Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 2.djvu/65

Rh bring to light these ancient memorials; at the present time little is known even of its later history, and the legend of the circumstances under which, in Anglo-Saxon times, the first Christian establishment was here made, is recorded only on the shattered and perishable glass, which has escaped from the successive injuries of four centuries. The priory church of Great Malvern was erected by the hermit Aldwin, according to Leland's statement, about the year 1084; the Annals of Worcester give the year 1085 as the date of the foundation. Some portions of the original fabric still exist; the short massive piers of the nave, and a few details of early Norman character, are, doubtless, to be attributed to that period. It appears by the Confirmation charter of Henry I., dated 1127, that the monks of Great Malvern then held, by grant from Edward the Confessor, certain possessions which had been augmented by the Conqueror; but there is no evidence that, previously to the Conquest, any regular monastic institution had been there established. The evidence which was given by the prior, in the year 1319, may be received as grounded, not merely on tradition, but on some authentic record preserved amongst the muniments of the house. He declared that the priory had been, for some time previously to the Conquest, "quoddam heremitorium," a certain resort of recluses, founded by Urso D'Abitot, with whose concurrence it subsequently became a monastic establishment, formed and endowed by the abbot of Westminster. It is not, however, my present intention to enter into the subject of the foundation or endowment of the priory, but to call attention to the singular and forgotten legend of the hermit saint, who first sought to establish Christian worship in the impenetrable forest district of this part of Worcestershire.

Several writers have described, in greater or less detail, the remarkable painted glass, of which a considerable portion still remains in the windows of Great Malvern church; of few churches, indeed, have such minutely detailed accounts been preserved, noted down long since, at a time when the decorations had sustained little injury. The full descriptions, which were taken by Habingdon, are for the most part accurate and satisfactory, and afford a valuable source of information; a mere wreck now remains of much which attracted his attention, and has been preserved from utter oblivion