Archaeological Journal/Volume 1/Proceedings of the Central Committee (Part 2)
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
of the
British Archaeological Association.
March 13.
Mr. William Wire exhibited drawings of Romano-British and Middle-Age Antiquities, found in and about Colchester within the last few years. The former consist of a great variety of earthern vessels, lamps, enamelled bronze fibulæ, coloured clay and glass beads, buckles, bracelets, rings, bone pins, a fragment of a bone comb, a small bronze statue of Mercury, and an ornament in jet, on which is carved, in high relief, a representation of two winged Cupids filling a bag. It appears to have been worn suspended from the neck. The fictile urns and vases are numerous, and of a great variety of shape. Many of these remains were found on the site of the Union Workhouse, and between Butt and Maldon lanes, both of which localities, from the great number of skeletons and urns containing burnt bones which have there been discovered, were doubtless appropriated as burial places. The objects of Middle-Age art comprise a brass image of the Saviour, the eyes of which are made of a blue transparent substance, a small brass crucifix made in two parts with a hinge, so as to contain a relic, seals, and a tap, the key of which is in the form of a cock. Mr. Wire also forwarded a map of Colchester on which is marked in colours the various spots where Roman buildings, pavements, and burial places, have been discovered.
Mr. Thomas Bateman, jun., exhibited sketches of twenty-two crosses on grave slabs, discovered beneath the church of Bakewell in Derbyshire.
The Rev. Allan Borman Hutchins, of Appleshaw, Hants, communicated an account of the opening of a barrow, situated seven miles to the east of Sarum, near Winterslow Hut Inn Inclosures, on a point of land within a yard or two of the Idminster parish road, which leads into the Salisbury turnpike. Mr. Hutchins remarks:—"One foot and a half from the top of the barrow, towards the south, my labourers came to a strong arch-work composed of rude flints wedged together remarkably secure, without cement of any kind, with the key-stone. Having carefully removed the flinty safeguard, I was highly pleased with the view of the largest sepulchral urn, 18 inches by 18, the mouth of which was placed downwards and perfectly entire, with the exception of one of its massy handles, which, in my humble opinion, was accidentally broken by those who conveyed it to its appointed spot for interment, owing to the great weight of the new-made urn. The neck was ornamented within and without, in a handsome, though somewhat rude, manner, with a victor's laurel pattern. With the assistance of my two men, the urn was removed, and immediately some linen, beautiful to the eye and perfect for a time, of a mahogany colour, presented itself to our view, and resembled a veil of the finest lace. I made an accurate drawing of the linen which originally contained the burnt bones, of a yellow hue; underneath there were blood-red amber beads, of a conical form, with two holes at the base, a small pin of mixed metal, and among the bones some human hair, short, brittle, and of a bronze colour, four beautiful amber beads, and a small fluted lance-head of mixed metal. A small urn was placed beside the large one, on the same floor, surrounded by flint stones, but containing nothing besides bones. It holds two gallons, measures 12 inches by 1112, and is rudely ornamented with plain indentures round the neck, and imitation handles. Second Deposit:—The centre of the barrow shewed another mode of interment. The ashes had been deposited in a wooden box, which was reduced to a powder. Among the ashes we found a spear-head, and four arrow-heads of iron, together with a small round vase. Third Deposit:—Four feet below the natural earth of this barrow we discovered the third and original interment, consisting of a skeleton of an immense size, the skull very large, and the teeth all perfect. The skeleton was placed with the head to the north, and the feet to the south. A handsome but rudely ornamented red vase, of the capacity of three pints, was laid between the knees and feet, and in it were two arrow-heads of flint, the one black, the other white. A metal spear-head, inclining to roundness at the point, was under the right arm, and also a slate gorget, or badge, with three holes at each end." Mr. Hutchins adds that he is in possession of an excellent oil-painting of the whole of the contents of the barrow, made by Mr. Guest of Sarum.
March 27.
A second communication was received from Mr. William Sidney Gibson relating to the ancient church of the Hospital of the Blessed Virgin at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Mr. Gibson observes, "When I wrote the communication touching the old chapel at West Gate, in this town, I had no expectation that the interference of the Association would now arrest the hand of the destroyer, and I fear my neglect to explain this has occasioned to you and your learned colleagues a trouble that will be fruitless. The result of my subsequent enquiries into the matter is, I regret to say, that I see no prospect whatever of success attending any effort that may now be made as far as this building is concerned. Its doom has been sealed by the corporation for some considerable time, and the work of demolition is going on, though slowly. In its progress a fine chancel-arch, sedilia, &c. have been stripped of the unsightly modern barbarisms which concealed them, as well as the east and west windows. The corporation collectively authorize the spoliation. The municipal body purchased the edifice and site for the purposes of what are called town improvements, in which they were busily engaged. The vendors—the representatives of the feoffees of the ancient charity—ought to be ashamed of themselves for having sold for such purposes a building once consecrated and set apart from worldly things. Mr. Leadbitter, who lives—a wealthy bachelor—in a neighbouring picturesque old house, (the last relic here of the stately buildings of its date that once adorned the town,) offered to purchase of the corporation the site and building, wishing to restore the chapel, and, as so little remains of it that the chapel could not be usefully appropriated to public worship, he desired to have annexed it as a chapel to his own mansion. His offer was rejected."
