soldiers stationed thereabouts.46 Henry Hoskins, ‘ the colonell and cheife actor’ in the first revolt in Gillingham Forest, remained at large and helped to organise the rebels in 1631, when the destruction of enclosures was resumed. John Phillips, a Gillingham tanner of good estate, the principal agent and actor at this time, was arrested, but bailed out by another Justice of the Peace. Among the other rebels were John Jessop, esquire, Morgan Cave, gentleman, Henry Hoskins, Christopher Phillips, Andrew Hoskins, John, William and another Morgan Cave, three married couples, a blacksmith, three innkeepers, a shoe- maker and many cottagers and smallholders from Mere, a manor of the Duchy of Cornwall situate in the disforested forest. In all eighty-seven arrests were made and eighty were censured in the Star Chamber. 47 The troubles in Gillingham continued up to and after the outbreak of the Great Rebellion. At Mere, with- in the forest, the king made an unsuccessful attempt at enclosure in 1637.48 In 1642, 1643 and 1644 the Lords ordered the suppression of rioting at Mere; but all in vain.49 In 1645 the Committee of the West made an order in the same sense. Even in 1650 the enclosures were not yet all restored. 50 Braydon Forest. Resistance starts 1631. Lastly, the enclosure of Braydon Forest also provoked a revolt. As soon as disforesting was decreed in 1630, disputes arose, the lords and freeholders refusing consent to enclosure on the king’s terms and de- manding a larger allowance in lieu of common rights.5!_ The commoners attached great importance to their rights, but in addition were accustomed, as elsewhere, to surcharging the forest with their own and agisted sheep and cattle, paying the light amercements as though they were rents. In the words of a sur- veyor, the forest ‘ hath but a small game of deere in yt; for that by reason of the surcharge of cattell, there is no feede for the deere, which groweth by meanes that all the borderers stock their commons adioyninge to the forest with shepe, and so by that meanes their cattell do wholy feede in the Forest. 52 Forces were joined in 1631. On May 25 the Privy Council writes to the Sheriff, Deputy-Lieutenants and Justices about “ sundrie riotous insolencies, and great disorders don and committed in the night season by persons unknown, armed with Musketts . . .meetinge in troopes and great multidudes, to pull downe and deface the ditches, gates, mounds and fences lately sett up and erected by his Maiesties farmors of his hignes lands.’ The affair has already threatened to ‘ grow to a great head’ and the arrest of the “ cheife actors ’ is ordered.53 In June an agent of the farmers reports that the insurgents have * chopt in sunder all the rayles and cutt up the copice hedges, soe that all things is nowe in comon, and they are not contented but they threatened to pull downe the greate lodge and to kill me’. An informer has given away seventeen of the principal offenders, for which the rebels have pulled down his house. No one will depose before the justices against the rebels and there are not six men outside the combination in eighteen townships. Even those who do not take up arms give victuals and money to those who do. The deputy lieutenants, Sir Edward Baynton and Sir Neville Poole, say they cannot call out the trained band, being themselves ‘ none.of the best freinds and will not wagg but vpon sufficient warraunt ’. Twelve men have been arrested, but the attacks are renewed without remission on the following day. The rebels have also eaten about a score of sheep depastured in the former enclosures. As for ‘ the bordering justices’, they “are vnwilling to be seene actors in anything against their neighbors.’54 Asin Gillingham Forest, the rebels burn the hedgerows. 69 - When the sheriff arrives on the scene, he is met by an army of one thousand, armed and disguised, who abuse him and shoot at the under-sheriff and the king’s messenger.55 Another messenger is arrested in the borough court of Wootton Bassett upon an action of battery, is brought before the town clerk and com- mitted to the gaol. When he is released, it is only to be misused and beaten. 56 Thanks to the informer, however, arrests had been made and the Star Chamber was able to extort some of the names of the principal offenders. Warrants were issued for their arrest.57 Although the rising was suppressed, it was not without effect upon the general political situation and when the final division was made in 1636 more land was allowed to the commoners than had at first been offered.58 The end of the troubles was not in 1631, however. There is a strong hint of disorders between that date and 1635,59 and during the Civil War the mounds at Chelworth were thrown down again under cover of night, not being restored until 1656.69 Thereafter the three thousand acres lay enclosed. 61 From the lists of those arrested we are able to see what sort of people joined in the levelling revolt in Braydon. Of the 126 names, some only can be identified with anything like certainty. Richard Bathe, who beat and reviled the messenger Read, was of a prosperous Purton and Wootton Bassett family. 62 Jeffrey Henley was the man who, as mayor of Wootton Bassett, had been forced to sign and seal the surrender of the pasture rights of his fellow townsmen to Englefield.63 Thomas Lloyd was the rector of Wootton Bassett.64 Edmund, Robert and Edward Maskelyne and Henry Maskelyne, gentleman, were of a landowning family in Purton and district.65 John Rosier alias Hooper was probably the same man who had been a leading opponent of Enelefield.66 The participants appear to have come from every rank of rural society up to and including the gentry and women were involved as well as men. More exalted persons, like Sir Edward Baynton and Sir Neville Poole, participated only by their reluctance to move against the rebels, at least as far as overt actions are concerned. Of the general hostility of these two knights to Charles there can hardly be much doubt. In 1642 they emerged as adherents of Parliament. Lastly, if we are to judge from Christian names, there are indications of puritan beliefs among certain of the rebels. Mrs. Epaphroditus New, for example, might suggest some such influence. 67 Lady Skimmington as code name for leader. Forest of Dean revolts. As in Gillingham, the rebels at Braydon gave their leader the name of Lady Skimmington and we know that there was some liaison between the two bands. Henry Hoskins visited Braydon in 1631 with the de- clared intention of recruiting support there for the rebels in Gillingham Forest. It hardly seems probable that communication between the bands was confined to one chance visit. Now a Skimmington was an old traditional demonstration against nagging wives and scolds— A Skimmington it is of course, Where the grey mare’s the better horse ’.68 Thus, although the name Skimmington is traditional and might occur to rebels as a convenient code name for their leader, it would seem a remarkable coincidence that the rebels of Gillingham and Braydon should both have hit upon the same idea. This apparent coincidence is made more remarkable by the appearance of Lady Skimmington in the contemporary revolts in the Forest of Dean. There had been periodic clashes in the Forest of Dean in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries between the commoners and royal officials and enclosures for timber were occasionally levelled. In the seventeenth century the first considerable outbreak occurred in 1612 when enclosures made by the Earl of Pembroke led to riots among those of the poorer sort who lived by the spoil of woods. In 1628 friction developed between the commoners and the Crown and enclosures were levelled on disforested lands in the hands of private persons. In 1631 there was an outbreak on the west side of the forest, when Sir Giles Mompesson put men to dig for coal in his enclosure. An effigy of Mompesson was thrown into the pits and five hun- dred persons armed with guns and pikes threw down one hundred perches of ditching, displaying ensign and beating drums. The deputy lieutenants had to be ordered into action and Charles found it strange that 70 “so foul a riot should be committed, and we never received any advertisement thereof from them; or so much as hear of any endeavours of theirs to repress the same’. The ringleader of this outbreak was a cer- tain John Williams who preferred to operate under the name of Skimmington; but it was one William Vertue who was styled captain of the rioters. As in Wiltshire the Privy Council is at a loss to understand why its orders should have had such slight effect and chides the sheriff for his ineffectual efforts. In 1632 Williams was arrested but this did not prevent further riots in 1633, when the Justices of Assize were in- formed that the rioters had ‘ received private encouragement from some gentlemen of quality’. In 1641 the commoners petitioned against disforestment and during the Civil War mounds were again thrown down, the troubles persisting until 1643. In 1659 serious levelling riots again broke out and even after the restoration mounds and ditches were riotously thrown down in 1660.69 Thus we find in the Forest of Dean much the same pattern of rebellious activity as in Wiltshire and Dorset. Furthermore another of ‘Skimmington’s lieutenants’ attempted in 1631 to extend the rebellion to the Vale of Berkeley in Gloucestershire.7° In particular the standard of Lady Skimmington seems to have been generally adopted and we cannot entirely ignore a suggestion that there was some sort of co-ordination between the revolts in Wiltshire, Dorset and Gloucestershire, even if this were confined to those who merely encouraged the rebels. Revolutionary atmosphere of affected area in Wilts before Civil War. Returning to Wiltshire itself, it is not difficult to see that the atmosphere of the affected area was revolu- tionary in the last years before the Civil War. The outbreaks were ‘ in the nature of rebellions rather than riotts ’, constituting an ‘ insufferable insolencey ’. Charles and his Council were under no illusions about the nature of the rebellions or the isolation of the royal government. “ We yet vnderstand that thes riotters continue ther former outrages, which could not be if the High shiriff, deputy Lieutenants and Justices of peace, and vnder them the constables and other inferior officers, did in ther seuerall places effectually per- forme ther duitys, but ther remissnes in executing thes our commands geues incouragement to the inferior sort of people, who are but the actors of thes mischeifs which others of better quality doe vnderhand sett on foot or connyve at. The thinges therfore tendinge not only to the overthrowe of our iust revenue’ but much beside. Judges are to take order that ‘ thes notable offenders and ther incouragers ’ be brought to book and also inform themselves ‘ of the negligence of those who being in place and authoritye doe remissly performe ther duityes ’.71 When the mayor of Devizes requires an innkeeper to accompany the force preparing to march against the levellers of Braydon, he is answered with a contemptuous refusal, personal abuse of himself and of the constable and ‘ jeering and unbecoming speeches ’.72 In 1633 a War- minster schoolboy, aged six, is arrested on the testimony of two schoolfellows for treasonable speech, * tend- ing to the takeing away of the life of his saied Maiestie’. The child * hath receiued the impression from some other ill affected persons of more yeares’ concludes the Privy Council.73 Not far away a royal messenger has a ‘ chamber-pott full of filthiness’ flung over him.74 Desertion from the royal forces be- came a matter of common occurrence and the troops who had not deserted tended to become mutinous. 75 At Marlborough the trained band breaks open the gaol and releases those imprisoned for non-payment of coat-and -conduct money. 76 The Cheese and Butter areas of Wilts most affected. In order to explain the location of the revolts in Wiltshire it is necessary to rehearse the agrarian history of the county. The Cheese Country of Wiltshire had become a deep enclosed country peopled with dairy- men and graziers who were in the nature of family farmers, and with part-time textile workers who were likewise small producers. In contrast the Chalk Country was a region devoted to the traditional English sheep-and-corn husbandry and the stronghold of agrarian capitalism, of gentlemen farmers and agricultural 71 labourers. This divergent agrarian development lent differing social characteristics to the two main regions of Cheese and Chalk. The Chalk Country enjoyed comparative social peace and the leaders of society were great landlords such as the Earl of Pembroke, who reigned in their manors as constitutional monarchs, cultivating squires like the Ludlows and gentlemen-farmers like the Franklyns of Marlborough. The Cheese Country on the contrary was the stronghold of the turbulent small masters and dairy farmers. “In North Wiltshire, and the vale of Gloucestershire (a dirty clayey country) ’, says Aubrey, * the Indigenae or Aborigines speak drawlinge . . . hereabout is but little tillage or hard labour: they only milk cows and make cheese: they feed chiefly on milk meats, which cool their brains too much and hurts their inventions. These circumstances make them melancholy, contemplative and malicious; by consequence thereof come more lawsuits out of North Wilts, at least double the number to the Southern parts ’.77_ According to the same observer, the dismemberment of manors, a feature of the Cheese Country but not of the Chalk, has the result that ¢ the mean people live lawless, no body to govern them, they care for no body, having no dependence on any body ’.78 The spinners and clothing workers were paid only just enough even in good years and so ‘ were trained up as nurseries of sedition and rebellion ’.79 And lastly Aubrey notices the Cheese Country as a centre of religious dissent: “ It is a sour, woodsere country, and inclines people to contemplation. So that, and the Bible, and ease, for it is all now upon dairy-grassing and clotheing, sett their with a-running and reforming ’.89 We are thus left with the impression of the people of the Cheese Country that conforms with all that may be learnt of their political activity in the last years of the old monarchy. It was in this region that there occurred not only emparkments such as those at Longleat and Vasterne and other arbitrary enclosures, but also all the forest enclosures in Braydon, Pewsham, Melksham and Gillingham. j The storm centres of popular revolt was clearly in the Cheese and Butter countries. ‘The predominance of family farmers and of small producers generally, the dismemberment of manors and the growing division of landed property among the many—all these meant that social tensions developed not mainly between farmer and labourer, but between small masters and the royal government. Whereas for the large farmer of the sheep-and-corn country the burden of royal taxation was so much to be deducted from his entry fine when he next took an estate for lives, for the family farmer and small producer of the Cheese Country it was a diminution of livelihood.81 Similarly the burden of wardship tended to fall on the pro- ducers in the Cheese Country and the landlords in the Chalk country.82 Above all it was in the Cheese and Butter countries that the small producer was confronted with the new policy of disforesting and en- closing. In such a situation the antagonisms developing against the Crown are understandable. Effect of cereal prices on timing of revolts. The timing of the revolts is partly to be explained by the dates of the enclosures and by the incidence of extra-parliamentary taxation, but another potent factor was the harvest cycle. The dependence of the population upon corn brought from a distance and so upon the vagaries of the market, the close affiliation between farming and rural industry, the comparatively small capital stocks employed in production— all these made the working population of town and country extremely sensitive to short-term economic fluctuations, to changes in the volume of production and price of the essential foodstuffs, especially of cereals. If the year 1631 was especially turbulent it was at least partly because of the sharp upswing in the price of cereals, especially of wheat. Taking wheat prices by harvest years and calculating the deviation from the mean of a 31-year moving average, the resulting index of fluctuations from the mean is in 1626, 86.9; in 1627, 71.4; in 1628, 86.3; in 1629, 104.9; in 1630, 147.6; and from 1631 to 1634 between 104.0 and 110.6.83 It hardly need be said that harvest failures or bad harvests penalised above all the family farmers and small producers and part-time clothing workers. Since nearly all available purchasing power was expended on cereals, little was left over for the purchase of cheese and meat, still less for clothing and household 72 utensils. As industrial workers, the people of the Cheese Country were confronted with unemploy- ment. As dairymen and graziers they were confronted with a contraction of the market. As consumers they were faced with famine or famine prices. Hence harvest crises tended to bring to a head all the antag- onisms of society in the Cheese and butter Countries. Attitude to Charles. His limited success in implementing enclosure policy. As we have seen, there are not altogether wanting signs that the humbler folk of the Cheese Country matched political with religious dissent and it is conceivable that this circumstance facilitated their leader- ship and organisation in what were to all appearances hazardous and dangerous activities. Although this side of the movement remains obscure, it is at least plain that the people were capable of concerted action and versed in the arts of organising irregular military bands and maintaining agitators, while levelling was their characteristic answer to social distress, which in turn manifested itself most plainly to them by way of arbitrary enclosure. In the event, although they were not opposed to enclosure in principle, and although they had suffered not a little in the arbitrary enclosures of other lords, their resentment and hostility was directed mainly against the authority of the Crown in the period immediately preceding the Civil War, and Charles, indeed, seems temporarily to have born the hostility aroused not only by himself but by others. At the same time it is clear that the rebels, although embracing all social types as high as the gentry, were encouraged by those of still higher rank and position whom the Crown regarded as enemies no less danger- ous. Nor can it be said that the organs of government responded efficiently to the demands of rebellion. To all appearances, indeed, they were rendered relatively ineffective by the varying degrees of reluctance and disaffection displayed by the trained bands, by constables, by deputy lieutenants and by most of those on whom the task of suppression was directly laid. Nor would it be safe to draw the conclusion that royal government was able to cope, even with difficulty, with the series of rebellions. At the most Charles could claim to have avoided the worst and he was still unable to implement efficiently his policy of enclosure, while the attempt itself deprived him of popular support that he could ill afford to lose. If the armed rebellions died down, then this may well have been as much a function of improved harvests as of repressive action. Certainly opposition to the enclosures continued to be expressed in renewed outbursts and the final enforcement of the disforesting remained to be accomplished by the Commonwealth, in spite of the en- couragement given to the levellers in the earlier period by those who later emerged as supporters of the parliamentary cause. Thus one is left with the impression, albeit, as yet a hazy one, of two streams of polit- ical activity. The one seems to have sought the solution of disorders in the commonweal in parlimentary action tending toward constitutional monarchy in some form. The other stream, drawing its main strengrh from the small producers, seems to have sought immediate remedies against immediate burdens in direct and armed action. The illusion of Stuart beneficence. It was these popular revolts that ushered in the Great Rebellion and the extreme discontent expressed in them must shatter all the illusions that have been conjured up of the beneficence and benevolence of Stuart absolutism. dS 1 See D. Allan, ‘ Agrarian Discontent under the two Early Stuarts’, (London M. Sc. thesis, 1950). 2 E. Kerridge, ‘ The Agrarian Development of Wiltshire 1540—1640 ’, (London Ph.D. thesis, (1951), p9. 582 seqq. 3 P.R.O., Land Revenue, Misc. Bks., vol. 194, fo. 307. 4 M.F, Davies and L. Moffat, ‘ Social and Economic History of Wiltshire,’ (V.C.H., unpublished MS., I-H.R.), pp. 73, 76 seqq. | 5 I Aubrey, Wiltshire Topographical Collections, (ed. J. E. Jackson, Devizes, 1862), pp. 130—3. 6 Survey of the Lands of William First Earl of Pembroke, ed. C. R. Straton, (Roxburghe Club, II, 1909, 2 vols.), 11 seqq.; cf.R.H. Tawney, The Agrarian Problem in the Sixteenth Century, (London, 1912), pp. 194, 326. 7 Davies and Moffat, op. cit. p. 79; Calendars of the Proceedings in Chancery in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, (Record Commission, London, 1832, 3 vols.), iii. 131; cf. Tawney, op. cit. p. 251. 8 Tawney, loc. cit. 9 Longleat MSS., Thynne Papers, Court Books of Manors of Sir John Thynne Sen., 1567—1577, box liv, bk. 4, fos. 6, 8. 10 Davies and Moffat, op. cit. pp. 76—8; Cartwright Hall, Bradford, Swinton MSS., Urchfont, no. 46, fo. 2v. (now in Wilts Rec. Off.). 11 Wilts Record Office, Savernake Coll., survey bk. of Bedwyn Prebend; P.R.O., Req., P. and M., bdle. 20, no. 64; bdle. 24, no. 6. 12 W.H. Jones, ‘ Potterne ’, Wilts Arch. Mag. XVI (1876) p. 267. 13 F, Rose-Troup, The Western Rebellion of 1549, (London, 1913), p. 248; E. F. Gay, ‘ The Midland Revolt of 1607 ’, Trans. R.H.S.N.S., XVIII (1904), pp. 199-200, 203. 14 Kerridge, op. cit. p. 634. 15 E.g., P.R.O., Chanc. Proc., series I, bdle. M. 3, no. 41. 16 P.R.O., Exch., K.R., Sp. Comm., no. 2395; Aubrey, op. cit. pp. 204-5. 17 Topographer and Genealogist, 111 (1858), p. 25;P.R.O., Chanc. Proc., series I, bdle., W. 30, no. 53; Devizes Museum, unsorted deeds and documents relating to Wootton Bassett and Vasterne. Cf. Tawney, op. cit. pp. 148, 251-3. 18 Acts of Privy Council, 1589, p. 303. 19 P.R.O., Star Chamber, James, bdle. 93, no. 2; bdle. 138, no. 8; bdle. 290, no. 22; Exch. K.R., Deps. by Comm., 9 Chas., Mich. 75; Acts of Privy Council, 1613, pp. 92-3. 20 P.R.O., Req., Eliz., bdle. 121, no. 30; Star Chamber, P. and M., bdle. 10, no. 49; Henry VIII, bdle. 25., no. 34; Exch., K.R., Deps. by Comm., 30 Eliz., Hil. 3. 21 P.R.O., Star Chamber, Eliz., bdle. A. 58, no. 12; bdle. A. 11, no. 8; bdle. A. 34, no. 37. 22 P.R.O., Star Chamber, James, bdle. 303, no. 6. 23 P.R.O., Star Chamber, James, bdle. 310, no. 18. 24 P.R.O., Star Chamber, James, bdle. 63, no. 10. 25 G. M. Young, ‘ Some Wiltshire Cases in Star Chamber ’, Wilts Arch. Mag., L (1944), pp. 447-8. 26 P.R.O., Star Chamber, James, bdle. 153, no. 16. 27 P.R.O., S.P. Dom., Charles, vol. 229, no. 112; vol. 497, no. 10; H. R. Trevor-Roper, Archbishop Laud, (London, 1940), p. 169. 28 P.R.O., S.P. Dom., James, vol. 51, no. 23. 29 P.R.O., S.P. Dom., James, vol. 71, no. 107. 30 P.R.O., Exch., K.R., Sp. Comm., no. 4577; Records of the County of Wilts, (ed. B. H. Cunnington, Devizes, 1932), p- 90. 31 P.R.O., Exch. K.R., Deps. by Comm., 11 James, Mich. 15; 13 James, Easter 14; 22 James, Mich. 26; 11 Chas., Mich. 30; Sp. Comm., no. 4577. 32 Davies and Moffat, op. cit. p. 113; J. E. Jackson, “On the History of Chippenham ’, Wilts Arch. Mag., III (1856), p. 35; P.R.O., S. P. Dom., James, vol. 71, no. 107. 33 P.R.O., Exch., K. R., Sp. Comm., no. 4577. 34 P.R.O., Exch., K. R., Sp. Comm., no. 4577; S. P. Dom., vol. 199, nos. 1-2, 4, 6; Aubrey, op. cit. p. 66; Jackson. James, loc. cit. 35 B.M. Lansd. MSS., vol. 24., no. 33, fo. 74(70 v); P.R.O., Exch., K.R., Deps. by Comm., 17 James, Easter 21. 36 Davies and Moffat, op. cit. p. 118; J. J. Daniell, The History of Warminster, (London, 1879), p. 50; P-R.O., S. P. Dom., Chas., vol. 70, no. 33; M. F. Davies, Life in an English Village, (London, 1909), pp. 16, 31. 37 Davies, op. cit. pp. 16 seqq.; P.R.O., Chane. Proc., Chas., Haynes v. Carr, H. 47, H. 69. VOL. LVII-CCVI ~ 74 38 J. E. Jackson, * Selwood Forest ’, Wilts Arch. Mag. xxiii (1887), p. 294. 39 Davies and Moffat, op. cit. p. 118; P.R.O., S. P. Dom., Charles, vol. 201, no. 5, fo. 9. 40 P.R.O., Privy Council Register, vol. 41, p. 199 (fo. 100); S. P. Dom., Charles, vol. 202, no. 6, fo. 39. 41 P.R.O., S. P. Dom., Charles, vol. 203, no. 106, fos. 225-6. 42 P.R.O., Privy Council Register, vol. 41, pp. 236-7 (fos. 118-9). 43 P.R.O., $.P. Dom., Charles, vol. 203, no. 106, fo. 225. 44 P.R.O., Privy Council Register, vol. 41, pp. 326-7 (fos. 163-4). 45 P.R.O., S.P. Dom., Charles, vol. 204, no. 2; vol. 210, no. 20; Privy Council Register, vol. 41, pp. 238 (fo. 119V.), 299-301 (fos. 150-2). Toppe was later released—pp. 325-6 (fo. 163). 46 Acts of Privy Council, 1627-8 pp. 248, 495; J. Rushworth, Historical Collections, (London, 1680), App. p. 28; P-R.O. S. P. Dom., vol. 105, no. 61. 47 P.R.O., S. P. Dom., Charles, vol. 159, no. 28, fos. 51v.—52, vol. 193, no. 166, fo. 158, vol. 200, no. 42; vol. 205, no. 43; Court Rolls, General Series, bdle. 209, nos. 36-9, 41; Rentals and Surveys, General Series, no. 874; Land Revenue, vol. 207, fos. 23-4; Augmentation Office, Parliamentary Surveys, (Wilts), no. 40, fos. 12-3, 19-20, 24-6; no. 43, fo. 8; T. H. Baker, * Notes on the History of Mere’, Wilts Arch. Mag. xxix (1896), pp. 274-5, 327; T. Birch, Court and Times of Charles I(ed. Aikin 2 vols, London 1848), ti, 60-1; Acts of Privy Council, 1627-8, pp. 359, 371. 48 Baker, op. cit. pp. 332-3. 49 Journals of the House of Lords, iv. 209; vi, 15, 30, 42, 49, 118, 609; Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, i. 139; P.R.O., Exch., Augmentation Office, Parliamentary Surveys (Dorset), no. 6, fo. 2, 4-5. 50 P.R.O., Sp. Coll. Shaftesbury Papers, bdle. 32. no. 6; and fo. 4 of survey cited in previous note. 51 Wilts Notes and Queries, ii (1899), pp. 133 seqq.; P.R.O., S. P. Dom., vol. 288, no. 80; Duchy of Lancaster, De- crees and Orders, vol. 30, fo. 276; vol. 31, fos. 181-4, 266, 360, 377v.; Sp. Comm., no. 1099; Exch., K. R., Sp. Comm., no. 2470; Deps. by Commission, 4 Chas., Easter 8, 24; 6 Chas., Trin. 5, 9; F. H. Manley, ‘ The Disforesting of Braden ’, Wilts Arch. Mag., xlv (1932), pp. 557 seqq.; ‘ Parliamentary Surveys of the Crown Lands in Braden Forest (1651) ’, i bid. xlvi(1933) pp. 176 seqq. 52 P.R.O., Duchy of Lancaster, Sp. Comm., no. 855; Forest Proceedings, bdle. 4, nos. 23 seqq; bdle. 5, nos. 1 seqq; Exch., K. R., Forest Proceedings, bdle. 2, no. 40; Land Revenue, Misc. Books, vol. 194, fo. 31. 53 P.R.O., Privy Council Register, vol. 40, pp. 545-6 (fo. 270); S. P. Dom., vol. 288, no. 80. 54 P.R.O., S. P. Dom., Chas., vol. 193, no. II. 55 Rushworth, op. cit. App. p. 73. 56 Devizes Museum, Deed Room, B. F. 10. 57 B.M., Add. Ch., 40105; P.R.O., S.P. Dom., Chas., vol. 203, no. 96; Privy Council Register, vol. 41, pp. 303-4 fo. 152). 58 Manley, ‘ The Disforesting of Braden ’, p. 559; Devizes Museum, Deed Room, B. F. 13a, 14. 59 P.R.O., S. P. Dom., Chas., vol. 299, no. 73. 60-P'R.O.,: ‘Exch; K.«.R., ‘Sp.--Comm.; 20. ’, 6117, 61 Manley, ‘ Parliamentary Surveys ’, pp. 176 seqq. 62 P.R.O., S. P. Dom., Chas., vol. 203, no. 96; Devizes Museum, Deed Room, B. F. 10; Wilts Arch. Mag. L (1943) p- 167; Bassett Down MSS., Neville Maskelyne’s Account Book, fo. 112. Robert Bathe was also arrested—B. M., Add. Ch. 40105. 63 Ibid.; Devizes Museum, unsorted deeds and documents relating to Wootton Bassett and Vasterne. 64 P.R.O., S. P. Dom., Chas., vol. 203, no. 96; list of rectors in Wootton Bassett church porch. 65 B. M., Add. Ch. 40105; P.R.O., S.P. Dom,, Chas., vol. 203, no. 96; Bassett Down MSS., Maskelyne’s Account Book, passim; Wilts Notes and Queries ii (1896), p. 49; Devizes Museum Deed Room, Pu. t/ab. 66 Devizes Museum, unsorted deeds Wootton Bassett. 67 B. M., Add. Ch., 40105; P.R.O., S. P. Dom., Chas., vol. 203, no. 96. 68 Wilts Arch. Mag., L (1943), pp. 278-80; xlv (1931), pp. 498-9. (“Meaning that the most master goeth breechlesse; ie. when the silly husband must aske his wife whether it shall be a bargain or not’ John Smyth, The Hundred of Berkeley (The Berkeley MSS. II, Gloucester 1885), 27. 69 C.E. Hart, The Commoners of Dean Forest, (Gloucester, 1951), pp. 11-12, 20-1, 24 seqq., 46, 54; W. B. Willcox, Gloucestershire. A study in Local Government 1590—1640 (Yale Historical Pubs., Miscellany xxxix, New, Haven 1940), pp. 192 sqq., 2023 Journals of the House of Lords, iv, 219, 262. 70 P.R.O., S.P. Dom., vol. 194, no. 60. 71 P.R.O., S. P. Dom., Chas., vol. 196, no. 56, fo. 1or. 72 Privy Council Register, vol. 41, p. 304 (fo. 152v.), vol. 204, no. 30. 75 73 P.R.O., Privy Council Register, vol. 43, p. 247 (f 126). 74 P.R.O., S.P. Dom., vol. 215, no. 26, fo. 45. 75 B.H. Cunnington (ed.), Records of the County of Wilts (Devizes 1932), pp. 73, 76-7, 102-3. 76 A. Dryden, Memorials of old Wiltshire, (London, 1906), p. 138. 77 Cited in Anthony Powell, John Aubrey and His Friends (London, 1948), p. 38. 78 J. Aubrey, An Introduction to the Survey and Natural History of the Northern Division of the County of Wiltshire in Miscellanies on several Curious Subjects, ed. E. Curll, London, 1714), p. 30; Wilts Topographical Collections, p. 9. 79 Bodleian Library, Aubrey MSS. ii, f. 122. See also B. M., Royal MS. 7c, xvi, f. 238. 80 [bid., £.266; J. Aubrey, Natural History of Wiltshire (ed. J. Britton, London, 1847), p. 10. 81 We can see a farmer deducting ship money from his rent in Wilton MSS., Surveys of Manors, 1631, vol. i, Survey of Broad Chalke, fos. (3), 2 (6). Hence ship money affected adversely the landowners, indirectly as well as directly. 82 P.R.O., Wards, Feodaries’ Surveys and Books of Surveys (Wilts). Of 227 wardships in the Court assignable to farming regions in the period 1540-1640, 146 pertain to the sheep-and-corn countries and 81 to the Cheese and Butter countries. More of those for the latter related to small proprietors. 83 L.H.R., Beveridge Price Material, J. 35. 76 NOTES The Broad Stones. (W.A.M., LVI, 192). A reference in Mr. D. W. Free’s Marlborough and District to the Stukeley passage quoted by Professor Piggott was unfortunately overlooked. In this Mr. Free placed the stone circle at the Clatford cross-roads known as Broken Crosses on the south side of the Kennet, a position which does not tally with Stukeley’s other description of the circle, which was not known to Mr. Free. He holds the view that the various accounts may refer to more than one circle. Yet if there were one at Broken Crosses and one on the Bath Road near Plough Cottage they would be barely a quarter of a mile apart, and it is odd in that case that each of the passages quoted only mentions one circle. O. MEyRICK. Unrecorded Barrow on Manningford Bruce Down. A bowl barrow, 30 ft. in diameter and about 2 ft. high, was found in 1953, too late for inclusion in the Archaelogical Gazetteer, V.C.H. Vol. I, 70 yards west of the east belt of Grant’s Firs, N.G.R. 163564. A sherd probably of M. B. A. date lay exposed on the east side of the barrow, which was on unploughed downland. O. M. Barrow Circles near Lockeridge. From the Lockeridge-Alton Barnes road two rings showed up in August, 1957 in the corn on the opposite slope across the National Trust property in Lockeridge Dene. About $0 yards N.E. of the south end of The Belt plantation, they were a few feet apart, lying SW .—N.E., each estimated at 25-30 feet in diameter, and are assumed to be barrow circles (N.G.R. 139672). Two other barrows (Goddard’s Overton 10 and 11) are known near by, one in The Belt and one just west of it. O. M. Prehistoric Objects from Wiltshire in the Lukis Museum, St. Peter Port,Guernsey. The fol- lowing information was obtained by the writer of this note from the Lukis MSS. and collections in the Lukis Museum, Guernsey, too late for inclusion in the Victoria County History of Wiltshire, Vol. 1. 1. Lukis. ‘ Collectanea Antiqua,’ vi, 112. Rough flint axe, 3.8 in. long, with white patina. From ‘ Colloingbourne.’ 2. Lukis. ‘ Collectanea Antiqua,’ vi, 112. Polished-edge axe 4in. long. From East Grafton (now Grafton parish-L. V. G.). 3. Lukis. ‘ Collectanea Antiqua,’ vi, 144. Cutting-edge of (re-chipped 2) flint axe, 3in. long, from Col- lingbourne. ‘ Destroyed by M. Towler in a fit of madness.’ All three specimens are drawn in the Lukis MSS., and 1 and 2 are in the Museum. L. V. GRINSELL. FOUR ANCIENT BRITISH COINS FROM NORTHWOOD, COLERNE Whilst the writer was being shown the finds from Colerne, described in the note on p. 78, Mr. Morrison produced four early British silver coins from among his collections. These, he stated, had been given to him by a labourer with the information that they were found in Northwood, approximately two miles north- west of Colerne, in the parish of that name. It is noteworthy that the northern limits of the wood flank the northern line of defence of the Iron Age earthwork known as Bury Wood Camp. 1! The writer is grateful to Mr. Morrisonn who kindly lent the coins temporarily to Devizes Museum for examination2. Sincere thanks are also due to Mr. Derek Allen who examined the coins, and for his com- ments which are included in this note. 2 1 A. Shaw Mellor. Notes on Bury Wood Camp, Colerne, Wilts, W.A.M., Vol. XLVII, pp. 504-512. 2 All four coins have been purchased buy the Wilts Arch. Society and are now in Devizes Museum. ‘azis Tenqov sory ‘xoadde uonensny aAoqy ‘NUIDJOD ‘POOMIMON Wosy suloD ys "I Nd Th The coin types are as follows: (PI. I) (1) Possibly a very base example of an ‘ EISV ’ coin. Obv. Crude head in profile to right, face outline portrayed by a crooked line terminating in a pellet, and bifurcating to form the mouth. The back of the head and hair are represented by arcs of beading, and crescents with pellets in the centre of each crescent. Two ring ornaments form the eye and ear with a cross in between. In front of the face is an S-shaped figure with crescents, pellets and ring ornaments in the field. Rev. Three-tailed horse to the left, tail and part of the head missing. Ring ornaments below head and body. The only portion of letter visible is the S of SV below the body. The inverted V above the body is in place of the EI of EISV. Wt. -8635 gms. Diam. 12 mm. It is possible that these EISV “ forgeries ’ are in fact the latest coins of silver or bronze of the mint which produced the series from Colerne. The Dobunnic coins which are typologically later are probably the product of another mint. A similar plated EISV ‘ forgery ’ was recently discovered near Sandy Lane. 1 (2). Obv. Crude head in profile to right as (1). Rey. Three-tailed horse to left; the head is missing. There is a cross above the back which looks like a crescent; below the body is a ring ornament. The ‘ flower’ below the ring ornament is typical of the late version of this variety. Further ring ornaments occur below tail and head. Wt. -8874 gms. Diam. 12 mm. (3). A good example of a coin of Antedrigus. Obv. Crude head to right as (1) and (2). Rev. Three tailed horse to left. There are pellets above the back and below the head, and a ring ornament below the body. The visible legend is A)NTE(D. Wt. 1.0781 gms. Diam. 14 mm. (4). Obv. Bloated looking head in profile to right. The hair is represented by a number of crescent shaped bosses. The eye and chin are repre- sented by pellets, the mouth by two projecting lines ending in pellets. One or possibly two S-shaped figures occur in front of the face, with small pellets and crescents in the field. Rev. Three-tailed horse to left. Above the body is a crescent and a ring ornament, with two limbs springing from it; below, a‘ flower’. A pellet and crescents in the field. Wt. 8505 gms. Diam. 15 mm. All four types are typical examples of the coinage of the Dobunni, the two inscribed coins no doubt re- ferring to successive rulers of the tribe, of whom ANTED was the earlier; little or nothing is known how- ever concerning them. The Dobunni were a tribe of native stock whose territory, indicated by coin distribution, extended from the Thames to the Severn, and southwards included Somerset, Wilts, and Dorset. All four coins may be regarded as the same though progressively degenerating in type and fabric. Further examples have been found at Marlborough, and a hoard containing about 180 of the types illustrated was found at Nunney, near Frome. 2 The coins from Colerne are interesting in that they cover pretty well the same range as those from other sites such as Camerton, Somerset. The range of date is from about the beginning of the 1st century A.D. or alittle earlier to c.A.D. 40, the date of burial of the Nunney hoard as indicated by the Roman coins it con- tained. F. K. ANNABLE. 1 W.A.M., Vol. LVI, p. 391. 2 Numismatic Chronicle (New Series) vol. I, p. 1, ff. 78 A ROMAN SITE AT COLERNE In January, 1957, Mr. H. Morrison, a farm worker at Euridge Farm, Colerne, Wilts. informed the Devizes Museum that he had discovered a Roman site during deep ploughing in a field to the south of the farm buildings. The site was visited shortly afterwards by the writer and Dr. A. Shaw Mellor. Euridge Farm lies one mile north-east of Colerne in Colerne parish, O.S. tin. Sheet 156, 833717, and is flanked by the Fosse Way approximately two miles to the west. The field in which the discovery was made is 500 yards due south of the farm. Here abundant signs of one or more substantial masonry buildings were apparent at the centre of the field and extending over an area of roughly six acres. Heavy slabs of building stone and broken flue and roof-tiles turned up by the plough were profusely scattered over the surface; an area of heavy stone flooring still in situ had also been uncovered by Mr. Morrison whilst working in the field. The finds from the site constitute in themselves a quite small museum. There are considerable quantities of Samian and coarse pottery, including stamped mortaria and amphora rims, a number of bronze objects and coins in quantity with a date bracket of 2nd to late 4th century A.D. A further interesting find is a small sculptured slab of Bath stone, though the carving is almost entirely effaced. The site is in no immediate danger of destruction, but as the field is due to come under crop this year in- formation has been supplied to Dr. K. St. Joseph, Curator in Aerial Photography, University of Cam- bridge. Dr. St. Joseph has kindly offered help in photographing the area from the air should a suitable opportunity arise during the summer. F. K. ANNABLE. NOTES ON THE PLACE NAMES OF WILTSHIRE, E.P.N.S. These notes follow the late Mr. Brentnall’s review in W.A.M. XLIX, 364 and notes in W.A.M. LI, 611-2, LIL, 116, LV, 70-74 and LVI, 196. The numbers follow from the previous series. 14 —_for Wanborough, W.A.M., XVI, 196, read Wroughton. 15 Highworth, p. 26; Cricklade Road is not the Cryckeladys way of 1463. The old Cricklade road, or Port Way, ran through Hampton, and than as Staplers lane and Great Rose Lane, past Port Farm, to join Ermine Street just south of Seven Bridges. This ‘ Portway’ gives its name to Port Farm. 16 Highworth, p. 27; it is by no means certain that this is the Sevamentone of D.B. See V.C.H Wilts, Il. Sevenhampton is certainly not the property described in K.C.D. 767. 17 Latton, p. 45; B.C.S. 226 does not refer to Eisey, Wilts. 18 Wanborough, p. 497; Popplechurch and Chestercombe omitted. The first may refer to a flint church. (The site of St. Katherine’s is lost.) For a discussion of these names see J. B. Jones, “A New View on Ermin Street,’ 1950 and Journ. Arch. Assn. XX XVII (1881) 143, 144. 19 Cricklade, p. 42; the second element, gelade, is generally accepted as referring to a Thames crossing. The first element may be ‘ creek, wharf, or hithe’, but if indeed it derives from a pre-English word denoting ‘hill’, the original ‘Cricklade’ was at Hailstone Hill where there is reason to suppose that there was a pre-Roman Thames crossing place. The present Cricklade cannot be said to be on a hill. Possibly an example of transference. 20 Cricklade, p. 44; Bourne Farm takes its name from the streamlet, here the parish boundary, and not from a person. 21 ~~ Cricklade, p. 44; King’s Barn (now demolished) was so called because it was on the Royal demesne of Bradon Forest as finally accepted in the seventeenth century. It has no connection with King’s Marsh, the wet land lying below Kingshill the probable hundredal meeting place. 22, Cricklade, p. 44; Cox Hill takes its name not from William le Cok but from a much later holder, who appeared after the deforestation of Bradon. eee 23 27 28 29 30 79 Cricklade, p. 44; Abingdon Court takes its name not from a Robert de Abendon, but from Abingdon Abbey. The line of the “ haga ’ of the grant of A.D. 1008 can still be traced, (K.C.D. VI 1305). Latton, p. 460; Mundus Ground, and Scores Stalls omitted. The second derives from the field whose system of selions is most striking. Aldbourne, p. 292; High Strete Waie can hardly be said to be lost. The D/L survey of 1591 gives this as a bound of the manor. It is the Cunetio-Wanborough Roman Road. Aldbourne, p. 292; it is now known that Sugar Way (strung with Bronze Age barrows) runs along the spine of Sugar Hill. It probably takes its name from Segur a local grantee of land c. 1150. Sceocera Wege runs east and West. Where it forms the hundred boundary it was called the Folks Dyke. Wanborough, p. 283. Little Hinton, p. 287. Totterdown omitted. This name occurs in 1828 O.S. on the N.E. side of Fox Hill cross roads. In Colt Hoare’s A.W. it is apparently the name of a cottage on the W. side. Foxhill, above the cross roads, is a magnificent view point and the name might well be from fotaern, a lookout tower. Purton, p. 39; Barstroppe Ford; to associate this with a John de Barsthrop, juror in 10 Ed. 1, is eponymy run riot! Surely boar trap (Bars traeppe) is a reasonable origin for a forest name? Little Hinton, p. 287; The Grove omitted. There are heathen burials one mile south (W.A.M. XLIV, 542), and at 834236 (BCS 479). Itis possible that the name perpetuates a heathen grove. Chisledon, p. 282, Hodson; gor (11th) B.C.S. 576, Hordestan, Horeston. If this is indeed Hodson, which from the context seems most probable, the eponymous Hodd must go, and the name must be taken to be “ hoard stone ’. T. R. THOMSON. ERMINE STREET IN WILTSHIRE. In the review, W.A.M., LVI, 72, of Mr. Margary’s excellent book “ Roman Roads in Britain’ Pt. 1, it is rightly said that section 41B owes much to Mr. A. D. Passmore. Mr. J. B. Jones’ equally tenable opinion (A New View on Ermine Street, 1950), that the missing station was near Popplechurch, is not given. The coin evidence does not prove that the Covingham-Nythe site was other than a large squalid settlement which sprang up at the road junction. Mr. Margary tells me that he has noted for the emendation of p. 122, foot, that the road was at one time carried over the marshy ground N.E. of Cricklade, as demonstrated in W.A.M., LVI, 164-s. As regards the approaches to Corinium the excavations of our Gloucester friends, now in progress there, may elucidate the relative dates of the six ancient roads approaching the town, and may indeed lead to the re-casting of pp. 135-137. A general point may be made about the exceptionally high aggers when roads cross high and open ground. To my mind the reason is to make the line of the road visible after heavy snowfall. T. R. THomson. PROBATE JURISDICTIONS AND RECORDS FOR THE DIOCESE OF SALISBURY For those in search of Wiltshire Wills we feel that a comprehensive list such as we have endeavoured to give below may prove of some use. The Wiltshire wills proved in the P.C.C. were listed some years ago in Wiltshire Notes and Queries. In our limited experience we have found this to be a comprehensive index. The wills listed in W.A.M., XLV pp- 36-67 remain with the Diocesan Registrar at Salisbury. In what follows the word ‘ wills’ means wills, administrations, or other probate records, whether sep- arate or in registers. Bouwens, B.G., ‘ Wills and Their Whereabouts ’ (Soc. Gen.), quoting the return of 1830 (Cd. 205, Vol. XIX, p. 50), states that there are gaps in many of these series of wills for the Civil War period; these gaps have not been shown except where they have been recently verified. The extent of jurisdictions has been taken from Bouwens except that minor corrections of spelling or county have been made. The abbreviation P.P.R. means Principal Probate Registry, Somerset House, C.R.O. means the Wiltshire County Record Office, Trowbridge; and D.P.R. means the District Probate Registry at Winchester. The Sarum Peculiars earlier than 1800 are indexed under separate headings in one volume. There are a few separate Registers, but most of the entries relate to Original Wills only, these being in bundles and sometimes in boxes. Name and Extent Episcopal Consistory of Sarum Extent:—Archdeaconry Courts of Berkshire, Sarum, Wilts and Sub-Dean of Sarum, during triennial inhibition; all rectors in diocese; Bishop’s Peculiars—Berwick St. James, Devizes St. John and St. Mary, West Laving- ton, Marlborough St. Mary and St. Peter, Preshute, Potterne, Stert, Trowbridge with Staverton. Archdeaconry of Sarum. Extent:— Southern part of Wiltshire except peculiars. Inhibited triennially by E. C. of S. Archdeaconry of Wilts. Extent:— Northern part of Wiltshire except peculiars. Inhibited triennially by E. C. of S. [Archdeaconry] Court of the Sub-Dean of Sarum. Extent:—- Salisbury St. Edmund, St. Martin and St. Thomas; Milford; and Stratford-sub-Castle; all Wiltshire. Inhibited triennially by E. C. of S. Dates of Wills, Locations, Access 1526-1799 at C.R.O. Index under first letters. 1800-1858 at C.R.O. Index under first letters, and chronological Catalogue Book. 1528-1799 at C.R.O. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at C.R.O. Index under first letters and chronological Catalogue Book. 1557-1799 at C.R.O. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at C.R.O. Index under first letters and chronological Catalogue Book. 1581-88 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1611-41, 1660-1799 at P.P.R. Chronologiacl Catalogue, entries alphabetical within years. 1800-58 at D.P.R. Name and Extent Peculiars (not prebends) :— Dean of Sarum. Extent:— Baydon, Heytesbury, Deverell Hill, Horning- sham, Knook, Mere, Ramsbury, Salisbury Close and Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire; Arbor- field, Blewbury with Upton and Ashton, Hurst, Ruscombe, Sandhurst, Sonning, Up- thorpe and Wokingham, Berkshire; Alton Pancras, Anderson, Bere Hackett, Bere Regis, Bloxworth, Long Bourton, Castleton, Caundle Marsh, Charminster, Nether Comp- ton, Over Compton, Folke, Haydon, Her- mitage, Holnest, Kingston Chapel, Lilling- ton, Maperton, Clifton Maybank (united 1824 with Bradford Abbas in dioc. of Bristol), Turners Puddle, Ryme Intrinsica, Sherborne, Stockwood, Stratton, Thompson [Winter- bourne Tomson], Thornford, Winter- bourne, (W)obourne [Oborne], North Woot- ton, Dorset; also—during triennial inhibition —over parishes in jurisdiction of D. and C. Windsor, Lord Warden of Savernake Forest and Prebendal Peculiars. 1 Uninhibited. Royal Peculiar of Gillingham, Dorset. Extent:— Gillingham, with Motcombe and Bourton, Dorset. Uninhibited. Perpetual Vicar of Corsham, Wiltshire. (Bp. of Sarum and Archdeacon of Wilts. have con- current jurisdiction.) Uninhibited. Castle Combe, Wiltshire. Uninhibited. Dean and Chapter of Windsor. Extent:— Hungerford, West Ilsley and Wantage, Berk- shire; Ogbourne St. Andrew, Ogbourne St. George, and Shalbourne, Wiltshire. Inhibited triennially by Dean of Sarum. 81 Dates of Wills, Locations, Access 1558-1645, 1661-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1660-1799 at P.P.R. Chronological Catalogue, entries alphabetical within years. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1720-99 at P.P.R. Chronological Catalogue, entries alphabetical within years. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1669-1786 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 missing. 1668-1799 at P.P.R. Chronological Catalogue, entries alphabetical within years. 1800-58 at D.P.R. according to Bouwens. 1 Including Faringdon, Berks, once a Prebendal Peculiar of Salisbury Diocese. Its records, and those of the Arch- deaconry of Berkshire transferred from Salisbury Diocese to Oxford Diocese subsequent to 1836, are held separately aAGEP.R. VOL. LVII-CCVI K 82 Name and Extent Peculiars (not prebends):— continued Dean and Chapter of Sarum. Extent:— Bishops Cannings with Southbroom, Brit- ford and Homington, Wiltshire; Stourpaine, Dorset; Bramshaw, Hants. Uninhibited. Precentor of Sarum. Extent:— Westbury with Bratton and Dilton, Wilt- shire. Uninhibited. Lord Warden of Savernake Forest. Extent :— Great and Little Bedwyn, Collingbourne Ducis, Wiltshire. Inhibited triennially by Dean of Sarum. Prebendal Peculiars (inhibited for six months triennially by Dean of Sarum :— Lyme Regis and Halstock, Dorset. Durnford, Wiltshire. Treasurer of Sarum in Calne Prebend. Ex- tent:—Alderbury with Farley and Pitton, Berwick Bassett, Blackland, Cherhills and Fig- heldean, Wiltshire. ! Chardstock, Dorset. Extent:— Chardstock and Wambrook. Netherbury in Ecclesia. Extent:— Netherbury and Beaminster, Dorset. Yetminster and Grimston. Extent:— Yetminster with Leigh and Chetnole, and Grimston, Dorset. Preston. Extent:—Preston and Sutton Poyntz, Dorset. Fordington. Extent:— Fordington, Dorset, and Writhlington, Som- erset. Date of Wills, Locations, Access 1604-30, 1662-1799 at P.P.R. Chronological Catalogue, entries alphabetical within years. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1613-1641, 1661-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1617-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. None have been found for the years after 1799. 1664-1799. Chronological Catalogue, entries alphabetical within years. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1634-1799 at P.P.R. Index by all letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1610-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1639-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1608-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1654-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 atD.P.R. 1761-1798 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1660-1799 at P.P.R. Index under firat letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1 Bouwens is not clear whether the Treasurer‘s Prebend was inhibited by the Dean of Sarum or not. Name and Extent Prebendal Peculiars—continued Netheravon, Wiltshire. Uffculme, Devon. Bishopstone, Wiltshire. Burbage. Extent:— Hurstbourne, Hampshire, and Burbage, Wiltshire. Chute and Chisenbury. Extent:— Chute, Chisenbury, Winterbourne Daunt- sey, Wiltshire. Wilsford and Woodford, Wiltshire. Combe and Harnham. Extent :— Coombe Bissett, Harnham, Wiltshire. Highworth. Extent:— Highworth, South Marston, Sevenhampton, Broad Blunsden, Wiltshire. 83 Date of Wills, Locations, Access 1660-1799 at P.P.R.Jidex under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1545-1648, 1662-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1625-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1635-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1607-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1615-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1648-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. 1623-1799 at P.P.R. Index under first letters. 1800-58 at D.P.R. R. THOMSON G. le M. RATHBONE 84 CRIME IN WILTSHIRE 1825. The following list of sentences on prisoners tried in Wiltshire in 1825 is copied from a printed sheet stuck inside a small oak chest, standing on four legs, bought at an auction sale in 1956. It throws an interesting light on the more shady side of the countryman’s life 130 years ago and the wide variation in punishments meted out for very similar crimes. Perhaps these differences might not seem so strange if we had any means of knowing about previous convictions. In the three years ending 1820 the executions in England and Wales amounted to 312. In the three years ending 1830 they were 178. (Haydn 1881 edition). They may be divided as follows :— 1818 oo 107 1828 — 60 1819 — 104 1829 — 59 1820 — IOI 1830 = 59 Wiltshire must therefore have had more than its fair share. SENTENCES OF THE PRISONERS Who were tried at the Wilts Lent Assizes 1825, before the Hon. Justice Park and the Hon. Justice Burrough. Elizabeth Smith, 19, for stealing a Gown at Preshute a oe; Death Wm. Maltman, 18, for stealing a watch, etc., at Winsley i: Death George Hayter, 24, Robert Emery, 30, for Rola amare anda Gelding at Standlinch .. Acquitted James Densley, 14, for stealing a pair of Gaiters at Steeple Aston + ee 12 Months Robt. Emmett, 16, Anthony Ricca 16, for stealing a coat etc. at Box. Robert Emmett—Death Anthony Bateman Acquitted J. Ballinger, 18, for assaulting Ann Reynolds < ws No Bill John Barnard, 22, for stealing a coat, etc., at Hankerton a a Death Wr. Lake, 23, for stealing Bacon at Little Dunford mA Death John Crowther, 27, for stealing a Greatcoat, etc., at Compton Ghnnberan .. Acquitted Wm. Roberts, 21, for stealing a Saw, etc., at North Bradley se ee 7 Months Walter Hedges, 15, for stealing two Uisibrellas at Devizes 3: 7 Years William Bailey, 15, for picking a pocket and stealing two Sor ereonse etc., at Devizes a 14 Years James Or chard, 18, James Asher, 20, George Ward, 21, for robbing Thomas Stacey of Trowbridge on the highway of four £/1 notes, etc. ah Acquitted Isaac Bullock, 17, for stealing a silver tablespoon and teaspoon at Soen ton es 7 years Anthony West, 25, for stealing a watch, etc., from Edward Reem at Beanacre Pe Death Wm. Long, 16, for stealing a pistol at Trowbridge ze .. 2. NoBill John Smith, 20, for stealing an ass at Liddington — Henrys, 20, for stealing leather at Codford ae Charles Harwood, 23, for stealing two £10 notes, with gold fad, silver coin, silver articles, etc., at Marlbro’ a Death Robert hie 19, Maria Golding, 19, for stealing two shifts at hone Newton ie Death George Rance, 19, for stealing a coat at Wokingham D3 ie Death Henry Brocway, 24, for stealing sheep at East Knoyle 3; oe Death Isaac Hudd, for stealing bacon etc. at Lacock a is No Bill Wm. Mundy, 30, for stealing a ram sheep | } T. Williams, 25, Stephen Williams 19, for stealing five sacks of wheat at Bishopstone T.W.—4. S. W. Samuel Barret, 25, James Barret, 30, James Smart, 27, John Barret, 18, for stealing Beef at Hatch. James Barrett—Death. The others acquitted. Wm. Hayward, for stealing bread and cheese at Wroughton Thomas Bailey, 21, Paul Amber, 26, for assaulting Rachel Wordley at Taha Cannings. Philip West, 24, for stealing a brass milk pan at Melksham ie : J. Moss, 24, for stealing cheese at Luckington William Cooper, 21, for burglary at Corsham John Bishop, 23, fon stealing from the house of James Hillman 2 cwts. A: bacon Samuel Harris, 38, for stealing 24 lbs. of worsted at Trowbridge James Barnes, 23, for stealing a donkey from James Fisher on Beckhampton Downs George Capel, 34, for stealing two loaves of sugar at Warminster Robert Brown, 17, Shadric Bryant 18, for stealing Knives etc. at Bradford. R. Browie=7 years. S. Bryant Thomas Price Roberts, 18, for stealing six half crowns at Warminster . Thomas Jeffrey, 24, for stealing a silver spoon at Fisherton William Rowlings, 25, for stealing a sheep at Potterne W. Ellis, 19, R. Asher, 24, for stealing silver and copper coin at Market fener W. Cannings, 18, John Witters, 20, for stealing two iron wedges and brass milk pan at Br. Gifford T. Bull, 42, W. Kite, 26, Isaac Kite, 27, for stealing four ducks and a fou at Tilshead Thomas Sartain, 26, for stealing potatoes at Bradford se Wm. Godwin, 26, for wounding John Shaw at Melksham Ann Stone, 14, for stealing a cotton Shawl at Bradford Richard Hughes, 30, for stealing breeches at Carnham St. Wm. Goslet, 19, for stealing Bacon at Sherton Magna T. Flower, 42, for uttering a forged receipt to defraud the Gommiibnes of the Méelesharn turnpike os James Brown, 17, for stealing a watch from Samuel Pain at New Sarum George Martin, 16, James Brice, 25, for stealing two flutes at Melksham. Martin Dea Rowles (sic) Thomas Boxell, 18, for stealing a greatcoat at Colerne ae Joel Hall, 18, for poutine jamie: Holden of four half-crowns on the highway at Colemie . : John Nicholas, 22, for stealing two sides of bacon at Coote Mary Ann Morgan, 25, for stealing three five pound notes at Milford . Sarah Vincent, 21, for stealing two half crowns and three shoe brushes at aBedierd Robert Gale, 17, for stealing a silver watch at Melksham H. Smith, 24, for stealing two ducks at Calne John Billett, 24, William Billett, 22, for stealing two mares from Paste Saint Cyne Somerset John Snow, 15, for a Burglary a Elizabeth Drew, 24, for stealing four silk handkerchiefs etc, at Devizes. . Easton. Printer. Endless St. Sarum. BEN WORTHINGTON. 85 12 Months Fay ears No Bill Acquitted Death Death 7 Years 10 Months 7 Years No Bill 7 Years 3 Months Death Acquitted Acquitted 7 Years 3 Months No Bill One Month Death Death 7 Years No Bill Acquitted One Month One Month 12 Monhs 18 Months 6 Weeks 12 Months 6 Months Death Death 12 Months 86 BOOK REVIEWS Stonehenge by R. J.C. Atkinson. 8$-+-53ins. Pp. xv-+-204, 26 pls., 8 figs. London: Hamish Hamilton. 16s. Stonehenge is Wiltshire’s and northern Europe’s most renowned prehistoric monument, and as a West-Countryman I welcome this up-to-date account. Mr. Atkinson’s aim has been to write primarily for the ordinary visitor, in whom he has assumed “ an inquiring in- terest in the history and purpose of the monument, but no knowledge either of the details of its structure or of its arch- acological background in terms of prehistory.’ He has brought to this task thorough and original knowlegde, gained in the full course of recent excavations in which he collaborated with Professor Stuart Piggott and the late Dr.J.F..S..Stone. A long initial chapter is given to describing the stones and other features. Then follow two on ‘ The Sequence of Construction ’ and * The Dating of the Sequence’. Three main stages of building are described in an account both more detailed and convincing than any previously given. Stonehenge I comprised the ditch with inner and outer bank, the Aubrey holes, and possibly some central wooden structure. To the north-east, outside the entrance stood the Heel stone; two upright stones flanked the entrance. Stone- henge I was a Secondary Neolithic monument, dating to early in the second millennium B.C. In its second stage, the axis of the monument was re-aligned slightly towards the east, and the entrance widened. The main new features were the Avenue sweeping up from the Avon, and 82 bluestones standing in a double circle, in the newly discovered Q. and R holes. Stonehenge II was the work of Beaker people, more towards the middle of the second millennium B.C. Three phases characterize the third constructional stage recognized by Atkinson and his colleagues. The main and initial features were the Circle and Horseshoe of sarsen trilithons, with two uprights flanking the entrance, one of which was the now recumbent Slaughter stone. The four Stations are believed to belong to this phase, but the possibility is admitted that ‘they may have been part of an earlier circle of widely-spaced sarsens, lying just outside the Aubrey Holes 24.75: 3.s > Two further phases are held to have featured re-use of the bluestones of Stonchenge II. These were firstly set partly within the sarsen Horseshoe, and partly outside the sarsen Circle in the Y and Z holes; and then, in the final phase, set in their present positions. Stonehenge LI is held to have been the work of the Wessex culture. This view is justified more on general grounds than any other. Some of the carvings on sarsens convincingly represent native Early Bronze Age axes, but if they were carved after the stones were erected they form strictly termini ante quos. The same applies to the carving of the dagger; Mr. Atkinson plainly believes that it represents a Mycenaean dagger, but, generously and characteristically, admits this belief to be a matter of opinion. Bearing in mind the limitations of the material, another opinion is worth expressing— that the carving shows a bronze-hilted dagger (vollgriffdolch) of Oder-Elbe type; the implications are hardly less inter- esting. Besides the three stages of construction, a stage of destruction is argued, of Roman or medieval date. Mr. Atkinson has a keen awareness of technology and his chapter on “ The Techniques of Construction ’ is full of interesting facts and reasoning. He argues for a sea passage for the blue-stones from Milford Haven to the Bristol Channel, thence up the Bristol Avon to Frome and down the Wylye to the Wiltshire Avon; with typical thoroughness he has had boats and sledges made and set them in motion. He writes, ‘ It is now generally agreed by archaeologists and geologists that the origin of the Stonehenge sarsens must lie on the Marlborough Downs . . . . ’, and has prospected a route by which they may have come. One should be cautious in questioning figures based partly on experiment; but some readers may feel that the requirements of man- power for moving the sarsens (up to 50 tons in weight) have been exaggerated. Mr. Atkinson believes that 1,000-1,500 men may have been needed. Gradient and conditions underfoot are very important factors, and figures obtained in different parts of the world are not strictly comparable; but, it is worth noting that Thor Heyerdahl is reported as having shown that comparatively fewer men were required to move the Easter Island sculptures, and only 172 are shown on a XIth Dynasty Egyptian tomb-painting pulling a colossus weighing possibly nearly 60 tons. Mr. Atkinson gives strong reasons for believing that the lintels were raised by cribs and not ramps; possibly a rougher crib would have served than the type he describes. A chapter on ‘The Builders of Stonehenge’ gives an admirable short account of the relevant prehistory of southern England. But, on a minor point, the assumption that our Mesolithic inhabitants * built no houses ’ is a little rash; so is the statement on a previous page that ‘ During the second milleninium B.C. there were no wheeled vehicles’ in the British Isles. Some readers may feel that any contact which Britain had with the Mycenanean civilization was via Central Europe through many intermediaries. Not enough is likely ever to be known of the form above-ground of previous and possibly contemporary British timber monuments to warrant the suggestion that the “ refinements’ of 87 Stonehenge III were learnt in a civilized school; and the dressing of stone by abrasion, as Mr. Atkinson brilliantly points out, was widely known in Britain through quern manufacture. Despite the attractive writing, too much seems made of the contribution of the Wessex culture to Stonehenge III in arguing that the monument provides evidence for the * concentration of political power ’ (presumably in Wessex) ‘ in the hands of a single man’. Even the Secondary Neolithic people of Stonehenge I could handle very heavy sarsens. The bluestones of Stonehenge II carry perhaps still more remarkable sociological implications than the sarsens of III, suggesting links of Beaker culture kinsmen throughout southern Britain, perhaps owning the paramountcy of one fam- ily in the most favoured region. And the graves of the Wessex Culture seem to carry that interpretation better than one of ‘ a concentration of political power . . . . ’. The quite problematical Silbury Hill must be left out of account. Nothing but praise may be given to the two final chapters on “ The Meaning of Stonehenge’ and’ Stonehenge and the History of Antiquarian Thought ’ full of insight and ingenious ideas presented with exemplary restraint. There remain the illustrations and here one must salute the work of genius. However familiar the monument may be to the visitor, Mr. Atkinson’s photographs will show him something fresh and re-awaken his spontaneous first impressions, and, to one who has never seen Stonehenge, will lay its very essence before his eyes. Here is a triumph of that “ wandering and passively receptive regard ’ of which Mr. Atkinson eloquently writes, and a triumph of technique in the use of low lights which must have been forced on him. I sincerely hope that he will consider putting out an edition of these photographs with a large format to preserve them in worthy fashion. Finally, this book raises a challenge to Wiltshire’s field archacologists. It argues the great resources and achievements of the Wessex culture. Now, Stonehenge apart, it is hard to believe that men and women, buried in the richer graves, lived onasmall scale. Somewhere in Wiltshire’s soil surely lie the traces of their great houses or agglomerations of huts. Systematic field-work should narrow the search. Humpurty Case. Progress Notes of Warden Woodward for the Wiltshire Estates of New College, Oxford, 1659-1675. Edited by R. L. Rickard, Hon. M. A. Assistant Librarian of New College (Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Records Branch. Vol. XIII for the year 1957.) Pp. 144. This volume, skilfully edited by Mr. R. L. Rackard, reproduces the Progress Notes made by Warden Michael Wood- ward, one of the few notable Wardens of New College in its long history. The Progress, a medieval institution, was a visit by the lord of the manor, usually accompanied by the steward, to churches and property within the manorial jurisdiction, in order to collect rents and dues, to conduct courts, to inspect premises, to consider applications, usually for permission to cut timber, and to hear complaints. Woodward insisted on the regular performance of these duties, and for this purpose he was accompanied by one of the fellows, called the Outrider. Business was combined with social pleasures, as it was usual for the most substantial landlord or farmer in the parish to entertain the Progress, the Outrider being usually entrusted with the duty of paying gratuities (called the Regards) to the servants after the receipt of hospit- ality. Obviously such a body of men, usually in holy orders, might be expected to have substantial sums in their custody as they made their way back to Oxford, and so they were fair game for highwaymen. The College of All Souls still possesses a pair of blunderbusses, with the help of which the Progress of that College protected the rent money in its possession. In days when holidays were few and far between, admission to the Progress must have been welcomed by those Fellows who wanted a breath of fresh air. In this volume there are accurate transcripts of Woodward’s notes for Alton Barnes, Stert and Collerne. Court Rolls for these manors are printed as appendices. Woodward, who had some of the naiveté of Pepys, but little of the vital humanity of the diarist, kept his business memoranda of progresses in three small volumes, which appear to have remained untouched until the nineteenth century, when they were examined by Warden Sewell, who was Warden from 1860 to 1903. Sewell used this and other material for his valuable register of the members of the College; otherwise the volumes remained unnoticed until 1931. A successor of Woodward and Sewell, the present Warden, Dr. A. H. Smith, has produced a fascinating history of the College, based mainly on shrewd deductions from close inspection of the fabric, but the study of the literary evidences for College history, to be found mainly in the muniments, has devolved on Mr. R. L. Rickard, who has made himself a master of this interesting but tricky subject. Not many foundations have the good fortune to have so rich a treasure of medieval material as New College, nor the good fortune to have such a keen and skilful interpreter as Mr. Rickard. A reading of this book recalls old memories. The present writer was privileged to accompany the late Warden Spooner on Progress in the year 1923. He was much impressed by Spooner’s technique in handling awkward requests, such as for reduction of rent; after smiling with patriarchal benevolence on the applicant he would inform him that the matter would have to be settled by the Fellows in Oxford. Woodward had the same approach, without the benevolence. In May 1666, at Colerne he had to deal with a copyholder, “ one Odam’ who, contrary to covenant, had committed a major manorial offence—he had cut down some timber without consent, and so was liable to forfeit his copyhold. The Outrider insisted on forfeiture; Woodward was inclined to be more lenient, but did not like to show 88 it. ‘ When Odam yet entreated that he might pay for the trespasse and enjoy his lease I told him (to fright him the more) that I could say nothing unto him till 1 knew the mind of the company at home, and in the interim he was to expect ’ (i.e., to wait). So this reference back to “the company at home’ was as useful in the seventeenth century as it was to prove in the twentieth. Davip Occ. Swindon Review. Swindon. 1s. 6d. The subtitle, A Local Miscellany of the Arts, gives a good idea of the contents of Swindon Review—, which is published each December by the Libraries, Museum, Arts and Music Committee of the Swindon Borough Council. Number 8, 1956, contains among other good things two short stories, two articles inspired by Church monuments, and an article by R. J. Gates on Edward Thomas, the poet. Thomas’ work, in its childlike simplicity of expression and depth of thought, would stand comparison with that of Walter de la Mare. The quotations printed here also provide a yard- stick by which to measure the original poetry in the Review, some of which does not fall far short of Thomas’ high standard. The contributors to the Review are mainly, but not wholly, amateur: their inspiration is mainly, but not wholly, local and from the country rather than the town. Thus Liddington and Ridgeway feature in two of the poems, while the sad peacefulness of Marguerite Johansen’s The Green Abode, and R. M. Hillman’s stern Sower, belong to the countryside as a whole. With Newton’s Third Law, by Paul Weir, we come to a change of mood. Here is a poem written, one supposes, as a direct result of the manufacture of single-seater Swift jet aircraft at Swindon. As with the poetry, so with the illustrations. There is the familiar pattern of tree trunks, and the conventional homestead, but the editors are to be congratulated on having selected the industrial Power and Beauty, the jagged Swindon Skyline, and the drawing of the Pressed Steel Factory (whose medium, incidentally, is not given). Even the ugliest industrial scenes often make fine black and white photographs, machinery has its artistic moments, and steel scaffolding makes a harmonious pattern against the sky. Can Swindon, which is surrounded by beautiful countryside, and which has already given a lead to other towns by producing the Review, go further, and uncover the artistic merits of industrial landscape and workshop interiors ! The Review is well printed on good paper, and every page reveals the care with which the editors have arranged their material and read their proofs. At 1s. 6d. it is a bargain. J. M. Prest. The Place Names of Cricklade by T. R. Thomson. O.U.P., 1957. Pp. 8. 1s. Dr. Thomson continues his good work on the History of Cricklade. This well-produced pamphlet of some 300 place-names must be the result of years of careful compilation. It is arranged in the form ofan eight-page index and may be considered as an extension of the material already to be found in the Place Names of Wiltshire. The information is set out with enough chronological apparatus to satisfy the antiquarian; in particular a symbol is used to denote property named after its former owners. This should prove a boon to those who seek to avoid the fancy derivations so much beloved by the amateur of previous generations. E. G. H. Kempson. 89 OBITUARIES DR. J. F. S. STONE. The sudden death of Dr. J. F. S. Stone in June, 1957, was a major loss to British archacology, and to that of Wiltshire in particular. For twenty-five years he had been one of the most vigorous and active field archacologists working in the county, but with a reputation which reached far beyond its boundaries. Stone wasa Somerset man, educated at Monkton Combe and trained as a scientist and chemist at Oxford, who late in the 1920's came to work in what are now the Ministry of Supply’s research laboratories at Porton. He lived first at Ford, moving to Winterbourne Gunner shortly after, and began his archaeological work in that immediate region. His excavations in the flint mines and the adjacent Beaker period settlement on Easton Down, carried out and published in this Magazine when he was in his very early thirties, immediately established him as a field worker of outstanding capability. Inthese publications, as in all his work, one saw an original mind trained in scientific disciplines tackling arch- acological problems with elegance and precision, and presenting the results with economy and clarity, aided by his talent as a draughtsman. The bibliography which follows this memoir shows clearly enough how from 1930 onwards such spare time as a busy scientist and administrator could command was increasingly devoted to excavations in South Wiltshire, and their prompt publication. Having contributed in a most notable degree to our understanding of the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age flint mining in Wiltshire, he turned his attention to what was to be perhaps his most important contribution in the field archaeology of Wessex, the investigation of the Late Bronze farming settlements in the southern part of Salisbury Plain. At the end of the last century, Pitt-Rivers had first established the existence, in Cranborne Chase, of enclosures attributable to people of what was later defined as the Deverel-Rimbury culture, but it was Stone who first recognised the existence of analogous sites in Wiltshire, and by his brilliant excavations advanced our knowledge far beyond that provided by Pitt-Rivers’ pioneering work. At Boscombe Down he was able to link such a Late Bronze Age cattle-enclosure to the ditch systems that define what appear to be large estates of grazing land, and gave us a new insight into the agrarian economy of the early first millennium B.C.; at Thorny Down he completely uncovered, week-end by week-end and virtually single-handed, the ground plan of a farmstead of the same period, with the post- holes of its timber-framed buildings. His main interests, however, were in the archaeological problems of the Neolithic and earlier Bronze Age peoples in Wessex, within the first half of the second millennium B.C. Here his excavations of Bronze Age burials were to lead him to another line of research in prehistory, that of the imported beads of faience, of which more must be said at a later stage: the impetus to what became a protracted investigation spread over many years was provided by his discovery of such beads when excavating a small Middle Bronze Age cremation-cemetery on Easton Down. But his field-work had also led to the excavation of a very remarkable miniature ‘ Henge Monument’ in Fargo Plantation near Stonchenge, and he became fascinated by the problems of such structures, not least Stonehenge itself, and the nearby Durrington Walls. It was inevitable therefore that about 1949 he, the writer of this memoir, and Mr. R. J. C. Atkinson, should have joined forces as an informal committee to make a new attack on the Stonehenge problems, and that Stone continued to play a constant and important part in the subsequent work which was carried out by the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology in the University of Edinburgh and the Ministry of Works on the site of Stonehenge and its ancillary monuments. The definite monograph on Stonchenge, embodying all the results from old and new excavations, which will be published by the Society of Antiquaries was to be a tripartite work, and Stone’s contribution, already massive when brought to a close by his death, will be a posthumous tribute to his research in this field. From the study of the manufacture of flint axes at the Easton Down mines, Stone turned naturally enough to a par- allel phenomenon, the use of axe-blades of igneous rocks in south-west England. He took over, after the war, the Secretaryship of the Sub-Committee of the South-Western Group of Museums on the petrological identification of Stone Axes, and worked indefatigably on a task which was both tedious and laborious, but productive of some of the most important results bearing on Neolithic trade in Britain that post-war research has produced. Stone’s most significant piece of research, other than that conducted in the field, was however his study of the ques- tions raised by the presence, during the Bronze Age, both in the British Isles and in Continental Europe, of beads and other ornaments of faience, a substance of complex composition, invented and manufactured in the Ancient Orient. With the late Horace Beck, he published in 1936 the first systematic treatment of the British material, ina paper which is a landmark in the literature of British prehistory. He continued the study, widening his scope until he was taking account of the Continental and ultimately the Oriental evidence as well, and just before his death published a definitive paper discussing the problems on an Old World basis. He left, too, the text and illustrations of a book summarising his Wessex researches to be published in 1958 under the title of Wessex Before the Celts. The amateur in British archaeology has received, from time to time, unmerited blame and unmerited praise. The VOL. LVII-CCVI L 90 word itself is unfortunate: the difference between the so-called amateur and the so-called professional in archaeology is not one of status, but of standards. If the spare-time archaeologist carries out his work to the standards of professional competence, the distinction ceases to exist. Stone was perhaps the most outstanding ‘ amateur ’ of his generation whose work was throughout of a quality consistent with the highest requirements of modern archaeological disciplines, his status as a prehistorian recognised in this country and abroad. To achieve such a position is no easy task, and it is characteristic of the man that he treated the situation with disarming modesty and humour. It is impossible for the writer to end this memoir on an impersonal note. A close friendship over a quarter-century forges stronger bonds than a share in a common field of study, and one remembers the man himself first, the fellow- scholar and research colleague second. One remembers * Marcus ’—that absurd nickname we all used with such affec- tion—and his wife, unobtrusively but constantly sharing in and contributing to his life and work, remembers not only the archaeological talk, but the alert and vivid approach he brought to any intellectual problem, the lucid sanity and unassuming wisdom he showed in human affairs, the keen sense of the ridiculous and the balanced view. BIBLIOGRAPHY - . Easton Down, Winterslow, Flint Mine Excavation, 1930. (Wilts Arch. Mag., 1931, xlv, 350). A Settlement Site of the Beaker period on Easton Down. (Wilts Arch. Mag., 1931, xlv, 366). Saxon Interments on Roche Court Down. (Ibid., 1932, xlv, 568). A Middle Bronze Age Urnfield on Easton Down, Winterslow. (Ibid., 1933, xlvi, 218). . Excavations at Easton Down, Winterslow, 1931-32. (Ibid., 1933, x!vi, 225). . Skeletons found in a barrow at Idmiston and on Boscombe Down East. (Ibid., 1933, xlvi, 387). . A Flint Mine at Martin’s Clump, Over Wallop, Hants. (Proc. Hants Field Club and Arch. Soc., 1933, Xii, 177). . Three Peterborough dwelling pits and a doubly-stockaded Early Iron Age ditch at Winterbourne Dauntsey. (Wilts Arch. Mag., 1934, xlvi, 445). 9. A case of Bronze Age Cephalotaphy on Easton Down. (Man., 1934, 51; reprinted in Wilts Arch. Mag., 1934, xlvi, 563). 10. Some discoveries at Ratfyn, Amesbury, and their bearing on the date of Woodhenge. (Ibid., 1935, xlvii, 55). 11. Excavations at Easton Down, Winterslow, 1933-34. (Wilts Arch. Mag., 1935, xlvii, 68,). 12. Trial excavations in the East Suburb at Old Sarum. With J. Charlton. (Antiquaries J., 1935, Xv, 174.) 13. Trial excavation at Hayes Wood enclosure, Freshford, Somerset. With A. T. Wicks. (Proc. Somerset Arch. Soc., 1935, [xxxi, 133). 14. An unrecorded group of barrows and other earthworks at Ford, Laverstock. (Wilts Arch. Mag., 1936, xlvii, 406). 15. An Enclosure on Boscombe Down East. (Ibid., 1936, xlvii, 466). 16. Faience Beads of the British Bronze Age. With H.C. Beck. (Archaeologia, 1936, xxxv, 203). 17. A Late Bronze Age Habitation Site on Thorny Down, Winterbourne Gunner. (Wilts Arch. Mag., 1937, xlvii, 640.) 18. The Barrows of Winterslow. With F. Stevens. (Ibid., 1938, xviii, 174). 19. Translation of Walter von Stokar’s ‘ Microscopic and chemical investigations on prehistoric organic remains ’. (Antiquity, 1938, xii, 82). . An Early Bronze Age grave in Fargo Plantation near Stonehenge. (Wilts Arch. Mag., 1938, xlviii, 357). . A Middle Bronze Age site at Stockbridge, Hants. With N. G. Hill. (Proc. Prehist. Soc., 1938, iv, 249). . Pygmy cup from Winterbourne Dauntsey. (Wilts Arch. Mag., 1940, xlix, 234). . Around barrow on Stockbridge Down, Hants. With N. G. Hill. (Antiquaries J., 1940, xx, 39). . The Deverel-Rimbury settlement on Thorny Down, Winterbourne Gunner. (Proc.Pre Hist. Soc., 1941, Vii, 114). . Askeleton at Gomeldon, Idmiston, S. Wilts. ‘Wilts Arch. Mag., 1942, 1, 107). . Report on a calcite spectacled spacing bead from Barrow 18, Crichel Down. (Archacologia, 1944, XC, 77). . Second Report of Sub-Committee on Petrological Identification of Stone Axes. ‘With F.S. Wallis. (Proc. Prehist. Soc., 1947, Xill, 47). 28. The Stonehenge Cursus and its affinities. (Archacological J., 1947, civ, 7). 29. Faience and glazed steatite beads of the Jamdet Nasr period, Brak. (Iraq, 1947, ix, 254). 30. A Beaker interment on Stockbridge Down, Hants, and its cultural connexions. (Antiquaries J., 1948, XXviil, 149). 31. A fixed point in the chronology of the European Bronze Age. (IPEK, 1943-48, 43). 2. Figsbury Rings. (The Three Winterbournes, 1948, 1, no. 3, 10). 33. Two pits of Grooved Ware date near Woodhenge. With W. E. V. Young. (Wilts Arch. Mag., 1948, lii, 287). 34. An Early Iron Age village or farmstead on Boscombe Down, S. Wilts. (Archacological News Letter, 1949, no. 11, 9). 35. Vase supports. (Antiquity, 1949, Xxili, 215). 36. A second fixed point in the chronology of the Harappa Culture. (Antiquity, 1949, xxiii, 201). CAI AWP YH H ww WN lek) An fh WN wYwb NN ~ 91 37. Some Grooved Ware porttey from the Woodhenge area. (Proc. Prehist. Soc., 1949, Xv, 122). 38. The Winterbourne’s first farmstead. (The Three Winterbournes, 1949, i, no. 7, 9). 39. Anaxe-hammer from Fifield Bavant, Wilts, and the exploitation of Presclite. (Antiquaries J., 1950, Xxx, 145). 40. The Petrological Identification of Stone Axes. (Archaeological News Letter, 1950, no. 1, 6). 41. Excavations at Stonehenge, 1950. With R. J. C. Atkinson and S. Piggott. (Archaeological News Letter, 1950, no. 1, 3). 42. Anecklace from a barrow in North Moulton parish, N. Devon. With Aileen Fox. (Antiquaries J., 1951, xxxi, 25) 43. Poachers or robbers? (The Three Winterbournes, 1951, ti, nO. 7, 12). 44. Beads from Knackyboy Cairn, St. Martins, Scilly Islands. (Antiquaries J., 1952, Xxxii, 30). 45. A stone axe from Boscombe Down West. (Wilts Arch. Mag., 1951, liv, 162). 46. Third Report of the Sub-Committee on Petrological Identification of Stone Axes. With FP. S, Wallis. (Proc. Prehist. Soc., 1951, Xvi, 99). 47. British and Egyptian segmented faience beads. (Archaeological News Letter, 1951, iv, 51). 48. The excavation of two additional holes at Stonehenge, 1950, and new evidence for the date of the monument. With R. J. C. Atkinson and Stuart Piggott. (Antiquaries J., 1952, Xxxu, 14). 49. identification petrographique des instruments de pierre. (Chapitre xi of La Découverte du Passé by A. Laming, Paris, 1952). so. Atrial flint mine at Durrington, Wiltshire. (Wilts Arch. Mag., 1952, liv, 381). 51. Wanted—photographs of Stonehenge. With R. J. C. Atkinson and Stuart Piggott. (Archacological News Letter, 1952, iv, 150). 52. Stonehenge in the light of modern research. (The Three Winterbournes, 1952-53). 53. A decorated bronze axe from Stonehenge Down. (Wilts Arch. Mag., 1953, lv, 30). 54. Durrington Walls, Wiltshire. Recent excavations at a ceremonial site of the Early Second Millennium B.C. With Stuart Piggott and A. St. J. Booth. (Antiquaries J., 1954, xxxiv, 155). 55. A Stonchenge-Mycenae link of 1500 B.C. now revealed by photography. Finding the first internal evidence for the main date of Stonehenge. With R.J. C. Atkinson and Stuart Piggott. (I/lustrated London News, 13th March, 1954, 408-9). 56. Knockadoon, Lough Gur, glass beads. (Proc. Roy. Irish Acad., 1954, 56, 354). 57. Segmented faience bead from Ballyduff, Co. Wexford. (J. Roy. Soc. Antiquaries of Ireland, Ixxxiii, 1953, $5). 58. Faience beads from Tara. (Proc. Prehist. Soc., 1955, XX1, 170). 59. Sorviodunum. With D.J. Algar. (Wilts Arch. Mag., 1955, lvi, 102). 60. Note on beads from La Portella. Salina, Acolian Islands. (Antiquity, 1957, Xxxi, 13). 61. The use and distribution of Faience in the Ancient East and Prehistoric Europe. With L. C. Thomas. (Proc. Prehist. Soc., 1956, XXii, 37). OSBERT GUY STANHOPE CRAWFORD, C.B.E., LITT.D., F.S.A., died on Nov. 28th, 1957, aged 71. Son of Judge C. E. G. Crawford, of the Indian High Court, he was educated at Marlborough and Keble College, Oxford. Though he did not fit happily into the curriculum of a public school he acquired at Marlborough the interest in field archaeology which was to be the mainspring of his career and which led him at Oxford to switch from Classics to the Geography Diploma course. About this time he made the acquaintance of H. J. E. Peake, with whom he excavated a disc barrow at Botley Wood near Grafton in 1910, and who further encouraged his archaeological bent. There were few openings then in this field, but he secured a post as assistant to Reisner in excavations in the Sudan. Joining the Army in ror4, he trans- ferred to the R.F.C., being shot down and taken prisoner in 1918. In 1920 he was appointed first Archaeology Officer of the Ordnance Survey, a position admirably suited to him which he held until after the second World War. Here, in face of carping opposition, his independence and resolute character stood him in good stead; besides revising the inaccuracies of the previously published O.S. Sheets he introduced a Map of Roman Britain and other period maps. His flying experience as an observer in the war was now put to good account. In 1923 a paper read to the Royal Geographical Society, later published under the title Air Survey and Archaeology, launched a new line of study which was to be of the utmost importance. Many of the photographs used were taken by R.A.F. aeroplanes flown on sorties from Old Sarum at his initiative. This publication was the forerunner of a sump- tuous volume Wessex from the Air (1928), which he compiled with Mr. A. Keiller, who had been inspired by the earlier work to finance the air reconnaissance of a large number of sites. These productions added enormously to the know- ledge of many familiar sites, besides revealing others, such as the Early Iron Age farm at Woodbury which was later to be the scene of a classic excavation under Professor Bersu. Air photography played its part too in leading Crawford to distinguish between the Celtic field system with its chequered pattern and the long strips of Saxon cultivation methods. His project of mapping the Celtic fields of Salisbury Plain was cut short by the second World War, when PRA 92 only the Old Sarum sheet had been issued. None more than he deplored their wholesale destruction through the ploughing of ever larger acreages of downland, and he succeeded in getting field systems accepted for scheduling as ancient monuments, thus saving some at least from being wiped out. In 1927 he founded the quarterly Antiquity, which he edited till his death. Primarily devoted to field archaeology the world over, this filled a gap. He travelled widely in his spare time in N. Africa and elsewhere, and his own contri- butions were frequently based on his acute observation of primitive tribes whom he had visited. His activities in these varied spheres of work earned him an international reputation. To him is largely due the development of the distri- bution map as an aid to prehistoric research. He also, to quote Stuary Piggott, ‘constructed, out of the old and honour- able tradition going back to Aubrey and Stukeley, a new discipline of field-archaeology, concerned with the accurate record and informal interpretation of the ancient monuments of the countryside; chambered tomb or medieval park boundary, strip lynchets or Roman roads’. Other published works were Man and His Past, Long Barrows of the Cotswolds (1925), Archaeology in the Field (1953), his autobiography Said and Done (1955), and the Eye Goddess (1957). For 20 years from 1919 he served on the committee of this Society. His contributions to W.A.M. included The Anglo-Saxon Bounds of Bedwyn aud Burbage (June, 1921), Field Work round Avebury (Dec., 1922), and The East End of Wansdyke (Dec., 1953). Obit: Times, Nov. 30th, 1957. DR. WALTER BYRON MAURICE, M.B.E., of Lloran House, Marlborough, died on Sept. 13th, 1956, aged 84. Fifth son and last surviving mem ber of the family of thirteen of Dr. J. B. Maurice, he was educated at Marlborough and qualified as a doctor in 1895. After serving as a naval surgeon 1897—1905 he joined the family practice at Marlborough, which he kept on for $0 years, and until 1947 was on the staff of Savernake Hospital and medical officer of the Children’s Con- valescent Hospital as he had been from its inception. For his work in charge of the local V.A.D. Hospital in the 1914—18 War he was awarded the M.B.E. He took an active part in public affairs and was regarded with universal respect and affection. For some years on the town council, he was elected Mayor in 1912; hesat on the County Bench 1917—47, for many years as vice-chairman, and was long a Governor of Marlborough Grammar School. Outside his medical work his greatest interest lay in scouting; taking over the local troop in 1912 he attended summer camps for nearly 40 years and was County Commissioner 1927—34. In 1929 he received the Silver Wolf, the highest honour-of the Scout- ing Movement. Apart from this he did a great deal for the youth of the town and helped many boys to join the train- ing ship Arethusa. He married in 1911 Caroline Edith Tosswill, who survives him with two sons, both carrying on the family practice started in 1792. Obit.: Marlborough Times, Sept. 21st, 1956. MAJOR SAMUEL FRANK ALDERSON ARCHER, O.B.E., died at Castle Eaton on Feb. 11th, 1957, aged 85. As Capt. Alderson, a regular officer in the R.A., he inherited from his uncle, Lt.-Col. D. Archer, considerable estates in N. Wilts in 1912 and left the Army to manage them, assuming the family name of Archer. Recalled in 1914 he did garrison duty in the Channel Islands. When the war ended he settled permanently in Castle Eaton. He was a keen sportsman, took an active interest in the life of the village and was held in the highest esteem. He leaves one son. Obit.: Wilts and Glos. Standard, Feb. 16th, 1957. B. J. WALLIS, F.S.A., died on Feb. rsth, 1957, aged 56. Educated at St. Lawrence Coll., Ramsgate and Merton College Oxford, he was for many years a master at Epsom. He put in much work in Wiltshire in the preparation of the sixteen 6in. O.S. sheets illustrating the bounds of Brokenborough, and in field work on the bounds of Norton as given in K.C.D. 355. He also gave valuable advice and assistance on the determination of the Walls of Cricklade during the recent years of excavation. Obit.: Times, Feb. 25th, 1957. REV. BERTRAM L. LAMPLUGH, died at Littleton Drew on April 29th, 1957, aged 79. He was ordained at Canterbury in 1916, later holding curacies at Maidstone, Mayfield, Taunton and Wellow before going to Malmesbury as curate at the Abbey Church in 1934. In 1944 he was appointed Rector of Littleton Drew and held the living till his death. He was deeply interested in church architecture, and many will recall with pleasure his admirable talk on Malmesbury Abbey when it was visited by this Society in 1951. Obit.: Wiltshire News, May 3rd, 1957. REV. CANON ARTHUR FREDERICK SMETHURST, PH.D., died on Sept. 15th, 1957, aged 53. Educated at Marlboroush and the Imperial College of Science and Technology, he later trained for the priesthood at Westcott House, Cambridge. He was Rector of Compton Abbas (Dorset) 1938—40; Vicar of Market Lavington 1940—4; Rector of West Dean and East Grimstead 1944—9. On the death of Canon Quirk he became Residentiary Canon at Salisbury; in 1953 he became 93 Chancellor of the Cathedral, relinguishing the appointment in 1956 to become Treasurer. From 1942—52 he was diocesan secretary for higher education; since 1946 editor of the Chronicle of Convocation, Synodical Secretary, and examining chaplain to the Bishop of Salisbury. In these duties he displayed wide knowledge without officiousness. In 1955 he published a book on the relation between modern science and Christian belief, on which he was particularly well qualified to write. He married, in 1935, Gwynyth Beatrice, daughter of G. N. Hallett. Obits.: Times, Sept. 17th; Wiltshire Gazette, Sept. 19th, 1957. MISS DOROTHY SCOTT BAKER died at Bath on Oct. 16th, 1957, aged 65. She came to Trowbridge as Assistant Education Officer for Wilts in 1934; and in the absence on service during the 1939—45 war of the Director of Education herself acted in that capacity. In December 1956 she was appointed Chief Education Officer, being the only woman in the country to hold such a position. She combined great administrative ability with charm of manner and was highly esteemed by all with whom she came in contact. Obit.: Wiltshire Gazette, Oct. 17th, 1957. MAJOR VALENTINE STEVEN BLAND, M.C., died at The Warren, Aldbourne on Nov. oth, 1957, aged 70. Educated at Shrewsbury, he started farming in Norfolk and served with R.F.A. in 1914—18 War. On leaving the Army he was for eight years estate agent to Mr. James White at Foxhill, later farming on his own account at Foxhill and Aldbourne Warren. He bred pedigree Hampshire Down sheep, winning several championships, and also had a high reputation as a poultry farmer. For two years chairman of Wilts N.F.U., he also served onthe Wilts War Agricultural Executive Committee. He took a prominent part in village affairs, having been chairman and secretary of Aldbourne British Legion and chairman of the Village Hall committee, and for many years represented Aldbourne on the County Council. He leaves a widow, two sons and a daughter. Obit.: Marlborough Times, Nov. 15th, 1957. 94 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 1957 The Annual General Meeting of the Society took place at Lacock Abbey on September 21st, 1957. The President first expressed the Society’s sense of loss in the deaths of Mr. C. W. Pugh and Mr. G. L. Peirson. He referred to Mr. Pugh’s generous bequest of £250 to the Society. He then mentioned the resignation of Mr. N. Thomas as Curator on his appointment to Birmingham and the appointment of Mr. K. Annable, the Assistant Curator, to take his place. He paid tribute to the excellent work done by Mr. Thomas while he had been with the Society, The Society’s finances, the President said, were not very strong and the Inland Revenue was still refusing to admit claims for refund of Income Tax under Covenant Schemes pending the issue of a case regarding this point in which the National Book Leaguc were a party. The Magazine was now, the President continued, on a sound basis and the Lecture Hall reasonably well equipped. Excursions had been well attended and popular; Mr. Meyrick and Mr. Ross were to be congratulated on their success. The President believed that that Society now had a very efficient set of officers and that its affairs should continue to run smoothly. He concluded by warmly thanking Miss Talbot and Col. and Mrs. Bennett Brown for putting the Abbey at the Society’s disposal. The Society's officers then made their reports. Those concerning the Natural History Section, the Museum, the Magazine and the Records Branch are covered in the various notes by the officers responsible elsewhere in this issue. An account of Summer Excursions and the Treasurer’s and Librarian’s reports are reproduced below. E. E. SaBBEN-CLARE. SUMMER EXCURSIONS, 1956 On June 2nd a visit to Bristol drew a rather sparse attendance. This was the more regrettable, as a most interesting and varied tour had been devised. In the morning Dr. R. Perry acted as guide on a visit to many of Clifton’s noted architectural features and in the afternoon led a party round the old part of the city; on each occasion his exposition won universal appreciation from his audience. For the others the morning was spent seeing St. Mary Redcliffe, the Cathedral and the Mayor’s Chapel; later they went to the Folk Museum at Blaise Castle with its large collection of bygones. Lunch was taken at Bright’s Hotel and tea at the City Museum, which had on view as a special feature the Lilian‘Lunn exhibition of historical figures. To Mr. Harry Ross goes the credit for working out the whole programme to a well-planned time- table. The excursion of July 4th was taken up till tea with a tour of Salisbury. St. Thomas’ Church, with its great Doom painting, was the starting point. After a preliminary welcome by the Vicar (Rey. P. J. Hayes), Mr. Hugh Braun dealt expertly with the architecture. Next to be visited were the Hall of John Halle, now the foyer of the Gaumont Cinema, and the Church House, now containing diocesan offices; to both these 15th cen- tury merchants’ houses Mr. G. E. Chambers proved an admirable guide. Following lunch at the Assembly Rooms, the afternoon was given up to a tour of the Close. Many of those present must have wished for the opportunity to go over some of its houses, and on this occasion five were thrown open and the King’s House, now a Diocesan College, was also visited. The houses, Mompesson House, Hemyngsby, Nos. 68, 15 and 21, were well chosen for their varied styles and periods, and no better guides could have been found than Mrs. Dora Robertson, the authority on the history of the Close, and Major J. H. Jacob, Diocesan architect, who had between them planned the afternoon’s programme down to the last detail. Thanks are due also to Major Jacobs and the other occupants of the houses visited for permission to go over them. After tea at the Red Lion Hotel the party, numbering about 150, left for Stonehenge to see the excavations in progress. Here Professor Stuart Piggott gave a most lucid account of the extremely complex develop- 7e ment of the monument as revealed by the excavations of recent years, the last that are likely to be under- taken there for a considerable time to come. The last outing to Cricklade and district was held on August 18th and attracted an attendance approaching 150. A start was made at Inglesham Church, barely large enough to hold such a gathering. This is almost unique in having escaped the restorer’s hand, and its many interesting features were admirably described by Mr. Oswald Brakspear. Crossing the county boundary to Fairford Church, we were lucky to have in the Vicar (Rev. E. Keble) an enthusiast who knew every detail of the architecture and in particu- lar of its far-famed glass and brought the stories portrayed in it vividly to his hearers. The party then dis- persed for lunch, to meet again at Down Ampney House by kind permission of Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Dennis. Dr. T. R. Thomson spoke on the history of this Elizabethan house, which was then open for inspection with its impressive gate-house. The adjacent church could also be visited abeit with discretion, as a wedding was about to take place. From here the road was taken to Cricklade where the rest of the day was spent. Dr. Thomson again acted as guide to St. Sampson’s Church, where also a display of local finds and documents aroused keen interest. A lavish tea, prepared by Mrs. Thomson and the Women’s Branch of the British Legion, which it was hoped to have in Dr. Thomson’s garden, was served instead in the Village Hall, owing to a strong wind and the chance of rain. Afterwards Cricklade Museum was visited, and Group Captain G. M. Knocker and Dr. Thomson led parties to sections of the old town walls where the results of recent excavations were discussed. This brought a fitting finish to the day, which owed its success very largely to Dr. Thomson’s unsparing work. REPORT OF THE HONORARY TREASURER FOR 1956 Revlew of finances for the year ended 31st December, 1956. During the previous year the Trustees had made considerable changes in investment but during the year under review no such changes have been made. Due to the unfortunate economic situation the market value of the Society’s investments show a steady decline in value (£17,597 for 1954; £16,045 for 1955; £13,825 for 1956). From these investments the income in 1954 was £539; 1955 £544; and 1956 £576, so at least the Society’s income is still being maintained and even slightly increased despite the fall in the market value. Income. Subscriptions in 1954 were £39; 1955 £562; and 1956 £595. Despite this it is becoming in- creasingly difficult to collect members’ subscriptions and even now despite two additional reminders many members have not paid. It is hoped that with the regular issue of W.A.M. members will be more punctual. It is very necessary to have these without too much demand owing to the cost of collection. Income Tax remains about the same but there is in abeyance some {/400 tax claimed in respect of covenanted sub- scriptions which the Inland Revenue have not yet agreed to repay owing to the dispute with the National Book League. It might well mean that the Society will not get this and that the question of covenants will need revision but the matter will receive the attention of your Committee. Admissions to the museum remain steady and the sale of books continues to be a source of income. We have been fortunate in receiv- ing the very substantial support from the Wilts County Council which has enabled us to at least pay our way. We also received a very generous donation of £/50 from Mr. Sandell to help towards the Natural History Room. The overall Income is as you will see very similar to last year. Expenditure. With the issue of Magazine CCIII and the payment on account of CCIV this item shows an Increase. With the regular issue of the Magazine this item should stabilise itself. Salaries show a slight “increase accounted for by increases made to your Curator and his Assistant. The Committee continue the policy of spending a certain amount on renovations and during the year under review some £171 was 96 spent. Some chairs have been purchased for the Lecture Hall but the response to this appeal was not at all satisfactory and more equipment for the Lecture Hall could be provided if the funds were available. The other items are essential to the running of the Society and remain very similar to the previous year. From the remaining accounts you will see that your Committee spent a considerable amount of capital on Repairs to the Society’s premises, it being the policy of the Committee to put the buildings in first class repair over a period of years. It will be appreciated that these buildings were by necessity neglected over a period and the Committee are now only beginning to reach the end of capital expenditure. To sum up, income must be maintained. Members can help by paying promptly and recruiting more members. We are grateful to the County Council for their continued support, without which we should be in some difficulty. Your Committee whilst keeping a close eye on expenditure will continue their policy in making the Museum worthy of the Society and available to as many people as possible at a very modest entrance fee. REPORT OF THE HONORARY LIBRARIAN FOR 1956 The Society’s Library continued to be in constant use throughout 1956. The number of enquiries made by visitors was 386, while postal ones came to 95 making a total of 481. One of the privileges of member- ship of this society is free use of the Library, and members availed themselves of this on 256 occasions. Of the remainder, 50 visits by non-members resulted in a total receipt of £4 11s. od., while 62 students as well as members of 18 branches of the Women’s Institute were admitted free. We admit students free as part of our policy to encourage education in Wilts, and it is gratifying to be able to provide assistance to so many of them in writing their theses. The reference to the Women’s Institute relates to a most interesting competition run during 1956 in which each village branch had to make a scrap book of information about its own parish. Many of the members of the Society were interested in this and one of the Committee, Mr. H. Ross, was the judge. Eighteen Branches used the Library, some of them on several occasions, and although we did not charge them, the donation box in the Museum benefited considerably. The Librarian was privileged to see the finished scrap books, which were exhibited at the Spring Con- ference in the Town Hall, Devizes, and he is happy to be able to say that the members of the Market Lav- ington Institute have deposited their book on loan in the Society’s Library. In addition to the above activities the normal routines of the Library have been carried on. The collection of newspaper cuttings has been continued although we are held up by lack of a suitable album large enough to take them. It would appear that the only answer to this problem is to have one made, but the Library fund cannot at the moment afford this. Accessions. During the past year the Library has received 67 new items, of which 18 were bought at a cost of £24 3s. 6d. They are listed periodically in W.A.M. but some of them deserve special mention. Certain books of reference have been purchased to assist the Curator inhis day to day work of identifying objects brought into the museum. These books include works on Iron and Brass Implements, Coins, Pottery and Porcelain. Another acquisition is the new authoritative work on the Preservation of Works of Art by H. J. Plenderleath. Various collections of papers and memoranda have been deposited here, and whilst the task of going through them entails no little time and labour, the results are often rewarding. Mr. S. Soames has deposited on permanent loan an interesting collection of notes on the history of Milden- hall made by the late Reverend C. Soames. Other Collections include those from the Reverend R. G. Bartelot and Miss Alice Dryden, also a set of papers relating to Devizes Elections from Miss Gillman and Mrs. Chester. A Chambers Encyclopedia of 1788 has been presented by Mrs. M. E. Ferris through Mr. Ernest Rendell. Mr. E. H. Lane Poole deposited the Overseers Accounts for the Parish of Martin for 1792- 1804 and 1813-1820. Martin was at that time part of Wilts. OF, Mr. Halcomb has been a constant benefactor to the Library and amongst his donations in 1956 were “Notes on the Contents of Rowde Parish Chest ’, and four photostat copies of interesting maps of Rowde. Mr. E. R. Pole has added to his previous gifts some papers and photographs relating to Ramsbury. During the year a History of Chicklade and Pertwood was published and the authoress, Miss E. R. Barty, presented a copy. This contains a sketch of one of the Buckler drawings. Perhaps the most handsome accession during 1956 was a fine set of 13 Wiltshire books which belonged to the late Dr. G. H. Waylen and were given by Mrs. Waylen. Mr. L. G. Dibben added to our collection of transcripts of Parish Registers by presenting those of Aldbourne, and Mr. T. W. Tilley of Potterne has given his collected Items of Potterne History, a fascinating volume containing much little known information about the village. Natural His- tory is not well represented in our Library, nor for that matter do many Natural Historians use it, but a welcome addition is a transcript of the Ornithological Notes made by the Reverend G. T. Marsh who was vicar of Sutton Benger in the thirties and forties of the last century. Dr. Thomson has generously pre- sented to the Society a map he has constructed of the boundaries of the Saxon and Domesday Manors in N.E. Wilts. He also bore the cost of framing it. In recent years the Society has a steady income from the sale of publications, but this must unfortunately become less in the near future. There are no copies left for sale of All Cannings Cross or of the Catalogue to the Devizes Museum: and the Introduction to the Archaeology of Wilts, which we sell by arrangement with the publishers Messrs. Woodward, is now down to a few copies. On the other side we have a stock of Braden Forest presented by Dr. Thomson. Our collection of magazines has been kept in order and we have arranged an exchange with the Bristol University Speleological Society which publishes in its magazine many articles of archaeological interest. A gap has been filled in the run of the Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and this is now complete. I mentioned last year that I was trying to catalogue the maps of Wilts possesed by the Society. These are scattered in 22 different volumes, and I have succeded in tracking down, identifying and dating most of them. Their whereabouts are now entered in a special copy of W.A.M. No. 116 which contains T. Chubb’s list of the Maps of Wilts. I cannot finish this account of the work of the Library during the past year without reference toa the late Mr. C. W. Pugh. Mr. Pugh became your Librarian in July, 1933 and served the Society faithfully in that office to within a few weeks of his death. His quiet competence and great knowledge made him an ideal man for the post. The Card Index and the Centenary History are two of the many memorials of his in- dustry which remain. I was fortunate enough to receive my earliest education at school under Mr. Pugh and I should like to end by saying that it makes me feel both proud and humble when I remember that he also spent the last year of his life in training me to follow him as the Society’s Librarian. R. E. SANDELL. ACCESSIONS TO THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S LIBRARY (AT THE MUSEUM, DEVIZES) BETWEEN NOVEMBER 1956 AND DECEMBER 1957 Donors BOOKS Bought. English Place-Name Elements. A. H. Smith. Cambridge University Press. 1956. Bought. The Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art. H. J. Plenderleith. Oxford Univer- sity Press. 1956. Bought. Inventory of British Coin Hoards. J. D. Thompson. Royal Numismatic Society. 1956. Bought. The Plaisted Family of North Wilts. A. H. Plaisted. Westminster Publishing Company. 1939. (An account of the Plaisted Family who settled at Castle Combe, Mildenhall and Chilton Foliat.) VOL. LVII-CCVI M 98 Donors Bought. Bought. Bought. Bought. Institute of Historical Research. Institute of Historical Research. Publishers, Phoenix House Ltd. J. Pole and E. R. Pole. Dr. T. FL. Thomson. Dr. T. R. Thomson. Publishers, Hamish Hamilton. Miss F. M. Isborn. Author. R. Sandell. Author. E.R. Pole. F. E. Brinkworth. F, E. Brinkworth. Rev. K. S. Rich. R. W. H. Willoughby. H. Ross. J. W. Gale. T. J. Saunders. T. R. Gee: BOOKS The Great Chartulary of Glastonbury Volume III. Edited by Dom. Aelred Watkin. Somerset Record Society. 1956. This is the third and final volume of the transcription of the Chartulary of Glastonbury Abbey, which is in the Library of the Marquess of Bath at Longleat. Volume III deals with estates in the following Wiltshire parishes... . . Badbury, Christian Malford, Grittleton, Idmiston, Kington Langley, Kington St. Michael, Nettleton, Winterbourne Monkton. It also contains the index to the three volumes. Life at Fonthill. Edited by Boyd Alexander. Hart-Davis. 1957. The Flora of Wilts. J. D. Grose. T. Buncle & Co., 1957. This is the first county flora of Wilts since Preston’s work published in 1888. There are very comprehensive Plant Records ranging over more than 1,000 years and a supple- ment on the vegetation of the county with special reference to distribution and ecology. The West of England Cloth Industry. K.G. Ponting. Macdonald. 1957. Victoria County History of Wiltshire, Volume V. Edited by R. B. Pugh and Elizabeth Crittall. Oxford University Press. 1957. The volume on the administrative and parliamentary history of the County. Victoria County History of Wiltshire, Volume I, Part I. Edited by R. B. Pugh and Elizabeth Crittall. Oxford University Press. 1957 The Archaeological Gazeteer. Contains also an article on the Geology of Wilts. Bones for the Archaeologist I. W. Cornwall. 1956. Pole’s Book. Privately printed. 1954. A life of Sir Felix Pole of Bedwyn. Catalogue of British Family Histories. Compiled by T.R. Thomson. Beck. 1935. Index to Pedigrees in Herald’s Visitations. G. W. Marshall. Hardwicke. 1866. Stonehenge. R.J.C. Atkinson. 1956. * These maintain the city’. Mary Wiltshire. Philip Massinger. Dr. T. A. Dunn. 1957. Thomas Nelson & Sons. Philip Massinger the playwright was born in Salisbury in 1583. His father held a position of authority in the household of the Earl of Pembroke. British Regional Geology Handbooks for The Hampshire Basin and Bristol and Glouces- ter Districts. H.M.S.O. 1948. PAMPHLETS. A Wiltshire Family of Clothiers; George and Hester Wansey, 1683-1714. Miss J. de L. Mann. Economic History Review, Vol. ix, No.2. This article written by a noted authority on the Wiltshire Cloth Trade deals with the fortunes of the Wansey family of Warminster. Some Notes on the History of Fovant. Dr. R. C. C. Clay, F.S.A. The author has spent over 30 years in the collection of these full and detialed notes and has presented a typescript copy to the Society. Little Bedwyn School Centenary, 1854-1954. Nonconformity in Malmesbury. G.L. Jenkins. 1895. Souvenir of the rooth anniversary of the building of Christian Malford Congregational Church. G.L. Jenkins. 1936. Additional transcripts of the Parish Registers of Hilmarton. 1600-1640. Transcript of Parish Registers of Berwick St. James. Transcript of Ramsbury Enclosure Award 1727. History of Marlborough Congregational Church. 1957. Railways to Devizes. Articles from Railway Magazine October 1957 containing 6 illustrations and a map. Catalogue of Local History Exhibition at Pewsey, September 9-18th, 1957. 99 Donors MSS., ETC. National Trust. On loan. Collection of papers, note books, memoranda, etc. from the Stourhead archieves, de- posited on loan by the National Trust. Many of the papers included in this colllection are in the handwriting of Sir Richard Colt Hoare and are to do with the publication of “ Modern Wilts.’ They are arranged in bun- dles according to the different Hundreds and in addition there are many of the original bills from the printers and engravers. Donor There are also a number of note books and papers connected with his journeys both in this country and abroad. Sir Anthony Rumbold. A collection of papers and notes made by the late Lt.-Col. J. Bennett-Stanford of Pyt On loan. House, Tisbury. Placed on loan by Sir Anthony Rumbold of Hatch House, Tisbury. This voluminous collection contains not only very full notes on the Bennett family of Pyt House and Norton Bavant, but also on the Wiltshire families connected with them. Included are manuscript histories of the following parishes: Berwick St. John, Boyton, Fonthill, Knoyle Episcopi and Sedgehill and notes on Semley and Alvediston. Much of the information was collected and written up by the Reverend W. Goodchild, Rector of Berwick St. John. Women’s Institutes. Scrap books of Village History made for the competition organised by the Women’s On loan. Institutes. The following branches have deposited their scrap books on loan :— Kennett Valley, Market Lavington, Semley. PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS Dr. T. R. Thomson. Two air photographs of sites at Latton and Highworth. Mrs. Brettle Jolands. Watercolour of the tower near Longleat, by the Reverend E. H. Evans. J. Smith. Map of Roundway Park, surveyed and drawn by J. Smith in 1957. Lt.-Col. R. H. Cunnington. Original Crocker drawing of Huish Hill earthworks. Plans of Woodhenge. Original letter from J. A. Wanklyn to Alfred Cunnington about Devizes water supply. L. V. Grinsell. Two drawings; (i) a potsherd from Winterbourne Stoke. (ii) a spearhead from Winter- slow. CURATOR’S REPORT, 1956-57. RESIGNATION OF CURATOR. In August 1957 the Society Committee accepted with sincere regret the resignation of Mr. Nicholas Thomas, Curator of the Museum, who left on September 1st to take up the post of Assistant Keeper, Department of Archaeology, at the Birmingham City Museum. Mr. F. K. Annabie was appointed Curator in his place, and the post of Assistant Curator remains vacant. At the beginning of his curatorship in 1952 Mr. Thomas set to work on a scheme for the complete re- organisation and re-display of the Society's museum collections, which for many years have lain neglected. Now, as he leaves us, three new permanent display rooms, a picture gallery, and a Lecture Hall are available to the public, and though much remains to be done before the reorganisation is complete, it is largely due to his energy and flair for arrangement that this museum now holds a high reputation throughout the south-west for the excellence of the display of its collections. To his successor he has left the difficult task of maintaining a similar high standard. To his abilities as museum curator he has also added whilst at Devizes those of a widely known lecturer and first-rate excavator, and in connection with the latter, we look forward to the full report of his three seasons excavations on the Bronze Age barrow barrow cemetery at Snail Down, near Everleigh. It should be a notable addition to our knowledge of the period. We cannot regretfully let him go without congratulating him on his achievements and wishing him every success at his new post. 2M 100 CARNEGIE GRANT It will be recalled that in June, 1956, the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust decided to make a grant of £1,500 towards the construction of new display cases within the proposed new Bronze Age room situated on the first floor of the Museum. In making the grant, consideration was paid to the estimates of cost provided by Messrs. Edmonds & Co., Birmingham, who generously prepared designs for the showcases. Specification for this work was put out and the tender of W. S. Hurst & Co., museum fittings specialists of Cheltenham, was finally accepted. In January delivery of prefabricated showcases was made and the work of installation was carried out — during the early part of the year by workmen of Messrs. Hurst & Co. Each case is internally lit, is dust- proof, and has considerable depth, thus giving plenty of scope for diversity of display. Storage space is also available beneath the cases and it is intended to make this room an entity where displayed and stored material will be immediately available to the serious student. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We have once again received valuable voluntary help from members and friends over the past year. One task of particular importance has been the listing of every individual specimen from our large geological collection, necessitated by the transfer of this material from its former home on the first floor of the Museum to the new Natural History room on the ground floor. This has entailed the numbering of every fossil, and over 2,000 entries on a separate ledger. Much of the work was done by voluntary labour and the Curator is indebted to the following for their efforts :— Miss Beatrice Gillam, Mrs. Fisher,Miss Caroline Peall, Messrs. David and Paul Pickering, and Mr. R. Sandell, our Hon. Librarian. Mr. Paul Pickering is also doing a further valuable job in sorting out from our mass of geology a comprehensive students collection. The residue of the geology, when display and student material has been arranged, will finally be stored in the museum cellars. Thanks are also due to Mr. Graham Connah for his work on the Bronze Age grave groups, to Miss Stopford Beale for valuable help just before going into residence at Bristol University, and to Mr. N. U. Grudgings, who in addition to supplying us with laboratory supplies free of charge, has most generously carried out a good deal of photography within the Museum, once again at his own expense. Our library has been particularly enriched by the donation of a number of his brilliant flower photographs. In all matters concerning the Museum the Curator is grateful to Miss Beatrice Gillam (Natural History Representative) and Mr. R. Sandell who consistently give him support. To Mrs. Cole our caretaker we are also grateful for another year of devoted service. Not least amongst our exhibits is her weekly pro- vision of flowers. MUSEUM ACTIVITIES, 1957. Repairs to Fabric By the end of 1956 the major part of the Society’s substantial programme of repairs and alterations to the Museum fabric was completed. During August of 1957 however, it was discovered that the roof pediment on the front of the Museum building had become unsafe, and a consequent danger to pedestrians. Speedy repair was imperative, and the work was carried out in the same month by Messrs. J. J. Stevens of Devizes. It has long been the Committee’s intention to re-decorate the Museum exterior, but so far it has not been possible to meet the heavy cost of such a commitment. Nevertheless a compromise was made this year when all the windows and doors of the front of the building were repainted. Messrs. King of Market Lavington were the decorators and a colour scheme of black and off-white was chosen. The Museum building continues to receive its regular annual inspection by Mr. D. A. S. Webster, Hon. Architect to the Society, to whom we are greatly indebted for valuable assistance. 101 Bronze Age Room (Plan, on p. 177 W.A.M., No. CCIII, room 4). Since the installation of the prefabricated showcases the Bronze Age room has been decorated in an attractive two colour scheme of pale grey and lemon by Messrs. F. Rendell & Sons Ltd., Devizes. Since then, the entire Bronze Age material with the exception of skeletal material has been moved from the attics into the storage cupboards below the display windows. Suitable display mounts have also been constructed inside the cases save for two large cases in which dioramas will be built illustrating Wiltshire barrow groups and a late Bronze Age farmstead site. A start has been made in displaying finds from some of the more spectacular of our grave groups, the so-called royal graves of the Wessex Culture. It should perhaps be emphasised that the arrangement of this room may take some time, first because there is now only a single curator, and secondly, because the outstanding nature of our Bronze Age collections demands that every effort be put into the display worthy of the material. Nevertheless, it is hoped that the room will be completed by the end of 1958. Natural History Room (Plan, p. 177 W.A.M. No. CCIII, room 8). Following the completion of the bird display, considerable progress has been made in providing for the display of our very remarkable geological material. The eastern side of the room has now been divided up into three bays designed to accommodate fossils illustrating the geological formations of the county. Space has again been allotted beneath the display windows for storage, and eventually a separate students’ collection will be available on request within the room. A further feature will be a relief map of the county constructed on a scale of tin. to the mile, intended to illustrate once again the geological structure of Wiltshire. Work has already begun on this map which will be built up in quarter inch plywood and finally surfaced with a plaster covering before being painted in accordance with the Geological Survey colourings. Our collections of Wiltshire lepidoptera and mollusca will also be on display at the far end of the room. High praise must go to Mr. A. Cole who has carried out the whole of the constructional work here, making economic use of the old Stourhead cases. When completed, this room will undoubtedly be one of the most attractive in the Museum. Museum Laboratories. The electrolytic tanks used in cleaning iron and bronze objects have now been fitted with stainless steel electrodes to replace the graphite types which had become extremely worn. This is a definite improve- ment since the steel coil will last almost indefinitely. A small electrically driven buffing machine has also been purchased to replace the old foot-driven polisher so generously given by Mr. R. J. C. Atkinson of Edinburgh University. This will shortly be fitted into the metal cleaning laboratory. Further progress has been made in cleaning a number of iron objects mainly from our little noticed but fine collection of Roman tools from the settlement sites of Stockton and Cold Kitchen Hill. We look for- ward to the time when these most interesting objects will be seen to better advantage that at present obtains in the old Roman room. More pottery has also been restored; this includes a fine tripartite Middle Bronze Age urn, Iron Age and Roman-British vessels, and a remarkable circular dish-cover with strap-handle of medieval date, all of which have been assembled and restored for Salisbury Museum. Sincere thanks are due to Mr. Harold Timperley for his help in pottery restoration during this year. Museum Catalogue. The task of cataloguing every museum exhibit has also been going forward. Three sections of this com- prehensive work are now largely complete, namely the Bronze Age, Saxon and Recent History periods. 