Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 4.djvu/102

90 the main stream of the river Thames from that village to the monastery of Abingdon, about A.D. 1125, by Vincent then abbot. Similar instances on a smaller scale may be frequently met with, but this was an unusually bold one. The very curious cotemporary poem on the building of Culham bridge in the time of Henry V. is given entire, and carefully collated with the original manuscript: it had been previously printed in Leland's Itinerary, but with some verbal errors, now corrected: it is perhaps the most curious document of the kind that is extant.

The history of the manor of Waterpery and the family of Fitz-Elis is very carefully made out from the Norman conquest to the present time, almost entirely from original documents, and does much credit to the industy of the vicar, Mr. Baron; it is a useful monograph, and makes us wish that the author could be induced to undertake the history of the county; the result of such laborious researches should not be limited to the history of a single obscure village and an extinct family. We observe also that the work is indebted to Sir Henry Ellis for much valuable assistance. His account of Elsfield is reprinted with some improvements, and the lists of the presentations to several other churches are supplied by him; these often afford the best and almost the only clue to further information. The curious palympsest brass at Waterpery has been already mentioned in this Journal. The will of Walter Curzon in 1526, the person to whose memory this brass was laid down, is printed entire, and contains some instructions for repairs of the church.

Heraldry, which had been rather neglected in the early parts of the Guide, comes in for its full share of attention in the latter part, as at Milton and Waterpery, and is made to assist considerably in elucidating the history.

We sincerely hope that this work will receive the encouragement it deserves from the public, and that the Society will be enabled to pursue their plan, and other Societies induced to follow their example.