336 The Field Naturalist 's Quarterly November 



or " new man," the lower one holding a club or sword is the 

 natural man, or " Old Adam." Almost the whole face of 

 this doorway is covered over with the Norman 1 intertwinings 

 symbolising the in and out or intertwinings of good and 

 evil in this world as seen by man. At a later period this 

 idea of the mixture of good and evil is represented or 

 caricatured under the eaves : there we notice a man 

 bearing a cross {i.e. soldier of Christ), a man with eyes 

 uplifted {i.e. devotion), a man with eyes drooping or closed 

 (i.e. praying), a man with swollen cheeks and staring eyes 

 {i.e. wine-bibber), a man with bloated face and sleepy eyes 

 {i.e. glutton), etc. Each of these figures is quite a stud)-, 

 as it is more or less an index to the character portrayed. 



Let us now enter the nave. Close by the south entrance 

 we see a large font. This font filled the choir, and only 

 recently removed to its present position. Even here it is 

 too large. Its shape and size attracts inquiry. On exam- 

 ination, we shall find the bowl did not originally stand on 

 the present pedestal, i.e. the bowl was intended to rest 

 on a circular column, and not on an angular pedestal as at 

 present (see the angular ends protruding under the bowl). 

 The bowl itself does not look like a font, it is too shallow 

 and too open-mouthed. It is more like a basin for ablutions, 

 or like a fountain basin in the courtyard. Such fountains 

 are to be seen in the courtyards of monasteries, priories, 

 and mansions ; in the East it is a very common outdoor 

 vessel for weary and dusty travellers to quench their thirst, 

 or cool and cleanse their faces, hands, and feet. Where, 

 then, did this bowl come from ? It may have come from 

 the priory situated about a quarter of a mile from the 

 castle ; and the said priory was given by Hugh Fitz- 

 William, an ancestor of the Lords Kilpec, to St. Peter's 

 at Gloucester. Bishop Spofford of Hereford, in 1422, 

 suppressed the priory. 



Turning away from the font we look eastward. The 

 choir arch stands before us. It is semicircular, with the 

 well-known chevron ornament carved flat along the surface 

 in different modes, presenting a pleasing sight of waves 



1 Most unusual ornament for Norman work ; but, in this case, it is a copy of 

 the Celtic work on the west window. 



