THE CHURCH OF NORBURY. 8 1 



as the result of nearly a dozen careful and critical visits to 

 this church, independently of close research into its printed and 

 manuscript history, I have not the slightest hesitation in doing 

 so, and am quite confident that Mr. Micklethwaite would 

 himself reverse his opinion on further consideration. In a 

 report that he made on this church when about to be restored 

 at the close of the year 1898, which was published in the county 

 papers, he stated that — " Except some small remains at the 

 west end, the oldest part of the church is the chancel, which is 

 of very unusual character and very fine. I think it was 

 finished and the windows glazed before the great pestilence of 



I349-" 



As to the architectural style, it would be exceedingly difficult 

 to produce any English work known to be prior to that great 

 check on building and on every other work of man's hands— the 

 Black Death of 1348-9 — which would compare with the main 

 features or with certain details of Norbury church. There is, 

 for instance, an awkwardness in the arrangement of the tracery 

 in the upper part of the centre of the large east window, which 

 clearly speaks of an approach to the style that is usually termed 

 Perpendicular, and which would have been almost impossible 

 in the first half of the fourteenth century. 



With respect, too, to the glass, which is obviously coeval 

 with the fabric, there is no room for doubt that the treatment 

 shows a considerable advance on the grisaille designs of York, 

 Exeter, and other examples in England of the first half of the 

 fourteenth century, as well as on those in use during a like 

 period in France.* 



Mr. Bowman's conjecture as to the date of the chancel, 

 knowing nothing of the history of the fabric and judging solely 

 on comparative architectural lines, was that it was built between 

 1370 and 1380. If this surmise errs, it is in putting the date 

 rather too late, and possibly 1360 would be nearer the mark.t 



* Westlake's History of Design in Painted Glass, 4 vols. (P.irker, 

 1881-1894); F. de Lasteyrie's Hisioire de la feinture sur Verre d^apres ses 

 monuments en France, 2 vols. (1857). 



+ The heraldic display in the windovi's also favours the second half of 

 the fourteenth century ; but this is too big a matter for present discussion. 



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