Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 4.djvu/97

Rh to shew that the walls of the twelfth century were not entirely destroyed when the plan was enlarged, by lengthening the chancel and adding an aisle, and a new character given to the work in the thirteenth, and the chancel again rebuilt in the fifteenth, as at Cuddesden; or to mark the ingenuity and skill with which the three lancet windows of the thirteenth have been converted into one large window, with flowing tracery, in the fourteenth, or Perpendicular in the fifteenth, as at Kidlington. Whilst he is taking these observations and studying the building, another of the party is taking sketches of the peculiarities which he points out. A third is examining the shields of arms which he finds in the windows or on the tombs, and noting the blazoning to ascertain by his knowledge of heraldry what families have been benefactors to the church or have been buried there, or possibly the individual who built it. A fourth is meanwhile examining the costume of the figures represented on the tombs or brasses, or the headdresses of the corbel-heads, and assigning the probable dates to them, and examining the whitewash, to see whether there are any paintings on the walls. A fifth is examining the deeds contained in the parish chest, to see whether any of them will throw light on the objects of their enquiries, and looking through the register for the dates of any considerable repairs, or other matters of interest. While the worthy incumbent is perhaps hindering the time now of one, now of the other, while he dilates on the beauty of the situation, and of the fabric, and the improvements he has made or contemplates; how he would gladly remove those vulgar monuments, that hideous gallery, and those large square pews which encumber the ground, and thrust the poor into holes and corners, where they are almost unable to take part in the service, which he feels to be very sinful, but then he dreads to offend the squire and the farmers, and he must proceed cautiously, and try to persuade them to see what a great sin they blindly commit, from the force of bad habit and bad example. This is the oft-told tale, and each successive visit of a party of archæologists all agreeing in the same view, tends to strengthen the good intentions of the incumbent, and to weaken the prejudices of his opponents, who soon find that all well-educated persons take the same side in this matter. At the same time our archæologists should take care to enforce on the incumbent the necessary caution, when he does succeed in removing these hideous excrescences and incumbrances, to take especial care that the fabric itself is not injured, and that no wanton changes of the original design are introduced by that most dangerous person, an incompetent modern architect; and that he should if possible select, for any necessary restorations, one who has made Gothic architecture his especial study, and who has educated himself at home in our English cathedrals and parish churches of the olden time.

Such are the visits which the plan of the Oxford Society evidently required, and a part of the results of which are now before us. The friends who undertook the task have not always worked steadily together, as is shewn by the inequality of the work, the frequent change of names, and the length of time it has been in hand; but notwithstanding these