erected in lieu of the Church of Osterbolt, which anciently stood near the East gate.

ST. HELEN'S CHURCH, on the east side of the town, is of very ancient foundation, but it has lately undergone considerable repairs and alterations, the chancel being rebuilt in 1835, and neat brick transepts added in 1837. It was anciently impropriated to the Leprous hospital of St. James, or Mary Magdalen, which stood near it; but it is now a rectory, which, ever since the Reformation, has been consolidated with that of St. Clement's, and is valued in K.B. at £8. 13s. 9d. Its parish increased its inhabitants from 327 in 1801, to 1352 in 1841; but it contains only about 300 acres of land, besides the building sites, gardens, &c. N. Byles and J. Cobbold, Esqs., are the principal landowners, but Groves House, on a bold acclivity, embowered in wood, belongs to the Rev. J. T. Nottidge. In a field near Caldwell Hall, stood the church of St. John the Baptist, which was in the appropriation of Trinity Priory, but all traces of it disappeared many years ago. At the south-west corner of Rosemary lane, stood a chapel dedicated to St. Edmund-a-Pountney, which was appropriated to St. Peter's Priory, but no vestiges of it are now extant. A portion of corn tithes from certain lands in Hoxne, formerly belonged to this chapel, but are now attached to the rectory. The Borough Gaol and Belle Vue Asylum are in St. Helen's parish. ST. LAWRENCE'S CHURCH is a plain but ancient fabric, which is mentioned in Domesday Book, but is said to have been rebuilt in 1431 by John Bottold, who was buried in it, as also was Edmund Daundy, one of the benefactors of the town, who died in 1515. Upon the wall, behind the western gallery, is a painting of Christ disputing with the doctors, executed by Sir R. K. Porter, a military officer, during his sojourn at the barracks here. The benefice was appropriated to Trinity Priory, and is now a perpetual curacy, valued at £175. The parishioners are patrons; the Rev. J. C. Aldrich, incumbent; and Mr. Wm. Scarlett, clerk and sexton. The parish is small, and has only 570 inhabitants.

ST. MARGARET'S CHURCH, on the green to which it gives name, is a large and ancient structure of mixed architecture, consisting of a chancel, nave, aisles, and transepts, with a fine tower and south porch. It has a curious antique font, and a singularly painted ceiling, with several grotesque carvings standing out from the walls. The Parliamentary Commissioners, who came to Ipswich in 1643, removed from this church the twelve apostles in stone, and desired that 20 or 30 pictures, which decorated the walls, should be taken away and destroyed. The benefice is a perpetual curacy, valued at £115, in the gift of W. C. Fonnereau, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. George Murray. Mr. B. Bugg is the clerk and sexton. The parish increased its population from 1923 in 1801, to 4513 in 1841, including 66 in Cold Dung hills, and 24 in Felaw's Houses, which are extra-parochial. East Suffolk Hospital, Christ Church Park, the Folly, and Bolton hamlet, are in St. Margaret's parish, which contains, besides the building sites, about 1260 acres of land, extending northward from the town, and mostly copyhold of the manor of Christ Church, of which W. C. Fonnereau, Esq., is lord and principal owner. Part of the soil belongs to the Rev. M. G. Edgar, J. E. Todd, Esq., and others, and the fines paid by the copyholders are arbitrary. In this parish stood TRINITY PRIORY, which was founded before 1177 by Norman Gastrode, for black canons of the Order of St. Augustine, to whom Henry II. granted a fair on Sept. 14th, and the two following days. Not long after the foundation of this monastery, its church and offices were consumed by fire, but they were rebuilt by John of Oxford, bishop of Norwich. Trinity, or Christ Church, noticed in Domesday book as having 26 acres of land, is supposed to have been the parish church, and being appropriated to the priory, St. Margaret's, was afterwards erected for the use of the parishioners. King John granted to the priory all the

land and rents formerly belonging to the churches of St. Michael and St. Saviour, which had then gone to decay, and are supposed to have stood, the former near that of St. Nicholas, and the latter behind St. Mary-at-Elms. At the dissolution, in the 26th of Henry VIII., Trinity Priory was valued at £88. 6s. 9d. per annum, and the site was granted ten years afterwards to Sir Thomas Pope, from whom it passed to the families of Withipol, Cornwallis, and Hereford, of the latter of whom it was purchased by Claude Fonnereau, Esq. Upon the site of the priory, Sir Edmund Withipol, in 1550, erected in the highly picturesque Tudor style, the extensive mansion called CHRIST CHURCH, which stands in a well-wooded deer park, extending northward from St. Margaret's church, and is now the seat and property of W. C. Fonnereau, Esq., who liberally allows the inhabitants to promenade in the park, in which the last remains of the foundations of the old priory church were blown up with gunpowder in 1674. The mansion is of brick, with stone dressings and ornaments, and contains some fine family portraits.

