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THE 


WILTSHIRE 
Archenlayral ont Batueal Wistory 
MAGAZINE, 


Published unver the Birection of the Society 


FORMED IN THAT COUNTY, A.D. 1853. 


VOL. XXV. 


E DEVIZES : 
: H. F. Bout, 4, Saint Joun Srrzer. 


1891. 


Tue Enprror of the Wiltshire Magazine desires that it should 
be distinctly understood that neither he nor the Committee of the 
Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society hold themselves 
in any way answerable for any statements or opinions expressed 
in the Magazine; for all of which the Authors of the several 
papers and communications are alone responsible. 


CONTENTS OF VOL. XXV. 


No. LXXIII. 


Account of the Thirty-Sixth General Meeting at Westbury ..........scecesee 
Notes on the Churches visited by the Society in 1889: By C. E. Pontine, 

PEPIN P a pe ce cat Reva tedhak wan sea eeies fats dcadesenteocinddt cmedastasecats datas daasmatiae 
Westbury under the Plain: By the Rev. Canon J. E. Jackson, F.S.A. 
White Horse Jottings: By the Rev. W. C. PLENDERLEATH ..........0.000 
Some Western Circuit Assize Records of the Seventeenth Century: By 

MN WARN ENE Ts) We cos ag Sap iovap ves oun esulivseatcersedecnestas <enecetaecaies 
The Buried Palzozoic Rocks of Wiltshire: By W. Hzwarp Bett, F.G.S. 
James Ley, Earl of Marlborough: By the Rev. W. P. S. Brnewam ...... 
The Church Heraldry of North Wiltshire (Continued): By ARTHUR 

MESUEEG a sca aatk satis Val kas care doraceenlna sie aca (nivea weenie) acevebnanenne eanncet 
Wiltshire’s Contribution to the Piedmontese Fund in 1655: By J. WaYLEN 
Donations to Museum and Library ........ iieaite “heobeoercce Seer ad ance Soest : 


No. LXXIV. 


St. Nicholas’s Hospital, Salisbury : By the Rev. Canon MoBErty ........ : 

_ The Bishop’s Palace at Salisbury: A Lecture delivered at the Blackmore 

Museum, Salisbury, January 27th, 1890, by the Right Rev. the Lorp 
BisHor oF SaLisBury 

On the Roman Conquest of Southern Britain, particularly in regard to its 
influence on the County of Wilts: Address by the Right Rev. the Lorp 
BisHor or Satispury, as President of the Society, at its Annual 
Meeting at Westbury, August Ist, 1889 .3.........00 Racbeedestecsareccudenre : 

_ Two Wiltshire Mazers: By W. Cunnineton, F.G.S. ........... slevevavdvenee 

_ Edington Church: By C. E. Ponrine, F.S.A. . 

_ Notes on Remains of Roman Dwellings at useingion: “Wick : By the 

Memeo, LH. GODDARD ‘siclic.cdkehoustortetebtvedecvactess Neagweupeuseeayeataues a 

Donations to Museum and Library ...cccssssecsesssseas sesccessnscesesesssecoecces 


PRO e ee meee were ee esse heseese sees sere ee eeeseseeseeeEse 


119 


165 


191 
205 
209 


232 
234 


iv. CONTENTS OF VOL. xXV. 


No. LXXV. 
PAGE 
Account of the Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting at Devizes ...... Waceescasse / | 200 
Notes on the Churches visited by the Society in 1890: By C. E. Pontine, 
NOS TAG ee oo i cadedanscc ove Baeempamimmeratonseceeasthtowcncec eres Sente ts dee te laaaeeenmn 252 


Notes on Plaees visited by the Society in 1890: By H. E. Mepuicorr... 280 
Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, Lt.-Gun. Prtr-RrveErs, 
F.B.S., F.S.A., on the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, and Bokerly 
Dy BCG S iecatin cuss vce’. 3% » oe peameMamnnp beh paraansh acy sieebes is tpn see es aaah ean 283 
Notes on Human Remains discovered by General Pitt-Rivers, D.C.L., 
F.RB.S., at Woodyates, Wiltshire: By J. G. Garson, M.D., V.P.A.L, 
Lecturer on Comparative Anatomy at Charing Cross Hospital Medical 


Schools London: .......dcssusensaemeaeentaessiasancapmtncecas sere ceteneetartne PEO yan aul 
The Geology of Devizes: By A. J. Juxus-Browng, B.A., F.GS.......... 317 
Notes on the Church Plate of North Wilts: By the Rev. E.H.Gopparp 336 
In Memoriam John Edward Jackson, F.S.A., Hon. Canon of Bristol...... 355 
Recent Occurrence of the Great Bustard in Wilts: By the Rev. A. C. 

SMITH; ib ssddesicssdessisesosaneceousnsteseVanee timanaase ance te Barn sainoscAnesciac 359 
Additions to the Museum and Library......sccscassscvesesseeses nvaieven Sayeed vee = B64 

Kllustrations. 


The Uffington White Horse, 66. The Old Westbury Horse, 67. The Modern 
Westbury Horse, 67. The Alligator Mound, Ohio, U.S.A., 68. The Beaver 
Mound, Wisconsin, U.S.A., 68. The Buffalo Mound, Wisconsin, U.S.A., 68. 
Map of the British Isles in the Triassic Period, 80. Map of the British Isles 
in the Liassic Period, 80. Map of the British Isles in the Cretaceous Period, 80. 
Geological Sections (A. and B.) of Rocks under Westbury, 82. Section (C) 
from Vallis Vale to Westbury, 82. 

Plans (Nos. I. II. and III.) of St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury, 128. Plans 
No. I., II., and III.) of the Bishop’s Palace, Salisbury, 184. Photo-print of 
Mr. Cunnington’s Mazer, 205. Photo-print of the Rev. C. E. B. Barnwell’s 
Mazer, 206. Edington Church, Wilts, Longitudinal Section, looking south, 215. 
Edington Church, Wilts, Tomb in South Transept, 220. Drawing of Stole 
from the Effigy of William of Edington in Winchester Cathedral, and of In- 
scriptions under Figures of Saints in the Clerestory Windows of Edington 
Church, 222. Plan of Roman Dwellings at Manor Farm, Hannington Wick, 
uncovered October 23rd, 1890, 232. 

Font—Cherington, 260. Church of All Saints, Marden, Wilts, 263. Map of 
Bokerly Dyke, between Dorset and Wilts, 288. Section 1—showing the 
natural order of the Strata beneath Devizes, 318. Section 2—showing the 
successive beds of Chalk at Morgan’s Hill, 318. Fig. 3.—Structure of Siliceous 
Chalk, 324. Figs. 4 and 5,—Structure of Melbourn Rock and of Chalk Rock, 
326. Fig. 6.—Structure of Middle Chalk, 327. Fig. 7.—Structure of Chalk 
Rock, 328. Plate of ten Chalices in Churches in North Wilts, 342. Plate of 
five Flagons in Churches in North Wilts, 348. 


b Anhitpvamd tye ee a ce Vay ont Mate te oe eee 
her as aA rn ~ 5 


JULY, 1890. “Vou, XXV. 


THE 


WILTSHIRE 
Archeological ant Patwral Brstory 


MAGAZINE, 


Published unver the Direction 


OF THE 


SOCIETY FORMED IN THAT COUNTY, 


A.D. 1853. 


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DEVIZES: 
_- PRINTED AND SOLD FOR THE SOCIETY BY H. F Butt, Sarnt Jonn SrReer. 


Price 5s. 6d.—Members Grats. 


E NOTICE, hat a copiGue Index for Gh Pp : 
~ Volumes of the Magazine will be found at the es ) 
viii., xvi., and xxiv. H 


the Financial Seelaees Mr. Digs eee 31, Long Hie 
Devizes, to whom also all communications as "to the supply 
of Magazines sbould be addressed, and os whom most of 
back Numbers may be had. 


The Numbers of this Magazine will be delivered ilies as er Be MS e: 
to Members who are not in arrear of their Annual Subscrip- 
tions, but in accordance with Byelaw No. 8 “The Financial 
Secretary shall give notice to Members in arrear, and the 
Society’s publications will not be forwarded to Members whose 
subscriptions shall remain unpaid after such notice.” 


All other communications to be addressed to the Honorary sual’ ie 
taries: H. E. Mepuicorr, Esq., Sandfield, Potterne, Devizes : 
and the Rev. E. H. Gopparp, Clyffe Vicarage, Wootton Basset % 

The Rev. A. C. Surru will be much obliged to observers of beds 342 4 
in all parts of the county, to forward to him notices of rar 
occurrences, early arrivals of migrants, or any remarkable fact 
connected with birds, which may come under their notice. 


A resolution has been passed by the Committee of the Society 
“that it is highly desirable that every encouragement shoul 
be given towards obtaining second copies of Wiltshire Parish 
Registers.” 


| Wiltshire—The ch OTs C ollections i. 


of Fohn Aubrey, F-R.S., 
A.D. 1b5G—70. 
CORRECTED AND ‘ENLARGED 


BY THE REV. CANON J. E. JACKSON, M. A. FS. 
In 4to, Cloth, pp. 491, with 46 Plates. peel 
Price £2 10s. 


aap SECOND EDITION OF | ns a 
— The British and Roman Antiquities of 
“34 the orth Wiltshire Downs, 
BY THE REV. ‘Ae Ae SMITH, fap 


Exera Cloth. Price £2 28, 


ss WILTSHIRE 
Archeolagiral and Patncal Wistaryy 


MAGAZINE. 


Keg SM) > 
Bae WME 
me PIF Sa 


= aS a» 


No, LXXIII. JULY, 1890. 


es: 


Contents. 
4 PAGE 
Account oF THE THIRTY-SIXTH GENERAL Meretine at WESTBURY 1 
Nores on THE CHURCHES VISITED BY THE Society 1n 1889: By 
12 


"0. B. Ponting, B.S.A. .accceessssssseeeeersetee te naserismneceereae 
Westsury UNDER THE Pain : By the Rev. Canon J. E. Jackson, F.S.A. 33 


aime Horse Jorrines: By the Rev. W. C. Plenderleath ............ 57 
mez Western Circuit AssiZE Recorps OF THE SEVENTEENTH 
Century: By W. W. Ravenhill ..........::cceceeeceeeeeeeeeeeesreesseseenes 
‘Buriep Panrmozorc Rocks or WILTSHIRE: By W. Heward 


Teh le fcc asne Wisdng ia™ Ach rpmte rea “0+ Terese piensena toes 
? sees 
s Ley, Eart oF MARLBOROUGH : By the Rev. W. P. S. Bingham 86 


eer Giabiestutliciee™ sducivseoceve-ésssss ancsaxecs ace tevsncverensese recess eas sneess 100 

LTSHIRE’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE PrepMontest Funp in 1655: 
By J. Waylen ........0+ Me em ese Meche cata’ vonnelp nen Suns ioc smbnioe trp’ SLID 
118 


. = 
DONATIONS TO MvusEuUM AND LIBRABY.......cccvcccccsccessecseeenccescnenees 


&, ILLUSTRATIONS. 

The Uffington White Horse ........:sescssresessssereeseneeeees 66 
The Old Westbury Horse .......sscssseesereereeeeeseeeseeresees 67 
The Modern Westbury Horse ....scsecscesecrsessereseeseneees 67 
The Alligator Mound, Ohio, U.S.A.........:seecseeereeeee rene 68 

_ The Beaver Mound, Wisconsin, U.S.A. ......s.sseeeeeeeees 68 

The Buffalo Mound, Wisconsin, U.S.A. ......sseseeeeeeeees 68 


ebted to the Rev. W. C. Plenderleath for the kind loan 


(The Society is ind 
of the wood blocks for the above.) 


Map of the British Isles in the Triassic Period ............ 80 

3 Liassic Period ............ 80 

‘is % Cretaceous Period......... 80 

— Geological Sections (A. and B.) of Rocks under Westbury 82 

“Section (C.) from Vallis Vale to Westbury ...... ..+.-++++- 82 
DEVIZES : 


H. F. Bust, 4, Sarnt JoHN SrReEevt. 


cath Ge ei be Pic pie 


ty A eae 


THE 


WILTSHIRE MAGAZINE, 


“MULTORUM MANIBUS GRANDE LEVATUR ONUS. ’—Ovid, 


THE THIRTY-SIXTH GENERAL MEETING 
OF THE 
Wiltshire Archeological and Natural History Society,' 
HELD AT WESTBURY, 
July 31st, August lst and 2nd, 1889, 
THE PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY, 
Tue Ricut Rey. Tue Lorp BisHor or SAuisBury, 


IN THE CHAIR. 


GHIS was the first occasion on which the Society had selected 
t AS Westbury as the place of its Annual Meeting. The num- 
bers attending were smaller than they have been at some recent 
Meetings, but the programme gone through by those who were 
present was a most enjoyable one, and the weather was everything 
that could be desired—warm and fine until the close of the third 
day’s excursion, the rain only beginning to fall as the archzologists 
departed for their homes. 

The Right Rev. The President was unfortunately unable to be 


present at the General Meeting, held in the Town Hall, at 3 o’clock; 


1 For many of the details in the account of this Meeting the Editor is in- 
debted to the columns of the Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette, the Trowbridge 
Chronicle, and the Warminster and Westbury Journal. 


VOL. XXV.——NO. LXXII, B 


2 The Thirty-Sixth General Meeting. 


and in his absence the chair was taken by Mr. W. H. Laverton, 
who at once called on the Rev. A. C. Smiru to read 


THE REPORT, 


which was as follows :— 

“The Committee has again the satisfaction of reporting the 
steady progress of the Society, which, though not yet numbering 
amongst its Members so large a body of Wiltshiremen as it desires 
to do, yet contains on its books (including, as usual, the Societies 
with which publications are exchanged) three hundred and seventy- 
three names—a slight increase since last year, 

“ We have, however, to lament the loss of several of our Members, 
and though the list of these is not numerically so long as usual, it 
contains the names of some whom we could ill afford to spare. 
Among these we would first mention our late Financial Secretary, 
Mr. Nott, whose active business habits and whose courtesy and 
energy in our cause had rendered his services well-nigh invaluable 
to the Officers of the Society ; and it is with most real gratitude, 
as well as regret, that we call to mind his ready aid, on which we 
could always rely. In Mr. Meek, again, whose loss has heen 
severely felt by the whole county, we of this Society deplore one of 
our most valued Officers, who served for a great many years on the 
Committee and was a Member from the foundation of the Society. 
Another original Member, who took part in the formation of the 
Society in 1853, and who was a Vice-President and Member of the 
Committee from the first, was Mr. H. N. Clarke, long resident at 
Park Cottage, Devizes, and now very lately deceased. We would 
also mention with regret the name of the Rev. A. O. Hartley, late 
Vicar of Steeple Ashton; and there are some few others who have 
died or left the county, or who, from other causes, have resigned 
_ membership. 

* As regards finance, as the balance sheet containing the account 
of last year’s receipts and expenditure has just been placed in the- 
hands of the Members of the Society, it is needless to say more 
than that while our income is sufficient to cover our annual ex- 
penditure with economy, we are not in a condition financially to 


The Report. 38 


incur any extraordinary expense in the way of exploration, restora- 
tion, or otherwise, as we are often invited and sometimes expected 

to do. 
“‘The Library and Museum have been enriched with many 
donations, several of which are of great value, as illustrating the 
topography, antiquities, and natural history of the county. Detailed 
lists of these donations are given at the end of each number of the 
Magazine. For these the Committee desires cordially to thank all 
the contributors, and at the same time to remind the Members of 
the Society scattered all over the county how great is the importance 
of preserving in some Museum, whether at Devizes, Salisbury, or 
Marlborough, objects which, when scattered and in private hands, 
are of little value, but are of the highest interest when collected, 
classified, and arranged for purposes of observation and study. The 
Committee has again to report very important work carried out by the 
munificence and under the personal superintendence and direction of 
the accomplished archzologist,General Pitt-Rivers,whose excavations 
at Bokerly Dyke, in the extreme south of the county, were recorded 
in the Report last year. This year the General acceded to the 
urgent request of the Secretaries, and made a large section through 
Wansdyke, a little to the north of Old Shepherd’s Shore. This 
section was scientifically cut under the immediate eye of the General 
and his three clerks, by a body of a dozen or more labourers, who 
carried on the work for a fortnight in the spring of this year, when, 
unfortunately, the weather was exceptionally cold and the wind 
more than ordinarily keen and cutting. Though nothing was found 
to indicate the exact date of the throwing up of the Wansdyke, the 
discovery of some fragments of Samian ware on the original surface 
of the down beneath the ramparts, in addition to the finding of an 
iron knife and an iron nail, and the position in which these relics 
were respectively found, proved to the satisfaction of all who ex- 
amined them that the work was not pre-Roman, as had generally 
-been supposed. But whether Roman or post-Roman (possibly even 
Saxon) there is no evidence as yet to show. We rejoice, however, 
to add that General Pitt-Rivers is not satisfied that the evidence is 
exhausted, and proposes shortly to make further examination into 

B 2 


4 The Thirty-Siath General Meeting. 


this interesting earthwork. We are confident that the Members of 
the Society generally would desire to join the Committee in cordially 
thanking the General for this great work of excavation, which he 
is carrying on entirely at his own expense (for he generously declines 
any help from the Society), and we shall all await the result of his 
further researches with no little interest. 

“In conclusion the Committee again invites the active co- 
operation of Members of the Society in all parts of the county, 
reminding them how very much yet remains to be investigated and 
brought to light, and what a large field of enquiry yet offers itself 
on all sides. For though your committee cannot but be aware that 
the Society has done something towards elucidating some of the 
obscure details of the history of the county, and calling attention 
to some branches of its natural history, it is profoundly sensible 
that it has as yet only touched the border of these subjects, and 
that there is still a great work to be carried on before we can be 
said to have mastered the antiquities as well as the natural history 
and the general history of Wiltshire.” 

The Rev. W. P. S. Bryeuaw, in proposing the adoption of the 
Report, said that he hoped that the holding of the Meeting at 
Westbury would lead to a considerable increase of Members from 
that neighbourhood. At present, he thought, the Westbury district 
was not at all adequately represented in the Society. He thought 
that the thanks of the Meeting were due to Mr. Smith, for the 
pains and trouble he had taken in the work of the Society during 
the past year, and in drawing up the Report they had just heard. 
He also thought that the thanks of the Meeting ought to be con- 
veyed to General Pitt-Rivers, for the very valuable work he had 
undertaken in the excavation of Wansdyke. Mr. H. J. F. Swayne 
having seconded the motion the Report was carried. 

On the motion of the Cuarrman, seconded by Mr. E. O. Bouveriz, 
the whole of the Officers of the Society were re-elected to office. 

The Cuairman then called on the Rev. Canon Jackson to read 
“Some Notes on Westbury History.” It is needless to say that 
this paper was listened to with the greatest attention, and that at 
its conclusion a vote of thanks to Canon Jackson, proposed by the 


The Dinner. 5: 


Chairman, was carried with acclamation by the Meeting. Those 
who have ever heard one of the veteran Canon’s papers know that 
the singular power he possesses of revivifying even the driest bones 
of local history by the touch of his own genial humour makes those 
papers one of the greatest treats of the Annual Meetings of the 
Society. The paper itself will be found at a later page of the 
Magazine. 

Mr. Smita having stated that the Rev. Canon Warre and the 
Rev. W. P. S. Bingham had consented to act as Local Honorary 
Secretaries for Melksham and Westbury respectively, proposed that 
their names skould be added to the list of Local Secretaries. This 
having been seconded by Mr. Swayne, and agreed to, the Meeting 
came to aclose, and the Members, under the guidance of the Rev. 
W. P. S. Bineuam and Mr. C. E. Pontine, F.S.A., adjourned to 
the parish Church and examined its architectural details; some few 
Members paying a visit to the Westbury Iron Works, which by the 
kindness of Mr, S. Anderson were open for their inspection. 


THE DINNER. 


At 6 o’clock some thirty Members sat down to the Anniversary 
Dinner at the Lopes Arms Hotel. The Presipent of the Society, 
the Bishop of Salisbury, who had arrived shortly before the hour 
fixed for dinner, oceupied the chair—and at the conclusion of dinner 
proposed as the first toast, ‘‘ The Queen, the Prince and Princess of 
Wales, and the rest of the Royal Family,” dwelling especially on 
the late marriage of Princess Louise of Wales and the great interest 
that had been taken by the whole nation in that event. 

_ The PrestpEnt next proposed the “ Health of the Inhabitants of 
Westbury,” coupling with the toast the name of Mr. Laverton, who 
had so kindly taken his place that afternoon. He expressed his 
regret that he was unable to be present before, more especially as 


he had missed the pleasure of hearing Canon Jackson’s paper, by 


ek 
Bi =e 


his absence. 


Mr. Laverton, in responding, expressed the hope that the in- 


| habitants of Westbury would show their appreciation of the Society’s 


6 The Thirty-Siath General Meetiug. 


visit to their town by a large attendance at the Conversazione to be 
held that evening. 

The next toast proposed by the Prusrpunt was the “ Healths of 
the Local Secretaries, the Rev. W. P. S. Bingham and Mr. C. W. 
Pinniger.” He said that theirs was not an easy position to occupy, 
and the Society was under great obligation to them for the trouble 
they had taken to make the Meeting a success. 

The Rev. W. P. S. Biyeuam thanked the President for his kind 
expressions, and the company for the way in which they had received 
the toast; and alluding to the President’s remark that the office he 
had filled was a difficult one, said that he could not say that he had 
found it so himself, for Mr. Pinniger had done all the work. 

Mr. C. W. Prynicer also responded, assuring the company that 
any trouble he had undergone in endeavouring to make successful 
arrangements for the Meeting and excursions had been a real 
pleasure to him. His task had been much lightened, too, by the 
ready assistance lent him by the Local Committee, the General 
Secretaries, and more especially by the Local Secretary of last year, 
Mr. Wilkins. 

After a vote of thanks to the Bishop, for presiding, proposed by 
Mr. Laverton, the company dispersed—to meet again at 8 o’clock for 


THE CONVERSAZIONE 


at the Laverton Institute—which, through the kindness of Mr. 
Laverton, had been transformed into a drawing-room plentifully 
furnished with lounges and easy chairs and beautifully decorated 
with flowers, while a number of curiosities had been also arranged 
for the inspection of the Members. Refreshments later on were 
most kindly provided by Mrs. Pinniger and Mrs, E. Smalleombe. 

The proceedings were opened by the reading of the Presidential 
address by the Bisuop, on the subject of “ the Roman Conquest of 
Southern Britain; its character and influence, especially upon our 
own county.’’ This was a paper full of the most valuable matter, 
but as it will appear in the Magazine its contents need not be further 
mentioned here. 

After a vote of thanks to the President, for his address, proposed 


F 


a 


Thursday, August 1st. 7 


by the Rev. A. C. Smith, the next paper was read by the Rev. W. 
C. PrenprertEatH, on “Some further White Horse Jottings,” in 
which, with reference to the Westbury White Horse, he maintained 
that the balance of evidence was in favour of the tradition which 
ascribed the origin of the old horse, replaced in 1778 by the present 
one, to King Alfred on the morrow of his victory over the Danes at 
Ethandune, in 878. “A short discussion followed this paper, the Rev. 
J. Crarke expressing his opinion that strong reasons ought to be 
adduced against the old tradition before they were required to give 
it up. 

The Rev. W. P.S. Bingham read the next paper on “ James, Earl 


of Marlborough, and his successors,” connected with Westbury by 


the fact that he lived at Heywood, and that his handsome monument 
with effigies of himself and his first wife still stands in the south 
transept of the parish Church. 

Votes of thanks to the Rev. W. C. Plenderleath and the Rev. 
W. P. S. Bingham, for their excellent papers, brought a pleasant 
evening to a close. 


THURSDAY, AUGUST lst. 


About forty Members, and their friends, including the President 
and Mrs. Wordsworth, took their seats in the breaks provided for 
the purpose, at 9 o’clock, at the Town Hall, and a start was made 
for Bratton Camp. On the arrival of the breaks at the bottom of 
the steep escarpment on the brow of which the camp is situated, the 
more active members of the party climbed the hill by a shorter path, 
which afforded those who were botanically inclined an excellent 
opportunity of observing some of the less common plants of the 
characteristic down flora of Wiltshire—notably the pretty little 
yellow Chilora Perfoliata. Arrived at the top, the earthworks of 
the camp' were inspected and the magnificent view admired—but 
only a few minutes halt was made, as the day’s programme was a 
long one and time was getting on. A delightful drive over the 
downs brought the party to Imber, one of the many Wiltshire 


1See Magazine, vol. xix., p. 134, 


8 The Thirty-Sixth General Meeting. 


villages still remote from railways and the busier haunts of men. 
Here the five-pinnacled tower and other objects of interest in the 
Church, ranging in age from the twelfth to the eighteenth century, 
were well pointed out by Mr. C. E. Pontsna, F.S.A., whose notes 
on this and the other Churches visited during this Excursion will be 
found at a later page. 

The next place visited was West Lavington, where the Rev. 
Canon Baynham—the Vicar—gave an account of the monuments 
in the Chureh, and Mr. Ponting called attention to the various 
changes in style and design which occurred as the fine edifice was 
gradually brought to completion through a long period of time. 

The study of architecture, combined with the effect of the down 
air, having by this time greatly predisposed everybody in favour of 
luncheon, ample justice was done to the refreshments provided by 
the proprietor of the Lopes Arms, Westbury—after the discussion 
of which the Members entered the breaks again for the seeond half 
of the day’s excursion. 

The first stoppage was at Little Cheverell Church, which, with 
the exception of the tower, was entirely re-built in 1850. A few 
remains of the old Church have, however, been built into the walls 
of the new building and these were examined before the party drove 
on to Great Cheverell, where the architectural history of the Chureh 
was again explained by Mr. Pontina. On arriving at Erlestoke 
Park the party left the carriages, and, by the kind permission of 
Mr. Watson Taylor, proceeded through the lovely walks beside the 
miniature lakes and cascades, and under the splendid trees for which 
Erlestoke is famous; the only drawback being that so little time 
could be spared to dwell on its beauties. After a hasty glance at 
the beautiful little Church erected in 1880 from the designs of the 
late Mr. Street, and containing a good east window by Clayton & 
Bell, the party entered the carriages again and drove on to East 
Coulston, stopping there for a look at the little Church, with its 
Norman doorway, built up in the wall, before passing to Edington. 

The visit to the magnificent Church of this place, under the 
personal guidance of Mr. Pontine, who has so ably and carefully 
directed its restoration during the last few years, was, perhaps, the 


Thursday, August lst. 9 


most interesting feature of the Westbury Meeting. The Vicar, 
the Rev. H. Cave-Brown-Cavr (who has since died before the 
completion of the work which was so near his heart), gave an 
account of the restoration carried on gradually by the Committee, 
who, at the Bishop’s instigation, have been instrumental in pre- 
serving this grand, and in many respects unique, example of the 
transition from the Decorated to the Perpendicular style, from the 
ruin which must inevitably have overwhelmed it in a few years if 
it had not been taken in hand intime. The magnitude of the work 
made it altogether beyond the power of the parish to raise the 
necessary funds, and the Committee, feeling that the interest of 
such a building belonged rather to the county, or indeed to the 
nation, than to the parish of Edington alone, appealed far and wide 
for funds, with the result that the most necessary repairs have been 
executed, though there is much still to be done. 

The Members of the Society had every opportunity of judging of 
the loving care bestowed on every part of the building by Mr. 
Ponting—from the old glass, so carefully replaced in the transept 
windows, to the late and curious plaster roof, restored and made 
secure with great trouble and difficulty, in the nave. It wasa 
_ privilege to see the building under the guidance of one who knows 
every stone of it, as he does, and we are happy to say that the 
paper on this Church read by him at the Salisbury Meeting will, 
by the courtesy of the Council of the Archeological Institute, be 
reprinted in the Wagazine. 

After enjoying the welcome refreshment of a cup of tea at the 
vicarage, by the kind hospitality of the Vicar, a move was made for 
Westbury, taking Bratton on the way. There was some doubt 
whether there would be time for this, but happily the programme 
was adhered to; for, even after Edington, it was generally agreed 
that Bratton Church, both in its architecture and its situation » Was 
quite one of the most charming things we had seen. Moreover 
the inhabitants of the village had prepared a welcome for the Society 
and its President such as we met with nowhere else on our excursions, 
the bells ringing merrily and numbers of the people turning out to 
greet their visitors. The little eruciform Church, with its central 


10 The Thirty-Siath General Meeting. 


tower, is a singularly complete and perfect example of early fifteenth 
century work; and its position in the valley, with the long flights 
of paved steps leading up the hill-side to the houses of the village, 
is singularly picturesque; and altogether the visit to Bratton will 
remain among the pleasantest memories of a very pleasant Excursion. 

Arrived at Westbury the most was made of the very short time 
remaining for dinner, before the hour for the Conversazione arrived. 

Tue PresipENnT, occupying the chair, called on Mr. W. W. 
RavenuILL to read his paper on “Some Western Circuit Assize 
Records of the Seventeenth Century,” in which Mr. Ravenhill ob- 
served that these records form most valuable sources of information 
for the future historian of that century. 

Tue Presipent having conveyed the thanks of the Meeting to 
Mr. Ravenhill, Mr. W. Hewarp Bett gave a very interesting 
address, illustrated by several carefully-drawn diagrams, on “ The 
Buried Rocks of Wiltshire,” for which he received the warmer 
thanks, as papers on geological and natural history subjects have 
been somewhat rare at our Meetings as compared with those which 
are purely antiquarian and archeological. 

A paper by the Rev. W. C. Prenperxeats, on “ Etymological 
Interchanges” in that language of Wiltshire, which, in spite of 
universal education, dies hard ; with a vote of thanks cordially given, 
brought an instructive evening to a close. 


FRIDAY, AUGUST 2np. 


The interest of Thursday’s Excursion bad centred in Church 
architecture. The interest of Friday’s Excursion, on the other 
hand, was largely found in the domestic architecture of the delightful 
group of old houses visited during the day. 

The party which left the Town Hall at 9, a.m., was considerably 
reduced in numbers from that of the previous day, many of the 
Members being unable to stay for the last day’s Excursion. The 
route lay past Heywood House to North Bradley, where the party 
was received by the Vicar, the Rev. W. A. S. Mrereweruer, who, 
assisted by Mr. Pontina, directed attention to the most remarkable 


Friday, August nd. 11 


features of the Church—the fine western tower and the beautiful 
chapel at the end of the North aisle. 

Then on to Cutteridge House, whence, after a short stay, the 
archeologists walked to the neighbouring Brook House. Here, in 
what are now used as the stables and cow-houses of the farm-house, 
is an extremely interesting range of buildings, which, as Mr. 
Ponting pointed out, formed the domestic offices of an early fifteenth 
century house of considerable importance ; and although they are 
now put to baser uses, yet they still remain in good preservation— 
the original walls, floors, and roofs, the windows with their iron 
grilles, the doorways and fireplaces being still in si/u and compara- 
tively uninjured. These buildings were the subject of as much 
discussion as time allowed of, and many of the party would willingly 
have lingered longer had it not been necessary to continue their 
journey. 

The next item on the programme was Seymour’s Court, but 
before the party arrived there they were hospitably stopped by the 
way and entertained by Mr. W. R. Brown, at his shooting lodge. 
After doing justice to the very welcome refreshments provided, a 
short drive further brought the party to the charming old manor- 
house, now—like Brook House—occupied as a farm. Mr. Pontine 
read the history of the present condition of the building, as far as 
a hurried examination of it sufficed to reveal it. He pointed out 
that the back of the house, the very picturesque porch and room 
over it, with the chimney stacks and one end of the house, were 
all the work of about the middle of the fifteenth century, whilst the 
front walls had been re-built, and windows of the period constructed 
in them at the same time that the house was lengthened in the 
time of James I. 

Continuing on the Somerset side of the border Road Church was 
soon reached, where the Rev. J. B. Mepigy gave many interesting 
details of its history, and Mr. Ponrine, as before, described the 
architecture. 

At Beckington—which was the next place visited—luncheon, by 
general consent, took precedence of sight seeing ; after which the 
interesting Church was examined, and the study of domestic 


12 Notes on the Churches 


architecture was happily combined with tea, through the kind 
hospitality of Mrs. Starky, at Beckington Castle. 

Entering the breaks once more on the return journey to Westbury, 
a halt was made opposite the entirely modern Church of Dilton 
Marsh—not without protests at the impropriety of wasting time on 
such a building, protests, which were, however, acknowledged to be 
unnecessary as soon as the party found themselves in the really 
striking interior, the style of which is a species of Byzantine used 
here with singularly good taste and effect. } 

Old Dilton Church, a picturesque little fifteenth century building 
lying close beside the railroad, was the last place to be stopped at, 
and after observing the points of interest about it under our inde- 
fatigable architectural guide the party proceeded to Westbury, some 
to catch the train, others—more fortunate—to the vicarage, where 
tea was provided by the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Binanam. 


Alotes on the Churches visited by the Society 


° 


m 1889. 


[Prepared (and in part delivered) during the Excursion.] 
By C. E. Ponrtne, F.S.A. 
Wednesday, July 31st, 1889. 
Tue CuurcH oF ALL Saints. WESTBURY. 


[Mr. Ponting’s notes on the structural features of this Church were 
only intended to supplement the Vicar’s description. ] 


“ek is a cruciform Church of clerestoried nave of four bays 
¥ y‘ with narrow aisles, north and south transepts, chapels on 
the north and south of the chancel, and a further chapel to the north 


— 


Visited by the Society im 1889. 13 


of the easternmost bay of the north aisle. There is a south porch 
and a modern vestry between this and the transept. 

Although no Norman work is visible above ground (except, 
perhaps, parts of the south transept wall), it is almost certain, from 
the narrowness of the aisles, that the Church stands on Norman 
foundations. I had been informed that there were Norman remains 
in the tower, but I have failed to discover them. ‘The nave, aisles, 
transepts, and tower, appear to have been re-built circa 1480, the 
chapels on the north and south of the chancel some fifty years after, 
and that against the north aisle later still. The clerestory appears 
to have been an afterthought, and traces of an earlier roof can be 
seen on the west face of the tower, but the alteration must have 
taken place before the Church was completed. 

The feature which strikes one at once inside the Church is the 
way in which the buttresses of the aisles are carried over to support 
the clerestory and at the same time to form arches to carry the 
aisle roofs. Another special feature is the richly-groined porch 
under the west window of the nave, the doorway of which has been 
mutilated by the head being squared out. There is a stoup by the 
south door. Stone bench seats are carried all round the Church 
inside. 

The turret staircase to the tower also led to the rood-loft, the 
exit doorway for which remains. The archways between the 
transepts and chapels ave of the panelled type of which we shall see 
several examples during our excursion. There is a piscina in the 
south transept, also a coeval recessed tomb. The two chapels have 
their original roofs; that on the north has lost its braces, but the 
corbels which supported them still remain in the east angles and 
over the arcade. There are niches in the east walls of both chapels ; 
those in the south chapel with their rich canopies appear to be 
entirely new, but they are presumably copied from original work, 


Thursday, August st. 


Cuurce or S. Gires. ImBer. 


This Church is one of the seven in the county dedicated in the 


14 Notes on the Churches 


name of S. Giles; it is simple in plan, having only nave with north 
and south aisles, chancel, and western tower, but it has many points 
of great interest. 

As is frequently the case, the oldest feature is the font, the bowl 
of which appears to be Norman work of about the middle of the 
twelfth century. This would indicate the probability of an older 
Church than the present one having stood on this site, and this 
probability receives support from the extreme narrowness of the 
aisles. The present aisles were built at a time when it was 
customary to make them of much greater width than before, and 
that this was not done here is probably due to the foundation lines 
of a Norman Church having been followed. We may, therefore, 
fairly assume that a Norman Church with aisles once stood here. 
The foundations of Norman work—at least down to the middle of 
the twelfth century—were almost invariably bad, and this doubtless 
accounts for the re-building of Churches having so often become 
necessary within so short a time of their original construction. 
The re-building here began with the side walls and arcades of the 
nave, which are probably the work of quite the end of the thirteenth 
century. The west end of the north aisle was most likely built at 
the same time, for the two buttresses there are of the work of that 
period. 

The great wave of Church building which swept over the country 
in the fifteenth century did not miss Imber, for at a date not later 
than 1420 the north and south aisles—with the very usual door in 
each wall, the square-headed windows in the side walls, and the 
pointed one in the east end—were re-built and the north porch and 
tower added. The nave was also re-roofed in the waggon-head 
form so prevalent in the south-west of England but less commonly 
met with in this county. This fifteenth century work is bold and 
massive, and it must have been no slight task in those days to get 
up to Imber the large quoin and bonding stones which may be seen 
on the outside. Owing to the peculiar treatment of the turret 
staircase the tower has jive corners, and although it has losta 
pinnacle it can still claim to possess the same number of pinnacles 
as many other towers which have been less unfortunate. It will be 


—__ = 


Visited by the Society im 1889. 15 


seen that the staircase is fair with the east face of the main body of 
the tower, and is treated as an integral part of it, the parapet and 
cornice being carried all round. 

It is possible that, either during his lifetime, or at his death, the 
knight, whose effigy lies under the beautiful recessed tomb in the 
south aisle, was a benefactor to the Church at this time, and the 
piscina adjoining the tomb indicates a chantry founded for his 
benefit. There is a recumbent effigy of a second warrior under the 
last bay of the south nave arcade, his head resting on a cushion 
supported by angels and his feet upon a lion. His shield bears the 
three lions rampant, but I believe his identity has not yet been 
established. [Heralds Visitation, 1620, mentions Rous of 
(Imber) three lions rampant. (Hereford 44.)] 

There are a few bits of old glass in the windows of the south 
aisle and tower, the most noticeable being a representation of our 
Lord’s head, with nimbus, in the upper part of the east window of © 
the chapel at the end of the aisle. 

This Church is unusually rich in post-Reformation oak work. 
The pews and pulpit in the nave and the two benches and two chairs 
in the chancel are good examples of the earlier work of the seven- 
teenth century. There is a characteristic oval window in the 
south wall of the aisle—inserted, probably, to light the squire’s 
pew—an interesting relic of the early Georgian era, which should 
be retained in any restoration, as a mark of history: it will 
become increasingly valuable as time goes on. The chancel and 
vestry were erected in 1849, and there is no record of what the 
old chancel was. The only remains of it are the two carved label 
terminals, representing a king and a bishop, to be seen inside the 
vestry. 


Att Satnts Cuurcn. BisHorps LavineTon. 


: This Church presents a plan of unusual variety and interest for a 
village Church—the result of many alterations, some of which are 
not easy to make out. In the study of it we must bear in mind 


_ that it was not the practice at the period we are considering to build 


16 Notes on the Churches. 


Churches by contract with a penalty on the contractor if he did not 
complete it in the given time—say twelve or eighteen months. 
One of the most rapid large works of the kind on record was the 
erection of our mother Church of Salisbury. The foundation stones 
were laid in 1220, and although within five years Bishop Richard 
Poore saw the building sufficiently advanced to admit of service 
being celebrated in the Lady Chapel, yet it was left to three of his 
successors to continue the work, which was not ready for consecration 
until 1258, nor quite completed until 1266 (the tower and spire 
being added some sixty years after this). Thus the Cathedral took 
forty-six years to build in spite of the enormous efforts which were 
made to push on the work and so to remove the disadvantages of 
the Cathedral being, as it was at Old Sarum, within the precincts 
of the King’s castle. 

We know, too, that the Charch at Edington was built in nine 
years, but there also the object was a special one—the formation of 
a new monastery—and the work was undertaken by a Bishop holding 
the high civil office of Lord High Chancellor of England. 

To return to Bishop’s Lavington, We may well believe that in the 
building of a village Church like this, where perhaps there was 
much more difficulty in raising the money, the proceedings were 
much slower, and the style changed during the progress of the 
work. This will explain the difference in style in different parts of 
this Church. Thus, the earliest work we have here is the north 
arcade of the nave: this has vigorously-carved capitals of a distinctly 
Norman type—there being two patterns of carving on each cap— 
and was probably erected soon after the middle of the twelfth 
century; then, turning to the south arcade, although at first sight 
its capitals would almost appear to be part of a later Church, I am 
of opinion that this was erected in continuation of that on the north 
side, and was completed before the end of the twelfth century. 
These arcades are an interesting study, both have cylindrical columns 
and arches in two square orders, with labels of a very similar type: 
the capitals on the north side have the angles notched out so that 
the abacus follows the line of the arch, and the arches themselves 
are only slightly pointed—while the capitals on the south side have 


Visited by the Society in 1889. 17 


the abacus rounded, a distinct advance in style, and the arches are 
rather more pointed. 

The clerestory on both sides appears to have been erected on the 
completion of the south arcade. 

Then, before reaching the chancel, the builders seem to have 
changed their original design, and decided to have a north transept, 
so they prepared for it by re-constructing the easternmost bay on 
that side in the later style then prevailing with a more pointed and 
chamfered arch, but re-using the label-mould over. This arch and 
respond (the latter with canted abacus) are coeval with the chancel 
arch, which, however, has no label. If any proof is needed that 
the north aisle was shortened to carry out the transept, and that 
the latter was not originally intended, it may be found in the fact : 
that the clerestory window of that bay is blocked up by the roof 
on the outside, and that the arch between aisle and transept cuts 
into the arch of the arcade. 

The chancel was next proceeded with (before the erection of the 
transept), and the four lancet windows, the piscina, and the string 
course remain of the original features of about 1220—as also the 
corbel table of the eaves on the north side. The present doorway 
is a late fourteenth century insertion, and has the carved paterzx of 
that period, but it probably supplanted an earlier doorway, as the 
string appears to have been returned over it. The north and east 
sides of the chancel are new work, and Canon Baynham informs me 
that a priest’s door on the north side was done away with in erecting 
it. This work appears, however, to be a good copy of the 
original. 

The north transept appears to have been next built, and indicates 
the dawn of tracery in the north window. The single lancet in the 
west wall is coeval, whilst that in the east wall is a !ater insertion, 
There were, of course, north and south aisles at that time, but 
the present windows are modern, and it is questionable whether 
much of the old walls remains, 

The Church was not, so far as can be seen, considered complete 
until this stage had been reached, its erection having thus occupied 
nearly a century; and this may be taken as a typical, though 
VOL, XXIV.—-NO. LXXII, Cc 


18 Notes on the Churches 


perhaps prolonged, example of the method employed in building the 
Churches of the early Middle Ages. 

There are here, as in most cases, many subsequent alterations and 
additions. At the west end the last hays of the nave arcades were 
shortened, probably early in the fourteenth century, for the erection 
of the tower. At that time the tower appears not to have had the 
aisles continued past it as at present; these were added and the side 
arches cut through some fifty years later. Traces of a coeval arch 
may be seen in the east wall of the tower, over the present one. 

Buttresses were built on the outside to resist the thrust of 
these arches, and as it was probably found that the east wall 
was giving way under the increased weight a new arch was 
constructed within the previous one, and arches were built across 
the aisles. A staircase for access was at the same time carried up 
on the south side, forming a clumsy block on the interior, The 
tracery of the west window has been renewed. 

The next addition was the Dauntsey Chapel, erected outside the 
south aisle, opposite the transept, about 1430. It is probable that 
this chapel did not originally communicate with the Church, for the 
present archway between it and the aisle is an elliptic one of 
Elizabethan character, built of chalk or clunch, the soffit being 
enriched with an ornament formed by four Ds united within a square 
panel; the same device appears in some post-Reformation glass in 
the west window here, which has been made up together with older 
glass in which the chalice appears. It is doubtless intended as the 
initial of either the Dauntsey or Danvers family, or both, for they 
were united at this time. The former entrance to the chapel was 
by a doorway in the west wall, now built up. An arch is carried 
across from this chapel to support the clerestory. 

There is a Perpendicular recessed tomb, with the effigy of an 
unknown individual, and good later monuments which have been 
described by the Vicar. 

The last addition to the plan was the Beckett Chapel, erected on 
the south side of the chancel towards the end of the fifteenth 
century—about 1480. This must have been a richly-ornamented 
work. The windows are all square-headed, but well traceried; the 


Visited by the Society im 1889. 19 


one on the east is placed out of the centre to accommodate a niche 
on the north side of it. There are also traces of another niche, 
with its corbel, in the south wall and a good piscina preserved 
intact below it. The archway communicating with the aisle has 
been removed and a modern window substituted. The corbel table 
of the thirteenth century chancel has been carried round the chapel 
as a cornice mould. At about the time of the erection of this 
chapel an upper stage was added to the tower, carried on the 
north and south sides on arches thrown across within the walls of 
the previous structure, as though to reduce its plan from an oblong 
to a square. 

There is an iron-bound oak chest in this chapel with the three 
locks as enjoined by the 84th Canon of 1603. 

All the roofs of the Church are modern. 


S. Paerer’s. Lirrte Carvers. 


This Church was re-built, with the exception of the tower, in 
1850, but several features of interest have been preserved, although 
it is to be regretted that they have been so scraped as to make it 
difficult at first sight to say whether they are original, or good 
copies; on comparing them with the new work, however, the 
difficulty disappears. These reinstated features consist of the outer 
and inner doorways of the porch, the chancel arch, the vestry 
window, the priest’s door, and the bowl of the font—all late 
fourteenth century in date. The priest’s door is a beautiful feature 
with ogee arch, and has suffered less than the others. 

The tower is a remarkable structure of early fifteenth century 
date ; it has vertical wall-faces without weatherings or string-courses 
to divide it into stages: the buttresses are massive and good, but 
beyond a west window of three lights, with a doorway under, it has 
no openings on either side (if we except the small slits on the north 
and east). There is a singular corbel over the west window, with 
rich oak-leaf foliage, and probably intended in lieu of a niche, to 
support a figure of S. Peter. The original parapet or roof has 
disappeared and a modern slated one has taken its place. 

c 2 


20 Notes on the Churches 


S. Perer’s. Great CHEVERELL. 


This Church, like the last, is dedicated to S. Peter. It consists 
of nave with south porch, chancel and western tower, with a chapel 
on the south side of the nave and a modern vestry. 

The side walls of the chancel are of early thirteenth century date, 
and the facing is a good though unusually late specimen of flint- - 
work laid in herring-bone pattern. The lancets in the north and 
south walls of the chancel are original ; the other window on the 
south side, the priest’s door, and the piscina are Perpendicular in- 
sertions. The recessed tomb in the north wall of the chancel is 
coeval with the earlier work and is probably that of the founder or 
some great benefactor of the Church. It may, possibly, however, 
have been the Easter Sepulchre. The east wall has been rebuilt. 

The nave, porch and chapel are coeval, and were erected in the 
best period of the Perpendicular—about 1460. All the windows 
are square-headed, with good mouldings and tracery. Both nave 
and chapel have their original roofs, that of the nave being of the 
wageon-head or barrel-vault form, like the one at Imber, with 
plaster-panels, the ribs being moulded and having carved bosses at 
the intersections. The roof of the chapel is of flat span form, richer 
and more massive, the timbers being moulded and the bosses carved. 
The inscription “ W.S. 1699 ” on the east boss has no reference to 
the date of the structure. The window and other features at the 
east end have been destroyed to give access to the modern vestry. 

The tower appears to have been added after the nave was built, 
but it is very little later in style. 

The font is a modern one; it would be interesting to know what 
has become of the old one. There are some late memorial 
inscriptions cut on the outside of the east wall of the chapel, 


East Covutston. 


This is one of the three Churches in Wiltshire dedicated in the 
name of S. Thomas A Becket; and it is of earlier foundation than 
any other Church in to-day’s programme. It consists of nave and 
chancel with a chapel on the north side of the latter. 

On the south side of the nave there is a good specimen of a 


. 
. 
: 
| 
1 


Visited by the Society im 1889. 21 


Norman doorway of about 1120, apparently im situ, with carved 
caps (the shafts are missing), the opening square, and the tympanum 
over it plain. The caps of the chancel arch are coeval with it, 
but the restorer has mistaken the Norman volutes for owls, and has 
given them wings and feathers! 

There is a fifteenth century doorway in the north wall of the 
nave, with a stoup, and the buttress at the north-west angle is of 
about the same date. 

The chancel dates from early in the fourteenth century, but only 
parts of the windows on the south side and the piscina remain, 

The chapel was added about the middle of the fifteenth century, 
and the piscina in the east jamb of the arch shows it to have been 
a chantry. The window on the north has had its sill raised and 
its head rebuilt in a square form, the old label being affixed over it 
in a quite original fashion. The angle buttresses and plinth of 
this part are good work. 

There is a nice piece of seventeenth century wood carving of 
* Grinling Gibbons ” type in the lectern. 


[A full account of Edington Church will appear ata later page 
of the Magazine.} 


Cxuurcu or S. James. BRatron. 


This is a perfect model of the cruciform village Church—a 
minster on a small scale: and although there is evidence of a part 
of the work being earlier yet it underwent such an entire re- 
modelling early in the fifteenth century that it may be taken as 
representing the idea then prevailing of what such a Church should 
be, for it has had no additions, and no subsequent structural 
alterations other than the re-building of the chancel within recent 
years. 

The Church consists of nave of two bays with north and south 
aisles and clerestory; north and south transepts and chancel, with 


22 Notes on the Churches 


a tower at the crossing: there are three doorways, one in the west 
wall and one in the north and south walls of the aisles, near the 
east end, that on the south having a porch. 

The east walls of the transepts are evidently parts of an earlier 
Church, for they are built of rubble masonry instead of wrought 
stone like the rest, and they have no plinths (the connection of 
the later work with them is clearly distinguishable on the outside), ° 
but they had new parapets and buttresses added when the great 
re-modelling took place at about 14.00. 

The walls of the porch are also older, probably late twelfth or 
early thirteenth century work, and they originally supported a roof 
of stone, carried on moulded ribs—one of these ribs remains over 
the outer doorway, and traces of another can be seen over the inner 
doorway, which, if retained, would have interfered with the fifteenth 
century niche, and to make room for this it was probably removed. 
The line of the stone roof is also visible on the outside gable and 
the old label terminals have been re-used for the later label. The 
re-modelling of the porch took place after that of the south transept. 

To return to my description of the Church as re-modelled. It 
will be seen that, whilst the design is perfect, the work is also of 
the most solid and complete description—the whole of the re-built 
walls are faced inside and outside with wrought stone, the tower is 
divided into four stages in height, the two lower ones being open to 
the interior and ceiled with a groined vault; and light is admitted 
to the crossing by windows in the north and south sides above the 
transept roofs. The corbels supporting the angle ribs are carved 
to represent kings and bishops alternately. The four piers of the 
tower rest on stone bench-tables (which were probably the only seats 
then used in the Church), but the bases are otherwise identical with 
those of the nave arcade. . 

The usual intention of transepts appears to have been to afford 
more east wall space for altars, and that they were in this case used 
as chapels is shewn by the four later niches, or reredos, inserted in 
the wall of the north transept, and the piscina in that of the south. 
There were no windows in these east walls, for the one now existing 
in the latter is a modern insertion. The roof of the north transept 


Visited by the Society m 1889. 23 


was carried on four corbels with carved heads, whilst the corbels in 
the south transept are plain. All roofs throughout the Church are 
new. 

The position of the turret staircase is placed so as to be available 
for access to the upper stages of the tower, and also to the rood-loft ; 
and in re-building the chancel the position of the exit door has very 
properly been retained. This turret is carried up on the outside 
above the tower, and capped with a spire, making a most picturesque 
feature. 

The jambs of the west window of the nave are carried down to 
the ground inside, and the filling-in below the window sill, with the 
door, are of later date; in making this alteration it was apparently 
intended to erect a porch, for the bases on the outside are returned, 
but the intention was probably never carried into effect. The 
_ position of the north and south doorways, so far eastward in the 
aisles, is unusual—that on the south was fixed by the older porch, 
which came, perhaps, about in the centre of the original Church 
(supposing it to have been without a central tower), whilst I think 
that on the north may be also accounted for. Before I visited this 
Church I was quite expecting to find that the great work which 
had within a comparatively recent time been carried out in the 
neighbouring parish of Edington, had made its influence felt here ; 
and whilst my expectation was not realized as regards the details of 
mouldings, arches, and tracery (which had kept pace with the 
changes which had taken place during the forty or fifty years which 
intervened), I attribute one or two peculiarities in the general 
arrangement of the design to the noble example which the builders 
had before their eyes; and I cannot help thinking it is this that led 
to the placing of a doorway in such an unusual position in the north 
aisle; but while its use as the monks’ entrance at Edington is 
manifest, no such reason can be assigned for it here. Then, the 
adoption of the cruciform plan in so small a Church must, surely, 
be more the result of example than necessity ! 

The bowl of the font is Norman, and probably coeval with the 
earlier Church, parts of which we have noticed as still remaining ; 
and the base is of the date of the re-modelling of the Church, 


Q4 Notes on the Churches 


Friday, August 2nd. 


Tur Cuurcnu or S. Nicuouas. Nort Brap.ey. 


The plan of this Church shows some variation from the usual 
type. It has a clerestoried nave with north and south aisles and 
chancel in the ordinary way, but the position of the chapels is 
unusual—that on the north occupying the easternmost bay of the 
arcade, stopping the aisle and forming a kind of transept; whilst 
the south chapel, besides covering the corresponding space to that 
on the north, is carried on eastward against the wall of the chancel, 
and has a second (though late) archway opening into it; the result 
of this arrangement is very pleasing. 

The nave arcade of three bays is apparently fourteenth century 
work (although the re-facing of the stonework introduces some 
doubt), and the south chapel is about the same date. 

A complete re-modelling of the Church—a frequent process at 
this time—was commenced about eighty years later. First a 
clerestory was added to the nave, the north chapel was built, then 
the chancel, aisles and porch were re-built and the tower added at 
the west end. 

The design of the north chapel is very remarkable—the founder’s 
tomb in the north wall is treated on the inside as a recessed bay, 
and, with its separate diagonal buttresses and pinnacles and richly- 
panelled plinth on the outside, makes a charming feature. The slab 
has the incised effigy of Emma, mother of Archbishop Stafford, 
dated 1446. The original oak roof exists (it is profusely orna- 
mented with carving, though almost, if not entirely, without 
heraldry), and the piscina remains in the respond of the arch. 

The south chapel, also, has the old roof, but it is more simple in 
design than the last, There is no trace of niche or piscina here. 
(A fine old chest with three locks stands in this aisle.) 

The chancel has its original windows in the side walls, but the 
east window is new; the coeval sedilia are of plain character, with 
square heads. The panelled archways communicating with the 
south chapel from the chancel and south aisle were doubtless inserted 


Visited by the Society in 1889. 25 


when the chancel and aisles were built, as also the similar one between 
the north aisle and chapel. 

The font is a very fine example of Perpendicular work. It is of 
large size and octagonal, the four cardinal panels have the emblems 
of the evangelists, and the diagonal sides are enriched with those 
of the Passion. The porch has had its roof altered in pitch, but 
the original can be traced. 

The Church has a noble tower, well designed and substantially 
built, with the stair-turret well pronounced and carried up for the 
full height. The buttresses have diagonal shafts continued above 
the top weathering, as though intended to carry pinnacles, but they 
end in grotesque gargoyles at the cornice level in a very abrupt 
manner. The angle pinnacles have been lost. 

In a glass case in the vestry are an ancient chalice and paten of 
pewter, the former much crushed, perhaps of the fourteenth century, 
which were found during the restoration of the Church in 1863 in 
a coffin formed out of a hollowed tree, under the arch on the south 
side of the chancel. 

[15th June, 1548. Amongst the list of chantry furniture bought 
(in one lot) by Thomas Chafyn, of Mere, are the following :— 


The Chauntre in the parish of North Bradley. 
Imprimis—A chalyce of sylver waying viii ownce 
Item. One old torn vestment of dornysse 
» One altar cloth of no valewe xij4, 
» One corporas with j old case 
» One bell waying half a hundred 


The vestments do not seem to have been of such great value that 
we need regret the evident bargain made by Mr. Chafyn, but it 
would be interesting to know what the bell was—perhaps thesanctus.] 


Roap CuurcH. 


This Church appears to have heen built all at one time (about the 
middle of the fifteenth century), excepting the tower, which is 
somewhat more debased. The plan consists of nave with clerestory, 
north and south aisles, western tower, and chancel with north chapel. 


26 Notes on the Churches 


The nave arcades are well designed and the archway into the 
chapel is similar to them ; the capitals of both are surmounted by 
a pretty carved cresting. The roof and the inner arches of the 
clerestory windows are modern. The stairs to the rood loft have 
been removed, but the doorways remain, and a puzzling appearance 
is given to the upper one by building a piece of the window tracery 
across it. For some reason nearly all the original window tracery 
of this Church has been taken out, and a stack of it, covered with 
ivy, exists in the churchyard : I presume the new work which takes 
its place has been copied from the old. A piscina in the north aisle 
indicates the existence of an altar in front of the archway opening 
into the chapel, and there is a squint looking into the chancel, but 
nol towards the high altar—the same may be said of the one on the 
south side. There was an altar also in the south aisle, the piscina 
of which remains, and there is a recessed altar-tomb in the south 
wall coeval with the Church. There are the remains of, apparently, 
a stoup built in here. A piece of fresco, with a kneeling female 
figure (probably representing the Annunciation) has been carefully 
preserved on the south wall, and there is a pretty little niche with 
colour near it remaining 7m sitw further westward. Both aisles 
retain their original roofs of trussed-rafter form, but it will be 
observed that the windows of the south are richer than those of the 
north ; those at the east and west ends have pointed heads, and the 
tracery of the square-headed side windows is more varied. At the 
west end are the remains of a doorway which, probably, previously 
led to a staircase for access to the roof, which was closed by the 
addition of the tower, 

The archway into the tower is of the same panelled kind as those 
we saw at North Bradley, and the lower stage is vaulted in stone. 
The staircase doorway is unusually good. 

The chancel has been much altered, and the two-bay arcade 
between it and the chapel is apparently new. The piscina and one 
window in the south wall are original work, but the other and the 
east window are new. 

The side windows of the chapel have been less interfered with 
than any others in the Church, but the east window here also is new. 


Visited by the Society in 1889. 27 


The bits of shafts and an early coffin lid built in over the door point 
to the conclusion that a Norman Church stood on this site. 

The porch has the original roof and ogee inner doorway with the 
old hinges, but the outer doorway is new. The font is probably 
coeval with the Church. 


Cuurcy or S. Grecory. BErcKINGTON. 


This is a Church of the written history of which I know nothing 
but what has been given to us by Mr. Medley. I have nothing to 
add to this but what can be gathered from the stones of the building 
itself ; and from these we may trace many of the alterations which 
the Church has undergone, and which make it so extremely in- 
teresting. This interest has been well preserved in a very careful 
restoration. : 

In the first place I may say that we have here only the second 
piece of pure Norman work which we have seen during our ex- 
eursions, and it is somewhat remarkable that we should have 
journeyed for two days within our own county of Wiltshire and yet 
have to go over its berders to find any complete part of a Church 
older than the middle of the twelfth century. The tower of this 
Church is of Norman date for its full height, although it was 
re-modelled in the fifteenth century by adding angle-buttresses, 
staircase, and parapet, and by the insertion of the west window and 
the archway into the nave (which, by the way, is of the same 
panelled type as those we saw at North Bradley and Road), and 
by vaulting the lower stage in stone. 

It is not easy to account for the arch above the west window, but 
it is part of the original work, and at first sight it seems to suggest 
there having been some erection to the west of the tower, as at 
Netheravon, but the string below, and the absence of traces of the 
side walls contradict this, and the character of the arch is that of a 
relieving arch. There are also traces of windows in the north and 
south sides. Like many other Norman towers this appears to have 
had insufficient foundations, hence the necessity for the buttresses 
added in the fifteenth century and the somewat clumsy excrescence 
against the north wall. There are remains of the Norman work in 


28 Notes on the Churches 


the chancel, which we shall see presently, and there are fragments 
built up in the aisle walls, but not 2a situ. The pitch of the roof 
of the early nave can be traced on the east face of the tower. 

The body of the Church appears to have been entirely re-built at 
about the middle of the fifteenth century—the nave, with clerestory, 
aisles, and north and south porches being of that date, and the 
hand of the designer of Road Church can be traced here in the 
columns of the arcades with the same crested capitals. There are 
squints in an unusual position on the east wall of the nave on each 
side of the chancel arch, their direction being towards the high 
altar. The original sanctus bell-cot remains on the east gable of 
the nave. The rood-screen has disappeared, but there are pronounced 
evidences of its having existed, and the two corbels in the east wall 
probably indicate its level. The Church having been rebuilt at the 
time when rood-screens were coming more into use the staircase for 
access was made a part of the plan, and the inconvenient arrange- 
ment usually met with where the rood-screen and stairs were inserted 
is avoided. The staircase is made quite a feature here, and is carried 
up the full height of the arch wall; it starts from the north aisle 
and has a doorway opening out on to the loft, which probably existed 
over the side altar there; a second door—the use of which is not 
apparent—looks into the chancel; and a third, higher up, afforded 
access to the principal loft across the chancel arch, whence the 
staircase is continued on to the roof. There are the usual accessories 
of side altars at the end of each aisle, the south aisle having a 
piscina, with shelf, in the south wall, and an aumbry in the east 
wall—also a squint pointing in the direction of the high altar. The 
remains in the north aisle comprise a niche and part of the reredos 
in the east wall, besides the piscina. 

There is a curious instance in this Church of how the old builders 
got over a mistake in setting out their work : the windows of the 
aisle are not properly arranged to correspond with the bays of the 
arcade, so that the roof-principals cut into the heads of the windows 
—a position in which it would seem to be impossible to get a corbel ; 
and more prosaic people might have done away with the brace 
altogether in such acase. But these old builders were above such 


Visited by the Society im 1889. 29 


an expedient, and put in the corbel by the side of the window, 
twisting the grotesque round and across it sufficiently far to catch 
the bottom of the brace, altogether ignoring the fact that by such 
means its practical value is lost. 

The north porch formerly had a room over it, with a turret 
staircase for access, the upper and lower doors of which remain. 
The floor has been removed and the roof (which is the original one) 
brought down below the top of the doorway. This was probably a 
watching chamber, and the opening through the aisle wall can be 
traced. On the outside there is also evidence of the lowering of 
the walls and roof, but the niche in the gable has not been disturbed 

In the chancel there are two recessed altar tombs in the north 
wall, which were originally flush with the face of it, there being a 
projection on the outside to admit of the depth of the recess; the 
easternmost one appears to have been converted into a canopied 
tomb at a later date, but the sides of the added portion look as 
though they were not worked for their present position. This 
contains two figures, supposed to represent John and Margaret de 
Ereleigh, 1380—1400. The other has a single female figure, put 
at 1860—1370, probably one of their daughters. 'The brass in the 
floor commemorates John St. Maur and his wife Elizabeth, 1485. 
There are two sedilia and a piscina with shelf in the south wall of 
the sanctuary. The roof and east window are modern. ‘The re- 
mains of the Norman chancel, to which I referred, are distinctly 
traceable in the herring-bone masonry near the floor and part of a 
window over it, cut into when the archway into the chapel was 
formed. 

The chapel on the south side of the chancel appears to have been 
added late in the fifteenth century, and part of an earlier buttress 
weathering is seen in the angle. . It is chiefly remarkable for the 
large extent of window surface, the east window being of four lights 
and the south window of six lights. There is a rude niche, formed 
of rough masonry, also the remains of an aumbry, in the east wall 
and a doorway exists in the south wall; the roof is a poor one of 
the seventeeth century. The brass in the floor is to John and Edith 
Compton, the former of whom died in 1515, and might have been 


30 Notes on the Churches 


the founder. The arms of the Longs (the lion rampant) figure on 
a brass in the north jamb of this arch. 

The font is of very unusual form, consisting of a large octagonal 
bow] and base with a central shaft and eight small shafts around it * 
all of Purbeck. It looks like the work of the twelfth century. 

An Elizabethan tablet, bearing the Royal arms and the inscription 
“ KE. R. 1574—God save the Queen ” is well preserved in the south 
aisle. 


Tus Cuurcu or S. Mary. Oxp Ditton. 


This very picturesque little Church is a happy termination to our 
two days’ excursion, and it will fully repay close investigation, for 
there are many points of extreme interest in it which are not ap- 
parent at first sight. 

The Church was built, late in the fifteenth century, with a nave, 
north aisle, chancel, and south porch, and there is no trace of earlier 
work. (Ido not know whether the list of rectors goes back farther 
than this, or whether there is any other evidence of a Church having 
stood here before the present one.) 

There was never any tower, but instead of it a charming bell-cot 
was erected upon the west gable; this is octagonal in plan—the 
west cardinal face is supported on a buttress carried up the centre 
of the wall outside, and the east face is corbelled over inside; the 
sides are filled by perforated stone panels. The bell-cot is sur- 
mounted by a stone spire, and instead of a parapet the blocking 
course above the moulded cornice is crenellated. 

There were probably no windows in the west end, but the original 
windows in the Church which still exist are:—One of three lights 
in the south wall of the nave, three of three lights in the north wall of 
the nave, and one of two lights in the south wall of the chancel. The 
rest, for some reason not apparent, were removed, and two new ones 
inserted in the west wall when the vestry and gallery were erected 
~ on the south of the chancel in the debased Gothic of the seventeenth 
century. 

The porch itself remains almost untouched, and there is the usual 
door opposite in the north wall. The inner door of the porch has 


a 


Visited by the Society im 1889. 31 


an awkward-looking arch, with the remains of a segmental label 
and its terminals over; but on looking at the north door we see 
that the peculiar form of the arch is due to to the cusping having 
been cut away. The remains of a niche—probably for a figure of 
Our Lady, to whom the Church is dedicated—exist over the door. 
The porch has the moulded oak ribs of its original roof, but the 
ridge-piece is missing. Even the door and its hinges are old. The 
outer doorway of the porch has the pointed arch under a square 
label, which is so common in late Perpendicular work. 

The nave arcade is of a peculiar type, but it was not constructed 
as we now see it, and some of its peculiarity disappears on closer 
inspection. The arches are panelled (the panelling being without 
cusping), and the ribs die out on to the face of the pillars; these 
latter were merely square piers, without caps or even an abacus mould. 
This simple form seems to have offended the eye of some more 
modern guardian of the Church, who (probably when the other 
alterations were made) pared off the angles to give the piers more 
the appearance of ordinary columns. 

I have no doubt that there was a chancel arch of similar kind, for 
there are no projecting responds: this, however, has disappeared, 
possibly improved away; but I think it is more likely that it fell, 
owing to the spreading of the abutments, for there are evidences 
everywhere of defective foundations—the south wall is going out 
and the nave arcade inclining northwards to an extent which should 
receive consideration. 

Further evidence of the chancel arch being the full width of the 
chancel is afforded by the lower part of the rood-screen, which 
remains intact, and apparently im situ, on the south side of the 
gangway: this has been cut off at the middle rail, and the mortices 
and pins of the upper stage can be seen. This rail has a broad flat 
member, which contained carving planted in, as at Edington, so 
that we may conclude the screen was a rich one. There are many 
pieces of it—mullions, &c.—used as supports to the seats (two or 
three being in one pew in the north aisle), and I have no doubt the 
removal of the more modern pews would reveal sufficient evidence 
for the entire restoration of the screen. 


382 Notes on the Churches 


Adjoining the part of the screen may be seen the roughly-cut 
poppy-head of one of the chancel stalls, and another (better carved) 
is in the pew I before mentioned. There are many of the original 
benches in the Church, probably nearly enough to seat the nave, so 
that I believe this little Church could be almost entirely re-fitted 
with its old fifteenth century oak-work. It will be noticed, also, 
that there are parts of the front framing in the large pews on the 
north side of the chancel, and in the one in the aisle ; also that the 
panelled sinking in the bench ends is, like that of the aisle arches, 
without cusping. 

It is probable that the original roof of the nave remains above 
the plaster ceiling, for the waggon-head form is hardly that of 
such a roof as would have been put on in more recent times. 

The chancel has its priest’s door on the south side. 

The font is the original one, but sad/y scraped, and on a new 
plinth. It is a very nice example of the font of the period and of 
good size. I am glad that the other stonework of the Church has 
not suffered the fate of this. 

There are bits of old glass in the old south window of the nave, 
and amongst the devices are the initials R. H. coupled by a cord; 
the Tudor flower and a cock—the latter probably heraldic. 

There are some pieces of Jacobean pewing, and also some of oak- 
work still later—all well worth taking care of. The rest of the 
pews, also the pulpit and desk are of deal. 

Probably at the end of the seventeenth or early in the eighteenth 
century the addition to the north of the chancel was erected—a 
vestry of two stories, both being open to the chancel, and the upper 
being intended for use as a gallery. The east window and others I 
have referred to were probably added at the same time. 

It will be seen that the east gable of the nave has been made up 
in a temporary manner, and slated, since the removal of the chancel 
arch and the wall over it. 


: 


33 


GHAesthury 


Ander the Plat. 
By the Rev. Canon J. E. Jacxson, F.S.A.! 


N the programme of our proceedings the paper now about to 

be read was announced as “Some Notes of Westbury 
History,” simply because its full history down to A.D. 1830 was 
written in the late Sir Richard C. Hoare’s magnificent work on South 
Wiltshire. The authors of county histories are, and must be, always 
largely assisted ; and the best assistants are those who belong to and 
reside in the particular district described, being able to supply local in- 
formation, and having opportunity of access to documents in private 
hands, without which nothing can be done with accuracy. Sir Richard 
was helped, in such portions as related to modern times, by Mr. 
Richard Harris, of Dilton; in his account of ancient times and 


_ families by the officers in charge of the public records in London. 


Such works as his are, no doubt, noble additions to our literature, 
but, unfortunately, it requires a nobility of purse to buy them. 


_ They are very costly, and, thanks to our American friends who love 


to trace their connection with the families and places of the old 
country, and so have raised the market price enormously, such works 
are getting quite out of the reach of ordinary folk—who accordingly 
are not much the better for them. Now, one of your fellow- 
townsmen, Mr. Michael, has, to his great credit, taken pains to 
present you with the main outline and substance of the more 
splendid publication, at a price and in a form which bear a strange 
contrast with the more expensive work—a modest little pamphlet, 
price twopence. But observe the result. Where one person can 
buy Sir Richard, thousands can buy Mr. Michael. At the railway 
stalls among his little publications I observed one with which, as it 


1 Read at the Meeting of the Wilts Archeological Society at Westbury, July 
81st, 1889. 


VoL, YXIV.——-NO. LXXII. D 


34 Westbury under the Plain. 


was compiled chiefly from something of my own writing, he has 
done me the honour to connect my name. Some people might feel 
mortified at seeing their handiwork, or rather the spinning of their 
brains, offered at such a very insignificant figure. On the contrary, 
this was exactly what I was pleased to see: because, the very object 
of our Society was from the first, and is now, not to keep our in- 
formation to ourselves, or hide it in volumes which nobody ean buy, 
but to put county history and other archeological subjects into a 
cheaper form, to popularize and diffuse it, to encourage a taste for 
it, and enable people of the humblest class to take more interest ia 
the places they live in, by knowing who had been there before them, 
who built this house or Church, what changes there have been, and 
so forth—things of which they are generally quiteignorant. I have 
told the story before, but as a specimen of popular acquaintance with 
the history of a place it will bear telling again. Visiting Glastonbury 
Abbey some years ago, though not altogether unacquainted with 
its history, I thought myself in duty bound to get all the information 
I could from the cicerone of the ruins. The regular official happening 
to be ill, or, at any rate, not forthcoming, an old post-boy (an 
animal hardly known, except by tradition, to the present generation) 
hanging about the gate offered his services, assuring me that he 
knew all about it quite well. So, in the course of our tour, I asked 
him, for fun, who was it that built up this old place? He had not 
got his lesson quite pat, so he scratched his head, and said he’d heard 
tell it wur Oliver Crummell. ‘‘ Well, then,” said I, ‘‘ who knocked 
it about in this way?” ‘Oh! [then another scratch] why that 
wur Willum Norman.” 

A cheap account, then, of Westbury being now within very easy 
reach, and other gentlemen being about to address you upon the 
Church, the geology of the district, &c., I propose to make only a 
few remarks on one or two of the more prominent points of the 
subject, with, first, a slight sketch of the general history, for the 
benefit of those who may not happen to have invested twopence in 
Mr. Michael. 

There is no other Westbury in Wiltshire, but there are several 
places of the same name in England, some of them in counties 


By the Rev. Canon J. E. Jackson, F.8.A. 85 


adjoining Wiltshire: and as it lies under the northern escarpment 
of Salisbury Plain it used to be called “‘ Westbury under the Plain ” 
_ to distinguish it more particularly from Westbury-on-Trym, near 
Bristol, and Westbury-upon-Severn, both in Gloucestershire, as well 
as from Westbury, near Wells, in Co. Somerset. 

One peculiarity is that, whereas all the other hundreds in the 
county contain, more or less, many parishes, the hundred of West- 
bury consists of only one—the parish of Westbury. It is very 
large, somewhere about thirty miles round, the town being nearly 
in thecentre. For those who may wish to take so long a walk, there 
is for their guidance an old Perambulation deed, taken three hundred. 
years ago, which describes the parish boundaries with a very curious 
minuteness, It includes several smaller places, villages and hamlets, 
as Bratton, Westbury Leigh, Dilton, Heywood, &e. Of the most 
ancient inhabitants there are vestiges in plenty, both above and 
underground. On the downs above Bratton are the oldest, the 
usual tumuli or burial mounds, and the great earthwork called Bratton 
Castle. There are also traces of the Romans, and, after them, of 
the Romanised Britons. Wherever the name of Ridge or Street 
occurs in a country place, it is probable that something Roman 
is not far off: and so it is here. There are, as is well known, four 
or five principal highways called Roman (though some of them are 
suspected to be really older), traversing the whole length of Britain 
in various directions; but there were by-ways as well as highways, 
and these are now to be discovered by local observers. The Romans 
were at very great pains and cost in making their roads: some were 
paved, others made with gravel or stone, but generally raised above 
the level of the ground so as to present a slight ridge. Ridge is a 
common country people’s name for an old Roman way; one in 
Yorkshire, a very perfect specimen, goes, in the dialect of that 
county, by the name of the Roman “rig.” Now that name occurs 
here at several places, in one continuous line, You have first, 
simply, Ridge (Rudge, as they call it), Hawkridge, Coteridge, Stor- 
ridge, Bremridge, and Norridge (1.e., North Ridge) : and you have also 
Short Street; all contiguous: so that there can be little doubt about 
a Roman by-way having gone along there, though where it came 

D2 


36 Westbury under the Plain. 


from, or led to, may not be now very evident. Under ground in 
different places all along that side of the parish numerous coins and 
fragments of pottery have turned up: many at Ham, a large open 
tract north-west of the town. Tradition has it that old Westbury 
stood there, and that it was battered (our friend Oliver Cromwell 
again) from Bratton Camp. Sir R. C. Hoare was told by a quarry- 
man that in a little piece of ground, then lately ploughed up, called 
Compton’s Plot, was the well of the old town, into which all the 
valuables had been thrown. Im the field between that plot and 
Heywood the same man had assisted in digging up the foundations 
of a large building of well-bewn stone ; and another labourer spoke 
of a tesselated pavement found near the well. Cinerary urns have 
been unearthed at the Iron Works!; at Highsomley many Roman 
relics; and in Mr. Phipps’s garden at Charleote, where I happened 
some time ago to see the men making new flower-beds, the earth 
appeared to be almost black and strewed thickly with fragments of 
pottery as if it had been an ancient cemetery. There is no record 
of the state of things here in the days of these Roman roads and 
tesselated pavements, nor does anything appear to be known about 
it till we come towards the end of the Saxon period, when the whole 
belonged to the Crown. By degrees, in Norman times, certain 
portions were granted to monasteries and to the Cathedral of Old 
Sarum : the rest was disposed of to the laity. But the monasteries 
did not get so large a share in this as in neighbouring parishes. 
Whilst the house of Bonhommes at Edington possessed the greater 


1 Tn April, 1881, the late Mr. Henry Cunnington wrote to the Devizes Gazette: 
“The workmen engaged at the Westbury Iron Works have just discovered, about 
two feet under the surface of the soil, a cinerary urn, about eight inches high, 
containing the burnt bones of a young person about sixteen years of age. In 
the mouth of this urn another smaller one was placed, to prevent the earth from 
falling in on the interment. What is very remarkable, on taking out the contents 
of the lower urn, a very fine coin of Constantine’s was found at the bottom, 
amongst the ashes. The coin is a bronze, and was struck in London. On the 
obverse is the head of Constantine, laureated. Inscription : Emperor Constantine, 
Pius, Felix, Augustus. Reverse: Mars marching to the right, with shield and 
spear. Inscription: Mars, the defender of the country ; under the figure P.L.N. 
Pecunia Londinensis), showing that the coin was struck in London. Both the 
urns are in fine condition, and will shortly be placed in the Devizes Museum.” 


By the Rev. Canon J. EB. Jackson, F.8.A. 37 


part of that parish, and the nuns of the convent of Romsey in 

Hampshire had all Steeple Ashton, a comparatively small part of 
Westbury fell into ecclesiastical hands—what is called the Parsonage 
Manor was bestowed by King Henry IJ. upon Sarum for the 
maintenance of the Precentor. A manor that had belonged to 
Bishop Waltham, of Salisbury (1888-1395), and afterwards to the 
alien priory of Steventon, in Berkshire, being confiscated (as the 
lands of alien priories often were), was given by Richard II. to the 
Abbot and Convent of Westminster, to whose successors, the Dean 
and Chapter there, it now belongs. Monkton Farleigh Priory, near 
Bath, had the part still called Leigh Priors. Edington Monastery 
had land at Bratton and Bremridge—the rest, as I have said, was 
granted or sold to persons of influence, and in this way the one 
original great manor got cut up into a number of estates. The 
history becomes then very complicated, and not interesting to a 
general audience. Instead of passing on in the simple way from 
father to son, the properties had soon to be divided between co- 
heiresses—each of whom carried away her moiety into another 
family. In a generation or two more co-heiresses appeared, and 
then there was a fresh sub-division of the first moiety, and so on; 
so that what with moieties, semi-moieties, and demi-semi-moieties, 
_ Westbury territorial history is somewhat of a labyrinth, abounding, 
however, in old aristocratic names, such as St. Maur, Mauduit, 
Stafford, Arundell, which, I believe, still survive as the names of 
different portions of land about the parish. In course of years 
many of these sub-divisions became re-united by successive pur- 
chases, centreing chiefly in the Phipps family, of which a large part 
has recently passed into the hands of Mr. Laverton. All the pre- 
vious changes are given in detail in Sir Richard Hoare’s history. 
For the present purpose it will be enough to select one or two of 
_ the most important: before doing which I have a note or two about 
_ the town itself. 


ParuiIAMENTARY Notices. 


The earliest mention we have of Westbury as a borough returning 
members to Parliament is in the year 1446-7 (27th of Henry VL). 


388 Westbury under the Plain. 


Its obtaining that privilege is accounted for in the same way as in 
the case of Calne, Wootton Basset, Chippenham, and others. They 
were all Crown property, and the Crown took good care to strengthen 
its own position by bestowing the privilege on places under*its 
immediate control. The members for Westbury have been from the 
first, upon the whole, taken from among Wiltshire families in the 
immediate neighbourhood, and in one of these instances Westbury 
borough is distinguished as having been the first in which bribery was 
detected. The offender was Mr. Thomas Long, of the Semington 
branch of that family, but owner of a manor within the parish of 
Westbury ,who,in 1571 (14 Eliz.) ,was refused admittance to the House 
on the ground of having paid to the mayor four pounds to obtain the 
seat.' Among strangers wholly unconnected with the place who 
have been returned as members, Westbury may boast of two very 
eminent public men, Sir William Blackstone, the famous author of 
that standard work, the Commentaries on the Laws of England ; the 
other, the late Sir Robert Peel. There was also another M.P. for 
Westbury who deserves notice, Capt. Matthew Mitchell, R.N., who 
died in 1747. He had been a companion of Commodore (afterwards 
Lord) Anson in his voyage round the world in 1741, as commandant 
of The Gloucester. This unfortnnate ship, having been driven by 
bad weather far from the rest, narrowly escaped destruction, was 
lost for a considerable time, and when recovered was found with 
most of her crew dead, and the captain nearly so, from starvation. 
The story is given in Anson’s voyage. 


1'W. Prynne mentions this as the first precedent he could find for the Com- 
mons beginning to seclude one another upon pretence of undue elections and 
returns. The case is thus described by Oldfield :—“14 Eliz. May 9, 1571. 
Thomas Longe [Prynne prints Lucy, by mistake] gent. who was returned for 
this borough, and who was deemed not of sufficient capacity to serve in Parliament 
confessed that he had given Anthony Garlande, Mayor of Westbury, and one 
Watts of the same town, the sum of four pounds for that place and room of 
burgessship: And it was ordered by the House that the said Garlande and Watts 
should immediately repay the said Thomas Longe the said four pounds, and also 
that a fine of £20 be, by this House assessed upon the Corporation of the said 
town to the Queen’s Majesty’s use for the said lewd and slanderous attempt.”’ 
[Oldfield’s Parliamentary History, vol. v., p. 141.] 


By the Rev. Canon J. EL. Jackson, F.S.A. 39 


Currey! 


Of the ill-endowed vicars of the parish we have a list for five 
hundred and fifty years, or thereabouts, but I do not see among 
them the names of any persons of what may be called national 
reputation, so that where nothing is known there is nothing to be 
told. But every one must have observed how soon, how very soon, 
names that made, perhaps, considerable noise in the country in their 
day, slip out of memory when their day is over. Unless they have 
left some abiding mark whereby posterity may be reminded of their 
having once existed, the biography is summed up in the three 
entries of a parish register—born, married, and died, if even so much 
as that. It is so (according to Hamlet) with persons of more im- 
portance than the modest vicars of acountry parish : “ There is hope 
that a great man’s memory may outlive his life half a year, but by 
our Lady he must build Churches then, or else shall he suffer not 
thinking on.” But Time which so mercilessly devours most things 
has kindly spared us a few crumbs concerning two of the older 
vicars of this parish. One was 


Puitre Hunton. 


A man of good learning and abilities, who, after being schoolmaster 
at Abury, was appointed in the Commonwealth period to be minister 
first at Devizes, then at Heytesbury, and lastly ‘at Westbury. 
Whilst he was here he was appointed one of the commissioners for 
Wilts for ejecting from their livings those of the clergy who in the 
good pleasure of the Puritanical party were considered to be “ scan- 
dalous, ignorant, and insufficient.” He afterwards published a 
treatise on monarchy, in which his views gave such offence to the 


a 


1 There is a singular entry relating to the Church property here, in Domesday 
Book, at which time the whole lay manor belonged to the Crown. The land 
belonging to the Church was nearly two hundred acres : held, says the record, by 


 * elericolus quidam.” The late Canon Rich Jones, in his edition of the Wilts 
- Domesday (p. 14), observes that “* by clericolus the scribe meant clericulus: & 


_ word explained by Ducange to mean a junior clerk or a choir-boy ’’ (both of which 
- interpretations seem highly inapplicable), “ but it is difficult to say what is the 
~ exact meaning of the word in this passage.” 


40 Westbury under the Plain. 


orthodox University of Oxford that they condemned it in Convo- 
cation, and ordered it to be publicly burnt in the schools quadrangle.! 


JoHN PaRaDisE. 
The other vicar, also a Commonwealth man, minister of Westbury, 
who survives in a printed publication, was a native of the county, of 
whom it is particularly recorded, as something extraordinary, though 
not so now-a-days, that he was so dexterous in writing shorthand 
as to be able to take down, word for word, a whole sermon from the 
mouth of any preacher. On the Restoration he conformed, and 
preached as earnestly for the King as he had formerly done for the 
Commonwealth. His shorthand notes from discourses of the previous 
complexion could scarcely have been of much use to him. The one 
discourse by which his memory lives was preached at Westbury on 
30th January, 1661. It has the odd title of “ Hadad-rimmon, or 
England’s mourning for Regicide, preached at Westbury on a 
solemn Fast for the Horrid Murder of K. Charles I. of glorious 
memory.” The name of Hadad-rimmon occurs only once in the 
Bible, in the twelfth chapter of Zechariah :—*“In that day shall 
there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadad- 
rimmon in the valley of Megiddo”: alluding to a place of that 


1 Antony Wood, in his account of Mr. Hunton in “ Athenz Oxonienses,” says 
that this treatise on monarchy was in great vogue among many persons of 
Commonwealth and Levelling principles, but that the offence specially taken to 
it at Oxford arose from its assertion that the sovereignty of England lay in the 
“Three Estates, the King, Lords, and Commons.” That is still the general 
idea of the “Three Estates,” but strictly speaking, it is incorrect. The Crown 
is not one of the estates of the realm. In the heading of the now disused service 
for the 5th of November, in the Prayer Book, the case is stated correctly: * A 
Form of Prayer and Thanksgiving for the happy Deliverance of King James 
and the three Estates of England.’’ The collects of that service are still more 
explicit: “The King and the Estates of the Realm, viz., The Nobility, Clergy, 
and Commons assembled in Parliament.’’ Master Hunton designedly omitted 
the clergy. The year 1683 was an awkward time to make such an omission, 
because the Established Clergy having been for many years, in the Commonwealth 
period, shelved and ejected, had lately recovered their position at the Restoration 
of Charles II., and for them to be then proclaimed, by one of their own order, as 
no longer one of the estates of the realm, was intolerable in the ears of Oxford 
divines, who accordingly showed their sense of the indignity by putting the Vicar 
of Westbury’s book into the fire. 


By the Rev. Canon J. E. Jackson, FS. A. 41 


name where the good King Josiah was slain (II. Kings, xxiii., 27). 
The object of this discourse was to rouse the slumbering loyalty of 
Westbury. How far it was successful may be questionable. Ac- 
cording to modern ideas, a ponderous discourse filling fifty-two 
pages of close small print, requiring, if properly delivered, at least 
three hours of attention, instead of rousing the slumbering loyalty 
of a congregation would be more likely to have a different effect and 
send them to keep company with their loyalty.' 

I will now say a few words about one or two of the principal old 
families and their places of residence within the parish. 


Brook Hovsz, or Hatt. 


The most important of the old families who owned large estates 
here seems to have been the Pavely family, of Brook House. They 
were here for about two hundred and fifty years, from Henry I. to 
Edward III., and during all that time their estate passed through 
successive Walters and Reginalds from father to son. The name 
does not seem to have made much figure in the general history of 
England at that period: and what is known about them is just what 
isin most cases known about ancient families from deeds relating 
to property that happen not to have been destroyed. They were 
sheriffs, commissioners for the Crown in county business, such as 
levies of militia, perambulations of Royal forests, and the like. 
One was a judge, another a prior of the Order of St. John of 
Jerusalem: some appear to have been Religious men, as in the south 
transept of the Church, where they had a chantry chapel, there are, 
or once were, in a niche in the wall, monumental stones with crosses 
carved upon them. The devices and arms of Pavely are found 
upon neighbouring Churches, implying contributious towards those 
buildings. One of the old documents from which we glean their 


1 The full title of this dreary discourse was “‘ Hapaprimmov, Sive Threnodia 
Anglicana ob Regicidium: A Sermon on David’s Humiliatiou for Cutting off 
the Royat Rozz, and Detestation of Cutting off the Royat Hxap of the Lorp’s 
ANOINTED. Preached Jan. 30, 1660; Being a Solemn Fast for the Horrid 
Murther of Kine Cuarues I. of glorious memory. At Westsury, in the 
County of Witts. By Joun Parapisz, Preacher of the Word there.” 


42 Westbury under the Plain. 


history is rather curious. It is a formal deed in Latin, a sort of 
letters patent, proclaiming (as such documents begin) to all the 
faithful in Christ that Walter Pavely binds himself to supply Roger 
Marmion every Christmas as long as he (Marmion) lives with a 
furred robe after the pattern of that worn by the other Esquires in 
attendance upon him. In consideration of which dignity Marmion 
was to give up any claim he might have to a certain one hundred 
acres of land, and pay one mark of silver every year. A train of 
young Marmions in furred robes in attendance upon him gives one 
an idea of the dignity of the chief esquire of Westbury in those 
days. The formal grant of an annual dress, secured by a solemn 
document, was quite a common custom then. In many of what are 
called the wardrobe accounts of the Royal household we find legal 
documents regularly drawn up in Latin and registered, in which 
are prescribed most carefully how many yards of cloth or silk, fur, 
ermine or rabbit skins, as the case might be, were to be used for such 
and such an officer. The last male heir of the Pavely family died in 
1361, and left two coheiresses, Alice and Joan: and here begins the 
splitting up of estates which I alluded to before: with which, 
however, we must deal very briefly. Alice married, and left three 
daughters co-heiresses of her share; and one of those daughters 
married and left two more co-heiresses: so that in course of time 
Alice’s original half of the Brooke House cake got cut up into very 
thin slices indeed. The story of the descent from her is simply a 
labyrinth of pedigree. It is enough to say that to Alice Pavely’s 
original moiety belonged whatever lands in Westbury were after- 
wards found belonging to, or bearing the names of St. Loe, 
Chedyock, St. Maur, Arundell, Stowell or Drury. Joan, the other 
co-heiress of Pavely, married a Cheyney, and her moiety was not 
subjected to so many subdivisions. It was divided only once, 
between a Willoughby and a Paulet, Marquis of Winchester. 
The Willoughby share passed by marriage to Blount, Lord Mountjoy, 
so that ultimately half the original Pavely property belonged to the 
two families of Blount and Paulett.! What house of residence 


1The following table will explain, better than a long verbal detail, how the 


By the Rev. Canon J. #. Jackson, F8.A. 43 


there may have been for the elder sister Alice Pavely’s representatives 
I cannot say: but of Joan’s representatives we know that Brook 
House (which stood where Brook House Farm now stands) was 
theirs. Of that house we have some account. Leland visited it in 
his tour, in the reign of Henry VIII. He says, “ From Steple 
Ashton to Brook Haule by woody ground. There was of very 
auncient tyme an old Manor Place where Brook Haule now is, and 
part of it yet apperith. But the new building that is there is of 
the creating of the Lord Steward unto K. Hen. VII. [the first Lord 
Willoughby de Broke, I believe]. The windows be full of rudders 
(device). Peradventure it was his badge or token of the Admiral. 
There is a fayr Park but no great thing. In it be a great number 
of very fair and fine grand okes apt to sele houses.” John Aubrey, 
a hundred years after Leland, saw and describes it as “ a very great 
and stately old house. The Hall great and open with very old 
windows—but only one coat of Pavely was left.” In the parlour, 
chapel and canopy chamber, he found and copied twenty coats of 
arms. “The rudders everywhere.” ‘These have been drawn and 
published in the volume ealled “ Wiltshire Collections.” The ship’s 
rudder, so frequent as a device, does not, however, appear to have 
been as Leland “ peradventured ” peculiar to the Willoughby family, 
but rather to their predecessors the Cheyneys; for it is found in 
Edington Church on a little chantry chapel, of a date many years 
before the Willoughbys succeeded to Brook. Of the Cheney family 
of Brook little is left except the chantry just mentioned, which 


original property of Pavely became ultimately subdivided. Suppose it, when 
entire, to be represented by 20s. 


pore 20s, 


| | 
St. Lo. Cheney, 
10s, 10s, 
| | ae, 
Ghedyok. St. Maur. Willoughby. 

58, 5a. 5s. 
Gira 3 vi vest} PO Hise 
| | I | | 

Arundell, Stourton, Drury, Stowell, Bampfield, Blount, Paulett, 
2s, 6d, 2s, 6d, ls. 8d, 1s, 8d, ls, 8d, 5a, 5a. 


Three co-heiresses sold to Webb, 


Ad Westbury under the Plain. 


is built between two of the columns that divide the nave from the 
south aisle. They were among the earliest patrons of Bishop 
William of Edington, the founder of that fine old monastic Church, 
and no doubt assisted him in the work. 


WILLOUGHBY. 


By marriage with one of the two co-heiresses of Cheney, Brook 
came to Sir William Willoughby (of a junior branch of Willoughby 
D’ Eresby), who was created baron by Henry VII. with the annex 
of “de Broke” to his name. His grandson, Edward, died leaving 
no male issue, so the estate was divided between Edward’s two 
sisters, one of whom married Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy, and 
the other W. Paulet, Marquis of Winchester ; and the title fell into 
abeyance. But the grandson, Edward, left a daughter, who married 
Sir Fulke Greville, ennobled as Lord Beauchamp of Broke. He, 
again, leaving no son, his daughter married Sir Richard Verney, 
who, being raised to the peerage, adopted the old title of Willoughby 
de Broke, by which the Verney Family still continues to be repre- 
sented in the House of Lords.' 


Biount, Lorp Movunrioy. 


By marriage with one of the two co-heiresses of Willoughby, 
Brook was next the property of Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy. 
The family of Blount was a widely-spread one, and produced many 
remarkable men. Their history is published in a large volume, 
which, in that department of literature, bears a high reputation. 
William, Lord Mountjoy, the father of Charles, who obtained Brook 
by marriage, had filled several high offices under Henry VII. and 


1The Harleian MS. No. 483, p. 486, mentions that “ Brooke and Southwick 
were granted to Edmund Ratcliffe, late ¢raitor Willoughby.” The explanation 
of this is, that Sir Robert Willoughby the second and last baron was one of those 
who favoured Henry, Earl of Richmond, and conspired under Humphrey 
Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, to bring him to the thone, in opposition to King 
Richard III. Stafford was beheaded, the rest fled abroad, but soon returned, 
and were successful sharers in the Battle of Bosworth. (Dugdale’s Baronage.) 
Southwick, in the adjoining parish of North Bradley, had belonged to the Cheney 
family, and by marriage of an heiress had passed to the Willoughbys. 


————— 
* 


By the Rev. Canon J. E. Jackson. F.8.A. 45 


VIII. He had for his preceptor the celebrated Erasmus, from whom 
he acquired that taste for letters for which the Court was then 
remarkable. Erasmus says, in one of his letters, that he looked 
upon England as his own country by adoption,"and desires to serve 
it as much as his own native country. He often describes himself 
as charmed with it, especially with the flourishing state of learning 
and the number of learned men. He observes that it was the 
peculiar distinction of England that the nobility and men about the 
Court were conspicuous for the culture of the sciences; that there 
was among them more rational conversation both on religious and 
secular matters than in all the schools and monasteries in the 
country. It was to William, Lord Mountjoy, that Erasmus had 
dedicated his large folio work, the collection of proverbs, called 
« Adagia Erasmi,’ but the father happening to die the very year 
the work came out Erasmus wrote a supplementary dedication to 
the son, Charles, Lord Mountjoy, then of Brook, of whom he speaks 
as a person no less elegantly accomplished than the father. It is, 
therefore, not unlikely that Erasmus may, in one of his many visits 
to England, have been a guest at Brook House.' Charles, Lord 
Mountjoy, was a soldier engaged in the wars with France. Whilst 
there, not unmindful of the special uncertainty of a soldier’s life, he 
made a will, which, under the circumstances, is so remarkable that 
it must not be passed over in these notes of Westbury history. 
Though a soldier, and busy in the rough work of war, he did not 
forget the parish in which he was now a large owner of land. He 
did that which in these days so boastful of enlightenment, so many. 
people are striving to undo, or rather prevent, he made provision 
for the religious education of the young in Westbury ; and although, 
as will be perceived, he belonged to the faith which is not now the 
national one, still, with a single exception, there is nothing in his 
instructions but what might be usefully adopted at the present 
time. His will runs thus :—“ Also I will that for the space of two 
years after my decease a godly and discreet man may be chosen to 


SS eee 


"1 An ancient volume of Erasmus’s Commentary is still preserved in Westbury 
Church, fastened to a desk by a chain. 


46 Westbury under the Plain. 


edify the youth of Westbury under the Plain with two lectures, 
whereof the first lecture to be every day in the morning ordained 
for the catechising of children, that they thereby may be perfectly 
instructed to know what they profess in their baptism: in their 
Pater-noster how to pray: in their Ave-Maria to know how our 
Lord ought to be honoured, and in the ten commandments: and 
that he who may be reader shall not only read unto them, but also 
appose! them [#.e., question them] as they do in matters of gram- 
mar. The second lecture to be within the same parish at after- 
noon four times in the week ; 7.e., on Monday, Wednesday, Friday 
and Sunday, to them that come; wherein chiefly to be declared, 
the duties of subjects to their king and magistrates, for maintenance 
of good order and obeysance, not only for fear but for conscience, 
with Scriptures divine, and profane® policies [meaning secular 
teaching’] consonant thereunto ; also increpation [?.e., condemnation] 
of vice; with their texts of Scripture; and for the performance 
thereof the Reader to have xx marks by the year.” 

Brook Hall is said to have been bought from the Blounts by the 
Hungerford family. 


PENLEIGH 


belonged anciently to the Fitzwarrens, of whom one was knight of 
the shire in A.D. 1300. In one of the windows there are some of 
the coats of arms of the Hungerfords. 


BREMRIDGE. 


This manor, with the advowson of the Heywood Chantry in 
Westbury Church, belonged to the Marmions, afterwards to Sir 
Philip Fitzwaryn and his wife, Constance, who granted it to 
Edington Monastery in exchange for Highway Manor, near Calne, 


1In Sir R. C. Hoare’s History of Westbury, p. 27, this word is accidentally 
misprinted “oppose.” To appose is an old University term formerly used in 
schools at Oxford, when two scholars tried to puzzle one another by questions. 
This ‘“ Exercise’? was called ‘‘ Appositions.” We still retain the word in a 
mutilated form when we say such and such a person was posed. 