102 Where possible and ncessary rough scale drawings of each object have been made and included with details on the catalogue forms. In the case of our more important Bronze Age finds, actual photographs taken by the British Museum have been included in the catalogue. This catalogue is incidentally being prepared in duplicate and duplicate copies of the above periods as far as they are completed have now been deposited at Lloyds Bank, Devizes for permanent custody, thus ensuring at least a full record of our collections in the event of their possible destruction by fire or other agencies. Museum Publicity The small series of experimental talks given by both Curators on each second Saturday of the month ended in February with a talk by F. K. Annable on his excavations at Mildenhall. An average of 15 adults and children attended each lecture for which a small additional charge was made. The talks which centred on the Prehistoric and Roman periods in Wiltshire were held in the Lecture Hall, being followed on occasion by a conducted tour of the relevant section of the Museum. The display window in the entrance porch also continues in use as an inducement to passers-by to look inside the Museum; our latest display consists of two extremely interesting sculptural fragments and a fine bronze cockerel, all recent Roman finds from North Wiltshire. Loans A number of Schools have once again received temporary loans of duplicate material for teaching pur- poses. Loans were also made to the Bath Academy of Art for their exhibition entitled ‘ The Artist and the Nature of Things’, and to Mr. T. R. Gee for the Pewsey Exhibition, held in September. A group of late Neolithic pottery from the latest West Kennet excavations has also been lent to the Birmingham City Museum for temporary display in their galleries. In February an exhibition of prehistoric pottery was held at Swindon Museum, which included a number of pots from the Museum, notably from the Early Iron Age site at All Cannings Cross. Fieldwork A final season’s excavation was carried out under the direction of Mr. Nicholas Thomas this year at Snail Down, when more of the barrows of this important group were examined. An interim report of his findings appears in this issue. Now, with the completion of his work there we can look forward with keen anticipation to the appearance of his full report in this magazine. A series of small weekend excavations were carried out by F. K. Annable on a reputed Romano-British kiln site in the Savernake Forest during May and June. This was by kind permission of the Rt. Honourable the Earl of Cardigan and the Forestry Commission. The dig resulted in the discovery of a single pottery kiln in good condition, with attendant pottery suggesting a date of end 1st to early 2nd century A.D. for the working period of the kiln. Its discovery was particularly satisfactory since nothing was previously known about the construction and methods of firing Romano-British kilns in Wiltshire. For their help during the dig sincere thanks are due to Mr. O. Meyrick and other Society members, to boys of Marlborough College and Marlborough Grammar School. To Marlborough College and Devizes Grammar School we are grateful for a generous loan of tools. MUSEUM ATTENDANCES School Parties in 1957. Thirteen groups of schoolchildren visited the Museum and were given guided talks by one or other of the Curators. Thetotalnumber of children in these groups, 345 inall, is anoticeable decrease as compared 103 with the 1956 totals of 560. Petrol rationing was however in force at the beginning of the year and con- tinued until May; this may well account for the drop in attendance as the majority of schools have to travel to the Museum by coach. Travel difficulties may also account for the general decrease in museum visitors as seen below. Museum Visitors: 1956 1957 Jan.—March 340 Jan.—March 466 April—June 679 April—June 585 July—Sept. 1131 July—Sept. 1225 Oct.—Dec. 422 Oct.—Dec. 255 Totals 2572 Totals 2531 MUSEUM ACCESSIONS, 1957 The Museum continues to increase its collections either by outright gift, permanent loan, or purchase of objects. Amongst the more noteworthy of our acquisitions this year are Neolithic pottery from the latest excavations at the West Kennet Long barrow, and the finds from a Romano-British site at Nettleton on the Fosse Way, which included a particularly interesting sculptural fragment and a small bronze cockerel of excellent native Romano-British workmanship. We are not particularly rich in sculpture of the Roman period, and the Nettleton find is a welcome addition. The Museum was also recently offered four early British silver coins of the Dobunnic tribe found at Bury Wood Camp, near Colerne. These were purchased for the sum of nine pounds from Mr. Morrison, a farm worker at Colerne.!- Our Early British coin section 1 See Plate opposite p. 78 of this issue and Mr. Annable’s note. is now considerably implemented by the purchase of these pieces, all of them in fine condition. Needless to say, we are always ready to increase our collections with objects which possess some definite historical or archaeological connection with Wiltshire. GIFTS: Geology Large iron pyrites nodule with crystal of gypsum embedded in its centre. Found on Tan Hill. L. G. Mitchell. 2/57/273. Prehistoric Stone shaft-hole hammer (Petrological Identification No. 977); a dark fine-grained sandstone. Market Lavington. Master Gordon Haywood. 2/§7/271. Flint axe, flaked but not polished. This is probably a Neolithic rough-out rather than anything earlier. Near Castle Copse, Great Bedwyn. A.H. Vernon. 2/57/272. Sherds of Iron Age2A pottery. Found in the course of rescue work by the Ministry of Works. Battles- bury Camp. Ministry of Works, per Salisbury Museum. 3/57/277. Sherds of Neolithic or Bronze Age pottery; one sherd, a possible rim, has grooved decoration. Also two sherds of flint-gritted ware, possibly Late Bronze Age. From ploughed-up soil in the area of an earth- work between Danes Bottom and South Down, 1 mile south-west of Kingston Deverill. Miss Sonia Chadwick. 4/57/279. 104 Blue-glass bead with white meander inlay. Possibly Iron Age or Romano-British. North Farm, Aldbourne. Mr. Cook. 6/57/283. Part of upper half of a quernstone of sandstone, heavily embedded with quartzy pebbles. Surface find inside the Iron Age hill-fort known as Bury Wood Camp, 2 miles north of Colerne. A. Shaw Mellor. 6/ 5/287. Polished Stone axe, both faces heavily abraded; cutting end only of a polished stone axe, and three further possible polished stone axe fragments. (Petrological identification Nos. 550-554). All from neigh- bourhood of Box. A. Shaw Mellor. 8/57/2904. Pottery lug-handle of Neolithic A type and a white flint saw blade found on Windmill Hill, Avebury. A brown flint leaf-shaped arrowhead, found at Christian Malford. J. H. Tucker. 8/57/29s. Neolithic pottery of Windmill Hill and Peterborough type comprising the finds from excavations carried out on the West Kennet long barrow in 1955. Ministry of Works. 8/57/2097. Barbed and tanged white flint arrowhead of Early Bronze Age type. Surface find. Slaughterford. Master Richard Ashman. 9/57/298. Roman A small iron object and sherds of coarse and Samian wares found at Westbury. City Museum, Gloucester. 5/57/281. Large series of iron objects, coarse and Samian wares, glass and tile fragments; also a fine bronze cockerel, and sculptuled figures of Mercury and Rosmerta in oolitic limestone. Found during excavations at a sup- posed temple site carried out by the late W. C. Priestly. Bath City Museum. $/57/280. Bronze fragments, iron nails and an iron staple, coarse and Samian pottery. Colerne Park. A. Shaw Mellor. 6/57/285. Small bronze bell, clapper missing. Found in a garden which is part of the site of the Roman villa at Box. A. Shaw Mellor. 6/57/286. Pottery beaker of New Forest type. Longcroft Estate, Devizes. B. Wilkinson. 7/57/2809. Sherds of coarse grey and orange wares. Found during deep ploughing on Sugar Hill, North Farm, Aldbourne. Miss M. C. Foster. 7/57/290. Sherds of thick, coarse grey/cream wares including a few bead rims, suggesting a Ist-century date. Found when a pit was dug on Cowcroft Farm, Aldbourne at a depth of approximately 6ft. Miss M. C. Foster. 7/57/291. Two flint lathe tools used in the shale industry for turning armlets. Kimmeridge, Dorset. J. L. Guthrie. 9/'57/300. Two bronze coins (late 3rd and 4th cent.) coarse and Samian pottery and Bone fragments. Found when pits were being dug for telegraph poles on the site of the Roman settlement at Wanborough (Durocorn- ovium). O. Meyrick. to/57/301. Head of female figure in oolitic limestone, probably belonging originally to a group. An incised cross is visible on the forehead. This head originally found on the Roman settlement at Easton Grey (Hoare’s “ Mutuantonis ’ ) was thought to be lost. Major J. G. Wilder. 10/57/303. Sherds of coarse orange and grey wares. Found during tree felling in Greenlands Wood, Great Chev- erell. Mrs. Hooper. 12/57/306. Medieval: Iron nail rr3ins. long. Medieval or probably later. Found nailed on to a beam in Stratford-sub-Castle Church. Master B. Miles. 8/57/2906. 105 Recent: Iron table knife with wooden handle-plates and decorated brass strips down the edges of the handle. Found when the Lacock Town Bridge was being widened. Wilts County Council and Lacock School. 3/57/274- Small bronze model of a parrot with wings half spread. Traces of red paint on the back of the body. Montechello Farm, Potterne. Probably 17th century. Miss N. Matthews. 1/57/2606. Two stone paint grinders with wooden handles attached. These two pieces may be some of the original equipment used when H. &. G. Chivers began business about 1850. Messrs. H. & G. Chivers. 1/57/265. Wine bin label from the cellars of William Cunnington & Sons, Wine Merchants, established 1836. R. Sandell. 1/57/267. Framed cutting from the Illustrated London News showing the burning of the toll-gates on the Green, Devizes. Mrs. J. Offa. 1/57/2609. Two photographs of B. H. and M. E. Cunnington, framed and mounted. Col. R. H. Cunnington. 2/ 57/270. Cast-iron baker’s lamp, inscribed “Carron, No. 1. & B.L.’ Used for lighting the interior of large bakers’ ovens to see how the baking was progressing. Found in a gravel pit in Wilts. roth cent. R. T. Christopher. 3/57/275. Pin-fire revolver, marked ie P. A. Smith. 3/57/276. Glass bottle for feeding babies embossed with the name * Nurse Margery’s Feeder ’ c. 1900. Found in the cellar of a house in the Market Place, Devizes. Mrs. K. Jones. 5/57/282. Set of iron clucket sheep-bells given to the donor in Kent by a shepherd who had originally brought them from Wiltshire. Mrs. Lamb. 7/57/292. “COUNTY ’ Fire Insurance Mark. Date c. 1807-10. Originally fixed on the front of the Pembroke Arms, Fovant. Messrs. Mallen & Co. 8/57/293. Coins and Medals: Four early British silver Dobunnic coins. Found by a labourer while digging in North Wood which flanks one side of the defences of Bury Wood Camp. H. Morrison. 6/57/288. Gifts: Canterbury Half-groat of ArchbishopWarham (1503-1532) R. Civitas Cantor. WA beside shield. m.m. Cross Patonce. Found in the garden of Wedhampton Cottage, Devizes. Brigadier K. M. F. Hedges. 6/57/284. A sixpence of Elizabeth I, dated 1601. m.m. 1. Found at Rowde, Miss F. M. Isborn. 9/57/299. Natural History: Gifts: Skull of 2 badger. (Meles taxus.) Found at Westbury. Mrs. Deverell. 4/57/278. Skin of Water Rail. (Rallus aquaticus.) E. H. Jelly. 10/57/304. Stuffed specimen of Common Red- Shank ( Tringa totanus.) City Museum, Bristol. 10/§7/305. On Loan: Large collection of birds eggs, complete with cabinet, assembled by the owner’s grandfather. W. R. Trumper. 10/57/302. Lecture Hall Equipment: Thirteen lantern slides of the West Kennet excavations. Department of Prehistoric Archaeology, Edinburgh University. 1/57/268. VOL. LVII-CCVI N 106 ENGLISH FOLKLORE SURVEY I have been asked by the English Folklore Survey carried out by London University to draw attention to their aims and their wish to recruit new assistants and correspondents. I reproduce accordingly below an extract from a pamphlet which they have sent me. Would anyone who is interested in acting as a collector or informant in the survey write direct to Mr. J. McN. Dodgson, English Folklore Survey, University College, Gower Street, London, W.C.1.—Editor. ‘ University College, London—A Survey of English Folklore. A survey of English Folklore with its recording in an archive of folklore materials is being made by the English Department of University College London under the guidance of Professor A. H. Smith with the assistance of Mr. J. McN. Dodgson. The purpose of this note is to invite people who are interested in this aspect of English life and history to assist voluntary in the collection of folklore materials in England, either as collectors or informants or both. 2. For the purposes of the present survey folklore may be defined as the study of the traditional elements in the life and customs of England and will therefore include many topics such as folk-tales, anecdotes, be- liefs and superstitions, customs associated with a variety of circumstances and occasions in the life of the people, traditional plays, games, pastimes and amusements, and the like. But in this survey it is not intended to cover folk-song, folk-music and folk-dance, as these are already dealt with by the English Folk Dance and Song Society. Information about the traditional culture will be recorded and illustrated, but primarily as a background against which folklore may be properly examined. Similarly, dialect terminology will be recorded but it is hoped to pass relevant information on this to Professor H. Orton in Leeds for his dialect archive. 3. The two major sources of English folklore materials are (a) living people and (b) literary and historical documents. Both these sources are being used, but it will be obvious that the former, the ‘ live ’ material, is the one in most urgent need of collection and examination. During and after the Industrial Revolution in the nine- teenth century with its great movements of population and the evolution of many great urban commun- ities and in our own time with similar shifts of population as well as the creation of entirely fresh social conditions, none can doubt the oblivion into which much folklore has fallen or the urgency with which the remnants—often extensive remnants—must now be recorded. Some existing folklore is of course secon- dary material which in part owes its present existence to a revival of interest in folk-song and dance and in folk-custom. The literary material, especially that to be found in local histories since the eighteenth century or in the press, is a valuable supplement to the live material and often provides an effective control on it. Whilst the great urban areas cannot be neglected, there is little doubt that the best regions for the traditional folklore materials are the villages and smaller urban areas of rural England. 4. The procedure for the collection of existing folklore material may be briefly set out thus: (a) A short general set of instructions on collecting will be sent to collectors and informants. (b) Questionnaires, each dealing with a separate major topic and suggesting lines of inquiry under various headings, will be sent at intervals to collectors and informants, who will be asked to supply a few biographical details as well as the information asked for, since localisation is an im- portant historical aspect of this study. It is hoped that collectors and informants will not regard the questionnaires as restrictive but will make their answers as full as possible even if the material may not at first sight be entirely relevant. It is hoped that collectors will be prepared to answer supplementary questions. 107 (c) Collectors and informants may often find it possible to provide sketches or photographs of material objects or information on their localisation which would allow photographs to be made; some informants may also be worth recording (especially for song, anecdote, tale and dialect) and if details are provided arrangements can be made for this to be done. (d) On return the material supplied, which usually contains information on many aspects of folklore besides the particular topic, will be analysed and indexed, both by topic and locality, and any dialect terms will also be indexed. (e) The object of this survey is to prepare an archive of folklore materials and not to prepare, in the early stages, studies and monographs on particular aspects of folklore, but it is hoped to issue to collectors from time to time a short report on the progress of the survey. 5. The first questionnaires being sent out include Leechcraft and folk-medicine, drinks and drinking customs, bread and bread-making, trapping and snaring and hunting, and these will cover a great many aspects of both custom and material culture, and often recall old tales and anecdotes, and in the sense that they all depend to varying extents on the local countryside and its products, on the seasons of the year, on local botanical knowledge and belief, etc., they will at once provide a broad view of much folk-lore and tradition. 6. A large and representative number of voluntary collectors and informants is needed for all parts of the country.’ WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY RECORDS BRANCH Honorary General Editor’s Report, 1956-7 1. Volume for 1956. Collectanea, edited by N. J. Williams, with a Foreword by T. F. T. Plucknett, was issued last November as Volume XII. 2. Volume for 1957: Progress Notes of Warden Woodward for the Wiltshire Estates of New College, Oxford, 1659-75, ed. R.L. Rickard, with a frontispiece, was issued during March as Volume XIII. 3. Volume for 1958: Mr. C. A. F. Meekings’ edition of the Crown Pleas of the Wiltshire Eyre, 1249 is to be sent to the printer this autumn, complete with introduction and indexes. It is hoped to distribute this long-awaited volume in September, 1958. 4. Volume for 1959: It is planned to issue Mr. Farr’s edition of the Ministers’ Accounts of the Lands of Adam de Stratton, as Volume XV. 5. Other Future Volumes: Work has proceeded with editions of (a) Hemyngsby’s Register (Dr. Helena Chew); (b) The Charters of Lacock Abbey (Miss Joan Gibbs); (c) The Rolls of Highworth Hundred, 1275-85 (Mrs. Brenda Farr) ; (d) The Wiltshire Forest Eyre, 1257 (The general editor); (e) The Diary of Thomas Naish (Miss Doreen Slatter) ; (£) Eighteenth Century Apprenticeship Indentures (Miss C. V. E. Dale); and (g) Documents illustrative of the Wiltshire Textile Trades in the Eighteenth Century (Miss Julia Mann). 6. The editoral programme of the Branch was fully discussed at a committee meeting held in Oxford in November, 1956. Various projects were suggested, including the preparation of a Collectanea of Wiltshire Documents for the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These are being investigated. 7. The Chairman and General Editor represented the Branch at a meeting of editors of record-publishing societies for the discussion of common interests, held at the Institute of Historial Research, London, in July. Volumes III to XII of the Branch’s publications were on display at an exhibition of historical works published between 1947 and 1957, staged for the Anglo-American Historical Conference, during the second week of July. roth September, 1957. N. J. WILLIAMS. 2N “ 108 Honorary Secretary’s and Honorary Treasurer’s Report for 1956-7 1. Annual General Meeting 1956. The Annual General Meeting for 1956 was held at County Hall, Trowbridge, on Wednesday, 17th October, 1956. After the formal business meeting members and friends inspected a display of some of the original records listed or abstracted in the Records Branch series, and visited the work and muniment rooms of the County Record Office. 2. Membership. The Branch now numbers 161 personal and 74 institutional members, a total of 235. 3. The Reserve Fund. As a result of the Chairman’s appeal, a total of £132 10s. 2d. was given by 40 members whose names appear below. This amount, less the cost of printing and posting the appeal circulars, has been deposited in the Special Investment Department of the Somerset and Wilts. Trustee Savings Bank, where it has earned interest at 34% and will, from November 2oth this year, earn 4%. The Countess Badeni Sir Robert Grimston R. B. Pugh C. Barrington-Brown R. F. Halcomb G. D. Ramsay Capt. A. H. Batten-Pool H. P. Hoare Miss M. E. Reeves N. P. Birley R. A. U. Jennungs. Mrs. E. Riddick Mrs. W. de L. Brooke M. Jolliffe K. H. Rogers J. M. Buckeridge ; M. J. Lansdown R. E. Sandell S. C. Chamberlain E. S. Liddiard Dr. R. J. Saunders T. H. Chandler Miss V. London Mrs. L. G. Shadbolt H. F. Chettle J. M. Monteath Dr. A. S. Shaw Mellor Capt. C. C. Craig G. C. Moody N. J. Williams Miss E. Crittall J. H. P. Pafford G. M. Young Sir Cyril Flower Sir Michael Peto W.E. V. Young Sir Geoffrey Fry FG. Pitt H. M. Gimson W.R. Powell 4. Legacy from the late Mr. C. W. Pugh. At the beginning of 1957 a sum of £200 was received from the executors of the late Mr. C. W. Pugh, formerly Hon. Secretary of the parent Society, being a bequest to the Branch under the terms of his will. As soonas our financial position allows, it is hoped that this sum, too, may be deposited in the Savings Bank as an addition to the Reserve Fund. 5. Present Financial Position. The year 1957 began with credit balances at Lloyd’s Bank and the Savings Bank total- ling, to the nearest pound, £732. Total income received during the first none months of 1957 was £595. Expenditure in the same period has amounted to £918, including payments of £525 for the printing and distribution of Volume XII (for 1956) and £373 for Volume XIII (for 1957). Balances in the Savings Bank now amount to £333 and at Lloyd’s Bank to about £75. Assuming that the normal income from subscriptions, grants and donations for 1958 is received before it becomes necessary to pay for the volume to be published in 1958, it should be possible to leave the Savings Bank deposits untouched during 1958. 6. Covenant Scheme. Claims for the refund of Income Tax for the years 1955/6/7 are not at the moment being allowed by the Inland Revenue authorities, in view of the decision in a test case over the similar claim of the National Book League. It is understood that a further appeal is pending in that case. If the appeal is allowed, we may expect to recover about £150in round figures. Ifnot, the Branch has the right to ask for its case to be considered separately on its merits. In simple terms, the case turns on the question whether the amenities enjoyed by members of the National Book League in return for their subscriptions are such as to deny the League the status of a ‘ charity ’ entitled to claim a refund of tax under a Covenant Scheme. 7. Sales of Volumes. The most noteworthy aspect during the period under review has been the sending of a circular to all graduates of New College, Oxford, offering them copies of Volume XIII (The Progress Notes of Warden Wood- ward) at a reduced rate if paid for in advance of publication. This resulted in an advance sale of 32 copies at £1 6s. 6d. each Of sales direct to countries overseas during 1956, Japan took 46 volumes, the U.S.A. 3, and Australia and New Zea- land 3. So far this year, 6 volumes have gone to Japan and 3 to the U.S.A. One result of the great interest taken in Japan, especially in Vol. [LX (Surveys of Pembroke Manors), is that the Branch has gained three Japanese members. 8. Details of Subscriptions and Income from Sales of Volumes, 1956. 109 Subscriptions: Sales to Members: Sales to Non-Members: Ls. di £8. 1d. fa send: 1955 7 0 © Vol. I ( 2) 2 '0, <0 (x) Tr 2.40 1036 195 011 aS) Cs a 1957 0 Oo Ill ( 2) 2 0 0 ( 3) 317 0 1958 I 0-0 IV (4) 1:10:70 ( 1) 1. *2: 46 V ( 1) 1.07 0 ( 1) I 2 0 VI (2) By Oreo ( 5) 5 16 0 Vil ( x) TO! =O ( 5) 5 14 9 Vill (11) 12.7 6 ( 4) $ 2° 6 IX ( 3) 310149 (12) 14-6 0 x ( 8) 9 I 9 ( 6) 716 0 XI ( 6) 6°01 0 (11) 15 8:9 XII ( 2) 26 0 (—) —_— — tig Co ee eee (32) ee 212... 0: It (39) £41 10 0 (81) £103 14 1 3rd October, 1957. M. G. RATHBONE. M. J. LansDowN. ACCESSIONS TO THE COUNTY RECORD OFFICE Parishes: Parish and parish council meeting minutes: Cherhill and Yatesbury, roth and 2oth cent.; survey and valuation of Minety parsonage, 1802. Militia: note book of Militia payments, 1809-14, farming matters, 1824-26 and 1828, fragments of general accounts and rates, 1823-30. Societies and Associations: Women’s Unionist Association,Potterne Polling District, minutes, 1927-35; Potterne, Worton and Marston Nursing Association minutes, 1913-43; Potterne Mothers’ Meeting records, 1918-35. Family and Estate:— Holford and Jones: Letters and other Documents relating to an estate at Avebury, of the Holford and Jones families, and personal letters of General Adam Williamson and of his wife, niece to Arthur Jones. Seventeenth to twentieth centuries. Earle and Sartain: Fourteen deeds and wills relating to property in Holt, and to the families of Earle, and Sartain, 1714- 1810; schedule of deeds of property in Holt and Trowbridge, 1833. Richmond: Small paper volume containing ‘ A Briefe Collection of the Old Rents of all ye Manors and Farmes . . . now in Joynture to the Duches of Richmond and Lenox’ in Somerset, Wiltshire and Berkshire, 1631. Bonham: Exemplification of an ‘ Inspeximus’ of James I of the Interrogations and depositions made and taken in a cause relating to land in Box reputed to be in the manor of Hazlebury, 1607; water-colour map being ‘ The: Plot: And: Survaye of: The: Mannors: Hayselbury: Box: And: Ditchredg. ” 1626. Manorial: Heale in Woodford, court roll, 1600-12; Keevil with Bulkington, court roll, etc, 1602-26, 1643-64, 1673-97. Deeds, etc.: Chapell Bramshaw, 1733 (1); Chute Forest, Prebend of Durnford and Salisbury Close, 1641 to 1707 (16); Codford St. Mary, 1655-83 (5); Minety, 1661-1722 (6); Potterne, 1782-1856 (23); Quemerford in Calne, 1858-94 (9); Rowde, 1800 (1); Salisbury, 1338 (1); Sevenhampton in Highworth, 1542 (1); Steeple Ashton, 1642 (1); (1); Whiteparish, 1855 (1); Winterbourne Stoke 1763 (1). Business:— Three volumes relating mainly to the sugur and rum trade carried on by Caleb and Ezekial Dickinson of Bowden Park, Chippenham, with Jamaica. Seven volumes of business and personal accounts, and other personal papers of the Wansey family of Warminster, clothiers and dyers, seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. 110 STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 1956 BALANCE SHEET Lo ASH sta LE ah 31st December, 1955 :— | 31st December, 1956 :— we a Cash at Lloyd’s Bank ve ae 402 1 7 | CashatLloyd’s Bank * = 1398 16040 Cash in hand m = es 3 24 Cashin hand vi, - Ci iba 7 P.O. Savings Bank... a .. 155 18 4 | Trustee Savings Bank :— | Special Dept. (34%) 4 aie, eal 7 Aa LO Balance increased by tes .. 175 18 74 | Ordinary Dept. (24%) oe 2.2300, 5.0/4 £734 2h9 | L734 19 STOCK ACCOUNT 31st December, 1955 :— se tsa. ice 31st December, 1956— ust de Vol. I 17 ie i fe 16 0 0 Vol. I II oe = ee II 0 0 Il I LnO 960 II nil a a o J os Il go 89 100 Hl 83 a - ay, 83 0 O IV 191 189 10 oO IV 188 na i Le 60 OURO V 76 76 0 0 Vv 73 x i oY 72 10 O VI 83 81 10 oO VI 73 a re a 71 10 O VII 94 94.0 0 Vil 87 fe Ae a 87 0 Oo VIII 150 IsO 0 O VIL 132 aes eh 2 eo 2h Oe tO IX 57 8 a ee S77, 0 60 IX 36 eg ue Re 35 10 O x 85 uA oy: ee 85.0.0 x 62 ats ny me 6I 0 O Increase during 1956 .. ee ws 47 0 O XI 49 a Bs aH 49 0 O | XII 96 ah =e 3 96 0 0 £886 10 oO | £886 10 0 EXPENDITURE AND INCOME EXPENDITURE £,-s. 1d. INCOME DBRS Sena Postage and Secretarial i aye 45 5 9 Subscriptions oy Beenie oy 50 Printing, typing, stationery, etc. a 27 I5 Il Donations to Reserve Fund a vg E2O Wes Fif 2 Hire of room for committee meeting... 10 oO Grant, Swindon Corporation .. t= 12Ses OANO Cheque Book 54,0 Grant, Wiltshire County Council 2g ALSO OO Cost of printing and distributing Vol. xi §13 17 0 Sales of volumes to Members... we S44 10- © Refund, one Vol. X returned .. ef Tf Oes0 Sales of volumes to Non-members 20S ATO3 jorge Subscription passed to W.A.N.HLS. $3 tat. Subscription received for W.A.N.H.S. .. Ty sTs dO Transferred to Trustee Savings Bank— Small donations : aes The) Special Dept... =; = PCA2 66.48 Balance at Lloyd’s Bank reduced by a3 Viet 7) Ordinary Dept. .. < a 49 11 8 £766 3 0 L700> 32.0 *for details, see report of Hon. Secretary and Hon. Treaurer. Audited and found correct in accordance with the books ansd vouchers, and the explanations given. (Sgd.) F. C. Prrt, Hon. Auditor. 5th October, 1957. (Sgd.) M. J. Lanspown, Hon. Treasurer. 111 NATURAL HISTORY SECTION! LEWIS GUY PEIRSON LEWIS GUY PEIRSON, who died on August 25th, 1957, was born in 1897 at Exford in Devon, of which his father was Rector. He was educated at Oundle and Cambridge and in 1919 joined the staff at Marlborough College where he ~ taught science until his retirement in 1954. Readers of this magazine need no reminder of his knowledge of many branches of Natural History and his especial interest in birds. He was the first chairman of the Natural History Section and it is no exaggeration to say that its successful launching in 1946 was largely due to his wise leadership, forethought, and, above all, tact. He continued as chairman until 1951 in which year he became President of the Society, and his presidential address will long be remem- bered by those who heard it. He continued to serve on the Committee of the Section until 1953. From the beginning he had acted as one of the Recorders of the Annual Report on Wiltshire birds. He was a modest man who made no parade of his activities: but his correspondents never doubted them. For he was a good letter-writer, who obviously enjoyed writing, and it is in his letters that his character can best be read. He could observe all men shrewdly but with kindly tolerance; and any subject however dull he could make sparkle with his wit. “T really think I had better keep Mr. A’s letter to consider. It makes me slightly giddy and I have to ride a bicycle shortly,’ or “Thave small use for stufted birds unless the stuffing is sage and onions.’ Nor were his letters confined to the business in hand. He could never resist some anecdote or observation germane to his or his correspondent’s situation or doings— “We believe it is the proper thing to send a postcard from the sea-side, (a) to persuade yourself you are having a good time and (b) to make the recipient envious.’ Or, more likely, he would give a thumb nail sketch of some scene which had delighted him. Thus in January, 1949: * Coate was magical, the water like a mirror and the duck moving over its face. Drake Teal within 5 yards of us; a snipe quietly feeding for a long while in full view 10 yards away. Wigeon saying whee-oo like excited small boys; the Goosander moving in line astern and the great crested grebes head shaking and bowing and advancing on each other like submarines, and once doing the full breast to breast rise out of the water. “ O all ye Fowls of the Air, Praise ye the Lord ”.’ How quick he was to recognise the magic in what he saw, his heart so transparently filled wth delight and his soul with humble thankfulness. The re-reading of a note on willow warblers, contributed by him to the Dorset Bird Report “called back a morning when he saw through the gates of Paradise. We also found Leucojum growing wild a few minutes later.’ But he had a quick eye too for the ridiculous. * Nine bar-tailed Godwits stood in a row on a minute patch of mud and looked as though they were waiting for the Red Lion to open.’ At his home at the top of Granham Hill birds had responded generously to the way in which he had planted his gar- den forthem. Thus in June, 1951: “I write the address with hesitation; do we still own this house? If we go out of the front door the Jackdaws in the chimney swear at us; if we go out of the back door, we are execrated by the great Tits feeding young in the coal cellar ventilator, this really is ingratitude, we have run out of bread this weck in an attempt to keep the bird table supplied and when they have cleared it, the Tits boldly enter the kitchen and scrounge. What go-getters and bullies the great Tits are: as far as Coal Tits are concerned I fear that the meek do not inherit the bacon rind!’ His health, at no time robust, was never mentioned, unless it was impossible to avoid doing so, when it would be relegated like doubtful records to square brackets. But Marlborough winters proved an ever increasing strain and in 1954 he felt obliged to retire. After that he settled at Kingsbridge in Devon, in a house which could not have been better placed, for from its windows he could keep the estuary under constant observation. Waders had always been a special joy; ‘ I hope there will be waders in Heaven!’ In spite of illness he was just able to carry through his last and in many ways most important work for the Society by completing the draft of the * List of Wiltshire Birds.’ It is good to know that such work gave him pleasure too: *T find it distinctly rejuvenating to be at work on a list again. It has the same effect on me that the return of good petrol had on our old car. “ Ah” said Methuselah as it drained its first carburrettor—full of Shell “ now that’s more like the stuff they used to give me when I was young ”’.’ Itis hoped that this note with its few extracts from his letters—so hard to select when so much is quotable—will give som: picture of a kindly, gentle and most lovable character who served well in this life Marlborough College and ‘this Society. May he have found his waders waiting for him ! He had married in 1923 Eveline Clifton who survives him with their only child John. Her interests were closely allied to his and to the full she shared his delight in the world of nature he had always found so wise and wonderful. 1 The 1956 material is given first as a whole, and is then followed by that for 1957. The Plant Notes how- ever are given in one article, which covers both years. 112 FIELD MEETINGS AND LECTURES, 1956.1! Report by the Hon. Meetings Secretary, BEATRICE GILLAM. During 1956, the Section held twenty-three meetings. These were well attended and their success was largely due to the help of many able and willing leaders and lecturers to whom the Section is most grateful. Two ornithological meetings in February were held outside Wiltshire for the purpose of observing Wildfowl both in their natural habitat and in captivity. Chew and Blagdon Reservoirs were visited in near blizzard conditions; many species of swans, geese and ducks unknown to most members present were seen and identified by the experienced leader, Bernard King. A week later many of these birds were seen at close quarters at the Wildfowl Trust, Slimbridge. At Coate Water boats were successfully used to watch wildfowl. In the spring this neighbourhood was re-visited to listen to the songs of some of the summer migrants. At an evening meeting in May nightjars and woodcock gave a splendid performance to the large audience. Meetings witha predominantly botanical flavour included visits to a marsh near Oaksey, where some rare plants were found, and to an area of varied flora near Alderholt, Hampshire. Both districts were formerly within the Wiltshire boundary. The Weavern Valley, Axford, Robin Hood Ball and Sunton Heath were also explored at different times. As in 1955, various ecological aspects of Natural History were introduced by leaders. A fascinating bee- keeping demonstration by Mr. Weddell and Mr. Farrar was related to the flora of the surrounding area covered by the worker bees in their search for pollen. The close relationship between geology and botany was traced by Mr. Barron and Mr. Goldstraw on a journey made across the changing strata from the chalk near Erlestoke northwards through the clays to the iron-bearing lower greensand at Seend. Mr. Owen and Mr. Grose combined to continue the survey of the flora of the Knap Hill rabbit warrens. A list of plants that have re-colonised an excavated sand-pit at Compton Bassett was compiled for the second year by a group of botanists. Other subjects studied at field meetings included moths, badgers, fungi and rock identification. Indoor activities too were varied. Two Natural History courses were held at Urchfont Manor. The lecturers and some of the students were members of the Section. An increasing number of members took advantage of the generous invitation of the Bath Natural History Society to attend their excellent lectures. Mr. H. G. Hurrell’s visit to Marlborough College to show his coloured films of pine-martens and blue-tits was very much enjoyed by all who were able to accept the College’s invitation. In October Miss Balme,from the Furzebrook Research station, spoke at Devizes Museum of the work of Nature Conservancy with special reference to Wiltshire. With the aid of beautiful coloured slides she explained some of the experiments being carried out on land owned or leased by the Conservancy. The Annual General Meeting was held at Marlborough College on 23rd June. The Secretary’s report was read by Mrs. C. Seccombe Hett and the statement of accounts by Mr. G. W. Collett. Miss E. M. Gliddon, the Press Secretary and the Meetings Secretary read their reports. In the absence of Mr. Grose, Mr. Collett reported on the progress of the Wiltshire Flora publication and Mrs. Barnes reported that all the material for the Bird Check List was now in Mr. Peirson’s hands. The Chairman, Mr. J. H. Halliday, reported that the re-casing of the stuffed birds in the new Natural History Room in the Museum was com- lete. : The year’s programme was brought to a close with another successful and enjoyable meeting at the Devizes Museum. Bird and flower photographs, pressed flowers and grasses, snails, fairy water shrimps, lichens, mosses and mice skins were amongst the exhibits, Tea was followed by four short talks and a show of coloured slides. 1 For 1957 Field Meetings see p. 135. 113 HON. SECRETARY’S REPORT FOR 1956. ! The Section has 230 members, including 107 full members of the Society. It was in 1947 that the first Report of the Section—newly formed in 1946—was published in W. A. Magazine. It is also noteworthy that of the original committee, the following continue to serve:—Mrs. E. G. Barnes as Bird Recorder, Mr. D. L. Grose as Plant Recorder, Mr. B. W. Weddell as Lepidoptera Recorder, and Mr. G. W. Collett as Hon. Treasurer. It is largely due to their unflagging interest that the Section continues to thrive. The new Flora isimminent. The Check List for Wiltshire Birds awaits final editing and work on the Entomological List continues. A successful and widely varied Programme of Meetings is regularly enjoyed by all who take part. C. Seccomse Herr. 1 For 1957 Report see p. 136. VOL. LVII-CCVI ro) 114 THE WEATHER OF 1956! By R. A. U. JENNINGS. This year was on the whole disappointing though it had some interesting meterological features. There was an excess of rain in January which was a blessing to the springs, and February in many places showed a lower mean temperature than any years in the past century other than the ‘ classic’ 1895 and 1947. The three Spring months were pleasant, dry, sunny and a little cold; so upland farms and gardens were back- ward. So far so good; but the three summer months were unattractive, though not so dismal as those of 1954. The only cheerful feature was a little burst of warmth at the end of July, with one day on which the county's maxima were generally above 80°F. August was a wretched month. Rain fell on nearly every day, and though not heavy enough to ruin the harvest, it seriously delayed it. Few places had a maximum of more than 70°F during the whole month, and there was scarcely any thunder throughout the summer. The first twelve days of September followed the summer’s pattern, but were followed by a very dry autumn. There is good evidence for thinking that the period from mid-September to mid-December was the driest in the century. Even on the bleak chalk roses were in bloom nearly until Christmas. There was a snowstorm on the afternoon of Christmas Day, and that was the only snow of the winter. Some readers have found that the simplified notation for the months used in the past two years is con- fusing in the matter of rainfall. This year a plus sign equals “ more’ anda minus sign‘ less’ than normally. An O means that the figure was normal, or nearly so. T. R. S: Jan. O + + Normal Feb. — —_ + Very cold March O _ + Dry April _ — + A beautiful month May ae — ae Another good month June — — — Cool and dry July O “+ = Dull, with a late warm spell August — + + Cool and wet Sept. + + _ Rather better, and warmer than August October — _ + Still and dry with scarcely any screen frosts Nov. _ — -- Very like October Dec. + + — Still and dry; then wet and windy Whole year _ -- — 1 For the Weather of 1957 see p. 137. 115 WILTSHIRE BIRD NOTES FOR 1956.1 Recorders: RUTH G. BARNES, M.B.0.u., GUY PEIRSON anp GEOFFREY L. BOYLE. Last year’s notes were the tenth in the series. Now in the eleventh year it is worth while glancing back at the first. Three changes are at once obvious: the order of species follows the British Ornithologists’ Union Check list, not that of the Handbook; fewer migration dates are printed and are no longer given separately ; the number of observers has doubled. Although some areas are still without an observer, or are difficult of access, the county as a whole is now much more thoroughly covered than it was, and these Notes are only a small selection of the great and welcome mass of observations received, all of which are filed and are available for study. As in similar publications the attempt has been made not merely to maintain but to raise the standard of evidence de- manded for sight records of rarities. The record of the Night Heron at Longford is welcome; that for the same place in 1954 could be given as probable only. 1956 was a good year for records of the unusual ducks: that of the Red-Breasted Mer- ganser is only the second since 1881. As would be expected, an unusual number of * grey geese ’ were seen during the bitter weather in Feb- ruary, but very unexpected was the astonishing number of Bewick’s Swans. This Species was first recorded for Wiltshire in 1954 and a single bird again in 1955. In 1956 something like 40 were reported from six different waters in the first four months of the year. Some of these may have moved and been counted twice but it is clear that Wiltshire shared in the spectacular influx reported from other parts of England. Almost as remarkable were the nine birds that visited two waters in the mild December. Fewer Buzzards were seen than last year and far fewer nested or brought off young. The same decrease was noticed in many other counties. The Buzzard has not long re-established itself as a breeding species in Wiltshire and it will be interesting to see how it fares in the future. An Osprey spent a fortnight on the Salisbury Avon in October. There is a fine crop of wader records. Oystercatchers, Ringed Plovers, Wood Sandpipers, a Knot and many Dunlin are all most unusual in Wiltshire, and the Little Stint seen at Coate Water in September is the first recorded for the county. The Curlew now breeds regularly, if very locally. A brief life story that catches the imagination is that of an Arctic Tern that was hatched in Esthonia, flew round the Iron Curtain to England and perished in a remarkable accident in Wiltshire. There are very few previous records of Little Terns. Under the entries for Skylark, Swallow and House Martin will be found observations which look like the detection of an autumn migration route for passerines. Some of the rarities listed above were as their dates show brought in by the cold of February: to this same cold may perhaps be attributed the way in which some winter flocks of finches and buntings did not break up until well into April. 1 For 1957 Bird Notes see pp. 138. 116 CONTRIBUTORS H. G. Alexander H.G.A T. Horner Es A. R. Angell AGRA. E. L. Jones ; EL): Countess Jan Badeni J.B: W. P. Lawrence WEPal: David Barnes D.G.B. J. R. Lawson JERE: Mrs. Barnes sis R.G.B. Mrs. Lawson : V.C.L Miss E. Batchelor E.B. Miss M. K. Luckham M.K.L F. D. Birtwell F.D.B R.E. Matson... R.E.M G. L. Boyle G.L.B F. H. Maundrell .. F.H.M E. Browning... E.B.2 J. G. Mavrogordato J.G.M J. LR. Burden «.. J.L.R.B Miss Newton Dunn 3 D.N.D Miss M. Butterworth . MB Squadron Leader N. Orr .. N.W.O J. M. Buxton J.M.B Dr. D. B. Peakall D.B.P W. A. Chaplin W.A.C C. M. R. Pitman CM:RUP He J. Clase : H.J.C R.H. Poulding .. R.HLP. D. S. C. Clouston DS:G.C Countess of Radnor LR. G. W. Collett Ae G.W.C @o2Rice C.R. Major W. M. Congreve W.M.C P. Roberts P:R J. E. Cooke J.E.C A. C. Sawle A:C.S Mrs. Cox D.C Mrs. Seccombe Hett C:S:E: E.. J; Cruse E.J:C A. Smith : JINGSY C. A. Cutforth Gece: W. Sommerville PAWiESt G. Elliott G.E. Major General Sparks ELP.S Mrs. Forbes : E.V:F. Roy Spencer® 22. Rey-S: Miss M.C. Foster M.C.F. Colonel J. K. Stanford TES Brigadier Fowle .. FEF. B. M. Stratton B.M.S D. Fry IDE, Miss Temple Vir. Jorn ELy J-EF. Miss Thouless EaeM Mrs. Gandy st LG. R. L. Vernon R.L.V Miss M. J. Gibbs MJ.G. G. L. Webber G.L.W Miss B. Gillam B.G. C. A. White C.A.W. J. H. Halliday JHA R. Whitlock R.W. G. W. Hemming G.W.H 4. RED-THROATED DIVER. A single bird was seen on Clarendon Lake by E.L.J. on Mar. 25thand on several occasions up to Apr. 2nd by D.F., T.H., H.J.C. and P.R. Each observer gave a full description and referred to the up-turned bill. 5. GREAT CRESTED GREBE. One pair on Corsham Lake brought off young at their second attempt (G.W.H.). Two families with 3 and 2 young on Bowood Lake, Aug. sth (B.G.). One nest with young reported by keeper at Longleat (M.B.). On Braydon Pond 3 birds were sitting and 2 other pairs present, Apr. 27th. One of these nests was swept away in a storm in May. A family of 2 and another of 3 young noted Aug. sth, while a pair had 1 small young in down, Sept. 2nd (R.G.B.). 9. LITTLE GREBE. Many pairs with young on the Kennet and Avon Canal between Great and Little Bedwyn (B.G.). A pair building in rushes on Lacock gravel pits, Apr. 25th, were seen to mate on the nest, May 1st (G.L.B.). 28. CORMORANT. Four were perched in trees by the Avon between Clarendon and Alderbury, Jan. 15th(P.R.) and 11 were seen near Alderbury, Jan. 21st (C.M.R.P.). Two or three seen from time to time near Longford (M.K.L., H_J.C.) and one noted at Downton as late as Apr. roth (E.B.). Single birds seen in several localities near Salisbury during the winter (I.R., G.E., M.K.L.). Twenty-seven were perched in trees by the Avon at Charlton-all-Saints, Dec. 30th (E.B.). 30. HERON. There were 16 occupied nests at Bowood, May 8th, some with well grown young while nesting material was being added to certain nests (G.L.B.). Five nests were occupied in Savernake Forest beech trees, Apr. 8th(J.H.H.) a further nest being used by May 6th (W.P.L.). A nest high up in a dead tree at Britford contained 2 large young, June 3rd, apparently the first year nesting has occurred in this locality (H.J.C., C.M.R.P.). An increase was reported in the colony at Bradford Wood, 24 nests being occupied May 2nd (R.J.S.). One, possibly two, nests in Conkwell Wood: (Dr. C. N. Vaisey). a7 36. NIGHT HERON. An immature bird was flushed from a tangle of weeds, nettles and willows by the Avon near Long- ford, Oct. 7th. In size it was considerably shorter and more stocky than a Heron. Its general appearance. was brown above with whitish spots and streaks. The underparts were darker and streaked with brownish grey. The legs were yellowish green and the bill dark. Observed at a range of 30 yards in flight and 100 yards when perched on a willow. It was very shy (D.B.P.). 45, 46, 50, 56, 57. Winter records of Mallard, Teal, Wigeon, Tufted Duck and Pochard are filed and it is hoped to publish a summary of them after some years. 47. GARGANEY. A drake on Braydon Pond, Apr. 25th(H.G.A.). 49. GADWALL. A drake was seen in shallow water with several Mallard at Longford, Dec. 8th (E.B.). 52. pintam. A drake on Wilton Water, Jan. 7th—15th(J.H.H., V.C.L., J.R.L.). Two flew down and rested in a field at Coombe Bisset, Feb. 26th (H.J.C.). One was shot at Gt. Durnford, Sept. 17th and three had been seen coming in to stubble in early September by Mr. D. Cannon(J.K.S.). $3. SHOVELER. A male seen in flight at Odstock, Feb. 23rd (E.B.). On Coate Water there were 2 males and 1 female, Mar. 2nd—rith (G.W.C., J.H.H., E.M.T.) and 1 male and 2 females, Mar. 31st (G.L.W.). Single birds on Clarendon Lake in March(R.W.). and at Longford, Apr. 3rd (M.K.L., E.B.). In autumn single birds were seen at Coate Water, Bodenham and Corsham (G.L.W., E.B., J.L.R.B.), 7 birds in flight at Clarendon, Nov. 18th (C.M.R.P.), and 2 males and 1 female on Braydon Pond, Dec. 31st (R.G.B.). 56. TUFTED DUCK. A pair bred at Clarendon Lake and young were seen, June 30th (R.W., T.H., D.F.). The keeper at Longleat reported that several pairs bred there successfully and brought off an average of 7 young each (M.B.). 60. GOLDEN EYE Single drakes were seen on Wilton Water, Feb. 14th—17th (LG., B.G., J.H.H.) and standing at edge of frozen floodwater near Odstock, Feb. 25th (E.B.). At Chilton Foliat 2 drakes were seen, Feb. 26th (J.H.H., V.C.L., J-R.L.) and 3 on Mar. 4th(V.C.L., J.R.L.). Two drakes were seen at Littlecote on the same day(J.H.H.). 69. RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. One ‘ Red-headed ’ bird was to be seen on the Avon near Longford Castle from Feb. 17th to 20th. It moved to the Southampton Road gravel pits on Feb. 21st, and remained until Feb 25th (E.B., H.J.C., D.N.D.,M.K.L). GREY GEESE. Heard calling in flight over Harnham, Jan. sth (E.B.) and several seen flying north over Inglesham, | Jan. 30th(F.H.M.). Single birds near Melksham, Feb. sth (R.J.S.) and on frozen Coate Water Feb. roth (V.C.L., J-R.L.). Thirty circled over Beanacre, Feb. 23rd (R.J.S.) and nine flew down the Avon near Longford Feb. 26th (M.K.L.). In autumn, 6 probable white-fronts flew N.E. from Wilton Water, Oct. 27th(J.R.L.) and 6 birds were seen at Inglesham, | Dec. 3rd (F.H.M.). 76. WHITE-FRONTED GoosE. An adult seen at very close range at Coate Water, Jan. 28th (G.L.W.). Four birds stayed in the water meadows between Odstock and Coombe Bissett for about five days from Feb. 23rd during severe frost. _ They were surprisingly tame (E.B., H.J.C.). 86. BEWICK’s SwAN. An exceptional year for Bewick’s in the county. At Coate Water from Feb. 12th to 16th up to 17 birds were seen on the ice or in flight (M.C.F., G.L.W., V.C.L. et. al.). Numbers fluctuated by the Salisbury Avon; | 6 at Longford on Feb. 27th (I.R.), 4 at Britford, Mar. 3rd (W.A.C., D.F., T.H., P.R.); later 8 were seen at Downton, Mar. 24th and Apr. 2nd (E.B., M.K.L., C.M.R.P.) and 5 were the last seen on water meadows there on Apr. 3rd (H.J.C., D.F., T.H.). One bird, possibly injured, stayed in a meadow at Little Durnford, Mar. 23rd(J.K.S.). Thirteen _ birds remained on Braydon Pond from Apr. sth to 16th; at times they were heard to call, a soft, musical ‘ hoo-hoo’ (N.W.O., R.G.B., D.G.B.). Two adults were seen on Coate Water, Dec. 1st (G.L.W.); and nine birds, including two juveniles, on Braydon Pond, Dec. 31st (BAG B.rG, 5). QI. BUZZARD. One definite record of nesting, although no confirmation of successful rearing of young (M.B.). In _ another area a young bird almost fully fledged but not yet able to Ay and weak for lack of food was picked up on July 13th and handed over to J-G.M. It made a good recovery. Six other records from different localities of birds in flight _ during the breeding season (G.L.B., M.C.F., R.H.P., B.M.S., R.J.S.). Several observers reported that birds were seen less frequently than in former years (G.L.B., H.J.C., G.E., R.W., J.G.M.). 100. HEN HARRIER. A ‘ring-tail” at Roundway Down, Jan. 12th when white rump showed clearly (J.L.R.B.) and another was clearly seen near Savernake Forest, Apr. 1st and 9th (M.C.F.). An adult was seen at Stitchcombe, Mar. 8th | (J-H.H.) and a male near Chilton Foliat, Apr. 8th (M.C.F.). Two birds at Axford, Dec. 2nd and 9th (W.P.L., R-E.M.). | 102. MONTAGU’S HARRIER. A male was seen several times between Mar. 26th and Apr. 1oth near West Amesbury (J-K.S.). A‘ ring-tail’ which flew over Harnham, Aug. 24th, was probably of this species (H.J.C.). 118 103. OSPREY. One was seen at Great Durnford by Lord Tryon and Hon. A. Tryon on Sept. 30th. J.K.S. saw it with a fish on Oct. 1st and it remained in the district for about a fortnight. 104. HOBBY. First seen Apr. 29th by J.K.S. who also observed pairs in two different localities on May 29th and 30th. A nest was found with a sitting bird, July 8th; the eggs did not hatch (J.K.S.). Single birds were reported by seven observers. On June 15th an adult male was caught in a garden in very poor condition with feet clenched and unable to fly or stand. It was apparently starving and after good feeding flew away strongly, June 21st (G.L.W.). An immature bird, fully fledged, was picked up by a soldier and handed over to J.G.M., Sept. 28th. It was in the last stage ofstarvation but made a good recovery. It had probably been abandoned by migrating parents before it was self-supporting. Last bird seen, flying high, Sept. 22nd(J.G.M.). 105. PEREGRINE. An adult male shot at Ashton Keynes, Jan. 8th, reported by C. M. Swaine. Single birds seen over Roundway Down, Jan. roth {J.L.R.B.) and pursuing a Wood Pigeon near Swindon, Feb. 27th (G.L.W.). On Feb. 26th and Mar. 23rd a bird was seen to circle and perch on the spire on Salisbury Cathedral (H.J.C.). A pair were “ stooping and zooming ’ over East Knoyle, June 18th (B.M.S.). There were seven later records of solitary birds. 107. MERLIN. One was seen perched on a wisp of straw in a stubble field near Shrewton, Nov. 2nd. It allowed approach in a car to within 20 yards before taking wing. Either a female or immature bird (J.G.M.). Another, also female or immature, seen flying low by the Avon at Bodenham, Nov. 22nd (E.B.). II5. RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. Noted at Axford in January(J.H.H.). At Clearbury Ring five were seen in March and thirteen in October (E.B.). A pair at Odstock and another at Charlton-all-Saints in April (E.B.). Also scen near Pitton (R.W.) and a clutch of 17 eggs hatched successfully in June at Great Bedwyn (E.J.C.). A bird which had been running about under cars parked in Salisbury Market was taken to the Police Station and released later (P.R.). 117. QUAIL. Fewer records than last year. First seen near Porton, Apr. 27th (D.B.P.) and heard calling in wheat near Tan Hill, May 14th (R.J.S.). Heard calling subsequently as follows: on Allington Down, May 28th and Aug. 8th and on Roundway Down, May 30th (B.G.); near Pitton, June 6th (R. W.); in mowing grass near Colerne, June 26th, and in barley near Tinhead, July 26th (R.J.S.); near Aldbourne in August (M.C.F.). Two parties, 5 and 4, flushed on Larkhill Ranges, July 8th (B.G., H.J.C.). A bevy of 9 seen near Odstock by harvest workers in the field where Lord Radnor saw a pair in May (I.R.). 118. PHEASANT. A pure albino cock bird was seen near Corsham on May 8th (G.W.H.). 120. WATER RAIL. Six widely distributed records from January to April (G.E., H.J.C., M.C.F., E.B., G.L.W.), but none for the summer months. Sixteen records from September to December, of these 11 were from the Salisbury Avon and 8 in the month of November. This may indicate an influx into that valley in autumn (G.E., LR., P.R.., et. al.). 125. CORNCRAKE. One heard and flushed near Great Bedwyn in June (E.J.C.). 127. coot. OnJan. 15th there were 149 on Braydon Pond. Some were carrying weed and some slightly aggressive (R.G.B)). 13I. OYSTER CATCHER. Two came down and rested for a few minutes on a mud bank by the Old Deanery garden in Salisbury, Apr. 14th (M.K.L.). A single bird seen flying S. over Staverton, Aug. 14th; the call was heard and the pied plumage and long bill noted(A.R.A.). One at Coate Water, Nov. 24th (G.L.W.). 133. LAPWING. Winter flocks of c. 600 in Melksham area (R.J.S.). Four young birds eleven days old (hatched May 29th) at Lacock gravel pits were seen to feed like the adults by holding one leg slightly forward and vibrating the foot on the ground. These chicks fed regularly on tadpoles. Their method was to wade into the water, select a tadpole and bring it to dry land and beat it on the ground several times before swallowing. So far as is known this is the first record of tadpoles being included in a Lapwing’s diet (G.L.B.) cf. British Birds Vol. XLIX, p. 502 Dec. 1956. A melanistic bird was seen by Mr. D. Cannon, Oct. 26th, in a large flock near Druid’s Lodge. There was no white on it at all. The back and wings were darker than a normal bird, while the head, nape and mantle were black or dull blackish green. The undertail coverts were deep black as were the underparts and rump. No crest was visible. With good glasses the lower edge of the bib was just noticeable(J.K.S.). 134. RINGED PLOveR. Four, with Dunlin, at Coate Water, Aug. 18th and one on Aug. 26th (G.L.W.). 140. GOLDEN PLovER. A flock of c. 300 near Odstock during January (E.B., H.J.C.); c. 40 in Old Sarum valley, Jan. 6th (P.R., R.W.). Flocks noted at Chisbury and Ramsbury, Jan. rsth, and Rudge Hill, Jan. 18th (J.H.H., V.C.L., J.R.L.). From 300 to 400 on Zeals airfield, Jan. 28th(M.B.) Last seen in spring, Apr. 8th, Stonehenge (B.G.), Apr. 14th, New Court Down (P.R.), and Clearbury Down (E.B.). First seen in autumn at Old Sarum, Aug. 21st, where numbers increased to c. 300 by Oct. 7th(P.R.). Large flocks in several places in November and December, including Stourhead (R. S. Fitter), Britford (E.B. and c.200 at Bishops Cannings (B.C.). 119 145. SNIPE. Several drumming together over a field where they were breeding near Ramsbury, Apr. 22nd (G.L.B.). As many as six displaying at Bemerton during June evenings (G.E.). Drumming heard at Bemerton up to July 3rd (E:B:): 147. JACK SNIPE. A single bird flushed from Holt Marsh, Jan. rst and Dec. 23rd (A.R.A.). At Coate Water there were two birds on Feb. 18th and Mar. 24th, and three on Mar. 31st; single birds on Oct. 21st and 28th (E. Browning); two feeding with Snipe, Nov. 17th and one, Dec. 1st (G.L.W.). Single birds were seen on Rodbourne sewage farm, Jan. 28th (G.L.W.). and at Homington, Feb. 4th (E.B.). 148. woopcock. Several winter records. Fair numbers seen ‘ roding ’ in Clarendon Woods in spring (R. W.). 150. cuRLEW. A nest with 4 eggs at Seend Cleeve, Apr. 28th, only So yards from a breeding site of 1953. Eggshell found in Sandridge Vale, May sth, but nest not located (R. J.S.). A nest with 4 eggs near Patney Station, May 8th, the chicks hatching May 25th (B.G.). A nest at Marden contained 3 eggs, May 18th, another nest had been robbed and a third breeding pair was located (J.K.S.). Bred successfully near Urchfont (E.J.C.). Reports of birds calling and in flight during April received from eleven observers. 156. GREEN SANDPIPER. A wintering bird near Ramsbury, Jan. 29th (V.C.L., R.J.L.) and two at Britford, Feb. 2oth— 28th (E.B., H.J.C.) and Mar. 3rd (P.R.). Single birds seen near Salisbury, Apr. 3rd, roth and 27th (E.B.). Seen at - Lacock gravel pits, Mar. 22nd and Apr. 11th (G.L.B.). Several records from July 22nd onwards. Winter records: near Hants border, Nov. 23rd (J.K.S.); at Charlton-all-Saints, Nov. 11th and Dec. and, two (I.R.); and at Britford, one or two, from Nov. 11th to Dec. 15th (G.E.). 157. WOOD SANDPIPER. Two were watched at close range feeding at Lacock gravel pits by G.L.B., May 16th, and later that day C.R. and Mrs. Rice saw the birds and heard them call when flushed. A single bird was seen on water _ weed in a stream at Salisbury, May 17th(H.J.C.). Full description given. These are the second and third records for the county in this century. 159. COMMON SANDPIPER. The earliest record is of a bird by a paddling pool in Trowbridge Park, Mar. 12th (A.S.). Many reports of single birds in April. On July oth there were 18 together at Coate Water (G.L.W.). An unusually large number was seen at Bowood, Aug. 2nd, when 6 were at one end of the lake and later 25 were circling and calling before settling on the branches of a fallen tree in the water. Last seen in autumn at Coate, Oct. 20th (G.L.W.). I6I. REDSHANK. In the breeding season pairs were seen from April 12th at Manton (A.C.S.), Clatford (B.G.) and several near Ramsbury (G.L.B.). Several pairs had young of varying ages near Littlecote, June 9th (B.G.) and July 22nd (I.G.). Common near Longford in spring (M.K.L.). A breeding pair seen at Bowerchalke in May (J.K.S.), and another with young at Hurdcott, June 15th (G.E.). 165. GREENSHANK. Two birds were very active in a pool at Lacock gravel pits, May 19th (G.L.B.). 169. KNOT. One was feeding with Lapwings by Coate Water, Nov. 3rd. The call note was heard (G.L.W.). I7I. LITTLE STINT. Two at Coate Water with Common Sandpipers, Sept. 1st. They were very tame and allowed approach to 3 yards. ‘ The V on back clearly seen. Grey upper parts, white eye-stripe, smudge on upper breast, under- parts hite. Legs and bill black.’ (G.L.W.). 178. DUNLIN. The following were seen at Coate Water: two feeding at edge of ice, Jan. 8th (V.C.L., J.R.L.); a flock of 30/40, Jan. 29th (M.C.F.). Two with Ringed Plover, Aug. 18th; single birds on Aug. 25th and 26th when one was seen * pattering ’ while feeding (G.L.W.). Fifteen feeding in shallows by the Avon south of Melksham during severe weather, Feb. 4th, and two in the same place, Feb. rith (R.J.S.). 189. STONE CURLEW. First heard calling Mar. 13th (E.B.); Mar. 23rd (J.K.S.); Mar. 20th (R.W.). A nest with sitting bird found May 3rd (J.K.S.). Another nest containing 2 eggs, May 15th, both eggs hatching June 7th (B.G., R.J.S.). Further records of successful breeding from E.J.C., J.K.S., V.T. A pair with young seen in late July and early _ August (M.C.F.). Notes of birds calling or in flight from B.M.S., M.B., G.E. et al. Last seen Oct. 20th(J.K.S.). | | 198. GREATER BLACK-BACKED GULL. Noted in January and February and again from September to December near Salisbury (E.B., H.J.C., M.K.L.). Single birds at Coate, Mar. 3rd, and Rodbourne sewage farm, Sept. 8th (G.L.W.). Two at Britford, June 3rd (H.J.C.). 199. LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. Winter records came from many districts. One near Salisbury, Jan. 3rd (H.J.C.), two at Corsham Lake, Jan. 7th(B.G.). Single birds seen at Longford, Nov, 4th (D.B.P.), Corsham, Nov. 19th(J.L.R.B.), Salisbury, from Nov. 13th to Dec. roth (G.E.), and Britford, Dec. 30th (E.B.). One, sometimes two birds at Bemerton from Nov. 11th to Dec. rsth(G.E.). 120 200. HERRING GULL. Small numbers, under ten, seen as follows: in January at Liddington, Wanborough and Hodson (M.C.F.)., on New Court Down (E.B.); in February near Odstock (E.B.); and at Rodbourne sewage farm in March and April, (G.L.W.). 201. COMMON GULL. c. 600 on ploughed land with c. 10 Blackheaded Gulls at Cole Park, Mar. rith(J.M.B.). Large flocks also noted in Pewsey Vale, Mar. 12th—19th (B.G.) and near Salisbury during the last part of the year (J.K.S., E.B., H.J.C.). Last seen in spring at Druid’s Lodge, Apr. 29th(J.K.S.). 212. BLACK TERN. A single bird was seen at Coate Water, Apr. 20th—21st (M.C.F., J.H.H.). 217/218. COMMON OR ARCTIC TERN. A single bird over gravel pit at Clarendon, July 7th(C.M.R.P.). The following were noted at Coate Water: July 8th, 2 immature birds in which the tail when at rest was longer than the closed wings (M.C.F.); Aug. 11th, 2 birds; Aug. 18th, 4; Sept. 2nd, 14; Oct. 6th and 7th, 1 bird (G.L.W.). A single bird over the canal at Rowde, Aug. 28th(J.E.C.); and one in winter plumage over Braydon Pond, Sept. 8th (H.G.A.). 218. ARCTIC TERN. A bird ringed as young, 20.6.56 at Pukhtu, Estonia—58.34 N/23.34 E, Ring No. MoskwaF. 301152, was recovered on the Avon at Little Somerford, Sept. 4th. It dived at a fisherman’s plug, rose sharply and struck his rod, breaking its wing(J.F.F.). 222. LITTLE TERN. An adult in full summer plumage with Common/Arctic Terns at Coate Water, Aug. 18th(G.L.W.). 235. TURTLE DOVE. First heard May 3rd, near Tollard Royal (V.T.); May 4th, Devizes (J.L.R.B.); May 6th, Calne (E.M.T.). Last seen Sept. 16th, at Ford (G.E.). 237. Cuckoo. First heard Apr. 11th, Marlborough (J.H.H.); Apr. 12th, Bodenham (H.J.C.); Apr. 13th, Pitton (R.W.). Last seen Sept. oth, a juvenile at Downton (E.B.). 248. LONG-EARED OWL. One seen near Marlborough, Mar. 24th (F.D.B.). One in a pine on Hackpen Hill, Apr. 4th; over 100 pellets on the ground below (A.C.S.). 249. SHORT-EARED OWL. One at Totterdown, Mar. 4th (R.E.M.). Two birds flew from sarsen stones on Fyfield Down, Apr. 2nd(A.C.S.). Noted near Salisbury in winter (J.K.S.). 