ST. MARY-AT-ELMS is an ancient church, with a brick tower, supposed to stand near or upon the site of St. Saviour's, as already noticed. In front of it is a row of fine elms, and near it are Smyth's almshouses, and several old dwellings, bearing marks of former grandeur. This church was appropriated to Trinity Priory, and is now a perpetual curacy, valued at £80, in the gift of the parishioners, and incumbency of the Rev. W. Aldrich, B.D. Mr. J. Whistle is clerk and sexton. The parish is small, and has only 851 souls.

ST. MARY-AT-THE-QUAY is a plain structure, with a tower curiously built of flint, and containing six bells. It must have been rebuilt after 1448, when Richard Gowty ordered his body to be buried in the church. yard, and gave Calyon stone "for the whole new church, which was to be erected." The church spoliator, Dowsing, paid a visit to this edifice, in 1643, and tore down nine superstitious pictures, and destroyed many inscriptions. The roof is supported by light clustered columns; and in a small transept is the tomb of Henry Tooley, the founder of the almshouses bearing his name. The living is a perpetual curacy, valued at £103, in the gift of the parishioners, and incumbency of the Rev. Wm. Harbur. Mr. J. Harvey is clerk and sexton. The parish contains 1082 inhabitants, including 94 residing in the Shirehall yard, which is extra-parochial, being the site of an extensive monastery of Black Friars, of which there are still some remains of the cloisters. This house of Black Dominican Friars, commonly called Preachers, was founded in the reign of Henry III., by Henry Mansby, Henry Redhead, and Henry Loudham, and afterwards enlarged by John Harys. It was richly endowed, and was granted in the 33rd of Henry VIII. to Wm. Sabyn, but was afterwards purchased by the Corporation, who converted the greater part of the building into the Grammar School, Christ's Hospital, the Bridewell, and the old Shirehall, which have recently been taken down, and their sites offered on building leases.

ST. MARY-AT-STOKE, commonly called Stoke Church, is picturesquely seated on the south bank of the river Gipping, opposite the rest of the town, and consists of a nave, chancel, north aisle, a fine tower, and a brick porch. It is of ancient foundation, but has undergone so many repairs and renovations, that little of the original fabric remains. It was given by King Edgar, in 970, to the prior and convent of Ely; and their successors, the Dean and Chapter of Ely, are now patrons of the rectory, which is valued in K.B. at £12, and is now worth about £500 per annum, the tithes having recently been commuted for a yearly modus of £475. The Rev. Stephen Croft, M.A., is the present incumbent, and Mr. James Morfey is clerk and sexton. The Parish of Stoke increased its inhabitants from 385 in 1801, to 992 souls in 1841, and contains several neat mansions, and about 1500 acres

of land, rising boldly from the Gipping and the Orwell, and extending about 1 mile southward along the western bank of the latter river. P. P. Long, Esq., does not own much land here, but is lessee lord of the Manor of Stoke, which he holds under the Dean and Chapter of Ely. The soil is mostly freehold, and the principal owners are the Hon. Lyndsey Burrell, of Stoke Park, a neat mansion with pleasant grounds, 1 mile S. of Ipswich; F. W. Campbell, Esq., of Birkfield Lodge, one mile S. of Ipswich; J. B. Smyth, Esq., of Orwell Lodge; Mr. W. Waspe, of Gusford Hall; and the family of Alexander, the owners of Goldroyd, anciently called Goldenrood, from a celebrated cross which stood near it in monastic times. Gusford Hall, anciently called Godlesford, gives name to a small manor, which belonged to Leigh priory, in Devonshire, and was granted by Henry VIII. to Sir John Raineforth; but it appears to have been for a long period a seat of the Andrews family, one of whom became Baron Windsor, in 1529. The manor of Stoke is described in Domesday Book as of the yearly value of £10, and as having had in the Confessor's time five carucates, nine villains, 15 bordars, a church with 40A. of free land, a mill, 20A. of meadow, and a mediety of a loche beyond the bridge, then of the value of 100 shillings. ST. MARY AT THE TOWER is the largest, and is considered the principal church in the town, though only a perpetual curacy, valued at £103, in the gift of the parishioners, and incumbency of the Rev. Wm. Nassau Leger, B.A. Mr. T. Wilkinson is the clerk, and James Day, sexton. The corporation attend this church on Sunday mornings. It was given by Norman, the son of Eadnoth, to Trinity Priory, and is a spacious and commodious fabric, consisting of a nave, chancel, porch, side aisles, and a fine tower, containing a peal of ten bells, and formerly surmounted by a spire, towards rebuilding which, Wm. Edgar, about 1730, left £200, which was all expended in a chancery suit. The interior is handsomely fitted up, and has an excellent organ and several handsome monuments,one in memory of Wm. Smart, and another bearing kneeling effigies of John and Elizabeth Robinson. Upon the pavement of the middle aisle, is a fine old brass. It was in this church that the Guild of Corpus Christi (instituted about 1325) used to deposit the tabernacle in which the host was carried, and in which their money ard valuables were kept. The parish occupies the central part of the town, and was, no doubt, anciently defended on the north by a strongly fortified tower, which stood near the spot still called the Tower Ditches. It increased its population from 688 in 1801, to 986 in 1841, including 18 residing in several extra-parochial houses in Globe lane. Kirby says Ipswich Castle was entirely demolished by Henry the Second, in 1176, after the defection of Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk. ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH, at the west entrance to the town, stands in large burial ground, and is a plain, unassuming structure, consisting of a nave, chancel, side aisles, tower, and south porch. It was re-pewed a few

