Natural history -- England -- Wiltshire; Wiltshire (England) -- History
The church of Broad Chalke was dedicated to All-Hallowes, as appeares
by the ancient parish booke. The tradition is that it was built by a
lawyer, whose picture is in severall of the glasse-windowes yet
remaining, kneeling, in a purple gowne or robe, and at the bottome of
the windowes this subscription: “Orate pro felici statu Magistri
Sieardi Lenot”. This church hath no pillar, and the breadth is thirty
and two feete and two inches. Hereabout are no trees now growing that
would be long enough to make the crosse beames that doe reach from side
to side. By the fashion of the windowes I doe guesse that it was built
in the reigne of King Henry the Sixth. [The church of Broad Chalk is
described in Hoare’s Modern Wiltshire, Hundred of Chalk, p. 148.]
The market-crosses of Salisbury, Malmesbury, and Trowbridge, are very
noble: standing on six pillars, and well vaulted over with freestone
well carved. On every one of these crosses above sayd the crest of
Hungerford, the sickles, doth flourish like parietaria or wall-flower,
as likewise on most publique buildings in these parts, which witnesse
not onely their opulency but munificency. I doe think there is such
another crosse at Cricklade, with the coate and crests of Hungerford.
Quaere de hoc. [There is not any cross remaining in Trowbridge; and
that at Cricklade, in the high street, is merely a single shaft, placed
on a base of steps. The one at Salisbury is a plain unadorned building;
but that of Malmesbury is a fine ornamented edifice. It is described
and illustrated in my “Dictionary of the Architecture and Archaeology
of the Middle Ages”.—J. B.]
The Lord Stourton’s house at Stourton is very large and very old, but
is little considerable as to the architecture. The pavement of the
chapell there is of bricks, annealed or painted yellow, with their coat
and rebus; sc. a tower and a tunne. These enamelled bricks have not
been in use these last hundred yeares. The old paving of Our Lady
Church at Salisbury was of such; and the choire of Gloucester church is
paved with admirable bricks of this fashion. A little chapell at
Merton, in the Earle of Shaftesbury’s house, is paved with such tiles,
whereon are annealed or enamelled the coate and quarterings of Horsey.
It is pity that this fashion is not revived; they are handsome and far
more wholesome than marble paving in our could climate, and much
cheaper. They have been disused ever since King Edward the Sixth’s
time. [Aubrey would have rejoiced to witness the success which has
attended the revived use of ornamental paving tiles within the last few
years. Messrs. Copeland and Garrett, and Mr. Minton, of
Stoke-upon-Trent, as well as the Messrs. Chamberlain of Worcester, are
engaged in making large numbers of these tiles, which are now
extensively employed by church architects. Those individuals have
produced tiles equal in excellence and beauty to the ancient
specimens.—J. B.]
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