130 On the CJmrcJi of St. Peter, Manningford Bruce, Wiltshire. 



cannot be relied upon as a proof of early date. It seems to indicate 

 a tradition of occasional herring'-boning in Roman masonry, but it 

 is found to ling-er on in post-Conquestal Norman. ' An inspection 

 of the masonry, or a photograph of some part of it will be better 

 than description. It was, as well as the chancel arch, covered with 

 plaster, which has now been removed. It seems possible that this 

 herring-boning- was done for constructional convenience, as explained 

 in Parker's Glossary, and not for ornament. It may, perhaps, have 

 been the intention of the orig-inal builders that it should be covered 

 with plaster, as a preservative and finish. 



3. "We now come to the third point, viz., the heig-ht of the walls 

 and doors in proportion to the smallness of the building". 



The bema or apse is, as already stated, a semi-circle, the diameter 

 being 16ft. l|in. The ehoros or chancel is, including' the piers of 

 the arch, 15ft. from west to east, and 16ft. S^in. wide, at the arch or 

 western end. The nave is 33ft. 6in. x 18ft. 6in. 



In combination with these dimensions the height of the doors 

 and walls is remarkable. The height of the south doorway, now 

 the only entrance to the Church, is 10ft. 2in. from the floor to the 

 constructional arch, and the width is 4ft. This opening is reduced 

 by plate arch and jambs to 8ft. 7in X 3ft. 5in. The height of the 

 north door, now, is lOft. 7in., and the width 4ft. lin. 



Doubtless curtains were intended to be used with these tall doors, 

 as now in some places in England, and still more in foreign countries. 

 At Upton Scudamore Church, Wilts, there is a curious instance of a 

 high and wide north doorway, the main entrance, with chevron 

 mouldings, which has been reduced, in the fourteenth century, by 

 inserting a much smaller doorway, with mouldings and a niche over 

 it of the period. 



The south door of Manningford Bruce Church looks tall and 

 narrow in comparison with other Church doors, and is singularly 

 like the door of a Church figured in a Saxon Pontifical, MS. 362, 

 Public Library, Rouen, and engraved for Mr. Gage's paper on the 



* Compare Parker's Glossary, article " Herring-bone Work." 



