borne out by facts. That a great part of St. Martin's Nave is patchy and rudely built no one can denybut let us consider what destructiveness and neglect it would have passed through, supposing it to have been built in Roman times. Durovernium (Canterbury) was undoubtedly abandoned by the Britons flying before the Jutish invasion, and was at first left unoccupied by the conquerors themselves. Its site lay for many a year uninhabited and desolate its very name was forgotten, and the Church would naturally have fallen into a state of partial ruin. Restored at the coming of Queen Bertha, probably ravaged by the Danes, repaired and enlarged to a great extent in the Early English period, gradually falling once more into decay till even at the beginning of the present century it is spoken of as a "humble Church"

"Yet humbled more

By lapse of years, by lack of reverent care,"

in what condition should we expect its walls to be? Even within the last twenty years an early brick buttress, coeval with the original Chancel, has been improved (?) into a tame modern-looking projection! When we consider all this, are we surprised if portions of the Nave look like "old stuff used anyway"? But it may also be maintained that this is not a correct description of the lower portion of the walls, especially where (as I have stated before) they have been comparatively preserved behind the existing wooden pews. We can find there strong evidences of a more or less symmetrical design with Kentish ragstone bonded by courses of Roman tiles-and parts of the wall might satisfy even the most critical architect. But even if the description "old stuff," etc., be applicable to the

original parts of the Nave walling, the same description would equally apply to the undoubted Roman work of the Pharos at Dover.

Is there not, too, such a thing as a period of decadence in any style? Just as there is good and bad Saxon work, good and bad Norman work, good and bad Gothic work, so must there have been good and bad Roman work. We are told in an account of the Roman excavations at Silchester that "examination shewed that the rubble masonry above the concrete foundations of the whole western range (of the basilica) was of a very poor character." "The stones (in a part of the Roman Wall of London) form a mere skin, between the tile bonding courses, to the thick irregular rubble core." In the same wall, above the bonding course of three rows of tiles at the ancient ground-level, "the body of the wall is composed throughout its height of masses of ragstone with now and then a fragment of chalk, bedded very roughly in mortar which has been pitched in, not run in, sometimes with so little care as to leave occasional empty spaces amongst the stones." It seems useless to multiply quotations for the purpose of establishing an obvious fact, viz., that granting a general idea and method pervading a building (as I believe there is clearly in the Nave of St. Martin's) it is quite possible that, at a time of decadence and in the hands of inferior (perhaps British) workmen, this idea should be somewhat roughly carried out. The period to which I would attribute the erection of the Nave is somewhere towards the close of the fourth centurynot so very long before the Roman evacuation of Britain.

The last objection to the Roman date is the dedi

cation of the Church to St. Martin, who did not die till the last decade of the fourth century. But this objection has been fully dealt with in the History of St. Martin's Church, and presents little or no difficulty.

It has been impossible for me in a brief Article to enter more minutely into the details of this interesting controversy. In stating the salient points I have endeavoured to make some small contribution to its ultimate solution. Every one connected with the Church, either on personal, sentimental, or merely antiquarian grounds, has assuredly but one desirethat the truth should prevail. An intimate acquaintance with every detail of the building, and every step taken in the late (as well as in former) excavations, may have some weight even against the superior authority of professional experts, who are obliged often to accept their facts from hearsay, or may have some preconceived theory to establish. We owe indeed to them a debt of gratitude for the interest they have so abundantly shewn, and have derived much assistance from their light and guidance. Whether it be settled in the future that St. Martin's Church be the product of Roman or Saxon workmanship, it must ever be regarded as a grand historical monument, dear both from its ecclesiastical associations and its remote antiquity. It is wonderful enough that Christian worship should have been continuously carried on within these walls for 1300 years since the coming of St. Augustine-more wonderful still if it can be established (as in all humility we think it can) that it owes its origin to a band of Roman soldiers quartered in Canterbury-with (perhaps) the indirect assistance of the Emperor Maximus, and the goodwill of his intimate friend, the saintly Bishop of Tours.

INVENTORY OF THE CHURCH GOODS OF MAIDSTONE.*

BY REV. C. EVELEIGH WOODRUFF, M.A.

AN INVENTORIE browght in the xiiijth daye off November Anno R. R. E. viti vito before the King's Maties Comissioners Accordinge to their Com'andment to us directed, off all goodes, plate, jewells, bells, and ornaments remaining or did remayne in the p'ishe churche off Maidstone syth the first yere off the reign of the King's Matle that now is Kinge Edward the sixte.

By us RICHARD AWGER, Curate,
NICHOLAS ASTEN,

RICHARD NELSON, Churchwardens.
JOHN GOSLINGE,

The Inventorie of the Churche goods of Maydston taken by thenhabytants of the same the seconde day of September A° R. R. Edwardi Sexti secundo.

ffyrst eleven copes of blue velvet ymbrothered.

ABOWTE YE FREE SCHOLE.

It'm iij copes of Crymson velvet ymbrothered.

It'm one other cope of Redd velvet ymbrothered ffynely.

It'm fyve copes of whyte sylke ymbrothered, some of them very olde. It'm ij olde copes of blewe sylke.

It'm iij olde copes of whyte.

It'm one olde cope of Redd sylke.

It'm iij vestements of blue velvet and partye golde sutable for preste, deken, or subdeken.

It'm twoo vestments for deken and subdeken of Redd ffyne sylke braunched.

It'm three vestments of Red sylke sutable for prest, deken, or subdeken.

* Transcribed from the original copy now preserved amongst the Deeds and Charters in the Society's Library at Maidstone.

It'm iij olde vestments of whyte sylke ymbrothered sutable for prest, deken, or subdeken.

It'm iij other vestments of olde whyte sylke ymbrothered sutable for prest, deken, or subdeken.

It'm iij other olde vestments of whyte sylke stryped wt blew sutable for prest, deken, or subdeken.

It'm iij vestments of Dornyx sylke sutable for prest, deken, or subdeken.

It'm iij olde vestments of Redd sylke sutable for prest, deken, or subdeken.

It'm iij vestments of blacke sayt sutable for prest, deken, or subdeken.

It'm one vestment of pocoke sylke.

It'm one other vestment of grene sylke.
It'm one olde vestment of grene sylke.

It'm one Canapie cloth of grene velvett.

It'm one other Canapie of whyt sylke ymbrothered yt was used to hang over the hygh alter, and also tow corteynes of sylke appertening to the same.

It'm two clothes of blue & crymson velvet ymbrothered whych sarved to the upper part & neyther part of the hygh alter.

It'm twoo curteynes of sylke whyche appertayned to the afforesayd alter clothes.

It'm ij alter clothes of whyte sylke which sarved to the afforesaid hygh alter.

It'm twoo curteynes of sylke.

It'm iij stremers of sylke.

It'm twoo crosse clothes of sylke.

It'm vij peces of Redd and blue sylke being alter clothes, and vj

curteynes of sylke to the same.

It'm one other vestment of whyte Damaske ymbrothered.

It'm one vestment of Blacke sylke.

It'm vj alter clothes of Redd and grene saye, and vj peces of the same sorte, for the upper part of the alter, and tenne curteynes to the same.

It'm two peces of Redd and whyte damaske that served to our lady alter.

It'm ix peces of garnyshing whyche served to the sepulchre some be

smale and all be narro.

It'm xi peces of lynnen, that ys to saye olde Towells & alter clothes. It'm iiijor lynnen Albes for chyldren.