Mr. Stapleton read a letter upon the same subject from Mr. George B. Richardson, who suites that "No sooner had I read your letter than I perceived the imperfectness and paucity of my remarks respecting the chapel, which fault I now proceed to rectify, for we cannot expect that the mere plea of antiquity, powerful as it is to us, will avail with a money-making age like this, unless indeed some such interposition be made as this Society can exert. It is quite certain that its destruction is unnecessary, for no good or sufficient reason whatever has been adduced for the propriety of removal; for, firstly, a large party of the council (though of course not the majority) were averse to it; secondly, its removal would create a blank in the street which would have to be replaced with some other erection; in fact, in the same breath which ordered its destruction, the council considered of the necessity of erecting on its very site modern buildings; thirdly, the street at present possesses its proper breadth, even at the side of the building; fourthly, the present filthy appearance of the building, say they, makes it a nuisance or an eye-sore: in this they forget both who has been instrumental in making it so, and that these excrescences are easily removed; fifthly, the council, even if they had wished it, reported the building unfit for repair from its ruinous condition, but now that workmen are engaged in removing it, even these opposers of its preservation confess that it is in good condition, and are surprised at the beauty of its details, now that they are being cleared from the filthy incumbrances which have so long defiled them; and sixthly, it is not the wish of the inhabitants that it should be removed, on the contrary, there exists among them a deep sense of the injustice of the measure, and many appealing letters have appeared on the subject in the local newspapers. My conclusions then are, that the council were actuated by bad, or a total absence of, taste; and secondly, by a mania for what is most incorrectly called improvement. Mr. Dobson, an architect of this town, has designed and made plans for its restoration as a chapel in connection with the Church of England, for church accommodation is wanted; and yet we find those who willingly and wilfully remove that which already exists, or at least that which, with a small expense, might be made available. Beside this infinitely important claim, it has others: it is a sacred structure, good men have worshipped within its walls, and little did the founder think that his pious work would be cast to the ground by man, after the storms and tempests of four or five hundred long years had passed over its venerable walls and left it unscathed. It is indelibly associated with all that is honourable and worthy in the town, from it have emanated some of our most remarkable men, and for this alone, even if it had none other claims upon the corporate body, as a public monument it has this."
Mr. C. R. Smith read a letter from Mr. Edmund Tyrell Artis, of Castor, in Northamptonshire, stating that paintings had recently been discovered on the walls of five of the churches in that neighbourhood, namely, in those of Castor, Etton, Orton, Peakirk, and Yaxley. The subjects, which are accompanied with inscriptions, are scriptural, and differ from each other, but the colours are the same in all, and the great similarity in style leads Mr. Artis to believe that they were executed by the same artists.
Mr. Thomas Bateman, jun., exhibited a drawing of a pewter chalice, found with a patina, and one or two coins of Edward II., in a stone coffin in the churchyard of Bakewell, Derbyshire.
Mr. Thomas Clarkson Neale exhibited a richly-ornamented jug of Flemish ware, of a greyish white colour and of elegant shape. It was found at Butley Priory, Norfolk, and is now preserved in the Chelmsford and Essex museum. Its date is of the close of the sixteenth century. A drawing of the jug by Mr. John Adey Repton accompanied the exhibition.
April 10.
Mr. C. R. Smith read the following communication from Mr. Joseph Clarke of Saffron Walden, and exhibited the various objects therein described.
At the most northerly extremity of the parish of Saffron Walden in Essex, about three miles directly south from Chesterford, (supposed by some to be the Camboricum of the Romans,) and on one of the most elevated spots in the vicinity, as the progress of land draining was proceeding, the workmen stumbled frequently upon what they called pieces of old platters, and bits of old glass, but which the eye of an antiquary would at once detect to be fragments of Romano-British funeral utensils; unfortunately these peasants had no one at hand at the time to instruct them better, or to save from farther mutilation those relics which time and accident had dealt too rudely with already. The rising and elevated ground which formed the place of deposit of the articles just alluded to, is, on three sides, a rather steep slope, and on the west side, the natural connection with the adjacent hills is interrupted by a gully, now a lane, with a wooded slope next to the ground in question, and which lane, it is within the bounds of possibility, may have been the ditch or defence from that side, the ground being sufficiently elevated to have formed some protection on the other three sides. 
