37 
refuge to Swynderby and his companions. That they remained there for a con- 
siderable time is beyond question ; and though we know Lord Cobham was cap- 
tured in Powys lands, there is no record of anyone being seized and sent to the 
stake from the wild woods of Deerfold. 
The mention of a chapel or chantry in the Ecclesiastical Registry at Hereford, 
as existing both in Deerfold and at Newton, previous to the arrival of Lollards, 
led to strict enquiries being made about them. At Newton there is a field called 
“Chapel Meadow,” and in this field the foundations of some small building are 
still to be traced. At Deerfold, the name of ‘‘ Chapel Farm ” on the ordnance 
map directed inquiries to be made there, with the interesting results which have 
already been pointed out to you this morning on the spot. 
The farm-house itself, on close examination, proved to be an old oak building 
of a very interesting character. It was constructed by a framework of solid oak 
resting on a stone plinth and filled in with stone walling—though now divided 
into several rooms. It was built as one large room, or hall, 44 ft. 9in. long, by 
18 ft. 9in. wide. It stands due east and west, and at the centre of the east end 
there is a break in the plinth 6 ft. 3in. wide, where a communion table might have 
stood ; and it is remarkable that the only piece of furniture in the house belong- 
ing to the landlord exactly corresponds with old communion tables. It was made 
to stand against the wall, with turned front legs and a loose top. The solid oak 
posts, sills, and quarterings, are moulded in front, and cut to carry the roof 
trusses, and between the roof trusses were carved braces, with cusps, and terminal 
leaves, forming a handsome and regular pattern throughout its whole length. 
Outside to the south of the building is an orchard containing two large yew trees 
some centuries old, which is called, by tradition, the burial ground. The Wool- 
hope Club is greatly indebted to one of our members, Mr. Thos. Blashill, of Lon- 
don, the eminent architect, for the interest he took in carefully examining the 
building and giving its minute description, with the careful drawings and plans, 
which appears in the volume of Transactions of the Club for 1869. Mr. Blashill 
came to the conclusion, from its structure, that the building was the hall or prin- 
cipal part of a 14th century house, and for the good reasons which will be found 
in the report referred to. To this it must, however, be rejoined that there is not 
the least trace of any other portion of building, which must have existed, and 
must also have been considerable in a house where the hall only was so large in 
size; not to mention the improbability of such a house having been built in a 
wild forest of this character. 
There are a few ornamental floor-tiles remaining, of a similar character to 
those at Wigmore Abbey and other places of this district and period; and on 
examining the stones forming the plinth, some two or three seemed to be worked 
stones, and one had a splay cut on it, as if it might have been used in some former 
building. 
There was no real evidence, therefore, afforded by examination, as to whether 
the Chapel Farm-house occupies the site of the ancient chantry. Five years after- 
wards, the portion of the plinth at the north-west corner, where these worked 
stones had been observed, was taken down in the repair of the building, when 
