reign of Henry VIII. In 1547, the first year of Edward twelve editions in fifty years. He is said to have led a VI., the House of Commons was transferred to the chapel wandering and unsettled life, being at one time a chorister, of St. Stephen, until that was burnt down in 1834. On the then a farmer, and afterwards a singing master. A quaint dissolution of the ancient monastery in 1540, the Chapterhouse passed into the possession of the Crown, and from epitaph in verse commemorated his name and services. that time the dean and chapter of Westminster held their meetings in the Jerusalem Chamber.

From 1547 to 1863, the Chapter-house was used as the depository of the public records. During this period it was fitted up with bookshelves, which disfigured and concealed its beauty. Its ceiling was taken down, its windows filled up, and it was divided into two stories. In 1865, after the removal of the records to the Rolls House, in Fetter-lane, its restoration was undertaken by the Government and the Society of Antiquaries, and Mr. Gilbert Scott had restored it as nearly as possible to its original state. The roof has been entirely rebuilt, and the mural paintings, which were concealed by the bookshelves, are now disclosed. Those at the east end, over the abbot's stall, are of the 14th century, and represent the seraphs round the throne of the Saviour. The others were painted in the 15th century by one of the monks of the convent, and represented scenes from the Apocalypse, with pictures of fishes, birds, and beasts underneath. The figures at the entrance representing an angel and the Blessed Virgin are ancient, except the central figure, which is modern, which, however, represents what was formerly there. The tiles on the floor were covered with curious heraldic emblems. The tracery on the windows has been restored after the model of one which had been least injured on the north-east side, but it still remains for them to be filled with stained glass according to the original design. The Chapter-house is entered by a vestibule from the south cloister, with a fine groined roof.

ST. MILDRED'S CHURCH, POULTRY. THIS City church is now in course of removal, and will soon disappear, when the Poultry will lose one of its ancient landmarks. The accompanying sketch of the building is from a rather bald drawing, taken about a century since, when the tower was apparently devoid of any adornment, excepting that of a clock "whose dial projected about half way over the street; " but for some years past a gilt ship in full trim has floated in the breeze above the tower. The length of the fabric is 56 feet, the width 42 feet, and the height 36 feet; the tower is 75 feet in height. This church was built by Sir Christopher Wren, in 1676, ten years after the Great Fire. The cost of the structure was upwards of £4654.

The foundation of this sacred edifice appears to date back as early as 1324, when it had the chapel of Corpus Christi and St. Mary de Coney-hope annexed to it. This chapel was suppressed by Henry VIII. "on account of a fraternity found therein," and it was afterwards purchased by one Thomas Hobson, who converted it into a warehouse. Previous to the first re-erection of the church, Thomas Morsted, surgeon to the Kings Henry IV., V., and VI., gave a piece of land adjoining the church, 45 feet long and 35 feet wide, for a burial ground. Morsted himself was interred at St. Olave's, Jewry, hard by. The incorporation of the surgeons of London, at first under the title of barbers in 1461, and afterwards as barbers and surgeons in the reign of Henry VIII., is said to have been mainly owing to a previous agitation of the question by Morsted. Among other persons of note buried in the old church of St. Mildred was Thomas Tusser, born in 1515, who wrote the book called "Points of Husbandrie," which passed through

The patronage of St. Mildred's, before the Reformation, was in the convent and prior of St. Mary Overy; but on its suppression it fell to the Crown. Some writers have recorded that the two archbishops, St. Edmund and St. Thomas à Becket, were both registered in the parish of St. Mildred. It is conjectured that the impropriation anciently belonged to the master and brethren of the hospital of St. Thomas de Acon, martyr (since called Mercers' chapel), the site of which, together with the advowson of St. Mary Colechurch, was granted by Henry VIII. in 1542, to the Company of Mercers, with whom it remained as a donative for a long period. On the north side of the

Poultry, a little to the west of St. Mildred's church, stood the old Poultry Compter.

The church of St. Mary Colechurch, with which the parish of St. Mildred was united after the Fire of London, stood at the south end of the Old Jewry. Its chaplain was "Peter of Colechurch," who in part built old London-bridge. Many of the buildings which for centuries constituted the renown and antiquity of London, have shared a similar fate to that of St. Mildred's; and it is hard to say which is most to be feared, the modern restorer or the destroyer.

THE ROCK OF CASHEL.-Mr. Heron has laid before the House of Commons a Bill for vesting the Rock a Cashel in trustees-the Duke of Norfolk and other noblemen and dral and the preservation of the historic ruins. The trustees gentlemen-for the purpose of the restoration of the Cathe are to be a body corporate, with perpetual succession, vacan cies to be filled up by the survivors. All the property in and rights over the Rock and the buildings and ruins thereon, now possessed by the Irish Church Temporalities Commissioners of Public Works, are to cease. saves all burial vaults, tombs, and private rights of sepulchre The Bill expressly on the Rock of Cashel belonging to individuals, and all other private rights of property, if any.