No. 1.The following articles, numbered from one to fifteen inclusive, were all found together, and not more than two feet from the surface, and from the occurrence of iron hinges, and part of a hasp, or what may be supposed to have been a fastening, the conclusion to be drawn is, that they were buried in a box, not an uncommon custom among the Romans, for there were evident traces that those beautiful vases found in the Bartlow tumuli were enclosed in a box. The vessel marked No. 1 is a glass bottle, 312 inches high, of the class to which the term lacrymatory is given. 2. A vessel much broken and rudely mended, of square shape, and of tolerably thick green glass, with a small neck, and an elegant striated handle, in size six inches high, and about four inches square at bottom. 3. Part of a cinerary urn, of which there are several other pieces; some of those belonging to the middle part are slightly ornamented; it must have been of large size. 4. Small portion of a mortuary urn, of coarse manufacture, and light-coloured earth; this urn the workmen say was upside down, and contained burned bones, &c., but was so fragile 
No. 2. that only a small part of it could be got out. 5. Small patera of red or Samian ware, of elegant shape, and foliage or the lotus-leaf running round its edge, and but little more than three inches over. 6. Plain unornamented patera of highly glazed Samian ware, originally with handles, which are broken off, size 612 inches over, 112 inch deep. 7. Large simpulum of red Samian pottery, with the ivy-leaf running round its edge, nine inches over, of elegant shape, but defaced. 8. Wide mouth or rim of a small vessel of nearly colourless glass, which from the remnants must have been unornamented, and small at the bottom and very much bulged or protuberant at the sides. 9. Iron lamp-holder, generally considered to be the stand in which the
No. 5. earthen lamp stood, no vestige of which lamp could be discovered. 10. Part of a spear-head, of iron, barbed on one side. 11. Shaft of the above, or another. 12. Pair of rude iron hinges, one of which is perfect and acting. 13. Parts of an iron staple and hasp, probably the fastenings of a box. 14. Pieces of lead, one of which looks as if it had been folded round something. 15. Six bronze ornaments, of tolerable workmanship, with iron rivets 
No. 8. in the centre of each, and five rings of bronze, one peculiarity of which will be the groove or indentation running round the outermost side, and two or three of them will be found attachments, probably of leather. All the above, as before stated, were found together, and from the hinges, fastenings, nails, &c. the inference to be drawn is, that they were buried together.
No. 16.
At other parts of the field were found a vessel marked 16, a full-sized red dish, nine inches over, much broken, and plain, except a circle of rays round the inner part; in the centre is the potter's stamp. 17. Small plain simpulum, about six inches over, with potter's mark, of. veri, much mutilated. 18. Small deep patera, differing in form from any of the rest, 312 inches over and 2 inches deep. 19. A few fragments of a large patera-like vessel, exhibiting appearances of having been mended before the time of its entombment; 
No. 17. a slight inspection will be sufficient to ascertain that it has been riveted together with leaden rivets, much after the manner that china is mended now-a-days with copper wire, and it is an exemplification of the saying that there is nothing new under the sun. 20. Part of a very thick bottle of very green glass, bottom 3 inches square, found entire, but wantonly broken by the peasants who discovered it. 
No. 21. 21. Wide-mouthed vessel of very thin greenish glass, 412 inches high, mouth 234 inches wide, holding about half a pint, embossed with protuberances after the manner of the cone of the fir, which in all probability was the model; this vessel is novel and possibly unique. 22. Lachrymatory, 312 inches high. 23. Three very small bronze ornaments, similar to those at No. 15, and probably may have been used for a like purpose. 24. Coin of Trajan, second brass, with radiated head. 25. Small portion of an immense amphora.
Numerous fragments were found beneath the surface at different parts of the hill, and pieces of glass in considerable quantities, but all of the greenish cast, similar to those vessels before mentioned.
No. 4. Although the site of this discovery is but three miles from the Roman station at Chesterford, it does not appear that it was at all connected with it, as the character of the vessels found clearly demonstrates, in one essential particular especially so, as no glass vessels have ever been found at Chesterford; indeed they are much more like those found at Bartlow, which is about four miles distant. The only clue as to date is that near the spot where the principal part of the remains were found, was also found the coin of Trajan, which if it could be at all relied on would fix the date a very early one. A small brass coin of Hadrian was found in an urn in a bustum at Bartlow, which would go some way to strengthen the idea that they were nearly coeval, but the foregoing must be taken only as a conjecture. Another conjecture may be also hazarded with respect to the ornaments No. 15: may they not have been the bosses of a buckler or shield, the iron rivets through the centre indicating that they have been fastened to something, and may not the rings have been attached to the inside of the shield, for the purpose of fastening straps thereto for the arm to pass through?
