altered by way of "restoration." The chancel has been considerably lengthened, and a large arch opened through the north wall to form an organ-chamber, removing a narrow low-window with a transom to the west wall of the said chamber. In the angle of the east end of the north wall of the nave are portions of a wide Norman arch. The eastern respond, and about a third of the archivolt, which is chamfered, and also the lower portion of the western respond, remain. It would appear that, originally, there was a transept or chapel here. Beyond this arch, but not connected with it, is a semi-detached shaft 6ins. in diameter with a base, and a capital containing a cable-moulding, at the angle of the respond of another arch probably of the Transition period.

THE RECTORY,

a picturesque half timbered structure, apparently of the latter end of the 15th century. On the chimney-breast, in one of the rooms are sculptured a series of squares filled with quartrefoils enclosing plain shields. From the Rectory the visitors proceeded to

THE MANOR HOUSE.

which is now occupied by the Rector, who is also the owner of the estate portraits of the Annesley family, and their connections. Among them is and patron of the advowson. The house contains a large gallery of family a fine portrait of Sir Robert Cotton, the antiquary, founder of the Cottonian library now in the British Museum, of which Mr. Annesley, as lineal representative of Sir R. Cotton, is now hereditary Trustee.

Mr. Annesley kindly exhibited some old deeds and other manuscripts, and, at the request of Sir John Maclean, he produced also the church plate, when lo! among more modern articles there was a pre-Reformation chalice with its paten. Sir John congratulated Mr. Annesley upon being the possessor of so great a rarity, and requested to be favoured with the loan of the articles for the purpose of getting them engraved for the Transactions of the Society, to which he kindly and readily assented, provided the churchwardens offered no objection. The parish registers, which commence in 1538, were also exhibited. The earliest volume was found to be in a tattered condition, and some portions of it loose. Sir John Maclean offered to get it rebound, which has since been done. The next place visited

was

QUINTON,

where the company was received at the church, which is of Norman date, by the resident clergyman, the Rev. A. C. Jackson, who acted as guide in the building. It consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisle, with a chapel at the east end of each. In the south aisle is a recumbent effigy of a Knight, said to be one of the Cloptons, but there are no arms or any direct means of identification. It rests upon a tomb, and is, apparently, in situ. In the chapel, eastwards, upon an altar tomb, is a fine brass of a lady. It is noted by Haines, under Quinton, as commemorating Joan, the relict of Sir William Clopton, vowess, circa 1430,1 and is described more fully by Mr. Cecil Davis in his Gloucestershire Brasses, No. XI. There is upon it a shield of arms: ar, two bars gu. fretty or. for Clopton, but these arms are different from either of the shields of the Cloptons 1 Manual of Monumental Brasses, Part II., p. 70.

of Clopton, co. Warwick, as displayed in the Church of Stratford-upon-Avon (see ante p. 207). The deceased lady was doubtless the relict of Sir William Clopton who died seized, as stated by Fosbroke, of the Manor of Rodbrooke, (now Radbrook) with appurtenances in Upper and Lower Quinton, cir. 141920.1 Sir Wm. Clopton died seized also of Clopton-on-the-Hill, in the adjoining parish of Mickleton, free warren in which, Fosbroke states, had been granted by charter to Richard Clopton as early as 56th Henry III. 1271-2. Sir Wm. left issue an only daughter and heir, who married John Burgh and left issue three daughters, upon the failure of issue male of whom he directed that the manor should revert to the heirs male of Clopton: Thomas Clopton, of Clopton, being father of Clopton, of Clopton, and Thomas, of Snytherfield, and cites the descendant of the last-mentioned Thomas as recorded in the Heralds' Visitation of Gloucestershire in 1582-3, but no arms are tricked on this pedigree. The pedigree of Clopton, of Clopton, co. Warw., given by Dugdale, does not shew the connection of Thomas, of Snytherfield, with that family, and, as before noted, the Clopton pedigree is in a very unsatisfactory condition.

Having inspected this very interesting church, the party adjourned to the vicarage, where, through the kind and bountiful hospitality of Mr. Jackon, a handsome lunch had been provided.

