at the time when the tower was built, as if to force into notice the singular contrast in the moulded work of the two periods.

Turning next to the south aisle, we find a difference from the style of the south side of the nave, in the "double bell" and the "nail-head ornament" being no longer employed. With this exception, however, there is a similarity in the mouldings; the abacus being the truncated roll and fillet, and the neck the bold three-quarter annular moulding. (Fig. 6.) The bases and stringcourse are restored" ones, and it is questionable whether their true contour has been preserved. As regards the bases, they are of some form that belongs, I think, to no period of architecture whatever; and, as respects the string-course, there is no other example of the "scroll moulding" in this part of the church.

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The cincture in the jamb-shaft at the east end of this aisle, and indeed, the whole of the details of these rere-arches and capitals are quite worth remark: nothing, indeed, could be better, probably, for their place and purpose; stopping short of needless elaboration, yet quite sufficient to produce a chaste and rich effect, and to indicate the thought bestowed upon them; nothing, either, could be more clearly indicative of the style of the destroyed mullions and tracery; and nothing more conclusive that the plain, heavy, chamfered mullions which have lately been inserted, are quite out of character.

Passing westward we have, in the "neck-moulding" of the last window in this aisle, (Fig. 4) the first indication of the later style which prevails in the whole of the north aisle, and, on the north side of the nave, indicated by the "scroll moulding" of the abacus and neck of the capitals, by the more simple form of section, by the base mouldings projecting over the line of the plinth, and by other details. The date of this work I should suppose to be the early part of the fourteenth century. (Figs. 7 and 8.)

At the east of this aisle is a curious capital, growing, as it were, out of the pier, at about the same level as the lower capitals in the east bay of the nave before alluded to; but this, also, has been under the hand of the "restorer," and it is very doubtful whether the original foliation was not of earlier character; the square abacus rather leads to the belief that such was the case.

:

Another point deserving attention, in this place, is the curious variety, as well as the symmetrical beauty, of these mouldings:although, on a cursory view, they seem all alike, as, indeed, they are generically; it will be found, on examination, that the form of section is varied in almost every instance. It will scarcely be doubted, I think, that the builder who exhibited so much fertility of design in this matter, would fail in the more striking feature of window tracery, and yet, I understand that in the proposed restoration of this aisle, one design is to be repeated in the whole six openings.

The history of the remaining part of the church is well known from the register of Bishop Alnwyke, quoted by our local historians; from which it appears that the tower and chancel were built about the year 1444.

I have thus endeavoured to lessen the hiatus which exists in the history of S. Margaret's Church, between the time of " Domesday Book" and the register of Bishop Alnwyke, so far as a careful examination of the simple yet characteristic details of the building will permit; and I have also endeavoured to explain the architectural problem by an historical parallel, which accounts for the tradition that Robert Bossu built part of this church. In conclusion, permit me to remark upon the wide field into which the enquiry has introduced us: we step at once, by the help of these apparently unimportant stones, into the province of universal history: we pass in review the first Christian edifice which arose here in the remote and barbarous ages of our country: we account for its disappearance by the savage and successive ravages of the heathen Danes; for its rebuilding after the Norman Conquest; and for its partial destruction during and in consequence of the feudal times; and these are all matters of universal interest,-interest which cannot fail to derive additional importance to us from being thus localized; whilst, at the same time, the veneration we owe the fabric cannot fail to be increased from being thus palpably connected with some of the most important events which have occurred in the history of the world.

GENERAL MEETING AT LUTTERWORTH.

26th and 27th September, 1861.

THE REV. J. P. MARRIOTT, President.

To a casual observer Lutterworth might appear to offer few attractions to claim the visit of the members of an Architectural and Archæological Society. It is a small market town on the banks of a small river, the Swift, which soon discharges itself into its better known neighbour the Avon. Its ancient hospital has long since passed away, and there is, apparently, nothing to attract the attention of the visitor but its church, and even that is robbed of much of its dignity, symmetry, and beauty by the loss of its noble spire. These are the impressions upon the mind of a mere passerby. To the thoughtful observer, to the antiquary, to the student of history, in short, to every one feeling the least interest in the antecedents of the locality, the town of Lutterworth, and more

especially its neighbourhood, offer suggestions, and evidences at once valuable and interesting.

