%%EXLIBRISX^

John E.Pritchard.

BRISTOL .

DEERHURST

A PARISH OF THE VALE OF
GLOUCESTER

BY
GEORGE BUTTERWORTH, M.A.

" I, which am the queene
Of all the British vales, and so have ever been
Since Gomer's giant brood inhabited this isle.
And that of all the rest myself may so enstile."
Folyolbion.
Michael Drayton (1563— 1631).

TEWKESBURY: WILLIAM NORTH, 139, HIGH STREET.
LONDON : SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO.
All Rights reserved.

TO
WILLIAM COX
PARISH CLERK OF DEERHURST
A FRIEND OF THIRTY YEARS' STANDING
PAROCHIAL OFFICER FOR TWICE THAT PERIOD
A TRUE MAN
AND
ONE VERSED BETTER THAN ANY OTHER LIVING
IN STRICTLY LOCAL LORE
THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED
BY THE AUTHOR

PREFACE

About ten years ago I put together, and published
in the form of a short pamphlet, a few Notes on the
Priory and Church of Deerhurst. Since the publication
of that little venture, a considerable amount of light
has been thrown upon those antiquities of Deerhurst
which constitute its chief interest as a village. The.
fact is now recognized, for example, that until lately
only a portion of its ancient relics had been seen
and examined— the very existence of an important
building of the Saxon period, brought recently to light,
not having been as much as suspected. Now, the
re-appearance of this hidden edifice not only enlarges
the bulk of ancient remains at Deerhurst, but also
(as will subsequently be explained,) affects at once,
and tends to correct, the received opinions as to
the date of the existing Priory Church. In certain
important particulars we have all, it seems, taken for
history what is now proved to be guesswork of no
value. Meanwhile we appear to have lighted upon the
veritable history of the recently discovered building,
the Saxon Chapel.

VI PREFACE

Also, concurrently with the information supplied by
this fortunate recovery of a long lost relic, a far better
understanding of the construction and nature of the
old Church than was ever before in the possession of
the general pubhc, has been afforded to many by the
timely publication, by the Bristol and Gloucestershire
Archseologic^l Society,' of an interesting and exhaustive
account of the building, penned, indeed, many years ago
by Mr. John C. Buckler, an eminent antiquary and
architect, but only lately transferred from MS. to type.
This valuable monograph takes us by the hand through
the ancient Priory Church, makes us see its actual
original form, and explains to us, in a mode carrying
with it conviction, the meaning of its various parts.
The venerable writer is still living, being indeed of a
very advanced age, and resides at Oxford.
Stimulated by this double influence, and believing
that something at least is now to be known definitely
about a Church, which, ranking among the very oldest
in the land, had for a long time baffled the endeavours
of not a few to interpret the several enigmas it puts
forth, I have been induced to attempt an improvement
upon the short sketch I gave of the building a few years
back. Particulars gleaned from sundry other classes
of facts and of matters connected with the place over
which the Church may be said to preside, have been
added to the description of the ancient buildings ; and
these notices taken together may help, it is hoped, to
render the present publication something like a history
pf the parish. ' Proceedings, vol. xi. part i,

PREF.VCE VU
Possibly in the majority of instances, the known
history of one country parish may not greatly differ
from that of its neighbours grouped around it, and con
sequently may present but few attractions to the general
reader. But unless I deceive myself, there is fortu
nately an individuality about Deerhurst, which is likely
to make these " Annals," such as they are, to be not
altogether devoid of interest for some persons even to
whom our corner of Gloucestershire may be a terra
incognita. I am indebted to the Council of our County Archaeo
logical Society for kindly permitting me to have copied
prints of theirs, as w£ll as for conceding the free use of
a Paper of my own on the Saxon Chapel, printed by
the Society, which has here been almost reproduced.
Deerhurst, i^th October, 1887.

39
48
56

CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTORY :—
GENERAL SKETCH OF DEERHURST . . I
II. HISTORY OF THE PRIORY . .21
III. DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH . . 3S
TOWER ....
NAVE ......
CHOIR ....
SANCTUARY .....
AISLES OF CHOIR . . . . - 57
DETAILS OF SAXON WORK . . . .62
ALTERATIONS IN THE OLD CHURCH . 63
FONT . . . . . .71
MONUMENTS ...... 72
IV. IHE AGE OF THE CHURCH . . .75
V. DOMESTIC BUILDINGS OF THE PRIORY . 86
VI. THE SAXON CHAPEL . . . .93
Vn. MISCELLANEA:— HOUSES ..... 108
PARISH REGISTERS . . . . . II4
CHURCHWARDENS' ACCOUNTS . . , I16
CHARITABLE BEQUESTS .... 129
FAMILIES AND LOCAL CHARACTERISTICS . .* 132
LEGEND OF DEERHURST .... 140
PHYSICAL FEATURES . . . . . I42
VIII. ADDENDA :—
CHARTER OF HENRY V. ... 149
SUPPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS HOUSES . 164
STRAY ITEMS ...... 166
IX. CONCLUSION  170
APPENDIX . . . . . .173

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

I. PRIORY CHURCH (EXTERIOR)
2. PL.\N OF PRESENT CHURCH
3. TWO-LIGHT WINDOW IN TOWER
4. TOWER FROM NAVE .
5. PL.AJN- OF SAXON CHURCH
6. FONT
7. PLAN OF PRIORY
8. SAXON CHAPEL (EXTERIOR) .
9. PLAN OF SAXON CHAPEL
10. INSCRIBED STONES, ETC.

. Frontispiece

to face page 39

44

4;

„ 63

71
.
90
.
93
95
„ 98
CORRIGENDA
Page 17, line 13,/or when, lege after.
„ 31, note line 4t,for Illuc, lege HUc.
same line, /or monachitis, lege monachilis.
„ 35, line 21, for 1410, lege i4oo.
„ 64, line 13, for The solid, lege Both solid, and dele each in the following line,
„ 64, last line but one,/or lofty archways, lege a lofty archway.
„ 87, line 18, to a cellar, adde beneath the soUar.
„ 88, last line but three, for outward, lege outer.
„ 108, lines 4, 5, dele either wholly, or in part.
„ 157, line 6, /or Boston, lege Bourton.
Note on p. 161. — The appropriate rectory of St. Aldate, Gloucester, valued at
£Z 17s. 3d. (temp. Henry VIII.), a possession of D. Prioryin Saxon days, seems
to have been lost to it, between the time of Honorius III. (1225, or, indeed,
1 Edw. I.), and that of the Jurors (1418), while the annual payment from the
Church to the Priory, of 7s. 8d., continued.
The rectory of East Leach- Turville, near Coin S. Denis, is said to have
belong-ed to the Priory, but as neither the Jurors nor the Pope mention it, I
apprehend that it was a late acquisition.
Note on p. 163 note. — Although it is stated in the article on Agriculture in the
Encyc- Brit, (gth Edit.) that in the early days of our country's history the staple
food-supply of the people was furnished by oats and rye, it seems to be shown
conclusively by J. E. T. Sogers, M.P. [Six Centuries of Work and Wage$, 1884),
that, on the contrary, wheaten bread was always the chief constituent. The
same authoritj- afl&rms that the rabbit was not introduced into our country till
after the Conquest. (See p. 5.)
INTRODUCTORY

GENERAL SKETCH OF DEERHURST

[(^I^JHE Parish of Deerhurst, in common with most
of our English country parishes, received its
" name in the early years of the Saxon occupa
tion of our land. It was, however, before Deerhurst
was formed into a parochial and ecclesiastical division,
that the name belonged to the place, we may suppose, as
the designation of a small settlement. The first known
mention of the name of Deerhurst occurs in connection
with its monastery — a religious estabhshment which in
quite a remote age was possessed of a not inconsiderable
territorial endowment. The exact date, indeed, of the
foundation of this institution has not been preserved to
our time. However, we cannot be far wrong in assign
ing it to about the year a.d. 700 ; and the Monastery
continued in corporate existence, through mg.ny vicissi
tudes of fortune, down to the time of the general
dissolution of Religious Houses, a.d. 1539, or for the
long term of nearly eight and a half centuries.
In various accounts of monastic foundations the pre
cise year 715 is given as the date of the Priory of
Deerhurst ; but the authority for that exact time seems

2 GENERAL SKETCH OF DEERHURST
to be of little, or no, value. Probably it may be put a
few years earlier. For Bede is said to have made
mention of the Priory, or " Abbay " — as was its earliest
designation. Now the Venerable Bede died at Jarrow
monastery, the beloved home of many devout and
studious years, in May, 735. Already, apparently, the
house at Deerhurst had become " a notable Abbay."
At least such are the words attributed to Bede, as
referring to it, by Leland, the indefatigable antiquary
of the days of Henry VIII.' In no extant work of Bede
are they to be found, it is true ; but there seems to be
no reason for doubting the testimony of Leland on this
particular point, since he had access, we may be certain,
to numberless documents which have since perished,
and there are no a priori grounds for deeming the state
ment an improbable one.
Camden, also, a little later, records that in Bede's
works there is a mention made of Deerhurst.*
It will prove no very difficult task to furnish just
some few general, yet distinct, outlines descriptive of
the condition of the locahty as it was when first a small
brotherhood of monks settled themselves at Deerhurst.
If we keep to the date 700, it is to be noted that
Christianity had not then been generally adopted by the
people of this part of the country for more than half a
century. Only twenty years earher, in the year 679, a
bishopric had been founded at Worcester. Mercia was
the kingdom in which Worcester and Deerhurst lay;
and the division of Mercia, which included both places]
together with a considerable tract of country situated
> The actual words of Leland are these :— " Bede niakith mention
that yn his tyme there was a notable Abb.-iy at Deorhurste. It was
destroyed by the Danes. Werstanus fledde thens, as it is savde to
Malverne." — Itin. vi., fol. 79, • i %
' Camden's Britannia.

GENERAL SKETCH OF DEERHURST 3
in the present counties of Worcester Gloucester, and
Warwick, was always called the land of the Hwiccas.'
Paganism had not entirely died out at this period,
although the Christian behef was conspicuously in the
ascendant. In all directions Monasteries were spring
ing up — small establishments at first, where a few
monks lived together, and taught and prayed, with an
abbot at their head. Very soon all such religious
houses adopted the rule of St. Benedict, in accordance
with the injunction of an Enghsh canon of 747. About
the same time as witnessed the foundation of Deerhurst,
small conventual houses were planted at Evesham,
Pershore, Ripple, Tewkesbury, Gloucester, Winch-
comb, Bredon, and many other neighbouring places.^
These spots were mostly at that period small hamlets,
where just a few owners or tillers of the soil had con
gregated, and made a clearing in the forest, or found
some suitable place of settlement already formed to
their hand.' The monks did not light upon a parish
church ready made, and inviting their occupation of it,
but brought their church with them, that is to say,
they carried about with them hands and heads, and
built a house of prayer for themselves and their neigh
bours, together with a habitation suited to their simple
wants. At first, indeed, they themselves, with their
' The origin of the name is uncertain. But nearly three centuries
ago, Camden suggested that (unless the name were taken from the
Saxon wic, a creek or reach of a river), the word wiches, or salt springs,
might have been embodied in the designation of the large district. In
fact, it is one and the same word, only appHed differently. Droitwich
was often called Wich simply. I know not whether objection may be
taken to this derivation on the score of the ancient spelling of the
land's name, which is Hwiccia.
* Winchcomb rather later, about a.d. 800.
^ " There was Httle, or no, Habitation at Twekesbyri at such tyme
as Odo and Dodo, Dukes of Marches, and Brothers, dyd erecte there
a Priory of Blak Menkes, Benedictines, a Celle, or Filial, to Craneburne
in Dorsetshir." — Leland, vol. vi. fol. 96.

4 general sketch of deerhurst
dependents or adherents, constituted the greater part
of the population of the small settlement.
But while many conventual retreats were thus founded
throughout the land, churches were also by degrees
being erect-ed by landowners upon their estates. These
good "men would then procure a clergyman to serve
them, either a monk, or else a secular priest, and would
make some provision for his support. In the former
case, the business would be managed by negotiating
with some neighbouring monastery, and handing over
to it the newly erected church and the endowment.
Then at the same time individual bishops, as also whole
communities in small towns, formed ecclesiastical dis
tricts and planted numerous churches.'
Thus grew up, side by side, two different kinds of
churches — the parish church, as it came to be called,
and the monastic church. At the date 700, while
most of our existing country towns, such as Tewkes
bury, were small villages, Gloucester was a walled
town, but of no great size, although claiming the cha
racter of a place of importance and antiquity. It had
been first a British, afterwards a Roman, town, and
now already possessed a monastery. At this time, and
down to the Reformation, it was within the ecclesias
tical jurisdiction of the Bishop of Worcester. Worces
ter, like Gloucester, had been a place of importance
during the Roman occupation of England.
The country was sparsely inhabited ; wood and waste
covered a great portion of the soil ; horse-tracks were
few ; of good roads there were none, or next to none,
save the great Roman highways ; one village had very
httle communication with another; a very small pro
portion of the land was under the plough. The River
' §ee Kemble's " Saxons in England," b. ii. ch. 9,

general sketch of deerhurst 5
Severn (which bounds Deerhurst on the west, while
Tewkesbury adjoins it on the north), must always have
formed some kind of highway for places on, or near, its
banks. Although at the beginning of the 9th century the
several kingdoms of England (or the so-called Hep
tarchy) were nominally merged in one sovereignty, yet
Kings of Mercia continued to reign for a long sub
sequent period in a condition of either entire or semi-
independence. Down to the Conquest, indeed, Mercia
constituted a province, of considerably varying dimen
sions, presided over by an Earl, its virtual ruler ; and
within Mercia, usually, if not quite uniformly, the
smaller division of the ancient kingdom of the Hwiccas
preserved its separate, and scarcely subordinate, juris
diction. The name " Deerhurst," to which I now return for a
short time, is to some extent suggestive. It implies a
settlement in forest land. " Hyrst," a Saxon word for
a wood, is a common termination of names of villages,
especially in the south-east of England. " Deer," or
" Deor," is a general designation for wild animals, under
which term may be catalogued, as existing in our
ancient forests in the Saxon age, the wolf, the stag, the
wild boar, the fox, the badger, the marten, the wild cat,
the polecat or fitchet, possibly the bear, with many
other smaller quadrupeds, such as stoats, conies, hares,
weasels, and squirrels.' The wild ox may have been
previously exterminated, but at one time roamed over
' "Deer," a wild animal, has its equivalents and verbal connexions
in " thier," Germ., and " fera," Lat. Whether the employment of the
word by " poor Tom " was simply sportive, or serious and according
to the usage of the age, may be a little doubtful : —
"But mice and rats, and such small deer.
Have been Tom's food for seven long year."
King Lear, Act iii., Sc. 4.

6 general sketch of deerhurst
the land. Otters and beavers might be found on rivers
and streams. Ravens, cranes, bustards, and kites,
birds now scarcely known to us as denizens of our land,
were then common ; and probably the lordly eagle was
occasionally to be seen soaring aloft.'
If woodland prevailed extensively on the left side of
the Severn in the neighbourhood of Deerhurst, it was
perhaps still more developed on the opposite side.
The large Malvern Chase extended, it would seem, from
the Hills to the River. An early clearing and settle
ment in this Chase are marked by the name of the
parish of Chaceley. Tirley, anciently called Trinley,
represents possiblj- another such clearing. The vene
rable Chaceley Oak, to be seen a quarter of a mile
from " the Stock " on the river's bank, may either be
an actual survivor of the Chase of mature age, or be
sprung from an acorn dropped from it. Then both
south and north of Malvern Chase forests were widely
spread out with no great interval of cleared land between
them and it, namely, the Forests of Dean and of Wire ;
while on the eastern side of the Severn, and to the
north of the Avon, came the large forest of Arden.
The earliest known inhabitants of Britain appear
never to have cleared the country of its natural dense
covering of wood. Forest, morass, and river had it all
their own way. Draining was unknown ; the native
Celtic people had no mind to change the character of
the fastnesses which sheltered them. When Cjesar
first brought Roman legions to our shores, a vast un-
¦ Light is thrown upon the subject of our ancient fauna bv our
Saxon local nomenclature. We have village and town names such as
these :-Eversley (haunt of the wild boar), Hertford, Cranboume
Beverstone and Beverley, Earaley (eagle's resort), Ravensthome'
Todmorden, Bearwood and Bamwood, Otterboume, Brocklev Wolier-
low, Stagsden. ¦"
See " Words and Places," by Rev. Isaac Taylor, p. 320, 6th edition.

general sketch of deerhurst 7
broken forest occupied the south-east part of England,
and this forest of Anderida was probably separated
from the dense woods of Devon by no very wide tract
of bare country. However, during the time that the
Romans held the country, a considerable change was
effected over the face of the land ; there was much clear
ing of forests and some draining of fens. Still when they
left Britain, the area covered by coppice and by marsh
was very large, especially in certain districts ; and even
when the Saxon occupation succeeded, the woodlands
very slowly lost their primaeval character. It is likely
that the Vale of the Severn became partially denuded at
a somewhat earlier period than the Cotswolds which
bound it, and whose name, a compound of Celtic and
Saxon, declares them to have been clothed with wood.
From a very early period there appears to have been
a trackway through Deerhurst — like other such lines of
communication — threading no doubt woodland, hamlet,
moor, and meadow. It ran at no great distance from
the Severn, through the lowlands skirting the river, till
at Wainlode Hill, beyond the southern boundary of the
present Parish of Deerhurst, it directed its course inland,
and made straight for Gloucester. As it approached
this town it would be flanked on either side by wood
land, of the former existence of which proof is given by
the names Sandhurst, Wootton, and Barnwood. In
the last Ordnance Survey this latter portion of the line
is marked as a Roman Road. This track may have
been Roman or even British. In certain places it
was, and is still, roughly paved. Roman troops are
not unlikely to have marched along it from their camp
at Gloucester northwards in the direction of Worcester,
to which town and beyond the trackway ran. Between
these two places were planted intermediate Roman
camps ; one, on rising ground beyond the Mythe,

8 general sketch of deerhurst
known by the name of Towcester. And at Tewkesbury,
a mere hamlet at the foot of the Mythe, the Romans left
their traces in the shape of coins.
Besides the trackway between Worcester and Glouces
ter, another ancient line of road ran tb the latter town
from the north-east, and this, probably, after touching
Tewkesbury, joined the first-mentioned track at some
point within the present parish of Deerhurst. It would
appear that many centuries passed by, even after the
foundation of the monastery at Deerhurst, before the
present highway uniting Gloucester and Tewkesbury
was formed. It was, we have reason to believe, by the
ancient road through Deerhurst, keeping near the river,
that Queen Margaret made her way from Gloucester to
Tewkesbury before the battle which took place at the
latter town (1471). Leland, who in the days of Henry
VIII. explored thoroughly the whole of England, men
tions in his " Itinerary " that a great part of the road
from Gloucester to Tewkesbury lay over low lands apt
to be flooded, and consequently was often in a foul
state. It is true, he says the same of the road between
Cheltenham and Gloucester, on which route he passed
over two or three " small lakes, which resorted to
Severne." Of course, men travelled then on horse
back, or else footed it. Lying upon the ancient track
way, there may possibly have existed at Deerhurst a
British hamlet, but if so, its name together with all
traces of its existence has long perished. The ancient
British trackways, and even many of the Roman roads,
are very difficult to map out with any degree of cer
tainty ; but the general direction of the Ikenild and
Ryknild Streets seems to be fairly well established,
and, as respects the latter (which sometimes locally
purloins the name of the former), there is good authority
for laying down its course from Derby through the

general sketch of deerhurst 9
borders of the counties of Warwick and Worcester till
Evesham is reached. Then, passing near Sedgeberrow,
it came to Tewkesbury, and crossing the little stream
Swilgate at a ford, made its way to Gloucester, tra
versing, apparently, Deerhurst. Below Gloucester,
the Ryknild Street is said to have crossed the Severn
into Wales. Now an ancient road — lost in fields at
one end — running between very deep banks, and bear
ing the almost forgotten name of " Inick Lane," directs
its course into Deerhurst village, after skirting the
Vicarage ; and to any one accustomed to note the
curious transformations and transpositions of letters in
the names of localities effected often in the lapse of
years, it will not seem impossible that in our clipped
and corrupted appellative may be preserved just a faint
memorial of what once had here a substantial existence,
as an ancient well-trodden trackway.'
In the Chronicles of the Saxon period Deerhurst is
mentioned on two or three occasions. Edmund Ironside
and Cnut are stated to have signed a peace here.
" After a battle at Assingdon " (in Essex), so a Chro
nicler relates, "both kings went into Gloucestershire,
and came together at Olney, near Deerhurst, and made
a peace by oath, dividing the kingdom between them." «
Later in the same year, 1016 (or, as some say, in the
year following). King Edmund died. Certain early
annalists, such as Henry of Huntingdon and Roger of
Wendover, speak of a personal encounter as taking
place in 1016 between the two princes, on a little island
in the Severn called Olney, or The Eight, two miles
' In vol. vi. of Leland's "Itinerary" (2nd edit. 1744), a learned
essay by Rev. F. Brokesby is appended on the subject of the four
great Roman Ways. It is mentioned in this essay that in part of its
course the Rylaiild (carefully distinguished by the writer from the true
Ikenild), goes by the name of "Ickle."
^ Saxon Chronicles. Assingdon is also called Assandun.

10 general sketch of deerhurst
below Tewkesbury. It is almost certain that the scene
of this meeting, or encounter — let it have been a mere
parley, as some say, or, as others assert, an actual
combat a ouirance — is to be identified with a spot near
Deerhurst Church, although the name has often been
confused with that of Alney Island, close to Gloucester,
— both names meaning simply, " Islet of Alders." It
is true, there exists no river-island at Deerhurst now,
but to the present day a piece of meadow land adjoining
the river, and having a small house upon it, retains
locally the name of "The Naight." A little stream
flowing into the Severn bounds on its other side this
wedge-like spot, and there is the appearance of a larger
stream having at one time occupied the channel. In the
last century our two county historians, Sir R. Atkyns
and Rudder, speak (as Camden does before them) of
the existence here of a small island, called The Eight
or Naight (a corruption, of course, of " Eyot ") ; so that
there may have been within quite a recent date the
silting up of the arm issuing from the Severn above.
Here, there can be little doubt that the two kings
fought, if, at least, like the Homeric heroes, they did
fight hand to hand, — or, at any rate, met — before sign
ing the peace at Deerhurst.
The Saxon Chronicles, perhaps the best authorities,
as being the earliest, and Florence of Worcester, make
no mention of the picturesque incident of the combat
between the kings on the river-island, amid the silence,
and in the sight, of the two opposed armies. WiUiam
of Malmesbury, on the other hand, tells the tale ; others
further embellish it.'
< The late lamented Rev. J. H. Blunt, in his interesting account of
Tewkesbury Abbey, is altogether in error as to the river-island of
Deerhurst. He beUeved it to have dwindled away down to a mere
low- water shoal ; whereas it is a capacious meadow, 6 acres in extent
(I give its area as measured in 1816), standing high and dry, many feet
above the normal level of the Severn waters.

general sketch of deerhurst II
Deerhurst is also mentioned in the Saxon Chronicles
as the place where Earl Odda, an adherent and relative
of Edward Confessor, died in 1056 ; he was buried,
however, at Pershore Abbey. His brother Elfric, also
dying at Deerhurst, was buried at Pershore three years
earlier. The monastery at Deerhurst soon overstepped its
small beginnings. Large estates were bestowed upon
it, especially at the beginning of the gth century. The
population gathered round the conventual House,
increased, and the fraternity had little difficulty in
raising for themselves, under the patronage, probably,
of powerful benefactors, a grand and stately church.
Deerhurst became a place of note, and at first outshone
its close neighbour, Tewkesbury. The religious house
of the latter was less richly endowed, and was made a
cell of a larger conventual establishment at Cranbourne,
Dorset. The tables were turned, however, soon after
the Conquest, and Tewkesbury became a most impor
tant monastery, holding Cranbourne as a dependency.^
Meanwhile the House at Deerhurst lost its independ
ence, and, losing it, suffered no doubt in prestige and in
other ways. For just at the close of the Saxon period,
Edward the Confessor, who was in heart far more
French or Norman than English, bestowed the monas
tery upon the great Abbey of S. Denis near Paris,
making it an alien Priory.^ The ancient House never
recovered its independence ; it continued to be a
possession of S. Denis till the first year of Henry VI.,
when, from being an alien priory, it was made a priory
denizen, licence being granted to the monks to elect
their own Prior— a right hitherto vesting in the Abbot
1 Leland : " Here was sumtyme an Hedde Abbay, after made a
celle of Tewkesbyri by an Erie of Glocester."
5 About A.D. 1050— 1060.

12 general sketch of deerhurst
and brethren of S. Denis. The name of the last of the
Priors of the old order was Hugh Magason. In the
letters patents of denization .(still preserved) it is stated,
as a preamble, that in the old Deerhurst monastery
St. Alphage, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, was
a monk professed. Further it is declared that the
Priory, as given to St. Denis by St. Edward, of pious
and famous memory, has always had, time out of mind,
cloisters, dormitories, refectories, and a common seal.
The King proceeds to say, that by reason of wars
between France and England, the said Priory can have
but slow and difficult access to the said Abbey to
procure a new presentation, when the place of the Prior
is void ; and thus His Majesty is pleased, " at the
humble request of our beloved in Christ Hugh, the
present prior, to grant to him and to the convent of the
place, that they and their successors shall be denizens,
in the same manner and form as any other English
priors." At a vacancy, the convent and monks may
freely elect one of themselves to be prior.
But when the connexion with the French Abbey was
severed, things did not return to their former footing, as
in the days before the Conquest and the Confessor's
donation. The valuable patronage of the Priory was
taken from it, and given to the neighbouring magnificent
and wealthy Abbey of Tewkesbury, which at this time was
in possession of nearly fifty advowsons. Blow followed
blow rapidly ; and one cannot but imagine that the
internal state of the Priory, and various ill effects con
sequent upon its long foreign connexion, invited the
free application of the axe. Anyway, in the igth year
of Henry VI. (1440), the Priory is said to have been
dissolved, when its lands were given by the King, in
unequal shares, to Tewkesbury, and to Eton, his new
foundation.

general sketch of deerhurst 13
Considerable squabbling, advantageous doubtless to
the class who thrive in hot water, appears to have been
one result of this division of the spoil. Great lav/-suits
arose between the more favoured College and the
Abbey, on conflicting grounds of alleged equity not
apparent to us. Seemingly, there was a third party in
the dispute, this claimant being the College of Fother-
ingay ; and Yorkist and Lancastrian rivalry was engagfed
in the fray, the former interest taking the part of
Fotheringay as against Eton. However, our point of
interest is to learn that eventually, but not till the reign
of Henry VIL, some composition was made, other
spoils were found for the College, or Colleges, and all
the lands of Deerhurst came into the possession of
Tewkesbury. Before this final arrangement, the Priory itself had
been annexed as a cell to the great neighbouring Abbey.
In the year 1469 the Bishop of Worcester, John
Carpenter, at the command, no doubt, of Edward IV.,
reduced it to this position of dependence, directing the
Abbot of Tewkesbury to maintain at Deerhurst one
monk in priest's orders to be called Prior or Warden,
four other monks, and one secular priest to perform
daily service at the Priory. The advowson of the
church had previously belonged to the Prior. What
had been the exact state of matters during the previous
thirty years, since the time when Henry VI. is said to
have dissolved the House, is not apparent ; at any rate,
from 1470 to the time when the stately Abbey was itself
dissolved (1539), Deerhurst was merely a small depend
ency, existing on sufferance, its few brethren being in
reality monks of Tewkesbury.
At last came the great stroke, inflicted indeed harshly
by Henry's hand, but demanded nevertheless by the
changed feeling of the time, and by the evident neces-

14 general sketch of deerhurst
sity for a new ecclesiastical constitution, which over
threw finally the vast monastic system of the land.
Tewkesbury made its surrender to the Royal Com
missioners on the gth January, 1539, its last abbot,
Wakeman, becoming the first bishop of the newly
erected see of Gloucester. He was not ruling over any
very large community, the whole brotherhood being
less than 40 in number. Of these, one only is men
tioned as connected with Deerhurst, Bromsgrove, Prior.
The possessions, however, of the suppressed Abbey
were vast. It has been computed, but the calculation
seems incredible, that seven-tenths of the soil of the
kingdom represented the aggregate holding of the con
ventual houses.
The brethren had to disperse, leaving for ever the
beautiful home which had sheltered them. They were
not turned adrift penniless ; the King, of his bounty,
allowed John Bromsgrove, for example, a pension of
20 marks (;^i3 6s. 8d.). The servants and officers of
the Abbey, dismissed at the same time, who had been
engaged in various industrial occupations both within
and without the precincts, but lodged mostly inside the
walls, were 144 in number. The number of the actual
brethren was less by a third than it had been when,
four centuries earlier, they had moved from Cranbourne
to Tewkesbury. In the interval between the two
epochs there had been no doubt, at times, a very much
larger community gathered within the ample buildings.
The Priory buildings, as part of the escheated pos
sessions of the Abbey, came into the King's hands.
The site of the Priory, its buildings, and adjacent lands,
were granted, for a due consideration, to a member of
the influential Throgmorton family, who appear to have
had some earlier connexion with the place. The
church was allowed to stand, and to continue to be.

general sketch of deerhurst 15
what for some time past it had virtually and perhaps
nominally become, the Parish Church.'
The great destructive movement which put an end
abruptly to what had been the growth of centuries
and had overshadowed the whole land — not unlike the
forests in which English homes were once embosomed
— must have altered the whole fabric of society.
Deerhurst must have had its full share in the con
sciousness of change and of the dawn of new ways,
although indeed, owing to the gradual decay of its once
flourishing Priory, the alteration in its condition may
have advanced at a pace somewhat slow and stealthy.
However, the people could not but know that things
were not now what they had been. Changes had come
and more changes were coming. Deerhurst had pre
sented the appearance of a small town, to which many
flocked, mainly on account of the ancient monastery in
its midst. It had also had, as will be shown in the
proper place, an immediate connexion with the far-
famed Abbey of Westminster.
It may interest us here to see what Leland says,
writing at the time when the great changes connected
with the overthrow of monasticism were taking place.
He states, in his " Itinerary," respecting " Deirhurste
in Glocestershir," that " it standith as Severne Ryver
cummith doune in lava vipa a Mile beneth Theokesbyri.
The Site of the Towne, as it is now, is in a manor of a
Medow. So that when Severne much risith the Water
cummith almoste aboute the Towne. It is to be sup-
posid that it was of olde tyme lesse subjecte to Waters,
and that the Botom of Severne, then deper withoute
Choking of Sandes, dyd at Flouddes leste hurte.
' In a deed relating to a Deerhurst charity of A. D. 1527, the church
is called the Parish Church of Jitdkaxii.— Report of Charity Com
mission, vol. xvi. f. 30, 31.

i6 general sketch of deerhurst
" It is now but a poore Village, and the Lordship
longgid of late partely to the Abbate of Theokesbyri.
Suche Parte as Westminstre had was longging to
Persore Abbay tyl William Conqueror gave it away.
Derehurst Abbay had the Residew afore that the House
. of Derehurste was alienatid from the Monasterie of
S. Dionise by Parise, to the which it was a Celle, and
one Hugo Magason, a Monke of S. Dionise, was the
laste Prior aliene there yn King Edwarde the 4. Dayes,
and aboute that tyme it was dissolvid, and most of the
Landes of it given to Foderingey, and Eton College, as
it is said, had sum Title. After Sute betwixte the Col
leges and the Abbay of Theokesbyri Debatinges was,
and after long Tracte a final Ende made in Henry the 7.
days that the Priory of Goldeclife, longging then newly
to Teokesbyri, should go with the Landes to Foderingey
College, and Dehorhurst onto Theokesbyri,
" Bede makith mention that yn his tyme there was a
notable Abbay at Derehurste. It was destroyed by the
Danes. Werstanus fledde thens, as it is sayde, to
Malverne. The Frenche Order was an Erection syns
the Conquest. The olde Priory stode Est from Severn
a Bow shotte, and North of the Town.' There remayne
yet dyverse Names of Streates, as Fischar Streate, and
other. But the Buildinges of them be gone. There be
yet 2. Fayres kept, one at eche day in inventione &
exaltatione Crucis. There is a Parke betwixt the old
Plotte of Holme Castelle and it, but it longgid to
Holme,Tthe Erles of Glocester's House, and not to it.
There is a fair Manor Place of Tymbre and Stone yn
this Theokesbyri Parke wher the Lord Edward Spenser
lay, and late my Lady Mary."*
> A bow shot, or the distance between archery butts, was fixed bv
an order of 33 Henry VIII. at 240 yards, ^
2 Itin., vol.vi. fol. 78, 79.

general sketch of deerhurst 17
The Lady Mary is probably the Princess, and future
Queen. The Princess spent her Christmas at Tewkes
bury in 1525.
A few words of comment on this extract from Leland
may not be misplaced here, since what he says about
" the notable Abbay " has in part not unfrequently
been misunderstood. As regards " the Lordship,"
Leland is evidently referring to the ownership of lands
in Deerhurst as he knew it — a parish with the same
boundaries as now. Part belonged to the Abbey of
Westminster ; and a smaller portion — lands aro.und the
Priory — was the possession of Tewkesbury, having
lapsed to it from Deerhurst, spfeen the Priory was made
denizen. Leland states that the Conqueror bestowed
upon Westminster its portion ; but the Confessor was
the actual first donor, and the Conqueror confirmed
the gift.
That these lands of Westminster Abbey, a portion of
the ancient Manor of Deerhurst, belonged at any time
to Pershore Abbey, as Leland says, appears to be a
doubtful point. More will have to be said of this
hereafter. As to the several turns and movements in
the subsequent devolution of " the Residew," other
writers are not quite at one with Leland, but no doubt
it all came eventually to Tewkesbury.'
When it was that the Danes ravaged Deerhurst in
the days of Werstan, cannot be shown ; it may have
occurred (if the tradition be correct) near the end of
the gth century. There were hosts of piratical Danes
who sailed up the Severn during that and the subse-.
quent century, and an abundance of marauding Danes
who were settled in the land. In speaking of the
' However, even after the settlement in the reign of Henry VII. in
favour of Tewkesbury, Eton College is said to have acquired, or re
gained, some considerable scraps of the spoil in his successor's days.

l8 general sketch of deerhurst
" Frenche Order " as " an erection," Leland is not
contemplating any fresh building, but the inauguration
of the rule of S. Denis. This has been a stumbling
block to some, so I note it. He says elsewhere, speak
ing of Bodmin, a " Bishop of Excestre erectid the last
Fundation of this Priory. The Towne takith King
Edelstane for the chief Erector and Gyver of Privileges
onto it." Leland says, as he proceeds, " Syns the
Conquest ; " in fact, it was some few years before the
Conquest that Deerhurst was given to the French
abbey. The " olde Priory " is not to be taken (as
some have taken it) for an ancient Saxon building,
meant to be distinguished from the building of the
Plantagenet and Lancastrian period. It is the iden
tical fabric of which portions, at any rate, if not the
whole, were standing in Leland's days. He uses the
past tense " stode," as describing a condition of things
which had changed — no longer was " the olde Priory"
used as a Priory. Such, in brief, is my own interpre
tation of a passage, which has fared badly through the
over subtle ingenuity of certain commentators.
The two fairs of which Leland speaks, continued to
be held long after his day, and even now the localities
where " the butter market," the "horse-market," and
the " cow-market " were held, are still remembered.
At the entrance of the village, but a few years ago,
there was open to the road (since enclosed) the " Fair-
place Green." The population of the village itself, it is
tolerably certain, must have decreased at a date now
distant, while in another hamlet of the parish (not
named in Domesday), Apperley, a flow of increasing
numbers concurrently set in.i
1 Respecting Holme Casfle (destroyed about A.[d. 132?) Leland
states that it stood near the S.W. end of Tewkesbury Abbey and on
the left banlt of the Suliat (Swilgate). The Castle was built probably

GENERAL SKETCH OF DEERHURST Ig
When the next great national crisis occurred in the
century following the era of the Dissolution of Monas
teries, viz., that of the latest civil war and its con
sequences, little is found to record as respects its
influence upon Deerhurst. Gloucester, as is generally
known, was in the hands of the Parliamentary party
during the struggle ; as to Tewkesbury, it repeatedly
changed hands, being usually held, however, by the
same party as Gloucester. What side was taken by
the Deerhurst folk as a body, does not appear very
clearly, but the Squire of the place, Henry Cassey, of
Wightfield Court, and Thomas Cassey, Esq., were,
it seems evident, stout Royalists, and had to suffer in
purse for the good cause. They were pronounced to
be " recusants " as professing the Romish faith, and
were deprived of a large amount of tithe. In 164.5 the
inhabitants of Deerhurst, together with those of other
neighbouring places, were "requisitioned" to supply
funds for the support of the Parliamentary garrison at
Tewkesbury. One " Mr. John Trapp, a preaching
minister," was holding the living of Deerhurst in 1652.
We move onward to the beginning of the present
century, and notice what effected a great change in the
outward and visible features of the Parish. This was
the enclosing of the large common, completed in 1816.
This common ran from near the church to a distance of
three miles or more, forming a kind of boundary of the
parish on two sides. When enclosed, it was divided
among the various landowners of the place. The Lay
Impropriator received about 350 of its acres in lieu of
by Robert Fitzhamon, the founder of the existing Abbey Church ; no
evidence exists as to any Saxon building on the site. It is not likely
that in early times any public road ran between Holme Castle and
"the Lodge" (the house now in the possession of James Sargeaunt,
Esq.), the Park being an appurtenance of the Castle, the fact of whicli
connexion explains the old name, " Lodge."
C2

20 GENERAL SKETCH OF DEERHURST
tithes, and the possessor of the Priory estate (Earl
Coventry), 15 acres in lieu of a tithe of hay, and thus
the parish became tithe free. The Earl's " chief rent "
was also extinguished by the allotment to him of one
acre. At the same time a large arable portion of the
parish was divided into separate enclosures and fenced.
Down to that period, fields bounded by hedge and
ditch seem to have been few in number, and lay chiefly
in the vicinity of the farm houses ; most of the land had
no substantial boundaries. New roads were now laid
out and fenced. In former days the open lands had
been crossed by road-ways in various directions ; and
besides, there were some ancient, ill kept lanes.
Before the enclosure, right of common belonged to
the whole body of the householders of the parish. The
holdings of land were numerous and frequently small;
and this fact accounts for the large number of small
farm houses, or of such in appearance, to be seen at
the present day, particularly at Apperley. In the year
i6gi there were nearly 100 rateable householders within
the parish. Its rateable value (as regards individual
holdings) was then ;^i2ig, exactly one-fifth of its present
value. It has to be considered that this was before
the enclosure of the valuable common lands.

