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The Antiquary.

DECEMBER, 1890.

Motes of the Month.

A RELIABLE and well-informed correspondent in a responsible position in Ireland, writing on the subject of the Ancient Monuments Protection Act, 1882, says: Ireland furnishes a striking contrast to the state of things existing in England, where recently the conference of archæological societies decided to memorialize the Government to increase the allowance at present made under this Act, to enable General Pitt-Rivers to continue the preparation of the valuable models made by him. In Ireland the Parliamentary vote for the year 1889-90 under this Act was the small sum of £150. A reference to the "Fifty-eighth Report of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland" for the past year shows that of this £150 only about thirty shillings has been spent, and the balance goes back to the Treasury. The Irish Board of Works, who are entrusted with the administration of the Act in Ireland, do not seem to be fortunate in the selection of an inspector -if they have one--as manifested in this inability to accomplish the purposes of the Act. It cannot for a moment be contended that there are not numberless ways in which this money could have been most profitably spent, the condition of many of the scheduled monuments being most deplorable.

Dr. Joseph Anderson, of Edinburgh, and Mr. W. F. Wakeman, of Dublin, have from time to time lifted up both voice and pen to protest against the manner in which the socalled restoration of several of these monuments have been effected, notably, that at Innismurray, where an ignorant foreman, left

VOL. XXII.

to his own devices, constructed niches and other innovations in the surrounding cashel, totally at variance with the archaic character of the structure. At Glenmaulin, parish of Glencolumbtrillo, county of Donegal, a sepulchral monument of the greatest interest-one of a series in a district second only to Carnac, in Brittany-has by an ignorant mason been transformed into a cashel by building up the spaces around the standing stones with a solid wall of dry masonry, about twelve feet in thickness, thus completely transforming the character of the monument. It appears the Board of Works did not send any inspector to see this work, which was left entirely to a stonemason and his fellow workmen. An effort is being made to induce the Government to restore this unique monument to the condition in which they found it, and it is to be hoped they will now consult an archeologist to advise, as, had they done so at first, they would not have been led into perpetrating such an act of vandalism. With this sad experience before them, Irish archæologists are somewhat consoled that nothing has been done during the past year. It is hoped that in the new Bill promised by the Irish Government some better arrangements may be made for its administration, and that due use may be made of the experience and knowledge of the local archæological societies. de

November usually brings with it more or less erudite reflections with regard to the Lord Mayor's Show. This year, as the state-coach was repaired at a well-known and accessible coach-builder's, various reporters obtained a "private view." Cannot someone set at rest the disputed question as to the painter of the panels? Surely the Corporation accounts would furnish the necessary information. The Pall Mall Gazette says that in all England there are but two others like it-one is her Majesty's, the other the Speaker's. The Lord Mayor's coach was built in 1757, and it is not wholly for pomp that six horses are harnessed to it when it is dragged in solemn procession on Lord Mayor's Day. The weight of the vehicle is considerably over three tons. The cost of it was enormous. The regilding of it alone cost £600. It is a singular thing that, though it is one of the

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most magnificent vehicles in England, and is the first state-carriage a Lord Mayor of London ever used, yet nobody now knows who built it. There is a legend that Cipriani painted the panels. Cipriani was a Florentine painter who settled in London in the middle of the eighteenth century, and did a great deal of this kind of work. Great artists did not disdain the painting of these panels, and many by Dance, R.A., Cotton, R.A., and Hamilton, R.A., are still in excellent preservation.

