130 The Ancient Roof Painting in Salisbury Cathedral. 
Unhappily the paintings of the earlier date are now gone; and 
are replaced by similar pictures of our own time. This substitution 
of what is modern for what is medieval will excite some regret—and 
at the first hearing, possibly some indignation—in the minds of 
Fellows of a Society of Antiquaries. 
It is, however, only fair to ourselves, to remember that the medi- 
eval pictures were not destroyed by us; but by the men of the last 
century. They covered them, as indeed they did the whole wall- 
surface of Salisbury Cathedral, with a wash of a buff colour, which 
obscured the pictures, without however, entirely effacing them. The 
wash in question was in fact partially transparent; and long before 
the scaffolding was erected for the present restoration I knew per- 
fectly well what were the subjects of several of the pictures, by 
having scrutinised them from the pavement of the choir. It was 
this transparency in the buff-wash that enabled Messrs. Clayton & 
Bell to make the tracings of some of them which are now before 
the society. I venture to consider that these tracings have a value 
which is altogether exceptional, and which, I imagine, is far in ad- 
vance of what could have been expected to attach to them; because, 
so far as my investigations have led me, they are the only surviving 
record of the old roof-painting of one of the noblest of medieval 
Cathedrals—the “ illustris et praeclara ecclesia Sarum.” I sincerely 
hope that they may not be treated as mere architectural lumber, but 
that they may be safely stored for the information of future genera- 
tions, and that this society may preserve some memorandum of 
having had under their notice so interesting a record in the history 
of medieval art. 
It ought to be said that Mr. Clayton expressed to me his idea of 
presenting them to the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury, for their 
careful custody.! ‘ 
It was hoped indeed that it might have been possible simply to 
remove the eighteenth century wash, and thus expose the ancient 
pictures as they originally were. It was found, however, that the 
size, or whatever was the vehicle of the colour had perished, and 
1 Query.—Has this been carried out? 
