Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 29.djvu/166

 130 THE MTXIMENTS OF THE ABBEY 01" WEST-MINSTER. tents. • 111 iiiv work upon this collection, wbicli ^Nas brought to a close last autiiinii, 1 I'ailed to observe any indications of an earlier arrangement of the Records than that made by Richard ^^'idInt)re, the librarian of the Chapter about 130 years ag(x idniore certainly must have been an active and industrious man. Besides attending to his official duties, he wrote an " Iiujuiry into the First Foundation of Westminster Abbey," and a '* History of the Abbe}'," which arc much quoted in the " Monasticon," and, perhaps, some other works ; and he com})iled an " Account of the Records," which it was my task to retrieve from the confusion into %vhich a large portion had fallen, and to improve upon. AVidmorc made free use of the Abbey archives in his writings, and speaks of his labours in their arrangement. The old chests in the Muniment Room seem to have been no great favourites of his, as he made suggestions to have presses put up for the documents in their stead, and it is not improbable that some of the chests were got riil of by him. Durino: his time, too. I think it must have been that the inner ])orlion of the Muniment Room was litted up as it now is. It is difficult to s<iy when it was made into two stories, — with the worst possible eilect to its light and accommoda- tion ; but it was probably divided into two j)ortions during the reign of Richard 11. I may, perhaps, liere venture to go so far out of my province as to commend to the skilful architect of the Abbey the idea of removing this upper room at least, if not the whole inner portion of the Muni- ment Room. Resides the ba(l<;e of Richard II. upon the plaster jtortion, which might probably be j^i'eserved, there is no pri'stujr abijut i is a cuiiibious and Ui;ly mass of woodwork, answering no practical purpose, and which, if cleare<l away, would reveal some of the delicate features of the architectural decoration of the South transept, witii its synimetrical window 0))eniiigs, giacelul and rich mouldings, bosses, and diapei" work, the irsjKnid to the aisle of the IS'oitli tran-ept, and nnIiIcIi bad been coarsely blocked uj) ^^ilh brick-work. The openin;:, uj) of these windows would add consi<lerabIy to the beauty of that j)orlion oi" the noble btructuK,' we all aihnire and reverence. The Uec^ords ori;.MnalIy kept in tin* Muninniit Kooni in the .South transept were d(jubtless only the manorial d(»cu- ' "UlcaningM from Waitii)iD»itor ALU-y," 'luA cil. lbC8, p. 54.