1828.]

member of the Antiquarian Society," in a letter which shewed but little antiquarian taste, found out various faults in the works, and suggested improvements, which if effected would have caused every admirer of antient ecclesiastical buildings to view with equal regret, as he now does with satisfaction, the altered state of the Church. This letter was ably and satisfactorily replied to by another Correspondent who saw the repairs in progress; since then no detailed account has appeared in your pages,—an omission which I will now endeavour to supply.

The pages of that sound and intelligent antiquary Dr. Milner, I conclude, are so familiar to your readers, that I need not recapitulate the injuries the Cathedral had sustained, or the incongruities with which former benefactors, by ill-judged attempts at embellishments, had disfigured it. Let any one read the eloquent and admirable description of the Church by that historian, and bearing in mind the defects and mutilations which it had formerly sustained, let him then visit the choir in its present renovated state; and when he reflects on the expence and attention which have been be stowed in restoring this sacred part of the edifice almost to the state in which it shone before the ill judged zeal of our early reformers, and the deplorable fanaticism of the puritanical bigots of the commonwealth had defaced its features of splendour; when he witnesses the respect here paid to the illustrious dead by the preservation of their monuments and their ashes, and contrasts it with the devastations formerly committed at Salisbury, by Wyatt, under the direction of Bishop Barrington, it must afford to him unqualified satisfaction both as an antiquary and a church

man.

The substantial repairs of the Cathedral are not the least of the works which have been done; the timbers and lead covering of the roofs, and other particulars essential to the stability of the structure itself, have received great expence and attention; the material parts of the repairs consisting in the restoration of the decayed portions of the edifice: and here the faulty pillar which has been restored in the nave claims priority of notice. Whoever surveys

See vol. LXXXIX. pt. ii. p. 307.

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the loftiness and magnitude of the pier, and reflects on the immense superincumbent weight it sustained, must be struck with the difficulty of removing a crazy supporter in such a situation, and introducing a new one in its place without damaging the vaulted stone roof of the Church. Yet this has been done by Mr. Garbett, and the pillar carefully restored in its pristine form. A controversy arose as to the necessity of the immense frame work of timbert which the architect deemed it necessary to raise for the support of the roof and adjoining arches of the building, the sum of which only went to prove that he had used superabundant caution in the work. That an architect ought not idly to squander his employer's money must be acknowledged, but when the responsibility which the care and preservation of such a building as Winchester Cathedral is considered, few I believe will be found to censure the architect for avoiding even the possibility of so great a calamity as the fall of a large portion of the Church. Two of the engaged columns which orna.ment this new pier, have been constructed in cast iron, and tinted uniform with the stone; this appears in any point of view an absurdity. If the material was adopted on the ground of economy, the saving must have been too trifling to render its adoption necessary; if, as I fear was the case, it was experimental, it is the more to be regretted that for a whim the Cathedral should be disfigured, as it eventually will be when the colour of the iron in process of time differs from the adjacent stone work.

Connected with this column is the Chantry Chapel of Bishop Edington, (the least ornamental of the six splendid insulated oratories in this Cathedral,) which has been rescued from the "dust and oblivion" of which Milner complains, and restored to its original elegance. The next work of magnitude is the restoration of the altar screen; in this, canopied uiches, which had been chiselled down to a plane surface, have been reconstructed, the concavities of others which had been filled up cleared out, and the damage which had been done by the addition of a canopy, and carvings displaying the architecture of Wren and the sculptures of Grinlin Gib

+See vol. xcvi. pt. ii. p. 411.

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bins, as well as by the paint which had been bestowed by way of embellish ment, has been carefully repaired. The re-colouring of the bosses of the choir ceiling, with their curious and interesting devices, and the restoration of the stained glass of the eastern window, together with other decayed portions of the ornamental stone work, in the interior; and the reconstruction of two flying buttresses, and several mullioned windows on the choir, together with the restoration of the Norman windows in the north transept, which had been altered to receive mullions in the most debased period of the pointed style, may conclude the summary of the renovations which have been effected.

The new works are not the least important. A choir screen of stone in the Pointed style supplies the place of the incongrous but elegant Composite one erected by Inigo Jones. The present is a subdued but excellent imitation of the central western entrance to the Cathedral; it has a single arch between two rich niches, which may be regarded as restorations of those which Milner assigns to the statues of the Saints Peter and Paul, destroyed by iconoclastic violence. The present are occupied by the bronze effigies of James and Charles, from the old screen, which from the circumstance of being clad in armour, are far less out of character in their present than in their former situation; as original specimens of costume they are valuable to the antiquary and the historian.