April 24.
Mr. C. R. Smith read a note from Mr. John Green Waller on the possibility of restoring paintings on walls covered with many coats of whitewash. Mr. Waller states his opinion to be that the paintings frequently found on the walls of our churches and designated "fresco," are in reality nothing more than distemper, for the cleaning of which he suggests the use of vinegar, carefully applied with a brush alternately with water, to modify its action and prevent the acid from injuring the layer of plaster containing the paintings.
Mr. Thomas Farmer Dukes, of Shrewsbury, presented two drawings of painted glass existing in that town. The one from the window of St. Mary's church, which contains the greater portion of the painted glass formerly in the eastern window of old St. Chad's church, represents the genealogy of our Saviour. At the bottom is depicted the patriarch Jesse, as large as life, being six feet in length. He is in a deep sleep, reclining upon a cushion. From the loins of this figure proceed a vine, the branches of which extend nearly over the entire of the window, enclosing within small oval compartments the descendants of Jesse down to Joseph. Under these paintings there appear amongst others the representations of Sir John de Charlton, Lord of Powis, and his wife Hawis, who seems to have been the donor of this window sometime between the years 1332 and 1353. Mr. Dukes remarks also that the representation of the Lady Howis differs in its details from a drawing taken from the window by Sir William Dugdale in 1663, and understood to be now deposited in the Heralds' College, wherein it appears that the lady's robe is surmounted by armorial emblems. This painting has been engraved by Carter. The other drawing is from a piece of glass in Mr. Duke's possession, and represents Alexander slaying Clitus.
Mr. Dukes also presented a drawing of an ancient wooden chapel at Melverley, about ten miles from Shrewsbury, and nearly adjoining the conflux of the rivers Severn and Virniew, and a sketch of the remaining portion of an octagonal font, bearing an inscription in Greek reading forwards and backwards the same, "ΝΙΨΟΝ ΑΝΟΜΗΜΑ ΜΗ ΜΟΝΑΝ ΟΨΙΝ." This fragment, it appears, was accidentally rescued from destruction by a gentleman passing by the church of Kinnerley in Shropshire, at the moment when some workmen were breaking the font to pieces for the purpose of repairing the church-yard wall; but its preservation was accomplished by an offer of money, when the men permitted it to be removed to a place of safety. This inscription, Mr. Duke observes, appears not only upon various fonts, but is inscribed also upon ewers, dishes, and other kinds of vessels used in baptismal ceremonies both in England and on the continent, as at St. Martin's church, Ludgate; Dulwich college; Worlingworth, Suffolk; at a church in Cheshire; at various places in France, and at St. Sophia at Constantinople. It is likewise engraved upon a capacious basin at Trinity College, Cambridge, which is used by the collegians for washing the fingers after dinner.
Mr. Albert Way exhibited a forged brass seal of Macarius Bishop of Antioch, which the owner had purchased upon the assertion of its having been found in the Thames by the ballast-heavers. The seal is circular, about one and a half inch in diameter; the upper part is in form of a tortoise, on the back of which is a semicircular handle: the inscription runs round a figure of St. Peter. It was remarked that many similar forgeries, executed in the immediate neighbourhood of Covent Garden, were now dispersed not only throughout England but also in the various towns in France most frequented by English travellers. Many of these seals are merely lead electrotyped, the weight of which alone would lead to their detection. They have moreover in most cases a light mouldy-green rust, the surface is uneven and covered with very minute globules, and the edge has a coarse look and appears filed.
May 8.
Mr. Wright laid before the Committee a letter he had received from the Minister of Public Instruction of France, acknowledging the reception of a copy of the Archæological Journal for the Comité des Arts et Monuments, and sending copies of the following works for the library of the Association. Instructions du Comité Historique des Arts et Monuments. 1. Collection de Documens Inédits sur l'histoire de France-Architecture. 2. Architecture Militaire. 3. Musique. 4. Iconographie Chrétienne. Histoire de Dieu, par M. Didron.
The Committee requested Mr. Wright to return the thanks of the Association to the Minister of Public Instruction for this valuable donation.