2 By “ profane” he only meant “ other than religious,” 7.e., secular instruction. 
In Heb. xii., 16, Esau is called a profane person, not meaning blasphemous, but 
non-religious. 


By the Rev. Canon J. E. Jackson, F.8.A. AT 


It could not have been of much benefit to the Edington brethren, 
for they had to pay out of it £10 a year, or thirty nobles, to Sarum 
Cathedral, leaving only 13s. 4d., or two nobles, for themselves. I 
mention the amount emphatically in nobles, as it suggests an in- 
teresting discovery at Bremridge. The name is properly Bremel 
ridge, and Bremel is simply our old acquaintance the bramble: the 
same that gave its name to Bremhill, and we are to presume that 
at both places the ground was more open and rough, and favourable 
to its growth.! On the farm here belonging to Mr. Charles Phipps 
some workmen making alterations in the house, in the year 1877, 
came upon a hoard of thirty-two gold coins, piled one upon another, 
as if they had been packed in some case of wood or leather, which 
had perished. The workmen, ignorant of the law, proceeded 
forthwith to appropriate the spoil, but being informed that such 
gold treasure-trove belongs neither to the finder nor even to the 
landlord, disgorged it. The coins were shown to the late Dr. Baron, 
of Upton Scudamore, who took much interest in ascertaining what 
they were, and published a full account of them, with plates, both 
in the Archeologia and in the Wiltshire Magazine. He describes 
them as gold nobles of the reigns of Edward III. and his son, 
Richard II., and, therefore, deposited not before Richard. One 
peculiarity is that some of them were coined in England, bearing 
the English King’s name on them, and some in Flanders, bearing 
the name of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and Count of 
Flanders. This, as Dr. Baron observes, confirms the historical fact 
(and this is one of the principal uses of old coins) that Edward IIT. 
in his struggle with France did all in his power to secure the alliance 
with Flanders, one important step towards his purpose being the 
making the coinage of England and Flanders international. Another 
interesting circumstance connected with these coins is that on one 
side of some of them isa ship with the King standing in it, crowned, 
and on the other side a legend or inscription round the margin, in 
Latin, taken from Luke iv., verse 30 :—“ JESUS AUTEM TRANSIENS 
PER MEDIUM ILLoRUM BAT.” [Jesus passing through the midst of 
them went his way.| The first gold nobles were issued soon after a 
1 See Vol. xxi., 121. 


48 Westbury under the Plain. 


great naval victory at Helvoetsluys, in which fight the French ships 
were drawn up in line chained together. Edward seeing this, had 
recourse to a stratagem. He steered off asif in flight. The French 
loosed their ships to pursue. Edward then suddenly turned about, 
and dashing through the centre of the French, broke the line and 
won the day. It might be thought that the application of the text 
of Scripture savoured rather of boldness, or worse: but, no doubt, 
it was used religiously. Many members of the Government in those 
days were high ecclesiastics, who would not quote Scripture carelessly, 
and it was certainly intended that the victory should be regarded as 
a providential deliverance from overwhelming numbers. The gold 
noble got its name from its handsome appearance and purity of 
metal. The market value is said to be 20s., but that is increased 
to any amount, even to fabulous prices, by the rarity of a coin. 
Only a few weeks ago, what is called the Pattern Crown of Charles 
II., of which only two specimens are known to be in existence, 
fetched the stupendous sum of £500. The Bremridge nobles were 
sent up to the Treasury, according to law. Two or three specimens 
only were detained for the National Museum, the rest were returned 
with the request that the workmen might receive suitable compen- 
sation. There is no fear, therefore, of anyone being shabbily treated 
by the Crown officers, so that it is the best way always to obey the 
law, for there is a heavy penalty if any infringement of it in this 
point is discovered. I may add that if the number of thirty-two 
nobles was really all that were found it is singular that this was 
precisely the annual sum of thirty due from Bremridge to the 
Cathedral of Sarum and two to the landlord. We may suppose, 
therefore, that the tenant had got the money ready and was actually 
going to pay when some disturbance or other induced him to hide 
it, and that some accident having happened to himself it was never 
recovered. 


CHALFORD. 


A correspondent acquainted with this part of the parish, between 
Westbury and Westbury Leigh, says that ‘‘ there used to be here 
an old place of meeting of the magistrates, and tnat the house, now 


q 
. 


By the Rev. Canon J. LE. Jackson, F.S.A. 49 


a private dwelling and shop, has in its front a stone on which is the 
following: ‘Here is a stone stand in the wall, to testifie this is 
Whitehall, I.H.M. 1704.” At the back still exists the place 
formerly used as cells, and in the house itself is a capacious cellar, 
which tradition affirms was for the use of the justices. In 1790 it 
was the property of Lord Abingdon, and was known as “ The 
Council House.” ! 


1The same “correspondent” gives the following account of a singular 
discovery of coins at this place: “At the bottom of the hill coming from 
Westbury, and just at the angle caused by the junction of the road that 
leads from Ball’s Water, stood an old house known as the ‘George Inn.’ In 
its latter days, some fifty years ago, it had fallen into decay. At one time 
it had been a place of some importance, and was in fact a large building. 
As people failed to get a living there it remained unoccupied and gradually 
tumbled down, till it became in such a ruinous state that it was demolished 
and the woodwork stored away in a shed near at hand. This shed was not 
fastened ; consequently those cottagers living near made free use of the debris 
to burn or for any other purpose. Some forty-five years since a man still 
residing in Chalford, was returning home—the period of the year was about 
Christmas time—and as he passed the place where the old George Inn had 
stood, he picked up a piece of wood about six feet long. The finder carried 
the wood to his cottage only a few yards off, and it being too long to burn 
took a saw to cut it in pieces. He, however, failed to do so as the wood 
was too hard. He then noticed a mortice, and thinking the tool would bite 
in that place he again essayed to cut the piece, but the saw stopped half-way 
through. Enraged at his failure the man took the wood up by one end and held 
it over his head and brought the other end violently on the stone floor, causing 
the piece to fracture just at the part half sawed through, and out rolled 
ninety-nine gold coins. The man, frightened, ran out of the house, and the 
news quickly spreading, the neighbours flocked in to inspect the pieces, which 
had been collected on a plate. An old pensioner, who was looked on as an 
oracle, declared the coins to be worthless, and the finder offered to take a 
sovereign for the lot. They had been wrapped in a piece of rag and laid in a 
roll in a hollow that had been scooped out of the wood, and a piece nailed 
down on them; it was in this part that the finder attempted to saw, and 
one of the coins was found to have been partly cut through by the tool. 
The same evening, or the next day after the discovery, a man who employed 
the finder, obtained from him all the money on the understanding that a full 
account should be given of it, and said he to the finder: ‘ May my right arm 
wither if I fail to give you the full value.’ From that hour till now the 
finder has never had a penny, and it is said and believed, too, that the arm 
of the man who had the coins actually did wither ; in fact he was never after 
in possession of the use of his arm.” 


VOL. XXIV.—NO. LXXIT, E 


50 Westbury under the Plain. 


Herywoop. 


This place, on the northern side of the parish, is more connected 
than the rest of it with the names of men of eminence who have 
filled high public offices, more especially as distinguished members 
of the legal profession, for it has been the home of three judges, 
besides a Governor of the Province of Bombay. In early days, 
before family names were settled, men, especially the clergy, were 
known by their Christian name with that of the place of which 
they were natives. By degrees the name of the place became the 
family name. This was the case with William of Wickham, and 
William of Edington, both Bishops of Winchester; and here of 
William of Westbury. He was of a family possessed of property 
in this and neighbouring parishes, and he rose to be Chief Justice 
of the Common Pleas in the reign of Henry 1V. He and his 
father built a chantry chapel on the north side of the Church, which 
he endowed with lands, and then desired to be buried in it. In the 
inquisition taken upon his death Heywood is mentioned as part of 
his estates. The second judge, owner and occupier of Heywood, 
was James Ley Chief Justice of the King’s Bench in 1620, created 
by Charles I., Earl of Marlborough. His biography is given 
succinctly on his monument in the Church, and some account of him 
and his family is to be the subject of a paper from one of our col- 
leagues. The third, whom, indeed, I need hardly name where he 
is so well known, and known to be not less distinguished than any 
of his predecessors, is the Right Hon. Lord Justice Lopes. Another 
eminent lawyer, the late Lord Chancellor Bethel, paid your town 
the compliment of taking it for his title, but he was not a native, 
for he was born at Bradford, son of Dr. Bethel, a well-known physician 
there at the beginning of this century : nor am I aware that Lord 
Westbury had any kind of connection with this town, but Bradford 
being already the title of one of the peers of the realm, he adopted 
Westbury as the nearest to it in the same county. Before Heywood 
became the property of the family of Ludlow, from which the 
present owner derived it, it belonged to and was the residence of 
William Phipps, Governor of Bombay, who died in 1748. An in- 
teresting relic is preserved at the house, the identical tablet of wood 


By the Rev. Canon J. £. Jackson, F.8.A. 51 


brought from the house at Vevay, on the Lake of Geneva, inhabited 
during his banishment by the celebrated Parliamentary General, 
Edmund Ludlow. On the tablet are the words, “‘ Omune solwm 
forti patria.” “ Any land is a home to a brave-hearted man.” 


DItton. 


Dilton, within this parish, and ecclesiastically attached to the 
vicarage, has a little old Church, with a small crocketed spire, close 
by the railway on the line tow ards Warminster. Dilton had formerly, 
what many parishes used to have, a Church house : one kept solely 
for parish meetings and business. This was built by the parishioners 
at their own cost on a piece of ground nigh to the Church which 
they held on a ninety-nine years’ lease from Edington Monastery. 
There was also in Dilton a field called “The Sanctuary,” which 
belonged to the Knights Templars, or Hospitallers of St. J ohn of 
Jerusalem. This order had a small branch establishment at Ansty, 
in South Wilts, called “‘ The Commandery of Ansty,” which was 
- endowed with bits of land here and there all about the county. 

Dilton Marsh is a different hamlet a little way off, and has a 
Church, a vicar, and parish officers of its own. The manor house 
called Dilton Court was no part of the great Pavely estate, but 
together with Bratton belonged very anciently to the families of 
Marmion and Dauntsey, 


DAvNTSEY. 


The Dauntsey family was one of the very oldest in this parish, and 
I think that it must have been from them that were derived by a 
succcesion of marriages the estates that in the last century belonged 
to the Earl of Abingdon. There is a parish in North Wilts of the 
name of Dauntsey which belonged to them, and they had also large 
property at West Lavington.' Now, the Dauntseys of Dauntsey 
~ 1 The name of Daunteey, of Lavington, after being extinct for some hundreds 
of years, has been lately brought into very prominent notice in such a way that 
the county is not likely to lose sight of it again. Under the will of a William 
Dauntsey, @ native of Lavington, who died some four hundred years ago, a very 
large sum of money has been offered by the Mercers’ Company in London, to 
which certain property of his in London had been bequeathod, with certain cons 
ditions, towards the establishment of a school, 


E 2 


52 Westbury under the Plain. 


in North Wilts, ended in an heiress, who married Sir John Danvers. 
The heiress of Danvers married Sir Henry Lee, of Ditchley, and 
the heiress of Lee married the first Earl of Abingdon. In the year 
1651 all the burgage houses in Westbury certainly belonged to Sir 
John Danvers, who held his court here, and the Earls of Abingdon 
certainly resided at Lavington, at a mansion now destroyed, 
famous in its day for fine gardens, &c., so that putting all these 
links together it seems highly probable that the Abingdon estates 
came to that family through the chain of descent now suggested. 
Sir R. C. Hoare mentions the property as theirs, but gives no ac- 
count of the way in which it came to them. I know of no other 
way of connecting the Earls of Abingdon, an Oxfordshire family, 
with Westbury. 


CHALCOTE. 


Chaleote, so far back as 1364, belonged to the then great family of 
Mauduit, whose name still survives in North Wilts, attached to the 
parish of Somerford. Whether they lived here or not I cannot say. 
They had larger possessions at Fonthill and elsewhere, especially at 
Warminster, where they were lords paramount, and where, if any- 
where, their residence would most likely have been. The heiress of 
Mauduit married Sir Henry Green, one of the faithful adherents of 
King Richard II. He defended Bristol Castle for the King, but 
being betrayed by Bolingbroke (afterwards King Henry IV.) was 
beheaded witk the rest. 

Tn later times Chalcote passed through various hands till towards 
the end of last century it became the property of a gentleman whose 
name, being honourably connected with English literature, must not 
be passed over now, for he was a native of Westbury, Bryan 
Edwards, author of an able and accurate history of the British 
Colonies in the West Indies. He was born in 1743. His father 
had some small property in this parish, but died in difficulties. The 


1 Ourself and Bushey, Bagot there and Green.” [Shakspeare, Richard II. 
act I., scene 4.] In the second act, scene 2, Sir Henry appears on the stage 
and brings to Queen Isabel the news of Bolingbroke having landed at Ravens- 
purg. 


ee 


By the Rev. Canon J. E. Jackson, P.S.A. 53 


mother had a wealthy brother in the West Indies, Mr. Zachary 
Bailey, who took the family under his protection and educated 
young Edwards. The education was entirely in the English 
language: for it was rather later in life that he began the usual 
Latin, in which he says he made no great progress for he found it 
“‘inexpressibly disgusting.” He was fond of writing, and, strange 
to say, ventured upon turning Horace into English verse: but it 
was only after he had got somebody else to translate the “ inex- 
pressibly disgusting ” into English for him. Ultimately he became 
rich by succeeding to some property, came home, sat in Parliament 
for Grampound, and died in 1800. He purchased Chalcote, but 
shortly before his death sold it to a younger brother. He was the 
means of ejecting from the West Indies Dr. Wolcott, the famous 
Peter Pindar, who was in that country doing mischief by some 
furious poetry.’ 


Waite Horse. 


I cannot bring to a close the few notes of Westbury history now 
strung together without saying a few words upon that which is, in 
one sense, the most conspicuous object in the parish; to get a hasty 
sight of which the heads of young and old press towards the carriage 
window as the train approaches Westbury railway station. In the 
old coaching days we used to have more time for seeing whatever 
was worth looking at along the line of the turnpike roads. In these 
days of flying locomotion we can see nothing but our book or 
newspaper; the journey is almost a dead blank, for no sooner does 
a Church or other object come in sight than it is out of sight again 
directly : something like the flash described in Midsummer Night’s 
Dream :— 


“ Brief as the lightning in the collied night 
That in a spleen unfolds both heaven and earth, 
And ’ere a man hath power to say, Behold! 
The jaws of darkness have devour’d it up. 
But at Wantage and at Westbury we are disappointed if the 
weather is too foggy to let us see the White Horse. There is, 


1 Gent. Mag., 1800, Part 2, pp. 702, 793. 


54 Westbury under the Plain. 


however, another kind of fog, always surrounding these objects, 
through which it is by no means easy to see one’s way: and that 
is, their real history. Our friend Mr. Plenderleath is the White 
Horse champion, and has taken the subject under his special pro- 
tection in an interesting little book, which probably many of you 
may have read. He has a whole team of them to deal with, for 
there are, I believe, no less than eight in the county of Wilts alone, 
besides one or two in the North of England: and I see by the 
programme that he has something more to say about them. There 
are only two out of our eight that have any claim to antiquity : the 
two I have just mentioned ; and even of these two the one on Bratton 
Hill is only a second edition, the original figure, which was of more 
antique shape, having been destroyed by a land agent a little more 
than a hundred years ago. All the rest are not old horses, but only 
young colts, set up to prance on the hill sides, some of them within 
the memory of man. Some years ago one of our farmers was asking 
me about these things, what they meant? I told him the little I 
knew, how old some were said to be: but as to the one at Marl- 
borough I did not know how old that one was. “Oh,” said he, “TI 
can tell ’ee that, for I helped to make him. We boys at Mr. 
Gresley’s school worked at it.” One opinion, perhaps the one most 
generally held, about the old white horses, is that they were cut out 
upon the turf to commemorate a great victory; and it is certainly 
a historical fact that King Alfred did win a battle against the 
Danes, at Ashdown, near the Berkshire white horse. And it is 
also a historical fact that he did defeat them again at another place 
called Athandun, which is interpreted by many archeologists to be 
your Edington. It is entirely beyond the limits of this paper to go 
into all the details of the discussion to which this has given rise : 
for there are no less than six places that compete for the honour of 
being the very identical spot on which Alfred crushed for a time 
the power of the Danes in this country. What makes it so difficult 
to decide the point is, that every one of those places has a name 
sufficiently like Aithandun, and, further, every one of them has also 
a strong hill fortress close at hand to which the defeated might 
have fled, as in the history of the event, written at the time, they 


By the Rev. Canon J. EL. Jackson, F.8.A. 55 


are said to have done. If I may presume to imitate a well-known 
passage in one of Cicero’s orations, in which he sums up the various 
places that competed for the glory of having been Homert’s birth- 
place, I may say that Camden, Sir Richard Hoare, and others place 
ABthandun beyond all doubt at Edington, near Westbury; Milner is 
clamorous for Heddington, near Calne; Whitaker of Manchester, 
Beke, and Thurnam, insist upon Yatton Down, near Chippenham, 
where, moreover, the late Mr. Poulett Serope actually built a tower, 
with an inscription, to put an end to all strife. Barker maintains it 
was at Edington, near Hungerford. Other Berkshire antiquaries 
vociferate for Yattenden, in Berkshire; and latest of all comes 
Bishop Clifford, of Clifton, contending, and with very strong 
argument indeed—that it was neither in Wilts, nor in Berks, but 
at Edington, near Bridgwater, in Somersetshire. Now I am sure 
that if five eminent counsel were each to take up one of these cases 
they would severally be able to produce such overwhelming reasons 
in favour of each to perplex and bewilder you that you would 
bounce out of the situation as King James I. did, after hearing 
first one and then another, by declaring that they were every 
one of them right. But as that cannot be,*‘and as only one can 
be right, though it is not for me to venture to pronounce whieh 
that is, I do feel obliged to say that: I cannot understand how 
it could possibly have been at your Edington. It would take 
a deal of time to go through all the pros and cons of this much- 
agitated question: so I will just say a few words why your Edington 
does not appear to me to fit the case. The names for Alfred’s resting- 
places in his advance from the Isle of Athelney must be conjectures 
in every one of the six competing explanations; but, in that which 
brings him to your Edington, his stages and quarters for the night 
are not only conjectures, but wholly unfitted to the circumstances. 
You all know Brixton Deverel, a little way beyond Warminster, 
and Cley Hill. Well, according to this theory, Alfred, having 
passed one night with his army at Brixton, set off as soon as it was 
light, reached Cley Hill, and passed the next night there. Now 
the distance from Brixton to Cley Hill, as the crow flies, is just 
four miles, by the road say five or six. It seems highly improbable 


56 Westbury under the Plain. 


that a commander-in-chief, anxious to pounce unexpectedly on an 
enemy, should occupy a whole day from dawn to get over five or six 
miles, and then go to sleep again within sight of his enemy at 
Bratton. Moreover, if the Danish general, being in Bratton Camp, 
saw that Alfred and his army had reached Cley Hill, and were close 
upon him, he would surely never have come out of his stronghold on 
the hill, but would have kept snug behind his rampart, and let Alfred 
turn him out if he could. And there is another circumstance which 
has always stood in the way of accepting your Edington as the place. 
Soon after the battle, Alfred prevailed upon the Danish leader to 
change his faith and be publicly baptized in a Church, which was 
done. Was it in Edington or Bratton Church? In neither ; but 
at Aller. Now Aller, in Somersetshire, is the nearest Church to 
that other Edington at which Bishop Clifford fixes the Battle of 
fEthandun. There is certainly no white horse there ; nor, according 
to another, and a rather increasing number of archzologists, was 
there any reason to expect one; because, according to their opinion, 
these ancient figures of horses in conspicuous places had nothing 
whatever to do with any battles in the time of King Alfred, but 
had been displayed on the hill side, weather-beaten, scoured or 
unscoured, as the case might be, for centuries before Alfred was born. 
These writers consider them to have been emblems connected with 
the superstitious religion of the old Britons. On the original 
rudely-cut horse at Bratton there was a crescent attached to the 
horse: and it is very remarkable that a crescent accompanies the 
figure of a rudely-cut horse upon ancient British coins. Dr. Phené, 
a learned foreigner, in writing upon these subjects tells us, in one 
of his papers, just issued, that he has made them almost the sole 
study of his life; for he has spent no less than thirty years in 
travelling all over the world to search for and examine these strange 
emblems of animals. They are most frequently found in earthworks, 
mounds, and banks, heaped up in the shape of an elephant, dragon, 
serpent, or the like. He assigns to them all a strange religious 
origin, and very great antiquity. I lately read in some magazine 
article (the reference to which I have unfortunately mislaid) that in 
a work on “Travels in Central America,” the author mentions his 


White Horse Jottings. 57 


having seen on an island in the mysterious lake of Peten, the figure 
of a white horse, which the people called “ Tzimin chak ”—chak in 
their language signifying white. 

So you see, with so many conflicting opinions, we are still very 
far from knowing the real history of our most perplexing Wiltshire 
antiquities ; but the world is not yet exhausted, enormous tracts of 
country, hundreds of islands, are yet absolutely unexplored. It is 
impossible to say what in these days of fresh emigration and 
ransacking of the’ globe may not come to light. Perhaps in some 
cannibal island, eight thousand miles under our feet, may yet turn 
up the key to that other great riddle on Salisbury Plain— 
Stonehenge. 


White Borse Aottings. 


By the Rev. W. C. PLENDERLEATH. 


( SHE following paper contains the substance of sundry jottings 
ay je as to the White Horses of our county which I have 
put together since I addressed the Society upon the subject at 
Trowbridge, in 1872.1 

We are all acquainted with the venerable Wiltshire tradition 
which asserts that the Westbury Horse, as it existed up to the year 
1778, was cut out by King Alfred in Easter, 878, on the morrow of the 
victory of Ethandune. I know that this tradition is now discredited : 
I should be astonished if it were not so. For finality is a thing 
which cannot I fear, be predicated of any branch of human know- 
ledge. And I have even heard of persons so depraved as to say 
that whenever an unusually positive assertion is made by scientists 
of any description the one only thing of which we may be sure is 
that the exact reverse will be asserted with equal positiveness a little 
later. I remember that a great many years ago when large exca- 
vations were going on upon the Palatine Hill, at Rome, the then 


1 Wiltshire Archeological Magazine, vol. xiv., p. 12, 


58 White Horse Jottings. 


Minister of Public Works thought that it would be an excellent 
plan to put up notice-boards to give visitors some information as to 
the various buildings that were being unearthed. Only it happened 
unluckily that he could not quite make up his mind to which of the 
conflicting schools of topography he would give his credence. And 
so it came to pass that you would one day pass along a road, and 
read to the right, “ This is the Temple of Apollo,” and to the left, 
** This is the House of the Slaves of Tiberius.” And the next day 
you would find these boards removed, and other boards put in their 
place, assuring you with equal dogmatism, “ These are the Baths of 
Livia”: “These are the Cexnacula of the Palace of Augustus |” 

Well now, as regards our Westbury White Horse. Honestly, I 
do not see why the traditional history of its origin should not be 
the true one. And my idea is that, wherever a definite tradition 
exists as to the occurrence of any historical event, such tradition 
ought to be upheld; unless, on the one hand, there is some inherent 
evidence of its impossibility ; or, on the other hand, some fresh facts 
have come to light establishing, beyond all reasonable doubt, the 
greater probability of some rival theory. Furthermore, that, in 
holding the balance between two conflicting i arn tae > should 
be allowed considerable weight. 

You will remember that King Alfred had come to the throne 
eight years previously, on the death of his brother Ethelred, and 
that he had for some time been dogged persistently by an evil fate. 
He had in the first year of his reign been worsted by the Danes in 
no less than eight or nine encounters, and had eventually been driven 
to compound with them by a money payment for their departure 
from Wessex. From this time he seems to have remained quiet, 
recruiting his forces, until in 875 he felt himself strong enough to 
resume hostilities. For a long time fortune was still adverse, and 
at the beginning of 878 we find the Danes encamped in force at 
Chippenham, and Alfred reduced to flight. ‘Then came the period 
of his residence at Athelney, during which he was alternately occu- 
pied in raising troops and (as a certain time-honoured legend informs 
us) toasting cakes, and occasionally letting them burn; until in 
May, he determined to make another bold stroke for the kingdom, 


By the Rev. W. ©. Plenderleath. 59 


and, as his faithful chronicler informs us, “rode to the stone 
Aebryhta, which is the eastern part of the forest that is called 
Selwood, but in Latin Petra Magna, in British Coit-maur.” 

And now comes the difficulty. We have accepted the cakes, but 
some of our greatest authorities find it difficult to digest the stone, 
or at any rate to convert it into such good honest historical pabulum 
as to be able to say exactly where it stood, or perhaps still stands. 
For a long time it was largely believed that the name of Brixton 
Deverell indicated its position, Brixton seeming a very probable 
corruption of Ecbyrt’s stone. But, as all philologers know, there 
is no such conclusive argument against a derivation as its primd facie 
probability, even as you know that the one thimble upon the race- 
course table under which the pea is not, is the one under which you 
thought that with your own eyes you saw it placed! And a learned 
member of this Society, in an article published in the Wiltshire 
Archaological Magazine some fifteen years ago, suggested as a more 
probable site for this Petra Echryghti that whereupon stands an 
ancient stone called in Andrews and Dury’s Map of Wilts “ Redbridge 
Stone,” on the Fairford estate. This stone may be seen in a small 
plantation on the left hand of the railway cutting, about a mile 
from the Westbury Station, on the way towards Frome, and projecting 
somewhere about two or three feet from the ground. 

After describing the enthusiasm with which King Alfred was 
received at this trysting-place, the Chronicle proceeds to tell us that 
he there encamped for one night: then went on at dawn of the 
next day to a place called Ficglea, where he spent another night. 

Now where was Aicglea? It has been variously conjectured to 
have been either Cley Hill, or else Buckley (now generally spelled 
Bugley), which are respectively a mile and a half and one mile to 
the west of Warminster; or, on the other hand, to have been 
somewhere on the borders of Berkshire, in a place subsequently 
known as the Hundred of Aieglei, some thirty miles from Westbury. 
And it has been suggested as against the claims of the two former 
sites that they are too near to the place of encampment of the pre- 


1Vol. xiii., pp. 108, 9. 


60 White Horse Jottings. 


vious night, which was only some four or five miles off (as the crow 
flies), if we identify it with Brixton, or a mile further if we take it 
to have been at the Redbridge Stone. It has been also pointed out 
on very high authority that one great secret of King Alfred’s success, 
like that of Napoleon and of many other distinguished generals, lay 
in the rapidity of his forced marches. There is no doubt some force 
in this objection : still I cannot think that it is conclusive. It must 
be remembered that there were no telegraphs or war correspondents 
in those days to tell generals the exact whereabouts of the opposing 
armies, and it may not have been until he got to Ecbyrt’s stone that 
the King found that he had fixed upon a place of rendezvous so very 
near to the encampment of the enemy upon Bratton Hill. 

For now comes a very noteworthy part of the history. On the 
morrow after the encampment at Aicglea, King Alfred “ came at 
dawn,” says the chronicler, “ to a place that is called Ethandunum, 
where fiercely warring against the whole army of the Pagans, he 
at last gained the victory, overthrew them with very great slaughter, 
and pursued them even to their stronghold, where he boldly en- 
camped with all his army.” 

And now you see the importance of this question of the position 
of Aieglea. If Acglea be in Berkshire, Ethandunum cannot be 
Edington, in Wiltshire, as we have all been accustomed to believe 
it to be, but another place, not far from Hungerford, which bears 
the same name, or perchance Yattendon, near East Ilsley, in the 
same county. Let me hasten to assure you that there does appear 
to me to be very strong testimony in favour of our Edington ; and 
that notwithstanding a conflicting tradition, of which I was told 
some years ago by a learned Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, 
who had come down some while previously to visit our White Horse. 
This gentleman informed me that when first he visited Bratton he 
was accompanied by a local guide, who informed him that the 
Battle of Waterloo had been fought in that place, and that on that 
occasion the cart tracks had “ run down full of blood!” 

Putting aside, however, this counter-tradition, notwithstanding 
its element of circumstantiality, I will venture to assume that it was 
on Bratton Down that Alfred sat down to besiege the Danes, who 


By the Rev. W. C. Plenderleath, 61 


were entrenched in that long encampment with double ramparts, of 
which we can still see traces on the top of the hill. The siege is 
said to have lasted for fourteen days, at the end of which time the 
Danes surrendered at discretion. And then, doubtless, the question 
arose of placing some monument to commemorate so important a 
victory. 

Now, seven years previously, Alfred, who was then Commander- 
in-Chief under his brother, Ethelred, had defeated the Danes in the 
great battle of Ashdown, and had (if our traditions be trustworthy) 
commemorated that event by cutting the first of the white horses 
on the side of Uffington Hill, in Berkshire. What more likely than 
that he should now proceed to mark this still more signal and im- 
portant victory in a similar manner,—or, I may add, that the icono- 
graphic powers of his artists should have so increased as you may 
judge by looking “on this picture and on that”? [See figs. 1 and 
2, pp. 66 and 67]. For this second animal is, I think we may 
venture to say, a good deal more like a horse and a good deal less 
like a crocodile than the former. And it is indeed possible, for a 
reason which I shall presently proceed to shew you, that his pro- 
portions may have approached originally even nearer to such as 
would commend themselves to General FitzWygram or to the 
Master of the Beaufort Hunt. 

But more than a century, alas! has passed away since mortal eye 
has looked upon this memorial of Alfred’s victory. For in 1778 a 
wretch of the name of Gee, who was steward to Lord Abingdon, 
came down to survey that nobleman’s estates in the parish of 
Westbury, and conceived the idea of immortalizing his name by 
“re-modelling ” the White Horse—much as some of our restorers 
have in times past “ re-modelled” those dingy old Raffaelles and 
Lionardos and Guercinos in too many English galleries, and given 
them such nice clean flesh tints and such beautiful black eyebrows, 
and such charming pink lips ! 

The drawing upon p. 67 is enlarged from one given in Gough’s 
Camden, which was made only six years before its destruction. It 
faces, as you will see, to what heralds and numismatologists would 
call the sinister side, whereas Mr. Gee’s horse faces to dexter. And 


62 White Horse Jottings. 


considering that in the vast majority of ancient coins the former is 
the position shewn, I was at first inclined to fancy that this ir- 
responsible individual must have absolutely destroyed the old horse 
before beginning to cut the new one. I had, indeed, ventured to 
state the question even more strongly than this, and in my paper at 
Trowbridge I said that in zo British coin did a horse ever face to 
dexter. Butit was pointed out to me some years ago that this was 
a mistake, and I have subsequently seen in the British Museum 
several coins showing horses thus facing, though they are in an 
exceedingly small minority. 

I imagine, therefore, that King Alfred did, for some reason or 
other, cut his horse in this unusual position ; and that the fact of 
its being shewn in the normal one in Gough’s plate is due to the 
carelessness of the engraver, who simply re-produced upon his block 
the drawing sent to him, not thinking that such a detail as the 
right or left facing of a turf figure was a matter of the least moment. 
And I am the. more inclined to this view as I have, over and over 
again, in engravings both old and new, seen drivers represented 
with the reins iv their right hands and the whips in their left; or 
a troop of cavalry boldly sweeping on in line, every one of whom 
held his weapon after the fashion of that renowned warrior, Caius 
Mutius the left-handed, 

Nor, indeed, are engravers the only folk that seem to be unable 
to distinguish between their right hands and their left. There is a 
remarkably pretty picture in one of the art exhibitions in London 
this year representing a medieval company of ladies and gentlemen 
going out a-hawking, and all of them without exception carrying 
their hawks on the right wrist! Now this is, unfortunately, an 
absolutely impossible position, for the left wrist, being protected by 
a gauntlet, while the right is not, is the only one upon which the 
hawk could possibly be carried. A wrist less strongly guarded 
would be scratched and torn by the bird’s talons to the very bone. 
And accordingly you may have noted that amongst the innumerable 
instances in which we find a human hand or arm represented in 
heraldry, the solitary exception to the rule that this must be the 
right limb is when a hawk is shewn to be thereon carried. I presume, 


By the Rev. W. C. Plenderleath. 63 


therefore, that the artist, who has taken so great pains to represent 
this gay cavalcade, has simply failed to take the small additional 
trouble of enquiring of some practical falconer upon which wrist the 
hawk was carried; or else has considered this question entirely 
unworthy of consideration. 

Apropos of heraldry, I may give you one more instance of incuria, 
derived from this science. Not only is the right arm, with the 
above-named exception, the only one borne single in heraldry, but 
beasts are always represented as walking, and birds flying, and fish 
swimming to dexter. On a shield, however, under the roof of the 
Bayntun Chapel, in Bromham Church the roaches in the arms of 
the old Wiltshire family of Roches are represented as naiant to 
sinister—and that by a sculptor who must have been in other 
respects a remarkably careful and painstaking person. 

To return, however, to our White Horse. You will notice in my 
drawings that the new horse (Fig. 3, p. 67) is represented as very 
much taller in proportion to his length than the old one. But this 
is accounted for by the fact that my horse is drawn in plane pro- 
jection, whereas that of Gough is shewn fureshortened by perspective, 
as we gather from his letterpress, in which he says that the figure 
measures 100ft. in length by nearly as much in height. Allowing 
for these diversities in the mode of delineation, it would have been 
by no means difficult to evolve the one figure out of the other 
without any undue expenditure of trouble on the part of the ignorant 
destroyer. 

Mr Gee’s horse, I may add, was repaired, and the outlines 
practically re-cut, about the year 1853. My drawing was made 
from a survey in 1870, since which time some further re-formations 
have, I believe, taken place. I remember that before the latter 
works were begun some one was good enough to write and ask me, 
as he knew that I was interested in the horses, whether there was 
any objection to the outlining of the figure witb kerb stones—much 
in the same way as (I am informed) the long man of Wilmington 
has been with white bricks. Iam afraid that my reply was con- 
ceived in somewhat the spirit of Dr. Abernethy, who, when a 
hypochondriac patient asked him whether she “ might eat an oyster,” 


64 White Horse Jottings. 


replied “Oh, yes, Madam, by all means, shells and all!” Mr. 
Gee’s horse appeared to me to enjoy the same security against injury 
causable by restoration as did Juvenal’s traveller against loss by 
robbers when his purse was already empty ! 

But now I must proceed to give you two or three short jottings 
which I have made with regard to the other horses of our county 
since I last addressed the Society upon the subject. The Broad 
Hinton horse I have discovered to have been cut in 1838, with a 
view of commemorating the coronation of our present Queen, and 
not three years earlier, as I had been previously informed. Its 
architect, Mr. Robert Eatwell, only died as recently as 1854. 

The name of the author of the Broadtown horse has also come 
to light, and with it a very remarkable theory of his as to the 
genesis of turf-horses generally, which is deserving of record. Mr. 
William Simmonds, who in 1864 was resident at Littleton Farm, 
cut it out in some of the grass-land attached to that property, but 
told my informant a few years ago that he never meant it to remain 
in its present size. His intention was, he said, to enlarge it by 
degrees, as that was the way that all horses were made! It certainly 
is the way in which Nature makes horses: but there do appear to be 
difficulties in the way of applying a similar rule to any turf figures, 
save rectilinear ones, which Mr. Simmonds does not seem to have 
contemplated. 

Another piece of information I have obtained which had previously 
eluded me in the most curious manner. I had long known that a 
horse had been cut out on Roundway Hill in the year 1845, but, 
although the date was so recent, I had never by any of my numerous 
enquiries been able to ascertain exactly where it was situated, or any 
of the circumstances of its construction. At last, about four or five 
years ago, I got a letter from a gentleman of the name of Barrey, 
then resident in Hampshire, informing me that this horse was cut 
by the shoemakers of Devizes at Whitsuntide, 1845, and that it 
was for years afterwards known as the “ Snob’s Horse.” The word 
snob, 1 may add, is used in more than one provincial dialect for a 
shoemaker’s journeyman, and appears in the form of suad in Lowland 
Scotch for an apprentice to that trade. It must, I have no doubt, 


By the Rev. W.-C. Plenderleath. 65 


be connected with the modern verb to snub, which comes from a very 
old English word sneap, apparently of Scandinavian origin, and 
meaning to pinch or nip. But why the junior members of this 
particular calling should be supposed to be more pinched, nipped, 
or snubbed, than those of other like callings, I am unable to say. 

I will conclude my jottings by adverting briefly to the well-known 
animal mounds in America, which may be said to bear a certain 
sort of analogy to our various incised figures, though not a very close 
one. These are of considerable number, and occur chiefly (though 
by no means exclusively) in the States of Wisconsin and Ohio. 
They vary in height above the soil from 2ft. to 6ft., and the largest 
of them is stated to be 300ft. in length. They represent not only 
alligators, buffaloes, beavers, &c., but also men, birds, and other 
objects, one of which looks exactly like a barbed arrow-head. Mr, 
Lapham, to whose work on the Antiquities of Wisconsin I am 
indebted for the outlines of Figs. 5 and 6, does not doubt but that 
they were all constructed by the Indians, and are of the character 
of totems. Dr. Phené, however, who has carefully investigated the 
subject, is of opinion that some of them were meant to represent 
deities, while others were sepulchral, and some, again, intended as 
landmarks. A few typical forms are given onp. 68. Of these the 
alligator mound (Fig. 4) measures 250ft. x 120ft., not including 
the heap of calcined stones projecting from the body. The beaver 


_ mound (Fig. 5), 140ft. x 45ft. And the buffalo mound (Fig. 6), 


: 


108ft. x 52ft. I may add that these mounds are represented as 
white upon black in my woodcuts for clearness’ sake, but that it is 
not intended to convey thereby the idea that they are differentiated 
in point of colour from the surrounding surface in the way that our 
white horses are, this not being, so far as I am aware, the case. 


: VOL. XXV.-——-NO. LXXII. F 


White Horse Jottings. 


66 


‘oslo U0ySuy YL—'T “ST 


By the Rev. W. C. Plenderleath. 


Fig. 3.—The Modern Westbury Horse. 


67 


68 White Horse Jottings. 


Fig. 4.—The Alligator Mound, Granville, Ohio, U.S.A. 


Fig. 5.—The Beaver Mound, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A. 


Fig. 6.—The Buffalo Mound, Honey Creek, Wisconsin, U.S.A. 


69 


Some Western Circuit Assize Aecords of the 
~~ Seventeenth Centurp. 


By_W. W..Ravenui.t. 


the Toor of our Aaah and I was able to give several extracts 
from them which attracted some interest. It may be remembered 
that these consisted, not only of commissions, precepts, calendars, 
and indictments, but also of four volumes of the orders of the Judges 
of Assize extending from A.D. 1629 to A.D. 1688, useful to those 
who would study the history of our county in the seventeenth 
century, and very illustrative of the country life of that period. 

The paper I then read was published in our Magazine, vol. xviii., 
p- 136, and to thatels beg leave to refer you. 

To-night wt propose to give you some further extracts from these 
order books. They, even now, can only be specimens culled from a 
large number of similar materials. 

I go at once to the year of grace 1646. Such scanty crops as 
there were, here and there, were ripening; and it seemed as if there 
might be the blessings of harvest for some at any rate, as the 
fighting had ceased, Even the forts still held for the King were 
surrendering to the Parliament. The last, perhaps, of these, the 
westernmost of the western circuit, Pendennis Castle, the guardian 
of Falmouth, saw her gallant governor, Arundell, march forth with 
honours on the 17th of August. 

For some time past those practical souls still left in the House of 
Commons had’ been turning their attention to “ the settlement of 
these kingdoms.” The lawyers of influence amongst them knew 
the value of an Assize for such a purpose. “ Let there be one. 
There has been none for more than three years. The commissions 
shall be sealed with our own great seal. Our powers as to this 


70 Some Western Circuit Assize Records 


have been secured by the breaking of Charles Stewart’s great seal 
on the 11th of August, when we gave the pieces of silver, of which 
it was in part composed, to the Speakers of both Houses, interesting 
mementoes of past Royalty! Let there be an assize.” 

And the Judges “ going ” Circuit were advised, or advised them- 
selves, to search out and report on the general condition of the country 
—to take heed that the Grand Juries (who had been summoned by 
“ Parliament-appointed High Sheriffs”) weve not hindered in making 
presentments with regard to the prospect of affairs in their own 
neighbourhoods—their men and manners. 

In the Western Circuit Order Book of the period we read what 
happened in Dorset. It is of historic value, so given in full, for 
I have only drawn attention to it hitherto. 


Western Crrecuit Orper Book. 


Dorset Summer Assize, 1646. 


“ Alo houses. Upon the greate complaynt of the Gentlemen of the Grand 
Inquest of this County made to this Court at this p’sent Assizes 
against the multiplicity of ale houses win this County and the 
dayly abuses and disorders kept and suffered in such ale houses 

' especially on the Sabboth dayes, whereby the service of Allmighty 

This order to God is much hindered. Ffor reforminge whereof this Court 
be observed doth thinke fitt and declare that the Justices of the peace within 
through the the. several divisions and libities of this County shall with all 
whole Cireuite. convenient speede informe themselves by the best wayes and 
meanes that possibly they can, concerninge the said abuses com- 

mitted and suffered by such ale house keepers and not to suffer 

or licence any to sell ale or beer but such as can bringe their 

certificate under the hands of the most sufficient and best In- 

habitants of the several places and parishes where they dwell, 

concerninge their good behaviour and carriage, and the con- 

veniency of the places fitt for such alehouses to be kept. And 

to take speedy course for the punishinge and supp'ssinge of all 

Ex‘. other ale houses also accordinge to the Statute in that case made 

Lords day and and provided. Whereas this Court is informed that the last 

fast day to Wednesday in the month w® is appoynted a day for solemne 
be observed. fastinge and humiliation over the whole kingdom is not observed 
and kept as it ought to be by divers persons and in many places 
w'tin this County, and alsoe that the Lords day likewise ap- 
This order to poynted to be kept holy is profaned by many lewde people and 
be observed not kept and observed in many places as it ought to be, it is 
through the therefore ordered by this Court that if any p'son or p‘ssons 
whole Circuite. hereafter shall not observe and keep the said ffast day, or shall 


of the Seventeenth Century. 71 


profane the said Lords day, that then the next Justice of the 
Peace upon complaynte to him made shall bind over the said 
person or persons soe offendinge to the next Assizes to answere 
his contempt. “ 

And all constables and other officers are hereby required to 
take especial care to see this order p'formed as they will answere 
the contrary and from whome this Court will expect a good 
account of the performatice thereof. 

Watchinge and It is ordered by this Court that watches and wards be dayly 
Wardinge. observed and kept in parishes and tythings win this County 

accordinge to the Statute in that case made and provided. And 

This order to if any p'son or p"sons refuse to watch and ward as aforesaid the 
be observed next Justice of the peace upon complaynte thereof to him made 
through the _ shall bind such p'son or p'sons soe refusinge to the next Assizes 
whole Circuite. to answere his or their contempt. And all constables and other 

officers are hereby required to see this order p'formed as they 
will answere the contrary. 

Persons p'sented It is ordered by this Court that mo pson or psons whatsoever 
not to be dis- which stand presented at this present Assizes or shal be p'sented 
charged wout at any Assizes hereafter by the Grand Inquest or constable of 
certificate. any hundred or libitie for any misdemean’ or offence whatsoever 

punishable in this Court shal be discharged of the said p'sentment 
unless they shall make oath in open Court or bringe a certificate 

This order to under the hand of some Justice of the Peace of the County the 
be observed Minister of the p'sh where the offence was committed or under 

through the the hands: of the constables that p'sented them that the said 
whole circuite. offences and misdemeanors are reformed, and that there will be 

noe prosecution thereupon or otherwise shall acquitt themselves 
by traversinge the same. And this order is to extend into the 
several Counties of this Westerne Circuite And to be taken 

Ex‘. notice of and observed by the officers of this Court.” 


It will be noticed that these important orders, though made on 
the complaint of the men of Dorset for dwellers in that county only, 
were to be observed throughout the eircuit. Noisy alehouses to be 
reformed or abolished. Fasts and “ Sabboths” to be kept together 
with watch and ward; “and it will be the worse for thee, O 
constable, if thou bringest not prisoners to the next assizes. There 
must be malignants near you in these times—Godless Cavaliers— 
whom it will be best to bind over, if not lock up.” 

But this “ general order” is no stranger to modern ears than the 
particular orders applying in individual counties. We find orders 
(A.D. 1655) for moving the Lords Commissioners of the Great 
Seal to “ amove ” two coroners of Wilts, and elect others,—“ a desire ” 


72 Some Western Circuit Assize Records 


to the Justices of Devon “att their next Quarter Sessions to take 
some speedy course for the re-payment to the High Sheriffe of the 
County of Devon a some of [money left in blank] or upwards, 
disbursed by him for to prepare a halle in the Castle of Exeter and 
fittings for the Assizes and Quarter Sessions to be kept.” These 
duties have long disappeared from the Assize. 

Then follows an order interesting to lawyers, as shewing the old 
procedure in pauper settlement appeals. Under the statutes of 
Elizabeth, and of Philip and Mary three years’ residence in a parish 
gave a right of irremoveability to paupers. This order tells us 
“that the Court [of Assize] is informed that there is a difference 
betweene the inhabitants of Upton Pyne and St. Giles’, neere 
Torrington, both in this county [Devon], about the settlement of 
one John ffurseman a poore and impotent man att Upton Pyne 
aforesaid. This Court doth therefore desire the justices of the peace 
att the next quarter sessions to examine the said difference and end 
it if they cann. Butt iff they cannott compose it then to state the 
case and certifie the same to the judges at the next assizes to be 
holden for this county for their resolucion therein. Att which tyme 
the inhabitants of both places must attend that a fynall order may 
be made therein. And this Courte doth thinke fitt That ye p'rish 
on which the said settlement shall happen to be should reimburse 
all surcharges thatt th’ other parish hath been att about ye same.” 
The trial of these appeals has long since ceased to weary the Judges 
of Assize. They are decided at the Quarter Sessions, with the right 
of appeal to the Queen’s Bench, but only on points of law, 

And now I find an order which tells us that Wiltshire was not, 
in the opinion of some, as well-behaved as it should be :— 


“Wittrs. Att the Assizes and Generall Gaole delivery of the County Afore- 
said holden at New Sarum in the same County the one and twentieth day of 
July in the yeare of the Lord 1656 before William Steele Cheife Barron of the 
Publique Exchequer. 


“Onthe fforasmuch as it appeareth to this Cort by the Grand Inquest att 

Grand this Assizes. 
Juries That the constables of hundreds doe neglect theire duties in p'sentinge 
protm*. offences comitted w'*in theire hundreds, in regard That the petty 
Constables and Tything men doe make noe pr'sentmts unto them, 


of the Seventeenth Century. 73 


before the Assizes as anciently they have done and of right ought to 
doe, by meanes whereof many offenders oftn escape unpunished. It 
is therefore nowe ordered by this Court That all petty constables and 
Tythingmen w'in the sev’rall hundreds and lib'ties of this County 
shall from henceforth a ffortnight at least before any Assizes make 
their prsentments in writinge of all misdemean™ and offences comitted 
and done w'Yin their libties and tythinges w* are not punished, and 
carry the same prsentmts before the next Justice of the peace to be 
sworne unto it. And afterwards the said petty conbles and Tything 
men are to deliver the same present™* to the Constables of their 
hundreds before every Assizes, who are to deliver the same into the 
Gort with their owne presentmts, That proces may goe forth to call 
in the offenders to answere to their offences. And coppies of this 
order are to be sent to the Con of every hundred w'*in this County 
who are to publish the same in their hundreds before the next Assizes 
that p'sentments may be made accordingly.” 


Penruddock and Grove had fallen, the fourteen Major-Generals, 
“those Dragons,” were out harrying the land. The above looks 
like a whisper of one of them dropped into the ear of the Chief 
Baron, and passed on by him to the Grand Jury. Such an order 
would increase the prevailing discontent, and may, amongst other 
things, have induced “ His Highness” once more to summon 
“ His Parliament,” which assembled “ for grievances ” on the 17th 
of September following. 

Then at the same Assizes “ John Parker of Leigh, upon hearing 
of the matter in open court, it is ordered by his consent (?) that he 
shall take the apprentice, Edward Lewis, placed with him by the 
churchwardens and overseers of the poore with the consent of the 
Justices of the Place.” 

Judges of assize have ceased to act in such matters, and also in 
the following. 

Somerset Assizes, Chard,28th July,1656,before ChiefBaron Steele : 


« fforasmuch as many useful lawes have been and are in force for the preservation 
of tymber notwithstandinge which many persons mindinge theire private lucre 
doe win the county distroy and grubb upp their woods w‘*out leavinge standolls 
_accordinge to Lawe and otherwise offende in destroyinge the same w® being 

taken notice of and p'sented by the Grand Inquest for this County att this 
Assizes—This Cort doth refer and recomend a business of soe publique concern- 
ment to the Justices of peace att their next publique Q'. Sessions to consider how 
by such waies as they shall find just to encourage some ffitt p'sons to inquire 
out and prosecute accordinge to Lawe and Justice such as doe or shall offend in 
the p'misses.” 


74 Some Western Circuit Assize Records 


We remember that Somerset wsa Admiral Blake’s county. Can 
timber for the navy be wanted? If so, some two months after this 
there would be further interest in the matter; when news came of 
his capturing the Spanish treasure-fleet off Cadiz on the 9th of 
September, and the arrival of the Spanish plate at Portsmouth on 
its way to London. The Justices might fear that the whole county 
would be denuded in those days of Puritan simplicity. However 
that may be, the order does not relate to what we would have 
described as timber-trees, but only to pollards. 

Then there is an order to enable “ the nowe-waymen” of War- 
minster to be reimbursed for monies expended by them in repairing 
their highways. 

At Dorchester, March 18th, 1657, it appears that Thomas 
Erlebridge and William Ogle “ nowe remaininge in the gaole were 
very dangerous and suspicious people, this Cort [Mr. Justice Hugh 
Wyndham] orders that they be by the Sheriffe of this County 
carried from hence to Shaston [Shaftesbury] and there be whipt 
on their naked backes untill they bleede and from thence be sent from 
tything to tything by passes to the severall places of their birthes.” 

At Chard (Somerset Assize) the Grand Jury present to John, Lord 
Glynne (Penruddock’s judge), “a great scarcity of corn, that there 
are so many maltsters that the barley in the market is so soon 
bought up, that the poor cannot but at extraordinary prices have 
any to serve their occasions, by reason whereof they are much 
damnified. The Cort refers the matter to the justices of peace of 
this County, and desires them to meet with all convenient speed ; 
and take such course for the suppressinge the multiplicity of those 
malsters and supplying the occasions of the poor as shall be agreeable 
to Jaw and justice.”” This old and widespread grievance, was ag gra- 
vated much by the Civil War, bad seasons, and perhaps now again 
by increase in population in certain districts where land transport 
was diffleult. I find from Mr. Hamilton’s book on Devon Quarter 
Sessions, that in Devon in 1630 malting was altogether prohibited 
by their Quarter Sessions, and I mentioned in my previous paper 
that this occurred also in Cornwall A.D. 1648. And at Easter 
Devon Sessions, 1649, a similar order was made which mentions a 


of the Seventeenth. Century. 75 


hard long winter, the necessities of the poor, all sober people 
abhorring the multitude of ale-houses and protesting against the 
unreasonable quantity of barley turned into malt which is wantonly 
and wickedly spent in such houses. Puritan justices would be ready 
to cut off the supplies of hostels where Cavaliers drank the King’s 
health and speedy return. But the Restoration put these matters 
on a different footing ; and at the summer assize, 15th September, 
1660, at Salisbury, we find the judges—Sir Robert Foster and Sir 
Thomas Tyrrell—granting licenses for ale-houses to Phineas Haines, 
at Quarr House, Donhead; and to Francis Yerbury, at his house at 
Bradford. On the petition supporting the first I find the names of 
William and Richard Lush, so well known in that district. 

It should be mentioned, too, that the orders, which had been 
written in English during the Commonwealth, are in Latin after 
the Restoration. 

Then in the same assize at Dorchester, September 10th, 1660, 

it is ordered that Sir John ffitzJames, Knight, Robert Coker, Esq., 
Thomas Moore, Esq., Walter ffoy, Esq., and Whiston Churchill, 
Esq., five of the Justices for the County, or any two of them, doe 
take care that ‘“‘The business concerninge the witchcraft and con- 
sultation with the Devill and Evill Spiritts in Sherborne bee with all 
speede examined,” and all concerned, and witnesses, to be bound 
over to appear at the next assize. 
- In 1662, July 15th, at Exeter, Sir Peter Prideaux, High Sheriff, 
informs the Court that the Lord Treasurer of England complains 
that the County is slow about paying the King’s contribution from 
the County—£12,060. The Commissioners, appointed by the Act for 
enabling the collection of the grant, are to meet in their several 
divisions and collect, or fine defaulters, and get all in by Ist 
September following. 

16th August (no year, but next in book, probably same <Assize). 
Order to Mayor of Launceston to appear at the next Quarter 
Sessions to show cause why he should not apply some of the funds 
of St. Leonard’s Hospital, near Launceston, to the inmates of St. 
Lawrence Hospital. He is to bring his charter with him. 

How changed is all this. Modern Courts of Assize would stare to 


76 Some Western Circuit Assize Records 


have such matters before them. And what would the Court of 
Chancery or the Charity Commissioners say ? 

The Judges at Winchester, 1664, July 28th—Sir Matthew Hale 
one of them—are informed that Mr. Cromwell, lord of the manor 
of Merdon, Hants, upon the apprehension of one Rd. Wasteridge, 
seized some of his goods and ehattels. As Wasteridge is going to 
foreign plantations, Cromwell is ordered to give them up to him. 
This may be the quondam Lord Protector Richard Cromwell. 

In Devon, at St. Thomas the Apostle (Exeter ?), the ale-house 
of John Mountstephen is suppressed, as Richard Penstone was 
convicted at the Assize, for the manslaughter of one Gilbert, the 
death occasioned by wrestling, the challenge for it made whilst they 
sat drinking there. 

At the Summer Assize, Salisbury, July 8th, 1665, the High 
Sheriff is ordered to seize a black mare for the use of the King as 
a waif upon the flight of felony, Samuell Hooker and Charles 
Howe having been acquitted of the charge of highway robbery in 
stealing from John Harris the mare and 9s. Perhaps the mare was 
Harris’s after all! He might re-purchase it of the King! Now-a- 
days, on good cause shewn, the undivided half part might go to 
both Hooker and Howe! 

At Wells two men are sent to gaol until they provide themselves 
with masters, or procure themselves to be sent to Jamaica! 

Then appears again that dire calamity of those times—“ the 
Plague.” I have previously alluded to its occurrence in 1646, when 
it was at Salisbury and other places. An entry of 8th March, 
1666, Winchester Assize, tells us that “Sir John Keelinge and 
Sir John Archer (complaint being made of the inhabitants of 
Alverstoke and Borough of Gosport being visited with it are unable 
to relieve the poor infected persons and others and are now fallen 
into great want by means thereof) do therefore desire Sir Thos Budd 
and Sir Humfrey Bennett Knights, Richard Norton, Bartholomew 
Price, John Stewkley, and William Collins, the Mayor and Justices 
of the Borough of Portsmouth or any two or more of them, forthwth 
to take care for their reliefe by rating the adjacent inhabitants 
according to the statute in that case made and provided. And also to 


of the Seventeenth Century. 17 


take care that a convenient place be had for the burying of the dead, 
it being alledged unto this Cort that the Churchyard is alwayes 
filled and also that watch and ward be duly kept for securing the 
neighbouring inhabitants and country round about them,” &c. 

In the previous September, in London, ten thousand people were 
said to have died in one week. 

In the following year (1667) there was no Spring Assize for 
Hants, but on the 1st March and July 20th I find an order at 
Salisbury Assize relating to the collecting of the rate for the relief of 
the poor infected persons in thatcity in the time of the late plague there. 

At the Summer Assize, August, 1672, there is bitter complaint 
against one John Thorpe, Gaoler of Fisherton Anger, by the prisoners 
for debt, for “ preventing the use of the great courtyard of the prison 
in daytime; charging excessive rates for lodging in the common 
room, and not allowing their friends to relieve them, contrary to 
His Majesty’s late gracious Act of Parliament ; had exacted 2s. a week 
from those who sleep on the boards in the said greate roome; kept 
messengers with provisions waiting two and three hours at one time 
at the gate; stopped up a window whereby provisions have heretore 
been conveyed to your petitioners with much ease; destroyed the 
hearth of the prison rooms whereby no fire may be made; and by 
many other practices contrived subtily to distresse ye poore pe- 
titioners whose estates are consumed and health impaired so that 
for want of ayer and necessaries they must perish unlesse relieved 
by yr. Lordships.” They desire the above matters to be put to 
rights. Thomas Mompesson, Esq., Sir Richard How, Knight, 
William Swanston, and Alexander Thistlethwayte, Justices of peace 
of this County, or any two of them, have it referred to them to 
examine and to certify. 

‘The next extract is one of interest. It tells of the abduction of 
an heiress named Johanna Mortimore. At present I have not been 
able to identify her or connect her family name with Compton 
Cumberwell, which is a property in the parish of Compton Bassett, 


near Calne.! 


1 See Aubrey and Jackson’s Wiltshire Collections, p. 42, and Rev. A.C. Smith’s 
Wiltshire Antiquities, p. 49. 


78 


Some Western Circuit Assize Records 


It will be remembered that under the feudal law heiresses came of 
age and could marry on attaining fourteen years. 


WILTES. 
Richard 


Assizes New Sarum March 13 26 Car. II. 
Whereas Robert Maundrell of Compton Cumberwell in this’ 


Raynsford & County Gent was at the last Assizes held at the Cittie of New 


William 
Swanston 
Esqs. 


Sarum in and for this County indicted for the unlawfull taking 
away of one Johannz Mortimore about the age of twelve years in 
the highway shee being a person of a very considerable ffortune 
against the goodwill and consent of her the said Johanna Mortimore 
w said Indictment att this present Assizes came to bee tryed 
This Cort on Ex ,,.aination of Witnesses to prove the said Indictment 
and hear Counsell on both sides concerning the premisses after a 
long debate by consent of Parties on either side doth order that 
the said Robert Maundrell shall presently enter into a recognizance: 
of eight hundred pounds with this condition followeing, That the 
said Robert Maundrell shall and doe bring Johanna Mortimore 
before Thomas Bennett,Thomas Chamberlayne,and Jeffery Daniells 
Esquires Justices of the peace of this County on Wednesday in 
Easter weeke att the signe of the Bear in Marlborough or att anie 
other tyme as they the said Justices shall appointe and not en- 
deavour to marry or permit her to bee married in the meane tyme 
before whome she shall or may freely declare wth. whome and 
where (she) shall continue untill shee attaine the age of ffourteen 
years and that shee shall or may dispose of herself accordingly 
without the interruption or hindrance of him the said Robert 
Maundrell or by his meanes or Procurement, And further doe 
and shall stand to and abide such order for or concerning the 
charges the said Robert Maundrell hath beene att concerning the 
maintenance of her the said Johanna Mortimore as by the said 
Justices of the peace shall be then and there made weh. accordingly 
hee hath donne. And what charges hee the said Robert Maundrell 
shall make appeare to the said Justices that he hath really dis- 
bursed for and towards the maintenance schooling and education 
and other necessary conveniences of and for the said Johanna 
Mortimore they the said Justices are to allow him the said Robert 
Maundrell in such order as they the said Justices pursuant to the 
said Recognizance shall make and settle to be paid in such manner, 
and forme as they shall direct andappointe. And they are hereby 
desired to [report to] this Cort att the next Assizes what they have 
donne in and about the Premisses.” 


There may be, perhaps, some romance about the custody of the 
fair Johanna, as she was “ taken ” in the highway. Eight hundred 
pounds was a large sum for bail in those days. 

The next is a sentence to death for poisoning. A similar burning’ 


LE ——_—— 


of the Seventeenth Century. 79 


of the body after execution at Dorchester, A.D. 1705, may be re- 
membered, when ten thousand people are said to have assembled to 
witness it in the Amphitheatre at that place. There is a distinction 
made between the principal felon and the accessory ; the body of the 


latter is not to be burnt. 

“ DEVON. Exeter Assizes, March 10th, 1676. 
Ann Evans an apprentice indicted and conved. of poisoning her 
Master’s wife and daughter, one Phillippa Carey wife of Robert 
Carey being conved. of being accessory before and after ye fact at 
Plymouth a populous towne, and Exen. there will be of publique 
example That they bee excd. in some convenient place in the towne 
neare where the sd. psons were poisoned and murdered Ann Evans 
to be drawne on a hurdle to the place where she shall bee executed 
and there to bee burnt to death. And the said Phillippa Carey 
to be hanged on a Jibbett to be set upp for that purpose by yee 
necke untill shee bee dead. And the Under Sheriffe of this County 
his deputy is hereby required to see this order punctually performed 
in every particular as hee will answere the contrary att perill. And 
*They—Mr. yee day for the same execution to bee Thursday in Easter Weeke 
Weekes (The being the thirtyeth day of this instant March between ye howers 
Master) or of tenn and two of the Clock. But if they* shall fayle to undertake 
the Magis- before Haster to defray the extraordinary expenses thereof the sd. 
trates of | Execution is to bee donne att the tyme aforesaid in the ordinary 
Plymouth. place for Execution of malefactors in ye said County of Devon.” 


With two more I must conclude. And here, too, we note again 
the absence of the touch of the vanished hand of a past procedure, 
whilst several of the descendants of the Justices survive amongst 
our present Magistracy. 

“ SoMERSET. Taunton Wed. March 17th 1676. 
Upon the psentment of the Grand Inquest for the County 
aforesaid made att the Assizes concerning an house built at Pawlos 
Street in Taunton for the meeting of Dissenters from the Church 
of England to the encouragement of faction and contrary to a late 


Act of Parlt. The Cort recommends presnt. to J. P. at next Qr. 
Sessions to bee holden after the feast of Easter.” 


“Wires. New Sarum July 15 1676.—Richard Raynsford and Humfrye 
Littleton. 
Complaynts about the Overseers accounts for the Parish of Calne 
Cort desires St Thomas Estcourte, Thomas Bennett, Thomas 
Chamberlayne, Robert Drew, Nevill Maskeline, Jeffery Daniell 
and John Sharpe Seven of his Majesties’ Justices of the Peace for 
the County aforesaid or any three or more to enquire into the 
matter. 


. Circuit Order Book No. 3, 1652—1679. 


80 


Che Buried Palwesoic Arocks of CMiltshire. 
By W. Hewarp Bett, F.G.S, 


AN putting together the following few remarks on the more 
2 &\ ancient rocks of Wiltshire in the form of a short geological 
history of the older and newer strata that we have passed over 
to-day, I remember that we are a Natural History as well as an 
Archeological Society, so that a geological discourse—although, 
perhaps, rather dry—will not be altogether out of place, for archw- 
ology really begins where geology ends. 

A remarkable instance of this merging of the one into the other 
occurs in our own county in the drifts near Salisbury. And 
although the geological record is necessarily very imperfect, still 
the history of the rocks is written in very clear language for those 
who are able and willing to read it. Though not written in such 
accurate details as the history of those interesting buildings we 
have visited to-day, and which has been read to us by Mr. Ponting 
from the stones of which they are built, this is an attempt to 
interpret the still older and not less interesting history of the 
formation of the various rocks that lie under our feet, and to discuss 
the probability of that most valuable of the “ buried rocks ”—coal 
—being found below those newer rocks upon which we stand; a 
subject which must, I think, be of considerable interest to all of us. 

In the first place an explanation of the accompanying maps and 
diagrams will probably lead to an easier understanding of the 
remarks that follow. 

Section A. is a vertical section of the rocks that would be passed 
through if a well was sunk in the neighbourhood of Westbury, with 
the names of the different formations belonging to what is called 
the newer or neozoic series. Section B. is a rather more problematic 
section, but it shows the succession of the older palzozoic rocks 
below the newer or upper series—in fact the buried rocks; this 


™ 
M 


“0a 
A 


fy il 


me 


14 


ii 


D 


UF 


_MAP II.—Gerocrarny or Tue Liss anv Inrertor Oouire. 


a 
aa 


erie 


; 


A 


iin, 


(ai) 


AN 


MAP II1.—Creraczous Grocraray (SHOWING THE PROBABLE COASI 


LINE DURING THE FORMATION or THE Uprer Green SAND). 


The Buried Paleozoic Rocks of Wiltshire. 81 


however, is not such plain sailing, and you will see that although 
Section B is placed under Section A., and although the rocks really 
do underlie those of the upper section, yet the beds are differently 
inclined, and do not follow the upper rocks or each other in the 
same regular way. To this point I want particularly to call your 
attention, since it has an important bearing on the position of the 
coal measures and their relations to the overlying strata, as also to 
probability of their being found under Westbury or not. The 
inclination, or dip, and succession of the upper rocks in Section A. 
we know from finding them at the surface, and from the evidence 
of wells, bore-holes, &c., which have been made in them from time to 
time. But the relative position and inclination of the beds in 
Section B. are matters of inference, not of observation, and conse- 
quently are far less certain. Of their existence before the newer 
rocks were laid over them there is no doubt, but which of them 
occur under any particular spot, aud how much of them remain, is 
quite another matter. 

C. is a section across the country from Westbury to Vallis Vale, 
near Frome, and represents the structure that might be made visible 
if a long and deep trench could be cut through the earth’s crust 
along this line. Here the upper rocks (neozoic) are seen deposited 
in regular order and sequence, all with the same inclination, or dip, 
while the lower (palzeozoic) show a different inclination and are very 
irrevular. These upper and lower beds having no regular sequence 
and apparently no relative connection with each other, are said, in 
geological language, to be unconformable. 

The three maps, marked respectively I., II., and III. (which Mr. 
Jukes Brown, F.G.S., of the Geological Survey, has kindly placed 
at my disposal, being taken from his work, “The Building of the 
British Isles”), are intended to show the geography of the British 
Islands at the different geological periods named on the maps; the 
part coloured with blue lines being the ancient seas, the uncoloured 
portions the then existing land; while the faint red lines show the 
_ present outline of the land. 

- I must now go back to the close of paleozoic time—to that period 
which is called Triassic or Permian. ‘This commenced after a long 
VoL. XXV.—NO, LXXIIL G 


82 The Buried Paleozoic Rocks of Wiltshire. 


period of quiescence, when by a gradual and quiet subsidence with 
occasional periods of rest the paleozoic rocks, the lowest series on 
Section C., were deposited ; the last of them to be deposited being 
the carboniferous or coal measures. The Triassic period, which 
immediately followed, was one of disturbance and change; the 
carboniferous lands were broken up, some parts being converted into 
sea, others into land surfaces; and one of these Triassic land tracts 
seems to have run through Wiltshire, for no Triassic roeks have 
been found either in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, or Somersetshire. 
In the northern part of England large inland salt lakes or seas were 
formed, and over the intervening ridges and watersheds rain and 
rivers cut their way and carved out hills and valleys in the carbon- 
iferous strata. How long this state of things lasted we cannot say, 
but at any rate long enough for the removal of immense quantities 
of rock material. 

Towards the end of this period a fresh set of disturbances began, 
resulting in upheavals and dislocations of the older strata, bending 
them into curves, and forming those great troughs and basins we 
find in the coal measures at the present time, represented by the 
curved appearance of the beds of the lower series of rocks on Section 
C. These movements quite altered the configuration of the older 
rocks at the surface, and especially led to the formation of a large 
continent extending over all the northern, central, and western 
portions of Europe. This was the Triassic continent, and it was 
during this long land or continental period that the older rocks 
assumed the shape and form that is roughly represented in Section 
C. They were wasted and washed away by the continued action 
of the atmosphere, rivers, and other forces of Nature until they 
finally assumed the forms (problematic of course) shown on Section 
C., after which they became the bottom of an ocean and had the 
newer rocks, or upper series, as shown on the same section, deposited 
on them. And this long period of time when these various agencies 
were at work removing the old land surfaces, and re-depositing the 
débris elsewhere explains clearly, I trust, the great break both in 
time and in the continuity of life which is denoted by the un- 
comformability of the strata. 


23 


ee Section A 
Chalk AS 
A CRETACEOUS 
: 
: ROCKS 
i 
C. 
JURASSIC 
ROCKS 
D. 
E 


Whiteman & Bass Zithe London. 


ae eee eS ee eee, lee 


A. 
Section B 


Limestone Millstone Coal 
Grit Measures 


1 i 
1 1 
1 i] 
! ' 
f { 

1 


SECT DON ROM VANES VALE NEAR FROME TO WESTBURY. 


Ww 
Alice River 7 
Vale near Frome 


by Dilton. Marsh LE Road E 
f Sof Westbury 


LLL 


Carbonvferous Limestone 


dN5 B. C D. E os 
. 
[| ] 
3 
Chalk Gault & Fullers Barth Trias 
Greensand Clays & Great Ool. 


Witesas & Bane lithe London, 


By W. Heward Bell, P.GS. 83 


I will now try to trace the events which led to the covering up 
of these older rocks, and resulted in their becoming “ the Buried 
Rocks of Wiltshire” (shown in Section C.). 

Eventually in that part of the Continent, where our Islands now 
stand, several large salt lakes were formed, which were gradually 
enlarged until they became inland seas, like the Caspian; at the 
bottom of these seas or lakes were laid down the great beds of salt, 
which we find to this day in Cheshire and Worcestershire; but 
no salt is found in Wilts or Somerset. The Mendips stood out as 

-an island in this lake or sea, and round their flanks the shores of 
the sea formed shingle beaches, which, during the lapse of ages, 
becoming conglomerates, still bear silent witness to the very different 
aspect they bore in that bye-gone time, while further from those 
shores sand and marl were deposited which are now the lowest 
neozoic strata in Wilts and Somerset, and are represented by the 
lowest beds in the series on the Sections A. and C. The geographical 
conditions are shown in Map L.,, a large salt lake or inland sea lying 
over the greater portion of England with the Mendips standing 
out as an island. 

These deposits, formed at the bottom of this sea or lake, are, as 

said before, the beginning of the secondary, or Neozoic period, and 
are called the Triassic Rocks. It is in these newer or Triassic rocks 
that the break referred to occurs. 

These Triassic rocks are also extremely interesting from the fact 
that the first relics of mammalian life are found in them, being the 
fossil remains of small marsupials. 

Continuing the history of the burial of the paleozoic strata we 
come to the Jurassic series, consisting of lias, oolite, and Oxford 
clays. By reference to maps I. and II. it will be seen that a 

_ gradual subsidence of the land surfaces had taken place, leading to 
a connection between these inland seas and the open sea lying 
_ to the south; consequently oceanic and marine forms of life now 
_ appear, at least we now find their fossilized remains; but there ig 
no break, as in the previous change, from one series of rockg 
to another, the change from the Triassic to the Jurassic being 
~ gradual. 
. G 2 
a 

r 


84 The Buried Paieozoie Rocks of Wiltshire. 


In these formations we find thick clays, shales, great masses 
of marine corals, limestone, and sandstone, some of which are well 
known from their commercial value all over the world as Bath, 
Bradford, Box, and Corsham building-stones, and are found and 
largely worked in the neighbourhood. 

After probably a very long period of further subsidence, termi- 
nating in the laying down of the Kimmeridge Clay, a reverse 
movement set in. A large amount of land began to appear with 
small lakes in the north, while in a deep sea to the south the 
Portland Limestone (so well known as a building stone), was being 
deposited, and the materials brought down by the river system of 
the northern continent were being laid down as the Purbeck and 
Wealden formations, containing the remains of land animals, fresh 
water shells, &c. 

At the end of this continental period another great subsidence 
took place, resulting in the conditions shown in map III., which 
shows the probable line of the sea-coast during the formation of the 
green sand. The great mass of clay, which we know as gault, 
must have been formed from the débris of the carboniferous rocks 
of Wales, probably brought down by rivers flowing into an estuary 
on the west and distributed on the floor of the ocean at its mouth. 
The shores and bottom of this sea gradually sank and the sea gained 
on the land until it probably reached Ireland, and only the largest 
mountains of Wales were uncovered, standing out as small islands 
in the great “ Chalk Ocean,” in the deep quiet waters of which the 
countless remains of small animals falling on the bottom gradually 
built up those enormous masses of chalk, which extend so far, and 
of which our well-known downs are the remains. To complete the 
history I ought, perhaps, to tell you something of the processes by 
which the palzozoic rocks of the Mendips have been uncovered 
again by the removal of the chalk which so long overspread them, 
but it is too long a story to enter upon now. 

Having thus roughly, and I fear in no very scientific manner, 
traced the history of the rocks from the old Palzozoic continent to 
those we now stand on, I should like to say a word or two on the 
important bearing these old rocks have upon us now in the present 


—— ee 


ee a or 


By W. Heward Bell, #.G.8. 85 


or future. The most important point I wish to bring under your 
notice is the question as to whetber or not coal is to be found in 
the neighbourhood of Westbury. Of the existence of the older, 
or Paleozoic, rocks under our feet there can be no doubt, but as to: 
the existence of coal that is another matter. The central axis of 
the Mendips, shows an inclination to trend round to the north 
through Frome; and if the high dips west of Frome continue 
there is a probability that the millstone grits and lower coal 
measures may roll in under Westbury, but, as I have before ex- 
plained, a doubt as to their position must remain, which can only be 
settled by actual boring or trial. Such a trial bore was made some 
time ago at Witham Hole, four miles south of Frome, which passed 
through the Oxford Clay, cornbrash, and forest marble, to the depth 
of 600ft., when it was stopped; had they bored twice that depth, 
or even to 1000ft., the coal measures might have been reached. Nor 
is this the only trial that has been made in the past ; a boring was 
commenced at Trowbridge, but abandoned on account of water ; 
another attempt, as far back as 1815, was made to sink to the lower 
rocks at Melksham, but this was also defeated by water at a depth of 
some 351ft. or thereabouts, after the cornbrash, or Kelloway Rocks, 
had been reached. But when the near exhaustion of our present 
coal-fields becomes imminent, more effectual trials no doubt will be 
made to find workable coal seams below the newer rocks. 

In conclusion may I add that, apart from the economic side of 
the question, the study of geology is worth following for its own 
sake, giving a new interest to those who live in the country and 
care to observe the things around them, 

It is anything but a dry subject, although 1 fear that my 
discourse may itself have been rather of that nature. 


86 


dames Hey, Garl of Atarlborongh. 


By the Rev. W. P. S. Binenam. 


N looking over the Church this afternoon, we must all have 
observed in the south transept the monument erected to 
the memory of James, first Earl of Marlborough, with effigies of 
himself and his first wife. It is a stately tomb, and the question 
invariably asked by strangers is:—‘ What relation was that Earl 
to the Dukes of Marlborough?” The most usual answer is:— 
“None at all;” but this is not strictly true, as this Harl was great 
‘uncle by marriage to the Hero of Blenheim ; and the earldom had 
become extinct by the death of the fourth earl without issue, just 
ten years before the future duke was created Earl of Marlborough, 
There can, therefore, be but little doubt that Churchill chose this 
this title to perpetuate the memory of the “ Good Earl” who is 
buried in Westbury Church. 
This monument, erected by Henry, the second Earl, bears an 
inscription! which tells us more about the occupant of that tomb 


1 Inscription of monument in Westbury Church :— 
“D.0.MS. 

“Hic in pace requiescunt ossa et cineres D! Jacosr Ley, Equestris ordinis 
viri, et Baronetti, Filii Henrici Ley de Teffont Evias Ar: natu sexti, qui juvenis, 
Jurisprudentiz studiis mancipatus, virtute meruit ut per omnes gradus ad 
summum togate laudis fastigium ascenderet. Regii in Hibernia Banci 
Justiciarius sufficitur capitalis, et in Angliam revocatus, fit Pupillorum Procurator 
Regius. Dein Primarius in Tribunali Regio Justitiarius, que munia postquam 
magnd cum integritatis laude administrasset, illum Jacobus Rex Baronis Ley 
de Ley, (su familie in agro Devon. antiqua sede,) titulo ornavit, in sanctius 
adscivit concilium, Summumque Anglie Thesaurarium constituit, et Rex Carolus 
Marzipricit Comitis Auctario honoravit Regisque concilii instituit Preesidem. 

“Uxorem duxit Mariam filiam Johannis Perrry, de Stock Talmage, Oxon. 
Com., Ar. (cujus corpus juxta ponitur) ex qua numerosam prolem procreavit, 
Henricum nune Marlbrigii Comitem, Jacobum, Gulielmum, Elizabetham,Annam, 
Mariam, Dionysiam, Margaretam, Hesteram, Martham, Pheben ; qua conjuge 
fato functé Mariam despondit Gul. Bowrer Equitis Aurati viduam, post cujus 
obitum Janz, Domini Botteler filie enupsit, ex quibus nullam prolem suscepit. 

“lta Vir iste quem ad gravem prudentiam finxit natura, et doctrina excoluit, 


aE aes Ty 
re 
A Eo Ape Ty RA thy, 


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oe a ete 


ProicreE oF The Harts or Marvsorouca. 


James Ley, Earl of Marlborough,=1. Mary, daughter of 2. Mary, widow of 3. Jane, daughter 
d. 1628. 


John Pettey, of Sir William Bow- of John, Lord 
Stoke Talmage. yer. Butler. 

] ] | | ] i > ] | | 
Henry,=Mary, James, d, William, 4th =—— Hewett. Kliz.=Morice Casant, Aun.=Sir Walter Long, Mary.=R. Enery, Dionysia.=John Harrington, Margaret.=Capt. Hobson. Hsther.=Arthur Fuller, Martha, Phabe.———Biggs, 
2nd > dau.of unmar., Earl, d.s.p. of Toomer, of Drayeot. of Enery, of Kilmington. of Bradfield. d. un- of Hearne, 
Earl, Sir A, 1618. 1679. Somerset. Cornwall. mar. Bucks. 
4.1638. | Capel. 

James, 3rd Earl, 
killed June 8rd, 


1665, unmar, 


Extract From Prpicrer or Ley anp Cuurcuitt. 


Lord Butler, of Bramfield. 


| I 
James, Earl of Marlborough.=Jane. Ellen.=Sir J. Drake, of Ash. 


Sir Winslow Churchill.= Elizabeth. 


John, Duke of Marlborough. 


James Ley, Larl of Marlborough. 87 


than it is the custom to do in these days, and I must say that I 
think the archeologist of two hundred years hence will regret the 
banishment from our Churches of epitaphs and heraldic devices. 
They are contributions to history which will be much missed in 
coming generations. This epitaph records that James Ley was the 
sixth son of Henry Ley, of Teffont Evias, who, having in his youth 
applied himself to the study of the law, by the greatness of his 
merits passed through all its stages until he reached its highest 
rank. After having served as Chief Justice of the Queen’s Bench 
in Ireland, he was made Attorney-General of the Court of Wards 
and Liveries, from which he was promoted to the office of Lord 
Chief Justice of England. He wasa knight and baronet. James I. 
made him Baron Ley, of Ley, in Devonshire, and Lord Treasurer, 
and by Charles I. he was advanced to the earldom of Marlborough, 
and made Lord President of the Council. He was three times 
married. His first wife was Mary, daughter of John Petty, of 
Stoke Talmage, in Oxfordshire. and by her he had issue three sons 
and eight daughters. After her death he married Mary, widow of 
Sir William Bowyer; and lastly Jane, daughter of Lord Butler, of 
Bramfield, by neither of whom he had any issue. He died at 
Lincolns Inn, the place he loved the most, on the 14th of March, 
1628. 

The outline of his life is thus recorded on his tomb, and if all 
epitaphs were as explicit, it would be more easy than it often is to 
write the histories of great men of former generations. His father, 
Henry Ley, belonged to an ancient Devonshire family, the Leys of 
Canon’s Ley, in Bere Ferrers, but he appears to have removed from 
his native county, and established himself at Teffont Evias. He 
must have been a man of considerable means, since he fought at the 
head of his own men at the siege of Boulogne. James was his 


(sam ifn allies ai Mies 


_ (publicis usque ad declivem «etatem Magistratibus bene functis) senio confectus, 
- animam de patrid optime meritam placidé morte Deo reddidit, Londini, in 
Hospitio Lincoln. sibi ante omnia dilectissimo, Mart. xiiii. Anno Salutis 
M.DC.XXVIII. 

“Henricus, Marlbrigii Comes, optimis Parentibus hoc, pro munere extremo, 
- monumentum uberibus lacrimis consecravit. 


88 James Ley, Earl of Marlborough. 


youngest son. We do not know where he received the rudiments 
of his education, but in 1569, when he was about seventeen, he 
matriculated at B. N. C. at Oxford. It is probable that he was 
intended for the clerical profession, for his father was patron of 
Teffont Evias, to which, when it became vacant in 1569, he nomi- 
nated his son, James, who held the living until he resigned it in 
1576.1 

Aubrey mentions this, and says that Mr. Ash, of Teffont, has his 
institution and induction, and supposes that the butler mast have 
read the prayers whilst the Vicar was studying, first at Oxford, and 
then at Lincolns Inn. Canon Jackson cannot understand how such 
an abuse as the presentation of a youth of seventeen, who, of course, 
was not in holy orders, could have happened. Such abuses were 
common before the Reformation. William of Wykeham successively 
held three prebendal stalls in Salisbury Cathedral, besides other 
preferment, whilst he was only an acolyte; and Henry VIII. pro- 
vided for the education of Reginald Pole, afterwards Cardinal and 
Archbishop of Canterbury, by making him Dean of Exeter whilst 
still a youth. That the Reformation did not at once correct all these 
abuses appears from a sermon preached by Bishop Jewel, in which 
he denounces the misuse of Church patronage which was frequently 
made; “A gentleman,” he says, “ cannot keep a house unless he 
have a parsonage or two to farm in his possession.” Minutes of a 
license are in existence in Archbishop Laud’s handwriting, em- 
powering a youth, who bore the title of Dr. Tucker and Vicar of 
Old Windsor, to read divine service, although he was not in deacon’s 
orders nor twenty years of age. There is some doubt whether George 
Herbert was even a deacon when he was appointed to the Vicarage 


1That such abuses were connived at by dispensations in the reign of Queen 
Elizabeth is evident from Archbishop Grindal’s account of his Court of Faculties 
made to the Queen and Council, in which it is observed : —“ Dispensations for a 
minor (as he is termed, that is, for one whose age forbids ordination) are not 
granted to any, but to those who at the least are sixteen years old and are resident 
students in the Universities.” The Archbishop proposed to abolish dispensations 
for children and young men under age to take ecclesiastical promotions. Strype 
Grind , p. 302. Remains of Abp. Grindal, Parker Society, p. 450. 


By the Rev. W. P. 8. Bingham. 89 


of Bemerton—certainly he was not a priest. It is, therefore, 
possible that the patron of Teffont may have appointed his son to 
the vacant vicarage to defray the cost of his education, and employed 
some neighbouring curate to perform the service. It may have 
been done in the dond fidé belief that James Ley would enter holy 
orders, and himself in time fulfil the duties of his office, but when 
this course was abandoned, and his son turned his attention to the 
law, the living of Teffont was conscientiously resigned in 1576. 

From Oxford James Ley went to Lincolns Inn, where he was called 
to the bar, and served the office of Lent Reader. Lord Campbell, in 
his “ Lives of the Chief Justices,” speaks rather disparagingly of 
his legal attainments, and intimates that his promotion was rather 
due to his courtly manners than his learning, and that he became 
serjeant-at-law in 1603, with a view to increasing his practice, but 
that still his briefs were few. It was Lord Campbell who said that 
he never went the Western Circuit without strengthening his 
persuasion that the wise men came from the East, and therefore we 
ean scarcely expect that he would write the life of a Wiltshireman, 
whose ancestors came from Devonshire, without a strong and un- 
favourable prejudice. There are some facts which do not look as if 
he was a briefless barrister. He had been six years in Parliament, 
representing the Borough of Westbury, when he became a serjeant, 
and in the same year he was knighted. We must remember that 
he was a younger son, and did not succeed to his patrimony by the 
death of all his elder brothers until four years after this. Moreover 
he must have had a residence here in Westbury as well as in London, 
for he was married, and his eldest son, the second earl, was baptised 
in Westbury Church in 1595. 

His colleague in the representation of Westbury was Matthew 
Ley, his elder brother, who presented the seal of the borough to the 
corporation in 1574, By the time the two brothers sat together 
for Westbury, one at least must have been a man of considerable 
local influence. Heywood had been bought. It is said that the 
house was built by James, but it may been commenced by the elder 
brother, Matthew, and only completed by him. Sir R. C. Hoare 
thinks that it was purchased either from the St. Maurs or from the 


90 James Ley, Earl of Marlborough. 


family of William of hint a former Chief Justice of the 
Common Pleas. 

In 1605, two years after he had become a serjeant, Sir James 
vacated his seat for Westbury on his being appointed Lord Chief 
Justice of the King’s Bench in Ireland. Lord Campbell says that 
this was nothing better than the office of Chief Justice of Jamaica 
would be at the present time, but in saying this he takes no account 
of the exceptional circumstances under which Sir James Ley was 
sent to Ireland. King James had determined to civilize Ireland by 
the introduction of English law. Hitherto the laws of England . 
had no force beyond the English pale. Beyond this, ancient custom 
took the place of law, and amongst the ancient customs were many 
which prevented the progress of the nation. There was one especially 
which destroyed all fixity of tenure. The land of a Sept was held 
to be the common property of its members, and was allotted to 
each by its chieftain, and whenever one died the land was thrown 
into common again and a fresh allotment made. No one, therefore, 
was interested in improving land which any day might pass to 
another member of the Sept. The introduction of a law of in- 
heritance would give plenty of employment to law courts, which 
would have to decide between rival claims. Vast estates in Ulster 
had been confiscated after the rebellion of Desmond, Earl of Tyrone, 
and although Royal grants were freely made, some other claims 
arose, especially respecting lands which had formerly belonged to 
the Church. Naturally, therefore, would King James look out not only 
for a sound lawyer, but for a man whose high principle would enforce 
respect for his decisions ; and such a man was found in Sir James Ley. 

The King seems to have been very desirous that the Lord Chief 
Justice of Ireland should be a man of the highest character, for on 
his going over he charged him “ not to build an estate on the ruins 
of a miserable nation; but by the impartial execution of justice, 
not to enrich himself, but to civilize the people.” Sir James Ley 
might have found ample opportunity of founding an estate for 
himself, as most other English emigrants did at this time, but he 
faithfully kept the King’s charge, which was endorsed by his own 
conscience. 


By the Rev. W. P. 8. Bingham. 91 


Whilst he was in Ireland the administration of justice was not 
the only thing which engaged his attention. As a true archzologist 
he studied the history of the past with a view to the advancement 
of the future. He collected the annals of John Clynne, a friar 
minor of Kilkenny, and the annals of Rosse and Clonmell. All 
these he caused to be transcribed, but his professional engagements 
prevented their preparation for the press. They afterwards fell into 
the hands of Henry, Earl of Bath. Extracts from them are in the 
Dublin College Library, but the original will probably be found at 
Longleat. Sir James Ley also wrote some treatises on heraldry and 
antiquarian subjects, which are included in Hearue’s Collections in 
the Bodleian Library. These collections are in one hundred and 
forty-five MS. volumes, and as selections from them are being 
published by the Oxford Historical Society, under the editorship of 
Mr. Doble, of Worcester, it may be hoped that some of them may 
yet see the light. 

Sir James did not long hold the office of Lord Chief Justice of 
Treland, for the King found that he had need of him at home. The 
work which he had lent his aid to accomplish was so successful that, 
according to Sir John Davis, in the space of nine years greater 
advances were made towards the reformation of Ireland than in the 
four hundred and forty years, which had elapsed since its first 
conquest. 

The work for which King James wanted him at home was the 
Court of Wards and Liveries, of which he was made Attorney- 
General in 1609. This court, which was established in the thirty- 
second year of Henry VIII., had some very difficult and important 
questions to decide. Many estates were then held by their proprietors 
as tenants of the King, and when a tenant died, a jury was em- 
panelled to ascertain whether the tenancy was only for life, in which 
case it reverted to the Crown; or if the tenant died without heirs, 
for then it would belong to the King by escheat ; or if he be attainted 
of treason, whereby his estate is forfeited to the Crown. If the 
purchaser of the land is an alien that is another cause of forfeiture, 
and if the heir is an idiot or a minor, the King becomes the guardian 
of his person and his lands. ‘This court was abolished at the 


92 James Ley, Hari of Marlborough. 


Restoration of Charles II., when the oppressive tenures which 
gave occasion for its jurisdiction ceased to exist. 

There seems to have been another reason which induced Sir 
James to accept the presidency of thiscourt. Although he was the 
the youngest of six children he was now the sole survivor of his 
brothers, and as he had inherited the property at Teffont Evias and 
Westbury he was naturally anxious to hold some office which would 
enable him to reside part of the year at Heywood. 

In that year—1609—George Webb, Vicar of Steeple Ashton, 
the advowson of which parish then belonged to the Heywood 
property, was appointed to preach at S. Paul’s, when the judges 
attended service there on the first Sunday after Trinity. The 
sermon which he preached, entitled “ God’s Controversy with 
England,’ is published with a dedication to Sir James and Lady 
Ley. In this he says that “he had been called from his little 
Anathoth at home to bewray his weakness at the chiefest watch- 
tower of the land.” Urged to publish his sermon he says, “ It being 
a case of controversy and matter of judgment, how could it find a 
better patrociny than to come forth under your protection, who 
have yourself been heretofore a judge, yea Lord Chief Justice of 
His Majesty’s realm of Ireland, a zealous and upright judge, es- 
pecially in the controversies of the Lord, as the Church of Ireland 
to God’s glory and your everlasting praise doth testify ; and now 
also (and that most justly) are a judge in one of God’s most especial 
judgment seats in this land to see that the orphans and fatherless 
may not suffer wrong. Secondly, seeing that your worship is lately 
seized with the patronage, to which as patron, though unworthy, I 
owe myself and my service, I could not but congratulate your 
entrance into the same with this poor present.” And then the 
dedication continues with a tribute to Lady Ley, which tells us 
something of her life at Heywood. “ And as for you, Madam, I 
have made bold likewise to mention your name in this my dedication 
that I might in some sort certify mine unfeigned thankfulness for 
the many favours I have received at your hands, and for that great 
encouragement which you have given both to me and others, my 
fellow brethren, in our ministry here in this part of our country by 


By the Rev. W. P. 8. Bingham, 93 


your presence at our sermons, defending of our just causes, stirring 
up of our auditors, and making yourself and your family a worthy 
pattern and example of all Christian duties.” 

Lady Ley, whose useful influence is thus described by the Vicar 
of Steeple Ashton, did not long survive, for she died and was buried 
in Westbury Church, October 5th, 1613. The eldest son, Henry, 
was then eighteen years old, and the youngest, William, was a baby, 
having been baptized March 1Uth, 1612. Sir James was thus left 
with three sons and eight daughters, and it was probably the serious 
charge of so large a family which soon induced him to marry again. 
His second wife was Mary, widow of Sir William Bowyer, 

In 1620 he was created a baronet, when the King, to get money 
for the colonization of Ulster, instituted an hereditary order of 
knighthood, which must have seemed in those days as great an 
innovation as life peerages did in our own. When Sir James Ley 
returned to England, he returned also to the House of Commons, 
and sat for Westbury from 1609 to 1621, when he vacated the seat 
on being appointed Lord Chief Justice of the King’s Bench. In 
the representation of Westbury, he was succeeded by his son-in-law, 
Sir Walter Long, of Draycot, to whom some of us may still feel 
grateful, as he is said to have been the first person who introduced 
tobacco into Wiltshire. 

Sir James was installed as Chief Justice of England on February 
1st, 1621, and before long he gave two judgments, which, though 
criticised by Lord Campbell as bad law, will I think, commend 
themselves as good sense to most of us. An innkeeper had been 
indicted for exacting an exhorbitant price for oats. The indictment 
stated that he had charged 2s. 8d. when the ordinary price was not 
more than twenty pence. Objection was taken that the exact price 
should have been stated in the indictment, but on appeal the Lord 
Chief Justice decided that the words used— not more than twenty 
pence ”—were sufficient. 

The other case was that of a woman, who had said to a neighbour, 
in the hearing of others, “ Thou perjured beast, I’ll make thee stand 
upon a scaffold in the Star Chamber.” The question arose whether 
this was a libel or not, as the words “ perjured beast” were used not 


94 James Ley, Earl of Marlborough. 


as substantives, but as adjectives; but the Lord Chief Justice ruled 
that it was as wrong to injure the reputation of a neighbour with 
an adjective as with a substantive ; in which decision, with all due 
deference to Lord Campbell, we, who are unlearned in the law, will 
most probably agree. 

The judge had written a book on wards and liveries, which was 
an authority as long as it was needed, and he still continued to 
compile reports of cases which were tried at Westminster during 
the reigns of James and Charles. 

And now, in the first year of his office, the Lord Chief Justice 
was called to execute a most important and delicate task, for which 
his high character singled him out. Bacon, the great philosopher, 
now created Viscount St. Albans, was Lord Chancellor, and whispers 
were heard that he had not been above receiving bribes from the 
suitors in the Court of Chancery. Bacon has been called—I think 
by Pope—“ the greatest and the meanest of mankind.” He was 
certainly the greatest thinker of his day, and the reputation of the 
“ Novum Organum ” is as great now as it was then ; and some in 
our time have asserted that he was the real author of Shakespeare’s 
plays, and that Shakespeare was only the actor who placed them on 
the stage. It is difficult now to ascertain with clearness the measure 
of Lord Bacon’s guilt. It is certain that he accepted bribes, but 
it has never been proved that these bribes perverted justice. The 
accusation was rather that he received bribes and then decided 
against the givers. The fact was really this. There was then, as 
there has been in later days, a block of business in the Court of 
Chancery, and years might elapse before a suit came on for hearing, 
unless some interest was used with the Lord Chancellor to place it 
early on the list. A request that it might be heard soon was often 
accompanied by a present, which Bacon accepted, because his expenses 
were so great that often he did not know where to turn for money. 
This was not right, but it appears to have been the extent of the 
alleged bribery and corruption; and if Bacon’s decisions had been 
in favour of the suitors who were supposed to have bribed him, 
nothing more would have been heard about it. 

There were, however, some who were disappointed and aggrieved 


By the Rev. W. P. &. Bingham. 95 


when the judgment went against them after they had, as they 
thought, paid for it. Complaints were made in the House of 
Commons, and a committee was appointed to investigate the matter. 
The consequence of this was that an impeachment was sent up to 
the House of Lords. Bacon could scarcely preside in the House of 
Lords during his own trial, and then it was that, at his own request, 
a commission passed the great seal reciting that, by reason of illness, 
he was unable to attend the House of Lords, and authorising Sir 
James Ley, Knight and Baronet, Chief Justice of the Queen’s 
Bench, to act as Speaker in his absence. Thus it was that the Lord 
Chief Justice, not yet a peer, came to preside in the House and sat 
upon the wool-sack when Bacon was arraigned. 

The Chancellor, conscious of guilt, deprecated the vengeance of 
his judges by a general avowal. He wrote to the King on the 25th 
of March as follows :—‘ And for the briberies and gifts wherewith 
I am charged, when the book of hearts shall be open I hope I shall 
not be found to have the two-fold fountain of a corrupt heart in a 
depraved habit of taking rewards to pervert justice, however I may 
be frail and partake of the abuses of the times; and therefore Iam 
resolved when I come to my answer not to trick up my innocency, 
as I writ to the Lords, by cavellations and voidances, but to speak 
to them the ]Janguage which my heart speaketh to me, in excusing, 
extenuating or ingenuously confessing, praying to God to give me 
the grace to see the bottom of my faults, and that no hardness of 
heart do steal upon me or any shew of more neatness of conscience 
than there is cause.” 

The Lords, not satisfied with a general acknowledgment, insisted 
on a specific confession of each one of the charges, and for this 
purpose a deputation waited on Bacon. After having acknowledged 
the truth of twenty-eight charges, he was asked if the confession 
was his own voluntary act, and he answered, “ My Lords, it is my 
act, my hand, my heart, I beseech your Lordships to be merciful 
to a broken reed.” It now became the painful duty of the Lord 
Chief Justice to’ pronounce the sentence of the peers against the 
unhappy Chancellor, who, no doubt, had been for years his friend 
and companion. He was spared the pain of doing this with Bacon 


96 James Ley, Earl of Marlborough. 


standing as a culprit before him, as his presence was dispensed with 
on account of serious illness. The sentence was a fine of £40,000, 
and imprisonment during the King’s pleasure. He was, moreover, 
pronounced incapable of ever again holding office or voting in the 
House of Lords. 

Before the sentence was pronounced the great seal had been 
sequestered and a new commission awarded to the Lord Chief 
Justice “to execute the place of the Chancellor or Lord Keeper.” 
So says the author of the State Trials, but Lord Campbell says that 
when the King received the great seal, three commissions were 
ordered to be sealed with it in his presence, one to Sir Julius Cesar, 
Master of the Rolls, and certain common law judges, to hear causes 
in the Court of Chancery; another to Sir James Ley, to preside as 
Speaker in the House of Lords; and a third to Viscount Mandeville, 
the Lord Treasurer, the Duke of Lennox, and the Ear! of Arundell, 
to keep the great seal, and to affix it to all writs and letters requiring 
to be sealed. We can scarcely over-estimate the importance of 
these transactions, in which the Lord Chief Justice involuntarily 
took the foremost part, as they purged the judicial bench for ever 
after from all suspicion of corruption, and rendered it impossible for 
a judge to take a bribe. If Sir James Ley’s hands had not been, 
as Milton says, “ unstained with gold or fee,’ he could scarcely have 
been placed in such a position as he was. 