II

HISTORY OF THE PRIORY

fl HAVE endeavoured so far to give a few leading
! particulars as to the general condition of
 Deerhurst at successive periods.
I now return to early days, and shall have to speak
in detail of the history of the Monastery, which for so
many years exercised a considerable influence on the
surrounding community outside its walls. The Con
ventual House at Deerhurst was enriched, there can
be no doubt, at a very early period. But the earliest
surviving record of estates bestowed upon it is that
which relates the grant, in 804, of Ethelric, son of
Ethelmund, Earl or Ealdorman in the Hwiccian district
of Mercia. None will fail to remember that this date
nearly coincides with the year in which the several
Saxon kingdoms of England were ostensibly welded
into one. At the same period Ethelric appears to have
bestowed munificent gifts on the church of S. Peter,
Gloucester, and on the monastic church of Worcester.
The terms of the record of Ethelric's ample grant
imply that already there was a flourishing monastery
at Deerhurst. "He gives to it estates, situated partly
in the present county of Worcester, and partly in that
of Gloucester, on the condition that " his body shall
repose within the precinct of the Monastery, and the

22 HISTORY OF THE PRIORY
prayers of the brethren shall be offered for him and for
the soul of his father," who, as the Chronicles relate,
had died in battle. The estates enumerated are at
Todenham (Gloucestershire), and at three other places
named as Sture, Scrasfley, and Colehanley. Sture is
likely to be Preston-on-Stour.'
It was just about 250 years after this large addition
was made to the possessions of the Monastery (although
the exact year of Edward's gift to the French abbey is
unknown), that the Confessor bestowed upon S. Denis
the House of Deerhurst with all that appertained to it.
Baldwin, a monk of S. Denis, was made Prior, — a
Churchman who made a reputation in his own day by
his medical skill. He afterwards became Abbot of
S. Edmund's, and survived till near the close of
Rufus's reign. The Conqueror confirmed the donation,
in 1069, by a still existing charter.
Edward's act of alienation may well have been un
popular with his subjects, as was, there can be no
doubt, his general predilection for everything Norman
or French. Brought up in Normandy, and with a
Norman lady for his mother, the pious but weak-minded
monarch had never become thoroughly English. He
spoke the language of the land of his early home, and
filled with Norman ecclesiastics the English sees.
Architects from over the sea erected his famous
monastic church of S. Peter, Westminster.
However, if Englishmen ever considered that in the
Confessor they had a King Log, they were only too
speedily to acquire in his room a King Stork, indeed a
succession of King Storks— for the first three Norman
sovereigns vied with each other in fillmg England with
foreign ecclesiastics of the higher grades, and bestow-
' Codex Diplom. JEvi Sax.

HISTORY OF THE PRIORY 23
ing endowments on foreign Abbeys. Meanwhile the
halo of saintship began to gather round the memory of
the feeble Edward.
The following is the translation from the original
language of a portion of the Charter of the Conqueror : — ¦
" William, King of the Englishmen, Earl of
Normandy and Csenomanensium, to the faithful be
lievers in Christ of whatsoever nation. We being
excited by the good precept of our Blessed Saviour,
and by our wife Maud, with the prudent counsel of
our nobles, and for the good of our own soul and the
souls of all our children, do assign and confer the
church of Deorherst, situated within the jurisdiction of
the city of Gloster, with all its appurtenances, unto St.
Dennys, who was the happy Apostle of France, in as
full manner as our" [predecessor] " did grant the same
to our faithful subject Baldwin, then a monk of that
Saint, now the Abbot of St. Edmondsbury ; and in like
manner as we our self did grant the same to him after
we possessed the kingdom. Let this monastery, and
all belonging to it, be free from all earthly service.
The same privilege which the aforesaid King had given
to the same Saint in respect of Tainton and its appur
tenances, we also grant, in order that we and our
children, by the prayers of that Saint and of his com
panions Rustious and Eleutherius, may be prosperous
in this world, and obtain an eternal happy mansion
hereafter." This ordinance was confirmed in the " monastery of
St. Swithin in the city of Winchester, in the year of
our Lord 1069, in the reign of King William the First,
on the  of Easter, after the celebration of mass :
These witnesses agreeing thereunto —
" .J. I King William do corroborate this our grant
and confirmation with the sign of the holy cross.

:24 HISTORY OF THE PRIORY
" T I Maud, Queen of the said King, do acknowledge
my content therewith.
'• -f I Richard, son of the King, do approve the grant
of my father and mother [2nd son].
" -f I Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, do confirm it.
" -r I Aldred, Archbishop of York, do confirm it.
" -r I William, Bishop of London, do confirm it."
Then follow the names and marks of 18 bishops and
nobles. We will now look at the possessions of the House, at
the time when, from an Abbey, it became a Priory, and
was conveyed to S. Denis. From the Survey of
Domesday it appears that, although within the present
parish of Deerhurst the Priory held but little land save
what was immediately around the conventual buildings,
yet its estates elsewhere were considerable. At Walton-
Deerhurst, indeed, we find that it possessed only one
hide, or something like 40 acres, of cultivated land.' It
may be remarked that (as regards our county) Domesday
does not generaUy give much account of land not cul
tivated, except of wood and, to some extent, of meadow.
Its manors were the foUowing : Coin (afterwards
called Coin St. Denys), and Caldicote, Uckington,
Staverton, Little Compton, Preston-upon-Stour, and
Welford. Besides these manors, the Priory held land
in Wolstone, Leigh, Kemerton, Tirley, Taynton (Oxford
shire), and Droitwich.' It possessed the impropriation
of the parishes of Elmstone, Tirley, Leigh, and St.
' The hide is popularly considered to represent about lOO acres.
ButKemble, in his "Saxons in England," seems to prove that 33
acres are nearer the mark. V/hen the term (hide) is employed in
Domesday, it invariably describes arable land.
' It is doubtful whether Taynton ever belonged to Deerhurst. It
was given indeed by the Confessor to S. Denis together with Deerhurst
but was probably a separate gift. See extract from William's charter
above.

HISTORY OF THE PRIORY 25
Andrew's at Droitwich, also the patronage of the
churches of Corse, Wolstone, and Welford. It may
be observed that some small portion of this ample
endowment may possibly have been added after the
Conquest, but all the estates are, at any rate, men
tioned in Domesday (1086). Many years after the
Conquest, the Priory was holding the rectory of S.
Aldate's, Gloucester ; whether it held it in the days of
the Confessor does not appear to be known.
The churches of Corse, Forthampton, Hasfield,
Leigh, Staverton, Boddington, and Tirley were depend
encies of Deerhurst, which was a peculiar ; and they
had no right of sepulture in their own cemeteries till
they obtained it from the Prior of Deerhurst. We
may conclude that the monks had founded these
churches or had had them conveyed to them, and that
at one time they served them from their own monastery.
In the above list of estates we are unable to trace all
the members of Ethelric's donation. Most of these
possessions may have been lost to Deerhurst ; one of
the manors, Todenham, we know definitely to have
been in other hands at this time.
However, what may seem more strange is that in the
enumeration of the Priory's possessions in the time of
Edward, the Manor of Deerhurst itself does not find a
place. Instead, it appears that this manor, the boun
dary of which came actually to within a few paces of
the Priory, had been bestowed by Edward upon his
newly founded monastery of S. Peter, Westminster.
It is not known what right of disposal the King pos
sessed ; but let the nature of this right have been what
it may, it seems by no means unlikely that at one time
this important manor had belonged to the Deerhurst
monastery, but was subsequently forfeited. Presumptive
evidence in favour of this view is not altogether wanting.

26 HISTORY OF THE PRIORY
The ancient Hundred of Deeirhurst at- the time of
the Conquest exactly included the scattered estates,
in Gloucestershire, of the House of Deerhurst, together
with the possessions therein of Westminster Abbey.
Now it is no very hazardous conjecture to infer (with
Rev. C. S. Taylor '), from the analogy of other cases,
that anciently the Deerhurst monks had gathered their
estates in the county into one Hundred, their own
Hundred of Deerhurst. But a time may have come
when they were forced to yield to pressure, and had to
relinquish a large slice of their lands. Indeed, had this
not been the case, it would have been a highly singular
circumstance that a manor which almost touched their
House should be the property of others, or, in other
words, that the Monastery should have been originally
planted on so circumscribed a territory.* Then in con
firmation of this view, the fact meets us that Todenham,
once belonging indisputably to the Priory, is, in the
Confessor's days, a portion of the Manor of Deerhurst,
as given to Westminster. It is not a little remarkable
that the same Sovereign should have given the Priory
of Deerhurst to an Abbey where for ages each member
of the long unbroken line of French monarchs found a
last resting place, and also bestowed lands in the same
Gloucestershire parish on the English Abbey in which,
ever since the donor's days, all our kings have been
crowned, and most of them buried.
It may be observed here that in all probability the
Confessor made personal visits to Deerhurst, since he
¦was often in its close neighbourhood, at Gloucester,
' I -wish to acknowledge here my obligation to Mr. Taylor for
making me acquainted with his ingenious conclusion.
^ That is to say, the House would have been at the first locally
separated from almost the whole of its lands. Thus we may conjecture
that, if at any time the monastery of Deerhurst held the Manor, it was
at the period of its foundation.

HISTORY OF THE PRIORY 27
and quite apart from his acts in reference to the Priory,
monasteries were special objects of his attention.
Here we will take a passing glance at this Manor of
Deerhurst, as it was when the King bestowed it on
Westminster. It comprised several modern parishes.
It contained Deerhurst itself save quite a small portion,
(in which term we must include the present Apperley,
as extending to the churchyard of the parish). Hard-
wick, Todenham, Sutton, Bourton, besides portions
(and perhaps in some cases the whole) of Wicfeld,
or Wightfield, of Elmstone, Boddington, Evington,
Hasfield, Harridge in Corse, Tirley, Kemerton, Leming-
ton, and Moreton.
In succeeding years the great Abbey of S. Peter
gathered its Gloucestershire estates into a " Westminster
Hundred ; " but at the time of the Domesday Survey
all the above domain, as has been already said, lay in
the Hundred of Deerhurst, and was designated " the
Manor of Deerhurst," or more precisely, " the Manor
of Deerhurst, together with its appurtenant Berewicks,"
i.e. dependent manors. In extent the landed posses
sions of the Priory in Edward's days and the Glouces
tershire estates of Westminster were about equal. The
latter held 59 hides, the former 64^^, in the county
of Gloucester. As the hide represented only arable
land, we ought probably to put the full acreage at three
times as much. In the Westminster manor of Deer
hurst, woodland extended fully two miles length-wise ;
this was situated within the modern parish of Deerhurst ;
also outside this area there was woodland. The Priory
also possessed two woods, one of them rather larger
than the one described above, but where exactly these
were situated is not told us in Domesday. In the time
of King Edward, the yearly value of the great manor of
Deerhurst was ;^4i ; that of the Gloucestershire pos-

28 HISTORY OF THE PRIORY
sessions of S. Denis ;^26 los. Possibly the latter
estates were farmed at a less proportionate profit in
consequence of their having come into the hands of a
foreign Abbey.
If now, as seems most likely, the old Deerhurst
Monastery was at one time possessed of so extensive
a patrimony and of so wide an influence, as has been
suggested above, it must have ranked in early days
among the most important religious Houses in the
land. Flourishing, however, as it may have been, we
can glean but little of the history of the Monastery
between the two epochs of Ethelric's gift and Edward's
alienation. Within this period, it is more than pro
bable, as we shaU presently see, that the monks erected
a church, of which great portions still remain. Report,
indeed, assigns the year 870 as the date of the building
of a church, and names Ethelred, brother of Alfred,
as the founder. Such a statement appears in Sir R.
Atkyns's history of the County, but he adduces no
evidence in support of it. Then we meet with perhaps
rather more authentic rumours of devastation and
plunderings by the Danes. Leland, without giving
any date, speaks, as we have seen, of these marauders
destroying the Monastery. Now the Chronicles narrate
that in 879 a large Danish army took up their quarters
at Cirencester, and remained there a whole year. No
doubt they were not idle all that time. Deerhurst was
dangerously near Cirencester, and the brethren were
rich ; but whether the Monastery was sacked at that
time, history fails to inform us.
In the year 1016 Deerhurst must have been entirely
at the mercy of Cnut, who, at that time a heathen, had,
in the early part of the year, been ravaging a great
portion of Mercia and burning the churches, and then
some months later, in pursuit of Ironside, came to

HISTORY OF THE PRIORY 29
Deerhurst, which we happen to know, was, on his
arrival there, quite unprotected. How it fared with
the place, tiU the peace of which mention has been
made was ratified there, we know not. Toward the
close of the previous century, however, or about 970,
we have proof that the House was in a flourishing
state. St. Alphege, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury,
was at that time a monk at Deerhurst, but left it, it is
said, for a retreat where he could better secure the
strict privacy which his spirit was ardently coveting.
The Archbishop, a man of noble character as of noble
descent, and canonized after his death, was murdered
at Greenwich by the Danes under circumstances of
special barbarity in the year 1012. It would appear
that when Alphege was an inmate of the Monastery,
it was an establishment of no great size, although its
possessions, as we know, were considerable. At least,
William of Malmesbury, writing about the year 1125,
and describing St. Alphege's residence within the con
secrated walls, uses the words " exiguum cenobium."
In a passage of the " Acta Sanctorum, Ord. Benedict,"
quoted by Neander, the learned Church historian,
there is the record of an interesting discussion between
Lanfranc and Anselm, both of them, many years subse
quently, successors of Alphege in the see of Canterbury,
on the claim of that Saint to the honours of martyrdom,
Lanfranc objecting that he did not meet his death
through a confession of the Christian faith. In fact,
the Danes, who had long kept the Archbishop in con
finement, slaughtered him because he would not consent
to his own ransom out of the goods of the Church.
Anselm, however, with a true appreciation of the spirit
of the holy man, answered that Alphege deserved
beyond question to be esteemed a martyr. " For a

30 HISTORY OF THE PRIORY
man," reasoned he, " who chooses rather to die than to
dishonour God by the slightest sin, would surely
hesitate still less to sacrifice his life rather than provoke
the Divine displeasure by a more grievous transgression.
And so Alphege, who preferred to die rather than to
redeem his life at the expense of his community, would
assuredly not have shrunk from death, if he had been
commanded to deny Christ. And besides, what else
was meant by dying for justice or for truth, than dying
for Christ, who is justice and truth ? "
Before Alphege was advanced to the Primacy, he
had been Bishop of Winchester, and one of his public
acts in that capacity was to administer the rite of
Confirmation to Olaf, the warlike and adventure-loving
King of Norway, who at one time had been the fierce
foe of England. The Bishop received the King's
promise to abstain thenceforward from invading and
harrying our country, and the promise was observed.
The name of St. Alphege still retains a place in the
Calendar of our Book of Common Prayer, viz., on igth
April, the day of his martyrdom. Two London churches
are named after him.
It has often been stated that the Confessor rebuilt
the Priory Church, but no kind of evidence that he did
so is producible. Certainly it may have needed repara
tion ; after Cnut's visit, some thirty years previous, it
may have lain in a poor condition. But this is simple
conjecture. At one time also the assertion was com
monly made, with an apparently fairer pretension to
certitude, that in the days of the Confessor, Earl Odda,
his kinsman, rebuilt the church. However, as will be
shown further on, the grounds for this statement have,
through a recent discovery, been rendered more than
dubious — in fact, have been demolished.
We get a passing mention of the Priory, about sixty

HISTORY OF THE PRIORY 3I
years after Edward's death, in that passage of Malmes
bury already referred to. It occurs in his memoir of
St. Alphege. He says that " Dirhest," in the days of
Alphege " a small cell " (exiguum cenobium), was, when
he was writing, "an empty monument of antiquity"
(antiquitatis inane simulacrum).'
The natural interpretation of these words, which
have sometimes been misunderstood, conveys the im
pression that the Priory was then, and had been for
some time, in a state of utter decay, deserted, and a
mere ruin. There must have been, we should think,
some amount of truth in this contemporaneous state
ment, and it is evidently meant to apply not to a certain
portion of the monastic buildings, but to the Priory as
a whole. It may perhaps be deemed corroborative of
this assertion of the annalist, that in the Church itself
we have existing evidence that important work was
undertaken there not very many years after his record
of the state of melancholy desolation (about 1150). Of
this work I shall have to speak when the Church is
described. Further we may conjecture that the agent
of devastation was fire, of which traces (it may be
thought) are still discernible — whether supplied acci-
dentaUy or of mahce prepense.
We may here allow ourselves to make a short pause
for the consideration of the probable state of the Saxon
Abbey when King Edward made it a foreign House, as
also of some of the apparent consequences of its alien
ation. Such testimony as we possess, which indeed is
' The following is the passage :—"Athelwoldo successit Elphegus
bono bonus. Puer hbrorum amplexus scholas, adolescens alteravit
habitum apud Dirhest, tunc exiguum cenobium, nunc antiquitatis inane
simulacrum. lUJc cum vitse monachitis regulam accepisset, altius quid
anhelans Bathoniam conteudit, ubi se ceUulae secretioris parietibus
includens, coelestia mente hbabat." — Will,, Malmesbury, GeUa
Pont Angl., ii. 76.

32 HISTORY OF THE PRIORY
scanty enough, leads to the belief that the number of
the inmates had always been small. Although the
alleged dissatisfaction of St. Alphege may not be con
clusive as to the internal state of the Monastery, the
story of his quitting it leaves us with an impression not
altogether favourable to the retreat. In his age, there
cannot be the slightest doubt, monasticism in England
was at a low ebb. Outwardly prosperous and dominant
as it showed itself, it was not, as a system, fulfiUing its
early promise. The abuses connected with it were
grievous. It was often the case that a few brethren
had at their disposal most ample possessions, of which
too often a very indifferent employment was made.
Although the Rule of St. Benedict was almost every
where adopted, the evils so apt to spring up in con
ventual establishments were by no means everywhere
cured. If we are right in supposing that Deerhurst
was shorn of a vast patrimony, it was probably the best
fate which could have befallen it — unless, indeed, the
monks had risen to a sense of their responsibilities in a
degree which was not much t<5 be looked for from
them. However, the Confessor's procedure in giving the
House to S. Denis was not calculated, so far as we
can judge, to mend matters. It was probably on his
part the act of mere caprice, or superstition, and had
little, or no regard, to the bettering of the constitution
of the brotherhood. Certain of the consequences of his
alienation he could not possibly have foreseen. He
could not know that Normandy was first to become an
integral portion of the English dominion, and next that
it was to pass away from it, and constitute a portion of a
kingdom between which and England there would be
for centuries a lasting feud. But the actual result of
the donation was, at least after the year 1200, to place

HISTORY OF THE PRIORY 33
Deerhurst Priory in the position of an alien and un-
English foundation, whose estates might at any time
be transferred from the foreigner to the King with
manifest national advantage. Accordingly, we find
King John and his successors laying their hands freely
on the possessions of the numerous alien Houses, and
Deerhurst underwent its full share of spoliation. As
an alien " Priory, it probably had a still smaller number
of inmates than in the previous Saxon age, when it
was independent ; perhaps at no time was the number
twelve much exceeded. • We have incontestable proof
of the existence during the Middle Ages of a very large
proportion of conventual Houses the numerical size of
which was surprisingly moderate. And it appears to have
been one of the prominent abuses of the larger founda
tions, as time went on and thewhole system of monachism
was drawing near its inevitable end, to keep down the
number of the Religious attached to them, whilst they
retained, so far as lay in the power of their directors,;
their full revenues and rights. It is to be borne in
mind that only a portion of the monks of a Priory, or
¦Abbey, were ordained men ; usually the lay brethren
largely outnumbered the clerical ; and then, in addition,
there was a considerable staff of servants attached to
the establishment. When Tewkesbury Abbey was
dissolved, we hear of its 144 servants. A noted and
zealous ecclesiastic, Giraldus Cambrensis, writing only
fifty years after Malmesbury, makes it very evident that
widespread and most damaging abuses had effected a
settlement in English monasteries at quite an early
period ; and Malmesbury himself, speaking of the days
of the Conqueror, witnesses to a decided deterioration
in the ordinary conventual life, in a similar strain.'
' Thus he speaks : — " Canum cursibus avocari, avium pr^dam raptu
aliarum volucrum per inane sequi, spumantis etjui tergum premere,
D

34 HISTORY OF THE PRIORY
On the other side it is no less certain that at this very
period the heads of some of the most important monas
teries in the old Hwiccian territory, including the
honoured bishop Wulfstan of Worcester, were zealously
and unitedly adopting measures for the improvement
of their respective Houses. Indeed reforms were at
tempted by many, but still the tide of improvement
never fairly and generally set in ; so that, in effect,
the conventual system, once so firmly established,
worked out its own doom and execution.
I now take up the interrupted thread of the Priory's
history. We cannot define with certainty the composition of
the House as to nationality, in its alien condition.
Most likely, however, the number of the English monks, '
actual inmates of the Priory, exceeded that of the
foreigners. In the middle of the 13th century, in the year 1250,
the Abbot of S. Denis sold the Priory to Richard,
Earl of Cornwall, the Pope countenancing the sale, and
the monks were expelled and the buildings destroyed;
however, it came into the hands of the Abbey again.
The lands were then worth 300 marks per annum,
being, as recorded by Matthew Paris, " viii bonse
viUse." '
Another act of spoliation is recorded to have been
perpetrated by King Richard 1 1., who seized the Priory
in 1380, and retained it for a while together with all
tesseras quatere, potibus indulgere, deKcatiori victu et accuratiori
cultu, frugahtatem nescire, parsimoniam abnuere, et cetera id genus, ut
magis iUos consules quam monachos pro frequentiS famulantium
diceres." — Gest. Pontif. 70.
' " To this Priory belonged 8 rich manors ; the Church was worth
300 marks annually, together with a park and appurtenances "
Deerhurst is called by this writer "Hurst" simply. Eari Richard
purposed building a castle at Deerhurst.— .^«rf. Angl., bv Matt
i'ARiS. ¦= ' /

HISTORY OF THE PRIORY 35
its possessions ; but he appears to have eventually
restored it to its rightful owners.' His Chief Baron of
the Exchequer, Sir John Cassey, lived within a mile of
the House, at Wightfield. This act of Richard is said
by some, with apparent probability, to have been anti
cipated by his grandfather, Edward III.^
In the ist year of Henry VI. , 1422, a great change
took place, as we have already seen, in the condition
of the Priory. It may be that long before this time it
had parted in great measure with the character which,
we may fairly hope, had distinguished it in still earlier
days. Its inmates were probably very few in number ;
certainly this was the case by the year 1470. In that
year, after the affiliation to Tewkesbury Abbey, a good
deal is said to have been done to the Church by an
Abbot of Hayles, William Whitchurch.' Possibly,
among other renovations, he may have given a roof to
the nave.
The Priors of Deerhurst may frequently have been
Frenchmen, but this was not always the case. In
14^0, William Foster was made Prior ; and in 1476
(after the appropriation to Tewkesbury), John de
Bokenhall, a monk of Westminster, ex provisione Papali.
The further history of the decaying House down
' In Felibien's Hist, of S. Denys, ',' un chevaher Anglais " is named
as the spoiler, and not the King. And indeed from other sources we
learn that the King conveyed the House and lands to a certain John
de Beauchamp of Holt. The Priory, being an aUen possession, must
have been a tempting and easy prey to any enterprising chevalier
d'industrie. The same author says that at the time of King Richard's
(second) marriage -with a French Princess, the King of France asked
as a personal favour that Deerhurst should be restored to S. Denis.
Richard was ready to comply, but his CouncU was opposed to the
restitution. * Edward I. is stated to have seized in 1295 all alien priories, and
appropriated the rents and profits. Such establishments may well
have been eyed hostUely, especially in time of war with France.
' Ly sons' Hist, of Glouc. D 2

36 HISTORY OF THE PRIORY
to the Suppression has been already given. George
Throgmorton had both the Rectory, and the Priory
buildings and lands, conveyed to him in 34 Henry VIII.
The same family held the rectory of Deerhurst in
Elizabeth's days ; they had possessed estates in the
parish as early as the reign of Edward IV. Subse
quently, the impropriation, and the Priory site and
lands, became a divided possession. The former
passed, no doubt by purchase, to the Wignlfield (family
of 'Cassey,! and has ever since gone with that estate,
through its various changes of possession. The latter
became the property of the Coventry family. The
fifth baron was created Viscount Deerhurst and Earl
Coventry in 1697.
When the Priory was made Crown property (1539),
Deerhurst was turned into a curacy, to which the
Impropriator presented, being under the obligation of
paying annually to the curate the sum of £t 13s. 4d.,
i. e. ten marks. This was the amount of the pension
bestowed on most of the dismissed monks of Tewkes
bury. The same sum was paid yearly by each suc
ceeding Impropriator down to 1883, in which year the
large churchyard, which tiU then had been perhaps
always (at any rate, for many years,) the Impropriator's
freehold, was ceded by him to the Incumbent; and
then the payment ceased, according to the terms of a
composition made with the sanction of the Church
Estates Commissioners. '
The patronage of the Incumbency has been for more
than 170 years in the hands of the Bishop of the
Diocese. The last Curate appointed by the Lay Im-
' Possibly at one time the churchyard belonged to the Church
wardens. At least, in the year 1685 they are paid several times, on
behalf of the Church, the sum of 3s. 4d. " for the breach of the soil in
our church." — Churchwardens' Accounts.

HISTORY OF THE PRIORY 37
propriator was Rev. George StUes (1682). The income
of the living, which in 1856 was only ;^ioo, has been
augmented by public grants and a private gift, and is
now of the value of ;^28o. Of glebe, there are two
fields at Apperley, acreage 14 acres; There is also a
good parsonage house.
At the enclosure of the common lands a field called
" Parson's Piece," belonging to the living, close to,
and in front of, Apperley Court, 5 acres in extent, was
exchanged for one at the Haw, of 7 acres.

Ill
DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH

COME now to the Church as it appears at the
Liy present day. At the west end stands a lofty,
slender tower, flanked by aisles reaching to the
line of its western extremity. " The body of the church,
east of the tower, is also lofty, its interior being lighted
by clerestory windows, as well as by windows in the
two aisles. The same height of clerestory walls is con
tinued throughout the building to its eastern extremity,
although these walls are pierced with windows only for
the first half of their length. Beyond the chancel,
ruined fragments of a lost member of the building
survive. Tacked on to the S.E. angle of the church, rise the
substantial walls of a farm-house, once the domestic
buildings of the Priory. A line of corbels, sustaining
formerly the roof of a cloister, may be noticed running
along the face of the S. aisle of the church, and that of
the W. wall of the farm-house. The large churchyard
lies on the N. and W. sides of the church. On its S.
side comes the pleasant garden of the farm, formerly
the cloistered quadrangle of the monks ; the ground to
the E. is occupied by the farm-yard and outbuildings.
The question of the date of the church must not
engage us at present. It wiU be sufficient to say here

-^PLAN OF PRESENT ^ CHURCH!^

SAXON
TRANSITION NORMAN  SCALE -
EARLY ENGLISH 20 ^ K/ ajV InJiy
DECORATED  — ™_,_
PERPENDICULAR au „ -
 JAVAHSS/S/MA* STBaztVL.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 39
that a large , portion of the building is ancient, and,
undoubtedly, of the Saxon period.' The aisles— at
least, all but a small part at their respective E. ends —
are evident additions to the original structure. We
may enumerate the various members of the building,
whether as at present standing, or as anciently, in the
following order : — the Tower, the Nave, the Chancel or
Chbir; the two Transepts or Choir-aisles, the two more
modern Aisles, together with the easternmost member,
now in ruins, called by some (as for convenience sake it
wiU be called here) the " Sanctuary." At the E. end
of the church, an imposing arch may be noticed, walled
up ; this originally divided the Sanctuary from the
Choir. The choir, or chancel, and the nave form now
one undivided rectangular space, the side walls being
of the same height throughout ; originally, however,
there was an arched wall separating them. The upper
half of this space is still used as a chancel, a low
railing and a double step marking it out from the lower
portion, or nave.
I find it convenient to proceed here to describe with
minuteness the several chief members of the building
in succession. It will also be necessary to speak of
these parts of the Church as they presented themselves
anciently, noting separately and in order subsequent
alterations. THE TOWER
The Tower demands first careful examination and
description. [Ground-plan on opposite page.~\ From its
contracted width it has the appearance to the eye of
greater height than really belongs to it. Its height is
' For the sate of convenience I call the age before the Conquest
(450 — 1066) " the Saxon period," fully aware that exception has been
taken to the term. It would be sheer pedantry to forego the use of an
expression which speaks to the understanding of every one, and is
uncommonly convenient.

40 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
70 feet. Its ground plan will be seen to be distinctly
oblong, not square, the exterior measurement being
21J feet from E. to W., and only 14J feet from N. to S.
The thickness of the walls is 2 feet 8 inches. The
Saxon character of the tower ceases at a height of
36 feet, the upper half being later work, perhaps of the
14th century. However, the E. wall differs from the
other three in continuing, for several feet higher, to be
still Saxon work. When mischief befell the tower at a
date unrecorded, this wall may have found protection
to some extent from its junction with the body of the
church. The tower affords the best specimen of the
ancient masonry employed on the building. It is
formed of rag, furnished mainly by the lias of the
locality — the stones of irregular size, the joinings being
wide and sprawling. Its -angles are worked without
ashlar. Irregular belts and patches of coarse herring-
bdne work are seen in the tower, and in all other Saxon
portions. The masonry of the west face of the tower
has undergone much renewal, and exhibits great diver
sity of appearance ; many of the courses of stone are
of the nature of rubble, inclining to the cubical form ;
often larger stones are promiscuously introduced. The
face of the ancient tower was perfectly plain ; no
buttress, string, or set-off of any description was added,
— and no staircase. The tower perceptibly narrows as
it advances in height. A noticeable structural feature
is a solid divisional wall, furnishing a space, between
itself and the external W. wall, of 5J feet, the E.
wall, of 8f feet. This division appears to be coeval
with the tower itself, but not to have been carried up
originally beyond the floor of the third " stage " — as
shortly to be described. The special purpose of this
division is not quite apparent. Its effect, no doubt, was
to provide a third successive entrance arch, and a

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 4I
double porch to worshippers passing into the nave by
the only approach open to the lay members of the con
gregation. It afforded also two chambers to the floor
above. Without doubt, too, this wall contributed
strength to the tower. The effect, in ancient days, of
passing under three low archways and through a double
porch barely supplied with light, must have been im
pressive. It may be questioned whether, when strict
discipline was exercised, the class of penitents was
allowed to pass beyond the inner archway. Eccle-
siological writers speak of a Penitent's Porch ; the
Deerhurst monastery seems to have provided one.
Whilst, anciently, the only entrance into the church
provided for the congregation was through the double
porch, the monks never used this entrance, but had
immediate access to their own portion of the sacred
building from their house.
The tower divides itself into five stages, the lowest,
or basement, being that of the double porch, which, in
Saxon days, rose to the height of only i6 feet. Of its
three archways of entrance, the outer one has been
modernised ; but, spanning a pointed arch of the 14th
century, the Saxon arch, together with its apparently
square-edged hood, is still seen, although its distinctive
character is almost obliterated.
A short distance above this arch, on the outside,
stands out boldly from the wall the head of some
monster, seemingly defying the tyrant, Time. Can this
be the head of a dragon, and as such, commemorative
of some forgotten event of history ? Some perhaps
may be reminded of the Dragon of the West Saxons,
and of the fierce contests of these warriors with the
Danes in the age of Alfred. Much higher up, a block
of stone projects similarly from the face of the tower,
but presents, at all events now, no likeness of any

42 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
beast real or mythical. Over another doorway, in the
east portion of the church, a monster of the same
species as he who still looks so fixedly upwards, used
to preside, but long ago he lost his head, and remains a
mere wreck of his former self.
The two interior archways are round-headed, plain,
and square-edged, constructed of a single ring of stones,
with a simple impost slightly hollowed below the
abacus. The same general character is seen in other
archways in the church. Sometimes ashlar is used for
the jambs, sometimes not. The innermost of the three
arches has a specially rude square-edged label. It is
about 10 feet high and 5^ feet wide. On its left side
stands a 13th century bracket, made as a stand for
holy water. The middle archway is two feet lower,
and the outer one, in point of elevation, must have
come between its two companions. The label of the
middle archway terminates now in wolves' heads ; but
this ornament, I ought to observe, as one who sanc
tioned the present arrangement, is not in its original
position. A most interesting piece of sculpture sur
mounts the mid archway — a figure, in low relief, of a
Holy Person within a niche, holding something large
in the clasped hands. The ornamentation is distinct
ively Saxon. A portion of the surface has been indus
triously removed, so as to prevent identification of the
figure. It may be a representation of the Virgin Mother
with the Holy Child ; but this is quite uncertain. It
is not, I think, as some have supposed, a figure of
S. Denis, both wearing and carrying his head — as may be
seen in some early representations of the martyred
Apostle of France. Although the triple system' of
archways remains, the former imposing effect of the
double porch has been entirely altered by the removal
of the low ceiling, and the piercing of the solid side

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 43
walls of the inner porch with lofty arches, by which
entrance is gained to the non-Saxon aisles,— as wiU be
explained further on.
We next look upward to what was'the second stage
of the tower, but is now not divided horizontally from
the basement. On this level was a floor with two
chambers, separated by the divisional wall. Without
doubt the ascent was made by a ladder, which- had its
place in the outer porch. In the floor above a trap
door may have been constructed, affording access; and
in the same way, still higher, from stage to stage there
was, presumably, a series of ladders and of openings
cut in the floor. Through the wall of division a flat-
headed doorway was cut, the lintel and sill being
formed, each, of a single stone. No ashlar was used
for the jambs. Thus from the western chamber access
was given to the eastern, which was of somewhat larger
proportions. This latter room had two oblong windows,
or openings, 20 inches by 14, splayed considerably at
the bottom, and on the side away from the party wall,
close to which they still stand. As seen from the out
side, these two windov/s occupied a central position in
the face of the tower. Opposite the doorway in this
chamber, there was another similar way of exit, leading
through the E. wall of the tower to a gallery within the
nave of the church. This doorway was constructed
with a greater regard to appearance. Ashlar is used
in it ; the head is semicircular toward the nave, and
cut out of a single stone. The length of the jamb is
made out by a couple of stone blocks. Near this door
way is a curious small triangular aperture, giving an
imperfect view of the interior of the church ; it is not
splayed at all ; its sides are about 18 inches long. Two
similar apertures of rather larger dimerisions are to be
found in the side walls of the nave, on the same level,

44 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
and opposite to each other. Their use is not apparent,
as very little light could have penetrated through them,
when they opened upon the outward air. The western
chamber already mentioned had a splayed oblong win
dow, formed in the W. wall of the tower.
We ascend another stage, and now enter a chamber
possessing singular interest. At the present time, the
space yielded in this third stage is divided into two
rooms, but it is tolerably evident that the wall of
division terminated originally at the floor of this storey.
For above this point its masonry is different from what
is below, and has no trace of herring-bone ; besides,
the wall, as now standing, blocks up partially two well-
constructed side windows — a barbarism certainly never
contemplated nor perpetrated by the original architect.
So, let us, without further ado, treat the existing two
chambers as a single undivided one, and look around
us. We are now in immediate proximity to that unique
two-light Saxon window, which has often been described
in books of architecture as one of the most imposing
specimens of the Saxon period surviving. This window
is in the E. wall of the tower, and may be viewed from
the nave. Its construction is of the most massive
description. The two lights, having pointed heads, are
each I ft. 6 in. in width, and are separated by a square
pier, I ft. 8 in. in height, i ft. 4 in. in width, and of a
depth somewhat shallower than the thickness of the
wall in which it stands — the defect being one of 10
inches. The sides of the straight-lined heads are formed
of single stones 3^ feet in length on their outward rim,
but very much shorter internally, running through the
wall, with plain bold square-edged labels. The jambs
are rather less wide than the separating pier. The
imposts of pier and jambs are square in section, widen
ing as they rise, after the manner of flat tiles, projecting

UfAM. il Uau S'M/lliT9i.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 45
each upper course beyond the one below. The pHnths'
have a curve. The central pier swells out by a curve
into a more ample plinth, on aU four sides. The impost
of the pier is bolder than that of the jamb on each
side of it, being (inclusive of the abacus) g inches in
height. A massive sill lies under the whole. The pier
and the jambs bear shallow flutings ; and the flutes are
cabled with a bar in relief, in length half the flute.
These insertions are disposed sometimes in line at top,
sometimes in line below, and then, again, alternately
at top and below. '
As seen from the nave, just above the window, and
resting on the two points of the zigzag label, a large
oblong block of stone is seated, as though inserted to
carry an inscription. There is no lettering, however.
The chamber has three other windows, or apertures.
The two in the side walls correspond with each other,
and are exactly central. They are made with great
solidity, and lined with a framework of dressed stone ;
are splayed slightly, and recessed. Their dimensions
are 3 feet by 2 feet, or of about that size ; but one is
rather wider than the other. The opening to the W.
is an aperture, 6 feet in height, 2 J in width, carefully
formed of large blocks of ashlar. Inside, the head is
flat ; outside, semi-circular. A hood, square-headed
and square-edged, terminating in wolves' heads, runs
round the head of the window outside. This opening
has rather the appearance of forming a mode of entrance,
' This window has often been said to resemble closely the well-
known arcade of the porch of the Convent at Lorsch, near Worms.
But, actually, the likeness is of the very faintest kind possible, con
sisting simply in a certain similarity in the hood-moulding of both.
AU other detaUs are perfectly dissimUar in the two instances of com
parison, and, as an indication of date, what resemblance there is has no
value whatsoever; The arcade has a Roman character about it. and
may be, as Fergusson is disposed to think [Handbook of Architecture),
actuaUy Roman work. Our EngUsh window is Saxon.