Corpus Christi Guilds were founded in most of the boroughs in England, in the 14th and 15th centuries, and it was their custom to walk in procession, and perform plays and dirges on the festival of Corpus Christi. In these pageantries they were joined by other guilds and free companies, and their theatrical representations were often very indelicate, especially their plays of" Adam and Eve," and "Noah's Ark." The ancient play of "King Johan," written by Bale, Bishop of Ossory, for the use of these guilds, is supposed to have been first performed at Ipswich, as the author was a native of Suffolk, and represents King John as having favoured Ipswich, Dunwich, and Bury. Guilds were confederations for mutual benefit in trade, and for the purpose of aiding charity and religion. To the Guild of Corpus Christi at Ipswich, every burgess was required to pay 16d. yearly, or forfeit his freedom; and 3d. a fortnight to the master of the Grammar School, who was chaplain to the guild, and celebrated 30 days' mass for every deceased brother or sister.

years ago, and has three galleries and a small organ. It has only about 700 sittings. In the churchyard, beneath an altar tomb, lie the remains of the Rt. Hon. John Howe, Lord Chedworth, who died in 1804, and left most of his large property to persons not at all related to him. Having a strong predilection for the drama, the performers on the Ipswich stage shared largely in his bequests. The churchyard is open, but is about to be enclosed. The rectory was appropriated to St. Peter's Priory; but was granted by Edward VI. to persons named Webb and Bretton. The great tithes now belong to the Fonnereau family, though the benefice is still called a rectory, and is valued in K.B. at £5. The Crown is patron, the Rev. G. P. G. Cosserath, incumbent; and Mr. Wm. Hadcraft, clerk and sexton. The parish increased its population from 1206 in 1801, to 3458 souls in 1841, including 308 in the Queen's Barracks. It contains about 500A. of farming and garden land, and several modern suburbs on and near the London and Norwich road; and extends about 1 mile westward to Boss Hall, the property of Thos. Kersey, Esq.; and one mile N. to Brokes Hall, the property of Mr. John Orford. It anciently contained four other churches or chapels, viz., All Saints, the site of which is unknown; St. George's, of which some remains may be seen in a barn in George lane; St. Mildred's, which was converted into the Town-hall, as already noticed; and St. Mary's Chapel, which stood at the north-west corner of Lady lane, and was famous for an image of the Blessed Virgin, called by the numer ous pilgrims who visited it, "Our Lady of Ipswich;" but after the Reformation, it was taken to London, and there publicly burnt. The site of this chapel is covered with modern buildings. St. Matthew's, or the West Gate, was rebuilt in the time of Henry VI., and was for a long period used as the Borough Goal, but was demolished many years ago.