252. NIGHTJAR. Firstnoted at Great Bedwyn, May 22nd (F.D.B.) and at East Grimstead, May 26th(H.J.C.). Usual num- bers seen at Clarendon(R.W.). Last seen flying at dusk at Clarendon, Aug. 22nd (D.F., T.H.). 255. swirT. One flying over Coate Water with Swallows and Martins, Apr. 4th, an early date (B.G.). Other spring arrivals, Apr. 24th, Downton (E.B.) and Bemerton (H.J.C.). A very large flock, too big to estimate numbers, was mov- ing S.W. over Salisbury Plain near Tilshead, July 15th. Possibly a weather movement since there were heavy storm clouds about (R.G.B.). Last seen Sept. 4th, Bemerton (G.E.); Sept. 7th, Malmesbury (J.M.R.); Sept. oth, Harnham (HJ.C). 261. HOOPOE. One calling repeatedly and singing at Druid’s Lodge in the early morning of April 26th—the second year in succession it has appeared here. (Mr. Cannon per J.K.S.). Mr. Blakeley saw one at Rockley, May 11th. A bird was found with a damaged wing in a garden at Hindon and photographed. It died later. (K.G. Smith, Country Life 23.6.56). One was seen flying from fence post to fence post on downs above Ansty, June roth, raising its crest each time it alighted. The observer was familiar with the species in India (Mrs. Aileen Still, Western Gazette). One was feed- ing on worms on the lawn at Longford Castle for several hours, Sept. roth (LR., W.A.C., M.K.L. et al.). 262. GREEN WOODPECKER. In the evening of Aug. 31st one was seen to alight on a yew hedge at Norton, and eat the flies which were abundant. Presently it left the hedge and fluttered quite high in the air in pursuit of the insects. It was a most uncharacteristic movement. There is no mention of it in the ‘ Handbook ’(J.B.). 264 LESSER SPOTTED WoopPECKER. All records are of single birds—seen in March at Pewsey (F.E.F.); in April at Long- leat (R.H.P.) and Littleton Drew (G.L.B.; drumming at Bodenham in May (E.B.). Seen in June at Atworth (C.S.H.); in July near Salisbury (H.J.C.); East Knoyle (B.M.S.) and Seagry (R.G.B.); in September at Coate (G.L.W.) and West- bury (A.R.A.). 271. WOODLARK. One singing in parkland at Longleat, Apr. 1st (R.H.P.). Breeding confirmed in Spye Park (E.J.C.). 272. SKYLARK. For note on passage see also under Swallow. On Oct. 13th between o800—1100 hours c. 150 larks passed over Coate and Swindon towards W.S.W. flying in small groups and singly. On Nov. 4th c. 200 were flying N.E. at Coate (G.L.W.). 121 274. SWALLOW. First seen Apr. 3rd, Odstock (E.B.); Apr. 4th, Bemerton (H.J.C.) and Clarendon (C.M.R.P.). Last seen Oct. 22nd, Harnham (H.J.C.); Oct. 23rd, Ford(J.K.S.). In spring the general passage of hirundines near W. Ames- bury appears to be S. to N. but in autumn it is nearly always E. toW . or W.S.W.(J.K.S.). On Sept. 26th between 14.15-16.45 hours E.L.J. counted 458 Swallows and 676 House Martins passing $.S.W. or S.W. from Berks into Wilts along the Inkpen—Ham. Hill scarp. On Sept. 27th between 09.3 5-11.40 hours in rain and against a strong wind c. 550 Swallows crossed the scarp at Inkpen flying S.S.W. with c. 150 House Martins, c. 70 Skylarks, c. 75 Linnets and c. 380 Meadow Pipits. In 1957 it is hoped to organise a close observation of what appears to be a probable autumn passage route. 276. HOUSE MARTIN. First seen Apr. 1st, Longford (M.K.L.); Apr. roth, Devizes (J.L.R.B.); Apr. 11th, Notton (G.L.B.). A pure albino seen at Inglesham, Aug. 30th (F.H.M.). For movement on passage see under Swallow. Last seen Oct. 28th, Longford (E.B.); Nov. 7th, Marlborough (F.H.M.). 277. SAND MARTIN. First seen Apr. 3rd, Longford (E.B.); Apr. 7th, Salisbury (H.J.C.); Apr. roth, Devizes (J.L.R.B.) and Braydon Pond(R.G.B.). Last seen Sept. 4th, Harnham (H.J.C.); Sept. 6th, Longford (E.B.). 279. RAVEN. Two seen by Mr. Blakeley near Totterdown, Mar. 15th. 281. HOODED Crow. Single birds at Coate Water, Dec. 2nd, and at Rodbourne Sewage Farm, Dec. 29th (G.L.W.). 288. GREAT TIT. A nest box from which the first brood had very recently flown contained a second clutch of 5 eggs on June 7th(W.M.C.). 293. wittow TIT. Near Alderbury a pair was identified, Jan. 15th (P.R., C.M.R.P.), and Sept. 8th(E.B.). 300. DIPPER. One, in full song, by Broadmead Brook, Jan. 22nd(R.J.S.). One successful hatch and one nest destroyed by boys in the Castle Combe district (E.J.C.). A single bird by the R. Ebble, Mar. sth(P.R.). A pair by the R. Nadder near Dinton (B.M.S.), and an immature bird seen there, Aug. 24th (G.E.). October records from Quidhampton (E.B.), H_J.C.), Wilton (H.J.C.) and Bemerton (C.M.R.P.). Noted twice at Salisbury in winter (W.A.C.). One by the Avon at West Amesbury, Nov. 22nd, the first seen there by J.K.S. 302. FIELDFARE. Last seen in spring, Apr. 21st, Hullavington (E.J.C.);) Apr. 24th, Seend Cleeve (R.J.S.); Apr. 28th, Marlborough (W.P.L.); May ist, Sandridge (R.J.S.). First in autumn, Oct. 13th, Coate (G.L.W.); Oct. 27th, Wilton (E.B.); Nov. 3rd, Cole Park(J.M.B.), and Staverton (R.J.S.). 304. REDWING. Last seen in spring, Apr. 1st, Ramsbury (C.A.W.) and c. 100 in babbling song, Westbury (A.R.A.); Apr. 3rd, Upavon (F.E.F.); Apr. 11th, Petersfinger (H.J.C.). First in autumn, Oct. 9th, Bishopstone (P.R.) and heard flying over Swindon at night (G.L.W.; Oct. 15th, Keevil(R.L.V.). 307. RING OUZzEL. An adult male at Yarnbury Castle dodging behind clumps of gorse, Mar. 30th (G.E.). The follow- ing note for 1955 was omitted in error—one seen by Professor. M. F. M. Meiklejohn and J.K.S. on an open down west of Middle Woodford, Mar. 28th. 308. BLACKBIRD. Seen and heard singing at Keevil on the evening of Nov. 6th, a sub-song but with most of the fam- iliar notes and loud enough to attract attention (R.L.V.); sub-song heard at Britford, Dec. 9th (E.B.). 311. WHEATEAR. First seen Mar. 30th, Barbury Castle (A.C.S.); Mar. 31st, Pitton (R.W.); Apr. 2nd, Laverstock (H.J.C.). Last seen, Sept. 25th, Ramsbury (M.C.F.); Oct. 14th, Downton (E.B.) and Porton (D.B.P.). 317. STONECHAT. Single birds were seen near Great Somerford, Mar. 11th (J.M.B.), and near Marlborough, Mar. 18th, (J.H.H.). An adult with young just out of the nest near Hales Purlieu, May 7th(J.K.S.). A pair feeding among kale near Horton, Sept. 28th (B.G.). In autumn a single bird was seen near Bemerton, Oct. 22nd (H.J.C.), and near Netheravon, Nov. 3rd (J.K.S.). A pair were at Devil’s Den, Nov. 1sth(W. S.). 318 WHINCHAT. First seen, Apr. 28th, near Salisbury (H.J.C.). One or two pairs apparently nested in upland field north of Pitton (R.W.). Frequent records on passage in late August and September. Last noted, Sept. 18th, Keevil (R.L.V.); Sept. 23rd, Old Sarum (H.J.C.); Sept. 26th, Conholt Hill (E.L.J.). 320. REDSTART. First seen Apr. 15th at Littlecote (C.A.W. and J.R.L.), Ramsbury (C.A.W.), and Corsham Park (G.W.H.). Also noted later in April, probably on migration near Everleigh (B.G.); Little Somerford (J.M.B.), Littleton Drew (G.L.B.), West Amesbury (J.K.S.), Bemerton (H.J.C.), and in Swindon (G.L.W.). A pair seen near Castle Combe in May (E.J.C.), and Mr. Doel reported about 6 pairs at Longleat (M.B.). Nest and eggs found in an outhouse near Eaton Weir, May 22nd (G.L.W.). Last seen early September, Lockeridge (C.A.C.); Sept. 7th, Trafalgar (E.B.); Sept. 15th, Westbury, (A.R.A.). VOL, LVII-CCVI i® 122 321. BLACK REDSTART. A male seen on waste ground in Bemerton, Mar. 21st, where it had been identified by a local resident on the two previous days (H.J.C.). A female in allotments near the Avon above Salisbury, Mar. 31st (H.J.C.). A male seen flying along a roadside wire fence at Aldbourne, Sept. 14th (M.C.F.). 322. NIGHTINGALE. First noted, Apr. r7th, Alderbury (H.J.C.) and Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); Apr. 21st, Sandridge (RJ.S.). 327. GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. First heard Apr. 18th, Clarendon (R.W., C.M.R.P.); Apr. 26th, Middle Woodford (H.J.C.); Apr. 28th, Coate (G.L.W.) and Britford (E.B.). Later records from the following places: the Kennet and Avon Canal at Allington, Chisbury Wood and Great Bedwyn (B.G.); in Bowden Park, below the Westbury ‘ White Horse ’, in Great Ridge Wood and near Heaven’s Gate, Longleat (R.J.S.); near Little Somerford (J.M.B.); Stratford- sub-Castle (G.E.). Last seen Sept. 2oth at Downton (E.B.). 333. REED WARBLER. First heard May 7th, Downton (E.B.); May 12th, Coate Water (G.L.W.). Over 20 nests found at Coate (G.L.W.). Last seen Sept. 15th, Coate Water (G.L.W.). 337. SEDGE WARBLER. First noted Apr. 17th, Salisbury (H.J.C.) and Clarendon Lake (C.M.R.P.); Apr. 21st, Nether- hampton (G.E.). J.K.S. notes the tendency for pairs to haunt fences some way from water. A bird in corn far out on Salisbury Plain, Aug. 8th, was probably a passing migrant (J.K.S.). Last seen Sept. 16th, Rodbourne(G.L.W.); Sept. 22nd, Amesbury(J.K.S.); Sept. 30th, Downton (E.B.). 343. BLACKCAP. There are two records of * wintering ’ birds. At Whiteparish a male spent most of Jan. 30—31st just outside a kitchen window in a hedge or on a bird table where it appeared to eat mostly bread. It was friendly with other birds and was often there with Robin, Chaffinch, Great and Blue Tits (H.P.S.). A letter in the Field of Feb. 9th signed M. C. Anson reports a female on a bird table in Salisbury * yesterday ’ (sic). First noted in spring Apr. 13th, Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); Apr. 15th, Little Durnford (G. E.); Apr. 17th, Wilton (E.B.). Last seen Sept. roth near Alder- bury (H.J.C.). 346. GARDEN WARBLER. One seen at Upton Lovell Mar. 31st, an early date(G.E.). Next noted Apr. 28th, Seend Cleeve (R.J.S.); Apr. 29th, Tollard Royal (V.T.). 347. WHITETHROAT. First noted Apr. 14th, Dinton (G.E.); Apr. 21st, Odstock (E.B.), Marlborough (J.H.H.) and Coate (G.L.W.). More birds seen than in the previous four years, Amesbury (J.K.S.). Last noted Sept. oth, Trafalgar (E.B.); Sept. 16th, Rodbourne (G.L.W.); Sept. 23rd, Old Sarum (H.J.C.). 348. LESSER WHITETHROAT. First noted Apr. 26th, Camp Down (H,J.C.); Apr. 28th, East Knoyle (B.M.S.); Apr. 30th, Devizes (J.L.R.B.). Last seen Sept. roth, Old Sarum (H.J.C.); Sept. 20th, Downton (E.B.). 352. DARTFORD WARBLER. In South Wilts a male was seen in song several times on May 7th(J.K.S.). 354. WILLOW WARBLER. First noted Mar. 21st, Clatford (R.E.M.); Mar. 28th, Britford (E.B.); Mar. 31st, Coate (G.L.W.). Last noted Sept. 24th, Amesbury(J.K.S.); Sept. 30th, Downton (E.B.) and Rodbourne (G.L.W.). 356. CHIFFCHAFF. First noted Mar. r1th, Farley (W.M.C.); Mar. 20th, Harnham (H.J.C.); Mar. 21st, Box (C.S.H.) and Bodenham (E.B.). Last noted Oct. 6th, Harnham (H.J.C.); Oct. 7th, Trafalgar (E.B.) and Coate (G.L.W.). 357. WOOD WaRBLER. First noted Apr. 13th, Farley (Mr. Haskell per W.M.C.); Apr. 26th, Little Durnford (H.J.C.) and East Knoyle (B.M.S.). 366. SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. First seen May 6th, Ramsbury (M.C.F.) and Clarendon (C.M.R.P.); May 7th, Amesbury (J.K.S.); Last seen Sept. 2nd, Coate (G.L.W.); first week of Sept., Amesbury (J.K.S.); Sept. 13th, Stratford-sub-Castle (ape. 368. PIED FLYCATCHER. A male in Boreham Wood, Apr. 22nd (G.W.C.). One was watched for some time flitting about beside a backwater of the Kennet, Apr. 27th (I.G.). In Savernake Forest one was seen on May 1st(R.E.M.) and two, July 7th (W.P.L.). 373. MEADOW PiPIt. For note on passage see under Swallow. 376. TREE Preit. First noted Apr. 7th, Coate (G.L.W.); Apr. 18th, Castle Combe (G.L.B.). Last noted Sept. 14th, Amesbury(J.K.S.). 381. GREY WAGTAIL. Many records show that it is well distributed by streams and rivers throughout the county. = 123 382. YELLOW WAGTAIL. First seen Mar. 30th, Coate(J.H.H.); Apr. 1st, Rodbourne (A.C.S.). Parties on migration in mid-April at Odstock (P.R.) and at Rodbourne Sewage Farm in April and September, 39 there on Sept. 9th (G.L.W.). Frequented upland pastures near Pitton in late August (R.W.). In breeding season seen near the Salisbury Avon at West Harnham (G.E.) and West Amesbury (J.K.S.). At least 4 pairs near the Bristol Avon between Melksham and Holt (G.L.B.) and another near Sutton Benger (R.G.B.). Pairs also at the gravel pits at Compton Bassett (B.G.) and Dauntsey (J.M.B.). A ‘ variant’ bird with grey head and back, light throat and breast on Rybury Camp, Aug. 30th (B.G.), and another male with lightish grey head tinged with blue, a pale indistinct eye-strip and yellow chin near Salis- bury, Apr. roth (H.J.C.). Last seen Sept. 26th, East Harnham (E.B.); Oct. 6th, Coate (G.L.W.). 384. GREAT GREY SHRIKE. One was at East Gomeldon near Porton on dates from Oct. 26th to Nov. 11th seen by G.E., D.B.P., P.R. and C.M.R.P. 388. RED-BACKED SHRIKE. Notes on this species will be included in the results of an Enquiry ina future Report. 389. STARLING. Birds returned to the Clench Common roost between Dec. 15th and 2oth, 1955, and in early January 1956 it was impossible to estimate their numbers. Birds did not return there in autumn but a new roost was found at Crooked Soley near Chilton Foliat(J.H.H.). During July a roost of about 3,000 was found in a 3-acre wood near High Post. Numbers gradually increased and estimates in November vary from 4 million (G.E.) to 14-2 millions (P.R.). Flocks came in chiefly from N.E. and S. At Teffont Magna in December it was a daily occurrence for the sky to appear dark with birds in the late afternoon. They were flying E.N.E., presumably to the High Post roost (B.M.S.). 393. GoLprFINcH. A flock at West Amesbury, May 3rd, a late date(J.K.S.). 394. SISKIN. Two, with goldfinches, in alders at Bodenham, Jan. 22nd (E.B.) One, with finches, at Rodbourne sew- age farm, Feb. 26th (G.L.W.). Many in a mixed flock with Redpolls in tops of larches in Alderbury Woods, Feb. 26th (P.R.). Several in Boreham Wood, Apr. 22nd (G.W.C.). 395. LINNET. For passage movement see under Swallow. 367. REDPOLL. One feeding on willow herbs seeds near Alderbury, Jan. 2nd (H.J.C.). Two, in sedges at Longford, Jan. 2and (E.B.). Some feeding with Siskins in larches near Alderbury, Feb. 26th (P.R.). One on Ansty Down, Oct. 16th, and at East Knoyle four were seen, Oct. 31st, and one, Nov. 12th(B.M.S.). 404. crRossBILL. A flock of 20—30 were seen daily from mid-July until July 31st flying about a plantation of spruce and larch near the county boundary at Redlynch. They were clearly seen twisting and pulling off young spruce tips; there were no cones this year M.J.G.). A female near Kingston Dever'll, Aug, roth was perched on wire fencing near pine plantations (D.C.). A flock of c. 60 was seen at New Park, Stourton on Nov. 19th (reported by Mr. G. Coyne toP.R.). 407. CHAEFINCH. Flocks, mainly of males, seen near Amesbury as late as Apr. 29th(J.K.S.). A flock of c. 40 at Hodson, Apr. 30th (G.L.W.). 408. BRAMBLING. Last seen in spring, Mar. 25th, Salisbury (H.J.C.) and Savernake Forest (V.C.L., J.R.L.); Apr. Ist, Upavon (F.E.F.) and Rodbourne (G.L.W., A.C.S.). In large flocks of mixed finches and buntings 250—300 remained in fields near Salisbury, Jan. 6th—Mar. 4th; c. 200 near Old Sarum, Feb. 29th (H.J.C.); and c. 100 near Aldbourne. Feb. 24th (M.C.F.). First seen in autumn, Oct. 20th, East Knoyle (B.M.S.); Nov. 22nd, Britford (E.B.; Nov. 24th, Cole Park(J.M.B.). 410. CORN BUNTING. A large party on Larkhill sewage farm, Apr. 29th(J.K.S.). A male singing from a telegraph wire near Lower Inglesham, May 22nd (G.L.W.); about 15 noted in song within the triangle between Lopscombe Corner, the Pheasant Inn and East Winterslow (E.L.J.). No observer reported on either of these two last mentioned areas in the Corn Bunting Enquiry 1955. 415. IRL BUNTING. A flock of 9 males and 15 females on rough ground N.E. of Salisbury, Jan. sth (P.R.). A pair at Harnwood, Jan. 21st (E.B.) and near Salisbury, Apr. 12th (P.R.). Also noted at Bodenham and Nunton from Mar. 23rd. (M.K.L.). One visited a bird-bath at Farley, June 1st (W.M.C.). 424. HOUSE SPARROW. A large flock, nearly all males, was seen on corn near Wilsford with a gathering of other males, Chaffinches, Yellow and Reed Buntings, and Greenfinches, 4pr. 26th; the Sparrows and Yellow Buntings still in flocks, Apr. 30th, a late date(J.K.S.). 425. TREE SPARROW. Seen at Rodbourne Sewage Farm in winter with finches, c. 20 in cold weather, Feb. 19th (G.L.W.). Breeding noted near Chippenham and Somerford (E.J.C.) and at Totterdown (R.E.M.). P 124 CHECK-LIST numbers of those species which, though not mentioned in these notes, were recorded in 1956: 84, 93, ITO, 116, 126, 208, 232, 234, 241, 246, 247, 258, 263, 280, 282, 283, 284, 286, 289, 290, 292, 294, 296, 298, 299, 301, 302, 325, 364, 371, 380, 392, 40I, 409, 42 Corrections to 1955 Bird List. 117. Quatt. Reported by Mr. R. J. Spencer from Tinhead, not Tilshead. 140. GOLDEN PLOVER. c. 600 Lapwing recorded in a field in the Wylye Valley should be Golden Plover. 150. CurLEW. Nest found at Littleton Mill, not Littleton Drew. CENSUS OF MUTE SWANS. A national census of this species was organised by the British Trust for Ornithology in 1955. As part of this census a count was made in Wiltshire in the spring of that year. The number of breeding pairs recorded in 1955 was as follows :— In Vice-county 7 (N. Wilts): R. Thames tributaries, Cole and Derry Brook, 2; R. Avon (Bristol) main stream, 9; Rivers Marden, Biss and Bybrook, 3; R. Kennet, 4; lakes and ponds, 18. On the Vice-counties boundary, Kennet and Avon canal, 11. In Vice-County 8 (S. Wilts): R. Avon, above Salisbury, 17; R. Avon, below Salisbury, 16; R. Till, 1; R. Bourne, 3; R. Wylye, 13; R. Nadder, 1; lakes and ponds, 19. Total number recorded for county, 117 breeding pairs. On account of their movements, numbers of non-breeding birds were difficult to estimate. Maximum numbers noted in the four herds found were: on the R. Thames county boundary at Hannington Bridge, 22; on the R. Kennet at Chilton Foliat, 55; on the R. Wylye at Stoford, 40; on the Salisbury Avon at Brit- ford, 100. In addition to these herds there were many small parties and single birds scattered throughout the county on rivers, canal, lakes and ponds. Final figures are not yet available, but it is likely that only Dorset, Norfolk and Somerset recorded more nests than Wiltshire. RutTH G. Barnes. 125 WILTSHIRE PLANT NOTES(18) (First Supplement to The Flora of Wiltshire) compiled by Dona.p Grosz, Downs Edge, Liddington. The Flora of Wiltshire was published on August 1st, 1957, and included the records of Plant Notes (17). The present list of species notified in 1956 and 1957 should be regarded as a first Supplement to the Flora. Additions to Bibliography (252) Cheltenham and District Naturalists’ Society Report, 1953-1954. 1956. (253) Wiltshire Plant Notes-(17), Donald Grose in (113), 1957. (254) The Flora of Wiltshire, Donald Grose, 1957. Additions to Recorders Barrett alte Warminster C.1937 Warminster Journal . Bartlett A. Broughton Gifford 1957 Wiltshire Times _ Browning E. Swindon 1957 Buxton Mts. J Malmesbury 1956 Coombe P. Mrs. Salisbury 1956 Crowdy Mrs. B Atworth 1956 Cruse Hi. Chippenham 1957 D.M. Swindon 1957 Evening Advertiser — David R.W. London 1956 _ Dransfield M. Purley, Surrey 1956 Gibbs Miss M. J. Hale, Hants 1957 Gillam Miss B. Allington 1957 Grudgings N. U. Melksham 1957 G Hancock G. Devizes 1957 Hughes R. A.C. Marlborough College 1956 Jefferies 1sSy. Bradford-on-Avon 1957 Wiltshire Times Pickering D.W. Devizes 1957 Roseweir A. Southampton 1956 Salisbury Sir Edward Kew, Surrey 1922 Scott Miss D. M. Marlborough College 1956 Sell EL. Cheltenham 1954 252 Seth-Smith Miss Edington 1956 G Sutton Sek. Marlborough College 1956 Thompson E. J. Trowbridge 1956 Wiltshire Times Ward Gutch Common 1957 G Additions to Herbaria HU The Grass Book of H. J. Hunt, Chippenham. WN The herbarium of H. C. Watson at Kew. The following list adds two new native species to our Wiltshire flora and no fewer than twelve aliens. A few plants are now marked ‘ frequent ’ for particular botanical divisions indicating that additional notices have been received since the publication of the Flora to bring the total records to the frequency standards there described (254, p.76). Entries given for adjoining counties are for localities which were formerly in Wiltshire (254, p. 59). The sign * !’ denotes that the writer has seen the plant growing in the locality mentioned. Colour-forms have been excluded; it may be possible to treat these separately later. Thalictrum flavum L. Common Meadow Rue. 8. Fisherton Delamere, Stratton. Sherrington. 10. Frequent. Ranunculus peltatus Schrank. 1. Poulshot. R. bulbosus L. Bulbous Buttercup. Form with double flowers. 4. Down above Sound Bottom. Helleborus viridis L. Green Hellebore. 10. Homington, Dransfield. Eranthis hyemalis(L.) Salisb. Winter Aconite. 2. Escape, Bradford-on-Avon, E. S. Smith. 126 Aquilegia vulgaris L. Columbine. 4. South border of Hens Wood. 10. Wiltshire Coppice, Stratton. Delphinium orientale J. Gay. Larkspur. 2. Rubbish-tip, Chippenham, Collett. Mahonia aquifolium (Pursh) Nutt. Oregon Grape. 3. Hedge, Wanborough Plain. Fumaria micrantha Lag. 7. Roadside below Beacon Hill, Bulford. Rorippa sylvestris (L.) Besser. Creeping Yellow Cress. 2. Cultivated ground, Seagry, Barnes. Arabis hirsuta(L.) Scop. Hairy Rock Cress. 2. Long Dean. Lunaria annua L. Honesty. 4. Man’s Head. R.A. C. Hughes and Sutton. Border of Love’s Copse, Whiting. Hesperis matronalis L. Dame’s Violet. 2. Roadside near Braydon Pond, Barnes (G). 4. Man’s Head, R. A. C. Hughes and Sutton. 8. Roadside between Tilshead and Chitterne, Goldstraw. Sisymbrium orientale L. 2. Bremhill. Erysimum cheiranthoides L. Treacle Mustard. 3. Old Swindon. Brassica rapa var. sylvestris H. C. Watson. Wild Turnip. 1. Bank of River Frome near Rode Bridge (Som), (G). Erucastrum gallicum (Willd.) O. E. Schulz. 5. Roadside near Beacon Hill, Bulford. Diplotaxis tenuifolia(L.) DC. Wall Rocket. 4. Roadside near Ogbourne Station. Coronopus squamatus (Forsk.) Aschers. Swine’s Cress. 8. Breach Hill. Lepidium campestre (L.) R. Br. Field Pepperwort. 10. Damerham (Hants), Timperley. Cardaria draba(L.) Desv. Hoary Cress. 1. Edington, Seth-Smith! 2. By the old mill, Long Dean. Thlaspi arvense L. Penny Cress. 7. Roadside below Beacon Hill, Bulford. Raphanus raphanistrum L. Wild Radish. 8. Breach Hill. Reseda luteola L. Dyer’s Rocket. 7. Redhorn Hill. Viola tricolor L. Wild Pansy. 3. Stratton Park, Whiting! V. arvensis x tricolor, 2. Sand-pit, Compton Bassett, Frowde! 4. Mildenhall Borders, Scott! Polygala serpyllifolia Hose. Heath Milkwort. 6. Collingbourne Wood, Sandell! 8. Great Ridge Wood (G). Saponaria officinalis L. Soapwort. 2. Roadside between Sutton Benger and Kellaways, Barnes. 3. Wall, High- worth, Arkell. 7. Roadside, Salisbury, Bryden. Silene anglica L. English Catchfly. 10. Lopshill (Hants), Timperley! Melandrium noctiflorum (L.) Fries. Night-flowering Catchfly. 1. Tinhead Hill, Hughes. 3. Frequent. 10. Frequent. M. album x rubrum. 10. Ox Drove near Winkelbury Hill. Cerastium tomentosum L. &. Poulshot, Sandell! Stellaria neglecta Weihe. 10. Coombe Bissett, Dransfield. S. graminea L. Lesser Stitchwort. Form with minute petals. 8. Grassland near Stockton Wood, Gibbs. Miss Gibbs points out that this male-sterile form appears to be associated with large purple anthers. It may be caused by the smut, Ustilago violacea. Sagina apetala Ard. Annual Pearlwort. 4. Ride in Hens Wood. S. ciliata Fries. Fringed Pearlwort. 6. Track on Sunton Heath. Ride in Collingbourne Wood. S. nodosa(L.) Fenzl. Knotted Pearlwort. 6. Track on Sunton Heath. Spergula arvensis L. Corn Spurrey. 8. Tilshead Down. Spergularia rubra(L.) J. & C. Presl. Sand Spurrey. 1. Track, Yarnfield Gate. Hypericum humifusum L. Trailing St. John’s Wort. 3. Field between Coate Water and Hodson, Timperley. 9. Fre- quent. 10. Lopshill (Hants), Timperley ! Malva moschata L. Musk Mallow. 8. Butler’s Cross. M. neglecta Wallr. Dwarf Mallow. 2. Bank of Avon near Chippenham Bridge, Hunt. Bremhill, Hunt! Devizes, Pickering. M. verticillataL. 2. Bremhill, Hunt(G) ! Geranium sanguineum L. Bloody Crane’s-bill. 9. Opposite the chalk-pit, East Knoyle, Stevens and Stratton. G. phaeum L. Dusky Crane’s-bill. 1. Roadside, Gare Hill (v.c.6), (G). 2. Atworth, Crowdy. G. pratense L. Meadow Crane’s-bill. 8. Frequent. Erodium cicutarium (L.) L’Hérit. Stork’s-bill. 10. Frequent. Oxalis corniculataL. 7. Salisbury, Stevens. Impatiens capensis Meerb. Orange Balsam. 1. Near Rode Bridge (Som). 9. Water-meadow east of Wilton Park, Newall. : I. glandulifera Royle. Himalayan Balsam. 10. Coombe Bissett, Dransfteld. Genista tinctoria L. Dyer’s Greenweed. 9-10. Frequent. Sarothamnus scoparius(L.) Wimm. Broom. 7. In gorse scrub on Rushall Down. Ononis spinosa L. Spinous Rest Harrow. 8. Butler’s Cross. 127 Medicago sativa L. Lucerne. 3. Frequent. ees alba Desr. White Melilot. 3. Wanborough Plain. 7. Redhorn Hill. 8. Urchfont Hill. M. officinalis (L.) Lam. Field Melilot. 2. Bremhill, Collett! 8. Urchfont Hill. Trifolium medium Huds. Zigzag Clover. 7. Railway bank, Beechingstoke. 8. Great Ridge. to. _ Lopshill (Hants), Timperley! T. incarnatum L. Crimson Clover. 2. Bremhill. 10. Witherington, Stevens. T. arvense L. Hare’s-foot Trefoil. 2. Brembhill, Hunt! T. fragiferum L. Strawberry-headed Clover. 8. On chalk, White Sheet Hill (v.c.6). T. dubium Sibth. Lesser Yellow Trefoil. Proliferous form. 1. Erlestoke Woods, Grudgings(G). Lotus tenuis Waldst. & Kit. Narrow-leaved Bird’s-foot Trefoil. 10. Harnham, Dransfield. Galega officinalis L. Goats’ Rue. 8. Roadside between Tilshead and Shrewton, Grudgings. Coronilla variaL. Crown Vetch. 1. Wall, Edington, Seth-Smith ! Vicia tenuifolia Roth. 9. Roadside west of Stockton Wood, Stratton; det. J. E. Lousley. V. tetrasperma(L.) Schreb. Smooth Tare. 6. Collingbourne Wood, I. M. Grose! 10. Damerham (Hants), Timperley. V. sylvatica LL. Wood Vetch. 4. ‘Tawsmead Copse, Gillam. Lathyrus aphaca L. Yellow Vetchling. 1. Potterne Field, H. W. Timperley. 4. Canal bank west of Wilcot, H. W. Timperley. L. vernus(L.) Bernh. 8. Stockton Wood, 1955, Stratton; det. R. D. Meikle. Prunus cerasifera Ehrh, Cherry Plum. 8. Fisherton Delamere, Stratton. Potentilla norvegica L. 3. Gravel-pit, Somerford Keynes (Glos), 1954, Sell (252). P. rectaL. 2. Rubbish-tip, Chippenham, Hunt (G). Aphanes microcarpa (Boiss. & Reut.) Rothm. 8. Ride, Great Ridge Wood. 9. Fonthill Abbey Wood. 10. Lopshill (Hants). Alchemilla vestita (Buser) Raunk. Lady’s Mantle. 3. Jennings Moor (Glos); now destroyed. Agrimonia odorata (Gouan) Mill. Fragrant Agrimony. 10. Whitsbury Wood (Hants), Timperley! Mespilus germanica L. Medlar. 2. Hedge, Cocklebury, Collett (G)! Cotoneaster prostrata var. lanata Schneid. 9. Fonthill Terrace, Sandell (G)! Saxifraga umbrosa L. London Pride. 8. Naturalized on chalk bank at foot of White Sheet Hill, Collett (G)! Sedum telephium L. Orpine Stonecrop. 2. Great Wood, Grigson. 10. Whitsbury Wood (Hants). S. reflexum L. Reflexed Stonecrop. 2. Kingsdown, Pickering. Epilobium roseum Schreb. Pale Willow-herb. 1. Edington. 3. Liddington. E. obscurum Schreb. 10. Lopshill (Hants). E. palustre L. Marsh Willow-herb. 9. Fovant Wood, Wallace. Foeniculum vulgare Mill. Fennel. 2. Roadside near Easton, Hunt. 3. Chalk-pit, Bishopstone, Whiting. Oenanthe pimpinelloides L. 10. Lopshill (Hants). Silaum silaus (L.) Schinz & Thell. Sulphurwort. 7. Damp field near Stanton Dairy. Galium pumillum Murray. Slender Bedstraw. 10. Grassy chalk down north of Manwood Copse, Collett and Grose (G). New for Wiltshire. G. palustre var. witheringii (Sm.) Rouy & Fouc. 6. Dry bank, Collingbourne Wood (G). G. uliginosum L. Bog Bedstraw. 3. Jennings Moor (Glos), Sandell! 10. Lopshill(Hants), Timperley! Valerianella dentata(L.) Poll. Narrow-fruited Corn Salad. 3. Somerford Keynes (Glos), Sandell! Scabiosa columbaria L. Small Scabious. Proliferous form. 4. Mildenhall Warren, Whiting (G). Solidago virgaurea L. Golden Rod. 10. Whitsbury Wood (Hants), H. W. Timperley! Aster novi-belgii L. Michaelmas Daisy. 4. Roadside near Beckhampton (G). Riverside, Knighton. Erigeron canadensis L. Canadian Fleabane. 1. Roadside between Potterne and Devizes, Timperley. 2. Cocklebury. Bremhill, Hunt! 7. Railway bank, Milkhouse Water. E. acris L. Blue Fleabane. 6. Collingbourne Wood, I. M. Grose! 8. Penning Down. Filago germanica L. Cudweed. 2. Bremhill, Hunt. Gnaphalium sylvaticum L. Heath Cudweed. 6. Collingbourne Wood, I. M. Grose! Pulicaria dysenterica(L.) Bernh. Fleabane. 6. Dry track, Collingbourne Wood, I. M. Grose! Bidens cernuus L. Nodding Bur-marigold. 4. Riverside, Knighton. Anthemis cotulaL. Stinking Chamomile. 8. Tilshead Down. Matricaria chamomilla L. Wild Chamomile. 10. Lopshill (Hants). Artemisia biennis Willd. 9. Goods yard, Salisbury Station, 1922, Salisbury. 128 Senecio vulgaris var. radiatus Koch. 3. Near Stratton Park Halt. 4. Chilton Foliat. 7. Railway track, Beechingstoke. 8. One plant in stubble, Breach Hill. S. sylvaticus L. Heath Groundsel. 10. Lopshill (Hants). S. viscosus L. Stinking Groundsel. 5. Railway track south-east of Newton Tony. S. erucifolius L. Hoary Ragwort. 4. Chisbury Wood, Wallace. 6. Sunton Heath. 10. Lopshill (Hants). Carduus nutans L. Musk Thistle. 3. Gravel-pit, Somerford Keynes (Glos). Cirsium eriophorum (L.) Scop. Woolly-headed Thistle. 7. Redhorn Hill. 8. Frequent. C. tuberosum (L.) All. Tuberous Thistle. 7. Redhorn Hill. 8. Brouncker’s Down. Both these localities are in the army area. C. acaule x tuberosum. 8. Stoke Hill. Brouncker’s Down. Near Brouncker’s Well. Abundant on these slopes. C. dissectum (L.) Hill. Meadow Thistle. 2. Sheldon, Cruse. Onopordum acanthium L, Cotton Thistle. 4. Hackpen Hill, Collett! Man’s Head, R.A. C. Hughes and Sutton. 6. Col- lingbourne Ducis. Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. Milk Thistle. 1. Edington, Timperley. Little Cheverell, Nurse. 5. Clarendon, Stevens. Cichorium intybus L. Chicory. 6. Crawlboys Farm, I. M. Grose! 8. Great Ridge. Breach Hill. Picris hieracioides L. Hawkweed Ox-tongue. 7. Rushall Down. 8. Frequent. Crepis biennis L. Rough Hawk’s-beard. 3. Somerford Keynes (Glos). Hieracium bladonii Pugsl. 7. Railway bank, Milkhouse Water. H. brunneocroceum Pugsl. 4. Near Bitham Pond. O. Meyrick. 6. Ride in Collingbourne Wood (G). Cicerbita macrophylla (Willd.) Wallr. 1. Roadside between Imber and Bratton, Hughes. 4. Man’s Head, R. A. C. Hughes and Sutton. Phyteuma tenerum R. Schulz. Round-headed Rampion. 4. Easton Down, Gandy. Form with leafy stem and all flowers converted into bracts. 4. Knoll Down (G); det. N.Y. Sandwith. Campanula trachelium L. Nettle-leaved Bellflower. 1. Castle ramparts, Devizes, Hancock. Erica cinerea L. Fine-leaved Heath. 10. Whitsbury Wood (Hants). Primula veris x vulgaris. 3. Railway bank, South Marston, Whiting. Anagallis arvensis ssp. foemina (Mill.) Schinz & Thell. Blue Pimpernel. 2. Fields between Atworth and South Wraxall, Pickering. Vinca major L. Greater Periwinkle. 3. Ladder Lane. V. minor L. Lesser Periwinkle. 9. East Knoyle, Stratton. Blackstonia perfoliata(L.) Huds. Yellow Centaury. 8. Coulston Down. Gentianella anglica (Pugsl.) E.F. Warburg. 4. Frequent. 10. Near Manwood Copse. Trow Down. Monks Down. Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth. 2. Casual in fodder crop, Seagry, Barnes (G). Bromham, E. M. Wright (G). Symphytum peregrinum Ledeb. Prickly Comfrey. 1. Murhill, Packer. 8. Waste ground at foot of White Sheet Hill (v.c.6), Collett! Borago officinalis L. Borage. 2. Dunkirk, Sandell! Pentaglottis sempervirens (L.) Tausch. Evergreen Alkanet. 8. Lane opposite Codford St. Peter Church, Stratton. 9. Churchyard, East Knoyle, Stratton. Myosotis cespitosa K. F. Schultz. Tufted Forget-me-not. 7. Damp field near Stanton Dairy. Echium vulgare L. Viper’s Bugloss. 8. Tilshead Down. 10. Frequent. Calystegia sylvestris (Willd.) Roem. & Schult. 6. Burbage. 8. Willoughby Hedge, Stratton. 9. Donhead St. Andrew and Chadenwych, Stratton. C. dahurica (Herbert) G. Don. 9. East Knoyle, Stratton; det. S. M. Walters. Solanum nigrum L. Black Nightshade. 7. Potato field, Foxley Corner. Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. Tomato, 1. An abundant weed in a field of kale near Rode Bridge (Som). 7. Potato field, Foxley Corner, I. M. Grose! Cabbage field, Milkhouse Water. Previously known in Wiltshire only as a casual of waste ground: the recent records may indicate a change in status. Datura stramonium L. Thorn-apple. 1. Trowbridge, E. J. Thompson. 2. Bradford-on-Avon, Jefferies. Broughton Gifford Common, A. Bartlett. Roadside near Morgan’s Hill, Hancock; Collett. 3. LiddingtonWick, Whiting. 8. Warminster, c. 1937, Barrett. The first three and the last records were brought to light by the ‘ Flying Saucers’ correspondence in the Warminster Journal and Wiltshire Times, August and September, 1957. Hyoscyamus niger L. Henbane. 1. Bratton, Hughes. 2. Island by Chippenham Bridge, Hunt. 6. Collingbourne Kingston. 129 Verbascum blattariaL. Moth Mullein. 1. Murhill, Packer! Antirrhinum orontium L. Lesser Snapdragon. 10. Near Damerham (Hants), Timperley. Scrophularia vernalis L. Spring Figwort. 1. Garden weed, Edington, Seth-Smith(G). Mimulus guttatus DC. Monkey-flower. 3. Ampney Brook, Grigson. 4. River, Knighton. Veronica polita Fries. Grey Field Speedwell. 1. Frequent. Form with three-lobed capsules. 3. Gravel-pit, Somerford Keynes (Glos). V. filiformis Sm, 2. Colerne Park; Melksham and Bowden Hill, T. G. Collett. 7. Lane near Salisbury, 1954, David. Euphvrasia anglica Pugs]. 10. Lopshill (Hants), I. M. Grose and Timperley ! Melampyrum pratense L. Common Cow-wheat. 2. Between Upper Wraxall and Colerne, Collett. Orobanche elatior Sutton. Tall Broomrape. 9. Frequent. O. minor var. compositarum Pugsl. 4. Roadside, Broad Hinton, Grudgings, on Crepis capillaris. O. hederae Duby. Ivy Broomrape. 10. Harnham, Dransfield. Verbena officinalis L. Vervain. 2. Roundway Hill, Pickering. Mentha rotundifolia (L.) Huds. Round-leaved Mint. 7. Salisbury, Stevens. M. spicata L. em. Huds. Spearmint. 4. Streamside, Knighton. M. piperita L. Peppermint. 3. Liddington, I. M. Grose! Nepeta catariaL. Catmint. 2. Roadside between Sherston and Foxley Green, Barnes. Scutellaria minor L. Lesser Skull-cap. 9. Fovant Wood, Wallace. Stachys arvensis L. Corn Woundwort. 10. Damerham (Hants), Timperley. Whitsbury (Hants), I. M. Grose! Lamium hybridum Vill. Cut-leaved Dead-nettle. 7. Potato field, Foxley Corner (G). Scleranthus annuus L. Knawel. 8. Abundant, Breach Hill. Amaranthus retroflexus L.2. Bremhill, Collett! Chenopodium polyspermum L. All-seed Goosefoot. 7. Railway bank, Beechingstoke. C. hybridum L. Maple-leaved Goosefoot. 10. Manor garden, Homington, Farquharson. C. rubrum. L. Red Goosefoot. 9. Roadside near Stourton. Atriplex patula var. bracteata Westerlund. 3. Jennings Moor (Glos). 8. Tilshead Down. Salsola pestifer A. Nels. 2. Rubbish-tip, Chippenham, Hunt (G). Polygonum dumetorum L, Copse Buckwheat. 10. Still in Whitsbury Wood (Hants) where it was found by Rev. E. F. Linton in 1891, I. M. Grose (G)! P. convolvulus var. subalatum Lej. & Court. 4. Hens Wood. to. Whitsbury Wood (Hants), (G). P. rurivagum Jord. 8. Near Brouncker’s Farm. P. nodosum Pers. Spotted Persicaria. 3. Cultivated field, Hodson. 8. Fallow field, Kilmington (v.c.6). P. cuspidatum Sieb. & Zucc. 8. Shear Water, Stratton. Viscum album L. Mistletoe. 3. On hawthorn in the middle of Swindon, D.M., Evening Advertiser, Oct. 15th, 1957. Euphorbia lathyrus L. Caper Spurge. 1. Waste ground, Bradford-on-avon, Packer. Mercurialis annua L. Annual Mercury. 4. Garden on north bank of canal, Wilcot. Quercus petraea (Mattuschka) Liebl. Durmast Oak. 9. Two trees in Fonthill Abbey Wood, Ward (G)! Wardour Park, c.1940, Floyd. Salix alba var. vitellina(L.) Stokes. 2. Roadside near Lan Hill, Sandwith; det. R. D. Meikle. S. aurita L. Round-eared Sallow. 4. Chisbury Wood. Elodea callitrichoides (Rich.) Caspary. 1. Kennet & Avon Canal near Dundas Aqueduct, Brenan and Sandwith (G)! Neottia nidus-avis(L.) L. C. Rich. Bird’s-nest Orchid. 1. Penstones Wood (v.c.6), 1916, E. Milne-Red head. Spiranthes spiralis (L.) Chevall. Lady’s Tresses. 8. Hill north of Kingston Deverill, Stratton, 9. Summit of Mere Down, Stratton. Cephalanthera damasonium (Mill.) Druce. Large White Helleborine. 4. Common. 10. Common. Epipactis helleborine (L.) Crantz. Broad-leaved Helleborine. 8. Arn Hill, Godden. 9. Holloway, Wallford. E, phyllanthes G. E. Smith var. phyllanthes. 8. Stapleford Plantation, 1876, Rogers (WN). Deptford, Roseweir. Var. vectensis (T. & T. A. Steph.) D. P. Young. 7. Little Durnford, Roseweir. 8. Berwick St. James and Stapleford Roseweir, All det. D. P. Young. E. leptochilaGGodf. 5. Winterslow, Roseweir; det. D, P. Young. New for Wiltshire. Anacamptis pyramidalis(L.) L. C. Rich. Pyramidal Orchid. 3. Ladder Lane. Orchis ustulata L. Burnt Orchis. 6. Between Ham Hill and Rivar Hill, Partridge. 8. Stockton Down. O. morio L. Green-winged Orchis. 10. Frequent. O. praetermissa var. junialis(Vermeulen). 2. Weavern, Collett. 10. Near Damerham (Hants), Timperley. Ophrys insectifera L. Fly Orchid. 2. Murhill, Packer. VOL, LVII-CCVI Q 130 Gymnadenia conopsea(L.) R. Br. Fragrant Orchid. 9. Track south of Middle Hills, Bryden. 10. Common. G. conopsea x Orchis fuchsii. 2. Beacon Hill, Heddington, Timperley (G). Coeloglossum viride (L.) Hartm. Frog Orchid. 9. Frequent. Platanthera bifolia (L.) L. C. Rich. Lesser Butterfly Orchid. 9. Track south of Middle Hills, Bryden. 10. Valley by Manwood Copse, Bryden. P. chlorantha (Cust.) Reichb. Greater Butterfly Orchid. 2. Stanton Park, Hunt. 8. Stockton Down. 10. Alec’s Shade and Wiltshire Coppice, Stratton. Narcissus pseudonarcissus L. Daffodil. 2. Meadow north of Littleton Drew, Collett and Frowde. 10. Near Damerham (Hants), Timperley. Allium vineale L. var. vineale. Crow Garlic. 7. Milton Hill. A. paradoxum G. Don. 1. Lane between Potterne and Devizes, Sandell. Ruscus aculeatus L. Butcher’s Broom. 10, Whitsbury Wood (Hants), Timperley. Convallaria majalis L. Lily of the Valley. 9. Fonthill Abbey Wood, Sandell. Muscari comosum (L.) Mill. 2. Cole Park, Malmesbury, Buxton. Ornithogalum umbellatum L. Star of Bethehem. 1. Cornfield, One Tree Hill, H. W. Timperley. O. narbonense L. 1. Murhill, Packer; det. R. D. Meikle. Tulipa sylvestris L. 2. Meadow north of Littleton Drew, Collett and Frowde. Colchicum autumnale L. Meadow Saffron. 3. Meadow by Flagham Brook at Poole Keynes (Glos). Paris quadrifolia L. Herb Paris. 9. East Knoyle, Stratton. 10. Frequent. Juncus effusus x inflexus. 3. Jennings Moor (Glos), Sandell! J. conglomeratus L. Common Rush. 6. Collingbourne Wood. J. bulbosus L. Lesser Jointed Rush. 9. Fovant Wood, Wallace. J. kochii Schultz. 10. Lopshill (Hants), Sandell! J. subnodulosus Schrank. 3. Marsh near Owl’s Copse, abundant. Luzula forsteri(Sm.) DC. Narrow-leaved Hairy Woodrush. 6. Coldridge Wood. 10. Whitsbury Wood (Hants). L. forsteri x pilosa. 10. Whitsbury Wood (Hants), (G). Typha latifolia L. Great Reed-mace. Form with forked spike. 3. Coate Water, Browning. Lemna polyrrhizaL. Greater Duckweed. 7. Canal, Milkhouse Water. Triglochin palustris L. Marsh Arrowgrass. 3. Jennings Moor (Glos); now destroyed. 7. Marsh near Milkhouse Water. Potamogeton berchtoldii Fieb. 3. Gravel-pit, Somerford Keynes (Glos), Sandell! Zannichellia palustris L. Horned Pondweed. 3. Somerford Keynes (Glos), Sandell! Isolepis setacea(L.) R. Br. Bristle Club-rush. 9. Near The Convent, Stourton Woods. Schoenoplectus lacustris (L.) Palla. Bulrush. 1. Near Rode Bridge (Som). Scirpus sylvaticus L. Wood Club-rush, 3. Between Broome and Coate, 1942. Carex pulicaris L. Flea Sedge. 3. Jennings Moor (Glos), Sandell! Now destroyed. C. disticha Huds. 8. Sherrington. 10. Near Damerham (Hants), Timperley. C. paniculata L. Panicled Sedge. 10. Near Damerham (Hants), Timperley. C. divulsa Stokes. 6. Frequent. C. ovalis Gooden. 9. Fonthill Abbey Wood. 10. Near Damerham (Hants), Timperley. C. nigra (L.) Reichard. Common Sedge. 10. Near Damerham (Hants), Timperley. C. humilis Leyss. Dwarf Sedge. 5. Pepperbox Hill, P. Coombe. C. pilulifera L. Pill Sedge. 6. Coldridge Wood. C. pallescens L. Pale Sedge. 6. Ride in Collingbourne Wood, Frowde! C. panicea L. Carnation Sedge. 10. Near Damerham (Hants), Timperley. C. pendula Huds. Pendulous Sedge. 9. Frequent. C. strigosa Huds. 2. A new locality in the south-west of Colerne Park, Fitter. C. riparia Curt. Greater Marsh Sedge. 8. Sherrington. Echinochloa crus-galli(L.) Beauv. 2. Rubbish-tip, Chippenham, Hunt. Setaria viridis var. major (Gaud.) Koch. 2. Rubbish-tip, Chippenham, Hunt. Phalaris canariensis L. Canary Grass. 3. Wall, The Planks, Old Swindon. Milium effusum L. Millet Grass. 10. Stonedown Wood. Phleum nodosum L. 2. Chippenham, Hunt. 4. Frequent. Agrostis gigantea Roth. Black Bent Grass. 6. Grafton Down. 10. Whitsbury (Hants). A. stolonifera var. palustris (Huds.) Farw. Marsh Bent Grass. 4. Rubbish-tip, Marlborough. Calamagrostis epigejos(L.) Roth. Wood Smallreed. 3. Frequent. 131 Aira caryophyllea L. Silvery Hair Grass. 6. Sunton Heath. Deschampsia caespitosa var. parviflora (Thuill.) Coss & Germ. 2. Hardenhuish, Hunt (HU). 3. Wood, Old Swindon. 4. Bristow Bridge, Timperley. D. flexuosa L. Wavy Hair Grass. 1. Tyning Wood (v.c.6). Holcus mollis L. Creeping Soft Grass. 7. Hedge-bank, Milkhouse Water. Avena strigosa Schreb. Bristle Oat. 2. Morgan’s Hill. Helictotrichon pubescens (Huds.) Pilger. Downy Oat-grass. 8. Frequent. Sieglingia decumbens (L.) Bernh. Heath Grass. 10. Frequent. Molinia caerulea(L.) Moench. Purple Moor Grass. 9. Fonthill Abbey Wood, Sandell. Melica uniflora Retz. Wood Melic. 1. Wood by river south of Vagg’s Hill. Poa nemoralis L.Wood Meadow Grass. 3. Wood, Old Swindon. P. compressa L, Flat-stemmed Meadow Grass. 3. The Planks and Dammas Lane, Old Swindon. Wall near Stratton Church. Glyceria plicata Fries. 2. Bank of Avon, Chippenham Bridge, Hunt. G. declinata Bréb. 2. Pond between Corsham and Chippenham, Hunt (HU). Desmazeria rigida(L.) Tutin. Hard Poa. 6. Sunton Heath. Vulpia bromoides (L.) S. F. Gray. Squirrel-tail Fescue. 4. Frequent. 6. Collingbourne Wood. Festuca arundinacea Schreb. Tall Fescue. 2. Bremhill and Stanley, Hunt! 8. Tilshead Down. Lavington Down. x Festulolium loliaceum (Huds.) P. Fourn. 2. Rubbish-tip, Chippenham, Hunt (HU). Bromus thominii Hard, 2. Thingley, Hunt (HU). Lolium multiflorum x perenne. 2. Rubbish-tip, Chippenham, Hunt (HU). L. temulentum var. arvense Lilj. 2. Chippenham, Hunt (HU). Chara vulgaris L. Common Stonewort. 3. Jennings Moor (Glos). 2Q 152 ENTOMOLOGICAL REPORT FOR 1956! By B. W. WEDDELL. Conditions for the study of Lepidoptera during the past season have been far from favourable. The early part of the year was mostly dry and clear with cold nights and frequent frosts. It was not until we were into July that it began to warm up, but with the rise in temperature came rain and plenty of it. Soon after September opened, we felt we were already into winter, having had precious little sunshine to help us on our way. It is remarkable how in such a season many species manage to maintain themselves with hardly any suitable flying and mating conditions. They do fluctuate, of course, and recover with astonishing rapidity from a setback. The Blues particularly suffer from a wet season. Yet the Chalkhill Blue was in abundance in August and September though variety hunters had a thin time. Two of our correspondents, Brigadier Lipscombe and Captain Jackson, succeeded in rearing the variety Syngrapha in the third generation from ova laid by a 1954 female, a notable and almost unique achievement. Probably the most important event of the season was the vast immigration of Death’s Head and Con- volvulus Hawks which invaded our Eastern shores in September. They were less numerous in the Southern counties but penetrated to the Northwest of Scotland. Several were observed in Wiltshire, some of which are noted below. Thanks again to the keen observers for their notes. I hope they will have more to report next year. May it be the best ever. CONTRIBUTORS G.W. Mr. Geoffrey L. Webber, Swindon. M.C. Marlborough College N.H.S. M.C.F, Miss M. C. Foster, Aldbourne. J.B. Mr. John Buxton, Malmesbury. G.W.C. Mr. G. W. Collett, Chippenham. D.R. Mr. David Rees, Bradford-on-Avon. CH: Mr. Charles Floyd, Holt. B.W. Mr. B. W. Weddell, Trowbridge. R.A J. Capt. R. A. Jackson, C.B.E., R.N. (Retd.) F.R.E.S., Codford. C.M.R.P. Mr. C. M. R. Pitman, Salisbury. V.T. Miss Vere Temple, F.2.£.S., Tollard Royal. PHENOLOGICAL REPORT Average Date 1956 Large White 20.4 12.5 —22 Marbled White 27.6 6.7 —9 Meadow Brown 23.6 23.6 = Cinnabar 17.5 3.5 +14 Garden Carpet 5.5 6.5 = Brimstone Moth 18.5 6.5 +12 Large White Pierus brassicae M.C. 12.5, B.W. 12.5 Small White Pierus rapae M.C. 6.5, C.M.R.P. 10.5 Greenveined White Pierus napi C.M.R.P. 17.3, C.W.C. 11.4, V.T. 10.5 Orange Tip Euchloe cardamines M.C. 6.5., C.W.C. 6.5., V.T. 10.5 Silver Washed Fritillary Argynnis paphia M.C. 6.5 . High Brown Fritillary Argynnis cydippe R.A,J. 10.7. ,plentiful Dark Green Fritillary Argynnis aglaia R.A,J. 10.7. ,plentiful Pearl Bordered Fritillary Argynnis euphrosyne M.C. 13.5 Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary Argynnis selene M.C. 26.5 1 For 197 Entomological Report see p. 147. Marsh Fritillary Comma Small Tortoiseshell White Admiral Painted Lady Marbled White White Letter Hairstreak Small Copper Chalkhill Blue Adonis Blue Holly Blue Eyed Hawk Death’s Head Hawk Convolvulus Hawk Hummingbird Hawk Poplar Kitten Plumed Prominent Buff Tip Scarlet Tiger Four-dotted Footman Scarce Footman Cinnabar Miller Poplar Dagger Alder Dagger Light Feathered Rustic Dotted Rustic Dark Brocade Confused Poplar Quaker Northern Quaker Bordered Orange Bordered Straw Scarce Tissue Oblique Carpet Pinion-spotted Pug _ White-spotted Pug Satyr Pug Tawny Speckled Pug Euphydryas aurinea Polygonia c-album Aglais urticae Limenitis camilla Vanessa cardui Melanargia galathia Strymon w. album Lycaena phlaeas Lysandra garidon Lysandra bellargus Celastrina argiolus Smerinthus tiliae Acherontia atropos Herse convolvuli Macroglossum stellatarium Cerura hermelina Ptilophera plumigera Phalera bucephala Panaxia dominula Cybosia mesomella Eilema complana Callimorpha jacobaeae Apatele leporina Apatele megacephala Apatele alni Agrotis cinerea Ryacia simulans Eumichtis adusta Apamea furva Orthosia populeti Orthosia advena Pyrrhia umbra Heliothis petigera Calocalpe cervinalis Orthonama lignata Eupithecia insigniata Eupithecia tripunctaria Eupithecia satyrata Eupithecia icterata 133 C.M.R.P. Larvae started feeding on honeysuckle 28.2, pupated 17.4. (Normal foodplant is Devil’s Bit Scabious) V.T. 22.7, var. Hutchinsoni J.B. 15.10 CLL. 8.7, 2 of rare ab. nigra Mi Ga7:7: Migrants arriving M.C. 28.5, C.M.R.P. 4.6, M.C.F. 31.8 M.C. and C.M.R.P. 6.7. C.L. 24.7. Extreme almost unique form J.B. 31.8 M.C. 24.7, C.M.R.P. 21.9. Long period of emer- gence C.M.R.P. reports large area cultivated where this insect Hourished M.C. 6.5, C.W. C. 14.5, V.T. 20.8 V.T. 12.6 M.C. (29.7, G. W. 11.9, 14.9, R.A.J. 7.9, C.M.R.P. 20.9 M.C. 5.56 C.M.R.P. 31.1(!), M.C. 9.7 M.C. 8.7 R.A,J. to.11 and 17.11. Well within Wilts S.W. boundary C.M.R.P. reports birches defoliated by larvae in Sept. CMRP. end Apl. larvae found in many localities M.C, 24.6 DIR. 21.7 C.M.R.P. 29.3—4.9., M.C.F. 3.5 M.C. 11.6 M.C. 15.7, R.A.J. 28.8, 2nd brood unusual B.W. 30.5, M.C and R.A.J. 11.6, D.R. 23.6 R.A.J. 2.6 Black form white masked. A mile from breeding ground Ean). 10:7 M.C. 28.5 C.M.R.P. 22.6 M.C. 5.5 RoAg.1ilp205. ocakcethis year M.C. 28.7, R.A.J. 16.7 M.C. 15.7 R.A,J. 25.5 M.C. 24.5 M.C. 8.5., R.A.J. 4 and 8.5 M.C. 25.5. M.C. 15.6 M.C. 18.7 134 RECEIPTS Balance, 31st Dec., 1955 : Members’ Subscriptions—114 at 7/6 Reprints .. ae oi Audited and found correct EGBERT BARNES, Ist Jan., 1957. NATURAL HISTORY SECTION ANNUAL STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS 1956 Sad 78 16 I 42 15 Oo 4 10 6 f126- 1 27 PAYMENTS Meas enas Postages and Stationery :— Hon. Secretary .. he se 2; 13-9 Hon. Treasurer Pe rs 3 0 8 Printing and Typing Sore 3 Wiltshire paacoleie Society: 1/- pet member II <0 Hire of Rooms I5 0 Afhiliation Fees :— British Trust for Ornithology ri L040 South Western Naturalists Be 1220 Magazine Reprints ee Bs 16-5 0 Herbarium Covers a - I 16 0 Balance 31st Dec., 1956 sae as 84 16 II L261 7, Hon. Treasurer: G. W. Co_tett, 31st Dec., 1956. 1'8)5) FIELD MEETINGS AND LECTURES, 1957! Report by the Hon. Meetings Secretary, BEATRICE GILLAM. At the beginning of 1957 it seemed likely that, owing to petrol rationing, field meetings would be poorly supported. However, the challenge was met and the winter meetings were exceptionally well attended. This increase in attendance continued throughout the year with an average of twenty compared with fourteen in previous years. Once again the weather was good on most occasions. Ornithological meetings dominated the first five months of the year when many habitats of water and marsh birds were visited—Coate Water, the River Avon at Staverton, Blagdon and Chew Reservoirs and gravel pits and a sewage farm near South Cerney. The increase of wildfowl at Chew since last winter was very noticeable. Three evening meetings to help less-experienced members to identify summer migrant bird-songs were successful. In the autumn the dawn study of Passerine Migration and Migratory Routes across the county was re-opened and will be continued in 1958. Botanical meetings included the third year of the survey of the re-colonisation by plants of sand-pits at Compton Bassett. The flora of Silbury Hill was listed for comparison with Prof. J. Buckman’s list made in 1857. Sedges, marsh plants, fungi, mosses and liverworts were collected and identified at summer and autumn meetings. Westonbirt Arboretum was visited in October sunshine. A summer walk in Cranbourne Chase where pockets of clay occur in an otherwise sandy soil led to the discovery of unexpected and interesting plants, a variety of butterflies and an unusual scarcity of bird life. During an autumn day spent at Fonthill Abbey Estate Mr. P. Ward, the agent, demonstrated the ecological aspects of successful forestry. A further visit will be made in the spring 1958 to learn more of this work. The Geological Section of the London Natural History Society came to Wiltshire at Easter and three of our members gave their services as leaders. Eight other members took part in some of their excursions. A survey of the distribution of badgers in the county has been started.. Badgers were seen by most of the fourteen members who visited a very large colony one evening in July. Several species of bat were found in hibernation in the grottos at Fonthill early in March. The Annual General Meeting of the Section was held at the Museum on 22nd June. Mr. G. W. Collett, the Hon. Treasurer, read the statement of accounts. Reports were given by the Hon. Secretary, Mrs. C. Seccombe Hett, the Hon. Meetings Secretary and the Hon. Press Secretary, Miss E. M. Gliddon. It was with great pleasure that, in the absence of Mr. J. D. Grose, Mr. Collett announced that “ The Flora of Wiltshire ’ would be published on 31st July. Mrs. Barnes gave the good news that she had just received the complete draft manuscript of the Bird Check List from Mr. L. G. Peirson and that it would shortly be sent to several notable ornithologists for scrutiny. In Mr. B. W. Weddell’s entomological report, read in his absence by Mrs. C. S. Hett, he said that thanks to valuable assistance from Mrs. D. Owen the first two hundred species on the entomological list had now been typed, but more information was still required. In a short speech the retiring Chairman, Mr. J. H. Halliday, surveyed the work done by the Section over the past ten years and paid tribute to the Officers particularly during his own term of office. Mr. C. E. Owen in proposing a vote of thanks to Mr. Halliday spoke of his expert knowledge of natural history and of his humour and humility. Only one lecture was arranged in 1957. Mr. Halliday spoke on ‘ The Senses of Birds with special Refer- ence to Owls’ illustrating his talk with outside models of the principal sensory organs. Members have again attended lectures arranged by the Bath Natural History Society. A wide variety of natural history pursuits followed by members was revealed at the November Con- _versazione. Mosses and liverworts, local geological finds, the status of the Nightjar in Wiltshire, herbar- ium sheets, bird and plant photographs were amongst the exhibits shown and explained by members. 1 For 1956 Field Meetings, see p. 112. 136 HON. SECRETARY’S REPORT FOR 1957.! The membership of the Natural History Section rises slowly but steadily, and the proportion of full members of the Society claiming af interest in the Section is now 105, almost half the total membership (of 220). It was in 1947 that the first Report of the Section newly formed in 1946, was published in the WA. Magazine. It is also noteworthy that of the original committee the following continue to serve, Mrs. E. C. Barnes, Bird Recorder; Mr. J. D. Grose, Plant Recorder; Mr. B. W. Weddell, Lepidoptera Recorder; and Mr. G. W. Collett, Hon. Treasurer. It is largely due to their unflagging interest that the Section con- tinues to thrive. A successful and widely varied programme of meetings was again planned by Miss Gillam, and regularly enjoyed by all who take part. A series of 20 outdoor and 3 indoor meetings is almost concluded and contrary to expectations a greater number of members attended during petrol rationing than previously ! 4 The new Flora of Wiltshire, by Mr. Donald Grose, was published by the Section in July, and has been received with much pleasure and interest, both public and private. Over 300 copies have been sold to date. The manuscript of the Wiltshire Bird List was completed this summer by the late Mr. L. G. Peirson, whose recent death we so deeply regret to record. Mr. Peirson was chairman of the Section Committee for the first five and a half years of its being and his advice as a committee member has been greatly missed since his retirement from it in 1953. Work on the Entomological List continues—Mr. E. C. Barnes is now Chairman of the Section committee, instead of Mr. J. H. Halliday, who reluctantly retired owing to pressure of work. Some progress had been made in the Natural History Room and it is hoped that the arrange- ment of the Geology display cases will begin shortly. C. SeccomsBE Herr. 1 For 1956 Secretary’s Report, see p. 113. 137 THE WEATHER OF 1957! The year was not memorable. We have to go back to 1947—8 to find as mild a winter. ‘If ice in November will bear a duck the winter will be all rain and muck’ found confirmation for the only sharp frost was then. March was probably the warmest for more than 90 years, though the temperatures were not dramatic. The high mean temperature was the result of consistently highest daily maxima and nightly minima. April was very dry and May uninteresting. June shewed two unusual features: at Marl- borough six days had a maximum of over 80°F—probably an unprecedented occurrence so early; and for 10 days at the end of the month and the beginning of July, high wet temperatures produced many sticky collars and a few thunderstorms. The rest of the year was uneventful, and the harvest and holiday months had no really warm days to look back upon. St. Luke anticipated his annual bounty by a fortnight for the benefit of the many who were _ suffering or recovering from‘ the Asian.’ There was a strong gale on the night of November 3rd/4th. The _ year was at least slightly warmer, drier and sunnier than the average. In this simplified summary ‘+’ =excess; “ —’ =deficiency; ‘O’=nearly normal Ab R S Jan. ui oa O Mild Feb. aE =| + Mild ~ Mar. + -- = Exceptionally warm | Apr. + —— -- The driest since 1899 _ May O _ + Rather cool June — + + A beautiful month July + + _ Cool, except for the first week Aug. O at O Cool, except for the first week Sept. = —- = Cool, dull, and rather wet Oct. ++ = = First half fine and warm Nov O — a Dec. O O + + Short cold spell in the middle 1957 + = + R. A. U. JENNINGS. 1 For 1956 Weather, see p. 114. | | VOL. LVII-CCVI R 138 WILTSHIRE BIRD NOTES FOR 1957! Recorders: RUTH G. BARNES, M.8.0.U., AND GEOFFREY L. BOYLE. The recorders must preface these notes with a tribute to the work in previous years of the late Guy Peirson. His wide knowledge of Wiltshire birds, his sage advice and critical judgement were alike in- valuable in the preparation of these notes. As before, no localities are given for certain breeding species. The necessity for this precaution was underlined in the prosecution of an egg-dealer, when it was stated in Court that Stone Curlews’ eggs had been taken in Wiltshire. The number of known heronries has increased by six, two of two nests and four of one nest only. The following are among the notable records for the year: the first Shag since 1926; the first Barnacle Goose, although possibly an escape, since 1865; sixteen Bewick’s Swans; a Crake, very probably Spotted; two Wood Sandpipers and three Ruffs; a Hoopoe, a Wryneck and two Golden Orioles; two single Wax- wings, strays from an autumn incursion. The county had its share of the mass invasion of tits from the Continent in the autumn. The number of autumn records of Stonechats is also noteworthy. CONTRIBUTORS : A. R. Angell .. 3 fey RAS Mrs, Leech: 2:2 ze ae oo), MEE: G. Atchinson .. ee a atten a GaAG Miss Mary Luckham.. fh M.K.L. David Barnes .. = se D.G.B. Marlborough College Natural His- Mrs. Barnes... R.G.B. tory Society M.C Miss E. Batchelor E.B. F. H. Maundrell F.H.M A. E. Billett AEB J. G. Mavrogordato J.G.M. Geoffrey L. Boyle G.L.B. Owen Meyrick O.M. E. Browning E.B.2 HW. Neal. 2: H.W.N John Burden J.L.R.B Dr. D. B. Peakall D.B.P Miss M. Butterworth M.B Col. G. F. Perkins G.E.P: John Buxton J.M.B M. W. Pickering M.W.P P. J. Chadwick P.J-C R. H. Poulding REEL W. A. Chaplin W.A.C Countess of Radnor TRG Hi. J: Clase ELC Peter Roberts .. PRG G. W. Collett ss G.W.C Brigadier Searight E-E.G.ES Major W. M. Congreve W.M.C Mrs. Seccombe Hett C.S'He H. W. J. Cuss "s H.W,J.C. A. Smith ALS C. A. Cutforth CAC R. J: Spencer Rays: Gordon Elliott G.E Col. J. K. Stanford J.K.S. Mrs. Forbes E.V.F: B. M. Stratton B.M.S. Miss M. C. Foster M.CF. Miss E. M. Thouless E.M.T D. W. Free D.W.F. H. W. Timperley H.W.T David. Fry D.E.F. R.L. Vernon .. R.L-Y, Mrs. Gandy .. LG. G. L. Webber G.L.W Miss Beatrice Gillam B.G. M. A. Wright M.A.W. J. H. Halliday .. J.H.H G. W. Hemming G.W.H Anthony Horner A.G.H. Abbreviations used in the text: E. HJelly EH]. E. L. Jones EL. British Birds Magazine .. B.B. J. R. Lawson .. JRL. Gravel Pits G.P. Mrs. Lawson V.C.E Sewage Farm .. SE 1 For 1956 Bird Notes, see p. 115. ‘gaits Gee t-te Sie ther SA OE ee ae EPO | 139 5. GREAT CRESTED GreBE. A bird still in first winter plumage, head-shaking with an adult in breeding plumage on Braydon Pond, Feb. 25th (R.G.B.). Breeding Records: Coate—total of 10 young (G.L.W.), Braydon Pond (R.G.B.) and Longleat (Mr. Doel per M.B.). A pair with two young on Fonthill Lake, Aug. roth. (B.M.S.) and two pairs and five young on Bowood Lake, Sept. 22nd (C.S.H.). 28. CORMORANT. Present along the Avon from Salisbury to Downton from January to early April with a peak figure of 26 birds in a single tree at Charlton, Feb. 23rd (E.B., P.R.). Two in flight near Salisbury Cathedral, Jan. 11th and two immature birds at Fonthill Lake, Jan. 13th (G.E.). Odd birds seen in the Salisbury area during the winter (E.B., HJ.C., PR). 29. sHac. A single bird on Coate Water, Aug. 13th (E.B.2.). It is unusual for Shags to appear so far inland. The last re cord for the County was near Salisbury in 1926. 30. HERON. Breeding reported from the following places: Tockenham, one nest in poplar (D.G.B.); Leigh, solitary nest in hedgerow elm(J.M.B.); Bowood, 17 occupied nests in elms, of which young still calling from several, July 8th (G.L.B.); Conkwell Wood, three nests in beech trees (Dr. C. M. Vaisey); Great Bradford Wood, 16 nests definitely occupied with six further probables in oaks (R.J.S.); Staverton,two nests in elms close to a rookery by the Avon (R.J.S.); Savernake, six nests in beeches at edge of small wood(J.H.H.); Longford Castle, one nest in willow at goft. (I.R.); Brit- ford, five nests in tall pines, Mar. 23rd; only one pair bred successfully, the others having deserted owing to disturbance from farming operations (P.R., D.E.F.) ; Hurdcott, this heronry was affected by winter gales in 1956 when several of the nesting trees were blown down. Only three old nests were occupied in 1957, but four new nests were built and occupied not far away (G.F.P.); Boyton Bridge, two nests near the Wylye (E.V.F.); one nest three miles South of Salis- bury, Apr. 2nd, and young birds heard calling in it, June 21st (E.B.) Six of these heronries have not been reported before. 45, 46, 50, 56, 57. Winter records of Mallard, Teal, Wigeon, Tufted Duck and Pochard are filed for later analysis and report. 45. MALLARD. A drake ringed at Celle. Lower Saxony, in August, 1956 was shot near Salisbury, Dec. 16th, 1956 (A. E. Harris—The Field, 21.3.57). 49. GADWALL. A male seen in a ditch with a pair of Mallard in the Longford water-meadows, Jan. 13th(E.B.). A bird possibly of this species was seen on the river Kennet at Axford, Oct. 3rd. It was a‘ drab looking duck with a distinctly white speculum ’, the dark tail was also noted (M.C.). 52. pintatL. A drake in close company with drake Wigeon at Ramsbury, Jan. 17th; a single bird also seen on Wilton Water, Jan. 18th(J.R.L., V.C.L.). Five birds on Coate Water, Mar. 2nd (G.L.W.); three birds on the Avon at Long- ford, Nov. 24th (M.K.L., I.R.). Five birds on Clarendon Lake, Nov. 23rd-30th were seen by many observers (P.R.). A single female on Coate Water, Dec. 14th (G.L.W.). 53. SHOVELER. A male on Braydon Pond, Jan. 28th(R.G.B.), a pair on Coate Water, Feb. 3rd (V.C.L.), a pair also seen on flood water near Hornington, Feb. 24th (E.B.). Two pairs on Braydon Pond, Feb. sth(J.M.B.), and a male, Feb. 25th and Mar. z3rd (R.G.B., C.W.H.). A pair on Coate Water, Feb. 3rd-Apr. 14th(J.R.L., G.L.W.). A pair on Clarendon Lake, Apr. 25th, and a female there June 8th-15th (D.E.F., A.J.H.). Finally two on Coate Water, Aug. 25th (G.LW.). 55. scaup. Two females seen with six Tufted Duck on Coate Water on April 13th, their large white face patches, vermiculated backs, greater size and complete lack of any crest noted (G.L. W.). 56. TUFTED DUCK. In the spring at least 19 pairs and odd males were scattered over the lakes at Longleat, constituting _ the largest potential breeding population seen in this area (R.H.P.). Later the Water Bailiff estimated a total of 18 occupied nests. A pair with 17 young seen near Ramsbury in late summer(J.R.L., V.C.L.). 60. GOLDENEYE. A maleand two females at Bowood on Nov. 23rd and a male with a possible juvenile on Dec. 22nd, (B.G.). A single bird on Corsham Lake, Dec. 25th-26th(J.L.R.B.). | 70. GOOSANDER. Two ‘ Red-heads’ on Corsham Lake, Dec. 15th, and one there, Dec. 21st (G.W.H.), but two were again seen Dec. 26th(J.L.R.B.). 73. SHELDUCK. From Aug. 3oth to Sept. 2nd two immature birds on the Avon at Longford (I.R.). GREY GEESE. Two skeins of c.30 each flew over Trowbridge, Feb. 20th (A.S.). Two large skeins flew high over Bratton from the east, Oct. 19th (E.E.G.L.S.). Seven over Chilton Foliat, Dec. 27th (M.C.F.). 81. BARNACLE Goose. A single bird was swimming with Coot on Bowood Lake on Jan. 27th. The Wildfowl Trust | at Slimbridge confirmed that they had not lost any of this species, but as it is easily kept in captivity the possiblity of an escape must not be ruled out (B.G.). 2R 40 86. BEWICK’s swaN. A juvenile, possibly of this species, was seen on a strip of flood water by the Ebble near Coombe Bissett, Jan. 19th(E.B.). Sixteen birds (14 adults, two juveniles) walking on the ice on Coate Water, Feb. 16th (B.G.). QI. BUZZARD. Only two definite breeding records (G.L.B. and P.R.). But the species seems to be firmly established in the county and numerous reports came in of birds seen in flight during the breeding season. 100. HEN HARRIER. Two Ringtails’ seen in flight near Salisbury, Mar. 17th (G.E.). 