of Newland Church, by the Rev. W. Bagnall-Oakeley. The visit to St. Briavel's Castle and Church was also an attractive part of the day's programme.

Our excursion to Clifford and Hay Castles a month later enabled us fully to explore them, and by the help of appropriate explanations and descriptions to understand something of the history of these two important fortresses. Nothing could exceed the kindness of Canon Bevan and his wife and daughters in making us at home in their castellated residence.

The Geologists were glad at our next meeting to be conducted once more by Mr. G. H. Piper to the Ledbury Passage Beds, and it was clearly our own fault if we did not follow his lucid remarks, as he pointed out the position and characteristics of each in succession. On re-visiting the sites of the old camps, on the Herefordshire Beacon and Midsummer Hill, and searching again for the remains of the primeval dwellings of the prehistoric races who are supposed to have had a settlement in some of the secluded spots in the vicinity, we sadly missed the company and guidance of the late Rev. W. Symonds, of Pendock, whose enthusiasm used to impress itself upon us all, and who seemed almost able to bring up again, not only the actors of the long past, but the very scenes themselves in which they figured. I have certainly never known his equal as a guide, philosopher, and friend" to any party he might accompany. On the last occasion I had the pleasure of meeting him, he expressed a wish that the geology of our county might be still better worked up, as he felt quite sure that even the Old Red Sandstone would yield more than it had yet done in Herefordshire. As I am no geologist, I may be wrong in assuming that very little of a fossiliferous character has yet been discovered; though I well remember finding in a quarry near Leominster ripple marks, and what appeared to be the track of some living creature on the sand. The fact is, almost every branch of Natural History wants more enthusiastic workers and students, and it is certain that when once a study is entered upon with real zest, the idea that science is dry is at once dispelled. The pleasure which such pursuits give, and which they continue to give even after half a century's trial, is undoubtedly great, at any rate my own humble experience testifies to it. What are called the pleasures of life often pall, and by their monotony or repetition weary and bore us. Sir G. Cornewall Lewis said "life would be tolerable but for its pleasures." Not so, I contend, with the study of nature, for the further you go in it, the more you find of intense interest to attract you. I would, therefore, urge upon our youth especially, if only for the selfish plea of personal advantage, that they should make a diligent study of some department of Natural History or Science, feeling perfectly certain that they would never regret doing so. May I be allowed before I conclude to make a special appeal on behalf of Meteorology? I do not mean the mere mechanical work of measuring rainfall daily, though I am glad we have so many observers in Herefordshire, but I allude to a careful and thoughtful observation of all atmospheric phenomena. Meteorology has one advantage---that it is never out of season; nor does locality much matter. A few good instruments are of course required, but, as one of the best observers at the Meteorological Office said to me the other day, we want, above all, men who will think and work out the many

problems which our regular, systematic, and comparable observations now present to us for solution. Rapid progress has been, is being, made, and though some people seem almost inclined to deny that Meteorology is one of the exact sciences, or perhaps even a science at all—because, I presume, we cannot as yet predict the approach of a storm with the same precision that astronomers can the occurrence of a transit, an eclipse, or an occultation-still, I maintain that many of the laws which govern our atmosphere are already definitely and positively ascertained. We know, for instance, that the existence of cyclonic conditions within a certain area will produce certain well-known effects, and that as the storm advances, which it more frequently does in an easterly direction, the weather will have certain distinct characteristics in advance and also in the rear of the depression; that the wind will circulate round this in a known direction, and that its force will be in proportion to the steepness or otherwise of what are termed the barometric gradients. It is true that the course which any storm may take, or the rate of speed at which it will travel, is not exactly known, although a good guess can generally be made on both these points. The area affected is so widespread and the contributory causes so various and complicated, that we have to solve a very intricate problem indeed. Nevertheless every year improves the accuracy of our forecasts of coming weather, so that the last accounts show that a very fair degree of accuracy has been obtained already. It must be borne in mind that some hurricanes move with extreme rapidity, and suddenly impinging upon our western shores traverse our islands with remarkable quickness; it is not much wonder then that without the necessary knowledge of weather conditions over the Atlantic, a thousand miles at least to the westward of us, we should occasionally be surprised before there is time to give the needful warnings. Much attention is now being given by the Royal Meteorological Society to thunderstorms, particularly as regards the effects of lightning upon buildings and animals struck by it. Some interesting photographs were exhibited at one of our last meetings in London of lightning flashes. It is curious that the typical forked appearance usually given by artists has never been represented in any of the instantaneous photographs taken. The classification and nomenclature of clouds are also now receiving special notice. Our late neighbour, the Rev. Clement Ley, has been working for many years at the subject, and is now one of our leading authorities, and I believe is about to bring out a new treatise relating to it. It is perhaps not generally known to what extent clouds vary in height, the range being as much as ten miles or more. The differing appearances which the different forms of clouds present are remarkable, and it is very important that a knowledge of these should be more commonly possessed, especially by observers.

I should like to make another appeal for better accommodation in our Museum-room. A hundred pounds, or perhaps somewhat less, would furnish all drawers, cases, or tables required for collections which cannot now be properly displayed. I am aware that this sum cannot be spared from our regular funds, especially as we have enough material ready for another volume of Transactions, and I think that the publication should not be delayed longer than necessary.