Mr. Wright laid on the table a vase of stone apparently of the time of James I., dug up within the precincts of the priory of Leominster in Herefordshire, and a fragment of a head sculptured in stone (Norman-work) dug up at the depth of 12 feet in a field in the neighbourhood of Leominster. These articles are the property of John Evans, Esq., F.S.A., of 17, Upper Stamford-street.
Mr. C. R. Smith read a letter from Mr. E. B. Price, of 29, Cow-cross-street, West Smithfield, giving an account of the discovery of vast quantities of human remains during excavations for sewerage at the west end of Newcastle-street, Farringdon-street, within a short distance eastward of an old brick wall which Mr. Price thinks formed part of the barrier of the river Fleet. These remains were found at the depth of about five feet. Another similar deposit was discovered at the depth of six or seven feet about twenty or thirty feet farther up the street, near Seacoal-lane. Mr. Price observes, "it is very evident that this district has been somewhat extensively used as a place of interment, but at what period it is now difficult to conjecture; it may have been a portion of the parish burial-ground, some centuries back, or it may have been annexed to some religious house in the neighbourhood. This latter supposition may derive a little support (if such it may be termed) from the discovery of several abbey counters during the excavation. You are probably aware of the existence of a very ancient wall at the foot of that precipitous descent named Breakneck Stairs. It was a relic in Stowe's day. He alludes to it as an old wall of stone inclosing a piece of ground up Seacoal Lane, wherein (by report) sometime stood an Inne of Chancery, which house being greatly decayed and standing remote from other houses of that profession, the company removed to a common Hostery called of the signe of our Lady Inne not far from Clements Inne: (since called New Inn.) But whether a monastic edifice or Chancery Inn, there exists no objection to the supposition that there was a place of interment attached to it." Mr. Price further states that when the excavation had descended to the depth of 14 feet, numerous fragments of Roman pottery, an iron stylus, and two small brass coins of Constantine, were discovered.
Mr. Smith then read a note, and exhibited a drawing in illustration, from Mr. A. Stubbs of Boulogne, on two stone capitals of pillars sculptured with the Tudor arms, deposited in the museum of that town. These capitals, Mr. Stubbs states, were found on taking down a house on the Tintilleries in 1807, and he conjectures that they belonged to the jubé or rood-loft of the church of St. Nicholas in Calais, taken down to make room for the citadel erected by the French after the recovery of the town from the English; and which jubé, it appears, was by order of Charles IX. transferred in 1561 to Boulogne.
Mr. Pettigrew read a note from Arthur W. Upcher, Esq., of Sheringham, Cromer, on the discovery of a small bronze figure of the crucified Saviour in a field adjoining Beeston Priory, near Cromer. Mr. Upcher also communicated an inscription from a monumental brass in the church of the same parish. It is as follows:
THE YEARE OF OUR LORD A.M. CCCCXXXI
THOMAS SYSŌ PEIST DPTYD AND LYETH UNDER THIS STŌ
THE IX DAY OF JANUARY ALIVE AND ALLSO GOŌ.
NOT FOR NO ORNAMENT OF THE BODY THIS STONE AVAS LAID HERE
BUT ONLI THE SOWLE TO BE PRAYD FOR AS CHARITE REQWERE.
Mr. Pettigrew also read a note from Sir Arthur Brooke Faulkner, mentioning the finding of a small brass coin of Victorinus and some tradesmen's tokens of the seventeenth century, in excavating the foundations of a house at Broadstairs, near Ramsgate.
A letter was then read from Mr. Charles L. Fisher, of Aldenham Park, promising an account of the Prior's House at Wenlock, an interesting monastic house almost the only one remaining habitable which has not been altered or modernised. The abbey, Mr. Fisher remarks, is not preserved as it should be. The farm-servants are permitted to disfigure the remains of the church in the most wanton manner, making a practice of tearing asunder the beautiful clustered piers, a few only of which are now left, with crow-bars, for mere amusement. Mr. Fisher solicits the kind interference of some member of the Association with Sir W. W. Wynne, the owner of the property, to put a stop to such Vandalism.
Mr. W. H. Rolfe exhibited a small enamelled and gilt bronze figure, apparently of a mass-priest, found at Hammel, near Eastry in Kent.
May 22.
Mr. C. R. Smith, in the name of Monsieur Lecointre-Dupont of Poitiers, foreign member of the Association, presented the following works. 1. Catalogue des Objects Celtiques du Cabinet d'Antiquités de la Ville de Poitiers, et du Musée de la Société des Antiquaires de l'Ouest, par M. Lecointre-Dupont. 8vo. Poitiers 1839. 2. Essai sur les Monnaies du Poitou, par M. Lecointre-Dupont. 8vo. Poitiers 1840. 3. Notice sur un Denier de l'Empereur Lothaire, par M. Lecointre-Dupont. 8vo. Blois. 4. Traité conclu à Londres, en 1359, entre les rois Jean et Edouard, par M. L. D. 8vo. Poitiers. 5. Rapport présenté à la Société des Antiquaires de l'Ouest, au nom de la Commission chargée d'examiner la Facade de l'Eglise Notre-Dame de Poitiers, par M. Lecointre-Dupont. 8vo. Poitiers.
