Abstract of Proceedings 1884-5

•¥ ABSTEAOT OF PEOCEEDINGS, 1884-5. THE Council met at Maidstone, on the 21st of March, 1884, under the presidency of the Earl Amherst; nine members were present. I t was resolved that the next Annual Meeting should he held at Sevenoaks. Fifteen new members were elected. On. the 27th of June the Council met at the house of the Earl Amherst in Q-rosvenor Square, London, under his Lordship's presidency. There were present the Earl Stanhope, Viscount Holmesdale, and ten other members of Council. The programme of the Annual Meeting was settled. The thanks of the Society were voted to Mr. George Payne, E.S.A., for his services as Local Secretary of the Society at Sittingbourne, and for much other help. As he has gone to reside in Suffolk, the Council elected Gh E. Elliott, Esq., to be Local Secretary for Sittingbourne, and John Copland, Esq., of Sheemess, to be Secretary of the Isle of Sheppey. Seven new members were elected. The Earl Amherst mentioned that with very much regret he desired to announce, that the infirmities of age now render the duties of the President a tax upon his strength, which his physical powers are not able to bear with comfort to himself. He therefore wished that at the Annual Meeting the Society should elect a new President. This announcement was received with profound sorrow, and the Council thanked Lord Amherst very heartily for the services his Lordship has so long rendered to the Society, and also for his kindly hospitality and courtesy to the Council during many years past. Xl MEETING AT SEVENOAKS, 1884). The Annual Meeting commenced at Sevenoaks on "Wednesday, July 30th, 1884. The Preliminary Meeting for despatch of business was held in the Sennock Arms, Sir Walter Stirling Bart., in the Chair. The following Eeport was read by Canon Scott Eobertson, Honorary Secretary:— In presenting their Twenty-seventh Annual Report, your Council feel it right to give the first place to an announcement which they have received with the deepest regret from Earl Amherst, the Society's honoured President, that his physical strength is no longer equal to the discharge of the public duties of that office. They are sure that the members will lament, with them, Lord Amherst's wish to resign. During eighteen years the noble Earl has taken the liveliest interest in the welfare of our Society. He has personally presided at fourteen Annual Meetings; and has punctually attended the Business Meetings of the Council. The genial courtesy, and considerate kindness, with which he has done this, have won from our members such esteem and grateful recognition as approximate very nearly to affectionate regard. This regard for their honoured President enables them to derive some consolation from the hope that by relinquishing the burden of public duties his Lordship's useful life may he prolonged for many years to come. The Council are happy in being able to say that Earl Sydney, Lord Lieutenant of the County, has kindly consented to be nominated for the President's office. During the twelve months last past 46 new members have joined the Society, and other candidates await election at your hands to-day. The sum of £60 received for Life Compositions has been invested in 3 per cent. Consols. The Fifteenth Volume of Archceologia Cantiana was sent out in February 1884. It contains 476 pages and 36 plates. It is the seventh volume issued in the ten years, 1874-84, during which the present Secretary has been sole Editor. These seven volumes (IX. to XV.) contain 3580 pages, or an average of 358 pages for each year's subscription of 10s. During the past twelve months, in response to renewed applications, descriptions of nearly 200 additional sets of Parish Church Plate have been obtained, making about 400 in all. The thanks of the Council are due to the Rev. J. A. Boodle, and to J. F. Wadmore, Esq., for much help in this matter. Engravings from some of the Elizabethan plate have already been prepared by the Society's engraver, and others are in progress. It is hoped that the book on Kentish Church Plate may be issued next year. The thanks of the Society are due to the 25 gentlemen who kindly act as Honorary Local Secretaries. They have been diligent in forwarding subscriptions. During the past eight weeks nearly £200 has been paid into our Bankers. Consequently the sum of £442 this day stands to the Society's credit at the Banks, and the Council feel justified in proceeding with another volume of our Archceologia, of which several sheets are now in type. The Council are sorry to lose from their number Mr. George Payne, who was one of our aotive Local Secretaries. He has gone to reside in Suffolk. His departure, and his absence to-day, will be regretted by many. His plaoe as Local Secretary will be supplied by two gentlemen, Mr. Elliott of Sittingbourne, and Mr. Copland of Sheemess; but in other departments of work Mr. Payne's departure leaves a great gap. In fondness for excavations (whereby he discovered many Roman antiquities), and in power of directing our vehicular arrangements at the Annual Meetings, Mr. Payne's activity was very similar to that of our valued friend Mr. Spurrell; by whom as by all of us Mr. Payne's useful help was highly appreciated. The Counoil hope that other members may be incited to come forward and assist in filling the gap left by Mr. Payne's regretted departure. At Sevenoaks the Society is being welcomed for the second time with great cordiality. Thirteen years have elapsed since our former visit; and the routes to be taken this year are entirely different from those then adopted. The STJNDEIDGE CHURCH. xli Council cannot wish anything more desirable than that the present meeting may he as successful and as much enjoyed as was the Society's former meeting at Sevenoaks. I t was moved by Archdeacon Harrison, seconded by Eobert Eurley, Esq., J.P., and carried unanimously : " That the Eeport be adopted; and that the grateful THANKS of the Society be tendered to the Eight Honourable the EARL AMHERST for his kindly courtesy, and unremitting services as President of the Society during eighteen years; and that our thanks be accompanied by an expression of the Society's heartfelt regret that his Lordship finds his strength to be now unequal to the discharge of those kindly services which the Society highly values." I t was moved by Sir "Walter Stirling, seconded by G-. E. Hannam, Esq., J.P., and carried unanimously : " That the Eight Honourable the Earl Sydney, G-.C.B., Lord Lieutenant of Kent, be elected President of the Society." GRANVILLE LEVESON-GOWER, Esq., E.S.A., J.P., Dr. E. E. ASTLEY, J.P., and J. T>. NORWOOD, Esq., were then elected members of the Council. The Eev. Canon Edward Moore and Herbert Hordern, Esq., were elected Auditors for the year. The THANKS of the Society were voted to E. C. HTJSSEY, Esq., E.S.A., for many years of service as an Auditor, with an expression of regret that failing health compels him to relinquish his position as a member of the Council, and his post as Auditor. Eight new members were elected. Carriages conveyed the members to SUNDRIDGE CHURCH, where they were welcomed by the Eector, the Eev. Egerton D. Hammond, and the Church was described by Canon Scott Eobertson, his remarks being supplemented by Archdeacon Harrison and the' Eev. G. B. Lewis. SHNDELDGE CHHECH. The striking features of this church are its Early .English arcades, north and south of the nave, each of three bays, and its clerestory of small quatrefoil windows. The loftiness of the roof, occasioned by the clerestory, and the grace of the lofty arcades, give a character to the building. Traces of the shafts of an Early English east window of three lancets may be seen at the sides of the existing Perpendicular window of five lights; a beautiful Early English piscina with two drain-bowls and shaft is in the chancel. There may be traces of the original Norman church in the south-west pier of the chancel on its southern side; the coigns and a string are of earlier date than the rest of the work around. The aisles were both of them raised during the fifteenth century; they and the tower are of the Perpendicular style. xlii SUNDRIDGE CHURCH. Traces of the earlier aisle roof, visible beneath the clerestory windows, can be seen in the south aisle. The doorway of the rood-loft stair remains in the south chancel at its west end. In the north chancel at the east end is the canopied altar-tomb of John Isley, who died in 1484. The conventional Tudor flower is seen upon its cresting. The brass effigies of John Isley and his wife were at the back of the tomb; but these effigies and three shields on the front are now blank. A cruciform monumental brass for John Delarue has been robbed of its brass ; but the French words Priez and jours can be traced around the matrix. On the north side of the chancel is a monumental brass for Thomas Isley and Elizabeth Guldeford, by whom he had ten sons and three daughters. He died in the 11th year of Henry VIII., 1520. The arms of Isley impaled with Guldeford are on the stone (Ermine, a fess gules, ISLET) . A fine brass in the chancel commemorates Eoger Isley, Lord of Sundridge and of Earningham, who died in 1429. West of it is a good brass for a civilian, who died circa 1460. On the floor of the north chancel are some diamond-shaped red tiles, upon one of which is the date 1659, and on another 16/5. Combe Bank, a very beautiful residence in this parish, once the property of the Isleys, was purchased in the reign of George II. by Colonel John Campbell, who became the fourth Duke of Argyll in 1761. He resided much there, and his family did much for this church. Their memorials are in the chancel on both sides. The Duke's wife, the Hon. Maria Bellenden, is commemorated on the north side by a mural monument of unusual character, which was erected and sculptured by Mrs. Anna Seymour Darner, her granddaughter, who likewise carved a marble head for a monument, on the south side of the chancel, in memory of her mother, Lady Caroline Campbell, who married Henry Seymour Conway, and died in 1808. This church was much cared for and repaired by Lord Frederick Campbell, third surviving son of the fourth Duke, who gave him Combe Bank. Lord Frederick was buried here in 1816, and he, with his wife, Mary Meredith, widow of the Earl Ferrers, is commemorated by a monument on the north side of the chancel. The talented lady sculptor, Mrs. Seymour Damer, nee Conway, was herself buried here in 1828, aged 80. The stained glass behind the tomb of the Duchess of Argyll has a figure of Hannah; that behind Lady Caroline's tomb represents St. Bartholomew. A three-light window in the south aisle commemorates William IJrquhart Arbuthnot, who died in December 1874. A tablet on the north wall of the chancel commemorates William Manning of Combe Bank, the father of Cardinal Manning. He died in 1835, aged 72. A north window commemorates Dr. George Doyly, Eector of Lambeth and of Sundridge, who died in 1846. In the south chancel are mural monuments commemorating MEETING AT SEVEN0AE1S, 1884. xliii various members of the family of Hyde, which possessed the Manor of Sundridge for more than 150 years. Memorials remain of John Hyde (ob. 1677), Humphrey Hyde (ob. 1709), and Elizabeth his wife (ob. 1713), Henry Hyde (ob. 1706), John Hyde (ob. 1729), and Frances, daughter of John Hyde, who married Dr. Peter Shaw, and died in 1767. The dedication of this church is not known. Very few instances of such lack of knowledge occur in Kent; but Keston, East Farleigh, Down, and Ashurst are like Sundridge in this respect, I believe. At WESTERHAM, by the kindness of Mr. Leveson-Gower, all the houses of interest were rendered conspicuous by placards in large type, calling attention to one as the birthplace of General Wolfe, to another as a residence for some months of the great Lord Chatham, to a third as the old Manor House, and to others. At SQTJERRXES PARK the company were most hospitably welcomed and entertained by Colonel C. A. M. Warde and the Hon. Mrs. Warde, who permitted the members (over 200 in number) to be conducted by Canon Scott Eobertson over the whole of their charming old Mansion, full of Queen Anne furniture, .pictures, china, and tapestry. Luncheon of a most recherche description was admirably served