46 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
or of lending itself to the drawing up of articles, from
the outside. It has no splay, or scarcely any, and is
recessed. Side by side with the two oblong windows,
two curious round-headed recesses are to be noticed,
set in dressed stone, i J foot in width, nearly 2 feet high,
in depth i J foot. The same block of stone serves as a
jamb both to recess and window.
From this chamber (in the mid storey of the tower),
the breaking off of the ancient masonry is distinctly
traceable several feet above its floor. But, as has been
previously observed, the E. wall of the tower has kept
the ancient work for many feet higher than the other
three. Thus, when we ascend to the fourth stage, we
still find, over the doublet window, a continuation of
the earliest work. A lofty doorway or window, 8 feet
high, and of most ponderous construction, is here to be
noticed. It has a sill of a single stone, which, inside
the church, did the plaster permit it, would be seen to
be almost resting upon the large oblong block men
tioned a little before. The width of the opening is
2j feet, and one of the stones used in the construction
of its massive jambs is 2J feet in length, the same in
depth, with breadth of 6 or 7 inches. This archway,
or window, is round-headed inside, the arch being cut
out of a single stone, and has, outside, a flat head. At
a height of about 3 feet above the head of this window,
the Saxon masonry is clearly seen to break off in an
irregular line.
In the single chamber above (the 5th stage), the six
bells are hung. They were recast in 1736, and since
there has been a recasting of two in quite recent years.
One portion of the tower is barrel-roofed, and is gabled
outside, the ridge running E. and W. The other portion
of the roof is flat, and has squinches at the angles. This
portion forms a square area, from which rose, in days

View of Tower ¦ From ¦ Nave.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 47
gone by, a spire, blown down in i656. When this spire
was constructed is not known : it was probably a light
structure of wood and shingle.
On quitting the tower, let me ask my readers (if I
am so fortunate as to have any,) to plant themselves
for five minutes in the nave of the church, and look
westward, facing the tower. Supposing we could now
detach this member of the building from the nave, and
clear away a little plaster and woodwork, we should
view a rare assemblage of features characteristic of
the pre-Norman period. On the basement, the semi
circular archway of entrance ; a stage above, the tri
angular aperture in the centre, and by its side the
archway leading anciently to a wooden gallery ; the
third stage, the unique doublet window surmounted by
the oblong slab ; the next stage, the large opening
8 feet high ; above we should see the more modern
gabelled summit, and beneath it, the belfry window of
the 14th century.
Then, shifting our position to the W. side of the
tower, let us picture it to ourselves as it might be seen
in early days from that point of view, before the addition .
of the aisles. We direct our vision to a slender tower
standing out boldly, like a sentinel, in front of the W.
wall of the nave — containing, as we know, its two
porches, one within the other. It has quite the look of
a tower of defence, which character, indeed, in days of
yore, it may not unfrequently have sustained. . We notice
the round-headed entrance arch, and the gaping
monster above amid irregular courses of stone whim
sically disposed and diversely coloured. A small
oblong, ancient-looking window is the succeeding
feature, as the eye ranges aloft. Above it, the large
round-headed archway with square dripstone, and the
rugged projecting blocl? of uncarved stone. Further

48 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
than this, we can only conjecture. Let us then
imagine a lofty archway in the 4th stage, correspond
ing exactly with that in the tower's E. wall.
THE NAVE
Enough — and perhaps more than enough. Let us
enter the nave through the three successive archways.
We are now in a rectangular space, 60 feet by 21,
without any solid division, which space, however, com
prised anciently the nave and choir. Of this area,
20 feet of length must be given to the choir ; next,
two feet were claimed originally by a wall of separation,
entirely demolished ; the remaining 38 feet was the
measure of the nave.
The waU which shut off the choir resembled, we may
infer, the existing E. waU of the church, and like it, had
a wide and lofty archway in its centre. ' This was
made evident when the church underwent restoration
in 1 861. The choir, and the sanctuary beyond it,
belonged for many ages to the monks of the Priory ; the
nave was given up to the general body of virorshippers.
This was a very common arrangement in monastic
churches in days subsequent to those of the Saxon
period. The western end of the building constituted
the parish church, as was the case, Leland tells us, at
the time of the Dissolution, with Tewkesbury Abbey.
Sometimes, it appears, the monks' precinct was entirely
shut off from the people's portion. It is a matter of
interest to have ascertained that at Deerhurst the sepa
ration was not complete and solidly constructed, a wide
arch being a medium of inter-communication between
the lay and the monastic section. We now approach a
difficult question, viz.. What exact portion of the
' Apparent fragments of this arch were found (1861) iu the high
archway formed in the S. waU of the choir, and also (I believe) in
doorways, then, though not now, entirely blocked up.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 49
present side -walls of the nave are to be assigned to the
Saxon church ; or, How high were the ancient walls ?
As to the choir, it is admitted on all hands that its
walls were always of their existing elevation, or 40 feet
high. But an opinion is in vogue about the nave, that
in Saxon days its walls were little more than half that
height, and thus quite a low nave was interposed
between two lofty members, the tower and the choir.
An eminent authority, the now venerable Mr. John C.
Buckler, holds firmly, and defends ingeniously, this
opinion. His theory is based mainly on two assump
tions. First, he maintains that the present clerestory
wall shows, on the inside, evident marks of having been
built upon a lower ancient wall ; and he adds the
words : — " The surmounting wall was not brought
close, inside, to the inner edge of the fancient one.
The old walls were not pared down as a preparation
for the addition." Next, he relies upon the ruined
remains of a heavy cornice which are seen in both aisles
of the church ; this he considers to have been the
actual top, or "weather-course," of the ancient low
wall of the nave, against which, on the inside of it, the
rafters of the roof pressed. Mr. Buckler believes that
this nave-roof had a steep pitch, and included within it
the two-light window of the tower. '
But there appear to be formidable objections to this
ingenious theory. As to the first argument, there is
not much to be said, either for or against it. It does
not appear that Mr. Buckler had the advantage of
seeing the walls denuded of their thick coat of plaster,
at the time when such opportunity was afforded (1861).
All that is evident now to the eye is that, on the inside, the
' I have aUowed myself to make considerable use of Mr. Buckler's
most interesting and masterly description of the Church, recently
printed, from a MS. written many years ago, in vol. xi. of the
" Transactions of the Bristol and Glouc. Archaeol. Society."

50 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
walls at a certain point recede, or batter, to a visible
extent ; at all events, this is the case with the S. wall,
or with that portion of it which joins the tower. But
this appearance by no means seems to necessitate the
inference drawn by Mr. Buckler, and is quite capable
of another explanation.
Against the second argument, however, objections of
considerable weight may be urged. If the cornice,
which indisputably is Saxon work, were actually of the
nature indicated above, then it would naturally come
to an end at the point where, on the hypothesis, the
low wall of the nave terminated and joined the loftier
wall of the choir. But, as a matter of fact, it does not
end there, but is prolonged (both on the N. and the S.
sides), 6 feet or so beyond that point. Again, this same
cornice, when it is returned on the W. wall of the
nave, runs still horizontally, till it meets the side wall
of the tower. Now, had it really been a parapet
bordering the roof, it might have been expected to
take the slope of the roof at the angle where it is
returned, and to keep no longer horizontal. We seem
forced, then, to believe that the heavy cornice was not
the top of a low wall, but a string-course dividing into
two nearly equal portions the face of a lofty wall, viz.,
one of 40 feet in height. If this be the proper inter
pretation of the cornice, then it is quite conceivable
that such string-course might, in the earliest times, have
formed a sill for a tier of small upper, or clerestory,
windows, now obliterated.
A further cogent reason for withholding belief in Mr.
Buckler's theory is given by the appearance presented
by the outer face of the clerestory walls. If his theory
be a correct one, there must be, of course, a joining
with new work at the point where the high waU
of the choir is supposed to have ended westward.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 5 1
Now as to the N. side, this portion of wall has been
entirely rebuilt within the last thirty years, which
fact places it out of court. But if the S. waU is care
fully examined, no joint, where a joint ought to come,
is traceable. On the other hand, we can easily trace
such joinings in several places where a range of Saxon
work is incorporated with more modern work. It is
true, the clerestory walls bear marks of extensive repa
ration ; but it happens that precisely the same course
of masonry without any apparent break is continued
from the choir westward for many feet beyond the
point where the clerestory of the nave begins. Again,
patches of ancient masonry are to be traced throughout
the clerestory of the nave, together with bits of herring
bone — all tending to make good the claim of that wall
to an early origin. Once more, had the walls of the
nave been originally only a little more than 20 feet in
height, and carried a steep-pitched roof, the line of that
roof would have made sad havoc of the arrangements
of the E. face of the tower — running where certainly it
ought not. At the same time, if we postulate a lofty
wall, viz., of the existing elevation, it seems necessary
to hold that the Saxon roof included within it even the
archway of the 4th stage of the tower. This would
make the line of the roof occupy nearly the same
position as that of a dripstone still existing on the
eastern face of the tower.
It may be added as my personal conviction that
evidence in favour of an original high side wall might
be sought and found in the special nature of the traces
of the old wall of separation between choir and nave,
and in the actual extent of the corresponding found
ations ;• but these, although exposed to view in the
^ In the concluding member of the sentence above an aUusion is
intended to the large size of the choir-arch (evidenced by the found
ations) as necessitating lofty side waUs.

52 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
year of restoration (1861), are now buried again beneath
plaster and pavement. But it is stiU possible to point
to the N.W. angle of the clerestory waU, as witnessing
apparently to a pre-Norman formation. Mr. Buckler,
on the contrary, assigns its formation to about the year
1400. What windows the Saxon nave possessed, we are
quite unable to tell, both side-walls having been sub
sequently pierced (as will be presently noticed at greater
length) with an arcade of three arches of conspicuous
elegance. In the matter of openings to the outward
air, there survives nothing beyond the two singular
triangular apertures, about 18 feet above the pavement,
through which admission of light would have been
scanty indeed. At the present day the nave has on
each side three large clerestory windows, two of them
early 15th century, and one modernized in harmony
with its companions. It is to be borne in mind that
anciently the nave had no flanking aisles, and conse
quently, quite inconsiderable was the space allotted at
first to the lay portion of the congregation.
THE CHOIR
The modern chancel occupies the same area as the
ancient choir, except that the demoHshed wah of division
stood 3 feet within the present boundary of the former,
and exactly in the line of the doorway of the rood-
screen (formed after the removal of the wall), giving to
the choir a length of 20 feet. As has jbeen said before,
there is no distinction of height (whatever may have
been) between nave, and chancel, or choir. The Saxon
choir rose to a height of fuU 40 feet, and its side waUs
were unbroken by a single window, or by any string
or ornament. Attached to its waUs, however, and
rising more than half way, stood on both sides a short

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 53
aisle, or " adjunct," as it has been conveniently called.
These choir-aisles were practically outside the church,
and communicated with the choir only by doorways
piercing the sohd N. and • S. walls. The E. waU of
the present chancel was originally a wall of separation
between the choir and the sanctuary. Its distinguish
ing feature is its lofty arch, now blocked up. This arch
is formed of a single ring of large rectangular stones, and
has above it a massive square-edged label terminating
in vastly developed heads of ferocious animals ; let us
call them wolves of a primitive species. In the reveal
semi-cylindrical columns are set, carrying a well-cut
capital of an interesting and quite unique and Saxon type.
It projects at top 8 inches in the direction N. and S., but
only 3 in the longitudinal direction. The columns have
a plain slightly moulded base, 2 feet in height. They
appear to have been injured by fire. The height of the
archway is 20 feet, the width from column to column a
little over 12. High above the arch is a window, in
serted seemingly about the end of the 15th century.
This window could not have been inserted before the
destruction of the sanctuary beyond, and thus it may
be safely inferred that that destruction took place many
years before the Dissolution. A little below the sill, is
seen (on the outside) the small sill of an earlier window,
and this appears to throw back the devastation to a
period still rather more remote. On each side of the
window (inside) stands a large oblong stone slab with a
pointed top, 4 feet by 3 or so. They have puzzled the
ingenuity of many inquirers. They appear to be con
nected with two ancient loops, traces of which may be
seen outside the church. These loops may have been
widely splayed, and made to take the form shown by
the slabs, on the inside. When the narrow windows
were blocked up, it would seem that the openings at

54 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
their wide margins were filled up with a solid single
stone. High up, at the angles of the wall, and on a
level with each other, may be noticed two moulded
stones, unlike in pattern, resembling the imposts of an
arch. What they were, and how they found their way
to their present elevated situation, none can say. At
the W. end of the nave, at a much lower elevation,
two such stones are also seen, in a similarly related
position. The choir had four side entrances, two in each wall.
Each wall had also in it a large round-headed archway,
piercing it at a height which places the sill about lo feet
above the pavement. These archways are opposite to
each other, 5 feet wide and 10 high to the crown of the
arch — that on the S. side rising a little higher above its
present sill than is the case with the other, though this
may not always have been so. They bear a general
resemblance to the archways of the western entrance ;
a plain impost, shghtly hollowed in its lower portion,
boldly projects ; we also meet with the square-edged
label. These archways looked respectively into the N.
and the S. choir-aisles, and admitted light from them.
On the N. side of the choir, the easternmost doorway
is a little over 3 feet wide, and has a pointed head, of
which the sides are made each of a single stone, 3 feet
long. Above the jambs, which are not constructed of
ashlar, comes an impost chamfered or slightly hollo-wed
beneath, and continued through the reveal. The height
of the apex of the opening is 8^ feet. This opening,
which had no door to it, led into the N. " adjunct."
The other doorway is of quite a different character, and
has a very pristine appearance. Its framework is made
of large blocks of stone, and has in front a recess, and a
flat border in relief on the reverse side toward the aisle.
A single massive stone forms its hntel. Its height is

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH S5
almost 6 feet, its width 2j. It led originally outside
the building, perhaps directly into the grave-yard, the
exit being close to the W. waU of the N. choir-aisle.
Near its outer edge are the remains of the hinges and
fastenings of a door.
The S. wall of the choir corresponds generally with
the N., but with slight differences. The lower of its
two doorways is precisely the counterpart of the one
just described, to which it is exactly opposite. It also
led outside the building. But the upper one differs
from its vis-a-vis, in fact from all its neighbours. Its
jambs are made of several regular courses of stone of a
like size and shape. The material is a green sandstone,
which does not appear elsewhere in the more ancient
work in the church. It is probably a "restored"
doorway ; and we may conjecture that it takes the
place of one ruined by fire. It stands close by an
archway of singularly massive construction (in the S.
" adjunct "), which bears on it most evident marks of
fire. The "restored" doorway is not quite opposite
the angular-headed opening on the N. side. The lintel
is a single large block. The height of the opening is
7 feet. The same roof runs now through the length of
chancel and nave. It is a good specimen of Perpen
dicular work ; but the only original portion of it is that
which rests against the tower ; from it, the rest was
modelled. A double beam stands over the junction of
choir and nave, but this arrangement fails to mark
quite accurately the Une of junction, and has misled
some who have studied the building. The real position
of the ancient wall of separation is shown with accuracy
by the aperture connected at one time with the rood-
loft. The pitch of the roof is now, naturally, low, as repre-

56 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
senting the style of the 15th century. We have Mr.
Buckler's -weighty authority in favour of an original
steep slope in the roof of aU parts of the building.
Many students of antiquity tell us that, as a rule,
Saxon churches had low-crowned roofs. 1
Probably not very much is known on the subject.
Judging from drawings of certain alleged Saxon build
ings, I imagine that a common slope was one of
about 45".
Down to 1861 the chancel had, externally, a roof of
steeper pitch than the nave, as is seen in early prints
of the church. This roof, however, had, to the best of
my belief, nothing particularly ancient about it. It
was tiled, while the flatter roof of the nave was leaded.
The date of the removal of the waU of division cannot
be given with certainty, but it seems natural to suppose
that it took place when a S. aisle was added to the
ancient nave, and contemporaneously the side walls of
the tower were pierced with lofty arches. The con
struction of a rood-loft followed the removal. However,
this removal may have been later. ^
THE SANCTUARY
Beyond the choir came the ancient Sanctuary of the
Monastic Church. Although in ruins, its surviving
fragments suffice to give some notion of its character.
In width it was about two feet narrower than the choir,
neither did its side walls attain the elevation of those of
the latter. At a point g feet E. of the sanctuary arch,
an apse commenced its span ; but whether this member
was of a semicircular form, or polygonal, is a matter
difficult to determine, since there is a length of only
one foot of very rough walling to make a decision from.
' Thus the Handbook of Engl. Ecclesiology, p. 6. (184;).
^ See Note, p. 48. supra.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 57
Mr. Buckler pronounces positively in favour of a
pentagonal form, but is disposed to think that this apse
probably took the place of a still more ancient one of a
rounded type. In support of such a belief, one may
point to the loops already mentioned, which are not at
a sufficient elevation to clear the roof of the sanctuary
of which we have certain relics, but which might have
peered over the roof of an ancient and less lofty erection.
At the same time, the surviving fragments, consisting
of a large portion of the S. wall, are themselves very
ancient, and display herring-bone work. Unfortunately,
excavations on the site, which might possibly determine
a question possessing no slight interest by reason of its
bearing on Saxon structural types, are rendered im
practicable, or, at any rate, difficult and troublesome,
through the occupation of the soil by erections belong
ing to the adjoining farm-house. It may fairly furnish
matter for regret to all, as a fact obtruding itself upon
general notice, that, when the last substantial renova
tion of the farm premises was effected some fifty years
ago, the actual site of the ancient Sanctuary was not
walled off, and made a part of the church precinct.
Meanwhile, it may be gratefully acknowledged that for
many years past the interesting remains of the lost
member of the sacred building have had most careful
guardians in the highly respected occupiers of the
modern Priory. THE AISLES OF THE CHOIR
I must speak now of the two Choir- aisles. These
" adjuncts " appear to have corresponded exactly in
position and size, but the one on the N. side, which we
will first explore, was of a simpler character than its
twin. Its western terminating wall (the removal of
which has thrown the " adjunct " itself into the more
modern N. aisle of the nave), came, we can tell cer-

58 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
tainly, 6 feet to the E. of the line of the wall separating
choir and nave ; and inferentially we gather that its
eastern extremity was brought into a line with the
springing of the apse. This gives an interior length of
23 feet. However, this length was divided by a thick
wall pierced with a flat-headed doorway, now blocked
up. The width of these two chambers was 12^ feet.
The whole member rose to a height of about two-thirds
of that of the choir itself. Whether it had a lean-to
roof, or was gabled, is uncertain. Entrance was afforded
to the westernmost chamber by the upper doorway in
the N. wall of the choir; this chamber led into the
other by the flat-headed doorway just mentioned. The
doorway has a rude framework of a few stone blocks ;
a single stone forms its lintel. Its width is 2j feet, its
height 6. Unquestionably these chambers furnished a
sacristy to the monks. The upper of the two (perhaps
the proper ancient sacristy), has wholly disappeared.
Beneath the surface it occupied, a large number of
human bones were discovered, when, fifty years ago,
the place was disturbed in the interests of farm-building.
Without a doubt certain brethren of the House had
reposed there for ages. One, according to rumour,
appears to have been a man of gigantic stature.
^ It would appear probable that the still existing
chamber had an upper floor, or gallery, from which the
choir could be viewed through the wide archway formed
high up in the choir waU. Doubtless also it had a
window, or windows, in its N. waU, but no traces of
any ancient opening remain. Three square recesses
may be noticed in two of its waUs, one in the N. and
two in the E. One obvious use of the elevated arch
ways was to supply some little light to the choir, which,
indeed, at best must have been very scantily provided
with hght save what was artificial.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 59
The S. aisle of the choir was of a more complicated
nature. Its W. waU has not entirely disappeared ; the
upper portion remains, sustained by an arch spanning
the space from wall to wall, and opening the " adjunct "
to the present S. aisle of the nave. As in the case of
the N. adjunct, this also was divided into two portions
by a solid wall, pierced by the " archway," already
noticed, " of singularly massive construction." This
archway I proceed to describe.
A -wide semi-cylindrical jamb is set in reveal, stretch
ing from edge to edge, and this same member is carried —
apparently without break of any kind, whether of impost
or capital — to the soffit and right round the opening.
At the same time I incline to the belief that there was
originaUy an impost ; however, the arch has been so
mutilated that it is difficult to trace it. We are just
able to discover a faint sign of the recessing or border
ing, so common around the ancient doorways, by the
side of one jamb. The actual opening had a width of
not more than 4 feet ; the height was g feet. No other
archway presents so massive an appearance. A thick
square-edged label encircles it. The huge blocks com
posing the jambs and soffit have suffered evidently from
fire. The archway was probably blocked up at quite
an early period.
From the chamber, approached (from the E.) by this
archway, there was an entrance, as we have seen, into
the choir. There was also a means of approach to the
same chamber (the present vestry), through its S. wall,
from outside — probably, from the first, out of a cloister,
— as was certainly the case at a later period. The
doorway giving access to it has its several parts specially
well wrought. Inside the chamber, it is flat topped,
but it has a rounded head on the outside. Outside,
-too, there is an encircling label, terminating in

6o DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
animals' heads. And above stood the projecting
monster's head referred to before. The opening is
8 feet in height, in width 2j feet. This entrance is
caUed the " Prior's doorway," and the chamber itself
bears the traditional name of " Petty France." In the
centre of the W. wall, above the arch supporting it, is
seen a curiously constructed loop. On the side which
originaUy was external, it has a height of only 2 feet
and a width of 8 inches, but interiorly it is enormously
splayed ; and perhaps its form may help us to come to
a correct notion of the two loops existing once in the
E. wall of the chancel.' This loop, however, has at its
back and above it a single level stone running through
the thickness of the wall. Its own proper lintel is
slightly coved, and appears to have its jambs morticed
into it. It has been made a question whether this
chamber had anciently an upper floor, or gallery.
Apparently it had ; for above the wide arch and over
its N. portion,, we seem able to trace a flat -headed
doorway, which, if doorway it were, must have existed
prior to the formation of the arch close to it ; and this
opening, approached no doubt by a ladder, must have
led to a gallery. The eastern portion of the S. choir-
aisle has disappeared, but we are able to trace its former
existence, and to determine its dimensions. As on the
N. side, the interior length of the whole aisle was
23 feet, its width 12J feet ; the dividing arch assigned
to the W. portion 11 feet of length, to the Eastern
10 feet.
On visiting the site of this lost piece of building, we
find ourselves between the ruined S. wall of the sanc
tuary (the chamber's northern boundary), and the N.
wall of the farm-house, which is made to project several
feet within the proper ancient area of the " adjunct."
' See p. 53.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 6l
We notice the holes into which large beams were at one
time driven for the support of an upper chamber ; we
notice also marks of the terminating E. wall of the
adjunct. It was through a doorway in this wall, communicating
immediately with the domestic part of the monastery,
Mr. Buckler tells us with a perspicacity which is ad
mirable, that the monks approached the church for the
performance of their sacred offices. Advancing through
the first chamber, which was merely a passage, they
passed under the massive archway (now walled up),
and then turning to the right, and encountering one
more opening, they found themselves in their choir.
This they must cross, if they wish to reach the sacristy.
Mr. Buckler informs us that at a remote period the
archway bisecting the adjunct was blocked up, the
eastern portion of the latter becoming a part of the
range of domestic chambers. It was now necessary
for the brethren to make use of the " Prior's doorway"
in the cloister.
From the site of the ruined part of the adjunct we
gain a view of what remains of the S. wall of the
sanctuary. We do not glean very much. Low down,
a loop appears in its wall with an internal splay, but
this is not of Saxon formation. Higher up is another
aperture of no defined shape, with a splay directed
eastward ; and still higher comes the framework of a
lancet window, — however, no window is visible on
the inner face of the wall. The sanctuary is seen to
be firmly bonded to the wall of the choir by a square
pilaster of a hard red stone, and a similar process
appears at the angle formed by the spring of the apse.
As to the roof of the S. adjunct, all that is known is
that in 1861 and previously its surviving member had a
gable with a ridge N, and S. This arrangement was

62 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH,
then altered, with a view to keeping the same line of
roof throughout the whole length of what had become
the S. aisle of the church.
We have now proceeded leisurely through the Saxon
portions of the Priory Church, There is still one
ancient feature to be described, viz., the Font, which,
however, stands now in a part of the building which
was never Saxon. Just for the present I pass by, with
out detailed notice, this object of very great interest.
DETAILS OF SAXON WORK
A few general observations on characteristics of the
Saxon work of the Church may find here a fitting place.
Very noticeable is the tendency to a widening out
toward the base in the openings of doorways and win
dows. This is so marked and general a feature, that it
cannot have been undesigned. The adoption of an
internal splay in apertures opening on the outer air is
not universal, although common ; sometimes the prin
ciple is exercised in a very slight degree. A favourite
feature is the recessing of one flat surface of stone
within another, or, else, the giving of a flat border in
relief ; this is a true characteristic, and forms an orna
mental addition. Further, we may notice that the
heads of archways, unless these are of considerable
width, are usually constructed of a single stone ; often
the head is a flat lintel ; but when it is arched, the arch
is cut out of a single block. The sides of the heads of
angular-topped apertures are made of two single stones
meeting in the middle, and running through the thick
ness of the wall. Large blocks of stone, approaching
sometimes 3 feet in length, are used throughout for the
framework of doorways and windows. It seems a
universal rule to use the same block of stone throughout
the whole depth of the framework, even in cases where

TMI oME

SANCTUARY

CHOIR

TRANSEPT

Scale -
20 rUo an IncK

l^f-t^s 5/ BnwM, S^Bim

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 63
there is a double recess, just as is done in work of a late
date. The combination of a flat top and a rounded
head in the same doorway, on the two sides of the wall
in which it is inserted, one on each, is a common
feature. There are altogether no less than 8 flat-topped
piercings, of which 4 have, on the reverse face, a
semi-circular head.
The unaltered Saxon Church must have had a very
imposing appearance, although as to degree of dignity,
especially as viewed from outside, not a little must
have been conditioned by the circumstance of the walls
of the nave being lofty, or low. The full length of the
building was 104 feet ; its ground plan was, in general
form, as given on the opposite page.
Mr. Buckler maintains that we have at Deerhurst a
most important example of a Saxon Monastic Church,
and that no second instance of the type survives, as a
whole, in England. He views the building as undoubt
edly the consummation of one well-considered plan.
ALTERATIONS IN THE OLD CHURCH
When it was that the last finishing stroke was
applied to the Church in the Saxon period, we cannot
say with certainty, and our present pause is not the
most convenient moment for discussing the point. But
after such completion, be its date what it may, the
building remained entirely unaltered in the matter of
additions or extensive reparation till the middle of the
12th century. It then changed its character very
greatly. We may possibly be disposed to connect the
alteration taking place at this date with the statement
of Malmesbury respecting the ruined condition of the
Priory about the year 1125. It may well be that after
a period of decay a sudden impulse arose to build up
what was fallen down. I know not whether any such
impulse is likely to have proceeded from the monks of

64 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
S. Denis by reason of the accomplishment of a great
work of their own ; but I note that they completed their
magnificent Minster Church, built in the Transition
style, in the year 1140. It must have been not long
after that epoch that builders began to be busy at
Deerhurst. The object mainly had in view, so far as
concerns addition, was the increase of accommodation
for the community outside the Priory precincts.
The population around the religious centre was
slowly increasing, it may be. It was determined by
the suffrages of the brotherhood that aisles should be
added to the nave. This was to be effected by an
ample use of expedients. The solid side walls of the
nave, untouched since their erection, were each to be
made to receive within their bulk an arcade of three
arches, which should span the space from tower to choir.
The " adjuncts," or choir-aisles, of ancient date, were to
be incorporated with the new aisles ; entrances were to
be made from the inner porch of the church to the
western ends of the same. There is clear evidence
that the work was begun on the S. side. The S. wall of
the choir-aisle was now prolonged westward. A great
portion of its W. wall was removed, and an arch with
a span from wall to wall was constructed under the part
which was suffered to remain. Then the S. wall of the
nave was pierced with three arches, a small length of
the Saxon wall, which henceforward would do service
as a pier and divide arch from arch, being left standing
on its original foundation.
Thus the nave was opened to the new aisle, in a
manner and to an extent which had no parallel in the
previous relation subsisting between the ancient choir
and the choir-aisles. Next, the spHd flank walls of the
tower, or of the inner porch, had lofty archwayp made
in them respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 65
So far the work was suffered to proceed ; then, from
some unknown cause, apparently it was suspended for
many years, until, indeed, a new style of architecture
had sprung up and arrived at maturity.
I shall endeavour to describe what seems to have
been effected at the time of the first undertaking. To
begin with the ancient choir-aisle. No doubt it was
now, as has been intimated already, that the arch was
formed in its W. wall. This arch is of the round form,
ill-designed and segmental. It is difficult to believe
that it is coeval with the admirable work which charac
terizes the new aisle ; and yet it cannot be assigned to
an earlier period. It differs in certain respects from the
Saxon arches, the general form of which, however, it
seems desirous of following. For instance, two stones
united traverse, for the most part, the width of the soffit
(not a series of single stones as in the Saxon arches), and
then we may notice in the same the sparing employ
ment of a green sandstone, ^jvhich never seems to have
been used in the Saxon work. But, indeed, that the
arch has taken the place of an original solid wall may
be looked upon as certain on the evidence of existing
foundations, as well as for other reasons tedious to
pursue. Less assured evidence supports the view (in itself
probable enough) that it was now that the dividing
archway of the " adjunct " was blocked up, being in an
injured condition, and its eastern portion appropriated
to domestic uses. Further, it may have been now,
though possibly it was later, that the important altera
tion was effected of the removal of the great wall sepa
rating choir and nave, followed in due course by the
construction of a rood-screen, and of an approach to its
loft by steps and by an opening through the S. wall of
the choir.

66 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
The work of the aisle is Transitional (i 150— 1170).
The arches were pointed, with a plain flat soffit, cham
fered at the edges : they had a semi-cylindrical jamb.
At the back of the two piers, two other piers, or pilas
ters, were built, partaking of a Norman character, from
the capitals of which pointed arches of a kind similar to
those just described were designed to spring, and thus
to span the aisle now in process of construction. A
siinilar third arch was to come in line with the W. wall
of the nave.
But whether the design was ever completed cannot be
quite determined. Only a broken portion of this admi
rable work remains to tell us what was in the mind of
the innovating architect. Indeed, we can only guess
that he maj' have intended these several divisions of the
aisle to form chapels. Some years afterwards the arch
carrying the wall at the E. end of the new aisle was
filled in again, and an altar was made to stand in front
of the now solid division, having a piscina close at
hand.i The architect, of the 12th century proceeded to pierce
with similar pointed arches (reaching from party wall to
E. wall) the two side walls of the. tower, bringing his
aisle by this means into direct communication with what
had been the ancient inner porch. However, his work
had the effect of entirely destroying the original cha
racter of this latter member of the building. It was no
longer a porch, but assumed henceforward the appear
ance of a W. aisle. The low ceiling and floor above
were removed from it, so that the space from the pave
ment to the floor of the third stage of the tower be
came now undivided. Evidently a N. aisle was then
designed, for the arch which was to lead from the
ancient porch into it was constructed. But at this
' Similarly, an altar was most likely placed at the E. end of the N. aisle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 67
point the work ceased — to be resumed when the Priory
should flourish again.
Meanwhile an elegant addition had been given to the
S. aisle, by running a wall in line with the divisional
wall of the tower southward till it met the aisle (and
possibly crossed it), and, at the point of junction, con
structing an arch made to correspond with the two
arches already formed in the tower, and spanning the
interval between the new wall and the S.W. angle of
the nave. Thus there are now in line three archways,
of the pointed form, but displaying mouldings of a
Norman type — the arrangement constituting virtually
a W. aisle. The S. aisle had, we have seen, or, at any-
rate was intended to have, a precisely similar adornment.
Another structural work taken now in hand was the
forming of a turret within the angle made by the tower
and the wall recently run out, by which entrance might
be afforded to the former. Hitherto ladders had been
the sole means of communication. The turret with its
winding staircase was not, however, run up very high,
and the contrivance, as carried out, was a clumsy one.
• For the innovators formed a way to one of the oblong
windows in the third stage, and by lengthening this in
a rude fashion, made an entrance through it to the
chamber on that floor. It seems likely, on the evidence
of foundations, that at first the turret was made to stand
outside the aisle, this latter rdember ending in line with
the mid wall of the tower. But if this plan was adopted
it was soon modified, and the aisle was lengthened a few
feet, with the result of presenting one continuous wall
of termination, as made by aisle, turret, and tower.
We should naturally conclude that the S. aisle once
begun, advanced to immediate completion ; but no single
window of the period remains to verify this inference ;
neither is there here, or elsewhere in the Church, any
y ?

68 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
window even of the succeeding, or First Pointed, style.
However, in the early part of the 13th century, labour
was bestowed upon the N . side of the nave. An aisle was
now added there, and an arcade of three arches wasmade
in the solid side wall of the nave, similar to that on the
S. side. Its proportions were not, however, precisely
copied. So, too, the " adjunct " was brought into this
new aisle by the removal of its W. wall. The three
arches present a most pleasing appearance. The piers
have a square bulk, being in fact integral portions of
the ancient wall, out of which the arches are cut.
A rounded semi-column stands in reveal, and has
about it three slender round pillars ; the capitals are
graceful and varied ; the arch, imitating the arches
opposite, has a plain soffit with a chamfered edge, but
beneath the flat surface are introduced elegant mouldings
supported by the capitals and slender columns.' The
whole affords an excellent specimen of the Early
English style.
The attention of the guardians of the growing fabric
was subsequently given once more to the S. arcade.
This was brought into general harmony of detail with
the N. The piers and capitals were altered ; the
same system of slender clustered pillars was introduced
as on the N. side, and the arch above received greater
finish, and indeed acquired even a still more orna
mental form than had been bestowed on the opposite
arcade. As completed, the S. arcade, in respect both
of proportion and of details of parts, chaUenges and
receives universal admiration. One very attractive
feature is the interchange of colour given by the
' I have been glad to follow Mr. Buclder's safe guidance in tracing
the several steps of these alterations. It may be correct to assign (as
is here done) the first forming of the N. arcade to the 13th century.
But if so, the architect must have been led to foUow the pattern given
in the preceding century, and then to add to it.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 6g
alternate employment of white freestone and green
sandstone. Whence this latter material has been
obtained is unknown. It somehow came to the notice
of the builders of the 12th century ; and those who
worked upon the church one hundred years later or so,
must either have gone to the same source of supply, or
else have found on the spot a remaining store gathered
by their predecessors. It is noticeable that in the
interval of the building of the N. aisle this green sand
stone was not used at all.
The windows of the N. aisle are all of the 14th
century, and differ from each other in character and in
date. The earliest is the one occupying a place in the
ancient " adjunct." To the Second Pointed Style
belongs also the window in the W. wall of the S. aisle,
which has peculiar tracery. The glass in this window
is ancient, and was collected from different parts of the
church. A figure of S. Catherine may be noticed ; also
one of a bishop in the attitude of blessing. The rest of
the windows in the S. aisle belong to the Tudor age ;
their high position is to be accounted for by the former
existence of a cloister attached to the S. wall. The
clerestory windows were formed early in the 15th
century ; the pair to the E., however, received their
present form in 1861. To the same century are to be
assigned the few old bench ends occupying a place in
the S. aisle ; their excellent pattern was adopted in the
recently-constructed sittings. At some time or other
the Brethren constructed for themselves a second door
into the church, near the W. end of their cloister. This
may have been useful for processions, made to advance
up the nave. An entrance was also made in the N.
aisle, near its W. end.
The arrangement of the modern chancel is peculiar,
and claims a passing notice. A low rail bounds it on

70 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
the W., and round the three remaining sides a range
of sittings with a desk before them runs continuously,
set against the wall. The Holy Table occupies a place
in the middle of the chancel area, and although it now
stands altarwise, down to 1846 its direction was longi
tudinal, and presented a " north side " to the minister
officiating at it.
It would be interesting to know whether the date
1604, carved on a panel, gives the exact time of the
origin of the present arrangement. The panel, indeed,
looks in keeping with the rest of the woodwork, but, in
fact, belonged to a pulpit superseded by the present
one when the church underwent restoration ; and
therefore the date, as applying to the chancel, is of
dubious authority. In 1616 Archbishop Laud, at that
time Dean of Gloucester, against the remonstrances of
the Bishop, Miles Smith (called, from his learning,
" the walking library "), insisted on removing the Holy
Table in his Cathedral from a central position to the
east wall. Could Laud have heard of the neighbouring
church of Deerhurst, and at the same time have kept
back the expression of his dissatisfaction, had its
chancel assumed already at that day its present form ?
At Deerhurst things could not be done in a corner, for
being a peculiar, it was visited periodically by the
Archdeacon. ' The Deerhurst arrangement is very rare
in churches, as now ordered ; another Dean, the late
Arthur P. Stanley, in his " Christian Institutions,"
' Down to 1845 the Archdeacon held a visitation at Deerhrurst,
which was attended by the officials of those neighbouring parishes
which were ancient dependencies of the Priory. In the face of tliis
fact, I am unable to explain the old entries in the Churchwardens'
book, recording attendances at the Cheltenham Visitation. I know
not whether in early days the Bishop -visited at Deerhurst, but conclude
that he did so. No doubt it was in consequence of its having been a
peculiar, that the amount of the fees caUed Procurations aud Synodals
' were, and are stiU, higher at Deerhui'st than at most other- parishes.

^v

 Font 
'DEERHURST -€HURCH.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 7^
quotes the instance as unique. There are still, how
ever, in Gloucestershire, or, at all' events, were quite
recently, a few similar examples. Winchcomb Church
used to be such an instance, but an alteration was made
a few years ago, when its chancel was re-arranged
according to the ordinary manner,
THE FONT
I must now speak of the Font, which, while claiming
attention on the score of great antiquity, possesses the
additional interest of a singular history attaching to it.
The curiously carved bowl stood for an unknown num
ber of years in the court-yard of a farm at Deerhurst,
where it served the purposes of a common washing tub.
There it was seen in 1844 by Bishop Wilberforce, then,
and for a single year only. Dean of Westminster. He
and his Capitular colleagues gained possession of the
font, and bestowed, or induced the farmer to bestow it,
upon the church of Longdon, Worcestershire. There
it remained and was used for about 25 years. It then
chanced that Miss Strickland, of Apperley Court, found
not far from her own residence, and close to the Severn,
a carved stone which, in her opinion, must have been
the stem of the Saxon font. It was accordingly brought
to the church, and the bowl, kindly surrendered by the
Longdon authorities, was once more set up on it.
The font is thought to be the production of a very
early age ; not a few persons, supposed to be competent
judges, pronounce it as belonging to the 8th century.
The bowl is of the tub form ; it is made of a hard
oolite ; its dimensions are 20 inches in height, 2g across
the rim. The ornamentation of the central part con
sists of an intricate pattern of spiral lines, running in
and out in an endless, but not planless, maze. This
pattern is distributed into 8 compartments. It is said

72 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
to.be confined, so far as is known, to works (such as
missals and crosses) of early centuries, terminating with
the gth. Below and above this pattern is a border of a
different character, seemingly a wreath of leaves and
flowers. It may be remarked here, that an oblong stone
carved with exactly the same ancient spiral pattern, is
to be seen in the church of Elmstone Hardwick, a
place which in the Saxon age had an immediate con
nexion with Deerhurst.
The stem of the font, which is cylindrical above and
octagonal below, has on it the same spiral pattern, but
exhibits also a pattern of interlacing work not found on
the bowl. Opinions are divided as to the former con
nexion of the two parts. The base, or plinth, is a
broad flat octagonal slab, with no indication as to age.
In regard to the vicissitudes occurring in the history of
the font, it is difficult to form any plausible conjecture
in explanation of them. A font, which, in favour of
the recovered one, was dismissed from the church, and
given to Castlemorton, in 1870, was not altogether
modern, but, although cut and disfigured, had traces
about it of mediaeval origin. MONUMENTS
Of remaining objects of interest in the church may
be mentioned three brasses and a stone coffin. The
latter was probably the receptacle of the remains of
either some Prior, or else of some layman of importance,
of the 14th century.' It still preserves on its hd the
upper portion of a fine fohated cross. One of the three
brasses is very well preserved, and remarkably hand
some. Two effigies are fastened jnto a large slab of
Purbeck marble. They represent Sir John Cassey,
Chief Baron of the Exchequer, dying in 1400, and his

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 73
wife Dame AUce. The legend giving their names is
perfect. Beautiful canopy work surmounts the figures'.
The lady's feet repose on a dog, whose name, curiously
enough, is commemorated — " Tirri." No doubt a
strong feeling of mutual attachment may be conjec
tured to have subsisted between the canine follower
and his indulgent mistress— of which this memento is a
touching token. At the same time, till we are inclined
to believe, even more decidedly than the wise Bishop
Butler, that there may be a second life for animals, it
may be well, as a rule, to refrain from placing the
names of our four-footed favourites on the tombs of
their and our friends. With the " untutored Indian "
of the poet, the custom might be only natural and even
commendable, since in his anticipation of the Elysian
fields he believes that " his faithful dog shall bear him
company." The Cassey arms are emblazoned in im
perishable brass, a chevron between three griffins'
heads erased ; those of the lady are missing. The
figures of the Baptist and of the Blessed Virgin and
S. Anne also once adorned the monument, but the
former of these has disappeared.
The other Brasses are simply figures of two ladies
without names. However, it is known that the more
perfect of the two represents a member of the Cassey
family.' It may be noticed that both these ladies are
figured with that peculiar feminine ornament called a
pomander, suspended by a band. At the earlier period
when Dame Alice Cassey lived, it was not yet, appar
ently, in vogue.
' Bigland (Hist, of Glouc.) gives the missing inscription: " Here
lyeth Elyzabethe Rowdon sumtyme Wyffe to WyUiam Cassey of
Wyghtfylde Esquyer. After the dethe of the sayde WyUiam was
maryed to Walter Rowdon, Esqr., and was Daughter to Thomas
Bruges of Coverle rCubberley] Esqr. The sayde Elyzabethe dyed the
xx-vi day of Januane Anno Dni MDGXXV, for whose Soule of your
charitie say a Pater Noster."

