Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 29.djvu/207

 THE CHURCH OF ST. MARY, GUILDFORD. 171 known types. By tliis wc sec at once that the original fabric was small, and was of tlic early character usual in the eleventh century, and sometimes earlier, both in England and France, consisting of a ru<le imitation of Roman. Tlio most usual period for the erection of such a structure is the first half of the eleventh century,'^ and the style may be called Anglo-Saxon, of which this is a very rude and pro- bably early example ; but the building materials being flints and chalk, we cannot attach much importance to their rough appearance. The portions remaining of the early church are chiefly the central tower, the walls of which are ex- tremely rude work, built of chalk and flint, with clumsy flat pilaster strips, very near together, all built of flints. In the north and south walls, there are also small early windows in the middle of the thickness of these massive walls, and splayed as much on the outside as on the inside.^ These small early windows are placed in an irregular manner, not opposite to each other, and neither of them has any reference to the arches under them. These small arches on each side have evidently been cut through the old walls, and the lower part of the pilaster- strips before mentioned is thus destroyed. Tiiese arches, from their architectural details, are evidently of the time of Henry I., or about the year 1100. The walls and windows may very well be fifty years earlier. The pilaster-strips extend to the upper part of the tower, which has later windows inserted in the walls. There are remains of this early character also in the walls of the eastern bay of the chancel. In the upper part of the tower there are windows of various periods inserted, some rude early lancets of the time of Henry II. or III., others with square heads and foliation of the time of Henry VII. The stairs to the tower are in a Norman stair turret between the apse of the choir and the south aisle ; the steps ascend to the top of the vault of the choir, and then the passage to the tower is upon that vault. The interior of the tower is modernised, and so full of the bells that no early probable that the wt.oilen church of tiio ^ This feature is usually characteristic of Anglo-Saxons was re]>laced by a stone one early work, and is reckoned by Hickman in the time of William the Conqueror among the marks of Anglo-Saxon, by the Testard family, to whom he ha<l
 * In the present instance it seems most gr.inted the land,