Possessing neither the Baron's Castle, nor the Abbey, Priory, or even Monastery of the Church, Lutterworth does not appear upon the pages of medieval history so prominently as do some other towns of no greater magnitude in this county. It appears in Domesday-Book under the name of Lutresurde. Soon after the Norman Conquest the manor of Lutterworth passed into the hands of the Verdon family, Nicholas of that name founding there, in the reign of King John, a hospital dedicated to S. John the Baptist, for one priest and six poor men, and also endowing it with means to "keep hospitality for poor men travelling that way." This Hospital stood adjoining to lands in the parish of Misterton called the Warren, being divided from the town of Lutterworth by the river. At the dissolution of the monasteries this hospital was sold, and the lands and mills leased to the Faunts. There are now no remains of the ancient fabric standing. About the middle of the fourteenth century the manor of Lutterworth appears to have passed by marriage into the family of Ferrers of Groby. Sir William Ferrers de Groby, in 1414, obtained the grant of a fair at Lutterworth, to be holden upon Ascension-day, whence it was called Lord Ferrers' holiday: it is also said he at the same time obtained a grant of a weekly market. From the Ferrers' family the manor passed to the Greys, and from them-upon the attainder of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk-through the crown, after some lapse of time, to the corporation of London, who, in the year 1629, sold it to Basil Feilding, Esq., whose family had from ancient time been connected with Lutterworth, and which family, in the person of the present Earl of Denbigh, is now in possession of the manor.

The church of Lutterworth, both as a building, and from its intimate connection with Wycliffe, the "Morning Star of the Reformation," will always claim earnest attention, but neither the edifice nor the man whose name will ever be associated with it, must here receive more than this cursory allusion, because the remarks of Mr. Bloxam, and others, upon these interesting topics will be given hereafter; after reading which, it will be seen that Lutterworth is not without strong claims upon our attention and study, and not an unfit place for a visit from the members of an Archæological Society. If this may be said of the town of Lutterworth, much more may be said of its neighbourhood. It is situated near to the Watling Street, that great Roman road constructed by the early conquerors and civilizers of this country, to enable them to extend their conquests and hold their new acquisitions,—it is within an easy walk of Claybrooke, which, whether it were anciently the great Roman city as described by Burton or not, was unquestionably a Roman station, evidences of which from time to time are being thrown up by the earth in the shape of coins, &c., &c. High Cross,

too, where the Fosse and the Watling Street intersect each other, is not far distant; while, on the other side of Lutterworth, the Roman Tripontium is within easy access. It will thus be seen that this is a large field for the enquirer into the Roman history of this country, and no barren field either, as will be seen from the very many Roman antiquities found in the neighbourhood and exhibited at Lutterworth. Neither is it the Roman period of our history alone which this neighbourhood brings before the curious visitor, mediæval times-the "dark ages are not without their tokens in the many beautiful churches adorning the landscape in this locality, and the works of art they contain, monuments alike to the piety and the artistic skill of their founders and builders; Misterton and Stanford churches, for instance, may be cited, as speaking, in eloquent silence, of the times which saw their rise, and which certainly bid us pause and well consider before we speak with too much certainty of that "darkness" for which the period of their erection has become so proverbial. Then, again, in Theddingworth church-within the limits of a day's excursion—we have a proof that the old spirit of self-sacrifice, and of reverence and esteem for God's house, is still alive in this country, and that the architectural skill, and the taste for the beautiful, which so distinguished the church builders in the middle ages, is not now lost, but these shine forth in a manner at once pleasing and heart cheering, not only to the man of taste, but to all who wish to see the services of the Church conducted in buildings at once worthy of Him who is there worshipped, and of the Church whose time-honoured Offices are therein performed; and for those whose tastes lead them to contemplate the stern realities of life,the rise and fall of men and the things of men,-the Field of Naseby offers a rich page of history. Such being the attractions of Lutterworth and its neighbourhood members would learn with satisfaction of the intended visit of the Leicestershire Architectural and Archæological Society there, on the days indicated above.*

The proceedings were opened on Thursday, the 26th of September, by a meeting of the Committee of the Society in the anteroom of the Town Hall, when the following new members were elected: The Revs. J. P. Marriott, rector of Cottesbach; John Halford, of Wistow; H. K. Richardson, rector of Leire, and rural dean; M. Cochan, of Dunton Bassett; Thomas Cox, of Kimcote Rectory; H. Fox, of Lutterworth: Thomas Watson, Esq., and Messrs. Charles Burdett, W. Footman, Charles J. Lea, G. S. Wardley, of Lutterworth, and Mr. Joseph Goddard (architect), Leicester. The Rev. J. O. Stuart was elected an honorary member.

This introduction to the formal report of the Proceedings at this Meeting was furnished at the time by the Hon. Secretary to a local newspaper, and is now reprinted.