And now came the question as to the person to whom the great 
seal, now temporarily in commission, should be entrusted. There 
was Sir Edward Coke, the greatest lawyer of the day ; but Sir James 
Ley had so admirably performed the duties of Speaker of the House of 
Lords, that all eyes were turned on him; and there was also Hobert, 
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, who was also by his reputation 
duly qualified to be Chancellor; but all expectations were disappointed 
when, through the interest of the Duke of Buckingham, it was 
offered to Williams, Dean of Westminster, soon to be Bishop of 
Lincoln, and by him accepted; and this was the last time that a 
clergyman has been Lord Chancellor. 

Sir James Ley was, however, rewarded for his integrity, and 
compensated for his disappointment, when in 1624 he was made 


By the Rev. W. P. &. Bingham. 97 


Lord Treasurer and raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Ley, 
of Canons Ley, in Devonshire. He did not hold this office long, 
for the King died, and in the next year, and soon after the accession 
of Charles I. he was removed from his office on pretence of his age 
and infirmities, but really to make room for Sir Thomas Weston, a 
favourite of Buckingham, who was at that time all-powerful with 
the King. Lord Campbell refers to Lord Clarendon’s opinion of 
his incompetence as a reason for the removal of Lord Ley from the 
office of High Treasurer, but all that Clarendon says is that if his 
age and incompetency had been a sufficient reason for his removal, 
they would have been equally a reason for his never being appointed, 
as only two years had elapsed. If’ he had really been incompetent, 
he would scarcely have been made President of the Council soon 
afterwards, and advanced to the earldom of Marlborough. 

His second wife had died in the interim, and he had married again, 
Jane, daughter of Lord Butler, of Bramfield, and niece to the Duke 
of Buckingham. No doubt it was through her influence that the 
earldom of Marlborough was obtained, as it was settled on the issue 
of this marriage with remainder to his own heirs. As there was 
no issue by this marriage the earldom went with the barony to his 
eldest son. No slight, however, was intended to his children when 
Lord Ley accepted an earldom, which was first of all settled on 
possible children, who, as events turned out, were never born, for 
his eldest son was about the same time called to the upper house by 
his father’s barony. He had represented Westbury in Parliament 
from 1623 to 1625, and had previously sat for Devizes. It is 
probable that all the members of the family were not as easily 
pacified as the eldest son. Serious differences arosé with the Longs, 
of Draycot. Hitherto the earl had been on the most affectionate 
terms with Lady Ann, his daughter, and Sir Walter Long, her 
husband. He had been so much at home at Draycot that he had 
built a gateway there and put his arms upon it, but afterwards there 
was a fierce quarrel, which probably arose from some remonstrance 
on the marriage of the Earl with a young wife, or else from the 
limitation of the patent. It seems never to have been healed during 
his life, for in his will he “ begged pardon of the Lady Ann on the 
VOL, XXV.—NO. LXXIII. H 


98 James Ley, Earl of Marlborough. 


bended knee of his heart for his conduct tuwards her.” Whether 
he repented of his marriage or lamented the estrangement from his 
daughter is a question which we need not decide. 

And now comes the tragic end of the good Earl. For some time 
he must have seen that darker days were drawing on, and it may be 
that his counsels were unheeded by the King, and in that case what 
passed between his royal master and himself was a secret which he 
would never have divulged. The end came when the King dissolved 
his fourth Parliament, and declared that he would rule without the 
aid of parliaments. The Earl of Marlborough and his son, Lord 
Ley, were both present in the House of Lords at the delivery of 
the King’s speech, in which he said :—* I thought it necessary to 
come here to-day to declare to you and to all the world that it was 
merely the undutiful and seditious carriage in the Lower House 
that hath caused the dissolution of this Parliament. You, my Lords, 
are so far from being the causers of it, that I take as much comfort 
in your dutiful demeanour as I am justly distasted with their pro- 
ceedings. Yet to avoid mistakings, let me tell you that it is so 
far from me to adjudge all the House equally guilty, that 1 know 
that there are many there as dutiful subjects as any in the world ; 
it being but some few vipers among them that did cast this mist of 
undutifulness over most of their eyes. As these vipers must look 
for their reward of punishment, so you, my Lords, must justly 
expect from me that favour and protection that a good King oweth 
to his loving and faithful nobility.” 

The Earl went home with a broken heart, for he loved his country 
and his King. Four days afterwards he was dead, and his body 
was brought from London to Westbury and laid in the same grave 
with his first wife—the mother of all his children—in the south 
transept of the Church. 

And as I began with his epitaph, so I will end with words which 
have immortalised his memory, the sonnet which Milton addressed 
to Lady Margaret, his daughter :—' 


1 Milton diverted himself sometimes of an evening in visiting Lady Margaret 
Ley, daughter of the Earl of Marlborough, Lord High Treasurer of England and 
President of the Privy Council to King James I. This lady, being a woman of 


By the Rev. W. P. 8. Bingham. 99 


“Daughter to that good Earl, once President 
Of England’s Council, and her Treasury, 
Who lived in both, unstained with gold or fee, 
And left them both, more in himself content, 
Till sad the breaking of that Parliament 
Broke him, as that dishonest victory 
At Cheeronea, fatal to liberty, 
Killed with report that old man eloquent. 
Though later born than to have known the days 
Wherein your father flourished, yet by you, 
Madam, methinks I see him living yet: 
So well your words his noble virtues praise, 
That all both judge you to relate them true, 
And to possess them, honoured Margaret.” 


He left by his will £20 to the poor of Westbury, and £20 for 
the repair of the bells. His widow, still young, beautiful, and 
fascinating, re-married Ashburnham the Cofferer, and lived an 
eventful life through the Commonwealth. I had collected some 
notes of the lives of the succeeding Earls, but this paper has been 
too long already. Heywood still stands, and its present occupant 
is a worthy successor of William of Westbury and James, Earl of 
Marlborough, being the third of the eminent judges who have spent 
their holidays under the shadow of its trees. As you pass that 
house to-morrow you will be struck by the beauty of its situation, 
and will remember that it was once the residence of the “ good 
Earl” whose praise was sung by Milton. 


EAR fe tos wipes Sh 


admirable wit and good sense, had a particular esteem for our author, and took 
much delight in his company, as likewise did her husband, Capt. Hobson ; and 
what regard Milton had for her appears from a sonnet that he wrote to her, 
extant among his occasional poems. Life of Milton, T. Burt. 


100 


The Church Heraldry of orth iltshive. 


By Artuur ScHOMBERG. 
(Continued from vol. xxiv., p. 307.) 
LACOCK. 

Chancel. 


553. I.—On the Austrian eagle displayed sable ; quarterly, 1 
and 4. Argent, on a fess azure three lozenges or. 2 and 3. Or, 
a lion rampant gules ducally crowned azure. All ensigned by a cap 
of a Count of the Empire, pink turned up ermine. Cresci¢ sub 
pondere virtus. 

Rear Admiral Charles Feilding, ob. 1837, “ enclosed in oak of an 
English ship of war; lineally descended from Basil Feilding, 4th 
Earl of Denbigh, of the House of Hapsburg, and Count of the 
Holy Roman Empire.” 


554. II.—Gules, a lion rampant within a bordure engrailed or ; 
impaling, Paly of six argent and gules, on a chief sable two lions 
passant guardant or. Srraneways. M.I. 

Christiana Barbara, third daughter of Thomas Mansel Talbot, 
and the Right Hon. Lady Mary Talbot, of Margam, Glamorgan- 
shire, ob. 1808. 


Stained Glass in East Window. 
555. III.—Tatsor (554). Crest. On a cap of dignity a lion 
‘statant, the tail extended. Tatsor. 1776. 
Stained Glass in South Window. 
556. IV.—'Quarterly, 1 and 4. Argent, on a bend azure three 


1Qn the floor of the chancel is a brass plate to the memory of Mary Spencer 
Grosett, wife of J. R. Grosett, M.P., ob. at Lacock Abbey, 31st Dec., 1820, bur. 
in Bristol Cathedral. 


—s,.* =. 


The Church Heraldry of North Wiltshire. 101 


acorns or. MurrHeap. 2 and 3. Azure, three mullets in fess 
argent between as many bezants and an acorn of the last. Grossgrr, 
impaling, Quarterly, 1 and 4. Paly of six or and azure, a canton 
ermine, SuirtEy. 2and 3. Azure, three swords bendways proper, 
hilted or, the points towards sinister base. Raw ins. 


On a pillar between the two arches on the north side a shield Gules 
a teazle-head (?) argent; im the moulding of the pillar the scorpion 
of SHERINGTON. 


North Chapel. 


557. V.—A large white marble tablet, inscribed with a long Latin 
epitaph, and supported on a block of stone, on either side a tall pillar 
supporting a pediment thereon a trophy of arms ; Quarterly of six. 1. 
Tatpot (554). 2. Azure, a lion rampant within atressureor. 3. 
Bendy of ten gules and argent. 4. Gules, two crosses patty or 
between as many flanches checky argent and azure. SHERINGTON. 
5. Azure, abend argent. Lavary. 6. Per fess indented or and 
azure six martlets counterchanged. Fransaam. Crest. On a 
chapeau gules turned up ermine, a lion statant, the tail extended or. 


John Talbot, ob. 1713, et. 838. 


558. VI—A large stone altar-tomb (on the three front panels the 
scorpion of SuErineton) with canopy, above is the following shield 


supported by two naked boys :— 


1. Quarterly 1 and 4. Suerineton (557). 2. Lavatt (557). 
3. Fransuam (557). 

2. On ceiling of canopy, the same quarterings ; impaling, Quar- 
terly, land 4. Gules, bezanty, a eross couped of the last. 
Watsincuam. 2 and 3. On a bend another wavy in 
sinister chief a cross crosslet fitchy. WrytTz. 

3. On dexter interior side of canopy, the same quarterings ; im- 
paling, I. and IV. grand quarters—1l and 4. A cross en- 
grailed. Bourcuter. 2and3. A fess between ten billets. 
Berners. II. and IIL. grand quarters—Quarterly gules (?) 
and azure (?) over all a bend. 


102 The Church Heraldry of North Wiltshire. 


4. On sinister interior side of canopy, the same quarterings ; 
impaling, Gules, three unicorns in pale courant argent. 
Farinepon. 


On ceiling of canopy, “ Ser William Sherington Kn.” 


Stained Glass in East Window. 
559. VII.—Argent, two glazing irons in saltire between four 
closing nails sable, on a chief gules a lion passant guardant dimidi- 
ated or. ‘“ Ano. 1589.” Guaztrrs’ Co., London. 


On the roof are two angels bearing shields thereon the Symbol of the 
Blessed Sacrament ; an angel holding a shield thereon the Symbol of the 
Five Precious Wounds; a staff erect between two bears standing on 
their hind legs and facing one another; a swan with two heads (?) 
proper; 7m the moulding of the south pillar of the west arch the scorpion 
of SUERINGTON, and a garb; on the south side of the east window under 
a niche an angel holding an empty shield ; on the outside of this 
window is an angel holding a shield charged with a bend thereon . . 
. .3 ™m the west window in stained glass the sacred monogram and 
cross of St. George. 


South Transept. 


560. VIII.—Argent, on a chevron engrailed azure between three 
rooks proper as many suns in their splendour. Rooke (550) ; im- 
paling in chief, I. and IV. grand quarters—1 and 4. Gules, a lion 
rampant argent, a crescent for difference. Wattace. 2 and 3. 
Argent a fess checky or and sable. Lrinpsay. II. and III. grand 
quarters—Argent, three pelicans feeding their young in as many 
nests proper. Paterson ;—and in base, Azure, a chevron between 
three fusils or; pendant therefrom a medal, thereon Britannia with 
helmet and trident seated on a sea-horse couchant. 

Frederick William Rooke, Capt. R.N., of Lackham House, ob. 
1855. 

561. IX.—A wooden tablet, once painted and gilt, surrounded 
with eight shields, at the head another shield with date 1623:— 

1. Quarterly land 4. Baynarp (529). 2and 3, Brust (529)- 

Crest. A demi-unicorn rampant or. 


By Arthur Schomberg. 103 


2. Baynarp; impaling, Argent, a chevron between three fleurs- 
de-lis sable. 

3. Baynard; impaling, Azure, two swords in saltire between 
four fleurs-de-lis or. Barrow. 

4. Baynarp; impaling, Lupiow (9). 

5. Baynarp; impaling, Azure, a chevron between three pears 
pendant or. STEWKELEY. 

6. BaynarD; impaling, Azure, fleur-de-lisy, a lion rampant or. 
Poo.e. 

7. Baynarp; impaling, Watstneuam (558). 

8. Baynarp; impaling, Per fess embattled or and sable, six 
crosses patty counterchanged. WaARNEFORD. 

9. Baynarp; impaling, BiaKxe (26); the field or. 

Edward Bainarde, ob. 1575. 


562. X.—A similar tablet with same date :— 

1. Quarterly, | and 4. Argent, a lion rampant sable, armed 
and langued, gules. Srapieron. 2 and 3. Barry of six 
or and gules. Firzatan; all within a garter, Orest 
destroyed. 

2. SrapLeron ; impaling, Sable, fretty or. BEAULIEU. 

3. Srapneton; impaling, checky or and azure, a canton ermine, 
within a bordure gules. Ds Ricumonp. 

4, STaPLeTon ; impaling, Firzavan. 

5. SrapteTon; impaling, Bendy of six or and vert (azure ?). 


PHILIBERT. 
6, Srap.eTon ; impaling, Ermine, a lion rampant vert (azure ?). 
PICKERING. 
7. SrapLeton; impaling, Barry of six or and vert (azure ?). 
ConsTABLE. 
8. SrapLuTon; impaling, SHertneton (557). 


9. SrapLeTon; impaling, Ermine, on a fess vert (azure P) three 
fleurs-de-lis-or. UFrrer. 

Lady Ursula Baynard, daughter of Sir Robert Stapilton, of 

Wyghall, in the County of York, Knt., and wife to Sir Robert 

Baynard; Edward, her son, here buried, and Mary, her daughter. 


104 The Church Heraldry of North Wiltshire. 


563. XI.—Quarterly, 1 and 4. Argent, three fusils conjoined 
in fess gules within a bordure sable. Montacu. 2 and 3. Or, an 
eagle displayed vert, beaked and membered gules. MonTHERMER 3 
impaling, HunegrrorD (236). 

James Montagu and Diana, his wife; Edward, their eldest son ; 
James, their second son, and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir 
John Eyles, Knt. Anthony, their third son, is buried in St. Giles’ 
Church, Middlesex. 


564. XII.—Montacu and Montuermer (563); impaling, 
Quarterly, 1 and 4, Azure, three swan’s heads erased at the neck 
proper. Hxpass. 2 and 3. Or, three bull’s heads caboshed sable. 
GorE. 

James Montagu, and Elinor, his wife, daughter and heiress of 
William Hedges, of Aldrington, in this county. 


565. XIII.—Monracu ond Montuermer (563). Crest. A 
egriffin’s head couped, wings elevated or, gorged with a collar argent 
thereon three fusils conjoined in fess gules. Supporters. Dexter 
an antelope ; sinister a griffin gorged as in the crest ; both couchant 
and turned away from the shield. 

James Montagu, of Lackham, ob. 1798. 


566. XIV.—Montacu and Montuermer (563); impaling, 
Quarterly, 1 and 4. Baynarp (561). 2 and 3. Buruver (561). 

James Mountague, third son of Henry, Earl of Manchester; and 
Mary, daughter and heiress of Sir Robert Baynard, ‘of Lackham, 
his wife ; they left issue, Walter (died young), James (married 
to Diana, daughter of Anthony Hungerford, of Farley Castle, 
leaving issue Edward, James, Anthony, and Robert); George, 
Robert, Henry, Edward, Sidney, Mary (wife of Thomas Ewer, of 
the Lee, Co. Herts), Charles, William, Katherine, Thomas, and John. 


On the Floor. 
567. XV.—'!4 brass thereon the figures of a knight in armour and 


1 Kite’s “ Monumental Brasses of Wilts,’ pp 39, 40; and also ‘‘ Baynard 
Monuments of Lacock Church,” Wilts Arch. Mag., vol. iv., p. 6, by the same 
accurate and painstaking writer. 


By Arthur Schomberg. 105 


his wife, below are the figures of eighteen children, five of them are 
daughters, the second son is tonsured, at each of the four corners is a 
shield of arms :— 
1. Quarterly 1 and 4. Buiuer (561). 2and 3, Baynarp (561) ; 
repeated twice. 
2. Quarterly, | and 4. Baynarp. 2 and 3. Lvuptow (9) ; 
repeated twice. 
On the knight’s surcoat, Buvrt quartering Baynarp ; also the same 
on each shoulder ; on the loose mantle of the female figure, BAYNARD 
quartering LupLow. 


Robert Baynard, ob. 1501 ; Elizabeth, his wife. 


In a stained glass window in memory of Captain Rooke, R.N. ; 
Agnus Dei, and in dexter lower light behind a reclining knight in 
armour a shield thereon, Sable, a dragon rampant within a bordure 
engrailed gules; under roof jour angels supporting shields thereon a 
cross-crosslet. 


Hatchments in South Chapel. 


568. XVI. Monracu and MontuEermer (563); impaling, 
Quarterly, 1 and 4. Hepexs (564). 2 and 3. Gore (564). 
Crest. A griffin’s head couped, wings elevated, gules, charged with 
a porteullis. Quwies in cxlo. 


569. XVII.—The same without crest. Vivit post funera virtus. 


570. XVIII.—Fri.pine with quartering (553) : impaling, Quar- 
terly, 1 and 4. Sable, two lions passant in pale paly of six argent 
and gules, langued of the last. Srranaways (?554). 2. Ermine, 
on a chevron azure three fox’s heads erased or, a canton of the 
second charged with a fleur-de-lis as the third. Fox. $3. Sable, 
three talbots trippant argent, langued gules. Tatpot. <4// charged 
on the Austrian eagle. Crest. The cap of a Count of the Holy 
Roman Empire ensigned with the Austrian eagle charged on the 
breast with first quartering of Fritpine. Crescit sub pondere virtus. 


571. XIX.—Moiruxapd quartering Grosxrr with the impaling 
asin (556). In celo quies. 


106 The Church Heraldry of North Wiltshire. 


572. XX.—Dickenson (543), in pretence, Argent, a chevron 
between three squirrels sejant, cracking as many nuts proper. 
Goostrery (543). Crest. Out of a cloud a cubit arm erect holding 
a branch of laurel all proper. Dei manus medicus. 


573. XXI.—Argent, ten annulets gules, four, three, two, one. 
See of WorczstEr ; impaling, Jounson (102); ensigned with a 
mitre. In celo quies. 


574, XXII.—Montacu and Montuermer (563) ; impaling, 
Wroveuton (826). Crest. A griffin’s head couped or, wings 
elevated sable, gorged with a collar argent, thereon three fusils 
conjoined in fess gules. Jn ca@lo salus. 


South Aisle. 
575. XXIII.—Dicxenson (543), in pretence Goostrey ' (572). 
Crest. Dickenson (572). 


Barnard Dickenson, of Bowden Park, ob. 1814. 


576. XXIV.—See of Worcester (573); impaling, JoHNsoNn 
(102) ; ensigned with a mitre. 


James, second son of Rev. James Johnson, M.A., Rector of Long 
Melford, Co. Suffolk, and grandson of George Johnson, of Bowden 
Park ; Bishop of Gloucester, 1752, translated to Worcester 1759 ; 
ob. 1774. 

On the eastern arch an empty shield ; under the roof over the west 


window an angel holding a shield thereon a bend. 


West Porch. 
577. XXV. In centre of groined roof, Buunr (561) quartering 
Baynarp (561), 


Over the window above chancel arch two angels holding empty shields. 


Hatchments. M.1. 
578. XXVI.—Tatsor (554) ; impaling, Azure, ten billets, four, 


1 Barnard Dickenson married Miss Goostrey, of Missenden, Co. Bucks, 6th 
September, 1773. Gent. Mag., 1773, p. 469. 


By Arthur Schomberg. 107 


three, two, one, or, on a chief of the second a demi-lion sable (sic) 
Dormer (434) all ensigned with an earl’s coronet. 


579. XXVII.—Argent, a chevron between three cross-crosslets 
fitchy sable. Davenrort; impaling, Tatpor (554). 


On the external south side of nave on one of the pinnacles near the 
slring-course, BAYNTON. 


BOX. 


Chancel. 


580. I.—Crest. A demi-cockatrice, flames issuing from the 
mouth. 


William, eldest son of William Northey, of Ivy House, ob. 1826. 


581. II.—On a fess or between three panthers trippant proper 
semy of mullets argent a rose slipt, on either side a gillyflower; 
impaling, Sable, on a chevron between three pistols argent as many 
roses gules. Hopkins. Steady. 

Wilham, son of William Northey, of Compton Bassett, by 
Abigail, daughter of Sir Thomas Webster, of Battle Abbey, ob. 
1770; Lucy, his youngest daughter, ob. 1783; Anne, his wife, ob. 
1822, xt. 90. 


582. IIT.—Eyre (319). 


William Eyre, of Ashley, “ uxorem habuit Elizabetham Radolphi 
Flowerdew de Hethersett, in Comitatu Norfolk, arm., filiam; ex 


qua septem Liberos suscepit” ; ob. 1699, xt. 82. 


583. IV.—. . . . impaling . . . . (all obliterated, not 
blazoned in M.I.) 

Mary Blow, widow, daughter of Robert Butler, late of Great 
Chelsea, Co. Middlesex, and Martha, his wife; sister of Edward 


: Butler, LL.D., late President of Magdalen College, Oxon, and sister 


of Ann, wife of Sergeant Eyre, ob. 1755; buried with her husband, 


_ Thomas Blow. Erected by her niece and executrix, Mary Herbert, 
of Chelsea, widow. 


108 The Church Heraldry of North Wiitshire. 


584, V.—Norruey (581); impaling,. . . . ,Odliterated, 
not blazoned in ML.) 


Hariott, wife of William Northey, of Compton Bassett, daughter 
of Robert Vyner, of Gautby, Co. Lincoln, ob. 1750; Ann, his 
daughter, by Ann, daughter of Edward Hopkins, of Coventry, ob. 
1765, 


585. VI.—Gopparp (545), crescents ermine without the canton. 
Crest destroyed. 


Thomas, fourth son of Edward Goddard, late of Upham, ob. 1691; 
Priscilla, his mother, ob. 1681, zt. 88. 


On Iloor within Communion Rails, 
586. VII.—Quarterly, 1 and 4. An eagle with two heads 
displayed. 2 and 3. Two bars dancetty, in chief three annulets. 
Bexe ; over all a mullet for difference. 


“ Francis Speke, third sonne of Hugh Speke, Esq., was borne att 
Haselbury ye 7th day of Oct. being thursday about four of ye clocke 
in ye morning in ye yeare of the Reigne of our Sovereign Lord 
King Iames Anno Domini 1610”; ob. 1683. 


587. VILI.—Quarterly, 1 and 4, Two bars over a spread eagle 
charged with an escocheon surcharged with a sinister hand (590). 
2 and 3. ‘Three chevronels between as many mullets pierced. 
Mayney (591). M.I. 


(Sir Hugh Speke, Bart., ob. 1661; his only daughter, Ann; 
Dame Rachel Speke, eldest daughter of Sir William Wyndham, of 
Orchard Wyndham, M.I.), Co. Somerset, Kt., Bart., by Dame 
Frances, daughter of Anthony Hungerford, of Farley Castle, and 
relict of Sir George Speke, of Haselbury, Bart., and afterwards wife 
of Rd. Musgrave, Esq., ob. 1711. 


588. IX.—Sprxe (587); impaling, Per pale three chevronels 
between as many cinquefoils counterchanged. Maynsy (591). M.I. 
(Dame Anne Speke, sole daughter and heiress of John Mayney, 
of Staplehurst, Co. Kent, relict of Sir Hugh Speke, and mother to 
Sir George Speke, M.I.), ob. 1685 ; Mary, the daughter, ob. 1719; 


an 


By Arthur Schomberg. 109 
Thomas, the son of George Speke-Petty, of Haselbury, ob. 1725. 


589. X.—Quarterly, 1 and 4. Aspread eagle. Sprxe. 2 and 
3. Three chevronels between as many cinquefoils. Mayney; the 
badge of Ulster. Crest. A hedgehog. M.I. 


George Speke, “ Baronettus, Filius Hugonis Speke, Baronetti, de 
Haselbury in com. Wilton. Anneque filie unice et Heredis 
Johannis Mayney, &c.,” ob. 1685. M.I. 


“ By the three graduali stone seates is a Lyon rampant in stone 
with a cross-crosslet on his shoulder (Bigop?).” A. and J. 


590. XI.—A pennon; Barry of six argent and azure, an eagle 
with two heads displayed gules, Spexe (586); impaling, Or, two 
bars dancetty sable, on a chief azure three annulets argent. Buxe 
(586). A. and J. 


591. XII.—A pennon' Sprxe (590), with badge of Ulster; in 
pretence, Per pale argent and sable, three chevronels between as 
many cinquefoils counterchanged. Mayney (5$7). A. and J. 


South Aisle. 


592. XIII.—Or, on a chief embattled sable three plates. 
Edward Lee, ob. 1797; Ann, his wife, ob. 1766. 


593. XIV.—Crest. An arm erect, couped at the elbow, holding 
in the hand an oak branch fructed. 


Joseph Nash, M.D., of Chilton Hill House, Co. Somerset, youngest 

son of the late Rev. Samuel Nash, LL.D., Rector of Great Tew, 

_ and Vicar of Enstone, Co. Oxford, ob. 1857; Jane Amelia, his wife, 

ob, 1850, xt. 81; Cavendish Lyster Joseph, grandson of the above, 

and son of Dr. J oseph and Elizabeth Anne Nash, of Ashley Manor 
House, ob. 1854. 

ee ene Se ee ee 

_ 1 The first is that of Hugh Speke, of Haselbury, ob. 1624, and his wife, Eliza, 

daughter of Henry Beke, of Hartley Court, Berks ; the second that of his son, 


the above Sir Hugh Speke, and his wife, the above Ann Mayney. Aubrey and 
Jachson, p. 57. 


110 The Church Heraldry of North Wiltshire. 


Nave. 


594. XV.—'Quarterly, 1 and 4, Lone (29). 2. Poenam, with 
annulet for difference (484). 3. Swymour (5); over alla mullet 
for difference; impaling, Quarterly, 1 and 4, two bars ermine. 
Butter. 3 and 4. A lion rampant, double-queued. Mounrrorp. 

Anthony Long, ob. 1578. 


595. XVI.—Two birds in pale; impaling, An eagle displayed. 
Corton. 


Thomas Bowdless, of Ashley, ob. 1785; Elizabeth Stuart, his 
wife, daughter and coheiress of Sir John Cotton, of Conington, Go. 
Huntingdon, Bart., ob. 1797, et. 80; Jane, their eldest daughter, — 
ob. 1784; Elizabeth Julia, their second daughter, ob. 1754. 


Hatchments. 


596. XVII.—Blank; impaling, in chief, Per fess gules and 
argent, a cross bottony between four mullets counterchanged ; in 
base, Or, on a bend engrailed gules three cross-crosslets fitchy argent. 
Crest. A castle argent. Mors janua vite. 


597. XVIII.—Quarterly, 1 and 4. Per pale Eneatanp and 

Scottanp. 2. France. 3. IRELAND. 
DITCHERIDGE. 

Painted Glass in two South Windows of the Chancel symbols of 
the Four Evangelists and of the Passion, the Keys of St. Peter, and 
Cross of St. Andrew ; in a North Window of the Nave Agnus Dei. 

COLERNE. 


On the West external Wall of the Tower an angel under a niche 
holding a shield thereon a cross. 


BIDDESTON. 
Chancel. 


598. I.—Gules three escocheons or, 


1 Only the tablet and the arms now remain; some fragments of the monument 
are ina garden. Aubrey and Jackson, p. 57. 


; 
; 
d 


By Arthur Schomberg. 131 


William Mountjoy, ob. 1734; Elizabeth, his wife, ob. 1741; 
William Mountjoy, ob. 1766; Barbara, his wife, ob. 1767 ; William 
Mountjoy, ob. 1766; Elizabeth, his wife, ob. 1776; William 
Mountjoy, ob. 1787; Barbara, ob. 1720, and Sarah, ob. 1727, 
daughters of William and Barbara Mountjoy, junior. 


599. II.—An altar tomb. Quarterly. 1. On a fess three 
roundles, a greyhound courant and collared. Haynes. 2. Quar- 
terly. 1 and 4. Blank. 2 and 38. Per fess indented, over all a 
fess. 8. A chevron between three leopard’s faces. 4. Barry of 
eight ; in pretence, Barry of six. A.and J. 


600. ILI.— Quarterly, 1 and 4. Enentanp. 2%. ScorLanp. 
3. IRELAND. 
SLAUGHTERFORD. 
601. I.—Over South Door, a bull’s head caboshed. GorE. A. 
and J. 


602. I1.—Outside Porch Door an altar-tomb, a chevron between 
three hearts. Bayurre. A. and J. 


DERRY HILL. 
Painted Glass in Hast Window. 


603. Quarterly, land 4. Gules, a lion passant guardant argent, 
crowned or, in chief three mullets pierced of the second. 2 and 3. 
Or a fess between two chevrons sable. Occurs twice. 


! William John Lisley, A.D, 1865. 


1 Buried under a flat stone in the churchyard eastward of the chancel ; “of 
Pewsham, formerly of Mirnwood, Herts, in which county he was a magistrate 
and deputy lieutenant, and served as high sheriff in 1851. He was M.P. for 
the Borough of Chippenham from 1859 to 1865. He died January 14th, 1873, 
aged 81 years.” 


112 


GHiltshive’s Contribution to the Picdmontese 
fund in 1655. 


By J. WayYLen. 

SHYT is not many months since a remarkable gathering took 
a place in Torre Pellice, the capital of the Waldensian valleys 
lying in the midst of the Cottian Alps, in the north of Italy, thirty 
miles, more or less, from Turin. The object of the meeting was to 
commemorate what has long been termed the “ Glorious Return ” 
of the expatriated Waldenses just two hundred years ago; when 
eight hundred resolute men, gathering on the shore of the Lake of 
Geneva from the various scenes of their exile, fought their way back 
to their beloved homes in the face of terrible hardships and the 
opposition of French soldiery. At the bi-centenary celebration of 
that event which came off in September, 1889, not only were 
delegates present from many Protestant lands, but the King of 
Italy expressed his personal sympathy by addressing an affectionate 
letter to his Waldensian subjects, by commanding the Prefect of 
Turin to attend the conclave as His Majesty’s representative, by a 
donation of five thousand francs, and by knighting the Rev. J. P. 
Pons—the ‘“ Moderator of the ‘Table,’ as he was termed—and 
investing him with the order of the Corona d’Italia. Among the 
English visitors the venerable figure of Sir Henry Layard, the 
explorer of Nineveh, was conspicuous, himself a descendant of 
French Huguenots. 

But a narrative of the Glorious Return of 1689, how attractive 
soever it might prove, is not so much the object of the present 
article as to accept it as a suitable occasion for reviving the memory 
of what took place in our own country, and in our own county of 
Wilts too, when the Waldenses underwent the previous catastrophe 
of the massacre of 1655. These two events in fact constitute the 
two most prominent epochs in their history as a suffering Church, 
They had been a proscribed race all down the centuries ; but the 
tragedy of 1655 was of so desolating a character as to awaken the 
horror of all the Protestant states of Europe. John Milton’s well- 
known sonnet on the occasion by no means exaggerates the affair. 


Wiltshire’s Contribution to the Piedmontese Fund in 1655, 118 


As for the Protector Oliver, he lost no time in despatching Sir 
Samuel Morland as ambassador extraordinary, to remonstrate with 
the Court of Turin in words which, if unheeded, would soon have 
become acts. At home he ordained a general fast throughout 
England ; collections at the same time to be made in all the Churches 
to relieve the homeless survivors in the valleys. He headed the 
subscription list by a gift of two thousand pounds out of his privy 
purse; and so cordially was his challenge accepted by the nation, 
that, judged by the money standard of the age, their contributions 
may be said to have risen to munificence. £16,500 is the sum 
accounted for by Morland in the copious memorandum occupying 
twenty-eight pages of Thurloe’s State Papers; though he admits 
that this was only “ part of the moneys collected for the poor people 
of the valleys.” 

Scanning the contribution list of Wiltshire, we remark at first 
sight that some parishes of importance are totally omitted, Malmes- 
bury, Hindon, and Downton, for example; while on the other hand 
sundry obscure villages surprise us by the largeness of their donations. 
Leading families in this or that locality, as also the known principles 
of the resident incumbent may have had something to do in this 
matter. May we not reasonably conclude, for instance, that the 
influence of the Frowd family is discernable at Edington (spelt 
Edingston in the list) ? the Protestantism of the Frowds, always 
of a pronounced character, being subsequently illustrated by alliance 
with the Huguenot family of Faugoin,! who settled in the south-west 
quarter of Wilts and enjoyed the friendship of the Hoares of 
Stourhead. The Frowds (of Tinhead) have long disappeared from 
Edington parish, but. the title of Frowd-Seagram, of Bratton, 


1The Huguenot family of Faugoin, in South Wilts. The last household 
bearing this patronymic comprised five daughters renowned for their beauty, and 
one son; but as the son died unmarried the name is well-nigh forgotten. Of 
the daughters, one married Mr. Partridge, the Vicar of Stourton ; another, Mr, 
Turner, a clergyman of Mere; a third married Mr. Hyatt, a farmer near 
Stourhead ; a fourth was the wife of Edward Frowd, of Tinhead aforesaid ; and 
the fifth died unmarried. Through Camilla Sloper, a grand-daughter of Edward 
Frowd, but maternally deriving from the Houltons, of Farley Castle, we trace 
_ the progenitors of the present Lieut.-Colonel Frowd Walker, the energetic 
_ commander of our Sikh troops in the Straits Settlements, 


VOL, XXV.—NO, LXXIII, I 


114 Wiltshire’s Contribution to the Piedmontese Fund in 1655. 


perpetuates their memory. Then, again, the large sums collected 
at the two Donheads remind us of the dramatic story of Peter Ince, 
the ejected parson, and of his generous patron, Thomas Grove, of 
Fern House. From Bradford, where Methuens and Houltons dwelt, 
we might have expected larger results. But in place of finding 
any fault, which is far enough from our design, let us hasten to 
extol the generosity of Salisbury, which, with its suburbs of Harn- 
ham, Fisherton, Old Sarum, and Stratford, furnished £105, equivalent 
to at least £500 of our modern money. Next to Salisbury, the 
contribution of Marlborough, including the suburbs of Preshute 
and Mildenhall, amounting to £49 5s. 7d., naturally invites remark ; 
and the circumstances which may be conceived as giving birth to 
such a demonstration are worth recital. 

Thomas Eyre, the Mayor of Marlborough at the period in debate, 
was a personal friend of Oliver Cromwell. Whether or not he may 
be identified with the Captain Thomas Eyre whom the Parliament 
placed in the temporary command of Devizes Castle after its sur- 
render to Oliver, or whether he was only a kinsman of that officer, 
can perhaps be decided only by Canon Jackson, who may profitably 
be consulted in all matters relating to that family. Now, there 
was no town in England which from first to last, throughout the 
recent war, had rendered more practical adherence to the Parliament’s 
cause than Marlborough did. Cromwell was well acquainted with 
the whole story of their varied trials ; and when those trials culmi- 
nated in a disastrous fire which swept through the whole length of 
their High Street, we cannot doubt that it came home to him as a 
personal calamity. It was an accidental conflagration, this fire of 
1653 ; and it occurred just one week after Cromwell’s forcible 
ejectment of the Long Parliament—a busy time, no doubt; but so 
confident did Mr. Mayor feel of the Lord General’s sympathy that 
he at once made an appeal in behalf of his ruined fellow-townsmen, 
and received an equally prompt response. By means of a public 
collection instituted throughout England and Wales not “many 
months elapsed before the town arose pheenix-like from its ashes ; 
and one of the houses displays the conspicuous date of 1654 to the 
present day. Cromwell’s name, it is true, does not appear on the 


weet’. . 


By J. Waylen. 115 


acting committee sitting at Sadlers’ Hall to carry out this scheme ; 
he had larger work in hand just then; but he found time to come 
down to Marlborough and, in company with Mr. Mayor, to peram- 
bulate the place and offer his practical advice. The tradition may 
be at fault which attributes to him a promise that the new market- 
house should be his personal gift to the town, seeing that in the 
subsequent allotment of the national fund a thousand pounds was 
expressly devoted to that object. But tradition has not falsified the 
light in which he was generally regarded by the Marlborough 
commonalty at that crisis; nor need we doubt that before his de- 
parture he utilised the occasion more Gladstoniense for a characteristic 
harangue on the moral aspects of the catastrophe. Anyhow, it 
seems rational to conclude that gratitude for his services must in 
great measure have been the motive prompting them two years 
later to surpass every other town in the county (Salisbury excepted) 
in their contribution to the Piedmontese Fund. It is a noticeable 
fact, too, that, at the very moment of the fire’s breaking out, the 
people of the town and neighbourhood were met in special conclave 
to invoke the divine benediction on the arduous course of action to 
which he had just committed himself. An extract from the Mayor’s 
letter to Oliver on the day after the calamity will more fully set 
this forth. ‘‘Too much,” says he, “ cannot be said for them; they 
being a people more generally well-affected than any town I know 
in this county. Yet, being confident that your Excellency’s ear 
will be open to them, and also that you will be ready to act for 
them, I shall only in reference to them say thus much more,—that 
the very day when this affliction befel them the godly people of the 
town and many of the country were together seeking God (ac- 
cording to your desire in your late Declaration) for His presence 
with you in your councils, that you might be endowed with the 
spirit of wisdom and counsel for the management of the great and 
weighty affairs before you, to the honour of His name and the good 
and encouragement of His people, in settling justice and righteous- 
ness in this nation—being confident that this was the end you 
proposed to yourself in the dissolution of the Parliament. In the 
truth and reality of this I am so well satisfied, that for my own 
I 2 


116 Wiltshire’s Contribution to the Piedmontese Fund in 1655. 


part, as I shall not cease daily to pray for you upon the same account 
as is aforementioned, so I resolve through the assistance of the Lord 


to stand and fall with you, and according to my mean abilities, by 
all ways and means, with the hazard of my life and fortune, to give 
my utmost assistance to promote those ends which I have thought 
And having so done, shall remain, my 
lord, your Excellency’s humble and faithful servant, THomas Eyre.” 


d. 
5 9 


it my duty to express. 


Alderbury 
Alderton 
All-Cannings 
Allington 

Alton Barnes 
Amesbury 

Anstey 

Barford St. Martin 
Barwick St. James 
Barwick St. Leonard 
Baverstock 
Bedwyn Magna 
Bedwyn Parva 
Bircombe 

Bishops Cannings 


Bishops Cannings St.James 


Bishopston 
Bishopston 
-Bishopstrowe 
Blacklands 
Blunsden St. Andrews 
Broad Blunsden 
Boscombe 
Bowlton 

Box 

Bradford 
Bradley, North 
Bratton 
Bremhill 
Brickfont 


Brigmerston and Milston 


Brinkworth 
Britford 

Brixton Deverill 
Broadchalk 
Bulford 

Burbage 


FOF OH TMONMNORWHODOHOONWOHHOFRPNOODOOOOFRPFHNWNDS 


£78. 


or 
for) 


12 
5 
10 
5 
10 


a 
RPRPROrRAOB Or EDS 


e 
ENON OD FR & SO 


ownwnonwnofnwnocoon 


Ie 


Calne 

Castlecombe 

Castle Eaton 
Chalfield 

Cheverill Magna 
Cheverill Parva 
Chilmark 
Chippenham 
Chirton 
Choldrington, West 
Christian Malford 
Chute 

Codford 

Codford St. Peter 
Colerne 
Collingbourn? Ducis 
Collingbourn Kingston 
Combe Bisset 
Corsham 

Corsley 

Cricklade St. Mary 
Cricklade St. Sampson 
Cropthorne 
Damerham, South 
Dauntsey 

Devizes, St. John 
Devizes, St. Mary 
Draycot-Cerne 
Dunhead St. Andrew 
Dunhead St. Mary 
Durnford-Magna 
Durrington 
Eastkwite (sic) 
Kaston Grey 
Ebbesborne Wake 
Edingston 

Hysie 


£ s. 


Se ee eee a Be 
CHF OMAmMmnonwnororwvoed 


tS 


— 
OO Re ee ee OO 


KDE WOH WODWOOCONDOWFODFOON 
— 


Be 


_ 

oomooowoocurePoBe 
e a = 

NSeraAonwaonwnnso 


i 


d. 


Sa Rpoaown 


PFOODRrAOPSO 


— 
a Thro 
BIH Wie Ole 


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— 


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ODrFENONNOMWMODOOW 


tole 


By J. Waylen. 117 
d. 


£ s. £3. d. 

Farley 09 0 Maiden Bradley 213 0 
Fiddleton Old 0 Maidington 018 0 
Figheldean 166 Manningford Bruce 07 0 
Fisherton-Anger 1l1l 4 Marden 0 5 4 
Fisherton-de la Mere 010 4 Marlborough 36 2 6 
Fonthill-Epis. 0 8 5 Martin 16 8 
Fonthill-Gifford Oll 3 Marston Meysey 013 O 
Fovant 1 15 10 Marston-South Te 2 
Fuggleston and Bemerton 0 18 0 Meere 5 3 6 
Grinstead-West 14 4 Melksham 617 1 
Grittleton 1 6 6 Mildenhall 312 4 
Hannington 015 0 Milton 100 
Ham 13 5 Netheravon ple fant 
Harnham, West 0 6 8 Netherhampton 09 0 
Headington 018 3 Nettleton 15 0 
Highworth 19 0 Newton oll 0 
Highworth 0 8 0 Newton Toney 1 6 4 
Hill-Martin 1 210 Norton 0 8 5 
Hinton-Parva 20 0 Norton Bavant 013 8 
Horningsham 16 3 Odstock Digi) eons: 
Huish 0 4 3 Ogbourn St. Andrew B it! aml 
Hullavington 113 Ogbourn St. George 2 0 0 
Idmiston, Porton, and Orcheston St. George 013 8 
Gomilton 113 4 Orcheston St. Mary 06 4 
Tnglesham 010 3 Pewsey 5 O11 
Keevil 2 310 Pitton and Farley 11 8 
Kingston Deveril 014 9} Potterne 23 2 
Knoyle-West 018 3 Preshute 910 9 
Kyngton St. Michael 1 12 103 Ramsbury 7U9 38 
Kyngton West 018 8 Rodbourn Cheyney 1 3 0 
Lacock 22 3 Rushall 010 0 
Lanford 18 2 Sarum, Old 918 11 
Langford 0 511 Sarum, St. Edmund 39 8 4 
Langford, Steeple 119 Sarum, St. Martin 18 7 5 
Langford-parva 0 6il Sarum, St. Thomas 31 1 8 
Langley Burrel. 2 2 7% Seagre IME Ss 
Latton 015 0 Sedghill 21 2 
Laverstock 07 8 Semley 3.10)3 
Lavington g Bes ee) Sharington 0 10 11 
Lavington-west 018 0 Sherston 117 0 
Lediard Millicent 110 6 Shopworth 0 5 5 
Lediard Tregoze 116 2 Shorneut 029 
Liddington 015 7 Shrewton Virgo 014 6 
Lineham 012 9 Somerford-magna 010 9 
Littleton Drew 0 5 6 Somerford-parva Oll 4 
Luckington 0 14 103 Stanton St. Bernard 15 0 
Ludgershall be didd Stanton by Highworth 1 1 8 


118 Wiltshire’s Contribution to the Piedmontese Fund in 1655. 


fi sca: £ os. d. 
Stapleford Or: 2,46 Warminster 4 Fro 
Steeple Ashton 118 9 Westbury 10 4 7 
Stert 0 110 West Dean Gul79 
Stockton 015 8 Whiteparish 111 0 
Stourton 114 7 Wilcot 019 5 
Stratford under the Castle 4 7 0O Wilsford 15 5 
Stratford Stoney 010 6 Wilton-borough 74 3 
Stratton St. Margaret 018 0 Wilye 015 7 
Sutton Mandeville 2 4 0 Winkfield 110 10 
Swallowcliff 15 0 Winslow and Stoke Oll 7 
Swindon tye 2ia 42 Winterbourn 09 4 
Teffont Ewias E050 Winterbourn Dauntsey 0 3 7 
Tidworth-north 0 9 5 Winterbourn Earls 0 17 10 
Tilshead 018 0 Winterbourn Gunner and 
Tisbury 3 Oral Sherborough 013 0 
Titcombe Oll 4 Winterbourn-Stoke 916 6 
Tollard Royal 1 8 4 Winterslowe 30% 
Trowbridge 2 611 Wishford Lin) -0 
Uphaven 018 0O Woodborough 2 0 4 
Upton Scudamore T 6.8 Wootten- Bassett 211 2 
Urehfont 2.12 11 Wraxhall-north O11 8 
Veney, Sutton 414 0 Wroughton By 9.6 
Wanborough 2 0 6 Yatton-Keynell Oll 3 


Dear Mr. Epitor, . 

Will you allow me space in the Magazine to state that the thanks of 
the Society are due to the Rev. Canon Eddrup for the map which accompanied 
his paper on “Stanley Abbey,” and which he generously presented to the Society, 
but of which, I regret to say, I carelessly omitted to make mention. The map 
alluded to will be found in vol. xxiv. (No. 72), page 274. 

Yours truly, 
June 26th, 1890. THE LATE Epitor. 


Monations to Atlusenm and Aibrarp. 


Old Coaching Bill, York Stage Coach. Presented by O. Kimper, Seend. 
Portion Ammonites perarmatus, from Seend. Presented by O. Kimpmr. 


H. F, BULL, [rinter and Publisher, 4, Saint John Street, Devizes, 


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MAGAZINE, 


PAGE 
119 


165 


" No. LXXIV. NOVEMBER, 1890. Vou. XXV. 
Contents, 

7 Sisk wi 

> Sr. Nicnoxas’ Hosprrat, Satrspury: By the Rev. Canon Moberly... 
Tue Bisnor’s Patace at Satispury: A Lecture delivered at the 
p Blackmore Museum, Salisbury, January 27th, 1890, by the Right Rev. 
s pene Lord Bishop: of Salisbury: ss. ciecsadeazeisdeveccs cbse icccecéccdacsed'e dite 
' On tHE Roman Conquesr or SourHern Bariratn, particularly in 


regard to its influence on the County of Wilts: Address by the Right 
Rev. the Lord Bishop of Salisbury, as President of the Society, at its 
Annual Meeting at Westbury, August Ist, 1889 .......c..cccecceeceeseeece 
Two Witrsniee Mazers: By W. Cunnington, F.G.S.  ....ccccssessceses 
| Epinetron Cuurcu: By C. E. Ponting, F.S.A...........ccccccecceececcecces 
 Nores oN Remains oF Roman DwexLiines at HANNINGTON WICE: 
meee ber sof, Tp Meag ALAA rh Be Fi Uk Sa cad oW cds nodass SeSeed stated saleeb ens 


-@ 37 


DONAtTioNS TO MUSEUM AND LIBRARY..........ccceesssvesssessescncssecses 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
Plans (Nos. I., II., and III.) of St. Nicholas’ Hospital, 
REMMI es ee eased eee ya tadecnasneu ac tincacd vc gaccneeeed 128 
Plans (Nos. I., I1., and III.) of the Bishop’s Palace, 
PATO y ods seteacthuaets esas iecIaAtth tek~ do detcoes sence 184 
Photo-print of Mr. Grivaiagton? SSM AER sca teaa Vanes 205 
Photo-print of the Rev. C. E. B. Barnwell’s Mazer...... 206 
Edington Church, Wilts, Longitudinal Section, looking 
ODED nn Snccin caged Retina a vabian is -AthaVanabadwuiiosocs ona 215 
Edington Church, Wilts, Tomb in South Transept ...... 220 


Drawing of Stole from the Effigy of William of Edington 
in Winchester Cathedral, and of Inscriptions under 
Figures of Saints in the Clerestory Windows of 


Edington Church... eS 222 
Plan of Roman Dwellities iat Manion’ Tenis Sieniiairton 
Wick, uncovered Goiehae 23rd, 1890 ........000. deapevsea’. VGme 
DEVIZES : 


H. F. Bout, 4, Saint Jonn Srrezer. 


191 
205 
209 


232 
234 


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~~ 


WILTSHIRE MAGAZINE, 


“MULTORUM MANIBUS GRANDE LEVATUR ONUS.’—Ovid. 


St. Aicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


By the Rev. Canon MoBeERty. 


PURPOSE, in the following pages, to put together a few 
historical notices of the Hospital of St. Nicholas in 
Salisbury, which may not be uninteresting to the readers of this 
Magazine, with some additional facts derived from the cartulary, or 
old register, of the hospital, which is in my keeping as Master. 


I._—First Founpation. 


When was the hospital founded? The answer is that we cannot 
be sure. We can be sure that it was already in existence by 1227, 
as two separate gifts of land are made to it in that year. But of 
the original foundation there is no record. 

It was, perhaps, natural to conjecture that it was founded and 
built as an appendage to the Cathedral Church, soon after its 
foundation in 1220, or its first consecration in 1225. 

But Bishop Bingham, when he is recounting the property be- 

_longing to the hospital in 1245, speaks of a “ vetus hospitale ” which 
he is superseding by another building. Is it likely that he would 
have spoken thus of a building not more than twenty years old? 
It is not impossible, doubtless; but, to my thinking, improbable. 
It is more likely that the original building was “ one of those old 

__ wayside chapels” [to use Canon Jones’s words] “ not uncommon in 

: Wilts, at which a wayfarer might get a night’s shelter; consisting 

_ of a simple chapel, and two or three rooms, It was this that Ela, 

_ Countess of Salisbury, endowed in 1227. It was placed on the 


_ VOL, XXV.—NO. LXXIV. K 


120 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


bank of the river to show wayfarers the ford, just as at other places 
the cross or crucifix was placed in like manner and for a like pur- 
pose.” It appears to have been built between three and four hundred 
feet from what was then the north bank of the Avon, just to the 
north of the ford. It was about a mile from the then city of 
Salisbury (Old Sarum), and no doubt would often have been 
welcome as a diversorium for the night to travellers from the south, 
after crossing the river, and before climbing up to the city. It 
seems to have stood alone on the north bank of the Avon, without 
neighbouring houses, with the exception of a Church of St. Martin, 
_ which Leland tells us was near the spot. 

Can we find anything as to the purpose for which the original 
hospital was founded? It is to this original foundation that Bishop 
Bingham seems to be referring when he says (1245) that “it was 
founded in a praiseworthy spirit for receiving and supporting the 
‘poor ”—/(ad recipiendum et sustentandum pauperes laudabiliter sit 
Jundatum). And even without this express testimony we should 
gather that its purpose was something like what the purpose of the 
hospital has been since.! 

The two oldest deeds of gift to the hospital are dated in August 
and September, 1227. 

The first of these is a deed of gift? by the Countess Ela of 
Salisbury,’ dated August 19th, 1227, from the Castle of Salisbury 
(Old Sarum). The original has disappeared : the present copy was 
made by Geoffrey Bigge, Master of St. Nicholas between 15938 and 
1630, from the original in the Evidence House at Wilton, on one . 
of the fly-leaves in the cartulary of the hospital. It gives for the 


1 Tt will be seen that I put no faith in Leland’s statement, “ Richard Poore 
founded the Hospital of 8. Nicholas, hard by Harnham Bridge, instituting a 
master, eight poor women, and four poor men, endowing the house with lands.’ 
—Itinerary, vol. iii., p. 97, quoted in Appendix F. 

2 See Appendix A. 

3 William de Wanda, the dean of that time, characterizes her thus :—“ Ela de 
Viteri, comitissa de Sarum, mulier quidem laude digna, quia timore Domini 
plena.” Osmund Register, ii., p. 13. She was countess in her own right, being 
daughter and heir of William of Evreux, the last Earl of Salisbury. 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 121 


repose of her soul and that of her husband {the late William 
Longespee), her south close in Bentley wood, with a copse and waste 
(bosco et assarto), meadows, pastures, &c., and the close of Buckley, 
to God, the Hospital of St. Nicholas of New Sarum, and Bishop 
Richard of the same and his successors. 

The second deed! is copied as the first of the deeds which begins 
the cartulary. It is a deed of Bishop Richard Poore, dated Friday, 
8th September, 1227, from the priory of (Monkton) Farleigh. He 
gives to the “‘ Hospital of Sarum” certain rights in Wilsford 
Church, reciting at the same time two deeds which he has previously 
received: one from H(enry), prior, and the convent of Farleigh, 
placing at his disposal the Churches of Box and Wilsford, which 
belonged to their advowson; the other from Humphrey Bohun, 
Earl of Hereford (great grandson of another Humphrey, who was 
founder of Farleigh Priory, and donor to it of the Churches of Box 
and Wilsford), confirming the same. The property he thus gives 
is to keep a chaplain to say mass at the hospital for the souls of all 
its benefactors, and he casually mentions a steward (procurator) of 
the house. 


II.—Bisuor Bincuam. 
-1229—1246. 


In 1229 Bishop Richard Poore was translated to Durham: and 
Robert Bingham, the most learned of his canons (“a man of great 
learning, and a long time master in theology,” says his own dean), 
was appointed his successor. 

Besides being a theologian he was great also in practical matters, 
The Cathedral had been begun and consecrated while he had been 
canon, and was now advancing towards completion ; but the city 
which had slowly risen round it was only approachable from the 
south with difficulty and sometimes danger. The Avon had been 
apt to flood all the neighbouring tracts of land: to diminish the 
trouble and risk of crossing it (there was only as yet a foot-bridge, 
all horses had to pass by the ford, which at times was quite un- 
discernible) an upper channel had some time before been dug some 


1 See Appendix B. 
K 3 


122, St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


850ft. long, to carry off the overflow of the water, enclosing what 
is now known as St. John’s Island. For this south side of the city 
Bishop Bingham designed a threefold scheme. First, to build a 
stone bridge in place of the foot-bridge ; secondly, to build a chapel 
in connection with the bridge; thirdly, to erect a larger hospital 
instead of the already-existing hospital of St. Nicholas, and place 
all three of his institutions under the charge of the same person, 
who was to be called warden of St. Nicholas. 

The two first portions of this design are mentioned thus, ina MS. 
now in my keeping, by Mr. Hickman, chaplain of the hospital, in 
1713 :—* The good Bishop built a bridge over the greater channel, 
and as soon as that was finished he enlarged it over the lesser channel 
also, which was a work as full of honour and charity as of cost. 
Then on the island on the east side of the said bridge (which island 
was made by digging the new channel] aforesaid) he built the afore- 
said chapel in honour of St. John the Baptist.” ’ 

He had purchased the land for the erection of the chapel for four 
marks of silver from Henry de Wande, probably a kinsman of the 
late dean’s. It is described in the deed as “ half-an-acre in Harn- 
ham, extending from the head of the bridge on the south part of 
Sarum to the King’s way towards the south.”* The date of this 
must be before 1244: for on May 31st in that year the Bishop 
made both bridge and chapel over to the dean and chapter, ap- 
pointing the sub-dean, Nicholas Laking, first warden of the hospital, 
and Walter de Wyley (afterwards Bishop) first warden of the bridge.® 

It was probably the old hospital of which Nicholas Laking at 
first assumed the wardenship: but a new one, a much larger pile 
of building—that in fact of which there are relics to this day—must 
have been in process of building. For on October 14th the next 
year (1245) Bishop Bingham issued his “ ordination ” of his three- 
fold design.‘ 


1 Hickman MS., p. 79. 
2 Reg., p. 43. 
3 Quoted by Hatcher & Benson from Bishop’s Records, p. 732. 
4 Reg., p. 100, copied from the original by Mr. Bigge, in 1639. I do not give 
this at length in the Appendix, as it is to be found in Hatcher & Benson, p. 732. 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 123 


He puts the whole under the wardenship of one man (the aforesaid 
sub-dean), a priest who is to act under the Dean and Chapter, with 
three other priests under him: so that while two of the four lodge 
at “the house opposite to the chapel,” and two at the hospital, all 
four are to eat together in the hospital refeetory, and to be clothed 
alike in a russet coat closed round the throat, and to keep step to- 
gether. Then follow details as to the services to be said by each 
separately. While the first pair were to say the canonical hours in 
the chapel, the third priest (who was left over for the hospital) was 
to serve the sick by saying a mass for the brothers and sisters who 
have been benefactors to the hospital, and for any who have died 
there: to visit the sick diligently, and be careful about the advice 
he gives, with the arrangement of the warden, as to penitence and 
confessions: and to bury the dead, at which the other chaplams were 
not compelled to be present. The warden is to preside and set a 
good example to the chaplains and servants, and to realize that he 
is principally bownd to serve the Chapel of St. Nicholas neat the 
hospital, and there to use the same ritual which obtains in the 
Cathedral. He must besides pay the due stipends to each of his 
assistants, and keep the bridge in repair; the rest of the gifts to the 
hospital and bridge are to go for the relief of the poor. This is 
signed by all the dignitaries of the chapter, together with the sub- 
dean and sub-chanter. 

The chapel of St. John the Baptist on the bridge is still standing, 
but has been used for the last fifty years as an ordinary dwelling- 
house. I hope soon to be able to restore it to a worthier use = 
meanwhile its triple lancet window, running the whole length of 
the three floors of the modern dwelling-house, is a conspicuous: 
object from the stream above it, or from the garden of the hospital. 
For three hundred years exactly—from 1244 to 1545—the salaries: 
of the priests that officiated there, and the repairs of the bridge 
itself, were paid by the masters of St. Nicholas, who recouped 
themselyes with the offerings made by pious wayfarers who turned 
aside from the road to this wayside chapel. 

And now what was the staff of the hospital, and who were its 
inmates? Light is thrown upon this question by various casual 


124 St, Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


references in the old deeds. In 1227 a “ procurator,” or steward, 
has been mentioned, and a “chaplain.” In 1239 and 1241 we hear 
for the first time of a “ magister et fratres S. Nicholai.” Master, 
chaplain, steward, and brothers therefore must already have existed 
in the “vetus hospitale”’ under Bishop Richard Poore. In 1245, 
in the charter of the new foundation, Bingham describes in detail 
the duties of a custos (or warden) and chaplain, and besides mentions 
‘ ministri” or servants; in addition to which he uses this remark- 
able phrase “benefactores Hospitalis, fratres et sorores.” There 
were sisters then as well as brothers of the hospital, and both sisters 
and brothers were, or might be, in a position of life which enabled 
them to be benefactors: or—which is the same thing—the bene- 
factors might be appointed brothers and sisters, and take up their 
abode at the hospital. 

And now follows the question, what was the status of these 
brothers and sisters? Were they, as at present, pensioners? or 
were they, rather, brethren vowed to God’s service who nursed and 
tended the poor? ‘To answer this question fully I believe we must 
look beyond St. Nicholas to the other hospitals established in 
England about the same time. Archdeacon Wright, in his account 
of the Domus Dei at Portsmouth (itself dedicated to St. Nicholas), 
says :—‘‘ We find these hospitals at Southampton, Portsmouth, 
Dover, Arundel, &c., because they were there conveniently placed 
for pilgrims making for the great shrines of Winchester, Canterbury, 
Chichester, &c. They are generally of the twelfth, thirteenth, and 
fourteenth centuries, and had a common plan: a long hall with 
vaulting and divided into bays by pillars. At one end was usually 
a porch, and at the other invariably a chapel. The central part of 
the hall was kept free, the occupants being housed in the aisles. 
Besides being hospitals for the sick and aged, like St. Mary’s 
Hospital, Chichester, which preserves its ancient arrangement with 


1 Exactly in the same way one Martin and Juliana, his wife, who gave land 
to maintain a chaplain at St. Mary’s Hospital, Chichester, were rewarded: “in 
acknowledgment of their kindness and beneficence the House was to receive the 
two, as brother and sister of the Hospital, during the rest of their lives,”— 
Swainson, p. 9. 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 125 


dwellings or cells in the aisles, they were true houses of God: the 
poor, the houseless, and the wanderer found a home there. . . . 
The government was vested in a master; brethren aided by sisters 
earried on the duties of nursing, prescribing, cooking, &c., while 
the spiritual care of the hospital was entrusted to priest-chaplains.” 

This quotation will be serviceable to us in more ways than one: 
but now I ask attention to the last sentence only, which says that 
(under a master) “ brethren aided by sisters carried on the duties 
‘of nursing, prescribing, cooking, &c.,” and that in a “ hospital for 
the sick and aged,” where “ the poor, the houseless, and the wanderer 
found a home.” The Domus Dei at Portsmouth was founded in 
1212: and its objects were precisely similar to those which I suppose 
were the objects of our St. Nicholas. 

Look, also, at St. Mary’s, Chichester, which was referred to by 
Archdeacon Wright. This was founded, says Dr. Swainson, its 
late custos, about 1220—1240: grants to it were made “ to the 
House of St. Mary and the brethren and sisters serving God there, 
for the purpose of sustaining the poor and infirm people lying in the 
same house . . . . There was a marked difference between 
‘the brothers and sisters who served God in the hospital? and 
‘the poor and sick people who were lying there.” . . . The 
hospital was intended to be a temporary home for the sick and 
infirm: the brethren and sisters who dwelt within its walls were 
intended to act as nurses. It was also intended to act as a refuge 
for the night to the wandering poor—the casuals of the modern 
day.” 1 

Now the following are the descriptions of the inmates of St. 
Nicholas, gathered from its deeds in the register. In 1227 they 
are “ poor and passengers or resorters to the same house.” In 1245 
they are “ Christ’s poor and weak and infirm [to be kept] as long 
as their weakness does not suffer them to go out and wander.” 
About 1250 they are “the brethren whole and infirm of the said 
hospital, there serving God.” ‘This points clearly to a distinction 
between the brethren : some nursed, some were nursed. About 1340 


: 1 Swainson’s “ Hospital of St. Mary in Chichester,’ from Sussex Archwo- 
logical Society’s Collections, vol. xxiv. 


126 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


they are “the brethren and sisters serving God in that place, and 
to serve Him in future ;” and the most common description of them 
is this: “that they are serving God in this place ”—a description 
which, though it might be conceived to be that of pensioners, is at 
least more appropriate to ministering inmates. A still more con- 
vineing description of them is “ brethren and sisters and infirm 
people,” but to this we cannot assign any date. The “sisters” 
appear very rarely in dated deeds, and range from 1245 to 1361. 
The last record of them is in Phillips’ ‘ Wiltshire Institutions,” 
where in 1861 we find Laurentia Bonham instituted to the house 
of St. Nicholas by Bishop Wyvill, “as a sister of the said house, on 
the presentation of the warden and brethren of St. Nicholas’ house.” 

On the whole, therefore, it is probable that the “ fratres ” were 
ministering brethren, and the “ sorores”’ ministering sisters, at 
least down to the middle of the fourteenth century, after which we 
have no evidence on the point. I shall discuss later on the question 
at what precise date they were changed into pensioners. 

But now we must turn to a different question. It has hitherto 
been taken for granted that the arcade of eight arches, still partially 
visible in the chapel and wall of the master’s house, with all the large 
buildings once adjacent to it, was the work of Bishop Bingham. 
But this is a conclusion not to be assumed without reason given. 
The pillars and arches themselves, with an old doorway, and the 
chapel and kitchen (which was once another chapel) are the only 
remaining features of antiquity in the hospital. And it is disputed 
of what antiquity they are. Canon Jones thought them about 
1160.1 When the Archeological Institute visited Salisbury in 


1 Canon Jones was of opinion that this arcade of arches, built about 1160, had 
belonged to the old Church of St. Martin: and he referred (in a letter to me) to 
Leland, and his words “that, when standing on the bridge in 1540, he saw on 
the north side of St. Nicholas’s Hospital the remains of the old St. Martin’s 
Church im a barn.” It would solve many difficulties if we could believe this ; 
but Leland’s words actually are as follows :—‘‘ On the north side of this hospital 
is an old barn, where in times past was a parish Church of St. Martin. This 
Church was profaned, and another was made in Salisbury for it, bearing yet the 
name of St. Martin. The cause of the translation was because it stood exceedingly 
low and cold, and the river at rages came into it.” It is only fair to state that 
Canon Jones was on a holiday, away from books, when he wrote. Leland 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 127 


1887, all sorts of opinions were expressed: some placing them 
earlier, some later than 1245, but the best authorities thought they 
might probably have been built about that year. 

Assuming then that they were built that year, in what shape were 
those other buildings, which there plainly were, and which are since 
demolished? Was the hospital built on the plan of most such edifices, 
“a long hall with vaulting [to quote Archdeacon Wright’s words 
again] and divided into bays by pillars”: the chapel at the east 
end, and the inmates housed in cells in the aisles? In other words 
were there ¢wo such arcades (the other since gone with the rest of 
the building), and were the cells ranged outside them on the north 
and south, the east end being closed by chapels? 

That this was so there are two arguments. 

1. The common practice of the times; as seen in the hospitals 
of Portsmouth, Chichester, and Wells. It is sufficient to refer again 
to Archdeacon Wright’s account of the Domus Dei at Portsmouth. 
St. Mary’s, Chichester, is built on the same plan, and so is Bishop 
Bubwith’s almshouse at Wells: a chapel occupying the whole of 
the east end, and the only difference being that at Chichester the 
cells are open to the central aisle, while at Wells they are closed up 
into separate rooms. But note that if this plan had been carried 
into execution at Salisbury, there must have been three separate 
chambers, or chapels; the two which at present exist, and a de- 
molished one to the north of them: or rather (for the wall of the 
present chapel which blocks up the arches certainly had no original 
existence) it was one long chapel from north to south, divided into 
three compartments by the two rows of pillars. 

2. That this actually was so is asserted, and very great detail 
given, by a MS. in my keeping, which was written in 1713, by one 
Mr. Hickman, the then chaplain, but evidently derived from much 
older authorities." And Mr. Bigge, the master at the beginning of 


distinctly says that the old barn was on the north side of the hospital: so that 
nothing that it contained can have ever been in the hospital itself. There are 
more than 200ft. between the hospital itself and the road which skirts the Close 
wall: therefore there is ample room for a large Church to the north of the 
hospital. 

1 See Appendix C. 


128 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


the seventeenth century, seems to have entertained the same belief.! 
Our first illustration (Plate No. I.) gives, in the dotted lines, Mr. 
Hickman’s picture of what the hospital had been. 

Against these arguments, strong as they seem, is to be set the 
present aspect of the remains of the hospital of 1245. Briefly, the 
present look of those remains goes far to justify the assertion that 
another arcade, supporting another set of cells, cannot ever have 
been built, and that the original design admitted only of two chapels, 
not three. There is no evidence, in the northern wall of the chapel 
which is now the kitchen, of any beginning of a row of arches 
corresponding to that in the south wall. The easteru wall of the 
two chapels appears to be coéval with the rest of the chapels: yet 
there is a very distinctly marked corner-buttress on the north-east 
of the northern chapel of the two, corresponding to the buttress at 
the south-east corner of the southern chapel. Now if there had 
ever been another chapel at the north of the northern chapel, the 
corresponding buttress would have been on the north-east of that, 
and the eastern wall of the chapels would have been continued 
without any buttress at all past the spot where the north-eastern 
buttress now stands.? 

On the other hand, it is hardly possible to suppose that Mr. 
Hickman’s elaborate descriptions are entirely invented. Perhaps it 
would be better, in the absence of direct evidence, to suggest the 
conclusion that Bingham intended, when he began, to build a 
hospital on the threefold plan so commonly in use: but that his 
death stopped the design, which afterwards was completed on a 
smaller scale, by finishing the two chapels already begun, and 


1Mr. Bigge writes thus :—“ there is a chapel now within the hospital, the 
other by it being pulled down.” 

2 That the northern transept, as figured by Hickman, ever really existed there 
is nothing to show. The southern transept was exactly on the spot where after- 
wards (in the fifteenth century) stood a covered way to the privies (see Plate 
No. II.), since demolished. 

What Hickman calls the Sanctum Sanctorum—the building to the east of the 
of the present eastern wall of the hospital—can never have been in existence at 
all; and this is sufficient to discredit his whole plan. 


rT 


PLATE IT 
8! Nicholas Hospital 


AD 1245 


G. Kitchen [at1! Gom* Halt] 


» Bulliry, 
. Sislers Room, 


i. Inmates’ Rooms 


yr 


J. Ola Kitchen 
K.Shof. X froase 


EB Brelivens Rooms. 
B Porch. 


‘Whiteman & Bass. Phofo Ditto Landon 


Walls sfilt existing 
Walls dedreyed 
TL Walls eugqerted by Mt 


Hicxmans Rove PLAN 
Jsor — m3 


The jd st Hop 
ae bia hor chalet an 
Since ISOE (ws) 2/2 Years. 


Pare OI 
* S. Nickolas Hospital 


BOONES PRON 


. 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 129 


building a row of cells upon the north of the arcade already in 
existence, to correspond to that upon the south. 

Next, did Bingham destroy the older building, or build on an 
independent site? i.e., is the older building still traceable outside 
what has since been the hospital? Our evidence on this point is 
fairly conclusive. Bingham’s Inventory, written the same day with 
his ordination of the hospital, mentions a “ mansus juxta vetus 
hospitale versus aquilonem.” It is true these words are ambiguous : 
they may mean only that St. Nicholas possessed a mansion to the 
north of the old hospital, and give no indication whatever as to the 
whereabouts of the old hospital itself. Still it is perhaps more 
likely that they should mean that the “ vetus hospitale” was to the 
north of the new hospital, then just built. So evidently Mr. 
Hickman took them in 1713: for he draws upon his sketch-plan of 
the buildings before 1502 a house to the north of the hospital, upon 
which he writes the words :—“ The house on the north side of the 
hospital mentioned by Bishop Robert in his ordination.” 

In his description of the map he says :—‘ On the north side of 
the hospital, between the new hospital and the churchyard or Litton, 
was a tenement given by Bishop Robert in his ordination, which has 
been since rebuilt in form of a church or hospital building: at the 
east end of which was a door through a wall out of the aforesaid 
additional buildings of the cross aisle into the churchyard. But 
since the poor people’s rooms are gone on the north side of the 
church (or cloister), and the chaplain’s lodgings which was over 
them, there are two rooms built at the east end of the said tene- 
ment (of late called the farm house, because the farmer that rented 
the hospital lands generally lived there) for two poor people, and a 
chamber and garret for the chaplain over them.” This passage gives 
us as much as we know about the site of the old hospital: and the 
map gives us the distance of the south wall of the building from 
the surviving row of arches as 75ft. This is precisely the distance 
of the south wall of the present brethren’s rooms from that same 
row of arches: so that we seem warranted in concluding that in the 
present men’s buildings we have the modern representative of the 
original hospital to which Countess Ela made her gift. I have long 


130 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


suspected that the south wall of this building is old; at least in its 
lower courses of stones. Can it be the original wall of the beginning 
of the thirteenth century? Notice especially the old doorway near 
the west end of it: exactly in the spot where Hickman’s map 
figures a door in the “ old hospital.” 


III.—Bisuors Bripport AND WYLEY. 
1257—1271. 


Bishop Bingham died in the next year (1246) after he had finished 
the building and constitution of his triple work—bridge, chapel, and 
hospital. In the next episcopate, which lasted nine years, that of 
William of York (1246—1256), the third Church and advowson 
was given to the hospital besides the Churches of Wilsford and 
Burstock.!. On August 19th, 1253, Sir Richard Hinton gave “ to 
God, the Blessed Mary and Saint Nicholas of Salisbury,” the per- 
petual advowson of Broad Hinton Church, near Swindon, together 
with six acres of land, and two days afterwards Bishop William 
confirmed the gift.? 

But William of York died in 1256; and the next year Giles 
Bridport, the dean of Wells, was consecrated bishop. He appears 
to have been a bishop with theories of his own, for which he used 
the benefactions of his predecessors without much caring to abide 
by their intentions. It is very curious to study the devotion of 
successive bishops to some one form of benefaction of their own 
devising, which their successors sweep entirely away in equal devotion 
to some other scheme. Thus the constitution of bridge, chapel, and 
hospital, which Bishop Bingham had so carefully elaborated, was 
swept ruthlessly aside; the new bishop had set his heart upon 
another scheme. He wished to found a theological college in 
Salisbury, and to connect it with St. Nicholas; and he changed the 
constitution of St. Nicholas itself, constituting himself and his 


1 The Church of Burstock, near Beaminster, had been given by Bishop 
Bingham, in 1248. 

2 John Manningford gave much land at Gerardstone to the hospital in 1256, 
—Reg. Gerardst., 28,29. And in 1258 Richard and Sibill Ancher gave land in 
Fisherton Anger.—J0, Fishert., 3, 4. 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 131 


successors the wardens, and so taking from the dean and chapter 
the patronage which had been theirs for the last seventeen years by 
gift of Bishop Bingham, and putting a prior into immediate com- 
mand of the hospital. 

The “final concord” by which this last revolution was accomplished 
is dated February, 1261, at which time legal sanction was sought 
for what had probably been before determined on. An agreement 
was made before the King’s Justices, that the bishops should be 
perpetual wardens of St. Nicholas’ Hospital, and that in return for 
this concession the dean and chapter should have the perpetual 
nomination of one of the brethren—a privilege which they have 
exercised ever since. Thus the nominee of the dean and chapter 
appears to have been the first permanently resident brother in the 
hospital. 

The same year the bishop executed another deed, founding a house 
to be called “ De Valle Scholarum beati Nicholai.” The name is 
one that tells us a good deal about the purpose and studies of the 
new foundation. 

This thirteenth century had been, to an extent most unusual, oc- 
cupied with thoughts of another world and theological study. The 
institutions of the monks had grown worldly, but thase of the friars 
had supplanted them at the beginning of the century, and were the 
avowed servants of the Papacy. A revolution also was taking place 
in the world of knowledge. The friars were for the most part ignorant, 
but among them were reared the famous Mendicant Schoolmen of the 
century, and they introduced their scholastic method into theological 
study. A strife for professors’ chairs in the University of Paris 
arose, and was not finally concluded for thirty years, when the Pope 
settled it in favour of the Mendicants (A.D. 1259). But long 
before this the “Scholares,” .¢., the four university professors of Paris, 
had met in a secluded valley of Auvergne, and thence taken the name 
of Valli-Scholares. The original Valli-Scholares, then, were men 
of the old learning as opposed to the new—those whom Mosheim 
calls Bidlicists'—men who deduced their conclusions from the study 


1 Mosheim, iii., p. 222. 


132 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


of the Bible and older fathers, and were opposed to the Mendicant 
Schoolmen, who accepted the Bible as their text-book, yet drew 
their conclusions from philosophy and by philosophical methods. 
At the head of these Biblicists in Paris now was William de St, 
Amour; at the head of the Mendicants, not only in Paris, but 
throughout Europe, was Thomas of Aquino. The very year in 
which Bridport founded his college (1261) died Pope Alexander IV., 
the great patron of Mendicants: but Louis IX. (Saint Louis), 
hardly a less patron of the same party, was still King of France. 
In the popedom of Alexander IV. it had required great courage for 
William de St. Amour to bring out his work, “ The Perils of the 
Last Times”: he was summoned to Rome, opposed by Thomas of 
Aquino, tried, and sent into exile in France, where he continued till 
Alexander’s death. 

Now the fact that Bishop Bridport chose the name of Valli- 
Scholares for his new college seems to indicate that he espoused 
the cause of the old learning, the cause of William de St. Amour, 
in this controversy. And the fact that Bishop Bingham had en- 
couraged the foundation of Friar Preachers, or Dominicans—the 
first Mendicant order—at Wilton, about 1245, shows that he was 
disposed to favour the rival school, that of the new learning, or of 
St. Thomas of Aquino. 

But the University of Oxford had its internal troubles as well as 
the University of Paris. The latter, on occasion of a fray with the 
municipal authorities, had closed its doors, and issued forth into the 
country, where it had set up its staff in different towns, nay, had 
even been invited over by Henry III. to Oxford. In this it was 
exactly imitated by Oxford. That university had at this time come 
into collision with the town, and dispersed its students. Upon this 
occasion many went to Cambridge: but others migrated to Salisbury. 
In Salisbury they must have attended the Cathedral services, then 
presided over by Ralph Heytham, as chancellor. But as it was 
with the full concurrence of the chapter that Bishop Bridport 
established his new college in 1261, we must not think that there 
was any bickering’ between the Cathedral students of theology and 
those of the new Valley College, or College de Vaux. We do not 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 133 


hear of any such; but there must always have been the difference 
between the two that the College de Vaux was founded to support 
the older views in theology, which the Cathedral students may well 
have thought reactionary and old-fashioned. 

In the foundation deed of the college in 1261! Bishop Giles says 
that he founds, to the honour of Christ, the Virgin, and St. Nicholas, 
a house for the use and property of scholars, to be called “ the College 
of the Valley Scholars of St. Nicholas,” by consent of Robert the 
dean and the chapter of Sarum, the master and brethren of the 
hospital of St. Nicholas, in the meadow hard by the Cathedral, 
and the highway in front of the said hospital, for the support 
of a warden, two chaplains, and twenty poor, needy, well- 
born, and teachable scholars, serving the Lord and St. Nicholas 
in that place, and living therein and studying and making progress 
in the Holy Scriptures and the liberal arts. He ordains that on 
the cession or decease of Sir John Holtby, Canon of Salisbury, now 
warden of the house, the new warden should be elected by the dean 
and chapter, out of the number of the canons, or at least with their 
consent, and should have full right of correction within the circuit 
of the said house. The deed was sealed with the seal of the dean 
and chapter, and with that of the master and brethren of St. 
Nicholas; and witnessed by the chancellor, the archdeacon of Wilts, 
the sub-dean, and two canons; Reginald Wych, the Mayor of 
Salisbury, besides many other laymen. 

This introduces us at once to a large question, on which we get 
singularly little light from either side, namely, what were the 
relations subsisting between the hospital of St Nicholas and the 
Valley College? 

St. Nicholas’ hospital was by this time a rich institution. Land 
had been literally showered upon it: and if it be true that Bingham 
had ever built to the full extent of his apparent design, it was a 
spacious as well as a rich foundation. At this very time we hear 
in one of the deeds’ of a “ street in new Salisbury called St. 


1 This deed is not in the cartulary : but Hatcher and Benson give it from the 
Liber Evidentiarum in the Cathedral. 
2 Reg. Sarum, 12. 


134 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


Nicholas’ Street,’ which must, one would think, have been the 
present Exeter Street, leading from St. Anne’s Gate to the hospital. 
And we hear, also, in the next episcopate, casually and not at all as 
if it were a new thiny, of St. Nicholas’ parish. When Bishop 
Wyley was ordaining as to his new college of St. Edmund, he talked 
of “ the tenants who before were parishioners of the hospital of St, 
Nicholas,” and ‘the profits of the parish which the prior and brethren 
of the hospital of St. Nicholas have been accustomed to receive.” 
It seems, then, as if the prior was a parish priest ; in which case the 
brethren might have been his lay assistants. Nay, Bishop Wyley 
thought it necessary to obtain the consent of the prior before 
founding his institution; for he says, in his foundation deed in 1270, 
“with the consent of the venerable Robert the dean and our chapter 
of Sarum, and of the religious men the prior and brethren of the 
hospital of St Nicholas . . . we have built a humble church 
in Salisbury.” This consent was not required of them as landowners, 
for they possessed nothing yet in the town: but it clearly was as 
occupying an important position in one quarter of the town ; perhaps 
as rectors of a contiguous parish. 

This, then, was the position of St. Nicholas’ when Bishop Bridport 
thought well to adopt it, to make himself its custos, and to put a 
prior in to govern it more immediately. There was a custos also of 
the new Valley College, but he was the appointment of the dean 
and chapter, and one of themselves. 


IV.—TueE next Two Hunprep YEARs. 
1271—1470. 


A veil is upon the hospital for the next two hundred years, so 
impenetrable that we cannot explain a great deal that took place 
later. We have the lists both of wardens of the hospital and of the 
Valley College ; we have the deeds which tell us of fresh acquisitions 
of land by the hospital': but all the interior life is quite hidden 
from us, and when the veil rises, it rises upon a hospital strangely 
diverted from its original purpose. 


1 Reg. passim. 


OO 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 135 


A list of those who were the heads of the hospital during this 
time will be found in the Appendix.! Their official titles varied. 
Nicholas Laking, the first head under Bingham’s foundation, was 
called ‘‘custos,” or warden. But Bridport, calling himself ‘ warden,” 
put in a “prior” to rule the hospital: and this arrangement con- 
tinued under Bishop Wyley, in whose time (1266) we hear of 
* Brother Adam, the prior” of the hospital. But in 1281 John 
Burnes is again “custos”; Bishop Wykehampton seems to have 
given up his claim to that title. And only once again do we find 
the head of the hospital called “ prior”: and that is in the time of 
the old Bishop Longespee, a younger son of Earl William of 
Pembroke and the Countess Ela the first benefactress of the hospital, 
who thus must have again adopted for himself the “ wardenship ” 
of St. Nicholas’. After this the bishops again repudiated the title ; 
for we find the immediate head always called “ warden,” and ap- 
pointed by the bishop. The episcopal records of institutions begin 
with the fourteenth century: so that thenceforward we have an 
unbroken list of wardens, or masters. But “ warden”? is the title 

‘by which they are consistently known till the beginning of the 
sixteenth century. 
We have also a list, though very fragmentary indeed, of the 
wardens of the Valley College.? John Holtby was the first: the . 
second bore the name of Thomas Bridport, and so was some relative, 
or at least a fellow-townsman, of Bishop Giles, Once (1337) we 
find the same man (Jobn Kirkby, Archdeacon of Dorset) warden of 
doth institutions. Before this, in 1325, the chapter had voted that 
the scholars of the Valley College should go “ to Oxford, or to some 
proper place of study”: none were to remain and inhabit the 
‘building but the two stewards, two chaplains, cook, and butler. It 
looks as if the chapter had become jealous of Bridport’s college : 
-and were determined that the office of warden should thenceforth 
be a sinecure. At this time it was, perhaps, that the Salisbury 
scholars acquired tenements in School Street, Oxford, “and par- 
_ ticularly in two halls that joined together, one called for the most 
. ; 1 Appendix D. 
2 Appendix E. 
VoL. XXV.—NO, LXXIV. L 


136 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


part Salisbury, sometimes Salsary Hall, the other Little St. Edmund 
Hall, on the site of which now stand Brasenose Hall, and part of 
their library.” Antony Wood, who records this, also tells us that 
‘the [Salisbury] scholars had a privilege among them, that on the 
testimony of the chancellor of that church of their standing and 
profit in letters, they might proceed to degrees in the university of 
Oxford.” But this no doubt would rather apply to the Cathedral 
scholars, for whom the chancellor was answerable. 
In Leland’s time (1540) we read that “part of these scholars 
remain in the college at Salisbury, and have two chaplains to serve 
the Church there being dedicate to St. Nicholas: the residue study 
at Oxford.” Here we have a testimony to the lastingness of the 
arrangement whereby some of the Valley Scholars were always at 
Oxford: and also a witness to the fact that the ‘ Church ” or 
“Chapel” at the Valley College was dedicated to St. Nicholas. 
Further, as to the connection between the two institutions, Mr. 
Hickman tells us that “ in some old papers ’tis said that the College 
de Vaux was a part of the hospital (that is, belonging to the 
hospital) of St. Nicholas, and was suppressed in the time of King 
Henry VIII. or Edward VI. . . . Besides there are (or have 
been doors) in an old wall over against St. Nicholas’, which seems to 
intimate a communication formerly between those two old religious 
foundations.” If this is true the doors must have been in the 
north-west corner of the St. Nicholas’ ground: and yet the com- 
munication cannot have been a private one, as there must always 
have been the breadth of the road which still runs between them.! 
Meantime there can be no question that St. Nicholas was more 
wealthy in land than the Valley College: and yet that the latter 
possessed land independently of the former there is equally no doubt. 
In addition to the lands at Wilsford, Broad Hinton, Gerardstone, 
Fisherton, and New Sarum which were already theirs, the hospital 
acquired about 1840 a valuable gift of land in East Harnham from 


1 This would be true supposing that the Harnham road always struck the Close 
wall at right angles, as now. But may it not possibly have run straight from 
the hospital to the Close gate, and so left room upon the north-east for the Valley 
College P 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 137 


Robert Wande, a descendant, no doubt, of the Henry Wande, who, 
a hundred years before, had given them a smaller piece of land 
adjoining the hospital premises. 

In 1407 the chapter came to a resolution that the office of warden 
of the Valley College should always be filled within three days of 
the vacancy occurring, by election of the canons actually resident, 
and therefore on the spot. This resolution indicates that the 
wardenship, if not a mere sinecure, was little thought of, and that 
no pains were taken to secure the best man for it. The last warden 
whom we hear of in the century was John Symondsbury, Archdeacon 
of Wilts, treasurer of the Cathedral, and prebendary successively 
of Yatesbury and Stratton, who died 1454. 

In 1414 was passed a statute concerning hospitals that the 
ordinaries should enquire of the manner of the foundation, estate, 
and government of the same, and correct and reform them, “ac- 
cording to the laws of Holy Church, as to them belongeth.” In 
1414 Robert Hallum was Bishop of Salisbury, and therefore ordinary. 
We hear of no examination held, or reforms recommended ; but in 
the summer of that year Bishop Hallum went to Constance, where 
he died in 1417 : and in the preparation for the great Church council 
the affairs of an obscure hospital may well have been overlooked. 
William Spaldwick was probably warden in 1414, 


V.—Tae ReErormation Psriop, 
1478—1593. 


When the veil, which has been upon it for the last two centuries, 
lifts, Bishop Beauchamp is promulgating his statutes concerning 
the house or hospital of St. Nicholas Sarum, 1478. This year, also, 
Roger Newenton resigned the wardenship, and Henry Sutton took 
it: which may well have been in consequence of the new statutes, 
or in preparation for them. 

I will now give a translation of the text of these statutes :— 

“1—First, it is ordained and determined that if any of the brothers or sisters 
be a frequent stirrer of strife, and do not repent after being twice warned by 
the master, on the third occasion when he deserves punishment he should be 


expelled by the master. 
“2—Also, it-is ordained that the master or warden of the said house of St, 


L 2 


138 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


Nicholas do not permit or allow any of the brothers and sisters to go begging 
through the villages or parishes; but that he support them or have them sup- 
ported with the goods which they brought at their first entrance into the said 
house, as far as they are able to do it, and, when distress is upon them, with 
clothes and other necessaries. 

“3.—Also, it is ordained that every day within the said hospital the master 
sing or say, if he be present, the canonical hours, or if he be lawfully hindered 
get them said by another. 

“4,— Also, it is ordained that the brothers and sisters do not behave in their 
rooms or in hidden places so as to rouse suspicion, or dwell together in one room 
unless they have been lawfully married before their admission, under a penalty 
to be inflicted by the master in proportion to their deserts. 

“5.—Also it is ordained that the master of the house of St. Nicholas receive 
no persons to be entertained within the hospital, except such as have added to 
the possessions of the said house, or given any great gift or present whereby the 
house can be better supported. 

“6.—Also, it is ordained that the master of the house of St. Nicholas, and 
his successors for ever, shall pay yearly to the brothers and sisters there serving 
God as alms each week seven shillings and sixpence for their commons. And 
also the said master shall find for the said brothers and sisters of the said house 
sixteen waggon loads of wood yearly to be taken from the wood of The Howe 
and one waggon load of coals each year. 

* Also, it is ordained that the master of the house of St. Nicholas shall find 
for the said brothers and sisters a barber and a washerwoman, and all the 
utensils necessary and convenient for the said brothers and sisters.” 


There are two or three obvious remarks to be made upon these 
statutes—which, by the way, are still in force, and by which the 
master is bound as well as the inmates. And yet so much are the 
times changed that I think they would be much astonished were I 
to propose to cut down their allowance to 7s. 6d. a week, and find 
a barber and washerwoman and the other toilet-necessaries ! 

1. The brothers and sisters are obviously by this time pensioners, 
without a thought of their ever having been anything else. But 
note that they are still described as ‘ the brothers and sisters there 
serving God”—the very words which had been applied to the 
nursing brothers and sisters. The question is, how long had they © 
been pensioners? Did Beauchamp make them such? or had they 
been such for an indefinite number of years previously? I confess 
to being strongly of opinion that Beauchamp made them pensioners : 
and took the hint from the one pensioner brother, appointed by the 
dean and chapter, who had always existed since 1261. As to their 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 139 


number, the nearest contemporary evidence is Leland; who sixty 
years later describes them as “eight poor women and four poor 
men.” If this were so, they still keep to the total number of 
twelve. 

2. But the statutes also contemplate hospitality upon a larger 
seale, and desiring to restrain this within limits, enact that only 
considerable benefactors shall be received. It was then the custom 
to receive such benefactors to lodge within the hospital—and such 
hospitality had been unwarrantably extended. 

8. The master in 1478 was as a rule resident, and it was the 
exception when he did not officiate in the canonical hours himself; 
in fact he was bound by Bingham’s charter, and so was to serve 
the chapel of St. Nicholas next the hospital with the same ritual as 
in the Cathedral. He was probably still assisted by a chaplain, who 
was one of the three priests of St. Nicholas, the other two officiating 
in St. John’s Chapel. MWdere the chapel where the master officiated 
was, is another point of doubt: for the present chapel was not 
consecrated till 1501. 

In 1494 Warden Sutton resigned; and Bishop Blyth appointed 
his brother, Geoffrey Blyth, who the same year was made treasurer 
of the Cathedral, and in 1503 bishop of Lichfield. And in 1496_ 
we find transcribed in the bishop’s register a copy of the agreement 
of 1260, whereby the dean and chapter gave up the patronage of 
the wardenship of St. Nicholas’ to Bishop Bridport. This looks as 
if the controversy about the patronage had been renewed. The 
dean of the time was Edward Cheyne; and considering the low 
ebb to which Church matters had been reduced at this period, it is 
noteworthy to find Dean Cheyne presiding at a convocation of 
canons called in 1490, to promote measures “for extending the 
usefulness of the Church of Sarum.” The dean and chapter perhaps 
asserted their right to appoint, urging Bingham’s Ordination, when 
Sutton resigned in 1494; and the controversy, perhaps, was only 
set at rest by Bishop Blyth’s promulgating again the settlement of 
two hundred and thirty years before. 

But in 1498 ° something happened which led to the demolition of 


1 The exact date is given by Hickman’ s MS. 


140 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


a large part of the hospital—some would maintain almost a half, 
but to their opinion I find it impossible to subscribe. What it was 
there is no record to tell, and I fear we shall never know. It 
may have been that it was thought inexpedient to keep up such a 
large building, now that the purpose of the hospital was definitely 
narrowed from being the receptacle of sick- poor with their nurses, 
to being only a retirement for pensioners. But whatever caused it, 
there is no doubt that the demolition did actually take place: more 
than fifty feet of the north wall were taken down, and the 
cells on the north side of the row of arches swept away: and so 
nothing remained of the hospital except the double chapel and five 
cells to the south of the wall which contained the row of arches. 
To provide room for the inmates Mr. Hickman tells us that two 
rooms were built on to the farm-house (which had once been the 
“ vetus hospitale ’’) on the east end, with a chamber for the chaplain 
over them. And other rooms may possibly have been found in the 
master’s house, which was over the cells to the west of what is now 
the chapel; also possibly over a building which is figured in Mr. 
Hickman’s map (see Plate II.) as the ‘“ Weavers’ Shops,” between 
the farm-house and the row of old arches. 

This map also tells us of a considerable amount of building outside 
Bingham’s hospital, which must have been built previous to the demo- 
lition of the end of the fifteenth century. Besides the weavers’ shops 
already spoken of there were considerable buildings on either side of 
the old porch. This porch was, like all the rest of the hospital, double : 
and we can guess what the northern porch was like in size and shape 
fyom the southern one, which remains, The northern porch was ap- ~ 
parently spared from the demolition of 1498, but alienated from the 
hospital, and (probably with additions on the north side) turned into a 
separate tenement: to the south of the southern porch there was 
another small tenement, with a garden annexed, which was then the 
kitchen of the hospital, and continued so to be for the next hundred 
years. 

Tn 1501 we come to the first event in the St. Nicholas’ history 
of which a contemporary record is extant. On the last fly-leaf at 
the beginning of the register are inscribed, in Latin, these words : 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 141 


“The chapel of St. Nicholas Sarum, within the hospital at the same 
place, was consecrated on the Thursday of the Paschal Week, 7.¢., 
the 15th day of April, 1501, by the venerable father Sir John, Bishop 
of Mayo, at that time the suffragan of the reverend father Henry, 
Bishop of Salisbury ; and the same day the cemetery was reconciled. 
Witness, myself William Wylton then warden of the said hospital, 
and others.” 

Let us pause to remark on the significance of this entry. 

1. The “‘ Wiltshire Institutions,” which have supplied us with 
the list of masters regularly since 1597, that is for the last hundred 
years, fail us after the institution of Geoffrey Blyth in 1494, and 
record none till that of Geoffrey Bigge in 1593—that is for the 
next hundred years. Why is this? I can account for it in no other 
way than by supposing that the controversy as to the patronage of 
the hospital, which had been settled by Bishop Blyth, was re-opened 
on Bishop Deane’s appointment, and closed by the patronage being 
given to the dean and chapter, the wardenship no longer being 
considered an office requiring episcopal institution. Thus, though 
Warden Wilton was one of the chapter themselves, and though 
others may have been prebendaries, for the next hundred years 
there was no guarantee against laymen holding the office of warden 
—a thing contravening the whole spirit of Bishop Bingham’s 
foundation charter. 

2. Henry Deane was promoted from the see of Bangor to that of 
Salisbury in 1500, and the next year advanced to that of Canterbury, 
where he became papal legate. He can hardly have been resident 
- at Salisbury at all: but in 1501 he appointed John Bell, Bishop of 
Mayo, to act for him as suffragan, and it was he that consecrated 
St. Nicholas’ chapel. It looks as if Bishop Blyth had intended to 
do it, had he not died; and they got the first episcopal services that 
they could. But what had happened that this should require con- 
secration? Had it not been consecrated before? And the “ ceme- 
tery,” or “litton”—which he “ reconciled,” or re-consecrated after 
 defilement—on the same day : what had happened to this? We know 
from Mr. Hickman’s map, that the old “ litton,” or burying ground, 
was the piece of ground extending along the north side of the 


142 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


farm-house and hospital: something, therefore, had happened to it 
to cause ceremonial defilement, after which it was impossible to bury 
there until a service of “ reconciliation ” had been performed in it. 
What was this? 

Nothing that remains gives us any idea of the nature of it; and 
conjecture is well-nigh worthless. 

3. The part demolished of the hospital was the north row of 
inmates’ rooms, up to the chapel on the east. The arcade of arches 
was not yet built up into the north wall of the building, but re- 
mained open, and was joined by a wall to the east end of the chapel, 
so as to divide the chapel itself into two. The northern half of the 
old chapel was then converted into a common hall; the space west 
of this was occupied by a sister’s room, and a wood-house. 

Such was the hospital over which William Wilton was made 
warden, being probably appointed thereto by the dean and chapter, 
and not instituted, as had been usual, by the bishop. He it was 
that was warden when Bishop Bell consecrated the chapel. There 
is every appearance of both chambers having been consecrated before: 
so that this must mean, I think, re-consecrated the one after the 
desecration of the other. And the same day he re-consecrated the 
litton after some defilement, the nature of which we cannot guess. 

With Wilton begins a new era. It is Wilton that began to record 
the poor people’s names and dates of admission in a record still 
extant. It is he that put together what we now call the Old 
Register, and we recognize his handwriting in many of the marginal 
notes to that volume. 

To him succeeded, in 1524, Edward Fox, who before had been 
steward of the hospital. Strange to say, there was one of the 
chapter of that name, a relation of Bishop Fox of Winchester, who 
in 1492 had become prebendary of Major Pars Altaris, and in 1533 
was to become Archdeacon of Dorset, and Bishop of Hereford in 
1535.1. But this was not the master of St. Nicholas’, for he by 


1He took a forward part in the doctrinal reformatien: assisting the King in 
the composition of the first draft of the ten articles, and being the envoy sent by 
him to the League of Schmalkalde, 1535. 


———— = 


we ay Y 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 143 


Mr. Bigge, seventy years later, is expressly called Sir Edward Fox, 
knight, and given as an example of a lay-master. He was the first 
layman that ever held the office: and seems to have been appointed 
by the dean and chapter in direct contravention of the direction 
given by Bingham in his Ordination, perhaps from a prevision of 
what was going shortly to happen to the Church, and a desire to 
save the hospital. There is no doubt also that the hospital at this 
time was very poor, and perhaps it may have been thought as well 
to give it in charge to a man of business, who was already well 
acquainted with the working of it. 

