Page:Notes on the churches in the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey.djvu/251

Rh extremely sharp. To the wall of the north aisle the buttresses are shallow, in a single stage; those of the chancel are still slight, but in two stages; against the south aisle they are in one stage, but thicker; which circumstances we may regard as indicating the dates of the several portions. The existing tower here is deemed Anglo-Saxon by Mr. Bloxam. (Goth. Archit. 77, 79, 8th ed.) It will be perceived, that in this particular I dissent from Mr. Bloxam's idea. It certainly is not impossible, that the lower part of the tower may be Saxon, but it by no means exhibits such marks, as will, in my opinion, warrant the assigning to it so early a date.

Contiguous to the church on the south is the site of Bosham Priory, or rather perhaps of Bp. Warlewast's college mentioned below; but the only apparent vestige of it is a Perp. doorway.—Northeast adjoining the churchyard is the manor-house, now simply a farm. It was formerly moated, and is said to be the site on which K. Canute erected a castle.—Bosham church is twice mentioned in (D.B.), first when the manor is described as retained in domain by the king, then that Osbern, bishop, held it of his sovereign. Sir H. Ellis observes (Introduction to Domesday Book) that in the Bayeux tapestry the church of Bosham is represented as a structure of considerable consequence: by which he must mean, that it has much pretension to ornament, since the actual figure of the building (according to the print) is very small, having no tower, one semicircular-headed door, and no windows, unless what appears to be intended for an arcade should be such, about the height of a clerestory. Evidently however the figure is designed not so much for an exact likeness, as for an illustration of the story told by the tapestry.

The church of Bosham is named in the (Nonæ Roll), but only incidentally. A college was founded at Bosham about A.D. 1120 by William Warlewast, Bishop of Exeter. Some portion of the college buildings are still in existence. In the vicar's garden is preserved a colossal marble head, which was dug up in the churchyard. (Horsfield's Suss. II, 72.) When bishop Wilfrid visited Sussex in his work of conversion, he found here a very small monastery of five or six brethren, under the presidency of a Scot (i.e., an Irishman) called Dicul; but it is expressly added, that they had made no impression on the natives. Bosham is said to have been then surrounded by woods and sea. "Erat autem ibi" (among the South Saxons) "monachus