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Tlwrnhury Castle. The long spring drought broke up on Tuesday, 

 April 26th, and the first Excursion of the Club was inaugurated by- 

 six hours of continued rain. Notwithstanding this unpropitious 

 circumstance sixteen members met at the Midland Station at 10.40, 

 and comfortably seated in a saloon carriage proceeded to the Yate 

 Station, whence owing to the inconvenient arrangement of the 

 trains they were obliged to engage a special engine to take them 

 on to Thornbury. The interesting strata through which they 

 passed were but dimly seen through the streaming windows, but 

 enough was visible to indicate that they crossed the N.E. portion 

 of the Gloucestershire coal-field at Yate, and at Tytherington 

 Station entered deep cuttings of the Mountain Limestone 

 coming out on to the old Red Sandstone. Thus traversing during 

 tlieir morning's ride the breadth of the coal basin, from its S.E. 

 edge at Bath, to its N.W. at Thornbury. The deserted streets 

 of that town echoed dismally to the falling rain and footsteps 

 of the party as they made their way under umbrellas and mack- 

 intoshes to the church ; the inhabitants peered through their 

 windows wondering at the sight. At the church the vicar, IVtr. 

 Hodgson, met the members in the S. porch and proceeded at 

 once to give a short history of the building, for which, he said, he 

 was indebted to the late vicar, the Eev. T. Waters. Dedicated 

 to St. Mary the Virgin, the present church, he said, stood on the 

 site of an earlier one, founded probably in the 12th century, as in 

 an ancient deed still extant in which Simon, Bishop of Wor- 

 cester (1125-1150), confirmed to the Abbey of Tewkesbury various 

 grants of churches, tithes, &c., formerly given by Robert Fitz 

 Hamon to that monastery, the church of Thornbury is mentioned 

 amongst others. Of this early church probably their are not 

 any remains existing, unless the transition N. and S. doorways 

 and square font similar to that at Oldbury church are examples. 

 The slender pillars of the nave support a clerestory which appears 

 to have been a later addition Avhen the flat roof replaced a more 

 pointed one in 1599. The circular string moulding over the 



