26 PROCEEDINGS COTTESWOLD CLUB 1912 



all have points of interest for the visitor. In the old days it was a large and 

 important seat, and even to-day it is not difficnlt to conjure up visions of its 

 departed glory and of the power wielded by those who in succession lived 

 there. 



From a survey taken in the time of Queen Elizabeth it seems there was 

 then a great hall adjoining the kitchen and buttery at the east end of the 

 north wing. The huge hrcplace in the kitchen is no longer used, but the 

 large stack of wood which now stands in close proximity to it is suggestive 0/ 

 the roaring fires which once burnt on the hearth and heated the ample oven, 

 and the buttery hatch close by it is also reminiscent of the good fare which 

 in bygone days was prepared for the inhabitants of the castle. The bay 

 windows must have been particularly beautiful, and exactly the same arrange- 

 ment is to be seen in a portion of Windsor Castle. 



Lunch was served at the Swan Hotel, when a telegram was read from 

 the President, the Rev. Walter Butt, who, although regretting that family 

 bereavement prevented him from attending the meeting, said that from his 

 home at Tidenham Chase he should be thinking of his friends on the opposite 

 side of the .Severn. 



AUST CHURCH 



The party after luncheon drove to the village of Aust, and were met at 

 the Church bv the Rev. A. D. Lough, the curate in charge, who, at the 

 request of the Secretary, made a few remarks on the history of the building. 

 He mentioned that the name Aust carries the mind back to Roman times, 

 and was associated with the Emperor .\ugustus C;rsar. In tiic year 691 

 Etlielrcd gave some lands called Henbury and .Vust. In 794 there was 

 trouble about the .Aust lands, for the King and noblemen of Mercia seem to 

 have taken the lands, and a bishop named Ethclred got them back, and it 

 was believed they had belonged to tlie place ever since. Very little was 

 known of the early history of tlie church, and the name of the jiatron saint 

 was altogether forgotten. It was sometimes called a chapel of ease, because 

 it was in the tything of Henbury, and he (the speaker) was the assistant 

 curate, although he had charge of this and another church at Northwick. 

 The mother church was nine miles away. The present building dated back 

 to the lifteenth century. Whether there was a church before he could not 

 tell, but it was interesting to know that it was associated with Wyckliflfe, 

 who was Prebendary of .\ust. He had a stall in the church at Westbury-on- 

 Trym. The people of .\ust were proud of the connection, and it would be 

 seen that all the pews had " J.W." carved on them. In the church would be 

 seen a key, which was said to have been used by Wyckliffe for letting himself 

 into the church. This key is kept in a glass case. The registers date back 

 to 1538, and are in a good condition. Attention was drawn to the font of 

 fifteenth century work which was described as unique, there being only one 

 other like it — at Chepstow — and Mr Lough suggested that both might have 

 been made by the same man. The church was restored in 1864, and although 

 the rounded chancel arch has led some people to speculate on its having a 

 Norman origin, Mr Lough was inclined to connect it with the restoration. 

 The tower appears to be older than the main building, and although not com- 

 paring with that at Thornbury, possesses some good windows. The handsome 

 chalices exhibited by Mr Lough were admired, and that gentleman was 

 thanked for his courtesy. 



TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY 



The route from Thornbury to Aust was first over the high ground, orig- 

 inated by the hard Carboniferous Limestone, whence fine views were obtained 

 of portions of the Severn estuary, backed by the wooded hills around Chepstow, 

 ani then over the diversified ground, which owes its undulations to the 

 variety of rocks composing it. The brakes stopped at the top of the hill at 