74 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH
In the Churchyard may be seen a large number of
headstones dating from the latter half of the 17th
century. To about the same period (i6g6) belongs a
curious bier with jointed handles, preserved in the tower,
having on it, in capital letters, the following couplet of
solemn import : —
"REPENT: O MAN: WHILE: THERE: IS BREATH:
THERE'S: NO: REPENTANCE: AFTER: DEATH:"
In the Church there are memorials of the families of
Fermor, Mortimer, L^ne, Powell, Harris, Cox, Herring,
Roberts, Scandrett, Stiles, Dipper, Healing, Barnard,
Strickland, Edwards, Matthew?, Miller. A small
brass plate records the burial of Edmund Guye, Esq.,
in 1612.
The only incumbent of Deerhurst who has a memo
rial, either in the church or churchyard, is Rev. George
Stiles, whose name is thus recorded :
" Hie inhumatur corpus Georgii StUes hujus parochiae clerici viginti
et novem annis. Obut trigesimo die Sept. anno salutis 1711,
Eetatis 67. Mors mihi lucrum, Vobis damnum."
In the churchyard stands a large monumental erec
tion in memory of the Heahng family from about i56o
to i860.
Within the church two slabs in the pavement record
the death of Peter Fermor, Esq., and that of his first
wife : " Here lyeth the body of Peter Fermor, second
Sonne to Henry Fermor, Esquire, of Tusmore, in Oxford
shire : he dyed on the i6th Day of Decem : a.d. i6gi."
Arms : a fess between 3 -wivems' heads erased.
" Hie jacet EUzabetha uxor Petri Fermor Armigeri toparche hujus
manerii FUia Johannis CarriU de Langly [Tangly] iu Surria Armigeri
et ex nobUissima prosapia comitivo Longfordie Angero oriunda.
pussime obiit sicut vixit ij Junii ano 1677. iEtatis 24. Mulierem
fortem quis inveniet ? procul et de ultimis tinibus pretium ejus.
Confidit in ea cor vui sui. Proverb. 31. Requiescat in pace."
These slabs were originaUy in the chancel, P. Fermor
having been Impropriator. The widower married for

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH 75
his second wife, Mary, daughter and heiress of Sir
Anthony Morgan, Kt., of Monmouthshire.
At the W. end of the S. aisle the window is filled
with stained glass (furnished by Wailes), commemorative
of one deeply and widely lamented, the accomplished
geologist, Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq., whose life was
cut short by an accident (1853). Another commemora
tive window stands in the same aisle, the work of
Clayton and Bell, placed there by the present incumbent
of the parish.
The modern pulpit has good carving, done after
nature. Designed by the late architect, Mr. Slater,
whose careful restoration of the church is conspicuous,
it was executed by Forsyth.
In a church exhibiting the remarkable range of various
periods and styles of building which characterises that
of Deerhurst, it may seem a little singular that no trace
of pure Norman work should find a place.

J

IV
THE AGE OF THE CHURCH

N attempting in the foregoing pages to describe
yiU the past and the present form of this remark-
-^ able structure, I have purposely kept clear of
the question of the precise age of its erection, content
ing myself with a general reference to its Saxon origin,
and the Saxon character of certain of its portions or
features. I must now enter upon the thorny and diffi
cult subject of its probable age, as approximately to be
defined. It was in the early years of the modern move
ment originated in the interests of archaeology and
architectural lore, that the Priory Church of Deerhurst
was generally set down as "the earliest dated church in
England." So far as my knowledge goes, the late Mr.
J. H. Parker was the first to pronounce it to be so.
Now the sole authority for this date was the testimony
of an inscribed stone, which some explorer had the
good fortune to find preserved at Oxford among the
Arundel Marbles. It gave a precise date, a.d. 1056 ;
and regard being had to the exact spot where it was
discovered in the 17th century, it was only natural both
to apply the inscription to Deerhurst Church, and to
interpret its somewhat dubious language as speaking to
the positive erection of the same. But in August,
1885, an ancient chapel was discovered not far indeed

THE AGE OF THE CHURCH 77
from the Church, but still strictly beyond the old
conventual precincts, and it then became almost a
certainty that the former was the building to which the
inscription referred. Thus one result of the discovery
is to remove from the church the received date.
It is not quite time yet to speak about the inscription.
For the moment I proceed on the assumption that in
the " Odda inscription" (as it is generally called), there
is no reference whatever to the church, and no collateral
light even is afforded by it bearing on the date of the
latter. As matters stand at present, the time of its building
must be sought in the stones themselves of the vener
able structure, — very slight help indeed, if any, being
given by records of what kind soever. Hitherto the
investigation as to its age has been conducted not quite
impartially. Antiquaries have started with a date ready
made, and the business has been to show that the
appearance presented by the building harmonizes suffi
ciently well with what is known of the work of the
Confessor's age. But now we have changed all that.
The church is in a position to speak independently for
itself, and its appeal to us comes in the form of a
demand simply to give due significance to the tokens its
structure exhibits. Those who have studied most care
fully these speaking relics of a bygone age, are strongly
in favour of the view which assigns to the existing walls
of the building a unity of design. Of these investi
gators I would especially name with respect the vene
rable Mr. Buckler, who in his admirable monograph on
the Priory Church enlarges in eloquent language upon
the constructive ability of the original designer of the
building. The Saxon builder had before his mind, we
are given to understand, the clear conception of the
pile in the form in which it afterwards rose from the

78 THE AGE OF THE CHURCH
ground ; and the fabric once begun on a preconceived
and admirable plan, was not suffered to swerve from the
lines originally drawn for it, but advanced year after
year, with no apparent break, or change of design, till
it presented the appearance of a finished and coherent
whole. At least I think I do not err in giving this
representation of the view of Mr, Buckler, who, in
speaking of " the surpassing merits of the building as
relating to the organization of the plan," says, that " in
the composition of it the builders have proved their
acquirement of the knowledge of the order most proper
for the several members of the building, and of their
relative proportions and positions of the several parts
suitable to a conventual establishment."
Now I am disposed to believe that we have, so far, an
intelligent and probable general history of the erection.
In fact, the building grew after the manner of a living
organism. Alterations and additions there may have
been in quite early days, but the main features of the
Saxon church are to be attributed to one fixed design
and to one and the same period. What that period is
likely to have been must be deduced from the independ
ent testimony of the by no means inconsiderable and
unaltered remains. Now there are certain character
istics of the building which tend to establish a distinc
tion between it and most, if not all, of the few other
buildings in our country which belong unquestionably
to the time before the Conquest. One such marked
feature is the absence' of ornament, and even of dressed
stone at angles. It is weU known that, for example, in
towers both Saxon and Norman, the prevailing rule is
to exhibit ashlar quoin stones, more frequently than not,
in the earher instances, disposed in long-and-short
fashion. Well, at Deerhurst such angle-stones are
"conspicuous from their absence." There is not a

THE AGE OF THE CHURCH 79
single example of an ashlar angle. Again, there is no
external ribwork, there are no vertical nor horizontal
relief-lines, no sets-off, no strings — unless the " cornice"
spoken of previously is to be considered a solitary
string-course. The tower, at any rate, is destitute of
any breaking whatsoever of its surface by lines. Here
we have certainly a note of distinction, but whether —
to use terms in vogue in another line of antiquarian
research — this is to be regarded as a sign of a
" palseolithic " Saxon age, or of a " neolithic," there
exists a difference of opinion. Perhaps it may not
be considered a travelling out of our way to note in
this place that in the neighbouring Saxon chapel
recently discovered, and supposed with good reason to
belong to the middle of the nth century, all the angles
of the building and all the jambs of its arches are
constructed of ashlar.
But granted a divergence of view as to the question
of plainness of style in relation to age, a general con
sensus of opinion on the part of authorities of weight is
at least yielded in favour of this point — that a very
high antiquity must be attributed to certain particular
features in Deerhurst Church, to be found chiefly, but
not exclusively, in the tower. Now, let this be con
ceded as a point not admitting of question, and then,
it seems to me at least, it becomes a plain and natural
inference that the date of these special features of the
tower is, in fact, the date of the tower itself, and that
this birthtime must be placed in quite a remote age.
For a close examination will, I believe, establish the
conviction that these pristine portions were originally
framed for the existing structure ; and thus the favourite
and plausible doctrine of their being relics of a still
more ancient church is likely to be finally abandoned,
along with the discredited date of 1056. In point of

8o THE AGE OF THE CHURCH
fact, the whole arrangement of the Saxon portion of
the tower speaks to a oneness of workmanship, of
general effect, and of detail. In saying this, I am per
fectly aware of a single apparent notable exception,
the instance, namely, of the two-light window. But
even this remarkable feature, almost Cyclopean in its
structure, claims a not remote affinity to the member
immediately above it, the massive archway. Whoever
designed the two-lighted window, certainly struck out
a novel and fruitful idea — not, it may be, without
having before his mind's eye some existing rehc of
Roman work — and was able with singular success to
embody the mental image in solid stone. Still, to
associate this interesting production of an artistic mind
not only with what stands just above it, but also with
other features immediately surrounding it, does not
appear to involve any incongruous grouping together
of elements having no natural relation to each other.
Far from it. No doubt the window in question is a
bold original design, and it worthily occupies a place
of honour. However, insert it in any known Saxon
building, even of the earliest date, — it would still stand
out as a feature sui geneyis and puzzle us all, proclaiming
loudly though it may its genuine Saxon origin. '
Then I would observe generally that the supposed
relics fit into their places with such an air of propriety
and dignity, that we seem forbidden to regard them as
' Too much perhaps has sometimes been made of the absence of
close resemblance between the couplet -window and the other ancient
features. But in fact, in the Saxon work there are several pecuUarities
occurring in a single instance only, and thus constituting dissimUarity.
I may refer to the capitals of the Sanctuary arch, the pair of square-
headed piercings in the chancel, the ruined arch in the modem vestry,
the square dripstone over the round-headed window in the tower. On
the other hand, there is some apparent relationship between the
triangular-headed doorway in the chancel and the couplet-window in
the tower. We may cdmpare, too, the mouldings of the imposts of the
latter with those of the cornice in the aisles.

THE AGE OF THE CHURCH

8l

simple instances of adaptation. They are just of the
right shape and size ; their depth exactly adapts them
to the thickness of the existing waUs. Assuredly it
may be affirmed, for instance, of the doublet window,
that, whenever it may have been constructed, it was
" made to order " for the site it now occupies. For on
careful examination one sees that it would not fit a wall
of either greater thickness by an inch or two, or of less-
Its dividing pier is of exactly the right dimensions to
allow for the symmetrical swelling of the plinth within
the given space, and the jambs in correspondence with
it are just of the depth necessary to bring them flush
with the wall containing them. The same might be
said, though with rather less accentuation, of the other
ancient members, which utterly refuse to be dissociated
as to origin and age from that product of a faculty of
bold invention, the two-light window, designed to
be the distinguishing ornament of the tower, as seen
from the nave. With it they share the condition of
a size, in respect of depth, exactly proportioned to
the walls in which they are inserted, but could, it is
true, have lent themselves, if required, to a process
(impracticable in its case) of paring down, though not
to one of adding bulk, ' With it, too, they participate
in a construction remarkable for the massiveness of the
composing blocks.
Now let us simply ask, Is it likely that these memorials
of antiquity belonged to a much older building, the
tower-walls of which must, ex hypothesi, have formed an
exact pattern in point of bulk for those of the existing
church ? And again. Is it likely that there should
have survived so goodly an assemblage of unbroken
' The same observation holds good in regard to the straight-lined
head of the piercing in the N. waU of the chancel, considered univer-
saUy to be very ancient. Pared down the " doublet " could not be,
and yet retain its form, because of the carving on both sides.

82 THE AGE OF THE CHURCH
members of a wrecked structure, which must have had
the good fortune to be carefully taken to pieces and
put together again, before their transfer to their new
place of settlement could be effected ?
For my own part, I am disposed to think that we
may ask our antiquaries to kindly assign a date to
these archaic features, and next, with little hazard of
misappropriation, may venture to extend the same to
the tower itself which holds them. Mr, Buckler's
thoughtful view touching unity of design will then take
us on another step ; and we can scarcely refuse to even
tually pronounce as coeval, substantial portions of all
the several members of the building. This dictum,
however, is to be read with reasonable limitations.
Regarding the whole structure as the work of the same
age, and the outward presentment of one fully formed
conception, we are perfectly at liberty to imagine that
in execution one portion would possess in the builders'
minds a prior interest to some other, that, for instance,
the monks would naturally have an eye first to their
own sacred enclosure, and the nave, appropriated to
the people at large, would be made, although an im
portant, yet a second, consideration.
Again, the theory is quite compatible with the demand
(if made) for a later date in respect of sundry separate
pieces of the existing Saxon fabric. There may have
been, and doubtless was, a considerable amount of
renovation even in days prior to the Conquest ; thus
individual archways may have been remodelled. In
fact, the ancient walls appear to have been more or
less patched and repaired throughout the greater part
of their surface. Still they have ever retained their
essential integrity and vitality, even as a living creature
changes perpetually the actual substance of its tissues,
remaining all the while the same organization. Indeed

THE AGE OF THE CHURCH 83
it may have happened — to take an extreme example of
hypothetical transmutation — that in the pre-Norman
period the entire Sanctuary was remodelled, to an
extent impossible now to define. On the other hand,
the massive flank walls of the choir, although pieced
and renewed in places, preserve the same proportions,
and a very considerable amount of the actual materials,
which belonged to them from the first.
In this place one special structural characteristic
should be cited both as differentiating Deerhurst from
other ancient buildings, and as referring us indisputably
to days of quite primitive architectural design. The
Saxon church had aisles attached to the choir, but
these useful appendages were, as we have seen, entirely
divided off from the member to whose sides they respec
tively clung, the only means of inter-communication
being a piercing made through the solid intervening
wall. This arrangement tends to convey the impression
of infancy in the art of church construction.
But now to come to something like a determination
of date. Of indications from historical records we
cannot be said to possess any, even the scantiest,
beyond the bare fact of the Monastery having been
founded near the beginning of the 8th century. Even
if we knew when exactly the Danes ravaged the
Conventual House, we should not be greatly helped,
because if, these marauders, meeting with a solidly
built stone church, plundered and burned to their
hearts' content, still the substantial walls of the sacred
building might well survive the visit, without sustain
ing any great amount of injury. Repairs might be
rendered necessary, but not reconstruction.
Again, although our information on the subject is of a
limited range, it appears tolerably certain that in quite
the infancy of Saxon Christianity, while the smaUer

84 THE AGE OF THE CHURCH
churehes were, as a rule, built of wood and other slight
materials, some at least of the more important sacred
edifices were constructed of stone. Guiding ourselves,
then, by what appears to be the most instructive evi
dence at hand, namely, the outward visible fact of the
ponderous, and, as to some features, almost Roman-
looking, work ih the tower, we feel compelled to
conjecture for the church a very remote antiquity.
But I see not how the range of surmise can legitimately
be narrowed further than by assigning as extreme
limits on the one side and the other, the Sth century
and the loth. No doubt the interval embraced within
these limits is a wide one, and we should much prefer
confining the boundaries of possibility to a single
decade. Possibly in the future, evidence not now
forthcoming may bring us to something more definite.
One should be glad to know the grounds leading Sir
R, Atkyns to connect the erection of the Conventual
Church with the name of Ethelred, brother of Alfred,
and the date 870.
The position as to the date of the Church here taken
up, is, I have to confess, at variance with what I held
at one time. However, I then erred, if error it was,
in excellent company. Misdirected by the " Odda
inscription," I supposed, together with Mr, J, H.
Parker, Mr, J, C, Buckler and others — guides qualified
by carefully acquired knowledge to instruct us laymen,
— that the Church was a genuine specimen of nth
century architecture. Even then, mistrusting the theory
of " insertion of ancient fragments," I raised the ques
tion as to whether we should not be justified in giving
one and the same date to all the existing features.
Subsequently I became convinced by the assertions of
authorities of repute and from more close personal
study, that it was highly improbable that so late an

THE AGE OF THE CHURCH 85
origin as the middle of the nth century should be
assignable to the more ancient-looking portions of the
building. Next it became demonstrably certain, through
the discovery of 1885, that we had been following an
ignis fattms in taking, as our guide iri respect of the
Church's age, the valuable Odda inscription. We are
able now without prejudice to let the ancient stones
speak for themselves. Their voice I have endeavoured
to catch and interpret.
Of the many who have tried their hand upon the
problems presented by the Church, Mr. D. Haig has ,
been perhaps, as regards its age, the most successful
hitherto. His interesting observations are given in the
" Journal of the British Archaeological Association,"
and were written as long ago as 1845. He came to the
conclusion, guiding himself by notes handed down by
Leland, that Odda's work was limited to a small chapel,
of which building, naturally enqiigh, Mr. Haig imagined
that not a vestige remained. He could not, of course,
anticipate our recent discovery. But his most . im
portant inference was that in the existing Church of
Deerhurst we view the original building erected in the
8th century.

THE DOMESTIC BUILDINGS
OF THE PRIORY

FAIRLY large portion of the domestic build
ings of the Priory still remains standing,
joined on as from the first, to the Church,
and forming at the present day the commodious apart
ments of a farm-house. The existing range has a
length of 76 feet with a depth of 26, and runs at right
angles to the axial line of the Church, to the S.E. point
of which it is attached. This considerable block of
building is of the 14th century.
On its W, side, and on the S. side of the Church,
lay the quadrangle of the cloister, the dimensions of
which, measured from the former inclosing walls, were
about 65 feet by 80, The corbels sustaining the pentice
of the cloister remain still on the sides, severally, of the
house and the church. It is probable that the more
ancient chief buildings of the Monastery occupied the
same site with the existing ones.
The walls have a thickness of 2 feet 6 inches. Near
the N, end of the principal range, and on its E, side, a
wing is attached, the commencing portion of which
appears to be old ; the rest of it is modern, and there
are no other ancient remains, A considerable part of
the structure, which is now seen, formed the monastic
haU, or refectory, which rose undivided from basement
to roof. Four of the corbels, carved into heads, which

THE DOMESTIC BUILDINGS OF THE PRIORY 87
gave support to the roof, as well as the trusses resting
on the corbels, stiU remain. By the side of the hall, to
the S., came probably the kitchen, now a commodious
apartment. The northern part of the range may have
furnished sleeping rooms, as also the upper floor over
the kitchen. In this north portion there is a large
upper room, a former sitting-room or " soUar," the
ceiling of which has good oak panelling, of the 15th
century. It is now approached by steps outside the
house, although no doubt at one time it communicated
by a staircase with the refectory. A curious quatrefoil
aperture may be observed on the upper floor, through
which a view would have been given of the hall and
of what went on there. Within this range the Prior
may have had his apartment, A graceful oblong
window with good tracery, adorns the E. side of the
house ; its dimensions were originally 7J feet by 2 feet
8 inches ; it has no border or dripstone. In a cellar
which anciently may have been a room on the ground-
floor — being only two or three steps below the modern
parlour — stands a single Norman voluted column ; its
position, however, is not original. The masonry of the
N, side of the range (14th cent,), is specially good.
What buildings, if any, bounded the W. and S.
sides of the cloistered quadrangle, must be matter of
conjecture. Erections of some kind most likely there
were — possibly an infirmary, a hospitium or guest
room, and a monks' day-room, with dormitories on
the upper floor. Such may have been the disposition
of the inner quadrangle, overshadowed by the Church.
That there was an outer quadrangle as well, on the
E, side of the surviving range, we may be said to
know with certainty from slight notes taken, happily,
and by sketches made, years ago. Of this latter quad
rangle, two sides, as we have already seen, still survive.

88 THE DOMESTIC BUILDINGS OF THE PRIORY
although the greater part of one of these is a modern
reconstruction. When Mr. Lysons, the accompHshed
antiquary, made his sketch of the place early in the
present century, some building occupied the side
opposite, and E. of, the present main range. It is but
natural to suppose that when the Priory was sustaining
its original character, the remaining fourth side also
had its special building. There, probably, was situated
the entrance. However, beyond .this enclosure there
may have been also an outer entrance, flanked on each
side by a boundary wall. I may here just call attention
by anticipation to the words of an old Chronicler, to be
quoted presently in the account of the Saxon Chapel,
speaking of " a small chapel which was opposite the
gate of the Priory." If one can depend upon the
verbal accuracy of his story, we are able to fix with
some precision the position of the entrance of the
Priory — it was to the S. of the group of the monastic
buildings. In addition to the two quadrangles which, we may sup
pose, would have furnished the Brethren with all neces
sary accommodation in the way of dwelling and sleeping
rooms, there must have been numerous outbuildings,
lying to the E. of the Church and of the domestic range
above described — such as stables, barns, storehouses,
cattle-sheds, and workshops of every description. A mo
nastery was a self-contained and self-sufficing establish
ment, and gathered immediately around itself its various
outward means and appliances of support. Again, a
school was a very common appendage : sick persons
were tended, visitors were often received, within the
monastic waUs. An outw"am wall, or a moat, or both
combined, generaUy encompassed the precinct. At
the back of the existing N. wing of the Priory, a kind
of irregular quadrangle was formed by outbuildings,

THE DOMESTIC BUILDINGS OF THE PRIORY 8g
having a large arched entrance to the E.-^and that,
not very many years ago ; this arrangement may have
taken the place of a somewhat similar ancient grouping
of erections. At no great distance from the monastic
pile stood a columbarium, or dove-cot. We happen to
know, from documentary evidence, that Deerhurst pos
sessed a chapter-house.
Mr. Buckler gives some interesting notes on the home
of the ancient fraternity. He considers that no part of
the existing buildings is earlier than the 14th century.
Rather prior to this date the monks seem to have
appropriated to domestic uses the E. portion of the S.
transept of the church, cutting off at the same time
entrance thence to the choir. In erecting the existing
range the builder of the 14th century ran the line of his
building north of the original boundary, so that its
extremity bisected in an E. and W. direction this east
portion of the " adjunct," and annexed it — the remainder
of this portion being given to chambers, upper and
lower, outside the main walls of the house. Each
chamber, as we have already seen, had a loop, com
manding a view of the sanctuary. These loops were
formed no doubt at this time for the use of such as
should visit these chambers for devotional purposes.
Also a means of communication was now afforded
between " the upper room with the panelled ceiling,"
and the separate parts of the " adjunct," through a
square space (walled-up) interposed between the present
vestry and the house. This small space was originally
part of the E. portion of the choir-aisle. Next it may-
have served as the end of a passage leading to the
present vestry (W. part of choir-aisle). There is a
loop here looking into the garden (quadrangle of
cloister). In the vestry there were once traces of small
doorways, below and above, but they are now concealed.

go THE DOMESTIC BUILDINGS OF THE PRIORY
Not far from the house, on the E. side, in close prox
imity to " the moat garden," there still exists a pond
called the " moat-pond," which may once have helped
to supply fish to the inmates of the Priory, although of
course they drew their chief supply from the river. Its
name notwithstanding, it is difficult to suppose that at
any time a moat actually surrounded the old monastic
enclosure, although it happens that, with the exception
of a small space of ground (the neck of the peninsula),
the whole enceinte, including the churchyard and a home
meadow, is girdled by an insignificant stream. Against
the incursions of the Severn in flood time, the Brethren
raised a mound on three sides of their enclosure —
defences which were also adopted by their neighbours,
the possessors of the manor upon which was built the
chapel recently brought to light, and shortly to be
described. On the summit of the mound the Brethren
appear to have had a walk laid out. This system of
defence against flood, subserves the same purpose down
to the present day. The monks built their conventual
House just beyond highest flood mark.
The present chapter seems the best place for giving
some description of the site of the monastic precinct,
and of the immediate vicinity. It will be seen, by re
ferring to the Plate, that the Priory was almost sur
rounded by a small stream, the Naight brook, which'
at the present day, for most of its course, presents the
appearance of a sluggish ditch. One feels almost dis
posed (as hinted above) to raise the inquiry, whether
originally the, precinct could have had all round it a
watery boundary. But however this may have been,
the stream certainly bounded the E, side of the enclo
sure ; and by its side ran a road, which made a right
angle at the S.E. corner of the precinct, and then
bordered this latter on its S. side. Now it seems not

THE DOMESTIC BUILDINGS OF THE PRIORY gi
unlikely that this road was part of the direct road from
the village to Tewkesbury, and that after bordering the
monastic precinct on the E., it took a straight line across
the low meadows, and made its way to the foot of the
wooded bank which stretches to the Lower Lode, and,
on reaching it, skirted the copse. (See Plate.) The pre
cinct itself of the Priory appears to stand in the direct
line which the ancient track from Gloucester (p. 7.)would
have naturally taken (i.e. just W. of the churchyard wall),
and the monks may have diverted the road and made it
run round two sides of their own enclosure. They may,
too, in part have directed the course of the little stream.
In early times no doubt Tewkesbury was approached
from Deerhurst by a road keeping, all the way, not far
from the rivers Severn, Avon, and Swilgate.
The Plate shows that the road above described makes
another right angle, not loo yards beyond the first, and
then keeps close to the Naight stream, which it has
again met : from this point it runs in an almost directly
straight line to Wainlode Hill, in its course to
Gloucester. The chief entrance to the Priory was probably on the
South side, at a point marked d. But there may have
been a second entrance on the East side, with a bridge
over the stream (f). At the present day an ancient
sunk road in a field adjoining (k) appears to be making
for this point. This road may have led from the Priory
to Walton, where the Brethren possessed, in very early
days, a hide of plough land, or perhaps to one of their
coppices— an adjacent field still retaining the name of
The Grove.
The Monastic enclosure is, on the S, side, separated
only by the road from the Abbot's Court land of the
Westminster Manor. The House and Chapel are
marked by the letter g. An ancient road runs on

g2 THE DOMESTIC BUILDINGS OF THE PRIORY
the S. side of the surrounding precinct of Abbot's
Court, which must thus formerly have been coftipletely
enclosed by roads. It was also, as was the Priory
precinct, defended by raised banks, in the direc
tions where the incursion of flood water was to be
apprehended (bb).
The letter t shows the position of GUdable Bridge,
which is close to the Naight (island) ; a horse-track
striking off from the ancient road from Gloucester,
crosses it, and, keeping close to the Severn, rejoins the
road near the Lower Lode. Although this bridle-path
is no modern track, and is now the line of communica
tion for persons on foot or on horseback, it can scarcely
be held to indicate the position of the ancient road,
which, as has been shown already, probably took a
course rather further removed from the river.
The Plate just shows where the Naight, the Severn
Island, came (w), the single line indicating the position
of the arm of the river now silted up. The letter l
gives the end of Inick Lane (p. g.)
Risking the charge of an over-fondness for repetition,
I will end this short chapter by reminding the reader
that those who founded the monastery in the Sth cen
tury set it down close upon the Severn, and on an
ancient trackway, amid encircling woods of native
growth. Down to the time of the formation of an
artificial river bank, of which mention will be made
hereafter, the lands within a very short distance from
the House, must all have been subject to very frequent
inundation — and the same must be said of the ancient
road leading, one way, to Tewkesbury, and the opposite
way, to Gloucester.

VI
THE SAXON CHAPEL

' ! T the distance of a very few yards from the
C southern extremity of the churchyard stands
-ityjL- an ancient building, which, like the Church,
was, beyond question, erected before the Conquest, and
which, strange to say, although in such close vicinity,
appears never to have had any immediate connexion
with the Priory, This building was brought to light in
August, 1885, under the following circumstances.
Up to a certain day in that month there was no
visible sign of what is now evident to all eyes. Abbot's
Court was a rambling, picturesque farm house at Deer
hurst, with a general reputation of being very old. In
consequence of a change of tenancy, the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners, to whom the property belongs, purposed
altering the character of the building. It was to cease
to be a farm-house and was to be turned into cottages,
or a cottage. Being vacant, and under ordinary repair,
the building could easily be entered by the curious.
Among others, the writer of this account visited it, and
noticed the great thickness of the walls of a portion of
it. It belonged evidently to three distinct dates, the
central portion being the oldest. This portion, like the
rest of the house, was, upstairs and downstairs, divided

94 THE SAXON CHAPEL
into chambers, whether sitting rooms or bedrooms.
Outside, thick plaster covered the waUs, and effectually
concealed all ancient vestiges.
At the back of the building, a keen eye was just able
to trace on the plaster, 14ft. from the ground or so, a
faint marking of a somewhat semicircular shape. It
struck the writer that possibly this ill-defined line be
tokened the existence beneath the plaster, of a round-
headed window. On removing the plaster, this proved
to be the case.
Stimulated by the hint thus fortunately conveyed, the
writer, in conjunction with Mr. T, Collins, of Tewkes
bury, the builder engaged on the repairs of the farm
house, examined most carefuUy the remaining portions
of the thick walls, and the result of their joint investi
gations was the discovery of a chapel consisting of nave
and chancel, separated from each other by a rude
chancel arch.
One more word as to the discovery. Close to the
walls of the farm-house, several fruit trees were standing.
These were cut down from the ground as the repairs
went on ; and on the very day following the fall of one
of them, an inscribed stone, of great apparent interest,
was perceived, which previously had been entirely con
cealed by the tree. More will have to be said about the
inscription on this stone.
I now proceed to describe the chapel. It is a small
building divided into nave and chancel. Its extreme
exterior length is 46ft ; the width of the inside of th6
nave i6ft., of that of the chancel lift. The height of
the side walls of the nave is 17ft. ; the thickness of the
walls close upon 2ft. 6in. The two portions of the
building are divided by a very solid chancel arch. The
material composing the waUs is the blue lias stone of
the locahty ; all the angles of the chapel, the arches,

'Newly Discovered Chapel at Deerhurst.
w

NAVE WINDOW
Smmf Lahore. Aegtviml

t\mi.-AtAthere. t^ arvSari^ English
^¦nujce/,.

CVAn, SI Mn.. !• tAllTt

THE SAXON CHAPEL 95
imposts, and jambs, are worked in dressed stone of an
oolite description, procured no doubt from the neigh
bouring hills. The most noteworthy feature in the
chapel is the chancel arch. The height of the opening
from the ground is a little over loft. ; the width from
jamb to jamb 6ft. 6in. The massive jambs, 2ft. 3in. in
thickness, are composed of large blocks laid in irregular
long and short courses, five of these being found on the
north side of the arch, seven on the south. The imposts
consist of four members, and are 9 inches in thickness.
Their mouldings may be briefly described as the union
of a chamfer, two slight hollows, and an upright face
above. The arch springing from them, formed of a
ring of single stones, is stilted and of a somewhat horse
shoe shape. On the west side a plain square-edged
label runs round the arch, dying into the abacus ; on
the chancel side there is no label, (See the plan and
engravings.) The chapel had two entrances opposite to each other,
near the west end of the nave. That on the south side
is nearly obliterated ; but on the north side half of the
arch and one entire jamb are preserved. Like the
chancel arch, this one also tends to the horse-shoe
shape. Its jamb consists of five ashlar blocks of irre
gular size. The impost is five inches in thickness, and
consists of a simple square projection. A square rib or
label runs round the arch. The archway is 8ft. 3in,
high; the entrance was only 2ft, gin, in width. No
door appears to have been attached to it.
Of the windows of the nave, one is still perfect, on the
south side. Opposite to it, on the north, are remains
of another, similar to it. The sill of the surviving win
dow is gft. from the ground. It has no ashlar work
about it. The opening is 4ft. 6in, in height, 2ft, 6in, in
width. There is a splay both inwards and outwards.

96 THE SAXON CHAPEL
The head is semicircular. Part of the inner oak
framework, taking the curved form of the head, remains,
and shows that the actual aperture admitting the Ught
was very narrow.
Over the windows there was an arrangement of thin
slabs, placed in converging fashion, of which traces are
visible. Apart from this single pair of windows and
the doorways, no original features distinguish any
longer the ancient walls, which at various times have
had inserted into them modern windows and door
frames. Probably there were only twb windows in the
nave ; it had no west window, neither does the chancel
seem to have had an east window. The height of the
gable of the nave is 2gft. The roof is modern. Resting
upon the summit of the two side-walls, and reaching to
the wall-plates, runs a series of oak beams, black with
age. These help to form the flat ceiling of the nave,
and must be of great antiquity. The ordinary building-
stones of the walls are of no great length or thickness,
irregular as to size, and are bedded in very copious
mortar. Inside and out, the walls were originally
plastered, the plaster being carefully thinned off, where,
at the angles, worked stone was met with.
The chancel has an interior length of 14ft. Its south
wall is wanting. The north and east walls have been
cut down at the level of gft. from the pavement ; and
upon these massive truncated walls (supplemented by
a new south wall, run out in the line of the south wall
of the nave) was constructed, in the Tudor period, an
upper room, forming a portion of the handsome timbered
house which stands on the east side of the chapel, and
into which both chancel and nave were incorporated
as domestic apartments.
How daylight was admitted into this small chancel,
there are no means of knowing.

THE SAXON CHAPEL 97
In the N.E. angle of the chancel a first-pointed
capital and abacus are seen.' The height of the side
walls of the chancel was, apparently, about 15ft.
Inserted into a large chimney stack of the Tudor
erection adjoining the chapel, a stone might have been
noticed bearing the inscription already alluded to.
Recently, however, it has been placed within the chapel
to ensure its preservation. Its surface was of a nearly
square form, but a great part has been cut away, to
render it, as is evident, at one time the headstone of a
lancet window. The portion which remains is in
scribed with letters of an early character, proving the
stone to have been originaUy the dedication slab of an
altar. The letters preserved run as indicated. (Plate.)
Prior to mutilation, the inscription was probably to
this efiecf :— IN HONOld SCE TRINITATIS HOC ALTARE
DEDICATV E.
Now in the English Council of Celchyth, held in the
year 816, one of the canons ordered that care should be
taken, in the erection of new churches, or chapels,
that the name of the Holy Person to whom they were
dedicated should be inscribed on the wall, or on a tablet,
or else on the altar.^ Even before this injunction was
issued, it is known that dedication inscriptions were
sometimes made ; but the practice seems soon to have
become obsolete. Very few inscriptions of the kind
have survived to the present day.
I go on to speak of the probable date and history of
the chapel.
Its architectural features proclaim it, with sufficient
' Marked by A in Ground Plan.
* The locaUty of Celchyth, or Cealchythe, (as that of Cloveshoo), is
uncertain. Probably both were ia Mercia. Kemble, indeed, considers
it almost a certainty that Cloveshoo was in the -vicinity of Deerhurst,
Tewkesbury, arid Bishop's Cleeve, but others controvert his opinion,
H

g8 THE SAXON CHAPEL
clearness, to be of pre-Norman date, and at the same
time evidence seems wanting which might assign it, by
reason of details of a marked character, to an early
portion of the Saxon period. It is probable that we
may safely give it to the middle of the eleventh century.
Independent monumental evidence appears to corro
borate this assignment of date. Close to Abbot's
Court, in the year 1675, its possessor, as lessee. Judge
Powell, (at that time not advanced to the Bench), found
in the adjoining orchard an inscribed stone of great
archseolbgical importance.
It riiris thus in Latin, —
" -f Odda Dux jussit hanc regiam aulam construi
atque dedicari in honorem S Trinitatis pro anima ger-
mani sui Elfrici que de hoc loco asupta, Ealdredus
vero Eps qui eandem dedicavit n Idibus Apl. xiiii
autem annos rfegni Eadwardi Regis Anglorum." (See
facsitnile.') Now this inscription, carefully preserved at Oxford,
has hitherto naturally been referred to Deerhurst Church,
and is the sole authority for giving that building the
received date of a.d. 1056. Documentary evidence,
indeed, as we have seen, establishes the fact of the
donation of Deerhurst Priory by Edward the Confessor
to the Abbey of S. Denis, and it is no improbable
assumption that in the days of that monarch the
church may have been renovated to some extent.
!But be this as it may, it has now become a prob
ability of the highest order that the Odda inscrip
tion says not a "word about the Church, but belongs
really to the newly-discovered Chapel, It is matter
for regret that the loss of a single letter in the
• A copy in stone of this inscription, together vrith a record of its
discovery, has been placed within the chapel. The discovery by
PoweU is mentioned in Bishop Gibson's additions to Camden's
"Britannia" (1695). "Annos," no doubt, is put wrongly for "Anno."

+ IN HONO

R6S cexRi

NITATIS HOC

ALTAPeoe

DICATV e;

+ ODDK DVXIVSSITI^NC
RBGlAn AVIAM CON STRV I
MQVeDetD^RHNHONO Re STRlNlTATSPROANIMAdR
MANlSViy^LFRlCK^G DGHOC
L0(2:A5VFTA6 ALDReDVSVERO
ePSOyieANDGIDIDC/VITll ID
BVS APtXIIIIAVEANNOSREG
NI6ADWARD R6GISANGLORV

CHANCEL ARCH.

