Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 5.djvu/244

 186 SOME NOTES ON THE TRADITION OF FLAYING, kindness my curiosity was quickly gratified. The singular fact had, indeed, previously arrested the attention of the in- defatigable Worcestershire antiquary, the late Dr. Prattinton, of Bewdley, amongst whose extensive collections for the His- tory of the County, bequeathed to the Society of Antiquaries of London, and preserved at Somerset House, occurs the object thus described; — " A portion of skin, supposed to be human, according to the tradition that a man, who had stolen the sa//ctHS-hGl from the high-altar in Worcester cathedral, had been flayed, and his skin affixed to the north doors, as a punishment for such sacrilege. The doors having been removed, are now to be seen in the crypt of the cathedral, and small fragments of skin may still be seen beneath the iron-work with which they are strengthened^." Having been induced to follow out the investigation sug- gested by such ancient traditions, with the conviction that all means of adducing evidence to substantiate or disprove them would quickly be destroyed, in the present course of church restoration, I sought without delay to procure speci- mens, undeniably authenticated, of the supposed human cuti- cle in question, with the intention of submitting it to the test of scientific examination by one of our most skilful com- parative anatomists. By the prompt kindness of Mr. Allies I shortly received, not merely a fragment of the skin taken from the great northern doors of the cathedral of Worcester, but a careful drawing from actual measurement, for which my best thanks are due to Harvey Eginton, Esq., E.S.A., of Worcester, whose knowledge and judgment in all that is associated with ancient architecture is most honourably esteemed in his county. The old doors had been removed about forty years since to the crypt, and replaced by new wood-work : their date is con- sidered by Mr. Eginton to be the fom'teenth century, and there can be little doubt that they are coeval with the work completed during the time of Bishop Wakefield, when the north porch, the principal entrance from the city, is supposed to have been erected, about the year 1386. The vaulting of the north aisle of the nave had only been constructed towards 1327. » A Catalogue of Antiquities and Mis- of the Society of Antiquaries of London, cellaneous Curiosities in the possession p. 46.