under the fine trees on the lawn. Mr. Leveson- Gower had arranged in the Hall a large collection of documents, plate, and other objects of interest, together with the large volumes of General Wolfe's MS. Letters to his parents and friends at home. These were explained by Mr. Leveson-Gower and Mr. "Wilfred Cripps. Canon Scott Eobertson's description of the house and its contents is printed upon pp. 134—141 of this volume. Sir Walter Stirling and Mr. Eobert Furley expressed to Colonel Warde and the Hon. Mrs. Warde the grateful thanks of the Society for the extremely hospitable and graceful manner in which they had been so good as to receive the Society. Hearty cheers for the host and hostess were enthusiastically given. WESTERHAM CHURCH was described by Granville Leveson- Gower, Esq., whose charming little book on WESTERHAM is to be obtained of the Vicar, Eev. H. C. Bartlett, price 2s. 6d., its sale being entirely for the benefit of the Church ^Restoration Fund. At CHEVENING PARK the members were received by the Earl and Countess Stanhope, who had invited" the elite of the neighbourhood to a garden party to meet the Society. Lord Stanhope and Canon Scott Eobertson conducted the company over the whole house, and to see the Eoman monuments in the garden. The description of the house is printed in this volume on pp. 127—133. At CHEVENING CHURCH the Society was welcomed by the Eev. Thomas Sikes, Eector. The paper read here by Canon Scott Eobertson is printed on pp. 114—126 of this volume. The DINNER was served at 6.15 P.M. in the Ball Eoom of the Crown Hotel at Sevenoaks, the Earl Stanhope presiding. Xliv MEETING AT SEVENOAKS, 1884. After dinner SEVENOAKS CHURCH was visited. It was described by the Eector, the Eev. T. S. Curteis, and by Mr. Loftus Brock. A.t a very late hour a short meeting was held in the Odd Fellows' Hall, where a MS. Note-book of Lord Cornwallis, First Lord of the Admiralty in 1692, kindly lent by Viscount Holmesdale, was exhibited and examined. On July 31st carriages left the Crown Hotel, Sevenoaks, at 10 A.M., and calling en route at the Tubs Hill and Bat-and-Ball Stations conveyed the members to OTEOED MANOR HOUSE, once a favourite residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury. Mrs. Eussell welcomed the Society, and Canon Scott Eobertson described the ruins. At OTEORD CHUROH addresses were given by Mr. Loftus Brock, Archdeacon Harrison, Canon Alcock, and the Eev. G. B. Lewis. Eynsford Church was described by Canon Scott Eobertson in the following paper:— EVNSFOED CHLEOH (St. Martin). " In the time of Archbishop Dunstan, Eynsford was given by a Saxon named JElpbege to the monastery of Christ Church, Canterbury. Consequently, a church was erected here long before the Norman Conquest. " The existing building shews no trace of the Saxon church, and very few positive features of a Norman character. Its most beautiful portions (the eastern apse, and the south transept) are of the Early English style; but considerable alterations were made in the church during the Decorated period; and its symmetry was entirely spoiled during Tudor or late Perpendicular times. " At present its utter lack of symmetry, and the remarkable variation in the levels of its flooring, give to it a singularly unattractive appearance. In reality, however, the church possesses many interesting features, and will repay an attentive study of its details. " The apse at its east end, and the Gallilee porch at the west end, are both of them remarkable features. The dimensions of the chancel, about 46 feet 3 inches long, with a general breadth of 25 feet 3 inches, and a width of 18 feet 10 inches at the chord or entrance of the apse; and the singular elevation of the chancelfloor by four deep steps, above that of the nave (caused by the hilly site on which it stands), are at once noteworthy. The nave-floor ascends gradually, without a step, from west to east; while the south transept is upon a level higher than that of the nave, but lower than that of the chancel. A few years ago, when the church was restored, the level of the nave-floor was lowered very much, by digging away the earth. " The only wall that can be pronounced without doubt to be- Norman is the south wall of the chancel. High up in it we see EYNSFORD CHURCH. xlv traces of the round heads of two original Norman windows.* The opposite north wall of this chancel was removed, circa A.D. 1200, when a north aisle was erected, which opened into the chancel by an Early English arcade of two bays with good mouldings. That chancel-aisle was destroyed during the Tudor period; but the arches of its arcade were preserved,! and still can be seen in situ, built up with masonry into which were inserted two small windows with internal hoods, on shafts. On the interior these windows appear to be Norman or Transitional in style; on the exterior they have a labelled arch of Tudor fashion. " When that north aisle was added to the chancel, it is probable that the apse was altered, as it now contains three lofty lancetwindows, the interior arches of which are very well moulded, and have banded shafts with bell capitals. The caps of the central hood are slightly higher than those attached to the flanking lancets. The apse is extremely lofty, and its roof is higher than that of the chancel. In the south coign of the entrance to the apse there are two stones with Norman carving. One forms a projecting bracket perforated with a large round hole, such as might be used to hold a candle, or many other things. " In the apse there is a double piscina beneath a well-moulded trefoiled ai*ch, springing from round shafts, the bases of which have the tongued or leaf-like ornament, so common in the period of Transition, between pure Norman and pure Early English. The western basin of the piscina is octagonal, flower-like, and deeply fluted; the other basin is circular and plain. " I t has been suggested, not without probability, that when the Norman chancel was altered in the Transition and Early English periods, the Norman arch between it and the nave was left in position; and that during the fourteenth century that arch was removed from the chancel and inserted into the tower to form a western doorway. Certainly, the beautiful Norman arch of the tower's west door has been strangely treated. The tympanum is filled in with stonework, not originally cut to fit it, and that carved stonework rests upon a wooden transom. Below all this a later Pointed doorway has been inserted, the stone jambs of which have hollow mouldings stopped with the small half-pyramid, sometimes called the ' dagger stop.' There is no indication of Norman work in the tower itself, and: its eastern arch is a pointed one, probably of the time of King Eichard II. There is, therefore, considerable probability attaching to the suggestion that the Norman west doorway of the tower was originally a chancel arch. Its head is enriched with the double-chevron moulding; its shafts are round, with carved caps resting on cable mouldings. These shafts are well carved and resemble some in Ernulf's crypt at Canterbury Cathedral, and others * The Rev. Arthur Hussey failed to see these traoes of Norman windows; so in his Churches of Kent and Sussex, p. 66, he suggests that the ohanoel may have been added to the apse at a later period. t Sir Stephen G-lynne did not notioe that these arohes go through the wall and are visible from the ob.urob.yard. He therefore suggested that they had been built in preparation for a groined roof of the ohanoel. Xlvi MEETING AT SEVENOAKS, 1884. at Barfreston Church. The stonework of the tympanum has a diaper of lozenge pattern carved upon it. " So far as we can judge from the very slight indications remaining, the Norman Church seems to have been long, and without aisles. The position of its tower is a matter of considerable doubt. I t is quite possible that it may have stood upon the north side of the nave, if it did not occupy the site of the existing tower. " In the Early English period, Eynsford Church assumed its grandest aspect. Then, not only were three beautiful lancetwindows inserted in the apse, and an aisle of two bays added to the chancel, but a graceful transept was built on the south side of the nave. During great part of the present century and the last, a partition cut off the south transept from the church, and this beautiful limb of the sacred edifice became a lumber-room, wherein the many memorials of the Bosville family were illegible from dirt when not hidden by lumber. Now, the whole transept is restored and in use, so that we see with pleasure its eight lancet-windows, three in the south wall, three in the east, and two in the west. A string-course runs beneath them. In the south wall is a piscina with very large basin, carved with deep flutes into the shape of an eight-leaved flower. A slight recess near it seems to indicate the site of the sedile, or seat for the priest and deacon. Between this transept and the nave is a Pointed arch which springs from engaged piers of square outline, with small round angle-shafts, having poor caps and bases. The transept roof has moulded ribs and stone corbels. " Whether any northern transept or nave-aisle was erected in the Early English period, we have no remains to prove. It seems probable that the aisle built on the north side of the chancel, would nave had a western limb; yet no visible traces of Early English work can be seen there now. " During the fourteenth century much was done in Eynsford Church. The Norman windows of the chancel on its south side were replaced by larger ones. That nearest to the nave is of two lights, and has a transom, beneath which, probably, was what we call a low-side window, with trefoiled lights, shuttered, not glazed. One of these lower lights still has a casement, which serves (like a low-side window) as a ventilator. The present chancel arch is of the Decorated period, and has a label of the roll moulding, the ends of which curl backward, as a finish, but rest very oddly upon the capitals. The arch springs from engaged piers, semi-octagonal, with moulded caps, but with bases so high, and far above the level of the chancel floor, as to suggest that they may have stood on the top of a low stone screen, which perhaps flanked the entrance to the chancel. From these engaged piers, at a distance of about twelve or fourteen inches below their caps, we see two stone brackets carved with foliage projecting, one from each pier, north and south. Probably the ends of a rood-beam may have rested upon them. " South of the chancel arch stood an altar, which is indicated by a niche in the wall, and by the squint or hagioscope above. Through this squint the priest officiating here could observe the elevation of the Host at the high altar in the chancel. -EYNSFORD CHURCH. xl v i i "The north aisle :of the nave, or a portion of it, was certainly in existence during part of the fourteenth century, if not before. The present aisle is of two bays. It is much shorter than the nave, not reaching to its west end. The octagonal pier, from which spring the two arches of its arcade, stands on a square base; which gives it an Early character. The central roof-beam of this aisle is supported by stone corbels, one of them carved with a human face, ' from the mouth of which springs foliage; this seems also to be of Early character. Weever records that in this aisle was a monument inscribed—' Ici g i s t . . . . la femme de Eobert de Eckisford' \_query Eynsford ?