perhaps more extrinsic evidence in favour of its age, than most other buildings that can be adduced. The history of its erection seems simply to have been this, that from its scite having been fixed upon close to a great Roman thoroughfare leading from the Watling Street, at Stoney Stratford, through Northampton to Leicester, as is sufficiently indicated by the direct trending of the line, and the etymologies of the places bordering upon it, such as, Potterspurry, Alderton, Barrow Dykes, Lamport, Market Harboro', Stonyland, Stony Gate, &c.; and also being on the very edge of a Roman single walled entrenchment, there were already on the spot most of the materials which the Romans themselves had used for building purposes. Within this entrenchment, some kind of building had existed, and the bricks that were employed were found, when the church was in progress of erection, extremely useful to work up with the bad materials already dug. We are told by William of Malmesbury, that Benedict Bishop on his return from Rome introduced a new kind of architecture into this country, what he calls building more Romano; now in whatever sense these two words are interpreted, I think they will still be applicable to the masonry of Brixworth church, and this, coupled with the casual passage quoted in Leland's Itinerary, will go very far to confirm its Anglo-Saxon pretensions; in fact it is more evidence of an early practical kind than can be brought to bear upon any other building of a Christian character in England.
It is now some years since I became entirely convinced that Brixworth church presented no proof whatever of being a Roman building. I have examined its foundations, its construction, and the nature of its cements, all of which are totally unlike the substructions, the masonry, and the mortar so invariably adopted by the Romans.
Whilst, however, its Roman claims are completely untenable, it certainly offers very strong marks in favour of an Anglo-Saxon origin. They are not only as convincing as any we may ever hope to obtain elsewhere, but they are moreover capable of being divided into two periods.
It has already been stated that Brixworth does not present any specimen of long and short work; this peculiarity is not visible in any portion of the building. It is desirable to state this distinctly, because having presumptive historical evidence of being an Anglo-Saxon church, it is deficient in that feature