The organ was intended to have been removed from the north transept to the west end of the choir, and in consequence this screen is lower than it ought to have been; the superior view of the choir, which is obtained in consequence of the unobtrusive situation of the organ, fully compensates for this defect, and it is a matter of congratulation that the organ was not removed. The idea of the screen I am informed was given by Mr. Nasht.

* Dr. Milner is wrong in supposing that these particulars were set up by Charles the First. An inspection of almost any of the London Churches will prove the truth of

this assertion.

In the spandrils are shields: on one is the arms of the See in relief; in other doors the arms of the Bishop is generally found in such situations, being set up in memory of his being a benefactor; in the present instance the other shield is blank. The screen was finished in the time of Bishop Tomline.

[Oct.

I should consider an addition might easily be made to the height to conceal the backs of the stall canopies in the choir.

The Bishop's throne, one of the most splendid and elegant compositions in wood-work of the present age, was designed by Mr. Garbett. It exhibits a splendid and elaborate niche of large dimensions, in a style of grandeur suited to the subject. The plan is polygonal; the floor elevated on three steps, and surrounded by a low breast work. Above the Bishop's seat is an acutely pointed canopy between two pinnacles; the principal canopy is composed first of two large pointed arches, one on each side, covered with tall acutely pointed pediments crocketted on the angles, and ending in finials. They are sustained on the one hand by the back of the throne, and on the other by uprights rising from the floor, decorated with angular caps, and ending in pinnacles crowned with finials, In front of these arches the canopy projects in a semi-hexagon. The front division is composed of a large arch, ornamented as before; and the side divisions are formed of smaller ones of a correspondent character, the which are separated by elegant crocketted pinnacles. The ceiling or soffit of the canopy is richly groined; the whole is executed in strict accordance with the stalls; the material is carved oak, and has the appearance of a work of the age of Edward I. The minute and varied ornaments, the sweeps in the arches, and the beautiful pannelling, I have not space to particularize in detail, The whole is worthy of the Church it ornaments, and of the prelate who ranks the fifth in the hierarchy. The present diocesan has evineed his attachment to the old and excellent institutions of the Church of England, by being personally enthroned in this beautiful seat.

Opposite to the throne is the organ, the case of which is similarly ornamented; it retires behind the line of the side walls of the choir-in consequence it holds that unobtrusive situation which is desirable, the organ being in general too conspicuous. A fastidious critic may perhaps point out a want of symmetry in its situation, but I feel certain no spectator of taste would wish to sacrifice the fine vista of the middle aile to any pragmatical ideas of uniformity.

1828.]

The transepts, being the original unaltered Norman of Bishop Walkelin, originally displayed a naked timber roof,not concealed as in after works by a stone vault; this has been judiciously cowered with a flat wooden ceiling, paint ed with quatrefoils, in the style of the period immediately preceding the Reformation, and though condemned by your correspondent the Member of the Antiquarian Society," is executed sufficiently well to pass for a work of the above period. The design of this addition emanated from Dr. Nott, a Lasteful member of the Chapter, who has personally superintended the greater part of the repairs.

The ceiling of the central tower was erected by Inigo Jones in the reign of Charles the First, and is a copy of the ceiling of the Chapel of Wykeham's College. The four corbel statues, which originally sustained the springing of the vault, although fresh painted and gilt, were found to exhibit so ludicrous an appearance, as to give the idea of an itinerant Punchinello, rather than that of a sovereign; these have been removed, and dwarf clusters of three columns substituted for them.

In one of the engravings in Dr. Milner's work, the former screens (composed of white-washed boards), which cut off the views of the transepts, are shewn; these have been removed, and in consequence, the view of the crucifix ailes, somewhat resembling in ar rangement and situation the transepts of Westminster Abbey, are let into view from the choir; the construction of the new ceiling was therefore indispensable, as the naked timber roof would have ill agreed with the splendour and high finishing of the vault of the choir. The effect produced by letting in the view of the transepts, can scarcely be appreciated by any person who has not seen the choir in its former state, but judging from the view before noticed, it is not the least improvement which has taken place.

