160
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. m. FEB. 25, m
In strong contrast with these Perpendicular towers
is the tower of Christon Church, with its sturdy
Norman physiognomy and its absence of ornament.
This is short of thirty feet in height. The building
itself, the dedication of which is unknown, has
abundant interest, and its situation among the
Mendips is beautiful. Close at hand, and not less
happily situated, is St. Andrew's, Banwell, the
nave and aisles of which Mr. Freeman has pro-
nounced absolutely perfect in their proportions.
Scarcely less perfect, surely, is the richly decorated
tower, the dignity and stateliness of which are not
easily surpassed.
The Orientation and Dedications of Ancient Churches in England and Wales. By George Watson. (Peiirith, R. Scott.)
THE object of this pamphlet is to demonstrate that it is an error to hold that when our mediaeval churches were built they were so planned that the ecclesiastical east was assumed to be the point where the sun seemed to rise on the festival of the saint to whom the church was dedicated. That this cannot have been so has long been known by those who have carefully studied the subject. But they are few. and those who credulously follow common report are many. Therefore Mr. Watson's tract was not uncalled for. We do not think this saint's-day belief is very old. Mr. Watson quotes Aubrey, who in his turn quotes his acquaintance Sylas Taylor for this opinion. Taylor may have had mediaeval authority for what he said, but if he had we have overlooked it.
The Records of the Surgery of Sheffield, commonly called the Town Trust. With Introduction and Notes by John Daniel Leader. (Stock.) THESE Sheffield Burgery records are very interest- ing, and Mr. Leader has edited them, with great care. The volume is a very welcome addition to the historical literature of Yorkshire. As well as the Burgery accounts, it contains a facsimile of Furnival's charter to the town, with an extended text, accompanied by a translation. The Sheffield Burgery came into being in the Middle Ages at what time it is impossible to say. We gather from the editor's preface that it was in great danger of extinction in the reign of Edward VI., when so many other local organizations for the public good were swept away. It happily survived all the storms of the Tudor time, although some of its property was lost, and it passed through a period of something like poverty. The earlier accounts, if there ever were any, which is almost certain, are not to be found. Those now extant begin in 1566, from which time there is a continuous series. The good works which the Town Trust has accom-
flished have been of a very miscellaneous nature, t exerted itself to maintain highways and bridges ; the town armour was under its care, and it maintained pipers to discourse to the people sweet music. When kings were crowned, and when great battles were won, it contributed to the festivities. Through the natural increase in the value of land in a great centre of industry and the munificent bequest of Mr. Samuel Bailey, one of the trustees, it has now an income of upwards of six thousand a year, which is entirely devoted to schemes of public utility.
The local words which occur in the earlier part of the volume are not so many as we should have anticipated, but they should certainly be noted for
the ' Dialect Dictionary ' now in progress. We
meet more than once with "feying," that is,
cleansing a pool : a word intelligible enough in
Yorkshire or Lincolnshire, but perhaps not known
in the Southern or Midland counties. " Yate," too,
appears for gate, and " steele" for stile. A " co\vle
rake" was bought in 1693 for the Ladies Bridge.
This is explained to mean a " coal rake : a rake for
raking the ashes of a fire or oven." It is almost
certain that a cowl-rake has no connexion with
coal. The word is known all over the north of
England. It indicates a scraper used for gathering
together mud and manure. There is a verb also,
cowl, to scrape.
Whitaker's Naval and Military Directory and
Indian Army List, 1899. ( Whitaker & Sons. ) MESSRS. WHITAKER seem to have a special faculty for the arrangement of useful and trustworthy information in the most condensed form. This handy little volume is indispensable as a book of reference, and especially useful to every public library or reading-room. It appeals directly to families who have an interest in or connexion with the Army and Navy.
MESSRS. HENRY SOTHERAN & Co. issue a cata- logue of a very fine collection of autographs, English and foreign, and engraved portraits, some of them unpublished, and many of extreme rarity. Among those whose signatures appear to letters or pro- ductions of highest interest are Burke, Burns, Congreve, Cowley, Prior, Dryden, Racine, Fenelon, Goethe, Schiller, and innumerable others. The collection is very rich in histrionic celebrities, including autographs of Garrick, Spranger Barry, Miss Farren, Miss Bellamy, Mrs. Jordan, Rachel, Talma, and others.
jotitM lor
We must call special attention to the following notices :
ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for pub- lication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
WE cannot undertake to answer queries privately.
To secure insertion of communications corre- spondents must observe the following rule. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. Correspond- ents who repeat queries are requested to head the second communication " Duplicate."
P. 0. We must refer you to the General Post Office authorities.
NOTICE.
Editorial Communications should be addressed to " The Editor of ' Notes and Queries ' "Advertise- ments and Business Letters to "The Publisher "- at the Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E. C.
We beg leave to state that we decline to return communications which, for any reason, we do not print ; and to this rule we can make no exception.
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY POST.
For Twelve Months
For Six Months ...
s. d.
106
10 3
