One goodwife Mills of Yatton Keynel, a tenant of my father’s, did dentire in the 88 yeare of her age, which was about the yeare 1645. The Lord Chancellour Bacon speakes of the like of the old Countesse of Desmond, in Ireland. Mr. William Gauntlett, of Netherhampton, born at Amesbury, told me that since his remembrance there were digged up in the churchyard at Amesbury, which is very spacious, a great number of huge bones, exceeding, as he sayes, the size of those of our dayes. At Highworth, at the signe of the Bull, at one Hartwells, I have been credibly enformed is to be seen a scull of-a vast bignesse, scilicet half as big again as an ordinary one. From Mr. Kich. Brown, Rector of Somerford Magna, (At Wotton in Surrey, where my brother enlarged the vault in which our family are buried, digging away the earth for the foundations, they found a complete skeleton neer nine foot in length, the skull of an extraordinary size.—J. EVELYN.) George Johnson Esq. bencher of the Middle Temple, digging for marle at Bowdon Parke, Ano. 1666, the diggers found the bones of a man under a quarrie of planke stones: he told me he saw it. He was a serious person, and “fide dignus”. At Wishford Magna is the inscription, “Hic jacet Thomas Bonham, armiger, quondam Patronus istius Ecclesiæ, qui quidem Thomas obiit vicesimo nono die Maii, Anno Domini MCCCCLXXIII (1473); el Editha uxor ejus, quæ quidem Editha obiit vicesimo sexto die Aprilis, Anno D’ni MCCCCLXIX. (1469). Quorum animabus propitietur Deus.—Amen.” They lye both buried under the great marble stone in the nave of this church, where is the above said inscription, above which are their pourtraictures in brasse, and an escucheon now illegible. Beneath this inscription are the small figures of nine young children in brasse. This Mr. Bonham’s wife had two children at one birth, the first time: and he being troubled at it travelled, and was absent seven yeares. After his returne she was delivered of seven children at one birth. In this parish is a confident tradition that these seven children were all baptized at the font in this church, and that they were brought thither in a kind of chardger, which was dedicated to this church, and hung on two nailes, which are to be seen there yet, neer the bellfree on the south side. Some old men are yet living that doe remember the chardger. This tradition is entred into the register booke there, from whence I have taken this narrative (1659). [See the extract from the register, which is signed by “Roger Powell, Curate there,” in Hoare’s Modern Wilts. (Hundred of Branch and Dole) p. 49.—J. B.]