The volume which has come into our hands to-day will, I think, be found to reflect great credit on the editor, and to contain a large variety of very interesting matter, and also to compare very favourably with previous ones. To revert for a moment to our Museum, we have such excellent premises, thanks to Mr. Rankin, that it is a pity, that for want of a comparatively small sum of money, we should allow our present unsatisfactory and imperfect arrangements to suffice, especially considering the other Museums in our neighbourhood, such as those of Ludlow, Worcester, Shrewsbury, &c. I can only say further that I shall be glad to contribute towards a special fund with the view of making our Museum worthy of our county. These must be my last words, except once more to thank you for your patience in listening to me so long.

HEREFORDSHIRE

PIGEON

HOUSES.

[The substance of a Lecture given with Photographic Lantern Illustrations, to the Club, April 10th, 1890, by ALFRED WATKINS.]

The Illustrations from Photographs by the Writer.

THE dwelling houses, churches, and religious houses, which remain to us from a past generation, are in little danger of being swept away without a full record being made of their character and use, through the labours of many willing workers.

But in the case of the more humble buildings of which I speak, the same cannot be said. In our own county there are still a large number of interesting examples left, but each decade lessens the number, and out of a list of thirty-four demolished pigeon houses which I have compiled, not one has, to my knowledge, been described or illustrated. Of the seventy-four existing examples which I have surveyed (and photographed for the most part) only one, that at Garway, had previously been described.

It was this consideration which induced me to make as complete a survey as possible of the dovecots of Herefordshire. It is perhaps well to define the class of building I wish to investigate, viz., the substantial tower-like building, the direct descendant of the Norman columbarium, built from the ground for the one chief purpose of housing pigeons for breeding purposes, although in later days they have been built in two stories, the lower part being put to other uses.

The mere loft over stables, or picturesque barrel dovecot on a pole, or cluster of nesting boxes against a wall, I do not include.

I have no new light to throw upon the question as to when the English people first kept pigeons in dovecots; but nothing I have seen tends to disturb the usual opinion that it was the Norman conqueror who first introduced into England the massive pigeon tower which has served as type for so many succeeding generations, and with it the feudal "right of dovecot" which survived until the time of Elizabeth, under which the lords of the manor and rectors alone possessed the right of maintaining a dovecot.

The earliest example in Herefordshire (and probably the finest in England) still stands in capital preservation at the Church Farm, Garway, in the secluded Monnow Valley. This building has been so fully and accurately described and illustrated by the Rev. John Webb in vol. xxxi. of the Archæologia, 1845, that there is no need for me to go into full details. It is, like all those of Norman origin, circular, stone built, the top domed over with stone leaving a two feet opening for the pigeons to enter. Mr. Webb assigns its building to the Knights Hospitallers, successors to the Knights Templars, the latter order having founded a preceptory on the site where the pigeon house now stands; and he deciphers an inscription which may still be seen in a half obliterated condition on a tympanum over the doorway to be as follows:-"In the year 1326 brother Richard built this columbarium." Some mason marks-crosses of the two knightly orders, and the

word Gilbertus-are inscribed on the stones lining the interior, each one of which is carefully dressed to the interior curve of the building. The walls are three feet ten inches thick and are lined from floor to arch with tiers of nesting holes, 666 in all. Perhaps it may be as well at this point to describe the pigeon holes or nest holes in this building as their construction is similar in dovecots of all periods. The openings of the holes are about six inches square, and they recede about fourteen inches into the substance of the wall. If the cavity were of the same size throughout its depth, the bird would not have room to sit upon her scanty nest, it therefore enlarges right or left into an L shaped cavity about ten inches in width. The holes are arranged twenty inches apart in rows, each row or tier being ten inches above the one below. An alighting ledge of stone projects underneath each alternate tier of holes, the intermediate tier of holes being without alighting ledges. I cannot guess at the reason for this, but I find these alternate ledges copied in pigeon houses of many styles for several centuries. Then the nest holes of one tier enlarge to the right hand, the tier above enlarges to the left; this plan of construction seems to be almost invariable in stone and brick buildings; in only one case I found the holes enlarge to both sides of the entrance.

At another Herefordshire preceptory of the Knights Hospitallers-Dinmore -the dovecot stood until about a century ago.

There is but one other instance existing in the county of the domed-over stone roof of castle-building times, and this at a place formerly called Syfervest (there was a family of that name), but now Cowarne Court; the present roof is of the usual conical type, but the broken masonry inside where the springing of the arch commenced is unmistakable.

I shall now briefly glance at the examples which are to be found in that interesting peninsula of Gower, an English-speaking district in the heart of Wales, bristling with castles, and ancient camps, and full of interest to the archeologist. There, at three of the castles, viz.-Oystermouth, Penrice, and Oxwich-are still to be found dovecots, slightly varied in type, but all circular, stone built, and without wood-framed roof. Those at Oxwich and Oystermouth are partly demolished, but show signs of the domed roof. At Penrice the dovecot, which stands close outside the outer wall of the Castle, is in perfect condition, and of rather unusual type. It is circular-as all early examples are-10 feet inside diameter, walls 4 feet thick, 20 feet high, gradually tapering to an aperture in the top of about 2 feet, and lined throughout with nest holes, each provided with a rough projecting stone as alighting ledge.

Mr. Freeman (Arch. Camb. 1850) pronounces this Castle to be "not older than Edwardian times."

It was my good fortune to identify a fourth, and perhaps more interesting dovecot on this coast. In the sea cliff, close to Port Eynon, a curious structure called Culver Hole often attracts attention. It consists of a cave or chasm, closed in by means of a massive stone wall, 60 feet high, and 10 feet thick at the base, the wall being pierced with five windows. Inside, a rude stone stairway in the upper part gives access to a large number of pigeon holes lining the wall. Curiously enough, the fact that this structure was built as a pigeon house pure and simple,