102. MONTAGU’S HARRIER. A brown harrier which flew over Harnham, Aug. 24th (H.J.C.) and another bird seen at Rockley, Nov. 2nd (M.C.F.) were probably of this species. 104. HOBBY. A nest containing two young and one addled egg found in a Scots pine, Aug. 4th(P.J.C., H.W.N., and M.A.W.). A pair, first seen May oth, bred in an old carrion crow’s nest in an oak tree, and reared at least two young (R.L.V.). The parent birds were also seen by R.G.B. and G.L.B. Two birds in flight, one chasing swallows and martins Aug. 25th(G.E., P.R.). Single birds seen on the wing during July and August by nine observers. On Sept. 18th a male bird was found injured near Lacock and later successfully tamed (G.L.B.). 105. PEREGRINE. J.G.M. saw single birds on four occasions in flight over Salisbury Plain between Jan. 6th and Jan. 27th and E.B. also reported one at Downton, Jan. sth. At Britford a juvenile stooped to within a few feet of a Heron stand- ing on a nest, Jan. 23rd (G.E., P.R.). Another juvenile seen at Coate Mar. 2nd (G.L.W.). and a pair also seen there Feb. 17th (H.W.J.C.). Single birds reported near Homington, Mar. 2nd (H.J.C.); at Alderbury, Mar. 30th (C.M.R.P., G.E.); at Clarendon, Apr. 16th, and at Stratford Tony Aug. 29th (D.E.F., A.G.H.); and circling Salisbury Cathedral spire in July and August (G.E., W.A.C.). 107. MERLIN. A male found hanging in a plantation near Little Durnford, Mar. 24th. It had presumably been shot (G.E., P.R.). A female seen hunting over Bodenham water-meadows, Feb. 22nd. One seen mobbed by Starlings in the same area, Mar. 21st (E.B.). One seen by Lord Radnor and others on Odstock Down, Oct. roth (I.R.). 110. KESTREL. A pair were nesting on Overton Down, Apr. 2nd (R.L.V.) and a nest contained three young on Salis- bury Plain, May 17th(J.G.M.), both early dates. A nestling ringed near Everleigh, July 21st, was shot, Nov. 3rd, near Baccon (Loiret), France, 470 53’ N—10 38'E(P.J.C.). 116. PARTRIDGE. On June 30th an unmated cock was seen to pick up and savage a week-old chick belonging to another pair(J.K.S.). 117. QUAM. Two reported by a keeper at Clarendon last week in March—an early date (G.E.). A chick found June 6th on Clatford Down(B.G.). Records of calling: Allington, June 6th and Aug. 8th(R.J.S.); Britford, June 14th (E.B.); Aldbourne, repeatedly June 9th-30th; Baydon, June 25th (H.W.J.C.); Everleigh, July 6th, where two adults and three young seen, Aug. 7th (M.C.); Beckhampton, Aug. 4th (P.J.C., H.W.N., M.A.W.). 118. PHEASANT. A pure white cock in Longford Park, Apr. 2nd. The only trace of colour was the red on the head (E.B.). I2I. SPOTTED CRAKE. In mid-Nov. a bird was brought to Mrs. Ridley by her dog, when she was walking in the water-meadows near Stockton. After examination in the hand she released it. The following details lead one to suppose it was a spotted crake: “ Bill short, blue-grey on head and chin very marked, neck short, back and wings speckled with brown, light under tail and on the breast, barring not well marked, legs greenish-brown.’ 125. CORNCRAKE. Noted on Baydon Hill, Aug. 31st, by C. Hale and heard in early September(per I.G.). Also heard near Alton Barnes (Miss J. Young per I.G.). One in garden at Shrewton, Aug. 16th (M.L.). 131. OYSTERCATCHER. A bird of this species, at first reported as an Avocet by a farmer at the end of November was seen by C.A.C. on December 2nd by the river at West Kennett. It had a habit of following a plough and the plough- man, who did not like this, asked a keeper to shoot the bird, which he did! 133. LAPwinG. The following record is taken from B.B. Vol. LI, p. 63: Bird ringed as a chick, May 21st, 1951, at H6yland, Norway (580 26’ N. 50 45’ E) was found dead at Malmesbury, Apr. Ist, 1952. 140. GOLDEN PLOVER. Largest winter and spring flocks: c.130 at Harnwood, Jan. 12th (E.B.); 200+ on ploughed land near Salisbury, Mar. 15th, (P.R.). On Apr. 17th 40-50 showing breeding plumage of the Northern race were seen near Salisbury (H.J.C.). Largest autumn and winter flocks: c.200 at Old Sarum airfield (E.B.), c.100 near Norton with Lapwings on ploughed land, Nov. 2oth (B.G.); c.200 at Zeals aerodrome, Nov. 21st (B.M.S.); c. 300 at Old Sarum, Dec. 15th(D.E.F., A.G.H.). 145. SNIPE. Two nests with eggs near Chilton Foliat, Apr. 13th (H.W.J.C.). On Apr. 22nd three young had hatched and one egg remained in nest near Downton (G.E.). Forty-nine flushed at Coate, Mar. 9th, and numbers in winter rose to 64, Dec. 7th (G.L.W.). —— wr Pores 141 147. JACK SNIPE. Single birds seen at Coate on dates between Jan. 13th and Feb. 27th(J.H.H., B.G. et al.), and again on Apr. 13th and 19th (G.L.W.). Two near Ramsbury, Mar. 3rd (J.R.L.). First autumn records at Coate, Sept. 26th and Oct. 13th (H.W.J.C.), and five birds were seen there Dec. 7th (G.L.W.). 148. Woopcock. One ‘ roding ’ near Farley, May 23rd (G.E.); one flushed from dead bracken in Savernake Forest, May 26th (B.G.). A single bird seen in flight on many evenings in June near Ramsbury (V.L., J.R.L.). Reported breeding between Blunsdon and Hannington where they definitely bred in 1952-3 (G.L.W.). Several winter records, 150. CURLEW. Breeding records from Coulston (G.L.B., R.L.V.); Steeple Ashton and Keevil (R.L.V.); Sandridge (R.J.S.); Patney (J.K.S.). Four half-grown young seen with parent birds, in Wootton Bassett area, June 14th ((R.G.B., D.G.B,). 156. GREEN SANDPIPER. Single birds seen by many observers in January and in each month from March to October with the exception of June. 157. WOOD SANDPIPER. At Coate Water a single bird was first seen feeding on the mud, Aug. 25th, When flushed it was joined by a second bird, both flying round before resuming feeding. Two were again seen, Aug. 29th, and a single bird Aug. 31st (G.L.W.). One exceedingly tame bird still there, Sept. 7th-8th (B.G., H.W.T., G.L.W.). Full details of calls and plumage filed. 159. COMMON SANDPIPER. One or two birds seen in April and May, and from July to September, in usual haunts by several observers. Last reported from the Avon at Britford, Oct. 13th(P.R.). I6I. REDSHANK. Birds regularly heard or seen by several observers between February and June. One pair with young seen at Longford, June 12th (E.V.F). On June roth near Ashton Keynes a bird’s prolonged agitation at presence of observer indicated probability of young in unmown grass nearby (R.G.B.). Breeding noted near Froxfield and four nests found at Chilton Foliat (H.W.J.C.). 165. GREENSHANK. One flying up the Avon at Charlton, Apr. 2nd (E.B.). A single bird seen at Coate Water, Aug. r7th-25th (G.L. W., E.B.2). One feeding with Green Sandpiper by the Thames ab ove Cricklade, Sept. 22nd (H.W.J.C.) 178. DUNLIN. A single bird at Stratton St. Margaret S.F., April 21st (E.B.2). One-four seen at Coate Water from Sept. 12th-22nd (M.C.F., G.L.W.); single birds were present, Oct. 27th (M.W.P.) and Nov. 3rd (E.B.2) and c.10 on | Dec. 15th (M.C.F.). 184. RuEF. A single bird of this species was seen at Coate, Sept. 7th-8th (G.L.W.). Three birds were present, Sept. 14th-15th, of which two were possibly Reeves (E.B.2., H.W.J.C., C.S.H., G.L.W.). Only one previous record this | century. 189. STONE CURLEW. Broods from two nests successfully hatched (J.K.S., B.G., R.J.S.). Three unsuccessful attempts: _ one probably robbed by a fox; one destroyed by crop spraying (D-E.F., A.G.H.); the third nest had two eggs in it on _ May 2sth. A photographer was seen approaching it on June Ist, his empty hide was still standing within five feet of _ the nest the next day and the surrounding wheat flattened. ‘The birds deserted and the young died in the shell (Eds.). 190. WATERRAIL. A bird, which wintered at Stratford-sub-Castle, was seen on one occasion swimming strongly across the river (P.R.). A live bird was brought in by a cat near Chapmanslade, Jan. 26th (E.H.J.). Four sight records in Salis- bury area in early spring (E.V.F., E.B., H.J.C., IR.). Heard squealing at Coate, Aug. 22nd (M.C.F.) and at Corsham Oct. 9th (J.L.R.B.). Nine sight records in autumn and winter from Braydon Pond, Westbury and Salisbury area (L.R.B., E.B., M.C., D.E.F., A.R.A.). 198. GREATER BLACK-BACKED GULL. Seen regularly near rivers from January to April, in June, and from September to ~ December by many observers. 199. LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. Seen in small numbers every month in the year by many observers. At Keevil airfield Jan. 6th, c.30 were feeding on worms stranded on the runways. By Feb. 3rd numbers had risen to c.180 and fluctuated throughout the winter. The birds left in the late afternoon towards N.N.W., which indicated roosting at Chew Valley Lake in Somerset (G.L.B., R.L.V.). Eighty-two adults and 83 juveniles fed in a field in Semington in winter, and considerable increase from first wintering numbers reported there in 1954 (G.L.B.). From 100-200 with Herring and Black-headed Gulls near Bradford-on-Avon, Feb, 2nd (R.J.S.). 200, HERRING GULL. Flocks visit downs and rubbish dumps in the Salisbury district and are also frequently seen on rubbish dumps at Beanacre (E.B., G.L.B., P-R.). Odd birds reported throughout the year by many observers. 142 211, KITTIWAKE. Remains of an adult found by Westbury Lake, Mar. 30th (A.R.A.) and the remains of another adult by a lake at Longleat, Apr. 26th (R.H.P.). It is interesting to note that in 1953, 1955 and 1956 a dead Kittiwake was found in the same district by R.H.P. Part of a wing was also found near Tockenham, May tst (D.G.B.). A bird, pos- sibly of this species, was at Coate Water, Feb. toth-12th when it died. Unfortunately it was destroyed before it could be examined (G.L.W.). These birds probably were involved in a considerable ‘ wreck’ of Kittiwakes which occurred in England and Wales early in the year. 212. BLACK TERN. One at Coate Sept. 8th; two at Bowood Sept. 21st (B.G., C.S.H., H.W.T.); two at Corsham Sept" 22nd (G.W.H.). At Coate on Sept. 22nd numbers had increased to 11 birds some of which still showed traces of sum- mer plumage (M.C.F., G.L.W.), but only one bird there Sept. 23rd (M.C.F.). 217/218. COMMON/ARCTIC TERN. Four sea Terns with two Black Terns at Bowood, Sept. 21st (C.S.H., B.G.). Two birds were seen to have dark shoulder patches and dark patches on the back of the head (B.G., G.W.T.). A single bird at Coate May 2nd, species not determined (G.L.W.). A single bird also at Coate, Aug. 8th, and two there on Aug. roth (G.L.W). 235. TURTLEDOVE. First seen May sth, Baydon(M.C.F.) and Ogbourne Down (P.J.C.); May 7th, Devizes (J.L.R.B); May roth, Malmesbury(J.M.B.). Last seen Sept. 5th, Bishopsdown (P.R.); Sept. 16th, near Salisbury(J.K.S.). 237. CuCKOo. First noted: April 17th, Devizes (J.L-R.B.); Apr. 18th Bemerton (G.E.), and Aldbourne (M.C.F.); Apr. 19th Coate(G.L.W.), Seagry(R.G.B.) and Dunscombe (G.A.)., Last seen, a juvenile, at Walcot, Aug. 30th (G.L.W.) 248. LONG-EARED OWL. A nest in larches on the Downs, contained six eggs, already being incubated on Mar. 17th, but it was empty a week later. On Mar. 31st three eggs were being incubated in the same nest (H.W.J.C.). Three young of another brood, on Salisbury Plain were fairly strong on the wing on May 21st, but still had traces of down on the head(J.G.M.). A pair bred in Marlborough area, Apr. 22nd, and when visited on May 12th two young had left the nest and two were still in it (G.L.W.). 249. SHORT-EARED OWL. One bird at Totterdown, Mar, 21st (M.C.); two on Salisbury Plain from Mar. 31st-Apr. 27th (M.W.P.); one hunting stubbles above Odstock, Sept. 18th (I.R.); three together at Shrewton, Nov. 20th(C.A.C.). Despite plague of mice not as many as usual and only one seen at Lake, Sept. 28th(J.K.S.). 252. NIGHTJAR. Notes on this species will be included in the results ofan Enquiry in a future Report. 255. swirT. First seen: Longford, Apr. 17th (E.B.); Lacock, May 1st, (G.L.B.); Melksham and Swindon, May 2nd (G.L.W., R.J.S.); Shaw and East Knoyle, May 3rd (C.A.C., B.M.S.); Great Bedwyn, May sth(B.C.). Last seen Malmesbury, Aug. 21st (J.M.B.); Coate, Aug. 29th (G.L.W.); Rudloe, Aug 30th (G.W.H.); Harnham, Sept. oth: 261. Hoopoe. A bird of this species seen at the foot of Roundway Hill, Devizes on Apr. 29th. It was watched in good light in flight and on the ground. From very full description submitted there is no doubt as to its identity (B.G.). 262. GREEN WOODPECKER. On two occasions a bird was seen on a lawn at Ramsbury holding a windfall apple with one foot and apparently eating it (O.M.). 263 GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER. A nest with young on Morgan’s Hill, June 8th (G.W.C.). 264. LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. Notes on this species will be included in the results of an Enquiry in a future Report. 265. wryNeck. A single bird seen on the road and in a tree at Dunge near Bratton, Oct. 2nd (R.L.V.). This is the first Wiltshire record since 1952. 271. WOODLARK. One on Porton Range, Feb. 24th (D.B.P.). Two on ploughed land near Pepperbox, Mar. 9th (E.L.J.), and two near West Dean, Apr. 20th (G.E.). 272. SKYLARK. Westerly migration along south edge of Downs at East Knoyle began Sept. 27th and continued off and on for six weeks (B.M.S.). 274. SWALLOW. First seen Mar, 26th, Easton (G.W.H.); Mar. 27th, Corsham Lake (J.L.R.B.); Mar. 30th, Corsley (E.H.J.) and Bulkington (R.L.V.). Last seen Nov. sth, Nunton (E.B.); Nov. roth, two at Longleat (Bright); Nov. rsth, Marlborough (M.C.); Nov. 21st, two at Corsley (E.H.J.). One young bird was found exhausted at Britford, Dec. and, and died the following day (P.R.). 276. HOUSE MARTIN. First seen Mar. 23rd, Longford (M.K.L.); Apr. and, Devizes (B.G.); April. 7th, Devizes (G.L.B.). A juvenile was seen being fed in mid-air by an adult, July 27th (G.L.W.). Last seen Nov. 3rd, Marlborough (M.C.); Nov. sth, Nunton(E.B.); Nov. rsth, Upavon(J.L.R.B.). 2 > ee 143 277. SAND MARTIN. First seen Mar. 17th, Longford (E.B.); Mar. roth, Southampton Road G, P. Salisbury (H.J.C.); Mar. 29th, Great Bedwyn (B.G.). About six pairs nested in drainage pipes in a concrete wall forming the bank of the Avon in Salisbury (P.R., H.J.C.). A new colony nesting in holes only a few feet above water at Lacock G.P., May roth (G.L.B.). Last seen Sept. r9th, Devizes(J.L.R.B.); Sept. 22nd, Coate (G.L.W.); Sept. 23rd, Salisbury S.F. (E.B.). 278. GOLDEN ORIOLE. One seen at Totterdown(J.H.H.). On June 1st W.M.C., who knows the species very well on the continent heard the unmistakeable notes of an Oriole near his garden at Farley. The bird moved in a wide circle but remained unseen. The calls were mainly quiet and subdued, the full * weela-weeo ’ of the Handbook was only rarely heard, and never the harsh alarm note of a nesting bird. 279. RAVEN. One seen at Manton, Jan. roth(J.H.H.); One hanging in a gamekeeper’s gibbet in the Clarendon dis: trict, June 8th. A crow was also hanging there and the difference between the two noted. (D.E.F., A.G.H.). 286. jay. A movement noted on Sept. 9th when 24 were seen on Bishopsdown in parties of 8, 4, 4, 5 and 3; and another party of five were seen on Porton Down (P.R.). 288, 289, 290, 294. | GREAT TIT, BLUE TIT, COAL TIT, LONG-TAILED TIT. The following notes refer to the mass invasion oe foreign tits in the autumn of this year. Many Coal Tits on Porton Down, Sept,. roth (P.R.). A great many Blue Tits were seen at Calne in autumn: they tore paper, pecked milk bottle tops (even inside the house) and pecked putty of] windows ((E.M.T.). Ata house in Swindon Blue Tits opened milk bottles on most days in autumn (G.L.W.). At Coff Park a Great Tit opened a milk bottle, Nov. 30th, the first time this was seen there since April, ’55. A flock of at least 30, possibly 50 Long-tailed Tits seen in a thorn hedge, Dec. 27th (J.M.B.). About 25% increase of Great and Blue Tits was noted at East Knoyle in November (B.M.S.). Exceptional numbers of Great, Blue, Coal, Marsh and Long-tailed Tits visited a bird table in Salisbury in November and December (W.A.C.). (Marsh Tits were not noted in the invasion _ from overseas.) At Amesbury at least twice as many Great Tits as usual were seen, and from early November remark- able numbers of Blue Tits. They were very destructive and entered the house. They * swarmed’ all along the Avon _valley(J.K.S.). . 293. + wiLLow TIT. Two with flock of Great and Blue Tits in a hedge on Ham Hill (E.L.J.). One at Bodenham, July 22nd (E.B.). One nest found, and several pairs probably breeding, near Swindon (H.W.J.C.). 204. LONG-TAILED TIT. On Mar. rst nest building was seen at Keevil (R.L.V.) and Alderbury (B.G.), an early date. 298. TREE CREEPER. One roosting in the bark of a Wellingtonia tree at Cole Park, Dec. oth(J.M.B.); this is the first time _ that this type of roosting site has been reported in the county. Increased numbers noted in and about Salisbury in Nov- _ ember and December (W.A.C., E.B.). This last record probably refers to the autumn invasion with tits from overseas. 300. Dipper. Birds seen on Broadmead Brook and Bybrook in January (R.J.S.). Nest with 4 eggs, possibly incomplete _ and another, with 5 incubated eggs, on Bybrook, Mar. 4th; two other pairs seen but no nest found (H.W.J.C.); 4 pairs with young seen there, May 19th (G.E.). Three young birds seen on the Nadder in July and August (B.M.S.). Seen on _ the Ebble in summer (W.A.C.) | 302. FIELDFARE. Last seen in spring Apr. 9th, High Post (D.E.F., A.G.H.); Apr. 22nd, c.90 on Preshute Down (G.L.W.) May 4th, c.20 at Blunsdon travelling westwards (H.W.J.C.). An excellent view of a single bird near Druid’s Lodge, June oth (M.K.L.). First seen in autumn Sept. 30th, Box (C.S.H.); Oct. roth, Great Chalfield (R.J.S.); Oct. 23rd, | Lockeridge (C.A.C.). 304. REDWING. Few records early in the year. Last seen in spring Mar. 2nd, Fonthill (G.E.); Mar. oth, Bradford - Wood (R.J.S.); Mar. 21st, Petersfinger (H.J.C.). First seen in autumn Oct. 6th, Stratton St. Margaret (E.B.2); Oct. 13th, Shaw (C.A.C.), Tinhead Down (R.L.V.). 307. RING OUzEL. A female in a garden near Lockeridge, Apr. 11th, was being mildly mobbed by the resident Black- birds (C.A.C.). On Oct. 13th, a female was seen at close range perched on a small bush 45oft. up on Coombe Bissett _Down(E.B.). 308. BLACKBIRD. A nest with young in a hedge at Codford, Jan. 8th (E.V.F.). A nest with two eggs at Bodenham in _ first week of February (M.K.L.). A pair feeding young in nest at Semington, Feb. 15th (G.L.B.). 311. WHEATEAR. First seen Mar. 12th, Porton Down (D.B.P.); Mar. 15th, Valley of the Rocks (M.C.); Mar. 22nd, Tan Hill (B.G.). Decrease noted, probably due to the absence of rabbits (J.K.S.). A nest with eggs found in grass under _an old sheet of galvanized iron, near Heytesbury (E.H.J.). Last seen Sept. 28th, Colerne airfield (J.L.R.B.); Oct. sth, i Britford Down (E.B.); Oct. 15th, Bishopsdown (P.R.). | 1 | 144 317. sToNecHAT. An unusual number of autumn records this year. A pair at Stratford-sub-Castle, Feb. 15th (P.R.); one near Dinton Mill, Aug. 31st (G.E.). Two near Horton, Sept. 30th, feeding among kale (B.G.); three near Lidding- ton Hill, Oct. 6th (B.G., H.W.T.); one pair at Imber and another at Amesbury, Oct. 13th (G.L.B.). A pair on downs at Netherhampton, Oct. 19th, and one still there, Nov. 28th (E.B.). A pair were seen at Walcot near Swindon, from Oct. 20th onwards, and a search there on Dec. 28th produced four pairs and one male (G.LW .), One at Odstock, Nov. 16th (I.R.). ‘Two at Old Sarum, Nov. 24th (D.E.F., A.G.H.), and two in sedges at Downton,Nov. 27th (E.B.). Single birds seen in December in Milford and Bishopsdown (P.R.) and at Westbury (A.R.A.). 318. WHINCHAT. First seen Apr. 22nd, Hackpen(M.C.); Apr. 25th, Allington (B.G.) and Salisbury (E.B.); Apr. 27th, Erlestoke (G.L.B.). No breeding records. Last seen Sept. 26th, near Salisbury (E.B.); Oct. sth, Old Sarum (D.E.F.. A.G.H.) and Ford (P.R.); Oct. 15th, Knoyle Hill (B.M.S.). 320. REDSTART. First seen Apr. 20th, Clatford (B.G.); Apr. 21st, Stratton St. Margaret (E.B.2); Apr. 23rd, Grovely (M.L.); Apr. 24th Bowood (G.L.B.). A nest and seven eggs at Blunsdon, May 8th(H.W.J.C.). A bird seen entering an old woodpecker hole in Savernake Forest, May 26th (B.G.). A pair at Coate, May 16th, anda young bird seen there in August (G.L.W.). Nine pairs nested in Longleat district (E.H.J.). A pair bred successfully near Littleton Mill (R.L.V.), and a family was seen near Stockton Wood, July 29th (B.M.S.). More passage records received than usual. Long migra- tion noted near Lockeridge from July 14th to Sept. 8th, never many birds together but they kept passing through, especially during the last weeks of August and early September (C.A.C.). Unusual numbers also noticed at Bishops- down between Aug. 29th and Oct. 2nd (P.R.). 321. BLACK REDSTART. A male seen at 10 yards range at Stratton St. Margaret, Aug. 25th (E.B.2). One on a building at Porton, Nov. 21st(A.G.H.). 322. NIGHTINGALE. First heard Apr. 17th, Sandridge Vale (R.J.S.); Apr. 20th, Coate (G.L.W.), Farley (G.E.), West Ashton Woods (R.L.V.), Alderbury (H.J.C.). 325. ROBIN. Nest containing five eggs at Langley Burrell, Mar. 29th, an early date (M.W.P.). 327. GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. First noted Apr. 14th, Great Bradford Wood (R.J.S.); Apr. 20th, Britford (E.B.) anp Chisenbury Wood (B.G.); Apr. 26th, near Lockeridge (C.A.C.). Last seen Aug. roth, Coate (G.L.W.). 333. REED WARBLER. First noted Apr. 19th, Clarendon (G.E.); Apr. 29th, Coate (M.C.F.). Several on the Petersfinger G.P. June 9th (H.J.C.). Very few on the Avon below Amesbury and no nests found(J.K.S.). 334. MARSH WARBLER. On June st a bird was only glimpsed, which appeared like a Reed Warbler, and was heard singing in a hawthorn and bramble clump. The very varied song * contained notes of the Chaffinch, Sedge Warbler, Blackcap and long trills like a canary, and a twitter like a greenfinch but quicker and longer ’ (G.L.W.). 337. SEDGE WARBLER. First noted Mar. 20th, Ford, and Mar. 23rd, Clarendon (D.E.F., A.G.H.); April sth, West Harnham(E.B.) and Salisbury (H.J.C.). Last noted Sept. 15th, Coate (G.L.W.); Sept. 28th, Stratford-sub-Castle (E.B.). A bird ringed as full grown on 27.8.55 at Dungeness, Kent, 50°55’ N. 0° 59’ E. found dead 12.6.56 at Amesbury, 118 miles westward. 343. BLAcKcAP. A ‘ wintering’ female seen in a garden in Salisbury, Feb. 25th (Mr. W. E. Hayward per Salisbury Field Club). First seen in spring Mar. 27th, East Knoyle(B.M.S.); Mar. 28th, Homington (E.B.); Mar. 30th, Alderbury G.E.). Last seen in autumn Sept. 12th, Coate (G.L.W.); Sept. 29th, Downton (E.B.). A‘ wintering ’ male watched for five minutes in a garden in Trowbridge, Dec. 18th, feeding on the ground among cabbages (A.R.A.). 346. GARDEN WARBLER. First noted Apr. 6th, Iford, and Apr. 13th, Great Ridge Wood (R,J.S.); Apr. 22nd, Weavern (G.W.C.). Last noted Aug. 29th, Bishopsdown (P.R.); Sept. roth, Coate (G.L.W..). 347. WHITETHROAT. First noted Apr. 16th, Woodfalls (H.J.C.); Apr. 19th, near Swindon (G.L.W.) and Devizes (J.L.R.B.); Apr. 20th, Chisbury Wood (B.G.) and Seagry (D.G.B.). Last noted Sept. 8th, Rodbourne S.F. (G.L.W.); Sept. rath, Harnham Hill (E.B.). 348. LESSER WHITETHROAT. First noted Apr. 3rd, Lacock (G.W.C.); Apr. 20th, Devizes(J.L.R.B.); Apr. 22nd, Keevil (R.L.V.). Last noted July 26th, East Harnham (E.B.); Aug. 31st, Aldbourne (M.C.F.); Sept. 15th, Coate (G.L.W.). 352. DARTFORD WARBLER. A pair watched for several hours and nesting suspected in South Wiltshire, May 6th (H.WJ.C.). 354. WILLOW WARBLER. First noted Mar. rsth, Devizes (J.L.R.B.); Mar. 16th, Harnham (H.J.C.); Mar. 28th, Brit- ford (E.B.) and Inglesham (F.H.M.). Last noted Sept. roth, Devizes(J.L.R.B.); Sept. 22nd, Coate (G.L.W.); Oct. 8th, Sandridge (R.L.V.). 145 356. CHIFFCHAFF. First heard Mar. roth, East Knoyle (B.M.S.); Mar. 12th, Alderbury (H.J.C.) and Treacle Bolly (M.C.); Mar. 13th, Coate (M.C.F.). Last noted Sept. 23rd, Coate (M.C.F.). Oct. 7th, Bodenham (E.B.); Oct. roth, Devizes (J.L.R.B.). 357- WOOD WARBLER. First noted Apr. 14th, Stratton St. Margaret (E.B.2); May 2nd, Keevil (R.L.V.); May sth, Fosbury (B.G.). Later noted in Great Ridge and Stockton Woods (B.M.S.), and near Great Durnford (H.J.C.). Last seen near Coate, Aug. 1oth(G.L.W.). 266. SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. First seen Apr. 20th, Devizes (J.L.R.B.); May 12th, Salisbury (H.J.C.); May roth, Sem- ington (G.L.B.). Last seen Sept. 18th, Britford (E.B.); Sept. roth, Devizes (J.L.R.B.); Sept. 22nd, Cole Park (J.M.B.). A single bird stayed in a garden at Ramsbury, Oct. 19th-21st, some weeks after the local breeding birds had left (O.M.). 368. PIED FLYCATCHER A female seen in a small oak wood near Swindon, May toth, the characteristic wing-markings and tail clearly seen (G.L.W.). 371. HEDGESPARROW. A nest with a clutch of pure white eggs at Corsley was later robbed by boys (E.H.J.). 376. TREE pipPIT. First noted Apr. 20th, West Dean (G.E.); Apr. 21st, Great Ridge Wood (R.J.S.); Apr. 22nd, Weavern(G.W.C.). A marked decrease in Longleat district of late years due to increasing height of trees (M.B.). 380. preD wacrtall. A bird was sitting on eggs in a hollow stump, May 17th, A few days later the eggs were missing and a Grass Snake was curled up in their place (G.L.B.). 381. GREY wactTait. Near Keevil a hen was sitting, Mar. 31st, an early date (R.L.V.). A pair at Upper Woodford had five eggs on Apr. 9th (D.E.F., A.G.H.). 382. YELLOW WAGTAIL. First seen Apr. sth, Bemerton (H.J.C.), and West Harnham (E.B.); Apr. 6th, Rodbourne S.F. (G.L.W.); Apr. rsth, Stratton St. Margaret (E.B.2). Unusually abundant on the marshes of the Salisbury Avon (J-K.S.). Fourteen roosting in reeds at Coate, Aug. 29th (G.L.W.). Last seen Sept. 14th, Wroughton (G.L.W.); Sept. 25th, Lacock (G.L.B.); Sept. 20th, Salisbury S.F. (E.B.). 383. WAXWING. One near roadside at Amesbury eating berries, Nov. 17th (Mr. J. R. Hancock per P.R.). One spent many hours in a garden at Bishopsdown, Dec. 25th-26th(A.G.H.). 384. GREAT GREY SHRIKE. One at Hackpen, May 2nd (M.C.). On Dec. 6th one flew low over the Britford water meadows and perched on top of an oak where it was watched for several minutes at c.30 yards through field glasses (E.B.). 388. RED-BACKED SHRIKE. Notes on this species will be included in the results of an Enquiry in a future report. 389. sTARLING. The flight in to the west at High Post was at its most spectacular on Jan. 26th(G.E.). Summer flighting first noted on June 23rd. In autumn the roost had moved to a conifer plantation about two miles N. from that of the previous winter and numbers were much smaller (P.R.). The roost lately at Crooked Soley moved to Knighton early in the year. In October it was found near Lambourn, Berks, 12 miles N.E. of Marlborough but gradually decreased in numbers while the roost at Clench Common steadily increased (M.C.). A bird ringed as a nestling, May 3oth, 1954, at Pisz, Poland, 530 35’ N. 21031’ E. was killed by a cat, Dec. 6th, 1955, at Pewsey 510 20’ N. 1046’ W. 391. HAWFINCH. Four seen near Clarendon, Jan. 24th(J.K.S.). Ten seen flying towards Clarendon Lake and one near Alderbury, Mar. 9th (E.L.J.). One in the Close, Salisbury, Nov. 22nd (D.E.F.), and one in downland bushes near Ford , Dec. 26th (E.B.). 394. SISKIN. On Jan. Ist, 12-15 seen in fog at Cole Park(J.M.B.); c.six feeding on larch cones in Alderbury Wood and the males singing, Mar. 3rd (G.E., B.G.). One feeding with a large flock of tits on alders by the Avon at Bodenham, Mar. 8th (E.B.). 395. LINNET. Pairs returned to garden at Seagry, Mar. 18th(R.G.B.) and pairs at Rodbourne S.F., Mar. 23rd (G.L.W.). A colony of 10-12 pairs started to build in a garden at Amesbury in late March, an early date. Due to the destruction of nearly all low nests by mice, voles or birds, breeding continued until August (J.K.S.). Flocks of c.1000 at Walcot Aug. 4th (G.L.W.). and on Roundway Down, Oct. 12th (H.W.T., B.G.). 397. REDPOLL. Four at Petersfinger G. P., Oct. rath-19th (D.E.F., A.G.H.). Three near East Knoyle, Nov. 28th, and on Dec, 21st one bird larger in size which may have belonged to a northern race (B.M.S.). 404. CROSSBILL. A male bird seen near Clarendon Park, Feb. 16th (Mr. J.M. Dorling per Dr. K.B. Rooke). Six birds seen flying out of Holloway Wood, East Knoyle, Mar. 4th and 29th (B.M.S.). VOL. LVII-CCVI : 146 407. CHagFINCH. A bird ringed when full-grown, Oct. 6th, 1951 at Kemmel, West Flanders, 500 47’ N. 20 50’ E. was recovered, 22nd Feb., 1953 at Salisbury, 510 04’ N. 10 47° W. 408. BRAMBLING. Very small numbers reported in winter. Last seen Feb. 28th, Notton (G.L.B.); Mar. 3rd, Nether- hampton (G.E., B.G.); Mar. 23rd, Marlborough (M.C.). First seen in autumn Oct. 23rd, Lockeridge (C.A.C.); Oct. 29th, Stock Close (M.C.F.); c.50 in a flock of chaffinches at Petersfinger, Nov. 30th (D.E.F., A.G.H.). 409. YELLOWHAMMER. ‘Two birds were singing near Swindon Feb. 24th, using houses as song posts, one on guttering and the other just below the roof ridge. This behaviour was noted regularly during spring, once in July and once again in August (G.L.W.). 410. CORN BUNTING. Noted near Colerne in May and June (G.A.). This area was not included in the Corn Bunting Enquiry, 1955. 415. CIRL BUNTING. Seen and heard singing in spring: near Bishops Cannings and Devizes (B.G.); Idmiston (H.J.C.); Ford (E.B.); Bishopsdown and Stratford-sub-Castle (P.R.); and in the Devizes Road Cemetery, Salisbury (H.J.C.). Also in ten other areas south and south-east of Salisbury where frequently reported in other years (E.B., H.J.C.). A pair with four young seen in a hedgerow tree near Wootton Bassett, June 16th, a new area(G.L.W.). 425. TREE SPARROW. c.25 feeding amongst stubble at the foot of the downs near Horton, Jan. 12th (B.G.). Six at Rodbourne S. F., Mar. 3rd, and several at Walcot, Aug. 25th, both parties with a mixed flock of finches (L.G.W.). Several with finches at Cole Park, Dec. 23rd(J.M.B.). Checklist numbers of those species which, though not mentioned in these notes, were recorded in 1957:-9, 82, 84, 93, 115, 126, 127, 201, 208, 232, 234, 241, 246, 247, 280, 282, 283, 284, 292, 296, 299, 301, 303, 364, 373, 392, 393, 401, 421, 424. MAMMALOGICAL NOTE Daubenton’s Bat. On the 8th December, 1957 Mr. Blackmore of London whilst exploring Fonthill grottos found a female Daubenton’s Bat (Myotis daubentoni) Kuhl. This species although reasonably com- mon has never before been recorded from Wiltshire and the only south-western county now without a record is Somerset. Mr. Blackmore also recorded the following species at Fonthill, Natterer’s, Lesser Horseshoe, and Greater Horseshoe Bats. GEOFFREY WEBBER. 147 ENTOMOLOGICAL REPORT FOR 1957! By B. W. WEDDELL 1957 has been a thoroughly poor year in the realm of Lepidoptera and that is not merely a local exper- ience. Reports from all over the country bear the same stamp, with hardly a bright spot anywhere. January, February and March were unusually wet months followed by a very dry and often hot spell during April , May and June. Then July, August and September showed a rainfall much above average with lots of blustery winds. Many pupae must have been shrivelled in the ground by the drought, or else imprisoned and unable to emerge. Results show that generally even on favourable nights the number of moths attracted was only a fraction of what should be expected in a normal season, many regular species never showing up at all. Butterflies seem to have fared slightly better, some species being exceptionally early, though migrants were practically unknown. July began to promise with two Purple Emperors being seen on the sth by Mr. Pitman. On the 3rd Chalkhill Blues started flying, which was very early. They were abundant locally but the coveted var- ieties were hardly to be found. The other Blues were well below average. We must admit that the last two years have shown a deterioration in numbers of Lepidoptera and one is faced with the possibility of them taking some years to recover. But recover they will for Dame Nature has had lots of experience of such weather cycles as we have suffered. So let us be patient and keep on observing and recording. In time we shall see the pattern working out. CONTRIBUTORS M.C.F. Miss Muriel Foster. M.C, Marlborough College N.H.S. G.W.C. Mr. G. W. Collett, Chippenham. D.R. Mr. David Rees, Bradford-on-Avon. RC-F. Mr. Charles Floyd, Holt. BW. B. W. Weddell, Trowbridge. _G.H.W.C, Mr. G. H. W. Cruttwell, Frome. RA: y. : Capt. R. A. Jackson, c.B.E., R.N. (Retd.), F.R.E.S., Codford. MER... Mr. C. M.R. Pitman, Salisbury. | ese Miss Vere Temple, F.z.£.s., Tollard Royal. PHENOLOGICAL REPORT Average Date 1957 Difference Large White 22) 136 it Marbled White 27.6 27.6 = Meadow Brown 22.6 11.6 ak Cinnabar 17.5 14.5 ae Garden Carpet 6.5 10.5 = fl Brimstone Moth 20.5 3.6 aL Clouded Yellow Colias croceus M.C.F. 20.10., C.M.R.P. 14.10 Silver Washed Fritillary Argynnis paphia M.C. 18.6, exceptionally early date White Admiral Limonitis camille M.C.1.7 Purple Emperor Apatura iris C.M.R.P. 5.7 Brown Argus Aricia agestis C.M.R.P. 30.7 (unique var.) ‘Chalkhill Blue Lysandra coridon R.AJ. 17.7, very early date Dingy Skipper Erinnes tages C.M.R.P. 26.8 (2nd brood) Death’s Head Hawk Acherontia atropos V.T. 6.57 1 For 1956 Entomological Report, see p. 132. | 258 i} 148 Pine Hawk Hummingbird Hawk Sallow Kitten Lobster White Satin Four-dotted Footman Poplar Dagger Alder Dagger Coronet Dagger Autumnal Rustic Common Marbled Coronet Hedge Rustic Dusky Sallow Rustic Double-lobed Brown Crescent Downland Wainscot Southern Wainscot Common Shark Bordered Orange Marbled Clover Burnet Companion Netted Pug Map-winged Swift Hyloicus pinastri C.M.R.P. 15.9 (larva) Macroglossum stellatarum C.M.R.P. 4.4, M.C.F. 11.8 Cerura furcula D.R. 15.6 Stauropus fagi D.R. 7.6 Leucoma salicis M.C. 5.7 Cebosia mesomella M.C. 18.6 Apatele megacephala R.A,J. 28.8, unusual 2nd brood Apatele alni D.R. 7.6, numerous Craniophora ligustri M.C. 4.6. Amathes glareosa R.A,J. 16.9 Hadena conspersa M.C. 4.7 Tholera-cespitis RA_J..2.9 Eremobia ochroleuca G.H.W.C. 31.7 Apamea ophiogramma G.H.W.C 31.7 Celaena leucostigma G.H.W.C. 31.7 Oria musculosa M.C. 23.7 Leucania straminea R.A.J. 2.8 Cuculla umbratica R.A,J. 17.8, 20.8, rare 2nd brood Pyrrhia umbra D.R. 9.9. Heliothus dipsacea RGAG] 17-7 Ectypa glyphica R.A,J. 30.7, rare and brood Eupithecia venosata D.R. 15.6 Hepialus fusconebulosa R.A,J. 2.6 RECEIPTS Balance to 31st Dec., 1956 Members’ subscriptions —1 54 at 1 7/ 6 Reprints .. a it Donation .. Audited and found correct DONALD KENDALL, Audley House, Marlborough. and Jan., 1958 NATURAL HISTORY SECTION Annual Statement of Accounts 1957 tse ds 84 16 II Postages and Stationery :— A712, <6 Hon. Secretary TO 24) Fi Hon. Treasurer 2 6 Printing and Typing per member Hire of Rooms Press Reports Flora of Wiltshire Cheque Book Affiliation Fees :— British Trust for Ornithology South Western Naturalists Magazine Reprints Balance 31st Dec., 1957 fo833.-27 33 Hon. Treasurer: G. W. CoLtetT, 31st Dec., 1957. PAYMENT Wiltshire Archaeological Society, 1/- SI O270) © Ww The Records Branch. Founded in 1937 for the publication of original documents relating to the history of the county. The “subscription is £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. Price to members of the Branch £1, and to non-members 30s. ABSTRACTS OF FEET OF FINES RELATING TO WILTSHIRE FOR THE REIGNS OF Epwarp I AND Epwarp Il. Edited by R. B. Pugh. 1939. ACCOUNTS OF THE PARLIAMENTARY GARRISONS OF GREAT CHALFIELD AND MALMESBURY, 1645— 1646. Edited by J. H. P. Paftord. 1940. (Out of Print.) Two SIXTEENTH CENTURY TAXATION Lists, 1545 and 1576. Edited by G. D. Ramsay. 1945. CALENDAR OF ANTROBUS DeeDs BEFore 1625. Edited by R. B. Pugh. 1947. MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS IN SESSIONS, 1563, 15741592. Edited by H. C. Johnson. 1949. List or WirtsHirE BoroucH Recorps Earuier IN DATE THAN 1836. Edited by Maurice G. Rathbone. 1951. THe TrowsripGe Woo ten Inpustry as illustrated by the stock books of John and Thomas Clark, 1804-1824. Edited by R. B. Peckinsale, D. Phil. 1950. CALNE GuILp STEwarps Book, 1561—1688. Edited by A. W. Mabbs. 1953. ANDREWS’ AND Dury’s Map or WILtsHire, 1773. A reduced facsimile. Introduction by Elizabeth Crittall. 1952. SURVEYS OF THE Manors OF Puitip EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY, 1631—2. Edited by | Eric Kerridge, Ph. D. 1953. WILTSHIRE QUARTER SESSIONS AND Assizes, 1736. Edited by J. P. M. Fowle. 1955. CoLtectanea. Edited by N. J. Williams, with a foreword by T. F. T. Plucknett. ProGress NOTES OF WARDEN WOODWARD FOR THE WILTSHIRE ESTATES OF NEW COLLEGE, OXFORD. 1659—1675. Edited by R. L. Rickard. 1957. | 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 subscription from those who are already members of the Society. Observations should be sent to the recorders: Birps. Mrs. Egbert Barnes, Hungerdown, Seagry, Chippenham, Wilts. Flowers. Mr. J. D. Grose, Downs Edge, Liddington, near Swindon. Leprpoptera. Mr. B. W. Weddell, 11, The Halve, Trowbridge. MamMats, Reptites AND AmpuipiA. Mr. G. L. Webber, 200, Queen’s Drive, Swindon. Back numbers of the Report of the Section can be obtained from Mrs. Egbert Barnes. Prices on appli- cation. Copies of the Flora of Wiltshire, by Donald Grose, published by the Natural History Section, can be obtained from the Librarian at the Society’s Museum, Devizes. 1957. pp. iv, 824. 42s. Printed by C. H. Woodward, Exchange Buildings, Devizes, Wilts. THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE Number CCVII November 1959 Volume 57 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. The Society was founded in 1853. Its activities include the promotion of archaeological work within the County and of the study of all branches of Natural History; the issue of a Magazine and other publica- tions; excursions to places of archaeological and historical interest; collaboration with a Records Branch; and the maintenance of a Museum and Library. The subscription rates for membership of the Society are at present as follows:—Annual Subscrip- tion £1 12s. 6d. Life membership £20. Enquiries about membership should be made to the Hon. Secretary, c/o The Museum, Devizes OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY Patron: The Lady Colum Crichton-Stuart Trustees: E. C. Barnes, Esq. Sir Patrick Devlin Sir Michael Peto, Bt. Bonar Sykes, Esq. Vice-President: R. B. Pugh, Esq. Committee: E. C. Barnes, Esq., J.P. President A. M. Hankin, Esq., C.M.G., M.A. Honorary Secretary R. E. Sandell, Esq., M.A., F.L.S. Honorary Librarian F. W. C. Merritt, Esq. Honorary Treasurer E. E. Sabben-Clare, Esq., M.A. Honorary Editor ee ee Honorary Assistant Editors Harry Ross, Esq., B.A. Honorary Meetings Secretary Maurice G. Rathbone, Esq., A.L.A. ex-officio, as County Archivist Brig. K. M. F. Hedges, C.B.E., D.S.0., M.A. : Lady Katherine McNeile representing the Wilts C.C. H. C. Bowen, M.A., F.S.A. Oswald Brakspear, Esq., A.R.1.B.A. A. J. Clark, Esq. 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Margary Vol. 1: South of the Foss Way. 45s. net Vol. 2: North of the Foss Way. 50s. net ‘Should be on the shelves not merely of the specialist but also of all who have an interest in the shaping of England and an urge to refresh their history with the open air’— Sir Mortimer Wheeler. Nature. Illustrated. - Quarto Phoenix House Ltd. At Aldine House, 10-13 Bedford Street, London, W.C.2. The Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine No. CCVII 1958—1959 Vol. LVI EXCAVATIONS AT WINDMILL HILL, AVEBURY, WILTS, 1957-8: By Isobel Smith ............ 149—162 THE INVESTIGATION IN 1957 OF STRIP LYNCHETS NORTH OF THE VALE OF Pewsey: By Peter NVOCCMnCenaetie: WANtUINOTOM Sat sesGl tas ioutto cating en lated bavenks peewee ules 163—172 A ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDING AT HIGHPOST, MIDDLE WoopForD: By J. W. G. Musty ...... 173—175 AN ATTEMPT TO LOCATE A BURIAL CHAMBER IN SILBURY HILL: By F.R. McKim .......... 176—178 A Pire-LINE NEAR OLD SARUM: PREHISTORIC, ROMAN AND MEDIEVAL FINDS INCLUDING TWO TWELFTH CENTURY LIME KILNS: By J. W. G. Musty ...... 0... ccc eee eee 179—191 ERMIN STREET AT CRICKLADE: By F. T. Wainwright. .......... 0.0.00 cece cece eee eens 192—200 THE EARLY BOUNDS OF WANBOROUGH AND LITTLE HINTON AN EXERCISE IN TOPOGRAPHY: By T..R. Thomson, Introduction by W.:G. Hoskins ............. 0. cece cece cee eeees 201—211 THE PRE-CONQUEST CHURCH OF ST. PETER, AT BRITFORD: By G.E. Chambers ............ 212—216 THREE EARLY EPISCOPAL TOMBS IN SALISBURY CATHEDRAL: By Hugh Shortt .............. 217—219 A COLLECTION OF MEDIEVAL TILES AT CORSHAM Court: By Elizabeth S. Eames .......... 220—222 THE BOROUGH OF HEYTESBURY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: By John Cannon............ 223—224 AN EARLY 18TH CENTURY VISITOR TO AVEBURY: By O. Meyrick ...............-.0-.000- 225—226 EXCAVATION AND FIELD-WORK IN WILTSHIRE: 1958: By F. K. Annable .................. 227—239 Notes.—Roman Beekeeping in Britain. Hercules Slays The Hydra at Euridge. Notes on The Place Names of Wiltshire, E.P.N.S. Hall’s Close, Ashton Keynes. A Contemporary Poem on The Removal of Salisbury Cathedral from Old Sarum. Probate Jurisdictions. Sir Thomas Phillips, A Wiltshire Letter. Miscellaneous Notes: Stonehenge. Burials at Highworth. Liddington. Wiltshire Place Names on Early Maps. Old Photographs. RAV VilleshimevbOLehathershee iy rire cote cite os que oh tm aacigie «oes vie weiss sic sue Weetee see ewes 240—247 REVIEWS arate orci ots vt Charen eile sonar aie Guetnge, sch Golo sess b apse ads go ale w Ue M oho Ole oye 247—255 ODI Tans AUR Sine een ee ee yes te cechi ince. sde) Soe trac Re oa) ae Sovesibum salen wie woalacene avael ee coe 255—257 ED IMORUAIGINOTESHAS co aci.rstaa sclet usc aed sed ve ech deuusavcua cba eeu suas evewstuesc 258 INNNUAE GENERAL MEETING, 1958: 1.20.0... ce ec crc ce ce cee eee este eee ee wens 258 SUNMERGE SGURSIONS, 1957 ooh sys arene seis arc oe oo bs doe dleguius sd eta va viasinevteedisee oaedie 259—260 SUMMERSEINOURSIONSS1Q5S2 yor sccstc sere m ier wos ales eo ale @la uielats os sie aleadwe oe ale alee 260—261 HNCGESSIONS TO THE LIBRARY, 1958: oo ccc ce cc ce ce ee eee tere ceenescesesees 261—262 SEI OI SSONPZAPERS meena ichutal Galo sic acts have Aeula Meade a aarea al vend o Meu Wiae ee oO 263—264 ACCESSIONS TO THE COUNTY RECORD OFFICE. 1958: 0... 0. ccc tte te ete ne aes 264 MURIGRORGS IREPORT FOR 19583 . oi hie da cee csc e ce cscaencFaweveveeseueraevesendes 264—269 ANNUAL STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR 1958: 0.0... cc cc ccc cee tet n ent e tenn ees 270—272 NATURAL HIsTorY SECTION: FIELD MEETINGS AND LECTURES, 1958: Report by the Hon Meetings Secretary., Beatrice CIB SS ag Tera Ry aes kath a kt RnR ae an 273 IGN SECRETARY S REPORT FOR I95S 3 ..c555 00000 sds se vee eatssesedscbeeseveasceutas 274 MPEAWEATHER OF 1958: By Ro As U. Jennings... 65.50. cise cece te eee e eee ne een os Zia WILTSHIRE BIRD NOTES FOR 1958: Recorders Ruth G. Barnes, M.B.0.U., Geoffrey L. Boyle ental IRE TE AWei aay ch ec i on a a rene 276—284 REPORT OF A SURVEY OF THE FLORA OF SILBURY HILL, JULY 17, 1957: By R. E. Sandell .. 285—287 WILTSHIRE PLANT Notes (19) (Second Supplement to the Flora of Wiltshire) compiled by [DOV MEG GROSS As oni oe an ea GA er Pe 288—292 ENTOMOLOGICAL REPORT FOR 1958: By B. W. Weddell .......... 0.00. c cece eee eee 293—294 List OF MEMBERS OF THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HIStory Society 1959 295—305 ILLUSTRATIONS Excavations at Windmill Hill, Avebury, Wilts, 1957-8 Big.i: Plan of the camp: os siccc , he 5 yee eet fe Rivate oss vie cea cree care eo ee ee Fis; 2. Inner Ditch €VIESouth Pace. 223.5 oe ee ee aed ngs 0 eee Pees Fig. 3 Outer Bank and Ditch [V-West Face... 2.5. e a tetles or oe de oe ae Ga eee Fis.4. ‘Outer Bank and Diteh V SouthBace 2.05 yas 2 ates ac cee uti ee nue Benen Fig. 5 Finds from the buried surface beneath the Outer Bank ................2000000) Fig. 6 Finds from the Late Neolithic level in Outer Ditch V...................... The Investigation in 1957 of Strip Lynchets North of the Vale of Pewsey Fig, b Strip lynchet systems .20F oS sias.3 c date sce Paes Gd Sane ede Time sean aie Be His..2 “Plan.and Profiles:‘of-Hotton strip Tynchets-r. oe. on, ..ia2-070 03 ogee ete 2 Ot a Pe Hic. 3: The Horton strip lynchets;looking NEw. 3 ce pt nie oe ” IV Ci», Mf! % ne I} ty I ' i tt i) 7] tt i" i" - Excavated ditches black, | those confirmed by probing | vt in outline. | + Neolithic pit Fig. 1. Plan of the camp. The Roman numerals indicate the positions of the cuttings made during the 1957-8 excavations. on the new information derived from the bank sections and the undisturbed stratigraphy of Outer Ditch V. The cutting at Outer Bank VI, made in the hope of finding traces of wooden structures con- nected with the camp, revealed instead a series of features belonging to the pre-camp occupation and further excavation will be required before these can be fully interpreted’; reference will, however, be 151 4! x cs ° ° 1d SITE OF BANK] ==. iy NIDDIZE “DITCH xi) SECTIONS #1257 WINDMILL HILL NORTH FACE <——— _ SITE OF BANK oe -o- Om -g INNER DITCH XVII SOUTH: FACE a @® WINDMILL HILL WARE Fig. 2. uJ ad s = Bis iS a e) ea) 2 GJ) te Se a] & ROMANO-BRITISH WARE 152 made to finds from the buried surface which were not directly associated with these features. Detailed reports on the flint industry, animal bone, soil and pollen analyses, etc., will be published in the final report, when it is hoped also to present the results of radio carbon dating. Inner Ditch XVIT and Middle Ditch XII (fig. 2). These two cuttings may conveniently be described together. The Inner Ditch (width at top 10ft., at bottom 3ft., depth 54ft.) is here unusually deep—twice as deep as some of its other segments. The dimensions of the Middle Ditch (about IIft. wide at top, 44ft. at bottom, or nearly 8ft. at the level of the step on its inner side, and 54ft. deep) are normal for this ditch. In both cuttings the layer immediately below the present turf-line was found to be a plough-soil con- sisting of weathered chalk fragments of fairly uniform size lying in a dark brown soil with a high humus content.§ Sherds of Romano-British, Late Neolithic? and Windmill Hill wares, flint implements and animal bones were distributed throughout this layer. The Windmill Hill sherds had been displaced by the ploughing from their original positions outside the ditches; some of them must formerly have lain beneath the banks. The ploughing had completely disturbed the upper ditch fillings to a depth of about 18in., mixing together the Romano-British and Late Neolithic layers. It is clear that both these ditches were full to their upper edges by Late Neolithic times, and that the turf-line which then formed must have been at the level now occupied by the plough-soil. In the trough of each ditch below the plough-soil was a layer of soft grey silt, about 12in. in maximum thickness and containing evenly distributed and rounded fragments of chalk. The upper surfaces of these layers were very irregular as a result of the activities of burrowing animals as well as of the plough- ing. The weathered condition of the chalk fragments and the comparatively high humus content show that these deposits represent a slow silting with incipient soil formation. In the Middle Ditch only one sherd of Windmill Hill ware occurred in this layer, but in the Inner Ditch such sherds were present up to the top. In both ditches, however, the quantity of animal bones and flints distributed throughout the slow silting indicated continued use of the camp. These upper layers were separated from the chalk rubble by runs of compact rain-washed silt of vary- ing degrees of cleanness. The rubble filling in both ditches occupied about one-half of the total depth; it consisted of large angular pieces of chalk, with many air-spaces, interspersed with streaks of fine loose dark material, evidently representing turf or topsoil undermined by erosion of the former upper edges of the ditches. The nature of this filling was such as to suggest that its formation had been rapid, occupying a decade or less. Although erosion from the ditch edges was responsible for much of the rubble, it is clear that a large quantity had come down from the banks. The distribution of the largest blocks of chalk, directly on the clean bottoms and mainly towards the inner sides, suggests that these banks, which must have consisted almost entirely of quarried chalk, had begun to collapse soon after construction. As is usual in this camp, the filling of the Inner Ditch yielded refuse of all kinds in considerably greater quantities than did the Middle Ditch. Each ditch contained pottery, flint waste, charcoal, broken animal bones and fragments of rubbers, pounders and querns made of sarsen, as well as a few small sarsen boulders. Other finds included (a) fragments of a human skull and the butt-end of a pol- ished flint axe of pointed oval cross-section from the primary rubble; (b) from a higher level, several slabs of Lower Chalk. One of these slabs had been artificially shaped and incised with a series of parallel lines arranged in groups to form a rhomboidal design. Fragments of about 20 individual pots were recovered from the undisturbed layers of the Middle Ditch and of about 30 from the Inner Ditch. The great majority of sherds are similar to those found beneath the Outer Bank and described below (p.158). The Inner Ditch, however, also yielded two 153 WV SECTIONS 195 // OUTER BANK AND DITCH WINDMILL - HILL WEST, FACE 8 | A I NNTLU}OQSRSURRHUUITOETHAUUETHTATTOATTTT Cc D ! T | | lo] ole eb akan 210 "3 SO De lo JOfoo Jo] 4olo ° iolegdel. delet 000 0 00 QOS: Is A 7 08 O oof? °C i? WINDMILL HILL WARE LATE NEOLITHIC WARE ROMANO-BRITISH WARE 4 Fig. 3. 154 T-shaped rims of shell-gritted ware and two ornamented rims. One of the latter came from a small cup with transverse notches on the rim. The other belongs to a slightly carinated bowl with vertical strokes from rim to shoulder and oblique strokes on the everted and thickened inner side of the rim; a larger fragment of this bowl, found during the previous excavations in the segment of Inner Ditch immediately to the north, is now on loan to the Society’s Museum in Devizes. Outer Bank and Ditch IV (fig. 3). As the section shows, the vestiges of this part of the bank appear as a barely perceptible irregularity in the contour of the hill-side. Excavation revealed a spread of large blocks of chalk extending over an area 8ft. in width, and resting directly on the solid chalk. The thickness of this deposit was no greater than that of the normal weathered chalk zone on either side, and the apparent height of the bank is due to a slight rise in the level of the solid chalk where it has been protected from erosion.!9 In the 10ft. wide area excavated no sockets were found which might have held the posts of a revetment or palisade; the only disturbances of the solid chalk were two shallow irregular scoops which had been made by rabbits burrowing in the bank. A thick scatter of occupation refuse lay between the remains of the bank and the undisturbed chalk. In addition to much flint waste, animal bone, and some charcoal, there occurred two broken leaf-arrow- heads and sherds belonging to about a dozen pots. The finds are described on p.158. The ditch was 64ft. deep, 15ft. wide at the top, and had a series of steps down the sides, ending in a narrow channel at the bottom. Here, too, ploughing and burrowing animals had disturbed the upper part of the filling to a depth of up to 2ft. from the surface. A few Windmill Hill sherds were mixed with the Late Neolithic and Romano-British wares in the plough-soil. However, as may be seen in fig. 3, three Late Neolithic sherds were still in situ in the soft dark grey upper silt, which in this case was almost entirely free of chalk fragments. One sherd is of Rinyo-Clacton Ware, the others have belonged to Beakers. Two sherds of Windmill Hill Ware occurred in the lowest part of the layer. The silting sequence in this ditch was essentially similar to that in the other sections examined, but considerably more chalky rainwash was present throughout, even among the primary rubble. The difference is probably due to the position of the ditch on the northern slope of the hill. Sherds of 11 individual pots came from the lower levels; these and the rest of the small finds are com- parable with those from under the bank and from the corresponding levels in the Inner and Middle Ditches. Asis usual in the Outer Ditch, the quantity of sherds and other refuse was less than in the Inner and Middle Ditches. Outer Bank and Ditch V (fig. 4). This part of the bank now rises to a maximum height of 34ft. above the old surface and is about 36ft. wide. It is separated from the inner edge of the ditch by a steeply sloping berm now about 7ft. wide. The width of the ditch is 25ft., but, as both plan (fig. 1) and section show, the apparent width is much greater. This is due to the fact that topsoil and weathered chalk had been scraped up over an area ex- tending some 18ft. beyond the outer side of the ditch in order to gain additional material for the bank! 1. The steep slope of the berm indicates that here too the surface had been stripped over an area more than 10ft. wide, part of which is now covered by forward spill from the bank. The presence of large quantities of soil and weathered chalk in the bank make-up, and the absence of streaks of collapsed topsoil in the ditch filling show that the general lowering of the surface on either side of the ditch was not solely the result of the agricultural practices for which evidence is adduced below, although it is highly probable that the turf had already been removed from these areas at an earlier date. The bank was of dump type, with alternating tips of quarried chalk from the ditch, scraped up topsoil and weathered chalk, and occasional runs of clean puddled chalk. Its present state of preservation can & ROMANO-BRITISH WARE ® LATE NEOLITHIC WARE ¥ EBBSFLEET WARE @ WINDMILL HILL WARE 02! SG) 9 c | Fig. 4 SECTIONS 1957-8 D oot WINDMILL HILL OUTER BANK AND DITCH V ; | | i) 4 ; | if | 155 be attributed to the use of so much relatively fine and cohesive material, particularly on its outer side. This prevented the rapid disintegration which seems to have affected banks composed mainly of quarried chalk. Lying parallel with each other and with the long axis of the bank, and 9ft. apart, were two low heaps of soft dark material, 4 to 5ft. in width. Each was made up of layers of topsoil, and they had probably served as guides to the planned course and width of the bank. (It may be noted that these marking-out lines did not extend along the whole length of this bank, for they were absent in the section examined at the northern end, cutting VI.) A few sherds were found in these heaps, as well as in the tips of soil in the bank. No signs of palisade or revetment posts were found in, under or near the bank. Beneath the bank a buried soil survived wherever the thickness of protecting material exceeded 15in. Potsherds, animal bones, flints and charcoal lay scattered on its surface. The upper part of the soil was dark grey in colour and contained much fine charcoal and organic matter; it merged gradually into the paler weathered chalk beneath. The surface of the solid chalk was very uneven, with a soft, smeared appearance. As was to be expected, its level began to rise under the first few feet of the inner side of the bank, but beyond this a marked lowering of the level coincided with the area covered by the buried soil. The explanation is probably to be found in a combination of circumstances involving the original con- tour of the hillside and the activities of both human beings and animals on the site prior to the construc- tion of the bank. Five holes were found in the chalk underlying the inner half of the bank. Of the two shown on the section, one was a solution hole with smooth sides, and had possibly been produced by the roots of a bush or small tree. The buried soil continued uninterrupted over its top. The other, a large hole with jagged undercut sides, seems best interpreted as an ancient badger hole. Groups of frog or toad bones lay among the chalk rubble against the sides, suggesting that the animals had crept into the hole and died there. It would appear that at an early stage in the building of the bank the chalk roof and overlying soil (containing a small fragment of pottery, an animal vertebra and charcoal) had collapsed into the hole. The cavity was then hand-filled with rubble up to the edges of the solid chalk and the level raised to that of the surrounding soil by the addition of layers of clean and earthy puddled chalk. Two of the remaining holes had also been dug by badgers, but the third was a small funnel-shaped pit, 13in. in diameter at the top, 8in. at the bottom, and 7in. deep. This hole may once have held a post, the forcible removal of which could have broken away the upper edges. However, it contained no obvious packing material, and had been filled with broken animal bones (some partially burnt), flints (including two serrated flakes), and a well-used sarsen pounder which had also done service as a rubber. Whatever the original purpose of the hole, these objects had been placed in it before the bank was built. The buried soil has been examined by Dr. G. W. Dimbleby of the Imperial Forestry Institute, and the following information is based on his preliminary report. The presence of fragments of weathered chalk | throughout, and the shallowness of the profile indicate that this is a truncated soil from which the stone- free turf and humus zone have been removed. This may have been done to facilitate cultivation, since with primitive agricultural equipme..« 1t would have been difficult to obtain a tilth in the top layer of vegetation and matted roots, and competition from weeds would have been serious. The presence of | many small flecks of charcoal may indicate that burning preceded the stripping, which left only about 6in. of rubbly soil for cultivation. The hypothesis that this soil had been cultivated is supported by the finding of smali numbers of i _ cereal pollen grains in one of the samples taken. Cereal pollen does not appear to be widely distributed by wind, and as three grains were found adhering together it would seem that the cereal had grown in the | immediate vicinity and that the pollen had been deposited at the level at which it was found. Among other pollens present, those of grasses and weeds of cultivation were predominant and the 156 percentage of tree species represented (excluding hazel) amounted to only 2.2 per cent. of the total, indicating the absence of high forest. The soil had of course been thoroughly mixed by earthworms so that, apart from the obvious fact that all the pollen present must antedate the bank, it is impossible to establish accurately the relative date of construction in terms of the climatic sequence. The presence of chalk fragments in the top of the buried soil shows that no considerable interval had elapsed between the cultivation of the site and the erection of the bank. Abandonment for even a few years would have aliowed time for the formation of a perceptible stone-free zone. The buried soil from cutting VI was similar to that just described. Details of finds from cuttings V and VI will be found on p.158. The relatively wide and shallow Outer Ditch V (25ft. wide at top, 11ft. at bottom, and slightly under 643ft. deep) produced a section which differed in several respects from those of the other ditches exam- ined. These differences resulted from the undisturbed condition of the upper levels, from the propor- tions of the ditch, and from the fact that little, if any, of the primary coarse rubble had been derived from the bank. After the initial erosion of coarse rubbie from the ditch edges, silting from the outer side was almost entirely in the form of rainwash, with only two thin layers of rubble. On the inner side, however, most of the fill above the primary rubble consisted of weathered chalk fragments, with one run of larger and more angular pieces. This rubbly filiing persisted to a high level, indicating that it had taken a long time for a stable turf structure to form on berm and bank. Most of the pottery from the lower levels was concentrated on the bottom of the ditch and in the primary rubble. Both flint- and shell-gritted wares were present, all in the form of wall-sherds, and vary- ing greatly in finish and hardness. The most important finds were fragments of a pot of Ebbsfleet type (fig. 5:15) in the layer of rainwash which overlay the primary rubble on the outer side of the ditch (see fig. 4 for positions). The few sherds lying between the layer containing this pot and the Late Neolithic layer were all plain wall fragments, but there is no reason to suppose that they belong to other than normal Windmill Hill pots. Considerable quantities of other refuse did, however, occur in these middle layers. The contracted skeleton of an infant 7 to 7} months old12 lay 2ft. 10in. above the bottom of the ditch on the surface of the uppermost run of rubble from the outer side. There was no sign that a grave had been dug in the filling, and it appears that the body had simply been placed in the open ditch and perhaps lightly covered with earth. The bones had been partially disturbed; a few fragments were found near the skeleton, but some of the leg bones were missing. Part of the frontal bone of a more mature individual was found in the primary rubble. At the top of the ditch, below the turf and humus, was a layer of weathered chalk pebbles which re- sembled in appearance the plough-soil in the equivalent position in the other ditch sections. It is clear however, that no modern ploughing has taken place here13 and, unlike the plough-soils elsewhere, this layer yielded exclusively Romano-British material, with the exception of one Beaker sherd, and a few flints. Beneath this layer was a thick ancient turf-line which had developed on the surface of the slow silting. When dry it resembled in colour and texture the modern topsoil. It contained only occasional pieces of chalk, but much charcoal, numerous bones of domesticated animals, pieces of burnt sarsen, and Late Neolithic sherds and artifacts. Unfortunately, no reliable interna! stratigraphy could be established for the layer, since it was evident that displacement of objects had been caused not only in a downward direction by earthworms, but probably both downward and upward by moles, which had worked freely in the fine loose material. The finds are described on p. 160. 157, Fig. 5. Finds from the buried surface beneath the Outer Bank in cuttings IV (1-6), VI (7-9), and V (10-14) and sherds of Ebbsfieet ware from Outer Ditch V (15). (1, 4: the remainder 4.) VOL. LVII-CCVII U 158 Finds from the Buried Surfaces beneath the Banks. (See fig. 5—the numbers in brackets refer to illustra- tions in that figure.) The flints and pottery to be described below are all of types which occur in the lower levels of the ditches. Special attention is drawn to the presence of shell-gritted wares, since these were formerly thought to have appeared on the site slightly later than flint-gritted wares. 