The churchyard has a sweet, tranquil appearance, bounded by the river, with view of a picturesque bridge and fine woody hills. The porch bears the date 1696, and is flagged. In the churchyard is an ancient dial.

ST. OSWALD, ASKRIGG.

May 7, 1862.-This church has the common arrangement of nave and chancel undistinguished, with north and south aisles extending quite to the east end, a western tower and south porch. The prevailing features are late local Perpendicular. The aisles have plain moulded parapets, the clerestory is embattled and is extended entirely to the east end. The walls of the aisles and the windows have been lately renewed. The southern windows are not the same as those on the north, but all of two lights. The east window is of five lights, and has an embattled transom, those of the clerestory are square-headed, of three lights. The roof is of flat pitch, panelled of plain character, with brackets. The tower arch is pointed, very plain and rude. The arcades are not quite similar. On each side five pointed arches, those on the south are chamfered, with octagonal pillars having capitals. On the north the arches are wider and stilted, but lower and with slighter curve, upon circular columns. In the south aisle is a piscina, with a trefoiled arch. The pews are new. The tower has strong arched stone vestry, with ribs. The tower is like a Welsh one, plain and without buttresses or string course, embattled, with four pinnacles, the belfry windows squareheaded of two lights, on the north and south are slit openings, on the west a new window. There is a priest's door south of the chancel. The south porch plain. The font modern.

In the town of Askrigg is a good stone house with gable and a long range of stone roof, date 1657.

ST. ANDREW, DENT.

May 6, 1862. This church is not unlike the last-named, having the three equal aisles and a western tower and south porch. The whole is of rough work, apparently of sixteenth century. The roof is of strong stone tiles, with dormer windows introduced. The east window, like that of Askrigg, is of five lights, with embattled transom and no foils nor tracery. The windows are square-headed, without foils, of two and three lights. The arcades are of six bays, and there is an expansion of the aisles at the two eastern bays on each side, perhaps marking the chancel. The arches are pointed, the two

western piers are circular, with octagonal capitals, the next pier

octagonal without capital; the two next piers octagonal with capitals. The eastern portion of the north aisle is used as a vestry, elevated upon a vault. At the east of the south aisle appear in the wall some rough high stone steps, the use of which is obscure; there are also two rude openings in the wall. The font is small. The seats are mostly open benches, very plain and rude, with backs to them. The pulpit has the date 1614. On the north is a plain obtuse arched doorway, the hood with hatched moulding, probably Early English. The south porch has an outer doorway with continuous hatch mouldings. There is a pew with date 1619. The tower is low and embattled, the belfry windows of two lights, square-headed and labelled. The exterior walls are whitewashed. On the north of the churchyard is a schoolhouse, and on the same side a charming view over the valley, the church standing on a sort of terrace.

ST. ANDREW, SEDBERGH.

May 7, 1862.-A large church, arranged according to the local fashion much as the two last named, externally having for the most part a Late Perpendicular character, but with much of earlier work. within. The aisles go to the east end, as also does the clerestory, and the chancel is scarcely defined. There are north and south porches, and a western tower. In the north porch there is an obtuse niche over the door. The aisles and clerestory are embattled ; at the west of the north aisle is a flat-faced buttress of Early English character. The tower is small and Early English, with later battlements and four short pinnacles; under the parapet is a corbel table. On the west side is a Perpendicular three-light window, the belfry windows of three lights, square-headed and labelled; more recent buttresses have been added. The window at the west of the south aisle is Early Decorated of two lights, that at the west of the north aisle of three trefoiled lights with label over it on heads. The other windows are Perpendicular, mostly ugly and square-headed, and of four lights. The clerestory windows are all square-headed, without foils.

The interior has an irregular effect from the dissimilarity of the arcades. The northern arcade has eight arches, the southern only six. The latter are all Early save the two eastern, the first from the west wider, but very plain, on a clustered respond; the others have better mouldings and hoods, the columns circular, with square capitals and rather short. Of the northern arches the six western are all semi-circular, and the two western are very narrow; the more western pillars are circular, with capitals. Beyond the two western arches is a

break, and a wall pier with imposts, the four next arches are of superior character, with mouldings, and the piers circular on square bases, with octagonal capitals. The western respond is a plain impost moulding. The fifth and sixth arches are somewhat mis-shaped, and the sixth is not a whole arch, but quite ill-formed. The seventh arch is good Norman, with circular column, the eighth is pointed, Early English, and plain, with a hood. The south-east arch facing the aisle has a hood on corbel heads. The south arcade turns inwards towards the east.