HALF TOWARDS NAVE. HALF TOWARDS CHANCEL,
fiooxwe CASrJ (looking msr'

L»Y*flS SIBMOU) S'BflSTOl

THE SAXON CHAPEL gg
mutilated altar-inscription throws just a shade of doubt
over the reading, " See Trinitatis." It is just possible,
scarcely probable however, that the words, " S. Petri
ApU," should be substituted. But if "Trinitatis" is
the true reading, then we have the fact of two stones
inscribed with the same dedication-name being found
close to the small Saxon Chapel.' That the shorter
inscription belonged to the chapel there can scarcely be a
reasonable doubt. It is a curious circumstance, here to
be noted, that the Chronicle, or Register, of Tewkesbury
Abbey (deposited in the British Museum, and) quoted
by Leland and Dugdale, speaks of an inscription to be
seen, in the writer's days, at Deerhurst, which, as given
in the Chronicle, resembles greatly the existing " Odda
inscription," but strangely alters some of the terms.
The Chronicler states, that the inscription was to be
found over the entrance of a small chapel which was
opposite the gate of the Priory.^
Is this " small chapel " our recovered chapel ? In
' Since this account was penned, the writer has been able, he be
lieves, to prove the correctness of what is here surmised. He has found
on the stone the end of a sign of abbreviation, showing that the mu-
tUated word was originaUy See.
^ The original words as given by Dugdale inhis " Monasticon,' ' are these :
"Isti praefati duces " (Oddo and Doddo, supposed to be flourishing
in Mercia at the beginning of the Sth century^, " habuerunt quondam
fratrem nomine Almaricum, cujus corpus fuit sepultum apud Derhurst
in parvS capeUS contra portam prioratus ibidem, quia capella ista
aUquando fuit aula regia ; ibi monstratur sepulchrum ejus usque in
hodiemum diem, ubi scribitur in pariete supra hostium, ' Hanc regiam
aulam Doddo dux consecrari fecit in ecclesiam ad honorem Sanctae
Marise Virginis ob amorem fratris sui Almarici.' "
There appears to be in this Tewkesbury Chronicle a travesty of
actual history. Odda and Dodda certainly lived in the middle of the
eleventh century, and signed existing charters ; probably they were
brothers, or at least relatives. But the Chronicle speaks of an Oddo
and Doddo of a.d. 715, brothers who founded a small ceU at Tewkes
bury. Doddo built a church at Deerhurst from affection to a deceased
brother. Oddo, like the genuine Odda, became ^ monk, and was
.buried at Pershor^. H i

100 THE SAXON CHAPEL
spite of a considerable amount of jumble, and of the
attributing of an unconscionable antiquity to the in
scription he gives us, it seems almost certain that the
writer is alluding to the surviving " Odda inscription."
If so, however, he shows, it is true, a curious ignorance,
or oversight, as to " Edward, King of the English."
But what to my own mind is quite conclusive against
the claim of Deerhurst Church to the appropriation of
the "Odda inscription " is the impossibility of the
church having been constructed in the very limited
time between the consecration of the " regia aula " and
the death of Elfric whom it commemorates. This
period, as we know from the early chronicles and the
inscription itself, was little more than two years — a
space of time wholly inadequate for the erection of such
a building as the stately Saxon Priory Church.
The Chapel, then, seems to name Odda as its founder
with an utterance clear and decisive. We are com
pelled therefore to inquire into the history of Odda, as
well as into that of the Manor upon which the Chapel
stands. The old Chronicles and various charters give
us the following information. Odda (whose name
seems to be a variant of several well-known forms of
the same appellation, such as Odo, Otho, Oddo), was
one of two, probably three, brothers who were kinsmen
as well as friends and adherents, of the Confessor.
Long before Edward came to the throne, Odda, the
eldest of the family, had been, apparently, engaged in
pubUc employments.! He seems to have resembled
Edward in tastes and character ; pious, and devoted to
ecclesiastical interests, he assumed the monastic habit
before his death. We are unable to trace with cer-
' As early as the year 1015 he subscribes a Charter with the appel
lation " minister " (thane) ; in 1035 he styles himself "mUes;" in
1044 he is " nobUis." For a portion of these detaUs I am indebted to
th? jandness of ^^alter de Gray Birch, Esq., of the British Museum,

THE SAXON CHAPEL lOI
tainty his place of residence during the greater portion
of his life, but, when advanced in years, we find him
suddenly summoned, on a crisis in Edward's reign, to
the government of a large portion of the south-west of
England. This crisis was the expulsion, although, as
it proved, only temporary, of the powerful house of
Godwin, in the year 1051. It is to be remembered
that, although in theory and by title Edward was
Supreme Lord of the whole realm of England, yet
practically during his entire reign his rule over a great
portion of the kingdom was little more than nominal,
and indeed elsewhere the power of the Earl in charge
was much more of a reality. than that of the Sovereign.
Earl Godwin, with his several sons, Harold, Sweyn,
and the rest, acting almost always in opposition to the
King, although, it may be, on patriotic principles,
possessed a most extensive jurisdiction. South of the
Wash, the whole of the east of England was theirs,
then the south-east, then the whole of the south below
(and sometimes above even) the line of the Thames,
and lastly all the district to the south west of the
Bristol Avon. This unbroken territory comprises at
least a dozen of our modern English counties. As
opposed to the house of Godwin, and ever firm in
allegiance to the King, are to be reckoned, up to the
time of their respective deaths, the great Northern Earl
Siward, and Leofric, Earl of Mercia, (husband of
Godiva,) who, under Edward, governed the Midland
Counties. When Edward managed to banish Godwin
and his sons, he at once found an earldom for his
relative Odda, and gave him the counties of Devon,
Dorset, Somerset and Cornwall. Soon afterwards he
gave to him, together with another relative of his own,
the joint command of the royal fleet at Sandwich.
However, we hear of no great doings on the part of

102 THE SAXON CHAPEL
Odda. In the following year the banishment came
to an end, apd with it the short lived jurisdiction of
Odda. At no long interval after these events we come
upon traces of Odda at Deerhurst. His brother Elfric
died there in December 1053, and to his memory Odda
erected what in the existing inscription is styled a
"regia aula," Odda himself died also at Deerhurst, on
31st August, 1056, only a few months after the consecra
tion of his sacred edifice (12th April), What was his
connexion with Deerhurst, or Gloucestershire, is simply
matter of conjecture or inference. It has been con
sidered probable, on the evidence of signatures to
charters, that subsequently to his appointment to his
great earldom, he held some smaller command within the
extensive dominion of the friendly Earl of Mercia,
Leofric, and that this government gave him still the
title (by which he is spoken of in two Chronicles) of
" Dux." ' No doubt by some description of tenure or
another he held property at Deerhurst. He was also
connected with Pershore Abbey, where he became a
monk after the resignation of his great earldom, and
where both he and Elfric were buried. Respecting
Elfric, we know that, after an active life, he also
became a monk. It seems highly probable that a
certain Dodda, who appears in frequent connexion with
both Odda and Elfric, was their brother. After Odda's
death he is known as " Princeps." *
' The proof that he held command in Mercia appears to be incom
plete. Dr. Freeman considers the point almost certain (" Norman
Conquest ") ; however, against his opinion there is this to be stated. In
Kemble's Codex. Dipl. the double signature " Odda monachus,
Elfric monachus," is assigned to the year 1052, or at latest to 1053,
and the union of the two names, foUowing earUer precedents, makes it
a matter almost of certainty that the Monk Odda is the former Earl
Odda. Then, again, I fail to discover a signature of "Dux" on the
part of Odda later than 1052. Now in that year it was that his
great command came to a sudden end.
I Aldred, mentioned in the inscription, was Bishop of Worcester,

THE SAXON CHAPEL I03
Here we have to investigate, as best we are able, the
nature of Odda's work at Deerhurst, and the history of
the site of the building which we assume to be his-
The expression " regia aula " has been variously inter
preted. Like "basilica," its synonym, it may mean a
church: both words, standing separately, bear fre
quently this meaning, as is shown by Ducange. Or, it
is thought, the expression may have regard to the
founder, as being a royal or sub-regal personage. The
pious motive of the builder, as solemnly declared in the
inscription, forbids us to contemplate a "royal haU" in
a merely secular sense. Built in view of the repose of
the soul of a brother, the erection was doubtless one of
a sacred character — an oratory, it may be, or chantry
chapel, attached to which would naturally have been a
residence for officiating priests. We have seen that its
consecration took place in the year 1056. But now little
more than nine years afterwards the extensive Manor of
Deerhurst upon which stands the small chapel recently
discovered, was formally conveyed to the Abbey of
Westminster by the great charter signed by the dying
Edward on the 28th December, 1065. Indeed long before
this date the Confessor had been making preparation
for his grand foundation, and had accumulated on its
behalf enormous treasures in money and land. More
over a certain undated Saxon Charter relating to the
Abbey makes it positively certain that the Manor of
Deerhurst was actually bestowed on Westminster a
considerable time before the great Latin Charter was
signed. From the consideration , then , that Odda erected
his sacred building on an estate forming part of the
and one of the most noted EngUsh ecclesiastics of his day. He had
visited Rome on the King's account, and been the honoured guest of
the German Emperor; he had even made his way to distant, Jerusalem.
Aldred became Archbishop of York, and crowned both Harold arid
the Conqueror.

104 THE SAXON CHAPEL
Deerhurst Manor, we might at first be tempted to raise
the question as to whether he was a party with the King
in bestowing the Manor and the'" regia aula " upon the
Abbey, or whether it was after his death that Edward
made the gift. However, that same Saxon Charter goes
far to prove that Odda must have long been sleeping his
last sleep at Pershore before the Manor was actually
conveyed by deed. For in this document King Edward
informs Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, and other great
men of the neighbourhood, that he has bestowed the
Manors of Deerhurst and Pershore on Westminster.
Wulfstan was not made bishop till 1062 ; and the formal
announcement is pretty certain to have been of what was
then recent. Odda died in 1056. Probably, therefore, in
this particular disposal of the property he took no part.
It is matter of history that what Edward gave, the Con
queror confirmed, and that this manor remained in the
possession of the Abbey till the Dissolution, when it was
conveyed to the newly formed Capitular Body of
Westminster. It is stated indeed by Leland that when Deerhurst
Manor was first bestowed upon Westminster, it had
been taken away from Pershore Abbey, but the great
antiquary seems here to have been led into error — the
fact being that both the Manor of Pershore and that of
Deerhurst were granted at the same time to the favoured
establishment rising on the northern bank of the
Thames.' If we could receive Leland's statement as correct,
we might then conjecture that possibly it was Odda
who originally gave the Manor to Pershore — an Abbey
to the interests of which he was evidently devoted.
' Domesday does not inform us as to the right Edward possessed of
conveying Deerhurst. It does mention, in the case of Pershore, that
that Manor was the King's. There is no evidence to show that the
Monastery of Deerhurst was deprived of the Manor by Edward.

THE SAXON CHAPEL I05
But the statement is supported by no evidence. Also
I may point out again that Leland makes the evident
mistake of attributing to the Conqueror the Confessor's
initiatory act of donation to Westminster. It has been
already observed, that the old Hundred of Deerhurst com
prised exclusively the Manor of that name (belonging to
Westminster), and the possessions in Gloucestershire
of Deerhurst Priory. The conjecture has also been
mentioned that at an early period Deerhurst Manor,
including many modern parishes, may have belonged
to Deerhurst Priory, which subsequently, we must
suppose, was forcibly dispossessed of it.
One would be reluctant to believe that Odda, instead
of building Deerhurst Church (which work has long
been attributed to him on wholly insufficient grounds),
had actually " persuaded " the Prior and the brethren
to part with a valuable possession. So let us hope
that he personally was quite within his right in dealing,
in any way he may have done, with the Manor of
Deerhurst. At the same time, in those primitive days,
even men of pious memory, as Odda undoubtedly was,
appear to have had little scruple as to "robbing Peter
to pay Paul," or, as to the matter of that, to enrich
themselves. History is by no means favourable alto
gether to the Confessor himself, as to his way of dealing
with monasteries and their endowments. In regard to
the Manor of Deerhurst, it seems, on the whole, un
likely that it was transferred immediately by Edward
from the Abbey of Deerhurst to that of Westminster ;
it had probably been alienated from the [former at an
earlier period. This is to be inferred from Odda's pro
ceedings, as known to us from the surviving inscription.
It is to be noted that although both Elfric and Odda
died at Deerhurst, they could not have been regular
inmates of the Priory, as they were monks of Pershore

I06 THE SAXON CHAPEL
Abbey. Something must have drawn them both to
Deerhurst. Although it seems certain that the " Qdda inscrip
tion " does not record the fact of the building of the
Church by the Earl, yet it is by no means improbable
that work may have been done to the Priory and
Church in the days of Edward and Odda, It is quite
possible that the monastic buildings needed restoration,
or reparation, at the time of the donation to S, Denis.
One concluding word about the Chapel. From the
days of the Confessor onward down to the Reformation,
we may conceive of it as a consecrated building, hav
ing beside it, or around it, erections of a domestic
character, — notably, a lodge of the Abbot of Westmin
ster, or the " Abbot's Court." At the Dissolution it is
to be presumed that it was disused as a chapel, and
incorporated into the pil^ of a new residential building.
This house would then naturally be occupied by a
tenant of the newly constituted Capitular Body.
Whether or not Odda's dedication marked the trans
fer of the whole manor to Pershore, is a point which
cannot, with our present evidence, be determined.
Were this, indeed, the actual case, we should have no
difficulty in taking "aula" as describing what certainly
(as stated above) was to be found on the spot in
subsequent years, viz., a range of buildings of a mixed
character, comprising no doubt a house of goodly
dimensions, together with a chapel — the whole being
dedicated to religious uses. However, as regards the
question of a gift, in the first instance, to a large and
ancient religious establishment, it must be conceded
that the actual terms of the inscription point rather to
an independent foundation, and to an erection appur
tenant to the manor on which it stood.
It is quite possible that notices might stiU be found

THE SAXON CHAPEL I07
of the chapel by a careful examination of the archives
of the Abbey. The accounts of Deerhurst Manor for
the period between Edward I. and Henry VII. are
preserved there, but they consist only of receipts of
rents made up into 13 small roUs. Abbot's Court, once
a fine mansion, now a large cottage, is still a handsome
building, displaying good wood work. The present
erection may be of the i6th century.
We cannot suppose that Judge Powell, in spite of his
unearthing of the stone, had the remotest conception
that part of his abode was an ancient chapel. Most
likely there is not another instance in England of a
parish possessing two separate Saxon buildings.

VII
MISCELLANEA HOUSES
HOUSE of considerable interest in the Parish
is Whitefield, or Wightfield, Court. It is sit-
JL uated in the old hamlet, or " berewick," of
Wicfeld, mentioned in Domesday as belonging^.ettbei=-
whol-lyyor -ki-part^ to the Abbey of Westminster, and as
appurtenant to its large Manor of Deerhurst. An estate
with a manor-house upon it was formed there — no doubt
from a grant of the Abbey — at an early period. We find
it in the possession of the Cassey family as early as circa
1380, and they held it for nearly 300 years subsequent to
that date. The existing house is a fine specimen of a
mansion of the i6th century. It occupies, we may be
certain, the site of a far older house. The house has
gables taking the step form, so common in Belgium.
Two square towers, which once may have been more
lofty than now, contain winding stone staircases.
These are perhaps older than the i6th century. The
house is well and solidly built, and was moated. Not
far off another small enclosure may be noticed, with a
moat round it. This, of couse, had some use connected
with the mansion ; and the two systems of moats may
at one time have been united. Within the house is
preserved some stained glass, depicting the wedding of
a Henry Cassey and Dorothy Fettiplace (1556). Both

MISCELLANEA lOg
Henry and Dorothy Cassey were in due course of time
buried at Deerhurst. Here lived the Sir John Cassey
whose brass effigy is in the Church. He was made
Chief Baron of the Exchequer in i38g, died 1400.1
Sixty-eight years later a John Cassey, his grandson
presumably, was Sheriff of the County. It is singular
that the Church should contain no monuments of the
family later than the two brasses, since the Parish
Register contains the record of their births, burials and
marriages. Almost the last possessor of the estate of
Wightfield was that Henry Cassey, Esq., who, in 1646,
being a Royalist and "recusant," was compelled
by the party in power, (as has been already related) tp
surrender the tithes which belonged to him as Impro
priator.' Not many years later Wightfield passed by
purchase to Peter Fermor, Esq., whose monument is in
the Church (i6gi). He is called " toparcha hujus
manerii," in virtue, I conclude, of his position as Lay
Impropriator, or perhaps as Lord of the Manor of
Wightfield. The daughter of this gentleman sold
the estate to John Snell, Esq., whose son parted with it
to the family now holding it (Barnard).
John Snell was connected with Sir John Powell,
Lord Justice of the Queen's Bench in the reign of
' Sir J. Cassey Uved in stirring times. As an EngUshman, he had
shared in the glories of Cre9y and Poictiers, and mourned over the
death of the Black Prince ; he had seen the rise and progress of
LoUardism; had witnessed the whole course of Wicliff up to his
death, with his translation of the Bible into EngUsh ; and been
contemporary with the havoc wrought by the Black > Deatli, and the
consequent commraicement of the raised condition of the ' peasantry.
Chaucer was giving utterance to inspired strains, and Langland was
seeing his vision of Piers Ploughman on the Malvern HiUs, in Sir
John's days. He just outUved Richard EC. ; his patent of oifice was
made out afresh on the accession of Henry of Lancaster, but death
overtook him soon afterwards.
2 Bennett's History of Tewkesbury, p, j86. Probably the famUy
Jiad never confonped to tlje New Faith,

no MISCELLANEA
Anne ; he married the Judge's niece, and inherited his
estates. Judge Powell, eminent for his uprightness,
was dismissed from the Bench by James II. on the
occasion of the trial of the Seven Bishops, but was
replaced by William. A humorous story is told of him,
witnessing to bis good sense as exercised in the admin
istration of justice. The laws against witchcra:ft being
still in force, a certain Jane Wenman was once accused
before Powell of dealings with the black art, and it was
gravely deposed that she was wickedly possessed of the
power of flying in the air, " Prisoner," asked the
Judge, "can you fly?" Jane would not deny her great
gift : " Yes, my Lord," " Well, then, you may," was
the rejoinder ; " there is no law against flying," Thus
Powell, in his freedom from one of the superstitions of
the age, may be accounted happier than his contempo
rary and brother judge, the excellent Sir Matthew Hale,
also a native of Gloucestershire, who, as is well known,
felt himself forced to sentence to death two persons
accused of witchcraft. Hale died just ten years before
Powell was raised to the Bench. The latter lived
chiefly at Gloucester, in the Cathedral of which city is
his monument (1713), but held, as lessee, the Abbot's
Court Estate at Deerhurst. His house at Gloucester
was the ancient house of the Grey Friars. His name
appears first on an assessment list drawn up for the re
pairs of Deerhurst Church(i6gi).' It was Judge Powell 
' I Imow not whether the father and the grandfather of the Judge
had any connexion with Deerhurst. But in the Church there is an
inscribed slab recording the death in 1656 of Margaret, wife of James
PoweU, Esq. The arms are the same as those of Sir John PoweU.
Kindness was the characteristic of this lady if her epitaph speaks truly :
" Here rests intombed in mother earth
The poor's great friend whUe she had breath,
Who sent her ahnes to heaven first
That she through Christ might there find rest."

MISCELLANEA III
before, however, he assumed the ermine — who, as has
been stated above, found in his orchard the stone
giving the Odda inscription. He is amusingly described
by Swift in a letter as "an old fellow with grey
hairs, who was the merriest old gentleman I ever saw,
spoke pleasing things, and chuckled till he cried
again." Speaking of Powell, Lord Macaulay is by
no means sparing of qualified praise, but at the same
time shows that as a judge, he was not always un
influenced by considerations short of the highest.
Sir John died childless. His sister Mary married
Dr. Huntington, a man of some distinction, who is
said to have been born at Deerhurst. He travelled
a good deal and resided for many years in the East,
whence he brought home many valuable MSS. He
was made Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, and only
twelve days before his death was consecrated Bishop
of Raphoe in Ulster (1-701). He appears to have been
a very learned Oriental scholar. By his will he left the
sum of 20 shiUings per annum to Deerhurst, and the
same sum to Leigh, of both of which parishes his
father had once been incumbent. The annual due is
paid by the possessor of Whitefield Court, but how, Dr.
Huntington was able to charge that estate with the
payment I cannot explain. The money was to be
applied to the apprenticing of poor lads. Dr. Hunting
ton had one child, a daughter, and she married John
Snell. Snell purchased both Whitefield and the Rectory.
The father of Dr. Huntington, Rev. R. Huntington,
was Incumbent of Deerhurst for several years. His
own hand records in the Parish Register the birth and
baptism of a son, but not those of his son Robert, the
Possibly this James was the Judge's grandfather. His father may
have been the John PoweU, Mayor of Gloucester in 1663, whose name
appears in a Deerhurst document.

112 MISCELLANEA
future bishop. Subsequently, he is found Vicar of
Leigh, which incumbency he held all through the
troubles of the Commonwealth. This fact has some
historical interest; A monument to his own and his
wife's memory, with a laudatory and quaint epitaph in
verse, may be seen on the outer face of the S. wall of
the chancel of Leigh Church.
Another house of some interest is situated in the
lower part of Apperley. It is clearly of some consider
able age, and forms with its surroundings, a highly
picturesque object. On the summit of one of its
gables stands a "Bear with Ragged Staff." This stone
figure may have belonged to some earlier mansion.
Most likely it is a mark of the property having formed
once part of the very extensive " Warwick's and
Spencer's " estates. Lands under this name at Apper
ley were conveyed by Henry VIII. to certain persons.
They were originally an appendency of the united
Barony of Despencer and Earldom of Warwick — titles
which belonged to noble families possessing, probably
from the days of William I. to those of Henry VIL, a
house, or castle, at Tewkesbury. The great Richard
Neville, " the King-Maker,'' inheriting from his father the
title of Salisbury, acquired also that of Warwick, together
with the time-honoured badge of the Bear, through
marrying the sister of the former Earl of that name,
— becoming thus " Salisbury and Warwick." Through
marriage with an heiress, an Earl Warwick had pre
viously acquired possession of the Despencer estates
and title. Many years after the death of the King
maker at the fight of Barnet (1471), Henry VII. made
over to his widow all the vast accumulated family
possessions ; but they immediately passed out of the
hands of the poor lady into those of the rapacious King
himself, and thus becanie finaUy forfeited.

MISCELLANEA II3
Shakespeare introduces "the stout Earl," Richard
NeviUe, as speaking thus : —
"Now, by my father's badge, old Nevill's crest.
The rampant bear chained to the ragged staff—"
King Henry VI., Second Part.
I cannot find that the great Earl had in reality any
ancestral claim to the device, but fancy that he simply
gained it through his marriage with the heiress.
Lady Anne Beauchamp of the house of Warwick, and
if this be the case, we are forced to convict our greatest
poet of a slight heraldic error.
The same cognizance was afterwards adopted by the
Dudley family, one of whom was created Earl of
Warwick ; and subsequent possessors of the title and
castle, down to the present day, have taken it. Even
in the Saxon age the badge seems to have been
attached to the title of Warwick.
Many farm-houses and cottages in the several ham
lets of the Parish are ancient. A cottage at Apperley
has on it the date 1666. The walls of the old houses
are almost invariably bonded together with wooden
frames. A small tenement of this description at Deer
hurst was for many generations the hostelry of the place,
" the Red Lion." Near it are several tenements which,
united, used to be the Poor House. "Apperley" is a
post-Saxon name, and the present hamlet was not origi
nally distinguished from Deerhurst. The name may stand
perhaps for " Upper Ley." It is found in use in 1225.
A local tradition still lingers that there was once a
chapel at Apperley, which no longer exists. Below
Apperley Court there appears to be the site of some
demolished building within a field going by the name
of " Church Field." Near the spot lay scattered about,
till recently, some large moss-covered stones, the remains
seemingly, of an old cross. A cross stood in the centre
of the hamlet of Deerhurst not so many years ago,
I

114 ¦ MISCELLANEA
Close to the Naight (described abovei) stands a
bridge, which has the traditional name of " Gildable,"
spanning the Naight Brook— originally it was simply a
horse-bridge ; now a cart can cross it. A toll, it is
said, was at one time taken here. Probably it was a
toll connected with the fairs and markets. At a central
spot in the hamlet was situated " the butter market ; "
the " horse market " was close to the Churchyard, in
what is now the adjoining orchard of the Priory. Any
toll arising from fairs, &c., would no doubt have be
longed anciently to the Religious House. However,
the name " Gildable " may possibly denote that the
bridge was kept in repair by some tax.
PARISH REGISTERS
The Parish Registers commence with the first year
of Elizabeth, or i55g. For the first forty years, how
ever, a copy only of the original entries exists. On the
whole, the books have been fairly well kept, save for a
few years beginning at 1635. During the time of the
Commonwealth marriages were solemnized before a
Justice of the Peace, having been previously published
on "three days a week apart, in the public meeting
place of the parish." In 1653 ^ " Register" (registrar)
was chosen, according to Act of Parliament ; he regis
tered marriages and burials, but not baptisms.
There was some trouble at Deerhurst in 1620 ; for it
is put on record that " if any entries be omitted in
AprU, May, or June, it was " (that) " Mr. Davis " (the
minister) " was committed, and into his place none
admitted." The said Mr. Davies appears from his own entries
both in the Register and the book of accounts to have
been a careful person. He has left behind him, in his
' See Page 10,

MISCELLANEA II5
own specially neat handwriting, the following memo
randum : —
"If any be unregistered from yo 25 of Nov. i6n untill the 5 of
Nov. 1612, it was by ye default of Richard Edwards, Curate, who
disessed ye same day: aud from yt tyme untiU ye 25 of March 1613
there was no Ucenced minister. Per me Thomas Davies."
The following entry is found in the handwriting of
R. Huntington, Curate of Deerhurst, among the
burials : —
" i^3g Jan; 29. Joane, the daughter of Thomas Greeninge, nive et
frigore enecta; die Ulo Martis memoraudo, et in agris rejecta."
From 1678 to 1683 persons were buried in sheeps'
wool only, according to Act of Parliament. The Act
(18 & ig Charles II.) had in view the encouraging of
woollen nianufactures at home and the preventing of
the purchase of linen from abroad. It was repealed in
30 Charles II.
Possibly Pope bore in mind this injunction — although
his " Moral Essays " were not given to the public till
many years after the repeal of the Act — when he
satirizes the folly of personal vanity as surviving to the
last :— " Odious ! in wooUen ! 't would a saint provoke,''
Were the last words that poor Narcissa spoke.
" No, let a charming chintz and Brussels lace
Wrap my cold Umbs, and shade my lifeless face."
" The King's due charged upon Marriages, Births and Burials, was
paid untU 20 Oct., 1698, and hkevidse Bachelors and Widdowers."
Down to 1818, a double Christian name is scarcely
to be found in the Register, and for many years after
wards it is a rare occurrence. Among favourite names,
or, at any rate, occasional baptismal names, in the
i6th and 17th centuries, we meet with' these : — Gillian,
Annis or Annice, Bridget, Giles, Joan, Rice, Guy,
Margery, Christian, Christopher, Roger, Griffin,
Anthony, Prudence, Jerome, SibyU, Leonard, Joyce,
li

n6 MISCELLANEA
AbigaU, Jarrard. The second of these names, Annis
(or Annys), is that of a Saint in the Greek Calendar,
distinct altogether from Anne ; it was used in England
from the Conquest to about 1700. The Saint and
Virgin was martyred under Maximian. GiUian is a
corruption of Juliana ; the Saint of the name was also
an early martyr. St. Bridget died in peace ; her fame
was very great in Ireland, and deservedly so.
churchwardens' ACCOUNTS
The earliest existing entry is of the, year 1606. Un
fortunately, only a few fragments have been preserved^
from the accounts of early years, but that of i6o5
happens to be perfect — at least, the expenditure side of
the balance sheet, which is here given in extenso. No
second similar account is producible till the year 1681
is reached.
" This is the booke of a counte of Jhon Martyn and WUlym Reve,
Churchwardens, in the yeare of om- Lord God, 1606, for laynge out of
the pishe stoocke."
Ite payd for expenses at the archdekyns vissytasyon yjs viijd
Ite payd for ij bellropes aud for wheytleder to mend
the bels .... vijs yjd
Ite payd for mendynge of the beU claper and for a
pricheU .... iiijB iijd
 chiffrent for the parysche house . . xiji
 the Ringgers upon the Kings halydaye . xijd
 the Kypynge of the beUes . . jjs
 expences when we were commandid to apere
before Mr. Clynton at Tewexbury . iijs
 bread and wyne at whitsonndaye . . vjs iiijd
 expences at cheltuame when we were com
mandid to apere before my lord byshopes
channsler . . _ . ius
— at cristmas last for bread and weyne . vjs yjd
— for mats to knele upon . . . j„jia
— a peweter pot to put weyne in for the com-
'"Wi . , , , ijs vjd

MISCELLANEA
Ite payd for oure articles
 to Jhon fishpaU
— for the casteU money
 to the maymed SoUdeoures
— to Ricd. caerdane for mendyng the soller in
the belfrey
— for the casteU money
— to the maymed Soulduours
— for bread and wejTie at mychaelmas when the
ij farmores with others did Reseve the
comunyon ....
— for a Sertayne artycU for to wame the Kyngs
hallydaye and for wrytynge of hit
— for weyshynge of the syrpUse and for paper .
— for weyshynge of iiij toweUes and the syrpUse
and for .Soope at ester last
— for vprytynge of boock
— — for parchment to wryte the Regester boocke .
— bread and weyne at Ester last
— to Ricd. harrys ....
— to the Smythe for a prichell and mendying of
a lock ....

117

vjd

iuja

ij3

vjd

iijB

ujd

iijd
1]B
vjd
Uj9
iijd
VIJ
iid
iid
xij
xijd
xviijd
mj8 vjs
£ 8. d.
Sm. of the paymts
, iij xvij xj
Sm. of the former aUowance
xxiiij uij
in toto
. V. ij Uj
So there is due to the Churchwardens lande withe
more the hund
recyued, Tt. ijs iijd
due to the pshe viz. :^
X John Marten
• ^J^
X Georg Sheild
. viijs
X Rich, hare
. xvjd
X S. Richard
• ij^
the churchwardens owe of this
XX3 jd
" 1609. The Accompte of WUlm. fflowk and Thomas holder
churchwardens for the yeare of our Lord God 1608 made the xuijth of
May An. Do. 1609.
£ B. d.
Receipt Imprimis for the rents .
. Tt.
mj xj v]
Itm. for buriaUs ....
. Tt.
xvij mj
Il8 MISCELLANEA
Sm. Tt. vl viijs xd whereof the pr. aUowance of doues disbursmtB.,

VIZ. : -

' for breade Wine Vissitatons & doues other charges upon their
accompt for owed . . . . Tt. uujl xixs. ijd.
Sm. pt.
and so there resteth Tt. ixs viijd
and also iiijd in their hands
" oWed of John Martyn : & so in the whole xs with is.
" pd. to John Clark and Edmond Mourton (?) "

1609. WilUam ffloucke Churchwarden.
(Tliis family is styled early " de Oake.")
" The Account of Edward Guy and Robt WeUes Churchwardens
for the yeare of our Lord God i5io taken the vijth of Aprill
Ao. Dm. i6ii.
" Imp. mis Edward gues receipte for the church aU xvl. xvs. viijd.
Itm. his receipte for the pishe land xviija
his receipte in toto xyj' xiijs vujd
Edward Guyes disbursmts cometh unto xiiijl \ijB vd
Itm. Rbte WeUes recipte for the church aU uij' xixs
his receipte for the pishe land Ivs ijd
his receipte in toto vij' xiuja ijd
Robte WeUes disbursmts cometh unto Uijl xjs vd
"Remaininge in both their hands over aud above all disbursmts
vl ix8
Delivered hereof to Edmond fluck . . uji ijs ixd
DeUvered to WUlm french . . • Jj^ vis iijd."
(Here the two Churchwardens seem to keep separate accounts.)

The Parish Lands
' Impmis one acre of meadowe in the possession of
Ed. Stock ....
Itm. George ShUd for a close .
Itm. Laurence Hampton for arable land .
Itm. Hughe Hampton for arable land
Itm. John Marten for an acre of meadowe
Itm. John Egles for arable land
Itm. WiUm. fluck & wynter for arable land
Itm. Tho. Porter for meadowe ground
Itm. S. Richard for the church house
Itm. Richard harte for a pceU of pasture .
Itm. Thomas Reeve for arable land

xxijs xxs
VUJB ujs
xuj<. vujd viijs viijs xijs uija
xvjd
ijs vjd

MISCELLANEA Iig
" Sm. totaU of the pshe rent cometh unto vl. ja. viijd.
As yt is in Ao. Dm. 1612.
That yt is agreed that John Egles is to hould his acre and an half of
arable land for his Uef at viijs. p Anm."

A few extracts from the Book of Accounts 161 1 (probably) :—
'¦* Itm. a preacher .... xijd
Itm. payd for mending the kaye of the church porch ijd
Itm. for expences at the deUvery up of our counts . vjs ujd
Itm. for a precher August x.xth . . . jja Ujd
Itm. given towards the buUding of a church in the
ducher Palatine Cuntry at fraucingaU xxviij August xviijs ivl
Itm. given to a Biiefe that came for the country of
Pathmose a Greatian ... iija
Itm. given to a man who came to survey the church
frome my lord bishop . . . xiid
Itm. given for halfe a busheU of heare . . ijd
[" hair," for mortar .']
Itm. payd for chif rent to WUUam ffluck . . xijd
Itm. to the Higlie Cunstable for CasteU money and
mamed soulderes and the Kinge bench . yjs jd
Itm. payd the plumer for glace . . xijd."

" Dessimo octavo Die mensis ApreUis Inyta Ann. Dom. i6i6.
The Accompts of GUles Haucker, John Hainese, John Cook,
WUliam Reeve, Colectores of the poore the year aforsayd by me
Thomas Davies Clerk with the rest of the psheners.
"Theire Receipt upon toe leves at xij a yard ' cometh unto Six
pounds eight shiUings and a levene pence, besides we doe
alowe to Mrs. Guy for the kieeping of one Joan Clark viijs ^
Gordge Pixley vjd.
"Theire disbarsment cometh unto ffive pounds ffourteen ShiUings
sixpence.
" DeUvered over of that winch remayneth on our hands ov^rplise
unto the newe overseers 148. 5d.
"per me Thomas Davies, Clerk."

' This word " yard " seems to be a survival of a very ancient term.
At the time of the Domesday Survey a " yard of land " was J of a
hide, its Latin equivalent being virgata. Here (1616) it denotes
apparently one-sixth of an acre.

I20 MISCELLANEA
" Quarto die mensis maij Anno Dom. Inyt. 1617.
The acompte of WUliam ffluck, WUUam Pavy, Thomas Houlder,
John Hampton, Colectores of the poore the yere aforsayd."
"Decimo Die mesis apreUs Aimo Dom. Inyta 1618.
The Acounts of Robart Cook, WUUam ffisher, John Robarts and
John ffluck Colectores of the poore for the yeare aforsayd 1618.
Tacken befor the ministre and the rest of the parishoners daye
aforsayd. Ther recepts came unto . . . • xjl vujs
Ther dispursment cometh unto . . . xl xijs vujd
Remaning upon the acoumpts over and above ther
dispursment . . . .vjs uijd
Remaning yeat upon there acounts to the Colectores . ixs ijd"
[an apparent error of 2d.]
" The accounts of Robert Man and John Eagles Overseers of ye
poore in ye yeare of our Lord God 1620, given ye 22d ApriUe 1621,
iirst made before Sr. Henry RaynfFord Justice of peace and afterward
delyvered unto ye parishe, whereby it appeared that they Receyved ye
sume of . . . . .£1^1^- S<i-
and by them disbursed in that yeare the sume of .6198
So there remayned for ye good of ye poore the sume of 1 7 9
Wli. sume remaynes in the hands of Thomas Flooke and Thomas
Lane their successors." " Anno Dom. 1624.
"The Accompte of Richard Harte given the 16 of ApriU before
the Churchwardens and other of the prish — the Recayt is £"! 5s. jd.
the disburstments is . . , -755
1624.
"The Account of Edmund Hawker and John Evenes given the 1 5 of
ApriU before the Churchwardens aud other of the prish their Recaites
came to . . . . . £?, "js. 3d.
ther disbursments came to . . . • 5 4 3.
they, deUvered up into the new Churchwardens hands . 330
1625.
" The account of Edmund Beale and Rice Helde given ye 12th day
of May Anno Dom. 1625 in the presence of the minister ye new
churchwardens and others of ye parise. £ B. d.
They recyved . . . . .884
They layd out . . . . .678
They delyvered into the hands of the new churchwar
dens ye residue beainge . . .208

MISCELLANEA 121
The election of new officers for ye yeare of our Lord 1625.
Thomas Flooke ) i, i j
Thomas Land J churchwardens
Edmund Beale ) .,
Rice Held } ='<^^™^'^
WUUam Smith ) n ^ r ¦
Daniel Bishop 1 coUectors for ye poore
Anthony Home N
Thomas Heminge I ,-, . <¦ „i.- i.
Richard Haydon Overseers of ye highways
Robart Man )
Richard Stocke ) „
Thomas Wmtle } Vermm spoylers. '
A simUar Ust of Parish Officers is given for the years 1631, 1634,
1636, 1644, ^ii<i 1652 — 1663. 1646.
"Imprimas, payd for the charges of a man and a horse to gooe to
the quarter sessions at sisiter."
Both Churchwardens only mark their names, Uke the
Conqueror and his nobles and bishops in 1069.
1653.
" The outgoing Churchwardens .deUvered to the incoming Church
wardens I silver cup, I pewter flaggon, i table cloth, 6 toweUs, 3 lessen,
one of John Jaxson, one of the Widdow Egles, and one of WUUam
fflucks, and nine bonds (aU enumerated), a note of goods deUvered to
James Combe, a biU of Mrs. EUnor Harris of £^ and 3 deeds.
" By us John Cooke and
WiUiam fflucke
churchwardens 1652."
1657-
" A Register of the names of such persons as have been apphended
as vagarants and corrected by the officers and sent home to their aboads.
" The 14th of September 1657 John HUl of Ridmarly in the County
of Worcester a young man of about 20 yeares of age and of a pale
countenance was corrected and sent home by a passe.
" Also Anne Jones of Ridmarly aforesd. a young woman about 20
yeares of age was corrected and sent home by passe the same day.
¦'Also Margaret Evans of Ridmarly a young woman 20 yeares of
age was corrected and sent home the same day.
" By WUliam Heaven Const, of Deerhurst."
1664 (called 17th year of Charles II).
The Churchwardens are directed to move John and Judith Butt to
Elmstone Hardwick by John G^yse and Richard Bangley (no doubt
under " law of settlement " 1662).

2S.

2d,

IS.

Od.

OS.

Id.

5s.

od.

IS.

4d.

4s.

7d.

