LAUNCESTON that Reformation troubles interrupted him before he had done what he wished, either within the church or to this tower. Strangely enough, a shop once occupied the site of this vestry that divides tower and church. We must judge of the church's interior in the light of an uncom- pleted purpose ; nave and two aisles are of equal length, with wooden roof and Perp. shafts of granite. The pulpit, Trecarel's work, is quite the best feature of this interior, being a piece of fine workmanship ; the Norm, font is interest- ing, as also the marble monument of Sir Hugh Piper in the chancel. In an enclosure near the gasworks will be found the remains of an Augustinian priory, founded in 1126 by Bishop Warelwast of Exeter. There was a much earlier collegiate foundation at St. Stephen's, established long before the Conquest ; and an effort was made by Reginald, Earl of Cornwall, to bring about a revival of the Cornish diocese with St. Stephen's as its see-town. Warelwast, in the interest of Exeter, met this attempt by promptly suppressing the college ; and this priory in the parish of St. Thomas seems to have been in- tended to replace it. At the White Hart Hotel may be seen a Norm, doorway, taken from this old priory. In the S. gate and the gatehouse (now a museum) we have traces of the old town walls. Notice should also be taken of some curious old houses with slate fronts. The parish of St. Stephen's lies on the N. side of the river Attery ; it is in reality the old borough of 155
