Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 6.djvu/299

 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE. 177 " lu consequence of a wish expressed in an article in the last volume of the Archaeological Journal,^ for some information respecting sepulchral memoi-ials formed of tiles, supposed to exist in England, I send the accompanying rubbings, made from some tiles in the church of Lingfield, Surrey, which seem to have composed memorials of the kind referred to. " The one which is complete consists of three tiles ; of the other only two remain. They are of rather coarse red clay, covered with a greenish glaze, now much worn away. The figures are formed merely by indented lines, and no clay of a different colour is inserted, as in the ordinary ' encaustic ' tiles. Some traces of letters will be observed on the upper margin of the perfect one, but they are so much worn as to be almost, or quite, undecipherable. The other does not appear to have had any inscrip- tion. They have much the appearance of being of Flemish manufacture, and the borders are of very similar character to those of some brasses at Bruges. " The joined hands seem to lead to the conclusion that these figures are intended as sepulchral memorials : the absence of an inscription com- memorating the deceased may, on the other hand, make it doubtful whether such was their intention. Inscriptions may, however, have been placed upon a border of stone, or a plate of brass may have been fixed below the tiles. These tiles are now in the chancel, but this is said not to be their original place. " It is perhaps worth mention that in a recent ' restoration,' of this church, the ii'on railings which surrounded an altar tomb, bearing an effigy of the fourteenth century,'' have been taken away, and reported to have been sold or destroyed. The railing in question was plain, but to all appearance coeval with the tomb, and the removal or destruction of such objects is, I think, on many accounts much to be regretted. " The preservation of the tile effigies appears deserving of attention : although laid down in a part of the church not much trodden, they are already much worn, and are broken in several places. The most effectual means of preventing further injury would be to place them in an erect position, affixed to the wall, if this could be arranged."' These very singular memorials appear to be of the earlier part of the sixteenth century, temp. Hen. VIII.; and they are, as far as we are aware, unique in this country. Each tile measures 15 inches square, three tiles being required to form an effigy. The flat bonnet is of the well-known fashion of that period : the full-puckered skirt, or bases, is well shown in the costumes of that reign, preserved in Cott. MS. Augustus II., and copied by Strutt, in the " Horda." ^ The same fashion was curiously imitated in metal, as shown by the engraved armour of brass, in the Tower Armoiy, which belonged to Henry VIII. A few relics of the "use of ornamental tiles in sepulchral memorials may be cited. In Wiucliester Cathedral, a tile of the fourteenth century may be seen, on which appears an episcopal figure, in a design of tabernacle ' Vol. v., p. 234. in imitation of enamel. This kind of enricli- ■• This effigy exhibits a fine example of tl;e nicnt has been rarely preserved ; it occurs on massive cingidum, or hip-belt of the period, an effigy of the same age at Astou, near ornamented by the insertion of pieces of blue Birmingham. glass in the embossed compartments, possibly ^ Vol. iii., pi. ii. in..