CORRESPONDENCE.

[The Editor solicits Correspondence on Archæological matters. and information of Antiquarian discoveries, with drawings of objects, when of sufficient interest.]

REMARKABLE DISCOVERY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ANTIQUARY. SIR,-The letter that follows, if it is not too long, taken from the Church Times, of May 24, is well worth preserv ing in the Antiquary. H. B. Sir,-A rather singular thing has happened here. About half a mile from the church, in a pretty old thatched cottage, standing in its apple orchard, at the bottom of the valley on the Witney road, lives an aged couple, named Allen. The man is a respectable labouring man, and rather above the average of his class in intelligence. He and his wife are highly spoken of by their employers. They are serious people, Methodists, but attend our services. The story is this, which I have taken down from their lips.

“Twelve years ago Michael Allen was digging a drain in his orchard. Being anxious to get it done, he was working after dark, and his little girl held a lantern for him to see by. After a while he left off work and went to his supper, and so to bed. That night his wife had a dream. She seemed to be watching her husband as he was digging the drain, and noticed a small hole opening in the excavation, to which she called his attention; that he put his spade in and found that the more he dug the larger it got. Finally the passage got large enough for her to enter, and then she descended into the earth. After her descent she found herself in a chamber of great beauty, with many ornaments. That what most struck her attention were two square pedestals, about four feet high, covered with frosted silver, like hoar frost on a hedge in winter. That she was struck with the idea that it was something mysterious and sacred, which made her exclaim, 'The Lord's works are past all knowing.' That looking round on the costly ornaments she was then filled with desire for them, and shouted out aloud, Lord, Michael! you don't know half what we are worth.' This woke her husband, who roused her from sleep, after which she dreamed no more.

is so exactly identical that I have little doubt that it is a copy of my crucifix, and that this latter is in all probability the old crucifix of the high altar. The north aisle was built in the 16th century.

"I am going to have the figure mounted on wood, after which it will be photographed, and any of your readers whom it may interest will have an opportunity of seeing what it is like. It is certainly very curious: especially as being recovered during the complete restoration of the church. "GERARD MOULTRIE. "South Leigh Vicarage, Oxford, May 18."

INTERESTING ANTIQUES.

SIR, The mention of the discovery of a stone coffin, near Anadol Keui, given in the Antiquary, Vol. II., p. 124, puts me in mind of a similar find at Kertch, in 1835, the particulars of which, from The New Monthly Magazine, 1835, p. 393, I here subjoin.

Notwithstanding that the coffin (or coffins) found at Kertch, lacks special interest by being devoid of inscription, yet the account given of the valuable objects contained within, does in a certain measure counterbalance that deficiency i.e. :

"In digging lately at Kertch, in order to make a new pavement, a coffin was discovered of rather an ordinary description, made of free stone, about two archimes long, one wide, and one thick. On opening the coffin, a superb black urn was found, of the Etruscan form, and of large dimensions, ornamented with bas-reliefs, and gilt in some part. It was placed at the feet of the corpse, upon whose head was a golden laurel crown, beautifully executed, and weighing 36 zolotnitks, or about 13 ounces of the purest gold. Near to one of the shoulders a round piece of gold was found, bearing some resemblance to a medal, having on one side the figure of a woman in relief, and on the other that of Mercury clothed as a shepherd. There was also in the tomb an iron strigil, and another object of the same metal surrounded by copper rings. Upon the coffin-lid there was a common urn of potter's clay, full of the bones of birds, which had probably been sacrificed to the manes of the deceased. These discoveries were made under the superintendence of M. Karricha, who is occupied in making archæological researches for the Emperor of Russia. This gentleman caused the ground in the neighbourhood to be examined; and after some hours' research, a second coffin was discovered similar to the first; but it contained a much greater number of objects and of very superior workmanship to the first.-Journal d'Odessa."

It is to be regretted, that a minute description was not given of the various "antiques" found in the second coffin. J. PERRY.

A PASSAGE IN SHAKESPEARE. "I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly, know a hawk from a handsaw."―Hamlet, act ii. sc. 2.