\ The inscription reads like one written in the fourteenth century. Weever also states that in this church there was the following inscription: 'Hie jacent Johes. Donet generosus et Alicia uxor eius; ille obiit 1455 ; ilia obiit . . . . S. Donate ora pro nobis.' " From the north aisle a short flight of steps at the east end leads up to a door of exit into the churchyard. The two windows (each of two lights) of the aisle are probably of the Tudor period. Above the central pier of the north arcade there is, near the wallplate, a small window of debased Perpendicular character. There is also .a modern brass plate commemorating Walter, youngest son of John and Mary Wellard. He died at Ballarat, in 1854, aged 26. The tower arch, and the large western Gallilee, or porch outside the tower, are of Early Perpendicular character. So also is the font; an octagon, with fluted sides, four of which are ornamented each with a rose (single). On the west side is a cross with crown of thorns; on the east, an archbishop's pall; and on the south a tau-cross, or letter T. " Until recent times there were two galleries at the west end of the nave across the tower arch. Now, the only object in that position is a painting of the royal arms over the arch. Beneath the escutcheon we can trace parts of an inscription which stated that this church was repaired and beautified in A.D. 177- early in the reign of George III. " Within the porch are two stone coffins, so hewn out that the cavity follows the shape of the head and shoulders of the occupant. These formerly stood in the chancel. At the south-east angle of the tower there is a mediaeval doorway'which now leads to nothing. I t should give access to a turret stair. " Upon the square tower there is a small shingled spire. "MONUMENTAL SLABS within the communion rails commemorate :— (i.) [North end] Mrs. Mary Selby (widow of John Selby, of Ightham Mote) who died 1750, aged 73; it bears the arms of Selby with those of Giffard on an escutoheon of pretence. She was a daughter of Thomas Giffard, (ii.) [Adjacent to (i.)] Thomas Giffard, who died 1705, May 16, aged 59. His arms are engraved:—a lion statant, and in chief three stirrups. He was son and heir of George Giffard, of Pennis. (iii.) Margaret, 16th child of George and Margaret Giffard, born 1661-2, died 1669. xlviii EYNSFORD CHURCH. (iv.) Mary Felton, senior and junior:—' M: M: sacrum Marise Felton matri filiseque. Alteri Maii 23 1667; alteri Maii 30 1668. Mortuse.' . . . . Positum per N. F. Anno 1668. (v.) Quis hie sepultus quseris? Nuper fui Georgius Giffard armiger. Pater virginis proximo subterraneo carcere habitantis. Nunc filius putredinis et frater vermium . . . . June 1703 set. 85. [This George Giffard, Esq., was the lessee of Eynsford Parsonage.] (vi.) Mrs. Mary Selby, daughter of John and Mary Selby, ob : 1747, set. 37. " On the south wall of the chancel hangs an escutcheon with the arms of Pitcairn of that ilk (Argent, three lozenges gules) quartered with Eamsay (Argent, a spread eagle sable), impaling Campbell and Lome quarterly. The crest is the moon in its complement. " In the south transept are monumental slabs in the floor commemorating the Bosvile family of Little Mote, in Eynsford. North-west of the organ is a very singular inscription, placed here by Colonel Eichard Crimes, second husband of Sarah, widow of Sir Thomas Bosvile. Sir Thomas himself died young, being a colonel in the army of Charles I., and was buried in 1643 at St. Mary's Church in Oxford: " Memorise Sacrum. Et (.... M.'s Mary Bosvile daughter of Sir Thomas Bosvile, Filia surculus 1 .... who, like a jewel taken out of a box, was shewn y" branch ( to the world and put up again January 18,1659, aged 17. Et (". . . . her mother . . . . Lady Sarah Bosvile wife to Mater Radix ] Colonel Richard Crimes, who put off this her earthly ( tabernacle, May 11. 1660. " Another slab commemorates Sir Henry Bosvile and Dame Mary (nee Petley) his wife. She died in 1693, sat. 78; he in 1702, set. 75. " North-east of the organ is a slab commemorating Thomas Bosvile, only son of Sir Thomas Bosvile. He died Nov. 20, 1660, having married Elizabeth, only daughter of Sir Francis Wiat of Boxley Abbey. He left Margaretta his sole daughter and heiress, who married Sir Eobert Marsham of Bushey, Herts, grandfather of Lord Eomney. " On the west wall of this transept is a tablet to the memory of their only child Margaret, daughter of Sir Henry Bosvile. She died in 1682, aged 26. " Little Mote had been the property of the Sibill family, but by the marriage of an heiress, Elizabeth, daughter of John Sibill, with Eobert Bosvile, that estate passed into the hands of the Bosviles, and with the estates this transept went. " In Eynsford churchyard is the following inscription to the gentleman who purchased Little Mote from E. Bosvile in 1755 : " ' In memory of Benjamin Harvey, maltster, and Anne his wife: Unmarked hy trophies of the great and vain, Here sleep in silent tombs a gentle twain; No folly wasted their paternal store, No guilt, nor sordid avarice made it more. "With honest fame, and sober plenty crowned They lived, and spread their cheering gifts around.'" PROCEEDINGS, 1884. xlix Luncheon was served at the Lion Hotel in Farningham. LULLINGSTONE CASTLE and CHURCH were next visited. Lady Emily Dyke (in the absence of Sir William, who was detained in London upon a Parliamentary Committee) welcomed the Society and kindly threw open the whole castle to the members. The description of the church read by Canon Scott Eobertson is printed on pp. 99—113 of this volume. At SHOREHAM CHURCH, in the absence of the Vicar, who is an invalid, the Society was welcomed by his wife, Mrs. Cameron, the mother of Lieutenant Cameron, the African traveller. The church was described by the Secretary and Archdeacon Harrison. FILSTON FARM was the last place visited. Here the members were received by Mr. Abraham Hale, the tenant, who shewed them over his interesting old house. On the 5th of September 1884 the Council, by the courteous invitation of the Earl Sydney, their President, met at Deal Castle. Eleven members were present. The following Letter from the late President was read by the Secretary: Montreal, Aug. 2, 1884. Dear Canon Scott Eobertson, I have received your letter containing the Eesolution passed at the Meeting of the Archasological Society, and I have to thank you and the other members of the Society for sending me so gratifying an assurance of their kindness and good will. I regret very much my being obliged to' sever the connection with the Society, and I hope and trust that whoever is appointed in my room will carry on the good work. Tours faithfully, AMHERST. The EARL SYDNEY, expressed, in kindly terms, his sense of the honour done him by the Society in electing him to be its President. The THANKS of the Society were voted to the Earl and Countess Stanhope, and to Colonel Warde and the Hon. Mrs. Warde, for their generous hospitality to the Society at Chevening and Squerryes. Also to Mr. Joseph Moore, junior, for his laborious kindness in issuing the tickets for the meeting and for much other help. Also to Mr. Granville Leveson Gower, Sir William and Lady Emily Hart Dyke, to the Incumbents of the churches visited by the Society, to Mr. Carnell, Mr. Loftus Brock, Mr. Eussell of Otford, and Mr. Hale of Filston for their kindly help. I t was resolved that' at the next Annual Meeting the Society should visit Sandwich, Eichborough, Deal Castle, and Walmer Castle. Two new members were elected. TOL. XVI, e 1 MEETING AT SANDWICH, 1885. On February 14th, 1885, the Council met at Maidstone; six members attended, and, as a telegram was received from the Earl Sydney to say that he was unavoidably prevented from coming, Mr. Eobert Furley was requested to take the chair. The programme of the next Annual Meeting was discussed. Seventeen new members were elected. On June 26th, 1885, the Council met in London at the house of the Earl Sydney, 3 Cleveland Square, S.W. Thirteen members attended. Mr. James, the Society's Clerk and Curator at Maidstone, having been appointed Sub-Librarian of the Eoyal Institution, application has been made to the Council by Mr. Edward Bartlett, that he may be reinstated in those offices, which were resigned by him not long ago. I t was unanimously resolved that Mr. Edward Bartlett be again appointed to act as the Society's Clerk and Curator at Maidstone, at a salary of £30 per annum, to be paid quarterly, commencing from March 31st last past; and that if Mr. Bartlett or the Council should at any time desire to terminate this engagement, three months' notice of such desire must be given by the one to the other. The Secretary having reported the deaths of Mr. Charles Powell and Mr. William Walter, members of the Council, a resolution was passed expressing the Council's regret at the loss of these colleagues of long standing, who joined the Society when it was first founded. To the widow of Mr. Powell, the Secretary was desired to convey the Society's thanks for that gentleman's valued services as Honorary Local Secretary for the Tunbridge Wells district during many years. I t was resolved that Mr. Charles Watson Powell should be elected to fill the post of Local Secretary vacated by his father's death. The programme of the Annual Meeting was settled. Ten new members were elected. SANDWICH MEETING, 1885. The Annual Meeting commenced at Sandwich on the 29th of July 1885. The Lord Northbourne presided at the Preliminary Meeting for despatch of business, held in the Court Hall. The Mayor of Sandwich (Mr. Watts) kindly spoke a few words of hearty welcome to the Society, and announced that the Corporation had permitted Mr. Thomas Dorrnan (a member of the municipal body) to arrange in the upper rooms, for the Society's inspection, the municipal records, maces, seals, and other objects of interest, and that the curious silver plate of the parish churches was likewise displayed with them. REPORT, 1885. li Lord Northbourne then called upon the Secretary (Canon Scott Eobertson) to read the Annual Report. REPORT. The Twenty-eighth Annual Report of the Kent Archasological Society is being presented in a town wherein its Seventh Annual Meeting was held twentyone years ago, in 1864. The Society has already revisited Canterbury, Dover, Maidstone, Ashford, and Sevenoaks. It now pays its second visit to Sandwich. In so doing it follows the example of our mediaeval kings, all of whom came to this ancient port again and again. Edward III. especially was frequently here embarking or disembarking; but when detained by contrary winds for days or weeks he dwelt elsewhere than in the town. In 1342 for more than three weeks he took up his abode at Eastry until he could embark here; in another year (1359) he waited at Stonar a similar length of time for a favourable wind; another time he passed at Preston his days of waiting. Good Queen Philippa, the gallant Black Prince, the captive King John of France, all were at Sandwich once and again. Here Henry V. embarked for his victories in France. Edward IV. sailed hence with a noble army in 1475. Henry VII. and VIII., Elizabeth (1573), Charles II., and Queen Katherine of Braganza in 1672, all oame here. Sandwich was the place named in the formal treaty drawn up for the meeting of Henry VIII. with the Emperor Charles V. Here landed Archbishop Becket, Cardinal Wolsey, Cardinal Campeggio, and countless others of world-wide fame. If such an ancient port may well attract assemblies of those who study archaeology, much more attractive to them is it made by the proximity of that ancient Roman port and castrum, upon the decay of which Sandwich grew and flourished. Happy are we to-day in having among us some of those distinguished men who ably assisted at our Sooiety's former visit to Sandwich. Our members will hail with glad congratulations the presence of Lord Northbourne, Mr. Roach Smith, and Canon Jenkins. Mr. George Dowker, who has since made his name well known by excavations of Roman remains, was also helpful on that occasion. The Society has to lament the death of many members during the past year, especially that of Mr. Charles Powell, one of H.M. Justioes of the Peace, who for many years kindly and ably served as Secretary for the Tunbridge Wells district. Thirty-seven new members have joined the Society during the past twelve months, and several gentlemen seek election at your hands to-day. The Sixteenth Volume of our Archceologia Cantiana is in the press. Eight sheets (or 128 pages) are already worked off, and about thirty or forty pages more are also in type. Twenty Illustrations for the volume are finished and paid for. It is confidently expected that the volume will be in the hands of members before the end of this year. The funds neoessary for its production have been already provided by the activity of our worthy Local Secretaries in gathering the Annual Subscriptions. To those gentlemen the Society is much indebted for their kindly labour. As a consequence of it the Council is glad to report that the balanoes standing to the Society's credit at the bankers