140 Notes on Churchei^ in the Neighbourhood of Marlborough. 



(5) A chapel {? S. Martin) at Marten, long destroyed, the foun- 

 dations and other relics of which were discovered in 1858. 



The parish Chuich is in plan regularly cruciform, consisting of 

 nave and aisles of foiu- bays, north and south transepts, and chancel, 

 with tower at the intersection. 



There is no trace of the Saxon building, which was probably of 

 wood, and the Chm-ch does not appear to have been re-built in stone 

 until nearly a centmy after the Conquest, when the present arcades 

 between the nave and aisles were erected. These are beautiful 

 specimens of the Nomian style at the time when the transition to 

 the Early English first began to make itself felt. This influence 

 is seen here in the pointed arches (a feature in itself, however, not 

 necessarily Transitional), and the character of some of the carving 

 of caps and bases. The chevron on the outer order of the arches, 

 the section of the labels with the billet-mould on them, the cylin- 

 drical columns with square abaci, and the ornamentation of some of 

 the capitals are distinctly Norman. The capitals all vary in design, 

 and are exceedingly rich and well-preserved, and it is to be regretted 

 that so much of the interest of this work has been lost by the re- 

 moval of the tool-marks by .smtping. It will be seen that the 

 circular bases stand on square plinths about 5in. thick ; on the north 

 side there is a chamfered course below this, and these are doubtless 

 hidden on the south side by the levelling up of the floor, and there 

 is no doubt that the floor sloped from north to south, following the 

 natural fall of the ground ; this is confirmed by the fact that the 

 arches on the south spring fully 4in. below those on the north. 



The part next in order of date is the chancel, which is divided by 

 buttresses, with three set-offs, into two wide bays, each having two 

 single-light windows on each side, and one narrow bay at the west 

 end with one window on each side. These latter windows are very 

 perfect specimens of the " sanctus," or " low-side window," each 

 having a transom at the level of the siUs of the other windows, and 

 the opening continued some 3ft. below this, the lower part being 

 rebated for a shutter on the inside. The low-side window having 

 a special narrow bay allotted to it is quite a distinct feature. There 

 is a priest's door just eastward of the south window. (I deduce 



