Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 6.djvu/83

Rh mon in some parts of Gloucestershire; and there are remains of good wood-work in the pewing. There is a north and south door, the former of which has a porch. The masonry on the whole is good and regular, though, as in many churches in the neighbourhood, the has of the district is too freely used to be consistent with dryness.

Hempstead Church, near Gloucester, is a picturesque object both in its form and position. But I notice it as furnishing a peculiar example of construction. The tower, which is central, is not so wide as the chancel or nave; but that the imposts of the transverse arches may not project inconveniently into the body of the church, a span is given them nearly corresponding to the full width of the building; the north and south arches, however, supporting the tower, spring from points in the face of the transverse ones considerably above, and overhanging the capitals of the imposts, so that the internal area of the tower falls considerably within the corresponding area on the floor of the church. The weight of the walls above, and the thickness of the transverse arches, form sufficient abutment. The tower is Perpendicular, with rather heavy string-courses and mouldings. The belfry window is large, but the panelling of the embattled parapet, and the projection of the gurgoyles, give it a rich and bold effect. The chancel is chiefly Decorated; the nave appears to have been much modernised.

In crossing the fields between this church and Gloucester, we come upon a relic of rather an uncommon description in this country. It is a small cell or chapel erected over a well, probably belonging to Llantony Abbey, on the south side of Gloucester. The entrance to the building is bricked up, so that it is impossible to say what the interior may be. The plan is nearly a square of seven feet, on a wider basement. The east and west ends are gabled; in the latter is an ogee door, and a narrow ogee window of one light. On the east end is some sculpture, which seems to have been a rood. The covered roof is of stone, and the ridge is finished with a rib. The whole is of good ashlar masonry. This little building stands on the side of rather an abrupt slope, overlooking the valley of the Severn. A fine thorn tree which overhangs it, adds much to its picturesque beauty.

The next object we will consider, though from its retired