14 Outer Bank IV. Fragments of 12 pots were found under this bank, but only one can be reconstructed (1). It is represented by 240z. of hard reddish ware, sparingly tempered with flint particles varying from 4mm. to lem. in size, together with a few fragments of chalk and a high proportion of sand. The sur- faces are uneven, but sufficiently well smoothed to conceal the grits. A large thick-walled vessel with simple upright rim (2) and round base 1.4cm. thick is represented by 440z. of sherds, but hardly any that join. The ware is dark red, with abundant fine flint grits, few exceeding 3mm. in size, and a small pro- portion of sand. A thinner-walled pot of the same type is represented by a few sherds, one of them bear- ing the edge of a lug. Traces of a lug also occur on one of the sherds belonging to a pot with a hook- shaped rim (3); this is of hard black well-smoothed ware, sparingly gritted with flint and sand. A similar rim of red ware (4) contains very little flint but much sand. Among the stone-gritted wares are two more simple rims. Two shell-gritted pots are represented by very small fragments. One was a vessel with a hooked or rolled rim and slight rounded shoulder; the fragments of shell are up to 1.1cm. in size. The other was a bowl of black ware with a simple rim, and contained sand as well as shell. One of the broken leaf-arrowheads (5) came either from the buried surface or from the lowest part of the bank material; the other (6) lay on the solid chalk beneath the bank. Outer Bank VI. Fragments of 7 pots came from the buried soil under this part of the bank. The everted rim (7) is of black ware with abundant fine flint grits. The externally enlarged rim (8) is also black, con- taining much sand and a little flint. This type of rim is most commonly found among the Ebbsfleet series, often with incised or cord-impressed decoration. But, as in this instance, it sometimes occurs without ornament, in association with normal Windmill Hill forms!5, and at Ebbsfleet itself was found together with ornamented rims.16 However, the sherd in question is very small and it would be unwise to attach too much significance to it. The scraper (9) appears to have been made on a flake detached by thermal action, and has been trimmed round the whole circumference. Outer Bank V. Fragments of 15 pots occurred on the buried surface and in the bank material. The straight rim sherd (10) is of fine-textured, well-finished ware, sparsely gritted with particles of flint averaging 3mm. in size. The colour is reddish brown throughout; the surfaces have been lightly bur- nished, but a series of fine parallel scratches made during the preliminary smoothing are still visible. The two pits have been drilled after firing and probably represent an unfinished attempt to repair a crack. The small bowl] or cup with slightly inturned rim (11) is black externally, red internally; the ware is good, sparsely gritted with very fine flint. The rolled rim (12) is of roughly finished, hard, brownish-black ware, containing flint grits up to 4mm. in size as well as sand. Theeverted rim (13) is of fine-textured red ware, sparsely tempered with particles of shell up to 2mm. in size. The remaining pots are repre- sented by wall-sherds; of these three more are shell-gritted, one appears to contain crushed quartz, and the rest flint and occasionally sand as well. Among the flints was a small spurred core-scraper or plane (14), a fairly common type on the site; there was also a scraper trimmed round the whole circumference. As in the ditches, most of the flint appears to be similar to that obtainable from the Upper Chalk within a mile or less of the site, but there are also a few flakes of a different flint, evidently brought from elsewhere. Ebbsfleet Ware from Outer Ditch V (fig. 5:15). The form of this pot (15) is well paralleled among the vessels from Ebbsfleet.17 While of course the we aw we 6 15 Finds from’the Late Neolithic level in Outer Ditch V (4). a 6. Fig 160 whipped cord ornament is characteristic of Peterborough ware in general, this particular type, produced by lengths of loosely whipped cord rather than short oval ‘ maggots ’, seems more typical of the Ebbs- fleet variety. The impressions have been made quite regularly on and inside the rim, but form no recognizable pattern on the lower neck and shoulder. The surfaces are a warm brown in colour and fairly well finished; the flint grits are up to 4mm. in size. The core is black and rather flaky, but the quality comes well within the range of variation found in Windmill Hill ware. Finds from the Late Neolithic Layer in Outer Ditch V. (See fig. 6—the numbers in brackets below refer to illustrations in this figure.) The great majority (83°) of sherds from this layer are of Peterborough type, representing some 15 vessels. Although few of the rim profiles are complete, it is evident that all had belonged to the elon- gated overhanging type which the writer has elsewhere named Fengate Ware.18 These pots, which also have flat bases, often splayed and of very small diameter, are the prototypes of the later Cinerary Urns. A further distinctive characteristic, seen only in well-preserved specimens, is a tenuous pinkish or reddish skin (probably not a true slip) which covers the normally dark fabric. Most of the sherds described below possess this feature. Only one of the pots (1) can be reconstructed; there are twisted cord impressions on and beneath the rim, and the neck is encircled by two low ridges!9 above a slight shoulder. Both ridges and wall retain numerous shallow depressions made by the potter’s fingers. The base has been broader and thinner than is usual with pots of this type. The ware is fairly good, tempered with sand only. A similar, but larger and heavier, pot is represented only by fragments from the ridged neck, the wall and the base; this had been tempered with crushed potsherds and sand. The tops of two rim-sherds and a fragment either from the lower part of the rim or the wall (2) bear whipped cord maggots, and are tempered with sand only. Part of the rim of another pot was similarly decorated, but with end-to-end fingernail impressions on the inner edge.29 Fingernail impressions in the same arrangement form the uppermost horizontal line on the rim with part of a hurdle pattern in twisted cord (3). Shallow irregular impressions, probably made with the end of a bird’s leg-bone, decorate a thick rim (4)21. A shorter rim (5) belonged to a small vessel, probably with a series of deep narrow pits in the overhang, and with lines of end-to-end finger- nail impressions above.22 The unusual sherd with whipped cord maggots across the ridges (6) seems to come from the junction of wall and base. In form, ornament and ware (yellow, soft and almost grit- free) this piece so closely resembles sherds found elsewhere in the upper levels of the Outer Ditch during the earlier excavations that both are likely to have been made by the same potter. The last-mentioned sherds have been reconstructed to form a dish 12in. in diameter and 3in. deep, with a flat internally projecting rim. A fragment from a splayed base (7) illustrates a characteristic feature of Fengate Ware —the relative thinness of the base in relation to the wall. Other fragments include a few with plaited cord impressions and some from a heavy flat based pot with a zone of whipped cord maggots ending somewhere below the shoulder. Rinyo-Clacton ware is represented by a fragment from junction of wall and base of a vessel of typical flower-pot shape (8); the lower of the two applied cordons is partially overlapped by a semicircular fillet.23 Two wall sherds with rusticated surfaces belong to this or to a similar pot. All are of red ware, sparsely tempered with potsherds. : Seven or eight beakers are represented by 15 very small fragments. Most seem to have belonged to Bell Beakers in varying stages of devolution and only one is attributable to a Necked Beaker. An object of particular interest is part of a rectangular block of potters’ clay, accidentally fired. Itnow weighs 100z., and at the one intact corner is 50mm. thick. The edges show that the missing parts had been pulled away while the clay was still plastic. 161 ‘Some of the other artifacts from this layer (11,12, 17, 18, and others not illustrated) are of types which first appeared in the earlier Windmill Hill culture. But it seems unlikely that all can be intrusive, espec- ially in view of the absence of earlier types of pottery. The flints include two small scrapers (9, 10) trimmed by the removal of long narrow parallel flakes, a technique frequently employed on arrowheads of the ‘ petit tranchet derivative’ class. The two leaf-shaped points (11, 12) are of the type usually re- ferred to as javelin-heads; although a few specimens come from the lower ditch levels, the great majority from this site have been found near the tops of the ditches. Like those illustrated, the javelin-heads from the upper levels are on the whole heavier and more crudely trimmed than the earlier ones. The four pointed implements (13-16) were presumably used as awls or borers. The knife (17) has the convex edge bevelled and the distal end worked to a point. It should be noted that the bone pin (18) does not belong to the class of skewer pin described by Atkinson24; it is only 105mm. long, about half the length of a typical skewer pin, and it lacks the characteristic circular section towards the head. Other finds include three ordinary scrapers, a burnt fragment of a unifacially trimmed discoidal knife, the cutting- edge of a polished flint axe, and a barbed-and-tanged arrowhead. CONCLUSIONS. No significant differences can be detected between the pottery and other artifacts dating from the pre- camp occupation of the hill and those contemporary with the primary use of the camp. During both phases shell-gritted wares were already current, though in smaller numbers than the classical types of Windmill Hill ware (baggy stone-gritted pots with simple or rolled rims). In view of the small areas investigated, no significance should be attached to the absence of ornamented or heavy rims of Abingdon type 25 from the surfaces beneath the banks. Typical Abingdon ware was in fact found under the Outer Bank during the 1925-9 excavations, and earlier still by Kendall on the bottom of the Outer Ditch, in this case with twisted cord impressions on the rim. It thus appears that this causewayed camp belongs to a late rather than an early stage of the culture to which it has given its name. It has also become clear that no attempts were made to keep the banks in repair or the ditches open; yet visits to the camp continued until the ditches were full of silt. Further, so far as can be judged from the general nature of the refuse they left behind, the Late Neolithic visitors were there for the same pur- poses as their predecessors, and at a time long after the banks and ditches could have served any prac- tical purpose. This implies an unbroken continuity of tradition which receives much support from the recent excavations at the West Kennet Long Barrow.2° There it was found that the periods of con- struction and primary use of both tomb and camp could be correlated; now it is possible to correlate the ritual blocking of the tomb with the Late Neolithic layer in Outer Ditch V. It shouid be noted that the relative proportions of Peterborough, Rinyo-Clacton and Beaker wares were the same in both cases. 27 Again, evidence for bone-robbing in the long barrow suggests an alternative hypothesis to account for the fragments of human bones found scattered from bottom to top in the camp ditches. These frag- mentary bones have hitherto been thought to imply cannibalism of some sort. But none of them bears cut marks and nearly all are parts of skulls and Jong-bones, precisely the bones removed from the skeletons in the long barrow. It is not suggested that the human bones from Windmill Hill were necess- arily taken from the West Kennet barrow, but they could have come from one or more of the other chambered tombs which formerly existed in the vicinity. It is quite possible that ancestral bones as well as chalk figurines and other ritual objects were thought to have protective or thaumaturgic powers and were used in ceremonies held within the camp. In view of the presence of an early form of Peterborough ware at a low level in Outer Ditch V, and of the absolute predominance of Peterborough over other forms of Late Neolithic wares both in the upper level of the ditch and in the blocking of the long barrow, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the community identified by this ware was responsible for the continuity of tradition at both sites. 162 1Grateful acknowledgement is made to the National Trust and the Ministry of Works for permission to carry out these excavations, and to the latter for enabling Mr. W. E. V. Young to participate as co-director; to the British Academy for a generous grant from the Reckitt Archaeological Fund; to all those who assisted with the digging and with advice; and especially to Mr. D. Grant King, for the meticulous care and long hours of work he devoted to the field drawings upon which figs. 2, 3 and 4 are based. 2Abury (London, 1743), 45. 3Ancient Wilts, ii (1821), 96. From this it appears that the hill was first ploughed during Colt Hoare’s life-time, presumably during the Napoleonic wars when extensive areas of downland were broken up. Most of the hill-top must have reverted to pasture fairly soon, but the southern part of the Outer Bank and Ditch were almost contin- uously under cultivation until about 10 years ago. 4This was the small area on fig. 1 at the northern end of the part marked ‘ Ditch destroyed by quarry’. The important series of sherds recovered is in the Society’s Museum in Devizes. 5At this time hardly anything was known of the pre- Beaker Neolithic cultures in Britain and causewayed camps had not yet been recognised as a special type of earthwork enclosure. 6In 1937 the excavated ditch segments were re-emptied in order to afford visitors some idea of the general appear- ance of a causewayed camp; the Outer Ditch segments have, however, recently been re-filled. In 1942 the owner- ship of the site passed to the National Trust, under the guardianship of the Ministry of Works. 7A preliminary description may be found in Antiquity No. 128 (Dec., 1958), 268-9. 8A preliminary chemical analysis of samples from the layers in these ditches has been undertaken by Dr. I. W. Cornwall and Miss J. M. Sheldon of the Institute of Archaeology. 9For convenience the term ‘ Late Neolithic’ will be used to designate Beaker, Rinyo-Clacton and the more developed forms of Peterborough Ware. 10Cf. Atkinson, Antiquity No. 124 (Dec., 1957), 219 ff. 11A similar observation was made in connection with the ditches of the Neolithic camp on Whitesheet Hill. Piggott, W.A.M., liv (Dec., 1952), 408. 12The age was kindly determined by Miss J. Weyman, B.D.S., F.D.S.R.C.S., of the Sutherland Dental School, University of Durham. 13The fragments of chalk had probably been spread on the surface at various times—during the construction of the nearby Bronze Age barrows, the Romano-British occupation, and doubtless when the causeway immed- iately to the south was enlarged to make a roadway to the windmill which had been situated on one of the barrows inside the camp. 14Cf. Piggott, Neolithic Cultures, 72. 15Cf. Scott, P.P.S. xx (1954), 212 ff., fig. 6:30, 31, and 227 for list of other occurrences. : Ae tae & Piggott, Ant. J. xix (1939), 405 ff., fig. 17Cf. Burchell & Piggott, loc. cit., figs. 3:1; 5:3; 7:5. 18In an unpublished thesis. The name is derived from that of the actual site at Peterborough where Mr. G. Wyman Abbott recovered numerous specimens of this developed type of Peterborough Ware. See Leeds, Ant. J. ii (1922), 221. 19For similar ridges see Ant. J. v (1925), 431, and Leeds, Oxon. v (1940), PI. II: C. 20These must have been almost identical in form and decoration with a rim from the Avebury ditch; cf. Gray, Arch. \xxxiv, 99 ff., fig. 7:167. 21For similar ornament on Fengate Ware, see Leeds, op. cit., Pl. I: A, C. 22This technique is particularly characteristic of Fen- gate Ware. For examples from Peterborough, see Leeds, Ant. J. ii (1922), 220 ff., figs. 8b and 9. Ee 2 Ba Cunnington, Woodhenge (Devizes, 1929), 203 hs 2. 24Excavations at Dorchester, Oxon. (Oxford, 1951), 72. 25See Case, Ant. J. xxxvi (1956), 19. 26Piggott, Antiquity No. 128 (Dec. 1958), 235 ff. 27The absence of the Ebbsfleet and Mortlake varieties of Peterborough Ware at the top of Outer Ditch V may be accidental; they have been found together with Fengate Ware in other ditches. 163 THE INVESTIGATION IN 1957 OF STRIP LYNCHETS NORTH OF THE VALE OF PEWSEY By PETER WOOD AND GRAEME WHITTINGTON The aim of this paper is to show that, as a result of investigations in 1957 of the strips north of Horton, near Devizes, (nat. grid ref. SU/062648) a terminus a quo can now be established for a flight of strip lynchets in southern England. The investigations were accompanied by a survey of the extensive series of strip lynchets distributed over the neighbouring slopes, and have been both geographical and archaeological. STRIP LYNCHET SYSTEMS NORTH OF THE VALE OF PEWSEY. The Vale of Pewsey, in the heart of the Wiltshire Downs, has been likened to a miniature Weald. Here is a clay and sandstone lowland bounded on the north and south by steep inward-facing chalk escarp- ments. Beyond the crest of each escarpment extend the gently sloping plateaus of the chalk dipslopes. In simple terms, then, there is a threefold division of relief into vale, downs and scarplands. The vari- ations in the early agricultural response can still be seen very clearly in these three divisions. The vale —— re y 6° IEA : ~Hor Su Ress “Nt, ie Pe My Wea ns d y k Q@ ‘ Dow n A TANT TATUM AAD bay / \ Set Y a "any < ' a — 4 oN ity ) ! — = =< Ss s= - <7) B20" \ se eee a te . “7 EH ‘----~\KBH \ ’ if \ te 1 = \-7007-, ts Mt Allie ~ ae Sst PCA 96 7 Si ) / | | ee - (Nee 2 a eee if \ | a ak al | De “HORTON MZ eee a ae + Bishop’s STRIP LYNCHETS*_ ae Cannings a eae a. AO: + . _ E Allington All” a : Se “od Cannings Cross ‘Valé of Pewsey Fig. 1. Strip lynchet systems north of the Vale of Pewsey. (E.H.=Easton Hill; K.B.H.=Kitchen Barrow Hill.) __ has traces of manorial open fields preserved, for instance, in the field names at Alton; large numbers of _ ‘Celtic’ fields can be seen on the downs, as at Beckhampton or Enford; and the escarpments have excellent examples of strip lynchets. The latter are particularly prominent on the south-facing scarp, overlooking the villages of Bishop’s Cannings, Horton, Allington and All Cannings. In the short stretch of scarp portrayed in fig. 1, at least a dozen sets of strip lynchets can be recognised. They are 164 step terraces, on the steepest part of the escarpment; and they are concentrated with only one exception in a narrow belt between the 550ft. and 700ft. contours, where the slope is often 1 in 4. These scarp-face strip lynchets possess two special qualities. They run with the contours, rather than up and down hill as is frequently the case in other areas, like Kimmeridge and Bridport in Dorset. They also form orderly systems of terraces, in contrast to the haphazard arrangements on the north side of Patcombe Hill, only 12 miles southwest of Horton. In this latter respect, they differ yet again from the strip lynchets found in the very narrow dry valleys deeply etched into the Wansdyke Downs immediately west of Morgan’s Hill. Such combe-bottom terraces are disposed not in systems but as individual plat- forms following the valley floors and increasing in width as they proceed down valley. It has therefore to be recognised that the strip lynchets of even so small an area as the neighbourhood of Horton do not conform to one standard pattern. There is in their arrangement a distinct typology, of dry valley plat- forms, scarp-face terrace systems and irregular groupings. It may be worth emphasising that the dom- inant type on the south-facing scarp is overwhelmingly that of regular flights. Of all the scarp-face systems indicated on fig. 1, the flight north of Horion is the most spectacular, running upwards from the outer margins of the vale to the lip of the downs through a vertical distance of nearly 100ft. The terraces occupy the southern face of a spur which lies between the two dry valleys separating Easton Hill and Kitchen Barrow Hill to the west and east. To-day, the system is enclosed by field boundaries, and it forms a sheep pasture seven acres in extent. There is little sign of further lynchet- ing above it; but terracing in former times was apparently continued downhill, where at least three terraces have since been almost obliterated by modern cultivation. The existing flight comprises seven risers and six treads (fig. 2). The treads are of fairly consistent length, each between 300 and 400 yards; but they taper from west to east, and their widths vary from 30 yards to 14 yards. The areas of the in- dividual flats are not constant, being 0.8 acres for tread 1 (the northern or uppermost tread), 0.5 acres for treads 2 to 4, 1.3 acres for tread 5 and 1.1 acres for tread 6. Altogether, they provide nearly 5 acres of level ground. As the long profiles in fig. 2 demonstrate, they are not horizontal, having the recum- bent‘ S ’ profile which is characteristic of many English strip lynchets. The risers which divide these treads are always steep, with a gradient of more than 1 in 2and occasion- _ ally of 1 in 1. Sometimes they are as much as ten feet high, but the cross profiles in fig. 2 show clearly that their height is not uniform. As a general rule, they decrease in height towards either end; but the most curious feature of the whole system is the great exaggeration of the western end of the riser between treads 3 and 4 (fig. 3). It forms a bank over twenty feet tall, which effectively divides the three upper treads from those below. Running diagonally up this bank is a ramp which allows access from tread 4 to tread 1. Otherwise there are at Horton no access ways of the type common in other strip lynchet systems, for example those of Pewsey Hill. THE 1957 HORTON EXCAVATIONS. TRENCH A. The main excavation at Horton in 1957 was a cut extending downhill from the fence at the lip of riser 1, along a line where the treads have narrowed considerably but have not yet petered out eastwards. All the terraces were examined except the bottommost, which could not be disturbed since it servesasa tractor trail. A description of the section thus revealed can best be made with reference to the stagesin which the hillside surface has been modified (fig. 4). 4 The original hillside had a fairly uniform slope of 16° (i.e., about 1 in 34), though it became concave at ~ the foot, conforming with the profile of a typical chalk scarp. At 645ft. O.D., there appears to have — been a 30ft. wide natura! bench on the hillside. Jukes Brown believed that the junction between the a Lower and the Middle Chalk ran along the foot of riser 3 (that is, at 640ft. O.D.), as shown on the 6in. 7 NOLUOH ‘SLIHDNAT dlls JHL JO NV1d : hi ? } “ ss é | 3 \ < \ | e 4 j : Ad : - a ! . : ; . “syoyoudy dis u0VOH “YW YOUSTL JO s0RPy ISOM “PY “SI "SUONDEG JO 4OJ 4d24 Ul BOC UOI4DIG ~=UABUINOS haayod gy - Wty Jo sats purl duns prqunysipul) WEY Yooupeq P4AoH MIPS YSo4pr7q 4509S YJOYD PBMIDUIDIAA sjiosdoj poiung 2yqqN4 4IP4D Bursyrs yaad, UOl{OjNUINDID joUsUhy BAIJIsog sduinjs y4siDg UOINJDZG jO4JUBD 42MO7] jtosdoy thay aaheq La = = UOIIDO | D4jUd> uoddy UO14d2G UsFDUION] 1819 “WY Youray ul prulUDXxe syoyouhy disys 4° a!joud NWYW-S Ve 2 S \ 4d24 Ur B!4Oud 4o a]09¢ y of ley 4 ol ° ol \ € a UsdyjNog——> jOuqus> << Jahon aa | D3U25) Jaddr yrospag CN JPaqOW PAPjowWNrPW [] — uJodyjioyy —> \resdo, ig O29 ‘ SZ) aie 165 Geological Survey map published in 1888. It seems certain from the fossil and lithological evidence in Trench A, however, that the bedrock throughout belongs entirely to the Lower Chalk. It is mainly hard and blocky, but it includes narrow bands of softer chalk, marly or pasty in composition, which appear to ‘ camber’ slightly as they outcrop. Only towards the top of the slope is there any sign of weathered or rotten chalk, such as one might expect to overlie the bedrock. The surface of the bedrock chalk, when cleared, was found to be seamed by an assortment of crevices, running indiscriminately in many directions and not apparently forming part of a system of joints. Of true chaik joints there was a notable absence: nothing has been revealed at Horton to corroborate the theory of certain French geologists that strip lynchets may result in part from the collapse of the chalk between vertical joints following the removal of underlying beds by solution. ! Of much more interest are the three stretches of old soils which presumably represent the undisplaced | _ topsoil of the original hillside interred beneath lynchet accumulations. In each case, the old soil is only -30r4ins. thick, though the layer under riser 1 thickens considerably northwards. Probably this thick- ening represents a downslope creep at the point where the gently shelving plateau tips over at the top of the scarp face. It is a medium brown silty soil, lying over a grey clay and thus composing part of a typical rendsina profile. The buried topsoil under riser 2 is similar except that it contains chalk _ pebbles and has an overlay of chalk rubble at its northern end. | The fragment of old soil under riser 3 is of different composition. It is darker in colour, with shells, rootlets and rootlet holes, and it contains angular unweathered chalk fragments. Two horizons have been preserved, and the lower one is compact, waxy and light in colour. This soil has obviously never _ been cultivated. Very little in the way of small finds was obtained from the component parts of the undisturbed hill- side, except that each of the three ancient soil lines yielded a potsherd. The date of these sherds is in- dicated in the sequel. _Pre-lynchet construction. The line of the hillside excavated in 1957 rises from 615ft. to 678ft. O.D. through a horizontal distance of 213 feet. Exactly halfway along the trench, under the present riser 3, _ there is the clearest indication of an early modification of the hillside, though its purpose is something of a mystery. The disturbance appears as a V-shaped cleft, originally four feet deep and fourteen feet wide at the top, which was cut into the solid chalk on the natural bench at 645ft. O.D. There are, in the section, very few signs of the upcast from this excavation, except for a remnant of rubble on the downhill side and, just conceivably, the rubble overlay on the old soil preserved under riser 2, forty feet uphill. In section, the cleft has the appearance of an earthwork ditch rather than of a chalk quarry. It is not Neolithic in character, and is unlikely to be associated with the neighbouring Kitchen Barrow. It is too substantial to be merely a field or enclosure boundary, and its form, as revealed so far by the three-foot wide Trench A, is probably most consonant with an Early Iron Age date. There seems to be no trace whatsoever of this cleft on the ground (either on the scarp face or in the ploughed field above the strip lynchets), and only the slighest suggestion in the few air photographs available that it might have been a continuous feature. It is not apparently possible to connect the ‘ ditch’ with the high bank at the western end of the terraces; and further digging alone could reveal its true nature. Nevertheless, the evidence so far obtained from the ‘ ditch’ is extremely valuable, since the date of its initial silting can be closely established. The silt shows two layers. The lower one is very fine, crumbly _and light brown, with a grey mottling, and it contains rootlets and charcoal flecks. One very worn struck flint and a dozen pieces of pottery were recovered from this layer. In the upper layer, the silt forms a dark brown clay, with weathered chalk pebbles and rather more charcoal. From it came nearly a score of pottery fragments as well as clay daub, a handful of worked and very worn flints of Neolithic VOL. LVII-CCVIL v 166 or rather later type, and an iron nail. The bone refuse in the ditch bottom included the teeth of ox or deer and of young pig, the sawn-off posterior portion of a deer jaw bone, and a cervical vertebra and long bone perhaps of deer. The sherds are often crude and of poor quality. Among them was a fragment of the overhanging rim of a dish and part of the base of a beaker, both of which date from the earliest years of the first century A.D. Other pieces show direct Roman influence. Though they are varied in texture and colour, however, they may all be safely consigned to the downland ceramic tradition of the latest Early Iron Age and the very beginning of the Roman occupation. Like the pottery from the old soils already noted, and indeed like the sherds (to be mentioned later) which were recovered from the lynchet accumulations themseives, these pieces from the ditch silt embody the characteristics of Belgic and very early Romano-British rustic cultures. There is little doubt that they are part of a peasant ware belonging substantially to the first three-quarters of the first century A.D. Thus the earliest construction at present known on the scarp face above Horton is of an apparent Early Iron Age ditch which was being subjected to rapid silting in the early years of the Roman period. Subsequently, there was a clear filling of the ‘ ditch’, which was completely obscured by the second construction, that of the strip lynchets. This juxtaposition of terraces and dateable earthwork, dramatic in its unexpectedness, provides an incontrovertible instance of a terminal date for the formation of a strip lynchet. 2 The formation of the strip lynchets. The commonly accepted mode of formation is that ‘ negative ’ lynchets were produced by the movement downhill of soil and broken bedrock, to give ‘ positive’ lynchets of accumulation. At Horton, as far as the relationship between the cross sectional dimensions of neighbouring positive and negative lynchets is concerned, the three lowest pairs (those below the ‘ ditch ’) may be equated fairly successfully. The two parts of individual lynchets above the ‘ ditch’, however, do not match up to each other. The topmost positive has no negative source of material, and was probably formed of soil scraped from the plateau surface. The next pair downhill consists of a small negative lynchet and a relatively large accumulation, resulting in a further apparent discrepancy. The ‘ ditch’ itself was obviously not filled only from the negative lynchet immediately above it. Pre- sumably, therefore, the bulk of the upcast was replaced in the ‘ ditch ’. The filling of the ‘ ditch ’ has given two horizons above the silt layers. The lower ‘ ditch’ fill (L on fig. 4) is a dark brown clay-loam, with an abundance (over one third by volume) of rounded chalk pebbles tin. to lin. across. The upper ditch filling (U) is similar, except that it is lighter in colour, less dominantly pebbly and has more of the texture of a cultivated soil, with weathered chalk pebbles lying in horizontal bands. In both horizons there were about 30 pieces of pottery which generally speaking are of the late first century A.D., with an extension some way into the following century. They are normal for the early Romano-British period in Wessex; but they cannot, of course, be accepted as diagnostic of the time of infilling, as can those of the ‘ ditch’ silting (though they are no more weathered than the sherds from the silt). On the other hand, their consistency of date and their distribution as shown in section suggest that the refilling of the ‘ ditch’ occurred rather soon after its excavation and was completed fairly rapidly. The upper part of the fill was apparently used for cultivation before the positive lynchet was accumulated on top of it. The lynchet accumulation itself is to-day about 3 feet thick, a crumbly grey loam with occasional pebbles. Between it and the ‘ ditch’ fill there is a clearly marked and straight line junction, a break in soil type which is very easy to detect. Altogether there is about five feet of true ‘ ditch ’ fill; and the line of junction is parallel to the line of the original hillside, but 12ins. above it. As far as the structure of the other lynchets is concerned, reference must be made to the floors of the negatives. In the lower three examples, the removal of chalk was effected in such a way as to leave Se enn Fn ae 167 clean horizontal surfaces. The floors of the two uppermost negatives, however, are much less regular, and particularly under tread 1 there is a definite step-like surface. This differentiation of the floors above and below the ditch might possibly be correlated with the variation of the bedrock, where the narrow bands of softer chalk allowed deeper and more uniform removal. Otherwise, and more likely, a difference in constructional technique ought probably to be invoked. Turning to the positive accumulations, there is once again a decided uniformity about the structures of the lower three lynchets. In each case, the accumulation is two to three feet thick, generally a grey or fawn loam. In each case, it shows a double layering, The lower layer tends to be darker, more stony and looser in composition. The compactness of the upper layer might be interpreted as a plough sole, lying under a topsoil six or eight ins. thick. The upper two positive lynchets were both accumulations nearly five feet deep. The higher one, under the field fence, was of fine grey soil with small chalk pebbles, overlying fawn loam. The lower one consisted of three approximately horizontal layers, in which it was the bottom layer that was compacted. This was the only positive lynchet which yielded more than a few fragments of pottery. The distribution portrayed in fig 4 is made up of 29 sherds, and they came almost without exception from on or just above the old turf line. They include a fragment of a Roman ‘frilled’ tazza as well as pieces of Belgic ware; and they may be referred to the same period as the pottery assemblage from the earthwork ‘ditch’. They are, however, very much more worn and weathered, for they have been lying in a plough soil. It seems possible that they may mark the occupation site from which the ‘ ditch ’ pottery was forthcoming. The pattern of their distribution does not recur in the other positive lynchets, where the potsherds, numbering at the most seven to a lynchet, form a series of chance scatterings (though they are of the same general date, covering the first century A.D.). To give point to this comparison, it may be said that, unlike the material filling the ditch, the accumulation resting immediately on it gave almost no pottery at all.3 In several respects, the ‘ ditch’ seems to serve as a separator, even in terms of the succeeding strip lynchet construction. Above the ‘ ditch ’ lie the old soils, the uneven floors of the negative lynchets, the discrepancies between accumulation and removal of material, and the mass of positive lynchet pottery. The upper terraces both in their surface configuration and in their underground structure are irregular and poorly architectured. In this they provide a sharp contrast with the severe formality and unblurred sharpness of the lower risers and treads. Though the high bank which constitutes the western end of riser 4 and the ‘ ditch’ buried under riser 3 cannot be linked directly, they each in their own way serve as a dividing feature within the general system of terraces. Post-lynchet modifications as illustrated in the section are of two kinds. In the first place, there has been a compacting of topsoil in deeper pockets at the back of some of the treads, particularly treads | and 5. The pocketing may possibly stem from cultivation operations in the form of deep ploughing: but there is no trace on these Horton terraces of furrowing or ridging, or of a counter slope at the lip of the tread such as ihe strip lynchets of Picardy often possess.4 It is much more likely that the compact topsoil is the mark of animal trails. There is a kindred formation, of double ruts, along the middle of treads 3 and 5, which must certainly result from the passage of wheeled equipment. In the second place, there is much evidence of soil slumping over a long period on the faces of the risers. Such movement helps to explain the present contours of the strip lynchets; and it is to be con- nected with the angle-of-rest of the material forming the accumulations. In general terms, the greatest slope for freshly dumped solid matter of any kind seems to be about 37°. As the material consolidates and settles, its slope is reduced to 33°, unless it is very quickly bound by some such agency as vegetation. The Horton risers each have average slopes of 28° to 30°5, except riser 1, which is a degraded specimen, 2¥V 168 and riser 4, which is particularly steep, over 37°.. The faces of all the risers, but especially risers 2, 3 and 4, have been subjected to slumping; and they all show the scars of pancake landslips, which have often been refilled by fresher soil creeping downslope. The actual mechanics of slumping are indicated in part by the deep sub-vertical cracks in the lower three positive lynchets, as drawn on the section. Before slumping commenced, it appears that the risers were steeper than they are to-day; and this helps to pro- vide the explanation for the slipping of soil which is lubricated in wet weather. Such modifications are noteworthy since they demonstrate that the present appearance of the strip lynchets, at Horton and per- haps elsewhere, is not entirely that witnessed by those who were responsible for their formation. TRENCH B. A trench 40ft. in length was cut through the high bank and the access way, at the western end of tread 2; and the major part of the section is shown in fig. 5. Once again, the hard and massive bedrock contains narrow bands of chalk clay. The surface of the bedrock probably represents the shoulder of the shallow dry valley which lies between the Horton strip lynchets and Easton Hill. No trace of old soils was noticed: otherwise, this surface is unmodified at the western end of the section, where it is overlain by weathered rock in situ. It has, however, been shaved off beneath the access ramp and the accumulation to the east, so that the junction between bedrock and made ground is very sharp. The whole form of the ground here has been drastically modified by accumulation. On the line of Trench B there is 5ft. of light grey material, and probing elsewhere on the high bank indicates that the accumulation is sometimes even thicker. The chief purpose of this minor excavation was to investigate the access way, and there can be no attempt to infer the source of origin for this huge mass of accumulation. The making of the bank was presumably, however, part and parcel of the construction of the upper terraces; and the very magnitude of the bank might well have necessitated the roadway for transporting the material of which it is constructed. It is consistent with the section to suggest that the shoulder of the little dry valley was selected to form the line of the access way. No doubt the chalk surface needed some trimming to give a flattened road way, and this bared surface has been covered by soil creeping down from the crest of the high bank. In the soil are preserved the components of a cartway—ruts about Sft. apart which have been refilled with loose material and which are separated by a band of brown clay compacted, perhaps, by the feet of farm animals. Box C, measuring 14ft. by 12ft., was sunk two feet deep into the western end of riser 2, in the hope of elucidating the manner in which the strip lynchet terminations were fashioned. It demonstrated that not only the cuter lip of tread 1 but also the back of tread 2 and the whole of the end of riser 2 are all made ground. The few finds from Trench B and Box C do nothing to aid the dating of the road or terrace construction, but the extensive artificiality of the high bank invites further exploration. CONCLUSIONS The Horton strip system immediately calls for comparison with the Bishopstone strip lynchets® lying sixteen miles away across the Marlborough Downs. The Bishopstone strips, on the north facing flank of a wide dry valley, measure from 220 to 280 yards in length and from 11 to 16 yards in width, and some of them are exact half acre fields of dimensions | furlong by $ chain. At Horton, the fact that the strips taper eastwards from 30 yards to only 14 yards in width, debars any formal equation with regular half acre strip fields, though it is true that three of the treads have each an area of half an acre. Unfortunate- ly, and as at Bishopstone, no documentation has so far been discovered to illuminate the allied aspect of former landholding. The Tithe Award Map of 1841, for example, merely shows the whole flight of 169 terraces as one holding. Consequently, the question whether the high bank was in part a tenurial boundary remains unanswered. It was obvious at Bishopstone that there could be no close relationship, on grounds of situation, be- tween the vaileyside strip lynchets and the medieval open fields in the Vale of the White Horse. At Horton, on the other hand, such a relationship could have existed. However, just as good a case might be made (as it could at Bishopstone) for seeing in the strip lynchets a downslope extension of cultivation from the plateau top. In other words, there is nothing in the matter of situation to contribute to the solution of the dating problem. From the point of view of siting, the Horton strips have an ‘orthodox,’ southerly, aspect. Some of the scarp-face flights shown on Fig 1, however, were formed on steep slopes which face in a northerly direction (as were the Bishopstone lynchets); whereas neighbouring slopes of similar gradient and surface conditions, and of apparently better southerly aspect, are not lyncheted. This anomaly makes more pointed the warning that generalised conclusions about the siting of strip lynchets ought to be avoided: each flight deserves attention for its own sake, and its construction may perhaps be explained only in terms of the immediate locality. In typology the two systems are of similar character, with the one great contrast presented by the high western bank at Horton. In this the Horton set differs not only from that at Bishopstone but also from the other flights overlooking the Vale of Devizes. The normal termination for strip lynchets, in Britain and also on the Continent, north of the Alps is that adopted at the eastern end of the Horton terraces, where the risers and treadsfade into the hillside. There must have been a terminal approach to the treads by cultivation equipment at Horton, and also at Bishopstone where central access ramps are not in evidence. Judging solely by the look of the ground at Horton, the approach to the western ends of treads 1 to 3 was downslope, from the higher tread to the next below. The arrangements may result from complication by the high bank, which dictated an access by ramp from tread 4 to tread 1. The western termination of the three upper treads is altogether very unusual; but the typological classification of strip fields has yet to reach a stage sufficiently advanced to allow its use for dating purposes. 7 Because of the unsealed character of the soil layers in a strip lynchet section, pottery obtained from them bears much less closely on their date than it would in the horizons of a habitation site or a defen- sive earthwork. Nevertheless, the concentrations of potsherds at Horton have a more immediate value than do the fragments recovered from other excavated strip lynchets, including those at Bishopstone. In the first place, it can be demonstrated that the earthwork ‘ ditch’ was quarried about the beginning of the first century A.D., and that it was refilled with material containing considerable quantities of contemporary sherds. In the second place, the lynchet accumulations show, for the most part, the sporadic scatter of pottery which was normal at Bishopstone also and which does not by itself provide firm evidence of the period of construction or of utilisation: but the concentration of Belgic and early Romano-British sherds at 660ft. O.D., lying on an undisturbed buried topsoil and apparently sealing a layer of rubble which might possibly have been upcast from the * ditch ’. reinforces the concept that the field system belongs to a period later than the Early Iron Age. The pottery begins to provide a reliable yardstick for estimating the date of commencement of lynchet formation at Horton. Even so, there are indications here, as at Bishopstone, which belie interpretations based on either a simple or a single-period construction. At both sites, the topmost positive lynchet appears to have been built in definite stages; while at Horton one is faced with the structural differences above and below the ‘ ditch’. The disturbance of the original hillside in pre-lynchet times appears to have an analogy at Bishopstone, where there was an extended cutting into the solid chalk at the foot of the second lowest riser. The cutting was apparently refilled with chalk blocks which thereafter crumbled into a loose compaction, giving a filling which is normal in refilled chalk ditches. The fill in the Horton ‘ ditch ” is of very different character. The upper layer has the look of a ploughed soil with rounded pebbles, and 170 not of a natural sludge (which would have been accompanied by angular chalk fragments). Of the structural differences which are held apart by the ‘ ditch’, the relationship between positive and negative lynchets and the position of the old topsoils are worthy of re-emphasis. Below the ‘ ditch’ at Horton (and, for what it is worth, below the cutting at Bishopstone) the positive and negative in any pair match each other exactly in size, so that removal is equal to accumulation immediately below. Above the ‘ ditch’ (as above the Bishopstone cutting) discrepancies are startlingly clear. The positives are always greater than the negatives. At Bishopstone, much of the discrepancy is due to one enormous ‘ double positive ’ which actually overlies a normal-sized negative. At Horton, the fashioning of the negatives could not possibly have produced enough material to erect the big positives on top of and uphill from the ‘ ditch ’. The excavations in 1954 and 1955 at Bishopstone gave no evidence of buried soils in situ, since the black band mentioned in the relevant reports was not regarded as an abnormally thick turf line. The excavation at Horton is in great contrast, because old soil lines are clearly preserved beneath positive lynchets. But they are only preserved selectively: that is, only above the earthwork ‘ ditch’. This selective preservation, together with the structural variations, leads inescapably to the conclusion that the techniques employed in forming the strips above the * ditch’ were not the same as those which pro- duced the lower terraces. Below the ‘ ditch ’, all the topsoil on the hillside was removed or obliterated; and the agent of obliteration could have been the plough. Above the ‘ ditch’, the plough was not the main agent in lyncheting. If it had been, the old topsoil would have been much more extensively re- moved, leaving at the most narrow balks running along the hillside.8 The plough by itself could con- ceivably have bitten into the chalk pavement in which were quarried the floors of the negatives above and below the ‘ ditch ’—but above the ditch there is very little chance that it was involved, even in a subsidiary capacity, in the work of quarrying. The inference that the cultivators were perhaps purposely terracing their strips in as difficult a medium as massive chalk, together with the fact that they were farming a slope of 16°, not to mention their refilling a 14ft. wide ‘ ditch’, suggests that the motive for lyncheting above Horton was an extremely powerful one. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to thank a large number of individuals, without whose co-operation and support the excavations of 1957 would have been impossible. They include Mr. J. S. Morrey, who occupies the land on which the strip lynchets are located; the members of the Geography Department, Reading University, who undertook the surveying and trenching; and Mr. R. A. Jarvis, who assisted in the ex- amination of the soil layers. The pottery has been very kindly examined by Professor C. F. C. Hawkes and Mr. F. K. Annable; and the bone remains by Mr. W. A. Smallcombe. Mrs. Audrey Williams, Professor W. F. Grimes, Mr. H. C. Bowen and Mr. H. J. Case were so kind as to visit the site and to discuss with us its cultural significance, thereby placing us very greatly in their debt. Permission to excavate a scheduled monument on Crown Land was granted by the Crown Land Commissioners and by the Ministry of Works. Equipment was loaned by Reading Museum and by the Highways Department of Reading C.B. A grant from the Research Board, Reading University, helped to defray the cost of illustrating this report. 1£.g. H. Lasne: Corrélation entre les diaclases et les rideaux de Doullens. Ctes. Rend. Acad. Sci., cxi (1890), p. 73. The absence from the Horton vicinity of clay with flints does not lend any weight to the views of Gentil that strip lynchets have their origin in the slipping of such clays induced by rainwater lubrication (L. Gentil: Sur la genese des formes de terrain appelées rideaux en pays crayeux. Ctes. Rend. Acad. Sci., clxix (1919), p. 145). 2Cf. the situation at Blewburton, Berks, where the ditch of an Early Iron Age hillfort was filled in, and where the final stages of infilling had * the purpose of making a level terrace (for cultivation)’. A. E. P. Collins: Berks Arch. J., lili (1952-3) pp. 31-2. An instance of strip lynchets apparently invading the interior of a hillfort is provided by Cattistock Castle (see R.C.H.M., Dorset, vol. I (1952) p. 73.) 3The positive lynchets also contained a varied assort- ment of rubbish, such as coal, tile, brick, and slate frag- ments, clay pipe stems and the metal of a cartridge case. These were found at all depths in the accumulation and illustrate how insecure is a date of lynchet formation based on unsealed finds in the * positives. For example, a pendant of early 19th century type (Birmingham ware) 171 was found nearly 4 feet deep in the topmost accumulation, some 20ins. vertically below a fragment of first century Samian ware, and at the nether end of a rabbit hole. *It may also be said in passing that the Horton site has yielded no evidence of drainage channels; and that these terraces are not related directly, from the viewpoint of any possible irrigation, to the springs which head some dis- tance down the two dry valleys. 5The steepest slope in section (part of riser 3) is actually 45° or lin1. It may have some significance that this is the presumed site for the downhill dumping of upcast from the earthwork ‘ ditch’. 6See Wood (W.A.M., lvi, 12-16; and lvii, 18-23). 7H. C. Bowen points out to us that strip lynchets occas- ionally end in a ramp leading to a different level; but the dimensions of the Horton bank are exceptional. Mr. Bowen discusses the types of strip fields in * The Study of Ancient Fields ’ Adv. of Science, lvi (1958), p. 367. ‘It is interesting to contrast the preservation of the old turf line at Blewburton, protected by the earthwork bank which (unlike Horton) has survived, though its face has been modified by ploughing. Mr. Collin’s Terrace 1 is not a strip lvnchet in origin, though it was obviouly used for cultivation. 172 er *SJOYOUAT dis UOWOH “A Yous] JO sovj VION °s “SI "4224 Ul O29 173 A ROMANO-BRITISH BUILDING AT HIGHPOST, MIDDLE WOODFORD By J. W. G. Musty In 1956 workmen excavating an area of ground (N.G.R. SU143370) at the W.A.E.C.O. factory, Highpost, to sink a concrete static water tank, discovered what they subsequently described as a wheel- shaped stone. This stone was not removed, and the part which protruded into the excavated pit was broken off and incorporated in the foundations of the tank. Subsequently the matter came to the notice of the factory’s Managing Director, Mr. Wheelwright. He realised the archaeological! interest of the find and reported it to Salisbury Museum on behalf of which the writer! undertook a limited examin- ation of the site in August and September, 1956. Although the tank had been installed and the site restored to normal before the archaeological signi- ficance of the find was realised, the soil from the excavation was traced and this produced a number of late Roman sherds. It was therefore suspected that the stone was part of a Roman quern. Air photographs of the area show a number of crop marks, including one suggestive of an earthwork of the Little Woodbury type. The whole area is bleak and exposed and contains within the 400 ft. con- tour a large flat expanse which during and before the Second World War was used as an airfield and is some four hundred acres in extent. It is thus ideal for an extensive Iron Age-Roman settlement complex similar to that found at Boscombe Down.? Our excavation showed the presence of a Roman building, but, in the limited area excavated, no definite traces of Early Iron Age occupation were found. However, underneath the Roman level were several feet of disturbed soil, and at the base of this was found a solitary Early Iron Age sherd. The pottery and other finds described below give the following indications of the date of this Roman building. The pottery from the excavation covers the whole of the Roman period, and the site had probably been continuously occupied from Early Iron Age times in an analogous manner to the sites excavated by General Pitt-Rivers in the Cranborne Chase. On the one hand we have a rim-sherd from a bead-rim bowl, Samian ware and other early forms, and on the other late New Forest ware—colour coated, rouletted and rosette stamped pottery. The later pottery (in this case 3rd and 4th century material) predominated as is to be expected on sites which have been continuously occupied. The date of the final stages of occupation of the site appears to be the 4th century. This view is supported by the pottery and by acoin of the House of Constantine. THE EXCAVATION A small area adjacent to the tank and south of it was systematically trenched with the object of re- covering the remainder of the quern and determining its association. These trenches uncovered a well- defined Roman layer at 2-3 ft. below ground level; this was a surprising depth, as the chalk nearby is only 1 ft. below the surface. Under the Roman level were a further 3 ft. of disturbed soil. The exact reason for this great depth of soil is not clear, but it is possible that the building is sited over part of an Early Iron Age working hollow. Above the Roman level the humus was comparatively stoneless, but became progressively more chalky until the level was reached. Then a distinct layer of chalk rubble was encountered. Quantities of large angular flints were also obtained at this depth; although these were in well defined concentrations, it was clear that they were not in situ, but were the remains of wall tumble. In one trench, however, massive flints dressed on two faces were uncovered, and these certainly formed part of a wall. It was not possible with our limited trenching to trace for any distance the line of the wall, one end of which had been obliterated by the water tank. The quern fragment left by the workmen was found in the angle between the wall and the tank. 1Assisted by members of Salisbury Field Club, and with 2W.A.M., LIV (1951), p. 123. the co-operation of Mr. Wheelwright. VOL. LVII-CCVII i 174 The site showed every indication of having been extensively robbed for stone, and only a dozen small fragments of Chilmark and two pieces of greensand were recovered. Of these only one is recog- nisable as forming part of a roof tile. In view of the possibility that the water tank and an adjacent roadway may occupy a considerable portion of the area of the building, and what remains can only be exposed by removing the great depth of soil which covers it, the excavation was not extended beyond the few exploratory trenches. Because of this no idea of the size or plan of the building can be advanced, but the excavation has at least served its purpose in adding a new Roman site to the map. It has also drawn attention to the possible presence of more extensive prehistoric and Roman habitation sites on this area of downland. POTTERY AND OTHER FINDS Pottery (Fig. 1). Although a large number of sherds were obtained not more than one or two sherds from any one pot are present. Almost all the sherds have abraded edges; sharp fractures are rare. (Note. References to Sumner are to his book, ‘ Excavations in New Forest Pottery Sites,’ Chiswick Press, 1927). 1. Rim of a bowl in hard fine grey ware. (cf. Richborough, Part 2, Plate XXX, No. 140 for a similar profile. The Richborough example is dated as Claudian). Dia. 5 in. 2. Reeded-rim bowl in grey ware similar to 1. Dia. 54 in. 3. Rim of a storage jar in very coarse soapy gritty ware, much weathered and pitted. Pinky-buff paste and surface. Dia. 94 in. 4. Rope-rim storage jar. Buff-pink sandy ware. (cf. Sumner, Ashley Rails, Plate XI, No. 2). 5. Jar in hard, fine light grey-blue ware. Channel running round the top of the rim. (cf. Sumner, 5 Fig. 1. Pottery Finds, Romano-British Building, Highpost, Middle Woodford. (4) Sloden, Plate XXX, No. 15). Dia. 44 in. Jar with rolled over rim. Hard fine grey-blue ware with red core. Dia. 63 in. Bead rim bow! in sandy grey ware. Dia. 54 in. Bowl in black sandy ware. Grooved internally. Dia. 54 in. Flanged bowl. Hard fine dark grey ware with buff slip, red in places. (A common 4th Century type, cf. Richborough, Part 1, Plate XXIX, No. 122). Dia. 64 in. 10. Mortarium. Hard fine ware with grey core and red colour coat. (A common 4th Century type cf. Richborough, Part 1, Plate XXVIII, Nos. 98 and 99). Dia. 54 in. 11. A similar vessel. Soft micaceous ware with decayed colour coating. Dia. 54 in. EAS) 175 Significant sherds amongst those not illustrated include three colour coated sherds with decoration— two rouletted and one rosette stamped. There are also sherds from colour coated bowls in imitation of Samian forms, from oil flagons (including one sherd decorated with concentric grooves) and from New Forest * stoneware ’. Samian ware is represented by five sherds. In addition pieces of two bricks (14 in. and 14 in. thick respectively) and part of a hypocaust tile were found. The Quern Fragment. . The quern fragment came from a stone which would have been originally 3 ft. in diameter. It was 3 in. thick and of Upper Greensand. A fragment of another 14 in. thick was also obtained. The Coin. Mr. H. de S. Shortt has kindly supplied the following description: Obv. FL.IVL...... Rev. GLORIA EXERCITVS. Acircle onlabarum. House of Constantine 337—341. Other Finds. (a) Bronze. Three scraps; one piece probably came from the terminal of a bracelet, the others from brooches. (b) Iron. Nine nails with circular flat heads, and shanks of square cross section. These are 5-6 cm. long with heads 14-2 cm. in diameter. In addition three hobnails and four cleats of typical Roman form were found. (c) Glass. A piece of thin vessel glass, and a fragment from a blue glass bead. (d) Bone. A small fragment of decorated and polished bone. The finds from this excavation are being preserved by Mr. Wheelwright at the factory. 2W 176 AN ATTEMPT TO LOCATE A BURIAL CHAMBER IN SILBURY HILL By F. R. McKim It has been known for many years now that Silbury Hill is artificial! but the purpose of its construction is still an open question. While alternative suggestions have been made? several authorities incline to the view that it is a burial mound and therefore possibly contains a burial chamber.3 There have been various excavations in an attempt to locate such a chamber, all with negative results.4 These excavations were carried out on the assumption that the burial chamber would be near-central. If an off-centre chamber is considered possible, then investigation by excavation immediately becomes more difficult and expensive, and a thorough search would inevitably involve the destruction of the hill. A method of search is needed which does not involve excavation, and during last summer the hill was surveyed by one of such a kind, namely the electrical resistivity method used in geophysical prospecting. The method consists of measuring the electrical resistance between electrodes situated at selected points on the surface of any structure. The value of the resistance obtained gives some indication of the nature of the material not only in the surface layer but also in the region below the surface down to a depth approximately equal to the electrode separation. The application of this method to the location of a burial chamber is immediately apparent. If the electrodes were situated over a region containing a chamber, then the electrical resistance measured might be expected to be different from that obtained if the ground were homogenous throughout. The sensitivity of the method depends on the difference in resistance between the main bulk of material and the material forming the submerged structure and on the size and depth below the surface of the inhomogeneity. In a symmetrical hill like Silbury the position of a chamber which would be most difficult to detect would be at the centre, but since this possibility had been virtually excluded by the Merewether excavations it was felt that some definite result might be obtained indicating at best the region or regions most worthy of further investigation by excavation. The depth to which the electrodes should penetrate material the resistance of which is being measured should be less than about one twentieth of the electrode separation. If this is not so then the results depend on the penetration and not solely on the material concerned. Accordingly for the first series of measurements, in which an electrode separation of 75 feet was used, the electrode penetration was | foot. A series of readings was obtained with the electrodes being moved in a horizontal circle round the hill. It was found that at a certain depth below the surface the ground became suddenly more densely packed so that the electrodes could be driven in easily down to this level but only with difficulty any further. The depth at which this change took place varied between about six inches and two feet, except for a few places where there were rabbit holes and where no densely packed material was discovered down to two feet. The first readings obtained were subject to a considerable scatter, up to 50% of the average value obtained. Since it was thought that this might have been due to the variable nature of the surface layer we made sure, after the first few readings, that the electrodes penetrated into the denser region, except when on one of the places mentioned above. The scatter was reduced in this way but by no means eliminated. Three typical series of readings are shown in Figure 1. The abscissa of the graphs there shown is the compass bearing of the midpoint between the electrodes from the centre of the hill, and the ordinate is the product of the measured resistance, (R) and the electrode separation, (1). This product gives a quan- tity which differs from the specific resistance of the hill material by a constant factor for all graphs, and is therefore a convenient means of comparing the readings. 1Diary of a Dean, John Merewether (1851). 4Reference (1), which contains verbal evidence of the 2e.g. A. C. Pass, W.A.M., XXIII (1887), p. 245. 1777 expedition, also Prof. W. M. Flinders Petrie, W.A.M., 3e.g. Rev. A. C. Smith, W.A.M., VII (1862), p. 145. XLII (1922), p. 215. oe MT eet tm Ly, Graph i 510 OD, &- 75 ft. O 30° 180° a7O3 360° RxB Graph I chm- FE. 100 De OO Dig. hie JOGE. F q f : : a = yi) 180 a7O 360 Fig. 1. Graphs showing, for different levels on the hill, the product of measured resistance R and electrode separation 1 as a function of the bearing of the midpoint between the electrodes from the hill centre. 