VOL. XVIII. (i) EXCURSION— THORNBURY AND AUST 25 



by Hugh, Lord Staflord, whodiod in 1386. Externally this aisle seems to have 

 been restored 100 vears later, as Leland, who visited Thornbnry about 1540, 

 made reference to the fact. There were four chantries in the church. One 

 dedicated I4g9 to the X'irgin, another was called Bariu's Chantry, and the 

 others were Bruis Chantry and Slymbridge Chantry. The church stands in 

 the tvthing of Kington, as does the Castle. It was at Kington that St. 

 .\rilda, a virgin, was martyred. She is the Patron Saint of Oldbury-on-Hill 

 and Oldbury-on-Severn. There is a spring called St. Arild's Well at Kington. 

 Her body was removed to the .\bbey at Gloucester. The Tewkesbury monks 

 probably built the church as it now stands towards the close of the fifteenth 

 century, when the Wars of the Roses were over, and men's thoughts were 

 able to turn to the arts of peace. Under Henry VIII., the possession of the 

 monasteries lieing largely taken away, Thornbury was given to the Duke of 

 Buckingham, who, but for his death on Tov>'er H»ll in 1321, would have 

 founded a perpetual college with dean, sub-dean, eight secular priests, four 

 clerks, and eight choristers, in honour of St. Mary. The tower is undoubt- 

 edly the most beautiful feature of the building, and, as Canon Cornwall points 

 out, is " a glorious piece of architecture." The nave of six bays is remark- 

 able for the tall and slender arcade, which carries a lofty clerestory. The 

 church was well restored in 1848, when the walls of the chancel were con- 

 siderably raised, and the existing chancel arch substituted for a depressed 

 arch. As a re.sult of this the east window is thrown out of place and propor- 

 tion. There are fragments of beautiful old glass still remaining in the head- 

 ings of the windows of the south aisle, but it would have been strange if 

 more had survived the days of the great rebellion, situated as Thornbury is 

 between Bristol and Gloucester. There are no monuments of interest to the 

 antiquary or historian. 



THORNBURY CASTLE 



The Castle is clo.se to the Church, and is surrounded by smooth green 

 turf. The front is reached through an ai-ched gatewaj-, with a postern gate 

 at one side. This opens into a court, originally enclosed on all four sides, 

 but now only on three — the fourth havin-? completely disappeared. It was 

 designed originally' bj' King Edward the Elder, in the early part of the tenth 

 century, as a fortress to check the continual civil warfare of the Mercians. 



According to the earliest records, Thornbury belonged to a knight named 

 Aylward, a cousin of the King. Since those days it has been seized and held 

 by the crown three times. It was conferred by William Rufus on Robert 

 Fitz Hamon, and this led to its passing by marriage to the Earls of 

 Hertford and Gloucester. It was in the possession of the De Clares for 200 

 years, and the Staffords 400 years. In 1637 Mary Stafford, daughter of the 

 fifth Baron, married Sir William Howard,. and they were made Viscount and 

 Viscountess Stafford, and their son Earl of Stafford. Henry Howard suc- 

 ceeded to the ownership in 1824. and bequeathed it to his son, the present 

 owner. Henry VIII. having seized Thornbury and converted it into a Royal 

 demesne, sent his daughter Mary there under the guardianship of the Bishop 

 of Exeter. Henry, himself, stayed at the Castle for some days wth Anne 

 Boleyn, but subsequently neglected it and allowed it to fall into ruin. The 

 third Duke of Buckingham was closely associated with the place, and his 

 motto " Doresnavant "(" henceforth") is carved over the entrance doorway and 

 repeated within, both in stone and wood. There are finelj' executed screens 

 of oak in the hall, and two engravings in the same part of the building by 

 Reubens and Vandj^ck, representing Thomas Howard and his wife Lady 

 Talbot. The drawing-room is described as a delightful room, containing 

 attractive old cabinets and chairs rescued from strange lurking places, charm- 

 ing pictures and china, many books and flowers. In the library there is a 

 fine old carved fire-mantel, and the principal bedrooms and other chambers 



