WELFORD.-The cross stands in the churchyard on the south side of the church; it is peculiar in that the shaft tapers much more than is ordinarily the case, as is shewn by a picture of it in Lysons' Britannia, where it is represented as surmounted by a ball; at the present time, however, the top is so mutilated that it is scarcely possible to say what has been there; the present height of the shaft is eleven feet, and it stands on a pedestal and one step.

WINDSOR. This cross has, I believe, quite disappeared, but Ashmole has the following notice of it :

"The High street and largest lies southward, where in 1380 was erected a handsome cross by John Sadler, which was much beautified and repaired and a crucifix placed on its top in 1635 by Godfrey Goodman, Bishop of Gloucester, which, as I have seen in letters to and from the said Prelate, gave great offence to some of the purer saints of those times, by whose endeavours, I presume, it was demolished in the most impious Rebellion, begun in 1641, there being now not the smallest vestigia of its existence."

LONG WITTENHAM.-The cross stands in the centre of the village, and consists of four steps, pedestal and shaft, surmounted by a cross. The shaft, which is ten feet high, and the cross on the top are new, having been restored about thirty years ago by a gentleman of Wallingford; the pedestal and steps are original but have been re-set with cement; near the cross is the Saxon burial ground, called "three acres," so that there has probably been a cross here ever since Saxon times, as early Christian teachers often erected a cross from which to preach and as a centre for religious teaching.

WOOTTON.-The pedestal alone remains here on the south side of the church; it has the hole for the shaft, which has quite gone.

“Notes and Queries”

RELATING TO BERKSHIRE.

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Communications are invited upon all subjects of Antiquarian or Architectural interest relating to the County. All Literary Communications should be sent ot the EDITOR, Barkham Rectory, near Wokingham, written on one side only of the Paper.

It is requested that all MSS. intended for printing should be written on foolscap paper, in an orderly manner, with REPLIES, QUERIES, and NOTES on SEPARATE SHEETS, and the name or initials of the writer appended to each communicatian.

Notes.

HURLEY.-On June 17th last, the present occupier of Frogmill Farm, Hurley, called my attention to a flag-stone, 26 inches long and 18 inches wide, which was then being used as a cover to a well in the farm-yard. The surface soil having been removed from the top of the stone, the following inscription was clearly visible : "Three Bodies in Benedictine Habits found under this pavement." The carving of the letters, which are cut deeply into the stone, and are all perfect except in three places at the sides and edges, is probably of the early nineteenth century period. I have now before me some pages of the "Penny Magazine” for February 17th, 1838, containing an article on Hurley House, or Lady Place, Berks," and illustrated with engravings of the house and of the vault underneath it. From the latter it is clear that the whole floor of the vault was flagged with good sized stones at the time the drawings were made; and the writer states that an inscription, word for word identical with that discovered on the Frogmill well-stopper, was on one of them. The house was pulled down in 1837. The flags were subsequently removed from the floor, and the stone referred to was taken off to keep sentry over the well in the farm-yard, about three-quarters-of-a-mile distant from the vault, where it remained until Saturday, June 18th, 1892, on which day it was handed over to me and now lies in the cellars of the Vicarage. The vault was the burying place of Hurley Monastery.-F. T. WETHERED.

Queries.

HERSEY FAMILY.-Can anyone oblige me by sending the earliest instance of the name of Hercy, Hersey, Hearsey, in Berkshire, and shew the relationship to the family at Winkfield ?-C. HERSEY.

NORTH OR FERRY HINKSEY, MANOR OF.-Lysons states that "The Manor, which belonged to the Abbot and Convent of Abingdon, was granted to Owen and Bridges, and by them conveyed, in 1547, to Sir John Williams and Sir John Gresham, knts. At a later period it was for many years in the family of Perrot. It is now the property of Earl Harcourt, having been purchased by his father, the late Earl." I desire to ascertain the holders of the Manor from about 1620 to 1750, and shall be glad of any references.-H.M.

Replies.