The eastern arch on the south is wide and pointed, on an impost respond, and the two next are very wide and somewhat of elliptical form, the one is of plainer character than the others, the columns circular, with stilted bases of square form. In the south aisle near the east is a rude aperture on the wall and a bracket. The east window has a flat arch. The chancel has some good ancient seats and parclose screens on the north, new stalls, and the steps to the altar of fine black marble. The roof is of flat pitch. The tower arch is plain and pointed, on imposts with rude figure. south door is a stoup. The font has an octagonal bowl of black marble, with concave sides charged with shields, the stem also of marble with concave sides. An ancient poor box has the date 1633. Three bells and a barrel organ.

Near the

THE FEAST DAYS OF ST. HILDA.

BY MR. GEORGE BUCHANNAN.

ON reading Dr. Leadman's interesting paper (pp. 33-49) I was struck by one or two matters as to which I should like to add a few words.

First with regard to the Feast of St. Hilda, which is, as stated in the York Kalendars, the 25th of August. I remember more than forty years ago being puzzled, when copying for another purpose. some ancient charters, by finding that King Henry II had granted to the Abbot and Convent of Whitby with other liberties "feriam ad festum S. Hyldae" (Whitby Chartulary, Surtees Society, vol. i, p. 148), and that this fair, when subsequently confirmed or otherwise referred to, was always associated with the Feast of St. Hilda. Now the actual fair at that time, though but the shadow of a shade, was regularly and formally proclaimed, and always on the 25th of August. Yet there was no trace of St. Hilda's Feast in the old form of proclamation, nor any mention in histories or documents of a change in the date of the fair. And although in Charlton's History of Whitby (p. 139) the author states that the fair is held "on St. Hilda's Day or August 25th," and adds the interesting statement that the date was not altered on the change of style, he says (p. 37) that "the Church of Rome has always observed and still continues to observe the festival of Hilda's translation on the 15th day of December."

Dr. Young's History of Whitby, however, corrected Charlton as to the tradition of the Church of Rome, and explains how the mistake arose, that is, by mistranslation of "die quinta decima Kalendarum Decembrium," the date of St. Hilda's death as recorded by Bede (Young, vol. i, page 211). The date of St. Hilda's death (17th November) is thus restored as the date of her Feast. But Dr. Young also states (Ibid., p. 574), "There are two fairs held in Whitby, the one begins August 25th, said to be St. Hilda's Day, the other is held at Martinmas; each lasts three days, but very little business is done at either. The first is the regular fair, held by proclamation; the last has come in by custom."

It is needless to say that when I had access to the York Missal and York Breviary in the Surtees Society's editions, I found ample

VOL. XVII.

R

confirmation of Dr. Young's rather doubtful words above quoted, and that the traditional date of the fair, still observed for that purpose, was indeed the date of the Feast of St. Hilda, to which were assigned a proper mass and office. But in that case what was I to make of the positive statements as to the observance of the 17th of November? The answer is that there were in fact two commemorations of St. Hilda, one on the 25th of August, and one on the 17th of November, and that the former was the Feast of the Translation, the latter commemorating the death of the Saint. This is made clear by the Award of Henry de Percy, Earl of Northumberland (Whitby Chartulary, vol. ii, p. 501), in which the parties are said to have appeared "devaunt nous, avant dit Counte, en la feste del Translacion de Seint Hylde— cest assavoir le xxv jour daugst." Furthermore we find that the Feast of the Translation was termed "dies S. Hyldae in Autumpno" (Guisborough Chartulary, Surtees Society, vol. ii, pp. 213, 214, 220, 221), and that the 17th of November was called the Feast of St. Hilda in Winter, if, as seems probable, that was the date intended by the Grant in 43 Henry III to Peter de Mauley, third of that name, of a fair at Egton yearly for eight days, beginning on the eve of St. Hilda in Winter (Graves' History of Cleveland, p. 281, quoting Cart. Antiq., ii, p. 8n). The Church at Egton was dedicated to St. Hilda, and the connection between fairs and the commemoration of the local saint is too well known to need comment. Graves adds that St. Hilda's Fair has been discontinued for some time, but there are four fairs which are still kept annually, namely on the Tuesday before May Day; upon St. Bartholomew's Day; on the Tuesday before St. Martin's Day; and on the Tuesday before the Purification. Through the kindness of John Foster, Esq., of Egton Lodge, I have been able to ascertain that these dates were assigned by a charter of King William III to Henry, Viscount Longueville, then owner of the Egton estate, which now belongs to Mr. Foster and his family. And it will be observed that one of these dates (St. Bartholomew) is the Eve of St. Hilda in Autumn, and another, the Tuesday before St. Martin's Day (that is November 23rd, the date still called Martinmas), must closely approach the date of the Winter Feast of St. Hilda, though it is not likely that anything but custom led to its selection by Lord Longueville.

That Dr. Young is correct in stating that November 17th, that is the Winter Feast, the death-day of St. Hilda, is that on which she has