To him succeeded, after 1534, Sir Richard Long, apparently son 
of Thomas Long of South Wraxall, and brother of Sir Henry 
Long, of the same place, who was steward of Monkton Farley 
Priory until its dissolution in 1541. Sir Richard Long’s reign, 
which lasted till 1543, saw the dissolution of all the monasteries in 
England, and no doubt the hospitals felt themselves threatened. It 
was, no doubt, in view of some such blow as was directed against 
colleges and hospitals in 1545 that St. John’s chapel was suppressed 
either by him or his successor: for here there was undoubtedly a 
superstitious use,” and “ it appeareth,” says Mr. Bigge, “ by the 
certificate of 37 Hen. 8 [1545] that the chapel had ceased before 
that time: for it was certified that there were no priests nor massing 
there at that time.” At this time, probably, fell also the Valley 
College. This had been flourishing in 1535, with twenty scholars, 
two chaplains, and Richard Dudley, the precentor, for a master: 
but John Bigge, prebendary of Yatesbury and custos, died in 
1544, and there probably never was another. By the Act of the 
next year the buildings were confiscated to the King, and so utterly 
demolished that the exact spot where they stood is a question. 

But St. Nicholas itself had escaped: and that the rejoicing was 
great (though as yet premature) is likely from the appointment of 
the Rev. Dr. Crayford by the dean and chapter in 1548 to be custos. 
He was not instituted by the bishop as to a clerical office, though a 
cletic himself; perhaps it was thought safer so. 

King Henry VIII. died soon after the passing of the Act which 
condemned hospitals and colleges ; but the Act was renewed by his 


144 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


successor in 1547. Under this Act the hospital was examined in 
1549: but “it is certified,” says Mr. Bigge, ‘‘ that in that year 
there was neither priest nor master, but only twelve poor people 
relieved and maintained.” Dr. Crayford then (if he survived till 
then) resigned his mastership to save the life of the hospital. 

In 1550 we find the first of the powerful family who mainly 
protected the hospital through those troublous times, and who are 
still worthily represented in the neighbourhood, recorded as master 
—“Mr. Henry Herbert, gentleman.”’ In 1544 his father, Sir 
William Herbert (brother-in-law of Queen Katharine Parr, who 
married Henry VIII. in 1543) had received the grant from the 
King of the lands of the rich abbey of Wilton, In 1551 he was 
created Baron Herbert of Cardiff, and the next day Earl of Pembroke, 
so that his second title passed to his eldest son, Henry, the master 
of St. Nicholas’. Lord Herbert acted apparently as master till 
1577, long after he had succeeded his father as Earl of Pembroke, 
and by his powerful court influence protected the hospital from harm. 
One ill turn, however, there was which he did us. He is said to 
have removed many of the ancient deeds and evidences of the 
hospital to Wilton. Certain it is that Mr. Bigge had access to a 
few of them, which he copied out, in the Evidence House at Wilton: 
but Mr. Hickman says that “ upon new building the house there 
they were misplaced, and do remain confusedly all together in a 
chamber among his own evidences unsorted, and cannot be found 
till they are new placed.” And a letter of Mr. Bigge’s tells us of 
a rumour of “ great abuse made by Henry Herbert custos,” which 
“J think is untrue, for I do not hear that any tenant wanted 
reasonable satisfaction for the fault in the leases, and I have seen 
writings under many seals touching the great want of reparations 
in the hospital to the value of three or four hundred pounds, beside 
the danger of the statutes when he came to be master. And if he 


1 He was married in 1553 to the Lady Katherine Grey, sister of Lady Jane 
Grey: and would probably have come to the same end as his sister-in-law and 
her husband had not his father, on finding that the popular voice declared in 
favour of Mary, promptly made him repudiate her. She is buried with her 
husband, Lord Hertford, in Salisbury Cathedral. 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 145 


had the master’s portion for no government, he had but as many 
others have had before and since: yet by account it appeareth that 
the poor had as much or more than in former years, The error only 
was in this, that he was not a presbyter.” 

In 1577 Lord Pembroke resigned the mastership. But it is 
certain that he retained the deeds and papers at Wilton, and probably 
being an influential neighbour was consulted as to the patronage of 
the hospital. The next master was also a layman—one Richard 
Dolshon, who admitted to St. Nicholas’ in 1587 and 1588. He 
was succeeded by Robert Parker, M.A., a clerk, who, as of old, was 
instituted to the master’s office by the bishop, then Bishop Coldwell, 
in 1591. And in 1598 Parker was succeeded by Mr. Geoffrey Bigge, 
whose mastership was distinguished by the vigorous and successful 
efforts which he undertook to save the hospital from annihilation, 


VI.—Mr. Grorrrey Bicen’s Mastersa ie. 
1593—16380. 


It was by Bigge’s exertions that the hospital was saved from 
being altogether wrecked by more imminent danger than had over- 
hung it in the time of the Reformation. 

The late Acts of Parliament against superstitious foundations 
had given birth to a race of informers who made it their business: 
to search out foundations that still entertained such superstitious 
uses, and report them to Government, hoping for a share of the 
spoil when they were destroyed. Such men were called concealers, 
because they exposed concealments, which were hidden by the 
authorities of the foundations : and were a very useful, nay necessary, 
class of men, but odious in the highest degree to those whom they 
exposed. Such were William Tipper and Robert Dawe, of London, 

gentlemen, who apparently had reported badly of the hospital of 
St. Nicholas to Sir Edward Dyer, who seems to have been chief 
inquisitor for Wilts. Dyer issued a warrant against the hospital, 
and petitioned the queen to grant its lands to Messrs. Tipper and 


1 In Mr. Dolshon’s time one Thomas Green was admitted chaplain and brother, 
4th February, 1587. 


146 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


Dawe. This the Queen did by patent dated 2nd May, 1573. 
Thenceforth Messrs. Tipper and Dawe were the legal proprietors of 
the whole estate which had belonged to the hospital. But not the 
actual; and why not? Presumably the then master, the Earl of 
Pembroke, continued his rule quietly, because he was too great a 
man to be disturbed. His father had kept well in faveur with each 
successive ruling power; and had married the sister-in-law of the 
old King, Katharine Parr’s sister. He himself was a Knight of the 
Garter, and one of the peers commissioned to try the Queen of Scots: 
and the husband of Mary Sidney, sister of Sir Philip, whom at the 
end of her long life Ben Jonson calls “ Sidney’s sister, Pembroke’s 
mother.” We can easily see that while so influential a man held 
the mastership it was not safe to disturb him. And in 1576 was 
passed an Act to restrain mercenary informers, who, under colour of 
espying out lands concealed from the Crown by private persons, 
sacrilegiously seized upon the lands of parish Churches, almshouses, 
&c. This statute was confirmed, and its provisions enforced by 
another in 1584, by which informers were bound to appear in person, 
and to carry through their action, on penalty of the pillory for two 
hours. 

During these eight years then (1576—84), clearly it would not- 
have been safe to attack St. Nicholas: and accordingly we find that 
it was when this period of safety had begun, in 1577, that Lord 
Pembroke resigned his mastership in favour of Mr. Dolshon,. 

But six years later, when Mr. Bigge held the mastership, Messrs. 
Tipper and Dawe succeeded in obtaining recognition of their right, 
In February, 1590, on Sir Edward Dyer’s petition, Messrs. Tipper 
and Dawe obtain a grant from the Queen in free and common socage 
of all the hospital lands in Wilts: on December 22nd of the hospital 
itself; and on March 380th, 1592, of all the old hospital lands in 
Dorset. And no sooner had Tipper and Dawe got legal possession 
of it than they made over their right to one Nicholas Geffe, of 
London. But in spite of this Mr. Bigge was master: and nothing 
was done by Tipper and Dawe to disturb his mastership. But this 
set Bigge himself upon the ingenious and indefatigable manceuvres 
which issued twenty years later in the new foundation of the hospital. 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 147 


“ Our hospital,” says Mr. Hickman, “ was certainly a concealment ; 
for had the master thereof but shewed the foundation (which was 
only Bishop Robert’s Ordination and Bishop Beauchamp’s statutes) 
in the times either of King Henry VIII., Edward VI., or Queen 
Elizabeth, it had most assuredly fallen to the Crown, with the many 
other superstitious foundations in those days.” It is impossible, on 
considering the evidence, to arrive at any other conclusion than that 
thus candidly avowed. ‘The restriction of the office of warden to a 
priest: the giving him charge of St. John’s chapel, where also 
priests said masses: the injunctions to the chaplain of the hospital 
itself about serving the sick (by saying masses for quick and dead, 
by visiting the sick, and by hearing their confessions) make it plain 
that the hospital might too easily have been brought within the 
scope of the statute, and thus destroyed, however lamentable and 
unjust such destruction would have been. But to Mr. Bigge it 
seemed an intolerable injustice that such a thing should be possible : 
and therefore he set to work to prevent it by all the means in his 
power, and was finally successful. 

The Earl of Pembroke died January 19th, 1601, and was succeeded 
by his eldest son, William. In this year also passed the statute of 
charitable uses: which empowered the Queen to send into each 
county commissioners, of whom the bishop and chancellor of the 
diocese are to be two, authorizing them to enquire concerning 
charitable foundations, to examine witnesses, and to decree as to 
them. Mr, Hickman says :—“ It is supposed that when she sent 
her commissioners into Wiltshire her eye was chiefly (in favour of 
the said Tipper and Dawe, to whom she had given it two or three 
years before) on this hospital of St. Nicholas, to which she bare no 

good will.” But we can hardly suppose that a measure intended 
for all the kingdom alike was set on foot because of ill will to one 
_ small institution. 

The commissioners sent to Wiltshire were thirteen; the bishop, 
the dean, the chancellor of the diocese, the archdeacon of Sarum, 
four knights, and five esquires. They issued searching articles of 
enquiry: and to them Bigge had to make answer. His answer at 
large does not survive, but the account that he made showing his 


148 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


disbursements to the poor does, and is countersigned by Giles 
Hutchins, the steward of the hospital. 

Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, on which James of Scotland 
succeeded, and a new set of counsellors and favourites came to the 
front. Particularly Henry Howard, who had suffered much for Mary 
Queen of Scots, was made Earl of Northampton in August, 1604, 

In 1606 Archbishop Bancroft, of Canterbury, commissioned 
Bishop Cotton, of Salisbury, to visit the hospital. The result shall 
be told in Bigge’s words in 1609 :—“ The now Lord Bishop of Sarum 
with others about three years past did likewise visit the said hospital 
in the name of the now Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and 
diligently examined all things at my many appearances before them, 
and found no fault, as may appear by the notes of the register and 
the testimony of the registrar himself.” 

In the year 1609 the plot thickens. That year Mr. Geffe writes 
to Bigge as follows :—“ Sir, understanding by this bearer Mr. Ma: 
Hill my good friend, that you and he have had some speeches 
touching a grant in fee made by the late Queen of the hospital of 
St. Nicholas, and that Mr. Samford had £50 of you to make com- 
position with me about it, [I] do protest before God that neither he 
nor any other did ever treat with me about it to any such purpose, 
only he was made acquainted that there was such a grant, but did 
never see, or desire to see it, But now at the entreaty of this my 
good friend I do tender you this: that if upon examination of my 
title [by] your learned counsel and mine it shall be thought by 
them that my estate thereunto is good and perfect in law, you shall 
for any such part thereof as is in your possession receive such kind 
usage for my friend’s sake as shall be to your liking, and he shall 
prevail very much with me in any matter he shall require for your 
good. And so, very lovingly saluting you, I remain, your assured 
friend, Nicnotas Gerre. April 12, 1609.” 

From this letter we see that a suit had been commenced, and 
counsel retained on both sides. On receipt of this letter Bigge 
wrote to Lord Pembroke as follows:—‘To my most honourable 
and most benign lord and master, the Earl of Pembroke: Your 
lordship’s hospital of St. Nicholas is sought as a concealment by 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 149 


one Mr. Geffe, who as he saith has a grant of the fee of it Eliz. 33, 
but professeth good usage to your lordship, to the poor, aud to my- 
self, that he may have free liberty to seize upon it. But our counsel 
thinks his title weak, and therefore advises rather, because the state 
of it is somewhat doubtful, to crave confirmation of it from the 
king’s majesty, which because the like in like case hath been lately 
obtained with great grace and favour, especially by the motion of 
the Earl of Northampton, for the hospital of Heytesbury, they 
think it will be easy for your honour to procure the same for us, if 
your lordship do like of such a course, whereunto we have no 
argument to move your good honour, but that piety and pity which 
do much adorn your true nobility. The profit of it besides the name 
is small, but the prayers to God for your honour are many. It 
hath stood about four hundred years; my government and cost 
upon the house and the poor have been such as the strictest visitors 
have ever approved. I do only now as duty bindeth acquaint your 
honour with the cause, and shall be ready to go forward in it when 
and howsoever your lordship will appoint; and so rest, of all others 
your honour’s most bounden servant, G. B.” 

Lord Pembroke must have assented to this petition: for we find 
that he applied to Bishop Cotton fora long lease of the patronage 
of the hospital, which the bishop granted him for forty-one years. 
Not for nothing, we may be sure: this was an age when everything 
was bought and sold. 

This having been done Mr. Bigge next visited London, bent on 
bringing about the cession by Tipper and Dawe of their rights in 
the hospital in favour of the new patron, This he effected by com- 
pounding the suit now depending for 100 guineas, on which they 
promised to pass on their right to Lord Pembroke. A note of the 
transaction remains in Bigge’s handwriting, thus ;—“ Dee. 2, 1609, 
I have paid fifty-two pound ten shillings to Mr, Richard Frances at 
his house in Watling Street, London 52 10 0 And fifty-two 

pounds ten shillings to Thomas Hill 

at the same time and place 52 10 0 


a 


TQS: 102 Os? 


150 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


Also during the same visit he was introduced by some person 
unknown to the Privy Seal, Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, 
who received him favourably ; and to him, perhaps first, he broached 
his idea of getting a new foundation. At all events he writes after 
his return to his anonymous friend deprecating an intention to put 
the hospital under the dean and chapter instead of under a master, 
excusing himself for putting the hospital under Lord Pembroke’s 
protection, and complaining that he had spent more than £140 in 
this business. 

And so in 1610 King James I. granted a fresh constitution to 
the hospital, which has never been superseded. By this a master, a 
chaplain, and six poor and infirm of either sex, were constituted a 
corporation, and authorized to use a common seal. The Earl of 
Pembroke has the appointment of the master for his life, and after 
his death his executors for forty years: but after that time the 
appointment is to revert to the bishop, or to the dean and chapter 
in case of a vacancy of the see. The master is to swear to observe 
the statutes either of Bishop Bingham, the founder, or Bishop 
Beauchamp, the patron of the hospital: and to nominate and admit 
brethren and sisters within one month of the vacancy to which they 
succeed. One brother, however, is always to be appointed by the 
dean and chapter. 

Thus ended the long controversy: and this favourable event was 
secured by the long-continued and patient exertions of one man, 
Geoffrey Bigge, the master. 

Mr. Bigge also made sundry alterations about the premises. Thus 
he put an end to the lease of the St. Nicholas’ farm, one Thomas 
Hancock surrendering his lease to him in 1617, The tenement he 
seems to have pulled down: thus demolishing what had once 
probably been the original hospital of St. Nicholas. For this he 
substituted two sets of rooms on either side of the old west porch of 
the hospital, which were old at this time: the northern half being (as 
was said before) made out of the relics of the old north wing of the 
hospital, which had been destroyed in 1498 ; and the southern half 
being the old kitchen of the establishment, from which the meat 
used to be passed through to the refectory by a private door. These 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 151 


two halves of the new house he joined by a passage over the hospital 
porch, and called the house “ The Old Kitchen,” assigning to it a 
garden down to the river bank. 

But where should he make the new hospital kitchen? He found 
room for it at the east end, by turning the common hall into a 
kitchen. It will be remembered that Geoffrey Blyth, or Wilton, 
had made this common hall out of the eastern half of the north 
chapel, turning the western half of it into a buttery, inmate’s room, 
and woodhouse. This western half Bigge now crowned with a 
second storey, in which he made four brothers’ rooms. All this we 
find from the old accounts he did in 1622. But in 16%1 he had 
“ditched and paled the litton.” The old hospital cemetery, which 
had been “reconciled” in 1501, had been turned into an orchard 
belonging to the hospital farm. But on the demolition of the farm- 
house Mr. Bigge ditched and paled it, and let it in 1662 with the rest 
of the farm-house lands to one Bate for the yearly rent of £5 18s. 
It would be interesting to identify the litton exactly. Mr. 
Hickman estimates its extent at three-quarters of an acre, and the 
deed by which Hancock surrenders the farm-house says that it lay 
on the north side of the farm-house. We may, therefore, pronounce 
with some confidence that it is all that corner of the property which 
lies between the Harnham Road and the road under the Close wall. 

Five years before the deaths of both Mr. Bigge and the Earl of 
Pembroke (they died in the same year, 1630), the latter executed a 
deed of gift of the next presentation to the hospital wardenship to 
John Nicholas, Esq., of Winterborne Earls. Mr. Bigge died 
seemingly at the hospital: if so, he was the last master who has 
resided there. He left a widow, and two daughters married to 
Joseph Bate and John Dove. Joseph Bate was probably the lessee of 
the farm-house lands. John Dove at all events bore the same name 
with the Presbyterian colonel who made himself well known in 
Salisbury during the Commonwealth, and who was high sheriff for 
Wilts in 1655. 

/  VIL—Tue Last Two Hunprep anp Sixty Yuars. 
1630—1890. 

On Mr. Bigge’s death Mr. Nicholas presented to the mastership 

VOL, XXV.—-NO. LXXIV, M 


152 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


his own son, Matthew. Matthew Nicholas was a man of 34, who 
was rector of West Dean and prebendary of Axford, and perhaps by 
this time already canon residentiary, being a great friend of Bishop 
Davenant’s. It may have been with a view to his succession that 
the presentation was given to Mr. Nicholas, his father. 

For the next seventeen years he ruled the hospital from his house 
in the close, leaving a chaplain to inhabit the hospital. The only 
repairs, however, that he executed were in 1634 and 1635. In 
1634 he made, in the hall within the porch, a staircase leading up to 
the old refectory, which he shortened by 15ft. to make a new study 
for the chaplain. The old refectory was thus reduced in dimensions 
to a square of 21ft., and became the chaplain’s drawing-room, which 
it continued to be till the demolition of the whole house in 1884, 
In 1685 he made a private kitchen for his chaplain at the east end 
of the house, strengthening the original wall of the southern tran- 
sept so as to enable it to bear a kitchen chimney ; with an entrance 
hall and back staircase to the chaplain’s room, and also a door into 
the orchard beyond. 

But in 1647 the Commonwealth was set up, and prelacy abolished 
by law. The cathedral property was confiscated, the canons’ houses 
sold, and the palace turned into an inn. Dr. Nicholas, more 
fortunate than the rest, fled to Bristol, where he was also dean, and 
lived there undisturbed though in poverty ; while first John Strickland 
and later (on May 27th, 1647) Frances Rivett, Esq., was nominated 
master of St. Nicholas’ by the Parliament. Dr. Nicholas did not 
dispute the title, but gave into Rivett’s hands the necessary papers, 
accounts, &. The poor inmates were continued as before. A Rev. 
Henry Dent was chaplain during at least seven years (1652—59) of 
the Commonwealth. 

But the Presbyterian party, to which Mr. Rivett seems to have 
belonged, were not long themselves in power. In Salisbury, indeed, 
their power lasted longer than in the country at large. In this 
country they were superseded by Independents, who beheaded the 
King in 1649. But in Salisbury the Presbyterians had a majority 
in the City Council until 1656. In that year the City Council re- 
solved, by an Independent majority, to petition the Protector that 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 153 


“ the circuit of the close, together with the hospital of St. Nicholas, 
might be granted to the mayor and city, in as large and ample a 
manner as to the bishops, deans, and chapters thereof.” This prayer 
was granted in spite of a counter-petition from the inhabitants of 
the close, and in September of that year the mayor and corporation 
received a grant from the Parliament of the perpetual care, visitation, 
inspection, patronage, and free disposition of the hospital: and the 
mayor and any eight of the aldermen were fully empowered to 
reverse the decisions of the master, and to appoint a new master, 
when the place was vacant. On this (in 1658) Mr. Rivett resigned, 
and the mayor for the time being, William Stone, was appointed. 

But three years after—in August, 1659, when things were 
ripening towards the next year’s settlement—the mayor and corpo- 
ration were required to give up their new charter. They complied, 
but John Ivey, senior, the mayor of the year, was sent to London 
with a petition that the corporation might be allowed to keep the 
hospital. This was granted, Ivey was continued in the mastership, 
and his son, John Ivey, junior, continued as steward of the hospital, 

John Ivey had been mayor, and therefore master of St. Nicholas’, 
since the autumn of 1658. Immediately on succeeding to the latter 
post, he had gone to law with Dr. Nicholas, the late warden, for 
monies received by him in fines on leases, &c., and alleged to be due 
to the hospital. To this Dr. Nicholas answered by the plea that 
twelve years since he had delivered all the accounts into Rivett’s 
hands, and had since only received rents which were lawfully due 
to himself. 

However, the tide was turning: at the end of May, 1660, the 
King was brought back, and within the month (21st June) an order 
was issued for Dr. Nicholas’ restoration to his mastership. It was 
signed by the same clerk of the Parliament who thirteen years 
before had signed the order for Rivett’s intrusion. 

Dr. Matthew Nicholas also had a fresh grant of the deanery of 
St. Paul’s, London, of which he had been made dean by Charles L., 
but had never come into possession. He died in 1662, and was 
succeeded by his son, John Nicholas, a young man of 23, who was 
appointed by Bishop Henchman, He had been at Winchester and 

M 2 


154 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


at New College, Oxford : and this preferment was followed by his 
being appointed Prebendary of Lyme and Halstock by Bishop Hyde, 
who also made him his chaplain, in 1667; fellow of Winchester, 
1667; Warden of New College, 1675, which he resigned to become 
Warden of Winchester College, 1679: and finally prebendary of 
Winchester, 1684. He is well known to Winchester boys as the 
builder of the hall which till this generation has been known as 
* School.” 

He also executed great repairs at St. Nicholas’; where, by the 
way, he does not seem to have resided himself. In 1662 he built 
a “chaplain’s chamber,” or bedroom over the study, approached by a 
continuation of the staircase to the study. In 1668 he repaired the 
great porch. In 1673 he boarded the floors of the inmates’ rooms. 
From 1675 to 1679 he was at work on the chapel,which he wainscoted, 
carving coats of arms on the wainscot, and setting upa pulpit. In 
1625 he walled with brick the colonnade of arches, which till then 
had been open, thus making a covered passage inside, and warming 
the inmates’ rooms. 

While he was master there were three episcopal visitations : one 
by Bishop Henchman in 1662, at the beginning of his mastership : 
two more by Seth Ward in 1670 and 1677. We have the questions 
of the first and third of these, and the answers made to them by 
the master. From these it appears that in 1662 one of the brothers 
was expelled as a disorderly person. In 1677 the master stated that 
he had one MS. volume of records and evidences—no doubt the 
actual volume now called the Old Register: and that he had in a 
chest in the master’s lodgings the “ charter” or “original foundation” 
of the hospital with other indentures and papers (since lost). 

Dr. John Nicholas died at Winchester in 1711, and was succeeded 
by Thomas Burnet, afterwards Rector of West Keynton, near 
Chippenham, who was collated by Bishop Burnet, whose youngest 


1In 1703 Christopher London, the chaplain and steward, died, and was 
succeeded by Edmund Hickman in both offices. Mr. Hickman compiled the 
MS., which is my second source of information for this paper. He died in 1728 ; 
“a very honest diligent man, living much beloved, and dying lamented.” 


— ee ee 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 155 


son he was.' He resigned in favour of his son, who was collated 
by Bishop Sherlock in 1735. 

After two Burnets follow two Humes, Nathaniel the brother, 
and John the son of Bishop Hume, the uncle resigning in 1774 in 
favour of the nephew. The nephew was also prebendary of Combe 
and Harnham. He exchanged both his mastership and prebend for 
the vicarage of Bishop’s Lavington, and the vicar of Lavington— 
the Rev. Edward Emily—became by collation of Bishop Shute 
Barrington prebendary of Combe and Harnham and master of St. 
Nicholas’. 

Emily was a great friend of Bishop Barrington’s; and when he 
died in 1792 he left an estate at Woking, valued at £6000, to the 
bishop, who handed it over to trustees for the further endowment 
of St Nicholas’ Hospital. 

After this Dr. William Coxe, afterwards archdeacon of Wilts, 
held the hospital for a few weeks in 1792: and then Bishop Douglas 
collated his son, William, who had held the archdeaconry of Wilts 
before Dr. Coxe. Then in 1819 Bishop Fisher collated the Rev. 
Arthur E. Howman, who died in 1822: and two years after, two 
successive intervening masters (Dean Talbot, of Salisbury, and the 
Rev. T. Rennell) having died each the year after they were collated, 
the same bishop collated the Rev. G. E. Howman (afterwards Little), 
rector of Barnsley, co. Gloucester, son of the former master of the 
same name. 

He was master for fifty-six years: and during his mastership the 
hospital was entirely re-built, with the exception of the chapel and 
master’s house. Large fines on the several properties were con- 
tinually falling in; many men would have simply put them into 
their own pocket, whereas he generously used them on behalf of the 
hospital. These gifts, together with £1600 which he expended 
upon a new Church at Manningford Bohun, a hamlet of Wilsford, 
amounted altogether to the large sum of £5018 15s. ld.: and he 


1He cannot have been of an age for orders when collated. His mother was 
married in 1687, and there were at least four children older than himself. Life 
of Burnet, pp. 24, 31. Yet in 1712 he was collated to the prebend of Lynn and 
Halstock, which had been vacated by his predecessor at St. Nicholas’. 


156 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


himself certified that during the twenty years between 1851 and 
1870 the amount which he derived from the hospital for his own 
use was only £196 11s. 7d. 

I succeeded Mr. Howman upon his death in 1878; and in 1884 
I pulled down and re-built the master’s house, carefully preserving, 
however, the old arcade of arches, and as far as possible the old 
character of the building. If in any degree I have been successful 
in this, it is mainly due to the interest in the old building of the 
Rev. Lewis Gidley, the late chaplain, whose acquaintance with the 
hospital was far greater than my own. . 

There is still much to be done at the hospital in the way of further 
development of the charity. These things must wait for the neces- 
sary funds, and perhaps will be carried out by a future generation ; 
but meantime I rejoice to have put on record in this shape the 
history of the hospital in its three stages :—as the unknown founder 
designed it; as Bingham made it a hospital for the sick with 
brethren and nurses; as Beauchamp restricted it to twelve pensioners; 
who still, in spite of threats of dissolution which from time to time 
have been heard, enjoy its bounty. 


APPENDIX A. 


“Carta Comitissee Ele de assarto in Bentlewood. 

“ Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos presens scriptum pervenerit, Ela comitissa 
Sarum salutem in Domino. Noverit universitas vestra me intuitu Dei et pro salute 
animz domini mei Willelmi Longspee Comitis Sarum, et pro salute anime mex, 
et pro animabus patris et matris me, liberorum, antecessorum, et heredum 
meorum, dedisse, concessisse, et presenti Charta confirmasse Deo et Hospitali 
Sancti Nicholai de nova Sarum, et venerabili in Christo patri Richardo episcopo 
et successoribus suis episcopis Sarum, ad sustentationem pauperum et infirmorum 
Hospitalis quod plene est in ordinatione predictorum Richardi episcopi et suc- 
cessorum suorum episcoporum Sarum, Totam terram clausi mei australis de 
Bentle[s]wood que mihi remansit post donum quod feci Johanni de Monemue, 
Willelmo de Nevill, Alluredo de Boterell personze de West Deane, per concordiam 
coram Justitiariis itinerantibus inter me et ipsos factam, cum bosco et assarto, 
pratis et pasturis, viis et semitis, libertatibus et liberis consuetudinibus, et 
omnibus aliis rebus ad eandem terram pertinentibus, cum clauso de Buclea. 
Concessi etiam pradictoHospitali sexaginta averia cum exitibus unius anni, et duo- 
decim equos vel equas et sexaginta porcos, et trecentas oves. Habenda in perpetuum 
libere et quiete in pastura, per omnia loca ubi praedicti Johannes de Monemue, 
Willelmus de Nevill, Alluredus de Boterell persona de West Deane habent mecum 
communia, vel ego cum eis; omnia autem preedicta habebunt et tenebunt preefati 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 157 


Hospitale Sancti Nicholai Richardus episcopus et successores sui episcopi Sarum, 
in puram et perpetuam eleemosinam, libere et quiete ab omni servitio et seculari 
exactione. Ego vero et heredes mei totam prenominatam terram cum omnibus 
pertinentiis et cum tota predicta communia, sicut predictum est, Deo et supra- 
dictis Hospitali sancti Nicholai et Richardo episcopo et successoribus suis episcopis 
Sarum contra omnes homines et feminas warrantizabimus. Et in hujus rei 
testimonium presenti scripto sigillum meum apposui : Hiis testibus domino. 
Stephano Abbate de Stanley, Magistris Elia de Beth, Luca, Henrico de Byssopston- 
Canonicis Sarum, Willelmo clerieo tune senescallo meo, Rogero de Calne tune: 
vicecomite Wiltes, Willelmo Gilebert, Johanne le Daveis, Hugone de Broys, 
Roberto de Hokanham, Henrico de Albiniacis, Hamoni de Bakhampton, Richardo: 
de Poulesholt militibus, Michaele de Childhampton, Willelmo de Derneford, et 
multis aliis. Datum apud Castrum Veteris Sarum anno ab incarnatione domini 
[millesimo] ducentesimo vicesimo septimo, quartodecimo kalendas Septembris. 


“Vere transcriptum ex originali remanente apud Wilton Evidence House per 
me Galfridum Bygge Custodiem.”’ 


[N.B.—The above deed is only a copy of the original, and in some respects a 
doubtful eopy, especially as to the proper names. Thus the name of the first- 
mentioned canon of Sarum is given as “ Elias de Beth.” There were two canons 
of the name of Elias in 1226—Elias de Derham, the builder of the Cathedral, 
and Elias P. Ridel. The second canon’s name is given as “ Lucas.’ ‘There were 
also two Lukes among them in 1226—Luke the King’s treasurer, and Luke de- 
Winton. The names of the knights and esquires I believe I have deciphered 
rightly ; except that the name ‘‘ Childhampton ” is doubtful. ] 


APPENDIX B. 


“ Ordinatio Ricardi Episcopi Sarum super ecclesiis de Boxe et de Wyvilesford 
per consensum prioris et conventus de Farley. 


“Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos preesens scriptum pervenerit Ricardus de 
permissione Sarisberiensis ecclesiz minister humilis salutem in Domino eternam. 
Noveritis quod prior et conventus de Ferleigh ecclesiam de Boxe juxta Ferleigh 
et ecclesiam de Wyvilesford cum pertinentiis que ad eorum pertinebant advo- 
cationem nostre ordinationi supposuerunt per cartam suam que talis est: 
“Reverendo domino et patri in Christo Ricardo dei gratia devotissimus suus H. 
dictus prior de Ferleigh et ejusdem loci conventus salutem et tam promptam quam 
debitam cum obedientia reverentiam. Committimus unanimi assensu et voluntate 
ordinationi vestre ecclesias de Boxe et de Wyvillesford, que ad nostram spectant 
advocationem, paternitati ‘vestree attentius supplicantes quatenus intuitu dei de 
preedictis ecclesiis ita ordinare velitis quod ordinatio vestra nobis proficiat ad 
salutem. Ratum et gratum habebimus quicquid super premissis vestra duxerit 
ordinare paternitas. In cujus rei testimonium Sigillum nostrum commune 
apposuimus.’ Recepimus insuper literas nobilis viri H. comitis Herford super 
eisdem ecclesiis in hee verba: ‘ Venerabili patri in Christo Ricardo dei gratia 
Sarum episcopo Humfridus de bohon Salutem in domino. Cum ipsorum pro- 
motioni specialiter intendere debeamus quos preedecessores nostri sincera caritate 
sunt amplexati, pre dilectis nobis in Christo priore et conventu de Ferleigh, 


158 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


quorum domum preedecessores nostri fundaverunt, paternitatem vestram attentius 
rogamus et devote, quatenus paupertati eorumdem prioris et conventus miseri- 
corditer compatientes eos promovere in ecclesiam de Boxe velitis, vel in aliqua 
alia que ad eorumdem spectat advocationem, vel saltem Ecclesia de Wy- 
velisford, quarum advocationes pidecessores nostri eis contulerunt, et nos 
eisdem per cartam nostram confirmavimus. Ratum et [gratum] habebimus 
quicquid super dictis ecclesiis vestra ordinaverit paternitas. Et valeat sanctitas 
vestra in domino.’ Nos igitur considerantes paupertatem domus de Farleigh, ad 
cujus sustentationem proprie non superfuerunt facultates, attendentes etiam 
hospitalitatem quam ejusdem domus monachi in omnibus transeuntes ultra vires 
exercent, precibus insuper et voluntati dicti comitis super ordinationem dictarum 
ecclesiarum inclinati, Sic ordinamus quod prior et monachi de Ferleigh in usus 
proprios in perpetuum nomine perpetui beneficii retineant omnes decimas 
garbarum cum curia persone et terra ecclesia de Boxe, salva in eadem 
ecclesia vicaria perpetua ad quam dictus prior et conventus vicarium cum 
vacaverit presentabunt, qui nomine vicarie percipiet omnes obventiones altaris 
et cimiterii, et omnes minutas decimas, et decimas feni, et molendinorum et 
curtillagiorum, et preter ea singulis annis per manus monachorum de Ferleigh vy. 
quarteria frumenti et v. de ordio et iij de mextilone et ij de avena. Quod 
vicarius omnia onera ordinaria sustinebit preter procurationes archidiaconi quas 
facient monachi; qui etiam invenient aream dicto vicario competentem et 
honestam in qua possit sdificare, omnibus extraordinariis inter monachos et 
vicarium pro rata partiendis. Ordinamus etiam de ecclesia de Wyvelesford in 
hunc modum, viz. quod habita consideratione ad insufficientiam domus hospitalis 
Sarum ad sustentationem unius capellani futuris et perpetuis temporibus cele- 
braturi divina in capella hospitalis ejusdem pro salute anime nostre et pro 
animabus preedecessorum et successorum nostrorum, et pro animabus nobilis viri 
comitis Sarum Willelmi longespie et Ele comitissee Sarum necnon et canonicorum 
Sarum et ad refocillationes pauperum et transeuntium ad eandem domum seu 
declinantium, assignavimus omnes decimas garbarum in campis de parochia de 
Wyvelesford, salvis vicario perpetuo singulis annis tribus quarteriis framenti 
duobus de ordio duobus de avena et uno de siligine percipiendis per liberationem 
procuratoris ejusdem domus qui episcopo Sarum futuris perpetuis temporibus 
presentabit vicarium. In cujus etiam usus cedent omnes obventiones altaris, 
et omnes decimz preter decimas garbarum quas et vicarius sustinebit omnia 
onera ordinaria et procurationes archidiaconi faciet omnibus extraordinariis inter 
vicarium et domum Hospitalis pro rata partiendis. Ut autem hee nostra 
ordinatio firma et stabilis imperpetuum preservetur, tria scripta sub eisdem 
verbis et tenore eodem, quorum unum in ecclesia Sarum remanebit, aliud penes 
monachos de Ferleigh, et tertium in domo Hospitalis Sarum confici fecimus, et 
sigillo nostro et capellani nostri Sarum communicavimus. Salvis omnino nostra 
dignitate et auctoritate ecclesie Sarum et cura successorum meorum. Actum 
apud Farleigh die Veneris proxima ante nativitatem beatae Mariz, anno ab incarna- 
tione Domini millesimo ducentesimo vicesimo septimo, pontificatus nostri anno 
undecimo. Hiis testibus Stephano Archidiacono Wilts, magistro R.de Brecham, 
domino Waltero de Porleye, domino Valentio, Roberto de Witham, et magistro 
Galfrido de Moritonia, et multis aliis.” 


ES eS 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 159 


APPENDIX C, 


Extract from a MS. by Mr. Hickman, chaplain of St. Nicholas’ 
Hospital, dated 1713. 


“T find that the body of the church (or cloister) was founded upon twelve 
pillars with large and beautiful arches turned on them, six of each side, in distance 
from each other about 14 foot, which said range of pillars and arches ran up also 
on the north and south sides to the very east end of the chancel, in which were 
eight or ten pillars more; and [the] body of the church (or cloister) was in 
breadth in the inside from pillar to pillar about 25 foot, as was also the chancel 
built on a continuation of the same range of pillars: the pillars was near 3 foot 
square, and in height from the floor to the upper part of the cornice on which the 
foot of the arches stood about 5 foot and a half in height. The body of the 
church (or cloister) was in length about 76 foot, between which and the chancel 
was across aisle ranging north and south; in length from the body of the church 
each way were 40 foot, and in breadth about 13; but a wall went cross them and 
a door in each at the end of about 20 foot exactly alike on both sides. From 
the east end of the body of the church (or cloister) to the east end of the chancel 
was about 46 foot in length, and at the east end of the chancel was also a sanctum 
sanctorum, or low chapel of about 28 foot in length: so that from the west porch 
of the church (or cloister) to the east end of the sanctum was about an 150 foot, 
and the length of the cross aisles from north to south about 110 foot. At the 
south end of the cross aisle was also a further building of necessary houses over 
the water, and there was also additional buildings at the end of the north cross 
aisle that answered to those on the south, and led to the door of entrance into 
the churchyard, and these additional buildings had chambers over them. There 
was there also chapels, one on the north side of the chancel dedicated to the 
Blessed Virgin Maria, and another on the south side thereof, dedicated to St. 
Nicholas, both of an equal length and breadth (viz.) in length 36 foot and in 
breadth 20, which answered exactly to the length of the iuner part of the cross 
aisles before you came to the wall and door that enters into [the] outer part of 
the cross aisle, both sides being of an exact proportion, according as it is here 
represented in the first platform or figure. The poor people’s rooms being twelve 
in number were six on the north side of the body of the church (or cloister) and 
six on the south, which six on the south continues much as they did from the 
first, only as at first they came out of their doors into a passage of about 8 foot 
wide between their said doors and the pillars of the cloister, between which 
pillars it was all open, so that to go from the rooms on the north side of the 
church (or cloister) to those on the south (or from the south to the north) they 
went between the said pillars, and so cross the church (or cloister) : but since the 
said church is gone there is now a strong brick wall made between the pillars on 
the south side from west to east to keep the rooms warm, but both pillars and 
poor’s chambers are all gone from the north side thereof, and shops for weaving 
erected in the place of the poor people’s lodging rooms. There is no mention in 
the ordination of any set number of poor people, but I am apt to believe it was 
designed for twelve from the foundation. There was two porches for entrance, 
one on the north, the other on the south side of the body of the church (or cloister) 


160 St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


besides one large porch between them, whieh poreh belonged to the cloister (or 
church). The porch on the south side does yet remain, only a room is made over 
it by the tenant of the old kitchen: and passing through these two porches you 
come into two halls of about 25 or 30 foot long each from north to south, and 
about 16 foot broad; out of which halls you entered into the passage that lead [s] 
between the poor people’s doors and the pillars of the said church (or cloister), on 
each side just alike, both porch, hall, and passage. That hall on the south side 
is yet in being, only a large staircase made in it to ascend into the master’s 
lodgings, which was done about an 100 years since, till which time it was still 
called the old hall, and had a long old table board standing in it. Then on the 
north side of the hospital, between the said hospital and the churchyard or litton, 
was a tenement given by Bishop Robert in his ordination, which has been 
since rebuilt in form of a church (or hospital) building; at the east end of which 
was a door through a wall out of the aforesaid additional buildings of the cross 
aisle into the churchyard. But since the poor people’s rooms are gone on the 
north side of the church (or cloister) and the chaplain’s lodgings which was over 
them, there are two rooms built at the east end of the said tenement (of late 
called the farm-house, because the farmer that rented the hospital lands generally 
lived there) for two poor people and a chamber and garret for the chaplain over 
them ; which rooms and a chamber was builded about 1498, on the north side of 
which lies the ground (now an orchard) formerly called the litton or churchyard. 
Then on the south side of the north porch of entrance (at the west end of the 
hospital) is the tenement called the old kitchen, because formerly when the master 
and chaplains all ate together in the dining room of the hospital, all their meat 
was dressed there, and a door was made on the south side of the said dining 
room, about 8 foot from the west end, into the said kitchen for bringing the 
meat, which door is now (since the staircase was built and a chamber and study 
taken out of the west end of the said dining room) walled up. I have already 
given an account that the poor people’s rooms were six on the north and six on 
the south side of the church (or cloister). And over those on the south side was 
(and still is) the master’s or keeper’s lodgings, and the great common dining 
room, in length from west to east in the inside 36 foot and in breadth 21: the 
breadth is still the same, but there having been a chamber (with a study over it) 
and large staircase made and taken out of the west end thereof by Mr. Bigge 
about an 100 years past, the length of it now is but just the same as the breadth, 
viz., 21 foot. Then farther to the east there were two or three lodging rooms 
which also yet remain, and a kitchen is built over good part of the south cross 
aisle, and a thick wall for a foundation for the said kitchen chimney, and a room 
to look into the new chapel. Then over the more southerly part of the said 
cross aisle is built a washhouse, &c., and farther over the additional buildings is 
a woodhouse and house of office, over the stream of water that runs under those 
of the poor people. In the more southerly part of the cross aisle there is also a 
staircase to come up into the master’s lodgings, called the back stairs. But note 
that the master’s and chaplain’s lodgings being builded over the poor people’ss 
was at least 8 foot broader than the said poor people’s rooms, for they went clear 
over the aforesaid passage that is between the poor people’s doors and the pillars, 
which is at least 8 foot, and joined to the said pillars or arches of the said church 
(or cloister). : 


EE Cr 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 161 


“The church and chancel (or middle chapel) was dedicated to the honour of 
Almighty God, in which mass was said or sung every Sunday and great holy 
day, such as Ascension Day, Good Friday, and many more, as also the canonical 
hours, that is in the middle chapel or chancel, for the body of the church (or 
cloister) was never used for any divine service. The chapel on the north side 
was dedicated to the honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and was constantly used 
for masses and canonical hours, &c. (mostly by the master or keeper himself) on 
every festival of the said Blessed Virgin, as well by night as by day. The 
chapel on the south side (which yet remaineth) was dedicated to the Blessed 
Nicholas confessor, and was used on all other holy days and at several other 
times according as the master thought fit: in every of which chapels there was 
a lamp constantly kept burning, as also in each of the cross aisles in the night 
time, or at least in the evenings. 

But I cannot tell on what account it was, but towards the latter end of the 
fourteenth century the body of the church (or cloister), with all the poor people’s 
rooms and buildings on the north side thereof was taken down, as was also the 
chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the sanctum sanctorum at the east end 
of the chancel, and the chancel itself made into a common hall for the poor 
people (I mean the east end of it) with a buttery for the nurse adjoining to the 
west part of the said hall, and a room for a poor sister adjoining to the west part 
of the buttery, and a woodhouse adjoining to the west part of the said room, all 
which took up the whole length of the chancel and of the north cross aisle, which 
was also pulled down with the additional buildings at the north end of it, to the 
aforesaid door of entrance into the churchyard or litton, within which ranging 
straight from the east end of the tenement or farm-house aforesaid was built two 
rooms, as have been said, and a chamber over for the chaplain, and the door of 
entrance into the litton is now the door of entrance into one of the aforesaid new 
built rooms. Then was also the north porch and hall pulled down, as also the 
porch belonging to the body of the church (or cloister), and tenements built in 
their place. And an orchard was planted where the body of the church (or 
cloister) stood, which is now and has for more than 100 years been converted 
into a garden of herbs for the poor people’s pottage. And after all these ruinous 
transactions I find that the chapel now in use (which was the only one then left 
in the hospital) was again consecrated in 1501 to the honour of Almighty God, 
the glorious Virgin Mary, and St. Nicholas confessor. And about 100 years ago 
the aforesaid hall was made into a common kitchen, and four chambers built over 
it and the buttery and aforesaid lower room for four poor brothers, viz., two over 
the kitchen, one over the buttery and room aforesaid on the north side, and 
another over the same on the south side.” 


APPENDIX D. 


List of Masters of St. Nicholas’ Hospital. 


Nicholas Laking, custos, A.D. 1254 (Hatcher, p. 732). 

Adam, brother: mentioned as prior, 1267 (Reg., p. 8). 

John Burnes, mentioned as custos, 1281 (20., p. 42) ; vicar of Damerham. 
John Hinton, mentioned as master, 1288 (Do.). 


Pea 


162 


St. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


William Wokingham, custos, resigned 1305 (Phillips). 

John Netheravon, made custos 1305, by Bishop Gaunt (Do.). 

William Abingdon, coll. 1825, by Bishop Mortival; rector of Patney 
and Broughton Gifford (Ph.). 

Peter Romsey, coll. 1328, by ditto ; rector of Donhead St. Andrew (Ph.). 

John Kirkby, coll. 1837, bp Bishop Wyvill; rector of Barford (Rich- 
Jones, p. 402). 

Richard Haversham, mentioned as custos, 1338 (Reg. p. 107 and Ph.). 

Bartholomew Braddon, made custos by Bishop Wyvill, 1342 (Ph.) ; rector 
of St. Peter’s, Marlborough, prebendary of Axford, 1344 (Ph.). 

Robert Godalming, coll. 1852, and called master, Reg., p. 108 (Ph.). 

Robert Hatfield, mentioned as custos, 1378, Reg. p. 27 (Ph.). 

William Spaldwick, mentioned as “ gardeyn,” 1397, Reg., p. 11; made 
custos by Bishop Mitford, 1397; prebendary of Ruscombe, 1398 
(Ph.). 

John Hurleigh, made custos, 1418, by ditto, resigned 1420; called 
“miles’’ ; prebendary of Ramsbury, 1414 ; rector of Kingston Deverell ; 
d. 1425 (Ph.). 

Richard Bucklehurst, coll. 1420 (Ph.). 

John Castell, coll. 142—P?; resigned 1432; prebendary of Yetminster 
Prima, 1428 (Ph.). 

John Wawne, coll. by Bishop Nevill, 1432 (Ph.). 

Thomas Marshall, coll. 143—P?' (Ph.). 

Nicholas Upton, coll. by Bishop Ayscough, 1442 ; precentor, 1446; died 
1457 (Ph.). 

Henry Duke, coll. by Bishop Beauchamp, 1457; sub-dean, 1452; died 
1461 (Ph.). 

Roger Newenton, coll. 1461; resigned 1478 (Ph.). 

Henry Sutton, coll. 1478; resigned 1494; treasurer, 1495 (Ph.). 

Geoffrey Blythe, coll. by Bishop Blythe, his brother ; treasurer, 1494 ; 
archdeacon of Sarum, 1499; bishop of Lichfield, 1503; died 1533 
(Ph.). 

William Wilton, D.D. coli. by Bishop Deane, 1501 ; chancellor, 1507 ; 
prebendary of Grimston, 1500; died after May, 1525. 

Edward Fox, knight, lay master, called custos, 1524—1534 (Reg., fly- 
leaf at beginning, and Hickm., p. 136). 

Richard Long, knight, lay master after 1534; brother of Sir Henry Long 
of South Wraxall. 

Robert Crayford, of New College, D.D.; born at York (Kirby’s Register) 
1543 (Hickm., p. 135). 

Henry Herbert, afterwards Lord Herbert of Cardiff, second Earl of 
Pembroke, lay master, 1550 (Hickm., p. 135). 

Richard Dolshon, lay custos (Reg., p. 47), 1577 (Hickm., p. 135). 

Robert Parker, M.A., made custos by Bishop Coldwell (Reg., p. 47), 
1591, Hickm., p. 135 (Ph.). 

Geoffrey Bigge, coll. by ditto, 1593; d. 1630 (Ph). 

Matthew Nicholas, presented by J. Nicholas to Bishop Davenant, 1630 ; 
dean of Bristol and St. Paul’s ; died 1662 (Ph). 


34, 


By the Rev. Canon Moberly. 163 


1647. John Strickland. 

1647. Francis Rivett, Esq., of King’s Sombourne, by Par 
Tntruded liament : resigned in favour of 

1656. William Stone, mayor. 

1659. John Ivey, mayor. 

John Nicholas, D.D., son of M. Nicholas, 1662; warden of Winchester 
and New College, Oxford; chaplain to Bishop Hyde; prebendary of 
Lyme and Halstock ; died 1711 (Ph.). 

Thomas Burnet, rector of West Keynton; prebendary of Lyme and 
Halstock, 1712; coll. by his father, Bishop Gilbert Burnet, 1711; re- 
signed, 1735, in favour of his son; died 1750. 

Robert Burnet, LL.D., collated, 1735, by Bishop Sherlock; died 1769 ; 
vicar of Bishop’s (or West) Lavington. 

Nathaniel Hume, prebendary of Winterbourne Earls and Yetminster ; 
collated by his brother, Bishop Hume, 1769; died 1804; resigned 1774 
and made precentor. 

John Hume, collated by his father, Bishop Hume, 1774; Dean of Derry ; 
exchanged Bishop’s Lavington with his successor, 1782; died 1782. 
Edward Emily, vicar of Bishop’s Lavington, collated by Bishop Barrington, 

1782; died 1792; prebendary of Combe and Harnham. 

William Coxe, F.R.S., F.S.A., canon residentiary ; archdeacon of Wilts; 

collated by Bishop Douglas, 1792; resigned 1792. 


William Douglas, collated by his father, Bishop Douglas, 1792; canon 


residentiary and precentor; died 1818. 

Arthur Edward Howman, rector of Burstow, co. Surrey ; prebendary of 
Durnford ; collated by Bishop Fisher, 1819; died 1822. 

Charles Talbot, dean of Salisbury, collated by Bishop Fisher, 1822 ; died 
1823. 

Thomas Rennell, vicar of Kensington ; prebendary of South Grantham, 
1823 ; collated by Bishop Fisher, 1824; died 1824, 

George Ernest Howman [son of No. 42] (afterwards Little), rector of 
Barnsley, co. Gloue. ; collated by Bishop Fisher, 1824; died 1878. 

George Herbert Moberly, rector of Monkton Farley; collated by his 
father, Bishop Moberly, 1878; prebendary of North Alton, 1889. 


APPENDIX E. 
Masters of the Valley College. 


1261. John Holtby. 


Thomas Bridport, prebendary of Ramsbury, 1284, 


1297. Thomas Ashley, resigned. 


1340. 


John Maydenhith. 
John Kirkby, archdeacon of Dorset, 1339. 


1348. Robert Worth, sub-dean and prebendary of South Alton, 1309 ; resigned 


Baldwin Mohun. 
Walter Wells, prebendary of Bitton, 1347. 


164 &t. Nicholas’ Hospital, Salisbury. 


1419. John Tidling, resigned. 
1428. John Symondsbury, archdeacon of Wilts, 1423; treasurer, 1449. 
1506. George Sydenham, archdeacon of Sarum, 1503. 

Richard Dudley, precentor, 1507; died 1536. 

John Bigge, prebendary of Yatesbury ; died 1544. 


APPENDIX F, 
Extract from Leland’s Itinerary, vol. iii., pp. 97, 98. 


“This Egidius [de Bridport] made the College de Vaulx for scholars betwixt 
the Palace Waulle and Harnam Bridge. 

“Part of these Scholars remain in the College at Saresbyri, and have two 
Chaplains to serve the Chirch ther being dedicate to S, Nicolas. 

“The Residue studie at Oxford. 

“The Scholars of Vaulx be bound to celebrate the Anniversarie of Giles their 
Founder at the Paroch Chirch of Britport where he was born. 

“ Richard Poure, Bishop of Saresbyri, and first Erector of the Cathedral Chirch 
of New Saresbyri, foundid the Hospital of St. Nicolas hard by Harnham Bridge, 
instituting a Master, viii. pore wimen, and iv. pore men in it, endowing the- 
House with Landes. On the §. side of this Hospital is a ChappelleofS .... 
standing in an Isle. 

“And on the N. side of this Hospital is an old Barne, where in times past was 
a paroch Chirch of S. Martine. 

“This Chirch was prophanyd, and a nother new made in Saresbyri for it, 
bearing yet the name of S. Martine. 

“ The cause of the translation was by cause it [stood] exceeding low and colde, 
and the Ryver at rages cam into it. 

“This Chirch of S. Martine and the Hammelet or Village of Harnham stode 
or ever any Part of New Sarum was buildid.” 


165 


Che Mishoy’s Palace at Salishuvy. 


[A Lecture delivered at the Blackmore Museum, Salisbury, January 27th, 1890, 
by the Right Reverend the Lorp BisHor oF SALiIsBURY.]} 


EY HE name palace, applied to a bishop’s residence, is of con- 
siderable antiquity. The word was one of wide signification, 
as ae Italian “ palazzo,” applied to any nobleman’s house, may serve 
to remind us. It was also used for certain monastic buildings and 
town halls, as the references in Du Cange show. It was, in fact, a 
term which, like “aula” in Latin, or “ court” in English, had both 
a special signification in regard to royalty, and a more general one 
in regard to other persons. As will be seen from the plan, the 
palace at Salisbury runs east and west, but in an irregular manner, 
caused by the gradual filling up of an old courtyard, which at ono 
time was rather large. The house, as a really old house, consists of 
three main parts—(1) the hall and chamber on the west, which are 
the work of Bishop Poore, cirea 1221; (2) the old dining-room, 
with the chapel above it, in the centre, which is probably the work 
of Bishop Beauchamp (1450—81); (8) the hall and tower on the 
east, which are more certainly the work of the same prelate. Others 
who have done much for us are Bishop Seth Ward (1666—88), 
Bishop Sherlock (1734—48), who built the library, turned by Bishop 
Barrington into a dining-room; Bishop Barrington (1782—90), 
who spent £7000 upon the house, adding largely to the number of 
bedrooms; and of my recent predecessors, Bishop Denison—the 
latter mainly outside the house. To him is due the lake in the 
garden; the pretty flower garden, enclosed in a low wall; and the 
stables and lodge, built by Wyatt in 1843. The main facts of these 
_ successive works up to his own time were recorded by Bishop Fisher, 
in 1818, in an inscription on a marble tablet in the present entrance 


166 The Bishop’s Palace at Salisbury. 


hall, over the doorway that leads to the principal staircase.! It bas 
been matter of general belief that our own palace was founded by 
Bishop Richard Poore, the founder of the Cathedral and of the city 
generally. It was not, however, till a few days ago that I became 
possessed of conclusive evidence on this point, through the kindness 
of Mr. James Parker, of Oxford, whose knowledge on such subjects 
is only equalled by his generosity in imparting it. He has put into 
my hands two of what are called Close Rolls of the fifth and sixth 
years of Henry III., but, as it happens, both in the same calendar 
year, showing that in 1221 the King granted timber from the 
Royal forests to Bishop Richard Poore for the purpose of this 
building at Salisbury.? The first is endorsed as follows :—* De 


i« Aides . in perpetuum . episc . saris . usum 
a. Yicardo . poore . primo . nove . saris . episc . a . fundamentis 
suo . sumptu . ad. mccxx constructas 
deinde . a . ricardo . beauchamp . saris . episc . primo . nobiliss 
ordinis . periscelidis . cancellario . a.d. MccccL ampliatas 
postea . a. seth . ward . episc . saris . quum 
sacrilegorum . manibus . eheu . quod . non . sunt . ausi 
foede . direpte . essent . a.d. MDCLXxX in . pristinam . faciem . revocatas 
deinceps . a. thoma . sherlock . quinto . illius 
successore . a.d. MDCCL auctas . et . ornatas 
in . meliorem . tandem . formam . opere . et . cultu . splendidiore 
amplius . vir . mill . lib . de . prop . pec(unia) 
pro . solita . sua . liberalitate 
erogatis . a.d. . MDCCLXXxvil . feliciter . perduxit 
vir . undique . honorabilis 
shute . barrington . s.t.p. . episc . saris 
h(unc) t (ulum) 
ne . tot . tantorumque . benefactorum . gratia . interciderit 
johannes . fisher . s.t.p. . episc . saris 
a.d. MDCCCXIII 
p(onendum) c(uravit). 


2 Rot. Claus. 6 Hen. III. memb 11=[1221]. 

“De maremio dato.—Rex Petro de Malo-Lacu salutem Sciatis quod dedi- 
mus venerando patri Ricardo Sarisburiensi Episcopo xx copulas in parco nostro 
de Gillingham ad aulam suam faciendam apud Novum Sarum. Et idcirco 
vobis mandamus quod illas xx copulas ei habere faciatis ubi eas competencius 
possit habere. Teste ut supra. 

“TWestm. 9 die Maii.]’” 

Do. 6 Hen. III. memb. 16=[1221-22]. 

“De X. copulis datis.—Rex Johanni de Monemuth salutem. Mandamus 
vobis quod habere faciatis venerando patri Ricardo Sarisburiensi Episcopo x 
copulas de quercu in haya nostra de Milcet, quas ei dedimus ad cameram suam 
de Sarum faciendam. Teste H. &c. apud Neubir xxx die Dec. anno regni 
nostri vi° per eundem coram domino Winton.” 


By the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Salisbury. 167 
maremio dato ”=“ Grant of building materials,’ and runs :— 


“The King to Peter de Malo-Lacu health. Know that we have given to 
our venerable father Richard Bishop of Salisbury twenty couples (of beams) 
in our park of Gillingham to make his hall at New Sarum. And therefore 
we order you to let him have those twenty couples wherever he can most 
conveniently have them. Witness as above.” 


“(Westminster 9th May 1221).” 


“The second is endorsed “de x copulis datis ”—=‘ Grant of ten 
couples (of beams),” and runs as follows :— 


-“The King to John of Monmouth health. We order you to let the venerable 
father Richard Bp. of Salisbury have ten couples (of beams) of oak in our 
wood (haya) of Milcet, which we have given him to make his chamber at 
Sarum. Witness H. &c., at Neubir 30 Dec. in the sixth year of our reign 
by the same before our Lord of Winton.”=30 Dec. 1221. 


The interest of these rolls will be manifest to everyone who knows 
the character of domestic buildings of the twelfth and thirteenth 
centuries, and who is acquainted with the present house. They 
show that the house was begun almost as soon as the Lady Chapel 
—the earliest part of the Cathedral—and suggest that it was finished 
in all its essential features before Bishop Poore’s departure to Durham. 
A comparison also of the rolls with the existing building seems to 
prove that we possess nearly all his work. They speak first of a 
hall (aula) and then of a chamber (camera) which with their sub- 
structures and appendages would cover all the necessary parts of a 
house of the date in question. The identification of the hall is 
happily quite clear. It is, of course, the great upper room about 
54ft. long by 24ft. wide, now used as a drawing-room, which is 
immediately over the vaulted room and passage that I have just had 
the pleasure of restoring, with the kind advice and oversight of Mr. 
Arthur Reeve. This was the chief building, and was naturally 
completed first. ‘The chamber, I can have little doubt, is the block 
of building with a sharp pointed roof, which is set at the side of the 
south-west part of the “aula,” so as to form with it a building of 
the shape of a Greek gamma (I) or the right half of a capital T. 
According to Mr. Hudson Turner, in his well-known book on 
VOL, XXV.—NO. LXXIV. N 


168 The Bishop’s Palace at Salisbury. 


“Domestic Architecture in England from the Conquest to the end 
of the Thirteenth Century” (Parkers, Oxford, 1851, p. 2 foll.) :— 


“ Ordinary manor houses, and even domestic edifices of greater pretensions, 
as the Royal palaces, were generally built during the twelfth century [and 
this, he tells us, was true also of the thirteenth—JZd. p. 59, &e.] on one 
uniform plan, comprising a hall with a chamber or chambers adjacent. The 
hall was generally situated on the ground floor, but sometimes over a lower 
story which was half in the ground ; it presented an elevation equal or superior 
to that of the buildings annexed to it; it was the only large apartment in 
the entire edifice, and was adapted in its original design, to accommodate the 
owner and his numerous followers and servants; they not only took their 
meals in the hall, but also slept in it on the floor, a custom the prevalence 
of which is shown by numerous passages in early authors, particularly in the 
works of the romance writers.” 


He then goes on to quote Alexander Necham or Nequam’s des- 
cription of the various parts of a house as containing the hall, the 
private or bedchamber, the kitchen, the larder, the sewery (answering 
nearly to our pantry), and the cellar. “The private, or bedroom, 
annexed to the hall—there being frequently only one (p. 5)—was 
situated on the second story, and was called from an early period 
the “solar” or “ sollere.” This room was used as a reception room 
by the master of the house, as well as abedroom. Mr. Turner tells 
us that, as late as 1287 (p. 5, note i.) King “ Edward the First and 
Queen Eleanor were sitting on their bed-side, attended by the ladies 
of the Court, when they narrowly escaped death by lightning.” If 
this were the case in a royal palace, a bishop might well be content 
with one chamber for bedroom and sitting-room in the beginning 
of the thirteenth century. Under the “ camera,” or “ solar,” was the 
cellar. The kitchen was a separate, sometimes a detached building, 
and sometimes open to the air. The larder or buttery and sewery 
were perhaps usually in the thirteenth century appended to the end 
of the hall where it was entered, as in our college halls now. There 
was, we know from an old plan of the house at least a hundred years 
old, a pantry on the north side of the undercroft or vaulted hall 
which I mentioned as being recently restored. This may have been 
on the site of the old pantry and similar offices, such as the sewery, 
in which the linen and table furniture were kept. The kitchen was 


io 


a) 


By the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Salisbury. 169 


probably on the site of the old kitchen, parallel to the present chapel 
wing, thus making with the hall three sides of a court or quadrangle, 
a very common arrangement. We shall discuss the date of the 
chapel presently. Access to the hall in our case must have been by 
a staircase. I incline to imagine that there was both an outer stone 
staircase from what is the court and a turret staircase at the head or 
southern end of the hall, where our old plan shows a projecting 
circular building of the right size, but only on the ground-floor, or 
perhaps in the corner where the solar is attached to it. The plan of 
Bishop Poore’s house would thus have been very much the same as 
that of Bishop Joceline’s at Wells, which was building about the 
same time (1205—44). In both the hall is raised on a vaulted 
undercroft, and in both the chamber is at right angles to one end 
of the hall, forming the same gamma-like figure with it. Thus 
they both differ from the plan of Lincoln Old Palace, which had a 
hall upon the ground-floor divided into a nave and aisles (like the 
present chapel, once the hall, of Auckland Castle, and the King’s 
Hall at Winchester.) At Lincoln, too, the solar was added across 
the end of the hall, as seems to have been the ordinary arrangement 
in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, not at right angles to it, 
as here and at Wells (cp. Parker, “ Domestic Architecture, Fourteenth 
Century,” p. 87, Oxford, 1852). The kitchen and offices at Wells 
seem also to have been in the same position as ours, with the chapel 
parallel to them, and having a court between as with us, though 
the proportions are all larger. There is thus, as we should expect, 
a certain provincial similarity between the palaces of these two 
neighbouring cities, Wells and New Sarum. But while Bishop 
Poore’s work is very fine, Bishop Joceline’s at Wells is magnificent 
and princely. Where the substructure of our house is three bays 
long his is seven, and three bays wide instead of our two; so as to 
leave room for a long side passage or gallery, both on the ground- 
floor and above, under a separate line of roof. This passage, of 
course, may have existed here, but there is no evidence at all of it. 
I have spoken of Bishop Joceline’s hall as if it was one splendid 
room, but though this is possible I should say that Mr. J. H. 
Parker considers it more probable that it was divided into three 
N 2 


170 The Bishop’s Palace at Salisbury. 


rooms as at present.—(“ Architectural Antiquities of the City of 
Wells,” p. 7, Oxford and London, 1866). The architectural details 
were also probably very similar. 

The next question that suggests itself is this, did our old house 
contain a chapel, and, if so, when was it built and for what purpose 
was it used? As the Bishop’s manor houses contained chapels in 
which ordinations were frequently held, especially at Ramsbury and 
Sonning, it is likely that his principal house did so too. But it is 
curious that there is no mention of ordinations in this house in our 
registers till the time of Bishop Jewel (1559—71), who often held 
small ordinations “in Palatio Episcopali Sarum.” On one occasion 
he ordained six deacons and seven priests here (27th March, 1568), 
but usually his larger ordinations were in the Cathedral or at 
Westbury Church, “sub plano Sarum.” TI do not doubt that “in 
Palatio” means in the Palace Chapel, but it is remarkable that the 
first specific mention of it is in the register of his successor, Edmund 
Gheast, who once at least ordained “in Capella sive Oratorio infra 
palatium Episcopale Sarum ” (3rd Sept., 1588). We must therefore 
conclude that when Bishop Humphrey Henchman! “ restored and 


1“ Consecratio Sacelli (infra Palatiu Epi Saru) Per Humfredu Epu, 
Aug. 28, 1662. 


“In Dei Nomine Amen Cum Nos Humfredus permissione Divina Saris- 
buriensis Episcopus Cameram istam superiorem infra Palatium hoc nostrum 
Sarum cui immediate subjacet Refectorium nostrum in dicto Palatio situm 
divina beneficentia instaurari et perfici curaverimus eandemque sacris officiis 
deputare munusque consecrationis eidem impendere constituerimus ut sit Deo 
annuente futuris temporibus in perpetuum dicti Palatii Nostri sacrata Capella 
Eandemque igitur Capellam (continentem intra muros ejusdem in Longitudine 
ab Oriente in Occidentem quadraginta pedes et septem pollices aut circiter in 
latitudine vero ab aquilone in Austrum Octodecem pedes et novem pollices aut 
circiter) Sacra Mensa aliisque ad divinum cultum requisitis sufficienter et 
decenter instructam Authoritate nostra Ordinaria et Episcopali pro nobis et 
Successoribus nostris ab omni usu communi et profano seponimus et separamus 
et soli Divino Cultui ac Divinorum celebrationi addicimus dicamus dedicamus 
consecramus in perpetuum Atque insuper eadem authoritate nostra Ordinaria 
et Episcopali pro Nobis et Successoribus nostris licentiam pariter et facultatem 
in Domino concedimus Ad rem Divinam ibidem faciendam nempe ad preces 
publicas et Sacram Ecclesiae Liturgiam recitandam ad verbum Dei sincere 
proponendum et predicandum ad sacramenta administranda ceteraque quae- 
cunque peragenda quae in istiusmodi privatis Capellis licite fieri possunt et 


EE 


By the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Salisbury. 171 


perfected” the upper chamber “ under which lies immediately our 
refectory (or dining-room) in the said Palace of Sarum” after the 
Restoration (Aug. 28th, 1662), and consecrated it to sacred uses, he 
only revived a practice that had been in force for some time before 
the Great Rebellion. Indeed it is quite possible that the lower part 
of the screen may be of the reign of Charles I., and the upper part 
Henchman’s work or later. The ribs of the panelled roof are 
probably .of the same date as the walls. The panels are modern. 
The chapel, which, with the ante-chapel, is about 40ft. long and 
L8ft. wide, is, as you will remember, in a block of building ap- 
parently of the middle of the fifteenth eentury. The lower part is 
the present main entrance hall, to which is attached an unsightly 
porch, testifying by the arms above it to the “ liberal but tasteless 
innovations” of Bishop Barrington just about a century ago. This 
block or wing is attached to the north-east corner of Bishop Poore’s 
Hall, and may have taken the place of a chapel of his time, or at 
any rate of an early date, just as Bishop Burnell’s existing chapel 
at Wells took the place of that of Bishop Joceline. he fabric I 
should venture to ascribe to Bishop Beauchamp (1450—81), who 
built the great eastern hall, and I suppose the tower by which it 
was entered—of which we shall speak presently —and who was a 
great builder elsewhere. It is difficult to say exactly how much of 
Beauchamp’s work still remains. It is stated by the Rev. Peter 
Hall, in his “ Memorials of Salisbury ” (note to pl. 16, A.D. 1834), 
that not only the porch just mentioned, but the windows of this 
wing, were inserted under Bishop Barrington “ according to a 


solent Ac tam Dei Ministro in Sacris Ordinibus rite constituto Preces Divinas 
ibidem dicendi ceteraque praemissa faciendi quam populo Christiano preces 
divinas Audiendi ceteraque premissa percipiendi plenam in Domini concedimus 
potestatem. EHandemque Capellam ad usus praedictos sic consecratam fuisse 
et esse et in futuris perpetuis temporibus remanere debere palam et publice 
pronunciamus decernimus et declaramus Privilegiis insuper omnibus et singulis 
in ea parte usitatis et Capellis abantiquo fundatis rite competentibus Capellam 
hance praedictam ad omnem juris effectum munitam et stab‘litam esse volumus 
et quantum Nobis est et de jure possumus sic munimus et stabilimus In quorum 
omnium testimonium Sigillum nostrum Episcopale praesentibus hisce Literis 
apponi fecimus Lecta et Lata fuit haec sententia vicesimo octavo die Mensis 
Augusti Anno Domini Millesimo Sexcentesimo Sexagesimo, Secundo et Nostrae 
Consecrationis Secundo.” 


72 The Bishop’s Palace at Salisbury. 


fantastic design of Sir Robert Taylor.” The windows are, however, 
much better than the porch, and those on the north side of the 
chapel, at any rate, seem to be old. What is clear, I think, is that 
at some time or other the ceiling of the old dining-room was 
raised, and with it the floor of the chapel, which is at present ap- 
proached by seven very steep steps. The present windows of the 
lower room are evidently much higher than the original ones, which 
are now blocked up in the front, but which are shown open in the 
eighteenth century plan. The chapel even then was approached by 
steps, and apparently by as many as ten, so that it would not be 
safe to assume that the ceiling was raised by Bishop Barington, 
though he certainly blocked the front windows and put in the two 
at the ends. I have said that the present chapel was probably the 
chapel of the palace before its consecration by Bishop Henchman, 
but that we can only trace ordinations in the palace back to the 
beginning of Bishop Jewel’s episcopate. It is, perhaps, reasonable 
to suppose that the causes why ordinations were not held in it before 
his time were because the bishops were so frequently absent from 
Salisbury that they did not wish to neglect the Cathedral when 
they were present, and also that the numbers to be ordained were 
larger than with us, owing to the number of acolytes, and sub- 
deacons, as well as monastic deacons and priests, who had to be 
provided for. I do not feel sure, however, judging from the evidence 
of our registers in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, that either 
of these reasons is quite sufficient, and I incline to think that there 
was some feeling on the subject, possibly some lack of sympathy 
between the Bishop and the Chapter, possibly some disinclination to 
interrupt the ordinary services of the Church by such a ceremony— 
which led to the more frequent use of the private chapel after the 
Reformation. No register of ordination is found between 26th May, 
1548, when the suffragan Bishop of Marlborough ordained Walter 
Bower, fellow of Magdalen College, in the Church of Fittleton, till 
the first ordination by Thomas Lankaster, another Bishop of Marl- 
borough, for Bishop Jewel, in our Cathedral, 13th April, 1560— 
that is, for nearly twelve years. The people were, therefore, un- 
accustomed to the service, and some might think it too Popish, 


By the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Salisbury. 173 


some too Protestant, when it was again brought into use. I may 
mention while on the subject of these ordination lists, that they do 
not with us, go back beyond Bishop Hallam’s register (1408—17), 
and that they show that it was common to perform the ceremony 
in a very large number of Churches—such as the great eonventual 


~ Churches of Sherborne and Reading, Shaftesbury and Abingdon, 


the Dominican Church at Fisherton, and the Franciscan at Sarum : 
the parish Churches of some of the more important towns, such as 
Devizes and Marlborough; and especially in the chapels and 
Churches of the places where the bishop’s manors were situated. 
Thus Bishop Hallam ordained himself five times in the chapel of 
his manor at Potterne, and the same number of times in his chapel 
at Sonning. Bishop Beauchamp ordained nine times in his chapel 
at Ramsbury, and three times in Sonning Chapel. In the latter 
part of the fifteenth and beginning of the 16th century, Ramsbury 
seems to have been the favourite residence. Bishop Langton 
(1485—93) ordained eight times in Ramsbury Chapel, and eight 
times in the Church, and only once in the Cathedral. Bishop 
Audley (1502—21) ordained eighteen times in Ramsbury Chapel, 
which he is said to have built or re-built, and forty-eight in Ramsbury 
Church, or sixty-six times altogether at that manor, and ouly three 
times in the Cathedral, and five times in the Lady Chapel. His 
successor, Cardinal Laurence Campegio, never resided at all, hence 
we see the force of the suggestion why the Palace Chapel is not 
mentioned as being used for ordinations, since for many years it was 
_only an occasional residence of its tenants. A curious illustration 
of this neglect of the palace after Bishop Beauchamp’s time is given 
by a document which Mr. Malden has kindly supplied tome. This 
is a declaration by Bishop Blyth (1493—99) of the terms on which 
he has appointed John Alston as custos or warden of the palace.' 


1 BryTHE ReaisteER, folios 41 and 42. 
Note.—The contractions of the original have been expanded. 


“ Custodia palatii Sarum.—Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos presentes 
littere pervenerint Johannes permissione divina Sarum Episcopus salutem in 
Auctore salutis. Sciatis nos pro bono et acceptabili servitio quod dilectus nobis 
in Christo Johannes Alston serviens noster nobis impendit ac favente domino 


174 The Bishop’s Palace at Salisbury. 


He is to have two pence a day charged on the manor of Milford, 
Wilts, and yearly one robe “ de secta generosorum nostrorum,” 7.¢., 
of the fashion of our gentlemen—or ten shillings for it—and one 


nobis et successoribus nostris impendet in futurum ordinasse deputasse et con- 
stituisse pro nobis et successoribus nostris eundem Johannem Alston Custodem 
palatij nostri Sarum necnon officium custodis palatij nostri predicti eidem 
Johanni pro nobis et successoribus nostris concessisse per presentes. Habendum 
tenendum exercendum et occupandum officium predictum eidem Johanni Alston 
per se vel per suum sufficientem deputatum pro termino vite sue. Pro quo 
quidem officio per ipsum Johannem aut deputatum suum ut premittitur debite 
exercendo: Sciatis nos prefatum Johannem Episcopum pro nobis et successoribus 
nostris concessisse eidem Johanni Alston annuatim durante vita sua duos 
denarios per diem percipiendos de et in Manerio nostro de Milford in comitatu 
Wiltes ad duos Anni terminos viz. ad festa pasche et Sancti Michaelis Arch- 
angeli per equales portiones et annuatim unam robam de secta generosorum 
nostrorum vel decem solidos pro eadem. Ac unam carectatam feni de et in 
prato nestro vocato Bugmore per manus prepositi Manerij predicti annuatim 
ad festum Sancti Michaelis Archangeli deliberandam. Sciatis insuper nos pre- 
fatum Johannem Episcopum concessisse eidem Johanni Alston totam vesturam 
et herbagium in solo sive fundo intra limites et precinctum palatij nostri 
predicti iam crescentia sive eius vita durante annuatim cretura Ad averia sua 
seu aliorum ad eius libitum ibidem pascendum sive fenum ex vestura et 
herbagio predictis faciendum et ad eius proficuum et solum commodum capi- 
endum et convertendum cum omnibus ceteris proficuis emolumentis et com- 
moditatibus eidem officio ab antiquo spectantibus. Et si ac quotiens contingat 
dictum redditum duorum denariorum per diem ut premittitur aut dictam robam 
sive caractatam feni a retro fore in parte vel in toto ad aliquod festum sive 
terminum solubilem prespecificatum non solutum quod tunc et totiens bene 
liceat et licebit prefato Johanni Alston et Assignatis suis in manerium nostrum 
predictum intrare et pro redditu roba et carectata feni ac quolibet premissorum 
si tune a retro existent distringere et districtiones sic captas licite asportare 
abducere effugare et penes se retinere quousque de redditu predicto sic a retro 
existente et eius arreragijs si que fuerint roba et carectata feni predicta una 
cum impensis et expensis ea occasione habitis et factis plenarie fuerit satis- 
factum et persolutum. In cuius rei testimonium sigillum nostrum presentibus 
duximus apponendum Datum in Manerio nostro de Remmesbury xxiij° die 
mensis Junij Anno domini millessimo ccce™® nonagesimo quinto Ac anno regni 
regis Henrici septimi post Conquestum decimo et nostrae consecrationis Anno 
Secundo. 

“Et nos Magister Edwardus Cheyne Utriusque Juris Doctor Decanus ecclesiae 
Cathedralis beate Marie Sarum et eiusdem loci capitulum singula premissa 
considerantes ac rata et grata habentes de nostro communi consensu pariter et 
assensu omnia et singula in presenti scripto specificata approbamus ratificamus 
et auctorizamus. Ac quantum in nobis est pro nobis et successoribus nostris 
confirmamus per presentes Juribus consuetudinibus libertatibus et privilegijs 


By the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Salisbury. 175 


eartload of hay from our meadow of Bugmore, as well as the grass 
growing within the precincts of the palace. If these emoluments 
are not paid he has the right to enter the manor of Milford and 
distrain. This deed is dated “ At our Manor of Remmesbury, 24th 
June, 1495, the 10th year of King Henry the VIIth, and of our 
eonsecration the second.” This grant was confirmed by the Chapter 
during the vacancy after Bishop Blyth’s death, 7th August, 1499. 
It appears from a phrase in it that this office of caretaker was not a 
new one, and we may presume that it was a profitable one. Bishop 
Blyth was, however, probably not so much non-resident as many of 
his contemporaries—since he ordained nine times in the Cathedral 
(seven of these in the Lady Chapel)—as against nine times in six 
other Churches, not one of which was at Ramsbury. You will 
pardon what may seem to be something of a digression, though it 
certainly illustrates the relation of the house to the diocese. 

The third division of the house is, as you remember, Bishop 
Beauchamp’s Hall. This hall was very much ruined in the time of 
the Civil Wars, and it is therefore very difficult to recover its plan ; 
nor is it easy to understand how it was connected originally with 
the work of Bishop Poore and with the chapel, which are distant a 
good many feet from it. I am inclined to think that there was a 
long low range of buildings, containing a kitchen and other offices 
on the ground-floor, and bedrooms or store-rooms above, running 
pretty much where the present red briek and plastered wing does 
which faces south towards Bishop Denison’s pretty enclosed garden. 
Mr. Reeve will tell you what he thinks about it in detail, but I may 
say that when the Royal Archeological Institute was here in 1887 
the members were generally of opinion that Bishop Beauchamp’s 
Hall ran north and south, like Bishop Poore’s, which it must at one 
time have faced, when the court was open. There was then a 
passage leading by its side from the main door in the tower to 


ecclesiae Cathedralis Sarum antedictae in omnibus semper salvis. In cuius 
rei testimonium sigillum nostrum commune presentibus apposuimus Datum 
in domo nostra capitulari Sarum quoad sigilli appositionem vicesimo septimo 
die mensis Augusti Anno Domini millesimo ccecc™? nonagesimo nono.” 
Compare a similar grant from Ri. Poore to Jordan Marescal of the custody 
of his houses in London, in 1223 (Jones’ Register of 8. Osmund, ii., p. 24). 


176 The Bishop’s Palace at Salisbury. 


another door now built up on the south side, which, as we know 
from our old plan, led to some buildings beyond. In this hall King 
James I. created Robert Viscount Lisle, Earl of Leicester, and 
William, Lord Compton, Earl of Northampton, 2nd August, 1618 
(Benson and Hateher, p. 330). 


I have now described the old house, as far as I have been able to: 


re-construct it. I should like to add a few words about Bishop 
Seth Ward’s connection with it. Over what we call the back-door 
—though it is not more of a back-door than any other part of the 
house—there is the date 1674, under the Royal arms on that 
chequered front, which we know to have been put up by Bishop 
Seth Ward. Looking at his valuable manuscript, ‘‘ Notitie,” a 
little book which is in my registry (a beautiful copy of which was 
made by Bishop Burgess, and given to the chapter muniment room) 
I find the following memoranda :— 


“Bishop's Hall sold by State to Colonel Ludlow, by him to Sir J. Danvers, 
by him to one Hayles, who pull’d it down.” 


By the accounts in this book, pages 153 to 160 of the chapter 
copy, it appears that the cost of re-building the hall was 
about £1140, and that other repairs cost about £536, including 
a certain sum spent upon the Guild Hall and the Close wall. 
The whole sum of £1676 13s. 7d. was divided amongst the 
five bishops since the Reformation in proportion to their receipts, 
according to the sentence of a Commission of Appeal, granted 
November, 1671, which gave judgment on February 25th, 1673-4. 
[The first two bishops, Duppa and Henchman, received respectively 
£10,000 and £11,700, these comparatively large sums no doubt 
being due to the fines taken on the grant of new leases.] Bishop 
Ward, who carried out the work, and who put up the date 1674 as 
we have said, and his own arms with the recovered garter round 
them, opposite the Royal arms inside the hall itself, naturally has 
the credit of this work, but it should be known that only a portion 
of it was done at his expense. The details in the bishop’s own 
hand, or gathered from his manuscripts, do not entirely agree with 
Dr. Pope’s account of his life, chapter 10, which being re-printed 


oi i cell alee 


By the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Salisbury. 177 


by Cassan, and quoted by Mr. Fitzherbert Macdonald, has naturally 
been generally accepted as the true account. It does not much 
matter whether the dilapidation was the work of Hayles, as the 
bishop says, or of Van Ling, a Dutchman, as Dr. Pope says, for 
both might have been concerned. But Pope’s statement—* His 
expenses in altering, repairing and re-building amounted to above 
£2000, there being little or nothing done in order to it by his pre- 
decessors, who had the cream of the Bishoprick ?’?—gives a false 
impression. It no doubt represents his recollections of the bishop’s 
grumbles before the suit was decided. But, asa matter of fact, of 
the £1676 accounted for in the “ Notitiw,” £1375 was charged to 
the preceeding bishops. It may be interesting to give the names 
of the workmen employed on this building :—the carpenters were 
John and Augustine Curtis; the masons, William Romsey and 
Henry Lakes, and again Anthony Robertson and Roger Knight ; 
the glaziers, Charles Horton and Henry Burges; the plombers, 
John Smith and Charles Horton. The smiths are not mentioned. 
Knight also appears as a heliar (or haulier). The architect who 
estimated the whole cost, and who witnessed the signatures of the 
different tradesmen, or as they are called persons of each profession, 
was James Harris, who seems to have been employed by Bishop 
Ward as early as December, 1668. Robert Matthew and Robert 
Hole also witnessed the signatures, possibly as partners of Harris. 

I will conclude by referring to three scenes in the inner life of 
the palace, the first from the history of Bishop Jewel, who was the 
first bishop after the Reformation, and also the first who resided at 
Salisbury for a considerable time. He had a great many new and 
good traditions to introduce as well as old superstitions to eradicate. 
Le Bas, in his “ Life of Jewel,” thus describes one of the good 
traditions introduced by Bishop Jewel :— 


“To friendless worth and scholarship (wrote the biographer) his hand and 
heart were always open. He had generally domesticated with him some half- 
dozen lads of humble parentage, whom at his own charge he trained up to 
the pursuits of learning. And it was one of his favourite recreations to hear 
them dispute, during his meal, and under his own directions, upon questions 
arising out of their daily task. In addition to this he allowed a daily pension, 
for their maintenance, to several youthful students at the university; and 


178 The Bishop's Palace at Salisbury, 


when they came to visit him he seldom dismissed them without substantial 
proofs of his liberality. And blessed indeed was the fruit of this pious and 
charitable practice; for it is among the glories and felicities of Jewel, that 
he helped to rescue from obscurity and indigence the immortal Richard 
Hooker.”’ 

It will be remembered that early in the reign of Elizabeth the western 
parts of England were visited by Jewel, under the Queen’s com- 
mission. His benevolent and generous disposition thus became 
known to the people of Exeter, which was the native place of 
Hooker’s family; and accordingly, some short time after Jewel’s 
promotion to the see of Salisbury, John Hooker, the uncle of Richard, 
ventured on an application to the bishop, in behalf of his nephew, who 
had already given promise of more than ordinary virtue and ability. 
On being admitted into Jewel’s presence, the uncle “ besought him, 
for charity’s sake, to look favourably upon a poor nephew of his, 
whom nature had fitted for a scholar, but the estate of his parents 
was so narrow that they were unable to give him the advantage of 
learning; and that the bishop would, therefore, become his patron, 
and prevent him from being a tradesman, for he was a boy of re- 
markable hopes.” ‘Lhe bishop immediately appointed that the boy 
should attend him at Salisbury at the Easter next following, together 
with his schoolmaster. At the time fixed the teacher and the pupil 
made their appearance. After some examination Jewel was so well 
satisfied with the manners and attainments of the lad that he gave 
a reward to the schoolmaster for his care, assigned a pension to the 
parents of Richard for his support, and also promised to keep an 
eye on him, with a view to his future advancement. Conformably 
to this engagement, the bishop had him removed to Oxford in the 
year 1567, when he was about fourteen years of age, and consigned 
him to the care of Doctor Cole, then President of Corpus Christi 
College. After he had been about four years at Oxford Richard 
Hooker went on foot to visit his mother at Exeter, and on his way 
thither he travelled by Salisbury, for the express purpose of visiting 
his kind friend and benefactor. Both he and another youth from 
Oxford, who was the companion of his journey, were invited to the 
bishop’s table ; an honour which was always proudly and gratefully 
remembered by Hooker. On his departure the bishop furnished 


: 
; 


e 


3 


- 


By the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Salisbury. 179 


him with abundance of good counsel, and, moreover, gave him his 
benediction ; but by mere inadvertence forgot to provide him with 
any other facilities for his journey to Exeter. The seeming un- 
kindness, however, was soon repaired. The moment the bishop 
recollected his omission he sent a servant to overtake Richard with 
all possible speed, and to bring him back. On his return the bishop, 
with singular considerateness for the feelings of a humble youth, 
forebore to begin by any allusion to the immediate purpose for which 
he had recalled him, but addressed him thus :—“ Richard, I sent 
for you back to lend you a horse, which hath carried me many a 
mile; and I thank God with much ease.” And here he put into 
Richard’s hand a walking staff, with which he professed he had 
travelled through many parts of Germany; a circumstance which 
might well reconcile the young man to the labour and tediousness 
of pedestrian travel. ‘ And Richard,” continued the bishop, “I do 
not give, but lend you mine horse.” he then put money in his hands 
for the journey. That interview between these two great men was 
the last, and it was a very beautiful memory in connection with the 
palace at Salisbury. A second scene I would mention in the history 
of the Rishop’s Palace was the scene when James II. came 19th 
November, 1688, to the house after poor Seth Ward, now an old 
broken-down man, had gone away. It was on this occasion that 
Mr. Knightly Chetwood, who attended the King as his Protestant 
Chaplain, by his firmness preserved the palace chapel for the rites of 
the Church of England. James, who felt the danger of his position, 
was ready to give way on more important questions, but it was too 
late (cf. Benson & Hatcher, p. 489). Churchill, afterwards the first 
Duke of Marlborough, and Kirke and Trelawney were meditating 


deserting the King. Kirke and Trelawney visited Warminster, 
_ where their regiments were posted. 


“ All,” says Macaulay, “ was ripe for the execution of the long-meditated 
treason. Churchill advised the King to visit Warminster and to inspect the 
troops stationed there. James assented, and his coach was at the door of the 
episcopal palace when his nose began to bleed violently. He was forced to 
postpone his expedition, and to put himself under medical treatment. Three 
days elapsed before the hemorrhage was entirely subdued, and during those 
three days alarming rumours reached his ears.’ 


180 The Bishop’s Palace at Salisbury. 


Then the King had time to reflect upon what might have happened 
if he had gone west. Macaulay continues :— 


“There could no longer be any doubt that Kirke too was in league with the 
Prince of Orange. It was rumoured that he had actually gone over with all 
his troops to the enemy, and the rumour, though false, was for some hours 
fully believed. A new light flashed on the mind of the unhappy King. He 
thought he understood why he had been pressed, a few days before, to visit 
Warminster.” 


Oppressed by some such reflections as Macaulay puts into his mind, 
the King fled from Salisbury on 22nd November, and finally went 
down the Thames. But only a few days later, on Tuesday, 4th 
December, another visitor came to the palace, William of Orange, 
so that Salisbury was at that time almost the central point of the 
great events of the year 1688. There were other things which took 
place in the house of very great interest. Perhaps the most im- 
portant, though I dare say it was thought very little of at the time, 
was the ordination as deacon of Joseph Butler, afterwards Bishop 
of Durham, in the palace chapel, 28th October, 1718. When Butler 
was at Oriel College, he had become, like many others, a warm 
friend of Edward Talbot, then a fellow of the College, who intro- 
duced him to his father. Butler was ordained quite alone, and only 
a few months before his ordination as a priest. We may imagine 
the scene in that little chapel, which has been, comparatively 
speaking, very slightly altered since that time, and realize the im- 
portance of the vows and resolutions then made as the young man 
knelt before the holy table. Lastly, I will mention that, when 
I had the happiness of being presented to Her Gracious Majesty at 
Balmoral in 1885, I ventured to remind her that she had once been 


1 Tarpot Rearister, 1718, fol. 4a. 

“‘Ordines sacri et generales per dictum Reverendum patrem in oratorio 
infra Palatium Episcopale Sarum celebrati die Dominico Vicesimo sexto silicet 
die mensis Octobris anno domini millesimo septingentesimo decimo octavo scilicet. 

“Josephus Butler Artium Baccalaureus e coll. Oriel . Oxon. 

“ ordinatus fuit in diaconum.” 

On 21st December in the same year Joseph Butler was the only priest 
ordained by the same bishop, at St. James’ Church, Westminster, with several 
other deacons. 


ES eee 


By the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Salisbury. 181 


a visitor to our house, and she immediately acknowledged the cir- 
cumstance, though she could not recollect it. Her Majesty being 
at the time an infant in arms, could not recollect being at the palace, 
but she at once remembered that the incident had occurred. She 
knew the date and circumstances of her visit (December 20—238, 
1819), which was paid when the Duke and Duchess of Kent were 
going to Sidmouth, a journey from which the Duke did not return 
alive. 


Notes on the Architectural Wistory of the Palace. 


By Mr. Joseph Artnur Reeve. 
[Reprinted by kind permission of the Author. ] 


Although within certain limits it is not difficult to decide the 
various times at which the greater portion of Salisbury Palace was 
built, it is nevertheless hard to assign its exact limits at any definite 
period. 

We know that it was begun by Bishop Richard Poore, the founder 
of New Sarum, about the year 1221, and perhaps it is easier to 
settle the approximate form and extent of the building as it was 
designed by him than at any future date until the time of Bishop 
Seth Ward, who restored the palace after the Great Rebellion. 

Of this thirteenth century work the undercroft beneath the great 
hall or “aula ” remains intact, although as now restored it does not 
present exactly the same appearance as it did originally ; in the first 
place the embrasure at the north end of the western aisle now oc- 
eupied by a two-light window was formerly a doorway which 
possibly gave access, as suggested in the foregoing lecture by Bishop 
Wordsworth, to the larder, above which on the the level of the great 
hall may have occurred the sewery; this seems a not improbable 
arrangement, for by this means the larder or buttery would have 
been placed on the level of the kitchen, and at no great distance 
from it, while the sewery would have been within easy access of the 
hall by means of a small doorway which may well have occurred in 
the north wall. 

The side windows of the undereroft were also rather different in 


182 The Bishop’s Palace at Salisbury. 


Bishop Poore’s design from what they now appear, for the detached 
columns supporting the inner arches in the centre have been inserted 
to give greater lightness to the general effect of the room; formerly 
each light of these western windows stood in a separate embrasure, 
the outer splays of the inner openings having been returned towards 
each other in the centre, thus forming a solid block of masonry 
between the two lights. The size and form of the lights themselves 
must be very nearly the same as in Bishop Poore’s design, und 
enough of the inner arches remained when the restoration was taken 
in hand to make it possible to reproduce them exactly. 

The single-light window in the north wall is probably entirely a 
modern innovation; it is true an embrasure occurred here, but it 
bore no signs of ancient work, and if it be the case that a building 
formerly projected from the north wall containing the larder on the 
ground-floor and the sewery above it is manifestly unlikely that any 
window would have occurred at the north end of the eastern aisle 
of the undercroft. 

The fireplace may also present another entirely new feature in the 
room; if one did formerly exist it must have occurred where the 
new one has been placed, but this portion of the wall has been so 
much cut about by various alterations that no traces of an ancient 
fireplace could have come down to us even if one had formed part of 
the original design. 

With regard to the date of the wall which now divides the under- 
croft into two parts, leaving two bays to the north and one to the 
south, it is difficult to speak with certainty, but there can be no 
question that it is an ancient erection, because an old doorway was 
found in this wall exactly at the spot where the new one now stands ; 
indeed the stop-chamfer at the bottom of the western jamb is 
original, and it moreover bears somewhat the appearance of belonging 
to thirteenth century work—that such walls were built across vaulted 
apartments in early days in exactly this manner there can be no 
doubt—; it may perhaps be said therefore that the evidence in 
favour of this wall having formed part of Bishop Poore’s work is 
rather stronger than the evidence against it. 

The walls of the existing drawing-room no doubt contain much 


By J. A. Reeve. 183 


of the original work belonging to Bishop Poore’s “ aula,” and it is 
probable that the present parlour on the western side of the drawing- 
room also belongs to the same date; as stated in the foregoing 
lecture, it was probably the ‘‘ Camera,” or bishop’s private apartment 
and bedroom. 

It is certainly probable, as Bishop Wordsworth says, that the 
original kitchen was situated on the south side of the area which 
occurs in the centre of the palace, that is to say, where the dairy 
and still-room now stand. When Bishop Seth Ward restored the 
palace he placed the kitchen at this point, and it is probable he did 
so because the ancient kitchen had occupied the same position. 

Finally, if a chapel existed in Bishop Poore’s palace it most prob- 
ably occupied the site of the existing chapel, but it is likely to have 
beea on a lower level. 

The only evidence we have of the execution of any building work 
during the fourteenth century consists in a fragment of a window 
found at the foot of the west wall of the drawing-room ; this win 
dow was probably inserted, either as an addition or as a restoration, 
about 1330—40; it is interesting to note also that a fragment of 
one of the thirteenth century windows belonging to the “ aula” has 


likewise been dug up, which, together with the base of the angle 


————— rt OC r— 


buttresses at the north-west corner of this block, which have lately 
been laid bare, gives a very definite clue to the original design of 


Bishop Poore’s great hall. This thirteenth century window had 


trefoil-headed lights with a quatrefoil above, the whole being rebated 
outside for iron casements, while the lights were also rebated inside 
for wooden shutters. 

The present entrance hall and the chapel above belong to the 15th 
century, and are generally supposed to have formed part of the work 
carried out by Bishop Beauchamp between 1450 and 1482, but the 
character of the work is so very different from that which we find 
in the tower at the eastern end of the north front, which was uns 
doubtedly erected by this great architect, that there seems some 


room to doubt whether the chapel and hall really were built or re- 


modelled by him; but if they were not they must have been erected 
very shortly before his time, since the style of architecture precludes 
VOL, XXV.—NO. LXXIV. ) 


184 The Bishop’s Palace at Salisbury. 


the possibility of their having been built earlier than about 1425. 

- The work which belongs unquestionably to Bishop Beauchamp 
consists of the tower above mentioned and the great hall attached. 
The tower remains almost intact, with its noble doorway in the 
ground storey and its stair turret ending in a graceful pinnacle, 
which rises some 20ft. above the battlemented parapet. 

The great hall has undergone such important alterations from 
time to time that it is now extremely difficult to decide what its 
original appearance may have been; however, from the remains of 
an archway in the south wall of this block immediately opposite the 
great doorway under the tower, which has been already alluded to, 
it would seem that a passage of some width formerly existed along 
the eastern side of the hall, and probably separated from it by means 
of a wooden screen, which would prove that the axis of the apartment 
was originally east and west; but if the present west wall of the 
hall is in its original position the area of the room, after this passage 
had been taken off, would have been reduced to very nearly a perfect 
square, which is by no means a usual form for halls of this description. 
It seems, therefore, most probable that the hall may originally have 
been considerably longer from east to west than now appears. It may 
in fact, have extended some 20ft. or even 25ft further to the west, 
and the space then left between this supposed end of the room and 
the open area in the centre of the palace would have formed on the 
ground-floor the back or tradesman’s entrance, while above would 
have occurred bedrooms on two floors, This hypothesis would 
account very satisfactorily for one peculiar feature in connection 
with the east wall of the central area, for at present it is merely a 
sereen wall for nearly half its height, and it is difficult to understand 
why it should ever have been carried up so high unless at one time 
it had some special use. 

The whole area of the hall, including the passage, was doubtless, 
under one roof, and if we may assume, as seems likely, that the 


Norr.—In the accompanying plan of the palace as at present existing 
some portions of the walls shown in black as forming part of Bishop Poore’s 
work are of later date, though standing on the site of the ancient walls. 


N°. 
THE BISHOP'S PALACE SALISBURY. 


CONJECTURAL PLAN INTHE TIME OF BISHOP BEAUCHAMP, 
“se = 45a. 


CONJECTURAL 
POSITION OF 


OFFICES 3) 4 y A OPEN AREA, 


CHAPEL. 


(comscetunns) 
agove. 


N° IL 
THE BISHOP'S PALACE SALISBURY. 


PLAN OF THE BUILDING AFTER THE RESTORATION BY BISHOP SETH WARD. 
1667 - 1634. 


ALSO SHOWING BISHOP SHERLOCK'S LIBRARY- 


B4- 1748+ = 


SCmLE OF FEET. 


H KITCHEN. 


DINING HALL 


Z 
A 
4 CHAPEL AgovE 
y, 


N° Il. 
THE BISHOP'S PALACE SALISBURY. 
PLAN AS AT PRESENT. 
IBgo. 


w $8 ” [a oe 


SCALE OF Fear. 


CHAPEL ABovE. 


