a room used by Cardinal Wolsey as a study when tutor to Sir John Nanfan, etc.

In reference to the Bloody Meadow duel, above referred to, Mr. Padfield read us a copy of the will of Mrs. Susannah Cox Nanfan, widow. He said as churchwarden he annually paid the residue of the interest of £40; 10s. to the clergyman and 30s. to 30 parishioners to hear the discourse, which was on the crime of duelling, to signify this good lady's "great deliverance from the violent and wicked design of an unnatural enemy.' It is also on record that the duel ended in the death of the lover and the mortal injury of his antagonist. Horrified at the extent of the catastrophe of which she had been the innocent cause, the lady hid herself away in the old manor house and lived unmarried till her death. The question is, did she remain single, or was she a widow? It is interesting to note that some years ago the Duke and Duchess of Teck, Princess Mary (now Princess of Wales), Princess George and Alexander of Teck, accompanied by Sir Sydney Greville, paid a visit to the house, and were highly pleased with all they saw, the Duchess declaring that it was one of the most interesting old mansions she had ever seen. A signed photograph now on the walls of the drawing-room commemorate the visit. Among the antiquities of the church close by was a circular alms chest, made out of the trunk of a tree.

On leaving Morton Court, we drove on to Tewkesbury Abbey, a distance of seven miles. The verger, who is thoroughly familiar with the ancient building, was most obliging and interesting. The Rev. Hemming Robeson, Vicar of Tewkesbury, prepared an able paper on Tewkesbury Abbey some years ago, which, after dealing with the early history and erection of a Monastery by Oddo and Doddo, sons of a Saxon nobleman, of the kingdom of Mercia, on a spot where it was said one Theocus, a hermit, had his dwelling, goes on to give an historical account of the notable personages and families who were successively Lords of Tewkesbury and patrons of the Abbey, and pointed out which portions of the structure belonged to the various periods of its history. The Fitz-Hamon Chapel carries us back to the time following the Norman Conquest in 1066, when enormous estates were made over to warlike nobles, and when habitual lawlessness and frequent crime had little to compensate them except the munificence by which buildings like the Abbey were raised and endowed. The tiles of the floor bear the arms of Fitz-Hamon, impaling those of the Abbey, and on his tomb being opened in 1795, bones were found which might reverently be supposed to be those of the founder himself. The new window in the 13th century Chapel (choir vestry) represents Fitz-Hamon and

his wife Sybil, in the character of church founders, holding between them a model of a cruciform church, but it was left to the first Earl of Gloucester to complete the work of his father-in-law. The building progressed step by step. A roof of oak, the central tower with its interlaced arcading, a lofty wooden spire above, gradually all were completed, and then, after 20 years' work, with great pomp, the noble church, in its most remarkable features, was dedicated to God, November 20th, 1123. It is interesting to note that when, 750 years afterwards, an eminent architect surveyed the work of this Norman period, there were ample proofs of the sound condition of the main fabric, and that those early builders built well and dreamed not of a "perishable home." In 1178, a destructive fire destroyed the monastic buildings, and left its mark. Amongst the several patrons and historical personages who have taken an active part in the building and support of the Abbey, are the De Clares, De Spencers, and Beauchamps. The history of the chapels, tombs, and graves of illustrious personages is also especially interesting. The architecture and history of the Abbey have been lovingly pictured, and the sacrilegious desecration by the pursuing victorious Yorkists has been feelingly pourtrayed in "Good Words" by the Dean of Gloucester, and there are numerous local handbooks, of which the one which gives the most minute details is "Tewkesbury Abbey and its Associations," by the Rev. J. A. Blunt. Mr. Thomas Blashill read a paper on the Abbey, on August 14th, 1877, to the members of the Royal Archæological Institute. One of the latest and most reliable works on the Abbey has been written by Mr. H. J. L. J. Masse, M.A., but unfortunately space forbids any reference to the exhaustive information which it contains. Upwards of one hour was spent at the Abbey, and then we drove back to Malvern by another route, through Upton on Severn, a distance of 15 miles.

BIRTSMORTON COURT.

BY REV. R. HYETT-WARNER

(President of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club).

A quarter of a century ago our Club visited this ancient manorhouse, once a forest fortress in Malvern Chase. On that occasion, in the chamber in which we are now assembled, the company had the privilege of listening to a paper from the late Rev. W. S. Symonds, Rector of Pendock, who, in his well-known novel "Malvern Chase," has thrown over the plain historic facts connected with Birtsmorton the witchery of poetry and romance. The Worcester Naturalists' Club have made several expeditions to Birtsmorton, and recorded valuable matter respecting its local traditions in their Transactions. An experienced antiquary, Mr. Fletcher Moss, of Didsbury, has also recently given some attention to this sequestered survival of an ancient world, and has embodied his impressions with illustrations in an interesting work published at the beginning of the present year, entitled "Pilgrimages to Old Homes," mentioned in the programme for to-day.