Mr. William Edward Rose presented through Mr. C. R. Smith a spear-head in iron, 23 inches in length, a bronze ornament attached to a portion of a chain, and a small brass coin of Constantine (Rev. spes reipvbl), a figure on horseback with the right arm elevated, and holding in the left hand a javelin; before the horse a captive seated; in the exergue, pln. These objects were discovered a few years since on the apex of Shooters' Hill, Pangbourn, Berks, in making excavations for the Great Western Railway. At the same time and place were brought to light a variety of urns, coins, and spear-heads, together with nearly a hundred skeletons lying in rows in one direction. There was also discovered, Mr. Rose states, a structure resembling the foundations of a lime-kiln, about 30 feet in diameter, and 2 feet deep, composed of flints cemented with mortar of intense hardness; the interior contained a large quantity of charcoal and burnt human bones. It was remarked that an account of these discoveries, with a description of the skulls of the skeletons, was published by Dr. Allnatt, F.S.A., in the Medical Gazette.
Richard Sainthill, Esq., of Cork, forwarded a coloured drawing of an ancient punt or canoe with a descriptive letter from J. B. Gumbleton, Esq., of Fort William, near Lismore. Mr. Gumbleton writes, "The canoe was found on very high though boggy land, a few feet under the surface, on the lands of Coalowen, the estate of Richard Gumbleton, Esq. The river Bride is about a mile and the Blackwater river about two miles distant, but I do not think the canoe was ever on either. Its length is 16 feet 6 inches; breadth, 4 feet; depth inside, 1 foot 2 inches; depth outside, 2 feet. It is hollowed out from the solid timber with I should say the smallest and rudest axes; it seems also to bear marks of having been partly hollowed out by fire; there is no appearance of seats, or places for oars; the timber is oak, and so hard that a hatchet can make but little impression on it; there are four large holes, two at each end, the use of which I cannot guess. Its weight is I think about three tons."
John Adey Repton, Esq., F.S.A., exhibited a coloured drawing of various ornaments from some ancient tapestry in his possession, apparently of the time of Henry VIII.
June 12.
Mr. C. R. Smith informed the Committee of the existence of the remains of some Roman buildings in the church-field at Snodland in Kent. About two years since, Mr. Smith having observed Roman tiles in the walls of the church, was induced to examine the neighbouring field with a view to ascertain whether these tiles might have been taken from Roman buildings in the immediate vicinity, as in several instances where Roman tiles compose in part the masonry of church walls, he had discovered indications of ancient habitations in the adjoining fields. He found the field in which the church of Snodland is situate, strewed in places with the tesseræ of Roman pavements, and fragments of roof and flue tiles, and pottery, and also observed in the bank of the field which overhangs the river Medway other evidences of buildings. During a recent visit to Snodland, Mr. Smith examined the latter more circumspectly, which he was better enabled to do from a part of the bank having foundered from the action of the water. The remains of the walls and flooring of a small room are now distinctly visible in the bank, at about six feet from the surface of the field. The walls, two feet thick, are composed of chalk and rag-stone; the pavement, of lime mixed with sand, small stones, and pounded tile. In continuing his search along the bank towards the east, Mr. Smith discovered the remains of other buildings, of one of which, part of a well-built wall of stone, with alternate layers of red and yellow tiles, is to be seen beneath the sedge and underwood with which the bank is covered. Mr. Smith hopes the attention of some of the members of the Association will be directed to these remains, with a view to effect a more complete investigation.
Mr. Albert Way presented from Monsieur Joseph-Octave Delepierre,—1. Précis des Annales de Bruges, par Joseph-Octave Delepierre. 8vo. Bruges, 1835.—2. Précis Analytique des Documens qui renferme le dépot des archives de la Flandre Occidentale à Bruges, par Octave Delepierre. Vol. i—iii., Bruges, 1840, 1842. Deuxième Série. Tome i. 8vo. Bruges, 1843; and Mr. C. R. Smith from Dr. Bernhard Köhne, Die auf die Geschichte der Deutschen und Sarmaten bezliglichen Römischen Münzen. Par Bernhard Köhne, 8vo. Berlin, 1844.