178 Graph | shows the series taken with the electrodes in a horizontal plane near the base of the hill, at the level 510 O.D. At the bearing 220° the electrodes were over the portion of the Merewether tunnel which was blocked up but not filled in. The drop in reading there may be due to the metal plate used to seal off the end of the tunnel. At the bearing 170° the electrodes spanned the region of the Flinders Petrie excavation. It will be noticed that there is a general trend in the readings and that in the region approximately between 100° and 270° the readings are more uniform than elsewhere. In this region the part of the hill under investigation was in fact nearest to the original undisturbed ground, as is made clear by a diagram in the Rev. A. C. Smith’s article on Silbury in W.A.M., VIL (1862) at p. 182. Graphs If and III show a series taken with the electrodes about halfway up the hill, at the level 550 O.D. It will be noticed that with the smaller electrode separation there is considerably more scatter than with the larger one. Presumably the layers near the surface have not packed down so tightly under the weight of the rest of the structure as have the deeper layers. The scatter in Graph II is much the same as that in Graph I for which the electrode separations are comparable. The overall trend is less marked in the series higher up the hill as might be expected since this series was taken when further away from the original ground level. From these three graphs alone it is evident that the method is unsatisfactory. The material in the hill appears not to be homogeneous enough for the effect of a submerged burial chamber to be identifiable against the background fluctuations in readings. There is no conclusive evidence from Graph I of a chamber near the edge of the hill and any smaller effect due to a chamber further below the surface would be masked by readings with a scatter as in Graph II. Some other measurements were made in addition to those shown but these were in no way different from the typical ones given. No conclusion regarding the existence of a burial chamber could therefore be drawn from the measure- ments and the main purpose of reporting this negative result is to avoid any future application of the same method with the same undesirable end. One other comment can be made. Graph I and measurements in the surrounding meadowland in- dicated that the scatter in reading is an effect probably peculiar to the artificial hill. It appears therefore that the hill is not homogeneous. Professor R. J. C. Atkinson has pointed out to me that this might be due to the incorporation of topsoil in the mound, which certainly need not be symmetrically disposed about a vertical axis and might be found along tip lines used at some late stage in construction. I am grateful to the Edinburgh University Department of Prehistoric Archaeology for the loan of the Megger Resistance meter used in the measurements, to Professor R. J. C. Atkinson for his interest in the experiments and to various boys of Marlborough Coliege who ran over the hill carrying electrodes. a Ee NY malate eet neste We A PIPE-LINE NEAR OLD SARUM: PREHISTORIC, ROMAN AND MEDIEVAL FINDS INCLUDING TWO TWELFTH CENTURY LIME KILNS By J. W. G. Musty During 1957 the Salisbury City Engineer’s Department initiated work on the Castle Hill Reservoir Water Scheme. As this work would entail the cutting of several miles of trenches, including a trench through part of the East Suburb of Old Sarum and also across Bishopdown, permission was obtained to watch the work on behalf of Salisbury Museum!. A considerable number of archaeological features were revealed by these trenches. THE PIPE LINE AND SITE AREAS (Fig. 1). From a pumping station at Dean’s Farm, north-west of Old Sarum, a main was laid to the proposed reservoir site on Bishopdown overlooking the East Suburb of Old Sarum. The trench was cut to an average depth of 4 ft. 6in., although in places it went considerably deeper. From the reservoir site another main ran south-east to St. Mark’s Avenue. It was found that the archaeological finds occurred in well-defined site areas principally demarcated by the present road system. In Area A, which lies to the north of Old Sarum, the only features observed in 1,000 yds. of trench (part of which is shown in Fig. 1) were the traces of an earlier road surface by the side of the present Amesbury road, and at approximately two feet below its present level. In Area B (between the Amesbury and Ford roads) were pits of Neolithic date, and a group of pits ete., of medieval (twelfth century) date. An extensive lime-burning area of twelfth century date was exposed in Area C. Finally in Area D (western end of Bishopdown) were numerous pits of early Iron Age date with, in some cases, Roman pottery in the upper layers. Only one further pit was discovered in the known Early Iron Age A.2 area at Paul’s Dene (Area E). Details of these finds are presented in this report, and in addition an opportunity has been taken of publishing an account of the pits previously located and examined in Area E, in view of their undoubted connection with the present finds. Roman pottery finds from Paul’s Dene (Areas E and F) are also recorded. NEOLITHIC Three pits were showing in section approximately 50 ft. east of the Amesbury road (Fig. 1, Area B), and two of these produced a few small sherds of Secondary Neolithic pottery.2 In addition there was one small beaker sherd. The pits were U-shaped, approximately 1 ft. deep and 2 ft. in diameter; they had a grey earthy fill which covered a layer of rainwash. The pits were buried under 3 ft. of plough soil which had undoubt- edly assisted in preserving both them and an associated old turf line, 5 in. thick. In the plough soil, at only 9 in. above one of the pits, was a Norman scratch-marked sherd. A search of the material removed from the trench failed to reveal any more pottery or associated material with the exception of burnt flints from the old turf line. The pits are possibly analogous to those discovered under the north bank of Durrington Walls during the 1950-52 excavations. 3 EARLY IRON AGE AND ROMAN No structures of Early Iron Age or Roman date were encountered in areas A, B or C, although two _ stray Roman sherds were obtained from the medieval cesspits.4 On Bishopdown (Area D), however, numerous pits of Early Iron Age-Roman date were revealed by _ the trench. These were later in date than the pits at Paul’s Dene (Area E) also to be described. , a SS LP” SECONDARY NEOLITHIC - PITS “De A 3 DITCH IV Va “y MEDIEVAL - A ICC SIZE CHALK PITS XIII - XV - A‘ a” ey A Emus ‘, & CESS PITS 1& i | ; KILN 1 |} Ny LARGE CHALK PIT | “DITCH XVIII ! | \ | q ING / ‘ POST HOLES KX ,XXI RESERVOIR AREA ; TUMULUS OLD CASTLE INN ENG LRON AGE a | SQ 7 GRAIN STORAGE PITS ! 2 %\\ : : 5 OO Foe BE ROMAN & IENSos CASTLE HILL RESERVOIR | £/fowav,. ASC 7 Re 1953. (Based upon the ‘Ordnance Survey 25% Map of area with the sanction ‘the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office. Crown Copyright Reserved). aw FOS WATER SCHEME 195‘, PLAN OF SITE AREAS. FT.cae @) 100 200 300 400 500 600 Fig. 1. Plan of Site Areas. ll i 181 Area D Pits. Fifteen pits of varying shape and size, including a grain storage pit of hour-glass profile, were located in Area D. No attempt will be made in this report to identify individual pits shown on the plan (with the exception of the grain storage pit) or interpret their function, as such interpretation is of little value in view of the linear distribution of the pits. A number of the pits were 1—2 ft. deep, and of a similar diameter. These contained dark earthy fills with animal bones, potsherds and burnt flints intermixed. Others were 3—4 ft. in diameter and con- tained burnt flints, soil and gravel with specks of burnt clay. One of these pits had been cut in a clay pocket> and the colour of the clay at the bottom of the pit had been transformed to a deep brick-red colour, presumably by heating. The grain storage pit was 8 ft. deep, 7 ft. 6 in. wide at the mouth and 9 ft. at the bottom. The pottery from this pit is characteristic of that obtained from the whole group and includes three bead-rims. Roman pottery (including Samian ware) was obtained from the upper layers. The date of the whole group of pits may be as late as the Ist century A.D. Area E Pits and Roman finds in Areas E and F. In 1955 two Early Iron Age A.2 grain storage pits were discovered at the side of the short length of pavement which joins Hill Top Way to the Bishopdown track. One of these pits was partially examined (half of it being under the pavement); the second pit, which cut into the bottom of the other, was not investigated. The 1957 pipe-line passed within a few yards of these pits, but only one new pit was exposed. Sufficient pottery was obtained from the new pit to show its contemporaneity with the 1955 pits, but it was not emptied. Excavation of the pit discovered in 1955 showed that it was of hour-glass shape, 8 ft. deep and 6 ft. in diameter and typical of similar pits found at Highfield and Harnham Hill. It had been dug partly in the chalk and partly in the clay capping the chalk. Twelve successive tips of rubbish, etc., had been emptied into it, and these contained pottery and animal bones. In addition part ofa * rib-knife ’ handle with in- cised decoration, a bone awl, part of a bone needle, a spindle whorl and a lump of scrap bronze were found. Fragments of a corn-drying oven were present in most layers, and these included a large frag- ment of the cover of an oven.® The pottery consists of undecorated haematite coated sherds and coarse ware similar to that from Harnham Hill.7 This group of pits therefore dates to the end of the Early Iron Age A 2 period. Near the bottom of the pit were two ox skulls, one hornless. Other animals represented in the col- lection of bones obtained are horse, sheep and pig, with sheep predominating. In addition there are limb bones from a raven present. Since the examination in 1953 by Stone and Algar of a diffusely spread Romano-British refuse dump in the gardens of houses in Juniper Drive, Paul’s Dene Estate,’ other finds have been recorded. These come from points north and south of the 1953 sites, and may represent merely an extension of the spread recorded in that year. A more detailed account of the sources of the finds will be given with the descriptions of the pottery. Roman Roads. Three Roman roads should pass through the area sectioned by the trench (to Cunetio, Silchester and Winchester), but no road sections were seen in the trench except for the fragment of road surface noted in Area A, and there is no proof that this was part ofa Roman road. At first sight this is rather surprising, but it may be due to the obliteration of the Roman levels by the present day roads, some of which lie in comparatively deep cuttings. The Ford road, for instance, which runs along the supposed course of the Roman road to Winchester, was seen as a series of granite metallings resting directly on the hard chalk. VOL. LVII-CCVII x 182 In Area B, and only a few yards from the Ford road, could be seen a slightly rutted area (see Fig. 1 * Trackway ’ ) which might have been associated with the former Roman road. Stone and Algar suggest9 that the Bishopdown track may have provided a convenient route to the New Forest Potteries in Roman times. It might be further supposed that it formed part of a road to the Southampton area. However, this track was cut by the trench at a point on the top of Bishopdown where there is little difference of level between the track and its verge, and the section showed con- clusively that the track had never been a metalled way. This does not, of course,vitiate Stone and Algar’s original suggestion, as its use as an unmetalled way is not precluded. The Problem of Sorviodunum and its Early Iron Age precursor. With the discovery of the Roman refuse dump at Paul’s Dene, and the Early Iron Age finds at Paul’s Dene and on Bishopdown, one might have concluded that Sorviodunum was a Romanised Early Iron Age settlement lying on the upper slopes of Bishopdown overlooking the disused hill-fort of Old Sarum. However, recent excavations within the earthwork have shown that there may have been a far more extensive Iron Age and Roman occupation of Old Sarum than has hitherto been supposed, !° and until more excavations have been undertaken at Old Sarum, any conjecture as to the nature of Sorviodunum is ill-advised. The present finds demonstrate, however, that there was an Early Iron Age settlement area in the Bishopdown—Paul’s Dene area and that this carried on in a Romanised form throughout the Roman period. MEDIEVAL Area B Pits. The presence of the medieval pits in Area B indicates that the East Suburb of Old Sarum must have at least extended to it, but the nature of the buildings situated in this area cannot be determined merely from the features seen in the trench. The Ordnance Survey large scale maps and plans identify part of the area as the ‘ Site of St. John’s Hospital ’, but the evidence for this is now lost. As it was not possible to relate the various pits to any particular structural arrangement, a detailed account of them will not be given here.!! It need only be said that in addition to a number of circular and square pits (including two cesspits) there were two foundation trenches, one with blocks of Hurd- cott greensand in situ. On the western side of the site was the V-shaped ditch (IV) which, like the Area B pits, is dateable by pottery evidence to the twelfth century. This ditch marked off the area of medieval pits on the western side of the site, and no structures were seen between it and the Neolithic pits. Area C Pits. The most striking feature exposed in the trench in Area C was a large excavation for chalk with a lime-kiln at each end. The trench also cut through three medium-sized pits (small chalk pits), two cess- pits and a partly used cesspit or well, and the whole group formed a continuous chain of pits 250 ft. long (just under half of the total length of the trench in Area C). At the eastern end of the chain was a V-shaped ditch, beyond which the trench was archaeologically sterile with the exception of three post- holes of unknown date, but possibly pre-medieval. The Chalk Pits. The large chalk pit was 100 ft. across, but there were no surface indications of its presence. Kiln waste had been thrown back into the pit, but the greater part of the central area had filled up with a natural accumulation of wind-blown dust resulting in a layer of humus 5 ft. thick. The medium-sized pits (XIII, XIV and XV, Fig. 2) were 24ft., 17ft., and 20ft. across respectively in the exposed section. They were separated from the large chalk pit by Lime Kiln 1, which formed the eastern section of Pit XV. These pits had also been filled up with lime kiln waste,the principal feature of which was lumps of burnt chalk; this presumably had been separated from the lime by riddling, as the 183 £36] HONTGL ddid MOAYSSTY TNH TLLSVD ddds ISVI — WAYS Gl ol gS oO Jt Se ee Lid ATVHO 3DdVv) AO GNA 1sva — WIVHO da duNLSIGNN “NOS NMOUd MA IVHO “IWI1 VT Me WIVHO ty WIVHO A INI SIOS taHLO UNV SS3HO TUNA L ‘Sid Pue sUTrYy ew] Jo suonoeg °z ‘31y Ad GASOdXA SNOLLOSS CIO SLid UNV SNID JWI INAX HOLA HONTALL adid JO ASV Lid MIWHD IDaV1 dO CNd,LSIM / INNA 7 woo . _f LON NOLLYDIILVELS a rm rie aT TTT TD Lull : ULL Ah Idd, eer ae HON3) IL dla Jo Isvg WX Ld AIX ld 2X 184 chalk occurred intermixed with large lumps of charcoal in homogeneous dumps, and had therefore been removed straight from a kiln and dumped into the pits after separation of the lime. The Lime Kilns (Fig. 2). On either side of the large chalk pit were two pits the walls of which had been burnt to a pale blue-grey colour. It is therefore likely that these were lime kilns which had been supplied with raw material from the large chalk pit. Both had possibly gone into disuse before the end of the lime burning period, as Kiln | had been filled with lime-burning residues and a final cess fill, and Kiln 2 with lime-burning residues. The sides of the Kiln pits were roughly vertical and No. | was I1ft. wide at the mouth, the other 18ft. The exact depth of the pits is unknown, although by probing it was shown to be at least 7 ft. No flue tunnels were showing in section, although No. 2 had a ramp running down to it from the east which might have been connected with the firing. The Cesspits. Cesspits 1 and 2 (XIIIA and XIVA) were in the opposite face of the pipe-trench to the medium-sized chalk pits XIII and XIV; the doubtful cesspit (XI) was 50 ft. to the north-west. All are of unknown depth and only the top few feet of the pits were examined. Cesspit No. | was 6 ft. square and vertically sided. The other, which was only 4 ft. square, was much richer in pottery finds, and in addition the broken beam of a money balance and a stone cresset were obtained. Pit XI was 4 ft. 6 in. square. The visible fill consisted of a fine chalky earth mixed with a large quan- tity of stone tiles, and in this fill was a fragment from a thirteenth century glazed tile. When the fill was removed, the walls of the pit were seen to be worn smooth by considerable weathering, which suggests that it was open for a lengthy period and was not completely filled until the thirteenth century at the earliest. The possibilities, then, are either that this was a cesspit which was only partly used or had been emptied at intervals, or that it was a well. Its situation at the bottom of the slope and away from the rest of the lime burning area supports the latter view. Presumably it was subsequently filled up with building debris because it was considered dangerous. Other Features. At the edge of the slope down to Kiln 2 was a V-shaped ditch (XVID), 4 ft. wide and 4 ft. deep. The ditch did not contain any primary silt, the entire fill being of chalky-brown soil with traces of charcoal (Fig. 2). Although three small sherds were obtained from the ditch, its dating is un- certain. The ditch is possibly pre-medieval in date. However, its closeness to Kiln 2 suggests that it might be connected with the lime-burning area. It could well have been a storm ditch to drain water off the area, at the same time acting as a boundary ditch. The fact that no features attributable to the medieval period occurred east of it suggests that it did in fact delimit the lime-burning area. Six feet east of the ditch was a post-hole 1 ft. in diameter and of a similar depth, and then 170 ft. of sterile trench separated this feature from two more post holes (XX and XXJ) of similar profile. THE LIME BURNING AREA AND ITS FUNCTION Technology. It has been shown above that the pits in Area C constituted part of a lime-burning area which may have been large. If the spread of this area could have been determined in more than one direction it would have been possible to have computed the output of lime from the site. 12 Some idea of the minimum output of lime from the site can be obtained by estimating the yield from the large chalk pit. We have seen that the pit was 100 ft. wide in the E-W direction. Assuming a similar width in a N-S direction and quarrying to a depth of 20 ft. then the output of lime would have been be- tween 3,500 and 5,000 tons (assuming an efficiency for the lime-burning operation of 50-75%). The burning would probably have been undertaken in a number of kilns situated around the periphery of . the pit, of which the two discovered are representative. Other pits of a similar size may have been worked in the area. ery silicate ea iain in nan Si apr Ses oat 185 It is also possible to suggest a reconstruction for the lime kilns, as similar kiln pits (also of twelfth cen- tury date) have been discovered at Chew Park, Somerset.13_ The Chew kilns were circular pits 10 ft. in diameter and 4-6 ft. deep with a flue channel leading off from the bottom. After examination of the Chew kilns, Dr. Davey of the Building Research Station suggested a reconstruction, which has been followed here for the Old Sarum kilns. Alternate layers of chalk and wood would have been stacked in the pit and the stack then raised some feet above the mouth of the pit. A variety of woods were used as oak, hazel and birch have been identi- _ fied14 from charcoal samples taken from the kiln refuse. Next earth and more chalk would have been heaped over the stack to provide thermal insulation. The kiln would then have been fired from a small stokehole joined to the kiln by a flue channel.1!5 After firing, the stack would be left to smoulder for some weeks; it would then be opened and the lime separated from the unburnt residue by riddling. Function. On the basis of the pottery obtained, the lime-burning area must have been in operation towards the middle of the twelfth century. Although this evidence is insufficient to determine the precise dates of the initiation of lime-burning and its subsequent abandonment, yet with the documentary evidence it enables some conclusions to be reached as to the purpose to which this lime was put, and to the range of time over which it was used. From the documentary evidence so far available, it appears that building at Old Sarum took place in three phases, viz:— 1. Inthe years prior to 1100. Building of the first Cathedral. 2. Circa 1100-1139. Extension of the Cathedral and building of the stone Castle in the Inner Bailey. The wall round the Outer Bailey was probably built during this period. 3. Circa 1170-1180. Rebuilding of the Castle. It is unlikely that the lime-burning area was connected with the first building phase; lime for this would have been obtained on the spot, and the kiln discovered by Col. Hawley is most likely to have been the source. This was in the south-west quadrant near the site of the ‘ church-yard cross ’, and Col. Hawley suggested that the kiln was fed with chalk from some of the very large pits discovered in the south-west area. In phase 2 lime might also have been obtained from kilns within the earthwork, provided that it was convenient to quarry chalk on the spot: otherwise the present lime-burning area would be a likely source. In the twelfth century the lime-burning area formed part of the Bishop’s manor, and the _ spoliation of land, making it unfit for agricultural use and preventing expansion of the East suburb at that point, would surely only have been permitted if the Bishop was responsible for the building oper- ations requiring the lime. It is significant, therefore, that in this phase, as in the preceding one, a great _ deal of the building was at the behest of the Bishop. Additionally a very large quantity of timber would have been needed, and this also may have come from the Bishop’s lands nearby. Although Phase 3 was primarily a repair period, a great deal of lime would have been required as the | repairs to the Castle were extensive. It must be remembered, however, that the Castle was no longer in the possession of the Bishop. In 1246 and 1249 further repairs were undertaken; for these lime kilns were built inside the Castle, the wood being obtained from Grovely and Clarendon which were Roya! Forests.16 This lime was | probably required for the repairs to the great tower and other towers, and the great gate and hall which were started in July, 1246. In 1253 the Sheriff of Wiltshire was ordered to make a kiln in the Forest of Buckholt for the works of the King’s Castle of Salisbury and the Manor of Clarendon. If the Castle authorities obtained lime from the East Suburb lime-burning area in the twelfth century, then why did they not also do so in the thirteenth? The answer may be of course that a kiln was main- 186 tained within the Castle for small repair work, and that in the case of Buckholt it was considered ex- pedient to burn the chalk in an area of plentiful timber supply; especially if the operation of the East Suburb kilns had disafforested the immediate vicinity as it could well have done. If the pottery and documentary evidence are considered together, one can conclude that the East Suburb lime-burning area was used to supply lime for Phases 2 or 3 or both. It is of interest to conjecture where the lime was obtained for the building of New Salisbury. It poss- ibly came from the ‘ lymeputtes ’ at East Harnham for we find mention of these and of a ‘ Thome le lymbrenner ’ under the entries for 1393 in the Registrum Cartarum of the Hospital of St. Nicholas, 17 and lime-burning might well have started at this spot in the 13th century. POTTERY. Neolithic. The pottery from the Neolithic pit in Area B consists of ten small sherds, one of which was from a beaker with hyphenated decoration. The other sherds are too fragmentary to enable anything to be said about the form of the vessel from which they had come. The fabric is a rust-brown to black paste containing crushed flint, with reddish- Fig. 3. Sherd from the Secondary Neolithic pits, Area B. 1/1 brown to buff surfaces. The sherds are decorated in the manner shown in Fig. 3. This decoration con- sists of finger nail impressions, and another type of impression possibly obtained by pressing a short length of cord into the pot at intervals. Iron Age and Roman. Bishopdown Pits (Area D). As the pottery obtained from the grain-storage pit is representative of that obtained from other Area D pits, only this will be described. The bulk of the pottery is in the form of black to grey-black burnished wares with water-worn quartz particles, crushed flint and shell in the backing. The burnishing may occur evenly over the surface, but sometimes it occurs as zones and occasionally as thin lines. Of the twenty-four sherds obtained from this pit, eighteen were burnished. Three rim sherds were obtained, all bead-rims. In addition there is a sherd from the shoulder of a bow] in burnished grey-black to brown ware, and parts of the bases of two flat-bottomed vessels; one has much carbonised vegetable matter on the inside. From the upper layers of this pit were obtained early Roman sherds including a base sherd in Samian ware (from a dish dateable to the Ist century A.D.; possibly the third quarter of that century) and another in a reddish ware with sandy glitter. The presence of bead-rims taken with the high proportion of burnished black to grey-black wares and the absence of haematite coated sherds suggests a late date in the Early Iron Age period, possibly as late — 187 as the first century A.D. The presence of Roman pottery in the upper layers of the pit is consistent with this dating. Paul’s Dene Pits (Area E). Early Iron Age A. 2 Pottery. Approximately two hundred sherds were obtained from the A.2 grain-storage pit, and of these eighteen were haematite coated ware. The haematite coated wares are from bowls with slightly flared rims. The paste in fracture is either black or grey-black or brown to reddish-brown to red. The coarse wares fall into three main fabric classes: (a) Grey to grey-black sandy wares, sometimes comparatively hard. Gritting varies in character, but on the whole is restricted to a fine grit with occasional large lumps; one sherd has shell in the back- ing. Some of the sherds have red surfaces occasionally burnished in imitation of haematite ware, others a burnished grey or brown surface. (b) Black to brown heavily gritted wares; the grit particles break the surface and are water-worn. There is also a version of this ware much finer gritted, and with a black polished surface which flakes off. (c) Black to brown gritless ware containing charred vegetable matter in the paste. Very poorly fired, and crumbles when handled, with a tendency to break up into layers. Deposits of carbonised vegetable matter or a calcareous layer occur on the inside surfaces of some of the sherds. Areas Eand F. Roman Pottery. From the garden of No. 14 Hill Top Way was obtained part of a flanged bowl of 2nd Century date, and in the bank on the opposite side of the road was found a large portion of a jar with a simple everted rim and in a reddish clay with much grit backing (Sal. Museum Acc. No. 65/57). This is also possibly early, although with it was a sherd from a New Forest thumb pot. All the pottery from Juniper Drive (Nos. 9 and 11) is of late form. It includes a mortarium rim with a brown slip, and the rims of several jars including a rope rim. Medieval. At present there is no dated series for local medieval pottery and therefore accurate close dating is not possible. The pottery from Stone and Charlton’s 1933 excavation in the East Suburb of Old Sarum!8 is an obvious starting point for dating the present pottery. In addition there is the pottery from Laver- stock. 19 The pottery from the lime-burning area comes mainly from Cesspit 2 and the cess fill in the top of Kiln 1. In addition one sherd was obtained from the medium-sized chalk pit XTII in such a position as _ to give the earliest possible date for the filling of the pit. Much of the pottery from Site B is unstratified ; _ few rim sherds were found from either Sites B or C. Stone and Charlton have already commented on the relative abundance of body sherds compared to rim sherds in the cesspits they examined in 1933. _ This was also the case with a twelfth century cesspit at Laverstock. It is possible that body sherds from _ broken cooking pots played some part in twelfth century toilet routine. _ Considered as a group the pottery has the following characteristics. Two main fabric classes are present (a) gritty wares in two degrees of smoothness and (b) sandy wares (i.e. very smooth surfaced wares with very little grit and with a characteristic glitter). Of the gritty wares, 50°% of the sherds are scratch- _marked, and these include one sherd with a sharply inturned basal angle belonging to the characteristic West Country type of vessel, which often has a perforated wall. Sagging bases are present in the sandy ware. Finally the only glazed ware present is that in cooking pot fabric with a thin wash of greeny | : 7 1 Fig. 4. The Medieval Pottery. (1/3) 189 yellow to colourless glaze, and no thirteenth century glazed ware was obtained from any of the sites (with the exception of the tile fragment from Pit X1). A similar range of material was obtained from the Laverstock cesspit which has been provisionally dated to the middle of the twelfth century. On the other hand there is some similarity between the present pottery and that from Stone and Charlton’s excavation. This pottery with its simple everted rims, scratch-marking, rounded bases and absence of sandy ware was dated by coin evidence to 1100. Sherds from the perforated wall type of vessel appear on both sites and Mr. E. M. Jope has dated the type to the period 1100-50.2° There is also the scratch-marking which Mr. G. Dunning has dated as a type to the years around 1100 (1080-1130). 21 The presence of sagging bases (although Stone and Charlton found a single example) and sandy ware, however, suggests a slightly later date for the present pottery, although it need not be later than the middle of the twelfth century. Illustrated sherds Nos. 1—17 (Fig. 4). All except No. 13 are from cooking pots or pans. Nos. 7, 10 and 16 are in sandy ware; the rest have a high proportion of water worn grit (possibly derived from ferruginous sandstones). Of the gritty wares, 1, 2, 3, 6, 14, and 15 contain a coarser grit than the remainder which are of closer texture and in some cases are almost as smooth surfaced as the sandy wares. 1. Grey paste and surface with areas of pink and pinky-buff. Site B. 2. Dark grey ware. Scratch-marked. Site B. 3. Grey to buff paste with pink to pinky-buff surface. Scratch-marked. Site C, medium-sized pit XIII. 4. Grey to black paste with pink to pinky-buff surface. Site B. 5. Similar to 4 but less pink. Site C, Cesspit 2. 6. Pinky paste, blue-grey surface. Site B. 7. Probably from a sagging base vessel. Grey-buff to pinky-buff. Site B. 8. Similar to 4. Grey-black surface. Site B. 9. Similar to 4. Site C, Cesspit 2. 10. Similar to 7. Site C, Cesspit 2. 11. Pinky-buffsurface. Site B. 12. Similarto 11. Site C, Cesspit 2. 13. Jug rim. Gritty cooking pot fabric with poor yellow-green glaze on the exterior and specks of it inside. Buff surface, grey in fracture. Site B. 14. Fabric identical with that of No. 3. Scratch-marked. Site C, Kiln 1—cess fill. 15. As No. 3 except outer surface grey-black. Scratch-marked. Site B. 16. Grey ware with browny-buff surface. Site B. 17. Similar to 4 but with grey surface. Site B. Of the pottery not illustrated, significant sherds from Cesspit 2 ,Site C, include the base sherd from a West Country type vessel with sharply inturned basal angle; a number of sherds in hard grey sandy ware including a sagging base in fabric similar to that from the Laverstock cesspit, and glazed sherds typical of twelfth century material. Similar glazed sherds and also a cooking pot rim in buff sandy ware _ were obtained from the cess fill in the top of Kiln 1. OTHER FINDS 1. Beam of a money balance (Fig. 5A). The balance beam was obtained from the lime-burning area, | Cesspit 2, (Salisbury Mus. Acc. No. 107/57), and when found it was protruding from the exposed section of fill. Part of the beam had been recently broken off, presumbably during the cutting of the VOL. LVII-CCVII. s 190 trench. The beam length would have been originally 45 in., and the unbroken half of the beam has a ring attached from which a pan would have hung. Unlike the other beams described below it is formed from bronze wire. The indicator, like that on beam C, is flat and solid: it was presumably formed from sheet bronze or flattened wire. Fig. 5. The Balance Beam and other Beams from the Salisbury Area. (4) In Salisbury Museum there are two other similar beams from Old Sarum and its environs. As particulars of these have not been published the opportunity has been taken of doing so here. One (fig. 5B) came from Col. Hawley’s excavations at Old Sarum (Sal. Mus. ref. O.S. A.12). The beam has been formed by beating sheet bronze into a round-sectioned cylinder flattened at the ends to form eyes, and is 33in. long. The indicator needle, which has been formed in a similar manner, appears to be enclosed and held by the butted edges of the beam joint.22 The other (fig. 5C) came from the foundations of a house at the top of Castle Road near the Old Castle Inn (Sal. Mus. ref. 49/1935, O.S. C.45). The beam is 4 in. long and, like beam B, is also formed from sheet bronze beaten into a cylinder, but it differs in that it is of oval cross-section and the indicator is flat and solid. Further the beam is made to fold in the manner shown in the illustration. A similar folding balance beam, incorrectly identified as Roman, has been found at Marlborough. 23 The purpose of these small balances was to check the weight of coin. In use the beam would be sus- pended by means of a string attached to the hole at the base of the needle, and this string would act as a zero point for the needle. Pans were attached to the beam by strings threaded through the holes at each end. A number of specimens have been found in England and Northern Europe in dated contexts which clearly indicate that this type of balance was in use in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries. 191 2. Stone Cresset-lamp (fig. 6). This also came from the lime-burning area, Cesspit 2. The cresset- lamp has been formed by roughly tooling a lump of sandstone, which contains large occlusions of quartz crystals, and the fragment obtained represents only one-quarter of the original. 3. Iron pivot for a door hinge (fig. 6). This came from the foundation trench containing greensand footings (Area B) which is considered to be of twelfth century date. All the finds from this investigation have been deposited in Salisbury Museum. Fig. 6. The Iron Pivot and Stone Cresset Lamp. (1/3) Acknowledgements. The drawings which illustrate this report were prepared by Mr. Peter Ewence. Mr. Philip Rahtz gave practical assistance in the field and also kindly provided details of his Chew kilns in advance of public- ation. Identification of animal bones was undertaken by Miss J. E. King, British Museum (Natural History), and Dr. B. Hartley, F.S.A., reported on the Samian sherd from Area D. Members of the Salisbury Field Club and the Bishop Wordsworth’s School Archaeological Society helped in the exam- ination of the Paul’s Dene sites. Finally the author would like to acknowledge the helpful co-operation which he has received from the Salisbury City Engineer’s Department. 1Under the auspices of the Museum Excavation Sub- Committee. The writer was assisted in this work by Mr. D. J. Algar and Mr. D. Truckle. 2A description of this pottery, together with that of other pottery found during the examination of the pipe trench, will be found at the end of the report. 3Antiq. Journ., XXXIV (1954) p. 155. 4A similar lack of finds of the Roman period was noticed by Stone and Charlton in their excavation in the East Suburb in 1933. 5One striking feature of the Bishopdown stretch of trench was the large number of natural clay pockets en- countered—some as much as 40ft. across. 6See W.A.M., LIV (1951), p. 137, Plate VI for a similar fragment. 7W.A.M. XLVIII (1939), p. 513. 8W.A.M. LVI (1955), p. 102. 9W.A.M. LVI (1955), p. 110. 10For interim note on this excavation see W.A.M., LVII (1958), p.14. 114 note-book containing a detailed register of all the pits and other features will eventually be deposited in _ Salisbury Museum. 12The late Dr. Stone forecast that this area would con- tain the extension of the cemetery excavated by him in 1933: Antig. Journ., XV (1935), 187. No evidence for this extension was found during the present investigation. 13Excavated by Mr. Philip Rahtz. Report forthcoming. 147 am indebted to Mr. Dandy, Keeper of Botany, British Museum (Natural History) for these identifications. 15Col]. Hawley discovered a lime kiln within the earth- work of Old Sarum during his 1912 excavation, and although no drawn section of this appears to have survived, it is shown on his published plan of the ex- cavated area. From this plan it can be deduced that Col. Hawley’s kiln had a kiln pit 14ft. by 12ft. in cross-section connected to a small stoke-hole 3ft. square by a flue tunnel. The axis of the kiln lay E-W with the stoke- hole to the west: Proc. Soc. Antiq.,XXV (2nd Ser.), (1912- 13), 97. 16Close Rolls, 1242-7, p. 438; 1247-51, p. 186—I am indebted to Mr. H. M. Colvin for these references. 17Edited by Chr. Wordsworth, Wilts. Rec. Soc., 1903, pp. 100 sqq. 18 Antiq. Journ., XV (1935), 174. 19Report in preparation. 20Trans. Bristol and Glouc. Arch. Soc., LXXI (1952) 65. 21 Arch. Journ., CVII (1950), 15. 22A similar beam, which also has grooves cut at the ends of the beam, is figured in the Guildhall Museum catalogue (1903), Plate XXIII, No. 9. 23W.A.M., XLI (1920), 392. 2¥ 192 ERMIN STREET AT CRICKLADE By F. T. WAINWRIGHT The Roman road from Silchester to Cirencester and Gloucester, known for most of its length as Ermin Street, crosses the Thames at Cricklade in Wiltshire. This is one of the points at which its line has been in doubt. Passing to the north-east of Swindon, it runs through Stratton St Margaret, over Blunsdon Hill and straight along the line of the modern road to the outskirts of Cricklade. Near Calcutt Bridge, less than half a mile from the ancient borough of Cricklade, the modern road suddenly swings left, diverging from its straight north-westerly line (which would carry it past Cricklade), enters the town by Calcutt Street, turns right into High Street, and re-joins the north-westerly line of the Roman road some six or seven hundred yards north of the town (see Figs. 1 and 2). Did the Roman road continue its straight course north-westwards from Calcutt, crossing the low-lying meadows and marshes to the north and north-east of the town? Or did it, like the modern road, make a detour to pass through what is now the town of Cricklade? This is the question that has long baffled local scholars and others who have sought to trace the line of Ermin Street on the ground. The question has been much bedevilled by a persistent tradition that the *‘ town wall’ of Cricklade, the denuded and grass-covered bank which encloses the town in a great square, was built by the Romans or at least marks the site of a Roman marching camp.! Those who accepted this tradition were reluctant to believe that the Roman road continued its straight course and by-passed Cricklade. Secondly, it could be argued that, marching camp or no marching camp, the marshes along the Thames were an obstacle sufficiently formidable to divert the road from its straight course to the higher and drier ground on which Cricklade now stands. Thirdly, the complete absence of all traces of the road north-west of Calcutt and in the meadows adjacent to the Thames has often been urged to support the argument that it never existed there but always passed through Cricklade. Those who rejected the theory of a diversion into Cricklade tried to account for the absence of traces of the road north-west of Calcutt by suggesting that it was carried across the marshes on a ‘ wooden causeway ’ or a‘ system of trestles ’ or that it was a temporary road early abandoned in favour of the diversion through Cricklade. 2 The length of the missing stretch of road is about 66} chains or rather more than three-quarters of a mile (i.e. from X to Z in Fig. 2), and further confusion arises from the fact that the northern third of it (some 22 chains from X to Y) has long been recognized and is, indeed, marked as the line of the Roman road on Ordnance Survey six-inch maps and 25-inch plans. At the junction of the Churn and an arti- ficial drainage cut called New Brook (i.e. at Y) and also at several points north of this along the line of the road many remains of the Roman period have been found.3 These include weapons, brooches, pottery, ‘foundations’ and, above all, Roman coins. The earliest of the coins belong to the middle years of the first century, as one might expect, for the construction of the road belongs to an early phase of the Roman occupation of Britain. There is no doubt that the Ordnance Survey is right to project the road backwards from X to Y. The surveyors may have had before them evidence other than that of the reported finds, for they were avid collectors of local information; but the Original Name Books for this area were among those destroyed during the enemy bombing of Southampton and the truth of this sup- position cannot now be checked.4 Ata much earlier date Sir Richard Colt Hoare recorded that ‘ some old inhabitants of Cricklade remember a portion of the causeway having been dug up between Corkett Bridge and Town Bridge ’,5 but the exact position of this ‘ causeway ’ is doubtful, and we cannot even be sure that it was part of the Roman road.® Quite explicit, however, is A. D. Passmore’s statement that the line of the road is still visible from the air ‘ as a fine yellow line contrasting with the green herbage ’, - but it seems to extend across one field only, 7 i.e. from X to Y as it is marked on Ordnance Survey maps. The line of the road between X and Y may be taken as sufficiently proved. Did it also continue be- Plate I. Ermin Street at Cricklade. ~ Bey per: > ~ a ee ee 195 tween Y and Z? Codrington and Margary both assumed that it did, but the evidence upon which their assumptions are based relates only to the section between X and Y. Codrington assumed without question that the dubious * causeway’ recorded by Colt Hoare continued right across the meadows between Y and Z.8 Margary pinned his faith to Passmore’s ‘ fine yellow line contrasting with the green herbage ’,9 although this had been recognized only between X and Y. None of the evidence so far put forward could be taken to prove the existence of the road between Y and Z, and it was still possible for local scholars to argue that the Roman road swung to the west at Calcutt, passed through Cricklade and returned to its north-westerly line at Y. This point, obscured by Codrington and Margary, was well- understood by local scholars who realized that the fundamental question of whether or not the Roman road passed through Cricklade could not be regarded as finally settled until traces of the road could be found between Y and Z or until the point at which it crossed the Thames could be established. In the present century only A. D. Passmore is known to have made a prolonged and thorough search for the road. He accepted the section X—Y as proved, but he knew that the fundamental question depended on finding evidence of it somewhere in the 44 chains between Y and Z. For many years he kept an eye on all excavational disturbances in the Cricklade area. and under ideal conditions he searched the banks of the Thames for signs of a crossing. It was all in vain, and he was forced to conclude that no trace of road or crossing remains to-day.!9 On general grounds, as most scholars would agree, there is a very strong probability that the road continued in a straight line from Z to X, but Passmore realized that this could be demonstrated to the satisfaction of all only by proving its existence between Y and Z. The reason why Passmore and others failed to find any trace of the river-crossing seems to be simply that they always looked in the wrong place for it, i.e. where the projected line of the road cuts the present course of the Thames. A study of large-scale maps (Ordnance Survey 25-inch Plan, Wiltshire, V 14) suggests that the river has changed its course since the Roman period. The northern boundary of the parish of Cricklade does not long follow the Thames from its confluence with the Churn, as one might expect; it leaves the Thames to follow what is to-day little more than a small dried-up stream about three- eights of a mile long meandering across the meadows a hundred yards to so north of the Thames (Fig. 2). The fact that the parish boundary follows this now insignificant stream suggests that it marks an older course of the Thames. In all probability the whole area north and north-east of Cricklade, still low- lying and not infrequently flooded, was in early times a waterlogged morass, partially drained by chan- nels of varying depth in dry seasons but completely submerged in wet seasons. The little stream which is now the parish boundary seems once to have been regarded as the main course of the Thames. It is along this stream, therefore, not along the present course of the Thames, that we should expect to find traces of where and how the Roman road crossed the river. And such traces may be seen in the pro- nounced and unnaturally sharp loop precisely on the projected line of the Roman road (Fig. 2). It would appear that here the river was crossed by the road, itself probably raised on ramps of clay or gravel, and that when the crossing collapsed the passage between the ramps was blocked and the waters swirled round the southern ramp to produce the unnatural loop which catches the eye to-day. This suggestion may be explained by means of diagrams (Fig. 3). In 1953 and 1954 the * town wall’ of Cricklade was being examined by excavation. We were not primarily concerned with the Romans and their works, but the line of the Roman road, and more espec- ially the course and levels of the River Thames, became questions of increasing significance. It was decided, therefore, to check by excavation the assumptions and suggestions summarized in the preced- ing paragraph. On 28 August 1954, towards the end of the second season of work at Cricklade, a small group of Students was detached from the main force, and a trench was cut across the supposed line of the road near the Thames and immediately north of it (AB in Fig. 2). This was preceded by preliminary probing 194 which suggested a hard surface about a foot below the modern ground level. The road was quickly re- vealed (PI. I), and its direct course north-west from Calcutt was at last proved beyond all argument. It appeared to be about 24 feet wide, and it consisted of a layer of stones and gravel on a bank or agger of clay. A broad shallow scoop at each side of the road contained vivid reddish-yellow sand and gravel, probably washed by floods from the surface of the road while it was still in use;!! above this was a layer of stones and greyish gravel clearly spilled from the road after it had been abandoned. The spilled stones, most of which were on the south side of the road, may be seen in section at AB 46—57 (Fig. 4) and in the foreground of the photograph (Pl. I). The angle at which they lie suggests that they were removed from the road by ploughing. The true surface of the road, therefore, has gone; and this accounts for its present lack of camber. Twenty-two pieces of Romano-British tile were picked up, nineteen from the present surface of the road and three from the spilled material on the south side. Two coins were also found: one, a siliqua of Honorius, !? lay on the surface of the road (AB 35—36); the other, a much corroded coin of apparently the same period,!3 lay immediately under the foundation layer of stones and gravel (AB 26—27). Attempts to draw a clear section proved abortive, for at about 2 feet 6 inches water suddenly began to seep into the trench, and within a few minutes it was completely flooded. It was impossible to continue digging or even to draw all that had been briefly seen below the level of the rising water. Work was therefore discontinued on 2 September. No excavation of the “ town wall’ at Cricklade was planned for the following year, but a visit to the site coincided with a comparatively dry period, and there seemed to be a good chance of digging deeper sections along the line of the road than had been possible in 1954. Dr T. R. Thomson and Miss Faith Morgan quickly collected a few tools; Mr J. A. Giles of Wootton Bassett offered surveying assistance; and three men were employed for two days (27—28 August 1955). A second trench (CD) was cut across the road; the 1954 trench (AB) was re-opened; and square holes were dug along the line EF in an attempt to locate the ramps which, it has been suggested, carried the road across the old course of the Thames. In this two-day excavation no careful search for finds was made. The intention was to check the results obtained in 1954, to secure a clearer section than had then been possible, and to dig as deeply as water levels permitted after a spell of unusually dry weather. One find was reported, though not from the areas immediately under investigation: Mr J. Kilminster of Cricklade handed in a coin which he had found about six weeks before (July 1955) precisely on the line of the road at the spot marked Gin Fig. 2. It is a small follis!4 of Maximinus Daza, and with the coins found in 1954 it is now in Cricklade Museum. The two sections AB and CD, as completed in 1955, are shown in Fig. 4. They give a fairly clear picture of the road. It consisted of a layer of stones and gravel carried across the low-lying marshes on a causeway of clay. The shallow scoops at its sides probably served as drainage ditches as well as quarries for material. The clays of this area present many problems to the excavator, and without con- siderable experience of them it is often difficult in the field to distinguish between disturbed and natural layers. It was possible to distinguish between the two in Trench AB (Layers 6 and 9): the disturbed layer was slightly looser in texture, and it contained traces of weathering which showed up faintly as it dried out. This distinction was later confirmed in the laboratories of the Geological Survey. We have at this point, therefore, a bank now only slightly more than a foot high, and the surface of the road cannot have been much more than 2 feet above the natural level of the marsh. Even allowing for a sinking of the road through the centuries, one might have expected a higher causeway in an area so subject to flooding. In 1955 the undisturbed or natural clay in Trench AB was tested to a depth of 10 feet. In Trench CD, however, a layer of soggy black silt was encountered at a depth of between 4 feet and 4 feet 3 inches, and lying on the surface of this was what appeared to be a layer of brushwood and one large log some 9 or 10 inches in diameter. The log was so well-preserved by water that blows from a spade fell upon it 195 as if upon metal, and it was not easy to chip away a piece large enough to serve as a sample.!5 Fresh- water shells were abundant in the black silt.1© They occurred also, though far less frequently, in the clays above the silt, most noticeably perhaps at a depth of 35—40 inches. The immediate impression was that the road at this point had crossed one of the deeper channels intersecting the marshes, and that the Romans had laid down a layer of logs and brushwood to act as a raft or foundation for the clay bank which they then built to a height of 3 feet or more above the level of the black silt. This may well be the correct interpretation of the section—it was later accepted by the Geological Survey upon the evidence of a continuous series of samples cut from the clays and the silt. A disconcerting feature in the field, however, was the failure to recognize as disturbed the clay im- mediately above the black silt. An occasional fleck of charcoal seemed to suggest disturbance down to 28—30 inches, and, as a natural level at this depth would have given a built-up bank of about the the same height as that in AB, it became a theoretical possibility that the log, the brushwood and the black silt had all been covered by natural agencies long before the Roman period. As Trench CD was open for less than twenty-four hours on 27—28 August, there was no opportun- ity to watch the clay drying out or to study the section under changing conditions, often important con- siderations when excavating in clays. It seemed best to carry the doubts forward to the laboratory, and a column of clay (six inches square in section to ensure an uncontaminated core) was cut from the side of the trench and submitted to Dr G. W. Dimbleby who kindly conducted a pollen analysis. His opin- ion is that the whole profile beneath the stone-and-gravel foundation, including the log and the black carbonaceous silt, is post-Atlantic (i.e. Neolithic or later) and that all the material below 38—39 inches was laid down naturally by normal alluvial deposition under relatively constant ecological conditions. He detects evidence of an old surface at 38—39 inches, an interpretation which is based not only on pollen analysis but also on other soil features noted in the samples, including charcoal flecks at about 25 inches and comparatively abundant remains of molluscs at about 38 inches. !7 Although it was not seen in the field, the old surface recognized by Dr Dimbleby is taken to divide the disturbed and the undisturbed clays in the section CD as it is now drawn (Fig. 4). According to this interpretation the log and the brushwood lying on top of the black silt were already buried beneath —9—10 inches of later alluvial deposit when the Romans arrived and threw up aclay bank. According to this interpretation, also, it is assumed that the black silt with its cover of driftwood is the result of a flood _ of unusual severity in pre-Roman times. But the alternative interpretation, that the black silt represents a water channel still open to the sky when the Romans arrived, cannot be ruled out. In Trench CD, where the ground was penetrated to a depth of 6 feet, the layer of black silt was shown to be at least _ 2 feet thick, and it does not occur at all in Trench AB where the ground was penetrated to a depth of 10 feet. It may also be significant that water flowed into Trench CD at about 5 feet 6 inches but into Trench AB (in 1955) only at about 9 feet. These facts seem to suggest that the black siltin Trench CD is not the result of a flood of unusual severity over the whole area but rather represents a deep water channel still to some extent flowing beneath the ground, a water channel over which the Romans | probably had to carry theirroad. It must remain uncertain whether the Romans floated a three-foot clay _bank on brushwood over an open water course or whether, as Dr Dimbleby’s results suggest, they _ Faised a two-foot clay bank on what was already slightly higher and drier ground. A few more holes _and a few more samples might resolve the doubt, but no closer conclusion could be drawn from the results of the two-day excavation in 1955. The absolute height of the clay bank and therefore of the _ road surface is not, of course, affected by this indecisive conclusion. It remained constant between AB _and CD, as the sections show. __ The little time that remained in 1955 was devoted to a hasty search for the ramps by which it was _ thought the road had been carried across the old course of the river. A line 100 feet long was laid down | | 196 between E and F (Fig. 2) and four five-foot square holes (EF 5—10, 25—30, 50—55 and 78—83) were opened up along it. In each square the basic section was the same: black silt, identical in content and character with that in Trench CD, !8 began at a depth of about 2 feet 9 inches below the ground level! 9 and continued to a depth of at least 6 feet, beyond which it was impossible to dig because of incoming water; above the black silt was a two-foot layer of dark brown clay; and above this was 8—9 inches of topsoil. The only interesting feature, noticed most clearly at EF 50—55, was that the top three or four inches of the brown clay were stained a bright orange colour reminiscent of, though not probably con- nected with, the orange or reddish-yellow sand and gravel which occurred in the hollows scooped at the sides of the road in Trenches AB and CD. No sign of a stone-and-gravel road foundation was encoun- tered in any of the four holes. Lack of time precluded further excavation, which might have demon- strated that it had been ploughed or washed away. The holes were dug to a depth of 6 feet, but the bottom third quickly filled with water, the natural level of which (in August 1955) appeared to be about 18 inches higher than the natural level of the water at CD. The loop in the old river is not an ideal place for digging. The ground is wet and waterlogged even in dry weather, and the proximity of sewage disposal beds is not an advantage. Conclusions may now be summarized. First and foremost, the fundamental question of what hap- pened to Ermin Street at Cricklade is entirely removed from the sphere of speculation and argument. From Calcutt it continued straight across the low-lying meadows and marshes, ignoring the higher and drier ground on which Cricklade now stands. Its line is as marked on the map in Fig. 2. It was clearly seen in trenches at AB and CD, the coin of Maximinus Daza testifies to its line at G, and earlier finds and observations, referred to above, are sufficient to prove its existence between X and Y. Its main constructional features are revealed in the sections AB and CD (Fig. 4), but further work is needed to settle certain details, not least the question of whether or not the Romans used a layer of brushwood to act as a foundation for the clay bank where the road had to be carried over open streams or pools in the marshes. And further work is needed before it will be possible to explain exactly how the road crossed the old course of the Thames at or near EF. That Ermin Street was built at an early stage in the Roman occupation of Britain may be accepted, even without the evidence of the first-century coins referred to above.29 But how long this particular section (X—-Z) remained in use is another question, and it has been suggested that it was early aban- doned in favour of the diversion through Cricklade.?! It is true that it crossed a piece of exceedingly difficult and marshy ground, it has been noted that the bank on which it was carried was not so high as might have been expected, and it is virtually certain that it would be submerged by floods from time to time.22 But the suggestion that it was early abandoned cannot be accepted. The twenty-two pieces of tile found in the trench at AB are evidence that the road was repaired and maintained. And the three coins found in 1954-55 show that it was still used late in the fourth century or early in the fifth. There is no reason to doubt that it lasted as long as the Roman occupation of Britain. It probably fell into disuse with the collapse of Roman authority. The first Saxons who settled at Cricklade would have no use for the sodden 66 chains of road between X and Z, though they and their successors continued to use Ermin Street north-west of the Churn crossing and south-east of Calcutt. Between thirty and forty years ago A. D. Passmore could report that not a single article of Roman date had, to his knowledge, been found in Cricklade itself, 23 and by 1951 only a few isolated finds of the Roman period had come to light within the town.24 The excavations of 1953—-54, however, pro- duced thousands of Romano-British sherds of pottery, so many that one must postulate something like a large villa community in what is now the north-west quarter of the town. About a mile and a half to the east, at Kingshill, there was another Romano-British community, 25 and others are thought to have existed in the neighbourhood. The Romano-British communities at Cricklade and Kingshill were both | 197 within a few hundred yards of Ermin Street. They seem to have flourished in the second half of the Roman period. Ermin Street, unbroken and well-maintained, was no doubt an important factor in their economic life. Some centuries later, when the * town wall’ of Cricklade was built,the continuity of Ermin Street had already been broken. The excavations of 1953-54 proved that the * wall’ was a broad clay bank with a well-built face of stone and mortar. For three-quarters of its length it was accompanied by a wide deep ditch, set back some considerable distance from the wall but contemporary with it, a water-filled hazard which greatly increased the strength of the town’s defences. There is reason to believe that the course of the Thames was deliberately changed at this time by the cutting of a new and deeper channel which gave the river its present course, diverting the waters from the old course (still the parish boundary) and bringing them nearer to the north-east corner of the town in order to provide a good permanent supply for the defensive ditch. The elaboration of these details belongs more properly to the full report on the Cricklade excavations. Here it is enough to note that by this date the 66 chains of Ermin Street between Calcutt and the Churn crossing had been finally abandoned to the marshes. There is no evidence to sug- gest that this section was ever again used as a road. I should like to record here my great indebtedness to Mr Tony Newbould, who in 1954 struggled manfully but in vain against the rising waters in Trench AB; to Dr T. R. Thomson, Miss Faith Morgan and Mr J. A. Giles for much valuable assistance in 1955; to Miss Mary Baldwin for the photograph reproduced in Pl. I (and for many other photographs taken in 1954); and to Dr I. W. Cornwall, Dr G. W. Dimbleby, Dr F. H. Edmunds and Mr J. D. A. Thompson for illuminating reports on finds and samples submitted for examination. Fuller acknowledgements will be made in the final report on the excavations at Cricklade. 1See, for example, W. Stukeley, [tinerarium Curiosum 1724), 62; W. Allan, Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine (hereafter abbreviated as WAM), xii (1870), 126-9; N.S. Maskelyne, WAM xxx (1898-99), 95-9; E. H. Goddard, WAM xxxviii (1913-14), 237-8: T. R. Thomson, A Short History of Cricklade (1946), 3; The Official Guide to Cricklade (1949), 5; T. R. Thomson, Materials for a His- tory of Cricklade, Early History (1950), 1-2; M. Callender and N. Thomas, WAM lv (1953-54), 37-8. 