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Notes.

[The Council has decided to reserve a small space in each Number for notices of Finds and other discoveries; and it is hoped that Members will assist in making this a record of all matters of archeological interest which from time to time may be brought to light in this large county.]

I.

A NEW ROMAN INSCRIPTION FROM YORK.

A Roman memorial stone was discovered (August, 1911), during excavation, in the grounds of the Mount (Girls') School, York. The stone was found lying horizontally, face upwards, about 10 feet from the surface, one corner of it being just under the foundation of a wall built about 1855. As will be seen from the accompanying illustration, it is in almost perfect preservation. Its surface measures approximately 6 feet by 2 feet 6 inches, and its thickness is about 6 inches. The spot where the stone was found is near to the line of the Roman road between York and Tadcaster, and Roman remains have often been found in this vicinity. The inscription reads:

D. M.

L.BEBVS.

A/G CRES
CENS VN.
ML·LEG VI

VIC P.F.

AN XLIII.

STÞ. XXIII.

.(?) HAE FC.

To the divine departed, L. Bæbius Crescens. of Augusta Vindelicorum (the modern Augsburg) soldier of the 6th legion, victorious, pious, faithful; died aged 43, after 23 years' service. (?) His heir caused this to be erected.' (The reading and interpretation of the last line are doubtful.)

The stone will be kept in the Mount School, in the care of their Archæological Society.

P. W. DODD.

II.

RELIC OF THE BATTLE OF WAKEFIELD, 1460.

The sword which is here figured was dug up a few years ago during the operation of cutting a main drain near the site of the battle of Wakefield. The engagement, it will be remembered, was fought between the Yorkists and Lancastrians, when the former were defeated with great loss, including Edward, Duke of York, and the youthful Duke of Rutland. When found, the sword was incrusted with a thick coat of clay in which it was embedded, but which readily shelled off after an immersion in paraffin, leaving the sword in almost perfect condition, with the exception of the wood grip. The contrary would have been the case had it lain about 450 years in either sand or gravel. The total length of the sword is 33 inches, that of the blade 28 inches, width of blade 1ğ inches. The armourer's mark, which occurs on both sides of the blade, may be described as 3 mascles, 2 and 1, with a mullet above, all within a pointed shield. A photograph having been submitted to Mr. Guy Francis Lakin, F.S.A., the King's Armourer, the weapon was described by him as of great interest and very unusual type. "Although back-edged," he proceeds, he proceeds, "and possessing a knuckle guard, I think it can safely be assigned to the latter part of the fifteenth century. The section of the straight quillon and the small cap-like pommel are characteristic. The mark upon the blade I am familiar with, although I do not know with whom it can be associated ; that, again, is distinctly of a fifteenth century nature. I think it can be accepted that the sword was probably an auxiliary arm of an archer or crossbowman."

It will readily be seen how this crude, and probably earliest, form of knuckle guard, for the unprotected hand of the archer, was evolved from the plain cross-hilt of the knight, with his steel gauntleted hand.

H. C. HALDANE.

THE Society has lost an old and valued member by the death of Mr. James Norton Dickons, which took place at his residence, Heaton, Bradford, on the 10th April, 1912. Mr. · Dickons practised as a solicitor many years ago in Bradford, and later down to the time of his death at Halifax, but found relaxation from the cares of a strenuous professional life by indulging his taste for antiquarian pursuits. He was a considerable authority on Roman Yorkshire, and wrote the chapter on that subject in the Memorials of Old Yorkshire, recently issued. He joined the Council of the Yorkshire Archæological Society, 31 January, 1900, and was one of the most regular members attending the meetings, until increasing deafness led him to feel that his services in this capacity would no longer be useful. He had accumulated much about Bradford. In 1898 he published privately a pamphlet on The Roman Road from Manchester to Aldborough; and Bibliotheca Bradfordiensis, 1895. and Kirkgate Chapel, Bradford, 1903, were among his other contributions to the literature of the city's history. At the time of his death, he had collected a large mass of material intended for a new edition of James's History of Bradford-a project which was very near his heart, and which, had he been spared, would have been the crowning work of his life. Fortunately, this material has come into the hands of the Public Library Committee of that city, and will be indispensable to its future historian. His library, which was remarkable for judicious selection, especially in relation to Yorkshire topography, has been dispersed by auction since his death, subject to the bequests contained in his will, one of which empowered his executors to hand over to the Bradford Free Library such books as they might select, not already in the city's collection. About 500 volumes, in addition to pamphlets (some of great rarity and value), and prints and drawings relating to the county, have thus come to be public property. On the occasion of the formal taking over of the books, &c., the Lord Mayor of Bradford paid a tribute to the memory of Mr. Dickons, and expressed his thanks to the executors, as well as his appreciation of the manner in which they had carried out their trust.

Although Mr. Dickons had all the instincts of the book collector, he was much more than a mere hunter of rarities. His efforts were almost entirely directed to a definite end, namely, the accumulation of material which would further his researches into the history and topography of his native county.

VOL. XXII.

I

THOMAS HORSFALL.

ANOTHER esteemed member lost to the Society by death is Dr. Horsfall, of Bedale, than whom few men in that district were held in such high regard; and few men, indeed, were so well acquainted with the people of the locality. One of the four sons of the late Henry Horsfall, surgeon, at Masham, he was educated at the Grammar School of that town, and at the Leeds University School of Medicine, where his skill and competence were soon observed by his preceptors. His taste for antiquarian research, and the marked ability which he showed in this field, might have borne more fruit, but for his sense of duty to his medical work; nobody could have worked harder than he did for the welfare of his patients. In a letter written about eight years ago, he says, on this subject: "The worst of it is that such studies are too absorbing, and make one feel that the time so occupied ought to be spent in other work, more directly connected with one's profession." Dr. Horsfall seldom came to Leeds without contriving a visit to the Society's Library at Park Street, which he found useful for the furtherance of his investigations. He was too busy a man to attend many of the summer excursions, but when the Society visited Well Church and Snape Castle in 1907, he read a most able paper, which was greatly appreciated by the members. The history of Well and of Snape had been with him, indeed, almost a life-long study; and he was engaged during his last illness in finally arranging his manuscript on this subject for publication. This has now been accomplished, in accordance with the wishes expressed by him. Others of his contributions to historical research took the form of papers read to the Bedale Literary Society-one on Snape Castle and its connection with the Latimer family; one on the Pilgrimage of Grace; and a third, read in 1910, on the Rising in the North.

A memorial brass in Bristol Cathedral to one of Bristol's physicians has an inscription, quoted below, that might well have been applied to the subject of this notice :-" Not more honoured for the eminence that he attained in his profession than beloved for his kindness of heart, for his wise and ready sympathy, and for the piety which inspired his unselfish and devoted life." Dr. Horsfall was 51 years of age, and leaves a widow and one daughter.

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