Mr. C. R. Smith exhibited a coloured drawing, by Mr. John Alfred Barton, of the painting on the wall of Godshill church, in the Isle of Wight, and one forwarded by Mr. Robert Elliott of a fresco painting recently discovered in pulling down an old house in Chichester, the property of Mr. Mason. The painting is in two compartments, the upper of which represents a view of a row of houses; the lower, figures of birds and flowers. The date is apparently that of the sixteenth century. Mr. Smith also exhibited a drawing by Miss Sabina Heath, of Andover, of the two urns and other antiquities taken from the barrow on Winterslow Down, near Sarum, by the Rev. A. B. Hutchings. Mr. Charles Spence exhibited a rubbing from Anthony church, Cornwall, of the monumental brass of Margery Arundel, an ancestor of the far-famed Richard Carew, the author of the Survey of Cornwall. Mr. T. C. Neale exhibited an earthen vessel found at Chelmsford in digging the foundation of the Savings Bank. A drawing of this vessel by Mr. Repton, together with drawings of other antiquities in the Chelmsford and Essex museum, Mr. Neale states, he intends to have lithographed, to accompany a catalogue of the collection.
The following communication was read from Mr. Henry Norris of South Petherton:—
"On the 23rd ult., as a boy was ploughing in an elevated spot of ground called Stroudshill, near Montacute, a village about five miles hence, he turned up between seventy and eighty iron weapons, which at first sight appeared to be sword-blades, but on closer inspection, seemed more probably to be very long javelin heads, from the total absence of any thing like a hilt, as well as from the circumstance that each of them has a socket, or the remains of one, evidently intended for a shaft. Those that are in the most perfect state are about two and a-half feet long, their greatest breadth one inch and three quarters. They were found in a mass, covered over with a flat stone, and are in such a corroded state, that there can be no doubt of their being of high antiquity; this is rendered more probable from the fact that the field in which they were discovered is continuous with Hamdon hill, the site of a British Roman encampment, where numerous remains in iron and bronze have been found, such as coins, arrow-heads, fibulæ. &c. The weapons above alluded to are of very rude manufacture. A sketch of one is here subjoined."
Jars, &c. interior of Cromlech, L'ancresse.
Mr. G. R. Corner, F.S.A., informed the Committee that Mr. George Woollaston, of Welling, has recently discovered some fine fresco paintings on the walls and window-jambs of the church of East Wickham, Kent. Mr. Woollaston is now engaged in making tracings of these paintings, which he offers to lay before the Association at the proposed meeting at Canterbury. They consist of a double row of Scriptural subjects in colours, extending originally (it is believed) all round the church. The lower range is within an arcade of pointed trefoil arches, each arch containing a distinct subject. The subjects at present made out are, the three kings bringing presents to Herod; the flight into Egypt; the meeting of Elizabeth and Mary; the presentation of Jesus in the Temple; and the archangel Michael overcoming Satan. Mr. Corner states the paintings to be exceedingly well drawn, and to be in his opinion as early as the thirteenth century, the probable date of the chancel.
Mr. John Sydenham informed the Committee, that in consequence of a reservoir being about to be erected by order of government in Greenwich Park, for the purpose of supplying the hospital and dockyard with water, the Saxon barrows, the examination of which by Douglas forms so interesting a feature in his Nenia Britannica, would be nearly all destroyed, a fate which Mr. Sydenham thinks may be averted by a representation to the Government from the Association.—The Committee suggested to Mr. Sydenham to make application on the subject to Captain Brandreth of the Royal Engineers.