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A most admirable idea for keeping green the memory of that kind-hearted and deeply-read scholar, the late librarian of the University of Cambridge, has been formulated. The "Henry Bradshaw Society" for editing rare liturgical texts held its first meeting on November 25, with that profound student of the Vulgate (the Bishop of Salisbury) in the chair. When we mention that the council includes the Rev. Canon Cook, F.S.A. (chairman), Mr. W. H. St. John Hope, M.A., Mr. J. T. Micklethwaite, F.S.A., and Dr. J. Wickham Legg, F.S.A. (hon. sec.), it will be at once seen that good work is sure to result. The following works have been already offered to the society: Westminster Missale, containing the coronation and funeral services of the kings of England, benedictional, etc. (Dr. Wickham Legg); Tracts of Clement Maydestone (Rev. Christopher Wordsworth); Bangor Antiphoner (Rev. W. C. Bishop); Hereford Breviary (Very Rev. W. G. Henderson, Dean of Carlisle); Seven Pontificals of the twelfth century collated together (Very Rev. W. G. Henderson, Dean of Carlisle); Hora of York, Durham, with appendix of Sarum (Very Rev. W. G. Henderson, Dean of Carlisle); Canterbury Sacramentary in the Parker Collection at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, No. 270 (Mr. Martin Rule); Hora secundum usum Angliæ (Mr. H. H. Gibbs); Paris Missal of 1481, collated with the manuscripts (Abbé Misset); Sacramentary of Robert of Jumièges and Benedictional at Rouen (Rev. S. S. Lewis); and Martyrology of Sarum as read at Sion (Rev. F. Procter).

There is now open at the Grosvenor Gallery, in Bond Street, an Exhibition described in

the catalogue as the "First of the Society of British Pastellists," but the list of exhibitors gives the names of several artists who are certainly not British, and some of whom are not living in England, whether British or not. Many of their works are valuable additions to the exhibition. Amongst the portraits, of which there are a large number, Edward Tofano, in Nos. 25 and 308, has two subjects, with the merit of originality of idea and skill in treatment; the portrait of Mrs. Holdsworth must strike the observer as a novel and effective treatment of the sitter, and No. 308, "Winter Twilight," is well worthy of careful notice. Nos. 87 and 92, by J. J. Shannon, are excellent, and vigorous in colour and effect. No. 77, by Miss Deane, is a clever head. No. 112, by H. Vos, although not altogether quite pleasing, is effective. No. 124, "Viola," by A. E. Emslie, is a charming study, simply and artistically treated. Ellis Roberts, in No. 142, has a most careful and elaborate drawing of Mrs. Albert Gray; and No. 221, by the same artist, is a soft and delicate rendering of a refined profile. No. 250, a portrait of the artist by herself, is good in colour and bold in treatment. Amongst other subjects, No. 219, by R. Machell, is a striking and well-conceived figure. No. 227, "Captive," by St. George Hare, is admirable in tone and drawing, though not otherwise a pleasing subject; while No. 272, "Playmates," also by him, is a delightful picture, although in point of beauty the left arm of the mother is somewhat lacking. somewhat lacking. C. Kerr, in No. 336, has an excellent effect of a scene on the Medway. Besides these there are many other pictures worthy of notice if space permitted, while for the same reason those works are omitted which might receive unfavourable comments. An hour may be very pleasantly spent at this exhibition in studying the various subjects and effects produced in pastel; it seems especially adapted to the treatment of portraiture.

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At Col-drum, near Kits Coty House, in the parish of Aylesford, Kent, there is a dolmen in the midst of a number of monoliths. Altogether there are about thirty-four ancient stones, each of considerable size, in this monument of our remote forefathers. On

October 29 last, several gentlemen visited this dolmen, under the guidance of Mr. Benjamin Harrison, of Ightham. One of the visitors investigated a large hollow beneath a great stone on the west side. Within it they found several portions of human bones. Some of these disappeared down the burrow of a rabbit; but those which were so far brought to light that they could be examined were: (1) The lower half of a left humerus; (2) the left femur; (3 and 4) right and left tibiæ, nearly perfect; (5) fragments of the corresponding fibulæ; (6) a fragment of another femur. The vicar of Shoreham, near Sevenoaks (Rev. R. A. Bullen), took charge of these fragments. Probably they formed portions of that ancient personage whose skull was found under the same dolmen several years ago. That skull was subsequently buried in Wrotham churchyard. Other fragments of bones were found with the skull. It seems highly probable that these discoveries have disclosed the remains of the ancient chief or personage in whose memory the dolmen was erected.

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Two neglected effigies, long in the gardens at Nunwick Hall, have recently been identified as those of Anthony Hutton and Elizabeth his wife, cast out of Penrith church when it was rebuilt in 1721. Anthony was a Master in Chancery, and died in 1637, when his wife put a monument to him in Penrith church with his and her effigies in marble thereon. Ruined as they now are, they are fine examples of costume of the period-he in legal gown and falling collar, she in ruff.