this day amount to £608 4s. Id., a sum more than sufficient to defray the remaining oost of the volume. Engravings of several remarkable speoimens of communion cups, and flagons, and patens have already been made and paid for; some of them it is hoped may be seen in the forthcoming volume. I t may be gratifying to the members to hear that the appearance of their Society's volume is awaited with impatience by men of letters, far outside our county and our Society. One learned Professor of Oxford University has already written to express his desire to see the forthcoming portion of the Expense Book of James Master, Esq., which he pronounces to be almost an unique record of expenditure from day to day during the Commonwealth. e2 ]ii MEETING AT SANDWICH, 1885. The Society has no remarkable discoveries of its own to chronicle; but it must hear with interest that the leaden casket recently found in the north wall of the high chancel of Folkestone Parish Church bears evidence of great antiquity. Tour Secretary and other members of the Society consider that the bones within it may very probably be those of the Kentish Abbess and Princess known as St. Eanswith—to whom that church is dedicated. This Eeport having been adopted by the Meeting, GEORGE DOWKER, Esq., F.G.S., and SAMUEL MERCER, Esq., were elected members of the Council, and the retiring members were re-elected. Canon EDWARD MOORE and HERBERT HODERN, Esq., were re-elected as Auditors for the year. Eight gentlemen were elected members of the Society. WILERED CRIPPS, Esq., then described the ancient plate collected upon the tables in the Court Hall. Among it was a silver bowl with the inscription, " Deborah Bean, widow, many years midwife of this Corporation, which office she executed by the Divine assistance with general approbation and success, out of a tender regard for our Holy Eeligion, left this bason, for the pious use of Christian baptism, to the parish church of 8t. Clement in Sandwich, in the year of our Lord 1744." There were three Corporation maces of silver gilt. Mr. Dorman pointed out what is called " the hog mace." It was used for driving stray hogs out of the streets by an officer appointed for the purpose ; and the hogs were sold by him for the benefit of a local charity. Mr. Dorman also shewed the Town Crier's mace, and the ancient Corporation horn, with which the good burgesses were summoned to assemble for the same Corporation's business. THOMAS DORMAN, Esq., gave an interesting account of the municipal records, and called attention to the carved woodwork in the Court Hall, which is of the time of Queen Elizabeth, and bears her royal arms, as well as the initials of two Mayors, Simon Lynch, 1561 (on the Mayor's chair in upper room), and Arthur Eucke, 1607 (under desk in lower room), under whose auspices the fittings were carved. Mr. Dorman's description of the painted panels* has been printed in Archceologia Cantiana, Vol. XV., p. 142. His paper respecting the visits of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Katherine of Braganza is printed in this volume on pp. 58—63. Beside the municipal plate were displayed, by request of members of the Council, two silver candelabra (each of flights), and the silver tray with tea pot, sugar basin, aud cream ewer, which were presented as a wedding gift to the Eev. Canon Scott Eobertson in November 1884, as some recognition of his services to the Society as Honorary Secretary since 1870, and as Honorary Editor of Archceologia Cantiana, Vols. IX,—XVI., both inclusive. * The Rev. Dr. Haslewood, Vicar of Chislet, informs me that the gentleman who purchased these pictures, together with Southwood House, Ramsgate, in 1865, was net Admiral Jolliffe, but Mr. Charles Jolliffe, who died in 1869. His widow (sister of Dr. Haslewood's wife) presented them to the Corporation of Sandwich in December 1882. Mrs, Jolliffe herself died recently in 1885, PERAMBULATION OF SANDWICH. li i i Upon leaving the Court Hall, the members adjourned to a schoolroom close at hand, in which they partook of light refreshments provided by Canon Scott Eobertson. The following syllabus of a PERAMBULATION of the town of Sandwich was placed in the hands of every member present, and was used by many before the Meeting and during the day as they found time and opportunity : PERAMBULATION OE SANDWICH, JULY 29TH. On leaving the railway station yard and road, we turn to the right, and soon the earthen walls of Sandwich are seen, extending at right angles to the road, on both sides. We pass between the two ends of the wall, at the spot where the New Gate of the town formerly stood (the Sandwich Arms Inn now stands beside the site). Upon our right runs a stream, from Northbourne, called The Delf, which supplies the town with fresh water. A church tower, seen but for a moment looming in the distance on our right, is St. Clement's. The street we walk along is New Street, and has no very ancient houses. A second church tower, of poor character, visible for a moment on our right, is that of St. Peter. New Street emerges into the Cattle Market Square, in which stands the Court Hall, facing us, slightly on our left. In the farthest corner on our left are three Caroline gables of red brick. Behind the Court Hall, and behind a chapel dated 1706, some new cottage-dwellings represent the old Hospital of St. John. From a corner of the square, transversely opposite to that by which we enter the market from New Street, runs a street called Mote Sole. In it on the right hand we come at once to the Old Workhouse of St. Mary's parish, bearing the date 1582 on the right of the doorway; the Eed Cow Inn and a chimney-sweep's nameboard mark the site. At the farther end of Mote Sole we find a new building called Ellis's Hospital of St. Thomas, with an arched gateway of the ancient Hospital standing in front. At the end of Mote Sole, near the house of G. Hooper, corn merchant, formerly stood the Wodensboro gate of the town. Any who here turn to the right and walk thence along the earthen wall of the town will traverse the ancient Butts, and cross the site of the Canterbury Gate. Near it is an old building founded by Sir Eoger Manwood in the reign of Elizabeth as a Grammar School; it has stepped gables of brick, coloured drab. On leaving the Court Hall, to proceed to St. Mary's Church, we see at the corner of Market Square and Delf Street a saddler's shop, with good carving over the door and window, bearing the date 1601 with initials and the arms of Sandwich. We proceed along Delf Street and notice the old house fronts ; one on the right bears in iron the date 1616 and initials W.O. Ohurch Street (second turning to the right) brings us to the S.W. corner of St. Mary's Church. Its Norman arcades were destroyed by the fall of its central tower in A.D. 1667. l i v PERAMBULATION OF SANDWICH. Leaving St. Mary's Church by its north door, we see on our left the King's Arms Inn, with its well-emblazoned coat of the royal arms of Elizabeth, and with a good angle bracket dated 1592. Turning back and passing along the north wall of St. .Mary's Church, we go down Strand Street until we enter a street on our right called The Butchery, and pass down Market Street to St. Peter's Ohurch (the south aisle of which was destroyed by the fall of its central tower in 1661). At the S.E. angle of St. Peter's Church there is a crypt of some size, beneath the rooms formerly occupied by the three priests of Ellis's Chantry. Those who have leisure, by taking their way through a narrow passage beside the north wall of St. Peter's Churchyard, called Church Gap, and through Seven-post Alley, will on turning to the left pass under a modern gateway called The Barbican, and see the bridge over the river Stour. Far away to the left is Eichborough Castle. Turning to the right along the quay, we come to the only ancient town gate now in existence. It is called Fisher's Gate, and is said to bear the date 1581. Passing under it, we proceed up Quay Lane. At the left-hand corner of this lane, with its front door in Strand Street, is a Jacobean cottage with handsome ceilings of plaster, and a good mantelpiece bearing the royal arms of James I. (Mrs. Wanstall occupies this cottage). Hence passing up Fisher's Street and turning into Church Street we reach the N.W. corner of St. Clement's Churchyard. From St. Peter's Church, we pass through St. Peter's Street, Short Street, and Ohurch Street into St. Clement's Churchyard. This handsome building, with its fine Norman central tower, is the only church in Sandwich that has not been ruined by the fall of a tower. Paternoster Eow ran outside the churchyard, S.E. Emerging from the south door of St. Clement's Church we make our way towards the earthen wall of the town (here called Mill Wall from the mill near it). It lies straight before us, and we pass to it between the back gardens of some newly built houses. As we mount thence to the wall we look upon the site of Sandwich Castle, which stood outside the earthen wall, S.E. of St. Clement's Church. The remains of its foundations still cause yellow lines in the corn, although they have mainly been grubbed up. On the wall, turning to the right, past the mill, we walk to the site of New Gate (Sandwich Arms Inn), and, passing over the railway, by the level crossing, we reach the Early English Chapel and the dwellings of St. Bartholomew's Hospital. Mr. Dorman's researches shew that the actual house occupied by Henry VI I I . and by Queen Elizabeth, called the " King's Lodging," was destroyed long ago. It stood opposite the King's Arms Inn. W. A. SOOTT EOBERTSON. At ST. MARY'S CHUROH the Society was welcomed by the Vicar, Eev. A. M. Chichester, and the following paper was read by the Secretary, when he had assembled the members within the west end of the church, so as to face the west wall: ST. MART'S CHURCH, SANDWICH. lv ST. MAET'S CHUECH, SANDWIOH. BY CANON SCOTT EOBERTSON. This ancient church was ruined by the fall of its central tower in 1667, and those who see it for the first time to-day cannot conceive what it looked like twenty years ago. The greatest praise is due to the Vicar (Mr. Chichester) and to his parishioners and other helpers for the change they have wrought in its interior. In the vestry you may see photographs of the church as they found it. The area covered by it is said to be 5716 square feet (1100 more than St. Peter's and 900 less than St. Clement's occupies). What the interior was, before 1667, one witness, close beside us, could tell if it might speak. Unhappily, however, this picture of the royal arms of Charles II., which came into the church spick and span new in 1660, cannot speak. More eloquent far are the stone piers and fragments of Norman arches, that stand near the royal arms in the west wall of the church. They tell us very plainly that an arcade of grand Norman arches separated the nave from its two aisles. One fragment on the north side also suggests that the aisles may have been vaulted. A Norman stringcourse, springing from the northern fragment, suggests the line of the base of the Norman west windows. Some a crochet work high up, on the south side of the southern fragment, seems to shew that the roofs of the nave and aisles may have been lofty—so lofty that even a clerestory may have existed in the Norman church. The careful investigation of the site which was made by Mr. Chichester and Mr. Clarke, when the church was restored, brought to light the bases of the Norman piers, not only of the nave arcades, but of the central tower. It also revealed traces of walls, north and south, which suggest that the aisles of the Norman church were narrow, far narrower than the present aisles. Bases of piers found in these ancient north and south walls encourage the idea already suggested that there was a vaulted roof over the narrow north aisle, if not over the southern one also. The Norman nave was short. About 30 feet intervened between its west wall and the tower's western piers. Whether the north and south arcades of the nave had three arches within this length, or whether they had only two arches each, still remains a doubtful question. The width of the nave's northern arch, west of the tower, was slightly more than 8 feet in the clear. The pier west of it had a foundation 4 feet wide. In the