The Tenth General Meeting. 7 



again there have been Thorpe's ' Ancient Laws and Institutes of 

 England;' the ' Monumcnta Historica Britanita,' published by 

 the Record Commission ; Kemble's * Codex Diplomaticus,' or collec- 

 tions of Anglo-Saxon charters, no less than 150 of which relate to 

 properties in Wilts or on the borders of the county. In addition 

 to these, there have been various publications issued during the 

 last few years, under the direction of the Master of the Rolls, which 

 may incidentally help the topographer. Nor ought I to omit 

 mention of the important concession made now to literary men, of 

 free access to the various records of the kingdom, from which such 

 abundant materials may be gleaned by those who have the oppor- 

 tunity and ability to avail themselves of them, illustrative of almost 

 every branch of County History. And then, among special efforts, 

 must be named the ' Parochial History ' scheme,, originated by the 

 Rev. Prebendary Wilkinson, of Broughton Gifford, and still being 

 carried out under the immediate sanction of the Bishop of Salis- 

 bur}', which has already been the means of producing several 

 interesting and valuable manuscripts, and which, it is confidently 

 hoped, will ultimately provide material additions to our topo- 

 graphical stores. 



It is not surprising, that, with these and other stimulants, 

 Archaeology seems to have taken fresh life. Wiltshire men have 

 been amongst those who have exhibited abundant tokens of ac- 

 tivity. As a proof of this I need but refer to the publication of 

 ' Malmesbury Charters' with a most clear and lucid explanation by 

 our fellow-countyman Mr. Akerman, in the Archseologia, — to the 

 Histories of Devizes and Marlborough, hy Mr. Waylen, of thig 

 neighbourhood; — to the monographs of South Wraxall and Great 

 Chaldfield, by Mr. Walker ;— of Codford St. Mary, by the late 

 learned Anglo-Saxon scholar. Dr. Ingram ; — of Grittleton, by 

 Canon Jackson; — of Castle Combe, by Mr. Poulett Scrope; — of 

 several other parishes, the accounts of which have from time to time 

 appeared in the Society's Magazine. Nor must I forget Canon 

 Jackson's magnificent contribution to the History of most of th^ 

 Hundreds in North Wilts, in his beautiful edition of Aubrey's 

 Collections, rightly spoken of in your report as ' of the greatest 