The decayed and infirm state of the chapel behind the high altar, known as De Lucy's work, notwithstanding the repairs which have been bestowed on it, is still very apparent; the walls are out of the perpendicular in many situations, and much it is to be feared that a very considerable reconstruction will shortly be necessary. The clustered columns have tastelessly been GENT. MAG. October, 1828.

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painted at some time, and they have now been varnished instead of being polished, a defect however not chargeable on Mr. Garbett. In the northeastern portion of this chapel, is now fixed a very curious marble monument for the heart of Bishop Ethelmar; this was formerly loose, and had no doubt remained so ever since Bishop Fox reconstructed the choir, and inscribed a new epitaph; it is now affixed to the wall with a curious epitaph beneath; it is not given by Milner, but having too antique an appearance for a modern work, I conclude it is the original of Fox's inscription, and was one of those duplicate epitaphs which evidently at one time existed in this Cathedral in other instances, being the originals of those copied and reinscribed by Fox. This inscription is as follows:

ETHELMARVS

TIBI COR MEUM DÑE.

The splendid monumental chapels which form such elegant features in this Cathedral, each of which is an independent building, are in fine preservation; that of Bishop Waynfleet is now undergoing repairs, and it is curious to witness the care and attention displayed in the restoration of the minute and delicately carved pinnacles, evincing that the present age can furnish mechanics to execute any work, however costly or elaborate, if proper encouragement is given.

Whilst on the Cathedral, I would call to your readers' notice a beautiful marble monument recently erected to the memory of the Rev. Mr. Iremonger, a prebendary; it consists of an insulated altar tomb, on which lies a recumbent effigy in the clerical habit, on a mat rolled up at the head and feet; the sculptor is Chantrey, and he has shewn in the mild inanimate features of the lifeless cffigy a grace and expression which the most laboured group of modern statuary generally fails to give. I cannot better conclude this long letter than by saying that the

whole of the works have been executed in solid wood and stone, and that roman cement, compo, or other expedients for producing false appearances, have been very properly avoided; and, as a further merit, the various ancient fragments of paintings and sculptures, and other vestiges of old times mentioned by Milner, may still be seen

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I

MR. URBAN,

CAN only say, in reply to Mr. Duke, but with sincere respect, that, if he, by any argument or series of arguments, can prove a Dike, with a bank nearly forty feet high on one side, yet so narrow at the bottom that two knife-grinders could not pass if they met, and which, in going twenty miles, goes needlessly nine out of the way; if Mr. Duke can prove such a Dike (and such your readers may depend upon it Wansdike* is) to have been constructed as a great public road, by the same facility of argument he would be able to prove that his epicycles are cycles, his rounds squares, and what people commonly call four

to be five!

I stand upon the bare fact;-I suppress every suggestion out of respect to him, which might arise in my mind, -for the fact itself is an answer to his hypothesis.

2d.-As to the name of Tan-hill being derived from Tanaris, I thought, and still think, notwithstanding equal cogency of argument to the contrary, that it is probable a hill near a Cellic temple, the highest in the neighbourhood, might be called after the name of a CELTIC DEITY, when to that deity high hills were dedicated, rather than after a Grecian goddess, chiefly the goddess of groves; when there is not here a single tree, when that goddess was a huntress, and when there is no animal here but a hare,-the only

I am informed by a high military officer, who attended the Duke of Wellington in all his battles, and as a general officer has given a history of the campaign, that upon an accurate survey of Wansdike, he can' pronounce it a fortification, taking advantage of all the salient points along the hill, with as much art as is displayed in the celebrated fortifications of Vauban, making allowance for different circumstances.

[Oct.

animal she was not to hunt! This is a question of probability—the reader must determine.

3d." But," says Mr. Duke, intrenched in cycles and epicycles, "look here!-these two circles in another circle, represent the SUN and Moon travelling together!"-" The Sun and Moon never travel together two minutes," quoth Mr. Bowles; "it is somewhat singular they should be so represented in these mysterious circles;" added to which THROUGH ALL ANTIQUITY-the moon never was represented but by a HALF-CIRCLE, to distinguish her from the Sun, which was represented invariably by a circle!! But what answer does Mr. Duke make to the argument that the Sun and Moon never travel together?