A letter from Mr. E. J. Carlos was read, containing remarks and suggestions relating to alterations said to be contemplated in Westminster Abbey. He observes;—"Feeling that one of the objects of the Archæological Society will be answered by calling the attention of the Committee to the projected alterations in Westminster Abbey, I venture to make the following suggestion, which you will oblige me by laying before them at the next meeting. It is now understood that it is proposed to afford additional accommodation for those who may attend Divine service in the abbey church, to throw open the transept to the choir, and occupy the area with seats for a congregation. The principal objections to this measure are, the interference with the integrity of the design of the choir and the placing of the worshippers with regard to each other and to the church in a novel and hitherto unknown position: it having been, as far as I am able to judge, an universal practice to arrange the congregation so that during Divine service they shall look towards the east, at least whenever the Altar is raised in that quarter. I need not urge the ancient and pious feeling which sanctioned, if it did not give rise to, the usual arrangement, nor indeed any argument based on the ecclesiastical arrangement of churches, as on the ground of mere utility it is obvious that the proposed arrangement will not answer the designed object. In every public assembly, and for whatever purpose it is convened, the eyes of the persons present are centered in that part in which is contained the main object for which the meeting is brought together: thus in a meeting for any public purpose the busting or platform, in a theatre the stage, in a concert-room the orchestra, will be the part to which the attention of the assembly will be directed, and an architect proceeding to arrange the seats of a building for either of these purposes, would so construct them that the eyes of the persons assembled should be directed to the principal object, and if he did not do this the inconvenience would be manifested by the interruptions occasioned by the auditors endeavouring to arrange themselves more conveniently. If he were to arrange a large portion of the auditory so that one half should look directly at the other, and neither see the principal object, greater confusion would ensue, and he would be blamed for making an unsatisfactory arrangement. Now in a Christian church the Altar, in consequence of the sacred mysteries there celebrated, would be the part to which the vision of the congregation should be directed, and to effect this object the seats of churches. wherever there are any, have ever been directed to that point. How then could this object be effected, if the transept in the instance of Westminster Abbey is opened as proposed? Two bodies of persons will be seated in the church, one of which would look exactly into the faces of the other, if the view were not interrupted by a third body occupying the present seats and standing-room in the choir; surely the effect of such an arrangement would be incongruous and irreverent. The persons who would occupy the seats in the transept would be those who coming late could not obtain a sitting in the choir, as they could not see either the clergy, the choristers, or the Altar, and, in all probability, hear very imperfectly the service; all that would be gained by the alteration, would be a body of persons constantly moving and endeavouring to obtain a better seat, to the annoyance of the service and of those who were attentive listeners. It will however be asked, how can the increasing congregation be provided for if the transepts are kept in their present state? The answer to this is, that the nave offers sufficient accommodation for any congregation which may be reasonably expected to assemble there. If the proposed accommodation is given in the nave, it will be strictly in accordance with Church principles, and will occasion no alteration in the choir, at least no alteration destructive of its ancient character. A pamphlet has recently been published in the shape of a letter addressed to the Dean and Chapter, in which an arrangement of seats in the nave has been advocated, and a plan appended to the pamphlet shews the entire practicability of the alteration. The only objection to the plan is, that it contemplates an alteration in the present dimensions of the choir; in other respects it appears to present a possible arrangement, and which might be effected without any alteration in the choir." Mr. Carlos then proceeded to make some suggestions as to steps which ought to be taken to secure this noble monument from any unnecessary innovations and injuries. It was stated confidently before the Committee that there existed at present no decided intention on the part of the Dean and Chapter to make the reported alterations; and Mr. Carlos's communication was therefore reserved for future consideration.
The following letter in reference to Mr. Sydenham's communication, has been received by Mr. C. R. Smith.
You expressed a wish to be apprized of what might transpire in regard to the menaced destruction of the majority of the barrows in Greenwich Park. I grieve to have to report that the efforts made for their preservation have failed. The Vandalic spirit of utilitarianism has prevailed; and the monuments of a thousand years have yielded to its influence.
A public meeting of the inhabitants was fixed for last evening, and, in the meanwhile, memorials were presented to Mr. Sidney Herbert, the Secretary to the Admiralty, to Lord Haddington, the First Lord of that Board, and to the Earl of Lincoln, as the head of the Woods and Forests' Committee. The immediate result was that the works were suspended, and that an interview was appointed for Thursday on the locus in quo. The Earl of Lincoln, the Hon. Mr. Herbert, and the Hon. Mr. Corry, then attended, with a numerous staff of engineers; and the vicar of the parish (who has acted with much earnestness in the matter) urged the objection to the proposed measure, the force of which was admitted. Other spots were suggested for substitution, and it was arranged that the vicar should the same evening be informed of the result of a deliberation between the authorities. That result was, that the work was to proceed as previously ordered, and that the Admiralty engineer had given the contractors directions to recommence on the following morning.
In the face of the parish-meeting to be holden the same day, this was at least unseemly haste; and the works were carried forward with such earnestness that by this evening the greater number of the twenty-six barrows marked for destruction have been levelled. In some three or four of them excavations were made somewhat below the level of the surrounding surface, but the keen eye of a Douglas left nothing for subsequent delvers. The others have been merely cut down to the level of the soil, so as effectually to obliterate their site, and embarrass any watching on subsequent excavations.
At the meeting a deputation was appointed to wait on the Government authorities, and a petition was agreed to, for presentation to the House of Commons on Monday, but the active obedience of the engineers and contractors has superseded these measures so far as they affect the barrows.
I am, my dear Sir, yours very truly,
JOHN SYDENHAM.
The Committee has fixed the second week in September for the Antiquarian Meeting at Canterbury. Circulars will be immediately addressed to the Members of the Association, stating the plan of the meeting, and the preparations which are making for it.