ST. NICHOLAS'S CHURCH, in the lower part of the town, near the river, is supposed to have been built upon the site, and partly with the materials of St. Michael's, which is mentioned in Domesday Book. It is built partly of flint, and has a cemented tower, containing four bells. A rudely carved stone at the west end of the south aisle, represents St. Michael encountering a dragon. During the progress of some repairs, in 1827, five large urns were found embedded in one of the walls, but they contained no ashes or bones. Behind one of the tombs, is a curious specimen of ancient painting, supposed to represent the Archangel St. Michael, towards the execu tion of which Wolsey's father left 40s. From the floor of this church, the parliamentary visitors in 1643, took up three sepulchral brasses; and they also destroyed six pictures on the walls. It was appropriated to St. Peter's Priory, and is now a perpetual curacy, valued at £150, in the gift of the parishioners, and incumbency of the Rev. M. G. Edgar, M.A. Mr. Jas. West is clerk and sexton. Westward of the church, on the banks of the Gipping, stood a convent of Franciscan or Grey Friars, founded in the reign of Edward I., by Lord Tibtoth, of Nettlestead, and a small portion of it may still be seen in the garden ground occupying the site. The White or Carmelite Friary, founded in 1279, by Sir Thomas Loudham and other benefactors, stood partly in this parish, and partly in that of St. Lawrence, and extended from St. Nicholas' street to St. Stephen's lane. Of this extensive monastery, which produced many persons eminent for learning, no remains are now extant, though, as late as the latter part of the seventeenth century, part of it served as the county gaol. The parish of St. Nicholas increased its population from 758 in 1801, to 1698 souls in 1841. ST. PETER'S is one of the largest and most ancient churches in the town, standing close to the site of Wolsey's College. It is a plain structure, consisting of a chancel, nave, aisles, south porch, and a tower containing six bells. The tower is a good specimen of the flint work so frequently observed in Suffolk and Norfolk. A few years ago, the church was much

improved, and the burial ground enclosed. It contains an ancient font, covered with carvings of animals, and is a perpetual curacy, valued at £138, in the gift of the trustees of the Rev. C. Simeon. The Rev. H. T. Lumsden is the incumbent ; S. Stokes, clerk; and Wm. Hall, sexton. This church had large possessions in Edward the Confessor's time, but was afterwards appropriated to St. Peter's Priory, which stood contiguous to the churchyard, and was founded in the reign of Henry II. by the Lacy family, and dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. This convent of black canons of the order of St. Augustine, was richly endowed, and on its suppression in 1527, it was given to Cardinal Wolsey, who founded upon its site the splendid but shortlived College already noticed at page 56. In 1643, the parliamentary visitors broke to pieces the crown of thorns, the sponge and nails, and the Trinity, which were represented in stone in the porch of St. Peter's church. The Parish of St. Peter increased its population from 986 in 1801, to 2420 souls in 1841, including 191 in the Union Workhouse. It is mostly on the north side of the Gipping, but includes on the south side of that river, West Bridge street, Dock street, Great Whip street, part of Bell lane, and about 60A. of marhes, which anciently formed a separate parish, with a church dedicated to St. Austin, which was in use till the close of the 15th century, and stood near St. Leonard's Hospital, now a farm house belonging to Christ's Hospital. Near Silent street, is a malt kiln said to be the remains of a mansion which was granted by Edward VI. to the Bishop of Norwich, after the decease of Thomas Manning, prior of Butley, who was created suffragan bishop of Ipswich in 1525, and had the said house for his residence.

ST. STEPHEN'S is one of the churches mentioned in Domesday Book, and is mostly built of flint, except the tower, which is of brick, cemented. It contains a monument, with kneeling effigies of Wm. Leeman and his wife. The rectory, valued in K.B. at £4. 12s. 8d., and now at £82, is in the gift of W. C. Fonnereau, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Edward Harston. Mr. E. Harvey is clerk. The parish is small, and has only 509 inhabitants. The Coach and Horses Inu, in Brook street, occupies the site of a house which was occupied by Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk; and near it was the Tankard public-house, in Tacket street, which was taken down and rebuilt in 1843, and was supposed to have formed part of the extensive mansion of Sir Anthony Wingfield, one of the executors of Henry VIII. One of the rooms had its oak wainscot richly carved in festoons of flowers; and over the fireplace, was a bass-relievo, representing the judgment of Paris and its consequences, in five compartments.

CHAPELS.-The twelve parish churches, and the chapel of ease just described, have seat-room for about 9000 persons; and there is accommodation for nearly as many more in the fourteen other places of worship in the town, of which twelve belong to Dissenters and Methodists, one to the Roman Catholics, and one to the Jews. Tacket Street Independent Chapel was erected in 1720, by the Presbyterian congregation, who had previously, for more than forty years, occupied a small chapel in the Green yard, St. Peter's, and were the successors of the Nonconformists, who were so called from their refusing to subscribe to every thing contained in the Book of Common Prayer, as required by the Act of Uniformity, passed soon after the restoration of Charles II. This chapel will seat about 850 nearers, and has a good organ and a burial ground. Near it is a house for the minister, the Rev. William Notcutt, whose grandfather officiated here till his death, in 1756, in his 84th year. The Independent Chapel, in St. Nicholas street, is a neat Gothic structure, which was opened in 1829. It nas about 1000 sittings, including the gallery erected in 1842, and is under the ministry of the Rev. J. Whitby. The Unitarian Chapel, in St. Nicholas street, is one of the oldest chapels in the town, and has a beautifully carved

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