Norman central tower, each of its four round-headed arches had about 12 feet span. The open area beneath the tower was about 18 feet by 16 on the floor. The tower itself occupied a large area; something like 27 feet from east to west, by 24 from north to south. The choir, if it commenced beneath the tower's eastern arch, extended about 40 feet eastward from it. Ivi MEETING AT SANDWICH, 1885. The total length is, roughly speaking, about 97 feet. All these dimensions are derived roughly from Mr. Clarke's plan of the church. Much of the Norman squared stone remains in the fabric, as it was used again, in the time of Charles II., when the church was set in order after the fall of its tower. Some small arches were built entire into the west wall, on its exterior. Following analogy we should suppose that some enlargement of the Norman church was made in the thirteenth century; but subsequent changes have obliterated all traces of it. In the fourteenth century, probably in the reign of Edward III., the western window of the north aisle, and two windows in the north wall (one on each side of the north porch), were inserted. These may be ascribed to the liberality of Thomas Loverick, who is said to have been buried under the canopied tomb beneath the easternmost of these windows. The same benefactor founded here a chapel dedicated to our Lady, at the east head of this church. As the church itself was dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin, the foundation within it of a chapel to Saint Mary is remarkable. The description of this chapel, however, shews that it was not fully and properly within the church. It is always called the chapel of our Lady at the East Head of this church; and it was dedicated in honour of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin. We can understand therefore that it stood outside, but close beside the east wall of this church. This singular situation of the chapel explains some curious entries of the churchwardens in their accounts. They mention an annual settlement with the vicar, called " schyftyn of silver with the vicar," and they classify the money received under three heads: 1st, "yn the body of chirche;" 2ndly, " at the est hede;" 3rdly, " at the chapel of St. James or St. Jacob." We know that the chapel of St. James was a separate building in another part of the parish ; and we see the fitness of this classification, when we know that the chapel at the east head was also a separate building, although close to the east end of the church. These entries in the churchwardens' accounts occur in 1444 and subsequent years. Forty years later a chaplain here, named Thomas Norman, a native of Sandwich, by his will bequeathed a missal and a silver cup to this chapel of St. Mary at the Esthede, which he described as being next to or beside this church (juxta dictam ecolesiam). Thus the position of the chapel is clearly stated to be not exactly within, but close to, the east end of this church. Later on, from 1511 to 1526, we find in the Archbishop's Eegisters records of the institution of chaplains to an endowed chantry here, called Cundy's chantry. Their benefice is described as the chantry of John Cundy, founded in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and as being situated in the chapel of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in St. Mary's Church. About 1444 the churchwardens paid "for a kay to ye chauntry ehapell dore iij d." Whether Cundy's chantry was always served in the external yet ST. MARY'S CHURCH, SANDWICH. Ivi l adjacent chapel at the Easthead does not appear, but its chaplain served there from 1511 to 1526. The foundations of that chantry and of the chapel at East Head are also recorded in closest connection in the ancient Bede Eoll preserved here.* For the image of St. Mary in this chapel of the Annunciation at the East Head, the church possessed a crown of silver gilt, weighing four ounces. The Decorated windows in the north wall have flint masonry around them, which is worth looking at, outside. It is unlike anything else in this fabric; and it has no external stringcourse, although all the rest of the building is encircled by a string. Perhaps this part of the church was less injured by the fall of the tower than other portions were. At the north-west angle of the chancel we see an engaged round shaft of the Perpendicular style. Possibly this was part of the work inserted after the French had destroyed some of the building in the time of Eichard II., when another member of the Loverick family is said to have rebuilt what was destroyed. Much was done here in the fifteenth century. A rood screen stood beneath the central tower; and a new rood loft was made in or about the year 1444. In the rood loft here we know that organs were placed, and the parish paid various sums to musical priests for playing these organs. I n the year, circa 1444, during which the new rood loft was constructed, we find that a certain anomalous window, called the procession window, was taken down and newly set up. There is also mention of a procession porch. These most unusual terms (possibly unique) are very puzzling. The coincidence of date suggests some connection between the new rood loft and these processional adjuncts. All processions issued from the choir, through the central door of the rood screen, which was surmounted by the rood loft. Possibly the organ loft, or projecting canopy over the central door of the rood screen, may have been porch-like, and have been called the Procession Porch; a window in it may have given additional light at this spot, which, being beneath the Norman central tower, must from its position have been dark and obscure. The vicissitudes of the church were great and numerous. In 1448 the tower partly fell down. In 1456 the French robbed the town and carried, off the account-books of St. Mary's Church. After them all, however, we find that in the last quarter of the fifteenth century its southern chancel, dedicated to St. Laurence and St. Stephen (two martyrs), was richly adorned and well cared * The first entries in the Bede Roll are these:—For the sawlys of John Condy and Wyllyem Condy, the whyche weryn the fyrst begynneris of the fundacion of this chauntery, and for all othyr that havyn gevyn thereto more of ther goodys where thorough that hyt may be the better mayntenyd. Also for the sawlys of Thomas Loueryk and of hys wyff, the whyche foundid the chapell of oure lady at the est hede of this chyrche, and of iij wyndowys of the north syde of this chyrohe. (Boys, Hist, of Sandwich, p. 372.) l v i i i MEETING AT SANDWICH, 1885. for. Thomas Norman, the native chaplain, bequeathed his Portif ory to be chained to the upper desk iu the south part of the church, for the use of chaplains saying masses, and the canonical hours in the chapel of Saints Laurence and Stephen. He directed that he should be huried beneath the women's seats opposite the south window of the church, and opposite his parents' burial-place. The Jesus altar and Jesus mass are often mentioned in wills of parishioners. In 1476 William Brewester, mariner, bequeathed to the altar of Jesu one towell of diaper. For this altar there were in 1473 three special chasubles, one being of red and green baudekyng. I believe it was also called the morn mass altar, for which a priest (Sir John Stephen) gave a chalice weighing 15£ ounces. This altar seems to have stood at the east end of the south aisle. Sir Edward Eingley, in his will, dated 24 July 1543, desired to be buried in the Jesus Chapel, and he ordered that 40 yards of black cotton stuff should be purchased to hang from the church door round about the chapel at his funeral. In 1551 his widow, Dame Jane Eingley, desired also to be buried on the north side of Jesus Chapel. She bequeathed 10s. and a dinner to a clergyman that " a godly sarmon " should be preached " for the edyfieng of the congregation that shalbe gathered together at my funerall daye; " " the preacher shall have in remembrance to require the congregation to praye for my soule, my father's and my mother's soules, and for the soule of my husband John Langlye and my husband Sir Edward Einglye, Knt,, my brother Sir Eobert Payton, Knt, and my sister Dame Elyzabeth Payton his wyff, my brother Edward Payton, Esquere, and all Christien soules." The chancel of St. John (probably the north chancel) was also popular, and over it were organs.* In it were aumbries that were much used, and for service at its altar there were special altar cloths and vestments, one being a white chasuble powdered with flowers and daisies. The remarkable fact that not a single piscina remains in the church is easily accounted for, when we know that the destruction of the arcades, by the fall of the tower, must have caused much of the walls to be rebuilt in the time of Charles II. Mr. Chichester, however, differs from me about the rebuilding; he thinks the walls were only refaced. The remarkable niche in the north wall of the chancel seems to have been a receptacle for the " best cross of silver gilt, with a staff of latten," which cost £25, when money was worth much more than it is now. There are many relics of brasses in the church, but not one of them remains entire. In the middle aisle a stone, 6' 9" by 3', has had upon it brass effigies of a man and his two wives, surrounded by what heralds would call an orle of children, twelve in number, each placed separately. I have never seen anything like it elsewhere. There was in the church an altar dedicated to St. Christopher, * About 1449 the ohurohwardens received "for the old organs over seynt John's chaunsell vj s. viij d." (Boys, Hist, of Sandwich, p. 360.) ST. MARY'S CHURCH, SANDWICH. lix for which a new frontal and also a new altar cloth were made in A.D. 1444.* At this altar mass was celebrated for the Brotherhood of St. Christopher, which in 1473 possessed a little chalice, weighing 6 ounces, for use in such celebrations. An altar here, dedicated to St. Ursula, was also furnished with a new cloth in 1444.* Among the more valuable possessions of this church was a relic, called St. Bride's heart; it was enclosed in a silver shrine, having four pinnacles, and weighing 18 ounces. Another relic was enclosed in a silver reliquary, weighing 8| ounces. A relic of St. Katherine, in a silver case, weighing 5i ounces, was kept at St. James's Chapel. The beryll hafte of St. Edmond's knife was another relic here. The tower, or steeple, was much repaired in or about the year 1448, when part of the tower fell. Upon this reparation were used more than 6 tons of Folkestone ragstone, costing vij s.; 4 tons of Bere stone, costing xx s.; and 5 tons of Caen stone, costing xxv s. The masons were paid £1 6s. 8d. for rough-casting the outside, or "ye castyng of ye stepill without with morter, fro ye iiij square of ye olde work unto ye uppyr ende of ye viij square of ye olde worke."f Oh top of the steeple a spire of wood was made by the carpenters (at a cost of £16 13s. 4d.) from 459 feet of oaken board, costing 2s. 4d. the hundred feet. The steeple had four pinnacles, each surmounted by a cross. Upon these crosses " the ravouns did stonde theron to soyle y° stepyll goteris, with bonys and other thyngs; " consequently twenty-three iron pikes (or sharp points) were made to be fixed upon the points of the crosses, to prevent the birds from standing on them. Probably two sharp iron points inclined at acute angles were placed on each of the three upper limbs of each cross. On dedication day a banner was hoisted upon the steeple; and during the fifteenth century the bells were rung, not only on such festival days, but whenever there was "a gret thundering," or thunder-storm. On the floor of the central aisle there is the matrix of a brass which bore one effigy; it lies to the west of the stone which had an orle of children on it. Eastward of the latter is a stone, 8' 9" long by 3' 6" wide, with inscription iu Lombardic characters, around the matrix of an elaborate cross formerly filled with brass. The remaining letters seem to be " [d]ie Novembris o mens . . M.C.C.C.XXXI. cujus " In the north-west corner of the nave there are three slabs, dated 1712 and 1750, to the memory of members of the family of Hayward. On a loose fragment of a cross is an inscription in English, but in small black-letter writing: . . . . o'oflo'do': gros: ge'tylma: vsher. In the chancel there lie in the floor memorial slabs for (i) Edward Kelk, gentleman, with coat of arms; (ii) a man and his wives and two sets of children, formerly represented in brass (query, Eoger Manwood, 1534); (iii) a man, formerly represented in brass, and around him four ejaculatory prayers and four shields of arms (query, T. Norman, 1484) ; (iv) Elizabeth Emmerson, died 1781; (v) man and * Boys, Hist, of Sandwich, p. 363. •f Ibid., pp. 863, 864. It MEETING AT SANDWICH, 1885; his wife, once represented at half length in brass; (vi) another person, formerly shewn in effigy in brass, long since gone. On the north wall of the chancel is a fine mural tablet, in memory of Joseph Stewart, who died iu 1828; and on the south wall another for Mary Stewart, his wife. At ST. PETER'S CHURCH the Eev. H. Gilder described the traces of Norman work, the crypt at the east end of the south chancel, the beautiful Decorated window bricked up on the north of the chancel, the lost south aisle which has never been rebuilt since the fall of the tower ruined it, and the remarkable tombs in the north aisle. ST. CLEMENT'S CHURCH, large, and in admirable order, with its Norman central tower, and its portions illustrating almost every style of architecture, its ancient miserere stalls, and easily dated font of A.D. 1402-8 were succinctly and clearly described by the Eev. A. M. Chichester, the Vicar. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S HOSPITAL OHAPEL having been visited, the company entered a special train and were conveyed to Eichborough, where Mr. 0. Eoach Smith, F.S.A., described the Eoman Castrum. EIOHBOEOUGH. I t will be my endeavour during our brief visit to say, if possible, what has not been said before, and to make my remarks worthy your attention and consideration. Most of you must know that much has been written on the great castrum, or walled fortification in which we are assembled. Archdeacon Battley published an elaborate essay on it in choice Latin, which has been well circulated in translation. Long since I endeavoured to record discoveries made, and also the architectural details; and latterly, in your Arch&ologia Cantiana, you possess records of subsequent researches ; so that my labours to-day will necessarily be light, and they will have one merit at least, that of not exhausting your patience. But, although from the ravages of time and man enough has been saved to shew the vast importance of the place to Eoman Britain, from the earliest to the latest days of the province, yet the history of the construction and management of the great civil establishment, which must necessarily have existed and flourished, has yet to be learned. As the chief of the three great ports of the south-east of Britain, Eutupiae must have been the focus of traffic from and to the Continent; and in what that traffic mainly consisted must be shewn by the motives which induced the Eomans, at the continual sacrifice of men, money, and labour, to retain in subjugation a province so remote from the imperial headquarters. The mineral productions of Britain were chief among the incentives; and then the agricultural riches of various kinds. When the Emperor Julian was straitened for corn to supply his army in RICHBOROUGH. M Germany, he had but to send ships to Britain to be promptly supplied. This naturally indicates stores ready at hand, granaries at various ports, such as we may recognise in ruins at Hartlip and other parts of Kent. Eichborough must also have been a focus for such exports, and still more so for the metals; of the oyster fisheries and their exports to Italy we have abundant historical evidence. Into the admirable system of provincial civil administration we have a good insight in that invaluable work the Notitia Dignitatum of the Eoman Empire, in which is evidence, nowhere else afforded, of the transfer of the Second Legion from Lsca Silurum, Caerleon, to Eutupiae, when the great fortress became a main bulwark on the Saxon shore, at a late period of the Eoman domination. From the abundance of coins of Carausius and Allectus found in and about the castrum, the port must have been well garrisoned during the long interregnum, while the fleets of the British emperors entirely controlled access in everyway from the Continent. The architectural features of the castrum denote an early origin. They may be compared with those at Verulam and Colchester, both early, for a great similarity of construction, while the other castra on the Saxon shore, such as Eeculver and Lymme, as clearly by comparison denote a much later date. They have been so minutely described in print that I need only remark to-day that I shall be ready when we walk round the walls to answer to the best of my power any questions on the subject. But I must here anticipate, what will doubtless arise, some inquiry on the subterranean masonry which has so long resisted every attempt at explanation. That an extent of masonry of 144 feet by 104 could have been a mere foundation for any structure I think is an untenable supposition. The great solidity and strength of Eoman architecture did not demand foundations. The Pharos at Dover has no deep foundations; and we see how the walls around us stand upon a very superficial foundation, if it can be called a foundation at all. I still adhere to my old notion that the interior is hollow, and that there is an opening to it, as yet undiscovered; an opening, probably at the top, now closed up. That the castrum and its surroundings were tenanted by a dense population may also be decided by the numerous discoveries of works of art of various kinds, and of coins of great number from Augustus to the third Constantine, gathered together in a short space of time, and exceeding numerically those recorded as found on the sites of other Eoman large establishments. Marble was also used, in one building at least, and the walls were tastefully painted. Of the later discoveries the most interesting are the leaden seals of Constantine, with the imperial effigies and titles, as on the coins, well engraved.* They must have been attached to letters or edicts, or to merchandise ; more probably to the latter, as many have been found in military stations in the north of England bearing the names of legions and cohorts.f *. Collectanea Antiqua, vol. vi., p. 120. f Idem, plates xvi and xvii. l x i i MEETING AT SANDWIOH, 1885. I come now to speak of what is not. Eichborough has not supplied us with a single lapidary inscription. Of the many thousands who, from three to four centuries, lived and died here, not a record has been revealed to us ; not even the barren information of a name! From analogy, from logical inference, we may be assured that stone memorials were erected; and we may safely assume that they have not all perished. Many, I'believe, lie buried beyond the walls too deep to be disturbed by the plough, but not deep enough to evade the friendly spade and pickaxe of the adventurous antiquary; and I suggest that the Kent Archaeological Society, so well represented to-day, should undertake, with the consent of Mr. Solly, to whom we are already so much indebted, to trench the adjacent fields. Mr. Eoach Smith concluded his lecture by stating that a few years since he, Mr. John Harris, and Mr. George Payne had satisfactorily traced the Eoman road from Dover to Eichborough, so far as opposite Sandwich. At Betshanger, where it is absorbed in the park, they were assisted by Mr. Godley, and recruited by the hospitality of Lord and Lady Northbourne. Here the noble President, the Earl Sydney, joined the company, with the Hon. Eobert Marsham, his Lordship's place having hitherto been kindly supplied by Lord Northbourne. The special train conveyed the members back, through Sandwich, to DEAL, where dinner was served in St. George's Hall, the Earl Sydney in the chair; about 150 sat down. After dinner.members were admitted to inspect Deal Castle, and mount to the tops of the bastions and central tower, for which privilege they were much indebted to the Earl Sydney. THURSDAY, JULY 30TH. Carriages drawn up outside the entrance to DEAL CASTLE received the members and conveyed them to Walmer Castle, kindly opened to them by the Earl Granville. Others who came by rail were brought from Walmer station. For the sight of this historic castle and its beautiful grounds, rich with memories of Pitt and Wellington, the Society was grateful to the Earl Granville. At GREAT MONGEHAM CHURCH the Eev. J. Braufill Harrison welcomed the Society, and read the following paper:— GEEAT MONGEHAM CHUEOH. BY THE EEV. J. BRANEILL HARRISON. Before attempting to tell you anything about this church in its present state, it may be well perhaps if we endeavour to discover from the evidences that we still have something of its early origin. GREAT MONGEHAM CHURCH. lxi i i The church is dedicated to St. Martin, and it would appear from wills still extant that there were lights and images in it in honour of St. Anthony and St. Osyth. I t would seem to have been originally a Norman church, evidence of which remains in one Norman window in the north chancel; and it was probably about the year 1200, or a little later, that it was considerably enlarged; the south arcade being of about that date, and the small window, now unglazed, between the north and high chancel being likewise of that period. In the fourteenth century, the clerestory windows would appear to have been added and the north chancel prolonged eastwards. The tower seems to have been of a somewhat later date, and was probably built about the time of Eichard II. or Henry V. In the course of years this venerable structure, upon which large sums must have been expended in its early years, was nllowed to fall into a most dilapidated condition, and it was not till my immediate predecessor, Mr. Penny, was appointed to the living, about thirty-five years ago, that any active steps were taken to effect a restoration. He very soon turned his attention to this most important object, and having engaged the services of that eminent architect Mr. Butterfield, he by degrees brought the church into the beautiful condition in which, you now see it. I had hope to read to you an interesting paper by Mr. Butterfield, with regard to his recollections of the church when he first saw it, and the steps he took to restore it. I am sorry, however, to say that, having been unusally overworked, and being on the point of starting for his holiday, he could therefore send me only a very few remarks.