Winteman &Bais Fhote ithe Landon 


By J. A. Reeve. 185 


present walls are of about the original height, it will at once be seen 
what an extremely fine apartment this great hall of Bishop Beau- 
champ’s palace must have been ; it was probably lighted by lofty 
windows, similar in character to the existing windows in the tower, 
but of much greater length and divided into two parts by a transome, 
and it is not unreasonable to suppose that a projecting bay window 
occurred at the western end of the north wall, beside the high table, 
such as fifteenth century architects so frequently adopted in halls of 
this description. 

The roof of the hall and the embattled parapets of the side walls 
would no doubt have been carried up to the east wall of the area in 
the centre of the palace in an unbroken line. 

It appears that the whole of this eastern wing of the palace was 
completely ruined at the time of the Great Rebellion, portions of 
the outer walls having alone escaped destruction, hence the difficulty 
of deciding what were the exact limits of the great hall as originally 
designed by Bishop Beauchamp ; and although we are indebted to 
Bishop Seth Ward for having preserved some portion of the shell 
of the building, still the great alterations which he introduced into 
its form and probable extent have very materially increased the 
difficulty of re-constructing it in imagination on its original lines ; 
but a careful consideration of the existing remains has suggested the 
foregoing explanation of the various features which exist, and to 
some extent it seems to account in a reasonable manner for the pe- 
culiarities which we find. 

Some remains of small door jambs in the east wall lead to the 
supposition that an annexe formerly existed outside this wall; per- 
haps the sewery may have stood here, for the original sewery be- 
longing to Bishop Poore’s hall would have been too far off from the 
new hall to have been convenient; various other offices may also 
have been located at this point, but presumably Bishop Poore’s 
kitchen remained in use down to the time of the Great Rebellion. 

What may be called the medieval history of the palace ends with 
the work executed by Bishop Beauchamp; after the partial des- 
truction of the building at the time of the Great Rebellion a large 
part of the central and eastern portions of the palace must have 

02 


186 The Bishop's Palace at Salisbury. 


remained a ruin until Bishop Seth Ward took the restoration in 
hand, just two hundred years after Bishop Beauchamp had com- 
pleted his great works. 

The central portion of the palace:as we now find it was entirely 
re-modelled, probably almost entirely re-built, by this Bishop, and, 
as has been already mentioned, he also restored and re-arranged the 
remains of Bishop Beauchamp’s hall; he reduced its width from 
north to south by placing a great staircase against the south wall, 
and he constructed three large bedrooms in the upper part of the 
building, access to which was obtained by the staircase here men- 
tioned ; at the foot of these stairs he placed a wooden colonnade right 
across the hall from east to west to support the front of the first 
landing, which must have been open to the hall throughout its 
entire length, with no doubt a balustrade and hand-rail in front of 
it, similar to the corresponding features of the staircase itself. Al- 
together this arrangement must have had a very pleasing effect in 
the restored hall, but it was done away with at the end of last 
century by Bishop Barrington in order to obtain an extra set of 
bedrooms between those formed by Bishop Seth Ward and the hall. 
It was by this last alteration that the hall was reduced to its present 
unsatisfactory condition, and Bishop Barrington, besides reducing the 
height of the apartment to about 9ft., also filled in between the 
columns of Bishop Ward’s colonnade with a solid partition, whereby 
the whole of the remaining architectural features of the hall were 
finally swept away. The columns still remain, but they appear 
only as shallow pilasters. 

Bishop Ward’s staircase is a good one; it starts from the ground 
and from the first landing with two flights of steps, one to the right 
and the other to the left; these meeting on the half landings be- 
tween the floors are carried up in each case in one single broad flight 
in the centre; it is entirely composed of oak. A flight of stone 
steps, still extant, gives access to the garden from a doorway on the 
first half landing above the ground floor, but it is doubtful whether 
this is original. 

Probably the front staircase in the centre of the palace was also 
executed by this bishop ; it is also of oak, and the details are very 


By J. A, Reeve. 187 


similar to those of the staircase just described, but the central 
staircase is of less fine proportions, simply working round a square, 
and its design was considerably hampered by the conditions which 
had to be met. The appearance of the brickwork forming the- 
external walls round this central staircase seems to prove that this: 
block of building was entirely erected by Bishop Seth Ward. 

In carrying out the restoration of the eastern wing of the palace; 
Bishop Ward seems purposely to have designed all the features: 
introduced by him in such a manner as to-make them harmonise- 
with the surrounding earlier work. Thus he adopted mullioned 
windows of an Elizabethan character, and embattled parapets very 
much like those which crown the walls of. the tower and chapel ; 
but in the south front he used a type of architecture more prevalent 
in his own day, and similar to what we now know as the Queen 
Anne style. 

To return once more to Bishop Beauchamp’s hall, it is necessary 
to mention that the windows as they now exist were arranged by 
Bishop Barrington—at all events, the lowest tier was inserted by 
him. It may have been that Bishop Ward’s hall was lighted by a 
row of windows high up in the walls, in which case the windows 
which now light the first-floor rooms may be in their original 
position, but it is more probable that when Bishop Barrington con- 
structed these first-floor rooms he took out Bishop Ward’s windows 
and raised them so as to suit the level of his new apartments, before 
inserting the lowest tier which give light to the hall as curtailed by 
him. 

The windows on Bishop Ward’s stairease in the south wall of 
Bishop Beauchamp’s hall are similar to those already described, as 
are also those in the east wall, some of which were inserted by 
Bishop Barrington. 

About seventy years after Bishop Ward’s work was executed, that 
is to say, about the year 1740, an addition to the palace was made 
by Bishop Sherlock in the erection of a library at the south-west. 
corner of Bishop Poore’s camera. As far as we can see at present, 
no alterations had been made at this end from the time of Bishop 
Poore, all intermediate bishops having confined their alterations and 


188 The Bishop’s Palace at Salisbury. 


additions exclusively to the central and eastern portions of the 
palace. 

This library was placed on the level of Bishop Poore’s aula and 
camera, and no doubt the doorway from the latter to the library 
was formed by Bishop Sherlock; the library was converted into a 
dining-room by Bishop Barrington, and a projection at the S.W. 
corner of the block, the original object of which is uncertain, was 
made use of by the latter bishop for a staircase as a means of com- 
munication between his kitchen and the dining-room. 

The existing ceiling of the drawing-room and the roof above 
were executed by Bishop Sherlock, who also appears to have raised 
the ceiling of the entrance-hall, then the dining-hall, and the plaster 
ceiling itself was doubtless executed by him. 

The raising of this ceiling necessarily reduced the height of the 
chapel above, and in consequence it appears to have been thought 
desirable to raise the sill of the east window of this latter apart- 
ment; the whole window appears to have been taken out and raised 
about 18in. or 2ft., and the point of the arch externally now cuts 
up into the string-course below the parapet in a very unsightly 
manner owing to this alteration ; whether the tracery of the window 
is original or not is doubtful, but it is certainly not a good specimen 
of fifteenth century work, and it looks altogether rather more lik: 
a bad copy made by men who had lost the feeling of the old style 
of architecture; it is distinctly less good than the side windows of 
the chapel which appear to be wholly original. 

Bishop Barrington’s work has already been alluded to several 
times in these notes, it only remains to be said that the drawing- 
room was re-arranged by him, that is to say he inserted the windows, 
doors, and fireplace, and generally brought the room to its present 
state. 

Besides the other works already described as having been carried 
out by him, it may be mentioned that he converted the old dining- 
hall beneath the chapel into an entrance-hall, and, as has been said, 
turned Bishop Sherlock’s library into the dining-room ; he also 
probably built the present kitchen and offices to the west and formed 
the original kitchen into a still room and dairy. 


——— 


By J. A. Reeve. : 189 


The two existing windows in the entrance-hall were executed by 
him; before his time this apartment had been lighted by four 
square-headed windows in the north wall immediately underneath 
and probably very similar to the side windows of the chapel above ; 
these he stopped up, filling the greater part of the space occupied 
by two of them with a very badly-designed pseudo-Gothie doorway, 
which is entirely out of harmony with everything else in the whole 
palace; and in connection with this it is certainly worth while to 
point out that the statement of the Rev. Peter Hall, in his “ Me- 
morials of Salisbury,” alluded to in Bishop Wordsworth’s foregoing 
lecture, to the effect that the windows of this wing as well as the 
porch were inserted under Bishop Barrington “ according to a 
fantastic design of Sir Robert Taylor,” would seem to have been 
based upon some misconception, perhaps: it may be said to be too 
inclusive, for it is a practical impossibility that the same man can 
have designed the side windows of the chapel and this porch; at 
whatever date the windows were put in they were certainly designed 
by 4 man who thoroughly understood fifteenth century Gothic, 
whereas the porch bears evidence of having been erected by a man 
who knew very little about architecture of any sort and nothing at 
all about Gothic architecture, except that the pointed arch was one 
of its characteristics ; probably, therefore, the Rev. Peter Hall ought 
to have made his statement apply only to the east and west windows 
of the entrance hall and the porch; these windows having been 
copied directly from those in Bishop Beauchamp’s tower, have 
escaped being architectural blots like the porch, but they might 
none the less have been spoken of in the year 1834 as “ fantastic,” 
because even then the beauties of Gothic architecture were only 
beginning to be appreciated by a few students of Christian art. 

The only remaining feature in the palace which has to be men- 
tioned is the bell turret at the south-west angle of the chapel which 
was erected by Bishop Hamilton. The restoration of the undercroft 
beneath Bishop Poore’s “aula,” which has lately been carried out 
by Bishop Wordsworth, has already been described. 


190 The Bishop's Palace at Salisbury. 


List of Portraits in the Palace. 
Communicated by C. W. Houeare. 


John Jewell, 1560—71. Two, a poor one on canvas and another on a wood 
panel. On the latter is VE MIHI sI NON EVANGELIZAVERO. 

Edmund Guest, 1571—76. Marked with his coat of arms, and “ Edmvndvs 
Geste.”’ “ Aitat. Lx111., anno domini 1576.” 

Robert Abbot, 1615—18. 

Martin Fotherby, 1618—20. Marked with his coat of arms, and “ Anno dni. 
1618.” Aitatis 58.” This picture was presented to Bishop Moberly for 
the palace. 

Brian Duppa, 1641—60. 

Humphrey Henchman, 1660—63. By, or after Dahl. 

Alexander Hyde, 1665—67. “There is a portrait of Bp. Hyde in the Palace 
at Sarum. which was rescued from an obscure cottage in Wilts, and pre- 
sented to our present excellent Diocesan, Bp. Fisher.” Cassan’s Lives, 
(1824,) pt, iii., p. 31. 

Seth Ward, 1667—89. By, or after Greenhill, a pupil of Sir Peter Lely. 

Gilbert Burnet, 1689—1715. This picture “is an original; it was sent to 
the Palace about six years since (7.¢., circa 1818) by the Executor of Mrs. 
Bouchiere, of Swaffham, in Norfolk. The picture had been in the possession 
of Bp. Lisle (Samuel Lisle, Bishop of St. Asaph, 1744—8, and of Norwich 
1748—9), and left by him to his Chaplain and Executor, Mr. Bouchiere. 
He left it to his widow, with directions to his Executor to send it, upon 
the death of his wife, to the Palace at Salisbury.” Cassan’s Lives, pt. iii. 
p. 365, 

William Talbot, 1715—21. After Godfrey Kneller? 

Richard Willis, 1721—23. 

Benjamin Hoadley, 1723—34. ‘“* There is also a fine portrait of him in the 
great room in the Bishop’s Palace at Salisbury.” Cassan’s Lives, pt. iii., 
p. 237. 

Thomas Sherlock, 1734—48, Two, both on canvas. Copies of Van Loo’s 
portraits P 

John Gilbert, 1748—56. 

John Thomas, 1757—61. 

Robert Hay Drummond, 1761. Copy of Sir Joshua Reynolds’ picture painted 
in 1764. 

John Thomas, 1761—66. 

John Hume, 1766—82. By J. Beach, 1777. A fine picture exchanged with 
the family, during Bp. Moberly’s episcopate, for one in the Garter robes. 

Hon. Shute Barrington, 1782—91. Painted in 1785. 

John Douglas, 1791—1807. By Sir William Beechy, Knt., R.A. 

John Fisher, 1807—25. By James Northcote, R.A. 

Thomas Burgess, 1825—37. By William Owen, R.A. Also the original of 
the silhouette which is reproduced in Harford’s Life (opposite p. 475) given 
to the present Bishop by the late A. Harford Pearson, Esq. 


————————————— le 


On the Roman Conquest of Southern Britain. 191 


*Edward Denison, 1837—54, Head only, copied in 1870 from the picture 


by H. W. Pickersgill, R.A., at Merton College, Oxford. 

*Walter Kerr Hamilton, 1854—69. By George Richmond, R.A, 

*George Moberly, 1869—85. By William B. Richmond, A.R.A. 
* Painted by subscription throughout the diocese. 

King George III. 

Henry Lawes, the Musician. “In 1784, in the house of Mr. Elderton, an 
attorney in Salisbury, I saw an original portrait of Henry Lawes on board, 
marked with his name, and ‘ Mtat. Sue 26, 1626.’ (Sie; but the picture 
itself is dated 1622. To the back of the picture is affixed a card on which is 
written, apparently in Bishop Barrington’s handwriting, ‘ This original portrait 
of Henry Lawes, a native of Salisbury, the most distinguished musician of his 
time, and the intimate friend of Milton, ig left as an heirloom to the Palace 
at Salisbury by Bp. Barrington, July 1, 1791.’) This is now in the Bishop’s 
Palace at Salisbury. It is not ill painted; the face and ruff in tolerable 
preservation ; the drapery a cloak, much injured.” Milton’s Works, edited 
by Rev. Henry John Todd, M.A., 1801, vol. v., p. 208. 


There are also plaster busts of Bishops Shute Barrington, Fisher, and Burgess: 


On the Roman Conquest of Southern Britain, 


Particularly in regard to its influence on the County of Wilts. 


- [Address by the Right Reverend the Lorp BisHop oF SatisBuRy, as President 


of the Society, at its Annual Meeting at Westbury, August Ist, 1889.] 


HE subject of my address is the Roman Conquest of Southern 
Britain, its character and influence, considered of course 
especially in relation to ovr own county. I have for some time 
had in mind the wish to write a paper on this subject, but time has 
failed me hitherto. I cannot pretend that I have been able to ac- 
complish my wish to-night in the address which I shall have the 
honour to give you as your unworthy President. I shall rely upon 
our Members to help me with their stores of local knowledge, 
naturally much greater than my own, in supplying my defects. 
The method I shall pursue is first to trace the lines of Roman 


192 On the Roman Conquest of Southern Britain, 


occupation in our county, and then to connect them with the 
general history of the conquest. 

At first sight nothing seems more remarkable than the paucity of 
remains of the Roman period as compared with those that belong 
to pre-Roman and Saxon times. We have within our limits only 
three Roman stations mentioned in the Itinerary; and not one 
single regular inscription on stone has come down to us from either 
of them or from the other places where Roman remains have been 
unearthed—no epitaph, or altar, or milestone to mark the ways. A 
tile at Calne (C.1.L. vii. 1241), a round stone tessera, vaguely said 
to be from North Wilts, with the letters F VI (4. 1265), the Rudge 
Cup, to be mentioned below (7. 1291), and a few other trifles, are 
the fragments that have been collected in the whole county under 
the title of inscriptions. Nevertheless, there is evidence of a con- 
siderable network of Roman roads, with villas upon them, from 
which we may conjecture that the county was long and peaceably 
occupied. 

We shall naturally first consider the great roads described in the 
Itinerary of Antoninus, and those that are immediately connected 
with them. The roads in the Itinerary are three, and I shall give 
them in the order in which they stand in the text. 

(1) The road from Isca (Caerleon on Usk) to Silchester (Calleva), 
near Mortimer, which cuts the north-eastern corner of the county, 
making a circuit to avoid the Bristol Channel through the Roman 
colony of Glevum or Gloucester. The Itinerary marks no station 
between Durocornovium (Cirencester) and Spinae (Speen), near 
Newbury, but carries the traveller from one to another without a 
break. Poor man, if he had no better MS. road book, or, as the 
Greeks called it, Synecdemus, than those copies from which the 
itineraries have been printed, he must have found his journey long 
and almost heart-breaking. The distance is really about forty 
English miles, while the Itinerary only marks xv Roman miles. 
Sir R, Hoare, noticing this blunder, thinks it arose from the 
omission of the station Nidum, which he puts at Covenham Farm, 
while others place it at Nythe Bridge. There is, however, an 
obvious transposition in the arrangement of the Itinerary in which 


Particularly in regard to its influence on the Couuty of Wilts. 193 


the name Nidum occurs, showing that it is really in quite a different 
district. It is, in fact, probably the same as Neath, in South Wales, 
I should suggest that this xv is a mistake for xLv or some such 
number, the Roman mile being, as is generally supposed, about 
one hundred and forty yards shorter than the English. This road, 
which must have followed the line of the one still in use, either 
exactly or very nearly, passes first through Cricklade. I presume 
that Latton, at which place a small hoard of fifty-two coins and 
some remarkably fresh iron instruments were found by Professor J. 
Buckman about 1866, lies on the same road. Mr. Buckman describes 
it as about six miles south of Cirencester, and on the road to Crick- 
lade (Wilts Arch. Mag., ix., pp. 282—7, pub. 1866), though he 
connects its Church with the Roman road from Cirencester to Bath, 
probably by aslip. Next comes Stratton St. Margaret, like other 
Strattons bearing witness by its name to its position on the ancient 
highway. The road then passes Wanborough, famous, as you know 
for great battles supposed to have been fought there in the Saxon 
period, particularly for one in 591, in which Ceawlin, the West 
Saxon conqueror, was defeated by his nephew, Ceolric, in league 
with the Britons. From the additions to Camden’s Britannia (vol. 
1, ed. Gough, p. 139, 1806), I learn that a large quantity of Roman 


‘ coins were found here in the year 168—. There can be little doubt 


that the name is contracted from Wodensburgh, just as Wansdyke 
from Wodensdyke. From Wanborough the road passes through 
Baydon into Berkshire. Our Secretary has figured an ampulla 
found at Botley Copse, near Baydon (Smith’s British and Roman 
Antiquities, p. 80). Another Roman road is said to have led from 
a point near Wanborough to Old Sarum, and, indeed this point is 
said to have been a meeting-place of several such roads (Murray’s 
Handbook to Wilts, p. 29), but I am not aware of the line which 
the Sarum road took, nor is it mentioned in the Itinerary. The 
road to Winchester will be mentioned below. 

(2) The next road in the Itinerary lies between the same terminal 
stations Isca and Calleva, but takes the shorter route by ferry 
(Trajectus) over the Bristol Channel through Bath (Aquae Solis). 
This road had two stations in this county, Verlucio and Cunetio— 


194 On the Roman Conquest of Southern Britain, 


the first now generally identified with Wans House, near Bromham 
—the second with Folly Farm, about one mile east of Marlborough. 
The Roman villa discovered at St. Edith’s Marsh, in the parish of 
Bromham, must have been connected with the station of Verlucio 
(ep. Wilts Arch. Mag., xix., p. 299—302). Mr. A. C. Smith figures 
a die for playing hazard found at Wans House (B. & R. Ant., p. 30). 
(See also Wilts Arch, Mag., iv., p. 232). This interesting object is of 
bronze, and is of a flattened oval shape. The name of the other 
station, Cunetio, can hardly be dissociated from that of the river 
Kennet, near which it lies. Ido not, however, know how to explain 
the fact that the villages of East and West Kennet lie about five or 
six miles distant along the same road, and of course considerably to 
the west of Marlborough. Roman remains and large numbers of 
coins are found also at Mildenhall, which formed probably part of 
the same station, in all probability a large one (see the plate in 
“ Ane, Wiltshire,” ii., p. 90 and ep, Waylen’s “ Marlborough,” 
pp. 9, 10). 

Another rather important road not in the Itinerary seems to have 
passed through Cunetio, branching off from the Cirencester to Speen 
road at or near Wanborough. Its line probably was very much 
that taken by modern roads, through Chiseldon and the two Og- 
bornes, after which it becomes lost, then after leaving Cuuetio it 
runs straight through Savernake Forest,through Wilton and Marton, 
and near, but not through, Tidecombe, and on through Tangley and 
the neighbourhood of Andover to Winchester. With this road we 
naturally connect the remains found at Great Bedwyn, described as 
“a small castrametation surrounding about two acres of land,” 
which it is supposed was the centre of the station, “ and still contains 
a large quantity of bricks, tesserae, and other evidences of Roman 
habitation.” (Rev. John Ward, “ Great Bedwyn,” in Wilts Arch. 
Mag., vi., p. 261, pub. in 1860.) This station was situated about 
half-a-mile east of the road. A bronze cup, found at Rudge, near 
Froxfield, now preserved at Alnwick Castle (C. I. L., vii. p. 14 b), 
and a pavement at Littlecot also testify to Roman habitations in 
the line of the main road from Marlborough to Speen. 


The Rudge Cup, which is figured by Sir Richard C. Hoare (Ane. 


Particularly in regard to its influence on the County of Wilts. 195 


Wilts, ii., p. 121) and in Waylen’s Marlborough, p. 17 and else- 
where, is interesting as directly connecting us with the great military 
work of Hadrian’s wall. It has on its rim a list of five stations in 
peculiar order, “ A Mais [=Magnis?] Aballava Uxelodumo Am- 
boclan(i)s Banna,” agreeing in several points with the anonymous 
geographer of Ravenna, as Mr. Beale Poste has pointed out. I 
should be glad of any hints as to the origin of such a curious com- 
bination of purposes as a drinking cup and a road book. 

(3) The third road in the Itinerary is also, like the other two, 
connected at one end with the great central station of Silchester, but 
terminates at the other end, at the other Isea—Isca Dumnoniorum— 
the modern Exeter. Its course is through Winchester (Venta 
Belgarum), then to Brige (Broughton), in Hants, and so near West 
Winterslow, and under Figsbury Ring (commonly but incorrectly 
known as Chlorus’ Camp), to Sorbiodunum (Old Sarum). The 
pottery found at Holbury in 1870, and the villa and other buildings 
at West Dean re-opened 1871—73, may possibly be connected with 
this road, though Dean lies some miles to the south of it. These 
antiquities at West Dean, which are of unusual interest, have been 
carefully described by the Rev. G. S. Master, formerly rector. 
(Wilts Arch. Mag., xiil., pp. 88—41, and pp. 276—79, and xxii., 
pp. 248 foll.) In his last communication on the subject he inclines 
to suppose that the place was a Roman station, the first on a road 
from Sorbiodunum to Clausentum, the nearest seaport—a place 
about which we shall speak later on. 

The further course of the main road from Winchester to Exeter, 
which of course passed through Old Sarum, is of some importance 
to the history of Salisbury. In early days it passed through 
Bemerton—I believe through the rectory garden—and so on over 
the meadows to the Race Plain. Hoare’s “ Ancient Wilts,” ii., p. 
25 and plate.) This was convenient for Wilton, but inconvenient 
in medieval times for the city of New Sarum. It was therefore 
natural that Bishop Bingham, in 1244, should wish to change the 

course of this road, so as to enable pilgrims and others to come 
readily to the Cathedral, which was then nearing its completion. 
Tn connection with this change in the road he completed the hospital 


196 On the Roman Conquest of Southern Britain, 


of St. Nicholas and built the bridge at Harnham, and a chapel 
upon it dedicated to St. John the Baptist, where two chaplains from 
the hospital were to attend every day. (Cassan’s Lives, i., p. 177, 
Murray’s Wilts, p. 87, Wilts Arch. Mag., vol. xxv., p. 121.) 

Besides these three roads in the Itineraries and others crossing 
them there are several others passing through parts of the county 
which can be safely enumerated. These are :— 

(L) From Silchester to Old Sarum, direct through or past Andover, 
traces of which are distinctly visible to any traveller by rail between 
the stations of Grately and Porton. There isa fine pavement, now 
again buried, at Thruxton in Hants, which I only mention because 
the inscription upon it, QVINTUS NATALIVS NATALINVS ET BODENI over 
a head of Bacchus, is the one Roman inscription with which our 
county is credited by Professor Hiibner (C. I. L., vii. 3), and that 
erroneously, So poor are we in treasures of this kind. 

(2) From Old Sarum to Witham, and then to Wells, or, as Sir 
R. Hoare thinks, to the Bristol Channel, at the mouth of the river 
Axe, traces of which can still be made out between Groveley Wood 
and Great Ridge Wood, and by Kingston Deverill. (See “ Ancient 
Wilts,” ii., p. 34 and plates.) 

(3) From Old Sarum to Bath, first across the downs to Stapleford, 
and then along the Wily valley. A station on this road must have 
been at Boreham, near Warminster; and at Pitmead near it remains 
of two villas have been found. (“ Anc. Wilts,” ii., p. 108, Murray’s 
Wilts, p. 149.) 

(4) The so-called Foss Way, from Cirencester to Bath, passes 
through the north-west angle of the county. The remains at White 
Walls, near Easton Grey, are supposed to be those of the city of 
Mutuantonis, noticed by the geographer Ravenna (Murray’s 
“Wilts,” p. 13), but I know not on what authority. I suppose 
from the spurious Richard of Cirencester. The Roman villa, one 
mile west of Castle Combe, and the same distance north-west of 
North Wraxall, discovered in 1859 by Mr. Poulett Scrope, is also a 
point upon this road. So also, I presume, are the remains at 
Colerne, near Box, including a pavement representing part of a 
chariot race. (Wilts Arch. Mag., ii., 14, &e.) 


Particularly in regard to its influence on the County of Wilts. 197 


The only other Roman remains of which I have a record are the 
nineteen little images or Penates found in 1714, close to the site of 
the present Southbroom House, which is out of the track of known 
roads. A Roman road along the fertile Vale of Pewsey would, 
however, be natural enough, and Harepath in Burbage has been 
said to be on such a road, local antiquaries connecting it with A. 8S. 
here-pad. 

Is it not likely also that the station of Verlucio was joined by a 
eross-road 10 Sorbiodunum? This would naturally pass through 
the site of Devizes. Roman coins of the age of Constantine are 
also said to have been found at Imber. 

Having thus made a very rapid sketch ofthe existing Roman 
remains in the county, I think it may be useful to connect this 
sketch with what is known of the general history of the conquest 
of Southern Britain. The materials for this purpose have been 
gathered by many persons, for instance by Mr. Thomas Wright, in 
his useful and compendius volume, “ The Celt, the Roman, and the 
Saxon,” and with greater learning and more special knowledge of 
the monuments by Prof. Emil Hiibner, in a paper called “ Das 
Rémische Heer in Britannien” (Berlin, Wiedmanns, 1881, reprinted 
from the sixteenth volume of the Hermes). 

The invasion of Julius Cesar in the first century B.C. is im- 
portant for the light which it throws on the early condition of the 
country, and as affording the pretext on which after invasions were 
founded, viz., the non-payment of the tribute or import and export 
duties which he imposed; but it is well known that he “ retired 
quickly ” (as Strabo observes) “ having effected nothing of conse- 
quence ” (iv., p. 20U== Mon. Hist. Brit.,” p. vii.) It was not till 
A.D. 42, in the reign of Claudius, that anything serious was done 
in respect of Roman occupation. A fugitive king Bericus, whom 
it is natural to identify with Verica, King of the Atrebates, son of 
the Commius mentioned by Cesar, supplied, in accordance with 
precedent, the proximate cause or pretext of the invasion, and 
probably acted as guide and intermediary with the more friendly 
tribes. (Dion Cassius, lx., 19, no doubt founded on the lost books 
of Tacitus, cp. Hiibner, l.c., pp. 7, 8.) 


198 On the Roman Conquest of Southern Britain, 


In the year 43, nearly a hundred years after Cesar’s first invasion, 
an army of some fifty thousand or sixty thousand men was brought 
over by iA. Plautius, an officer high in command in the neighbouring 
province of Germany—an expedition which was honoured by the 
presence for sixteen days of the Emperor himself, who joined it later 
in the season. This number is made up by counting the soldiers of 
the four legions which are known to have served in the campaign 
as six thousand apiece (including one hundred and twenty cavalry 
in each), and adding to them a “ vexillation ” or detachment of a 
thousand men from at least one other legion, the VIIIth Augusta. 
This gives us twenty-five thousand legionaries, mainly from the IInd 
Augusta, [Xth Hispana, XI Vth Gemina, and XXth Valeria Victrix, 
and adding to it an equal number of auxiliary forces we obtain a 
total of fifty thousand. The soldiers serving in the fleet, &c., would 
naturally make up the figures to the sixty thousand combatants, at 
which Hiibner reckons the whole number. In this army served 
two future Emperors, Galba and Vespasian, the former as one of 
the suite of the Emperor, the latter as legatus of the IInd Augustan 
Legion, having his brother Flavius Sabinus serving under him. 

The question is at once naturally raised where this expedition 
landed, and I think we may plausibly suggest that it was in South- 
ampton Water, at the mouth of the Anton, or Test. IRfso this port 
was no doubt chosen as the one nearest to the city of the Atrebates, 
Calleva, or Silchester, to which Verica would naturally direct the 
invaders. I should be glad to have more information as to the 
name Anton, and its probable connection with Andover, near which 
it flows. I would ask, however, as one conscious of defective local 
knowledge, whether it is not probable that Antona was originally 
the name for Andover, formed on a Celtic basis like Dertona in 
Cisalpine Gaul, and that Hampton Shire and Southampton are only 
Saxonising forms of the same old British word, having in reality 
nothing to do with either “ham” or “ton,” but merely passing 
into them as the nearest forms accessible in the language of the 
Teutonic conquerors of later date? 

In any case I presume that the Anton river is probably the same 
as the river Antona referred to in a well-known passage of Tacitus’ 


Particularly in regard to its influence on the County of Wilts. 199 


Annals (xii., 31), describing the action of Ostorius Scapula, the 
successor of Aulus Plautius in the government. You will pardon 
me for a short digression on this important text. After touching on 
the tumults which awaited Ostorius on his arrival, and the prompt 
measures which it was necessary for him to take, Tacitus goes on to 
say, according to the MSS., “detrahere arma suspectis cunctaque 
eastris Antonam et Sabrinam fluvios cohibere parat.” These words 
are obviously not good grammar as they stand, and require some 
emendation. Ritter and others alter Antonam to Avonam, following 
Camden’s Aufonam, because they do not know the name of so com- 
paratively insignificant a stream as the Anton, and insert wsque 
after Avonam. Halm conjectures cis before the first rivername. I 
myself think cs more probable, as more likely to have dropped out 
than wsgue. If the Anton was the first river met with by Claudius’ 
expedition, the prominence given to it is easily explained. This is 
interesting by itself, but it is even more interesting, in view of the 
question raised about ten years ago as to the genuineness of the 
Annals, to notice the use apparently made of this passage by the 
geographer Ptolemy, who lived about a generation later than Tacitus. 
In his description of the south coast of Britain, after noticing the 
outlets of the Kenion, Tamarus, Isaca and Alaunus, which may, 
perhaps, represent Falmouth, Plymouth, Exmouth and Axmouth or 
Weymouth, he mentions the “ Great Harbour” (probably the Solent 
and the inlets generally at the back of the Isle of Wight), and then 
the mouth of the river Zrisanton. No one has been able to identify 
this curious name, and I therefore suggest that the ¢ris in it is 
simply a duplication of the -éris in castris in the sentence of 
Tacitus, “ castris Antonam et Sabrinam fluvios.” If the original text 
castris cis antonam was corrupted to castris trisantonam, we could well 
understand both the omission of the cis in our present MSS. andthe . 
origin of Ptolemy’s mistake. Such a blunder might seem almost im- 
possible, were it not that we have a very similar and more ludicrous 
one already recognised in Ptolemy. In Tacitus’ account of the Frisian 
rebellion occurs the sentence, “ad sua tutanda digressis rebellibus ” 
(Ann., iv., 73, 1), “the rebels having dispersed to protect their own 
homes.” Ptolemy evidently took this for the name of a place, 
VOL, XXV.—NO. LXXIV. P 


200 On the Roman Conquest of Southern Britain. 


understanding it ‘the rebels having dispersed to Suatutanda,” since 
he inserts this entirely absurd name in the form 2vatovrdvéa, in his 
list of towns in North Germany (Geog. 2, 11, 27, ap. Furneaux 
Annals of Tacitus, 1, p. 9). I have casually noticed an almost 
equally stupid blunder in his account of Britain, where he puts the 
IInd Augustan Legion at Isea (Exeter) in Devon, confusing it with 
Isca Silurum (Caerleon on Usk). It would seem worth while with 
these clues to scrutinise carefully the other lists of names in Ptolemy, 
and to see if others of them may not be explained by similar means. 

Supposing, then, that the army led by Aulus Plautius landed at 
the head of Southampton Water, it was natural that the first station 
founded by it should receive its name from the Emperor. This, I 
believe, according to a conjecture already made, is to be found in Clau- 
sentum, now generally identified with Bittern, a little to the east of 
Southampton. Professor Hiibner suggests that this was corrupted 
from Claudientum, but no such suggestion is needed. The Emperor 
was nothing if he was not an antiquary, and I believe he called, or 
Plautius at his direction called, this new town Clausentum, from 
the mythical ancestor of his gens, the Sabine ally of Aineas (Verg. 
/in., vii., 706), and from the first Roman Claudius, whose original 
name was said to be Attus Clausus (Liv. ii., 16, ete.). Clausentum 
would then be, unlike most Romano-British names, a purely Latin 
form like Laurentum. The importance attached to the expedition 
by the Emperor is shown by the name Britannicus taken by his son 
as well as by himself. It was the only expedition in which he 
personally took part, and was therefore likely to be specially marked 
by the foundation of a town bearing his family name. 

The first step in conquest after the army landed was probably the 
subjection of the Isle of Wight by Vespasian (Suet. Vesp. 4). 
Contemporaneous with this must have been the construction of the 
road to Venta, the capital of the Belg (Winchester). Thence the 
road would naturally be extended to Calleva, the capital of the 
Atrebates, for the reasons already given. Venta and Calleva seem 
at once to have become important military centres. The city of the 
Regni (Chichester) must also have very soon declared itself friendly ; 
and as we hear of no conflicts either now or at any later time with 


Particularly in regard to its influence on the County of Wilts. 201 


the Belgz, and as our own county contains no military stations of 
much importance, we may presume that Plautius concluded a peace 
at once with these three tribes, the Atrebates, the Belg, and the 
Regni, Cogidumnus, or Cogidubnus, King of the Regni, became 
a faithful ally of the Romans, as is witnessed by the inscription of 
the Temple of Neptune and Minerva, for which he gave authority, 
pro salute domus divine, as well as by Tacitus (Agricola 14). The 
Cantii in Kent also appear to have been friendly. 

But there were other well-known warlike tribes close at hand 
both to the east and the west of the island, namely, the Trinobantes 
in Essex, whose king, Cunobelinus, now dead, had been succeeded 
by two warlike sons, Cataracus and Togodumnus; and the Catu- 
vellaunians and their subjects, the Dobuni in Gloucestershire. After 
the defeat of Cataracus (or Caractacus) and Togodumnus, for the 
locality of which there are no data, the only battle of importance 
mentioned by Dio is one against the Boduni or Dobuni, the people 
of Gloucestershire, which took place on a large river, probably the 
Severn, in which Osidius Geta, Vespasian, and Flavius Sabinus all 
took prominent part. The centre of operations then shifted to the 
Thames, where Togodumnus appears to have been killed. It is 
probable that different portions of the fleet at once occupied the two 
great inlets of the Thames on the east, and the Bristol Channel on 
the west, in order to support the army in its conflicts with the two 
hostile tribes of which we have spoken, supported as they were by 
the even more warlike peoples of the Iceni of our modern Suffolk 
and Norfolk and the Silures in South Wales. But the wealthy 
city of Londinium (C.LL., vii., p. 21) on the east and the lead 
mines of the Mendips on the west, were probably also attractions 
from the first. Bars or pigs of lead stamped with the names of 
Claudius and Britannicus, have been found on the Mendips dated as 
early as A.D. 49. 

After these victories Claudius was summoned by his successful 
general, and landed somewhere, it may be conjectured, in Kent. 
But Dio’s account is so vague that he might have equally landed at 
Southampton. He was present, it would seem, at the capture of 
Camalodunum, and returned to Italy after remaining in the country 

P2 


202 On the Roman Conquest of Southern Britain. 


only sixteen days. The question of his presence at the capture of 
Camalodunum is not of much importance. Dio asserts it, Suetonius 
seems to deny it. “ Sine ullo praelio aut sanguine intra paucissimos 
dies parte insulae in deditionem recepta sexto quam profectus erat 
mense Romam rediit” (de Claudio,e.17). This would agree better 
with the presence of Claudius in the quiet district of the Belge, 
Atrebates, and Regni, than amongst the Trinobantes, but both may 
be true. 

‘The ‘first permanent results of the eonquest were, it would seem, 
the establishment of the colony of veterans at Glevum (Gloucester) 
on the west, which we may suppose to have been the first home of 
the IInd Legion, afterwards so long stationed at Caerleon, and of 
the colony of Camalodunum, with its temple of the divine Claudius, 
which was probably the first home of the KIVth Legion—a force 
which we may remark was withdrawn in the year 70, and has 
therefore left few traces in the island. Hiibner suggests that the 
first quarters of the IXth Hispana were at Calleva (p. 24), and 
those of the IVth at Cirencester or Bath (p. 25), but these con- 
jectures, though plausible, are not established. 


For us, however, the conclusion is clear that our county was almost — 


outside the sphere of warlike operations, while it had nothing in 
the way either of mineral wealth or of other natural attractions, 
like those possessed by Bath, to draw to it any confluence of Roman 
settlers. With the exception, therefore, of the roads necessary to 
connect the main stations together and the villas adjacent to them, 
the Romans left little mark among us. Had the Belge been a 
strong and hostile race and Sorbiodunum required the presence of a 
legion, either New Sarum would have been founded much sooner, 
or Wilton or Stratford-sub-Castle would have grown up into greater 
prominence. Probably, the keen instinct for sites possessed by the 
Roman generals would have marked out the meeting-place of so 
many valleys and streams as those we have at Salisbury as the 
fitting site for a colony of veterans long before the end of the first 
century, while the old city would have been crowned with buildings 
of solid stone, including, perhaps, a beautiful acqueduct spanning 
the Avon valley. But, as it was, the quiet, separative, secretive 


a 


Particularly in regard to its influence on the County of Wilts. 203 


habits of the people were left unbroken, and were only emphasised 
anew by the West Saxon invaders. Our virtues and our defects are 
matters of long and steady growth, and he who would work in 
Wiltshire must take this into account. Conservative for good and 
evil, friendly but somewhat undemonstrative—such L suppose were 
the Belge, such are the Wiltshiremen. 


Since writing this paper I have been much interested to hear of 
the excavations in the Wansdyke in Calstone parish and on the Tan 
Hill side of Shepherds Shore recently made by General Pitt-Rivers, 
with his usual conscientious care and careful registration of results. 
The discovery of Samian ware and oyster shells under the banks of the 
dyke seems to show that the work is Roman or post-Roman rather 
than pre-Roman and Belgic. It had occurred to me in writing my 
paper, though I had not time to put the conjecture into plausible 
shape, that the Wansdyke was a Roman work, probably executed 
by Ostorius Scapula, to protect the first province of Britain, which, 
as we have seen, apparently contained the country of the Belge, the 
Atrebates, and the Regni. If General Pitt-Rivers’s discovery be 
substantiated, though our antiquaries may lose a pre- Roman monu- 
ment, they may gain one which will enable us to rival in interest 
the classic ground of Northumberland and Cumberland. It is 
natural to suppose that the compendious sentence of Tacitus already 
quoted, “ Cuncta castris cis Antonam et Sabrinam fluvios cohibere 
parat”’ (he makes preparations to keep in check the whole country 
on this side—.e., on the east !—of the rivers Anton and Severn by 
the construction of camps) refers not only to a chain of military 
‘stations, but to the vallum of the Wansdyke, parallel as it is in 
great part of its course to the road from Calleva to the Bristol 
Channel, which, as we have seen, possesses in our county old 


1The Romans not improbably thought that the axis of our island ran more 
§.W. to N.E. than it actnally does, and therefore cis might almost be paraphrased 
“to the south of,” It is remarkable that the ‘‘ provincia inferior’ seems to have 
included the eastern part of the island, and the “superior” the western, the 
modern Wales. York, for instance, was apparently in the “lower province” as 
well as London, 


204 On the Roman Conquest of Southern Britain. 


stations at Marlborough and Wans, This road would then be like 
the “via vallaris” with which we are familiar in the north, and 
the whole system of fortification would be comparable to that of 
Hadrian and Severus from Newcastle to Carlisle, and of Antoninus 
Pius from the Forth to the Clyde. The course of the Wansdyke 
will, I hope, be carefully pursued both to the east and the west. It 
may be found that it actually touched the head-waters of the Anton 
near Weyhill, whilst, as I believe, it undoubtedly extended to the 
Bristol Channel. It is possible, too, that some of the camps now 
considered British or Saxon may be found to be Roman or occupied 
by the Romans. It is a mistake to suppose that Roman camps were 
always rectangular, since Vegetius (i. 23; iii. 8) mentions that they 
were sometimes triangular, circular, or semicircular, and Cesar in 
the African war used semicircular camps (Bell 4/r., 80, 2).] 

I ought to mention that, by the kindness of the Dean of Win- 
chester, I have received an interesting letter from the Rev. R. H. 
Clutterbuck, of Knight’s Enham, dated 24th August, 1889. Mr. 
Clutterbuck believes that the river name Anton is literary and con- 
ventional, and that the true name is Ann or Ande, appearing in 
Ann Savage, Amport, Abbots Ann, Little Ann, Andover (ford or 
passage over the Ande). No doubt the name Ann is old, but so 
may Antona also be. I learn that at East Anton two Roman roads 
intersect. Southampton is, I suppose, merely a corruption of South 
Anton, and the county of Hants is South-Anton-Shire, the h from 
South remaining alone at the beginning of the word. In other 
respects Hants from South-Anton-Shire is exactly parallel to Wilts 
from Wilton-Shire, and points to the antiquity and importance of 
the element Anton. If Antona is (like Dertona) an old Celtic 
name for a town it might also be so for a river: and such I believe 
it to have been. 

“The Rudge Cup” (writes Prof. Hiibner) “ must be a votive cup 
recording the road traversed by the thank-offerer from his home to 
the healing spring, like the Vicarello cup. Those of the Dea 
Coventina at Procolitia are similar.” 


14¢h November, 1890. 


qvante mee a 
TS ¥: er © 


205 


Tivo Wiltshire Augers. 
By W. Cunnineron, F.GS. 


GHE vessel of which a photo-print appears on the opposite: 
page! is a mazer, or drinking-cup, which was obtained by 
myself from a cottage at Bromham, Wilts, about forty years ago. 

It was exhibited at the Inaugural Meeting of our Society in 1853, 
also at a Meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of London, Dec. 
19th, 1889; and it has since been shown at the Tudor Exhibition, 
in Regent Street, 1890. 

A short description of it, by Mr. St. John Hope, appears in the 
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, London, 1889, 

The bowl is of maple wood, with moulded stem, and foot of its 
own, and has a simple thin moulding just below the curved part of 
the cup. 

The band, or mounting, round the edge of the bowl is of silver, 
four-tenths of an inch deep inside, and six-tenths of an inch outside, 
- It is plain, except a triple-edged fringe. On it is inscribed :— 


“Thy blessing O Lord, grante mee and mine: 
Thatt in life and death; wee maye be thine.” 


A short distance from the commencement of this inscription is a 
rude engraving of a seven-branched candlestick. The silver rim of 
the foot is of good design, with egg-and-dart pattern, and above 
this springs a triple-lobed fringe, which bending over the wood of 
the mazer, secures the rim to the foot. 

Diameter, four inches and two-tenths. Height, three inches and 
eight-tenths. Interior depth, two inches and three-tenths. Diameter 
of silver rim of foot, three inches and five-tenths. 


It is of English workmanship, cirea 1590, but has no hall-mark. 


1 The Society is indebted to Mr, Cunnington for the kind gift of half the cost 
of the illustration of his mazer, 


206 Two Wiltshire Mazers, 


On the opposite page is a photo-print of another mazer, in 
the possession of the Rev. C. E. B. Barnwell, of Southbroom 
Vicarage, Devizes. This, though smaller than the beautifu] example 
in the possession of Mr. W. Jerdone Braikenridge, engraved and 
described by Mr. St. John Hope in the Archezologia, so closely 
resembles it in style of ornamentation and detail of workmanship 
as to lead to the belief that both were fashioned by the same hand. 

The dimensions are as follow :—diameter, four inches and a half ; 
depth of bowl, one inch and three-quarters; height, two inches and 
eight-tenths. 

The wood has been renewed, and consists now of a bowl and 
somewhat heavy foot of lignum vite. It is, however, probable, that 
the original bowl was, like Mr. Braikenridge’s, and many others, of 
simple tazza form, with a ring foot. 

The band is of silver-gilt, of very rich design. It is one inch and 
two-tenths deep outside, and three-fourths of an inch deep inside. 
The middle of it is plain, with simple mouldings towards the rim, 
and though the lozengy diaper and cable moulding of the mazer 
above-mentioned are absent, it is enriched with the same cavetto 
and row of small balls, and by a similar scalloped and rayed fringe 
below. (These balls are also used in the ornamentation of a mazer 
dated 1521-2, in possession of Corp. Ch. Coll., Cambridge.) 

In the bottom of the bow] is the circular medallion, or “ print,” 
so common in mazers of this period. It is of silver-gilt, two inches 
and two-tenths in diameter, with a scalloped and rayed fringe round 
it of the same pattern as that on the band. The middle part is 
bossed up, and has on the top a separate circular silver plate three- 
quarters of an inch in diameter, on which is engraved a conventional 
rose of five petals. This was formerly enamelled. It is now 
soldered to a modern screw, passing through the print, and an 
ordinary nut underneath secures it in place. 

The band is attached to the bowl by a few small pins passing 
through the scalloped fringe, but there are many pin-holes now 
unoccupied, made in former alterations of the vessel. 

On the plain portion of the band are the hall-marks, three in 
number, of which, however, the date letter is alone decipherable. 


MAZER, 


IN THE POSSESSION OF THE 


Rev. C. E. B. BARNWELL. 


By W. Cunnington, F.G.S. 207 


This is plainly the “C ” of 1540-1. The date of the Braikenridge cup 
is 1534-5. 

At equal distances from each other on the same part of the band 
are engraved the crests of the three families through whom it has 
descended, viz. :—1, of the Perrot family, a parrot; 2, of the Lowrys, 
two branches of laurel, with the motto “ virtus semper viridis” ; 3, 
the crest of the Barnwell family, the present owners, a wolf’s head, 
with the motto “ Loyal au mort.” 


Nortz.—From the able and exhaustive paper “ on English Medi- 
eval drinking-cups called Mazers,” by W. H. St. John Hope, M.A., 
communicated to the Society of Antiquaries, and published in the 
Archeologia, vol. L., 1887, I select the following explanatory notes 
on the nature and use of mazers. 

“ Of all the drinking vessels in use from the thirteenth to the 
sixteenth centuries, none were so common or so much prized as those 
known to us as mazers. Under whatever name it appears in ancient 
documents it is quite clear that the same vessel is meant, viz., a 
bowl turned out of some kind of wood, but by preference maple, and 
especially the spotted or speckled variety which we call bird’s eye 
maple. Although the term mazer is applied to a drinking bowl, it 
is from the material out of which it was formed, and not the use it 
was put to, that the name is derived. Professor Skeat says the word 
is of Low German origin, and merely an extended form of the 
middle High German mase, old High German m4s4, meaning a spot 
—whence our word measles. (The German Maser is a spot, speck, 
or the grain of the wood; maser-holz is veined wocd, and maserle, 
maple wood, or the maple tree.—Cripps’ Old English Plate,3rd edit., 
p. 203.) A mazer is therefore so called from being a bowl of 
“spotted” wood. During the medieval period mazers were used by 
all classes of persons, from the king downwards. The inventories of 
the religious house bear witness to the same fact : thus at Canterbury 
in 1328 there were in the frater no fewer than one hundred and 
eighty-two mazers; at Battle in 1437 there were thirty-two; at 
Durham in 1446, forty-nine. It is unfortunate that, in spite of 


208 Two Wiltshire Mazers. 


the number of mazers formerly existing in this country, so few 
should have survived to our time; but at present only about fifty 
examples are known, though diligent enquiry would doubtless bring 
to light a few more, The only essential part of a mazer is its bowl; 
and the cheaper form, in use among the poorer classes, would usually 
be but a plain bowl, while the wealthier folk ornamented their mazers 
with silver-gilt mounts, or bands, and enamelled medallions, and 
occasionally with splendid feet and covers. 

Why shallow bowls were preferred to the more convenient cups 
we cannot say, but that they were used to drink from is not only 
abundantly proved by contemporary writings, but the mazers them- 
selves attest the fact. Thus a mazer belonging to Mr, Shirley has 
inscribed on the band :— 


Su the name of the Trinitie 
fille the kup and Drinke to me. 


And the great York bowl bears grants from two bishops of forty 
days’ pardon, 
“onto all tho that drinkis of this cope.” 


It is interesting to know that one of the mazers in the collection 
of Mr. A. W. Franks was formerly used in their frater house by 
the monks of Rochester, the legend on the band being :— 


+ CIPHVS +¢ REFECTORII « ROFENSIS «¢ PERFRATREM 
ROBERTVM + PECHAM. 


The date of this example, as shown by the London hall-mark, is 
1532. It found its way into the Fontaine collection at Narford 
Hall, Norfolk, where it was sold in June, 1884, for £252, and 
became the property of the present owner. 


209 


Evington Church. 
By C. E. Pontine, F.S.A. 


(The greater part of this paper was read at the Salishury Meeting, August 
5th, 1887, and is now reprinted from the Archeological Journal, vol. xlv., 
p. 43, by kind permission of the Council of the Royal Archeological 
Institute.) 


N his admirable and exhaustive paper on the History of 
<i Edington Monastery, published in the Wiltshire Archao- 
logical Magazine, vol. xx., p. 241, Canon Jackson modestly states 
that “he only pretends to make a little contribution of some details 
relating principally to the Monastic Establishment ;” and also that 
‘the grand old Church deserves—what it has not yet obtained—a 
volume to itself, and one that should be rich in illustration.” 

When J had the honour of being invited to read a paper on 
Edington Church it oceurred to me that—whilst leaving the writing 
of a volume on the subject in more able hands—it might not be 
without interest to some who are not well acquainted with the 
building if I ventured to supplement what Canon Jackson has said 
with a few details of the Church itself which have come before my 
notice in my long acquaintance with it, and in particular during 
my recent closer study of this and other works of Bishop 
Edington. 

In illustration of my remarks I venture to make use of the plans 
which I have prepared for the restoration of the Church—I use 
the word restoration in its most conservative sense—and of other 
drawings which I produce for this special purpose. 

To make my remarks the more intelligible I will first state 
shortly the history of the Monastery and its founder, culled from 
Canon Jackson’s more elaborate details—the main authority for 
which is the Register of Edington, forming No. 442 of the Lans- 
downe MSS. in the British Museum, and I here wish to express 
my obligation to the worthy Canon for so readily placing these 
results of his researches at my disposal. 


210 Edington Church. 


The Rectory of Edington belonged to the Abbey of Romsey, of 
which the Rector was a Resident Prebendary, and the parochial 
duties, with the services in the Church (the predecessor of the 
building under notice) were discharged by a Vicar. About the 
year 1300 William of Edington (whose surname is unknown) was 
born in the village whose name he adopted; after education at 
Oxford, and having held two previous livings, he, in 1322, became 
Rector of Middleton Cheney, in Oxfordshire. In 1345 he was, by 
Royal favour, appointed to the See of Winchester, and shortly 
afterwards made Lord High Chancellor of England. In the last 
year of his life, 1366, Bishop Edington was nominated Archbishop 
of Canterbury, which office, however, he declined, probably on ac- 
count of infirmity. 

Soon after his consecration to Winchester he appears to have set 
about improving the state of the Church in his native parish of 
Edington. He first (in 1351) arranged with the Abbess of Romsey 
for the establishment at Edington of a Collegiate Body of Secular 
Priests under a Warden. But a short time after this, at the special 
request of the Black Prince, he converted his College into a Monas- 
tery of the Augustinian Order of “ Bonhommes,” and built the 
present Church. [There was a previous parish Church on the same 
site, and during the recent restoration, the base, of late Norman 
character, of the west respond of the south arcade was discovered 7m 
situ, and opened out. ‘This appears to have been the starting-point 
in setting out the new, and larger, Church—the corresponding 
respond of which stands on the old one.] 

Leland gives the following extracts from a certain Latin book of 
Edington Monastery :— 

“3rd July A.D. 13852. was laid the first stone of the Monastery 

of Edindon.” 
: « A.D. 1861. The Conventual Church of Edindon was dedicated 
by Robert Wyville Bishop of Sarum to the honour of St. James 
the Apostle, S. Katharine and All Saints.” 

[Canon Jackson states: ‘‘ St. James the Apostle, as one of the 
saints to whom the Church was dedicated, may have been an error 
of Leland’s copying. In the foundation charter, printed in the New 


—— SC 


By C. E. Ponting, F.8.A. 211 


Monasticon (vi., 536), the dedication is to the Blessed Virgin Mary, 
St. Katharine, and All Saints.”’] 

We are thus able to fix the exact date of the commencement and 
completion of the Church, the whole of which was carried out during 
the bishop’s lifetime. 

It is by such authenticated examples that we are best able to fix 
the periods at which the various styles of Gothic Architecture pre- 
vailed, and this is an especially valuable example as it marks the 
change from one of the great divisions to another—from the “ Deco- 
rated” (which Mr. Parker sets down as ending about 1360, and 
and Rickman as 1377) to the “ Perpendicular ” (which both these 
authorities consider as commencing about 1400). 

The value of this example is enhanced by the fact that, with the 
exception of the porch, which appears to have been added to the 
aisle wall, rather than dwilé up with it, and is somewhat later in 
detail, [the upper stage of the porch was probably added in the 
sixteenth century, and the original parapet and cornice re-set at the 
higher level] the building is all of one date, and it remains practically 
unaltered, so that it presents to us a complete specimen of the 
Monastic Church of the fourteenth century. 

The plan of the Church is cruciform, with central tower, and the 
various parts are set out with great precision. It consists of a nave 
of six bays with lofty clerestory, north and south aisles, north and 
south transepts, and large chancel. Against the second bay of the 
south aisle from the west is a porch of three stories, the lowest of 
which is vaulted in stone. The middle one has a fireplace, and is 
approached by a turret staircase on the west side—the steps 
going on up to the aisle roof, from which again by a step about 
3ft. high the doorway of the upper room is reached. There are 
other stair turrets at the western angles of the transepts, each of 
which leads to its respective side of the nave, transept, and aisle 
roofs, the parapets being ingeniously corbelled out and the angles 
of the tower canted off to admit of passage, and that on the south 
gives access to the tower by means of another turret starting from 
the transept roof, and carried up the south-west angle. 

It will thus be seen that, with the exception of that of the north 


212 Edington Church. 


aisle, all the roofs are approached by staircases, and before the 
destruction of the domestic buildings of the Monastery this roof 
also had its stair turret, which projected beyond the west face and 
was entered from the cloister. The west window of this aisle is 
placed closer to the nave than that of the south aisle to admit of 
this; and the point at which the string course and plinth stop 
probably indicate its exact position. As showing the thoroughness 
with which the work was done, I may here mention that the stone 
roofs of these turrets are groined on the underside, the ribs springing 
from the central newel. 

The principal dimensions of the Church are as follows (inside 
measurement) :—nave, 73ft. 4in. long and 22ft. 6in. wide; north 
aisle, 73ft. 6in. long, and 12ft. 2in. wide; south aisle, 73ft. 2in. 
long and 12ft. 3in. wide ; north transept, 21ft. 6in. long and 22ft. 
2in. wide; south transept, 20ft. 9in. long, and 21ft. lin. wide ; 
chancel, 52ft. 3in. long and 24ft. wide, in addition to the projection 
of the screen into the crossing. The total internal length is 154ft., 
and the width across the transepts is 71ft. 8in. The spacing of the 
bays of the nave is exact, the columns being 12ft. 3in. from centre 
to centre. 

The tower is 27ft. 6in. from north to south, and the same from 
east to west outside, and 67ft high from nave floor to top of parapet. 
The lower stage was intended to be vaulted in stone, and the corbels 
and wall-ribs still exist; but it is doubtful whether the intention 
was ever carried out. I would remark, in passing, that the belfry 
windows were originally filled with coloured glass, portions of which 
remain in the tracery, and for the same reason, probably, the jambs 
and arches are, contrary to the usual order, deeply moulded on the 
inside, whilst on the outside the tracery is flush with the wall. It 
seems difficult to assign any use for this upper chamber, approached 
as it is from the outside along the gutter of the transept roof. 

The domestic buildings of the monastery were on the north side 
of the Church and the north aisle formed one side of the cloister 
garth, the windows of the aisle being shorter than on the south side, 
and the lower part of the side window of the transept built solid to 
admit of the cloister roof coming below them. The weather mould 


ee 


By C. B. Ponting, F.S.A. 213 


over the roof still exists. I have traced the foundation of the west 
wall of the cloister for some distance northward in a line with the 
west front of the Church, but with this exception no part of the 
original monastery remains. The entrance to the Church from the 
monastery was by the doorway into the north aisle at the south-east 
angle of the cloister, and the arch of this doorway is, unlike any 
other throughout the building, enriched with carving. 

The Church was built for the double purpose of a monastic and a 
parish Church—its plan has been arranged for this, and the details 
of the separate parts have been designed to emphasize their use. It 
will be seen that the chancel (the monks’ choir) and the transepts, 
which were used as chapels, have a distinctly different treatment to 
the nave and aisles, which formed the parish Church. The windows 
of the monastic Church have a distinct type of tracery; their 
mouldings are richer and more varied; plinths on the outside and 
string courses both inside and outside are carried round this part 
only; the buttresses here are terminated by pinnacles, and the 
gargoyles are carved, whilst those of the parish Church are plain.! 

The chancel being the Church of the monastery, the parish altar 
was placed under the western arch of the tower—the way to the 
chancel from the cloister being behind it. The floor of the crossing 
and transepts, also of the eastern bay of the nave and aisles, is 
thirteen inches above the general floor of the nave; and the fact of 
this raised level being carried so far westward indicates that the 
altar was in this position. There are remains of a niche and piscina, 
coeval with the building, in the east wall of the north transept. 
The niche has a shelf and is groined—the front part of the canopy 
has been cut away, but traces of it and of its flanking pinnacles 
remain ; it is covered with the original rich colouring and gilding ; 
and the lily painted on the splayed sides, with the predominance of 
blue in the decoration, indicates that the altar which stood here was 
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

Portions of the two steps across the south aisle remain, and a 
piscina, coeval with the structure, exists in the south wall for the 


} There were two secular priests set apart to attend to the services in the parish 
Church, 


214 Edington Church. 


use of an altar here. Traces of a screen wall or reredos, 5ft. high 
and 94in. thick exist behind the site of this altar; this was probably 
erected when another chantry was formed farther eastward, where 
a later piscina has been inserted. 

Although the entire floor of the transepts is now on one level, the 
rough wall surface above it on the east side, and the higher position 
of the bases of the tower piers here, afford ample evidence that the 
spaces on each side of the projecting rood screen were raised to the 
extent of a further thirteen inches or so; this would point to there 
having been another altar in the south transept. [It has since 
been discovered that the lower step of this raised space returned 
westwards across the south transept, sufficiently far in front of the 
tomb to protect the grave of tke ecclesiastic whom it commemo- 
rates. | 

The large dimensions of the chancel would point to the conclusion 
that the founder of the monastery contemplated a goodly number of 
brethren, but Leland gives the number of priests in the college as 
twelve, and the highest recorded number of inmates of the monas- 
tery is that given in a petition to the diocesan to select a new rector 
on the death of the first rector, John Ailesbury, in 1382, the words 
* Co-rector and convent, eighteen in number,” here occur ; but as 
this was sixteen years after the death of William of Edington, it is 
possible that this number was at one time exceeded. At the sur-- 
render of the monastery by Paul Bush, in 1539, the number had 
become reduced again to twelve. 

The chancel is of three bays in length, and the side windows are, 
in design and dimensions, like those in the transepts; and the Per- 
pendicularized form of reticulated tracery here is very characteristic. 
The original ehancel roof was an open timbered one, with circular 
braces, the lines of which are traceable on the walls; this has 
disappeared, and a modern roof and plaster ceiling about a century 
old have taken its place. But the corbels, which supported the roof 
trusses, remain—two on each side—and are supported by beautiful 
niches. These four niches probably contained figures of the 
Evangelists, the headless remains of two of which still exist, and 
their graceful drapery indicates a high order of art. The emblems 


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fs aos 


HOpUr] PY oye MeN UeMoAyI A, 


sq Snosoqpasy/ < Ud nag Sut yer! $ WUOLJIIS yeu pngyisao7T 


“prraryrry, 
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a? J of oh ob ole ob + ri vol 


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By C. E. Ponting, P.S8.A. 215 


at the feet of these (the lion and the eagle) symbolize St. Mark and 
St. John. The truss against the east wall was supported by similar 
corbels set diagonally across the angles, whilst on the west, against 
the tower, where the arch precluded this, the corbels are carried by 
an octagonal shaft standing on grotesques. On the east wall, flanking 
the window, are two niches of very elaborate design and delicate 
construction, the slender proportion of their tabernacle work (the 
smaller shafts of which are only jin square) being suggestive of 
wood rather than stone. Both bear evidence of rich gilding and 
colouring beneath the whitewash, and the spirit shown in their 
handicraft by the respective workmen is very instructive ; for whilst 
Bishop Edington’s artist gilded every part, even where hidden from 
view behind the canopies; the churchwardens’ whitewasher only 
smeared over the parts which can be seen from below—or perhaps 
the latter was more sparing of his whitewash than the former of his 
gold! The niche on the north is richer in some minor points of 
detail than that on the south; and as the Church is dedicated to the 
Blessed Virgin Mary and S. Katherine (with All Saints) I would 
suggest the probability that figures of the two principal saints 
occupied these niches, and that of Our Lady the richer one on the 
north, 

Before I leave the chancel I must allude to a singular combination 
of features, which, so far as I know, has not hitherto attracted 
notice. In the centre of the south side is a doorway (which, 
doubtless, from its plain external appearance, has been considered 
** modern,” and is described as such by Canon Jackson, who informs 
me that this was the opinion of the Rev. E. Wilton, who had lived 
nearly all his life in or near Edington, and was much interested in 
the Church). This doorway is richly moulded on the inside, and 
the label is carried up as an ogee canopy, with flanking pinnacles 
and crockets, and dies into the string course as shewn in my longi- 
tudinal section. But the rebate for the door is on the owtside, where 
the western jamb and arch have a small plain chamfer, whilst the 
eastern jamb is deeply splayed off. This was evidently not originally 
an outside entrance to the chancel as at present, but opened into a 
long narrow chamber against the two eastern bays. Referring to 
VOL, XXV.—NO, LXXIv. Q 


216 Edington Church. 


the elevation, it appears that the outer sills of the windows of these 
two bays are on this side, kept higher—the splays being flatter to 
admit of it, and that the string eourse which is carried all round the 
chancel and transepts elsewhere becomes here a mere weather-mould 
over the roof of this adjunct, as well as being at a higher level. 
The westernmost window is also some four or five inches higher 
altogether, a break being made in the upper string forming the 
label. ‘Then the plinth which elsewhere was carried round the 
chancel and transepts, never existed here at all, and only occurs on 
the face of the intervening buttress and for some six inches on the 
return. There is a built-up window in the buttress at the west-end 
of the chamber, and an archway for passage through the intervening 
one also blocked up. The three buttresses have had their south 
faces re-built, and probably set back, so that their present projection 
does not represent the width of the chamber, but it was evidently 
not much in excess of this—hence apparently the splaying off of 
this door jamb. 

When I had got thus far in my investigations, I looked for some 
indication of other openings in the chancel wall, and on critically 
examining the jointing I found that there are two built-up squints 
or windows (with a mullion between) which once looked into the 
sanctuary. The monument of Sir W. Lewys effectually prevents 
an examination of these features on the inside, but from the fact 
that the string course under the windows stops, at about two feet 
from the last. window, against what is apparently the remains of a 
pinnacle, similar in section to those flanking the niches, I conjecture 
that there was a group of features under this window, which 
probably included sedilia and piscina, and of which these openings 
formed part, as at Dorchester, Oxon. [A portion of the sedilia has 
since been opened out—each compartment has a circular back and 
groined ceiling, and traces of a canopy similar to that over the 
doorway near it.] There are also two larger openings divided by a 
mullion, but these were probably only recesses, or aumbries, as there 
is no sign of them on the inside. The object of this passage-like 
chamber opens the field for much conjecture. It must have been 
too narrow for a sacristy, and I do not incline to the Leper theory, 


By C. E. Ponting, F.8.A. 217 


so often advanced for openings in this position. Was the chamber 
the kind of anchor-hold described by Mr. Mackenzie Walcott,—the 
openings being to enable the recluse to see the mysteries? Or was 
it not, rather, a watching chamber? The latter would seem to be 
the more probable use. The fact of there being a doorway between 
the chamber and the chancel, and that the outside wall of the latter, 
under the window, bears marks of fire, might be of assistance in 
forming an opinion. Certain it is, however, that all these features, 
including the doorway, are coeval with the chancel, and that their 
original use was abandoned at a very early period; for the filling 
up of the small openings has oyster-shel/s in the joints, and I have 
neyer yet seen nor heard of these having been employed in Post- 
Reformation work. 

In the westernmost bay of the chancel, on the north side, is what 
Canon Jackson refers to, on the same authority, as a “ blocked-up 
door, which once led into the cloister.” This doorway is only 2ft, 
Odin. wide, but it is identical in its jamb and arch mouldings with 
that on the south side, and there are mutilated remains of a similar 
canopy over it. This opening has been built up so cleverly on the 
outside as to entirely remove all traces of it there. I think it 
probable that it opened into a sacristy, for the cloister could hardly 
have extended so far eastward, and it is probable that the cemetery 
of the monastery was on the north of the chancel. 

I may here mention that on the outside of the north-wall of the 
chancel, and in the next bay to the last named is another curious 
niche. It is built up from the projecting plinth, and on rising 
above it the sides are canted off to the wall face. The opening in 
front has tracery of a very “Geometrical” type, the ceiling is 
groined, and the whole is surmounted by an embattled cornice. 
The masonry here has been much scraped away, but I can discern 
three holes in the back of the niche (one of which has a metal rivet 
left in it) in such a position as would seem to indicate that a crucifix 
was fixed to it, facing the cemetery. That this, and also the features 
on the south side are coeval with the original structure is proved, 
not only by the unmistakeable manner in which the masonry of 
the first is jointed, but also by the fact that in both cases the 


Q 2 


218 Edington Ofaurch. 


consecration crosses, which everywhere else are placed against the 
centre of the part of the building to which each refers, are cut here 
on one side. 

Behind the altar is a piece of Jacobean oak work, which it is 
generally supposed was the chimney-piece of a secular building, but 
I see no reason to suppose that it was not made for its present 
position. 

The rood-screen has been described as “a large rood-loft, with an 
incongruous wooden screen beneath it;” but in my judgment it 
deserves a much better character. It stands on a plinth of stone, 
which indicates the original floor-level, 1ft, 2in. below the present 
pavement of the chancel. [The original level of the chancel floor 
has since been restored by Mr. S. Watson Taylor, the lay rector. ] 
The screen itself is filled with plain panels below the middle hori- 
zontal] rail, and the grooves in the mullions of the upper part indicate 
that there were solid panels here also, behind the existing traceried. 
heads; thus, with the exception of the open framing of the upper 
half of the doors, the screen entirely shut out a view of the chancel 
from the nave. The doorway has a four-centred arch, supported by 
shafts with carved capitals, on the jambs; above this framing is a 
panelled cove of slight projection, with moulded ribs, and bosses 
planted on at the intersections; these are again framed into a 
moulded front beam supported by carved brackets at the ends. The 
loft over this is 7ft. wide; the eastern face of it is supported on a 
carved beam, on the underside of which are mortises for the ribs of 
a second cove, and also “ housings ” at the ends for similar brackets 
to those under the west beam. It becomes clear on looking into it 
that under the loft there was a double row of stalls facing east, and 
that the eastern cove was framed at its lower edge into an inner 
beam, and probably a second screen forming the back of the front 
row of stalls. They appear to have been removed since the modern 
painting was done, and their height is clearly traceable. 

The framing of the loft consists of moulded mullions carried up 
from the front beams to upper beams, which are also moulded and 
had carving inserted; between these are solid panels, on which are 
painted in black letters of Edward IV. character, on a white ground, 


By C. #. Ponting, F.S.A. 219i 


some sentences from the Book of Proverbs. This framing is now: 
returned at the ends, and there is no means of access to it; but the 
return pieces, although coeval with the rest, bear the appearance of 
having been fitted here in more recent times, and as the ends of the 
front beam have been roughly cut off, as. well as the string courses 
of the transepts against which it would come, I conjecture that the 
loft was originally carried through the transepts and crossing, and 
this would account for its projecting so far into the latter. The 
space under the existing part of the loft is divided from the transepts. 
by stone walls, and in that on the north side is a small window 
which would come at the end of the passage between the two rows. 
of stalls, and afford a view of the altar in the lady chapel. 

The entire erection is a very late addition to the Church, probably 
about the end of Hen. VII., and the carving in the spandrels and 
hollows is all planted on, but it is exceedingly rich and free in 
treatment. The Tudor rose is conspicuous in it, but there is no 
trace of original painting. Some Elizabethan enrichment of the 
screen and doors has been added, and the latter have subsequently 
been cut off to admit of the raising of the chancel floor. [The 
missing carving and cresting of this screen is in process of being 
reinstated.] 

The roofs of the nave, aisles, and transepts are rude in workman- 
ship and plain in detail. They are of the king-post and tie-beam 
type, the nave and aisles having wall pieces and braces carried far 
down and supported by corbels. The ceilings are formed by seven- 
teenth century plastering secured to the underside of the rafters, 
and the surfaces are enriched by plaster ribs in geometrical arabesque, 
with cusping ; under the tower this takes the form of vaulting in 
plaster, following the lines of the original stone wall ribs. This 
work adds a special interest to the roofs, and it is unfortunate that 
the rotten state of the timbers rendered it impossible to retain it in 
the aisles and south transept, where new roofs have been substituted, 
The ribs are formed of a light red plaster for their entire thickness. 

Against the south wall of the south transept is a monument of 
great beauty, of which a drawing accompanies this paper. It 
consists of an altar-tomb supporting the recumbent effigy of an. 


220 Edington Church. 


Augustinian canon, with his head resting on a cushion and his feet 
on a barrel, Over this rises a canopy with richly groined vaulting, 
at the front of which is a traceried arch, and at each end a niche. 
At the back is a blank space which was once apparently filled with 
a panel of stone or marble about 24in. thick. The central part 
being raised suggests the probability that the subject of this panel 
was the crucifixion. At the front angles of the tomb are niches 
containing figures of SS. Peter and Paul, with their emblems, the 
keys and the sword (which, by the way, are the arms of the See of 
Winchester). The cornice is richly carved with the vine pattern ; 
in the centre above is an angel holding the supposed design or rebus, 
a branch or sprig growing out of a barrel or twm. On each side of 
this figure can be traced the section of a destroyed parapet, which 
was probably pierced or carved. The moulded mensa is enriched by 
carving—the subjects being the rebus referred to five times repeated, 
the monogram IB twice repeated, a lamb with the same sprig crossed 
above its head, and a Tudor rose. The front of the tomb below 
this is divided into four panels of cusped quatrefoils, in two of 
which the rebus runs, and in the other two the Tudor flower. Not- 
withstanding all this symbolism the name of the departed ecclesi- 
astic has never yet been satisfactorily identified, though many 
guesses have been made; he was doubtless a benefactor of the 
monastery. The original rich colouring of red, blue, black, and 
gold remains on the upper part of the monument, though a good 
deal of modern ruddle has been added. In re-laying the floor of 
the south transept a stone-built grave was discovered in front of this 
altar-tomb ; a piece of the original tile floor in situ under the lowest 
step of the staircase, and the marks on the wall indicated that the 
raised altar space against the east wall returned along over this 
grave. The grave was not disturbed, but there can be little doubt 
that it is that of the canon whom the monument commemo- 
rates. 

Under the second arch from the east of the south nave arcade 
(which, I may mention, is the exact position of Bishop Edington’s 
chantry in Winchester Cathedral) is another monument, perhaps a 
little later in date, and supposed to be that of Sir Ralph Cheney, 


————E—— 


—~ 


By C. FE. Ponting, F.S8.A. 221 


who died in 1401, having married a danghter of Sir John Paveley, of 
Brook House. This consists of a Purbeck slab,'from which two brasses 
have been removed, resting on a panelled altar-tomb,with a canopy, and 
there are indications of similar tracery, in the two-side openings, to 
that referred to in the last. At the east end there is a niche, and at 
the west end a canopied oratory, in which the priest might stand 
when singing mass, the canopy and cornice being continued over it. 
The cornice has the vine pattern carved in it, and a portion of the 
crested parapet still remains. There are various shields bearing 
arms, which Canon Jackson considers hardly bear out the union of 
Sir R. Cheney with Sir J. Paveley’s heiress—though the rudder 
(the Paveley badge) is many times repeated on the shields and in 
the carving. This tomb extends the full width between the two. 
pillars, which have been cut away to receive it. Both tomb and 
pillars bear traces of original painting, in spite of the scraping 
which the former has received, 

Against this, on the nave side (and immediately at the foot of 
the steps leading to the raised part of the floor) exists the moulded 
stone curb of an ancient carol or enclosed chantry, and the position of 
a similar one can be traced on the north side of the nave. 

The font, which stands at the west end of the north aisle, has 
been much mutilated; it has a bowl of Purbeck marble on a stone 
base and an oak Jacobean cover. The pulpit is a good one of 
Jacobean date, with sounding-board. 

There are ‘many valuable bits of stained glass in the Church in 
the style of the fourteenth century. The three-light east window 
of the north transept (or lady chapel) contains almost intact the 
subject of the crucifixion, Our Lady and 8S. John flanking the 
main figure. 

The clerestory windows contain figures of the bishops, with 
mutilated inscriptions beneath them, of which an illustration is 
here given. 

Dr. Rock, in his work called “ Hierugia,” at page 786, gives the 
names of a number of saints mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon litany 
of the tenth century, both male and female. The names of the 
males are given :— 


222 Edington Church. 


Sce Eadmunde 
Sce Eadwarde 
Sce Albane 
and so on ; 
the names of the ladies -— 
Sea Brigida 
and so on. 
It is possible that, as the names are made to end in e, so the word 
saint may have been garnished with the same superfluous vowel. 

The Rev. Christopher Wordsworth, to whom these inscriptions 
have been referred, considers the first to mean S. Cuthbert, and the 
third S. Christopher—although the former figure has a sword, and 
the latter is that of a bishop; and that the errors in the accessories 
are due probably to the artist having had a conventional type in 
the abstract, without much knowledge of hagiology. 

Besides these there are almost perfect lights in the north aisle, 
containing heraldic emblems, but no figure subjects. In one of the 
aisle windows a single piece of heraldic glass was found with the 
Hungerford arms (three sheaves and three sickles) on it. There are 
in the south aisle several original oak benches, as well as parts of 
others, including many good linen pattern panels, in the nave. 

The exterior of the Church is remarkable for the regularity of its 
design—thus, the cornices—(although those of the nave, transepts, 
and clerestory are of different sections) are carried all round at the 
same level. The side windows of the chancel and the four windows 
in the transepts are alike in dimensions and design. Then the 
clerestory windows and those of the aisles are similar in design ; 
those of the north and south aisles only differ in height, owing to a 
local circumstance. Parapets are carried round the whole of the 
roofs, and are repeated on the tower, those, however, on the north 
aisle and transept are plain, the rest being embattled. Diagonal 
buttresses only occur in the porch, and may be taken as one of the 
indications of its being a somewhat later addition. All the rest of 
the buttresses stand square with the walls, and (excepting the low 
ones at the west angles of aisles) are carried up above the parapets, 


“HOYNH) NOLONICZ 30 SMOGNIM AYOLS3Y31D 3H1 NI “WHYOAHLYD YALSAHONIM NI 
SLINIVS 40 SSYNSIS Y3IGNN SNOILdIYOSN| NOLONIOA 40 WWITTIM 40 ADIS43 AHL WOYS AIOLS 


Aw 900278) 
RULOIQne Ds! 


By C. E. Ponting, F.8.A. 228 


panelled, and surmounted by crocketted pinnacles. It is noticeable 
that the side walls of aisles and clerestory are not buttressed. The 
gables of the transepts are carried up within the parapets, the latter 
rnnning round horizontally, and the gutter coming between. The 
graceful lines of the coping where it is formed into a base for the 
cross are an instance of the exceeding beauty of the curves in the 
designs of this Church.! 

The west front is notable for its unique window and doorway, to 
which I shall have occasion to refer again. The doorway appears to 
have been intended more as an architectural feature than for use, as 
the splayed plinth of soft stone (which stands above the floor) is 
carried through as a sill, and indicates little sign of wear. 

The low and broad proportions of the tower by their very dignity 
cause one the more to reeret the absence of bolder outside mouldings 
to the belfry windows, by which a somewhat meagre appearance is 
given them. The original doors remain, though much dilapidated, 


at the south and west entrances, they have plain square inside 


framing, and vertical boards on the outside; the hinges are quite 
plain. 

A noticeable feature in the design of the Church is that effect is 
produced by good proportions, solid construction, and rich mouldings, 
rather than by carving. There is no carving on the outside, beyond 
the patere in the arch of the doorway into the cloister, the label 
terminations of the east and west windows, and the gargoyles to 
chancel and transept only ; whilst on the inside it is only employed 
in the niches and corbels of the chancel, and two string terminations 
in the transepts. The capitals throughout are moulded. 

The consecration crosses were cut in the wall and inlaid with 
brasses, each secured by four rivets. The brasses, however, are 
all missing. There are twelve crosses on the inside and twelve 
on the outside, and they occur at the following places :—inside— 
one at the west end of each of the two aisles, one in the centre 
of the head of the west doorway, one in the centre of the side wall 


1 For illustrations of the south side and west front see vol. xx., pp. 241 and 
295 of the Magazine. 


224 Edington Church. 


of each aisle, one in the end wall of each transept, one in the centre 
of each side wall of the chancel, three on the east wall of the 
ehancel. On the outside they are as nearly as they can be opposite 
to those on the inside. 

The four niches against the wall of the north transept, with their 
scalloped heads and moulded seats, are doubtless additions made 
after the monastery was bought, in 1549, by Sir W. Pawlett. The 
domestic buildings were then pulled down, and a mansion erected 
with the materials; these niches would seem to indicate that the 
gardens extended up to this wall of the Church. 

A beautiful monument in marble and alabaster, to the memory of 
Sir Thomas Lewys, lessee of the house, from the Pawletts, in 1636, 
occupies the south side of the sacrarium, and has its railing still 
around it. 

In the floor of the sacrarium is an interesting brass, 143in x 
1l}in., with the inscription, “ Here lyeth the body of the Right 
Honble. Anne Lady Beauchamp, who deceased the 25th of September 
in the yeare of Our Lord 1664.” In re-laying the floor the lead 
coffin containing the body was exposed. It is only 5ft. 2in. long, 
shaped to the outline of the body, and the face is moulded in low 
relief. It bears the inscription, ‘The Right Honble. Anne Lady 
Beauchamp, deceased the 25th of September, 1664.” Lady 
Beauchamp was the wife of Sir Edward Lewys, whose monument 
is against the south wall. 

I have hitherto only dealt with the general design and features 
of the Church, but it is in the composition of these that its principal 
teaching value consists, as illustrating the course of the transition ; _ 
and in briefly treating of this I hope to advance some further 
evidence that it was the founder of this Church, William of 
Edington, as I was glad to hear our President acknowledge in his 
opening address (and not William of Wykeham, who has generally 
been given the credit of it), who introduced the leading principles 
of the Perpendicular style. 

I would incidentally remark that Professor Willis says it is known 
that Wykeham was in Bishop Edington’s service in 13852, and he 
is supposed to have assisted as clerk of the works in the building of 


By C. E. Ponting, S.A. 225 


Edington Church. I think I ought to mention that on the occasion 
of my visit to Winchester for the purposes of this paper I alluded 
to this circumstance in conversation with the Dean as a proof of the 
schooling which Wykeham received from his master and subse- 
quently developed at Winchester; but the Dean replied that his 
view of this particular connexion was that the elerk of the works 
came to Edington to shew the Bishop how to build Edington 
Church ! 

I will first quote the late Mr. J. H. Parker on the subject of its 
characteristics. He says, “It is a fine cruciform Church, all of 
uniform character, and that character is neither Decorated nor 
Perpendicular, but a very remarkable mixture of the two styles 
throughout. The tracery of the windows looks at first sight like 
Decorated, but, on looking more closely, the introduction of Per- 
pendicular features is evident. The west doorway has the segmental 
arch, common in Decorated work, over this is the usual square label 
of the Perpendicular, and under the arch is Perpendicular panelling 
over the heads of the two doors. The same curious mixture is 
observable in the mouldings and in all the details. . . . Bishop 
Edington’s work at Winchester was executed at a later period than 
that at Edington, and, as might be expected, the new idea is more 
fully developed, but on a comparison between the west window of 
Winchester and the east window of Edington it will at once be 
seen that the principle of construction is the same. There isa 
central division carried up to the head of the window, and sub- 
arches springing from it on each side.” 

There are, however, many peculiarities in the tracery which Mr. 
Parker does not mention. For instance, in the centre light of the 
east window is (if we except the small window in the transept) the 
only bit of transom to be found in the Church, and it indicates the 
change of style in a pronounced manner; in other respects the 
tracery of this window is quite “ flowing” in character, and the 
cusps of the middle light are terminated by carved bosses. Then 
in the west window we have the central mullion springing off into 
sub-arches, and none of the mullions carried through to the outer 
arch, although this occurs in the east window, which is on the whole 


226 Edington Church. 


an earlier type. But the principle of Perpendicularity is shewn in 
the vertical lines of the tracery, carried up from the points of the 
four main lights. This window affords a striking instance, I think, 
of the precedence which I elaim for William of Edington ; for it 
will be seen, on comparison with a window at New College, Oxford, 
erected by William of Wykeham in 1386, that the share of the 
latter in the design consists of taking Bishop Edington’s window, 
erected twenty-five years before, omitting the sub-mullions and 
tracery of these four main lights (in short, regarding it as a fowr- 
light instead of an eight-light window); extending its height to 
fit the place for which he required it, and adding a transom to 
support the lengthened mullions ! 

The three-light windows in the chancel and transepts are inter- 
esting and unique specimens of the Transitional treatment of the 
familiar Decorated type, known as “ reticulated” tracery. It is 
interesting to compare this with a window from the vestry of 
Merton College, Oxford, erected in 1325, By simply substituting 
a two-centred for an ogee arch of each compartment of the tracery, 
an elongation of the vertical dividing line is obtained producing the 
mullion-tracery which constitutes the distinctive character of the 
later examples. The narrow side windows in the transepts are quite 
unique in design; that in the north transept has a decidedly Per- 
pendicular feeling, and exhibits the wall panelling idea in its lower 
compartments, 

Much has been said of the tracery of the tower windows as ex- 
hibiting the “ cross flewry”’ in supposed allusion to the.arms of the 
Paveley family, but as the west windows of the aisles have the cross 
turned the other way this intention hardly holds good. I regard 
the tracery of these windows as a natural development of geometrical 
forms, and a similar device to those in the aisle is to be seen in a 
four-light window in Shere Church, in Surrey, given in “ Brandon’s 
Analysis.” 

It will be observed that the early segmental form of arch occurs 
over all the windows of the aisles and clerestory, and that the outer 
doorway of the porch has the pointed segmental arch which is so 
conspicuous a feature in Bishop Edington’s work at Winchester. 


By C. E. Ponting, F.8.A. 227 


All the other arches at Edington are of the obtusely pointed form 
known as the drop arch. A marked feature of the Perpendicular 
style which prevails here, in almost all cases, is the return of the 
label either as a string course, as in the windows of the chancel and 
transepts, or as a knee, as in those of the tower. The mouldings, 
even more than the tracery, indicate a leaning towards the change 
of style, whilst retaining many of the characteristics of the Decorated, 
and it might be worth while to trace their development from what 
was probably the earliest to the latest work of William of Edington 
—this Church being the connecting link. On comparing the in- 
teresting porch of Middleton Cheney (of which Church he was 
rector from 1382 to 1835) with Edington, I bave no doubt it was, 
as generally supposed, erected during the time of his incumbency. 
The form of the arch and the knee of the label, as well as the 
mouldings of the doorway, are corresponding features. 

Taking, then, this doorway as a specimen of Edington’s early 
work—we have two orders of the wave-mould divided by a small 
but deep hollow or “casement.” Then in the inner doorway at 
Edington we have the same features advanced a stage. The inner 
sinking of the wave-mould is quirked, whilst the outer sinking 
remains as before and the casement is slightly flattened. Taking next 
the doorway into the cloister, the early form of the filletted-roll, 


with the deep outside sinking, and the small rolls which soften the 


outline of the casement are here combined with a wide flat casement, 
which indicates a much later feeling. 

The reticulated windows of chancel and transepts have the double 
ogee (or brace-mould) with a very flat casement, and an attenuated 
form of filletted-roll forming a group of mouldings of decidedly 
Perpendicular character. The east window has the same members, 
with the addition of the quirk and sunk chamfer, to throw into 
relief the fillets of the inner order of the tracery, which are features 
of Bishop Edington’s work, both here and at Winchester. It also 


has the somewhat unusual arrangement of two filletted-rolls set at 


right angles, forming the inner edge of the jamb. The label and 
string course are of the same late type which prevails throughout 
the building. A similar kind of quirk occurs in the outside splay 


228 Edington Church. 


of the two narrow windows in the transepts, forming (with the line 
of the splay and that of the outside face) the peculiar angular outer 
member of the mullions, which occurs also in the great west window 
at Winchester. The casement here is flat, and the outer member 
of the jamb is the quirked wave-mould which exists on the inner 
doorway of the porch. The window mouldings of the aisles and 
clerestory, the nave arcade, and the various copings and cornices all 
show the same mixture of early and late forms, the latter predomi- 
nating, but all are rich and beautifully designed. 

The leading principle in the construction of the groups of 
mouldings at Edington is that which is a special characteristic of 
Perpendicular work—that all lie on the splay or chamfer plane, and 
the projection of the various members all ¢ouwch the line of that 
plane. The splays, whether sunk or not, are also parallel to this 
line, so that the mouldings are, as it were, sunk from the surface 
represented by it. This applies not only to jamb and arch 
mouldings, but also to the under sides of cornices and string courses. 

I have only time to make a brief allusion to the work of Bishop 
Edington at Winchester Cathedral, executed between the years 
1345 and 1866; this consists of the entire west front, one bay of 
the north aisle and two of the south aisle. As regards the 
mouldings, Professor Willis states that “those of Bishop Edington 
and Bishop Wykeham afford a very useful test of the different 
powers of the artists who designed them,” and he arrives at a 
conclusion unfavourable to our Founder. But I do not hesitate to 
affirm that had the learned Professor studied Bishop Edington’s 
mouldings in this Church he would not have accused him of any 
lack of power of design. 

His mouldings at Winchester show a great advance in the change 
of style; they are much flatter, and of what Mr. Paley terms the 
“ save-trouble” type. Moreover, the corresponding members are 
of the same size, both in the great west window of the nave, and 
in the smaller ones of the aisles, which has a very coarse and 
dwarfing effect upon the latter. The same chamfer-plane treat- 
ment with parallel sunk splays is noticeable in them as in those at 
Edington. The singular quirk breaking the splay or hollow (to 


By C. EB. Ponting, F.S.A. 229 


which I have referred) occurs in the head of the western doors of 
the aisles, in the outer doorways of the porch, and in the panelling 
of the turrets. The two filletted rolls set at right angles occur both 
in the east window at Edington and in the west porch at Winchester, 
and the last two peculiarities are strong evidence that this porch 
was erected by Bishop Edington. His work at Winchester, com- 
pleted before 1866, has the leading characteristics of the fully 
developed Perpendicular style, and, besides the indications of it in 
. the mouldings, the mullions of the windows are carried rigidly right 
through the head; transoms are freely introduced between them ; 
the whole surface of the west front, both inside and out, as well as 
that of the turrets, is panelled; whilst on the inside the main mullions 
of the west windows of nave and aisles are carried up from the floor 
to the window arch, and the doorways and windows themselves only, 
as it were, form part of a general scheme of panelling. 

It is, to me, a most remarkable thing that the same man should 
have designed work, so widely distant, as regards the periods at 
which the two styles prevailed, as the porch of Middleton Cheney 
and the west front of Winchester, and it must, I think, be clear to 
anyone who studies and compares the three works of Bishop Eding- 
ton, to which I have referred, that the designer of them has a prior 
claim to William of Wykeham to be considered the originator of 
the Perpendicular style, and that he was, moreover, a man of very 
extraordinary ability,and an honour to his native county of Wiltshire. 


The following on the life of Bishop Edington has been communi- 
cated to me by Mr. H. D. Cole, of Winchester, and I give a drawing, 
taken from a rubbing which he kindly supplied to me, of the 
ornamentation of the stole from the bishop’s effigy. 


BisHor WittiamM DE Epynpon. 

At the east end of the nave on the south side of the steps leading 
up to the choir is the oldest chantry in the Cathedral, being that of 
William of Edyndon, Edyngton, or Edington, who was Bishop of 
_ Winchester, A.D. 1345, and who died in 1866. 

In 1850 the bishop, who was in high favour with King Edward 
IIl., was appointed the first prelate of the newly-instituted Order 


230 Edington Church. 


of the Garter, an honour which has descended to the successive 
Bishops of Winchester. He also became Treasurer to the King, 
and in 1357 was promoted to be Lord Chancellor of England. In 
1366 he was elected to the highest dignity to which an English 
Churchman could aspire, viz,, to the Metropolitan See of Canter- 
bury; this, however, he declined to accept. Authors are divided as 
to his reasons for the refusal, one ascribing it to his humility, another 
to his advanced age (he died at the latter end of the year, 7th 
October, 1366), whilst a third attributed it to motives of avarice, 
stating that he used the following expression, which has become 
known as a Winchester proverb:—“ Though Canterbury is the 
highest rack, yet Winchester is the deepest manger.” His works of 
charity and other benefactions during his lifetime prove, however, 
that he was not an avaricious man. 

The chantry contains the tomb and figure of the bishop in full 
pontifieals, but without a pastoral staff. The mitre is half broken 
off, and the precious stones have been torn from it. On the vest- 
ment is a very curious and rare emblem called a Fylfot, or Suastika ; 
this is of a peculiar cruciform shape, which has been found on 
military and ecclesiastical decorations in England and on Eastern 
coins. On a bishop’s vestment it is stated by one of the best 
authorities to signify perfect submission to the will of God, and as 
a religious symbol it seems to represent, under all circumstances, 
one yielding on the knee, and there is no reason why it should not 
have been a symbol of submission in the religious faiths of the 
ancient world as well as in Christianity. Much has been written 
on it in Emile Burnon’s Sanscrit Lexicon, and also by Dr. Schliemann, 
Professor Max Miiller, and others. A paper was read at the Society 
of Antiquaries showing that it was a religious symbol among the 
earlier Aryan races, and was intended by them, in the first instances 
to represent, in a cruciform, an ideograph or symbol suggested by 
forked lightning. It is well shown by our letter z, two of which, 
crossing one another in the middle, admirably represent the ordinary 
device known by the names of the gammadion, croix-patieé, fylfot 
and swastika. 

The bishop was born at Edington, in Wiltshire. The Church of 


By C. EB. Ponting, F.8.A. 231 


that village was begun in 1352, and there is very little doubt it was 
built by him, as the style of architecture is the same which the bishop 
was at that very time beginning to introduce as a novelty into 
Winchester Cathedral. On the walls are to be seen the crosses 
which were sprinkled by the bishop at the dedication. 

Edington was a noble benefactor to the Cathedral, and began the 
great work of re-building the nave, but, not living to finish it, he 
left by his will a considerable sum of money with which William of 
Wykeham was enabled to carry it on. 

The “ Somerset Herald” states that there were three coats of arms 
assigned to William de Edington, but as to these he should un- 
questionably take the evidence of his seal, especially when confirmed, 
as it is, in two instances within his Cathedral. These arms are — 
on a cross engrailed, five cinquefoils, but whether the field is lozengy 
or merely diapered, he cannot say. According to Burke the arms of 
Edington Priory, Wiltshire,’ are:—on a cross engratled gules, five 
cinquefoils of the field. The examples of the bishop’s shield of arms 
in the Cathedral are on the course above the arch facing his chantry, 
and also on a boss of the second bay from the west in the north 
aisle. The second coat of arms assigned him was :—asure, two lions 
passant or, in a bordure argent, which is emblazoned on one of the 
windows in the County Hall. The other is :—azure, two lions 
passant guardant, argent, within a bordure gules. The seal is a small 
circular one; its device is the bishop kneeling to S. Catherine under 
an elegant canopy, and his arms on a shield in base, Jive cinquefoils 
on a cross engrailed ; yound it, Sigillum Willelm Wi ‘yntoniensis epi. 

Round the marble slab of the tomb, on an inlay of brass, is a 
Latin inscription, which can be thus translated :-— 


———— Cl 


William, born at Edington, is here interred, 

He was a well beloved prelate, and Winchester was his see, 
You, who pass by his tomb, remember him in your prayers ; 
_ He was discreet and mild, yet a match for thousands in knowledge and sagacity, 
4 He was a watchful guardian of the English nation ; 

A tender father of the poor, and a defender of their rights. 

To one thousand, add three hundred, with fifty, ten, five and one, 

Then the eighth* of October will mark the time when he became a saint. 


’ There was recently a piece of glass in North Bradley Church with these arms. 
* Canon Jackson gives the date as the seventh of October, 1366, 


VOL. XXV.—NO. LXXIV. R 


232 


Alotes on Remains of Roman Divellings at 
Harmington Tick. 


By the Rev. E. H. Gopparp. 

NN attention having been called by a letter from the Rev. J. 
4G D B. Smeaton, Vicar of Hannington, to certain Roman 

remains lately brought to light in that parish, I visited 
the spot and found in the middle of a ploughed field, known as the 
“Old Ploughed Ground,” belonging to the Manor Farm, Hannington 
Wick, on the right-hand side of Nelland’s Lane, some two miles 
from the village of Hannington, and within a short distance of the 
River Thames, a small portion of a Roman tessellated pavement 
which had been uncovered a day or two before. A large part of 
the surface of the field was strewn with tessere, with here and there 
a bit of pottery or broken tile or brick ; and it appeared that though 
the labourers on the farm had always known of the existence of 
“them little squares” and of “old foundations” in various parts 
of the field no notice had ever been taken of them beyond digging 
up the stones when the plough happened to hit upon them and 
carting them away to mend the roads. Lately, however, the farm 
has changed hands, and the present occupier—Mr. Wall—as soon 
as the facts came to his knowledge called attention to them and 
expressed a wish that the field should be properly examiaed and the 
remains uncovered. Time, however, pressed, for the field was 
wanted for ploughing again at once—so that whatever was to be done 
must be done forthwith. Accordingly, on the 23d of October, the 
services of three labourers having been secured, with the help of the 
Vicar, Mr. Wall, and other volunteers, the surface soil was carefully 
removed, and the pavement “ A” exposed to view. This measured 
15ft. in length and 7ft. 6in. in breadth, and seemed fairly perfect 
except at the southern end and the sides. It consisted of stripes of 
red and white tessere. The central stripe was white, 9in. in width, 
and formed of eight rows of tesserw, the red stripes on each side of 
it were each 3ft. broad, while the white stripes bordering the sides 
were apparently originally of the same width as the central stripe, 
though only four or five rows of tessere now remain—the outer _ 


“SNOLLWGNNOA ANOLS °» 

“ALAYINOD AO SAHDLWA *X 
“ONIHILId ANOLS HMO * 
*SNOO'Ld ALAYINOD HONOY °a4*D 
“SLNGWSAVE CALVTTASSALL “A+V 


WOPUOL PYILT ALY OTHTY UVTI 


Obsl 32% L90 
CAYAAOOND YOM. NOLONINNVH WaiVal YONVILLV SONTTTAME NVWOY dO NW Tal 


Notes on Remains of Roman Dwellings at Hannington Wick. 233 


rows having been broken away. The red tesserz were of fine tile 
or brick broken very roughly into inch-square cubes. The white 
ones, of the same size, were formed of a hard fine-grained oolite. 
They seem to have been simply laid down on a smooth bed of grit 
and gravel—perhaps once mortar—and to have been cemented to- 
gether with a white plaster or cement ; now they are quite loose and 
detached. I may mention that the soil here is thin and the subsoil 
is a bed of river gravel near the surface. 

Adjoining this pavement at the north end was a floor of gravel 
concrete, marked “C” on the plan, about 2in. thick. This floor 
was apparently nearly square, measuring 12ft. by 11ft. 