2The wooden causeway is suggested by A. D. Passmore, WAM xlvii (1935-37), 287. The suggestion that the road was carried on ‘trestles’ and was early abandoned in favour of the route through the town is made in The Official Guide to Cricklade (1949), 11, and adopted by I. D. Margary, Roman Roads in Britain (1955-57), I. 122 -3. Mr Margary’s second volume (1957), 264, contains an addendum which notes that the line of the road (though not the trestles and the early abandonment) was confirmed by excavation in 1954 and 1955, and briefly refers to the evidence and the arguments now published. 3For details, often confused, see: Numismatic Chronicle, 2nd ser., iv (1864), 216-23; Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, 2nd ser., iii (1864-67), 67-8, 203-4; WAM ix (1863), 232-7; xii (1870), 126-9; xiv (1874), 186-92; xli (1920-22), 390-1; xlv (1930-32), 185, 195; 1 (1942 -44), 494; A. D. Passmore, The Roman Road from Caerleon to Silchester (1948), 2; Victoria County History, Wiltshire, I. i (1957), 61. ‘Information kindly supplied by Mr C. W. Phillips, Archaeology Officer of the Ordnance Survey. af °R. Colt Hoare, Ancient Wiltshire, Roman A2ra (1821), | VOL. LVILCCVII 6Either the location given by Colt Hoare is wrong or the ‘ causeway ’ refers to some other structure in the area, perhaps an old ford across the Thames, perhaps even part of the wall which surrounds the town. The Town Bridge is nowhere near the line X—Z. 7A. D. Passmore, The Roman Road from Caerleon to Silchester (1948), 22. 8T. Codrington, Roman Roads in Britain (1903), 349. 91. D. Margary, Roman Roads in Britain (1955-57) I. 122-3. It may be noted that Margary misquotes Passmore and places the yellow crop-mark ‘at Kempsford’. Kemps- ford is about four miles away. Passmore (1948) had said that it was ‘ near the turning to Kempsford ’. 10A, D. Passmore, WAM xlvii (1935-37), 286-7: ‘ Owing to the drought and very low water I was enabled to walk along the bed of the Thames where the Roman Road crosses it, but could see no traces of the crossing, no stones, no bridge foundations or any sign of the road in either of the banks, which here were free of herbage and presented a clear-cut vertical bank about 5ft. high. These were searched for hundreds of yards each way. Had the Roman Road existed at this place as a paved road it must have been seen’. See also A. D. Passmore, WAM xli (1920-22), 390-1, and The Roman Road from Caerleon to Silchester (1948), 2. 11See below, note 22. 12Silver siliqua: Honorius (A.D. 395-423): Mint of Mediolanum (Milan): Obv. DNHONORIVS P F AVG : Rev. VIRTVS ROMANORVM: Roma seated (7?) left, holding a spear and Victory: Mark MDPS (J. D. A. Thompson). 13Theodosian or barbarous copy: Fourth or early fifth century: Size 12.5 mm. (J.D. A. Thompson). Z 198 14Small follis (copper): Maximinus II Daza (A.D. 307 —314): Mint of Trevisi (Trier): Oby. IMP MAXIMINVS PF AVG: Rev.GENIO POP ROM: Genius standing left: Mark aa (J. D. A. Thompson). 15Dr I. W. Cornwall kindly examined samples sent to him at the Institute of Archaeology. He confirmed that the log was oak and he identified other fragments of the brushwood as alder. 16Copious samples were collected for examination, but no report on molluscs has yet been received. 17]t is hoped to print Dr Dimbleby’s report in full when the complete account of the Cricklade excavations is published. 18Samples of clays, silt and molluscs were taken and submitted for examination with the samples from Trenches ABand CD. 19The modern ground level at E is 7-8 inches higher than at C. Therefore in absolute terms the top of the layer of black silt at EF is about 1 foot 6 inches higher than the top of the layer of black silt at CD. ATTON CRICKLADE L | TO CIRENCESTER : 20See above, p. 192 and note 3. 21See above, p. 192 and note 2. 22Nails driven into a wooden door at the sewage station mark the levels reached during recent floods, and from these it can be calculated that within the last few years flood water has risen to 2 feet 4 inches above the present surface of the road at AB and CD. Even allowing for a slight sinking of the road and for an additional layer of now vanished metalling, it can hardly be doubted that the road would be completely under water from time to time in the Roman period. Probably the reddish-yellow sand and gravel in the scoops at the sides of the road is best ex- plained as surface material washed off the road during floods. 23A.D. Passmore, WAM xli (1920-22), 390-1. 24Victoria County History, Wiltshire, 1. i (1957), 61-2. See also Cricklade Museum Catalogue. 25M. Callender and N. Thomas, ‘ A Roman House at Kingshill Farm, Cricklade ’, WAM lv (1953-54), 34-9. BLUNSDON TO SILCHESTER Fig. 1. Ermin Street at Cricklade. ROAD CROSSING RIVER ON RAMPS LOOP FORMED AFTER Vy, COLLAPSE OF CROSSING Fig. 3. Diagrams to illustrate the formation of the loop along the course of the Thames at Cricklade. 199 eZ w zes fi ae Ee Ge ‘ << aay pal Le ae <-z—+— U x as iS Hes E | xc U !) | ded el, fe) Sime a 2 on = ollliliio em WY ! e | af = oo 2Z 200 ‘OPEPOHID Iv pVOY URWIOY ssoloe sUOT}IIg “p “SIT AVID G3eunLsiann © ius avian yDVvI8 AV1D GAGUNLSIANN ¢ AVID G3sUNLSIG V3AVUD GNY GNVS MO113A-HS1GG34 J3AVYD GNY S3NOLS S3NOLS GNY GNVS ‘13AVeS WIOS AVID NMOUS W0sdOL QO 1334 S9°LS2 OCOOQDOOHO i— A — 1334 01 OL avou “Rous a] =: WEES Panes ————_ 0'0 1334 S9°LSZ AX NOLS ayoyu JO oe ee GS-vS6| JQVIADIeD 201 THE EARLY BOUNDS OF WANBOROUGH AND LITTLE HINTON AN EXERCISE IN TOPOGRAPHY By T. R. THOMSON INTRODUCTION by W. G. HOSKINS INTRODUCTION The almost total neglect of fieldwork, of visual evidence as opposed to documentary, is perhaps the most astonishing gap in the armoury of the historian, above all in the study and writing of Local History. To the prehistorian, the evidence of his own eyes is almost the only evidence he has for many periods of time; but once the documents begin to be numerous the historian tends to forget this side of his tech- nique entirely, and to believe that the truth can be unearthed only from paper and parchment in some library or record office. It was not always so, even among historians. One recalls the great topographers of the past, begin- ning with William of Worcester and his detailed survey of Bristol streets and buildings in the last quarter of the fifteenth century, and proceeding through Leland and others to the notable English antiquarian travellers of the eighteenth century, whose personal observations of English topography and antiquities in their time constitute for us today a veritable mine of evidence. Naturally, this evidence of the eyes must be weighed, and its value accurately assessed like that of documents, and one must not claim too much for it. Nor does one wish to set up an opposition between the documentary approach and the fieldwork approach in the realm of Local History. They are obviously complementary to each other. One can do do valuable fieldwork on the basis of documents which are already known, such as Anglo-Saxon charters; and in doing so one often adds immeasurably to the information contained in the document alone. Or one may begin by observations in the field, such as (for example) the great rebuilding which took place inrural England, and to some extent in the towns also, in the two or three generations between ~ about 1570 and 1640, and thence return to the documents with specific questions calling for an answer. The neglect of the study of topography in our time is reflected in various ways. The late O. G. S. _ Crawford, in his book Archaeology in the Field, drew attention with characteristic forcefulness to one important aspect of this neglect: The Public Record Office has practically excluded from its publications (which are of the highest order of scholarship) all purely topographical material. If that is because it is regarded as of local rather than national importance, the answer is that a nation consists of many localities. The real reason is that the study of English History has acquired an overwhelmingly legal aspect, to the exclusion of much else. It is really time that some of the topographical surveys were published. The P.R.O. has not even published the great roll of Forest Perambulations of 28 Edward I,—whose national importance can hardly be questioned.—But the final test of all documentary sources is in the field. One might well add to the forest perambulations the tens of thousands of medieval extents of manors which exist in the Public Record Office, and which the official publications have generally failed to give us even in abstract. If all these extents were published, and worked out upon the ground where neces- _ sary, and the forest perambulations similarly treated, county by county, we should acquire in the _ course of time a marvellously detailed picture of medieval England. It is greatly to be hoped that local | scholars here and there will undertake this work for given counties. | If we tackle the Anglo-Saxon charters relating to landed estates in the same way, we shall gradually acquire a picture, less detailed and less complete, it is true, than that of the medieval period, of England | in the two or three centuries before the Norman Conquest. A start has been made for Wiltshire, but there is much more to be accomplished before we have as full a picture of pre-Conquest Wiltshire _as is possible from the extant charters. | 202 It is not necessary here to go into the technique and equipment necessary for this kind of fieldwork. But one fundamental point must be made; that the working-out of Anglo-Saxon charter boundaries cannot possibly be accomplished satisfactorily by sitting in a study with the text and a few Ordnance Survey maps, as the late Dr. G. B. Grundy did for various counties. Much of Grundy’s work on the neighbouring counties of Oxfordshire, Somerset, and Gloucestershire elucidated valuable information about Anglo-Saxon topography; but much of it is vitiated also by his neglect to visit the country in- volved and to explore the ground itself. Very few Anglo-Saxon charters contain boundaries which are wholly self-evident. Most contain substantial mileages which can only be worked out laboriously in the field, and, even there, often only by a process of trial and error. The amount of work and the difficulties involved vary from charter to charter, but there are, in my experience, few charters that will not yield in the end to patient and intelligent detective work in the open country. W. G. HOSKINS . | | | { | | | | ‘e | | THE EARLY BOUNDS OF WANBOROUGH AND LITTLE HINTON Following some eight years work on pre-Conquest boundaries in north-east Wiltshire, I feel that the time has come to put on record for our members two further detailed results. I have chosen the charters printed by Birch as numbers 477, 478, 479, (Kemble 1053), because the solutions offered by Grundy (Arch. Jour. Ixxvi, 172-180) are more erroneous than many others he offered in the same series. More- over, he has been followed in error by Miss Robertson,! and to some extent by the late O. G. S. Craw- ford in the 6 in. O.S. markings. In this work it is futile to expect results by sitting in a study, equipped only with a volume of Birch, 6 in. Ordnance sheets, and a copy of the E.P.N.S. Wiltshire volume. In the hope that other members will take up this type of enquiry into early boundaries in other parts of the county, I append what I con- sider to be necessary. Assumptions (a) that at some time, some person, well acquainted with the bounds, set them down, or caused them to be set down. (b) that such charter as we have describing those bounds represents, however poorly, such a per- ambulation. (c) that the place to be examined is approximatel y the place with which the charter is dealing. Agenda 1. Inspection on foot of the whole area, in the different seasons of the year, in flood and in drought, in crop, stubble, and fallow, and in morning and evening light. This inspection should include a note of Bench Marks, and sometimes a survey of the fall of watercourses. It certainly should include the observations of watersheds, and investigation into the character of soils. 2. Enquiry by conversations with farmers, landowners, agents, old inhabitants, and persons who _ have been engaged in any engineering, pipe-laying, or similar work in the neighbourhood. 3. Historical Research into the history of the property, as a whole, and in parts, using the usual methods of enquiry. This includes records of barrows and other earthworks, and an intensive study of field and other names. 4. Examination of Maps of all scales and ages. These must include all the scales and all the dates of the Ordnance Survey; Tithe Award and Enclosure Award maps; old County maps, Estate, and “special ’ maps, if relevant, such as Duchy of Lancaster, Parliamentary, Railway and Canal Surveys; and air photographs. 5. Linguistic Enquiry with the help of Anglo-Saxon scholars. Generally speaking, the locus to fit the words must be found, or, the locus being known, an attempt must be made to find a sense for the words; or the words must be modified to correct a copyist’s error or a misapprehension. 6. Books of all kinds, dealing with the neighbourhood, must be examined. These enquiries must include contiguous properties which might present a common bound. Est modus in rebus, sunt certi denique fines, Quos ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum. | In the case of the following two charters the boundaries follow the modern parish boundaries. Both concern Winchester properties, and both texts are open to suspicion. The area of the 204 first, Little Hinton, 20 hides, is included in the much larger second, Wanborough. The Domesday manor of Wanborough was assessed at 19 hides. Presumably, this was the original property less the manor of Ardescote. 2 The earlier charter, B477, in Latin (with survey), and B478 in Anglo-Saxon, of date A.D. 854, deal with a grant by Ethelwulf to the church of SS. Peter and Paul at Winchester of land which we shall show to be the modern parish of Little Hinton. It seems to have belonged at one time to Earl Wulfhere, one of the witnesses. Possibly he was the immediate donor. Another Wiltshire estate of his, Stockton, found its way into the hands of the monks of St. Swithin. Wanborough is a name more ancient than Hinton.3 It signifies the district of the ‘ wen barrows’ (plural), and the attachment of any particular barrow is futile. The second charter, B479, purports to give the bounds at the time of Stigand, some two centuries later than B477. It includes the modern parish of Wanborough and the parish of Little Hinton.4 It is obviously based on a new perambulation, as the eastern boundary, common to both charters, has a com- pletely different set of marks, although the line is the same. This makes the present enquiry the more interesting, the more apt to be misleading, and most suggestive of motive. We give below, first the charters as printed by Birch, and then the perambulations.5 The results are set out in the two maps at the beginning of this article. These were prepared for me by Mr R. Holdsworth and are based on the Ordnance Survey. BCS 479 . . . . Hiis metis eadem. XXti. manse circumgirantur. this synd thara twentig hida land ge mere aet wenbeorgan of smitan on thone stan of tham stanae on thone ealdan an of than eadenne innan lentan of lentan on gean thone stream on thone greatan thorne stent bae lentan scathe (stathe) of than thornae on tha weter furh innan smalan broc of smalan broce on than stenihte hlince . on glottos wylle . of glottes wylle . on wylles heafod on (sic) wylles heafodde on wulfheres cumbe of wulfheres cumbe on wulfheres clif of wulfheres clife on tha furh of thaere furh on winfles beorg of than beorge on thonne holan stan of tham holan stane on thone haran stan . of tham haran stane on tha holan wannan on thone wugan (rugan) hlinc . of tham rugan hlincae on thone durnen crundel of tham durnen crundelle on thone thorn of tham thorne on thone stan . of tham stanae on tha dic. to there dic ende on there dic ende on thone wogan hlinc . of tham wogan hlince on tha catt hola . of tham catt holan on wenbeorge of than beorge on thone mycelan cumbe. of mycelan cumbe on smalan combe of smalan cumbe on thone ealdan treow stede of than ealdan treow stede on tha wogan apoldran of there wogan apoldran on folces dic . of folces dic . on ealcheres dic of ealcheres dic . on tha apoldran . of here (thaere) apoldran innan smitan . The northern part of Little Hinton is low lying and flat. The only features it exhibits are streams, ditches, and runnels. We may begin our perambulations from the river Cole, long established as the Smita, but it seems impossible at first to say from what point. The Cole has a feeble but definite valley, and its course is unlikely to have changed within a long period. But when we consider the many water- courses running into it from the south, uncertainty prevails. The present parish and county boundary follows, in the northern part of the parish, a watercourse which is patently artificial. But this does not mean that it is not an ancient course, straightened and banked. Neither does the natural appearance of the lower reach of the Lenta mean that it must be otherwise than a natural minute gutter enlarged-in the drain-off of annual floods. A boundary ditch is more likely to be kept in being than other parallel courses. The difference in level between the streams cannot be settled by the eye. The name of the meadow between them is Hinton Moor, mor here obviously meaning marsh. It should be remarked that the fall between Hinton Marsh Farm and the northern extremity of Little Hinton, about a mile, is only 205 some 12 feet. In such terrain, it is only too easy for man to make any number of changes of meadow watercourses. Having given this caution, I offer an opinion which can neither be established not controverted. I think our perambulation should follow the county boundary, that the stan was at the first angulation and that the line ran on to join the Lenta (i#nan lentan) as it does at present. What the significance of ealdan an and eadenne may be I do not know. Grundy (Arch. Journ. Ixxvi, 173) speaks of a ‘ water dean ’, but there is nothing here like such a feature. As it stands, of tham stanae on thone ealdan an of than eadenne innan Lentan, is obscure. Mr. R. W. Burchfield has kindly offered three suggestions. First that we should read‘ and’ for an; second, that ealdan might be amended to ea-land, which would describe admirably the water meadow; third, that if eadenne is a genuine word, and does not stand for a faulty repetition of ea-/and, it might be rendered * artificial water channel’. Of course, ealdan may have been eadenne. This provides the most comfort- able solution, and accounts for innan Lentan: the cut ( the original and present boundary) meets the Lenta * from within ’. When we reach Hinton Marsh Farm, we come to an obviously ancient site: ‘ up stream to the great thorn which stands by Lenta’s staithe” seems to me to be sufficiently informing. This site had exhibited a ford with three tracks approaching on each side, two mills, and a number of artificial mill streams. The field immediately to the South East tells of an impressive amount of human activity. In Andrews and Dury’s map, the name‘ Bury Mill ’is most suggestive. The 1828 one inch O.S. marks the mill as ‘Hinton Mill ’. The last mill has gone within human memory (leaving visible traces), and of the two chief lades, one has been piped (1955), and the other filled in and ploughed over (1955), leaving no superficial trace. Of the east to west track Oxford to Marlborough via Shrivenham, the County boundary, Hinton Mill Ford, Rogues Road,® and Horpit, the only trace remaining is a right of way across the field south-west from the ford. An elderly resident told me that very many years ago she was told bya dotard that ‘ long ago pack horses used this road, and in passing, watered at Horpit’. The other recorded tracks, with the exception of the metalled road approaching the farm from the north-east, are not evident. This most important site lies on the narrow band of Lower Greensand separating the Gault from the Kimmeridge Clay. Hence southwards the stream bed rises much more steeply towards the Chalk,—some _ eighty feet in a mile and a quarter. This abrupt change of declivity indicates the place for a mill and an obvious stopping place for water traffic. It is of some significance that the county boundary (which is an old east-west track) runs to this point. Bearing in mind the above, I am convinced that the stream was navigable to this point. Stathe _ signified ‘ wharf’ or * landing stage’ as early as the 14th century, and although there is no definite evidence, may well have had a similar meaning much earlier. Here it may have signified a ‘ pro- _ nounced bank ’7, in evidence now on this stretch of the Lenta alone. The site of the ‘ great thorn’ may be pinpointed where the county boundary, having left the Lenta for _a few yards in a north-easterly direction, turns abruptly S.E. as a ditch. The reason is to ensure that the _ immediate control of the mill lades is within our property. We pass S.S.E. from the ford-mill complex along the water furrow. The boundary has left the stream _ at the ford to include the mill headwaters, and appears to give, by the course of the water furrow, a quid _ pro quo to the owners on the west. It may well be that a ditch was enlarged for this purpose. The Smal _ Broc is almost certainly where it was marked by O. G. S. Crawford on the 6 inch O.S. South of this, the boundary of the parish, as marked on the map, looks artificial. So far, I have found few stones along the stony linch, but the site is marked as the parish boundary, and is discussed in the following _ note on BCS 479. Grundy has muddled the next two marks; ‘ spring to springhead’ does not make sense. The word wy/lle does not here mean ‘ spring ’ but ‘ stream ’, and it is probable that g/ottos stands 206 for glofes,that is ‘ the stream from the cliff ’ which makes sense in distinguishing it from the small water- courses arising on the north of the Little Hinton-Bishopstone road. In any case, the bound is not here in doubt. The spring, the issuant stream, and the magnificent Wulfheres Combe and Cliff are sufficiently striking. This great gash in the face of the downs has been a sighting mark for the whole length of the ‘ water furrow.’ From the downs summit at the top of Wulfheres Clif we follow the parish boundary to an angulation at a boundary stone against which the O.S. has printed ‘ Thorn’. From here to the Ridgway is a large, and obviously ancient, balk which corresponds well enough with tha furh. Our next mark is Winfles Beorg. Grundy says, * the barrow has vanished ’. This is true enough, but its site on Hulls Hill could hardly be more obvious. A great mound lies on the boundary just to the S.E. of the Ridgway. It has been dug many times for flints, and was known in BCS 479 two centuries later as the Hwitan Pyt (White Pit). From Winfel’s Barrow the present parish boundary stretches away for over a mile down the combe (Morta’s Combe of BCS 479), a fine view and a natural boundary if there ever was one. We proceed to the next mark, the Holan Stan, the hollow stone.’ It is likely that this would be at the first angulation, just N.E. of Hill Barn. It may be of significance that this point lies on a perpendicular leaving Ermine Street at a double field boundary, passing through an angulation on the ridge return boundary, exactly to the angulation under discussion, to make for the highest point of Lammy Down. 9 The next mark is the Har Stan. The meaning is probably ‘ marking,’ or ‘boundary’ stone.19 This stands at the first angle of a double angulation, the purpose of which is not apparent. A second per- pendicular from Ermine Street runs first through the corner bound of an old enclosure, and, beyond our mark, to the site of the Roman Farm.1! The Spindle Tree (Holan Wannan) probably marks the second of these angles. This curious double angulation suggests some feature connected with the Roman settlement. The boundary just west of Downs Barn (destroyed) answers well enough to its description as ‘ the rough lynch ’. The ditch seems to have been cut through some sarsens. Grundy gives for the durnen crundel the ‘ hidden quarry ’. but there is no sign of a quarry, small or large, anywhere near. For a chalk pit the situation seems, anyhow at the present time, to be inconven- ient. There are plenty of flint pits on Hinton Down, but none near. A filled-in pit can usually be spotted; moreover, if a pit were on the boundary, there would be little reason to fill it in unless it were dangerous to stock. Even so, fencing would be more convenient. Therefore, the boundary being known, ‘hidden quarry ’ is not the meaning. There is at this place a short length of deep dry ditch much over- grown and not obvious to the casual pedestrian. I suggest that durnen crundel may mean * overgrown trench ’. The next angulation at the ‘ thor’ is within a yard or two of the spot marked ‘ Thorn’ on the 6 inch O.S. This point stands on a third perpendicular leaving Ermine Street exactly at its original change of direction, and the line passes through a boundary stone on the return boundary. A most remarkable fact is that these three perpendiculars define two strips of exactly equal width, precisely one hundred and fifty Roman paces! 12 From the next angulation at ‘ the stone ’ (there is a piece of sarsen at the place), a straight dyke runs to, and ends at the Crooked Lynch (wogan hilinc). We have seen right along the coombe a fairly straight and very obvious parish boundary. Each and every slight angulation has a mark given, and each attribution is seen to be reasonable and without ‘strain’. The marking is very precise. This is usually the case in delimiting arable. Pasture and downland may be without marks for many furlongs. The Crooked Lynch is a remarkable feature both to the pedestrian topographer and to the sedentary ] 207 map reader. Its north-western side seems to be the one-time course of the ‘ Thieves Way *. This is an old east-west track, being in parts parish boundary and Hundred boundary (Folks Dyke). On the south bound of Liddington it is wrongly marked * Sugar Way’ on the 6 inch O.S. map. (The Popplechurch- Peaks Down area is full of interest, and may well have been the site of the Roman posting station before the settlement at Covingham Farm had sprung up). But having reached the crooked lynch it must be confessed that the site of our next bound, the * cat holes’, cannot be established with great assurance. At the place where the present western boundary of Little Hinton meets the crooked lynch is a small strip of uncultivated rough ground with a number of small depressions. For the southern two miles of the western boundary, we have no marks. It seems possible that there is an omission in the MS. The present boundary runs parallel to Ermine Street along the hill top, set out with numerous stones. The next mark, the wen beorge, (singular), must have been on the summit of Fox Hill (Totterdown). It cannot be placed, because the locus is strewn with flint pits, ancient and modern. The word ‘ Totterdown’ probably signifies that the summit was a look-out post. The view to the north is very extensive. Immediately below is the Ridgway. The boundary continues north-west. There is at present a treble angulation at the crossing of the Ridgway. If this is original, it seems to signify an important site, for example a building, a cross, or a spring, at the junction of the Bishopstone road with the Ridgway. Our next two marks, the great combe (mycelan cumbe) and the small combe (smalan aumbe), are very striking natural features. The present boundary runs right across each, down and up, and in places shows a very large balk. Grundy obviously had not walked the line as he calls the large combe the small one, and does not notice the latter. The next mark is the ealdan treow stede. Grundy has * the old farmstead by the tree’. This is, of course, nonsense. A boundary either includes or excludes a habitation, however derelict, except in the most unusual circumstances (which it would be out of place to discuss here). Further, stede does not usually mean ‘ farm’. ‘ Old clump of trees ’ would be a fair rendering. This bound cannot be fixed, but it is close to where the parish boundary crossed a bifurcation of the Icknield Way. From here onwards we proceed across flat featureless country, scored by many ditches, whose courses may, or may not, be ancient. The ~* bent apple tree ’ (wogan apoldran) seems to have been on the present boundary just west of Home Farm, and may indeed mark the present angulation of the parish boundary there to be observed. From here northwards the country is flat and featureless for the mile before the next mark. The present boundary follows a drain which is an enlarged natural ditch. There is no other natural boundary and it seems safe to conclude that the line has remained unchanged. This little watercourse crosses the old Marlborough-Oxford road mentioned above—the Folks’ Dyke, and the boundary is continued northwards as an impressive balk and ditch, Ealchers Dyke, to an angulation just west of Mount Pleasant. This angulation was probably marked by the apple tree (Apoldran). From here the line runs due north to the Smita. BCS 479 Dis synd tha land ge maero aet wenbeorgan . stigandes bisceopes. of than stapole stent innan scocera wege . swa innan tha wogan dice of thaere wogan dic . innan beh hilde sloh . of beh hilde sloh . uppan beordune . of beorh dune to wullafes stane . of wullafes stan and lang cumbes . innan hyldan aewylmas . swa and lang hlydan innan tho ham dic . of thaere ham dic innan tha heafod stoccas . of tham heafod stoccan . innan dorcan swa lang streames . innan tha ealdanig dicswa and lang innan smitan stream . swa lang streames . on easte weard lilles ham . up in thane blacan VOL. LVII.-~CCVII ZA 208 pyt . of than blacan pytte . on middle wyrth thane maere on thaene stan . of tham stane. innan tha holan wannan . of thaere holan wannan . up on icen hilde weg . on thaene haethenan byriels . of icen hilde wege innan tha cwealm stowe . of there cwealm stowe innan swyrd aeceras heafod on thonan hwitan pyt . of tham hwitan pytte . innan tha twegen stanes on mortan cumbe . of mortan cumbe and lang thes wogan hlince . of than wogan hlince innan tha catt hola . of tham catt holan innon thone crundel . of tham crundele innan folces dic . swa eft in on thone stapol. We start at the stapol, the boundary staff or pole, which stands at the crossing of Sugar Way,—the ancient track studded with barrows running along the crest of the hill between Aldbourne and Lidding- ton,—and the Scocera Weg (Thieves Way) running east and west. This is the site of the Red Stan of the Liddington charter (BCS 754) whose bounds will march with ours for some distance. In the Duchy of Lancaster Survey of 1591 it is called the ‘ mere stone on top of Dige Hill’. The site commands very fine views and from here can be seen Ermine Street at Rickets Cross. The highest point is a few yards to the north of, and within (innan), the Thieves Way. Grundy has confused the Thieves Way and Sugar Way. The latter may take its name from Segur to whom the Bishop of Salisbury granted land in Wanborough about A.D. 1150. ‘ Dige Hill’ takes its name from the Digges family of Upham. Grundy has also con- fused the two Folks Dykes. From the Stapol we proceed north-west along the present hilltop boundary by the curving (wogan) dyke to a point immediately above (innan) Behildes Slough. This is a very obvious pocket of low ground lying under the hill, north-east of Liddington Warren Farm. The bound on the line at the crest is given in BCS 754 (Liddington) as Bechildes Treu. Our bound, keeping north-west along the crest of the hill (which is Sugar Way and the present parish boundary) proceeds along the dyke, (anlang there dich, of BCS 754) to the transverse depression called in the same Badherdes Slade. \3 Carrying on the same lines along Barrow Down, beorh dune, past the barrow itself (W.A.M. xl, 49) our next mark is Wullafs Stone.14 This is a large sarsen, hitherto unnoticed, lying beside Sugar Way at 2218/7993. Itis the same as the Wi/lenestan of BCS 754. Sugar Way and our boundary is joined by the newer valley road to Aldbourne just before the latter crosses the Ridgway, and our boundary leaves it at the cross roads for the spring and the deep gulley of the Lide. It is worth remark that the place where the bound crosses the Ridgway is called in BCS 754 Feden Thorn. The place is marked in Colt Hoare’s Ancient Wilts (pp 34 and 37) ‘ Ridgway Bush’. Our progress along the course of the Lide, and lang cumbes innan hlydan,15 seems obvious enough, but the next mark, the ham dyke, needs explanation. Grundy suggested the Roman road, and this is indeed the parish boundary and, presumably, the tobrokene strate of the Liddington Charter. But the meaning of ham dyke needs close scrutiny for its elucidation. I suggest that the ham was the precursor of the present Covingham, or Covenham, Farm. An inspection of the length of Roman road involved shows that on the southern section the watercourse is on the east, and is running south. The middle section 1s a water- shed exhibiting a large balk on the west side of the road. The ground then falls northward and the balk is replaced by a ditch. The modern boundary follows precisely this course. I suggest that this line, the ham dyke, was the eastern bound of the farm land. The ditch leaves the road, short of the farm, to turn north-west, continuing as the parish boundary. An examination of the run of the selions on the farm side convinces me that Grundy was right in his con- viction that this is the line of the heafod stoccas. The ground to the south-west of this line is slightly lower in level, and may well have been always unfit for the plough. It shows no sign of ridge and furrow. We now pass along the ditch running immediately south-west (innan) of the headland stakes to reach, but not cross, (innan), the Dorca. So along the Dorca to the ealdanig dic. If this may be rendered ‘ the boundary ditch of the old island-meadow ’, the present boundary running past Little Nythe Farm fits 209 the case. The fiat meadow to the west of the farmhouse is bounded north and south by streams and east and west by considerable ditches. Swa and lang innan smitan stream . swa lang streames . on easte weard lilles ham.1® This is not so easy. It is clear that we proceed eastward along the Smita (R. Cole). Grundy says: * This carries the survey all along the N. by which is formed by the Smita. Lill’s House must have at the N.E. corner of the parish, half a mile S.E. of Longleaze Farm in South Marston parish.’!7 In any case, a house could not be built on this marshy ground. Now there are only four marks between the Smita and the Icknield Way, a distance of nearly two miles. This means either that we must postulate omissions, or that the bound is fairly self-evident. It is certain that two streams are concerned,—the Smita, and one of the courses of the Lenta. The boundary must come south, so applying general principles, we must look for sites of significance and changes of direction. What, and where, is Lilles Ham? I am not disposed to accept Lill as a personal name, because the change of one letter, L to M, makes sense. I have shown in the preceding charter that the site ‘ Bury Mill—County Boundary—Hinton Marsh Farm—tThe Staithe ’ was an important place. Mylen-ham, * enclosure in which a mill stands ’, occurs in KCD 633. A reading in this sense is satisfying. In my view, therefore, the boundary runs south from the Smita along the same line as in the previous charter as far south as the mill, and, as in the previous charter, makes a point of including this site,—‘* on eastweard Lilles ham.’ The black pit (b/acan pyt) may still be seen immediately south of the ‘ c’ of Smal Broc on the 6 inch O.S. map. We are still on the parish boundary and the line of the previous charter, which here turns east for a few yards and then south. As the half mile between the Smal Broc and the Sword Acres is full of interest, the marks are here tabulated: 477 479 smal broc | black pyt , on than stenihte hlince on midde wyrth thane maere on thaene stan innan tha holan wannan up on icen hilde wege on thaene haethenan byriels of icen hilde wege innan tha cwealm stowe on glottos (glofes) wylle on wylles heafod innan swyrd aeceras heafod on wulfheres cumbe The boundary has to cross a watershed from the Black Pit (it is yet a pit and black) to the stream descending Wulfheres Coombe. An inspection of the ground shows why the boundary was not laid out in a direct diagonal. The land is valuable and well drained, and, if used for arable, ridge and furrow _ must run from the south to the drainage ditch at the northern field limit. Inspection shows that the selions run thus. The length from this ditch to the sharply rising bank on the south is about 500 yards. The furlong _ division at 220 yards is the present parish boundary running east from the black pit.18 Hence mid _ wyrth (weard) than maere to the stone. The stone was obviously at the corner, and marked the middle of the whole field. Thence south along the ‘ stony lynch ’, now a wide shallow ditch and low bank covered with thorn, and with an average width of ten feet, to the Icknield Way. Now if the charter is not here corrupt, we proceed up to the Icknield Way to the heathen burials, and then leave the Icknield Way. If we accept the present course of the road as the contemporary course of 2A2 210 the Icknield Way, we cannot accept the present boundary. If we accept the present boundary, then the contemporary course of the Icknield Way must have been different. (If holan wannan is a true reading, it seems likely that the spindle tree was at the point A, an adjust- ment of the arable. The terrain would suit this as the ground rises steeply soon after,—‘ up’ to I.W. But the scribe may well have had his eye on 477 and have written holan wannan for holan weg. The pre- sent road is old and well hollowed, and the parish boundary crosses it at right angles making a double angulation, which shows that if the boundaries, old and new, are identical, there must have been some feature at this place (marked B). I am inclined to think that the footpath running N.E. from the village is older than the road. Itis at their present junction that the rise is steepest and the hollow deepest. This small but interesting matter must be left undecided now. ) To my mind the contemporary course of the Icknield Way was that which I have marked on the map. There is a fine gully, almost like an engineered road, descending from the east in a curve to cross the Cliff Brook (glofes wylle) at 2361/8314. The brook is a steep runnel, cannot flood, is narrow to cross, and, unlike the present crossing at the G.P., is not surrounded by marshy ground. The defaced parish boundary exhibits on field 223 a rectangular turn. This field presents to the eye nothing remarkable. It has been examined in crop, stubble, and fallow. Old maps and the air cover show nothing. When there is a sharp angulation of a defaced boundary on land which is featureless, an ancient artifact must be postulated. The charter gives a mark for the angulation, and here, beside the course of the Icknield Way must be the place of the heathen burials. We leave the Icknield Way for the cwealm stowe, which, whatever it was, is represented by the present rectangular basin in the stream marked on the 6 inch O.S.!9 Grundy, (who is some miles away), takes cwealm stowe to mean crucifix. The literal meaning is ‘ place of death ’, which one might associate with the heathen burials, possibly the place ofa fight. If innan is significant, the present boundary conforms, proceeding south on the inside (west) of this feature. We ascend the coombe to the spring, and, soon after, come to the ‘ sword acres’.2° These are truly remarkable strips of cultivation terraces on the coombe side. They are best viewed from the top. We follow the parish boundary and that of the preceeding charter up wulfheres cliff, along the wide and obviously ancient balk mentioned above, across the Ridgeway to the White Pit, which is the dug Winfel’s Beorg of 477. Hence the line runs past the ‘ two stones’ (ho/ and har of 477) along the length of Morta’s Combe to the Crooked Lynch. Thence to the Cat Holes mentioned above, and thence to the crundel at 2547/7942. This is a sizeable chalk and flint pit of irregular shape. Hence we proceed south- west along the Folks Dyke (Thieves Way and Hundred Boundary) to ascend to our starting place, the Staple. 1A-S Charters, pp. 274-276, where the author has some valuable notes on B. 478. 2The manor of Ardescote, now represented by Earls- court Farm in the northern part of Little Hinton, be- longed before the Conquest to Earl Odda. He died a “monk in 1056. We shall see that this property was in- -cluded in the royal grant to Winchester in 854. ‘Domesday manor (434) was held by Stephen the carpen- The ter. It is given as one hide and one virgate, and no mill is mentioned. The E.P.N.S. suggests a derivation from “ Eard’s Cottage’. The Geld Rolls suggest that it was in Thornhill Hundred. A 2d. garden at Cricklade was appurtenant to it. The present Earlscourt Farm is a largish house of respectable age showing externally a small amount of late sixteenth century half-timbering. It is situated on rising ground, and there are extensive traces of a moat. It was burnt down about 1195 (Abbrev. Placit. Rich. I). In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it belonged to the Hinton family. Alfred Williams, Villages of the White Horse, p. 197 gives a ghost story about this house. 3The name Hinton probably dates from this time, and means ‘ monks farm’, higna-tun. 4Grundy. (Arch. Journal, Ixxvi 178, 179) is quite at sea in the second half, where he forces the marks of 479 to fit the E. boundary of the present Wanborough. 5The relationship of these properties to neighbouring manors is shown on the framed map 24 in. map in Devizes Museum. 6Little Hinton T. A. 70.E. staeth; see KCD 781 and 1077. 8Was this the [original site of the] ‘Blowing Stone ’? °For barrows here, see W.A.M., xliv, 241. 10This seems better than ‘ gray ’ or ‘ hoar’. SCALE OF ONE MILE 0 Vy 1 ——EEESS SSS \ i is} [a yer ie Sy ish ih OTS “ A o Let noe Ue S 1) 25 A Va SS : Np tet oO. a STATHE CL HINTON. MARSH ES CHORN WILTSHIRE FARM % ®EARLSCOURT, SITE OF FARM puRY MILL 2 a ca 1---Ploughed Over y 2--Piped sete BISHOPSTONE : A ———__' Ss WANBOROUGH oo View WS ‘ < / WINFLES : Q ° BEORG \ WA rz € ‘ : 2 a x LAMMY DOWN : ~ Se TY v I. NG eo) ~ a * 4 a 5 k WEN BEORG vy, Y =, 2 > (TOTTERDOWN HOL+”O * Bile je le ike {2 IN (ee dz Gi soe , toro y . STAN SJ We we ; ' CHARTER NAMES THUS -----------------20-+--------W LLENSTAN Ch. sy a SS Wi 7, HLYDAN AEWLMAS e Yo BOUNDARY OF WANBOROUGH----------------------- —s—37r Z HAR See ; AND EASTERN BOUNDARY OF wl SPINDLE TREE 7 xq - @ LITTLE HINTON 1 y m yy yy BOUNDARY OF LITTLE HINTON FEDEN wa NOT COMMON WITH BOUNDARY THORNS ¢ OF WANBOROUGH RIDGEWAY *. BUSH * x x LY x * x WULLAFESS 5 982, cc° STAN—="= 4 ® ip (W LLENSTAN) “Sop es ¥ WN & Oops ie NE Ib Cy he Earl B d ve ke) mr» he: Bar Y DOoUNnAdS & 3 s >, ae FF mKS C) BEHILDESS® Popplechurch < ot Cp KoHe 5, f SL nx or Np SS 4y q ae * & B oie Wanborough & Little Hint eT cs erred & inton othe ; 5coe (RED STAN) Bilao Fig. 1. Based upon the Ordnance Survey Map with the sanction of the Controller H.M. Stationery Office. (Crown Copyright Reserved) 11W.A.M., xli, 390; xliv, 244; xlv, 176; xlviii, 390; Approx. site 2590/8155. 12An annotated 25in. O.S. map of this area is in the Society’s library. Those interested in the functions of an Agrimensor (the successor of the Republican finitor) are referred to Hygnius Gromaticns , Agrariae auctores ed. Goes, Amsterdam, 1674, 170. The boundary marks were called ‘ signa ’. 13]t looks as if * Badherde’ is an error. For a note on slaed see Smith, Engl. Pl. Name Elements, ii, 127. 14For some holders of this name (Wulflaf) see Searle, Onomasticon, 512. 1Shlydan means ‘to clamour’. The name may mean ‘the noisy stream.’ LITTLE HINTON VILLAGE Dil 1eNotice that the boundary waters on the west and north are excluded, but that on the east is included. 17Grundy is convinced that we are here to follow the modern eastern bounds of Wanborough! 18This makes allowance for four headlands. 1°This seems to have served at one time as a sheep dip. There may well have been stones at this crossing of IW which were conveniently handy. 2%See W.A.M. lvii, 18 where the date of the other Bishopstone strip lynchets is discussed. The * sword acres ’ obvously antedate the charter. HEATHEN BURIALS (Crown Copyright Reserved) Fig. 2. Based upon the Ordnance Survey Map with the sanction of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office. 212 THE PRE-CONQUEST CHURCH OF ST. PETER, AT BRITFORD By G. E. CHAMBERS. Britford Church, 14 miles S.E. of Salisbury, takes its place among the more important Anglo-Saxon buildings which have been left to us, not only in Wessex, but also in England. The origin of the site- name 1— Ford used by the Britons ’—argues an early importance in Saxon history which is borne out by the evidences of their settlements at Peter’s Finger, to the north of the Church across the river Avon; at Harnham, a short distance to the west; and to the south, at Breamore. Wilton, to the west, was ata later date large enough to sustain a mint. There are reasons for supposing the existence of Roman buildings within easy reach of the Church site prior to the advent of the Saxons. The fabric of the Church incorporates Roman brick, bonded together by the mortar of pounded brick and cement which is termed, by reason of its use by the Romans, opus signinum, and which was obviously noted by the Saxons, and the idea adopted by them when building Britford Church. Roman coins of 4thcentury date were found in the course of the restoration of the Church in 1873. That Saxon occupation of the district was continuous is suggested by a record that in 1065 King Edward Confessor was in residence there when visited by the unpopular Earl Tostig at the time of the revolt against Tostig’s lordship of Northumbria. Twenty years later the Domesday record tells us that one Osbern the Priest held the Church of the Manor of ‘ Bretforde ’. The Church as it is now has a number of points of general interest, but the immediate purpose is to con- centrate on the nave, which is for the most part of pre-Conquest origin. Alterations and additions from the 13th c. onwards are responsible for that part of the Church east of the nave. As with the majority of Saxon churches which remain to us, the nave is aisle-less. The upper half of the N. and S. walls have been for the most part refaced; the W. wall has been largely rebuilt. The original walling is of flints and local stone rubble. The buttresses and the south porch are modern, the latter rebuilt on the site of a pre-existing porch; the internal wall facing has been hidden by modern plaster. On existing visible evidence it would be unprofitable to speculate on the plan of the original Church as a whole. The abiding interest, from the Pre-Conquest point of view, lies in the south door- way, and the two arches at the eastern end of the nave. Filled in at some unknown date and, except externally, lost to view, they were opened up and the internal faces revealed in 1873. Since then there has been much argument concerning their origin. Were they the remains of a Roman building or were they Saxon work? What was the raison d’étre of the structures to which they formerly gave access ? Were they bays of arcades opening into north and south aisles as at Brixworth, or did they lead to early forms of transepts as at Breamore? Were they openings to small transeptal Chapels; or simply north and south doorways? A more careful study of possible analogies led to the conclusion that the two eastern arches most probably related to north and south porticus of the type to be found in Saxon churches from the 7th c. onwards—Canterbury, Reculver, Glastonbury, Worth, Deerhurst. Even so this last, more instructed, opinion was put forward as being subject to proof. With a view to a resolution of the issue Mr. Hugh Shortt and myself have made a small trial excay- ation north of the nave, where there was a reasonable hope of finding the North and West walls of the building entered from the nave through the North arch. Part of the space was taken up by the small structure (9ft. < 3ft. internally) erected in 1873 to mask and protect the outer face of the archway. (Fig 2). At a distance of ten feet North of the archway, and running west from the West wall of the North transept, is the lower two feet of a 2ft. 8in. thick wall, a thickness uniform with that of the nave wall. (Fig. 3.) The south side of the excavated wall is bonded into, and is of one build with, the transept wall; the north side is carried through and was in alignment, and possibly contemporary, with the eee ee 213 original north wall of what is now the transept. The 14th c. extension northwards of the transept is marked by a plinth of that date, beginning at the point where the newly excavated wall was found. This latter is of flints and small pebbles bedded in lime and mortar and set, without offsets, on a 3in. thick bed of rammed chalk about Ift. 9in. below the present ground level. Originally 8ft. 9in. in length, much of this and some of the return, west, wall had been robbed down to the chalk bedding. Across the gap was a large number of human, and some animal, bones with little or no integration and obviously buried at random, or even thrown in without discrimination and covered with lime. Some were of children and recall a local tradition that victims of a plague at Harnham were once buried here. The return wall was located again at a point 7ft. away from the nave. It is parallel to the west wall of the transept. The enclosed space measured 10ft. north to south by 8ft. 9in. east to west. Within this area there was no indication of flooring, the infilling being of loosely compacted building material, flints, and plaster, the latter limewashed and retaining traces of red colour. Among the miscellaneous debris in the north-east angle was a worked stone, not of local provenance, but similar to that used for the dressings of the nave archway. It has a groove between raised, half round, ridges across an otherwise plain surface, and may have served to hold a wooden panel, or shutter. (Fig, 4.) Also found were potsherds of 13th—15th c. date and of no particular distinction; a green- glazed border tile of 14th c. origin; two 17th—18th c. coffin handles; and an iron coffin strap. There can be little doubt that the annexe as outlined was indeed a porticus; and that ithe archway opposite on the south side of the nave, also opened into a porticus. Unfortunately any possibility of recovering the plan on this south side is precluded by vaults and graves which have been dug across the site, and the consequent destruction of all traces of the early building. There is, however, a change in the texture of the northern and southern parts of the west wall of the south transept which indicates two dates of work, and the position of the junction suggests that the size of the southern porticus was com- parable with that on the north side of the nave. There is no exact analogy in the surviving Saxon churches which have these features, and without further evidence it would be idle to put forward as a probability any specific relationship these porticus may have borne to the eastern end of the original church. In the earlier, 7the., churches we have a north and south porticus, each of them overlapping both nave and chancel, and with access from the chancel alone (e.g. Reculver). Somewhat later, with the introduction of an intermediate space, or crossing, between nave and chancel, we find the porticus opening out from this crossing, as at Brixworth and, again, much later (300 years) at Deerhurst. The 10th c. church at Worth provides the nearest parallel to Britford in that it has two wings towards the eastern end of the nave, though at Worth they approx- imate more nearly to chapels or transepts, built as such. At Britford we can consider: (1), A crossing with small transepts with end walls flush with the end walls of the porticus: (2), A rectangular chancel,—as being more usual than an apse,—with additional porticus adjacent to those of the nave: (3), An arrangement similar to that of the small Cathedral Church of N. Elmham, (of c. 1000), which has an aisleless nave, at the east end of which are twin towers which abut a transept of more than the width of nave and towers; and an apsidal east end. At Britford the porticus would take the place of the towers, if indeed we can quite eliminate them as having been carried up as towers. (4), Lastly, we cannot rule out the possibility of the two potricus being adjuncts to a pre-existing crossing which centred in the axial line of the porticus and is now absorbed in part in the eastern end of the nave. Any indication on the internal wall facing of the nave which would substantiate this is hidden by the modern plaster. The archways themselves are of exceptional interest by reason not only of their very individual characteristics, but also for their unusual construction. Builders of exceptional ability and decorative VOL. LVII-CCVII 2B 214 sense were employed, men working in no clumsy, uninstructed fashion, but with a background of tradit- ional craftsmanship. That the structural work was not tentative is demonstrated by the soundness of the jointing and the durability of the mortar. Such damage as has been suffered is the result of deliberate abuse, but nowhere Is there any sign of disintegration in the fabric. Both archways are 5ft. 9in. in width, and approximately 7ft. 8in. in height. That on the north side of the nave (Fig. 5) has a carefully shaped round head, lined with horizontal bands of rectangular slabs of stone, 34in. thick, and three to each row except that the centre piece of the alternate rows has a square panel of brick, recessed 2in. from the main face. The face of the stone panels is curved to the shape of the arch. The brick panels are of Roman origin (Fig. 6). All the stone panels either abut those of brick, or have intermediate bricks, 2in. thick, set edgeways, either vertically or horizontally. The decorative effect produced by this alternation of material has been almost nullified by misguided applications of whitewash. At the botton of each side of the arch the centre panel is brought forward corbelwise, but with the top surface sloping downwards to the front. The pur- pose of this corbelling, if it was intended for other than decoration, has not been satisfactorily explained. On the east side of the arch the two stones in the row above the corbel are worn, which may have some bearing: but the corresponding slabs on the west side of the arch are not worn. (Fig. 7). The arch springs from, but is not bonded into, imposts; that on the east hollow-chamfered, the western with a plain chamfer. The jambs are divided into three vertical bays, each about 9in. wide, the two outer of single slabs of stone 34in. thick; the middle bay with three rectangular panels of stone alternating with recessed panels of brick. The bottom panel, of stone, is brought forward by two curved hollow-chamfers to form a 3in. projection suggestive of a narrow pedestal. All three bays rest on a continuous plinth, hollow chamfered on the east jamb and with a plain chamfer on the west. The fact that the © pedestals’ project beyond the top of the plinths would make it seem that they did not form part of the original scheme, but were inserted later. The two jambs differ in several respects in their details, and in such a way as to suggest that more than one workman was employed, and that material taken from another setting was used. The side slabs of the east jamb (Fig. 8) provide an example unique in Wessex of the application of vine-scroll carving as architectural ornament. While the two slabs have the same general design, with the scroll-work in rather flat relief, they vary in the detail of the fruit and foliage; the panels are not the same size, the South panel having an awkward finish at the bottom; and the shallow base mouldings differ from each other. These mouldings are cut out of the slabs themselves, from which it would appear that the face of the stone above was cut back about I4in. The two upper stone slabs in the centre bay on the East side, and the middle slab only on the West side, are carved with patterns ofinterlace. The base mouldings to the west jamb differ again from those to the east jamb. The north side of the archway retains part of a framing ‘ strip’, 24inch wide and with a projection of 21 inch, intercepted by the imposts, but otherwise continuous around the opening. It is notched into the vertical slabs of the jambs, but has only a shallow tin. bearing in the wall, being in no way a struc- tural feature. (Fig. 9.) In the course of church repairs (October 1958) part of the modern plaster on the south side of the arch- way has been removed, revealing the original framing ‘ strip ’, and the full length of the impost (11in.) and the base (lft. Sin.). The strip on this South Side is narrower by nearly one inch than that on the North Side of the archway, and the joint between it and the jamb slab is noticeably thicker. The faces of strip, impost, and base have been cut back. The archway in the south wall of the nave (Fig. 10) is of different, but equally sophisticated, con- struction. The head is segmental though somewhat irregular, and made up of Roman bricks of varying size and shape, set edgeways as voussoirs and, with the exception of three inset stone slabs 9in. square, 215 forming the soffit of the arch. The rounding of the head is managed by shaping, not the bricks, but the mortar jointing. The jambs resemble those of the north archway only in so far as they are in three vertical bays, but in detail and in ‘assembly’ technique they are very different (Fig. 11). The centre bay is wider than the others, and is in two finely jointed slabs; the side bays have single slabs, 3in. thick; all of them, unlike those to the northern archway, notched into plain plinths and imposts. These latter, though in the course of time having been subjected to mutilation, retain sufficient of the original work to show the constructional method. Both north and south faces of the archway retain some parts of framing‘ strips’, but here there is a 9in. space between strips and jambs, created by the necessity for enclosing the deeper voussoirs. This space, up to the imposts,—which are carried round from the jambs,—has an infilling of slabs, rough ashlar of local stone, and brick. These bricks, set at somewhat irregular intervals, project a little so as to give a banded effect. The strips spring, not from corbels in the more normal Saxon manner, but from the plinths which, like the imposts, are carried along from the jambs. They are continuous round the whole archway and are not intercepted by the imposts, as is the case with the northern archway. Nowhere are there any mouldings, or even chamfered edges. The framework lining of both archways has very fine jointing with opus signinum, a mortar of powdered brick or tile stiffened with cement, usually associated with the floor of Roman houses, and used also in the early 7th c. church of S.S. Peter and Paul, Canterbury; the later 7th c. church at Reculver; and Ine’s church at Glastonbury, of about 700. It would be of inter- est to know if it occurs in any Saxon church of later date, other than Britford. The south doorway to the nave (Fig. 12) which, owing to its mutilated condition no doubt, has as a rule escaped comment, is, again, without analogy. The opening was found, with the two archways, in the course of the 1873 restoration carried out by G. E. Street. Unfortunately the southern half of the jambs and head were then rebuilt with a view to adapting the opening as a south doorway. The northern half to it is 6ft. wide, and has a round head, the crown of which reaches to 8ft. 9 in., or about a foot higher than the two eastern archways described above. Though the absence of a rebate does not necessarily preclude an original doorway, it would seem from the dimensions to have been an archway, probably leading from a comparatively large south porch, and with its axial line west of that of the porch so as to allow for an altar against the east wall, after the manner of Bradford-on-Avon. The jambs and the soffit of the arch have in part been cut back or renewed, but sufficient remains to indicate that they had a lining of large stone slabs, shaped to the curve above the spring of the round head. The slabs are plain except towards the middle of the jambs where the face is brought forward about two inches by a hollow chamfer which at the bottom curves round, hockey stick fashion, towards the outer edge of the jamb. Part of this projecting face has been cut away as has also the upper part of it beneath the spring of the arch, but apparently it continued round the head. The west jamb is the more defaced, and only the two bottom stones remain of the early work, showing the hollow chamfer with a run-out stop. The form and dimensions of this projecting face so very nearly correspond with those of the pro- jection in the lower part of the east jamb of the north-east archway that they would seem to have some relation. As to the date of these three openings :—the theory of a Roman origin was proclaimed on the strength of the use of Roman brick, supplemented by finds on the site, and by the use of the notched jointing used in the framing of the southern archway. More considered opinion gradually hardened to the acceptance of a Saxon date, which might however vary fom the 8th c. to the latter half of the 10thc.; precedence in age was given to the south archway. On this latter point it is worth while noting that the stone used in both arches is similar, though not local stone, and it would not seem likely that it would be imported from elsewhere at widely different dates. The mortar, again, is distinctive and unusual, 2B2 216 and is common to both archways. There can be little doubt, however, that they were built by different craftsmen. Clapham, ? from stylistic dating of the vine-scroll ornament on slabs which he takes as being in situ, would give the date as about 800, while admitting that the framing ‘ strips’ would in this event be the earliest surviving examples of their kind in England. Baldwin Brown3 is more influenced by this ‘ strip ’ for dating purposes, maintaining as he does that it can only be a late feature since it derives in this country from the Carolingian ‘ /isenen’, or pilaster strips—themselves derived from Italy. The plan, with what were assumed to be eastern transeptal chapels rather than porticus, was again, on that count, deemed to be late, but this argument cannot now be sustained. In fact, the more the Britford archways are subjected to analysis the more difficult it is to arrive at a satisfactory date which will comply with all the evidence. The material was, for the most part, I believe, re-used at a time when considerable executive skill was to be found among Saxon builders. I would like to see in the work at Britford some of the creative and artistic resurgence which marked the period just before the Danes overran this part of Wessex. 1See Place Names of Wiltshire, Vol. xvi, p. 221. 2 ‘English Romanesque before the Conquest’, p. 60. 3 ‘Arts in Early England’, pp. 58, 288. ‘younyD psoplig jo urjg "| ‘sly Ld4SNVUL ik HL MOS ' JO 3Lts un HOYOd aT | | | HLNOS eres I: «AMT a == LJ | | | 1 ONTISSOY¥ | | | | Jad} Jo ajbos —_— — | an a °O 5 ASANDNOD $e = TTT WaL3d6s “QYyOeLL Le >