"The Sun and Moon," replies Mr. Duke, "being Bowles's arms, travel together on BOWLES'S CARRIAGE !!" Undoubtedly; but I am not convinced that they who laid the first stones of the mysterious circles of Abury, ever went over to Bremhill Parsonage to look at Mr. Bowles's carriage!! "But," Mr. Duke may say, "I never thought they did."- -"Then," Mr. Bowles replies, "the projectors of Abury temple were left to represent the Sun and Moon in the Heavens ; and the Sun and Moon in the heavens NEVER by any means travel together two minutes!!" I unwillingly make these remarks:-they are not meant unkind or disrespectful. I was most unwilling to enter into the arena at all, as any one must know who remembers how long it was before I felt myself called on-I will not say almost challenged-so to do.

I have only one more word-I know when New Sarum was built; but I will give Mr. Duke all the advantage here as he is strong, let him be merciful! I evidently mistook one street for another, but this was before I was "" RESIDENTIARY" of that beautiful cathedral; so the mistake is excusable. But I shall know better after I have had three months residence on the spot; and I can assure my friend there is no one whom I should be more happy to see, and to welcome with the hospitalities of a canonical house, than the gentleman, clergyman, magistrate, and scholar, whom no one respects more than myself, though I must have much stronger arguments to persuade me that

1. Dr. Parr (as is well known) wrote a very bad, and almost undecipherable hand; a circumstance, which caused his printing to come extravagantly dear to him; as, for example:

In or about the year 1794, he had a work ready for the press-so far as related to the composition; and nothing remained, but to have it printed; for which purpose he entrusted it to an eminent printer-Mr. Davis, of Chancery-lane. Mr. Davis put the MS. into the hands of one compositor, and another, and another-but in vain; as

they all, in succession, chose rather to renounce their employment than to waste their time unprofitably, in labouring to decipher what they found to be illegible; so that it became a jocular by-word among them, that Dr. Parr's MS. was, virtually, a "warning to quit."

Under these circumstances, Mr. Davis, as his last resource, gave the MS.

This bank, Mr. Duke seriously argued, might have been constructed by the engineers

of those times, as a shelter to the traveller in case it should rain! I grant that this was very considerate in those who constructed such a road, seeing the road made a distance of twenty miles, when it might have gone the same distance in twelve; seeing also that for one thousandth part of the expence, a sedan for the single travellers might have been provided at the bottom of the hill, or perhaps a neat carriage, furnished with the SUN and Moon (the Abury and Bowles's arms!) on the pannels, both Sun and Moon, for greater effect, being painted round, and the arms being surmounted with the TIPTOE MERCURY, of Silbury Hill, for a crest!

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to the best of his compositors, desiring him to make what he could of it, and charge for his time. The plan succeeded; and thus, at length, after correction, and re-correction, the work made its way through the press-but at a greater expense, perhaps, for the corrections alone, than would have been incurred by the employment of an amanuensis, to copy the work clean for the printers.

2. "Paper-sparing" Pope (as somebody has called him) has been accused of pitiful parsimony, in writing the rough-draughts of his poems on the backs and covers of his friends' letters to him.-Dr. Parr practised similar economy, but with an additional feature: for he very neatly scraped out his name, though he suffered the rest of the superscription to remain. This may be thought improbable, and even somewhat inconsistent; but it is nevertheless true; and I assert it from ocular demonstration, as I, on more than one occasion, have seen and handled his MSS. about the year 1794, when he was a contributor to the "Critical Review," with which I had some con

nexion.

Mr. URBAN, Shrewsbury, Oct. 15. N the Gentleman's Magazine for IN April 1826, is an interesting biographical sketch of the life of that eminent antiquary and enlightened ornament of the Church of England, the late Rev. J. B. Blakeway, M.A. F.A.S. minister and official of the Royal Peculiar of St. Mary in this town.

How severely his death was felt by those who were in the constant habit of listening to his eloquent and forcible appeals from the pulpit, and how sincerely his sudden departure to immortality was regretted by the inhabitants of Shrewsbury generally, may in some measure be estimated by the circumstance that immediately after his mortal remains were consigned to the tomb, a subscription was commenced under the auspices of his curate the Rev. J. Watkins, M.A.† for the purpose of erect

This gentleman has since removed to a distance from Shrewsbury; but the exemplary manner in which he discharged the duties of his ministerial office were not forgotten by the inhabitants of St. Mary's parish, they having since presented him with au elegant and valuable piece of plate as a small testimony of their respect and esteem.