Having uncovered this we proceeded to search for further remains 
over all that part of the field where tesserze appeared on the surface, 
and soon came upon a second tessellated pavement, “‘ B,” in a line 
with the first and 54ft. to the southward of it. This consisted of 
three bands of tessere of exactly the same character as those of 
which the other floor was composed. The central red band, however, 
and the outer white ones were in this case of the same breadth, each 
lft. wide, and containing ten rows of tessere; the whole measuring 
9ft. by 3ft. 

The edges seemed fairly straight and perfect, but the north end 
appeared to have been broken away, and there was no means of 
deciding whether the pavement had extended further or not. 

On the southern side was a concreted floor, “ D,” about 9ft. 
square, precisely like the similar floor “C,” but not so perfect ; and 
lift. further to the south-west some large stones were found at 
““G,” apparently the foundations of a wall, some of which were 
calcined by the action of fire. Possibly they may have formed part 
of the heating apparatus, but only a few detached stones remained, 
a cartload having been dug out of this very spot only last year. 
With this exception no remains of walls could be found, so that it 
was impossible to say whether the floors “ A—C” and “ B—D” 
belonged to the same or to separate dwellings. 

At “E,” 34ft. to the south-west of the pavement “ A,” a patch of 
rough stone pitching was found—possibly a part of the road to the 
house, the stones being merely roughly set edgewise in the ground. 

R 2 


234 Donations to Museum and Library. 


It was about 9ft. in diameter, and did not appear to extend further. 

At “F” a few patches of concrete, indicating the existence of 
another concrete floor, were found. 

There was an idea among the labourers that a piece of pavement 
with diamonds in white on a red ground had once been uncovered 
by the plough, but diligent search failed to discover any traces of it. 
All the tessere torn up by the plough, and scattered on the surface 
of the ground, are of precisely the same rough character as those of 
which the two floors are composed. 

Only one coin was found—a small third brass—from the filleted 
head apparently of the Constantine period, but quite undecipherable. 
Of other objects the most interesting were two pieces of plain 
Samian ware, a few bits of the usual rough unglazed pottery, one 
of somewhat finer grey ware, apparently part of the almost flat top 
of a box or jar, a few oyster-shells, and a certain number of pieces of 
plaster, proving that the walls were, like those of Pompeii, painted in 
various colours. Examples of a fine Pompeian red, a deep maroon, 
and brown were found, the colours being singularly bright when 
first found, while on two pieces traces of a pattern or figure appear, 
of several colours, including green. Some broken tiles and portions 
of hollow flue bricks were also found. 

After the sketch-plan which accompanies these notes had been 
taken the whole of the remains were covered up again forthwith, in 
the hope that the plough from which they have so curiously escaped 
hitherto may continue to spare them in the future. 

It is possible that a more thorough trenching of the ground might 
have brought other things to light, though the fact that none of the 
floors are more than 6in. below the surface, and the entire apparent 
destruction of the stone foundations, render it unlikely that much 
more exists to discover, 


Donations to Atlusenm and Aibvarp. 


Portrait of Henry, Marquis of Lansdowne. Presented by J. Warten, Esq. 

The Pedigree of John Stokes, of Seend, Co, Wilts—edited by A. Schomberg, Esq. 
Presented by THE AuTHOR. 

The History of the Hundred of Ramsbury, Part I., by E. Doran Webb, Esq. 
Presented by THe AurHoR. 


H. F, BULL, Printer and Publisher, 4, Saint John Street, Devizes, 


11 UL. 9/ESD 


~ 


ee TS pc ieee —C 


(Any Member whose name or address is incorrectly printed in this List 
ts requested to communicate with the Financial Secretary.) 


WILTSHIRE 


Archwological and Aatural History Society. 


NOVEMBER, 1890. 


Patron: 
Tar Most HonovgasLe THE Marguis oF LANSDOWNE. 


President : 
GENERAL Pitt-Rivers, D.C.L., F.R.S., F.S.A. 


Vice-Presidents : 
The Most Hon. the Marquis of Bath The Right Hon. Earl Nelson 


William Cunnington, Esq. Rev. H. A. Olivier 
Sir Gabriel Goldney, Bart. Charles Penruddocke, Esq. 
The Right Hon. Lord Heytesbury The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of 
Sir Henry A. Hoare, Bart. Salisbury 
Rev. Canon Jackson Rev. A. C. Smith 
Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P. C. H. Talbot, Esq. 
Sir John Neeld, Bart. 
Trustees : 
Sir Edmund Antrobus, Bart. The Most Hon. the Marquis of 
The Most Hon. the Marquis of Bath Lansdowne 
William Cunnington, Esq. Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P. 
G. T. J. Sotheron Estcourt, Esq. Sir John Neeld, Bart. 
G. P. Fuller, Esq., M.P. . The Right Hon. Earl Nelson 
Sir Gabriel Goldney, Bart. Charles Penruddocke, Esq. 


Committee : 


T. B. Anstie, Esq., Devizes C. F. Hart, Esq., Devizes 

J. I Bowes, Esq., Devizes Rev. C. W. Hony, Bishops Cannings 

Henry Brown, Esq., Blacklands Joseph Jackson, Esq , Devizes 
Park, Calne Rev. A. B. Thynne, Seend 


Honorary General Secretaries : 
H. E. Medlicott, Esq., Sandfield, Potterne, Devizes 
Rev. E. H. Goddard, Clyffe Pypard Vicarage, Wootton Bassett 


Honorary General Curators : 
A. B. Fisher, Esq., Potterne 
B. H. Cunnington, Esq., Devizes 


Honorary Librarian : 
W. Heward Bell, Esq., Seend Cleeve, Melksham 


Honorary Local Secretaries : 


W. Forrester, Esq., Malmesbury C. E. Ponting, Esq., Lockeridge, 
F. H. Goldney, Esq., Chippenham Marlborough 
H. Kinneir, Esq., Swindon J. Farley Rutter, Esq., Mere 
Alex. Mackay, Esq., Trowbridge Arthur**Schomberg, Esq., Seend, 
W. F. Morgan, Esq., Warminster Melksham 
J. E. Nightingale, Esq., Wilton J. R. Shopland, Esq., Purton 
Rey. J. Penrose, West Ashton, H. J. F. Swayne, Esq., Wilton 

Trowbridge Mulville Thomson, Esq., M.D., 
a it C. Plenderleath, Cherhiil, Bradford-on-Avon 

‘alne 


Honorary Treasurer : 
C. E. H. A. Colston, Esq., Rowndway Park, Devizes 


Honorary Auditors : 
G.S. A. Waylen, Esq., Devizes 
John Wilshin, Esq., Devizes 


Financial Secretary : 
Mr. David Owen, 31, Long Street, Devizes 


LIST OF SOCIETIES, &o., IN UNION WITH THE 


Wiltshire Archwologicnl and Aatural Pistory Society, 
For interchange of Publications, ¢c. 


Society of Antiquaries of London 
Royal Archzological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 
Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 
Kent Archzological Society 
Somersetshire Archzological Society 
Oxford Architectural and Historical Society 
Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club 
Essex Archeological Society 
Professor L. Jewitt 
Bath Antiquarian and Natural History Field Club 

United States Geological Survey 

Herts Natural History Society 

Powysland Club 
Bristol Nutural History Society 
Bristol and Gloucestershire Archeological Society 
Essex Field Club 
Berks Archzological and Architectural Society 
Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D.C., United States 
Clifton Antiquarian Club 


Azist of GRembers. 


Life Members: 


Awdry, Charles, 2; Hyde Park Street, 
London, W. 

Bruce, Lord Charles, Wilton House, 
Eaton Square, London, S.W. 

Duke, Rev. Edward, Lake House, 
Salisbury 

Ellis, Rev. J. H., 29, Collingham 
Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. 

Fitzmaurice, Rt. Hon. Lord E., 
Leigh House, Bradford-on-Avon 

Foljambe, Cecil G. S., M.P., 2; Carl- 
ton House Terrace, Pall Mall, 
London, S.W. 

Grove, Sir Thomas Fraser, Bart., 
M.P., Ferne, Salisbury 

Hoare, Sir Henry A., Bart., Stourhead 

Holford, R. S., Weston Birt, Tetbury 

Jackson, Rev. Canon, ¥.S.A., Leigh 
Delamere, Chippenham 

Lansdowne, the Most Hon. the 
Marquis of, Bowood, Calne 

Lowndes, E, C., Castle Combe, Chip- 
penham 


Lubbock, Sir J. W., Bart., M.P., 15, 
Lombard Street, London, E.C. 

Lushington, Godfrey,16, Great Queen 
Street, Westminster, London, S.W. 

Meux, Sir Henry B., Bart., Dauntsey 
House, Chippenham 

Mullings, John, Cirencester 

Neeld, Sir John, Bart., Grittleton, 
Chippenham [Salisbury 

Penruddocke, C:, Compton Park, 

Penruddocke, C., Jun., Bratton St. 
Maur, Wincanton, Bath 

Prior, Dr. R.C. A., 48, York Terrace, 
Regent’s Park, London, N. W. 

Salisbury, the Rt. Rev. Lord Bishop 
of, the Palace, Salisbury 

Selfe, H., Marten, Great Bedwyn 

Walmesley, Richard, Lucknam, 
Chippenham 

Wellesley, Lady Charles, Conholt 
Park, Andover 

Wyndham, the Hon. Percy, 44, 
Belgrave Square, London, S.W. 


Annual Subscribers : 


Adderley Library, Librarian - of, 
Marlborough College 
Anderson, Rev. E., Berwick Bassett 
Vicarage, Swindon 
Anketell, Rev. H. K. F., Wootton 
Bassett Vicarage 
Anstie, E. L., Devizes 
Anstie, T. B,, Devizes 
Archer, Col. D., Fairford House, 
Gloucestershire 
Armstrong, F. A. W.T., Lyme House, 
Wootton Bassett 
Arundel of Wardour, the Rt. Hon. 
Lord, Wardour Castle, Tisbury, 
‘Salisbury 
_ Astley, H. D’O. W., Hungerford 
_Awdry, Rev. E. C., Kington St. 
Michael, Chippenham 
Awdry, Justly W., The Paddocks, 
_ Chippenham 
Awdry, West, Monkton, Chippenham 
Awdry, Rev. W. H., Ludgershall, 
Andover 


Baker, T. H., Mere, Bath 

Barnwell, Rev. C. E. B., Southbroom, 
Devizes 

Barrey, H. G., Devizes 

Bath, the Most Hon the Marquis of, 
Longleat, Warminster 

Batten, John, Aldon, Yeovil 

Bell, Rev. G. €., Marlborough College 

Bell, W. Heward, F.G.S., Cleeve 
House, Seend 

Bennett, Rev. Canon F., Maddington, 
Shrewton 

Bennett, F J., M D., Vale View, 
Monkton Combe, Bath 

Bennett, W. S., Overcombe, The 
Shrubbery, Weston-Super-Mare 

Bethell, S., The Green, Calne 

Bingham, Rev. W. P. S., Kenton 
Vicarage, Exeter 

Blackmore, Dr. H. P., Salisbury 

Blake, Henry, Elmhurst, Trowbridge 

Bond, Rev. John, Steeple Ashton 
Vicarage, Trowbridge 


iv LIST OF MEMBERS. 


Booker, Rev. A. W., Sutton Veny 
Rectory, Warminster 

Bosher, C. W, 5, Prospero Road, 
Upper Holloway, N. 

Bourne, Rev. G. H., D.C.L., St. 
Edmund's College, Salisbury 

Bouverie, Rev. the Hon. B. P., 
Pewsey Rectory 

Bouverie, E. O. P., Manor House, 
Market Lavington 

Bouverie, W. P., Manor House, 
Market Lavington [Devizes 

Bowes, J. I., Wilts County Asylum, 

Bradford, J. E. G. Swindon 

Bristol Museum and Library, Hon. 
Sec. of, Queen’s Road, Bristol 

Britton, Mrs. Helen, 39, Croydon, 
Grove, West Croydon, Surrey 

Brodribb, Rev. W. J., Wootton 
Rivers, Marlborough 

Brooke, J. W., Jun., The Green, 
Marlborough 

Brown, H., Blacklands Park, Calne 

Brown, Henry, Salisbury 

Brown, James, South View, London 
Road, Salisbury 

Brown, W., Browfort, Devizes 

Brown, W. R., Highfield. Trowbridge 

Bruce, Rt. Hon. Lord Henry B., MP., 
34, Eaton Place, London, 8.W. 

Buchanan, Ven. Arch., Potterne 

Buckley, Alfred, New Hall, Boden- 
ham _ Salisbur 

Buckley, Rev. Felix J., Stanton St. 
Quintin, Chippenham 

Bull, H. F., Devizes 

Bullock, William H., Pewsey 

Burges, Rev. J. Hart, D.D., the 
Rectory. Devizes 

Bush. J., 9, Pembroke Road, Clifton, 
Bristol 

Bush, J. J., Hilperton Grange, 
Trowbridge 

Butt, Rev. W. A., Minety Vicarage, 
Malmesbury 


Caillard, His Honour Judge, Wing- 
field, Trowbridge 

Calley, Rev. J. H., Chiseldon Vicar- 
age, Swindon [Salisbury 

Carey, Rev. T., Fifield Bavant, 

Carless, Dr.. Devizes 

Carré Rev. F. W., St. Katharine’s 
Vicarage, Savernake, Marlborough 


Cary, J., Steeple Ashton, Trowbridge 

Chamberlaine, Rev. W. H., Keevil 

Chandler, Thomas. Devizes 

Chandler. T H. Rowde, Devizes 

Chandler, W. Aldbourne, Hungerford 

Cholmeley, Rev. Canon C Humphrey, 
the Rectory, Beaconsfield (R.S.O.), 
Bucks 

Clark. Major T., Trowbridge 

Clarke, Miss M., Prospect House, 
Devizes 

Cleather Rev. G. E., the Vicarage, 
Brixton Deverell, Warminster 

Clifford, Hon. and Rt. Rey. Bishop, 
Bishop’s House, Clifton. Bristol 

Colborne. Miss, Venetian House, 
Clevedon 

Colston, C. E. H. A., Roundway 
Park, Devizes 

Colwell, J., Devizes 

Cowie, Dr., Devizes 

Crespe, A. J. H., Wimborne 

Crowdy, Rev. Anthony, Bankton, 
Crawley Down, Crawley 

Cunnington, B H., Devizes 

Cunnington, Mrs. H., Devizes 

Cunnington, William, F.G.S., 58, 
Acre Lane, Brixton, London, S W. 

Curtis. C. W., Everley, Marlborough 


Daniell. Rev. J. J., Langley Burrell, 
Chippenham 

Dear, George. Codford St. Peter, Bath 

Devenish, Matthew H.W., Westleigh, 
Salisbury 

Dixon, 8S. B.. Pewsey 

Dodd, Samuel. 1, Tavistock Place, 
Tavistock Square, W.C. 

Dowding, Rev. W., Idmiston, Salis- 
bury [W.C. 

Dowding, W. D., 17, Clement’s Inn, 

Du Boulay, Rev. F. H., Heddington 
Rectory, Calne 

Dugdale, Rev. S., 95, Crane Street, 
Salisbury 


Eddrup, Rev. Canon E. P., Bremhill, 
Calne [penham 

Edgell, Rev. E. B., Bromham, Chip- 

Errington, Sir George Bart, Lack- 
ham House, Chippenham 


ee eS Se 


LIST OF MEMBERS. Vv 


Estcourt, G. T. J. Sotheron, Estcourt, 
Tetbury 

Estcourt, Rev. W. J. B, Long 
Newnton, Tetbury [botts 

Everett, Rev. E, Manningford Ab- 

Ewart, Miss, 68, Albert Hall 
Mansions, London, S.W. 

Ewart, Miss M., Broadleas, Devizes 

Ewing, Rev. Robert, Winterslow 
Rectory, Salisbury 

Eyre, G. Briscoe, 59, Lowndes 
Square, London, S W. 

Eyres, Edwin, Lacock, Chippenham 

Eyres. Henry C., St. Alban’s House, 
Highgate Rise, N.W. 


Finlay, Rev. E. B., The Lodge, Ave- 
bury, Calne 

Fisher, A. B., Court Hill, Potterne 

Fisher, Mrs., Poulshot, Devizes 

Forrester, William, Malmesbury 

Fox, C. F., The Bank, Sandown, 
Isle of Wight 

Fox, Francis F., Yate House, Chip- 
ping Sodbury 

Fuller, G. P., M.P., Neston Park, 
Corsham 


Gabriel, C. W., Vale Lodge, Weston, 
Bath 

Gillman, C., Tresco Villa, Devizes 

Gladstone, John E., Bowden Park, 
Chippenham 

Goddard. Ambrose L., Swindon 

Goddard, Rev. C. V., Chideock 
Vicarage, Bridport 

Goddard, Rev. E. H., Clyffe Pypard, 
Wootton Bassett [Calne 

Goddard, Rev. Canon F., Hilmarton, 

Goddard, H. Nelson, Clyffe Pypard 
Manor, Wootton Bassett 

Goddard, W. C. G., 39, Castle Street, 
Salisbury. 

Godwin, J.G., 15, St. George’s Row, 
Pimlico, London, ».W. 

Goldney, F. H., Rowden Hill, Chip- 
penham 

Goldney. Sir Gabriel, Bart., Beech- 
field, Corsham 

Gouldsmith, W. A., Wintersleigh, 
Wanley, Bradford-on-Avon 


Gower, Granville Leveson, F.S.A., 
Titsey Place, Limpsfield. 

Grose, Samuel, M.D., Melksham 

Grove, Miss Chafyn, Zeals House, 
Bath 

Gwatkin, R.G.,ManorHouse, Potterne 

Gwillim, E. Ll., Marlborough 

G.W.R. Mechanics’ Institute, Secre- 
tary of, New Swindon 


Haden, Joseph P., Hill View, Trow- 
bridge 

Hadow, Rev. G. R., Calstone Rectory, 
Calne 

Hall. Capt. Marshall, St. John’s, 
Bovey Tracey, South Devon 

Halliday, J. Edmund, Warminster 

Harding, John. 51, Canal, Salisbury 

Hardwick, Philip, The Grange, 
Bradford-on-Avon [cester 

Harmer, G. H., Apsley Villa, Ciren- 

Harris, Henry W., The Woodlands, 
Calne 

Harris, Thomas, South Place, Calne 

Hart, C. F., Devizes 

Hayward, Rev. 8. C., the Vicarage, 
Pilsley Cross, Derbyshire 

Haywood, T. B., Woodhatch Lodge, 
Reigate 

Heard, Rev. T. J., the Rectory, 
Sherrington, Codford, Bath 

Henly, E. R., Calne 

Heytesbury, The Right Hon. Lord, 
Heytesbury 

Hill, James L., Chetwynd, Basset, 
Southampton [ Devizes 

Hillier, H. W., 2, Lansdowne Grove, 

Hitchcock, Dr. C., Fiddington, 
Market Lavington 

Hitchcock, C. K., M.D., MA., The 
Lunatic Hospital, Bootham, York 

Hobhouse, sir C. P., Bart., Monkton 
Farley, Bradford-on-Avon 

Hodgson, Rev. Canon J. D., the 
Rectory, Collingbourne Ducis, 
Marlborough 

Hony, Rev. C. W., Bishops Cannings 

Hulse, Sir Edward, Bart, Brea- 
more, Hants. 

Hussey, Mrs. H., The Close, Salisbury 

Hutchings, Rev. Canon R. S&S, 
Alderbury, Salisbury 

Hutchinson, Rev. T. N., Broad 
Chalke Vicarage, Salisbury 


vi LIST OF MEMBERS. 


Inman, Rev. Canon E., Gillingham 
Vicarage, Dorset 


Jackson, Joseph, Devizes 
Jacob, J. H., The Close, Salisbury 
Jennings, 'J. C. S., Abbey House, 


Malmesbury 
Johnson, J.G., Concrete House, New 
Swindon [minster 


Jones, H. P., Portway House, War- 

Jones, H. Hammond, Witley, 
Godalming, Surrey 

Jones, W. 8., Malmesbury’ 

Jukes-Brown, A. J., F.G.S., Geol. 
Survey, 28, Jermyn Street, London 


Kelland, J., Canal, Salisbury 

Kemble, H., Overtown, Wroughton, 
Swindon 

Kemm, Mrs., Amesbury 

Kemm, Thomas, Avebury 

Kenrick, Mrs., Keevil, Trowbridge 

King, Rev. Bryan, Avebury 

Kingdon, The Right Rev. Bishop 4. 
T., Frederickton, New Brunswick 

King, Walter E., Donhead Lodge, 
Salisbury 

Kinneir, H., Redville, Swindon 

Kinneir, R., M.D., Sherborne 

Kirwan, J.S., 1, Richmond Gardens, 
Bournemouth 


Lambert, Rev. R. U., Christchurch 
Vicarage, Bradford-on-Avon 

Lansdown, G., Trowbridge 

Laverton, W. H., Leighton, Westbury 

Lawrence, W. F., M.P., Cowesfield, 
Salisbury 

Lewis, Harold, B.A., Mercury Office, 
Bristol 

Long, Frederick W., Court Field 
House. Trowbridge 

Long, W. H., M.P., Rood Ashton, 
Trowbridge 

Long, Col. William, Woodlands, 
Congresbury (R.S.0.) Somerset 

Lowe, Charles H., Rowde 


Lukis, Rev. W. C., Wath Rectory, 
Ripon 


Mackay, Alex., Holt Manor, Trow- 
bridge 

Mackay, James, Trowbridge 

Mackay, William, Trowbridge 

Maclean, J. C., M.D., Swindon 

Magrath, Col., Ban-aboo, Co. Wex- 
ford, Ireland 

Manley, Rev. F. H., Somerford 
Magna Rectory, Chippenham 

Mann, William J., Trowbridge 

Marlborough College Nat. Hist. 
Society, the President of 

Maskelyne, E. Story, Hatt House, 
Box, Wilts 

Maskelyne, N. Story, F.R.S., M.P., 
Bassett Down, Swindon, Wilts 

Master, Rev. G. §., Bourton Grange, 
Flax Bourton, Bristol 

Matcham, William E., New House, 
Salisbury 

Mayo, John H., India Office, Lon- 
don, S.W. 

McNiven, Rev. C. M., Perrysfield, 
Godstone, Surrey 

Mead, G. H., Devizes 

Meade, Rev. the Hon. §., Frankleigh 
House, Bradford-on-Avon 

Medlicott, H. E., Sandfield, Potterne 

Meek A. Grant, Hillworth House, 
Devizes 

Meek, Edgar H., Devizes 

Merewether, Rev. W., North Bradley 
Viearage, Trowbridge 

Merriman, E. B., Marlborough 

Merriman, R. W., Marlborough 

Merriman, T. Mark,25,Austin Friars, 
London, E.C. [Court 

Methuen, Right Hon. Lord, Corsham 

Miles, Col. C. W., Burton Hill, 
Malmesbury 

Mitchell, Arthur C., Cottles House, 
Melksham 

Mitchell, W.R., Salthrop, Wroughton, 
Swindon 

Morgan, W. F,, Warminster 

Morrice, Rev. Canon W. D., Holy 
Trinity Vicarage, Weymouth 

Morris, W., Advertiser Office, Swin- 
don [Devizes 


Mullings, Richard B., Woodville, 


LIST OF MEMBERS. Vii 


Nelson, Right Hon. Earl, Trafalgar, 
Salisbury 

Nelson, Right Hon. The Countess, 
Trafalgar, Salisbur 

Nicholls, Rev. W. P., Little Cheverell 
Rectory, Devizes 

Nightingale, J.E.,F.S.A.,The Mount, 
Wilton 

Normanton, the Right Hon. the Earl 
of, 7, Prince’s Garden, Prince’s 
Gate, London, S8.W. 

Noyes, George, 11, Bassett Road, 
Notting Hill, London, W. 


Oliver, Capt. S.P., F.S.A., F.R.G.S., 
Anglesey, Gosport [Salisbury 

Olivier, Rev. Canon Dacres, Wilton, 

Olivier, Rev. H. A., West Green 
House, Winchfield 

Owen, D., 31, Long Street, Devizes 


Palmer, George Ll., Trowbridge 
Parsons, W. F., Hunt’s Mill, Wootton 
Bassett 
Pass, Alfred C., Rushmore House, 
Upper Belgrave Road, Clifton 
Paul, A. H., The Close, Tetbury 
Pembroke and Montgomery, the Rt. 
Hon. Earl, Wilton House, Salisbury 
Penrose, Rev. J., West Ashton 
Vicarage, Trowbridge 
Penruddocke, Rev. J. H., South 
Newton Vicarage, Wilton 
Pinder, R. G., Hernhurst, Florence 
Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth 
Pinniger, Henry W., Westbury 
Pitt-Rivers, General Lane Fox, 
F.R.S., F.S.A., Rushmore Lodge, 
Berwick St. John, Salisbury 
Plenderleath, Rev. W. C., Cherhill 
Rectory, Calne [Marlborough 
Ponting, C. E., F.S.A., Lockeridge, 
Poore, Major R., Old Lodge, Newton 
Toney, Salisbury [Hungerford 
Popham, Miss Leybourne, Littlecote, 
Powell, Mrs. M. E. Vere Booth, 
Colewood Park, Cuckfield, Sussex 
Price, R. E., Broomfield Hall, 


Bridgwater 
Proctor, W., Elmhurst, Higher Erith 
Road, Torquay (Swindon 


Prower, John Elton, Sissels, Purton, 


Radcliffe, C. H., Salisbury 

Radcliffe, F. R. Y., 5, Hare Court, 
Temple, London, E.C, 

Radnor, Right Hon. Earl of, Long- 
ford Castle, Salisbury 

Radnor, Right Hon. The Countess 
of, Longford Castle, Salisbury 

Randell, J. A., Devizes 

Ransome, Rev. V. F., Compton Bas- 
sett Reetory, Calne 

Ravenhill, W. W., 10, King’s Bench 
Walk, Temple, London, H.C. 

Read, C. J., c/o Dr. Finch, Fisherton 
House, Salisbury 

Redman, T. E., Castle Fields, Calne 

Rich, Sir C. H. S., Bart., F.S.A., 
Devizes Castle 

Richardson, H., Littlefield, Marl- 
borough 

Richmond, George, R,A., 20, York 
Street, Portman Square, London 

Rodway, E. B., Adcroft House, Trow- 
bridge 

Roe, J. Reed, Wilts County Mirror, 
Salisbury 

Rolls, John Allan, The Hendre, 
Monmouth 

Rose, G. W., 14, Church Street, 
Trowbridge 

Rumboll, C. F., Lowbourne House, 
Melksham 

Rutter, J. F., Mere, Bath 


Saunders, T. Bush, Bradford-on-Avon 
Schomberg, Arthur, Seend, Melksham 
Schomberg, E. C., Seend, Melksham 
Seymour, Rev. C. F., Winchfield 
Rectory, Hants 
Short, Rev. W. F., the Rectory, 
Donhead St. Mary, Salisbury 
Shopland, James R., Purton, Swindon 
Shum, F., 17, Norfolk Crescent, Bath 
Sibbald, J. G. E., Admiralty, White- 
hall, London, S.W. 
Skrine, H.D., Claverton Manor, Bath 
Sloper, Edwin, Taunton 
Smith, Rev. A. C., Old Park, Devizes 
Smith, H. Herbert, Buckhill, Calne 
Smith, J. A., Market Place, Devizes 
Soames, Rev. C., Mildenhall, Marl- 
borough 


Vili LIST OF MEMBERS. 


Southey, Capt. A. H., Eastley Court, 
Warminster 

Spicer, Capt. John E. P., Spye Park, 
Chippenham 

Squarey, Elias P,, The Moot, Downton 

Stancomb, J. Perkins, The Prospect, 
Trowbridge 

Stancomb, W., Blount’s Court, Pot- 
terne 

Staples, T. H., Belmont, Salisbury 

Stevens, Joseph, 128, Oxford Road, 
Reading 

Stokes, D.-J., Rowden Hill, Chip- 
penham 

Stokes, Robert, Burroughs Mill, 
Laverstock, Salisbury 

Stratton, William, Kingston Deverell, 
Warminster 

Strong, Rev. A., St. Paul’s Rectory, 
Chippenham 

Strong, Rev. W., St. Paul’s Rectory, 
Chippenham 

Sturton, Rev. J., Woodborough 
Rectory, Marlborough 

Swainson, Harold, 

Swayne, H. J. F., The Island, Wilton 

Swinhoe, Dr., Park House, New 
Swindon 


Tait, E.S., M.D.,54, Highbury Park, 
London, N. 

Talbot, C. H., Lacock Abbey, Chip- 
penham 

Tatum, Edward J., Solicitor, Salis- 


bury 

Tayler, G. C., M.D., Lovemead 
House, Trowbridge 

Taylor, S. W., Erlestoke Park, 
Devizes 

Thomson, Mulville, M.D., Manvers 
House, Bradford-on-A von 

Thynne, Rev. A. B., Seend, Melksham 

Toppin. Rev. G. Pilgrim, Broad Town 
Vicarage, Wootton Bassett 

Trask, J. J., Fairwood, Westbury 

Trepplin, E. C., Vasterne Manor 
House, Wootton Bassett 

Trotter, Rev. H., The Rectory, 
Trowbridge 

Tucker, Rev. G. Windsor, Ingleburne, 
Malmesbury 


11 JUL.9 


Tucker, Silas, Speneer House, Lark- 
hall Rise, Clapham, London, S.W. 


Usher, Ephraim, Ethandeme, Hil- 
perton Road, Trowbridge 


Wadworth, H. A., Devizes 

Wakeman, Herbert J., Warminster 

Walker, Rev. R. Z., Boyton Rectory, 
Bath 

Walker, William, Longfield House, 
Trowbridge 

Ward, Col. M. F., Partenkirchen, 
Bavaria 

Warre, Rev. Canon F., Vicarage, 
Bemerton, Salisbury 

Waylen, G. S. A., Devizes 

Waylen, R. F., Devizes 

Waylen, J., 64, Lillie Road, Fulham, 
S.W. 


Wayte, Rev. W., 6, Onslow Square, 
London, 8.W. 

Webb, C. W. H., Trowbridge 

Weller, Mrs. T., 22, Tamworth Road, 
Croydon, Surrey 

Weston, Frederick, Wootton Bassett 

Whinfield, E. H., The Hollies, Gipsy 
Road, West Norwood, 5.E. 

Whytehead, Rev. H. R., St. Peter’s 
Vicarage, Marlborough 

Wilkins, Henry, High Street. Calne 

Willis, F. M., Steeple Ashton, Trow- 
bridge 

Wilshin, John, Devizes e 

Wilson, J., M.A., Fair Lee, Ramsden 
Road, Balham, London, 8.W. 

Winterscale, Col. J.F.M., Buckleigh, 
Westward Ho 

Wood. Rev. 8S. Theodore, Hilperton 
Rectory, Trowbridge 

Wyld, Kev. C. N., St. Martin’s 
Kectory, Salisbury 

Wyld, Kev. Edwin G., Melksham 
Vicarage 


Yockney, A., Pockeridge, Corsham 


PA ae 
bet pe 


THE FOLLOWING 


~ PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY 


ARE NOW IN STOCK. 


— 


*,* A bye-law of the Committee determines “ that when any No. 
of the Magazine is reduced to twenty copies, the price of such No. 
be increased ; the price to be determined by the Librarian.”—10s, 
each is now charged for such of the ordinary Numbers as are so 
reduced, and £1 for the 4to “Stonehenge.” Other Nos. are sold at 
the prices at which they were published. 


MAGAZINES. ; 
No. Copies, ,No, Copies. No, Copies, 
1 20 | 27 e021 BL Pe. 61 
2 5 30 | 28 | 102! 52 ie 67 
Me BN O9 isl ss ae 
| 5 511 30 ‘a 18 | 54 ee 66 
6 bi 61} 31 ips 61| 55 iy: Cy bese 
9 a 9 | 32 ih 74,| 56 et 65 
10 Ry, 3 | 33 a4 57 | 57 53 51 
11 ts 1 | 34 SG. 72 | 58 i: 63 
12 ag 13 | 35 25 46 | 59 rs 68 
7136 LCG) ices GO-GO ren 73 
Pa 14 as 42 | 37 os 71| 61 fa 80 
15 WA 31 | 38 an 80 | 62 cs 86 
16 a 55 | 39 a 68 | 63 te 88 
17 oe 55 | 40 a 66 | 64 2 92 
18 ve 42 | 41 ae 55 | 65 as 103 
19 “A 56 | 42 a 47 | 66 ty 105 
20 a, 59 | 43 ge 59 | 67 om 108. 
21 a BL | 44 we 76| 68 oS 105 
a Re: 59 | 45 a 73 | 69 te 93 
93 = 71 | 46-7 (double No.)18 | 70 =a 81 
24 oe 71 | 48 de 54/72. 2 74 
25 Le 87 | 49 a 21| 72 ei 82 
26 we 90] 50 a 32 | 73 ee 87 
_ © Account or Brackmore Muszum,” Part I. 83 
$ » Part II. 81 


; : “STONEHENGE AND ITs Barrows,” by W. Lona, Esq., 
(being No. 46-7 of the Mag., in special covers), 8yo... 224 


Rice & hee 
SECOND EDITION OF 


The British and Roman Antiquities of 


the North Whultshire Downs, 


BY THE REV. A. C. SMITH, M.A. 
One Volume, Atlas 4to, 248 pp., 17 large Maps, and 110 Woodcuts, 
Extra Cloth. Price £2 Qs. 


Lately Published, by the Wiltshire Archeological & Natural History 
Society, One Volume, 8vo, 504 pp., with map, Extra Cloth. 


The Flowering Plants of Wiltshire, 


BY THE REV. T. A. PRESTON, M.A. 
Price to the Public, 16s.; but one copy offered to every Member 
of the Society at half-price. 


Lately Published, One Volume, 8vo., 613 pp , Extra Cloth. 


The Birds of Wiltshire, 


BY THE REV. A. C. SMITH, MA. 
Price 16s. Half-price to Members of the Society. 


AGENTS 


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BEF. acaeesk'-w eke C. Hatter, 8 Bridge Street. 


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H. F, BULL, PRINTER, DEVISES, 


eat thin ney Ot ecole 


TW No Lxxv. JUNE, 1891. Vou. XXV. 
THE 


WILTSHIRE 
Arehwologieal ont Hotural Wistory 


MAGAZINE, 


Published under the Birection 


OF THE 


SOCIETY FORMED IN THAT COUNTY, 


A.D. 1853. 


DEVIZES: 
PRINTED AND SOLD FOR THE Society By H. F Butt, Sarnt Jonw SrReev, 


a. ——— 
é od gr Nia a Be ‘ 2 ie —_e- * 
fr i AD Dicte S e ed a e ev  ne E > 


Price 5s. 6d.—Members Gratis. 


Pe Wr 


hi Len Pay 


a 
c ‘cat 


ae 


oS ee 


° > 


a ae 


‘ 
™ 
‘ 
* 


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erie ? v Sel ae ae 


—" 


NOTICE TO MEMBERS. 


TAKE NOTICE, that a copious Index for .the preceding eight ? 
Volumes of the Magazine will be found at the end of Vols, 


Vili. XVI., and xxiv. 


Members who have not paid their Subscriptions to the Society for . 


The 


All 


The 


the current year, are requested to remit the same forthwith to 
the Financial Secretary, Mr. Davip Owen, 31, Long Street, 
Devizes, to whom also all communications as to the supply 
of Magazines should be addressed, and of whom most of the 
back Numbers may be had. 


Numbers of this Magazine will be delivered gratis, as issued, 
to Members who are not in arrear of their Annual Subserip- 
tions, but in accordance with Byelaw No. 8 “ The Financial 
Secretary shall give notice to Members in arrear, and the 


Society’s publications will not be forwarded to Members whose 


subscriptions shall remain unpaid after such notice.” 


other communications to be addressed to the Honorary Secre- 
taries: H. E. Muputcort, Esq., Sandfield, Potterne, Devizes; 
and the Rey. E. H. Gopparp, Clyffe Vicarage, Wootton Bassett. 


Rev. A. C. Surru (Old Park, Devizes) will be much obliged to 
observers of birds in all parts of the county, to forward to 
him notices of rare occurrences, early arrivals of migrants, or 
any remarkable facts connected with birds, which may come 
under their notice. 


A resolution has been passed by the Committee of the Society, 


“that it is highly desirable that every encouragement should 
be given towards obtaining second copies of Wiltshire Parish 
Registers.” 


Wiltshive—The Topographical Collections 


BY THE REV. CANON J. E. JACKSON, M.A., F.8.A. 


of Fohn Aubrey, F.R.S., 
A.D. 1b59—70. 


CORRECTED AND ENLARGED 


In 4to, Cloth, pp. 491, with 46 Plates. 
Price £2 10s. 


WILTSHIRE 
Archeological ant Batural AWistory 


MAGAZINE, 


No. LXXV. JUNE, 1891. 4827 


Vou. XXV. 


Rey 


gree .-e3.. 
Contents. S23 


F 
“fea ne 
TAL PV 


Account oF THE TuirTy-Seventa AnNnvAL Mzsrine at Devizes 235 
Norzs on THE CHURCHES VISITED BY THE SocreTy 1n 1890: By 


C. EB. Ponting, F.S.A. ....ccccccccceesreessseeeserenseesecanereesesesecesagenee cs 252 
Notes on PLaces VISITED BY THE SocrEry 1n 1890: By H. E. 
Medlicott .....cscccscsseccecscneccecsecnecseetececescaecesesseeseeeeusseaneneeeesees 280 


InavcuraL ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE Society, Lt.-Gen. 
_ Pitt-Rivers, F.R.S., F.S.A., on the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, 

and Bokerly Dyke ......sessssseessssenseseeseseteseeeseseserseerersenrecseceeess 283 
Norzs on Human Remains discovered by General Pitt-Rivers, D.C.L,, 

E.RB.S., at Woodyates, Wiltshire: By J. G. Garson, M.D., V.P.A.I. 

Lecturer on Comparative Anatomy at Charing Cross Hospital Medical 

School, London ......sssscceceesseeeeecessseesecsensnsceeueeeeeeseuegecsecseeneeaas 312 
Tar Guotocy or Devizes: By A. J. Jukes-Browne, B.A., F.GS. ... 317 
Norms on THE Cuvurcy Prats or Nortu Witts: By the Rev. E. H. 


Goddard... ..c.csscssccvseseeveeseeves = oS MRP Cpe ccreoec pa ex 336 
Ix Memoriam Joun Epwarp Jackson, F.S.A., Hon. CANON OF 
BRISTOL .cccecscesceesceccseccnsccucesseenccecascueccseseceeacsseecsestecneesenses 355 
Recent OccurRRENCE oF THE Great Bustarp 1n Wits: By the 
Rey. A. C. Smith....... Bae Mee eat tathacndshedtwraevine shoves Weassencusaucea 359 
Appirions TO THE MusEUM AND LIBRARY ........004 Rare san tte na eee 364 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
Font—Cherington  ......cecssececnecseeeeaseeseeeaeesneencases 260 
Church of All Saints, Marden, Wilts ...........-s000+- Raneve 263 
Map of Bokerly Dyke, between Dorset and Wilts ...... 288 
Section 1—showing the natural order of the Strata 
beneath Devizes .......secessecseereercceceseerecneseesseeees 318 
Section 2—showing the successive beds of Chalk at 
Morgan’s Hill ......cccseccecsessseeseneeneereeeeenenanennnens 318 
Fig. 3.—Structure of Siliceous Chalk .........seseerrseees 324 
Figs. 4 and 5.—Structure of Melbourn Rock and of 
Chalk Rock .......... Beco a ncdadeaicivaccscdavecusesssessceses 326 
Fig. 6.—Structure of Middle Chalke ......csssssseceeeeeeees 327 
Fig. 7.—Structure of Chalk Rock .......::ssseeseseseeeeeees 328 
Plate of ten Chalices in Churches in North Wilts......... 342 
Plate of five Flagons in Churches in North Wilts ...... 348 
DEVIZES : 


H. F. But, 4, Saint Joun SrTReEsr. 


he peak heey ae 


HE 


WILTSHIRE MAGAZINE, 


“MULTORUM MANIBUS GRANDE LEVATUR ONUS.’—Ovid. 


THE THIRTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING 
OF THE 
Wiltshire Archeological and Natural Bistory Society, 
HELD AT DEVIZES, 
July 30th and 31st, and August 1st, 1890. 
THE PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY, 
Lr.-Gen. A. Lanz Fox Pirt-Rivers, 
IN THE CHAIR. 


N 1880 the Society held its Annual Meeting at Devizes, in 
es conjunction with the British Archeological Association. 
The same town was selected as the meeting-place for 1890 mainly 
in consequence of the very great interest attaching to the excavations 
made in the Wansdyke by our President for the year, General 
Pitt -Rivers. 

The arrangements for the Meeting were carried out by a Com- 
mittee, of which the Mayor, Mr. Gillman, was the Chairman, and 
Mr. B. Howard Cunnington the Secretary—the latter gentleman 
undertaking the chief part of the work. 

The Town Hall, in which the Opening Meeting was held, had 
been excellently arranged for the purpose, the whole of the end of 
the room being hung with maps, plans, sections, and drawings 
illustrative of the papers to be read; of these a certain number 
_ were drawings or photographs of objects of interest connected with 
Mr. Penruddocke’s paper on Mrs. Jane Lane, others were excellent 
large-size drawings specially prepared by Mr. Bell for the elucidation 


———— 


For many of the details of this account the Editor is indebted to the columns 
of the Devizes and Wilts Advertiser. 


236 The Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting. 


of Mr. Jukes Brown’s geological paper, but the greater number 
consisted of singularly accurate plans of the excavations of which 
the President was to give an account in his inaugural address. In 
addition to these General Pitt-Rivers exhibited on tables in the 
body of the room a number of large-sized coloured plaster models 
of the most interesting portions of his excavations, including one 
of the cutting made in the Wansdyke in 1889. These models 
executed by the General’s assistants under his own personal super- 
vision, and built up, as they are, from measurements and notes taken 
with the greatest accuracy during the progress of the excavations, 
showing the exact position in which the more important finds 
occurred, preserve the evidence brought to light by his researches 
better than the excavations themselves—even if they could be kept 
open—could do. A large number of articles found by the General 
at Rotherley and Woodcuts were also on view, together with the 
urn and holed stones found at Oldbury and exhibited by Mr. 
Plenderleath ; whilst in the Council Chamber the handsome borough 
maces, the silver punch-bow! of the Brittox Club, a fine tall covered 
cup of about 1609, a case of documents lent by Mr, Kite, of Seend, 
together with the valuable series of charters, &c., relating to Devizes, 
were all well worthy of inspection. 

The proceedings began at 3 o’clock, by Mr. Story Masketyne 
proposing, in a few words, that General Pitt-Rivers should take the 
President’s chair. He said it was an honour to the Society to have 
for its President such a distinguished archeologist, and one who had 
done such a valuable work in the exploration and examination of 
the remains of antiquity. The large volumes, in which the records 
of the General’s excavations are contained, showed that his work 
was in reality of much greater value than that of our other great 
Wiltshire Archeologist, Sir Richard Colt Hoare, because it was 
so accurately and completely done. He hoped that many more 
volumes might be added to those already in existence, recording the 
results of many more years of careful exploration and research. 

The motion having been seconded by Mr. Cunnineton, THE 
Presipent at once took the chair and called on the Rev. E. H. 
Gopparp to read the 


: 


: 
{ 
! 
{ 


on 


The Report. 2387 
REPORT, 


which was as follows :— 

“ Your Committee reports that they have held five meetings since 
the last Annual General Meeting, at which many matters of interest 
and importance to the Society have come under consideration. 

“The total number of members on the books at the last General 
Annual Meeting (including, as usual, the Societies with which publi- 
cations are exchanged), was stated to be three hundred and seventy- 
three. Since that date we have lost by death six members, and five 
by resignation. On the other hand seven new members have been 
elected, showing as the total number of members on the Ist July 
last three hundred and sixty-nine, a decrease of four. 

* None of the Members whose loss we have to deplore were original 
Members. Amongst them the name of the Right Hon. Edward P. 
Bouverie will be remembered by us as a distinguished Member of 
our Society. His Parliamentary duties in former days, and more 
recently his numerous business engagements, allowed him but little 
time for the enjoyment of country life, but he was known as a keen 
observer of all that passed around him, and from time to time he 
has notified the appearance of a rare bird on the Downs, or some 
other object of interest to the Society, while in 1874 he took an 
aetive part at our Annual Meeting. The Rev. Prebendary Scarth, 
Rector of Wrington, died last winter at Tangiers. He had been 
for years one of the most active members of the Somersetshire 
Archzological Soeiety, and was at one time a member of our Society 
also. He took an active part in the opening of the Blackmore 
Museum. Sir Daniel Gooch, Bart., had been a Member since 1873. 
The movement which has led to that great county undertaking, the 
rescue from ruin of the grand Church at Edington, was initiated 
during the incumbency of the Rev. H. Cave-Brown-Cave, who took 
the greatest interest in the work up to his death. 

« Amongst the names of those who have resigned we would note 
that of Mr, Robert Elwell, our Local Honorary Secretary for the 
Highworth district—creating a vacancy which we hope may be 
filled during this Meeting—and also that of the Rev. T. A. Preston, 
who has left the county, but whose name will ever be held in grateful 

S$ 2 


238 The Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting. 


remembrance by the Society as the author of “ The Flowering Plants 
of Wilts, with Sketches of the Physical Geography and Climate of 
the County ”—the most complete work we have on Wiltshire botany. 
Mr. Preston was for many years our Local Secretary at Marlborough, 
where he had done much to advance the study of natural history, 
not only in our own county, but in the country at large, by his 
lectures at the College. It may be observed that, in the preface to 
his book, Mr. Preston bears testimony to the value of earlier work 
in the same direction, the results of which have been recorded in our 
Magazine. We regret his loss, and wish him well in his new home. 

“Such losses should stimulate us to fresh exertions, not only to 
add to our numbers, which have never yet quite reached four hundred, 
though we think that in a large county like ours this might be 
achieved with a little exertion on the part of the Local Secretaries 
and of our Members, scattered as they are in all parts of the county, 
but also to maintain the high repute of our Society, which cannot 
by any means yet be said to have fulfilled its mission or to have 
exhausted the archzological and natural history of a county second 
to none in its resources for research. 

“Such thoughts are forced upon our mind all the more keenly 
when we are called upon to record our profound regret at the with- 
drawal of the Rev. A. C. Smith, owing to failing health, from the 
post of Honorary Secretary and Editor of the Magazine—a post the 
duties of which he has fulfilled, not only to the entire satisfaction 
of every Member of the Society since the year 1857, but with a 
courtesy and affability which has endeared him to all of us, The 
Committee has already passed a resolution upon this subject, which 
will presently be put to this Meeting, and which will doubtless be 
carried with acclamation. The Rev. Edward Hungerford Goddard 
has been provisionally elected by the Committee (under Rule IX.) 
to fill Mr. Smith’s place, and a resolution appointing him will be 
submitted to this Meeting. 

“ As to finance, an account of receipts and disbursements was 
published with the Magazine issued this month. The apparent 
falling off in the amount of subscriptions received can be accounted 
for by the fact that in the year ending 1888 a considerable amount 


The Report. 239 


received under this head consisted of arrears of unpaid subscriptions. 
The amount received from admissions to the Museum shows a con- 
siderable increase owing to the reduced price charged for entrance, 
viz., 3d. The general balance shows an increase as compared with 
the previous year. There is still outstanding about £70 of sub- 
scriptions and arrears, due lst January last. 

“The Committee have had this under consideration, and they 
would urge upon Members that if they would give a standing order 
to their bankers to pay their subscriptions when due, viz., lst 
January in each year, that much trouble would be saved to the 
officers of the Society and to themselves. The Financial Secretary 
would supply a form for this purpose at any time on application. 

“The concluding number of volume xxiv. of the Magazine was 
issued last spring, and with it concluded the labours of Mr. Smith 
as Editor. All will concur in the opinion that his work has beer 
crowned with success to the last. With volume xxiv. is issued a 
general index to the last eight volumes, for which the Society is 
indebted to the laborious and painstaking efforts of a valued Member 
of the Committee, the Rev. W. C. Plenderleath. The first number 
of vol. xxv. was issued quite recently, and it is hoped that it has 
reacted the hands of every Member whose subscription has been 
paid up to 30th June. 

“A list of donations to the Library and Museum is published 
with each number of the Magazine. The thanks of the Society are 
due to all those who wisely consider that books relating to county 
history, whether past or contemporary, and objects of interest of all 
kinds which throw light on the study of the county are best placed 
in the Library or Museum of the Society. At the same time the 
energies of the Curators are sometimes severely taxed in the en- 
deavour adequately to display to view the many treasures which are 
offered to the Society, and it must be remembered if we are sometimes 


_ forced to decline donations that the space available is so circumscribed 
that it becomes increasingly necessary to confine ourselves to books 


and objects referring directly to the history of our own county. 
“It is hoped that many Members of the Society will take the 
opportunity which our visit to Devizes affords of inspecting the 


240 The Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting. 


valuable collections which the Museum now contains, for the classi- 
fication and re-arrangement of which from time to time the Society 
is deeply indebted to Mr. B. H. Cunnington, one of the Hon. 
Curators, and members of his family, who take a very active interest 
and natural pride in this very important centre of Wiltshire arche- 
ology and natural history. 

“The Committee has again to refer to the very important work 
which is being carried on in the county by the President, General 
Pitt-Rivers—work which is gradually elucidating a period of history 
hitherto veiled in mystery, and work which can be carried on in no 
part of the country with a better chance of success than in our own 
county. The Society cannot but be most grateful to General Pitt- 
Rivers for the costly and painstaking work he has so generously 
taken in hand, and we hope the Wansdyke may yet yield results as 
conclusive as those arrived at in the south of the county. 

“The Society desires to urge upon all owners of property in the 
county upon which archzological remains exist the great importance 
of most carefully preserving such antiquities, and whilst we have as 
our President “ Her Majesty’s Inspector General of Ancient Monu- 
ments in Great Britain,” we feel it our duty to make an especial 
appeal to all who have it in their power to entrust to his care 
treasures, the full historical and national value of which is some- 
times but little appreciated or understood. No greater venerator of 
antiquity exists than General Pitt-Rivers, and even in cases where 
an object cannot be made, technically speaking, an ‘ ancient monu- 
ment,” his advice as to its preservation will be given, and may with 
confidence be acted upon. 

“Whilst congratulating the Society on the past, and expressing 
an earnest hope and desire that it may flourish in the future in spite 
of changes, your Committee appeals earnestly to the Members of 
the Society in all parts of the county for their active co-operation. 
We appeal to the Local Secretaries, and to any individual Members 
who will take the trouble, to help the Society by increasing the 
number of Members, by inducing some to join us who are not 
Members but who show their interest in the general objects of 
our Society by studying and sometimes publishing papers on 


| 


The Opening Meeting. 241 


parochial history, on geology, on natural history, and kindred 
subjects. 

“Union is strength, active co-operation, all working together, 
will give us the power, vigour, and means to accomplish yet the 
vast work that still lies before the Society.” 

The report having been adopted, ArcapEacon BucHaNan next 
proposed the following resolution :—“ The Members of the Wiltshire 
Archxological and Natural History Society, in General Meeting 
assembled at Devizes, having heard with the greatest possible regret 
the announcement of the resignation by the Rev. Alfred Charles 
Smith of the post of Honorary Secretary and Editor of the Magazine, 
desire to record their grateful thanks to him for his valuable services 
to the Society from its commencement, but more especially as Hono- 
rary Secretary since 1857, and Editor of the Magazine since 1864. 
They feel most deeply the loss the Society sustains by Mr. Smith’s 
resignation, and desire to express a hope that he may long be spared 
to render the valuable help which he has been so good as to promise 
if health permit.” He said Mr. Smith had always placed his 
literary ability and great capacity for business alike at the service 
of the Society, and he was endeared to its Members by the unfailing 
kindness and courtesy which marked him in everything that he did. 
He had from the very beginning been the life of the Society, and 
had infused his own enthusiasm into their Meetings. He trusted 
that Mr. Smith might live to watch over the interests of the Society 
for very many years to come. 

The Rev. W. C. PLenpErteatH having seconded the resolution, 
_ Tue Presitpent said he should like to add a word or two to what 
had been said. He deeply regretted that almost the first aet of his 
presidency should have been to receive Mr. Smith’s resignation. 
Mr. Smith had long been a hard-working archzologist, and his 
_ great work on the British and Roman antiquities of North Wilts 
_ was not only of great interest in itself, but was of the utmost im- 
_ portance as a basis for future research. For if ever the antiquities 
_ of North Wilts came to be properly explored and excavated whoever 
undertook that work would find Mr. Smith’s book an invaluable 
foundation for it. 


242 The Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting. 


The resolution having been carried with acclamation, Mr. Surru 
said he hardly knew how to thank the Society for the resolution 
they had just adopted. He had received many kindnesses from the 
Society in times past—for instance, when his book was burnt in 
the fire in Paternoster Row, the Society most generously undertook 
the cost of a second edition, and when his daughter was married a 
very handsome present was given her in recognition—as they were 
pleased to say—of his services to them as Secretary. His work as 
Secretary had always been a great pleasure to him, but he felt that 
it was time to resign it into younger hands now. It was sometimes 
desirable to have an infusion of fresh blood. Moreover, he felt that 
he could not have given up his office at a better time, for the Society 
was never more flourishing than it was at the present time. 

Resolutions were then carried that the names of the Right Rev. 
the Lord Bishop of Salisbury and the Rev. A. C. Smith be added 
to the list of Vice-Presidents of the Society, and that the Rev. 
E. H. Goddard be appointed one of the General Secretaries and 
Editor of the Magazine in the room of Mr. Smith. 

Tue Presipent then read the first part of his inaugural address, 
on his excavation of the Romano-British villages at Rotherley and 
Woodcuts, and at Bokerly Dyke, in the extreme south of the county, 
illustrating his paper by references to the numerous diagrams ex- 
hibited on the walls. It is needless to say that this paper was of 
very great interest and value, but as it will appear in full ata 
later page of this Magazine further mention of it here is un- 
necessary. 

The Rev. W. C. Pienperiezats said that there was one matter 
which he had had occasion to bring before the notice of the Council 
of the Society, and which their Secretaries thought would must 
fittingly be mentioned at that Meeting. Ten years ago, when the 
British Archzological Association held a Meeting in Devizes, in 
conjunction with that of their own Society, a curious mistake had 
been made by two speakers with regard to the builder of Devizes 
Castle, His attention had chanced to be called to this last year 
when he was employed upon the index to their Magazine; and he 
thought that, as one of the main objects of the Society was the 


The Opening Meeting. 243 


preservation of information with respect to the history of their 
county, it was a matter of some importance that the information so 
recorded should be correct. 

A local antiquarian was reported to have said, in a paper read on 
August 16th, 1880, at St. John’s Church, “ The tower, the transepts, 
and the vaulted chancel are the oldest portions of the Church, and 

. are stated to have beem built about the same time as 
the Castle, namely, 1130, and at the expense and under the direction 
of its celebrated founder, Roger Poore, Bishop of Salisbury and 
Chancellor to Henry I., whose works in architecture were the 


‘wonder of the age in which he lived.” (Wiltshire Archeological 


Magazine, vol. xix., pp. 119, 20.) In a paper read subsequently at 
the Castle itself, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, who had 
come down to tell them all about the history of their county, was 
stated to have spoken of “the great Bishop Roger Poore, who, like 
many another Norman, was attracted by the value of those earlier 
earthworks for the erection of a castle, and who was wise enough to 
erect his Castle upon them. He was glad to be able to say the 
foundations whieh existed showed clearly workmanship of the time of 
Roger Poore.” (Wiltshire Archeological Magazine, vol. xix., p. 
128.) 

Now it was a fact known to every student of the history of 
Wiltshire that no such person as Bishop Roger Poore ever existed, 
nor had his name ever been heard of until he had been evolved out 
of the inner consciousness of these two learned writers. They (the 
writers in question) had confused Roger, the Norman Bishop of Old 
Sarum from 1107 to 1139, with Bishop Richard Poore, who was in 
possession of the see from 1217 to 1229, and who transferred it 
during that time from its ancient seat to the Cathedral which he 
founded at New Salisbury. It was the former of these prelates 
who built Devizes Castle, as well as other Castles at Malmesbury, 
Sherborne, and elsewhere. But there was not the smallest ground 
for attributing to him the surname of Poore, and very little for 
supposing him to have been in any way connected with the family of 
his illustrious successor. One historical writer had indeed suggested 
as a possibility that such might have been the case, from the fact 


244 The Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting, 


of Bishop Roger’s having had a nephew, or other near relative, who 
was known as “ Pauper,” 7.¢., “ The Poor Man.” But this eponym 
was quite accounted for by the revenues of both uncle and nephew 
having been confiscated by King Stephen, so, that the latter was 
left with very inadequate means for keeping up the dignity of the 
office of Chancellor, which had been bestowed upon him. And the 
etymology of the surname Poore, as borne by Bishop Richard and 
by his brother, appeared to have been entirely different from this, 
for the author of the St. Osmund Register spoke of him as “a 
wealthy and painstaking man.” 

Mr. PLeNDERLEATH added that he was sorry that this little 
historical mistake should not sooner have been discovered, and been 
corrected in the volume in which the record of it occurred. But he 
thought that the Meeting would agree with him that, however late, 
it was desirable that attention should now be called to it, and that 
the Wiltshire Archeological Society should not be responsible for 
the existence of a Wiltshire castle-builder whose name was unknown 
to history (hear, hear). 

The company then separated, and proceeded first to St. John’s 
Church, and afterwards to St. Mary’s—the architecture of both 
Churches being briefly described by the Rector, Dr. Burazs (cf 
vol. ii, p. 2183—256, and vol. xix., p. 119—126), whilst a few 
Members visited the Castle Grounds, which were kindly thrown 
open to them for the occasion, thongh the house itself, being under 
repair, was not shown. 


THE DINNER. 


At 6.30 thirty-one Members sat down to the Anniversary Dinner 
at the Bear Hotel, at the conclusion of which the speechmaking 
was cut very short. THe Mayor (Mr. Gillman), in responding for 
the Corporation, expressed his pleasure at welcoming the Society to 
Devizes, and he trusted that one result at least of their visit would 
be that the valuable deeds and charters belonging to the Corporation 
—hitherto hidden away in a somewhat mouldy chest—would be 
carefully framed and exhibited permanently in the Council 
Chamber. 


The Conversazione. 245 


THE CONVERSAZIONE 


was held at the Town Hall, at 8, p.m., the attendance numbering 
eighty-eight, when Tas Prustprnt continued the paper on the results 
of his excavations, the first part of which he had read at the after- 
noon Meeting. 

At its conclusion a cordial vote of thanks was passed, and the 
audience for a short space devoted themselves to the refreshments 
kindly provided by the Mayor. 

On the resumption of business the Rev. E. H. Gopparp gave 
an address on the Church Plate of North Wilts, illustrating the 
subject by a large number of drawings, made by himself and others 
as a basis for the history of the Church plate of the county which 
it is hoped may shortly be published by Mr. J. E. Nightingale. 
He was also able, through the kindness of many of the neighbouring 
clergy, to exhibit a series of actual examples of the various designs 
of chalices, patens, and flagons of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and 
eighteenth centuries, including a very beautiful flagon of 1603 from 
~ Heddington, Elizabethan chalices from the same parish and Hilperton, 
a chalice of 1631 from Wootton Bassett, the flagons of St. John’s and 
St. Mary’s, Devizes, and other specimens of the seventeenth and 
eighteenth centuries from Clyffe Pypard, Calstone, Cherhill, &c. 


THURSDAY, JULY 83lsr. 


The carriages left the Market Place at 9, a.m., with some sixty 
Members and their friends, for the first day’s excursion. The route 
lay by the Quaker’s Walk, up the hill to Roundway Down and 
Oliver’s Camp, which it was explained had nothing to do with Oliver 
Cromwell. The ramparts afforded the party one of the finest, 
perhaps, on the whole, the finest, view in Wiltshire—the various 
localities in the distance being pointed out by Mr. Mepuicorr, who 
afterwards read a short but lucid account of the Battle of Roundway 

Down, which had been prepared for the occasion by Mr. Water 
 Bucuanay. 

Mr. Cunnincton and Mr. Bett then called attention to the 
- characteristic gullies which cut into the sides of the chalk escarpment 


246 The Thirty-Seventh Annual Moeting. 


here—and explained how they were in all probability, formed by 
the rains rushing down from off the tertiary clays and sands which 
once covered the chalk downs, the rainfall in those days being much 
greater probably than it is now. 

Entering the carriages again the party was driven to Blackland 
Hollow, where most of the Members alighted and walked along the 
course of the Wansdyke to the cutting made by General Pitt- Rivers 
the year before, above Shepherd’s Shore. The sides of this cutting 
were found to be still sharp and clear, and Taz Generat explained 
the results he had obtained from it. An iron nail, an iron knife- 
blade, and a few pieces of pottery were the chief things found. 
The purpose of the excavation was to find some object on, or under, 
the original turf-line of the down, upon which the mound had been 
thrown up. Whatever was found at this depth below the mound— 
and the original line of the turf was clearly shown by a band of 
brown mould—must, of course, have been there before the mound 
was thrown up, and if any bits of pottery could be discovered to 
which a date could be assigned, that would go far towards settling 
the date of the dyke itself. Grnzrau Pirt-Rivers said that the 
presence of fragments of Samian ware under the outer and smaller 
rampart proved pretty conclusively that that, at least, was of Roman 
or post-Roman date; but as to the main rampart the evidence as 
yet was insufficient to warrant a conclusion. He gave it as his 
opinion that these dykes, being lines of defence, only protected the 
open and exposed parts of the country, the low-lying grounds having 
been then covered with dense forest, which would probably sufficiently 
protect the inbabitants from any enemy. In support of this theory 
he mentioned that both Bokerley and Wansdyke lose themselves at 
each end in what must have been thick forest country, where, if it 
was necessary to continue the line of defence at all, the place of the 
dyke might easily have been taken by abattis of felled trees. 
Probably the object of these defensive lines—as that of the Roman 
wall certainly was—was to defend the country of some tribe or 
nation in a more advanced state of civilisation from the attacks of 
its more barbarous neighbours ; more especially to prevent the cattle 
—which probably constituted the wealth of those days—being 


Thursday’s Excursion. 247 


earried off by a sudden raid. He suggested that, in some cases, at 
least, the outer bank may have been used as a road, whilst the inner 
embankment was probably crowned by a wooden stockade. 

Having spent some time here the party proceeded to Shepherd’s 
Shore, where they found lunch ready for them in the barn. Whilst 
under shelter here some considerable showers of rain fell, but happily 
with the end of the lunch the rain ended too, and the afternoon, 
though somewhat overcast, was fine—a much better condition of 
things than sunshine and heat, considering the amount of walking 
to be got through. After lunch the breaks took the Members up 
to the point on the dyke—about one mile from Shepherd’s Shore 
towards Tan Hill—where the men were at work on the new cutting. 
The original level of the soil had been reached about half-way 
through the rampart, and whilst the visitors were present several 
pieces of pottery were found in the original dark surface soil—the 
rampart which had ‘been thrown up above this being formed of loose 
chalk rubble. This particular spot was chosen for a cutting on 
account of the small rectangular earthwork projecting from the 
dyke at this place, which General Pitt-Rivers thought might mark 
the site of a settlement of earlier age than the dyke itself. He 
declined to express any definite opinion as yet as to the age of the 
pottery found in this cutting, hoping for further evidence before 
the work was finished. 

Proceeding some distance further, to the foot of Tan Hill, in the 
breaks, the party then alighted, walked up the steep slopes along 
_the dyke, admiring by the way the wealth of down flowers, just 
then at their best, with which the southern side of the rampart was 
carpeted; pausing for a while to enjoy the grand view commanded 
_ by the summit of the hill, and then walking on down the other side 
to Cannings Cross Farm, where the carriages met them again after 
making a long detour. Thence they drove at once to All Cannings, 
where the Rector, the Rev. E. May, very kindly offered tea, an 
invitation which the want of time obliged the archeologists to 
decline. As it was they were somewhat hurried in their inspection 
of the Church, where Mr. Ponting read a paper calling attention 
to the points of interest, especially the rich external ornamentation 


: 
| 


248 The Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting. 


of the south chapel, and its great resemblance to similar work at 
Bromham and St. John’s, Devizes. 

They next proceeded with all speed to Etchilhampton Church, 
where, with Mr. Pontine again for their guide, the fine altar-tomb 
with recumbent effigies in the chancel, the nave roofs, west window, 
and curious south-west buttress with battlemented niches, were all 
noticed. 

This was the last item on the programme, and Devizes was reached 
in very fair time. 

The proceedings at the Conversazione in the Town Hall, at which 
seventy-two persons were present, began by Mr. PEnRuDDOCKE 
being called upon to read a paper on Mrs. Jane Lane, in which he 
described the adventures of Charles II. after the Battle of Worcester, 
and his eventful escape, assisted by the heroine of the paper; after 
which refreshments of a novel character, kindly provided by Mr. 
PENRUDDOCKE in illustration of his paper, were handed round, con- 
sisting of glasses of old Canary wine, and biscuits with a preserve 
made from a recipe of Mrs. Jane Lane, amongst the ingredients of 
which were rose-water and musk. 

Tur Presipent then read portions of a valuable and learned paper 
he had received from Dr. Garson, the eminent authority on the 
subject, on the skulls and skeletons found during his excavations at 
Rotherley and Woodcuts. After which Mr. PLenDERLEATH gave a 
short account of the finding by flint-diggers of an urn and three 
pierced chalk stones, supposed to have been loom-weights, in a pit 
some 6ft. below the surface, close to the ramparts of Oldbury Camp, 
and about 100 yds. south of the monument, a short time before. 

As time pressed, the valuable paper by Mr. J. Juxzes Browy, on 
the Geology of Devizes, which was next on the programme, was not 
read, but the substance of it was given in a short but interesting 
address by Mr. W. Hzewarp Bett, who lucidly explained the ex- 
cellent diagrams of sections of the cretaceous strata of the neigh- 
bourhood, which had been prepared for the illustration of the paper. 

At the request of THz Prustpent, Mr. James Way en, the 
historian of Devizes, gave a short account of the picture painted by 
himself representing Devizes Castle as it may have been in its 


Friday’s Excursion, 249 


palmy days, which was hung behind the President’s chair. He 

expressed an opinion that the biographical section of the county 

history had been somewhat neglected in the Society’s publications, 

and hoped that more attention would be paid to this in the future. 
This brought the evening’s proceedings to a close. 


FRIDAY, AUGUST lst. 


Forty-three Members started on the second day’s excursion, which 
left Devizes at 9.20. The weather looked gloomy but happily only 
a few showers fell, and the heaviest of these was timed most con- 
veniently, as on the previous day, to come down whilst the arche- 
ologists were safely under cover at lunch, whilst towards evening 
things brightened and the sun came out. Indeed, on the whole, 
the weather could not have been better for both days’ excursions. 
Dust—which is often so trying on such occasions—was entirely 
absent, and the temperature was cool and pleasant. 

The first stoppage was at Potterne Church, where ARCHDEACON 
Bucuanan read a short account of the building, pointing out 
especially the ancient Saxon font, the thirteenth century north door, 
and a rubbing of the undecipherable inscription on one of the bells 
(see vol. xvi., p. 281). After having duly admired this fine thirteenth 
century Church, the Porch House was next visited, the history of 
which was shortly described by Mz. Watrer Bucuanan (see vol. 
xvi. p. 287). After wandering over the delightful old house so 
lavishly restored by Mr. Richmond, and admiring the many bits 
of ancient glass collected from various sources in its windows, the 
party drove on to Market Lavington, where the Church was carefully 
described by Mr. Pontine. 

The next stopping-place was Erchfont, where the archeologists 
found a Church in some respects the most interesting of any visited 
this year, and which, never having been visited by the Society 
_ before, was new, as, indeed, were also the four Churches next visited, 
to most of the Members. ‘The interest here centred in the beautiful 
and very unusual early fourteenth century chancel, which—with its 
_ vaulted roof, its ridge stones and singular fleur-de-lys, showing that 
_ the roof was originally covered with stone slabs, as the south porch 


250 The Lhirty-Seventh Annual Meeting. 


is now, the remains of contemporary glass in the heads of the 
easternmost windows, and many other points of interest—is, in some 
respects, unique in Wiltshire. After thoroughly enjoying this 
Church, under Mr. Pontine’s direction, the party, at the invitation 
of the Vicar, visited the picturesque garden of the vicarage, with 
its curious deep ravine; aud then assembled at the school, where an 
excellent lunch,provided by Mr. Reynolds, of the Bear Hotel, Devizes, 
awaited them. Mr. Penruppockg, who took the chair in the 
‘absence of the Chairman, thanked the Local Secretaries of the 
Meeting for the excellent way in which all the arrangements were 
made; whilst Mr. Men icorrt said they must not allow the Meeting 
to terminate without expressing their thanks also to the Mayor of 
Devizes (Mr. Gillman) for his very kind provision of refreshments 
on the two previous evenings. 

Chirton was soon reached after lunch, and the very interesting 
little Church, with its splendid font, south door, nave arcade, and 
roof, all of the twelfth century, were commented on by Mr. 
Pontine, who, after a mile’s further drive, also did the honours of 
Marden Church, pointing out the fine twelfth century south door 
and chancel arch, with fifteenth century tower—the latter showing 
now to the uninitiated, few if any traces of the fact that under 
Mr. Ponting’s careful hands it was taken completely down, its 
condition rendering this imperatively necessary, and was built up 
again, stone by stone, upon new foundations, only a few years ago. 
It is to be hoped that Mr. Ponting may soon be enabled to do as 
good a work for the nave, which sadly needs it, as he has already 
done for the tower. 

Charlton was the next place on the programme, and here again 
the Church seemed the only object of interest—indeed, through the 
whole of this part of the Pewsey Vale, through which the route of 
this day’s excursion lay, there is not a single specimen of domestic 
architecture or other object of interest to vary the succession of 
Churches. These latter, however, were, on the whole, a very 
interesting series, giving examples of an unusually wide range of 
date and style. Of Charlton Church itself, which presents a very 
picturesque interior, the nave is entirely modern. The chapel on 


=. 


Friday’s Excursion, 251 


the west side, with the tower and part of the chancel remain of the 
old structure, as also the wooden screens of both chapel and chancel. 
The most curious thing, however, about the building is the double 
squint from the porch into the chancel, through the walls of the 
chapel, which Mr. Pontine asserted was to allow a person standing 
in the porch to see the priest at the high altar, and ring the sanctus 
bell at the proper time. 

Rushall Church was next visited, but, with the exception of a 
Norman font, and the good oak benches of the sixteenth century, 
and the strange private pew of the Poore family on the west side, 
had little to detain the visitors. . 

Upavon was on the programme, but it was found that time would 
not allow of going there, and the carriages made for Manningford 
Bruce, where the extremely interesting Saxon Church (see vol. xx., 
p- 122) with its apse, herring-bone flint- work, high narrow door 
arches, and windows far up in the walls, was described by Mr. 
Pontine. Through the kindness of the Rev. E. Evererr, the 
beautiful little Pre-Reformation chalice belonging to the parish of 
Manningford Abbots was exhibited here, and examined with much 
interest. 

After seeing the Church the whole party adjourned to tea at Mr. 
and Mrs. Grant Megx’s, for which very welcome refreshment their 
hospitable hostess was most heartily thanked. 

The breaks then returned to Devizes, and the excursion of 1890 
came to an end, after a very enjoyable day spent in a part of 
Wiltshire new to many Members of the Society. 


VoL. XXV.—NO. LXXY. T 


252 


Alotes on the Churches bisited by the Society 
in 1890. 


By C. E. Pontine, F.S.A. 


[For St. John’s and St. Mary’s, Devizes, see Wilts Mag., vol. ii., p. 213 ; 
for Potterne, vol. xvi., p. 274.] 


S. Mary’s. Market Lavinerton. 


(C HE plan of this Church consists of nave with north and south 
A) aisles, south porch, western tower, and chancel, with a 
sacristy on the north side of the latter, all ancient. 

That a Norman Church stood here is shown by the pieces of stone 
ornament, including the chevron and billet moulds of that period, 
which are built into the walls of the porch and outside of the east 
end of the nave—these were found during the restoration of the 
Church in 1862. . 

There is also a distinct and interesting feature of the same date 
—though it does not occupy its old position—the bowl of a stoup, 
now in the vestry and forming a piscina. The narrowness of the 


south aisle also indicates an early foundation. 

The nave and aisles were apparently re-built very early in the 
fourteenth century—the period to which I assign the south arcade 
and two bays of that on the north (both having square piers on 
chamfered bases), also the door and west and east windows of the 
north aisle and the lower part of the walls of the south aisle. It 
will be observed that the westernmost arch of the north aisle was 
formed at a later date, the inner order of the chamfered arch does 
not die out on the face of the piers as in the case of the rest, but is 
carried down to the bottom of the respond on one side, and corbelled 
out against the pier on the other. The stop on the pier was then 
worked to match the earlier one on the other angles, but no such 
stop occurs on the respond. 


Notes on the Churches. 2538 


Whilst on this part I would call attention to the very marked 
evidence which exists in this Church of the floor having been laid 
to a slope following the natural level of the site—an expedient 
frequently adopted in early structures. In this case the fall 
was from north to south. The sill of the north door is 2ft. 6in. 
above the present floor-level, and the rough appearance of the bases 
of the odder piers of the north arcade shows that the ground around 
them has been lowered and the foundations exposed; whilst the 
lower level at which the worked stone commences on the respond 

indicates the probability that this slope was done away with when 
_ the fifteenth century western arch was inserted. Before leaving the 
arcades I may mention the arch carried across the south aisle at 
the point where buttressed by the porch and forming a good 
support to the arcade, 
The wall of the south aisle was raised and a two-light window 
built in the added part, high up at the west end, at about the middle 
_of the fifteenth century. A corbel of the old roof of this aisle exists 
in the arcade wall; the three-light windows inserted in the south 
_ wall are apparently of seventeenth century Gothic, and have square 
heads. The square-headed two-light window in the east wall 
without arch or cusping, is singular, but it has, I think, been 
tampered with. 

I said that the door and east end and west windows of the north 
aisle were thirteenth century work, but this is not the case with the 
‘walls and the rest of the windows and on a first glance this part 
‘presents somewhat of a problem, which I solve in the following 
way :—when the beautiful fifteenth century tower was built the 
north wall of the aisle was evidently re-duz/t, for the tower plinth 
‘is carried along this part, but the early window in the west end and 
the north door were built in, for their label moulds indicate an earlier 


So 


: 


the constructional stones in the usual way. The east wall of 

is aisle was not re-built at this time. Here, too, are diagonal 
buttresses which are later than the west window. The three 
1 Tt 2 


254 Notes on the Churches 


Perpendicular windows have a very peculiar type of tracery and 
the labels have long terminals returned into the wall, the reveals 
are carried to the floor and form seats inside. 

The cusping of the early west window has been eut away. A 
piscina in the east respond of the arcade here doubtless indicates 
the chantry chapel of S. Mary, S. Katherine and S. Margaret, in 
which Robert de la Mere, a relative of William Beauchamp, of 
Bromham, Lord §. Amand (and the sire of Richard, whose work 
we saw at All Cannings yesterday,) ordered his body to be buried— 
he died in 1457. The staircase to the rood-loft starts from this 
chapel, but it is a fifteenth century insertion, as indicated by its 
door areh and the little trefoil window—the stairs are in perfect 
preservation: the passage is only 18in. wide, and affords one further 
support to my contention that these staircases were not, in village 
Churches, intended for the use of the priest. 

The tower is a good and notable example of early fifteenth century 
work. It has buttresses standing square with its sides, and is 
entirely without strings to divide it into its three stages. The 
west window and door are treated as one feature, with bold 
projecting jamb and arch mouldings carried to the ground—the 
splay being panelled. The staircase stops at the belfry level. (I 
would remark, in passing, that oyster-shells are freely used in the 
joints of this part.) 

To return to the nave—the clerestory is coeval with the arcades 
and the fenestration is remarkable: there are three of the original 
single cusped lights on the north side and two on the south; on 
the north there is a very late (probably sixteenth century) three- 
light window near the east end, inserted, doubtless, to throw more 
light on the rood-loft, and a two-light one of the same date in the 
centre of the south side—both of these have wood inside lintels, while 
the rest have arches. The roof of the nave is, I think, coeval with 
these late windows, but modern braces and rafters have been added. 

The south porch has a good inner doorway with cusped arch of 
the date of the door and windows in the north aisle, and above it a 
niche for a figure. There is a good corbel over the outer doorway 
also, and part of a cross above. 


Visited by the Society in 1890, 255 


The chancel was erected at about the same time as the earlier 
parts of the aisles and nave arcades, the north and east walls remain 
of this work with two two-light windows and priest’s doorway in 
the former and piscina in the south wall ; the south wall was erected 
and the chancel arch and east window inserted without regard for 
the old string course, in 1862. The chancel apparently has its 
original roof above the plaster ceiling. 

The sacristy was added later in the fourteenth century, as indicated 
by the diagonal buttresses and the moulding of the label to the 
outer door ; though the cusped arch of the doorway might be taken 
as coeval with the chancel. Further evidence that it was an ad- 
dition is afforded by the way in which its east wall cuts into the 
window of the sanctuary. The corbels of the old roof remain: the 
north window is a later insertion. The squint in the chancel wall 
points in the direction of the high altar, and was probably 
intended for the use of the priest in watching the altar. 

The chancel was originally without buttresses. 

The font is a plain but bold Decorated one, and of good size. 

There is a rude sundial cut on the south-west buttress of the 
porch, which certainly does not indicate the hours of the day, but 
might have been cut to indicate the canonical hours. On the 
opposite side of the doorway is rudely cut one of those small old 
crosses, with a hole at each termination, which are often found on 
the face of old walls. 


S. Micnart’s & Att ANGELS. ERcHFONT. 


The principal part of this Church was erected during the “ Deco- 
rated” period ; the work is pure and rich, and at the same time it 
possesses great individuality ; there are features here which, so far 
-as I am aware, have no parallel in the county. A great deal might 
be said on this Church, but I will describe its various features as 
_ briefly as possible. 

There appears to be nothing here earlier than the beginning of 
_ the thirteenth century, but the font is of that period, and so also is 
the chancel arch ; so much of the latter has been made up in modern 
plaster-work that its appearance is misleading, but the sections of the 


256 Notes on the Churches 


old mouldings which remain indicate the date of the original parts. 
It will be seen that the Norman feeling lingers in the billet mould 
of the label, and in the square abacus (which latter, though modern, 
is probably copied from the old). The Church of which these 
features formed part has, however, with these exceptions disappeared, 
but there is no occasion to regret this circumstance when so beautiful 
a structure has been given us in its place. 

The re-building commenced with the north and south transepts, 
which date from the earlier half of the fourteenth century. The 
tracery of the south window has been renewed, also the whole of 
the two east windows of the south transept, but it is probable that 
they are copies of the original work, as they go very well with the 
old mouldings. There is a singular stepping up of 14in. only, in 
the string course of the south transept, to adapt it to the respective 
levels of the side and end window sills. The east window in the 
north transept is of three lights, whilst that on the south is of five 
lights. Canon Jackson mentions a tradition that on the destruction 
of the chapel near Easterton one of these transepts was appropriated 
to the inhabitants of Eastcott tything and the other to Wedhampton 
(Wilts Magazine, vol. x., p. 279). 

Immediately after this came the re-building of the chancel, and 
this was done in the best work of the period. It is of three bays 
divided by buttresses of very unusual form—they are very massive, 
but they have not proved equal to the demands made upon them by 
the heavy stone vault and roof, both being without any tie in them- 
selves. It is somewhat remarkable that these buttresses, having to 
resist so much lateral thrust, should have been exaggerated in width 
rather than in projection. Tach bay on the south side and the two 
end bays on the north have good two-light windows of “ Geometrical ” 
design, but the middle bay on the north is occupied by a well- 
designed porch over the priest’s doorway, formed by carrying up 
the base-mould of the buttress ; both inner and outer doorways 
having plain straight-sided pointed heads. The east window is a 
modern one of three lights and poor design, The two angle but- 
tresses and those at the east end have also been added, doubtless 
with the view of arresting the spreading of the walls. 


al 


Visited by the Society in 1890. 257 


The feature to which I desire to call particular attention is the 
700f—this is vaulted in stone on the inside, with the central and inter- 
secting ribs usual at that period. The subjects of the carved bosses 
are (commencing at the easternmost one) :—S. Michael and the 
dragon, a pelican feeding her young, a mermaid, two serpents. In- 
stead of the tiled roof which we now see, it is evident that it was 
originally constructed entirely of stone like the porch, the form of 
construction being arched ribs supporting a covering of stone slabs. 
The lower stones of this roof remain zz situ, and also the cap stones 
of the ribs, each of the latter terminated by a fleur-de-lis, but the 
covering has been replaced by tiles. The scheme was a bold one 
for so wide a span, and it appears not to have been entirely satisfac- 
tory from a structural point of view, though exceedingly picturesque. 
The parapet is of a curious double-stage arrangement with quatre- 
foil openings through which the water ran off (instead of being 
collected in gutters and discharged through gargoyles) and a string 
course above these. 

Inside the chancel there is a coeval piscina with ogee arch and a 
bowl of quatrefoil form, ‘partly cut away. In the windows north 
and south of the sanctuary there are remains of old glass, apparently 
coeval with the structure, with figures of angels. 

The south aisle is a beautiful example of fully developed Late 
Decorated work of a flowing type. The window coming between 
the porch and transept is an exquisite one with a carved stem-and- 
leaf ornament carried round in the hollow of the arch and jamb. 
The other window in this wall is a square-headed one, but the head 
was removed when the present parapet was added to the aisle; the 
west window of two lights is coeval, but plainer. The diagonal 
buttress with octagonal stem at the south-west angle has evidently 
been added, as its connexion with the cornice shows, and its terminal 
is quite a modern one. 

The porch is an addition of early Perpendicular work, and it 
partially conceals the flowing window above referred to; but for 
this and for the angle buttresses the flat shape of the buttresses on 
each side would lead one to assign it to an earlier period. In this 
_ porch the chancel mode of construction has been followed, and the 


258 Notes on the Churches 


roof is here intact with the exception of the loss of its terminals, 
so that we can clearly see what the chancel was formerly—the stone 
ribs overlap laterally to cover the joints. The ceiling is a barrel- 
vault of stone with cusped ribs; the outer doorway has a square 
head, with niche over, and is flanked by pinnacles—the peculiar 
design of the gable cross is deserving of notice. The inner doorway 
is coeval with the aisle, and is remarkable for an unusually late 
example of the dog-tooth ornament, used in the same group of 
mouldings with the twig ornament before mentioned. The label 
mould is a very bold and good one, and the cornice along the 
springing of the porch vault is carried up over the doorway. 

The nave arcades and clerestory are a little later than the aisle, 
and the arch across the south aisle which abuts against the arcade 
(but does not intersect with it) looks earlier than the arcade itself. 
An arch of a plainer description is carried in a similar way across 
the north aisle. This aisle is of fifteenth century date and has one 
original window and one new one. The roof is a good specimen of 
Jacobean oak-work with billet mould and pendants, and bears the 
date 1631. 

In the eastern responds of the nave arcades are two openings— 
on the north side a doorway, and on the south a squint, but both 
have been so disguised by modern plaster-work that it is difficult 
to identify their original form. 

The south transept was probably a chantry, for it has a piscina 
coeval with its erection, although ¢47s has also been disguised by the 
modern plasterer. The windows of this transept have inside detached 
shafts and arches, and there was probably a canopied niche of their 
full height between the two in the east wall, for its corbel remains, 
and the side mouldings are continued down. The roof of this 
transept bears the date 1787. 

The tower was built in the latter half of the fifteenth century ; 
the west window is of a somewhat unusual type, and the doorway 
under retains its original oak door and iron-work. There is a 
pretty niche ou the outside by the side of this doorway, with an ogee 
arch, the tracery of which has been mutilated. The stair turret is 
square on plan and terminates at the belfry level. 


Visited by the Society im 1890, 259 


The font is of thirteenth century date—it has a square bowl, the 
angles of which are slightly canted off. 


S. Joun Baprist’s. CHErineTon (or Currton). 


This Church has been much altered, but there is still sufficient 
evidence to enable us to form a pretty good idea of its history, 

The first thing which strikes one is the very early roof, quite the 
earliest example of timber-work that we have seen during our ex- 
cursions for many years. Perhaps the best means of arriving at its 
probable date will be to first consider the arcades which support it. 
These are of three bays each of round arches, with quite plain soffits 
and without labels. The pillars are round and the caps and their 
abaci square—the carving in each being of a different type. Now 
on reading this description alone one would be disposed to say “ Why 
of course this is pure Norman work!” but if we look a little closer 
we shall see that, although the builders preserved these peculiarities 
of the Norman style, the carving shows signs of transition, and I 
think we must put this work at not earlier than 1170. The 
main timbers of the roof taken alone might be referred to early 
in the thirteenth century—but it is hardly reasonable to suppose 
that the nave could have required a new roof within fifty years of 
its completion. I think, therefore, we are bound to assign the roof 
to the same date as that of the arcades, and pronounce it a Tran- 
sitional Norman one. And you may observe that, although the 
rafters and braces have a later appearance, there are tie-beams at 
which level a ceiling might have been put, and only these and the 
wall-plates level with them are moulded, and this with the Norman 
billet mould. 

The beautiful doorway in the south aisle, which we saw as we 
came in, is of the date of which we are now speaking— with the 
exception of the inner filling with the pointed arch, which is of 
fourteenth century date. The jambs and arch of this doorway have 
a good bold roll moulding, and very varied carved subjects—amongst 
which are, not only the beak-head, but deer’s heads and other 
animals, human heads, hands, and entire figures—the inner member 
being the zig-zag. 


260 Notes on the Churches 


There is further evidence of the twelfth century Church in the 
chancel, the lower and thicker part of the east wall and the east 
buttress of which are of that date. 

The chancel has been partially re-built within recent years, but 
the upper part of the east wall (above the outside set-off) with the 
three-light window may be set down at about 1300, and the two- 
light window in the north wall is probably coeval with it. The 
curious two-light window opposite is a piece of Jacobean Gothic, 
and the other window in this wall is modern, though the pretty 
piscina in the angle of its splay is old work built in. 

The north and south aisles have been re-built, but the east window 
of the latter is the old one replaced. The piscina is coeval with it, 


though not in its original position—it will be seen that it is too far. 


to the west to serve for the altar there, and it is also too low for 
use: the late vicar told me that the architect’s reason for this was 
that in its old position it would have interfered with the new 
chimney! I think this ought to be placed on record, lest any 
casual observer might be misled into thinking that the original 
builders had put a piscina in this peculiar position. 

The porch has been partially re-built, but it was first erected in 
the fifteenth century. 

The tower is a typical specimen of the Perpendicular western 
tower of a village Church. It is three stages high, and has a west 
window of three lights with no door under. The arch communi- 
cating with the nave is of the full width of the tower; there is no 
stair turret. It is hardly necessary to add that the pinnacles sur- 
rounding it are modern. 

I usually leave the font to the last, although in this instance I 
should, perhaps, from its importance, have placed it first. It isa 
magnificent specimen of the Transitional Norman font, and was 
doubtless the one made for the original Church of which we have 
spoken.! It is circular, and the side is ornamented by a series of 
twelve arches containing figures of the twelve apostles—all, with 


1 The drawing of the font here given is taken from an old print in my 
possession—the details are accurately shown. 


FONT_CHERINGTON, 


Lee 


“ee 


Visited by the Society im 1890. 261 


the exception of one holding a roll), have books, and one (doubtless 
S. Peter) has also a key (not two keys, as is more usual). 

It is curious that this font and that at Avebury, which is of about 
the same date, should have appeared in a list which was recently 
sent to me for revision, amongst the instances of Jeaden fonts, and 
I was asked to add to this list any more which I knew of. I 
replied, “I cannot make any addition to your list, but I can strike 
out two, which I know to be of stone!” Whether they were ever 
covered with dark paint which led to this mistake, I do not know; 
but that is the only explanation I can give of this error on the part 
of a clever archzologist. 


Att Sarnts’. Marpen, 


Here we have two well-preserved features of a Church of the 
pure Norman work of Bishop Roger’s episcopacy—the south 
doorway and the chancel arch are not later than 1120 (some half- 
century earlier than the work at Cherington), but the foundations 
of this early work appear to have been so bad that none of the side 
walls remain. 

The doorway is enriched with the chevron and bold roll mouldings. 
_ It has a square lintel—itself an early feature—and the tympanum 

is plain, though it was probably left for sculpture. The label is 
carved with the chain pattern, the links unequal, and in the centre 
there is a gap: at first sight it would seem that the mason got 
wrong in his setting out, and came to standstill; but on closer 
examination it appears that the central stone bears a fifteenth 
century moulding—a fact which seems to point to the conclusion 
that the doorway was re-built when the great re-modelling of the 
Church took place, and that this was put in to make up some 
deficiency. 

The chancel arch has become disturbed from the settlements, the 
jambs have spread and the crown of the arch dropped, giving the 
present curious flattened appearance. 

I have often heard it stated that the jambs of the arches and the 
line of the side walls in old work were built to slope outwards at 
the top, like the sides of a ship, to symbolise the ship of the Church, 


262 Notes on the Churches 


but I confess that I have never yet seen an instance of it where 
some more practical reason could not be given for this peculiarity. 
For instance, at Cherington, and here, the subsoil is green sand 
which, although an excellent foundation when a firm bed of it is 
reached (as at S. John’s, Devizes), is very treacherous near the 
surface (as at S. Mary’s, in the same town) ; hence we see that the 
buildings have settled—I shall speak further of this when we come 
to the tower. Then the later side walls here are built to batter on 
the inside face; they are some 6in. thicker at the base than at the 
root level: but surely this is only intended to give strength! 
Probably the fifteenth century builders were warned in this respect 
by the older walls having become so much settled that it was 
necessary to re-build them. 

But to return to this arch—it will be seen that it is composed of 
three orders of the chevron moulding—all the work being on the 
west face, so that the inner member is fair with the east face of the 
wall. There is no label, but this has probably been cut away for 
the rood loft—the doorway for access to which is seen high up in 
the north wall. The abacus of the cap is carried across the nave on 
each side as a string course. 

The nave was, as I remarked before, re-built in the fifteenth 
century, when the tower was erected. There are two of the nave 
windows of this period Jeft—one in the north and one in the south 
walls, both have had their tracery cut out. The roof of this period 
remains and is of a somewhat peculiar type, and the form of the 
spandrels suggest the idea that the pitch has been altered ; but this 
is not so. The corbels supporting the principals represent a bishop 
and a king alternately. 

The tower is of unusual beauty. It was probably erected at about 
the middle of the fifteenth century in the form to which it has 
recently been restored, and I would ask you to especially notice the 
proportions of the stair turret, and the pinnacle on each set-off of 
the buttresses, also the ogee arches of the windows. 

But the builders did not realise the real cause of the settlements 
in the Norman work—or, at any rate, the proper remedy. They 
doubtless found the sand was soft near the surface, and they sought 


| 


eit 


<4 fh 


a 


SOUTH ELEVATION, 
SHOWING TOWER RESTORED 


SOUTH ELEVATION,- BEFORE RESTORATION. 


oe 


Visited by the Society in 1890. 263 


to neutralise the effects of this by putting in large sandstone boulders 
as a foundation instead of digging deeper. The result was that 
these were crushed down into the sand, and the tower became split 
and distorted. At some period—probably when the bells were put 
in'— an attempt was made to arrest this damage by putting large 
oak beams right through the walls from east to west and north to 
south. These were keyed on the outside and the exposed parts 
protected by a kind of stone hood. Then, as if to compensate for 
the additional weight imposed by the bells, the top of the tower 
was taken off for about 7ft. in height, and the cornice and parapet 
were re-set at a lower level. 

I have here two drawings, one showing the tower as it was before 
the restoration in 1885, and the other showing it as it is now (and 
as the evidences afforded by the stones indicated that it originally 
was). You will see that the cornice is broken through to avoid 
interfering with the window labels, and the shaft of the pinnacle 
on the upper set-off of the buttresses was reduced to about a foot in 
height; but the bases of these shafts remained, excepting, in one 
instance, where the central cusping of the panelling of the face had 
been re-fixed in lieu of the base: this, and the fact that the 
pinnacles on the set off below were of equal height, gave the key to 
the original design. 

All the precautions taken for the safety of the tower were of no 
avail! the settlements went on, and the rotten state of the mortar 
offered no resistance, so that the whole structure was on the verge 
of collapse, and Mr. Butterfield condemned it forty years ago. 
When I was called to advise as to its treatment I at first hoped to 
re-build only the upper part and to underpin the rest, but on 
discovering the inferiority of the mortar I was obliged to abandon 
this intention and to re-build the whole. The entire structure was, 
therefore, taken down and re-built stone for stone, each being 
marked, and a plan of the joints made to ensure its being re-placed 


-—— = — 


1 The dates on the bells are, 1627, 1740, 1757 (twice), 1788, and the following 
inscription js cut on the bell frame :— 


Weve paseo vens 
B. H.) 1780, 


264 Notes on the Churches 


in the position in which we found it. At the same time the western 
bay of the nave roof was restored, and I hope that the energy of 
Mr. Fletcher will soon avail to complete the much-needed work of 
a restoration of the rest of the nave. 

The chancel has been re-built by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, 
and I judge from the two old windows and priests’ door built in 
there, that this, as well as the nave, had been before re-built in the 
fifteenth century. 

The nave door and lock are of seventeenth century make. 

A gallery appears to have been erected at the west end in the 
seventeenth century, and the present window, high up in the south 
wall (and bearing the date 1699) inserted to light it. 

The font is a plain octagonal bowl on a small stem, and was 
probably made in the early part of the thirteenth century. 


S. Perer’s. CHARLTON. 


This little Church was formerly a chapel belonging to Upavon, 
where was an alien cell of S. Wandragesille’s, Normandy. 

The original plan of the Church (or chapel) apparently consisted 
of a continuous nave and chancel of the same width and height, 
divided only by a screen, but a chapel has since been added on the 
north side of the nave, with a tower adjoining forming the nave 
porch. i 

In 1858 the nave and chancel were re-built with the exception of 
the part of the north wall westward of the tower, the lower half of 
the west window with part of the west wall below, and the plinth 
of the south wall. Besides these pieces of wall there are only two 
items of evidence of what the Church was previously. First, we 
have the charming piscina and the string course enriched with carved 
paterze under the east window, which have been built into the new 
walls—these may be put at the early part of the fifteenth century. 
Then there is a sundial painted on the south face of the tower, 
which can now only be seen from the hill above, owing to the high 
pitch of the nave roof. It is clear, therefore, that there must 
previously have been a roof of much lower pitch; but thirty years 
ago low-pitched roofs were not in favour amongst architects, and 


; 
| 
: 


Visited by the Society im 1890. 265 


we must not too severely criticise this alteration by the architect for 
the restoration, who has, at any rate, given us a beautiful little 
Church. 

The chapel and tower were erected together at the latter part of 
the fifteenth century. The brass on the west wall of the former 
bears the following inscription :— 


“‘ Off yo". charite pray for the soul of Willm Chaucey gentylma & Marion 
his wyfe which Willm edefied thys Chapell and decessyd the ix day of Juni 


Anno dni M°ecece°xxiiij?.” 


The arms are those of Chaucey impaling Dunch, and as the same | 
appear on a shield in the spandrel of the porch doorway it is probable 
that both chapel and tower were erected, or “ edefied,” by William 
Chaucey. The archway between chapel and nave is panelled like 
that of the tower of Rushall, and has a rich oak screen, the com- 
munication being by means of a traceried opening in the same, 
without a door. The carving in this screen is not cut out of the 
solid, but cut separately and planted in, a treatment often found in 
late work. The chapel has two square-headed windows—a four- 
light in the south wall and a two-light in the east. There are 
corbels for figures in the angles on each side of the site of the altar, 
and a piscina in a perfect state of preservation on the south side. 
The original flat-pitched roof remains in this part. 

The chancel screen, which forms the only separation of chancel 


and nave, is of the same date as the screen of the chapel, but it has 
doors. The original colouring remains on the old parts; the rood 
~ loft does not exist. 


The tower is of three stages, and its somewhat unusual position 
is accounted for by its having been built with the chapel. There is 


- no staircase to give access to the belfry, The lower stage forms the 


porch for the nave, and from it the sanctus bell was rung during 
mass. 


_ The question of the use of low-side windows has lately been 
revived in the columns of the ‘‘ Antiguary,” and I was invited by 


Dr. Cox to give my views upon it.!| From the various examples 
which I have studied I have no doubt that the low-side window was 


1 Antiquary,” vol. xxi., p. 122, 


266 Notes on the Churches 


fitted with a shutter whick could be opened to give exit to the 
sound of a hand-bell at the proper time in the service of the mass, 
the bell being rung by an attendant placed in such a position as 
would enable him to see the celebrant. Where there was a sanctus 
bell in a separate bell-cot, or in the tower, the low-side window was 
not needed, and is not found of coeval or subsequent date. This is 
a good instance where such other provision is made. In the wall 
between the tower and the chapel is a squint divided into two lights 
by a mullion placed on each face of the wall—this gives a view of 
the chapel altar: then there is a splayed single opening through the 
east jamb of the chapel archway in a direct line with the position of 
the celebrant in front of the high altar, so that the same squint 
serves for use at either altar. The attendant would stand in the 
porch and ring the sanctus bell placed in the tower. 

