Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 2.djvu/80

64 according to the document given above, was also consecrated in honour of the Blessed Virgin, and St. Michael the archangel. These facts woidd lead to the supposition that the primitive oratory had been dedicated in honour of the Archangel, on account of the miraculous vision of Angels, who first directed St. Werstan to undertake the work, and by whose ministry it had been consecrated. Nor was the memory of the same celestial guidance lost, when a more stately fabric was erected near to St. Michael's chapel; the trace of it is preserved in the dedication of Aldwin's church to the Archangel, in the times of the Conqueror, as likewise in that of the high Altar, in 1460; and these facts seem to shew that the monks of Great Malvern, at all times, bore in mind, that the remote origin of that religious foundation was derived from the message of ministering spirits to the hermit Saint.

A singular difficulty presents itself in this endeavour to bring together the few obscure details which relate to the legend of St. Werstan. Leland, and Leland alone, makes mention of the chapel of St. John the Baptist, nigh to the Priory, as the scene of his martyrdom. No other notice whatsoever has been found of any chapel thus dedicated. The ancient parish church, which stood near to the Priory, at the north-western angle of the present cemetery, was dedicated in honour of St. Thomas the Apostle, and no evidence has been adduced to shew that any other chapel existed in the vicinity. May it be supposed that Leland wrote inaccurately in this instance, or that the chapel of St. Michael might have been dedicated also in honour of the Baptist, and occasionally designated by his name? The decision must be left to the more successful researches of those who take an interest in the history of the locality; it will suffice now to suggest, that the forgotten site of the hermit's primitive chapel may still perhaps be traced, situated not far above the Priory church. No tradition is connected with the spot; few even bear in mind that not many seasons have passed since it was commonly termed The Hermitage. It is only twelve or fifteen years since, that a gentleman named Williams, on his return from Florence, selected and purchased this picturesque site; he built thereon a dwelling, in the Italian fashion, and applied to it the name