The subject having been ably and luminously treated by these writers, any remarks of my own upon the present occasion might appear superfluous. I venture, however, to plead by way of apology for these few notes the honour you have conferred upon me in electing me your president for the present year. This honour carries with it, by immemorial custom, the privilege of choosing one of the places for the year's meetings; and we are accordingly met together to renew our acquaintance with a very interesting and historic site prior to another visit to the ancient Abbey of Tewkesbury. Being thus responsible for the day's gathering, though not for the unfortunate weather, I was anxious to keep up the presidential character and to justify my selection of Birtsmorton. I claim no special knowledge of the subject, and can offer nothing original, but venture to hope that these few observations may not be altogether devoid of interest.

Without more preamble, let me observe that the name Morton, spelt in Domesday Moretune, and in old writings sometimes written Moreton, indicates a Saxon "ton" or home situated on the edge of a moor or meer or marsh, and with various prefixes or affixes frequently occurs in the list of English place-names. With regard to the prefix " Birt," the author of "Malvern Chase" and other writers adopt the tradition that it is derived from the Saxon family

of Birt, who, originally settled at Deerhurst, near Tewkesbury, were driven thence by the Danes, perhaps in the same year in which they sailed up the Wye, and found a refuge amid the moors and marshes constituting the well-known Chase, which even now is one of the finest stretches of country in England. Here they established their new home of Birtsmorton, and here in later times for greater security, in that lonely region, they built for themselves a Norman keep, "small but strong," says Mr. Symonds, and "surrounded by massive stone walls and a deep trench or moat. A little stream fed this moat, and ran through a large upper fish pool, which answered two purposes, it fed the moat with water and the occupiers of the keep with fish on fast days."

The author of " Pilgrimages to Old Homes," already referred to, is of opinion that this Norman Keep was built on an island, "for even now," he says, "the water in the narrowed moat laps the walls of the other parts." As we stand on the ancient causeway crossing the moat and giving us access to the house, we can in a measure verify this opinion for ourselves, and recognise the wisdom of the Birts in thus choosing a site which gave them a natural and permanent defence for their home.

It needs no professional skill to distinguish between the massive basement of the old keep washed by the moat and the lighter structure of the manor court built thereupon in a later generation, when the castellated buildings of Norman times were slowly but surely changing into dwellings more in keeping with civilisation, and more in harmony with an age of comparative order and peace. It goes without saying that Birtsmorton has gone through many changes. The room in which we are assembled was originally of far loftier dimensions, and was wainscoted from floor to ceiling; several of the upper apartments have in later times been secured by the introduction of flooring across the middle of this and adjacent rooms. The wainscoting is adorned with the shields of magistrates who sat periodically in the court-leet for dealing with disputes and other matters arising within the jurisdiction of Malvern Chase. As you look around upon the walls you may discern the shields, with names carved beneath, of the Blounts of Eye, the Throcknortons, the Baskervilles of Eardisley, the arms of Sir John Scudamore representing the ancient family of De Lacy, the arms of Rudhall, Minors, and Bromwych and other historic and local magnates, some of whom have living descendants still known in the West.

As we picture to ourselves these worthies of the olden time seated beneath their respective shields, like prebendaries in their cathedral stalls, we may imagine the stern justice which would be

meted out against the wretched poacher caught red-handed with his snares, or against the borderer or churl who dared to transgress the forest laws.

On the wall opposite to the entrance is the panel containing the three shields of Cornewall, Nanfan, and Harley, all connected by marriage with the Brutes of Birtsmorton. The central shield is that of the Nanfans, conspicuous in the history of Birtsmorton, and though now lost in the obscurity of the past, once a family of distinction and wealth. Sir Richard Nanfan was Sheriff of Worcester, and Steward of the Manor of Tewkesbury in the reign of Edward IV. He followed a soldier's life and became Governor of Calais, the last possession of the English in France, the loss of which nearly broke the hard heart of Mary Tudor. It was while Sir Richard was at Calais that Thomas Wolsey, the future Cardinal, became his chaplain, and by his industry and ability made himself indispensable in the administration of the English community. When Sir Richard retired from active service he settled down at his manor of Birtsmorton, probably a welcome change from the anxious and laborious life of a military governor in a hostile country. His chaplain accompanied him thither, and in the little room at the head of the staircase you may sit down in the very chamber, now adorned with old books and weapons, once occupied by one whose career has employed at once the pens of the historian and dramatist. Through the intervention of the ex-Governor, Wolsey was introduced to Henry VII., when the future Cardinal entered upon that career of ambition which in his old age lost all its glamour in view of eternity, and which extorted from the statesman dying beneath the roof of Leicester Abbey, the sad confession, Had I but served my God as faithfully as I have served my king, He would not have forsaken me in my grey hairs."

Sir Giles Nanfan, grandson of Sir Richard, and his son of the same name, appear among the characters of another work from the pen of Mr. Symonds, representing the better type of the loyalist gentry who followed the standard of Charles I. True to nature, if not to history, is the picture drawn by the novelist, of young Giles Nanfan, at the return of peace, hanging up his sword, above the Nanfan coat-of-arms, in the great hall of Birtsmorton Court. Equally true to womanly nature and the spelling of the time, is the abstract from Aunt Tabitha's diary, in which she speaks of the last Nanfan baby, "Richard Plantagenet Forester Nanfan," whom she declares "is a boy in a duzzen. God bless hitt."

Actual history discerns a John Nanfan, in command of a company of Sir J. Jacob's Regiment of Foot, and follows him to New York, where, through the intervention of Richard