Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 6.djvu/296

 176 PROCEEDINGS AT MEETINGS OF T, L. D. Jones Parry, Esq.) of an inscription in the Church of Llangwyn- hoydyl, Caernarvonshire, which has hitherto been supposed to record the building of that church, in the year 1000, followed by a monogrammic character, which has hitherto bafSed interpretation. The inscription is in the Gothic characters of the fifteenth century, and the letters which have been read as a ni {mille) are evidently i n {in anno.) Mb. Feeeey communicated the following notice of an interesting dis- covery of mural paintings, in Broughton Church, near Newport Pagnell, Bucks. Coloured tracings, of the original size, were exhibited, representing the most remarkable of these designs : — " I wish to call the attention of the Institute to the discovery of some very interesting ancient frescoes, lately brought to light upon the walls of St. Laurence's Church, Broughton, Buckinghamshire. " Tt appears that the plain surfaces of the walls have been entirely covered with frescoes. On the space between the windows immediately opposite the south entrance, there has been the representation of the Day of Judgment, The Almighty, The Saviour, The Blessed Virgin, The Saved, and the Lost. The angels with their trumpets, and all the usual acces- sories introduced in this subject, are quite discernible. " In the next compartment eastwards, the remains of the frescoes are still more perfect ; the subject is a vpry curious one, the treatment of it seems to me to involve an heretical notion. The body of our Lord is seen supported by the Virgin Mary in a dismembered state, the feet and hands being torn off, and the flesh represented as greatly lacerated. One or tw^o of the surrounding personages are holding these detached limbs, and another has the heart in his hands. Whatever may have been the intended mean- ing of this subject, there can be no doubt that it is opposed to the sacred text — ' A bone of him shall not be broken,' and such a representation in a church is on this account very remarkable. " I should observe that this fresco, as well as the others in the church, have been ticice painted over in later times. There is an angel holding a scroll, at the foot of tliis subject, evidently of later date, and over this are traces of Jacobean scroll-work. My impression was that the first subjects were painted in the time of Richard II., and the next just previously to the Reformation. " The architecture of the church consists of various dates. The porch and chancel are of the early Decorated styles, and there are two Decorated windows in the western portion of the nave, but there are also inserted windows of the time of Henry VII. I should also mention that over the south doorway there is a large representation of St. George and the Dragon ; although the painting is much injured, there is quite sufficient left to place the subject beyond doubt. " On the wall to the east of the south doorway, are two very perfect frescoes, one of a bishop in full vestments, with his mitre and crozier ; and the other a female, with dishevelled hair, holding a cross. These different paintings struck me as the most curious and interesting I have ever met with." Mr. Alexander Nesbitt communicated the following description of the effigies, formed of glazed tiles, in Lingfield Church, Surrey, of which rubbings were exhibited at a previous meeting (see Woodcut) : —