seems generally to have been retained. Thus, in the very late Perpendicular church of Bath Abbey, we find Norman portions at the east end. In Tong Church, in Shropshire, which I have in a former volume[1] described as an early Perpendicular church of one date, are some features in the south aisle of an Early English or early Decorated character, which I omitted to notice in my description, and which lead me to believe that the nave of the original church stood on the ground occupied by the present south aisle. In the case before us, we learn that Michael, Baron Poynings, desired to be buried near the altar in the south transept, by the side of his mother. Now, it is very probable that, in the rebuilding of the church, the site of this altar and the burial-place of the family would be disturbed as little as possible, and hence the preservation of the old wall, or a considerable part of it, would be accounted for. Otherwise, it would have been desirable, on the score of convenience, to have moved the site of the church several yards to the eastward, by which might have been avoided the steep bank which rises, even now, abruptly to the west door of the nave.
The font is octagonal, without any shaft, each of its sides having a trefoiled ogee arch. It has been engraved, and classed as a Decorated specimen. I should say it is about the same date as the building. This beautiful church forms a prominent object in the view from the high ground above the Devil's Dyke, about six miles from Brighton; and deserves careful examination from its striking outline, its simplicity of design, and its architectural excellence.
Alfriston Church, between Lewes and Seaford, is in many respects very similar to the last I have mentioned; and although the work belongs more decidedly to the Decorated style, there is probably but little difference between the two in date. This is also a cross church, without aisles, having a low massive central tower with a shingled spire. In dimensions it slightly exceeds Poynings Church, and in its masonry is more elaborate, all the flints being squared and fitted to each other. The dressings are of stone. The chancel here is somewhat longer than the nave, as in Shottesbrooke Church, a building very similar to this in character and the period of its erection. The four fronts have an extremely fine elevation, owing to their great width, the pitch of their gables, and the projection of their diagonal buttresses, which are finished at the top with a covered coping instead of a sloping set-off. The
- ↑ Archaeological Journal, vol. ii.
