occupied in its whole height and width by the hall, which is in the interior 51 ft. by 31. It is lighted on the west side by four large windows over the moat, and on the east by three large ones, and a shorter one which is placed over the entrance doorway, but is now blocked on the outside". They are transomed, of two lights, with a plain circle in the head. The lights are trefoiled with early soffit cusping. They have had glass in the lights above the transoms, but only shutters below. They are all furnished with seats. Externally there is a gable to each window. The hall is covered with a very strong double collar-beam roof having curved collar-braces and resting on large upright stone corbels with good Early English mouldings.

The principal entrance to the Hall is at the north end by a large arched doorway from the court-yard.

At the south end of the hall is a square trefoil-headed doorway which leads to the lower apartments of that wing, and through them to the passage communicating with the tower; there is also from this door an external staircase, which led to the principal apartment or solar, and from this place it is evident from the marks of roofs on the wall that a communication once existed with the door of the second story of the tower, as may be seen in the general view. This apartment, which has two small openings looking into the hall, is now wainscoted, and has an elaborately carved chimney-piece of sixteenth or seventeenth century date. It is lighted by a large window, similar to, and corresponding with those of the hall, and there is a similar one on the west side. Between the window on the east side, and the hall windows, are two small windows or openings, one a trefoiled lancet and the other ogee-headed, the uses of which have not been ascertained. The door leading into this apartment and also those of the hall, are

It is opened in the view given.

square-headed trefoils. This room communicated with other apartments and a closet; underneath are other rooms, one of which is a cellar.

At the other end of the hall is a staircase of solid timber which leads to the apartments of the north wing, and terminates in a large landing, or platform, from which a door opens into the apartment containing the fire-place here engraved the external part of this room is of timber, but it rests on the solid masonry of the projecting tower below. The principal part of the ground floor of this wing is occupied by a large room now used as a cellar, and which was probably intended for that purpose; and a tower projecting from it into the moat, having very thick walls, and measuring 14 feet on the outside, and not quite 7 within. It, as well as the cellar, is lighted with narrow windows or loops, which were evidently intended for defence. The room over these is also lighted in the same manner, but the one in the story above is of timber with large windows. It projects over the stone-work, and is supported by brackets resting on stone corbels. In this room is the fire-place already mentioned, and which has an original octagonal chimney over it.

Altogether this is one of the most perfect and interesting thirteenth century buildings which we possess, and deserves a much more careful examination of the uses of its parts than it has yet received.

On comparing it with the neighbouring mansion of Acton Burnell, it offers some curious considerations. The licence to crenellate Acton Burnell was obtained in 1284, and that for Stoke-Say in 1291; but the style of Acton Burnell is much later than that of Stoke-Say. Both have transomed windows, but at Acton Burnell the heads are filled with true bar-tracery, with foliated spherical triangles, while at Stoke-Say the head is of solid plate tracery with