This squint also fixes in a very definite manner the position of the 
celebrant directly in front of the centre of the altar, as the two 
points of sight through the two squints are so far apart that any 
deviation from this position would place the celebrant out of sight 
of the person ringing the bell. 


S. Marruew’s. RvUSHALL. 


There is not a great deal of old work here, but the quality of it 
makes up to a great extent for the deficiency in quantity. 

There was probably a Church here in Norman times, for the 
bowl of the font is set upon an inverted capital of the latter half 
of the twelfth century, which serves as a base, and the bowl—a 
plain octagonal one—is perhaps of the same date. 

The present nave is of the date of about 1360; it has two two- 
light windows in the south wall with two good buttresses standing 
square with the face of the wall, whilst the one at the south-west 
angle is a diagonal one, but very massive and of good proportions. 
The chancel arch is coeval, and consists of two orders of chamfers— 
the outer chamfer being carried down whilst the inner one stops 
against the face of the jambs. 

The west tower was added at about the same time as the chapel 
and tower at Charlton, and the arches are of the same panelled type. 


\ 
—— a 


Visited by the Society in 1890. 267 


The pinnacles here are diagonal; the tracery of the west window 
has been mutilated. 

The chancel is a modern structure, and the north wall of the nave 
has been re-built and an excrescence, consisting of a kind of Royal 
Box, added, in which are the arms of the Poore family. There are 
good bits of old glass in the windows of this pew. 

The arrangements at the west end detract very much from the 
proportions of the Church, and block up the tower. The bench 
ends are a very interesting example of sixteenth century Gothic 
work, and it is to be hoped they will be taken care of in any 
restoration of the Church. 

There is an Elizabethan tablet to ‘“ W.P.”—a member of the 
Pinckney family. 


S. Mary tHe Virein’s. Upavon. 


This must have been, when at its best, a Church of very fine 
proportions, and in this respect il reminds one of its sister Church 
at Netheravon. 

To trace the history of this building from its earliest period we 
must begin at the east end where we have some well-preserved 
evidence of the Church of the Transitional Norman period, or circa 
1175. Although the north and south walls of the chancel and the 
greater part of the east wall have been re-built, its original dimen- 


sions have been retained, the buttresses remain undisturbed, and the 


old features have been reinstated: of these original features there 
are the three buttresses at the east end and the two side windows of, 
probably, a group of three; the priests’ door in the north wall with 


_the pretty stops on its jambs; the sanctuary window in the same 
wall with inside bonnet arch ; and the singular triple chancel arch, 


which latter I will describe more in detail. The central arch of the 


_ three is wider than the others and pointed, the arch is of two orders, 
_ the outer member is ornamented with the Norman chevron moulding 
‘dl 


and the inner member plain; it has a square billet-moulded label. 
‘The side arches are carried back to the full width of the nave on 
each side, and are semicircular, whilst on their east face they are 
narrower—being contained within the width of the chancel—and 


VOL. XXV.—NO. LXXV. U 


268 Notes on the Churches 


pointed. The piers between the arches are square, and have fluted 
caps with square abaci. 

It is probable there was no nave of stone at that time, but that 
either the chancel was added to an earlier nave of timber, which 
served the purpose for a time longer, or a temporary one was erected. 
However that may be there is no trace of work in this part earlier 
than about 1200—-1220, when a large Church with nave and aisles 
was commenced. The three western bays of the north arcade and 
the whole of the south arcade (the bays of which arcades, by the 
way, are not opposite each other) were first erected—these have the 
inner orders of the arches stopped on columns with moulded caps 
‘and bases; but the easternmost arch on the north side was erected 
some twenty or thirty years later, and it appears to have been cut 
through a blank wall; its inner order is stopped on carved corbels 
and the chamfer of the outer order carried down, with stops and 
plain chamfered base. There is no clerestory. 

At some date unknown the south aisle was pulled down and the 
arches filled in, but I believe that in this part the only alteration 
made during the recent restoration was the insertion of new windows. 
The north aisle is new, but narrow, and probably on the Early 
English foundations. 

The tower was not erected until late in the thirteenth century, 
and we have thus another very instructive instance of the slow 
process by which a village Church was built in ancient times. It 
is a magnificent and solidly-built structure of unusually broad 
dimensions. The two lower stages are faced with good close-jointed 
flint-work on the outside ; the top stage has a coarser facing and 
it may have been built after a few years’ pause, but the corbel-table 
under the parapet shews that it was completed before the close of 
the thirteenth century, when it was probably terminated by a 
pyramidal roof covered with shingles. The parapet was added in 
the fifteenth century. The stair turret is a prolongation, without 
break, of the east face of the tower (as at Imber) and is terminated 
at the belfry level by a stone hipped roof. The belfry windows are 
of two lights; the west doorway has well-designed jamb and arch 
mouldings, and a fifteenth century carved crucifix has been fixed 


Visited by the Soctety im 1890. 269 


over it. The coffin-lid lying by the doorway is as old as the tower, 
and it is a pity that it is not put inside, where there is ample room 
for it, and where it would be better preserved. The archway between 
tower and nave is a fine lofty one of three orders of chamfers con- 
tinued down the jambs without intervening capitals, and the jambs 
stand on stone benches or seats which are carried across for the full 
width of the nave on each side. 

The porch, which has been re-built, retains its thirteenth century 
arch, and a coeval piscina exists in the south wall of the chancel. 
There is no evidence of what was done in the fifteenth century to 
the nave and aisles, for the south aisle having been done away with 
and the north aisle entirely re-built, with all new windows, all traces 
are, unfortunately, lost. But we have in the chancel some interesting 
features of this period. The central one of the three Norman east 
windows was taken out and a Perpendicular one of four lights 
inserted ; whilst a two-light coeval window, with its inside jambs 
carried down to form sedilia, took the place of one probably like 
that on the north side of the sanctuary. 

At the same time, probably owing to the development of ritual, a 
low-side window, with square head, was inserted on the north side 
in its most usual position near the chancel arch. It was probably 
put on the north side because, as at present, the greater number of 
the houses lay on that side of the Church. 

The bowl of the font, which stands on a new base, is coeval with 
the body of the Church, and is of considerable interest. It is 
octagonal, and the faces are carved with various emblems and 
devices :— 

On the east is a cross within a quatrefoil. 

On the south, a floriated cross. 

On the north, a representation of the Annunciation—the 
figures of the Blessed Virgin Mary and S. Gabriel, with 

a lily in a pot between. 

On the west, a leopard and dragon. 

On the south-west, a lion and three fleur-de-lis. 
On the north-east and south-east, leaves. 

On the north-west, a geometrical pattern. 


270 Notes on the Churches 


Canon Jackson states (vol. x., p. 313) :—‘ Here was an alien 
priory of Benedict monks, being a cell or house subordinate to St. 
Wandragesille’s Abbey at Fontanelle, in the diocese of Rouen. 
How mauy brethren occupied the Upavon cell, and whether they 
had any Church or chapel apart from the parish Church, is not 
known.” The large dimensions of the Church would lead one to 
suppose that it served as the monastic as well as the parish Church. 


S. Prerer’s. Manninerorp Bruce.! 


This is the second instance in Wiltshire of a complete pre-Norman 
Church, and it is of exceptional interest inasmuch as the other 
example—that of Bradford—has a square-ended chancel, whilst this 
has the earlier and more Eastern form of a semi-circular apse. In 
other respects a great resemblance is seen in the two—the body of 
the Church in both cases consists of simply nave and chancel; both 
have north and south doorways in the nave; in both cases these 
doorways are lofty and narrow—the dimensions in this case being 
8ft. 9in high to the springing, and 3ft. 4in. wide. But here the 
resemblance ends, for the Bradford Church is erected in the district 
of a good building material—close to a quarry of oolite which 
was undoubtedly worked at a very early period—whilst Manningford 
possesses neither stone, nor clay for making bricks, and the builders 
of this Church had to procure flints from the chalk hills which 
limit the Pewsey vale on the north and south, and to content 
themselves with sufficient workable stones for dressing the quoins 
and openings. This wide difference in the respective local ad- 
vantages of the two situations has had, as might be expected, 
considerable influence in the design and ornamentation. The walls 
at Bradford are faced on the inside and on the outside with wrought 
stone, and ornamented by an arcade in flat relief carried round 
the building, whilst at Manningford they are composed entirely of 
flint-work and devoid of ornamentation. How far the greater 


1 In revising these notes for the printer it occurs to me to say that they do 
not pretend to more than briefly touch upon the main points of interest in the 
building, and the reader is referred to the exhaustive paper by Dr. Baron (to 
which I allude) for fuller details (vol. xx., p. 122). 


Visited by the Society im 1890. 271 


facility for procuring stone is accountable for the existence of north 
and south porches at the Bradford Church it is impossible to say, 
but there is no trace of porches at Manningford, though it is by no 
means improbable that they once existed here as at Bradford, although 
of wood, which was the usual building material of the period, and 
was doubtless abundant in this immediate neighbourhood. 

The adoption of the circular form of the apse, in preference to 
the more English form of the square end, as at Bradford (the only 
other difference in the plan of the two Churches), might have been 
partially due to the lack of stone for quoins (many early towers 
were built round for no other reason than this), though as the 
vertical courses at the commencement of the apse take the same 
quantity of freestone, this can hardly have been the sole cause. 

Now to proceed to a more particular description of Manningford 
Church. The first thing which strikes a person looking for Saxon 
work here is the absence of long-and-short work in the quvins—all 
the quoins being of the later flat-bedded type; but I do not attach 
much importance to this circumstance, considering the difficulty of 
procuring long stones here, and that long-and-short work does not 
invariably occur in other Saxon buildings (e., Steyning, Sussex), 
although it is the more usual kind of quoin. 

It will be noticed that the flint-work is laid in diagonal courses 
alternately sloping in opposite directions—called “ herring-bone ” 
work. Although this is found in Roman masonry, it is not of itself 
evidence of very early work, for I have met with it (as at Great 
Cheverell) down to the thirteenth century. I consider that this 
form of masonry was adopted more for convenience (to enable stones 
of irregular length and thickness to be laid in courses without 
cutting) than for ornament, and there can be no doubt that this 
Church—as was almost invariably the case in Saxon work—was 
plastered on the outside, and the axe marks to hold the plaster are 
still discernible on the quoins and windows. 

The total absence of the buttress is a definite mark of the early date 
of thisChurch. A further early characteristic is the absence of an east 
window. In a valuable paper on the Church by the late Dr. Baron, 
contributed to vol. xx. of the Wiltshire Archeological Magazine, he 


272 Notes on the Churches 


describes the discovery, in a similar blank space in the apsidal Church 
of Swyncombe, in Oxfordshire, of “a large archaic painting of Our 
Lord between two angels, with a liberal supply on their wings of 
eyes like those on a peacock’s tail (a peculiarity which he finds in 
an Anglo-Saxon MS. of the tenth century). This painting had 
been partly destroyed by the insertion of three little ronnd-headed 
windows” and he concludes that both the apse and the painting 
were much older than the Norman period. Dr. Baron also states 
that the original Church dedicated to S. Aldhelm at Bishopstrow 
(a place which that bishop is recorded to have visited as a missionary 
bishop) was apsidal and had no east window. ‘There ean be no 
doubt that the centre of the east end here at Manningford was also 
intended for such a picture as that discovered at Swyncombe, and 
that the side windows were relied upon for the necessary light : 
great caution would doubtless be observed in those early days in 
the number and position of the windows, as being assailable points 
to be defended, and this probably accounts for the great height 
at which they are here placed above the floor level. 

A point not mentioned by Dr. Baron is the remarkable position 
of the two chancel windows on the plan; they are placed at the 
chord of the apse, with about three-fourths of their width on the 
circular part and the remainder on the straight sides. At this point 
—as if to afford a more definite line from which to start the apse, 
there is a course of squared stones for the entire height of the wall 
on each side, but these evidently never formed a terminating quoin 
as they are rusticated on both sides. In the nave there is a similar 
window in the north wall, and part of the arch of another opposite 
in the south wall, but the latter was almost destroyed by the. 
insertion of a two-light window in the fifteenth century. Beyond 
these four windows—and probably one at the west end in the 
position now occupied by a three-light window of late fourteenth 
century date—there were apparently no others. All these have 
wide splays on the inside and bonnet-shaped arches, but on the 
outside rebates only—probably for wooden shutters. Whilst speaking 
of the windows I may remark that in addition to the two later ones 
mentioned a two-light window was inserted in the south wall of 


Visited by the Society in 1890. 278 


the chancel in the fourteenth century, but no other alteration appears 
to have been made in the walls which stand as firm and solid as 
when first erected. 

On the north side of the chancel, in the straight part of the wall, 
is a recess or credence with semicircular head, and on the opposite 
side a similar opening for an aumbry, with rebate and marks of 
hooks for a pair of doors. Both of these recesses have semicircular 
arches, they are lft. 9in. wide, lft. 10in. deep, and 12in. high to 
the springing. 

The chancel arch is deserving of especial notice: it consists of 
plain jambs and semicircular arch of square section, with an impost 
Vin. thick worked with an early moulding which is carried to the 
side wall of the nave on each side. On the east face, the arch 
consists of two plain rings of thin stones, but on the west face 
these voussoirs are fitted together with a V-shaped joint which is 
unique. The wall here is 3ft. 4in. thick, the outer walls being 
3ft. 38in. This arch has less of the character of a doorway than that 
at Bradford—a point in favour of the greater antiquity of the latter. 

There were three consecration crosses discovered here under the 
whitewash on the circular end of the apse, about 7ft. 5in. above the 
floor, two simple lines of red colour 5in. long, crossing each other 
at right angles and enclosed by a quatrefoil, again within a circle; 
there were probably three on each side of the Church, the number 
which we have found in the much later Church at Edington. 

The oak door and its iron-work are of seventeenth century date. 

I have now described the main points of this extremely interesting 
Church: it is difficult to assign a definite date to it, but there are 
evidences—notably the distinct archway, rather than a doorway, 
between the nave and chancel—of a more recent date than the 
Church at Bradford, and yet it is not Norman. It will be observed 
that, with the exception of the moulding on the impost of the 
chancel arch, there is not a ¢race of ornamentation of any kind in 
the original work—and the lofty proportion of the walls and 
doorways is quite pre-Norman. I am disposed, therefore, to endorse 
the opinion of Dr. Baron in assigning the erection of this Church 
to the tenth century. 


274 Notes on the Churches 


I must be allowed to say one word of appreciation of the great 
eare which has been shown in the restoration of this Church by 
Mr. Pearson and the un-stinted liberality which was manifestly 
accorded to him by his client, the late Mr. Alexander Meek. Some 
may have preferred that the outside plastering (much of the original 
probably remained) had been left, but much of the interest of the 
building would then have been concealed, and the next best thing 
in preserving the ancient appearance of the work has been done, in 
deeply raking the joints and not pointing them flush with the flints. 
The charming ceiling of the chancel—in which the idea suggested 
by the arch stones has been carried out—and the solid roofs and 
floors of the nave, the turret and the porch are all due to this 
restoration. 


Att Saints’ [or S. Annn’s?]. Ant Canntnes. 


In a valuable paper by Canon Rich Jones, printed in vol. xi. of 
the Wiltshire Archeological Magazine, some interesting information 
on the history of the parish of All Cannings is given, from which 
I will cull a few items by way of introduction. 

The manor of All Cannings appears to have been bestowed by 
some Royal benefactor on the Abbey of S. Mary, Winchester, some 
time previous to the days of Edward the Confessor. This abbey 
being under the value of £200 a year was one of the first batch of 
religious houses ordered to be suppressed by Henry VIII. Dame 
Elizabeth Shelly, its then abbess, managed, by her own exertions to 
avert its fall for a time, and she obtained letters patent, dated 
August 27th, 1536, by which her abbey was new founded with all : 
its possessions ‘ except the valuable manors of Alle Cannynges and 
Archefonte [Erchfont] together with the rectory of Archefonte and 
the advowson of both Churches, which were alienated in favour of 
Lord Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp [afterwards Protector 
Somerset] and Lady Anne his wife.” Dame Shelly was appointed 
Abbess of the newly-founded convent, but it only stood for four 
years longer. The manor remained for a long time in the possession 
of the Protector’s descendants. In 1676 it was included in the 
marriage settlement of Lady Elizabeth Seymour with Lord Bruce, 


Visited by the Society im 1890. 275 


soon after which it was purchased by one of the Nicholas family. 
It is now the property of Lord Ashburton, in whom the advowson 
is also vested. 

There seems to be some doubt as to the dedication of the Church, 
which Sir Thomas Philips gives, in 1492, as All Saints, but a vague 
tradition assigns the honour of the dedication to St. Anne, the 
mother of the Blessed Virgin, after whom the adjacent hill, now 
ealled “ Tanhill,” the highest point in the County of Wilts, is said 
to have been named, and in support of this it may be mentioned 
that the old dedication feast of the village, which was probably the 
forerunner of the great fair held on this hill, has always been held 
on St. Anne’s day (August 6th). 

There can be no doubt that a Norman Church, of the usual 
cruciform plan, existed here before the present structure, but only 
the south-west and north-east piers of the central tower remain, 


their caps being about 6ft. from the floor. The Norman tower was 


larger than the later structure, for the piers of the latter are built 
inside the older ones. It is fortunate that we have piers of opposite 
angles remaining, as they give us the plan and dimensions of the 
Norman tower. 

The re-building of the nave took place at about the middle of the 
fourteenth century—the arcades of three bays each with cylindrical 
pillars and arches of two orders of the cavetto moulding, are of this 
period. It will be seen that one of the pillars on the north side 
has a square base—the rest having octagonal. Some parts of the 
Church had been re-built some sixty years before this, as the doorway 
of the north porch dates from the end of the thirteenth century, 
though it is at present built in with later walls. 

Early in the fifteenth century a re-modelling of the parts about 
the crossing took place. The Norman transepts were taken down 
and, with the lower part of the tower, re-built—with the exception 
of the north-east and south-west piers before referred to. ‘The 
south transept was probably built as a chantry chapel, as there is a 
coeval piscina in the south wall; and the curious corbel over the 
jamb of the arch leading into the south aisle appears to suggest 
there having been an altar there also. The north transept has the 


276 Notes on the Churches 


_ turret stairease, which is coeval with the alteration of the tower 
(and not with the Norman work as Canon Jones gives it in his 
plan), carried up within it, causing a great obstruction. The door- 
way for entrance to this staircase, and the one which opened on to 
the rood loft can be easily traced, and the corbels which carried the 
loft over the transept chapel, &c., remain. 

There are a few bits of old glass of late fifteenth century date 
remaining in the windows of the transepts, that on the south having 
the letters I.B. (which Canon Jones regards as pointing to Sir Jobn 
Baynton), whilst an angel with censer, and the figure of S. Gabriel 
with the inscription “ Ave plena gratia Dominus tecum,” &c., indicates 
the subject of the Annunciation as having been here. The north 
transept was, then, probably the lady chapel. The two three-light 
windows in these transepts, though slightly different in design, are 
the work of the same period. 

The upper part of the tower was not completed until after these 
were finished—or about 1480. The tower is without buttresses, 
and the turret was finished level with the parapet, the raising of it 
is modern. At about this time the chapel on the south side of the 
chancel was erected, and the arms of Sir Richard Beauchamp, Lord 
S. Amand (who died in 1508) in the parapet, point to him as the 
probable founder of it. The similarity of the rich work of this 
parapet to that at Bromham strikes one at once, and suggests that 
they are the work of the same hand. It is interesting to note that 
exactly the same thing was done here as at Bromham in building 
the chapel—viz., the south transept was incorporated with it; the 
walls were raised; the high-pitched roof altered and the elaborate 
parapet of the chapel carried round. ‘There are, here, pinnacles at 
the angles and in centre of the gable. The chapel has good four- 
light windows in the east and west walls, with bits of the old glass 
in the former. The arch into the chancel has the same corbelled 
treatment as that between the south aisle and transept; the one 
between the transept and chapel is modern, as are also the roofs of 
both. 

After the chapel the aisles appear to have been re-built. This 
work is debased, and the doorways especially indicate this, The 


a 


Se 


Visited by the Society im 1890. 277 


north aisle has lost its parapet, which tends to still further impoverish 
it. The archway into the north transept is a “ flying ” one, to 
support the tower, and it has a corbel over it to receive a figure— 
this seems to suggest another altar having been here. The roof of 
the south aisle is of Jacobean character, resting on the Perpen- 
dicular corbels. The nave roof tells its own tale, having the date 
1638 carved on it, but the Gothie feeling lingers here in the peculiar 
cusping and corbels. The pitch of the earlier roof can be seen on 
the outside of the west gable. 

The south porch has its original fifteenth century roof, and there 
is a corbel over the doorway in the north porch. 

The font is a Perpendicular one with good later oak cover bearing 
the inscription T.M. 1633. 

The chancel was re-built in 1867, at the cost of the Rev. T. 
Anthony Methuen and his sons. 

There are two good monuments in this Church ; one in the south 
aisle 1o Walter Ernle—a nice piece of Elizabethan work dated 1587, 
and bearing a quaint inscription (see vol. xi., p. 21) ; and the other 
in the north aisle to a former rector, Sir John Ernle, son of the 
above, who died in 1734. 


S. Anprew’s. ETcHILHAMPTON. 


This appears to have been, from time immemorial, a chapelry of 
All Cannings. 
Here, also the dedication of the Church (or chapel) is not without 


~ some doubt: according to Ecton the patron saint is S. Andrew, but 


Canon Jones (vol. xi., p. 188) suggests that this is a mistake for 
S. Anne, and states that a mutilated effigy of S. Anne, in the act 
of teaching the Blessed Virgin, was taken from a niche over the 
north doorway during some repairs a few years ago. It seems 
almost incredible that such a feature should have been lost, and if 
it is—as it must surely be—still in existence, it is to be hoped that 
so valuable a piece of sculpture may be restored to the Church. 

The Church does not appear at first sight to possess much arche- 


ological value, but on closer inspection features of very unusual 


interest will be found. The plan is a simple one, as would be 


278 Notes on the Churches 


expected from its dependent position, and consists of nave, chancel, 
and vestry: as the two latter are new, the account of the old chancel 
given in Canon Jones’ paper has a special value. It was of singular 
dimensions—only 11ft. wide, and 20ft. long; the east window 
consisted of two trefoil-headed lights. From this description we 
may conclude that the chancel was—as Canon Jones states—coeval 
with the nave. The latter only, however, remains to claim our 
attention. The character of the work leads me to suppose that it 
is a little later than Canon Jones gives it; it may be put at between 
1370 and 1390. The west end has a reticulated window of four 
lights,with carved label terminals, flanked by buttresses. The existing 
bell turret is modern. There is a two-light square-headed window 
in the north wall, and a similar one opposite on the south side, the 
head of which has been lowered. There are also doorways of the 
same date opposite each other nearer to the west end; the one on 
the north has the corbel and pinnacles of a niche over it, that on 
the south retains its original wrought iron hinges with fleur-de-lis 
terminations. The nave has diagonal buttresses at the four angles, 
and the one at the north-west angle is of exceedingly rich and rare 
design—the upper part of it is treated with niches in the three faces 
with carved corbels and canopies, and at the two external and two 
internal angles are detached semi-octagonal turret-like pinnacles, 
with carved corbels starting at the same level as those of the niches, 
and having embattled cornices from behind which the figures of 
angels peep out ; the top of the buttress is finished with an ordinary 
weathering. It is probable from this feature, and from the north 
doorway having a niche for the figure of the patron saint, that 
the approach to the Church was formerly in this direction. The 
chancel arch is coeval with the rest of the work, and has a curious 
ball-moulding on the east face. The most unusual feature of a 
single-light window on each side in the east wall appears to 
have existed here until the new and larger chancel was built. These 
have been blocked up. 

The font is a Transition Norman one, from which we may conclude 
that a Church stood here at that period. 

The carved stone inside the Church, representing the Ataheneel 


0 ae 


Visited by the Society im 1890. 279 


Gabriel under a late Decorated canopy, is probably part of a reredos 
which contained the Annunciation. (See vol. xi., p. 183.) 

The altar tomb in the chancel is a singularly good one (see 
drawings, vol. xi., pp. 185, 186). It is probably a little later than 
the erection of the present nave, and it may have been set up to 
commemorate the benefactor to whom the building owes its existence. 
On the mensa are the recumbent figures of a knight and his lady, 
with the feet of each resting on an animal resembling a hound, 
The knight wears plate armour, and his head rests ona shield. The 
lady wears a square head-dress and mantle, and a cordon round her 
neck to which a cross is suspended. Her head rests on a pillow. 
Around the. sides of the tomb are the figures of their twelve children. 
There are no arms to assist us in identifying the knight, but Canon 
Jones concludes he was a member of the Malwyn family, who were 
lords of the manor at about A.D. 1400. I learn from a report in 
the Devizes Gazette commemorating the re-opening of the Church 
after restoration, that this tomb has passed through many vicissitudes. 
“Tt was first in the nave, where its presence was felt to be an in- 
trusion, and it was shouldered out to make room for modern pews ; 
it was then removed to the old chancel, where its size made it an 
inconvenient addition, and it was threatened with banishment to 
the churchyard. However it remained at rest, jostled by the school- 
children, scratched and picked by their knives, and used for the 
accommodation of boys’ hats on Sundays.” On the re-building of 
the chancel it was placed in its present position, under an arch in 
the north wall. 

There is a2 monument to Gertrude, relict of Edward Ernle, who 
died 21st April, 1662 ; and another to Sir Walter Ernle, who died 
16th July, 1732, et. 56. 


280 


Alotes on Alaces bisited bp the Society in 1890. 


By H. E. Mep.icort. 

" NOTICEABLE point in the country covered by the ex- 

if cursions made by the Society from Devizes is the paucity 
of old country houses in the district. Here, as elsewhere, in the 
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries there were far more resident 
gentry than there are at present. The number began to dwindle in 
the eighteenth century, and in this particular district the number 
of representatives of old county families still occupying country 
mansions has dwindled to almost nothing. There are, however, 
here and there traces of the former occupants, and it would be a 
matter of regret to the local historian and the genealogist if these 
were altogether lost. 

The following short notes are made with a view of recording in 
the pages of our Magazine the names of a few of the old people and 
places which have not been mentioned in earlier volumes. 

Passing by Potterne—which has had as Lords of the manor for 
centuries the Bishops of Salisbury, with an ancient crenellated 
mansion destroyed at the time of the Commonwealth—and Eastwell 
—where the family of Hunt Grubbe has been located for four 
hundred years—we arrived in Market Lavington. Here, at Cleeve 
(now Clyffe) Hall, lived in the last century Henry Chivers Vince, 
Esq., whose son married into the Long family in 1792; and there 
seems to have been a residence of some kind at “ Feddenton” 
Common, occupied by a Dr. Batters. 

In consequence of a letter from Mr. Watson Taylor attention was 
called during the excursion to the “ Three Graves” on “ Wickham 
Green,” or “ Workforth Common.” ‘These are situated in the 
middle of a large open field about a mile west of Erchfont Manor 
House, and are fenced in and carefully preserved by the owner of 
the property. It is said they are the graves of John, Jacob and 
Humphrey Giddings, who all died of the Plague in 1644, and that 
the Rev. Peter Glassbrook, his son, and four grandchildren, were 
interred at the same place, having been all buried by their servant 
maid, the only survivor of the household. 


Notes on Places. 281 


At Escott, or Easteott, House lived Seymour Wroughton, Esq., 
who also seems to have owned “ Maggot’s Castle,” otherwise known 
as “ Wroughton’s Folly,” a building in a woody dell under the cliff 
to the north side of Fiddington Sands. The fishponds remain, and 
traces of banks and foundations show where the “ Castle” stood, 
but the great stones above ground were removed years ago, just 
within the memory of tbe oldest inhabitants. Seymour Wroughton 
died 3lst May, 1789, et. 53, and was buried at Urchfont, where a 
monument records nearly all that is known of him. 

Erchfont Manor House, passed near the road shortly before 
arriving at the village of that name, was occupied in Charles the 
Second’s time by Edward Howard. The present mansion was, 
however, built by Sir William Pynsent, Bart., of an old Devonshire 
family, who was M.P. for Devizes, 1689—90, and High Sheriff of 
Wilts, 1692. (See Waylen’s History of Devizes, p. 353—392.) 
He left the property to the Earl of Chatham, by whom it was sold 
to the Duke of Queensborough, or Queensberry, who lived at 
Amesbury. Macaulay (Hist. Essay on the Earl of Chatham, vol. 
iii., p. 499, ed. 1854) alludes to this incident as follows :— 


“ About this time took place one of the most singular events of Pitt’s life. 
There was a certain Sir William Pynsent, a Somersetshire Baronet, of Whig 
politics, who had been a member of the House of Commons in the days of Queen 
Anne, and.had retired to rural privacy, when the Tory party, towards the end of 
her reign, obtained the ascendancy in her councils. His manners were eccentric. 
His morals lay under very odious imputations. But his fidelity to his political 
opinions was unalterable. During fifty years of seclusion he continued to brood 
over the circumstances which had driven him from public life, the dismissal of 
the Whigs, the Peace of Utrecht, the desertion of our allies. He now thought 
he perceived a close analogy between the well-remembered events of his youth 
and the events which he had witnessed in extreme old age; between the disgrace 
of Marlborough, and the disgrace of Pitt; between the elevation of Harley, and 
the elevation of Bute; between the treaty negotiated by St. John, and the treaty 
negotiated by Bedford; between the wrongs of the House of Austria in 1712, 
and the wrongs of the House of Brandenburg in 1762. This fancy took such 
possession of the old man’s mind that he determined to leave his whole property 
to Pitt. In this way Pitt unexpectedly came into possession of near three 
thousand pounds a year. Nor could all the malice of his enemies find any ground 
for reproach in the transaction. | Nobody could call him a legacy hunter. 
Nobody could accuse him of seizing that to which others had a better claim. For 
he had never in his life seen Sir William; and Sir William had left no relation 
so near as to be entitled to form any expectations respecting his estate.” 


The Earl of Chatham erected a monument to his benefactor on 


282 Notes on Places. 


his Somersetshire estate, which is still standing :— 

“On the other side of the valley of the Parrett, W., a long stretch of bigh 
ground rises. On an escarpment of these heights stands the ‘ Parkfield monu- 
ment,’ commonly known as the ‘ Burton Steeple,’ a column 140ft. high, crowned 
by a funeral urn, erected by the Earl of Chatham to the memory of Sir William 
Pynsent. . . . To the 1. stood the mansion of Burton House, now almost 
entirely destroyed. For many years this estate was the seat of the Pynsents, 
but in 1765 Sir William Pynsent, the last of that ancient family, having no issue, 
bequeathed it to William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, to whom he was an entire 
stranger, ‘in his veneration of a great character of exemplary virtue, and un- 
rivalled ability,’ and also on account of Pitt’s opposition to the cider tax. The 
story goes that Sir William on more than one occasion attempted to make his 
way into Pitt’s house to let him know his intention, but was turned back by the 
servants on account of his disreputable appearance. . . . The grounds once 
contained a funeral urn, dedicated to his (Chatham’s) memory, by his Countess, 
1781, who made this her permanent home after her widowhood, and died here, 
April 3rd, 1803. This urn was removed to Stowe, 1831. On the dispersion of 
the objects collected there the urn fell into the hands of strangers, but was re- 
covered by Mr. Banks Stanhope, and now stands in his gardens at Revesby 
Abbey, Lincolnshire.” (Murray’s Handbook for Wilts, Dorset, and Somerset, 
Ath edition, 1882, p. 443.) 

At Conock in the last century lived John Powell, Esq., and 
Gifford Warriner, Esq., who married Anne, sister of Richard Long, 
of Rood Ashton. The property is now owned by Henry Ernlé 
Warriner, representative of the Ernlé family, to some of whom there 
are fine monuments at All Cannings. 

At Weddington, now known as Wedhampton, lived 
Titchbourn, Esq., in the last century, and James Long, “ of the 
Chiveral branch of the antient family of Long, who died 21 Oct., 
1768, xt. 74,” as the monument at Erchfont records. He gave, or 
was instrumental in procuring, the land dedicated to the public use 
for straightening the main road between Tinkfield and Lydeway, 
The line of the old highway can still be easily traced, and the great 
benefit thus conferred on the public was thought at the time to 
justify the erection of a monument recording the action of James 
Long in the matter on the roadside nearly opposite Stert village. 
This was passed on the homeward drive, after leaving Manningford 
Bruce—or “ Crucis,” as it is called on an old map—I know not why. 

At Rushsall, or, more correctly, Rushall Park, was formerly a 
country mansion, the seat of the Poore family. The house has 
entirely disappeared, but its site is still marked by the fine old elms 


and park-like meadows. 


Anangural Address by the President of the 
Society, 
Lr.-Gen. Prrt-Rivers, F.R.S., F.S.A., 


On the Greadations at Rotherley, Woodents, and Hokerly Dyke. 


SN two copiously illustrated and privately-printed quarto 
volumes I have described the excavations that I have 
made in the neighbourhood of Rushmore, Wilts, during the last 
ten years, the chief part of which relates to the two Romano-British 
villages of Woodcuts and Rotherley, just outside the Park. They 
were proved by the coins found in them to be of the Roman age, 
though probably occupied chiefly by Britons, one or two British 
coins having been found with the Roman ones in both villages. 
Both villages were alike in their general arrangement, and their 
chief feature consisted of pits, 8ft. Gin. to 10ft. in diameter, and 
Sft. 6in. to 9ft. deep, filled up to the top with earth and refuse, so 
that no trace of them could be seen on the surface. Of these ag 
many as ninety-five were found in Woodcuts, and ninety-two in 
Rotherley. The area occupied by the pits was drained by deep 
trenches, 3ft. to 8ft. deep, also filled up to the top with earth and 
: refuse, and laid out in such a manner as to carry the water down 
the hill; the different drains branching out of each other like the 
| Be ninrice of a stream or river, the main streams of which, in both 
villages, ran along the two sides of a road leading from the village 
towards lower ground, and showing that one of the chief concerns 
of the inhabitants, in those days, was to carry off the heavy rain, 
of the prevalence of which certain passages in the ancient writings 
appear to hint, and geological and other researches confirm the 
impression that there must have been a much larger supply of 
‘water in early times than now. A well 188ft. deep was also re- 
‘excavated, and the Roman bucket found at the bottom, but no 
‘VOL. XXV.—NO. LXXY. x 


284 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, 


water, showing that the water-line must have lain somewhat higher 
in the hill in former days than is the case at present. 

Woodcuts, or rather a portion of it, was surrounded by an en- 
trenchment of slight relief, the ditch of which drained into the road 
drain, above-mentioned; and at Rotherley a portion of the village 
was separated from the rest by a-circular surrounding ditch, similar 
to others which have been several times noticed in British villages 
elsewhere, and which have been rather rashly assumed to be sacred 
circles, but no confirmation of this was produced by the excavations 
—the circle, on the contrary, appeared to have been occupied in the 
- Same manner as the rest of the village. In Woodcuts three hypo- 
causts of T-shaped plan were found, which were probably British 
imitations of Roman ‘hypocausts for warming rooms by flues beneath 
the floors. This, at least, is the most probable use to which they 
can be assigned. A precisely similar one will afterwards be spoken 
of at Woodyates. The houses must have been built of dab-and-wattle, 
and, ‘by means of some of ‘the fragments of plaster, which had been 
hardened by fire, and upon which the impression of the twigs had 
been preserved, it was possible to ascertain the exact thickness of 
the walls and the construction of the wattle-work, Timber was 
also used in the construction of the houses, as appears probable from 


the large number of iron nails, of a size suitable for fastening beams 
of wood, and also from a number of cramps of the kind now used for 
fastening timber together. Besides the dab-and-wattle-work houses, 
which were probably round, some other houses must have been made 
with flat sides, plastered and painted. These better class of houses 
were peculiar to one quarter in Woodcuts, which from the quality 
of the other objects found in it appears likely to have been a rich 
quarter. The pits were probably used to contain refuse, and after 
being filled up to the top were subsequently used for the interment 
of the dead. The dead were not interred in these pits only, but 
also in the drains, after they had been filled up to the top with earth, 
a practice which, if not confined to this district, has, at any rate, 
not been found elsewhere to such an extent as to lead to the inference 
that it was a widely-spread British custom. It was a custom that 
is highly favourable to anthropological research, as the skeletons 


On the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, and Bokerly Dyke. 285 


are, by this means, more clearly identified with the relics of the 
every-day life of the inhabitants than when they were interred in 
eemeteries, or tumuli, at a distance from the places where they lived, 
and, as a consequence, it is more easy to determine the exact period 
to which the skeletons belonged. They were buried in both crouched 
and extended positions, and without orientation, the bodies facing 
or extending in different directions. In other cases special graves 
were dug, but without orientation in either case. The people 
suffered from rheumatoid-arthritis. Three out of sixteen skeletons 
in Rotherley were found to have been afflicted with this disease, the 
cause of which appears to be a moot point in pathology, some 
surgeons attributing it to exposure, and others to hereditary disease. 
Their teeth were in some cases much decayed. Their horses, oxen, 
and sheep were of small size, the horse rarely exceeding the size of 
our Exmoor pony, viz., 11 hands 24 inches. The oxen resembled 
our Kerry cow in size, but our shorthorn in the form of its horns; 
and the sheep were of a long slender-legged breed, the like of which 
is only to be found at present in the Island of St. Kilda, in the 
Atlantic. The pig, as is always found to be the case in early breeds 
that were but slightly removed from the wild boar, was of large 
size, with long legs and large tusks. The dog varied from the size 
of a mastiff to that ofaterrier. They ate the horse, and lived chiefly 
on domesticated animals, but few remains of deer having been found 
in their refuse pits, from which, and from the absence of weapons 
generally, we may infer that they were not hunters, but that they 
lived a peaceful, agricultural life, surrounded by their flocks and 
herds. Their tools were iron axes, knives, and saws, only one or 
two small spear-heads having been found. They spun thread, and 
wove it on the spot, and sewed with iron needles. They grew wheat 
in small enclosures surrounding their villages, and ground it upon 
stone querns, and by measuring the number of grains to the cubic inch 
it was found that their wheat was little, if at all, inferior to ourg 
grown at the same levels. They shod their horses with iron, and 


produced fire with iron strike-lights and flint. They cut their corn 


oe Sas 


with small iron sickles, probably close to the ear, and stored it in 
small barns, raised upon four posts, to preserve it from vermin, 
x 2 


286 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, 


Their pottery was of various qualities, some harder and better baked 
than others; some vessels perforated as colanders, some in the form 
of saucers with small handles, some basin-shaped, others pitcher- 
shaped, others in the shape of jars and vases of graceful form ; and 
judging by the number of pots perforated with large holes on the 
bottoms or sides, and having loops for suspension on the upper part, 
with large open mouths, it would appear probable that they made 
use of honey largely in their food, and that these vessels were em- 
ployed for draining it into other vessels from the honeycomb. The 
number of skeletons of new-born children was sufficient to create a 
suspicion, at least, of infanticide, though not enough to prove that 
such a practice prevailed. 

Judging by the slight trace of their habitations that remained, 
and the small size of them, and the apparently careless way in 
which they buried their dead, one might suppose that they lived in 
a poor way and died unregretted by their friends; but, on the other 
hand, there were indications of comfort, and even of refinement. 
There were found fragments of red Samian ware of the finest quality 
and highly ornamented, which, at that time and in this country, 
was probably equivalent to our china; and a few fragments of 
pottery with green and yellow glaze, which was of extreme rarity 
amongst the Romans. They had chests of drawers, in which they 
kept their goods, which were decorated with bronze bosses, and 
ornamented with tastefully-designed handles of the same metal. 
They had vessels of glass, which implies a certain degree of luxury. 
They used tweezers for extracting thorns, or for plucking out the 
hair of their beards, bronze ear-picks, and even implements designed 
expressly for cleaning their finger-nails, and they played games of 
drafts. A number of iron styli showed that they were able to read 
and write, and one decorated tablet of Kimmeridge Shale appeared 
to be of the kind used for writing upon with the stylus, by means 
of a coating of wax spread over it. Some of their houses were 
painted on the inside and warmed with flues in the Roman style. 
They were, perhaps, covered with the Roman tegule and imbrices, 
and others were certainly roofed with tiles of Purbeck Shale. They 
wore well-formed bronze finger rings, set with stones or enamelled, 


On the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodeuts, and Bokerly Dyke. 287 


and their fingers were of small size. They used bangles of bronze 
and Kimmeridge Shale, and one brooch discovered was of the finest 
mosaic, such as I found upon enquiry could not be easily surpassed 
even in Italy at the present time. Also gilt and enamelled brooches, 
some of which were in the forms of animals, They used bronze 
and white metal spoons, and the number of highly ‘ornate bronze 
and white metal fibulz, showed that such tastefully-decorated 
fastenings for their dresses must have been in common use. Nor 
are we left in doubt as to the exact way in which these fibule were 
worn, for one skeleton was found with two of them, a bronze one 
on the right shoulder, and an iron one on the right hip. As we 
know that in the time of Agricola the Britons adopted the Roman 
costume, we may feel sure that these were employed after the fashion 
of the men to fasten the amictus, or a plaid, over the right shoulder, 
and probably a skirt or tunic round the loins. They ate oysters, 
which, considering the distance from the coast, implies a certain 
degree of luxury, though it is possible that the shells may have been 
used as utensils for some purposes. One of the most interesting 
discoveries connected with these people was the small stature of both 
males and females, but this is a subject that I shall refer to again 
when speaking of my discoveries at Woodyates. The probability is 
that both villages were inhabited by different classes, and not im- 
probably they may have been the homes of Roman colonists, sur- 
rounded by their families and a bevy of slaves. The possibly Roman 
characteristics recognized by anthropologists in one round-headed 
skeleton, may, perhaps, be regarded as favouring this view, but the 
long heads of the majority seem to indicate with great probability 
that the bulk of the inhabitants were of British origin; more than 
that it would be unsafe to say. The coins prove that the villages 
were occupied up to the Constantine period, and Woodcuts certainly 
up to the time of Magnentius—A.D. 350—353. 

These results, the details of which are given in tables, drawings, 
and diagrams, in my book, furnish us with a fair idea of the condition 
of the inhabitants of the villages ; and the number of different forms 
of art and objects of industry discovered in them enables us to 
identify clearly any other settlements of the same period that may 


288 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, 


be discovered or examined hereafter. Of these there were probably 
a considerable number in the same neighbourhood, Within a radius 
of six or seven miles from Rushmore I have counted twelve or 
thirteen places in which Roman remains had been found, some of 
them apparently villages of equal size to those above-mentioned, 
and, judging by my experience at Woodyates, there were probably 
several more which may have been entirely destroyed by cultivation. 
In fact, this district, which is now very sparsely imhabited, was in 
Roman times a very populous one. This may have been partly 
owing to the fact that at a time when so much of the country was 
in forest the people were obliged to live in the open downlands, that 
are now comparatively deserted. But this is hardly sufficient to 
account for such a great concentration of Romano-British people in 
this district, towards the close of the Roman occupation. We must 
look to the effects of wars and invasions as a cause for the density 
of the population at that time. 

These considerations make it important that we should endeavour 
to ascertain what connection existed between these villages and the 
great military earthworks of the neighbourhood, such a number of 
which are shown on the ancient map of the district that I have 
made.! 

I have frequently heard observations made upon this subject 
which appear to me, from a military point of view, to be erroneous. 
The isolated camps, with which the map is studded, which—though 
called camps—were in reality permanent fortifications, are sometimes 
spoken of as having been thrown up for the defence of a particular 
district. But, apart from the fact that they are pretty evenly dis- 
tributed over the country, occupying the most elevated positions as 
they happen to occur, and not in lines drawn along the frontier of 
any particular part, there is reason to doubt whether such detached 
fortresses could, in those days, have served the purpose of defending 
a district. In modern times we erect fortresses on the frontiers of 


1This map was exhibited at the Meeting, and will be reproduced in the third p 
quarto volume of excavations, giving detailed plans and sections of all the ex- — 
cavations, with illustrations of the objects discovered in Woodyates. 


ay 
ee noe 


CRANBORNE 


PSS 


FhotoLithopraphed & Printed by James Alermen,6,Queen Square, WC 


BRITISH It / 
VILLAGE - aun A . it 
P | OF BOKERAYY DYKE BETWEEN DORSET AND WILTS. ea aN 


ces 5 
Seay ire 


eS we 
“RUSE, BLAGDON HILL ‘Sire! 
3 en 


—_MORCAN's LANE _/ 


j 


SCALE OF FEET 
1000 2000 3000 5000 MILE 


On the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodeuts, and Bokerly Dyke. 289 


great states, for their defence, because the great armies of our time 
are encumbered with large supplies of food and ammunition, that 
have to be drawn from the rear, and for which it is necessary to keep 
open lines of communication with the base of their operations, and 
the frontier fortresses of an invaded state serve for the defence of 
that state, because it is impossible four an invading army to pass 
between them without exposing its lines of communication. Such 
fortresses also serve as fortified magazines for an invading army. 
But in barbarous times, such impedimenta did not exist in con- 
nection with invading forces; their objects were for the most part 
predatory, and their wants were few, they could penetrate between 
the fortified places, and subsist by plunder in the country surrounding 
them, and the defenders of the fortresses, if they kept on the 
defensive, and remained shut up in them, would only have to look 
on. Wherever, therefore, we find such isolated eneampments on 
the tops of hills, in prehistoric times, we may be sure that they were 
simply places of refuge for some local tribe inhabiting their vicinity, 
to which they resorted when attacked by a neighbouring tribe, 
They imply a low state of civilization, before the inhabitants of any 
large district had attained to such organization as was necessary for 
combined defence. 

When the people decineed to a higher state of civilization, and 
several tribes combined for the defence of a district, it was not by 
detached forts, but by continuous entrenchments, that they accom- 
plished that object. They threw up continuous lines of ditch and 
bank, the latter probably surmounted by a stockade, running for 
miles along the open country, from an inaccessible position on one 
flank to some other natural defence on the other flank ; and although 
it may be true—as has often been said in support of the opinion 
that these long entrenchments could not be defensive works—that 
they would be difficult, or impossible, to defend at all points, yet we 
know as a fact that this was the system adopted, and that the 
Romans used it, not only in the north of Britain, as a defence 


against the Picts and Scots, but also in the more extended defence 


- 
{ 


of their German frontier, by means of the Pfahlgraben, joining 
the Rhine and Danube. When these continuous barriers were 


290 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, 


erected, the hill-forts within the area defended by them were no 
longer of any use. They might have been occupied afterwards, as 
we know they were occupied in Roman times, but they were no 
longer erected, except on a small scale on the lines of march of the 
Roman armies, or as places of support for the continuous lines of 
entrenchment. The inhabitants of the district, secured in the 
peaceable occupation of their villages by these frontier defences, had 
no longer any occasion to fortify their homes. Now the villages 
that I have described, although some of them might have been 
surrounded by slight banks and stockades, as a precaution against 
wolves, or against casual marauders, were to all intents and purposes 
open villages. They were the habitations of people who felt secure 
in their positions, and I think that, for the reasons I have given, it 
is reasonable, on a prior? grounds, to expect that such villages would 
be found to be associated in point of time with the continuous en- 
trenchments. Dr. Guest, in his well-known paper on what he terms 
“the Belgic Ditches,’ appears to me to be perfectly right in 
assuming that these continuous entrenchments must necessarily 
have been the work of a people in a higher condition of civilization, 
to secure their territory against the depredations of an inferior 
people, in a lower condition of Jife. . But, whether he is right in 
adopting Stukeley’s opinion that these superior people were Belge 
is a question which I am not prepared either to accept or to deny, 
without better evidence. It is open to doubt whether the Belgz 
invaded the country in a body, or in driblets, and whether they were 
so far in advance of the aborigines as to have adopted a totally 
different method of warfare. From what little we do know about 
them they appear to have been rather in the hill-fort stage of 
organisation, like the Atrebates, Dobuni, Durotridges, and other 
tribes, by which they were surrounded. 

_ These were my views at the time that I approached the question 
of the origin of Bokerly Dyke, though I did not care to publish 
my opinions, because I think it is always undesirable to give ex- 
pression to theories which one may afterwards feel one’s self committed 
to as the investigation goes on. I am now in a position to speak 
of these views as proved up to a certain point, and I am assured of 


On the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, and Bokerly Dyke. 291 


being on the right track for further discoveries if I live to accomplish 
them. 

Bokerly Dyke, the present boundary-line between Dorset and 
Wilts, is an entrenchment of high relief, nearly four miles in length, 
running in a north-west and south-east direction across the old 
Roman road, which runs from Sarum to Badbury. It has a ditch 
on the north-east side of the rampart, proving that it was from this 
point the enemy was expected. The fact of its being a defensive 
work can, I think, hardly be doubted by anyone who will take the 
trouble to examine it from end to end. It everywhere occupies 
strong ground, if viewed from the standpoint of an enemy advancing 
to attack it from the north-east. It runs somewhat crookedly along 
the ground, and I am inclined to favour the idea, suggested I think 
by Dr. Smart, that this crookedness arose from the constructors 
availing themselves of hollows, as they occurred in the ground, to 
dig their ditch, throwing up the earth upon higher ground, and 
that by conforming to the inequalities of the surface in this way 
they obtained the relief they desired with less expenditure of labour, 
but the general direction was determined by considerations of defence 
that can clearly be recognised. It ran across the Gwent, or open 
downland, between two great forests, which existed at that time, 
and the remains of which still, or until quite lately, did exist on 
both flanks. On the south-east the dyke terminates upon strong 
ground in Martin Wood, which may be considered to be the survival 
of the Forest of Holt, and to have been formerly continuous with 
the New Forest, On the left it terminated in a part of the country 
which within the memory of persons still living was a part of 
Cranborne Chase Wood. It may be said, perhaps, that forests 
would hardly be sufficient to secure the flanks of an extended line 
of entrenchment, and that it might easily be turned if it rested on 
no more inaccessible protection than a wood. But there is reason 
to believe that in this moist climate the primeval forests may have 
consisted of almost inaccessible networks of trees, and where this: 
was not the case it is more than probable that the lines of entrench- 
ment may have been continued through them by abattis of felled 
trees. Czsar speaks of the Britons employing felled trees in their 


292 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, 


defences, and applying this piece of information to the elucidation 
of our old lines of entrenchment I think that, in cases in which 
short lines of ditch and bank are often found to terminate en (air, 
in a way that, as Mr. Barnes has truly observed, would serve no 
defensive purpose, but which would resemble an attempt to stop a 
flock of sheep by means of a single hurdle, placed in the centre of a 
road; if we suppose the intervals between the flanks of these short 
entrenchments to have been occupied by inaccessible forests, that 
have now disappeared, we shall then understand how they might, 
at the time they were constructed, have served as effective barriers 
against an invading force. It is also to be observed that even large 
dykes have been so completely effaced by cultivation as to show no 
trace upon the surface. 

But to return to Bokerly. It may be convenient for the sake of 
clearness to separate the whole line into four principal divisions. 
The part which I shall call the right flank extended from its 
termination in Martin Wood to the summit of Blagdon Hill, and 
was everywhere drawn along the brow of a steep hill having a deep 
valley in its front. Blagdon Hill is the highest part of the line, 
and might, perhaps, be called the key of the position. The hill runs 
forward to the eastward at right angles to the dyke. The dyke 
crosses it in the middle of the ridge. Viewed from the Salisbury 
Road, the point at which the dyke crosses the hill—called Pick’s 
Corner by the natives—can be seen in the centre of the ridge, in a 
position that does not, from this point of view, appear well chosen, 
and it is not evident for what reason this spot was selected, but on 
examining the hill it is at once seen that its course was determined 
by the lay of the land beyond the hill, which is not seen from the 
Salisbury Road. At Blagdon Hill another dyke of small relief 
joins or cuts across it, coming from the east along the ridge of 
Blagdon Hill from the direction of Whichbury Camp. I shall not 
speak of this small dyke now, as it would require excavation to 
ascertain its significance. 

Leaving Blagdon Hill, Bokerly Dyke runs down the northern 
slope of it, and a small bank, described in the Ordnance Map as a 
British trackway, runs behind it in a general line parallel to it. 


| 


On the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, and Bokerly Dyke. 298 


This also it may be well to pass over for the present. The dyke in 
this part, which I term the right centre, is thrown forward at a very 
obtuse angle. The reason for this does not appear to have been 
noticed by previous writers. It was not, certainly, thrown forward 
in order to secure strong ground, for the apex of the angle is in the 
bottom of a valley. But just in rear of the entrenchment, at its 
most advanced point, in the bottom of the hill, the verdure of the 
grass and crops, marked by a black oval patch in the map, seems to 
denote comparatively rich soil, and it appears probable that a spring 
or wells formerly existed in this place, the water from which, if a 
spring, must have run down hill beyond the dyke to the eastward. 
It was, I apprehend, in order to secure this spot that the dyke was 
thrown forward. The northern or left face of this advanced portion 
of the dyke terminated in a re-entering angle, which I fix upon as 
the centre of the position. From this spot the dyke runs in a 
north-west direction, with a high bank and deep ditch, to Bokerly 
Gap, which is a part of the dyke about 120yds. in length, in 
which the rampart has been, I believe, at some time removed for 
top dressing the soil, but of this 1 have no certain evidence. Con- 
tinuing in the same line beyond the Gap we come to an epaulement, 
which has attracted the notice of archxologists. It is a spur, or 
short branch, of the dyke which turns abruptly westward, with a 
ditch to the north, and runs across a short natural ¢erre-plein of the 
hill, for about 180ft., and terminates in a shallow combe, in the rear 
of the main dyke. It has been conjectured that this epaulement 
was the original termination of the dyke at its north end, at a time 
when the Cranbourne Chase Wood extended thus far from the 
northward, and this is rendered probable from the fact that even 
within the memory of persons now living this spot was occupied 
by a wood or copse. I shall have to return to this epaulement 
hereafter. Leaving the epaulement, Bokerly Dyke runs on con- 
tinuously to the north-west until the part, termed the Shoulder 
Angle on my map, is reached. Here it turns westward for about 
200yds, until it touches the modern Salisbury Road. The old 
Roman Road here cuts the dyke at nearly the same spot, and makes 
here its first and only turn of any importance between Sarum and 


294 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, 


Badbury. This spot, for reasons that I shall afterwards explain, I 
call Bokerly Junction. Here the left centre of the dyke terminates, 
and turning at a sharp angle towards the north, the left wing of the 
dyke, now reduced in size, runs forward, occupying the most elevated 
part of the hill, until it reaches Hill Copse. This is nearly the only 
remaining copse of the Chase Wood, the rest having been completely 
destroyed in this district. Passing Hill Copse, the dyke winds 
round to the westward, running down hill beyond West Woodyates. 
It does not cross the Grim’s Dyke, as has been stated, but turns 
and runs parallel to it. It is last seen, much reduced in size, in 
front of West Woodyates, and making for the entrenchment in 
Mistlebury Wood, but it cannot be traced up to it. The dyke does 
not extend to the chalk escarpment on the north, as has been stated 
by some writers, but runs nearly parallel to it, at a distance of a 
mile from it, the ground rising gradually towards the escarpment 
from the dyke. The interval was occupied formerly by Cranborne 
Chase Wood, up to within 100yds. or so to the escarpment, along 
which, for some miles, there appears always to have been, and is 
now, a ridge of open down land, termed the Ridgeway, running east 
and west along the top of the hill. Across this Ridgeway, on 
referring to the Ordnance Map, banks may be seen in three 
different places behind each other, having ditches on the east side, 
and separated by intervals of a mile or so, the most westerly being 
that which cuts across the hill, to the west of Win Green. These 
short entrenchments, facing as they do always to the east, appear 
to me to have been thrown up to check an advance along the 
Ridgeway of an enemy coming from the east, and, if so, may have 
been a part of the general system of defence of this district, in 
connection with Bokerly Dyke, though not actually communicating 
with it. These entrenchments had their left flanks on what I call 
the chalk escarpment, though it is in reality nothing but a steep 
hill, and their right, in former days, upon the Chase Wood. 

Still further to the north-west a line of bank and ditch, with the 
ditch still on the east side, runs across White Sheet Hill for about 
a mile in the direction of Wardour. Both flanks of this detached 
work terminate at the bottom of the hill, upon ground which may 


On the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, and Bokerly Dyke. 295 


very probably have originally been forest, most of the low-lying 
valleys having, in all probability, been forest in those days. The 
White Sheet Hill is a high tract of down land running east and 
west, and must always have been open and accessible to an invading 
army coming from the east. If these detached works that I have 
last mentioned ever formed part of a general system for the defence 
of the country, in association with Bokerly, the line must have 
extended for nine miles, from Martin Wood on the right to the 
termination of the dyke at White Sheet Hill on the left, the gaps 
between the several lines having been occupied by forest. I base 
this conjecture chiefly on the fact that the ditches of all of them are 
on the east side, and that they were, consequently, thrown up with 
a view to an attack from that quarter. If they were isolated and 
independent entrenchments why should they all face the same 
direction ? 

I have read with attention all the writings that were accessible 
to me upon the obscure periods of history to which these entrench- 
ments may have belonged. Some are by scholars of great ability, 
who would not have failed to bring to light evidence relating to 
them if it was to be found in the ancient chronicles and the works 
of the ancient authors. But these writings serve chiefly to convince 
the reader that nothing definite is to be expected from such sources. 
It is not known where the Belge landed, or where Vespasian 
landed and fought, or where Cerdices Ora was, or where Mons 
Badonicus was. I observe that two recent writers have proposed to 
shuffle the whole of the ancient names of places and shift them from 
their traditional localities. I have read with interest, but without 
conviction, the imaginary campaign of Vespasian by one writer in 
the West of England, and its final achievement in the hands of 
another writer, in the great British Metropolis at the Pen Pits, 
which turn out, on investigation, to be an ancient stone quarry ; 
and whilst I am fully alive to the importance of studying all the 
passages in ancient writings which have any bearing on the subject, 
by competent scholars, I must confess that the evidence that can be 
derived from them appears to be of the weakest possible description. 
I am impressed rather with the value of an observation, made by 


296 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, 


Mr. Green in the first page of his “ Making of England” :—« I 
need scarcely say,” he says, “that I do not attempt to write a 
history of Roman Britain. Such a history, indeed, can hardly be 
attempted with any profit until the scattered records of researches 
amongst the roads, villas, tombs, &c., of this period, have been in 
some way brought together and made accessible,” or, I may add, 
until the researches have been made, which can hardly be said, as 
yet, to have been done to the extent that is requisite. I have often 
noticed in my younger sporting days, and it is a fact well known 
to sportsmen, that some hounds are apt to give tongue before they 
have got a true scent, whilst there are others whose voice can be 
relied upon. I am an old dog, and have always had a disposition 
to run mute; indeed I should not have spoken now if some of my 
friends had not given me the whip, by placing me unworthily in 
this chair. This must be my excuse for passing over with such 
slight comment the observations of previous writers on the origin 
and uses of Bokerly Dyke. I wished to approach the subject with 
an unbiassed mind, and, convinced by the experience of a number of 
years that the question could be proved by excavations, I determined, 
on the first opportunity, to make the attempt. 

But in an entrenchment of such length it is quite uncertain 
whether any relics can be found in a rampart unless the line happens 
to pass over ground that had been occupied by a village or settlement 
previously to the construction of the entrenchment, and no such 
settlement presented itself to the eye of the observer on any part of 
the line. I remained for some time in doubt, therefore, where to 
begin, when, one day, towards the middle of 1888, Mr. Lawes, the 
organist in Tollard Church, who is the conductor of my private band, 
and who had acquired an. interest in such matters by his visits to my 
Museum at Farnham, Dorset, happening to pass along the dyke to the 
south of the Salisbury Road near Woodyates, found the occupier of the 
farm—Mr. Trowbridge—engaged in cutting into the dyke to obtain 
soil for top-dressing his fields, and in so doing five copper coins 
turned up, together with a Romano-British fibula, which Mr. Lawes 
brought to me. They were Roman coins, extending from Trajan to 
Constans, and had evidently come out of the dyke. I had already 


a ee a ee 


On the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, and Bokerly Dyke, 297 


discovered a small fragment of Samian pottery on the top of the 
rampart, near the same spot. So I applied at once to Sir Edward 
Hulse, the owner of the property, who readily gave me permission 
to dig a section through the rampart at this spot. Section 1, 30ft. 
wide, the position of which is marked on the accompanying map, 
was the result of this excavation. Thirty-two coins, extending from 
Gallienus to Constans, were found in the top and rear portion of 
the bank and in the silting of the ditch. Although these were, 
with little doubt, of the period of the entrenchment, it is my 
custom, in cutting sections through ramparts, to distinguish objects 
found in those positions into which they might by any possibility 
have been introduced after the construction of the work, from those 
found in the body of the rampart, which must certainly have been 
placed there during the time or before it was thrown up, and which 
could not by any possibility have got into it afterwards. In this 
latter position one coin of Claudius Gothicus was found 3:1 ft. beneath 
the crest. Some fragments of British and Romano-British pottery 
and a piece of red Samian ware were also found in the same position, 
and on the old surface line, beneath the rampart. It may save time 
to state here that in all sections of ramparts in a chalk soil the old 
surface line, representing the old turf before the rampart was thrown 
over it, can be seen in a distinct line of dark mould beneath the 
rampart. Beneath the silting which had accumulated over the 
ditch, in the course of ages, to the extent of 6ft., or thereabouts, 
two ditches were found one behind the other with a ridge of un- 
disturbed chalk between them. This gave rise to some speculation, 
and other instances, as, for example, at the Roman camp at the 
Saalburg, near Homburg, where two ditches occur outside the 
rampart, were called in evidence to explain the occurrence. But all 
such conjectures were futile. The excavations which I shall describe 
hereafter, subsequently revealed the true cause of this peculiar 
construction, and serve to show how careful it is necessary to be, 
even after excavations have been made, before conclusions are put 


_ forward. In the counterscarp of the outer ditch the remains of pits 


were found, which appeared to be connected with habitations of 
some kind, but no trace of which could be seen on the surface, and 


298 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, 


it was evident that the coins and other relics were in the soil about 
these pits at the time the rampart was made, and that their presence 
in the rampart arose from their having been thrown up with the 
soil, by the constructors, without any notive having been taken of 
them. 

This discovery was amply sufficient to prove that the rampart at 
this spot was constructed after the time of Claudius Gothicus, A.D. 
268—270, and, in all probability, after the time of Constans, A.D. 
337—350. But, in order to make matters more sure, I dug another 
section of the same width, viz., 30ft., on the other side of the 
Salisbury Road and Roman Road, at a distance of 150yds. from 
the first section, the position of which is also marked on the ac- 
companying map as Section 2. This turned out even more prolific 
of coins than the first, five hundred and eighty-four having been 
found in the rampart and silting of the ditch, extending from 
Gallienus to Honorius, A.D. 253—423, and proving that it must 
have been made at the time or subsequently to the departure of the 
Romans from the British Isles in A.D. 407. This was no longer 
a matter for conjecture—it was a proved fact. This section, like 
Section 1, was filled with Roman and Romano-British pottery, and 
relics of various kinds. Only one ditch was discovered in this 
section, and this naturally created some surprise, because, if two 
ditches were thought necessary in one part of the line, they would 
be equally necessary in another part, on the principle that a chain 
is no stronger than its weakest link; but this, as we shall see, was 
explained afterwards. 

An interesting discovery was made in this section. At the north- 
west corner of it, just on the edge of the escarp, a skeleton was 
found extended. The old surface-line was seen lying over it, and 
showing that it must have been interred and covered over with 
goil before the rampart was thrown over it. The legs extended over 
the crest of the escarp, and one of the tibiz, which had been cut 
off by the constructors of the ditch was found in the rampart behind 


it, having evidently been chucked up by the Roman workmen. This — 


gave additional evidence of the previous existence of a settlement 
on the ground, as it showed that interments had been made in 


Ss 


ye 


On the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, and Bokerly Dyke. 299 


the settlement in the same manner as at Woodcuts and Rotherley. 

It was evident that a settlement must have existed on the ground 
before the dyke was thrown up. The greater part of the coins and 
relics were found in the lowest part of the rampart, in dark mould, 
just over the old surface line, and it appeared quite certain that this 
mould must have come from the upper part of the ditch when the 
diggers threw up that part first before they reached the chalk 
beneath, all of which was found overlying the mould in the rampart 
and containing comparatively few coins. 

But there was no trace of any settlement or inequalities on the 
surface of the ground near the dyke, or for some distance from it. 
Feeling convinced, however, that some such settlement must have 
existed, I commenced trenching the ground on the outside of the 
ditch to see if any trace of habitations could be found, and soon 
came upon some pits and a drain 4ft. to 6ft. wide and 3ft. deep, on 
an average, running nearly parallel to the dyke. This, from its 
position in front of the entrenchment, I called the Fore Drain. I 
thén followed this drain, and found that it ran close up to the Roman 
Road and then curved round and turned away from it to the north, 
in which direction it extended in a straight line for about 530yds. 
and then terminated. Roman coins and pottery were found in the 
drain and in the surface soil on the sides of it and of the pits. This 
ditch drained from north to south, and then from east to west, as 
far as the ditch of the dyke. To the north of this, and nearly at 
right angles with it, a somewhat larger ditch—9ft. to 10ft. wide 
and 4ft. deep—which, from its being the outermost ditch discovered, 
I called the Boundary Ditch, ran west to east, close to the end of the 
Fore Drain, but not touching it, and under the Roman Road and 
Salisbury Road, terminating in front of the Shoulder Angle of the 
dyke. The West Drain, about the same size as the last, marked 
the extent of my diggings on that side. About midway between 
the Boundary Drain and the dyke, another, which I call the Mid 
Drain, ran in a zig-zag course, cutting the Fore Drain about its 
centre, and having two short drains running out of it to the south, 
one of which ended in a pit, probably a dry well. This terminated 
in the Cross Drain, -which ran parallel to the Roman Road, and was 
VOL. XXV.—NO. LXXV. ¥ 


300 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, 


so called because it ran across the angle of the Fore Drain, and 
across the Dyke. Near the Mid Drain, to the west end of it, a 
T-shaped hypocaust—a model of which was exhibited at the meeting 
—built with flints and mortar, similar to those found at Woodcuts, 
was discovered, and close to it an extended skeleton lay buried, with 
the head to the east, in a grave 4ft. deep. It was surrounded by 
several large iron nails, which had probably served to fasten a coffin 
or shell, and a large Roman coin, which was afterwards identified 
as Faustina, was found on the breast just under the chin. In the 
north-west corner of the settlement, within the Boundary Drain, a 
square enclosure was discovered, the faces being 105ft. by 115ft., 
surrounded by a ditch 8ft. wide and 2ft. 4in. deep. Within the 
enclosure were five graves, containing extended skeletons, in graves 
about 4ft. 6in. deep. One of them—No. 15—was buried 6ft. deep, 
and had a bone comb resting on the left breast, and a small earthen- 
ware pitcher with a handle at the feet, with several large nails 
around it. These graves were all cut nearly in the same direction, and 
might possibly, in this case, have been dug with a view to orientation, 
being within a few degrees of the east-and-west line, but they were 
nearly parallel to the sides of the enclosure, which may have given 
them their direction. The use of this square enclosure was not 
ascertained ; the number of graves was scarcely sufficient to warrant 
its being set down as a cemetery. The east face of this square was 
the only part in the whole settlement which showed any trace on 
the surface, before excavation. The East Drain ran from the 
Salisbury Road in a north-west direction, and on approaching the 
Roman Road turned and ran parallel to it, crossing the Boundary 
Drain, and running on beyond it, down hill. It contained three 
skeletons, on the bottom of the drain, buried extended (like those 
of Woodcuts and Rotherley) in the direction of the drain, with the 
heads in this case to the north. This and the Cross Drain, and the 
Roman Road Drain on the west side, suggest, from their parallelism 
to the road, that they must have been made subsequently to it, 
because the road approaches the settlement without a turn, having 
run in a straight line from Sorbiodunum, and as it did not adapt 
itself to the drains, the drains must have taken their course from it. 


On the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, and Bokerly Dyke. 301 


Between the Roman Road and the first bend of the Mid Drain, the 
ground being cut up in small enclosures by the ditches, appeared to 
be a probable place for the site of habitations. It was, therefore, 
trenched all over, with the result of discovering several pits, and a 
hearth with marks of fire on it. Also a skeleton in a grave 2ft. 9in, 
deep. To the east of the road near this spot a cluster of pits were 
found. Another skeleton was found in a recess in the Cross Drain ; 
it was in a crouched position, and a bronze fibula was found on the 
pelvis. Probably the fibula was used for the same purpose as the 
one found on the hip of a skeleton at Rotherley. Lower down, the 
skeleton of a horse was found, buried in a grave cut across the drain. 
This shows that, although they ate the horse, it was in this instance, 
as also at Rotherley, sometimes buried entire. Further to the south, 
another hearth was found, with marks of fire, and on each side of 
the drain there were traces of habitations, as if the watercourse 
had drained through the houses. The lines of the drains in the 
settlement can only be shown by fine black lines in the annexed 
map, but in my third volume of excavations detailed maps will be 
given. 

Nine bronze fibulz were found in the settlement and in the sections 
of the dyke. They were of the same form as in the other villages, 
but one was more distinctly Roman in character than any of the 
others. Iron cleats, similar to those of the other villages, were 
also found in several places, and two with hobnails at the feet of a 
skeleton. The coins, of which three hundred and eighty-one were 
found in the settlement, tallied with those found in the sections of 
the dyke, and extended from Trajan to Gratian. Of this total number, 
only two hundred and thirty-one could be identified, being in very 
bad condition on account of having lain near the surface, and being 

‘much exposed to moisture. They were occasionally found in batches, 
and it is probable that the Roman workmen must have come upon 
a large batch of them in digging the ditch in front of where 
Section 2 was cut, and that the coins were thrown up into the 
rampart with the soil without any notice having been taken of them. 

No British coins were found in this settlement. The animal remains 

throughout the settlement were the same, and the animals of the 
¥2 


302 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, 


same size, as at Woodcuts and Rotherley. The identified bones of 
the ox amounted to 36:8 per cent. of the total number of fragments ; 
sheep, 38°8 per cent.; and horse, 25-2 per cent. No grain was 
found. In one respect a difference was observed in their culinary 
practices. In Woodcuts and Rotherley an enormous number of 
burnt flints were found, which had been used in a red-hot state for 
boiling food in troughs. In this settlement not a single burnt flint 
was discovered, which argues an entire difference in their mode of 
cooking. .An interesting discovery was made in the Mid Drain, at 
the bottom of which, at 2ft. 14in. beneath the surface, a coffin, 
composed of a dug-out half trunk of a tree, was found with a 
cremated interment in it. A model of this was exhibited. A 
similar interment was discovered by me in a tumulus of the Bronze 
Age, about four miles to the west, which is described in the second 
volume of my “ Excavations in Cranborne Chase,” showing that 
this mode of burial must have survived amongst the Britons until 
Roman times, and that, in both periods, cremation and inhumation 
were practiced simultaneously. 

The quality of the pottery and the forms of the earthen vessels 
tallied with those found in the villages, with some notable differences. 
The proportion of vessels with loops for suspension and holes in the 
bottom—supposed by me to be for draining honey, was considerably 
less in Woodyates. The proportion of loops to the total number 
of fragments of pottery in the settlement—viz., twenty-eight 
thousand four hundred and eighty-nine,' being 0°03 per cent. in 
Woodyates, as against 0°29 per cent. in Woodcuts, and 0°79 in 
Rotherley, showing, either that there was less use for this class of 
vessel in Woodyates, or that, being more distant from its place of 
fabrication, it was less easily procured. The proportion of fragments 
with basin-shaped rims and high ridges was larger than in Rotherley, 
but not so numerous as in Woodcuts. The class of bowl, with a 
bead rim, which was very common in the pits at Woodcuts, and 
also, though in a less degree, at Rotherley, and which were generally 


1The total number of fragments in Woodcuts was twenty-seven thousand 
seven hundred and twenty-one ; and in Rotherley, eighteen thousand nine 
hundred and thirty-two. 


On the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, and Bokerly Dyke. 303 


found associated with an inferior quality of ware, was nearly absent 
in Woodyates, the proportion being no more than 0-03 per cent., as 
against 2°16 per cent. at Woodcuts, and 1°50 at Rotherley. The 
number of large handles for pitchers and small handles for saucers 
was exactly in the same proportion as at Woodcuts, viz., 0°32 per 
cent. A class of pottery, of soft cream-coloured texture in the 
interior of the substance and painted on the outside, was abundant 
at Woodyates, but rarely found in the other villages, the proportion 
being, in Woodyates, as much as 3°7 per cent., and in Woodcuts 
only 0-1 per cent., whilst in Rotherley one fragment only was 
found, This must be regarded as a superior class of pottery, and 
somewhat allied to the New Forest Ware in form.! New Forest 
Ware, hard and well-baked, was, in Woodyates, 3°9 per cent., 
against 0°78 per cent. in Woodcuts, and 0°9 per cent. in Rotherley. 
Samian pottery of the best quality was less abundant, being 0°9 in 
Woodyates, as against 2°1 in Woodeuts, and 2°3 in Rotherley. 
British imitation of Samian amounted to 0°6 per cent. in Woodyates, 
but was scarcely a recognizable quality in Woodcuts and Rotherley. 
Upon the whole, notwithstanding the small proportion of the best 
class of Samian, the ordinary pottery was of a superior quality in 
Woodyates to the other villages. 

The greater part of the fragments of pottery and iron nails were 
found to the westward of the settlement, in, about, and to the rear 
of the Fore Dyke, leading to the inference that this was the part 
chiefly inhabited, and that the ditches to the north and east must 
in all probability have been the boundary drains of fields rather 
than of inhabited areas; and this circumstance, together with the 
information derived from the workmen as to the former discoveries 
of Roman relics in the fields, on the surface, leads me to believe 
that the part hitherto excavated, probably consists of the outskirts 
of the settlement, and that the main body of it will eventually be 
found to run on to the south, in the direction of the present village 
of Woodyates. 

BS al ie RE en ERS Bt a Zi a 


* This quality of pottery is found in the Roman kilns at Crockle, in the New 
Forest. 


804 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, 


Fifteen skeletons were found in the settlement, of which the bones 
were sufficiently perfect to enable a computation of their stature to 
be made, viz., twelve males and three females. Of these, two were 
buried in a crouched position, and the rest extended. A diagram 
was shown at the meeting by means of which their relative stature 
as compared with those found in the other ancient places in the 
neighbourhood, could be seen ata glance. The calculation of the 
stature from the bones was done according to Dr. Topinard’s method. 
Various methods of comparison may be adopted. The average 
height of any number of skeletons may be found by adding together 
the estimated stature of the several skeletons and dividing by the 
number of skeletons. In the case of a small number of skeletons, 
such as this, this is an imperfect means of comparison, because 
individuals of exceptional stature vitiate the result. The better way 
is to place the whole of the estimated heights in a diagram according 
to their sizes, side by side, from left to right, and take the central 
individual, if an odd number, or the mean between the two central 
individuals, if an even number, as the medium stature of the whole. 
A comparison may also be made by comparing the males and females 
taken together, of one place, with the males and females taken 
together, of another place, or by comparing the males of one place 
with the males of another place, and the females with the females. 
Adopting the latter, as the most reliable method, and using the 
medium stature, rather than the average, as a test of height, I find 
the following results. The medium stature of the males at Wood- 
yates was 5ft, 4°2in.; that of Woodcuts, 5ft. 4°7in.; Rotherley, 
5ft, 1-5in.; while that of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Winkelbury 
was 5ft. 6-9in. Of the females the medium stature at Woodyates 
was 4ft. 9°6in.; at Woodcuts, 5ft. 0'0in.; at Rotherley, 4ft. 9°9in. ; 
at Winkelbury, 5ft. 2:3in. Thus it will be seen that the stature of 
the Woodyates skeletons is slightly higher than that of the other 
Romano- British villages of Woodeuts and Rotherley ; but by what- 
ever method of computation the comparison was made, it was found 
that the stature of the Anglo-Saxon skeletons in the cemetery at 
Winkelbury was from 3in. to 4in. taller than any of the Romano- 
British settlements; whilst the only two Bronze Age skeletons that 


On the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, and Bokerly Dyke. 305 


I have discovered in this neighbourhood stood higher than all. This 
is only in accordance with what has been found elsewhere. 

In another diagram, I exhibited at the meeting in a tabular form 
a comparison of the head-form of the skeletons from these several 
places, by which it was seen that the number of round heads was :— 
in Woodyates, two; in Woodeuts and Rotherley, each one; and in 
the Anglo-Saxon cemetery there was no round-headed skeleton, 
whilst Rotherley produced three hyperdolichocephalic, or very long 
heads, out of the thirteen. found there. As round-headedness may, 
perhaps, be taken to imply a mixture of Roman blood, this result 
might be expected, as it is more likely the aborigines should have 
mixed their blood with the Romans in places situated on the main 
thoroughfare than in the remoter settlements. But the value of 
these conjectures must be taken for what it is worth, considering 
the comparatively small number of skeletons, viz., fifty-seven, from 
which the head-form could be ascertained. This much may, however, 
be said with certainty, that the population of these parts in Roman 
times was of much smaller stature than now, smaller than it after- 
wards became when the Teutonic element was introduced, but that 
varieties of type had already appeared, which are characteristic of 
it to the present time. We are fortunate in having obtained the 
opinion of Dr. Garson, who has earefully examined these skeletons 
and has tested all my measurements of them. His remarks are 
contained in a very valuable paper which he has contributed to this 
journal. 

The drains of the settlement were obviously made for the purpose 
of carrying off the heavy rainfall, as at Woodcuts and Rotherley, 
but for what reason they were afterwards filled up again to the top, 
so that skeletons could be buried in them, I am unable to understand. 
The whole character of the settlement, and its contents, were the 
same as in the other villages, and as the dyke is now proved to be 
more recent than the settlement its date with respect to those 


villages is also determined. This is the point towards which I have 


been working during the whole of this investigation. 
Before leaving this settlement another point must be noted. The 
Itinerary of Antoninus gives the distance between Sorbiodunum 


306 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, 


and Vindogladia, on this line, at XII M.P. Sir Richard Hoare, 
recognizing the remains of a Romano-British village on Gussage 
Down, as the only likely place for a Roman station in this neigh- 
bourhood places Vindogladia at that spot. In order to make it 
tally with the Itinerary it was necessary to alter the distance from 
XII to XVI Roman miles. But if the ancient writers are to be 
relied upon at all, their statements must be taken as they are given, 
and not changed. Now the settlement at’Woodyates is as nearly 
as possible XII Roman miles from Sorbiodunum, assuming a Roman 
mile to be, as generally computed, 446ft., or nearly 150yds. less 
than the English mile, and I have little doubt that had Sir Richard 
Hoare known of the settlement that I have now discovered at 
Woodyates he would without hesitation have located it at this spot. 
At this spot the Roman Road makes its only turn of any importance 
between Sorbiodunum and Badbury Rings, showing that it must 
have been the most important point upon the line, more so than 
Gussage Down, at which place the road makes no turn, although it 
passes not far from the remains of the Roman settlement there. 
Etymological evidence may also be adduced in favour of this 
place being Vindogladia. I advocate no new theory of my own 
upon this question. But referring to Stukeley, Warne, and others 
who have followed him, I find that the word Vindogladia is assumed 
to be derived from the two Celtic words, vint—=white, and gladh=a 
ditch or rampart. Here, then, we have a distinct reference to 
Bokerly Dyke, which, viewed from the surrounding heights, must 
have been, at the time of its construction, a conspicuous white chalk 
rampart, running for miles over the green sward. It may, perhaps, 
be asked, how came a word with such a derivation to be included in 
the Itinerary of Antoninus? which is believed to have been compiled 
about the year 320, when the dyke is now proved to have been 
thrown up no earlier than the reign of Honorius, A.D. 8395—423, 
and possibly by the Romanised Britons as a defence against the 
Saxons. The reply to this-is, that the Itinerary was a Roman road- 
book, and is generally believed to have been altered from time to 
time, during subsequent reigns, and I think I am justified in saying 
that it is not known how long it may have ultimately remained in use. 


oe ee 


er 


— ae 


On the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, and Bokerly Dyke. 307 


But further discoveries had yet to be made. The Cross Drain, 
which runs parallel to the Roman Road, and which is on that account 
assumed to be more recent than it, was found to cut across the ditch 
of the dyke at a higher level than the bottom of it,and must, therefore, 
have been constructed before the ditch of the dyke, unless it was 
construeted after the latter had silted up, which is improbable. This 
Cross Drain can only be shown by a very fine line on the accom- 
panying map, this part of the evidence, therefore, cannot be well 
understood except by reference to the larger map, which will ac- 
company my third volume of excavations. On following the Cross 
Drain further south it was found to run into a deep hole, no trace 
of which was seen on the surface. This, being cleared out, was found 
to be the section of another ditch in rear of, and of about the same 
size, as the one in front of it, and it now appeared very probable 
that this must have been a second and older dyke, in rear of the 
first. I therefore had sections cut east and west,.and by this means 
traced the Rear Dyke to its junction with what I now call the Fore 
Dyke, just beneath the Salisbury Road. It was now found that 
the ditch of the Rear Dyke crossed that of the Fore Dyke at this 
spot, at a slightly higher level, and went on to form the outer ditch 
of Section 1. The Fore Dyke was the most recent, as it crossed 
the Rear Dyke at a lower level, and went on to form the inner ditch 
in Section 1. This accounted for the double ditch, which had so 
puzzled us when it was first discovered. It was evident the Rear 
Dyke, for some reason, had been filled in from the point of junction, 
and the Fore Dyke made at the same time, and that when this 
occurred the makers of the Fore Dyke ran their ditch on in rear of 
the other, along the whole face of the left centre dyke. This may 
have been owing to the old escarp of the first ditch having become 


rotten and unsuitable for a defence, and to its being found necessary 


to form another fresh escarp of solid chalk by cutting another ditch 
in rear. The probability is that the outer ditch was filled up at this 
time, so that there never was more than one ditch open at the same 
time. The whole of the defence, in fact, must have been renewed 
at the time the Fore Dyke was made. 

This discovery increased the importance of Section 1, as that 


308 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, . 


section was cut at a spot which was to the east of the place where 
the Fore and Rear Dykes branched off, and in order to make the 
contents of this part of the entrenchment more certain, the rampart 
portion of Section 1 was extended, and a coin of Maximinus II. (A.D. 
308—313) was found on the old surface-line, and numerous frayments 
of both British and Romano-British pottery in the same section. 
This removed all possibility of doubt, if any had existed, of this 
part being of Roman origin. In the Rear Dyke, which had been 
filled up, Roman coins, extending from Septimius Severus to Gratian, 
Roman pottery and relics of the same character as those found in 
the rest of the settlement and in the Fore Dyke were discovered. 

About 870yds. to the west of this spot there is a short detached 
fragment of a dyke, marked in the map, in rear of the Fore Dyke, 
which had puzzled Sir Richard Hoare. It is marked “ditch” in 
the Ordnance 6-inch map, and abuts upon the west of the road 
from Woodyates to Cobley Farm. It now appears evident that 
this is a continuation of the Rear Dyke, and that if the ground was 
excavated it would be found to be connected with the fragment 
discovered at the Bokerly Junction, which is the name I gave to that 
spot for reasons that do not now require explanation. The Rear 
Dyke is seen again in rear of the Fore Dyke running through the 
orchard to the north of West Woodyates Farm. 

A section was now cut in prolongation of the Roman Road, 
through the rampart of the Fore Dyke, and the flint pitching of 
the Roman Road was found under the bank. This, on being traced 
southwards, was found to lie over the ji//ing of the ditch of the Rear 
Dyke, proving that the Roman Road was used after the Rear Dyke 
was filled in. It does not follow that the Roman Road was made 
after the Rear Dyke was filled in, as it may have been dug across, 
and the road afterwards laid again over the filling of the ditch. 

As it was now evident that one great alteration had been made in 
the defences at Bokerly Junction, one dyke destroyed, and another 
erected outside and in front of it, and the defences all along the 
line apparently renewed, it became of still greater interest to examine 
more closely the epaulement, spoken of in the first part of my paper, 
and ascertain whether this may not have been the point of junction 


: 
, 
; 
j 
q 
‘ 
; 


On the Excanations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, and Bokerly Dyke. 309 


or departure of a still earlier dyke branching off to the westward 
from this spot, or a shoulder, covering the termination of the en- 
trenchment at some previous time. A section was therefore cut, to 
the south-east of the epaulement, at which spot two ditches were 
again found, as in Section 1. But in the rampart no coins were 
found, and the pottery was of an earlier and coarser kind than in the 
other sections. No distinctly Roman pottery was found in the body 
of the rampart, and only a few doubtful fragments near the surface. 
A long strip was then cut along the gap, where the upper part of 
the rampart had been removed, and where the old surface-line conse- 
quently could be got at quicker, but with the same results. Nothing 
distinctly Roman was found. 

We then attacked the epaulement itself. The rampart of the 
dyke had, at some time, been thrown over the ditch of the epaulement 
continuously in the line of the Main Rampart ; but this must have 
been done subsequently to the time when it served as the northern 
termination of the entrenchment, if it ever did so serve. The part 
of the rampart which runs across the ditch of the epaulement I call 
the “Traverse.” Was the old ditch to be found beneath the 
Traverse? If so, it would prove that it once formed the termination 
of the dyke before it was extended further to the north. . I cut a 
section along the length of the Traverse into the rampart at the 
shoulder of the epaulement, and found the solid chalk sides of the 
old ditch beneath the Traverse. ‘The section showed that the ditch 
had silted up to a great extent by denudation from the rampart 
before the Traverse was thrown over it. In the Traverse nine 
fragments of Samian pottery were found, and at 2°4ft. from the 
summit of it a well-preserved coin of Magnentius. This proves 
that the Traverse was erected in Roman times, but on digging 
further into the old rampart beneath, and at the end of the Traverse 
where it abuts upon the epaulement, no Samian or other Roman 
remains were found. The difference in the contents of these two 
deposits is made more striking by their juxtaposition. Similar 
differences in parts of the entrenchment that were remote from one 
another would prove only a difference in the previous occupation of 
the ground, but in this case it is evident that, at the time when the 


510 Inaugural Address by the President of the Society, 


Traverse was thrown up for the purpose of continuing the entrench- 
ment to the westward, the soil did contain Roman remains, whilst, 
at the time when the older portion of the dyke was thrown up, the 
same ground did not contain Roman remains. 

Two hundred and sixty feet of rampart, in all, was dug on the 
south-east of the epaulement without finding anything Roman 
except some dubious pieces of pottery, quite near the surface. The 
bulk of the pottery was of a kind that might be attributed to the 
British as well as the Roman Age. This goes a long way towards 
proving that the dyke to the south-east of the epaulement was 
earlier, and that the extension of it to the north-west was made in 
Roman or post-Roman times, but it is not conclusive. This spot is 
more distant from the settlement than Sections 1 and2. Whatever 
kind of pottery exists in the soil will be thrown up into the rampart, 
and at whatever period a rampart may be made it will disclose only 
such kinds of pottery as the soil contained, or such as might have 
been accidentally dropped into it during its construction. The 
absence of: Roman pottery is, consequently, no proof that a rampart 
is earlier than the Roman times, though it may leave the question 
of date open. 

Trenches were dug in the combe at the end of the epaulement, to 
ascertain whether it had ever extended further and been destroyed 
by cultivation, but the end of the ditch was found at a distance of 
272ft. from the spot where it leaves the Main Dyke, showing that 
it never extended over the hill, but must have been merely a short 
turn of the rampart to cover and protect the exposed flank, at this 
time probably also protected by a dense growth of trees and under- 
wood. 

The question of the age of the right flank, right centre, and a 
considerable part of the left centre of Bokerley Dyke as far as the 
epaulement, must be left for future investigation, before it can be 
determined with the same certainty that we can now speak of the 
left flank. I have only to say, however, that as the whole character 
of the extensions coincides with that of the main portion of the 
entrenchment, except in being of slightly less relief, there is a 
probability of the latter being found to have been constructed by 


- 
ee 


On the Excavations at Rotherley, Woodcuts, and Bokerly Dyke. 311 


the same people, though perhaps at an earlier date. More than 
this cannot at the present time be affirmed with confidence. It 
would be desirable to excavate on Blagdon Hill, especially at the 
point where the branch line (also called on the Ordnance Map 
“ Bokerly Dyke”) joins it, or perhaps only cuts across it. One 
point, before leaving the dyke, I may notice, viz., that the irregu- 
larity of its line, which has been commented upon by previous 
writers, may, perhaps, be owing to the intermittent renewal of the 
old escarp by the construction of a second ditch, at the time that 
the Fore Dyke was made. It was seen that the double ditch was 
not found everywhere. In some places the old escarp may have been 
found steep and firm enough, and then the second ditch would not 
be dug, in others it was found necessary to dig back to secure a hard 
wall of chalk for the defence, and, by this means, irregularities may 
have been produced which were not in the original construction. 

Time forbids me to proceed further with this enquiry for the 
present, and for the same reason many more or less interesting details 
have been omitted, all of which will appear in the third volume of 
the account of my excavations. I trust I have succeeded in con- 
vincing those who have done me the compliment of following me, 
that excavations afford a sure and effectual means of ascertaining 
the date, within certain limits, of the most extensive earthworks, 
and that, even when a series of alterations may have taken place in 
them, from time to time, their continuous history may, nevertheless, 
be unravelled by means of the pick and shovel. I had intended 
saying a few words on the prospect which these researches hold out 
of ultimately clearing up the history of Wansdyke, but after having 
taxed your patience to so great an extent I fear that I must postpone 
the consideration of that question until a future occasion,’ 

A diagram and model of the excavations made by mein Wansdyke 
near Shepherds Shore was exhibited. 

The address was illustrated by thirteen diagrams and nine models. 


ee 

1 The excavation of Wansdyke at Brown’s Barn was made after the Meeting 
of the Society at Devizes. It resulted in proving by means of Samian pottery 
found in the rampart that the whole work was Roman, or post-Roman, but as no 
coins were found, its date could not be determined with the same certainty as 
that of Bokerly. The account of it will be given hereafter. 


312 


Alotes on Auman Aemnins 


Hiscobered by General Pitt-Aibers, B.C.9., F-H.S., wh 
Goodpates, Wiltshire. 
By J. G. Garson, M.D., V.P.A.I., Lecturer on Comparative Anatomy at 
Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, London. 


excavated by him at Woodyates, Wiltshire, and of comparing them 
with the specimens he obtained a few years ago from the Romano- 
British villages of Woodcuts and Rotherley. 

Before my visit to Rushmore each specimen had been carefully 
measured, the sex accurately determined, and the stature of the 
individual estimated by General Pitt-Rivers, who kindly placed at 
my disposal all the results of his investigations. Having satisfied 
myself that these measurements and calculations were correctly 
made and quite as reliable as any I could make, I devoted the time 
at my disposal to studying the descriptive characters and comparing 
the various series of skulls from the above-mentioned places with 
one another. The data, therefore, on which the present communi- 
cation is based, are derived from General Pitt-Rivers’ measurements 
and my personal observations of all the specimens referred to in it. 

A cursory survey of the Woodyates specimens, when placed side 
by side in line, was sufficient to show me that they differed in some 
respects from those found in the villages of Woodcuts and Rotherley, 
which I had previously examined soon after their discovery. It was 
also sufficient to show that among the individual specimens com- 
posing the series there existed a considerable range of variation in 
the size and proportions of the different parts of the skull. In other 
words, I could readily see that the remains were not those of a 
homogenous group of persons, but of individuals presenting as great 
diversities in their physical characters as would be found to exist in 
a series of persons taken from different families at the present day. 
Further examination of the specimens and of the measurements 


Notes on Human Remains from Woodyates, Wiltshire. 313 


made by General Pitt-Rivers showed that not only is there con- 
siderable diversity in the characters of the facial portion of the 
skull, but that there is also a good deal of variety in the form of 
the part which contains the brain, termed the calvaria. 

In this communication I only propose to indicate generally the 
characters and variations alluded to above, without going into details 
as to the different measurements and proportions of the specimens, ex- 
cept so far as may be necessary to illustrate the import of my remarks. 

The general form of the calvaria, when viewed from above, is 
oval, but the exact form of outline differs considerably. Thus, in 
some cases, we find it is a broad oval, in others long and narrow or ir- 
regular. Its ends are somewhat pointed in some specimens, while in 
others they are broader, or even nearly square. The line of greatest 
breadth is situated sometimes behind the centre of the oval, and in 
other cases about the centre. The sides are flat and straight in one or 
two instances, and asymmetry of the lateral halves is very common. 
The parietal bosses are as a rule not very pronounced. The state of 
occlusion of the sutures varies a good deal. In some instances they 
are very open, while in others they are obliterated, or nearly so ; these 
two conditions may sometimes occur simultaneously in the same speci- 
men; partial synostosis is, therefore, not uncommon. As arule the 
sutures are simple. Four instances of metopism or persistence of the 
mesial frontal suture occur in the series, which is in the proportion of 
about one in every four, a considerably higher average than obtains 
amongst modern British skulls. Numerous Wormean bones in the 
sagittal and lamboidal sutures occur in one instance, and to a less ex- 
tent in another. The forehead is broad and square in all the metopie 
specimens, and in them also the frontal bosess are well marked ; 
in the other specimens it is receding to a greater or less extent. 
The degree of development of the glabella and superciliary emi- 
nences varies much. As a consequence the form and prominence of 
the brow differs considerably. In many cases there is little develop- 
ment of these prominences, and where this obtains the brow is flat, 
while in others they are fairly well marked, but in no ease are they 
greatly developed. The glabella is sometimes the main prominence in 
the centre of the forehead, while in other cases the superciliary ridges 


314 Notes on Human Remains from Woodyates, Wiltshire. 


form the chief prominences, the glabella being a depression between 
them. The bony ridges for the attachment of muscles or their 
aponeurosis, such as those about the inion, stephanion, &c., are in 
some cases well developed, but as a rule are only moderately marked. 
When the characters of the calvaria are studied from the front, well 
marked differences in the form of the arch of the vault may be 
observed. In nearly a third of the specimens the arch is 
moderately high and forms a well proportioned curve, in about a 
third it is very acute or pointed at the summit or apex, while in 
rather more than a third the opposite condition obtains, that is to 
say, the arch is flat and broad at its apex. The cephalic index, 
which expresses the relative proportion which the breadth bears to 
the length of the calvaria (the latter being taken as 100), averages 
in the whole series 76°4, and varies from 69'2 to 82°6. As great 
importance attaches to this index for the purpose of classifying the 
various forms of head, it is necessary to analyse its variations in the 
group under consideration. Two of the crania are brachycephalic, 
nine are mesaticephalic, five are dolichocephalic, and one hyper- 
dolichocephalic. It should also be mentioned that the indices of far 
the greater number of the mesaticephalic specimens are nearer the 
upper than the lower limits of that group, and therefore more nearly 
approach the brachycephalic group. The breadth of the calvaria is 
in every ease except one, greater than the vertical height. In the 
exceptional case the two measurements are practically equal, the 
height being only 1mm. greater than the breadth. 

Passing now to the characters of the face, we find it is long and 
narrow in some cases, while in others it is short and proportionately 
broad. The form of the nasal portion is always a very characteristic 
feature of the face, and variations in the nasal index, which expresses 
the relation of the breadth of the nose to its length, are, perhaps, 
as strong evidence of mixed race as any character in the body, 
particularly if conjoined with marked variation in the form of the 
calvaria, indicated by the cephalic index. In these specimens great 
diversity of the nasal index is found to exist, since it varies from 
33°3 to 58°0. Six of the specimens are leptorhine (long and narrow), 
four are mesorhine, and two are platyrhine (short and broad). Here 


By J. G. Garson, U.D., V.P.A.L. 315 


then we have the three groups represented into which the index is 
divided. The form of the orbital opening also varies considerably ; 
in some cases it is nearly rectangular at each of the corners, giving 
a square appearance to the orbit, while in others it is much more 
circular. The direction of the transverse axes of the orbits likewise 
varies, being in some specimens nearly in the same horizontal line, 
while in others they are set at a more or less acute angle. The superior 
maxillz are sometimes massive, with the canine fosse but little 
marked; in other cases their surfaces are deeply hollowed out, 
forming large and deep canine fosse ; a well marked maxillary notch 
occurs in several specimens situated mesially to the lower end of the 
jugo-maxillary suture, but in other cases the lower border of the 
orbital process of the maxilla curves outwards without a distinct 
notch being formed. The malar bones are heavy and massive in 
some specimens, and less strongly developed in others; several 
individual variations in the form of these bones also occur. The 
form of the mandible varies a good deal; in some cases it is 
massive with well marked ridges for muscular attachments, while in 
others it is decidedly feeble. Its lower margin is wide and spreading 
outwards in some cases, while in others it slopes inwards. The 
length and inclination of the so-called horizontal ramus varies; in 
some cases it is short and nearly horizontal in position, while in 
others it is longer and slopes downwards and forwards. ‘The chin is 
rounded and broad in some specimens, narrow and pointed in others ; 
it is seldom very prominent. 