122 MISCELLANEA 1681.
Payd to the High Constable of Westminster Hundred
Itm. — to 5 soulders that came from Tangeare .
Itm. — to a traveUng woman
Itm. — for making cleane the leads
Itm. spent at Gloucester when we went with Mr. Stiles the
Minister .....
Itm, for our expences when wee went to Glouc. upon the
Bishops account which weare in company
iiwSd' fflocr ^"^ } Sidesmen. SaSale } O—
wm;:mH°^f}ci^-^--'i--
" paid to the Piter for the order that was Reade in the
Church conseming the returneing of the sectuaryes os. 6d.
" paid to John Haines for a tree that was used for
mending the bells . . . . 2s. od.
" paid to the ChanceUor at the Visittacon at Cheltenham 4s. od.
and expences . . . . 2s. od.
" paid for makeing the Leuye [Levy] & for drawing the
accounts . . . . . 2s. od.
" paid to travellers at severaU tymes . . .3s. 8d.
" paid for one Booke that was Reade in the Church . is. od.
" 1681. " An Accounte of the Pish Rents received by WiUiam Roberts in
this year as ffijUoweth :^
" Reed of Thomas Cole for the medow . . o 14 o
— Mr. TuUy for breaking up of the church [i.e.
soU of churchyard]
— John Weaver .
— John Haines .
— Edward fflock .
— John Haines . Other items

168?

Payments made at each of the 4 sessions for King's bench
— the Lord Coventry his cheef rent
for a book for the observation of the 30 Jan.

0

3

4

I

3

0

0

lO

0

0

I

6

0

10

0

3

~

10

I

8

3

4

IS

I"

s d.

h

S 0

I I
,
I 0
MISCELLANEA

123.

for another book to pray for the King's chUd .
for a book of homUies
given Joane Davis when she deUvered the plate .
for a beU rope wMch weighed 6 pound
Atomey's fee at sessons
Spent & for our Diners & horse-standing
for a booke and pclamacon .
for a certificate to the Chimney man .
given unto seamen and traveUers
for Diching and mounding the pish lands
Received 168 by the Churchwardens : —
Rent for medow & peersh of Thomas Dole .
— 2 acres of medow in hawe meade of Edmund
Bishopp ....
— the Fish Close of John Heyns
— for land lying in Bankfield of Mrs.. Banaster
— for land lying in our crauft of Edward Flock
of John Weaber for the land he houldse
of Thomas Ethridg for 2 Acrees of land
of Mrs. ffloock for the burial of her husband in our
church for the breach of the soyle
of Mrs. Banaster Ulcewise
of John Weaver also ....

14

o
o o6 4 4
6 o
o 6

6 6

Seen and aloued by us Geo. StUes Curat., Art. TuUy,
Tho. Cox, John Strattford, Esq., John Eagles.

Parrish officers for the year 1686.
ImpB John Stratford for Wightfield ) churchwardens.
Tho. Cox for his own estate )
Wm. HeaUng for Slants 1 Overseers
Jarrard Poape for Bartholomews j
Tno. Tow for Coolse j "™ i68«-
Thomas Cox for his Copyhould ] churchwardens.
Mr. John Stratford for Wightfield 1
Jarard Poape for Bartholomews
Wm. HeaUng for Mr. Roggers
Arthur TuUy Gent.
Thomas Tovey

[ Overseers.
[ Supr.visors

124 MISCELLANEA
Officers for the year 1687.
Mr. wm pantem for Nottley 1 churchwardens.
Thomas Hampton )
Richard Grining of Walton ) ^ ™,„ „r n,» „„..„^
Edmond Beale for Bingleys } Overseers of the poore.

Mr. WiUiam Lane
Richard Smyth for Cartrild

I Supe

From this account it would appear that in 1686 the
churchyard was considered to belong to neither the
Impropriator nor the Minister, but to the Church
wardens. The " chief rent " paid to Lord Coventry was for the
" Church house." In ancient days a Church house
stood ordinarily in, or near, the churchyard, and was
used for various Church purposes. The house at
Deerhurst so denominated, however, seems to have
been, or to have become, the Poor-house — repaired by
the Churchwardens in 1731,
We have a mention of " Collectors of the Poor " as
early as 1616. The first effectual Act for the relief of
the poor was passed in 43 Eliz., 1601. In each parish
the churchwardens were to be overseers of the poor,
together with two to four householders, nominated
annually by the Justices. A rate was to be levied on
the land ; impotent persons to be relieved, unless near
relatives could maintain them ; indigent children and
adults to be set to work. The overseers might put out
pauper children as apprentices, and build houses for
the poor on waste land. But the law — a great improve
ment on the general injunctions which had preceded
it — was imperfectly carried out. Hence there was
much migration from miserable parishes to better
ones. This practice induced the Settlement Act of
14 Charles II. , which empowered justices, on the com
plaint of the overseers, to order the removal to his

MISCELLANEA 125
own parish of any person entering another parish,
within forty days of such entrance or invasion. ~
In 1686 a Bond is given by Jarrard Pope to the
Churchwardens, John Stratford and Thomas Cox, to
pay them the sum of £5 on the 29th day of October
next ensuing (worded both in Latin and English).
In 1690 occurs this entry : — s. d.
" paid for a booke for gunpowder trazen day . . .10
In 169S, "to the parritore for the book for the day of thanlces-
giving . . . . . . .10
Ditto — " day of humylyatiou . . . . .10
" paide to the Constable of Deerhurst for King's bench and
marshaUes money . . . . . .26
and to the Constable of Aperly and Wightfild . .29"
In 1691 a rate of id. in the £ was made for repair
ing the Church. It produced the sum of £5 is. yd.
The names of about 100 landowners and occupiers are
given, together with the amount of the assessment of
each, and of the yearly value of each holding. The
name of Sir John Powell, Knight, heads the list: his
lands are valued at .^72. He is set down as in
Apperley, as Abbot's Court was included in that ham
let. Peter Fermor, Esq., of Wightfield, had died one
month before the rate was made. Possibly he may not
have been living in the Parish, although he was buried
at Deerhurst. Second on the list stands William Lane,
Esq.: value .^72. William ffloock de Oak, ;^ii.
WiUiam Dipper, ;^ii. Edmund Harris, Gent., /"loS.
Total assessed value /1219. It must be noted that at
that period some hundreds of acres were common lands.
In 1712 Sir R. Atkyns (Hist, of Glouces.) gives the
number of houses as only 100.
In 1705 Thomas Maggett is to have the privilege of
" Bilding his Barne late poled downe upon the Com
mon now so called the Runnings for the use of his selfe
tp— his rods or any other necery use for his gelfe in case

126 MISCELLANEA
he make no chemny nor divert it for any cottages,
upon the consideration of paying is. yearly for the use
of the poor at S. Thomas Day."
(Signed by Churchwardens and others.)
1720. " On the 3rd August I gave a man jfoo 02s. o5d. that had
lost by water a Bout ^1000 and were 30 FameUes that had lost by
the same misforton. It Drounded a Bout on Hundred Popel."
I 1733 Agreed to take down the Bells, and have them cast into 6
( 1736 BeUs (instead of 5).
1734. "Agreed that the Churchwardens should inquire into an
endeavour to recover the legacy or annuity given by the late Dr.
Huntington for apprenticing boys, and that the 40s. formerly paid to
Mr. Thomas Cox on account of the said legacy be paid to the Church
wardens." 1736. Dec. 21. "Att a vestre itt is agreed that no money shaU be
spent att any parish meeting out of the poors Levy, by us whose names
are hereunto subscribed."
1 740. Agreed that a Bond for ;^20 given for the use of the poor by
Wm. Minchen to Mr. T. Cox and Mr. J. Biddle, shall be put in suite.
1740. Agreed to make a rate of is. in ;^ for repairing the south
aisle of the church. The roof was new timbered and leaded. Cost .^54.
1740. Church Land
3 acres of arable & 2 of meadow of John ffluck
Parish Close of Mr. Jno. Biddle .
Parish Persh in Turley EUngs of Wm. Maggot
Parish land of Geo. Banaster
Do. of Edward Fluck
Do. of Thos. Smith of Walton

£ s. d.
Common ground set by the Parish . .080
The proceeds of this Common ground are given to the Poor on
S. Thomas Day together with Sarah Roberts' Gift money, £2 o o.
1 74 1. The inhabitants empower Richard PiiF of Deerhurst to
impound aU unlawful cattle found depasturing or tiespassing on our
Common, and wUl keep harmless the said R. P.
1742. Spent in reUef of the poor and for other things relating to
the Overseers' office ;f 77 . 17 . 5J.
At this date the Overseers looked carefully after
strangers of the female sex who were likely to add to
the population of the country. They appear to have

2

17

0

I

5

0

0

12

0

0

3

0

0

3

0

0

12

0

S

12

0

MISCELLANEA 127
put some such sum as a shiUing into their hands, and
bidden them " move on promptly."
The price of coal given to the poor, 150 years ago,
was gs. a ton.
The Account of the Surveyors of the Highways
shows that for the three united years, 1743, 1744, and
i745j the sum of ;^i8 7s. 2d. was expended. Stone
does not appear to have been brought from a distance.
Charges are made for " diging half pitts of stone."
1745. " Paid for to cipes " [two kipes] " to pick stone, is."
" Pd. for peeing ye Ironbar & helving the Sledg & matuck, is. 8d."
"Memm. Thos. Ragburn has agreed with the inhabitants at a
Parish Meeting on the l6th of AprU, 1745, tliat James Jelfe shaU
continue in the House he Uves in untell Lady Day next, paying for the
same fourteen shUUngs, and that the said James jelfe shaU have Uberty
to take and keep all his goods -without any hindrance from
me Thomas Ragbdrn, X his mark."
1752. The inhabitants met in vestry to consider what means to take
in order to have Divine Service performed every Sunday which our
present Curate has neglected to do, and to prosecute the Curate for
neglect of duty.
1765. " paid the Rattcacher for a ficher 4d."
1 768. " for to [two] Foxes " —
In the year 1651, Deerhurst is said to have 75 families
living in it. The living is worth ;^i6o. Incumbent, a
Mr. John Trapp, a preaching minister. '
Collections made at Deerhurst
" 1607. For a towne cauled Bampton beinge Burned in the fyveth
yeare of his Mag. Raigne, by King's patent . . ija
" 160U. CoUected for WUlym buUock & Thomas woule of Gloster
xth day of November .... iijs iUjd
" 16OU. To the Gressyans that the turke took pryssners uis Uijd
"i5ii. For the towne of CoUumton in Deveushire for mysforton
fyre ...... iijs
" 1658. For the inhabitants of Glaston in county Somerset who
have sustained a great loss by fire to the value of ;f25oo. The money
collected was paid to Thomas Denham, who produced the Great Seal
of England for his authority . . . . 7s 6d

Register of Churgh Livings, MS. foUo Lans4o\yne,

128 MISCELLANEA
" 1659. Towards the buUding of a meeting place for the pubUque
worship of God at Oswestry, Sdop . . .68 5d
" 1659. For Southwould, SuflfoUi, lately burnt, by virtue of Itres
pattents from the Keepers of the Uberties of England, and paid to
John Homes of Presbury, Highe Constable of the hundred of Deerhurst,
according to order . . . . . 8b 4d
" 1661. For Fackenham, Northfolke, burnt vpith fire on the last
day of April in the nth year of his Majesties raigne, loss being
£3»i . . . . . 7»0'i
" 1661. For MUton Abbay, Dorset. A suddaine fire happened
there 4th August in the nth year of his Majesties raigne. 24 dweUing
houses burnt, wherein dwelt 32 famUies, with the Market house,
Minister's house and Free School. Loss £3000. Briefe read in Parish
Church . . . . . 108 8d
"i65i. For Watchett in Somerset, for repairs to harbour and
Key, which harbour being decayed by the violence of the sea, so that
the whole towne is in danger to be undermined and wasted. Charge
;^3000 . . . . . • S" 3d
"1661. For the parish church of Condover, Salop, which was
broken down by the faU of the steeple and 6 beUs on 14 Nov. last.
Charge ;^2 700 . . . . . 58 od
" 1661. For James MelviU, Esq., late of Clanough Co. Downe in
the Realme of Ireland, whose houses were burnt down, and his stock
plundered from him by the Irish RebeUs : to the value of ^4000,
his lands : ;f30O taken from him. His wife and 8 chUdren driven to
beg or starve . . . . . 6s 6d
" 1661. For s inhabitants of Quatt, Salop, whose houses and
goods were burnt to the value of ;^285 on 5 Aug. last . 28 gd
" 1661. For Henry Hanson, a shipmaster, who last Nov. in a
voyage from TreveUs in Portugal! lost his ship caUed Patience of the
burden of 80 Tunne with the lading near Mount Bay in ComwaU. His
loss was ;^7500, he having a wife and 8 chUdren . . 5s od
" 1661. For Oxford. Losses by fire 6 Oct. 1644 of the value
of ;^43,6oo . . . . . 6a 4d
" 1661 For Drayton, Salop, losses by fire 10 Aug. in 3rd year of
his Majesties raigne ;^24,ooo : almost aU burnt . . 5» Od
" i66g. For Coton End in the Parish of Hardenstone . 4s od"
It may be noted that in the single year 1661, just
after the return of Charles II. , no less than 9 collections
were imposed upon the patient inhabitants of Deer
hurst. Mr. Samuel Pepys appears to have met with
a precisely similar experience in London. In his
amusing Diary he makes the following entry : — ¦
" i66j. June 30 (Lord's Day). To Church, where we observe the

MISCELLANEA I2g
trade of Briefs is come now up to so constant a course every Sunday
that we resolve to give no more to them." >
It appears from an extant MS, Church-account book
of St. Olave's, Hart St., which Pepys attended, that
previously to this 30 June there had been coUections
for 14 consecutive Sundays.
Later "Collections upon a Brief" £ s. d.
" 1689. For the reUef of poor distressed sufferers in Bungay
in Co. of Suffialke. Losses amounted to /¦29,8oo on 6
"1690. For distressed Irish protestants . . o 11 i
"1690. For losses by fire at Ahresford, Hants . .044
"1690. For losses at St. Ives, Huntingdon . . o 4 11^
" 1691. For Northpark, Northumberland . .031
'-' 1699. In aid of 5 poor distressed French protestants .034
" 1699. For distressed protestants of the PrincipaUty of
Orainge . . . i 10 3
Briefs were brought to an end in 1828.
The Parish Chest has been already referred to.
There are two very large and ancient chests in the
Chur ch. The Communion Plate is of no special in
terest. Unfortunately, about 1840, a fine and ancient
silver cup was stolen from the Church, and melted down
at once by the sacrilegious plunderers.
CHARITABLE BEQUESTS
I. — Charities of John Bell and Edward Hawker,
A.D. 1527. By a Deed Poll, dated 18 Jan., 18 King
Henry VIII., John Bell and Edward Hawker granted to
John Cook and divers others mentioned, the lands,
tenements and hereditaments therein described. To
hold for the uses therein set forth, viz., the sustentation
and maintenance and repairs of the Parish Church of
Deerhurst, also for the repairing of the King's and
common highways within the parish, and for other such
works of need and charity and concerning the common
profit of the parish as should seem fit to the persons
pained and their heirs.

130 MISCELLANEA
When the number of the Feoffees was reduced to 4,
the survivors were to re-enfeoff 9 or more other discreet
and honest inhabitants of Deerhurst to act with them.
When the common lands of Deerhurst were enclosed
about 1812, the several premises so granted, lying in
various directions (and measuring, according to Rudder,
1779, about 12 acres,) were exchanged for a single field
superior in quality, but in area only 5a. 2p, There
was besides a small piece of land in Tirley Parish
within a meadow called " the Clinch." This latter was
sold about the year i860, and the money arising from
the sale invested in the public funds {£117 Cons,),
The field still held in trust is meadow land, lying con
tiguous to the Severn, and is let to a yearly tenant.
The rent has sometimes reached ;^30, In 1741 the
rent of the old Church lands was £s 12s,
The last feoffment found in the Parish Chest is dated
1663, and it is not known that the legal estate in the
premises had been transferred since to new trustees,
" John Powell, of the city of Gloucester, Esq., now
Mayor of the same " (probably a relative of the Judge)i
is one of the feoffees of that date. The Charity Com
missioners have made the Churchwardens the legal
trustees. An indenture of the date 1632 (kept in the Parish
Chest), is made between the Feoffees of the parish l^nds,
Henry Cassey, Esq., his son Thomas, with fifteen others,
and WiUiam Flooke of Wightfield, granting the latter
a lease of certain of the lands for 21 years on the yearly
payment of 28s. These lands were " arrable," and are
exactly defined.
Another simUar indenture of 163^, grants to the same
W. Flooke a lease for 21 years for " the parceU of
• Pis Father, jn fact, as I have now ascertained,

MISCELLANEA I3I
ground called the Parish pearsh in the Haw meadow "
for the yearly payment of 4s.
Signed by Rob. Huntington and others.
Another Indenture of 1656 assigns "the arrable land,
including 2 rudges in Redfield near Bubcroft," &c.,
to John Jackson.
In a Terrier preserved in the D. Registry at Glouces
ter of the date 1704, it is declared by Geo. Styles,
minister, that all the possessions of the Church consist
only of one small tenement caUed the Church House,
5 acres of arable land, 3 of meadow, i (and 2 tufts) of
pasture. The minister has no land, but only £6 13s. 4d.
paid out of the Manor of Whightfield by Madam
Farmer, Impropriator. Tithes are worth ;^i5o.
Another Terrier (1828) states that 8 acres near Haw
Bridge, and 8 acres in Twyning, were purchased by
Queen Anne's Bounty for the Minister.' An older
Terrier (1680) speaks thus : — " These are to certifie the
WorshipfuU Chancier of the Diocfese of Gloucester that
wee have not any Glibe land in our Parish of Deeer-
hurst : it is all impropriate. Basett Flecker, Curate."
2. — Sarah Roberts' Charity,
Mrs. S. Roberts gave to the poor, not receiving parish
relief, the sum of ;^2 per annum. The donor cannot be
traced. On the Day of S. Thomas this sum is distributed
among the poor, together with los. additional, which
seems to have come originally from common land. The
50s, is now chargeable, in different amounts, on three
estates, 1747. " -^^ -^ count of the Comen Ground set by
the Parish and to be Geave to the Poor Every Son
thomas Day : —
t This gtateinent cannot be quite correct, See p. ^7,

132 MISCELLANEA £ s. d.
set to Mrs. Marshall .050
set to Thomas Andras .030
" Sarah Robards Gift money .200"
3.— The remaining Charity is the one called Hunt
ington. That has already been spoken of.
In the Terrier of 1704 (mentioned above) and in an
earlier one, it is stated that the following sums were
left to the poor " to remain for at Stocke for ever " :
interest to be distributed on S. Thomas' Day: the money
secured by bonds remaining then in the parish chest : —
Thomas Hawker left ;^io (or ;^20 otherwise stated).
Thoma."; Reeve, £^.
Joan Pizley, ;^io.
John Hampton, ;^io.
Mr. Benj. Huntington, ^5.
Also John Flock, Esq., left £-2. yearly to the poor.
" These payments are continued. Geo. Stiles, Vicar."
But these bequests have since disappeared, how and
when no one seems to know.
It is weU known that very many charitable doles
throughout the country are distributed on S. Thomas'
Day. In Deerhurst that Festival has long been re
garded as in some sort a day of licence, and " mumping,"
or house-to-house visitation in quest of some trifling
largess, is practifeed by the lovers of old ways. It is a
custom which perhaps would be more honoured in the
breach than the observance. We stiU retain the
memory of Old Christmas Day, and ring the church
bells, and refrain religiously from work— at any rate,
some of us do so — and on the wrong day too.
FAMILIES AND LOCAL CHARACTERISTICS
A few of the families stiU inhabiting the parish can
lay claip to great tenacity of parochial connexion,

MISCELLANEA I33
having been rooted in the soil for many generations
past. The Casseys have passed away, and before
they finally disappeared from our midst, seem to have
descended from their long continued eminence at
" the Court " to a less exalted sphere of social life,
lingering on here after parting with their ancestral
estate. John Cassey, who appears to have sold Wight-
field, is described in l^he deed of 1663 as " of Deerhurst."
The Cassey family have left a lasting memorial of them
selves in the names of two hamlets within the county,
where once they held estates, called, after them Compton
Cassey and Kilcat Cassey. I subjoin a list of some of
the Cassey family, which, however, is far from pro
fessing to be a regular pedigree.
William de Cassey, probably of Down Amney, circa
1160. Henry Cassey was living in 1321, and holding pro
perty in Minsterworth.
Sir John Cassey of Wightfield died 1400 ; his wife
was Dame Alice.
John, son of Sir John, of Cassey Compton in Wit-
tington, John, probably son of the last, Sheriff of County of
Gloucester, 1468. He married an Elizabeth. Both
buried at Deerhurst.
William, son of the last John, of Cassey Compton,
Wightfield, and Stratton, died 1517. He married
Elizabeth Bruges.
Robert, son of William, held the same estates. Died
1547. His wife was Elizabeth Poole.
Henry, son of Robert, of Wightfield, &c., married
Dorothy Fettiplace. Died 1595.
Thomas, son of Henry, had children who were bap
tized at Deerhurst, Thomas, Gyles, and Catherine.
But a Henry Cassey, Esq., apparently the possessor of

134 MISCELLANEA
Wightfield, together with his son and heir, Thomas,
was living at Deerhurst in 1632, Died (probably) in
1659. Possibly he was a son of the former Henry,
This Henry Cassey, Esq., and his son Thomas, were
no doubt " the recusants." This Thomas seems to
have died in 1661.
A John Cassey followed at Wightfield, and soon sold
the property to Peter Fermor, Esq. Possibly he was
the same as John, son of John Cassey, baptized 1600,
at Deerhurst ; but his relationship to the former pos
sessor of the estate cannot be discovered from the
Deerhurst Registers. Although in 1691 only a very
small property appears to have been held by ,one of the
name, within Deerhurst, it is recorded by Sir R. Atkyns
that a Thomas Cassey, Esq., was living in a good house
at Apperley in 1712.
The existing family of Fluck (name spelled in our
Registers a dozen different ways) have been residing
within the parish ever since the days of Henry VIII.,
and possibly from an earlier date. But concerning
years still more remote, proof fails us through the cir
cumstance that Parish Registers were ordered to be
kept only nine years before the death of the great
Henry, The Flucks appear to have held always pretty
nearly the same social position — a race of yeomen, or
small landholders, cultivating their own estate. The
same sterling qualities must, one should judge, have
descended from father to son throughout the unbroken
line, else long ere this the originally good position
would inevitably have been forfeited. They must long
have possessed the esteem of their neighbours, since
they fiU constantly places of trust in the parish, acting
as churchwardens and feoffees. It is to be feared that
the present worthy representatives of this ancient line
will not hand down the name to a succeeding generation.

MISCELLANEA I35
Of a like character, as regards long connexion with
the place and social standing, is the family of Dipper,
although their parochial antiquity is less pronounced.
They "came in" not with William Conqueror, but
with William of Orange.
Of the other families of the present day, some of the
cottagers have probably been longest settled at Deer
hurst, and certain of them could easily prove from our
Registers a descent, and a residence here, of more than
a couple of centuries — such as the families of Eagles,
Butt, and Roberts.
It must have been assuredly a member of a wholly
different Deerhurst family from that of " Fluck of the
Oak," although of the same name (and " clan " possibly),
who, as is recorded in the Churchwardens' Book of
Upton-on-Severn, manifested such unwillingness to
keep faith with his intended bride, a girl at Upton, that
two men of this latter place had to fetch from Deerhurst
the recalcitrant proposer, another man to watch him
when caught, lest he should run away, a licence and
a ring must needs be procured, and the Justices of
Worcester be appealed to, and finally the ceremony of
marriage had to be performed by order — all at the
expense of the young woman's parish. As though
even this were not enough, three horses and two men
were engaged to convey the wedded couple to their
home, where, let us hope, they ever afterwards lived
happily together. The full details of this curious pro
ceeding, as given in the parish book, are narrated by
Mrs. Lawson, in her agreeable little volume about
Upton. The date of the occurrence is not recorded by
her. Meanwhile it is sufficiently obvious that the
motives prompting the Upton authorities to take these
energetic measures were not exclusively those of dis
interested benevolence.

136 MISCELLANEA
Some of the heads of our famiUes are basket-makers,
and for many generations the occupation has been
followed from father to son. The name ,with us for a
rough kind of circular basket is "kipe" — a pecuUar
word, not known to Dr. Johnson ; and we measure by
"kipes." Some of us are "badgers" — not the four-
legged species — but we " badge," or carry about farm
produce. Our lineage is respectable as to age. By an
Act of 5 & 6 Edward VI., " badgers " were required to
be licensed by the Justices. Others of our community
make a living by the capture of salmon and eels ; a
salmon of from 40 to 50 lbs. is occasionally caught in
our river."
Local superstitions still hnger among us, in spite of
the example of Judge Powell, but they seem to be on
their last legs. Infantile complaints are still, in rare
instances, charmed away, or at least, attacks are made
upon them, whether with success or not, by the use of
mysterious vocables known only to the one or two
initiated. I have myself been asked for a " communion
shilling," not out of greed, but from the simple longing
for aid against epileptic fits, which the coin, as being
consecrated, was to impart.
Many words and phrases in current use remind one
of the written language of Queen Elizabeth's, or of stUl
earlier, days. I'he old " Master " is used among us for
the more modern " Mr. ; " " wench " does service for
the far prettier Scotch " lassie," (as in Auth. Vers.,
2 Sam. xvii. 17.) ; " nesh," " Ussom," " pure " (for
" sound in health "), " pert " or " peert " (lively),
"unkyd" (awkward), " sprack " (sprightly), " ettles "
(nettles), are specimen words, the ancestry of which is
both reputable and of a high antiquity. Thus " a good
' According to YarreU, the largest salmon ever known weighed
83 lbs.

MISCELLANEA 137
sprag memory," says Sir Hugh Evans, (after the man
ner of " gaUant little Wales,") for " sprack." '
We also still " insense " one another, or impart in
formation or stimulus, in a mode similar to that of
Gardiner, in Shakespeare's " King Henry VIII." (Act v.
Sc. I.). One quaint expression is connected with the
Bear. Ages have passed by since this animal was a
living nuisance here ; but " to play the bear " is the
commonest of phrases with Deerhurst folk, and indicates
the doing of damage. Even the puny rabbit, when he
nibbles one's vegetables or flowers, is said, in whimsical
wise, " to play the bear with the plants."
Within living memory the highway between the
hamlets of Deerhurst and Apperley was, in some por
tions of the route, passable for carriages only under
exceptionally favourable conditions of weather. Some
of the other roads were in a similar primitive state, and
the . heavy wains, which chiefly passed over them,
laboured and groaned as they jolted along, sinking
occasionally in mire up to their wheels' axles. On a
certain occasion, many years since, a lady, who from a
former home in a distant county had become a settler
in the parish, appealed to an intelligent native as to
the possibility and apparent advantage of " mending
their ways," — but the reply was not encouraging : " The
roads are well enough for we men, and the women are
Dest at home." This was in the dark ages, it is to be
recollected, when our male population had evidently
not the dimmest apprehension of women's rights.
If now once more a retrospect be taken, and we
throw ourselves back a couple of centuries, we may
note that at that date " the Court," or Great House, of
the parish is Wightfield, and its possessor for the time
' " Merry Wives of Windsor," act iv. sc. i. Quoted in Latham's
Diet.

138 MISCELLANEA
being is " the Squire." There was no rival house of
similar consequence. For many generations previous,
this had been the condition of things. For three cen
turies a Cassey had been the headman of the Deerhurst
community. Indeed even before this family's occupa
tion of the Court, there appears to have been at Deer
hurst a house of importance, for as early as the year 1243,
a Jeffery de Derehurst was Sheriff of the County. But at
the time we are contemplating, viz., two centuries ago,
the Court had recently passed into other hands, and the
ancient races of squires had given place to a new
dynasty. However, Wightfield still retained its prestige
as the Great House. At the same period there were
also a few smaller mansions or halls, occupied by gentle
folk of independent means, who were entitled to the
appellation of "esquire," — an addition to a name not
then, as now, indiscriminately bestowed, — and bore
family arms. Of such, we trace the names of Lane,
Mortimer, and Powell. And of superior residences,
there were at Apperley the mansion where the Bear
(as has been said) disported himself, and a hall at no
great distance from it, now altogether demolished.
A good house called Apperley Place was in existence
in 1400. There was a hall at Walton — in the
present day a farm-house belonging to a member of
the Bower family^and a second not far from it. The
Priory House was probably always occupied by a tenant,
and not the proprietor, since the days of the Suppression.
Abbot's Court appears to have been a handsome resi-
de^itial house, occupied, as we know, at one time, at
least partially, by Sir John Powell. Neither Apperley
Court nor Notcliff House had as yet become an abode
of pretension.'
• Possibly NotcUfF is an old local name. In a Jury Ust of 1247,
32 Hen. HI., in the Hundred of Deerhurst comes the name of John de
NotcUve.

MISCELLANEA 139
No parsonage existed even down to the middle of the
present century. The living was sometimes held with
another incumbency. There were many holders of a
small landed property of their own, to whom the
Common— ever unenclosed from days even prior to the
time when Deerhurst acquired its Saxon name — was a
valuable resource. A considerable portion of the land
of the parish was copyhold, held under the Chapter of
Westminster. When the Abbey was suppressed, the
Manor of Deerhurst, together with many other posses
sions, was transferred to the newly-established Capitular
Body of Westminster. The Chapter gave the new
name Plaistow Manor to their estates in Deerhurst and
Leigh. In early days the Abbey, as we have seen, had
gathered their Gloucestershire estates into a West
minster Hundred. And at that far distant time, no
doubt, the mitred Abbot of Westminster paid personally
an occasional visit to his remote Court at Deerhurst.
On these ofiicial visits he would be certain to meet with
the Prior of the neighbouring House, and exchange
hospitalities with him, and be likely to see also the
influential layman residing at Wightfield, the Abbey's
tenant. In the large churchyard, now rescued from its once
desolate condition, and made ornamental with trees
and flowers, may be noticed N, of the church, a
mausoleum of capacious proportions. This is the
burial spot of a branch of the Strickland family, settled
for no very long period at Apperley. This family ranks
among the most ancient in the kingdom, and derives its
name from a hamlet in Westmorland, where even in
days before the Conquest, as is said, members of it had
their abode. Then from Strickland there was an early
move to Sizergh in Cumberland. From a younger
branch of the Sizergh stock is descended the family

140 MISCELLANEA
having representatives at Apperley, of which family the
present head is Sir Charles W. Strickland, Bart., of
Boynton. An ancestor of this gentleman, in the early
days of the exploration of the New World, is stated to
have sailed to the West, either with Sebastian Cabot,
or some other adventurer, and to have introduced
thence into England the turkey of our farmyards, or, it
may be, some special breed of the noble fowl. In
commemoration of the arrival here of the stranger, a
turkey-cock was made to take the place of the ancient
family crest in the days of Edward VI., and has ever
since been the heraldic distinction of this line of
Stricklands. From the English name of the bird, we
might naturally have supposed that it came to us from
the East, but, as Archbishop Trench and others tell us,
it is an established fact that it was a present to us from
across the Atlantic, The term " Turkish," or (as in
French) " Indian " hen was clearly employed in a
loose way for " foreign " or " exotic," much in the
same manner as the name " Jerusalem " has been given
to sage, and to the newer kind of artichoke. To turn
again to the mausoleum — it may give rise to a train of
pleasing thoughts to observe how around the large
central tomb are grouped no small number of head
stones commemorative of faithful service on the part of
retainers and of affectionate regard on that of those
who were served. We seem in touch with
" The constant service of the antique world
When service sweat for duty not for meed."
THE LEGEND OF DEERHURST
I must find in the present section a place for the
insertion of the " Legend of Deerhurst." This is one
of the old Dragon tales which are related in connexion
with so many localities both at home and abroad. As

MISCELLANEA I4I
there was a Dragon of Wantley in Yorkshire, and one
that gave his name to Dragon's HUl in Berkshire, and
sundry winged monsters are chronicled, who, until slain
by as many saintly heroes, ravaged parts of northern
France, so a Dragon, or " serpent of a prodigious
bigness," covered with impenetrable scales, once upon
a time lived and flourished at Deerhurst. History
fails to record the age of his appearance. However,
like most of his kind, he was set upon mischief, and
poisoned the inhabitants and killed their cattle. There
appears to have been a king in those days, and one at
hand ; this ruler, having estates of his own in the
district, promised a fine portion of land to anyone who
should slay the monster. Accordingly a labouring man
engaged in the perilous enterprize, and was successful.
Knowing well the favourite resort of the serpent, he
brought there, in the temporary absence of the animal,
a large quantity of milk. This, as was foreseen, was so
much relished by the huge creature, that he swallowed
the whole supply, and then becoming lazy and
stupefied, fairly fell asleep. Upon this, the labourer,
one John Smith, advanced, axe in hand, and smote the
dragon between the scales, and severed his head from
his body. Smith, as he deserved, got the estate, and
handed it down to his posterity. The axe was to be
seen in the last century.
What interpretation is to be given to this story, I
cannot say : possibly it is based upon something which
once occurred. Some marauder from over the Severn
or some other quarter may, it is conceivable, have once
in time of yore effected a settlement here, and pillaged,
and made himself generally obnoxious, till he was
knocked on the head by a certain bold avenger of his
own and his neighbours' wrongs. Or there may have
been mischief of quite a different kind, whether insalu^

142 MISCELLANEA
brious conditions of soil or other general nuisance,
which the excellent Smith boldly encountered and
remedied. I take " Smith " to be a name of occupa
tion, not a patronimic. It is simply to be added that
the villagers still talk with bated breath of the "flying
addard." Also have we not Dragons' heads on the
walls of our Church ? In the Middle Ages a Dragon
was the emblem of the Standard of Gloucester.
PHYSICAL FEATURES
The area of the present parish of Deerhurst is 2857
acres. Its rateable value, according to the last estimate,
is ;^6i9i. The population (1881) is 830,
The Severn is the western boundary of the parish for
3 miles, Tewkesbury, lies to the N,, Leigh to the S,,
and Tredington and Elmstone Hardwick are on the E.
The geological system of the area constituting the
parish is simple. Below the rich upper vegetable soil,
excellent for the growth of wheat and beans, lies a
substratum of the Keuper Red Marl ; and on the margin
of the parish, N. and E., this formation dips beneath
the Lias, which extends over the several miles of level
reaching to the base of the Cotswolds, where this latter
stratum, in its turn, is lost to sight, burying itself under
the Oolitic system of the hills. A broad belt of level
land bordering the Severn, which, running far inland at
Apperley, forms the Deerhurst and Leigh Common, is
rich alluvium, affording at some spots excellent material
for bricks and draining pipes.
So apt is the Severn to overflow its channel, as
appears to have been its fashion in Leland's days, that
a bank of defence was constructed, at a period
unknown, by the side of the river, extending from the
lower mouth of the Avon, or the Lower Lode, to
Wainlode Hill, a distance of 5 miles, Tliis b^pk ha§

MISCELLANEA I43
its counterpart on the opposite side of the river. Also
sluices were placed in the streams and ditches com
municating with the Severn. But in spite of these
permanent defences as well as of active endeavours on
the part of the existing inhabitants to keep flood water
out of the village of Deerhurst by means of a system of
temporary " stanks," within the last 30 years the
houses have been inundated four times to a depth of
four feet. The last flood occurred in May, 1886 — a
strange season for a river's overflow. On one occasion
the Lord Mayor of London was able, from a fund at
his disposal, to forward a good sum of money for the
relief of sufferers from the inundation, ever since which
time we have learned to regard the Lord Mayor as a
very great man indeed. The last flood (of 1886) rose
to just the same height as one in 1852, which used to be
called " the great flood." During one of these watery
disturbances, a poor lone man, whose pig contributed —
or at least, was doomed in the bacon stage of porcine
development to contribute — to his support, found him
self forced to bring his humble friend into his own
abode. On the waters still rising, he had next (as he
told the writer), to take piggie upstairs, and give him
accommodation in a bedroom — his own possibly.
However, misfortunes other than floods often make,
we know, strange bedfellows.
Our noble river occasionally proves a dangerous
neighbour, even when merely at its normal height,
and it is " strong without rage, and without o'erflowing
fuU." About one dozen individuals have lost their
lives, within the last 30 years, in our portion of it. The
phenomenon of the " Bore " is not now seen to the
same advantage above Gloucester as was there
presented before a weir was thrown across the river ;
one must go a few miles below the city to witness its

144 MISCELLANEA
full development. In ancient days the bore was
regarded as a formidable foe to small craft, and, indeed,
in certain spots the rush of waters is even now-a-days
by no means pleasant to light boats and unwary
oarsmen. It is amusing to read Malmesbury's account of
Severn's great wave, written 700 years ago, as
translated from the Latin by an old author : " I know
not whether I may call it a Gulph or Whirlpool, casting
up the Sands from the bottom, and rowling them into
heaps. It comes with a great torrent, but loses its force
at a Bridge. Sometimes it overflows its banks, and,
marching a great way into the neighbouring Plains,
returns back as Conqueror of the Land. That Vessel
is in great danger which is striken by it on the side ;
the Watermen are used to it, and when they see the
Hygre coming, (for so they call it,) they turn the
Vessel, and, cutting through the midst of it, avoid its
force." There was a time probably when the vine was
cultivated at Deerhurst in vineyards, and not simply as
a wall-fruit tree, since we retain the name of " the
Vineyard," as they do at Tewkesbury, Gloucester, and
other places. But it may be questioned whether the
wine of the Vale of Gloucester, if actually produced,
was ever equal as a beverage to its cider and perry.
The general configuration of the parish would be
given with sufficient accuracy by picturing a belt of
level meadow land as bordering the river, and changing
by a gentle swell to a level of somewhat higher
elevation as it recedes from the latter. At Apperley
the slope attains the proportions of a respectable hill.
This hamlet stands well on a good-sized and irregular
plateau, from which the ground falls on all sides in
sweeps varied and pleasing to the eye. This small

MISCELLANEA I45
height commands a charming panoramic view, taking
in the Malvern range, and a considerable reach of the
Cotswolds, the distant Herefordshire Hills, May HiU
and Bredon, Gloucester Cathedral, and Cheltenham.
The British Camp on Malvern's Herefordshire Beacon
presents a clear outline against the sky.
All the fields within the parish boundaries have
names. These have been frequently taken, it is evident,
from the surnames of former possessors. Some not of
this description are The Laggers, Short Coneygree,
Bushy Close, Vineyard, Broad Leaze, Birch Field,
The Holt, Pudding Leaze, Rye Leasow, Wire Park,
Wickham Meadow (perhaps connected with Wicfeld),
Cobney, Langett, Barrowhill Brakes, Swanland, The
Harp, Gaston Piece, Tumpy Milkland, The Gudgeons,
The Runnings, Stank Meadow, Oak Dole, StarnaU,
Nellings, Gaudy Croft, Haste Grove, Littleworth, &c.
The parish of Deerhurst just touches Norton —
" viUage north " of Gloucester — at the point where the
Chelt, the stream giving its name to Cheltenham,
empties itself into the Severn. Save at this point,
Leigh thrusts itself between the two parishes just
named. They both contributed formerly to the repairs
of the bridge which crosses the boundary stream, (bearing
here the name of Wainlode PUl,) and moreover lies
in the line of the ancient Roman road.' This spot
has the sobriquet of Fletcher's Leap, given it according
to tradition from an adventure of a highwayman, who,
pressed by pursuers, is said to have made his horse
clear the formidable chasm by the side of the bridge.
How just soever a parallel might be drawn in respect of
daring between the two feats, the locality of this per
formance of Fletcher is in singular contrast in point'
of outward attractiveness with that of the far-famed
' Page 7, supra.
L