* I must therefore, though much disappointed, endeavour to make what use I can of the little he has sent. * "My dear Sir,—I had hoped and fully intended to write you a short aocount of my recollections of Great Mongeham Church. I had thought I might do it in time for the Meeting of the Kent Archseological Society on the 30th, but I have been unusually overworked of late, and am now just starting for a holiday for a little more than three weeks in Scotland, leaving all letters and work behind me. For I absolutely need some change and rest. I will, if you wish it, see what I can do on my return, but that is not I fear exactly what you are wanting. Mr. Penny undertook the work in pieces, the north chancel being the last work of the series. He began with the nave. There was no south aisle. It had been removed altogether, and the south side nave arches were entirely built up. He built the south aisle and porch and unstopped the arches. These arches are peculiar, as they are rather openings at intervals in a wall than the ordinary arcade. The tower was shut off. The west doorway and window were ruinous, but the present ones are a very accurate copy of them, with some of the old work put in. The last window of the chancel was absolutely modern, and is a new one. The arches into the north and south ohapels of the chancel were entirely filled in with modern work. Mr. Penny opened them as these chapels were taken in hand, and I built the present stone screens. I think there is a Norman window in the western part of the north chancel, and a break in the wall, whioh seems to imply that that chancel was at first muoh shorter. This is further shewn by an Early English window which looks into it from the chancel, eastwards of this break. This window was evidently once an external window in the ohancel, and must have been open to the ohurchyard. The windows in the prolonged part of the north l x i v GREAT MONGEHAM CHURCH. I t was early in 1849 that Mr. Penny was appointed rector of this parish, and at that time Mr. Butterfield remarks that it is almost impossible to conceive a church in a more deplorable condition. The work to be done was very great, and little or no help could be expected from the parishioners; indeed, I believe Mr. Penny received no help from any one, except that the pulpit and font were given by members of the Noakes family, and the north chapel (which is private property) was restored at the expense of the owner. Under these circumstances Mr. Penny determined to carry out the work in portions, and beginning with the chancel, which was essentially the rector's business, he in 1851-52 re-roofed it and entirely restored it. In the following year he undertook the re-roofing of the church, and the re-building of the south aisle and the porch, but it was not till the year 1860 that the north chapel was restored by its then owner, the Comtessa di Morella (nee Eichards), and the work was completed in the following year, when the east and west windows, together with the north and south windows of the chancel, were filled with stained glass. Mr. Butterfield remarks that there is a break in the masonry in this north chancel, which seems to imply that it was at one time much shorter, and this is further shewn by an Early English window which looks into it from the chancel eastwards of this break ; this window (which is now unglazed) was evidently once an external one in the chancel open to the churchyard. The windows in the prolonged part of the north chancel, he says, were of wood only and very bad; there were no details of any old windows to be found in the eastern half. The chancel arch had been largely destroyed; but enough was remaining to guide to a restoration of it. When Mr. Penny first began the work of restoration the south chancel was covered with ivy and almost in ruins; there was no communication with it from the church; the only entrance being from the churchyard by a little door in the western arch, which was otherwise stopped up. No signs of a south aisle were visible, but the foundations were discovered by digging, and on them the present aisle was built. The arches on the south side of the nave were entirely filled up, having common sash windows in them, and heavy outside buttresses. These arches, you may notice, are rather openings at intervals in a chancel were of wood only, and very bad. There were no details of any old windows to be found in the eastern half. The chancel arch had been largely destroyed, but enough was remaining to guide to a restoration of it. The roofs are all new. They were bad and beyond mending. I am writing very hurriedly and I daresay that I have told you nothing but what you already know. I can only add that you can hardly imagine a ohurch in a more deplorable condition than this churoh was in when Mr. Penny became rector of Mongeham,—I am, my dear Sir, yours very truly, W. BUTTEREIELD, " The Rev. J. B. HAKEISON." MEETING AT SANDWIOH, 1885. lxV wall, than an ordinary arcade. Mr. Penny had them unstopped, and rebuilt the south aisle and its porch as they are at present. And now, whilst examining the south chancel and aisle, I may call your attention to a small square opening in the former, which was possibly used by lepers; and. on the outside you may observe some large stones in the wall which, though not now exactly in situ, were no doubt formerly the steps which led up to it. The piscina in the south aisle was found amongst the rubbish. The present west doorway and window, Mr. Butterfield tells me, are accurate copies of the old ones, which were in a very ruinous condition, and some of the old work was used in their restoration. The rood screen, which originally separated the nave from the chancel, was, at the restoration, placed as you now see it in the west tower, and the stone screens now in the chancel were built by Mr. Butterfield. Let me also direct your attention to the curious double piscina and two sedilia, probably inserted early in the thirteenth century. A tablet in the north chancel was erected to the memory of Edward Crayford, son of Sir William Crayford of this parish, who married a daughter of Sir Eowland Hay ward, thrice Lord Mayor of London. He died Sept. 1615. His family owned the property to which this chancel is attached; and had a large house to the west of the rectory, some of the foundations of which lie close to the surface, in the orchard adjoining the school. The flat tomb in the same chancel is to the memory of Edward St. Leger, who was a surgeon at Deal, where for forty years he took care of the sick and wounded. He was descended from a noble ancestry, and must have been a man of eminent virtues if all that is related of him on the stone is correct. He died Nov. 1729. I regret very much that at the restoration of this church the gravestones within it were placed under the pews, and as far as I am aware ho copies were taken of the inscriptions upon them. The names of the rectors of this parish were given in Vol. XV. of the Archodologia Cantiana; but since that was published, I have discovered that John Sackett was rector in 1634. NORTHBOURNE CHURCH, which is cruciform without aisles, has a central tower, much Transition work of circa A.D. 1180, and a beautiful monument in the south transept for Colonel Sandes, an active Commonwealth officer, was described by the Eev. Thomas Wood. At BETTESHANGER CHURCH the Society was received by the Eev. J. W. Bliss, Eector and Eural Dean, who described the old tombs of the Boys family, and produced the Parish Eegister, which contains interesting notices of that family. The church itself was rebuilt several years ago by Lord Northbourne (then Sir Walter James), upon the model of Barfreston Ohurch, but the old tower was preserved, and the monuments carefully re-erected. In the churchyard are seen side by side two yew-trees, planted-one by the Eight Hon.W.E. Gladstone, the other by Viscount Hardinge,the celebrated General, They now meet and form an arbour above a large seat YOL. xvi. / l x v i MEETING AT SANDWICH, 1885. formed of a slab of slate inscribed with a record of the planting of these trees. Lord Northbourne and his son, the Hon. Walter James, invited the company to BETTESHANGER HOUSE, and under the trees upon a lawn Lord Northbourne had hospitably caused luncheon to be prepared for all the members (over 200 in number). After luncheon Lord Northbourne requested Canon Scott Eobertson to conduct the company through the reception-rooms of the Mansion. Entering by the dining-room they admired the fine family paintings, especially those representing Viscount Hardinge and his victories. In the drawing-room Turner's picture of Margate and other paintings attracted much attention. They passed on to the library, and thence into the hall, where Lord Northbourne himself described a collection of most interesting objects of historic value. Very hearty thanks were tendered to Lord Northbourne for his most generous hospitality, and with three hearty cheers for the noble Lord the company passed on to their carriages. At EASTRY many had to leave in order to catch an early train at Sandwich, but the majority visited EASTRY CHURCH, which was thus described by the Vicar, the Eev. W. Frank Shaw :— EASTEV CHURCH. At what precise time the worship of Almighty God superseded the ancient heathen worship of the goddess ^Eastor, or Easter, in this island, anciently dedicated to her, we have no certain record. But from the fact that the kings of Kent had a country seat at Eastry in very early times, on the site of the present Eastry, it is highly probable that a Christian church has existed on or about this spot from the days of the good King Ethelbert (who died A.D. 616), say from the early part of the seventh century. No remains, however, of any Saxon work have been discovered in or around the church, so far as I am aware. But traces of " Transitional" or even Norman work are not far to seek in the tower itself, viz., in the external arch of the west door, the north and south windows of the ringing-chamber, and the shallow external buttress on the north side. There seems good reason for supposing that in Norman times the tower was somewhat short and squat, reaching only to the stringcourse just above the clock. Then a single roof covered both nave and aisles, the clerestory, if any, was lower than at present, the chancel smaller, whilst access was gained to the ringing-chamber of the tower by an outside door. Then in the ? twelfth century the tower was raised to its present height, and its west face remodelled and enriched by the addition of the arcading beneath the face of the clock, the recessed buttresses, the carved corbels, the shallow west porch, and the tower-aisles forming a western extension of the aisles proper,— which together give such a marked character to the west facade EASTRY CHURCH. lxvii of this church. To the same period we must assign the present chancel and the clerestory windows of the nave. At some later period—not improbably the early part of the fourteenth century— the north wall of the nave was partially rebuilt; and then the Kentish rag capital on the north, and the octagonal pillar, with its carved capital, on the south side of the nave, were inserted. In 1687 the roof of the nave was lowered, the pitch being altered, and a flat ceiling substituted internally. The beams of that roof were principally of chestnut. In 1869 the present roof was put on, in which the old high pitch was restored. Our present church consists of chancel, nave, north and south aisles, south porch, western tower, with north and south tower-aisles, both of which originally communicated with the aisles of the nave, but that on the south is now blocked by a huge buttress, necessitated by an early settlement of the tower. With the exception of the tower, the church is Early English throughout, though one or two windows have been inserted later. The niche for the holy-water stoup on the south side of the west door remains, though the bowl has gone. Passing through the somewhat peculiar and shallow porch,* the north and south side arches of which were originally open, but were filled up at some period to strengthen the buttress, we descend, as so frequently in Kentish churches, into the tower. Thus there is a similar descent into the tower from the west door in several churches in this immediate neighbourhood, e.g., Great Mongeham, Northbourne, Tilmanstone, Adisham. We are reminded by those somewhat unusual features—the north and south extensions of the aisles—of the Church of St. Nicholas, New Eomney, whose tower, like ours, was originally Norman, and subsequently heightened and enriched. The squinch in the north-east corner of the tower, supporting the staircase,- is interesting and good work. Advancing into the nave we can hardly fail to be struck by its height and narrowness ; its proportions reminding us forcibly of a ship inverted. The chancel arch is low, and the quatrefoil piercings on either side are unusual, but not absolutely unique. It is noticeable that whilst they appear as quatrefoils when seen from the nave, they are square with trefoil heads when seen from the chancel. They serve a double purpose, viz., that of letting out the sound from the chancel which otherwise would be kept in by the low chancel arch, and of breaking the large space of blank wall immediately above and around the arch. The east corbels which formerly supported the "rood beam" may still be seen. As for the rood loft itself, that has long since disappeared, and indeed so far back as the Visitation of Archbishop Warham in 1512 it was reported as " lacking great reparation," and the churchwardens were ordered to repair it by Christmas next ensuing under penalty of excommunication. * A tradition of whioh lingered on, and of whioh the late Captain John Boteler, R,N,, told me that he had even seen a sketch.