I am obliged to Mr. St. John Hope for drawing my attention to the anachronism in my No. IV. paper on Hurley." The "1040" date has been handed down since 1852, at which time it was said to have been discovered upon the wooden cross on the Church Turret, after the dilapidated lead covering had been removed; but I now quite realize that this must be an error, and that “ 1640' was, as Mr. Hope suggests, probably the date which was discovered incised upon the wooden cross. It has remained inside its new lead covering ever since 1852. With regard to Mr. Hone's criticism as to my having (in paper No. II.) fixed the date of the Foundation Charter of Hurley Priory by the fact of all mention of the monastery having been omitted from Doomsday, I would remark that the Doomsday Survey, which was concluded in 1086, states that 13 hides of Hurley are still held by Geoffrey de Mandeville, whereas the Foundation Charter of our monastery states emphatically that the "whole vill of Hurley" had been given by Geoffrey de Mandeville to the Priory. The inference, then, that the date of the Charter was at some time after the completion of the Berkshire portion of Doomsday is plain. And, inasmuch as "my Lord King William," whom our Founder beseeches to ratify the gift, died on September 9th, 1087, the limits within which the Charter was sealed by Geoffrey de Mandeville are, I say, not difficult to assign.-F. T. WETHERED.

CHRISTIAN NAME FLOWER (p. 95, Vol. II., No. 4).—See Coates' History of Reading, p. 229.

Baptisms. St. Lawrence's, 1669. Flower, daughter of Dr. Francis
Hungerford (who was buried 1684).

-R. J. FYNMORE, Sandgate.

The Quarterly Journal

OF THE

Berks Archæological and Architectural Society.

ITH this number the fourth year of our publication closes, and we trust that the Berks Archæological Journal has been the means of preserving some important results of the researches and investigations of Antiquaries into the history of the Royal County. Many valuable records of the annals of our towns and villages have been published in these pages; many notes of archæological discoveries, traditions, legends, historical information and popular superstitions, have here found a permanent and enduring resting-place, and will ultimately prove to be of considerable use when a complete history of the County is contemplated. In concluding this portion of our work we desire to express our gratitude to those who have so kindly assisted us in this undertaking by contributing articles and notes to this Journal, and for their interest and co-operation, without which our task could scarcely be accomplished.

A Meeting of the Society was held in the Town Hall, Wokingham, on October 27th, when a paper was read by the Rev. C. W. Penny, on “The importance of the careful preservation of Parochial Records, Muniments and Antiquities." In the unavoidable absence of the President, Sir George Russell, Bart., the chair was taken by the Rev. J. M. Guilding, and there were present Lady and Miss

Russell, Mrs. and Miss Murdoch, the Rev. H. Salwey, the Rev. R. Tomlinson, General Bunbury-Thompson, Mr. and Mrs. Melville, the Mayor of Wokingham and Mrs. Tyndale Heelas, Mrs. F. Goolden, Mrs. and Misses Gregorie, Mr. F. N. A. Garry, &c. The Rev. C. W. Penny read a very valuable and interesting paper which we hope to publish in a subsequent number of our Journal. A discussion followed in which the Rev. J. T. Brown, the Rev. P. H. Ditchfield, Mr. F. Garry, the Rev. H. Selwey and the Chairman took part. The municipal documents were exhibited by the Mayor; and at the close of the meeting the members of the Society were entertained at tea.

SCOURING OF THE WHITE HORSE. -The historic "White Horse," near Uffington, has recently undergone another scouring, by order of Lady Craven. The lover of ancient customs would have been glad to see the revival of the ancient rural festival which formerly accompanied the scouring, but in these days of enlightenment such a revival would probably be impossible. The thanks of the Society are due to Lady Craven for her careful preservation of this ancient and historical monument.

MUNICIPAL RECORDS OF READING.-Mr. N. T. Hone has published an intere-ting article in the " Reading Mercury" on this subject. We are glad to hear that Mr. Guilding has nearly accomplished his labours of editing these documents.

ROMAN ROADS.-Mr. H. F. Napper has written to the "Reading Mercury" on this subject a long letter, which evinces much careful thought and investigation. But surely he is in error in supposing that the derivation of Reading is from Rhyd, meaning a ford over the Thames. The name can only come from Redingas, a Saxon tribe; and we thought that it was now a settled question among antiquaries that Silchester was the Calleva Attrebatum.

OUR contributor Mr. Geo. F. Tudor Sherwood is compiling a genealogy of the Sherwood family in its various branches. He will be glad to receive any Sherwood notes from Parish Registers, Wills, &c. He also asks for odd numbers, and especially indexes, of genealogical works, MS. notes, and pedigrees of Berkshire people, and will gladly pay carriage on any such addressed to Petersham House, Walham Green, S. W.