"Next morning he went to his work on the farmer's land, and returned to his dinner. The dream preyed on his wife's mind, and she persuaded her husband, before sitting down, to take his spade and examine the place indicated in the dream. He did so, and immediately, in the spot which she pointed out, he dug up an ancient crucifix. This he took into his house, and the wooden cross on which the figure had been fastened being gone, he hung it up on his wall. All his friends and neighbours came to see it, but after a while his co-religionists persuaded him that the figure of our Lord was not what a good Methodist ought to have in his house, and therefore, on a dealer in curiosities coming round from Abingdon, two years after the discovery, he sold it to him for half-a-crown. I was vexed when I heard this; for after a SIR,-Much has been written to explain this passage, but lapse of ten years I had small hope of recovering it. How it has never, to my knowledge, been treated literally. ever, I gave Allen a sovereign, and started him off to It is generally assumed that the word "handsaw" is a Abingdon to try and get it back. In the evening back he misprint, or a corruption of hernshaw, which would mean a came, to my intense satisfaction, with the crucifix. This I"heron; and that the whole was a common proverb, but have now in my possession. It dates from about the 14th no authority is given. But beyond all this, the assumed century, is made of ancient bronze, and the figure is about heronshaw," is itself mythical; the nearest words quoted 4 inches high. It is very rude; and one's first impression by Mr. Halliwell being hernsue and hearnesew, both apis, How very ugly!' But the expression of the face is full|parently the French "heronneau," or heronceau, anciently a of divine agony, which excites a certain indescribable awe. young heron. A "shaw" was a secluded recess in a wood, The hair is long, and falls forward over the shoulders; the consequently, a hernshaw should be a breeding-place for feet are fastened with one nail. The crown of thorns is the herons, i.e., a heronry, not the bird itself; but further, it most unusual thing about it. It is like a linen diadem, appears that a shaw-bird was a sham-bird, i.e., a scarecrow, twisted in thick folds round the head. or decoy; and a hernshaw, if we really met with the word, would be a stuffed heron, or dummy.

"There is a head on one of the corbels supporting the roof in the north aisle of the church in which this treatment

All this is very wild; still it has been deemed plausible,

RESTORATIONS.

ARBROATH.—The old parish church of St. Vigeans, near Arbroath. has lately undergone thorough repair. This church is one of the oldest in Scotland, and is mentioned in several ecclesiastical documents dating from 1178. It was reconstructed in 1485.

CHESTER.-At a meeting lately held in St. Helen's, the Dean of Chester (Dr. Howson) gave some interesting information respecting the restoration of the cathedral. The work was begun in 1867, with under-pinning some of the dangerous walls. The great central tower was now complete, as well as nearly the whole of the south side of the nave and choir, and the Lady Chapel. In the course of the autumn the work in the choir would be commenced. 40,000l. had been subscribed, but at least 30,000l. more was required to complete the work, which it was expected would not occupy more than three years. Negotiations are in progress for obtaining a part of St. Werburghs Street, so as to allow a more perfect view of the west end of the cathedral. ORMSIDE, NEAR APPLEBY.-It is proposed to rebuild the parish church, the present structure being unsafe. The only part of the old building worth preserving is a small Norman arcade, and this it is intended to have repaired and re-erected. The new building will be Early English in style.

original vestry doorway was discovered, the jambs and head of which have been taken down and fixed 4 feet from the original position. The tower-floor has been lowered to within 6 inches of that of the nave, and the old monumental slabs relaid, two of which are of a very early date, and are supposed to be those of the two first priests that officiated in

the church. These slabs are saddle-backed with floreated crosses, and bear the date of the 14th century. The walls of the nave have been rough stuccoed. The arches, columns, and ancient font have been restored and refaced, the latter being raised on a step 5 inches high. Mr. M. R. Phipson, of Norwich, was the architect.

ULCOMB. This church, which dates from the 12th to the The tower is 15th century, has been completely restored. Already of the Kentish type, with an octangular turret rising above it. The materials of the church are flint and ragstone. The restoration has been carried out in a very conservative manner, and the old examples followed in the reproduction of windows, doorways, and other restorations. The new works comprise new roofs throughout, reseating and repaving with Minton's tiles, made from the designs of the Rev. Lord Alwyne Compton. The chancel is fitted up with handsome oak stalls, and a good organ has been presented.

OXFORD. The Hall of Merton College is undergoing a restoration by Mr. Scott, and the whole of the work that Mr. Wyatt executed in 1790 has been cleared away. The design now prepared by Mr. Scott is in accordance with the original construction of the Hall, which is of 14th century date. A new open-timber oak roof will be substituted for the present one, and the music-gallery and screens will be replaced at the west end, whilst at the east end there will be canopied seats raised upon a dais. The windows will be completely restored from the fragments which have been discovered of the original designs, and they will have seats in them the thickness of the wall. Mr. Scott has also designed new furniture, tables, and benches, to suit the period. The whole of the exterior of the hall will be renovated, and the sham buttresses have all been taken down, and new ones have taken their place. The Headington ashlar will be removed, and the walls will be refaced with Taynton stone. The porch will have new archways, with new steps and wing walls. The whole of the work is to be completed by the commencement of next Michaelmas Term.