- l x v i i l MEETING AT SANDWICH, 1885. The chapel at the east end of the north aisle is traditionally said to be dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It has a large aumbry in the north wall, and a credence and piscina in the east wall, in addition to a corbel which formerly carried an image. The corresponding chapel on the south side is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and has a piscina in the south wall. Immediately over the chancel arch are two rows of medallion frescoes, of which the upper row alone is now visible, the under row having been covered up again with whitewash.* The remaining medallions are seven in number, circular in shape, and about 18 inches in diameter. They seem to have been drawn with " a free hand and a full brush" on wet plaster, as the colours have apparently sunk into the ground. The medallions are formed of a thin dark outline and two concentric circles of border lines respectively dark and either red or yellow, leaving a space of some 13 inches in diameter clear for the subjects. The colours are chiefly black or very dark brown, red, yellow, and a yellowish red, whilst the ground is buff. The subjects of all fourteen medallions are only four in number differently arranged. Thus in the upper row, still visible, the subjects, as read from north to south, from dexter to sinister, are -. A Lion : A Griffin : Two Doves : The Lily : Two Doves : The Lion : The Griffin. In the lower row, now covered up, they were: The Griffin: The Lion: Two Doves : The Lily: Two Doves: The Griffin: The Lion. Mr. Weston Stylemau Walford, who carefully examined these frescoes shortly after their discovery, some twenty years ago, and who communicated a paper on them to the Archaeological Journal, says "they must belong to the latter half of the thirteenth century, and can hardly be later than the beginning of the reign of Edward I." The object in the central medallion, both of the upper and lower row, is a conventional Lily, the special emblem of the B.V. Mary, to whom the church is dedicated. Those immediately next to the centre medallion, on either side, contain representations of two birds (? doves) with their beaks together and apparently pecking at some central object, such as a bunch of grapes or an ear of corn, now obliterated, and may not improbably be taken to represent the two Covenants, each looking towards that One Figure, tho Centre of the Ages, Christ our Lord, who is Himself the Corn of Wheat and the Eipe Grape Cluster. The Lion is probably a symbol of Him who is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, our B. Lord; whilst the Griffin, as has been suggested to me by a friend who has written on the symbolism of these medallions, may indicate the union of the two natures, the human and divine, in One Christ. All the glass in the windows of the chancel is by one firm, Messrs. Ward and Hughes. The will of William Andrew of Eastry, proved in the Consistory Court of Canterbury, 1507, makes mention of our Lady's Chapel in * Prior to the commencement of my inonmbenoy in 1867. EASTRY CHURCH. lxix Eastry Churchyard, whilst an earlier will, referred to by Mr. Boteler, speaks of the Lady Chapel as being in Eastry Church. May not this Lady Chapel have been under the high altar, with a separate approach from the churchyard ? The window of this chapel may still be traced on the outside of the south wall under the two-light window; and there is ample room for such a chapel, if the floor level were restored to its original height. All the chancel windows apparently were originally lancets, but the most easterly one on the south side was thrown up to admit of sedilia being placed beneath it, and was then altered to a two-light Decorated window. The original stringcourse was kept intact and utilized for a seat. This may have been done when the Lady Chapel was constructed. The locker or aumbry on the north side of the chancel is interesting, as having the head of a mitred ecclesiastic—bishop or abbot—carved above it. The shallow niche, on a level with the old sedilia, on the south side, is not a piscina—at least there were no traces of a drain when we dug into it in 1869—and I am quite unable to explain a little shoulder of masonry which is closely connected with it. The two brasses on the floor of the sanctuary are to the memory of Thomas Nevynson and Sir Eoger Nevi[n]son respectively. The helmet, which hangs above, has the Nevinson crest; and there were also formerly a lance and pennon, with the helmet, belonging to the same family. There were formerly eighteen stalls in the chancel, but when or how they disappeared it is hard, to say—possibly when the Lady Chapel was filled in and stopped up. The chancel was ceiled after the death of Vicar Cressener in 1746; probably with some of the money left to the parish by his will for the beautifying of the church. The chance], as you will not fail to observe, is not quite in a line with the nave; but inclines somewhat to the north, and symbolizes the inclination of our blessed Lord's head upon the cross. Just outside the chapel of St. John Baptist in the south floor of the nave is an old gravestone, belonging to one of the family of Hardindenne, formerly of Harnden in this parish. This had been buried as an old stone, and was only rescued by the enlightened zeal of a lady now deceased, who came in whilst the workmen were laying the tiles, and insisted that it should be found and replaced. The octagonal pillar, which is the second from the west on the south side, bears on its south-west face a curious incised circle, pronounced to be unique by Mr. W. S. Walford, to whom I have before referred. This table, for finding the Sunday letters, consists of three consecutive circles cut into the stone, the outer circle being about 11 iuches in diameter. The inner and middle circles are divided into 28 equal parts by radii from the centre, and in each of these compartments so formed between the circles is one of the first seven letters of the alphabet in Lombardic capitals, and above every fourth is another of these letters in a compartment by itself. These seven letters, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, are those known by the name of, and used in the calendar as, Sunday letters; and it is believed that this incised circle exhibits a method for finding the Sunday letter during a cycle of 28 years, after which it repeats itself, and begins again; the years in which two letters l x x MEETING AT SANDWICH, 1885. occur, one over the other, are leap years. If the two Sunday letters for any leap year be given, the Sunday letter for any year before or after may be found. The pillar on which this table is incised seems to date from the early part of the fourteenth century, and the table itself is probably not much later. Inside the south door there is a niche for a holy-water stoup, but the stoup itself is gone. The north door was open some sixty years ago, but, like other north doors in this immediate neighbourhood, Betteshanger, Northbourne, and in other parts of the country, it has been closed up, generally for the sake of warmth, but in our case also to give space for the Harvey monument. This monument, to the memory of Captain John Harvey—part of a larger one, for the whole of which there was not room in Westminster Abbey—shews some admirable sculpture by Bacon. Whilst not far from it, just where the aisle of the nave enters the north tower aisle, are the remains of the old stone bench which ran along under the north wall of the church internally. It only remains for me to say that the font is modern ; the former one, being broken, patched with cement, covered with a thick coat of paint, and containing no interesting features, was supplanted by the present font in 1869; the old font eventually found a resting-place in the daughter church of Worth. The Eegisters are well kept, have few lacunae, and date from 1559. They are kept in an iron chest with spring lock, the centre key governing three bolts, acting in different directions. At KNOWLTON HOUSE, Mrs. Narborough Hughes-D'Aeth courteously welcomed the Society and hospitably invited the members to tea prepared upon tables on the lawn. Mrs. D'Aeth and her daughters conducted the members over the mansion, part of which was built by Sir Thomas Peyton at the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and other parts were rebuilt in the reign of George I. by Sir Thomas D'Aeth, who had married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Admiral Sir John Narborough (whose widow remarried the more celebrated Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel). Portraits of all these worthies and of other members of the family were much admired, and great interest was taken in the blue silk "jersey" worn beneath his shirt by King Charles I. at his execution. In the billiard-room were seen the old windows containing the arms of the Peytons, Calthorpes, and their connections. Hearty thanks were accorded to Mrs. D'Aeth and her daughters, who likewise conducted the members into KNOWLTON CHURCH, which contains several interesting monuments, and has been recently restored to a state of perfect repair. At BARFRESTON CHURCH the Eector, Eev. E. Austen, received the Society and produced plans for erecting a new roof. Canon Eobertson described the church and read portions of Mr. Hussey's paper which will be found in this volume on pp. 142—151. This was the last place visited; many of the members drove to Shepherdswell station, and the rest returned to Deal and Walmer. MEETING AT SANDWICH, 1885. lx x i Among those who were present on one or both days of the meeting were the Earl Sydney, the Lord Northbourne, the Hon. Eobert Marsham, Sir James Fergusson (now M.P. for Manchester), Archdeacon Harrison, Canon Jenkins, Canon Eoutledge, Canon Welldon, Canon Scott Eobertson, Professor the Eev. W. W. Skeat of Cambridge, Wilfred Cripps, J.P., Eobert Furley, J.P., G. E. Hannam, J.P., Colonel Hartley, J.P., Captain Prentis, J.P., J. F. Jackson, J.P., H. B. Mackeson, J.P., Henry Curling, J.P., G. M. Arnold, J.P., Josiah Hall, J.P., Judge Laxton, Judge Homersham Cox, C. Eoach Smith, F.S.A., General Dixon, Gerard Norman, Philip Norman, the Eeverend F. E. Tuke, M. T. Pearman, E. S. Dewick, H. H. Boys, J. Hughes Hallett, F. Haslewood, F.S.A., Leslie Goodwin, W. T. Smallwood, J. Langhorne, J. W. Bliss, F. Shaw, E. Cox Hales, E. S. Hunt, B. St. John Tyrwhitt, J. A. Walter, E. S. Woods, C. H. Wilkie, H. G. Eolt, W. H. Eammell, J. B. Harrison, Dr. Haslewood, E. T. Browne, M. Toungman, W. F. Morgan, Dr. Diamond, Dr. Tayler, Dr. E. Furley, F. Grayling, J. T. Hillier, Joseph Moore, Jun., T. Pearne, J. Broad, E. Clout, E. Hovenden, W. W. Wooder, W. E. Hughes, B. Nathan, W. B. Eosher, W. C. Stunt, G. Simmonds, W. P. Shirley, H. Hinds, W. D. Belcher, H. T. Belcher, W. G. Gribbon, E. J. Wells, C. W. Powell, B. H. Collins, F. G. Gibson, F. C. J. Spurrell, J. D. Norwood, E. Bubb, G. Wilks, G. Clinch, H. G. Hewlett, F. Bunyard, G. E. Elliott, H. Peake, J. L. Eoget, F. F. Giraud, E. Smith, HY W. Wilkins, J. Bullard, C. Bullard, T. Dorman, W. P. Southee, J. D. Kiddell, E. W. Cradock, C. Heisch, J. H. Turner, J. H. Oyler, Ed. Bottle, C. K. Worsfold, J. Vinten, P. Sankey, W. V. Lister, J. Pullen, J. F. Wadmore, C. E. Homewood, J. Buckingham, G. Wakeford, G. Dowker, J. P. Streeter, J. E. Mace, J. U. Bugler, Charles Cotton, J. Stilwell, J. F. Streatfeild, G. Meadway, E. Allen, A. Hudson, A.-Boissier, D. Prosser, W. M. L, Seaman, W. Fooks, E. L. Hobbes, T. S. Stokes, A. Latham, J. G. E. Sibbald, Lambert Wood, T. Edwards, E. Fry, E. W. Streeter, Dr. Langston, J. T. Perry, A. Styan, Dr. Price, — Frend, Mrs. Fred Neame, Sen., Mrs. E. Neame, the Misses Godfrey Faussett Osborne, Mr. and Mrs. Mapleton Chapman, Miss Dudlow, Miss Collett, and a large number of other ladies. On the 12th of October 1885 the Council met at Canterbury, in the Cathedral Library, by kind permission of the Dean and Chapter ; the Earl Sydney presided; ten members were present. Thanks for hospitality, and help at the Annual Meeting, were voted to Lord Northbourne, Earl Sydney, Mrs. Hughes D'Aeth, Earl Granville, Eevs. Walker Flower, J. B. Harrison, J. W. Bliss, W. F. Shaw, A. M. Chichester, T. Wood, and H. Gilder, to C. Eoach Smith, Esq., to Thomas Dorman, Esq., and to Mr. Solly. Nine new members were elected. I t was resolved that the next Annual Meeting shall be held at Eochester,