These characters enumerated fully justify the statement I made 
at the outset, viz., that we had to deal with a set of specimens 
showing very mixed characters. Had the persons whom these 
skeletons represent been of a homogeneous type much less variety of 
characters would have been found amongst them. It is a matter of 
considerable interest to note how these specimens from Woodyates 
agree or disagree with those found at Rotherley and Woodcuts, and 
accordingly I propose to make a few observations on the subject. 
Anyone accustomed to examine skulls, on looking at the three sets 
of specimens, would have little difficulty in discerning that each set 
possesses predominant characters of its own, though the Woodcuts 
VOL. XXV.—NO. LXXV, Z 


816 Notes on Human Remains from Woodyates, Wiltshire. 


and Woodyates skulls resemble one another more closely than those 
of Rotherley. The least individual variety occurs amongst the 
Rotherley skulls—they are the most homogeneous group. On the 
other hand, individual variety is greatest in the Woodyates specimens, 
while the Woodcuts skulls in this respect occupy a mean position 
between those from Rotherley and Woodyates. There are, of course, 
specimens in each set which show similar fundamental characters, 
particularly in the Woodcuts and Woodyates series. As minute 
details regarding the differences between the three sets of specimens 
are somewhat technical, and therefore tedious, except to those 
specially interested in the subject, I shall only point out the 
differences between them indicated by the form of the calvaria and 
nasal portion of the face. The cephalic index shows that the 
dolichocephalie element is most strongly marked in the Rotherley 
specimens, only one specimen out of thirteen being brachycephalic, 
and three mesaticephalic, while six are dolichocephalic, and three 
hyperdolichocephalic. Of the Woodcuts specimens one is brachy- © 
cephalic, eight are mesaticephalic, while five are dolichocephalic. 
The Woodyates specimens show the greatest tendency to brachy- 
cephaly, the greater number of the mesaticephalic skulls from 
there being at the upper end of that group, while the greater 
number of the mesaticephalic skulls from Woodcuts are at the lower 
end, that approaching the dolichocephalic group. In the nasal 
characters, the platyrhine form is not present either at Rotherley or 
Woodcuts, while the leptorhine and mesorhine forms are present 
in about the same proportion. This comparison of the characters of 
the skull shows that the Woodyates specimens belonged to a more 
mixed race than the inhabitants of Rotherley, while the Woodcuts 
people were intermediate in this respect. It also shows that the 
people in the neighbourhood of Woodyates did not live isolated from 
the Roman population, as the Rotherley people evidently did more 
or less, but mixed and inter-bred with them. As far as I am able to 
judge from the characters of the skull, there does not seem to be 
any evidence present of crossing with the Celtic population of 
Britain, and I am inclined to think that we have here to deal with 
a crossing between the Roman and early dolichocephalic British race. 


317 


The Geology of Devizes. 


By A. J. Juxes-Browng, B.A., F.G.S. 


Part I.—Dzscriprion oF THE STRATA AND THEIR PECULIARITIES 
OF STRUCTURE. 


‘ PAPER on the geology of any town or district is often a 

, very dry-as-dust affair, consisting chiefly of descriptions of 
rocks, with a scattering of technical terms and names of fossils that 
convey little meaning to ordinary ears. That kind of paper is not 
at all suitable for delivery to a general audience, and should only be 
read to an assembly of geologists. There are, however, certain facts 
in the geology of any district, and in the structure of its rocks, 
which may be explained and made interesting to people who have 
little or no acquaintance with the science of geology. It is these 
portions of the subject which are dealt with in the first part of this 
paper, the more technical questions of nomenclature and classification 
being left to form the second part. 

Professor Huxley once gave a lecture on a piece of Chalk, and 
found a great deal to say about it, both as to the peculiar structure 
of the material and as to the manner in which it was made. Some 
people may imagine they know all about Chalk when they know 
that it is composed of carbonate of lime, but the microscope tells us 
that there are as many different kinds of Chalk as there are different 
kinds of Clay or Sandstone ; it shows us also that the number of tiny 
fossils and organic remains in a crumb of Chalk is as large as the 
number of live animals in a drop of pond-water. Some of you may 
have seen the magnified reflection of such a drop of water thrown on 
a screen by means of the oxyhydrogen lantern, and will remember 
the lively scene it exhibited. In some pieces of Chalk the remains 


of minute animals are nearly as numerous, but before entering on 
EE STS: SOE Ae I RES 

*,* The Society is indebted to Mr. Jukes-Browne’s kindness for two-thirds 
of the cost of the illustrations of his paper. 


Z2 


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The Geology of Devizes. 


318 


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By A. J. Jukes-Browne, B.A., F.G.S8. 319 


an explanation of these I must direct attention to the sections, 
Section 1 shows the natural order of the strata which lie beneath 
Devizes. Beds of rock are not generally vertical masses, but layers 
or courses which run one under another, and are continuous, hori- 
zontally or obliquely, for a great distance underground. Thus 
bed @ in the diagram, which is called the Kimeridge Clay, and 
comes to the surface between Seend and Poulshot, would be found 
under Devizes if anyone made a boring down to the level at which 
it occurs, and a geologist can generally estimate the depth at which 
any such bed can be found. 

The other section before you is one through Morgan’s Hill, and 
shows the successive beds of Chalk of which ‘it is composed, the 
lowest of them resting on the same bed of green Sand which comes 
to the surface round Devizes and Bishops Cannings. 

The rocks in the immediate neighbourhood of Devizes belong to 
the Cretaceous System, and for the purposes of description they may 
be dealt with under the following names, in descending order :— 


7. Upper Chalk. 3. Malmstone, 
6. Middle Chalk. 2. Gault. 
5. Lower Chalk. 1, Ironsands. 


4, Greensand. 


1.—Ironsands. The lowest beds of the system are the brown 
pebbly Sandstones of Poulshot and Rowde, with the outlying patch 
at Seend. The pebbles in these beds are chiefly small rounded bits of 
vein-Quartz which have been derived from much older rocks that lie 
to the west of Wiltshire. Fossils are rare in them, and they would 
have been credited with few organic remains if Mr. W. Cunnington 
had not been careful to collect from the cutting made for the road 
up Seend Hill in 1849, This is an excellent instance of the useful 
work which a local geologist can accomplish, and the geological 
members of every local Natural History Society ought to consider 
it their duty to record and collect from all such exposures while they 
are fresh and clear. If they do not, valuable and interesting facts 
are lost to science, for the banks become obscured with earth and 
grass in the course of a few years, when the geologist who then 


320 The Geology of Devizes. 


visits them can only see that once upon a time an excellent and 
interesting section was to be seen at the spot. 

I need not now say more about the Ferruginous Sands except to 
express a hope that the time may come when the Ironstone they 
contain may be utilised, and to point out that they were formed in 
very shallow water along the shore of an ancient continent which 
then lay to the west of Wiltshire. 

2. Gault. Above the Ferruginous Sands, and forming the lower 
part of the slopes below Roundway, Devizes, Potterne, Stert, and 
Urchfont, is a dark grey clay known as the Gault. The brickyards 
at Dunkirk, Caen Hill, Stert, and Lavington are opened in this 
clay, and its thickness in this district is from S8O0ft. to 90ft. 

To the unassisted eye a lump of the clay only seems to be fine 
dry mud glistening with minute particles of a silvery substance 
which we know to be Mica. By the aid of the microscope we learn 
that it chiefly consists of very fine mud, in which are scattered 
small grains of Quartz, flakes of Mica, particles of Glauconite, 
fragments of shell, and some perfect shells of the tiny creatures 
known as Foraminifera. 

The lowest beds are well exposed at Caen Hill and Dunkirk 
brickyards, the middle beds at Lavington, and the upper beds were 
formerly worked on the slope at Dunkirk, but are not now exposed ' 
at any place in the district. Here, again, we are indebted to Mr. 
Cunnington for collecting from an exposure that proved to be 
temporary ; for the fossils he obtained from this upper Dunkirk 
brickyard are not the same as those which can be found in the lower 
pit. At the latter the prevalent Ammonite is Am. interruptus, with 
its variety Am. Benettie and occasionally Am. Budeantii, while at 
the higher pit 4m. lautus, Am. tuberculatus, and Am. splendens were 
found; species which also characterise the upper part of the Lower 
Gault of Folkestone. 

3. Malmstone. The upper part of the Gault becomes marly and 
sandy, and passes up into a soft grey or buff sandy stone, which is 
known as Malm or Malmstone. This is a peculiar rock, which has 
not yet been found at any other geological horizon, but uniformly 
occurs between the Gault and Greensand throughout the counties 


By A. J. Jukes-Browne, B.A., F.G.S8. 321 


of Oxford, Berks, Wilts, Hants, and Surrey. When examined 
under the microscope it is seen to consist of a variety of different 
particles; small grains of Quartz sand, little flakes of Mica, and 
grains of a green mineral] called Glauconite ; mingled with these, and 
sometimes forming as much as 40 or 50 per cent. of the stone, are 
particles of a clear glassy white substance, some of them being long 
narrow rods with sharp points, and some being very small globular 
or discoid bodies or lumps of such globules. 

Now the needle-like rods are recognised as the spicules which 
occur in the skeleton of a certain class of sponges—not the 
sponges which are familiar to everyone, but like certain sponges 
which now live in the deeper parts of the sea, and are common at 
the bottom of the Atlantic. These sponges do not construct a soft 
fibrous or horny skeleton like the sponges of commerce, but secrete 
silica from the sea water and build up a siliceous framework or 
network which is strengthened by rods and spicules of various 
shapes. Many of these sponges shed their spicules, just as many 
animals shed their hairs or as trees shed their leaves; the spicules 
fall around them and are spread through the mud or ooze in which 
the sponges grow, so that there is nothing surprising in the fact 
that we sometimes find layers of stone that are almost entirely 
composed of sponge spicules, lying as thick and close as‘the fir 
needles that carpet the ground beneath a fir wood in winter time. 

With regard to the globules, they also consist of a peculiar kind of 
silica, similar to that of the spicules, not crystalline silica such as 
sand grains are made of, but clear colloid silica which is nearly 
structureless like solidified gum-arabic. We do not exactly know 
how the globules were formed, but as they always occur with the 
spicules we infer that they are derived either from the spicules or 
more probably from the siliceous framework of the sponges, of which 
few other traces are found. It is known that colloid silica is a very 
soluble form of the substance, and it is probable that some chemical 
change has taken place, which has reduced the beautiful lace-like 
network of the sponge-skeleton to a shapeless mass of globules and 
globular aggregations. 

A pure Malmstone consists largely of colloid silica in the form of 


322 The Geology of Devizes. 


globules and spicules, but the amount varies greatly, and thin slices 
of the Devizes Malm have rather a confused structure on account of 
the large proportion of other mineral ingredients. 

The Malmstone is, therefore, an interesting rock, for we learn 
that at the time it was being formed this district was the bed of a 
sea which was inhabited by a large colony of sponges. Other 


creatures do not seem to have found the area a suitable abode, for _ 


larger fossils are scarce, except a small sea-worm, which built a 
coiled calcareous shell (Vermicularia). 

The Malmstone is well exposed by the entrance lodge to Broadleas 
House, and along the scarped slope of Devizes Old Park. It passes 
up into a soft Micaceous Sandstone, which also contains some siliceous 
spicules and globules, but is mainly composed of the inorganic 
ingredients, Quartz, Mica, and Glauconite. This Sandstone is ex- 
posed in many road cuttings near Devizes, and has yielded a large 
number of fossils. Of these at least three good collections exist, that 
of Mr. W. Cunnington, now partly in the British Museum and partly 
in the Jermyn Street Museum; that of the Messrs. Sloper, which I 
arranged and named last summer in the Museum of this Society ; 
and thirdly, that of the late Mr H. Cunnington, which has been 
purchased for the Oxford Museum. These fossils are important, 
because it is only near Devizes and Urchfont that this part of the 
series contains so many organic remains. It would seem that the 
conditions which were favourable to the growth of the Sponges did 
not suit the Molluscs and Echinoderms, but that when the former 
died out large numbers of bivalve Mollusca took possession of the 
sea-floor, while Ammonites of several kinds swam through the water 
above. 

The Sandstone passes up into buff and grey sands, at the top of 
which there is a course of hard dark grey Calcareous Sandstone. 
This is the lowest rock bed seen in the road cutting south of Devizes, 
and, as it was formerly quarried at Potterne for building-stone, it 
may receive the name of “ Potterne Rock.” This rock has yielded 
the same assemblage of fossils as the Sandstone below. The thickness 
of beds from the base of the Malmstone to this rock is about 70ft. 

4. Grey and Green Sands. Above the Potterne Rock are a set of 


By 4. J. Jukes-Browne, B.A., F.G.S. 323 


grey and green sands, containing layers of hard greenish rock ;: 
these are very conspicuous in the road cutting south of Devizes, but 
we need only mention one peculiar fact about them, and that is that 
though they are about 70ft. thick near Devizes, they thin out so 
rapidly northwards that there are only 3ft. or 4ft. of such sand at 
Heddington and Calstone. They form, in fact, a huge sand bank, 
which seems to run nearly due east and west along the Vale of 
Pewsey. 

The silicified sponges which are found at several places in the Vale 
come from these sands, and they are also the home of several species 
of Pecten, especially P. asper, P. orbicularis, and P. interstriatus, 
but other fossils are not abundant. In the Vales of Warminster 
and Wardour these green sands contain layers of Chert and Sponge- 
rock. 

5. Lower Chalk. The passage from Greensand to Chalk is rather 
rapid, the passage beds being only 6ft. or 7ft. thick, and consisting 
of sand embedded in chalky matter, the proportion of the latter 
gradually increasing till the grains of sand are few and far between. 
In these beds are a number of greenish or brownish nodules, many 
of which are casts of fossils, so that the rock looks very like a 
greenish sandy mortar stuck full of pebbles. It is well exposed at 
Calstone and at Urchfont, and is generally known as the Chloritic 
Marl. 

In the overlying Chalk the green grains gradually die out, and 
we find a light grey kind of Chalk, some parts of which are soft and 
some are hard. In other parts of the country this lower Chalk is 
often burnt into lime, but in this part of Wiltsbire it is never burnt 
because it does not make good lime; clearly, therefore, there is 
something peculiar about it, and this peculiarity is soon found when 
it. is examined under the microscope. When highly magnified 
it is seen that the material is not all carbonate of lime, but that 
part of it consists of minute discs and globules, exactly like those in 
the Malmstone previously described, only they are smaller; and, as 
before, whenever this globular silica occurs the siliceous spicules of 
sponges are also abundant. This curious siliceous Chalk has been 
found at Compton Bassett, Stockley near Calstone, Heddington, 


324 The Geology of Devizes. 


Roundway, Etchilhampton, and near Eastcott. At the last place it 
contains further evidence of its siliceous character in yielding hard 
cherty nodules which may be regarded as imperfectly formed flints. 
These, too, correspond closely with nodules that are found in the 
Malmstone of Surrey, but no such objects have ever before been 
found in Chalk, so that Wiltshire can claim them as a unique 
phenomenon. 

The structure of this siliceous Chalk is illustrated in Fig. 3 ; 
which is made up of two parts of a slide of such Chalk, and shows 
the various states of mineralization exhibited by the sponge spicules. 


Fig. 3. Structure of Siliceous Chalk (magnified about one hundred times). 


The general ground mass is seen to consist partly of globular silica, 
partly of shell fragments (/) with still finer calcareous dust between 
them; a is a sponge spicule the central part of which is filled with 
globular silica; 4 4 are spicules of unaltered silica cut through 
obliquely and showing the axial canal filled with Glauconite; ¢ is 
a partly dissolved spicule—its outline only shown by the globular 
silica into which it seems to have passed ; and d is another partly 
destroyed spicule; ¢ is a grain of Glauconite, of which this slide 


By A. J. Jukes-Browne, B.A., P.G.S8. 325 


only shows a few svattered particles. For this drawing I am in- 
debted to Mr. W. Hill, F.G.S., and the wood engraving is a 
testimony of Mr. J. D. Cooper’s skill in that art. 

The higher part of the Lower Chalk consists of alternating soft 
and hard beds, some of the latter being very hard and weathering 
out as steps in the old cart tracks which lead up to the downs above 
Heddington, Roundway, Allington, Eastcott, and other places. 
Under the microscope these hard beds are seen to consist largely of 
fragments of Jnoceramus shell, a few foraminifera, and a few spicules. 
There is no globular silica, but a large proportion of the shell 
fragments have been silicified, that is to say, the fibrous arragonite 
of the original shell has been replaced by minutely crystalline silica 
(or chalcedony). 

6. Middle Chalk. On the top of Roundway Hill, near the 
plantation, there are some old pits in a very hard white rubbly Chalk. 
This is the bed which is now called the Melbourn Rock, and forms 
the base of the Middle Chalk. It occurs at the same horizon and 
is of the same hard rough nodular character all over England, from 
Yorkshire to Dorset and from Dorset to Dover, and it has also been 
found in the deep wells under London. I have not the slightest 
doubt that it runs all round the Vale of Pewsey, and underlies the 
whole of Salisbury Plain, and one of my colleagues is now engaged 
in tracing it over the country between Marlborough and Calne. 
The Melbourn Rock is not a compact homogeneous Chalk, but 
consists of layers of small nodules of a hard compact chalk em- 
bedded in a chalk of coarser texture and largely composed of frag- 
ments of Inoceramus shell. This structure is shown very clearly in 
the slide from which Fig. 4 is taken, and is fairly well shown in 
the engraving, which has been made from a photograph taken by 
Mr. W. Freshwater. The dark portions are the nodules of compact 
Chalk, and the other part is the shelly Chalk, one large fragment 
of shell extending right across the lower part of the figure. 

The higher part of the Middle Chalk is a typical white Chalk, so 
pure, and containing so few flints or fragments of shell that it is 
often used to make whitening. The material of which it consists is so 
fine that even under the microscope it looks like fine white powder, 


326 The Geology of Devizes. 


Figs, 4and 5.—Structure of Melbourn Rock and of Chalk Rock 
(magnified fifty times). 


but in it are scattered immense quantities of small round bodies 
which are either the cells of Foraminifera or of some allied organisms, 
Foraminifera are minute creatures which abound in all the seas and 
oceans of the present day, some living in shallow water, and some 
only in the open ocean. They extract carbonate of lime from the 
water, and construct tiny shells perforated by small holes, and these 
shells, either perfect or in fragments, have contributed largely to all 
parts of the Middle and Upper Chalk. A common form (Globi- 
gerina) is seen in the lower part of Fig. 6, and the small round 
bodies occurring in the surrounding material are nowhere so 
numerous and so robust as in this part of the Middle Chalk. The 
quarry below the butts on Roundway Hill is opened in this Chalk, 
and it forms the steepest part of the slopes round Oldbury Hill, 
Morgan’s Hill, and of the Downs that border the Vale of Pewsey. 

Chalk Rock. We now come to another well-marked horizon on 
the Chalk,and one that was first described from a section in Wiltshire, 
This is the Chalk Rock which has been worked for road metal in so 
many places on the Chalk hills, both to the north and south of 
Devizes. This rock is a hard white Limestone, lying in courses 


By A. J. Jukes-Browne, B.A., F.G.S. 237 


separated by layers of hard green-coated nodules, and no one who 
has once seen it would mistake it for any other bed in the Chalk. 
So also, when a thin slice is viewed under the microscope, it is seen 
to have a structure which is different from any other bed, and Mr. 
W. Hill, F.G.8., writes that ‘“ no one who has seen a slide prepared 
from this rock will mistake it for Chalk from any other horizon.” 
It is simply crowded with Foraminifera and with broken fragments 
of shell and other organic remains; sponge spicules are common, 
and there are large grains of Glauconite like those which occur in 
the Greensand far below. 

Figs. 5 and 7 illustrate this structure: Fig. 5 is the reproduction 


Fig. 6.—Structure of Middle Chalk, engraved from a drawing by 
F. Rutley, Esq., F.G.S. 


of a beautiful photograph by Mr. Freshwater, and shows very well 
the number and variety of Foraminifera which sometimes appear in 
a single slice. Fig. 7 is a woodcut by Mr. Cooper, from a drawing 
made by Mr. F. Rutley, F.G.S., and exhibits still better the different 
kinds of organisms which are often crowded into a small area of 
Chalk rock. A sponge spicule cut transversely is seen at 3, a 
grain of glauconite at j, and a fragment of Echinoderm shell at g, 
while the large object above this is a Foraminifer (Vernewillina). 


328 The Geology of Devizes. 


Fig. 7.—Structure of Chalk Rock (magnified sixty times). 


The Chalk Rock is found near the top of Morgan’s Hill and 
Oldbury Hill, and has been dug from shallow pits in many places 
all round the borders of Salisbury Plain. 

7. Upper Chalk. Above the Chalk Rock comes the Upper Chalk, 
a pure soft white Chalk with numerous layers of flint nodules. This 
Upper Chalk is not well exposed anywhere near Devizes, so I do not 
propose to describe it in detail, though near Salisbury it is some 
600ft. thick, and in the Isle of Wight more than 1000ft. There is 
no doubt that it originally spread across the whole Vale of Pewsey, 
and, together with the underlying Chalks and Greensands, spread. 
westward across Somerset and Gloucester to the mountains of Wales. 

The whole of England was submerged beneath the ocean in which 
the Upper Chalk was deposited, and it is not even certain whether 
the summits of the highest mountains in Wales remained above the 
surface of the water. Some of my readers may ask, ‘“ Where has 
all the great tract of chalk gone to?” The answer is that it has 
been washed off all those parts where it is not now found; but 
certain stones remain to testify to its former existence, for there are 
few parts of England where chalk-flints may not be found in greater 
or less abundance, and all these flints have been derived from the 


By A. J. Jukes-Browne, B.A., F.G.8. 329 


great plains of chalk which once covered the surface of England, 
and united England to France across the shallow trough which we 
eall the English Channel. 


Part II.—C.assiFicaTION AND NOMENCLATURE OF THE STRATA 
DEscRIBED. 


If we had merely to consider the neighbourhood of Devizes, or 
even the County of Wiltshire alone, the simplest arrangement of 
the Cretaceous Rocks would be to group all the Sands and the Gault 
Clay together as a lower division, and to regard the several members 
of the Chalk as an upper division. This was, indeed, the early 
classification adopted by Conybeare and Phillips in 1822, and by 
Fitton in 1827, but subsequent researches showed that it was not 
really a natural one. The earliest names used for the beds below 
the Chalk were Greensand, Gault, and Ironsands, the term Green- 
sand being invariably applied by Dr. W. Smith to the sands above 
the Gault, and including the Malmstone. 

The person chiefly responsible for the present nomenclature was 
Thomas Webster, who proposed the terms Lower and Upper Green- 
sand in 1824. They were suggested as a compromise, and only 
because certain persons had mistaken the green sandstone which 
occurs below the Gault at Folkestone for the true Greensand of 
Wiltshire. Fitton strongly protested against them, but they were 
retained by Murchison and others, who thought they were con- 
venient names and never realised the force of the objections which 
were brought against them. These objections were urged at various 
times by Dr. Fitton, Mr. Godwin-Austen, and Professor Judd. 

The term Lower Greensand as a name for the Ironsands is bad, 
because the general colour of these sands is not green, and because 
it unites under a common designation two groups which are widely 
separated in reality, one of them belonginy to the upper series and 
the other to the lower series of the Cretaceous System. The terms 
upper and lower can only be logically applied to parts of the same 
whole, thus we can speak of the Upper and Lower Chalk, or of 


330 The Geology of Devizes. 


the Upper and Lower Gault; but as it is now universally admitted 
that there is no such comprehensive group as a Middle Cretaceous 
or “ Greensand” formation, it is illogical and inconsistent to speak 
of an “ Upper ” and “ Lower Greensand.” 

The suggestion made by Godwin-Austen in 1850, and more 
recently (1870) urged by Professor Judd, that the French name of 
Neocomian should be adopted for the Lower Greensand is equally 
unfortunate, because the true Neocomian is the equivalent of the 
Wealden, which underlies the Lower Greensand, and the name used 
by the French for the beds which represent our Lower Greensand is 


Aptien. Moreover a good name had been proposed for the British | 


groups before Godwin-Austen wrote, for Fitton in 1847 had proposed 
to call the Lower Greensand Vectine, from Vectis, the Roman name 
of the Isle of Wight; and nowhere is the group better developed 
or more conveniently exposed for study than in that island. 

This is the name I have adopted, only altering it to the other 
adjectival form of Vectian; in it we have a short well-sounding 
name which does not convey any erroneous ideas and is derived from 
a well-known locality. 

But, when we have abolished the term Lower Greensand, we 
cannot continue to speak and write of an Upper Greensand; we 
must either revert to the original names of Gault and Greensand, 
or we must find a new name, and first of all we must enquire 
whether the Gault and Greensand are separate members of the 
Cretaceous series, or whether they are only different parts or litho~ 
logical facies of one formation—the “ Gault ” of one locality passing 
into the “‘ Greensand ” of another. 

In this enquiry the fossils of the Devizes Sandstone afford valuable 
assistance. If the Greensand always contained a similar set of fossils 
and the Gault always held a different set, and if the characteristic 
fossils of the one were never found in the other, then there would 
be good reason for regarding them as distinct subdivisions of the 
Cretaceous series. This, however, is not the case: at Folkestone, 
where the Gault is so well exposed and so rich in fossils, there is 
nothing which can be compared lithologically with the Sandstone 
of Devizes, but most of the Devizes fossils are found in the upper 


i 


——— ll 


By A. J. Jukes-Browne, B.A., F.G.S. 331 


marly portion of the Gault. Everyone who has described the 

Folkestone Gault has divided it into two portions, characterised by 

different species of Ammonites; now of the five Ammonites which 

occur in the Devizes Sandstone two (dm. rostratus and Am.» 
varicosus) are specially characteristic of the Upper Gault, two range 

throughout the Gault, and one occurs only in the Lower Gault at 

Folkestone, though elsewhere it is also found in the Upper. 

Again, if the Malmstone and Sandstone of Devizes formed a 
separate zone later than the Upper Gault, this Upper Gault should 
occur beneath the Malmstone; but we have seen that the fossils 
found in the old brickyard at Dunkirk were Lower Gault species. 

It is clear, therefore, that the sandstones which contain the Devizes 
fauna are merely a sandy facies of the upper portion of the Gault, 
or conversely that the Upper Gault of Folkestone is the argillaceous 
representative of what is elsewhere called Upper Greensand. 

It follows from this that the Gault and Greensand are uot distinct 
subdivisions, as generally supposed, but that the mass of the Green- 
sand was formed contemporaneously with the upper part of the 
Gault, and is sandy because it was formed nearer the shore of the 
western Cretaceous land. It is, indeed, very probable that at Black- 
down, in Devonshire, the whole of the Gault is represented in what 
is there called Upper Greensand; for the Blackdown fossils are 
almost identical with those of Devizes, and at the base there is 
some dark argillaceous sand. 

So long ago as 1850 Mr. Godwin-Austen was fully aware not 
only of the distinctness of the Lower Greensand for which he 
endeavoured to introduce the name Neocomian, but also of the fact 
that the Gault and Upper Greensand are merely different facies of 
one formation. Thus he writes (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., vol. 6, 
p- 461) :—“ In applying the names of Gault and Upper Greensand 
to the beds which underlie the Chalk along the line here described 
it is not intended to convey the notion that any separation can be 
traced between two well-defined groups, or that even any true sandy 
beds occur. Indeed there is no name in the whole series of geological 
formations so purely conventional as that of Upper Greensand.” 
Again, on p. 472:—“ The Gault, moreover, is not an independent 
VOL. XXV.—NO. LXXV. 2A 


$B2; The Geology of Devizes. 


formation, but merely the accumulation of a given condition of deep 
sea, synchronous as a whole with that portion of the Cretaceous 
deposits which we call “ Upper Greensand.” 

. The case, therefore, is reduced to this, that Gault and Greensand 
may be excellent names for certain kinds of rock-material, which is 
in fact their primary and original signification, but they cannot be 
appropriately used in a chronological classification. I do not hesitate 
to say that the ordinary use of them in text books has conveyed a 
totally wrong conception of the facts of Nature. Nine students 
out of ten, and a great many teachers of geology, if asked to describe 
the Gault and Upper Greensand, would place the former below the 
latter, in the belief that it was entirely an older formation, This 
is an error, for though there are localities (Devizes, for instance,) 
where there is a Gaulé surmounted by a Greensand, neither of them 
represents the whole of the Gault or the whole of the Greensand as 
separately developed elsewhere. 

Again, the compilers of text books and of stratigraphical tables 
have always found a difficulty in giving a list of the characteristic 
fossils of the Upper Greensand ; and this is not surprising, because 
most of the fossils which occur in these sands are also characteristic 
of the Gault. Hence many have been driven to regard the fossils of 
the Warminster Greensand as specially characteristic. This selection 
of the Warminster fossils obliges me to say a few words on that 
deposit. Dr. Barrois long ago demonstrated that in the compound 
formation which comprises the Gault and Upper Greensand of 
English geologists there were three well-marked zones of life ; 
these he termed respectively the zones of Ammonites interruptus, 
Amm. inflatus, and of Pecten asper ; and he showed that the equiva- 
lence of these zones was as follows :— 


Zone of Pecten asper— Warminster Beds. 
a Amm. inflatus=Upper Gault and Blackdown Beds. 
if Amm. interruptus=Lower Gault. 


Now the zone of P. asper is very variable in thickness; we have 
seen that north of Devizes it is very thin, at Urchfont it is thick, 
while at Warminster and in the Vale of Wardour it is a prominent 


a 


By A. J. Juhkes-Browne, B.A., F.G.S8. 333 


part of the series. It also occurs in parts of Hampshire and Surrey, 
but it appears to be entirely absent in the East of Kent. Notwith- 
standing this variability of development it is certainly a distinct 
portion of the series, and its fossils differ as much from those of the 
Devizes Sandstone as these do from the fauna of the Lower Gault. 
So far as I know it is never replaced by clay, and consequently this 
zone of Pecten asper merits a distinct designation much more than 
the rest of what is called Upper Greensand, because it is chrono- 
logically newer than the sands and clays of the other two zones. 
But if we retained the name Greensand for this zone it could not 
rank as a subdivision of the first class, and if we called the other two 
zones Gault we should have to include under that name the greater 
part of what has hitherto been called Greensand. 

I think I have now demonstrated that we cannot continue to use’ 
the terms Greensand or Upper Greensand in any definite chrono- 
logical sense. They must be relegated to the limbo of general 
lithological names, and share the fate of Greenstone, Trap, and other 
terms that have done good service in their day, but are not adapted 
to the present requirements of the science. 

The next proceeding is, of course, to find a new name which shall 
be free from the defects of the old one. Here I am at once met by 
the strong objection entertained by some geologists to the intro- 
duction of any new name into the generally-accepted scheme of 
classification. There are, however, many geological workers in 
England and America who do not share this feeling, who cannot 
regard the growth of some seventy-five years as too sacred and 
antique to be interfered with, and do not believe that the classification 
now in vogue is destined to last for ever as a perfect expression of 
natural facts. It is strange that any votaries of geology should 
need to be reminded that all science is progressive, and that progress 
means change. I cheerfully admit that no change should be made 
unless a very good case can be made out for the desirability of such 
change; but my feeling is that if any part of our nomenclature 
conveys a wrong impression of Nature’s facts the sooner it is altered 
the better. 

There are two methods of effecting the desired amendment in our 

2a2 


334 The Geology of Devizes. 


Cretaceous nomenclature: one is to find a new name for the group 
of beds now ealled Gault and Upper Greensand; tke other is to 
adopt the name which is used for some of the equivalent beds in 
France. The first plan is, I think, the better one, but, unfortunately, 
it is very difficult to find a name that is both appropriate and eu- 
phonious. Fitton, when opposing the introduction of the names 
Upper and Lower Greensand in 1824, suggested “ Merstham Beds” 
for the former; but a compound name is inconvenient, and an 
adjectival form analogous to Vectian would be much better. 

Now there is no place more fitted to serve as a type locality than 
Devizes, for—as we have seen in the first part of this paper—both 
the Gault and the Greensand facies are well developed, the fossils 
they contain afford a basis for establishing a complete succession of 
‘zones, and there are many good exposures of the strata in the 
immediate neighbourhood of the town. 

The town of Devizes does not appear to have had a very ancient 
origin ; there is no evidence of its having been a Roman settlement, 
and it is not mentioned in Domesday Book. From papers written 
by Canon Jackson and Canon Jones, and published in this Magazine 
(vol. ix., p. 31, and vol. xvi., p. 255) it would seem that the town 
sprang up round the castle built by Bishop Roger circa 1130. In 
order to obtain a site for this he took a slice out of each of the two 
manors that belonged to him (Bishops Cannings and Potterne) at 
the point where they met and where the King’s manor of Rowde 
also met them; the castle built at this point was called “ Castrum 
ad divisas,” z.e., at the branching of the boundary lines, The place 
was long called “ Zhe Devizes,” and as the name was not a Roman 
one we need not recur to the strict Latin spelling in forming an 
adjective, but may use a Latinised form of the modern name, 
namely, Devisian. 

The other alternative, of adopting one of the French names, would 
have the advantage of avoiding the introduction of a new name, but 
it so happens that, though the French Cretaceous series is similar 
to ours, the French geologists have divided it in a different manner. 
They place the beds which answer to our Gault and Greensand 
partly in the Addien and partly in the Cenomanien étage, and they 


By A. J. Jukes-Browne, B.A., F.G.S8. 335 


are not agreed as to the line of demarcation between the two. 

Even if we follow Professor de Lapparent, who makes the Albien 
include the zone of Ammonites inflatus, we could not adopt that 
name for an English group which also includes the zone of Pecten 
asper, because all the French geologists agree in regarding this zone 
as an essential part of the Cenomanien. On the other hand, we 
eould not exclude the zone of P. asper because it is an essential part 
of our Upper Greensand, and it would be impossible to draw a 
continuous line of division in the midst of a mass of soft sands. 

Hence we are driven to conclude that the only satisfactory solution 
of the difficulty is the introduction of a new name fur the group of 
beds which lie between the Vectian and the horizon known as the 
Chloritic Marl. I have considered all the places situate on the 
Gault and Greensand in the south of England, but have not suc- 
ceeded in finding any town, river, or district, which affords so 
appropriate a name as Devisian. The fact is that the tracts occupied 
by the outcrop of these strata were in British and Roman times 
covered with such thick woods and were so full of springs and 
quagmires that they were unsuited for the establishment of towns or 
military stations and were for the most part wild and uninhabited 
districts like Selwood Forest. From this fact Sylvanian has been 
suggested as a name, but as most other argillaceous outcrops were 
equally sylvanian it is not sufficiently distinctive, and it lacks the 
definite association with a typical district which is embodied in 
Devisian. 

My object in discussing this question has been to make it plain 
that the use of the old names Gault and Upper Greensand only 
serves to perpetuate error; it is not merely a fancy on my part that 
such a name as Devisian or Sylvanian will look prettier and be more 
convenient, but it is absolutely necessary if our names are to signify 
definite portions of geological time that a new name should be found 
for that portion of time during which the Gault and Upper Green-. 
sand were formed. I wish it to be understood that I am not now 
proposing any special name; I have simply discussed the names 
that seem to me to be available, and if any of my readers can suggest 
a better name I shall be very willing to consider its merits, 


336 


Alotes on the Church Dlate of Alorth CHilts. 


By the Rev. E. H. Gopparp. 


*,* For Notes on Church Plate in South Wilts see vol. xxi., p. 355. 


( Tae study of Church plate as one of the minor branches of 
be) 


ecclesiastical art is attracting a good deal of attention at 
the present time, though until the last few years it has been 
singularly neglected. Whilst ecclesiastical architecture and ecclesi- 
astical antiquities of all kinds have been long the object of diligent 
and enthusiastic enquiry, few have cared to enquire what is the date 
or fashion or history of the plate belonging to the Churches whose 


other points of interest have been so generally investigated. 

If the result of this want of interest in and knowledge of the 
ancient plate of our Churches had been that it was allowed to 
remain in safe obscurity there would, perhaps, have been little 
cause to regret it—but unhappily the obscurity which has sur- 
rounded it has by no means conduced to its safety. It is probably 
not too much to say that more interesting Church plate has been 
got rid of by its natural guardians, the clergy and churchwardens, 
during the last fifty or sixty years, simply from want of knowledge 
of its value and interest, than the accidents of time have destroyed 
or the ingenuity of the dishonest has appropriated during the last 
two centuries. 

A Church is being “restored.” The Church plate is old—it has 
worn thin and is a good deal dented and battered. It really does 
not agree at all with the delightful freshness of the newly-scraped 
stonework, or the spick and span pitch pine seats. Besides, its 
shape—Elizabethan, perhaps, or that of the seventeenth century — 
is by no means fashionable—it may even be considered “ objection- 
able.” A new set on the approved model would be far more suitable. 
So the silversmith is asked whether he will take the old plate in 
part. exchange for a new set, and he kindly consents to do so; but 


Notes on the Church Plate of North Wiits. 337 


silver is very low in price, and he can only give the value of the 
metal for it. That, however, is better than nothing, and the chalice 
and its paten cover, which were provided in the days of Elizabeth 
and have been bound up with the most sacred recollections of the - 
parish ever since—or the seventeenth century cup and flagon, which, 
although they bear the name and arms of the donor somewhat more 
conspicuously engraved than it is the fashion to blazon them now— 
were doubtless as honest gifts as our own—are got rid of, nominally 
perhaps, “melted down,’ in most cases without a faculty, and 
therefore quite illegally ; and the interest of the plate of that parish 
is lost for another two hundred years. For the sake of a few 
shillings a page in the history of the parish is torn out for ever, 
whilst very possibly the very plate which was despised by its 
original owners becomes the property of a collector who values it 
in proportion to the large sum he has paid to obtain it. That this 
is what actually happens is proved by the curious adventures which 
have within the last few years befallen an interesting chalice and 
cover at Cricklade (see Plate I., No. 4). It was kept at the clerk’s 
house, and, as there was a second set of vessels, was never used, 
and so was never seen or even heard of by anyone in the place. In 
the natural course of things the old clerk died, and his relatives 
removed to Manchester carrying with them amongst his effects the 
chalice, which, although it bore an inscription stating that it belonged 
to S. Sampson’s, Cricklade, they curiously supposed to pertain to 
themselves. They sold it accordingly to a jeweller in Manchester 
for 50s., who sold it in turn to a traveller fora London firm. After 
passing through two other hands it became the property of a gentle- 
man at the price of £45. At this point it was put up for sale at 
Christie’s, and the attention of the Vicar and churchwardens of 
Cricklade having been called to the matter they instructed their 
solicitor to impound the articles. The gentleman into whose pos- 
session they had passed, finding that they had been wrongfully 
alienated expressed his willingness to give them up on receiving the 
sum he himself had paid for them,—and the clerk’s family proving 
amenable to the arguments pressed upon them, the £45 was pro- 
duced and the plate restored to S. Sampson’s again. In this case, 


3838 Notes on the Church Plate of North Wilts. 


as in most others, the original sellers of the plate got very little for 
their bargain. It is worth noting, too, that the happy ending to 
these adventures of a chalice was entirely due to the fact that it had 
been seen and a rubbing of the inscription upon it taken by Mr. 
Cripps, the author of “ Old English Plate,” in 1876. Without this 
its existence and identity could not have been established :—a singular 
piece of evidence of the practical value of enquiries such as are being 
carried on at present in Wilts. 

A certain amount of plate, of course, has been stolen—as I believe 
was that of Melksham ; and in such a case it is seldom indeed that 
it returns so happily to its rightful owners as did the plate of Broad 
Hinton in the middle of the eighteenth century. This plate consists 
of a chalice, a paten, an almsdish, and two very large flagons, given 
by the “worshipful and religious William Glanville Esq.,” son of 
Sir John Glanville, the Speaker of the Short Parliament, in the 
year 1677, of the perfectly plait and massive character usual at 
that date. These vessels were kept in the parish chest in the 
Church until one Tuesday morning they were found to have dis- 
appeared. Accordingly the Salisbury Journal of February 9th, 1766, 
contains the following notice :— 

“Whereas the Chancel of the Parish Church of Broad Hinton in the County 
of Wilts was on Monday night or early on Tuesday morning last broke open, 
and two large Flagons. a Patten, and a Bason with the following inscription on 
each of them: ‘Given by the worshipful and religious William Glanville Esq. in 
the year 1677,’ a Challice with a cover with the following inscription: ‘ Be- 
longing to the Parish Church of Broad Hinton,’ were feloniously taken and 
carried away from and out of the Parish Chest there ; therefore if any person 
will discover the person or persons who committed the said Felony, or Sacrilege, 
so as he or thev shall be convicted thereof, shall receive of the Churchwardens of 
the said Parish of Broad Hinton a reward of 10 guineas to be paid on the con- 
viction of such offender or offenders ; and if the said Plate or goods or any part 
thereof shall be offer’d to sale or to be pawned, the person or persons to whvia 


the same may be so offer’d are desired to stop the same and give notice thereof 
to the said Churchwardens and they shall be entitled to the same reward. 


Epwakp HopEins, | Chuo aunts 
JOHN DRAPER 


Tradition asserts that, this advertisement proving of no avail, the 
churchwardens determined to go down to Corsham and consult a 
“cunning man” of much renown and known to be skilled in all 


—————e ee 


By the Rev. EB. H. Goddard. 339 


such matters. This they accordingly did, and the story proceeds 
that, the cunning man being quite equal to the occasion, gave 
them the following excellent advice,—that they should return 
home and let it be published throughout the parish and neighbour- 
hood, (it was apparently suspected that the thieves were not 
strangers,) that the chancel door would be left open for a week, and 
if during that time the plate had not found its way back into the 
chest from which it was taken, the cunning man would forthwith 
come up from Corsham with his divining rods and all other things 
needful and would most infallibly discover the thief. There is no 
record as to what happened next, nor is there much need of any, for 
the plate is safely at Broad Hinton still. 

But the dangers which threaten the ancient plate of our Churches 
at the present day arise less from burglars than—as I have already 
said—from the small value too often placed upon it by its natural 
guardians, and it was in the hope of at least mitigating this danger 


‘by calling attention to the matter and putting on record the pos- 


sessions of each parish Church that the Bishop of Salisbury some 
five years ago first set on foot investigations into the Church 
plate of this county by sending round to every parish in his diocese 
a form of return to be filled up with the number, size, inscriptions, 
and hall marks of all the sacred vessels belonging to the Church. 
It was found, however, that in a very large number of cases the 
information given by these returns needed to be supplemented or 
corrected by a personal visit from someone with some previous 
knowledge of the subject. Accordingly throughout the northern 
half of the County of Wilts,—including that large part of it which 
belongs to the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol,—the Churches have 
been systematically visited by one or other of the gentlemen in- 
terested in the work (Mr. Bell, Mr. Plenderleath, Mr. Ponting, and 
myself), and careful drawings have been made of almost every 
piece, over nine hundred in number, whether of ancient or modern 
date, in the hope that tke information thus gained may, under the 
able hands of Mr. Nightingale, be built up into a history and 
inventory of the Church plate of Wilts, and published very shortly 
as a companion volume to his “ Church Plate of Dorset.” 


340 Notes on the Church Plate of North Wilts. 


The drawings themselves, when complete, it is proposed to deposit 
in the Devizes Museum. 

In this paper, then, I propose to speak only of the northern half 
of the county, to which my own knowledge of the plate is confined. 
But although the area is comparatively small the variety and in- 
terest of the plate is very considerable. 

To begin with, Wiltshire possesses, both in the north and south, 
more than its share of pre-Reformation plate. So clean was the 
sweep made of the accumulated treasures of Churches under Henry 
VIII. and Edward VI. and the subsequent injunctions of Elizabeth, 
under which even the poor remnant of chalices which had not been 
converted “ to the King’s use” were ordered to be melted down and 
re-fashioned into “ decent communion cups,”’— that only about forty 
chalices and double that number of patens of pre-Reformation date 
are known to exist in the whole of England. 

Of these we have in the north of the county the pretty little 
chalice still in use at Manningford Abbots—probably of fifteenth 
century date. This is of silver parcel gilt. The sides of the bowl 
are somewhat straight. The knot has open work and lions’ heads, 
whilst the foot, which is now round, has evidently, Mr. Nightingale 
says, been hammered out of the original mullet or star-shaped base, 
the engraving of the crucifix being still just visible if the chalice is 
held at a certain angle. Possibly this alteration of the base to the 
regulation circular shape of the Elizabethan cup and the effacement 
of the crucifix on the foot was considered to have brought this piece 
into sufficient conformity with the “ decent ” pattern, and so saved 
it from entire destruction. The cover now belonging to it is of 
later, probably Elizabethan, date. The second chalice is the ex- 
tremely fine silver-gilt one at Highworth (No. 1 in the accom- 
panying plate of chalices), bearing the date letter, apparently, of 
1534. This belongs to a type of which the Wylye chalice (vol. xxi., 
p- 888) and that of Trinity College, Oxford, have been hitherto, 
with one other, supposed to be the only remaining examples. So 
that Wiltshire—in addition to the earliest known “ massing” 
chalice, that of Berwick St. James, of the thirteenth century, now 
in the British Museum (see vol. xxi., p. 368)—can claim two of the 


By the Rev. HE. H. Goddard. 341 


finest examples of the latest type in vogue just before the Reformation. 
This Highworth chalice is of solid massive make and in excellent 
preservation. The bowl is broad and shallow, with sides nearly 
straight, having engraved round it the text “Beate qut audiunt 
berbum Det ut custodint ilud,”The base is six foil in shape, and 
round the inner circular part is engraved “ Shu rpe filt Det bt be 
miserere nobis.”’ The junction of the foot and stem is sur- 
rounded by a parapet of architectural open work. The stem itself 
is hexagonal, with cable moulding at the edges, and the knot is 
large, of six lobes projecting widely. A curious feature is the figure 
engraved in the place usually occupied by the crucifix on the foot. 
This is somewhat rubbed and indistinct and it is difficult to say what 
it is, and I cannot find that a similar figure is known on any other 
chalice. It is a seated figure, almost nude, with crossed legs holding 
a palm branch (?), a lily at its foot,—possibly the Man of Sorrows. 
Is it fanciful to suggest that both the figure and the texts have a 
taste as of the approaching Reformation about them ? 

The paten, which, though not hall marked or dated, seems to 
belong to the chalice, has a shallow circular depression in the centre, 
but is without the engraved vernicle or Head of Our Saviour, the 
Hand of God, or the sacred monogram, which almost invariably 
occupy the centre of pre-Reformation patens. Indeed it is 
perfectly plain except for a few slight touches of engraving on the 
rim. . 

Though there are several patens in the south of the county there 
is only one other in the north—that purchased some years ago 
from Messrs. Singer and given to Melksham Church by Canon 
Warre. It is probably of English make, and of late fifteenth or 
early sixteenth century date, but is not marked. It has the vernicle 
with wounds on the cheeks very rudely engraved in the centre. 

Besides these pieces there is at Lacock a remarkable parcel gilt 
covered cup—by some called a ciborium—probably of the latter half 
of the fifteenth century. A broad rounded bowl, on a circular stem 
widening to a base of the same shape, with a high conical cover 
surmeunted by a ball. The edge of the cover and the base are 
surrounded by the characteristic Gothic cresting of the time. This 


$42 Notes on the Church Plate of North Wilts. 


very handsome and remarkable piece was doubtless a domestic cup 
given afterwards for Church use. 

Of the small chalices and patens which were commonly placed in 
the graves of priests in the middle ages—and which are génerally 
of pewter or tin, except in the case of Bishops, when they seem to 
have been of silver—we have an example preserved in the vestry of 
North Bradley Church, which may be of the fourteenth century. 
This little pewter vessel had a broad shallow bowl and spreading 
circular foot, and like the paten accompanying it, is quite plain. It 
was found some years ago in a rude coffin of oak under the arch on 
the south side of the chancel. There are several such vessels at 
Salisbury Cathedral (see vol. xxi., p. 360), but I do not know of any 
others in the north of the county. 

Coming now to the “ decent communion cups” which everywhere 
supplanted the “ superstitious massing chalices” in the reign of 
Elizabeth, we find a fine series in North Wilts, giving examples of 
many of the types of ornamentation then in vogue—though the 
actual number of chalices remaining is not so large as Mr. Nightin- 
gale tells us still exist in the Dorset parishes. The general 
character of these cups may be seen from the examples Nos. 2 and 3 
given in the plate. They were small sized vessels, as a rule, com- 
pared with the large cups which came into fashion at the end of the 
seventeenth and throughout the eighteenth century, with deep more 
or less bell-shaped bowls, bearing almost invariably either one or 
two bands of the strap-work engraving, filled with conventional 
foliage characteristic of .the period ; a similar band sometimes en- 
circling the base also. They were always accompanied by a cover 
fitting the cup, which was also used as the paten,—the handle serving 
as a foot when so used. Sometimes there is a belt of foliage on the 
cover, as in Fig. 2, whilst on the handle or foot is commonly inscribed 
the date when the vessel was acquired for the Church. This date 
in the north of the county is commonly either 1576 or 1577. The 
earliest is that at Bradford, marked 1564, and the latest of the 
type that of Burbage, marked 1624, when, as a rule, the cup had 
assumed a slightly different shape. The Crudwell cup of 1628 is 
of Elizabethan shape, but has inscribed within the belt “ The Parish 


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By the Rev. BE. H. Goddard. 343 


Cup of Crudwell Anno 1628 ” in the place of foliage. The edge 
of the base is very often enriched with the egg-and-dart ornament, 
and a belt of dotted lines sometimes takes the place of the foliage 
on the bowl, the cover, and the base. A considerable number of 
these cups bear only a maker’s mark, or no marks at all, and seem 
to have been of local manufacture. There is a series of cups without 
hall marks in the Pewsey Vale at Wootton Rivers, Manningford 
Bruce, Stanton St. Bernard, and Etchilhampton, all of the same 
character and unlike any others in the north of the county except 
one at Little Hinton. They have a broad belt of interlacing 
strap-work, without any foliage, of the same character as the orna- 
mentation of so many cups in Dorset which Mr. Nightingale 
supposes to have been of local make, but their stems and knots are 
of the usual Elizabethan type. There are, however, two others— 
those of Enford and Great Cheverell—also in the same neighbour- 
hood, which have the curious cable moulding, and the stem with 
the knot close up under the bowl, which is characteristic of the 
Dorset specimens. These also bear no hall marks. 

Two specimens, at Limpley Stoke and Littleton Drew, of 1577 
and 1578, instead of the usual rounded knot in the centre of the 
stem, have a rather narrow projecting horizontal moulding bearing 
the ornament composed of short upright parallel lines which so 
commonly marks the junction of the stem with the bowl and base, 
while the Rowde (1576) and Winterbourne Monkton cups, (the 
latter given in the present century and unmarked) have, on the 
other hand, no knots at all, the stem being somewhat broad, and 
plain. 

Those of St. Mary’s Cricklade, and Somerford Keynes—both 
bearing only the maker’s mark of a Lombardic T eclipsed by a 
heart, are beautiful cups, the former, inscribed 1577, having two 
belts, the lower one of dotted lines the upper one of unusually rich 
and elaborate foliage ;. the latter, which is inscribed 1576, has only 
one belt of foliage of the same character. In both cases the covers 
are richly engraved in the same way. Wroughton has an unusually 
large and handsome silver-gilt chalice and cover. In the Biddestone 
specimen there is a projecting bead encircling the bowl above the 


344 Notes on the Church Plate of North Wiits. 


belt, while the Kington St. Michael cup has foliated engraving close 
under the rim, in addition to the ordinary belt. 

Two other cups of abnormal fashion must be mentioned; first that 
belonging to Foxley, marked 1577, but not given to the Church till 
a century later. This is a goblet-shaped vessel 5in. high, richly 
ornamented, and quite unlike the chalice of the period—probably a 
secular cup devoted afterwards to Church use. Secondly, a little 
cup belonging to Leigh—a chapelry of Ashton Keynes—of the same 
height as the last, with tapering bowl and baluster stem, entirely 
plain except for three bands of gilding, one on the edge of the bowl 
and two on the stem. It bears the date letter of 1596, and is 
somewhat of the Tazza type, though its bowl is deep instead of 
shallow—indeed it is much the shape of a modern wine glass. 

There are three curious little vessels at Lacock, Biddestone, and 
Alderton, the use of which seems doubtful. The Lacock specimen isa 
little bowl about 6in. in diameter, embossed in its interior with cockle 
shells and a bunch of grapes in the centre. It is marked 1583. 
That at Biddestone also has a bunch of grapes embossed on it and 
has two plain wire handles. It is marked 1672. The Alderton 
piece is larger and shallower, covered with an ornamentation of rows 
and circles of embossed dots. It has two flat ears or handles and is 
marked 1639. These little vessels have been called wine-tasters— 
probably they have been given to serve as patens. 

During the first quarter of the seventeenth century the Elizabethan 
type was slightly modified. The bowl grew deeper in proportion 
to the stem and base, and the whole piece less broad in proportion 
to its height. The mouldings of the base, too, were multiplied and 
made more prominent. The engraved strap-work band disappears, 
the bowl generally being plain, as in the Ditcheridge example (1627) 
(No. 5 in the accompanying plate), though occasionally there are 
belts of olive leaf engraving, as in the parcel-gilt Cricklade St. 
Sampson’s cup of 1615 (No. 4). 

An exceptionally beautiful cup of this potted is the silver-gilt one 
of Fittleton (1610), which has an inscription in place of the belts 
on the bowl, and olive leaf ornament round the knot. 

Of this period, too, (1619) is a very beautiful cup at Froxfield, 


By the Rev. E. H. Goddard. 345 


pronounced by Mr. Nightingale to be of foreign—probably Augsburg 
—make, having a deep bell-shaped bowl with engraved ornament 
upon it, the base being covered with rich chased work of figures 
and foliage. There are not many pieces of this date in North 
Wilts ; indeed, the Elizabethan chalices are far commoner than those 
of the first half of the seventeenth century. 

Towards the middle of the century another type came into 
fashion (No. 6), with short straight-sided sloping bowl, baluster 
stem, and spreading plain foot, without any ornament at all. Of 
these there are examples at Cherhill, Hardenhuish, Poulshot, and 
St. Mary’s, Marlborough. 

A little later the prevailing type was the plainest and rudest of 
all—a simple deep large straight-sided bowl, with a circular stem of 
considerable size spreading out into a wide foot without moulding 
or ornament (No. 7). These cups are generally considerably larger 
than any of the earlier ones, and they continue to increase in size 
on to the middle of the eighteenth century. Inscriptions, too, with 
the coat of arms of the donor surrounded by elaborate mantling now 
appear on the bowl, and commonly also in the centre of the paten, or 
on its foot,—this custom continuing on to the beginning of the 
present century. 

There are, however, several cups of this century which do not 
conform to either of the ordinary patterns. Of these a very hand- 
some cup with paten cover of 1631 belongs to Wootton Bassett. 
It has the arms of the donor on the bowl. The stem has no knot, 
but a sort of scallopped frill under the bowl instead, and the base is 
rich in egg-and-dart and other ornaments. 

Minety has a cup inscribed 1663 of provincial and somewhat rude 
manufacture, which has the short bowl and base of the baluster- 
stemmed type ; but in this case the stem is straight with a very 
slight knot in the middle and a projecting flange at the junction 
with the foot. The marks on this piece are four in number, ap- 
parently consisting of two heads?, a lion, and a heart-shaped shield 
with three fleur-de-lys. They seem to be the same as those on 
another curious cup belonging to Purton, inscribed 1666 on the bowl. 
It has a good base and stem of the fashion of the early years of the 


346 Notes on the Church Plate of North Wilts. 


century, but the bowl is rudely made and has a curious travesty of 
the Elizabethan strap-work belt upon it. 

Lydiard Tregoze has a large and massive cup in which the pro- 
jecting flange which is placed close under the rather short square 
bowl on the otherwise plain stem is a more marked feature. It is hall 
marked 1649. No other occurs like it in North Wilts, but similar 
specimens are engraved in the Carlisle Church Plate and elsewhere. 

Alderton and Langley Burrell have cups bearing no hall marks, 
the former inscribed 1663, which, without being remarkable in 
shape, are singular in having a belt of engraving round tbe bowl in 
poor imitation of the Elizabethan ornament. 

In the eighteenth century the cup loses its straight sides, which 
instead bulge out somewhat towards the bottom. The knot re- 
appears on the stem in the form of a fillet or band, and the sacred 
monogram with rays almost invariably ornaments one side of the 
large bowl. About 1790 a number of goblet-shaped cups with 
slender stems and sometimes square bases are found, accompanying 
the classical flagons of that date. They are much the shape of the 
ordinary modern prize cups, and are seldom very large. Some, 
however, of the chalices given to small parishes during the last half 
of the eighteenth century are of huge size, and though during the 
first half of the nineteenth century the size of the bowl was generally 
reduced, the type was by no means improved,—the vessels of this 
period being undoubtedly in many cases the most hideous of any. 
About 1840-50, however, ecclesiastical art began to revive, and the 
medieval shapes have come more and more into fashion, until some 
of the modern plate rivals the ancient medieval work in beauty and 
excellence of workmanship. 

Handsome modern sets exist at Marlborough College, the two 
Savernake Churches, East Grafton, Wootton Bassett, and other places. 

The presence, however, of a modern medieval chalice—by no 
means always of excellent workmanship or design—too often means 
that the sixteenth or seventeenth century plate has been ruthlessly 
got rid of to make way for it,—a thing to he greatly regretted, from 
an historical, an archeological, and I cannot help thinking also, 
from an ecclesiastical point of view. 


By the Rev. FE. H. Goddard. 847 


Of unusual eighteenth century pieces Hullavington possesses a 
fine two-handled cup of large size, of domestic fashion, dated 1738 ; 
and Colerne has a two-handled caudle cup with cover, elaborately 
ornamented with a removable outer case of pierced scroll and flower 
work—given in 1774, 

Having thus roughly traced the evolution of the chalice, a few 
words must be said as to the paten. This, as has already been 
stated, was in Elizabethan days simply a cover fitting closely to the 
cup. In the Jacobean type the paten still fitted the top of 
the chalice, but its rim grew wider, it became shallower and 
less domed, and the edge which fitted over the rim of the chalice 
disappeared. By degrees the paten grew larger, though still in 
many cases fitting the chalice as a cover (see Fig. 9); but with the 
new standard of silver in Queen Anne’s days came in a new fashion. 
The paten had grown into a salver standing perhaps Sin. high on a 
hollow circular foot, the top measuring Qin. or more across, and 
ornamented round the edge and also round the base with the 
characteristic pattern of the period—the fluting known as the 
gadroon. These patens are almost all of new standard silver, that 
is between the dates of 1696 and 1720, and bearing, therefore, 
the hall marks of the lion’s head erased and the figure of Britannia, 
instead of the lion passant and leopard’s head crowned; and more 
often than not they bear the donor’s arms elaborately engraved in 
the centre. 

Throughout the eighteenth century they continue as high, but 
not quite so large, and they commonly lose the gadrooned edge, and 
bear the sacred monogram in the centre. Frequently towards the 
end of the century domestic salvers or trays, with scollopped edges 
and standing on three claw feet are found, used either as 
patens or alms dishes. These latter, however, are commonly in the 
eighteenth century plain dishes with depressed centres—a pair, of 
precisely similar make, often serving, like the salvers, one for a 
paten, the other for alms dish. 

At Colerne is a paten of large size, and with gadrooned edge and 
base and an elaborate chased foliage ornamentation attached to 
its face, with a silver-gilt medallion in the centre of nymphs stealing 
VoL. XXV.—=NO, LXXV. 2B 


348 Notes on the Church Plate of North Wiits. 


Cupid’s bow! This bears no date mark; it was given, in company 
with the caudle-cup or porringer mentioned above, in 1774. 

Two patens—those of Seagry (originally Lyneham), and West 
‘Ashton—are of Dublin make, circa 1725. With the exception of 
these and an apostle-spoon bearing the old Exeter mark and inscribed 
1666, lately given to Ramsbury, no plate bearing provincial town 
marks has been found except modern pieces of Sheffield, Birmingham, 
and Exeter; although, as has been already said, a considerable 
proportion of the Elizabethan pieces and some of the seventeenth 
and eighteenth centuries bear no hall marks at all, and were doubtless 
of provincial manufacture. 

Turning to flagons, the earliest in North Wilts is the very 
beautiful specimen at Heddington. This is marked 1602, but it 
was not given to the Church until 1830, and was doubtless made 
for domestic use. It is of silver-gilt covered with rich strap-work 
and embossed ornament. Next in date comes the tankard-shaped 
flagon at Wanborough, marked 1615, but given in 1638. This, 
as well as the preceding one, is very small in size, but, unlike 
it, is perfectly plain and without any ornament at all. 

Throughout the seventeenth century the flagons continue simply 
tankards, without much variation in shape, the lids low, almost flat 
on the top—the earlier examples often with the sides slightly bulging, 
as in the Bishopstone example of 1634, given in the plate; the later 
ones oftener with the sides perfectly straight, as in that of Garsden, 
of 1684. This is by no means an invariable rule, however. On 
the front they commonly bear the coat of arms of the donor, or the 
sacred monogram surrounded by rays. 

In the eighteenth century the lid became by degrees higher and 
more dome-shaped, until it blossomed out into an acorn or other 
ornament at the top, a spout grew out of the side where no spout 
had been before, the whole vessel grew less broad and massive, until 
the ugly tall attenuated flagon of the earlier half of the nineteenth 
century came into existence. 

Many of these flagons of the latter half of the seventeenth and 
beginning of the eighteenth centuries are of enormous size, weighing 
seventy or eighty ounces or more, and were often given, even to 


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By the Rev. £. H. Goddard. 349 


comparatively small parishes, in pairs—as for example, at Lydiard 
Tregoze and Broad Hinton. Judging from present needs people 
are apt to wonder what possible use such large vessels could have 
served, but we must remember that in those days the number of 
communicants very far exceeded that of the present day—indeed, 
that probably every person in the parish who was of age to receive 
the communion did so. In reference to this a very curious and 
interesting order from the Bishop of Salisbury to the curate and 
churchwardens and parishioners of Aldbourne is given in vol. xxiii., 
p- 255 of this Magazine, wherein it is ordered “to the end that the 
minister may neither be overtoyled nor the people indecently and 
inconveniently thronged together” that thrice in the year at least 
notice be given of four communions upon four consecutive Sundays, 
and “ that there come not to the communion in one day above two 
hundred at the most.” Probably, therefore, the flagons—there is 
a very large one at Aldbourne still—huge as they appear to us— 
were not larger than was considered requisite at the time they were 
given. 

At the beginning of the eighteenth century a few flagons are 
found with pear-shaped body and spout—like a domestic hot-water 
jug—of which there are examples. at Box, Market Lavington, 
Ramsbury, and Hartham. And again at the end of the century 
there is a departure from the otherwise prevalent tankard fashion in 
the flagons of the elegant classical shape well known in articles of 
domestic plate manufactured about 1790, due to the sudden and 
transient revival of taste in designs after classical models consequent 
on the publication of the discoveries of ancient art in Pompeii and 
Herculaneum. 

Of these flagons, which, though not ecclesiastical, are at least 
elegant in form, specimens exist at St. Mary’s Devizes, Sopworth, 
and Manningford Abbots. The plain goblet-shaped cups with small 
stem which accompanied them are found in greater numbers, 

A large and massive flagon, given to Erchfont in 1764, does not 
fall into either of these classes. It has a ewer-shaped body with a 

spout and high lid—handle, base, lid and an having a good deal 
of florid ornament about them. 
2B2 


350 Notes on the Church Plate of North Wilts. 


Pewter flagons still exist in many places, though almost invariably 
disused now. They are generally heavy, clumsy vessels, but some 
six of them are interesting as belonging to a type which is not 
found in silver in North Wilts. They are very tall tankards, with 
broad spreading base and tapering to a comparatively narrow top 
without any spout. The cover is very high and surmounted by an 
acorn, but their chief peculiarity lies in the handle, which approaches 
the body of the vessel and then recedes again in a double curve. 
The only one which is dated is that belonging now to Malmesbury 
Abbey, which belonged formerly to the destroyed Church of St. 
Paul. This is dated 1736. Others are at Clyffe Pypard, Lydiard 
Millicent, Lydington, Stanton St. Bernard, and Edington. 

I know of no example of an old pewter chalice remaining, but 
patens and alms plates are not uncommon. On the other hand, a 
large number of parishes have plated vessels, especially in the 
neighbourhood of Bradford and Trowbridge. Indeed it is recorded 
of Archdeacon Daubeny, Vicar of North Bradley 1778—1827, that 
he said upon his death-bed, “ Let the communion vessels be plated. 
I have always condemned those who have placed unnecessary 
temptations in the path of their fellow-mortals, and I am anxious 
that the last act of my life should hold out to others no inducement 
to sin.” A laudable and excellent motive doubtless, but for all that 
one cannot help feeling that the quaint and touching inscription on 
the silver paten of Long Newnton expresses a truer aspiration : “ In 
the year of Our Lord God 1691 August 10.* I hope my Lord will 
take this little present well and in good part, because tis my best 
I give to God my heart.” 

In the reaction of the last fifty years towards the Gothic style 
too many of us have seemed anxious to wipe out every trace of the 
seventeenth and eighteenth cénturies altogether—whether in archi- 
tecture, wood-work, or plate ; but, after all, those centuries do form 
a part of the history of our nation and our Church, and the men 
who lived in them did sometimes, at least “ give to God their best ” 
and surely, unless there is really urgent cause to the contrary, their 
offerings should be respected and preserved. If new plate is given, 
well and good; use it if it seems more convenient, but at least let 


By the Rev. EL. H. Goddard. 


85T 


the old which has sufficed for two hundred years or more be spared 
the ignominy of the melting pot or the dealer’s shelf. 


Chronological List of Silver Church Wlate of North Wilts 
to the end of the eighteenth century. 


[The dates given are those of the hall marks, wherever possible.] 


Lacock. Covered cup. 


15th century { Manningford Abbots. 


Early 


1534. 
1564. 
1570. 
1571. 


1572. 
1573. 
1574. 


1575. 
1576, 


Chalice. 
16th century. Melksham. 
Paten (given recently). 
Highworth. Chalice and paten 
Bradford. Chalice. 
Kington St.Michael. Chalice. 
Melksham. Chalice (given 
recently). 
Foxley. Cup, probably do- 
mestic (given 1682). 
*Broughton Gifford. Chalice. 
Kemble. Chalice and cover. 
Malmesbury Abbey. Chalice. 
Keevil. Chalice and cover. 
Imber. Chalice and cover. 
*Broughton Gifford. Cover. 
Hilperton. Chalice. 
Rowde. Chalice and cover. 
Melksham. Chalice (given 
recently). 
Ham. Chalice and cover. 
Clyffe Pypard. Paten cover 


only. 
Poulshbot. Paten cover only. 
Wroughton. Chalice and 
cover. 
Yatton Keynell. Chalice and 
cover. [cover. 
Luckington. Chalice and 


Somerford Keynes. Two 
chalices and covers. 
Rodbourne and  Corston. 
Chalice and cover. 
Leigh Delamere. 


and cover. 


Chalice 


1577. 


by 


Undated Elizabethan. 


1602. 


Biddestone. Chalice. 
St. Mary’s Cricklade. Chalice 


and cover. 


Staverton. Chalice. 
Limpley Steke. Chalice and 
cover. 


Stert. Chalice and cover. 
Alton Priors. Chalice. 
Heddington. Chalice & cover. 


West Kington. Chalice. 
Wanborough. Chalice and 
cover. 


Hankerton. Chalice & cover. 
Littleton Drew. Chalice and 
cover. 
Semington. 
cover. 
Steeple Ashton. 
cover. 
Lacock. Small silver bowl. 
Leigh. Chalice. 
Little Hinton. 
cover. 
Wootton Rivers. 
cover. 
Manningford Bruce. 
Enford. Chalice. 
Great Cheverell. Chalice. 


Chalice and 


Chalice and 


Chalice and 
Chalice and 


Chalice. 


Winterbourne Monkton. 
Chalice. 
Etchilhampton. Chalice. 


Stanton St. Bernard. Chalice. 

Manningford Abbots. Paten 
cover. 

Norton. Chalice and cover. 
Heddington. Flagon (given 
in 1830) 


* In vol. vi., p. 49, the date of this chalice and cover is erroneously given as 1546, 


Notes on the Church Plate of North Wilts. 


Foxley. Paten cover. 
Fittleton. Chalice and cover. 
Cricklade St. Sampson’s. 
Chalice and cover. 
Wanborough. Flagon (given 
1638). 
Stanton Fitzwarren. Chalice 
(undated). 
Ashley. Chalice and cover. 
Burbage. Chalice and cover. 
Chiseldon. Chalice and 
paten cover. 
Bishopstone. 
paten cover. 
Ditcheridge. Chalice. 
Crudwell. Chalice. 
Brinkworth. Chalice. 
Wootton Bassett. Chalice 
and paten cover. 
Malmesbury Abbey. Chalice. 
Cherhill. Chalice. 
Shorncot. Chalice and cover. 
Bradford. Chalice and paten 


cover. 


Chalice and 


Bishopstone. Flagon (given 
1719). 
Poulshot. Chalice. 


Avebury. Paten. 
Lacock. Paten. 
Brinkworth. Flagon. 
Compton Bassett.' Chalice 
and paten cover. 
Hardenhuish. Chalice. 
Alderton. Small bowl. 
Bishops Lavington. Chalice 
and paten cover, and paten. 
Marston Maisey. Chalice. 
Lydiard Tregoze. Chalice 
and paten cover. 
Steeple Ashton, Chalice and 
paten cover. : 
Lydiard Tregoze. Flagon. 
Brokenborough. Chalice. 
Grittleton. Paten. 


Milton Lilburne. Chalice 
and paten. 

St. Mary’s Marlborough. 
Chalice. 


1660. 
1661, 


1662. 
1663. 


1664. 
1665 P 
1666. 
1669. 
1672. 


1675. 
1676. 


1678. 
1679. 


1680. 


” 


” 


” 


” 


Bishops Cannings. Chalice. 

Little Cheverell. Chalice 
and paten cover. 

Bremhill. Chalice. 

Lydiard Tregoze. Flagon. 


Alderton, Chalice. 

Minety. Chalice. 

Wilcot. Chalice and paten. 

Winkfield. Paten (un- 
dated). 

Ramsbury. Apostle spoon 
(given recently). 

Purton. Chalice and cover. 

Lydiard Tregoze. Paten. 

Biddestone. Simall bowl. 

Etchilhampton. Paten. 

Broad Hinton. Chalice, 
paten cover, alms dish, and 
two flagons. 

Aldbourne. Flagon. 

Pewsey. Chalice and paten 
cover. 

Imber. Paten. 

Bishops Lavington. Flagon 
(domestic, given 1790). 

Great Chalfield. Chalice, 
paten cover, and paten. 

Wootton Bassett. Paten (un- 
dated). 

Whaddon. Chalice and 
paten cover. (undated), 


Tidcombe. Chalice (un- 
dated). 
WinterbourneBassett. Chalice 
(undated). 
Aldbourne. Chalice and 
paten cover. 
Tockenham. Chalice and 
paten cover. 
Little Bedwyn. Chalice 
and paten cover. 
Cricklade St. Sampson’s. 
Flagon. 

1682 Easton Royal. Chalice and 
paten. 
Clyffe Pypard. Chalice and: 
paten. 
Aldbourne. Paten. 


1683. 


By the Rev. EF. H. Goddard. 


Winterbourne Monkton. 
Alms dish (given 1844). 
Coulston. Chalice and paten. 


Garsdon. Two  chalices, 
paten, and flagon. 

Collingbourne Kingston, 
Chalice and paten. 

Crudwell. Paten. 

Hilperton. Paten (given 
1851). 

Christian Malford. Alms 
dish (given 1726). 

Wanborough. Paten. 

St. Mary’s Marlborough. 


Alms dish (given 1724). 


Wootton Bassett. Paten. 

Long Newnton. Paten. 

Poole Keynes. Chalice. 

Aldbourne. Chalice. 

Long Newnton. Chalice and 
flagon. 


Somerset Hospital, Froxfield. 
Chalice and paten cover. 
Winterbourne Bassett. Paten. 

Long Newnton. Paten. 
Christ Church Bradford. 
almsdish (given 1840). 


Stanton Fitzwarren. Cover 
of chalice. 
Steeple Ashton. Paten. 


Holt. Paten (given 1838). 

Compton Bassett. Paten and 
Almsdish. 

Poulshot. Paten (uncertain). 

Semington. Paten (uncertain). 

Trowbridge. Paten, 

Lacock. Flagon. 

Cricklade St. Sampson’s. 
Chalice and paten cover. 


Malmesbury Abbey. Paten. 
St. John’s Devizes. Flagon. 
Draycot Cerne. Chalice, 
paten, and flagon. 
Somerford Keynes. Paten. 
Langley Burrell. Paten and 
Flagon. 
Heddington. Paten. 
Nettleton. Paten. 


1704. 


1705. 
1706. 


” 


1707. 
1707. 


7 


1708. 


858 


Steeple Ashton. 
Bradford. Paten. 
Biddestone. Paten. 
Patney. Chalice. 
Charlton. Chalice, Paten 
and flagon. 
Ramsbury. Flagon. 
Hardenhuish. Paten. 
Box. Chalice, two patens, 
and flagon. 

Wilcot. Paten. 

Kemble. Paten. 
Trowbridge. Flagon. ‘ 
Purton. Paten (given 1820). 
Castle Eaton. Paten. 
Chute. Chalice and paten.: 
Wroughton. Flagon. 
Nettleton. Chalice. 
Hartham.  Flagon (given 
1861 ?). 

Seend. Paten. 
Bishops Cannings. 
(given 1840). 
Great Bedwyn. Paten (given 
1831). 
Nettleton. Flagon. 
Little Somerford. 
and paten. 
Willesford. Paten. 
South Marston. Chalice and 
paten. 

Enford. Paten. 
Cherhill. Paten. 
Kemble. Flagon. 
Brinkworth. Paten. 
Sherston. Paten. 
Bradon. Paten 
1869). 
Little Hinton. 
Ham. Paten. 
Burbage. Paten. 

Holt. Paten (given 1838). 
Stanton St. Bernard. Paten, 
Wroughton. Paten. 
Bishopstone. Paten. 
Corsham. Almsdish or paten. 
Rodbourne and _  Corston. 
Paten (given 1845), 


Paten. 


Paten 


Chalice 


(given 


Two patens. 


» 


- Erchfont. 


Notes on the Church Plate of North Wilts. 


Leigh Delamere. Paten 
(given 1847). 
Ramsbury. Chalice, paten, 
and paten cover. 
Fittleton. Flagon and paten. 
Langley Burrell. Paten. 
Castle Combe. Flagon (given 
1775). 
Patney. Paten. 
Winterbourne Monkton. 
Chalice and paten (given 
(1844). 
Bradford. Flagon. 
Broad Blunsdon. 
(given 1815). 
Poole Keynes. 
1854). 
Potterne. Two chalices, two 
patens, and flagon. 
Sherston. Chalice and paten. 
Seagry. Paten (Dublin). 
Market Lavington. Paten. 
Paten. 
Chute. Paten. 
Nettleton. Paten. 
Tidcombe. Paten. 
Mildenhall. Paten. 
Foxley. Chalice, paten, and 
flagon. 
Easton Royal. 
Market Lavington. 
and paten. 
Easton Grey. 
paten cover. 
Ogbourne St. George. Chalice 
and paten cover. 
Melksham. Paten. 
Rushall. Chalice 
Broughton Gifford. Paten. 
Coulston. Paten. 
Market Lavington. Flagon. 
Fifield.Chalice & paten cover. 
Hullavington. Paten. 
Crudwell. Salver-paten. 
Luckington. Paten. 
Ashton Keynes. 
and paten. 
Willesford. Chalice. 


Paten 


Paten (given 


Paten. 
Chalice 


Chalice and 


Chalice 


1733. 


39 


thy 


1750? West Ashton. 


1753. 
1764. 


Mildenhall. Two chalices 
and two paten covers. 
Burbage. Flagon. 


Broad Somerford. Paten. 
Upavon. Chalice, two 
patens, and flagon. 
Hullavington. Fine domestic 
two-handled cup. 
Steeple Ashton. Flagon. 
Edington. Chalice 
paten. 
Swindon 


Flagon. 
Stanton St. Quintin. Chalice 
and cover, two patens, and 


and 


Parish Church. 


flagon. 
Calstone. Chalice and paten 
(undated). 

Market Lavington. Alms- 
dish. 


Broad Somerford. Chalice. 

Highworth. Flagon. 

Winkfield. Chalice, paten, 
and flagon. _ 

Highworth. Chalice and two 
salver patens. 

Paten (Dublin 
—undated). 

Enford. Paten. 

Everley. Flagon. 
Willesford. Alms dish. 
Holt. Cover of chalice. 

Kington St. Michael.. Alms- 
dish salver. 

Holt. Chalice. 

Bradford. Spoon. 

Alton Barnes Chalice and 
paten. 

Corsham. Flagon. 

Netheravon. Chalice, paten, 
flagon, and alms dish. 
Highway. Chalice. 
Luckingtons Flagon. 

Bishopstone. Paten (bowl). 

Broad Blunsdon. Chalice. 

Bradford. Two chalices, two 
patens, flagon, and alms- 
dish. 


ee eee eee 


In Memoriam John Edward Jackson, F.S.A. 355 


1764. Erchfont. Flagon 1781. Fifield. Almsdish (given 
» Corsham. Flagon (given 1833). 
recently). 1782. Broadtown. Paten (given 
1766. Patney. Flagon. 1843). 
1768. Parish Church Chippenham. 1784. Keevil. Two chalices (given 
Two chalices, two flagons, 1840). 
and two salver patens. 1789. St. Mary’s Devizes. Two 
1768. Chisledon. Paten, chalices, two patens, and 
1771. Sevenhampton. Chalice, flagon. 
paten, almsdish, and flagon. 1790? ManningfordAbbotts. Flagon 
1774. Berwick Bassett. | Chalice © (uncertain). 
and paten cover. 1791. Kington St. Michael. Paten 
= Castle Combe. Two patens cover of Elizabethan cup. 
(salvers on three legs). 1793. Marston Maisey. Paten. 
a Colerne. Two-handled cup 1795. Langley Fitzurse. Chalice 
‘ and cover and paten. (given 1858). 
1775. Castle Combe. Chalice and 1799. Grittleton. Chalice. 
cover. . 


An Atlemoriam John Edward Aackson, F.3.3., 
Hon. Canon of Bristol. 


OZACN Friday evening, March 6th, 1891, at the Rectory, Leigh 
i): Delamere, died John Edward Jackson, Rector of Leigh 
Delamere and Norton, Honorary Canon of Bristol, and F.S.A. He 
had reached the great age of eighty-five, and his death was not un- 
expected, for his strength had been slowly failing for many months 
and for some time past approaching paralysis had deprived him 
of the power of writing. But none the less does his death leave a 
grievous gap in the ranks of the Wilts Archzological Society, as 
well as in the singularly large and varied circle of his private friends, 
which cannot be filled by anyone else. 

He was indeed sui generis, for the immense stores of local infor- 
mation and learning that he possessed were not more remarkable 


356 In Memoriam John Edward iperk P.S8.A. 


than the talent—for it was nothing less—with which he presented 
the matured results of his investigations in a form acceptable not 
merely to the antiquary but to the general public. 

He was not a Wiltshireman by birth, having been born at Don- 
caster in 1805. He was educated at Charterhouse and Brasenose 
College, Oxford, where he took his degree—second class in Jit. 
Hum.—in 1827; and his first curacy was that of Farleigh 
Hungerford, to which he was ordained in 1834, 

In 1845, however, he became—to the great advantage of our 
county—a Wiltshireman by residence, being presented by the late 
Mr. Joseph Neeld to the rectory of Leigh Delamere, and in the 
following year to the vicarage of Norton, which he continued ? 
hold with Leigh Delamere until his death. 

In his earlier life he had paid much attention to the study of 
geology, and the collection of fossils which he then formed he has 
left by will to the Society’s Museum ; but in later days the absorbing 
interests of family and county history and topography occupied the 
greater part of his leisure time and thoughts. It was to these 
subjects that the best years of his life were devoted, and it was in 
these, rather than in art, natural history, or archzology strictly 
speaking, that he specially excelled. 

It is characteristic of the power, or rather, perhaps, of the instinct 
which he possessed of completely identifying himself with the 
genius loci of the locality on which his attention happened to be 
fixed for the time that the years of his residence at Farleigh 
Hungerford were marked by what he himself spoke of as his 
“Hungerford mania”—a mania which bore fruit in a series of 
portly folio volumes of MSS., containing an enormous mass of 
information on the fortunes of that once widespread and important 
family, and on the historical events with which the various members 
of it were connected,— information which it is much to be regretted 
has never been given to the world. 

With this faculty of concentrating his powers on the history of 
his “environment ” it is not to be wondered at that having settled 
down at Leigh Delamere he should have at once set to work at the 
task of collecting materials for the elucidation of the past history 


| 


In Memoriam John Edward Jackson, F.S.A. 357 


of the county in which his lot was cast. The manner in which 
those materials were collected was characteristic of the man, 
Nothing connected with Wiltshire in the past came amiss to him— 
a bit of family history—a monumental inscription—a discovery of 
Roman remains—an entry in an ancient deed or will—or the mention 
of some interesting event in a local paper—he might have had at 
the moment no intention of writing anything about the particular 
parish or district with which any of these things were connected, 
but still it might come in useful some day, and accordingly a note 
was made of it on half-a-sheet of note paper, the white side of a 
circular, or the back of an envelope, and was carefully deposited in 
the particular portfolio devoted to that particular parish or district, 
so that at any moment he could refer to all the odd scraps of infor- 
mation available for any special locality. (This collection of material, 
together with other papers bearing on Wiltshire, has since his 
death been given to the Society of Antiquaries.) 

It was this systematic collection and arrangement of materials, 
carried on for fifty years, that enabled him to delight the Members 
of our Society year after year, wherever the annual meeting might 
be, with a constant succession of papers, each of which seemed to 
deal with the antiquarian history of the immediate locality as though 
that was the special point on which the Canon’s thoughts and in- 
vestigations had been fixed for the past twelve months. For from 
the year 1853, when he took a leading part in the first foundation 
of the Society and became one of its first Secretaries and the Editor 
of the Magazine, up to within the Jast two years he continued to be 
the most popular of readers at the Annual Meetings, and the 
most valued of contributors to the pages of the Magazine. The 
professed antiquarian as well as the less ardent member of the public 
who had, possibly, after the labours of a long day’s excursion, 
slumbered fitfully through other important business, alike regained 
the fullest consciousness when Canon Jackson rose to read. He had 
a way of catching your attention. There was a humorous twinkle 
in his eye and a turn about the corners of his mouth which made 
people feel that he had ‘something good to tell them by and bye, 
and they had better listen carefully or they might lose it ; so that 


358 In Memoriam John Edward Jackson, F.8.A. 


year after year his paper came to be looked on as one of the special’ 
treats of the Meeting. Endowed himself with the power of seeing 
the humorous side of things he used that power to give life to what 
in other hands—as learned, perhaps, as his own—would have 
remained to the end nothing but the dry bones of genealogical or 
topographical research. 

Of his published works the most important was, of course, his 
annotations to the Topographical Collections of Aubrey. In this 
thick volume the results of years of labour and research are contained, 
the annotations being not only of far greater bulk but also of 
greater value than the text on which they are based. But his other 
monographs and papers, which may be found in every volume of the 
Magazine, as well as those which—like the History of Grittleton 
and of the two Churches of St. Mary’s and St. George’s, Doncaster 
—were published separately, were one and all of them really 
valuable, the greater number of them complete in themselves and 
containing all the information which could be brought to bear upon 
the subject in hand. Much of his most valuable matter he gleaned 
from the MSS., deeds, and documents hidden in the libraries and 
muniment rooms of the great houses of the county, notably from 
those of Longleat, among which he was often at work ; some of 
the most interesting of his communications to the Magazine being 
founded on materials disinterred from that storehouse of valuable 
documents. 

It has often been regretted that he did not undertake that task 
which still awaits fulfilment, the writing of the History of Wiltshire 
—and he was, perhaps, the only man of the present time who 
could have done it. But the time for it was scarcely ripe, the 
materials were not ready to his hand, and he spent his life in 
gathering and sifting the facts with which the future historian of 
the county must build his history. He had a horror of doing 
anything incompletely or inaccurately. When he excused himself 
from reading a paper at the Devizes Meeting last year, it was on the 
plea that he had so many things to finish up and put in order that 
he could not now undertake any fresh work ; and only a few months 
before his death he said, looking at the volumes of Hungerfordiana, 


“ Recent Occurrence of the Great Bustard in Wilts.” 359 


“They represent a good many years of my life—I have worked hard 
in my time”; and then, as he spoke of his increasing weakness, he 
said, “I should like to have had another ten years of life, I think I 
could have finished a good many things then.” He had worked to 
the last, and when the end came he passed away honoured and 
beloved by all who knew him, not merely for his knowledge and his 
learning, but for the genuine goodness of his heart and the singular 
charm of his private character,—the genial kindness and quaint 
humour which made him no less delightful as a companion in private 
life than he was as a lecturer upon the public platform. By his 
personal friends—and perhaps few men could number friends in so 
many and diverse ranks and conditions of life as he could,—by his 
neighbours, even by those who knew him only from his appearance 
at our Annual Meetings, he was alike spoken of as “the dear old 
Canon.” He was, indeed, one of the few of whom it may truly be 
said that it was a privilege to have known him, as he is one of the 
few, too, who will leave an enduring name behind him in the 
antiquarian world—a name that will rank for the future with the 
goodly company of Wiltshire antiquaries, with Aubrey and Hoare 
Philips and Britton, if it does not in the opinion of posterity rank 
first among them all as that of the man who has done most for the 
unravelling of Wiltshire history. 
B.. HG. 


“Recent Occurrence of the Great Bustard 
in Wilts.” 


By the Rev. A. C. SmirH. 
T the end of January, 1891, twenty years bad elapsed since 
the latest visit of the Great Bustard to Wiltshire, and 
not a straggler to its old haunts in this county had been seen since 
the memorable incursion of these birds to the British Isles of 1871, 


3860 “ Recent Occurrence of the Great Bustard in Wilts.’ 


when quite a large body came over: by some said to have been 
frightened away from France, owing to the heavy firing during the 
Franco-German war; by others, and with more probability, con- 
jectured to have been driven from their usual haunts by an exception- 
ally cold winter. Whether this body arrived in detachments, or 
whether they came in one large pack, is uncertain; but if the latter 
they must very soon have dispersed over a considerable area, for 
some were obtained in Devonshire, some in Somerset, some in 
Middlesex, some in Northumberland, and no less than seven found 
their way to Salisbury Plain, to the parishes of Maddington, 
Shrewton, Market Lavington, and Berwick St. James, as I have 
fully detailed elsewhere (Birds of Wiltshire, p. 861). 

Previous to this immigration of Great Bustards into Wiltshire 
none had been seen in the county for fifteen years, and then but a 
single bird was observed and captured in the neighbourhood of 
Hungerford, in the early part of January, 1856, of which I have 
also given particulars (Birds of Wiltshire, p. 358). 

Since 1871 there have been occasional stragglers in various parts 
of England, notably in the winter of 1879-80, when nine specimens 
were captured, viz., one in Essex, two in Jersey, one in Cornwall, 
three in Kent, one in Cambridgeshire, and one in Dorset, the greater 
part of which were recorded to be females, and one only pronounced 
to be a male: but none of these were observed in Wilts. Between 
1880 and the beginning of the present winter I am not aware that 
the Great Bustard has put in any appearance within the British 
Isles: but now, during the remarkably cold weather which we have 
experienced this winter, and which seems to have extended pretty 
generally over the Continent of Europe, another arrival of Great 
Bustards has taken place, and no less than seven specimens have 
been taken in as many counties: for they, too, if they came over in 
a body, as is probable, very soon scattered over the country, and 
between December 20th and February 7th a single individual of 
this fine species has been taken in Essex, in Carmarthenshire, in 
Hampshire, in Sussex, in Norfolk, in Suffolk, as well as in Wilts, as 
has been fully reported by Mr. Harting in the Zoologist and in the 
Field. They were all females, not a male bird amongst them, and 


By the Rev. A. C. Smith. 361 


they averaged in weight between 8lbs. and 9]bs., the heaviest scaling 
at 13lbs. and the lightest at 7lb. 10oz. 

So much for the pack—if pack it was—that, in an evil hour for 
themselves, came over to England. 

To come to our Wiltshire specimen, of which I am able to furnish 
reliable details, as they have been communicated to me at first hand 
by the obliging captor of the bird. It appears that on February 
5th last (not on the 4th, as I at first erroneously stated) Mr. Wood 
and his brother, of Langley Green, near Chippenham, being tempted 
by the hard weather to go out in search of Wild Geese, of which they 
had heard tidings, found themselves at 10.a.m., in Alington Mead, 
on the banks of the Avon, behind Kelloways Mills, and about three 
miles from Chippenham; the wind blowing from the north-east. 
Here they presently saw a large bird, which at first they supposed 
to be a Wild Goose, flying towards them, down the wind, when both 
brothers fired: the bird however, though evidently hard hit, did not 
at once drop, but continued its flight : then they perceived it was no 
goose, and on picking it up a little farther on found it to be a Great 
Bustard, in excellent plumage, and, beyond a broken leg, very little 
injured by the shot. Mr. Wood at once sent the bird for preservation 
to Foot, the taxidermist, of Bath, in whose house it was seen in the 
flesh by many persons, and who preserved the sternum. In reply to 
my many enquiries Mr. Foot very courteously supplied me with all 
the information he had as to the capture, and forwarded me a portion 
of the contents of the crop, which appeared to consist of the leaves 
of grass and other plants. Desiring, however, to obtain accurate 
information on this point, I forwarded a small portion of the un- 
digested leaves to Mr. Harting (Natural History Editor of the 
Field), to Professor Newton, of Cambridge, and several other 
authorities, not forgetting our own Wiltshire botanist, the Rev. 
T. A. Preston. Professor Newton at once forwarded his portion to 
Mr. Southwell, the well-known ornithologist, of Norfolk, who is at 
énce a botanist, and has no little acquaintance with the habits of the 
Great Bustard. Mr. Southwell conferred on the matter with a 
botanical friend of some eminence, Mr. H. D. Geldart, and the 
result of their examination was given as follows: “The leaves sent 


862 “ Recent Occurrence of the Great Bustard in Wilts,” 


consisted of Ranunculus bulbosus, Dandelion, and Hypocherisradicata. 
The one blade of grass, by its redness below and white veins, may 
be Festuca, but this is pure guess-work.” Mr. Preston, after ex- 
amining his portion forwarded it to Kew, whence he received the 
following authoritative decision: “It principally consists of leaves 
and young buds of Ranunculus repens: there is one leaf of Cochlearia 
officinalis, part of a leaf of an unknown plant, and the thorax of a 
beetle.” On which Mr. Preston remarks: “ The leaf of Cochlearia 
is very interesting : it is a seaside plant, and hence proves that the 
poor bird must have been shot the very moment it reached Chippen- 
ham.” Mr. Preston also discovered among what he conjectured to 
be the leaves of common grasses the leaf of a plantain. [TI should 
add, to account for any seeming difference of opinion on the part of 
the above eminent authorities, that the portion of leaves submitted 
to each of them was so excessively small, that in all probability 
the sample examined by one did not consist of precisely the same 
materials as seen by another. ] 

So much and no more could I gather in regard to this Great 
Bustard, which when shot was supposed to be a Wild Goose. But 
the thought will naturally rise up in the minds of most people, how 
sad that every one of these Great Bustards—and, I may add, every 
other rare bird—should be immediately killed, as soon as it makes 
its appearance in England! Alas! that such should be the case, 
but I fear it is inevitable, so long as that most pernicious and most 
foolish practice exists among some collectors, to value at ten, twenty, 
or even fifty-fold a British-hilled specimen,in comparison with exactly 
the very same species, and an equally good, probably better, skin 
imported from the locality abroad where the bird in question is 
abundant. There is nothing to be said in favour of this extraordi- 
nary eagerness to possess specimens which have met their deaths in 
this country, but it is obvious that such fictitious value imparted to 
such unfortunate stragglers as, on a fatal day for themselves, visit 
our inhospitable shores, is quite certain to ensure their destruction : 
and until such collectors come to a better mind in the matter, we 
fear that the death of all strange visitors to the shores of “ perfide 
Albion” is inevitable. 


~ 


By the Rev. A. C. Smith. 363 


I cannot take leave of this subject without once more lifting up 
my voice against another most grievous practice, which, though 
often denounced in very plain language, is not by any means abated. 
I mean the modern fashion on the part of the fair sex, of wearing 
birds, or parts of birds’ plumage, in their hats. I am quite certain 
that the gentle kind-hearted ladies of England would abstain from 
this practice, however fashionable, could they but realize the whole- 
sale massacre of countless beautiful happy birds, which this most 
unfortunate demand for them entails. I do not exaggerate when I 
say that the annual slaughter of sea birds for this purpose amounts 
to tens of thousands ; and, but a short time since, a single plumassier 
gave an order for five hundred robins! and another still more recently 
for one hundred kingfishers! and all for what? in order (as the 
noble President of the British Ornithologists’ Union has cleverly 
expressed it) ‘ to supply ladies with feathers for personal disfigure- 
ment.” With the whole realm of beautiful botanical specimens 
open to them for selection, and which are really graceful and 
appropriate adornments ; it seems amazing that the lifeless body or 
part of a body of a bird, slaughtered for that express purpose, should 
be chosen in preference, and most unnaturally and quite unbe- 
comingly be made to do duty in their place! whereas in reality the 
very commonest flower so employed is far more beautiful, because 
far more in place and infinitely more harmonious with its surround- 
ings; in short, the one is adapted to the position, and therefore 
natural and charming; the other is altogether out of place, and 
therefore ungraceful and unmeaning. 


364 ‘ 


Additions to the Auseum and Librarp. 


Ancient food vessel and holed stones—loom weights (?)—found in dwelling pit 
at Oldbury Camp. Presented by the Rev. W. C. PLENDERLEATH. 

A large collection of fossils and the cabinet containing them. Left to the Society 
by the late Canon Jacxkson. 

Specimens of painted plaster, tesserze, &c., from Roman dwelling at Hannington 
Wick. By the Rey. E. H. Gopparp. 

Wiltshire specimen of Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrula). By A. B. 
Fisuer, Esq. 

Photographs of objects of interest connected with Mrs. Jane Lane. By C. 
PrenRvUDDOCEE, Esq. 

Boyne’s Trade Tokens, vol. I. By purchase. 

Yarrell’s British Birds, four vols. By purchase. 

The History of the Hundred of Berkeley, one vol. By exchange. 

Lives of the Berkleys, two vols. By exchange. 


END OF VOL. XXV. 


11 JUL. 91 


H. F, BULL, Printer and Publisher, 4, Saint John Street, Devizes, 


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‘oatsnpout skep yjoq ‘QGRT ‘Teqmeceq ysT¢g 0} Avenue 4sT Woz 2 hos ayy Jo ean Ee = sydso00e jo IY 
: “ALOIOOS AYOLSIH TVYOLVN ANY 


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G OL OGY. P Mieinbers patsrested tt Sisley, 5 eur fs 
notice of any Geological Excursions which may be arra 
are desired to send in their names to 

W. H. Bett, Esq,, 
Seend, 


STONEHENGE anv AVEBURY. It is proposed to publist , al 
the price of about lds., if two hundred subscriptions cam be 
obtained, a series of very careful and accurate drawings ané 
plans of Stonehenge and Avebury, made some years ago 
the Rey. W. C. Luxis, F.S.A., and deposited in the Librar 
of the Society of Antiquaries, London. Members wishing 
subscribe for copies are requested to send in their names te 
either of the Honorary Secretaries: H. E. Mepzicorr, ee 
Sandfield, Potterne, Devizes; or the Rev. E. H. Goppag 

Clyffe’ Vicarage, Wootton Bassett. es: 


. C. W. Hoteare, Palace, Salisbury, who is editing the Lonel 
Rolls of Winchester College, will be greatly obliged to anyone 
who will lend him the Long Rolls for the following years, viz., 
1654 to 1667, inclusive, 1669, 1671, 1684, 1686, 1687, 1703, 
1705, 1711, 1713, 1715, 1718, 1719, 1722, 1728, 1726, 1728, — 
1729, and 1733. 2 


LIST OF NEW MEMBERS—Elected 1890. 


Life. 
C. Penruddocke, Jun., Esq. 


: Annual, 
Walter P. Bouverie, Esq. 
A. J. H. Crespi, Esq. 
Miss Clarke. 
Dr. Cowie. 
Dr. Carless. 
Rev. J. H. Calley. 
John E. Gladstone, Esq. 
G. Leveson Gower, Esq. 
P. Hardwick, Esq. 
Dr. Johnson. 
J. Kelland, Esq. 
H. E. Meek, Esq. . 
Miss L, Popham. 
E. P. Squarey, Esq. 
James Waylen, Esq. 
Frederick Weston, Esq. 


is British yy ' Roman Annee | 
the North Wiltshire Downs, — 


a BY THE REV. A. C. SMITH, M.A. 
ne eee Atlas 4to, 248 pp., 17 large Maps, atl 110 Woode 
See Extra Cloth. Price £2 2s. 


iiely Published, by the Wiltshire Archeological & Natural History _ Ba” 
- Society, One ‘Volume, 8vo, 504 pp., with map, Extra Cloth, 


s The Flowering Plants of Wiltshere, 
: 


BY THE REV. T. A. PRESTON, M.A. 


Price to the Public, 16s.; but one copy offered M4 every Member 
of the Society at half-price. : 


Lately Published, One Volume, 8vo., 615 pp., Extra Cloth. 
The Burds of Wiltshire, es 
BY THE REV. A. C. SMITH, M.A. . 

Price reduced to 10s. 6d. 


AGENTS 


FOR THE SALE OF THR 


WILTSHIRE M MAGAZINE. 


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