146 MISCELLANEA
" leap " shown to the southern visitor and commented
upon, in the romantic Pass of Killiecrankie. The dif
ference is akin to that between prose and poetry.
From this spot, the Ultima Thule of our parish, is dis
tinctly visible — and, indeed, is not very many paces
away, although "over the border" — the red cliff of
Wainlode Hill. This lofty escarpment has a peculiar
interest for geologists as presenting a good line of
junction between the Red Marl and the Lias, marked
by a " Bone-bed," — a formation often occurring at the
uniting-point of two strata. Exactly the same geological
features are presented at Combe Hill (also just beyond
our border), in the cutting made for the road to the canal
which bounds Deerhurst for a couple of miles. .How
ever, a far better developed section of the united strata
and the " Bed " is to be seen at Aust Cliff, many miles
lower down the Severn. In the " Bone-bed " — a very
thin layer — are found bones, teeth, and scales of fishes,
and also insect remains. At Wainlode, indeed, the
yield of fossils is very poor, but from Aust a most
abundant supply has been obtained. The area of
Deerhurst itself is almost entirely destitute of fossil
specimens. We just find the common Gryphaa incurva
when we come upon the Lias.
Our Common, communicating readily, as it does,
with the Severn, is visited in the winter by numerous
water-fowl of various species. A gannet, or Solan
goose, was captured there last winter. One summer, a
whole brood of white swallows were flitting over our
meadows, and our parish has even exhibited the phe
nomenon of a white blackbird.
A curious circumstance connected with bees may be
recorded here. In one of our floods, a chimney attached
to an upper room in a cottage at Deerhurst, which had
remained unused for a long period, was, by reason of

MISCELLANEA I47
domestic difiiculties, made at length to serve its original
purpose. No sooner was a fire kindled, but down
came a copious shower of honey, of soot, and of bees
in a condition more or less moribund. It turned out
that the bees, who had been undisturbed for years, had
accumulated a very large store of honey in this impure
and unattractive hive.
Among the native plants found growing within our
borders, the only ones possessing any claim to be con
sidered even somewhat rare are the Fringed Water-
lily (Villarsia nymphceoides), — which is to be seen,' as well
as the more common yellow Water-lily (Nuphav lutea), —
Danewort or Dwarf Elder (Samhuous ehulus). Lesser
Hound's-tongue (Cynoglossum sylvaticum), Frogbit (Hydro-
cans morsus rana). Orpine or Purple Stonecrop (Sedum
Telephium), Gipseywort (Lycopus), Narrow-leaved Ever
lasting Pea (Latkyrus silvestris). Crimson Vetchling
(Lathyrus Nissolia), Yellow Wort (Chlora perfoliata), Sweet
Milk Vetch (Astragalus glycyphyllos), the less common
Gromwell (Lithospermum officinale). Lesser Toadflax
(Linaria Elatine), Great Burnet (Poterium sanguisorha),
Burnet (Sanguisorha officinalis). Bur Marigold (Bidens
cernua), Succoury, Hemp Agrimony (Eupatorium canna-
binum), Dropwort, two species, (jSnanthe), Wild Migno
nette, Melilot (officinalis). Small Purple Iris, the far
handsomer Yellow Iris, and Henbane (Hyoscyamus
niger). I know not whether the SmaU-leaved Lime,
the only strictly native species, may not be reckoned
uncommon. That can be seen at, Apperley, The
Service Tree (Pyrus torminalis) is not very often met
with ; we can claim it. The most ornamental of the
Geraniums, the lovely blue pratense, is common enough
with us, and the wild Hop twines itself round the
more sturdy productions of our hedges, where may be
• I cannot vouch for its present existence. The canal, where it
grew, is almost dried up.
¦- L 2

148 miscellanea'
seen also here and there the Buckthorn (Rhamnus
catharticus), and the Spindle tree (Euonymus) with its
beautiful party-coloured berries. The Arrow-head and
the Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus) — considered by
" Anne Pratt," with perhaps a little undue partiality,
the handsomest of English flowers — adorn some of our
ditches ; and the Addeir's tongue is plentiful, if not quite
so plentiful as our blackberries. Only once have I
gathered a Bee-orchis in Deerhurst in an uncultivated
spot, but, strange to say, several appeared one year, as
though dropped from the clouds, on the trim lawn of
the Vicarage garden. I conclude they knew that I
should take notice of them. Our Ferns are few as to
kind and sparingly distributed ; seven species, however,
have been found, I believe. The chief peculiarity con
nected with this class of plants — local conditions being
considered — is the existence within a most limited area
of the Asplenium nigrum. Once a single specimen of the
Ceterach planted itself on our church-yard wall, but
was improved out of existence before it could found a
family. In our clover fields one species, if not two,
of the Dodder (Cuscuta) is not seldom an unwelcome
visitant, but I suspect that it is imported from time to
time with the seed of the trefoU, and is not strictly
native. In the hamlet of Apperley many years ago a smaU
community of Moravians settled themselves, and built
a chapel. This chapel now belongs to the Wesleyan
body. At Apperiey there is also a Chapel-of-ease,
built in 1856, and attached to the Church.'
The Naight, or River Island, was in days of old a
possession of the Priory.
' A " Chapel-of-ease " is no modem term, as might be supposed.
One meets with it in the pages of Leland, and no doubt it may be
found earUer,

VIII. ADDENDA
CHARTER OF HENRY V.

*] INCE the first portion of this little work was set
up in type, a document of remarkable interest
has been put into the hands of the author
through the kindness of Walter de G. Birch, Esq., of
the British Museum, some account of which the former
is now in a position to furnish. The document is an
exact transcript of a legal instrument of great length,
in Latin, which records the authoritative decision of
King Henry V. in favour of the Prior of Deerhurst as
having right to the status of a prior perpetual and
conventual, and, as such, being entitled to hold the
conventual possessions, in spite of the theretofore
" alien " character of the Priory. Apparently, this
decree of Henry V. has not hitherto been known to
modern students of our county's history. The writing
containing it, now in the British Museum, is so full and
of such an interesting character, that I have had this
copy taken with a view to the whole of its ipsissima
verba being at some time or another transferred to print.
A somewhat similar, but far more brief, charter of King
Henry VI. is given in the County Histories, to which
reference has been already made on Page 12. And in
regard to this, it is difficult at first to see, why, after
the very ample acknowledgment of his predecessor

150 ADDENDA
made as late as the year 1419, it should have been
thought necessary for the Court of Exchequer in
Henry VI. 's reign, only three years later, to put forth
the King's letters patent to the same effect as was made
to appear in the previous letters. It may be suspected,
however, that one excellent reason for the repetition
may be found in the motive — strong at most times, and
certainly strong in that age — of greed in fee-handling.
For it is recorded that the goodly sum, according to
that time's reckoning, of /20 had to be paid into the
Hanaper when (in i Henry VI.) the Charter was
granted.' Possibly, too, in this second decree an
actual advance was made upon the earlier one. For
by the Act of Henry VI. the Priory is made expressly
denizen. Now this term does not occur in the Charter
of his immediate predecessor, although by the latter
the Prior is put into full possession of all the property
and rights of his convent, and on his death, or removal,
an Englishman, not a foreigner, is to be chosen in his
place. Moreover, in the earlier Charter it is not clearly
shown that all ties were to be severed between the
Priory and the French Abbey, and that in all circum
stances — no less in times of peace between England
and France than of war — payment of annual tribute
to the Chief House was to cease. This seems implied,
if not actually expressed, in the Charter of Henry VI.
However, the exact force of the terms of the former
document shall now be shown, defining the position of
the Prior and his house as re-constituted by the Royal
' Thus at a much later period of our national history, Charles IL,
who, if he never did a wise act, (according to his jesting favourite,) was
quite capable of doing a shrewd one, demanded from the Corporation
of Tewkesbuiy their Charter, in order that he might favour them with
a new one, securing to himself at the same time a handsome fee.
Bristol was treated in a simUar manner. However, in both transac
tions other gains were in view, aud were secured, beyond mere money.

ADDENDA 151
writ. The same Prior, it is to be noticed, is the subject
of both Charters — Hugh de Magason, or Mangazon.
Henry V., then, in the 6th year of his reign (1419),
under the seal of the Court of Exchequer, declares
Hugh, Prior of Deerhurst, to be perpetual and con
ventual Prior ; the same character is to attach to his
successors. According to an ordinance made in the
first year of his reign, when the place of the Prior
becomes vacant, an Englishman of a fitting character
is to be chosen to succeed. Deerhurst, as a Priory
perpetual and conventual, is not to come into the
King's hands, as is ordained in respect of all alien
priories not exempted. The Prior is to have absolute
possession of all property and rights pertaining to the
Convent. In time of war with France, he is to pay the
King the same amount as was paid to the Abbey of
S. Denys in time of peace.
Such are the provisions of this Charter, in the
preamble of which, as well as in the body of the Act,
many topics and details of interest are introduced.
Thus, at the commencement, a reference is made to the
ordinance concerning the possessions of alien priors
promulgated in the year of the King's Accession, all of
which possessions were to come into the King's hands
through the Sheriff of the county, except in the case of
such as had always been perpetual and conventual.
On an appointed day the " firmarii," or holders, of
these properties were to yield up possession, and to
depart, carrying with them all their stock, dead and
living, whither they pleased. Such priors as- claimed
exemption were to appear before the Court of Exchequer
on a day appointed by the Sheriff, and exhibit proof of
their actual standing by formal evidences and docu
ments of all sorts. The Sheriff of Gloucestershire at
that time was WiUiam Tracy, Senr., a member of a

152 ADDENDA
family connected with the county for many centuries.'
On behalf of Deerhurst, Hugh, the Prior, appeared ac
cordingly (not in person indeed, but through his attorney,
WiUiam Scarburgh,) before the Treasurer and Barons of
the Exchequer, in the 5th year of Henry V. Further,
inquisition was made at Gloucester the same day,
Saturday, the Eve of Palm Sunday, and 12 Jurors gave
evidence at length before the Sheriff, concerning the
possessions and rights of the Priory, and declared that
Hugh was perpetual and conventual Prior. It is inter
esting to have the names of these 12 Gloucestershire
men, which shall be recorded here : — William Stoughton,
John Solers, John Lymrick, Walter Hankersoke, Thomas
Raa, John at the  , John Russell, of Wychindon,
John Bril of Heydon, John at the MiU of Staverton,
Richard Wys, Thomas Hook, of Newent, John Wyn-
yard,- I shall almost immediately revert to their evi
dence as concerned about the possessions of the Priory.
It is next shown that Hugh Magason made
declaration through his attorney, William Scarburgh,
that Henry IV, in the ist year of his reign (1400), with
assent of his Council in Parliament, to the honour of
God and of Holy Church, for the advancement of
religion, and the renewing and continuing of works of
charity and of other incumbent duties, entirely gave up
possession of the Priory, which had been in his hands,
and bestowed it upon WiUiam Forestarii (Forester or
Foster), monk of S. Denys, who was thereupon
instituted and inducted.
Henry IV.'s letters patent are cited, in which it is set
forth that by reason of war with France, King Edward
' This WiUiam Tracy, Esq., of Toddington, was caUed by Henry
IV. to his privy council, shortly after his accession, in a letter couched
in complimentary terms. He was direct ancestor (in the female line),
of the present Lord Sudeley.

ADDENDA 153
III. had taken into his hands many alien priories and
religious places, which, in consequence of their occu
pation by divers secular and other tenants, had suffered
to a grievous extent both as respects houses and
in movables and possessions. Henry, taking into
consideration the state of these religious houses, and
desirous of re-establishing the holy services which had
ceased, is led to restore Deerhurst to its former position
and to bestow it on the said WiUiam.
During war with France an annual payment is to be
made to the King of equal amount with the payment
made to the Chief House in time of peace. The prior
is to pay the ten-fifteenths and other subsidies, with the
clergy and commonalty. He and his successors are
also to find and support in the Priory English monks
clerical and lay, and also servants, to the number
required by the original foundation, by right and custom
of the same, and to perform and make good all obliga
tions and works of charity devolving of old upon the
House. Further, they shall hold all cells, manors, lands,
tenements, rents, services, military fees, advowsons of
churches, vicarages, chapels, chantries, and other
ecclesiastical benefices, also all payments, portions,
annual receipts, tithes, oblations, gifts, profits, and
possessions whether spiritual or temporal, belonging to
the Priory. Done at Westminster, 17 Jan. (1400).
Moreover, the said Hugh makes declaration that
Edward III. granted to the then Prior and Convent
and his successors to hold two annual Fairs.
This King's letters patent, 12 Edward III. (1339) are
cited, authorizing fairs, each of three days' duration, to
be held on the eve, the feast, and the day following of
the Invention and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
respectively. The profits arising from these fairs
amounts to 2S.

154 ADDENDA
"Given under our hand at Kirkham, 8 AprU (1339).
Witnesses, the Ven. Father J. Ely, Bp. our ChanceUor,
Humphrey de Bohun Earl of Hereford .and Essex,
Hugh le Despencer Jn., Robt. de Kendale, Barthol de
Badlesmere seneschal of our Household, and others "
(not named).
Next, the said Hugh makes declaration that the
appointment of the Prior of Deerhurst to be perpetual
and conventual had been approved by Pope Honorius
III. A.D. 122^. '
Here follows in full the Bull of the said Holy Father.
Now, if this document is to be considered a genuine
instrument, — put in evidence as it was by Hugh two
centuries after its alleged issue, — it is of considerable
importance, as it gives a minute list of the various
possessions of the Priory as retained near the beginning
of the 13th century.
We may gather, I think, that practically when " the
King's hands were off," the English House had almost
entirely independent management of its property and
affairs, and simply paid a stated yearly sum of money
to the Abbot of S. Denys.
The Pope decrees that the Rule of S. Benedict is to
be of perpetual observance at Deerhurst, and that the
Prior and his successors shall ever hold their possessions
firm and inviolate. All impugners of their rights are
warned of the direst consequences of their impiety, and
the Apostolical blessing is guaranteed to such as dute-
ously uphold the same. His Holiness takes under his
protection the Monastery of Deerhurst, and deems it
well to declare in exact words the place in which the
' Honorius succeeded the masterful Innocent III., and occupied the
Papal throne during the first few years of the reign of the then youth
ful Sovereign, Henry III. He regarded Henry in the Ught of a vassal,
and, treating England as a subject kingdom, harassed it by exactions
on an enormous scale. See Milman's Latin Christianity, b. x., ch. 2.

ADDENDA 155
House is situate, and all its possessions. Details from
the Papal enumeration of the possessions and rights
will be found further on.
The said Hugh next exhibits his own letters of
admission and induction in this wise : —
The Official of the Archdeacon of Gloucester states
that he received from Thomas, Bishop of Worcester, a
mandate to the following effect : —
" We Thomas, direct you to put Hugh Mangazon
into corporal possession of the vacant Priory Church
of Deerhurst, whom, on the presentation of Philip,
Abbot of S. Denys, we have admitted and instituted to
the Priory and parish Church. Given and sealed with
our Seal at our Manor of Hyllyngdon, 2 Oct., a.d. 141 i,
the 4th year of our translation.
" We, the Official, have accordingly put the said
Hugh into possession, this 8 Oct. a.d. 1411."
Further, the said Hugh Magason affirms that he is
perpetual and conventual Prior, and that he hath a
Common Seal, and a Chapter-house, a dormitory, and
refectory in the same Priory, and pays to the King
tenths and quotas, with the clergy.
And whereas it is shown by statute and ordained
that alien Priors who are perpetual and conventual are
permitted to hold and enjoy their priories, and Hugh is
such a Prior (as proved by evidences), therefore the
said Hugh contends that his priory ought not to come
again into the King's hands, and craves judgment
accordingly. And a day having been appointed, the xvth of the
Holy Trinity — adjourned to the xvth of the Feast of
S. Michael — the said Hugh again appeared by his attor
ney, and the Court decided that he had made good his
affirmations, and decreed that neither Hugh, nor any
successor of his, should be disturbed, or interfered

156 addenda
with, as to the management of the conventual posses
sions, and that he was, and was to be esteemed, a
prior perpetual and conventual, and Ukewise his suc
cessors were to be similarly esteemed.
King Henry V. issues his letters patent on the above
behalf at Westminster in the 6th year of his reign,
I Feb., W. Lasingby being witness.
Hugh is Prior in the reigns of the three successive
Henries, and may have immediately succeeded Will.
Forester (or W. son of Forester).
I now return to the testimony of the twelve Jurors.
They affirm upon oath that there is a certain Alien
Priory called the Monastery or Priory of S. Dionysius
of Deerhurst, within the county of Gloucester. And
to this Monastery pertains the Parish Church of S.
Mary of Deerhurst, together with the Chapels of Bod
dington, Elmstone, Staverton, Lye, Corse, Trinley,
Rye,' Wolston, and Hasfield. The tithes of sheaves
hence arising, together with other tithes, and also
oblations, mortuaries, and other emoluments are of
the annual nett value of ^^30.
The following annual payments also appertain to the
Priory : —
7s. 8d. from the Chapel of Wolston.
8s. from the Chapels of Boddington and Staverton.
13s. 4d. from the Chapel of Tirley, or Trinley.
20s. from the Chapel of Drumerston.^
2s. from the Churches of Sutton, Bourton, and
Morton-Cherichelle. 2 bushels of corn from the Church of Kemerton,
and half its mortuaries.
' Rye was a common name for a hamlet. Rudder mentions one
so called in Tirley. This Rye, therefore, may be the "Leigh-by-
Tirley " mentioned in the subsequent Ust (Honorius's) oT the Priory's
possessions. ^ I conjecture that Drumerston may be Dry Marston, or Marston Sicca.

addenda 157
Half of the tithes of the. Prior's demesne land at
Preston, The whole tithe of the demesne in Welford, and also
48 thraves of tithe sheaves ' of the Rectory of Welford ;
two-thirds of the tithes of the demesne land of the
Abbot of Westminster in his manors of Boston, Todyn-
ham, and Sutton ; these tithes with the said thraves
(bundles of sheaves) are of the value of 20s. od.
7s. 8d. from the Church of S. Aldate's, Gloucester,
as is shown in the Papal Bull produced by the Jurors.
Also they say that there are belonging to, the Monas
tery divers manors, lands, tenements, rents, services,
advowsons of churches, military fees, within the said
county, to wit : —
The Manor of Deerhurst, in which there is i messuage
with 12 acres of land worth annually i8d. Also 10
acres of meadow, i8d. Also pasturage, and under
wood, 6d. 60s. rent, payable by divers tenants at the
seasons of Hokeday'^ and Michaelmas, in equal portions.
' 48 Thraves de decimis garbarum. A thrave consisted (at least at
that time and in that neighbourhood) of 26 sheaves (garbse). Com
putation taken from a summary of Evesham Abbey. " Stevens's
App. to Dugdale's Mon. Angl."
' Hokeday, or Hockday, was Tuesday, the i6th day after faster.
The festival is mentioned (at least twice), by Matthew Paris, who dates
on that day parUaments held in London in 1255 and 1258. Hockday,
or Hocktide, must not be" confused vsdth Rockday. Rockday, 7th Jan.,
caUed also jocularly St Distaff's Day— " distaff" being synonymous
vrith " rock " — was the time when work was supposed to be resumed
after the Christinas festivities. Plough Monday was the Monday
foUowing Twelfth-day, or the Feast of Epiphany. Thus Herrick
rhymes : — "Partly work, and partly play
Ye must on Saint DistEJFs day.
*****
Give Saint Distaff aU the right.
Then bid Christmas Sport good night :
And next morrow every one
To his own vocation." — Hesperides.
Hockday is said to have commemorated a massacre of the Danes.

158 ADDENDA
Four out of the 12 acres mentioned are sown with corn by
the tenants, and the crop of each acre is worth 3s. Also
the heirs of Richard at the Water hold of the Prior,
for mUitary service for his manor of Deerhurst, one
messuage with 6 acres of land, and 2 of meadow, with
appurtenances. Also the Manor of Okynton with one chief messuage
and 56 acres of land, gs. 4d., and 3 of meadow, 21s.
Also rents, 103s. 4d. Also 7 virgates of common land,
4 half virgates, 53s. 4d. Also a watermill, 6s. 8d.
Margery, widow of Walter Yonge, holds i messuage,
2 virgates of land, i J acre of meadow ; John Thomas, i
messuage, i virgate, i-J^ acre of meadow ; John Neweman
holds I messuage, i virgate, i^ acre of meadow.
Guido Whityngton and his wife Cecilia hold the
manor of Lye with appurtenances, and other lands and
tenements in Staverton, in the right of the said Cecilia.
And the heir of Richard Chelmeswyk, and the heir of
Nicholas Apperley, and the heir of Robert Lage, and the
heir of John Lorwynch hold land and tenements in Sta
verton in part possession — all being held of the Prior for
military service for his Manor of Okynton (Uckington).
Also the Manor of Welneford, in which is i chief
messuage with 2 carucates of land 20s., 10 acres of
meadow 20s., 2 water mUls 20s., and rents ;^i2 3s. 4d.
To this manor belongs the advowson of the Church of
the place. The Jurors say too that Edward Benstede
Clericus, and his wife Joanna, hold i messuage with
I carucate of land, in Joanna's own right, and Richard,
son and heir of Richard Bartelet, holds i messuage
with 2 virgates, and Richard Lynde Clericus holds
I messuage and i virgate — all held of the Prior for
military service for his Manor of Welneford.'
¦ WeUord is on the Avon, near Stratford, and hard by Prestoa-
(" Priest-ton ")-on-Stour.

ADDENDA I59
Also the Manor of Preston has i chief messuage with
I virgate, worth 13s, 4d., and 6 acres of meadow, and
6 of pasture, 20s. ; also rents, ;^io 6s, od, ; i water
mill, I2S. The advowson belongs to the manor. John,
son of William Wylcotes holds 2 messuages and 5 vir
gates : Thomas Frankelyn i mess, and 2 virgates — held '
for military service for the Prior's manor of Preston.
Also the Manor of Wolston has i messuage with i
carucate, 140 acres of land, 6s. 8d., 4 of meadow and
4 of pasture, i6s.: rents, 45s. 9 virgates of land liable
to payments by prescription, 60s. The advowson be
longs to the manor. For military service, Robert
Catewy, William Pendock, and John MuUeward hold
in part possession i messuage, 5 virgates, 2 acres of
meadow; John at the Bridge i mess., ^ virgate, i acre
of meadow.
The Manor of Compton Parva has i chief messuage,
40 acres, 3s. 4d. ; 3 acres of meadow, los.; rents, loos.
The advowson belongs to the manor. For military
service, Thomas Grant holds 2 messuages, 2^ virgates ;
Thomas Baylly i mess, and lands and tenements ;
Richard Spede Walker and his wife Elizabeth hold in
right of Elizabeth i mess, and i virgate.
The Manor of Colne St. Denys has i messuage, 30
acres, 2s. 6d.; 8 acres of meadow, 8s.; rents, 40s. The
advowson belongs to the manor. For military ser
vice John Stratford, and his wife Elizabeth, in right of
the latter, hold i mess, 2 virgates ; William Jakkis, i
mess, and i virgate.
The Manor of Hawe has i chief messuage, 5 acres,
5d., 20 of meadow, and 10 of pasture, 20s., rents £6.
For military service, Thomas Grenett and his wife
Blanch hold, in right of Blanch, lands and tenements.
There is a Ferry over the Severn worth 20s.
The Jurors also affirm that the Prior holds within the

l60 ADDENDA
county a Hundred called Ailmondestan (Elmstone), by
right of his Monastery, in which Hundred a Court is
held every three weeks.
Further they declare on oath that the present Prjor
holds, and all his predecessors held, in all and every
the aforesaid Manors inspections of frank-pledge ', and
divers other franchises and liberties belonging to these
manors, viz., Infangethef, and Outfangethef ^, and
chattels of felons and fugitives, of all which privileges
the Prior and all his predecessors from time imme
morial had exercise in right of their said Priory.
Further they depose that the profit of the Hundred
from inspections of frank-pledge, courts, franchises and
liberties amounts to 40s. It is declared, too, that on
the day of the inquiry the Prior holds divers goods and
chattels in his Manor of Deerhurst, to wit, — 6 oxen,
valued at iv. marks, and 200 sheep, value ;^io, and
10 swine 20s., 3 horses 40s., and cloths linen and
woollen, and other household utensils worth 6 marks.
It is also stated on oath that the above enumeration is
a full and exact one of all the possessions pertaining to
the Monastery within the said county. They also
assert that Hugo de Mangason, professed monk of the
order of St. Benedict, is perpetual and conventual
Prior of the Monastery of Deerhurst, into which he
was canonically inducted, instituted, and installed,
together with two monks professed in the same for the
service of God, and four other secular chaplains ^, and
one secular priest similarly entered for the service of
' Frank-pledge, the same as the ancient frith-borh, was an enrolment
of the members of a manor or lordship, examined once a year at the
court-leet. ' The right of trying a thief in one's own Court, whether captured
within one's manor or outside.
' Capellani. Ecclesiastics appointed to serve chapels by the saying
of masses. Their mention points apparently to the existence of separate
chapels and anciUary altars in the Priory Church.

ADDENDA l6l
God, And there is a chapter-house, dormitory, refec
tory, and common seal in the Priory, Also the said
Hugo has had fuU possession since Michaelmas in the
1st year of the reign of his present Majesty up to the
day of the taking of this inquisition.'
In testimony whereof the said Jurors have affixed
their seals to this instrument.
It only remains to compare this Ust of the Jury (1418),
with the previous enumeration of Honorius III. (1225).
The two Usts agree almost entirely as to the Manors
and Churches. Teinton and Moor appear, indeed,
only in the earlier list ; both, it should seem, were in
Oxfordshire, and thus the Gloucestershire men would
naturally omit mention of them.* For the same reason
the Chapel of S. Andrew in Wych (Worcestershire)
with a payment of 6s., appears only in the Papal sum
mary. I'hen also the Pope enumerates Greater Der
sunton, Bykemerse, (Chapels), and Haghe. The last
name represents no doubt the " Hawe " of the Jurors,
and under Dersunton and Bykemerse we recognize
Dorsington, and Bickmarsh, a hamlet of Welford.
Very little change is to be traced in the Papal list
since the days of the Domesday Survey. The Chapels
of Greater Dorsington and Marston Sicca may have
been new acquisitions, but possibly the area containing
them was included originally under Welford, while the
chapelries themselves are likely to have been of more
recent formation.
• It is to be remembered that independently of alien monasteries,
the Kings Edward I. and Edward III. laid their hands on a large
amount of ecclesiastical property, its enormous resources being very
tempting to needy monarchs. Again, apart from war vrith France,
there was in England a great and general hatred of foreign appro-
priators, the Popes having, by their arts, secured for foreigners an
immense amount of patronage and endowments, bishoprics, abbacies,
livings, &c.
' See page 24, note *.

l62

ADDENDA

Honorius has mention of vineyards. He gives a list
of tithes and payments very similar to that presented
by the Jury, and making specific mention of " all the
tithes of Deerhurst, Walton, Apperley, and Wightfield
— except half of the great tithes of the demesne of
Richard Childe Jn." Also the vicarage of Deerhurst
belongs to the Priory.
The Pope declares the demesne land of the Priory
to be free from the payment of tithe. Also the House
has full licence to receive within its walls, with a view
to Profession, both clerics and laymen, free and
subject to no one, flying from the world, and to
retain them unchallenged. And let none venture to
build a new chapel or oratory within the monks' paro
chial bounds, and without their permission. Sepul
ture at the convent is decreed to be free, and the last
wish of those who have chosen to be buried there is
to be respected, save in instances of excommunicated
or interdicted persons. At the same time all rights
are to be retained in respect of those churches whence
the dead are brought for burial. All persons are pro
hibited by the full apostolical authority of the Roman
See from audaciously committing acts of rapine or theft
within the precinct, from shedding blood there, applying
fire, seizing the person of any, or doing violence. All
is to be kept intact under the management and control
and for the benefit in all ways of those on whom the
rights and possessions of the Priory have been bestowed,
with reservation of aU rights of apostolical authority,
and of the canonical right of the bishop of the diocese.
I have endeavoured to give succinctly the leading
contents of this fuU instrument — Henry V.'s Charter.
We may gather from it, I apprehend, confirmation
of the view expressed in earlier pages as to the pos
session, in the Saxon age, by the Monastery of the

ADDENDA 163
great Deerhurst Manor.' For the Charter shows us
that the tithes were reserved to the Priory from nearly
all the parishes and hamlets belonging to Westminster-
Abbey within the old Hundred of Deerhurst.
In my early enumeration of the Priory's possessions
(pp. 24, 25), its " house property " was omitted by an
oversight. These houses were in number 30 in the town
of Gloucester, paying 15s. 8d. per annum, or about 6d.
apiece, 2 in Winchcomb, and 18 in Droitwich, paying
4s. 6d.* At the last place the Priory possessed also a
saUna (salt-pan) worth 2od., and one hide of land. Droit
wich was anciently called Wich, and is so denominated
in Henry V.'s Charter ; it assumed the full name on
receiving certain rights (droit) from the Crown.
It would seem almost certain that in the Domesday
Survey all the lands of the Priory which lay within the
modern parish of Deerhurst were reckoned as belonging
to Walton, and comprised within the single hide there
situated. Walton has no other mention in the Survey.
And the Priory itself is not mentioned at all ; there is
simply an enumeration of the estates belonging to
" the Church of S. Denis at Paris."
It seems not improbable that Colne S. Denys may
' See pp. 25 — 27.
"' It is difficult to ascertain with exactness the varying money-value
of land and commodities at different periods. In the days of the
Conqueror the annual value of an acre of plough land appears to have
been from rd. (or even under) to 2d. By the year 1300 this is stated
to have risen to 4d. , when wheat was 4s. 6d.' per quarter, and the acre
produced about 12 bushels. However, our Charter stiU sets the acre
at about rd. ; meadow land commands from is. to 5s., or even more.
Even in the 15th century, of aU cereals, wheat appears to have been
the least cultivated. The common food of the people was furnished
by rye and oats. Shakespeare introduces two Gloucestershire Justices
of the time of Henry IV. speaking about the price of sheep— "A
score of good sheep may be worth ten pounds." — (Second Part King
Henry IV.) But I suspect that the poet quotes from the " current
price list " of the days of EUzabeth. From our own Churchwardens'
Accounts, we find that arable land let at 6s. an acre in i6j2.
M ?

164 ADDENDA
be the representative of Colehanley (dropping the
" Hanley "), one of the four members of the early gift
of 804.' Todenham, another member, may have in
cluded (the future) Little Compton, Bourton and Sutton,
which are aU near it. I have faUed to trace Scraefley.
It would be too bold a conjecture (tempting though it
were) to identify it with Welford.
It is recorded that a dispute arose and was settled in
early days between the Monasteries of Tewkesbury and
Deerhurst respecting the tithe of Robert, son of Warine
of Witefell ; it was agreed that it should be equally
divided between the two Churches.'
Forthampton is not mentioned in the Charter. The
connexion therefore between it and Deerhurst (p. 25)
may be erroneously given.^
I proceed to present to the reader's favourable ac
ceptance divers additional odds and ends.
SUPPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS HOUSES
Among the Bishops'(of Worcester) successive Regis
ters, dating from 1268, is to be found the MS. volume
which gives Bishop Carpenter's full account of the
bestowal upon Tewkesbury of the Priory in 1469. It
appears evident that Carpenter, whose own munificence
and piety have never been questioned, entertained not
the slightest doubt that it was proper and expedient to
make the large adjoining Abbey, at that time in high
repute, its possessor. The Bishop speaks of Deerhurst
as an ancient foundation utterly ruined through shame-
' See p. 22, supra.
' Account given, but undated, in Stevens's App. to Dugdale's Mon.
Ang. Compare enumeration of Honorius (Wightfield), p. 161. In
1285 Wigiitfield was held by WiUiam le Poer, under the Abbot of
Westminster. In 1378 Gilbert le Dispencer was seized of two mes
suages, and 400 acres of land, in Wightfield and Apperley ; whether
he held the Manor of Wightfield (prior to its occupation by Sir J.
Cassey), I am unable to say.
•* Bennett (Hist, of Tewk.J and Rudder were my authorities,

ADDENDA 165
ful neglect, waste, and faulty carelessness, and partly
through a frequent appointment and expulsion of
priors, and the introduction into their place of secular
persons. Where once were supported a goodly number
of persons professing religion, now "scarcely a single
monk is left." So he cheerfully proceeds to do what
the King's letters patent direct. The four monks who
were to be supplied from Tewkesbury were to say
masses and other sacred offices, and to offer at the
altar for the King, and his beloved wife EUzabeth, and
other personages named.
Possibly it was at this time that the " Sanctuary "
of the Church was destroyed, or, indeed, it may have
been even previously.' And with the removal of the
Sanctuary, the removal of the chancel-arch may have
synchronised. It was stated above (p. 14.) that it had been com
puted that, when at their zenith, the Conventual
Houses of England held seven-tenths of the soil of the
kingdom. Without a doubt this is an extravagant
computation. A writer who has set himself the task of
correcting Bishop Burnet's alleged errors, gives the
proportion of two-tenths or one-fifth ; and Hallam pro
fesses himself willing to accept this estimate. But all
ecclesiastical landed property taken together amounted
to very nearly one-half of the soil of England. As to
the actual total value of the confiscated possessions of
the monasteries both in land and chattels, nothing can
be stated with certainty, save that it was' enormous.
Burnet affirms that the declared value of the aggregate
annual revenue was not more than one-tenth of the
real value. And of the vast amount of treasure which
thus came into Henry's hands, by far the larger portion
went to the enrichment of individuals, or else was made
• See pp. 53. 56.

l66 ADDENDA
to minister to the extravagant tastes of the Sovereign
himself. Nevertheless, I imagine that few unprejudiced
persons of the present day would be found to deny
that the final result of the dispersion of the immense
resources obtained by the Suppression was one cal
culated to promote in a far greater measure the general
good of the community, than was attained when they
were under the control of the Cloistered Brethren.
What perhaps was chiefly to be regretted in the act of
gigantic plunder was the fate of the rectories appro
priate ; their forfeiture and sale has been the source of
permanent injury to the parishes from which they had
been alienated.
The number of the suppressed Houses, great and
smaU, was 6i6. Amid conflicting statements, and with
only scanty evidence before us, it seems safe to con
clude generally that not a few of these establishments,
at the time when they were swept away, were retreats
well ordered and conspicuous for the devout lives of
their inmates ; while very many others, there can be no
reasonable doubt, were disgraced by the prevalence of
the most vicious habits on the part of those who had
vowed themselves by a special promise to the practice
of all virtues. There can be no question that the
monastic life, as a constituent part of one great and
intricate system, was felt to be out of date and out of
tiine, when the sense of individual responsibility and of
the soul's unimpeded access to its Maker — an instinct
specially educed at the Reformation — was once fairly
quickened into life in the general religious consciousness.
STRAY ITEMS
In a former chapter (p. 24.) Kemble's estimate of the
hide was too rashly assumed to be trustworthy. Since
he wrote his valuable work (Saxons in England,) the
nature of this measurement has been more fully inves-

ADDENDA 167
tigated. AU difficulties connected with the subject are
scarcely as yet cleared up, and perhaps never wiU be.
But it appears certain that at different periods the hide
varied as to its measuring value, and indeed as to its
actual current meaning. The old computation of from
100 to 120 acres may be roughly correct — at least for
the Norman period. However, good modern authorities
regard the hide, in relation to the Saxon age and even
to the taking of the Survey, as representing no precise
measurement of a given and constant area, but as
being rather " the unit oi financial value."
It is stated that sixty years before the Conquest the
soil of England had been parcelled out into nominal
" hides '' of a fairly equal value, and each hide, unless
specially exempted (as was frequently the case with the
estates of Religious Houses, and always with demesne
lands), had to pay a tax of the same fixed amount.
Thus the Conqueror levied the large geld of 6s. per
hide. Naturally the quality of the land influenced
considerably the size of these conventional hides. In
some counties or districts their average dimensions
might attain to 200 acres, or even more, whilst in ex
ceptionally fertile areas they might shrink to below the
33 acres of Kemble. A manor of so many hides, there
fore, would constitute a property of a definite rateable
or " geldable " value ; its acreage of arable land would
not be strictly defined by the designation ; and it might,
and generally would, contain also land not arable.
I wiU here record my more matured opinion that the
identification of "Inick Lane" with Ryknild (p. 9,
supra), is a theory little probable, although the ancient
trackway is likely to have traversed Deerhurst.
As to Holme Castle (page 18, Note), Leland's mention
of its site as being S.W. of Tewkesbury Abbey, seems
not quite correct. We may better give it an almost

I 68 ADDENDA
due S.E. direction. The " orientation " of the Abbey
(to which, we may be sure, Leland paid scant atten
tion,) may, in this matter, a Uttle mislead the unwary.
It inclines considerably to the N. of east, whilst
Deerhurst Church errs quite as much toward the op
posite quarter.
Although Isaac Taylor, no mean authority, connects
Beverley with the name of the beaver (see page 6.), it is
by no means certain that it may not be better con
nected with Pedwarllech,— the Celtic name of the spot
Beverley is believed to occupy.
I gladly avail myself of the opportunity supplied by
this additional Chapter to correct a mistake made on a
previous page (no) in respect of the history of Judge
PoweU, I have to thank the Editor of " Glouces.
Notes and Queries " for the foUowing information.
The Judge Powell who was connected with the trial of
the Seven Bishops, and is commended by Macaulay,
was a different personage from the Judge Powell who
lived at Gloucester and at Abbot's Court. There were
two judges administering justice at the same tinie, and
even (for a while) in the same Court ; both Powells ;
both knights ; both bearing the Christian name John.
I was well aware of this fact, but misled by Chalmers
(Biog. Diet.), I always believed, and have often stated,
that the hero of the Trial of the Bishops was Powell
of Gloucester, the younger of the two. But this is an
undoubted error. The younger Sir John Powell was
not raised to the Bench before the second year of
William's reign. He was first made Baron of the Ex
chequer in 1 69 1, then became Judge of the Court of
Common Pleas, lastly, in Anne's reign, was appointed
Lord Justice of the Queen's Bench ; in all he was Judge
for 22 years. This is all stated in his long Latin epitaph,
to be read in the Lady Chapel of Gloucester Cathedral.

