SESSION 1906-1907. liii 



deposition of the Palseolitliic gravel, aud therefore of the advent 

 of man — a sufficiently long period for a depth of 6 feet of chalk 

 to be removed by chemical dissolution. 



The party returned to Watford for tea by the canal towing- 

 path and the Rickmansworth Road. 



Field Meeting, 13th April, 1907. 

 WHITCHURCH. 



This meeting was held in conjunction with the Barnet 

 Natural History Society, and was under the direction of 

 Mr. Kiddell, Secretary of that Society, and Mr. Sutton. 



Members of the Herts Society met at Stanmore Station and 

 walked to Whitchurch, where they were met by others who 

 cycled, and by members of the Barnet Society. The Parish 

 Church of Little Stanmore, or Whitchurch, was then inspected. 



The tower is in the Grothic style, and dates from the reign of 

 Henry VIII, but the body of the old Church was pulled down 

 and rebuilt by the Duke of Chandos in the year 1715. The 

 ceiling and walls of the Church are covered with fine frescoes, 

 mostly the work of the French artists Verrio and Laguerre, who 

 came over to England especially to execute them. The fresco 

 over the communion table, representing " The Adoration of 

 Jehovah," is by Verrio. The pictures on each side of it are by 

 Belluchi, and represent " The Adoration of the Shepherds " and 

 " The Descent from the Cross." That on the ceiling over the 

 gallery at the west end is a fine copy by Belluchi of Raphael's 

 " Transfiguration." 



In a recess behind the communion table, upheld by four pillars 

 of oak from Canons Park (carved by G-rinling Gibbons), stands 

 the famous little organ upon which Handel played during the 

 years 1718-21. It was built by a pupil of Father Schmidt, and 

 was restored and enlarged by Brinley and Foster in 1877, but 

 the case is the original one carved by Gibbons. 



The stained-glass windows are modern, dating from the 

 sixties, and represent some of Handel's greatest works. On the 

 north side there is a small chapel containing marble monuments 

 of the Dukes of Chandos and Buckingham. 



The Church, which is dedicated to St. Lawrence, was restored 

 in 1897, when a new communion table and oak screen were 

 placed in it. 



In the churchyard was seen the tombstone erected to the 

 memory of William Powell, " The Harmonious Blacksmith," 

 who was Parish Clerk when Handel was Organist. 



On leaving this interesting Church some collecting was done 

 in ponds on the green near, and then the party walked to Great 

 Stanmore for tea, and thence to Harrow Weald Common on the 

 way back to Watford. 



VOL. XIH. — I'AUT IV. / 



