23 
One of the most remarkable stones in the British Isles is to be 
seen at St. Mary’s Church, Castlegate: it was found in the wall, 
and is a relic of the old Priory Church, showing a survival of 
the ancient British form of monasticism in the Eighth or Ninth 
Century. In some churches the Cells and the Oratories were 
widely separated, and the stone shows that a monastery existed at 
York on the old Celtic principle. It was evidently founded after 
the death of the Venerable Bede, as he does not mention its exist- 
ence; the inscription on the stone is as under :— 
S_IMINSTER (eevee 




“AR SAG RATA SEE 2 &) 
* "MAN ORIGHTENE SHA, 7 
—-CRISTESISCAMA<-:- 
ede Pre ds MARTINI I SCEC, 
a vexauat 
T fom, 
Near Bolton Abbey is a stone in a wall which is a relic of the 
“‘Tee-age,” and is of Shapfell granite, which is found as far South 
as Lincolnshire. Similar stone has been observed at Morecambe 
Bay, proving that Shapfell boulders have travelled in different 
directions—east and west. The Church itself is interesting, and 
is famous for its connection with the Fairfax family. Some 
six marriages of that family were solemnized within its walls 
walls, and several have been interred under its roof. 
Passing on we come to Tithebarn—curious and interesting-—— 
the oldest in Yorkshire; then we reach Long Marston, famous 
in the Civil Wars as the scene of the battle of Marston Moor, 
in 1644. Not far from Marston Moor we find the Hall, where 
the Fairfax family lived. 
At Tadcaster there are a large number of antiquities. Not 
long since a water-jug was found in the sand of the river, and 
the sum of £7 10s. was paid for it to insure its remaining in the 
district. It is a great mistake to allow relics to be carried away 
or dispersed, as by so doing they often lose historical value and 
identity. Every town and village of historical consequence ought 
to have a museum for the preservation of its own local relics. 
At Weatherby there is still preserved the largest living tree in 
the United Kingdom—eighteen yards in circumference and fifteen 
yards three feet in height. Decay, however, has been rapid during 
the last few years, and there is now a large cavity in the tree, 
in which ninety-five children not long since were assembled. 
