223 



staircase, richly moulded, leading to the rooms above. Some of the old oak doors 

 remain with the original iron hinges and locks. There are two stone corbels over 

 the entrance doorway which may probably have been taken from the old castle. 

 In the front hall there is, on the left-hand side of the fire-place, one corbel richly 

 moulded and carved with ball flowers and pateras, fifteenth century work. This, 

 if in its original place, may have carried the sloping hood to the old hall fire-place ; 

 if not, it was probably brought from the Castle. There is no doubt that an 

 earlier mansion existed here, judging from the masonry foundations of the house, 

 and also from a room on the right-hand side of the entrance hall, which has a small 

 stone staircase built within the wall leading to the room above, and lighted by a 

 small slit in the wall. In this room was formerly the old armour described by 

 Mr. Powell as having existed there up to within the last forty-five years. In the 

 farm-buildmg adjoining some of the quoins are chamfered throughout, showing 

 that the stones were brought from some other building. 



The walk was now directed through the outskirts of the village of Dorstone 

 to Arthur's stone, though it must be confessed that a little detour was made, 

 which, however contrary it might be to any part of the printed programme of the 

 day, formed a very entertaining and refreshing quart d'heure. Our guide con- 

 ducted the members to Dorstone Rectory, where Mrs. Powell gave them a 

 reception most hospitable. Here were exhibited the ancient key of Snodhill 

 Castle, rusty iron relics of ancient days and specimens of the botanical plants of 

 the district ; a spray of Vicia sylvatica ; a Columbine ( Aquilegia vulgaris) ; and 

 amongst other specimens the rare Doronicum plantagin«um., or Plantain-leaved 

 Leopard's Bane. To please the taste of the ornithologist, there were birds and 

 birds' eggs from the locality. Conspicuous amongst the birds was a young 

 specimen in its early plumage, of a Gannet, which was not only caught in an 

 exhausted condition in the neighbourhood, but was maintained for six weeks on 

 meat and herrings. 



The members thus gratifying their senses in this naturalists' paradise, 

 were summarily called to attention by the sound of the bugle, and the advance 

 was made upon Arthiu-'s Stone on Dorstone HUl. Upon arrival there, Mr. 

 Piper read a paper upon the subject of this pre-historic cromlech,* and after 

 thanks had been accorded to him, the party proceeded to the summit of this 

 hill, which goes by the name of Merbach Hill, whence a magnificent prospect 

 opened to their view, embracing the hills of all the adjacent counties, with the 

 double horse-shoe bend of the Wye in the valley immediately below. The quarry 

 here is that of the Old Red Sandstone, and a cairn of stones formed therewith 

 denotes the position of the Ordnance Survey Pole, at whose base the height of 

 Merbach Hill is given in the recent survey of this year 1044 '9 feet. The 

 approximate calculation of 1050 feet made by Mr. H. Southall's aneroid 

 barometer must be mentioned here in order to denote the usefulness of a good 

 instrument of this character in the hands of a careful observer. We all know 

 that variations in the barometer are produced in a few hours by atmospheric 



*This paper is published in Transactions, 1882, page 175, and drawings of Arthur's Stone 

 accompany it. 