& The navvies employed on the Manchester Waterworks were recently fired by ill-directed

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The Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archæological Society have suffered a severe loss by the sudden death of Mr. W. Jackson, F.S.A., a member of the society from its foundation, and a constant contributor to the pages of the society's transactions. He was a first-rate all-round antiquary, and was the discoverer and excavator of the Roman villa at Ravenglass, in South-west Cumberland. But his forte was genealogy-north-country genealogy, particularly of Cumberland and Westmorland-with regard to which he had accumulated vast masses of material for pedigree-making. friends often urged him to publish a volume of Cumberland and Westmorland pedigrees, but a diffidence in his own powers and a straining after an almost impossible perfection held him back from a task for whose successful completion no man was ever better equipped both by natural turn of mind and years of labour. He had, however, lately promised to edit a volume of local wills for the period between 1650 and 1750, so as to take up the pedigrees when the Visitations end. He edited Memoirs of the Gilpin Family for the Cumberland and Westmorland Society, in which were worried out to the present day the descents of the most remote collateral branches. This pedigree is believed to be the largest sheet pedigree ever printed. To the pages of the local society's transactions he contributed (besides papers on other

subjects) pedigree-papers on the Richmonds of Highhead, the Curwens of Workington, the Orfeurs of Plumbland, the Laws of Buck Crag, the Dudleys of Yanwith, the Threlkelds of Threlkeld, Yanwith, and Crosby Ravensworth, and the Threlkelds of Melmerby. At the time of his death a pedigree-paper on the Hudlestons of Hutton (John and Millom) was passing through the press. The society hoped that these would have been followed by pedigree-papers on the Lowthers, the Fletchers, and the Vauxes of Catterlen; but that hope can hardly now be realized unless the work is well advanced.

Maxwelton Braes are bonnie Where early fa's the dew, Where I and Annie Laurie

Made up the promise true.

So sang the Dumfriesshire beauty's lover neary two hundred years ago, but sang in vain-Annie Laurie was destined to be another's bride. But Maxwelton Braes are still bonnie; the stanzas which entwined their beauty with the charms of Annie are not forgotten; and the song, though somewhat retouched, lives on-wedded to a simple but touching and expressive air-as one of the truest and sweetest of "the auld Scots songs." Maxwelton, too, is still in the Laurie family, and the present baronet has lately obtained a well-authenticated painting of the much besung lady, who was born on December 16, 1682. Of course, the Annie Laurie of the canvas is not as ideal as the heroine of the song. "Winsome, but not of striking loveliness," that is the verdict of a judicious critic. A slim and graceful figure, apparently tall, long oval face, delicately cut features, dark eyes, cheeks and lips well coloured, high forehead, generally a pleasant smiling face, surmounted by a profusion of dark hair combed back and decorated with clusters of pearls. This is she for whom, with infinite variety of melodious note, thousands of voices

-wherever the Scottish accent is heard

have declared the willingness of their owners "to lay them doon and dee." Sir Emilius

Laurie should have the immortal fair one's picture reproduced and published.

Amongst the heirlooms of Kirkconnel House --a mansion sitting amidst fine woodlands at

the mouth of the Nith, on its Galloway bank is a very interesting compass-sundial. It was the property of James Maxwell, of Kirkconnel, who not only fought for Prince Charlie, but after the failure of the '45, wrote a history of the expedition, published by the Maitland Club in 1841. Family tradition asserts that this sundial was worn by Maxwell throughout the rebellion. As described in a local newspaper, it is in silver, of Parisian manufacture, and of highly skilful workmanship. It carries "Butterfield, Paris," as the maker's name. The dial is marked with four lines, to indicate the time at latitude 52, 49, 46, and 43 degrees respectively, and a table engraved upon the back shows the latitude of various places on the continent and of London. The gnomon is of artistic design, ornamented with the figure of a bird, and it can be elevated or laid flat at pleasure, the spring being still in capital working order. The combined instrument is not more bulky than an old verge watch, and can easily be accommodated in the pocket. Its type is very rare though not unique. A dial closely similar is figured in Mrs. Gatty's Book of Sundials as the property of the Rev. J. Sayce, of Sheffield. The traditional associations of the Kirkconnel dial add to its intrinsic interest.

