Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 2.djvu/95

Rh robe of Anna is powdered with the letter a. The foregoing designs are nearly perfect. 5. St. Leonard, in an archbishop's costume, and a fetter in one hand, the other being in the attitude of benediction. Labelled "S. leon' dus." 6. A head of Christ, with the cruciform nimbus, and a rude representation of the crown of thorns. No other portions of the figure could be appropriated to this head. Some other figures, more or less fractured, amongst portions of minor consequence, also exist. The following may deserve notice. Two heads with horn-shaped dresses, attached to draperies which certainly never belonged to them, near to St. Leonard. Beneath, this legend, "Orate p' bono statu—Elizabet—uxoris." The "Elizabet," is part of some other inscription. Two large heads, one an aged personage, with yellow hair, and the other a female with a coronet, perhaps intended for the wife of one of the Mowbrays who were dukes of Norfolk, but this is quite a matter of conjecture. Near them is a scroll, "Osgodby—bina virgo sistas." Osgodby is a hamlet near Thirsk, formerly the residence of the Askews, whose arms occur five times in the windows, but the scroll probably was formerly in some other window.

The following arms occur, mostly on shields borne by angels. 1. Askew, sable, a fess gules between three asses passant argent. In these arms three distinctions occur, a crescent, a mullet, and a mitre. 2. D'arcy, Az. semée of crosslets and three cinqufoils Arg. The Lords Darcy and Menil were very powerful in Yorkshire. 3. Royal Arms, France and England quarterly, with the motto "dieu et moun droit." 4. Mowbray, Gules, a lion rampant argent. The family, it is well known, had a large castle at Thirsk, demolished in the reign of Henry II., and possessed the manor until its extinction. 5. ? Barry or and azure, a chief of the first. 6. ? Arg. on a bend cotised gules three torteaux, a chief sable. 7. ? Sable, two lions passant paly gules and argent.

Besides the above designs there are many ornaments, some of great beauty, and six noble canopies, filling the heads of the principal lights. Some of the glass is evidently older than the church, and of the Decorated period; one fragment has the ball-flower ornament, well drawn. No evangelistic emblems have been noticed, but part of an Agnus Dei is observable. The tracery of one of the chancel windows is nearly filled with foliated sombre-coloured glass, which was taken out during a late so-called restoration of this part of the church, but will shortly be replaced. The steward of the lessees of the tithes (who of course hold the chancel) inconsiderately suffered this glass to be extracted from the leads, rendering it a difficult task to restore it as originally arranged, and not content with this, gave some portions away, which however have been fortunately recovered.

Mr. John Virtue, in a letter to Mr. Charles Roach Smith, stated that having heard that a number of interesting documents and papers had been stored away in a room in the ruined mansion of Cowdry, near Midhurst, in Sussex, the only portion of the building that escaped destruction by the fire, he took occasion to visit Cowdry House in November last. He ascertained that the room having become ruinous and unsafe, and many of the papers