WIRKSWORTH.-The parish church of Wirksworth, Derbyshire, has been thoroughly restored. It has portions of great antiquity, but the principal part is of the 12th century. It is a cruciform structure with a nave of three bays, and a total of 52 feet long only. The central tower is supported by massive pillars; the chancel is very fine, and the transepts equally so. It has at various periods undergone great mutilation and strange transformations. At one period it had a finely arcaded tower, the bases of the shafts of which are plainly visible. The richness and variety of the various remains of sculpture, wall paintings, and tiling discovered during the recent restoration of the chancel and transepts, all point to its having been a place of great richness and beauty. It suffered much during the civil wars, but it suffered still more by the barbarisms committed by a gentleman from Southwell, in 1818-21. Under the baneful judgment of that worthy, entire pillars were taken away, and others nearly so; large additions were taken in from the churchyard and added to the chancel aisles; a gallery was placed in the transept from north to south, the floor was raised a yard above its ordinary level, the whole area being occupied with inconvenient pews of every conceivable size. fabric, too, was at that time supposed to be thoroughly repaired; but it has been found during the recent restoraonly been filled with mortar and then whitewashed over. that the church was in a seriously dilapidated condition. It In 1867 two local builders reported to the churchwardens was thereupon resolved to call in Mr. Gilbert Scott, R.A., who prepared plans for the restoration. The contract was divided into two parts: the tower, transepts, and chancel being the first part undertaken, and this was the portion of storation of the nave, is now in hand, and Mr. Gilbert Scott the work completed. The second portion, being the readvises the elongation of this part of the edifice.

The

SALTASH.-The fine old church of St. Stephen's-by-tion that wherever there had been a crack in the walls it had Saltash, built in the early part of the fourteenth century; has undergone complete restoration. In the chancel there are new screens of oak, and Minton's tiles are laid down. The ceiling of the chancel is of oak. The western gallery has been removed, and the western door opened out The font is a very excellent and interesting Norman one. Scattered up and down, amidst most out-of-the way places in Cornwall, are many churches, containing Norman fonts of the highest interest. The one just referred to stands upon five columns, and is curiously ornamented with sculpture. It has been taken from the south aisle, and placed in the tower. The granite pillars of the church have been re-dressed, as well as the granite work of the windows.

THELNETHAM.—The parish church has been restored at the expense of the rector, the Rev. J. C. Sawbridge. The original structure is supposed to have been erected in the 14th century. The unsightly high pews have been removed, and replaced by English oak benches, which are elaborately moulded. A new altar-rail has been fixed on four elaborate brass standards. On removing the pews from the nave the old altar stone was discovered, which has been placed in its original position. On the north side of the chancel the

DISCOVERIES.

OMAGH. An exceedingly interesting discovery of four or five funeral urns has just been made by some workmen on a farm near Omagh. They turned up several ancient funeral urns, containing human bones. Several have been recognised as belonging to the skull, vertebræ, pelvis, &c. They were all calcined. The urns in which they were contained were made of reddish-coloured earthernware. They were found each overturned on a slab, and surrounded by a pile of loose stones, on a hill; the soil was of a slight, sandy nature.

on the 18th ult., at the age of 102 years. She retained her An important discovery, says the Paris Artiste, has been mental faculties up to the last.

made at Pompeii in the presence of the Grand Duchess Olga of Russia; a fine slab of Greek marble having been found and disinterred, on which are painted scenes from the tragedy of "Niobe." This is said to be the first painting on marble found at Pompeii, though several examples from Herculaneum may be seen in the Museum at Naples. At the same time were found some fine vases; the rudder of a ship in bronze, detached from a statue of Fortune, which appears to have been carried away by some of the inhabitants at the time the town was destroyed; and a silver tega representing a myth of Apollo, a beautiful and unique object.

POLISH HISTORICAL MUSEUM.-The Polish Historical

Museum, founded at Rapperswyl, in Switzerland, in 1870, has rapidly extended, thanks to the contributions sent to it, more especially by the French, Swiss, and American Governments. The numerous documents collected in the library with reference to the Polish and Swedish wars possess historical importance. Among the manuscripts is that of Pietrassewski, of which a large part is devoted to Turkish history. The collection of geographical and ethnographic maps, and that of Slavonian antiquities, are of special interest. The ancient Castle of Habsburg, on the shores of the Lake of Zurich, in which the museum is placed, has been partly restored, and the upper stories will admit of twenty additional halls being added. The custodian of the museum is Professor Duchinski, of Kiew, the vice-president of the Ethnographic Society of Paris.

A SWORD about two yards long has been found near Lützen, in Prussia. The guard or hilt is protected by a serpentine bar twenty inches in length, and on the blade there are hooks, probably for dragging the enemy off his horse.