In the current issue of the transactions of the Cambridge University Association of Brass Collectors is a remarkable correspondence between the officials of the society and the vicar of Godmersham, near Canterbury. We desire to direct attention to it, although it is painful still further to expose the rudeness of any beneficed clergyman, because the action of the vicar is not only vulgarly uncivil but distinctly illegal. It would be rare, indeed, to find an imitator of the discourtesy of this vicar; but brasses, alas! are still frequently disappearing through the incumbent fancying he is at liberty to remove them to the parsonage. Hence, though this may be done from a good motive, these memorials get hidden, lost, or

even at a removal or death sold for old metal or to an unscrupulous collector. In July of this year, Mr. R. W. M. Lewis, of Corpus Christi College, the hon. secretary of the society, wrote a most civil letter to the vicar

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of Godmersham, drawing his attention to the brasses from a church of the highest imporfact of a palimpsest brass being loose in the vestry of his church, and suggesting a good way in which it could be fixed.

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The letter was returned with an insolent message written on it, recommending the society "to amalgamate with another, called The Anti-poking the Nose into other People's Business Society.'" The secretary answered in the best possible taste, and another official also wrote as a gentleman should, but the vicar (Rev. Joshua Wilkinson) repeated his uncivil statements, adding declarations as to his own illegal proceedings and intentions. Here are two sentences: "I shall take very good care that the brass is taken from the church and kept elsewhere in safe custody." "No one is ever allowed to go to the church alone at any time." As his diocesan has requested his clergy to see that their churches are open for private prayer, this last statement is in defiance of the constituted ecclesiastical authority, as well as contrary to the common law of the land; but it is the former statement that concerns us as antiquaries. Mr. Wilkinson-we are not surprised to find that he has no degree-has no more power, although vicar, to walk out of the church with a memorial brass, or part of one, than has any sacrilegiously-inclined burglar, provided always that he has not obtained a faculty. The case should be represented to the archdeacon, and, in case of inaction, to the archbishop. We sincerely hope, for the sake of others, that the Cambridge Association will not allow this matter to drop.

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We notice in the West Surrey Times of October 4 an inquiry respecting two small brasses that are missing from St. Mary's Church, Guildford. We have had occasion before in our columns to notice this interesting old church, and to comment upon a certain want of care bestowed upon its fabric by the wardens. We trust, however, that the two valuable memorials, to which allusion is made, may be speedily returned to the church. Within the last three years they were certainly in the vestry, and we cannot understand the carelessness that permits of the alienation or loss of treasures of so national a character as early sepulchral

An inscription has been found nailed face to the wall on the premises of Messrs. Geldart and Co., wine merchants, Norwich, over the mantelshelf of whose offices it now hangs. It measures 13 inches by 3 inches, is in black letter, and reads thus:

"Orate p' aia Johis kuppyng qui obiit xxIr die Junii A dni M° de XIII° cui aie ppiciet des Amen."

If anyone can prove what church it came from, Messrs. Geldart and Co. are willing to return it to its former resting-place on condition of its being relaid.

In the midst of not a little evil work still being done to our old parish churches, it is pleasant to chronicle another praiseworthy restoration. The old church of St. John Baptist, Padworth, Berks, was re-opened on November 7, after careful and necessary reparation. In the rubble walls are many fragments of Roman brick and tile. The fabric of the small Norman church has undergone few material changes since its first erection, save in the way of mutilations and modern disfigurements, which are now removed. The church consists of nave, chancel, with apse, and wooden tower on the west gable. During the restoration a piscina and aumbry have been discovered and opened out in the apse. The original stone altarslab was found amid the paving-stones of the nave, where it had been placed for deliberate desecration at the time of the Reformation. It has now been restored to its proper position and use, being supported on solid oak standards. Many traces of wall-paintings were found.

Some old tiles have been relaid in the floor of the sanctuary, and a medieval stone coffin-lid has found a safe place in the porch. The architects were Messrs. Middleton, Prothero, and Phillott.

Our readers will recollect the protest made by Mrs. Chaworth Musters, in the columns of our issue for October, against the monstrous proposal of the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln Railway Company to run a line through Leicester Castle. We are glad to

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