The next place visited was the Roman camp at Meon Hill, under the guidance of Mr. G. B. Witts, and thence the members proceeded to

MICKLETON.

where they were received by S. G. Hamilton, Esq., the Lord of the Manor, and the Vicar, the Rev. W. V. Perry. The church was at once inspected under the guidance of the Vicar. It is a very interesting building of the Norman transition period, and consists of chancel, nave, north and south aisles, south porch and western tower. The aisle is of three bays, and is remarkable in that the pillars appear to be of a later type than the round arches which they support. In the wall on the north side of the western bay of the nave may be seen the remains of a lofty arch of long and short work, indicating a pre-Norman date. The church is of much interest and contains a great deal of heraldry, chiefly connected with the families of Fisher and Graves, the latter being now represented here by Mr. Hamilton, who has inherited the estate through marriage. Having inspected the church the party partook of afternoon tea in the garden of the vicarage, kindly prepared by Mrs. Perry, and with a very hasty visit to the Manor House the Meeting concluded. Unfortunately, the time allowed for this day's excursion was wholly insufficient to do justice to the three very interesting churches in this remote corner of Gloucestershire, and it is to be hoped that the district will ere long be more carefully explored.

The Meeting being concluded, some of the party returned to Stratford, and the others drove to Honeyburn station to proceed southwards by train. 1 Hist. of Glouc., Vol. II., p. 318.

2 Hist. of Glouc., Vol. II., pp. 385-388.

3 Heralds' Visitation of Glouc, Harl. Society, p. 225

Printing Transactions

INAUGURAL ADDRESS

BY THE RIGHT HON. LORD SHERBORNE, President.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

It was not without considerable diffidence that I undertook the office of President of the Bristol & Gloucestershire Archæological Society for this year, for my knowledge of Archæology is not sufficient to justify my doing so. It occurred to me, however, that I had something to say which this Society might like to hear, namely, some account of the present contents of the Muniment Room at Sherborne. In the year 1830, what I shall always regard as a great calamity, befel our family. My grandfather decided to pull down the old home of the Duttons and replace it by what he doubtless considered an improved house on the same site. The old house, by all accounts, was much handsomer than the new one, and it was so solidly built that the greatest difficulty was experienced in pulling it down. It may be worth while to note in passing, what I must call shameless inaccuracy of the representations of the old Sherborne House both in Atkyns and Fosbrooke.

In Atkyns' Gloucestershire the two ends of the house facing the spectators are represented as finished off with columns and windows, much as they are now. In point of fact they were left unfinished, and ended in a plain rough-cast wall. Moreover, the foreground of courts, gardens, and plantations only existed in the imagination of the artist.

Fosbrooke's plate of Sherborne represents the house with a balustrade which masks the roof. This, too, never existed. Inigo Jones' plan, in which the tiles came down to the gutter, was the real and far handsomer arrangement. But, I suppose, that in Fosbrooke's time a roof was considered a disfigurement. My grandmother always considered the present heavy parapet which

conceals the roof of modern Sherborne as one of the chief glories of the new house, and then used to cite the Palace of the Tuileries, now, unhappily, no more, as an instance of how a handsome building could be utterly spoiled by its high roofs. It will thus be seen that even down to the beginning of the present century the artist did not draw what he actually saw, but rather what he thought ought to be there, and consequently representations of old houses must not be taken for granted.

To resume, when the old house was pulled down all the books and papers were taken to Windrush Vicarage, and put under the care of Mr. Davies, the then vicar, who took no care of them at all. This worthy man, who died about 7 years ago, aged 96, had been tutor to my father, but seems to have regarded books much as a grocer's boy regards figs. Indeed I have been informed that previously to the removal, he and the housekeeper laid their heads together and made a bonfire of a lot of old papers and rubbish, as they then deemed it, which lay loose in one of the top rooms at Sherborne. He, mainly instigated thereto by observing that the parchments were, many of them, on sacred subjects, and so wished to preserve things divine from coming down to base uses. A Mahomedan, we are told, never destroys a scrap of paper lest the name of Allah should be written on it. In this case a similar reason led the Christian divine to an opposite conclusion. He burnt all the scraps.

During the time the books and parchments remained at Windrush, a servant, it is supposed, sold them to whoever would buy; at any rate many black letter folios and parchments found their way to the village shoemaker who used the large leaves for cutting out shapes for shoes. I preserved what remained about thirty years ago, and had rebound what books were worth re-binding— The Sermones Meffreth, The Apostille of Cardinal Hugo, A Summary of the Sext and the Clementines, Sententiæ, and such like works. Also the first collected edition of Ben Johnson's works, and a MS. common-place book of Thomas Dutton, the purchaser of the Manor of Sherborne, filled with what would now be considered common-place observations; perhaps they were not so stale in those days. Of the MSS. that returned to Sherborne I