ADDENDA 169
I find that I was right in conjecturing that John
Powell, Mayor of Gloucester in 1663, was the Judge's
father. But I must now lengthen the interval between
the death of Sir M. Hale and the elevation of PoweU
to the dignity of judge (as previously mentioned) ; the
upright Hale had been dead 15 years, when the latter
received his first judicial appointment. The two
anecdotes related (pp. no, in.) belong to the younger
Sir John.
I am informed by a great living authority that English
monasteries invariably had their refectory on the side
of the quadrangle, parallel with and opposite the church.
This dictum appears to conflict with Mr. Buckler's
belief; but if it is correct, then, of course, the existing
range of the Deerhurst Priory cannot have contained
the refectory, but must have held some other imposing
hall. It may be observed here that the Norman column
in the present cellar of the house, being of a very early
type, seems to indicate that work was done at the Priory
at, or about, the time of its bestowal upon S. Denis.
Quite recently I have arrived at the belief that in the
present E. wall of the Church (once the inner wall of
the " Sanctuary ") there were originaUy three small win
dows or loops.
In Rudder's Hist, of Gloucestershire a Bull of Pope
Alexander III. in favour of Winchcomb Abbey is given,
in an English translation, and this BuU very much
resembles the one of Honorius III., fifty years later in
date, contained in the Charter of Henry V, In fact,
as might be expected, a large proportion of the contents
of these Papal ordinances, addressed to various Religious
Houses, is common to a considerable number of them,
one Holy Father adopting the precise language verbatim
et literatim of this and that other who had preceded him
in the Chair of St. Peter.

IX
CONCLUSION

^^pJHESE fragmentary notes relating to the place
3^R^ where, as friend and teacher of its people, it
C/^Al> has been aUotted to me to reside for the full
term of thirty years, are derived, as will have been
noticed, from materials gathered partly from books and
written documents, and partly through the agency of
independent observation. My attempt has been, with
an eye fixed upon one single spot, to collect such par
ticulars of interesting detail as research, conducted with
moderate pains, could discover in respect of the long
period during which the consecutive generations of its
inhabitants have been an English-speaking people.
As affecting, with scarcely any limitation, this whole
vista of many centuries, the same centre of attraction
presents itself to our mind's vision, around which objects
of a subordinate interest naturally group themselves —
that cynosure being the ancient consecrated House
within whose walls the voice of prayer and praise has
been continuously raised as through the stimulative
action of one abiding and dominant emotion.
If one would speak here of a genius loci, it could not
fail to be represented as connecting itself with the
venerable fane still rising loftUy in our midst, and as
drawing thence its inspiration. The long enduring

CONCLUSION 171
walls of the building have indeed witnessed changes —
changes physical, social, pohtical, religious ! To aUude,
for one second only to the last — what a contrast between
the ministrations of the monks contemporaneous with
Bede and the public services of the Reformed Church,
viewed in union with the varied influences which are
associated — in most men's minds at all events — with
the parsonage house and the parish school of modern
England !
We would trust that the transformation is a result
betokening growth and ampler life rather than decay.
But any way, each succeeding phase of habits and of
opinions among us has had the same silent witness in
the House of Prayer frequented by each generation in
its turn. And thus, as one thoughtfully pursues this
line of contemplation, the very stones of the fabric
readily become to one's musings the embodiment and
tangible form of a chain of continuity linking together
the very old, the mediaeval, and the modern. To a
mind, like that of the writer, conversant with the asso
ciations of the locality, perhaps few spots would appear
more appropriate for the noble utterance with which
this simple recital of matters connected with our Parish
shall conclude, than the grassy summit of some neigh
bouring slope commanding a view of the characteristic
and imposing outhne of the Priory Church.
"And O, ye sweUing hUls, and spacious plains !
Besprent from shore to shore with steeple-towers,
And spires whose silent finger points to heaveu;
Nor wanting at wide intervals, the bulk
Of ancient minster, lifted above the cloud
Of the dense air, wluch town or city breeds
To intercept the sun's glad beams— may ne'er
That true succession faU of English hearts.
Who, with ancestral feeling, can perceive
What in those holy structures ye possess
Of ornamental interest, and the charm
Of pious sentiment diffused afar,

172 CONCLUSION
And human charity, and social love. —
— Thus never shaU the indignities of time
Approach their reverend graces, unopposed ;
Nor shaU the elements be free to hurt
Their fair proportions ; nor the blinder rage
Of bigot zeal madly to overturn :
And, if the desolating hand of war
Spare them, they shaU continue to bestow,
Upon the thronged abodes of busy men
(Depraved, and ever prone to fiU the mind
_ Fxclusively with transitory things)
An air and mien of dignified pursuit.
Of sweet civiUty, on rustic wUds." — Wordsworth.

APPENDIX
"'^^^J O frequent a reference has been made in the
C^fe foregoing pages to the possessions of the
^^f Priory, that it seems well to place here before
the reader's eye the exact words of Domesday Book
describing what was held by it in the counties of
Gloucester and Worcester, when the Survey was made.
I add a translation of the contracted Latin rendering
presented by the Conqueror's Commissioners.
As regards value, it is generally stated that, estimated
by the weight of metal, the pound was worth about
£^ 2S. od. of our modern money, and the shilling and
the penny are to be credited with the same propor
tionate excess over our present corresponding denom
inations. It will be noted that there is no mention whatever of
Deerhurst Priory, but the estates are described as
belonging to S. Denis. Thus, if we had had only
Domesday to refer to, we should not have known that
at the time of the Conquest there was Monastery or
Church at Deerhurst.
There is a familiar passage in one of the Saxon
Chronicles, in which the writer, speaking of the King's
Survey, observes, " So very narrowly caused he it to
be traced out, that there not a single hide, not a yard-
land, no, nor an ox, cow, or hog that was not set down.
To be brief— the King caused to be written down what
property every dweller in all England possessed in
land or cattle, and how much this was worth in money."
If these words were at any time strictly, or even ap
proximately, true, they could have referred only to
such rough notes as must have been taken at the
actual time of the surveying of the separate manors
throughout the land, When the results of the survey

174 APPENDIX
were tabulated, and embodied in the celebrated Liber
de Wintonia, or Domesday Book, now a priceless
national treasure, very much of detail which must have
been considered unnecessary and cumbersome, was
most certainly omitted. The popular notion about the
existing Book, formed perhaps in great measure from
the passage quoted above, is far from being a correct
one, and more particularly so as regards the first, and
less full, although in bulk larger, of the two volumes,
which contains Gloucestershire. In truth, its main
practical use, when put together, was to give a detailed
account of all estates in the kingdom, with a view to
facilitating the King's taxing of the same. Thus every
several estate is most carefully enumerated together
with its value, but all the soil of the kingdom, or all
that stood upon it, as buildings, or that was to be found
on it, as inhabitants or domestic animals, — of this,
there is by no means given an exhaustive account.
In short, the single notice about the manors belonging
to S. Denis, produced below in extenso, will serve as an ex
ample of the general composition of Domesday — or, more
accurately, of the larger of the two volumes of the book.
Glowec'scire.
XX. Terra S'ciDyonisU Parisij.
Eccl'a S. DyonisU ten' has uiUas in Derhest Hd. Hochinton vhid.
Staruenton iii hid. Colne et Caldecot V hid. Contone xu hid. Preston
X hid. WeUeford xv hid. In his t'ris sunt in d'nio xv car. et Ixxv
uiU'i et xii bord. cii xxxix car. Ibi xxxvui serui et iiU moUni de xl soUdi
et xxxvi ac. p'ti. Silua ii leuu. et dim. I'g et una leuua et U qr. lat.
De hac t'ra sup' dicta ten. v Ub'i ho'es iiii hid. et dimid.
Ad eund. M. p'tin. ii hide et dimid. ult'a Saueme. In Olsendone
v hide. In Lalege i hida. In Valton i hida. In Caneberton diraid.
hida. In his t'ris sunt in d' nio v car. et v uiU' i et xvUi bord cu ix car.
Ibi manet i lib. h'o. Ibi xxxviU. ac. p'ti. SUua dim. leuua I'g et u
qr. lat.
Ad hoc M. p'tin. xxx burg'ses in Glouuec. redd, xv sol. et viU den,
et in Wicelcobe ii burg'ses redd, x denar.
T. R. E. Tot. M. uaJeb. x$vi Ub. et .\ soUd. Modo xxx Ub.

APPENDIX 175
WiREC'SClRE.
iiu. Tena S'ci Dyonisii.
In Clent Hd. Eccl'a S. Dyonisu ten. i hida in Wich. Et ibi sunt
xviU burg'ses redd'es. iiii. solid, et vi den. et una saUna de xx den.
I subjoin a translation into EngUsh, giving the
modern names of the places, and an equivalent mean
ing of some of the words : — •
EsT.'VTKS OF S. Denis near Paris.
In Deerhurst Hundred the Church of S. Denis holds these manors : —
Uckington vrith 5 hides; Staverton with 3 hides; Colne (S. Denis)
and Caldicote, 5 hides; Compton (Little) , 12 hides; Preston, 10 hides;
Welford, 15 hides. In these estates there are 15 plough teams in
demesne, also 75 viUeins and 12 bordars' with 39 plough teams. Serfs
there are 38 in number. There are 4 raUls (water), worth 40s. per
annum, and 36 acres of meadow. Also of woodland, a length of
3f mUes with a breadth of if. *
Of the above named lauds, 4J hides are held by S free men.
Pertaining to this manor there are 2I hides over Severn. Also
5 hides in Wolston ; i hide in Leigh ; : hide in Walton ; half a hide
in Kemerton. In which estates there are in demesne 5 plough teams ;
also 5 viUeius and i8 bordars with g plough teams. One free man
resides there. There are 38 acres of meadow. Woodland, |- mile in
length, and J mUe in breadth.
To this manor belong 30 burgesses (or house-tenants) in Gloucester
paying 15s. 8d., and 2 in Winchcomb paying lod.
In the time of King Edward the value of the whole manor was
_^26 IDS. od. ; it is now ;^30.
Estate of S. Denys.
In Clent Hundred the Church of S. Denys holds I hide in Droitwich.
And there are 18 burgesses paying 4s. 6d. ; there, is also a saltpan
worth 2od.

It has only just come to my knowledge that m the
latest and fullest edition of the " Monasticon," the
Charter of Henry VI. making Deerhurst Priory denizen,
is said to have been issued not in the ist year, but in
' A bordar resembled a viUein in position and tolding, but was of a
grade slightly inferior, and sometimes had special duties to perform.
' " Woodland " was not necessarily one undivided wood ; it repre
sented the actual amount of coppice vrithin the specified area. This
remark tends to elucidate the statement made on page 27.

176 APPENDIX
the 2ist year, of his reign. In Stevens's " Additions to
the Monasticon," (1722,) the ist year is given; the
same in Rudder's " Gloucestershire." In the text of
this Charter, which does not supply the date, " Hugh "
is named as the existing Prior ; he must presumably
have been an old man in the 21st year of Henry VI.,
since Hugh Mangason was appointed Prior in 1411.
However, the 21st year (1443) is unquestionably the
correct date. It is taken (by the Editors of Dugdale)
from Bishop Tanner's Notitia Monast, Gloucest. x.
Further, it appears (from the same Edit, of the Monast.)
that it was not in the 19th year of his reign that Henry
VI. annulled the denization of Deerhurst Priory — a
denization only granted even later — and gave its pos
sessions away. Sir Robert Cotton (as quoted -in the
Monasticon) states that in the Parliament held at St.
Edmundsbury in the 25^^ of Hen. VI. , " the King's
letters patents made to the Provost of Eaton of the
Priory of Deerhurst, and other manors, lands and tene
ments, were confirmed by the whole Estates." '
It seems, then, that at first Eton, which was founded
19 Hen. VI., had the lion's portion of Deerhurst, if not
the whole of its possessions. Tewkesbury Abbey may
have received at this time (25 or 24 Hen. VI. ), and not'
earlier, the Patronage of English Livings vesting
originally in the Priory, or rather in S. Denis. But Eton
College did not long retain the gift. Edward IV., as
we have seen (p. 164), made a full grant of Deerhurst
to Tewkesbury Abbey. On revoking his predecessor's
gift to Eton, he first (so it appears) favoured Fotherin
gay ; then the Priory was assigned back to Eton ;
lastly he bestowed it on Tewkesbury. This new mar
shalUng of facts may be thought to render irrelevant
the observations on pp. 149, 150.'
> Cotton's Abridgement, p. 635. * See pp. 11— 13. 35. 149, 1^0.

INDEX

D = Deerhurst.

Abbot's Court, 91 — 107.
Acreage, of present parish of D. 142
Age, of the Church, 76—85.
Aisles, of the Church, 57 — 62.
Aldate's, Saint, Gloucester, 25.
157 ; Corrigenda.
Aldred, or Ealdred, Bishop of
Worcester, afterwards Arch
bishop of York, signed the
Conqueror's Charter, 24 ; con
secrated Odda's building, 98 ;
particulars about him, 102 note.
Alney, island, near Gloucester, 10.
Alphege, or Elphege, Saint, monk
at D., 12. 14. 29.32; as Bishop
of Winchester, influences Olaf,
30 ; as Archbishop of Canter
bury, slain, 29, 30 ; discussion
about him between Anselm and
Lanfranc, 29, 30 ; spoken of by
WiUiam of Malmesbury, 29-31.
Alterations, in Church of D.,
63-71-
Anderida, forest of, 7.
Anselm, discourses with Lanfranc
concerning St. Alphege, 29, 30.
Apperley, in the parish of D., 20.
112, 113. 138. 142. 144, 148;
its name, 113; a hamlet of D.,
but not separate in Saxon
days, 113.
Atkyns, Sir R. (in Hist, of Glouc.)
speaks of the Eight, 10; Ethel-
red, 28. 84; houses in D., 125;
Mr. Thomas Cassey, 134.
Aula regia, in " O dda luscrip tion, "
meaning of, 103.
Aust CUft, geological interest of,
146. B.
Badgers, carriers or retaU-dealers,
136.
Baldwin, first Prior of D. after its
bestowal upon S. Denis, subse
quently Abbot of S. Edmonds-
bury, 22, 23.

Banks, against flood, 90. 92. 142,
143-
Barnard, family, possessors of
Wightfield, 109.
Barnwood, near Gloucester, 7.
Bear and Staff, 112, 113.
Beauchamp, John de, holds the
Priory, 35 note.
Bede, according to Leland, men
tions D. Monastery, 2. l5 ; dies
in 735, 2-
Bees, story of, 146, 147.
Benedict, Saint, his Rule fol
lowed, 3. 32. 154. 160.
Beverley, its meaning, 6 note. 168.
Bier, ancient, 74.
Bigland, supplies a missing in
scription, 73 note.
Birch, Walter de G., Esq., supplies
information, 100 note ; Charter
of Hen. v., 149.
Blunt, Rev. J. H., speaks of the
Eight, 10 note.
Boddington, a berewick of D.
Manor, 25. 27. 156.
Bokenhall, John de, Prior of D.,
35-
Bore, of Severn, 143, 144.
Bourton, a berewick of the Manor
of D., 27. 156, 157. 164.
Bow, shot, a measure, 16 tiote.
Bredon, ancient monastery of, 3.
Broliesby, Rev. F. , on the Roman
Ways, 9 note.
Bromsgrove, John, last Prior or
Warden of D. so styled, but a
monk of Tewkesbury, 14.
Buckler, Mr. John C, writer of
an account of D. Church,
Preface, 49—52. 56, 57. 6l. 63.
68 note. 77, 78. 82. 84. 89. 169 ;
his opinion as to height of the
walls, 49—52.
BuU of Alexander III., 169.
Burials, in sheeps' wool only, 115.
Burnet, Bistiop, on Suppression
of Monasteries, 165.

N

178

INDEX

Bykemersei, (Bickmarsh,) con
nected with D. Prioiy, l6l.
C.
Camden, speaks of Bede's men
tion of D., 2 ; Hwiccia, 3 note ;
the Eight, ro ; in his " Britan
nia" (Additions by Gibson), the
" Odda Stone " is mentioned, 98.
Carpenter, John, Bishop, makes
over D. to ITewkesbury, by
command of Edw. IV., 13. 164,
165.
Cassey, Sir John, and famuy, 19.
35. 36. 72, 73- 108, 109. 130.
133, 134. 138.
Castle-Morton, received a font
from D., 72.
Celchyth, CouncU of, 97.
Chaceley, near D., 6.
Chapel-of-ease, at Apperley, 148.
Chapel, Wesleyan, once Moravian,
at Apperley, 148.
Charities, lapsed, 132.
Charity, of BeU and Hawker,
129— 131 ; of Huntington, III.
132; of Roberts, 131, 132.
Charles II. , demands their
Charters from Tewkesbury and
Bristol, 150 note.
Charter of Edward Confessor to
Westminster, 103.
Charter of Henry V., 149—163;
declares Hugh, the Prior, to be
perpetual and conventual, 151 ;
EngUshmen only to be Priors,
151 ; Inquisition at Gloucester,
152; Henry IV". had given back
the Priory to Wm. Forester,
152; Edward III. granted two
faUs, 153; BuU of Honorius III.,
154 — 162 ; evidences of Hugh
Mangason, 152 — 156; testimony
of Jurors, 156-161.
Charter of Heniy VI., makes the
Priory denizen, 12. Appendix,
175, 176.
Charter of WiUiam Conqueror,
confirms Edward's gift to JS.
Denis, 23, 24.
Chelt, river, 145.

ChUde, Richard, jun., of Wight-
field, 162.
Choir, of D. Church, 52—56.
Church, plate, of D., 129.
Churches, early, of two kinds, 4.
Churchwardens, of D., their ac
counts, 116 — 129; their pro-
perty, 121.
Churchyard, of D., 36. 139, 140,
CivU War, the great, 19.
Cloveshoo, CouncUs held there,
97 note.
Cnut, at D., 9, 10. 28, 29.
Colehanley, a possession of D.
Monastery, 22. 164.
Collections at D., 127-129.
CoUins, Mr. T., his part in dis
covering the Saxon Chapel, 94.
Coin, St. Denis, vrith Caldicote, a
manor of D.Priory, 24. 159. 163.
Combe HUl, geological interest
of, 146.
Comipon, of D., 19, 20. 139. 142.
146.
Compton, Little, a manor of D.
Priory, 24. 159.
Concluding Chapter, the Priory
Church, centre of interf*, 170;
changes, an advance, i._t a re-
trrgression, 171.
Configuration, of the Parish, 144,
145.
Corse, connected vrith D. Priory,
25- 156.
Cotswolds, the, bound the Vale
of Severn, 7. 142. 145.
Cotton, Sir Robert, quoted. Ap
pendix, 176.
Court, held by the Prior at Elm
stone, 160.
Coventry, Earl, possessor of site
of Priory, 20. 36 ; his chief
rent, 20. 124 ; his tithe, 20.
Cranboume, in Dorset, connected
with Tewkesbury, 11.
D.
Danes, it is said, ravaged D.,
2 note. 17. 28.
Date, of foundation of D. Monas
tery, I, 2,

INDEX

179

Davies, Rev. T., minister of D.,
114. IIS- "9.
Denis, Saint, Abbey of, receives
the gift of D , II, 12. 22—25.
32. 33 ; its Abbot sells D., 34 ;
finaUy loses D., 11, 12. 35;
Abbey Church rebuilt, 64 ; its
possessions in Domesday, 163.
Deerhurst, Church, described,
38—75; called by the Jurors,
temp. Henry V., Parish Church
of S. Mary of Deerhurst, 156;
also so in a Deed, a.d. 1527,
15 note ; repaired in 1691, 125 ;
Assessment List for the same,
125.
Deerhurst, Hundred, 26. 105.
Deerhurst, Living of, its value
and endowments, 37. 131. 139 ;
its patronage, 36.
Deerhurst, Manor, 25—27 ; given
to Westminster, 25. 103, 104 ;
once, probably, belonging to
D. I r ;'nastery, 25, 26. 28. 162,
163 ; certain accounts of the
property in archives of Westm.
Abbey, 107.
Deerhurst, Monastery, or Priory,
I, 2 ; estates bestowed on it in
804, II. 21, 22; given to S.
Denis, and became a Priory, 11.
16. 22. 31, 32. 98; made deni
zen, II, 12. 16. Appendix; its
possessions taken from it, 12,
13. 16 ; given to Tewkesbury,
12, 13. i6. 164, 165 ; suppressed,
14. 36 ; made a curacy, 36 ; its
domestic buUdings, 86—89 ' i'^
precinct, 90, 91; its 'endow
ments, temp. WUl. Conqueror,
and afterwards, 24, 25. 156 —
164. Appendix.
Deerhurst, Parish, description of,
I. 5 — 10. 15, 16. 18—20. 108.
112-114. 137—139. 142—148;
its name, 5.
Deerhurst, population of, 18. 20.
127. 142.
Deerhurst, visited by the Arch
deacon, 10. 70 note.
Deerhurst, Jeffery de, Sheriff, 138.

Dersunton, connected with D.
Priory, 161.
Dispencer, Gilbert le, seized of
land in Wightfield and Apper
ley,' 164 note.
Dodda, brother, probably, of Earl
Odda, 102.
Doddo, said to be brother to a
certain Oddo, 99 note.
Domesday Smvey, 24, 25. 27. 163.
Appendix.
Doublet window, in the Tower,
characteristic feature of the
Church, 44. 80, 81.,
Droitwicli, or Wych, 3 note. 24,
25. 161. 163 ; houses in, belong
ing to D. Priory, 163.
Drumerston, or Marston Sicca, cou-
nected with D. Priory, 156. 161.
Ducange, states that both aula
and regia, separately, signify a
church, 103.
Dugdale, quotes the Register of
Tewkesbury Abbey, 99 ; quoted
as to Robert, sou of Warine,
164; error in 1722 edit, of
Monasticon, Appendix. E.
East Leach-TurviUe, Corrigenda.
Edmund, Ironside, meets Cnut
at D., 9, 10.
Edward, the Confessor, gives D.
to S. Denis, 11, 12. 22. 32. 98;
gives D. Manor to Westminster,
25, 26. 103, 104; that he rebuUt
D. Church, simply conjectural,
30. 77- 9^. 106; his name in
" Odda Inscription," 98. 100 ;
in connexion with Odda and
with Westminster, 100—106;
his Norman proclivities, 22.
Edward I., seized all aUen Priories,
35 note ; also other Church pro
perty, i6r note.
Edward HI., seized D. Prioiy. 35.
152, 153; also other Church
property, 161 note; gave two
fairs to D. Priory, 153.
Edward IV., gives D. Priory to
Tewkesbuiy Abbey, 13. 164, 165.

i8o

INDEX

Elfric, died at D., buried at Per
shore, II ; to his memory a
sacred building erected by his
brother. Earl Odda, gg. 102.
105, 106.
Elmstone, connected with D.
Priory, 24. 27. 142. 156. 160 ; a
Court held there by the Prior, 160
Elmstone-Hardwick, Church con
tains a stone resembling D. Font
in ornamentation, 72.
Enclosure, of D. Common, ig, 20.
Endowments, ancient, of 'D., 21,
22. 24 — 26. 156—164.
Ethehed, brother of Alfred, said
to have buUtD. Church, 28. 84.
Ethelric, gives estates to D.
Monastery, 21, 22; also to those
of Gloucester and Worcester, 21.
Eton, CoUege received from Henry
VI. the lands of D. Priory, 12,
13. 16. Appendix, 176.
Evesham, ancient Abbey of, 3.
Evington, a berewick of D. Manor,
27- F.
Fairs, two, at D., 16. 18. 153.
Families, at D., 132 — 136.
— Cassey, see Cassey, Sir
John.
— . Dipper, 135.
— Fluck, 117—123. 125.
130. 132. 134.
Fergusson, his opinion, {Handbook
of Arch.) 45 note.
Fermor, Peter, Esq., 74. 109. 125.
134; Madam, 131.
Fields, in D., 145.
Fitzhamon, Robert, founder of
the existing Abbey Church of
Tewkesbury, ig note.
Fletcher, his leap, 145.
Flora, of D., 147, 148.
Florence, of Worcester, speaks of
Olney, Cnut, and Edmund, 10.
Font, of the Church of D., 71, 72.
Forests, of Dean, Wire, Ardeu, 6.
Forester, WiUiam, Prior of 13.,
35- 152.
Forthampton, said to be a de
pendency of D., 25, 164.

Fotheringay, College, received
from Edward IV. lands of D,
Priory, 13, 16. Appendix, 176.
Frank-pledge, belongs to Prior of
D., i6o.
Freeman, E. A., Esq., his view
of Odda, 102 note. G.
Geology, of D., 142. 146.
Gildable Bridge, g2. 114.
Giraldus Cambrensis, ou Monas
teries, 33.
Gloucester, first Bishop of, 14 ;
houses in, property of D.
Monastery, 163 ; Monastery,
early foundation of, 3.
Godwin, Earl, banished with his
sons, lol.
Goods, and chattels of the Priory,
160. H.
Haig, Mr. D., on age of the
Church, 85.
Hale, Sir M., his sentence on
witchcraft, no.
Hardwick, a berewick of D.
Manor, 27.
Hasfield, connected with D.
Priory, 25. 27. 156.'
Hawe, in Tirley, a manor of D.
Priory, 159. i6l. (probably re
ferred to under "Tirley," p. 24.
I. 26, Domesday saying simply
"ultra Saveme.")
Hemy III., subjected to Pope
Honorius III., 154 note.
Henry IV., gives back D. Priory
to Forester, Prior, 153.
Henry V., declares the Prior to be
perpetual and conventual, 151 ;
his Charter, 149—163.
Henry VL, makes D. Priory
denizen, ii ; afterwards dis
solves it, and distributes its
lands, 12. 35. Appendix; his
Charter, 12.
Hemy VII., despoUs the widow
of the Kin^aker, 112.
Hemy VIII., disposes of Tewkes-

INDEX

IHI

bury Abbey and Deerhurst, 36 ;
his rapacity, 165, 166.
Henry, of Huntington, speaks of
Olney, Cnut, and Edmund, 9.
Herrick, quoted, 157 note.
Hide, a measure of land, 24 note.
167.
Highways, repairs of, 127 ; Ul
kept, 137.
Hokeday, or Hockday, Tuesday,
l6th day after Easter, 157.
Hohne, Castle, near Tewkesbury,
16. 18 note. 167, 168.
Holy Table, in D. Church, 70.
Honorius III., Pope, his BuU,
154. 161, 162 ; decrees the Rule
of S. Benedict to be of per
petual observance, 154 ; sepul
ture at the Convent (Deerhurst)
to be free, 162 ; mentions vine
yards, 162 ; specifies tithes of
Deerhurst, Apperley and Wight-
field, 162; his Ust of the Priory's
possessions agrees mainly with
that of the Jurors, i6i.
Harridge, in Corse, a berevrick of
D. Manor, 27.
Houses, inD., 108 — 113. 125. 127.
House, with Bear, 112.
Huntington, Dr., bom at D., in ;
married sister of PoweU, in;
made Bishop of Raphoe, in.
Huntington, Rev. R., father of
the Bishop, in, 112; Incum
bent of D., Ill; Incumbent of
Leigh, and there buried, 112;
his handvnriting, 115. 131.
Hwiccas, 3 and note. 5. 21.

Impropriator, Lay, of D., 14. ig.
36. 74. HI; charge upon, 36 ;
first, George Throgmorton, 36 ;
Cassey famUy, 36. 131, 132 ; P.
Fermor, 74. 109 ; SneU, log.
Ill; Barnard, log.
Inick, Lane, at D., 9. 92. 167.
Infangethef, and Outfangethef, 160
Inscription, on Dedication Stone,
g7 ; on " Odda Stone," gg, 100.

John, King, possesses liimself of
AUen Houses, 33.
Jurors, twelve, of Gloucestershire,
give evidence concerning D.
Priory, 152. 156— 161.
K.
Kemble, John, (Saxons in Eng
land,) on tlie Hide, 24 note.
166, 167 ; on Cloveshoo, g7 note.
Codex Dipl. 102 note.
Kemerton, connected with D.,
24. 27. 156.
Kingmaker, the, Richard NeviUe,
112, 113.
Kipe, a basket, 136.

Lands, Church, or Parish, 118.
126. 131.
Lanfranc, discourses with Anselm,
concerning S. Alphege, 29.
Laud, Archbishop, moves the
Holy Table in Gloucester
Cathedral, 70.
Lawson, Mrs., anecdote related
by, 135-
Legend of D,, 140—142.
Leigh, connected with D. Priory,
24, 25. 142. 156. 158.
Leigh-by-Tirley, connected with
D. Priory, 156 note.
Leland, quotes Bede, 2 ; speaks
of Tewkesbury, 3 note; describes
road between Gloucester and
Tewkesbury, 8 ; speaks of Cran
boume, 1 1 note ; his account of
D., 15, 16 ; account explained,
17, 18; Speaks of Tewkesbury
Abbey, 48 ; mentioned, 85 ;
quotes Register of Tewkesbury
Abbey, 99 ; says, D. Manor
was taken from Pershore and
given to Westminster, 16. 104 ;
mentioned, 148 note. 168.
Lemington, a berewick of D.
Manor, 27.
Long-and-Short, work, none in
D. Church, 78.
Longdoujfont sent there fromD. 71

1 82

INDEX

Leofric, Earl, loi, I02.
Lord, Mayor of London, 143.
Lorsch, Convent, arcade in, 145
note.
Lower Lode, on the Avon, 92.
142.
Lysons, Mr., his sketch of the
Priory buildings, 88.
M.
Macaulay, Lord, speaks of Judge
Powell, but not PoweU of
Gloucester and Abbot's Court,
in. 168.
Malmesbury, WiUiam of, speaks
of Olney, 10 ; St. Alphege, 29.
31; "Dirhest" as ruined, 31.
63 ; explanation of this state
ment, 31 ; monasteries, 33 ;
Severn Bore, 144.
Malvem, Werstan, Prior of D.,
fled to, 2 note, 16.
Malvem Chase, 6 ; HUls, 145.
Mangason, Hugh de, first Prior
denizen of D., and last of the
old order, 12. i6. 151 — 161.
Appendix, 176.
Margaret, Queen, passes through
D., 8.
Markets, atD., horse, butter, &c.,
114.
Mary, Princess and Queen, stayed
at Tewkesbury Park, 16, 17.
Matthew Paris, speaks of D.
Priory, 34; of Hokeday, 157
note.
Mercia, ancient, D. situated in, 3.5;
Earl of, loi, 102.
Monasteries, Suppression of, 13,
. 14. 165, 166.
Monasticism, in England, 32, 33.
165, 166.
Monuments, in D. Church, 72—75.
Moor, (Mora,) a possession of D.
Priory, probably in Oxfordsliire,
161.
Moreton, a berewick of D. Manor,
27. 156. N.
Naight, or Eight, island at D., g,
10. 92. 148,

Names, Christian, llJ, 116.
Names, Local, meaning of, 5,
6 note, 168.
Nave, of D. Church, 48—52.
Neander, relates a discussion
touching Alphege, 29, 30.
Norman, column, in the Priory
ceUar, 87. 169.
Norman work, none in D. Church,
Norton, parish, just touches D.,
Odda, Earl, died at D., buried at
Pershore, 1 1 ; that he buUt D.
Church, simply conjectural, 30.
77. 98. 106 ; buUds the Saxon
Chapel, 98—107; his history,
100—102.
Odda, Inscription, 76. gS— 100.
Oddo, and Doddo, a pair of
brothers said to be living in Sth
cent., ggnote.
Olaf, received Confirmation from
Alphege, 30.
Olave, Saint, Church of, 129.
Olney, island at D., 9, 10.
P.
Parish Chests, in D. Church, 129.
Parish Registers, of D., 114—116 ;
ordered to be kept, a.d. 1538,
134-
Parker, Mr. J. H., 76. 84.
Penitents' Porch, 41.
Pepys, Mr. Samuel, quoted, 128,
129.
Pershore, Monastery, 3 ; Odda
and Elfric buried there, 11 ;
possessed, it is aUeged, part of
D. Manor, 16. 104; Odda, a
monk tliere, 102 ; its Manor
given to Westminster, 104,
Petty France, traditional name of
present vestry, 60.
Physical features, of D., 142— 148.
Plaistow Manor, name given by
the Chapter of Westm. to their
estates in D. and Leigh, 139.
Poer, WUUam le, held Wightfield,
164 note..

INDEX

183

Poor House, the, 113.
Poor Laws, 124, 125.
Pope, quoted, 115.
PoweU, SU John, Judge, 109—
III. 168, i6g; finds Odda In
scription, 98; Uved occasionally
at Abbot's Court, 107. 138 ; his
name on assessment Ust, 125.
PoweU, John, father of the Judge,
III note. 130. 169.
PoweU, James, 1 10 note.
Preston, a Manor of D. Priory,
22. 24. 157. 159.
Pnor's Doorway, 60, 61.
Priory House, (in modem days,)
138. R.
Rectories, appropriate, sold and
made impropriate at the Sup
pression, 166.
Red Lion, the, at D., 113.
Register, of Tewkesbury A.bbey,
speaks of an Inscription com
memorating Doddo, 88. gg.
Restoration, of Church, in 1861,
48. 52.
Richard, Earl of ComwaU, bought
the Priory, 34.
Richard H., seized D. Priory, 34.
Ripple, ancient Monastery of, 3.
Roads, ancient, of D., 7 — g. gi,g2.
Road, between Gloucester and
Tewkesbury, 8. gi.
Rockday, 7th Jan., 157 note.
Roger, of Wendover, speaks of
Olney, Cnut, and Edmund, 9.
Roman road, 7.
Roman occupation, 6, 7 ; Glou
cester, 4 ; Worcester, 4 ; Tew
kesbury, 8 ; Towcester, 8.
Rudder, (Hist, of Glouc.) speaks
of the Eight, 10 ; lands at D.,
130 ; Forthampton, 164 ; gives
a BuU of Alexander III., 169 ;
error in date. Appendix.
Rye, connected with D. Priory, 156,
Ryknild, Street, 8, 9. 167.
S.
Sanctuary, of D. Church, 56, 57.
169 ; destruction of, 53. 56, 165.

Sandhurst, near Gloucester, 7.
Saxon Chapel, the, 79. 93 — 107.
Saxon Chronicles, the, speak of
Olney, Cnut, and Edmund, 9,
10; Odda, II; the Danes, 28.
Saxon, work in D. Church, detaUs,
62, 63.
Scraefley, ancient possession of D.
Monastery, 22.
Severn, the, 5.142; its floods, 15.
92. 142 — 144.
Shakespeare, quoted, 5. 113. 137.
140. 163 note.
Siward, Earl, adherent of the
Confessor, loi.
Slater, Mr., architect, eifected re
cent alterations inD. Church, 75.
Smith, Miles, Bishop of Glouces
ter, 70.
SneU, John, Esq., purchaser of
Wightfield and the Rectory,
log. I II.
St. Thomas' Day, 126. 131, 132.
Stanley, Dean, his remarks on the
chancel, 70.
State, of D. two centuries ago,
137-139-
Staverton, a Manor of D. Priory,
24, 25. 156. 158.
StUes, Rev. George, last Incum
bent appointed by Impropriator,
37. 74; signs a Terrier, 131.
Stray Items, 166 — 169.
Strickland, Miss, finds the stem
of the Font, 71 ; Family, 139,
140; Hugh' Edwin, Esq., 75.
Sture, ancient possession of D.
Monastery, 22.
Superstitions, existing, at D., 136.
Suppression, of ReUgious Houses,
14, 15. 164 — 166.
Sutton, a berevrick of D. Manor,
27- 156, 157- 164.
Swift, writes of Judge PoweU, in.

Tainton, given to S. Denis, 23,
24, and note. 161.
Tanner, Bishop, quoted. Appen
dix, 176.

1 84

INDEX

Taylor, Rev. C. S., his conjecture,
26, 105.
Taylor, Rev. Isaac, quoted, 6. 168.
Tewkesbury, 3 — 5. 8. 11.
Tewkesbury Abbey, received D.
Priory, 12. 13. l6, 17. Ap
pendix, 176 ; suppressed, 14 ;
west end of it, the Parish Church,
Leland asserts, 48.
Tewkesbury Park, 16. 19 note.
Throgmorton, George, received
site and lands of the Priory, 14.
36 ; famUy held property in D.
at an early period, 14. 36.
Tithes, of D., ig, 20. 162.
Todenham, ancient possession of
D. Monastery, 22—25. 27. 157.
164.
Tower, ofDt Church, 3g— 48.
Tracy, WiUiam, Senr., SherUF of
Gloucestershire, 151, 152.
Trapp, Mr. John, Minister of D.,
19. 127..
Tredington, near D., 142.
Trench, Archbishop, quoted, 140.
Trinley, or Tirley, connected with
D. Priory, 6. 24, 25. 27, 156.
Turkey, the, brought from West
Indies, 740. U.
Uckington, a Manor of D. Prioiy,
24. 158. V.
Value, rateable, of D., 20. 142;
of land, &c., 163 note. 173.
Vine, cultivated, 144. 162.
W.
Wainlode HUl, near D., 7. 91.
142. 146.
Wakeman, last Abbot of Tewkes.,
first Bishop of Gloucester, 14.
Walton-, Deerhurst, a possession
of D. Priory, 24. 138. 162, 163.
Warine, his son Robert, held
Wightfield, 164.

Warwick and 'Spencer, their es
tates, 112.
Welford, a Manor of D. Priory,
24, 25. 157, 158-
Werstan, Prior of D., 2 note. 16.
Westminster, Abbey, received
from the Confessor, the Manor
of D., 17. 25— 27. 103, 104;
the Capitular Body succeeds to
the possession, 139 ; gave the
name Plaistowto their estate, 139
Westminster, Hundred, 27. 139.
Whitchurch, WUliam, Abbot of
HaUes, did work at D. Church,
35-
Wightfield, or Wicfeld, in D.
parish, manor or berewick, ap
pertaining to D. Manor, 27.
108. 162.
Wightfield Court, (otherwise
Whitefield,) held of West
minster, 27. 108, 109. 138, 139.
164.
WUberforce, Samuel, Bishop,
recovered the ancient Font, 71.
WUliam, Conqueror, confirms the
gift to S. Denis, 22—24 ; said
by Leland to give D. Manor to
¦Westm., 16. 105 ; having taken
it from Pershore, 16 ; such
alienation doubted, 17 ; his
Charter to S. Denis, 23, 24.
Winchcomb, Monastery, 3 ;
Church, 71 ; houses, in, 163.
Wolstone, a Manor of D. Priory,
24. 25. 150. 159.
Woods, vast extent of, 6, 7.
Wootton, near Gloucester, 7.
Worcester, Bishopric of, 2. 4.
Words, pecuUar, 156, 157.
Wordsworth, quoted, 171, 172.
Wulfstan, Bishop, his reforms, 34;
addressed by the Confessor,
104. Y.
Yard, a measure of land, iig tiote.

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