i"* S. Vr. 145., Oct. 9. '58.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



283 



did visit the Prebend of Yatminster Ecclesia, and the 

 Prebends of Yatm'' Prima et Secunda, in lay fee in the 

 Church of Yatra' Ecclesia, with the Chappels in their 

 Clergy and Laitj'. 



" M'' The Wroften, Prebendarj' there, being precog- 

 nized, did not appear, but the Dean excused him. — Ap- 

 peared Walter Ray his farmer there, and paid the pro- 

 curations, 7' 6<i. 



" M'' John White, Vicar there, appeared and paid his 

 obedience to tlic s"* Dean, and exhibited his Letters of 

 Orders, Institution, and Induction, and left a copy with 

 the Register. 



" M"' Tho« Stafford, Chaplain there, appeared and paid 

 his obedience, and did not exhibit ; therefore he has till 

 Friday next after the ffeast of S' Matthew the Apostle, 

 in the Cathedral Church of Sarum, to Exhibit his Letters 

 of Orders ; he withdrew. 

 " Walter Smyth, -j j- Appeared, and say that 



Walter Ray, 

 Rich'' Dyere, 

 John Adam, 

 Nic Deryng, 

 Rt. Smith, 



Parishioners 

 ^there. 



the Prebendal Church 

 of Yatminster is dedi- 

 cated in Honor of S' 

 Andrew the Apostle^ 

 . and the Rectory there 



is endowed with the Tithes of Hay and Corn, within the 

 bounds and li mitts of the said parish (except the great 



Tithes arising from the Estate of Corswell ), having 



under it a Vicar, who is endowed by the name of its 

 Vicar with all other small Tithes whatsoever, and the 

 great Tithes arising from the Estate of Carswell aforesaid, 

 of what kind soever, being within the bounds and limitts 

 of the said parish. 



"Also. It is presented that there are two Chappels 

 called Lye and Checknole, situate within the parish 

 aforesaid, of which Chapells the Prebendary of the place 

 takes the great Tithes, and the Vicar of the same the 

 small Tithes, fpr which he shall find two Chaplains, viz' 

 one to celebrate on Wednesdays, Fridaj's, and Sundays in 

 every week and other feast days at Lye, and in like man- 

 ner the same Vicar shall find one other Chaplain to cele- 

 brate on the same days and feasts at Checknolle, of which 

 Chaplains one is wanting in default of the present Vicar: 

 appeared the same Vicar, before the said Commissary at 

 the same day and place, and alledged that he was pro- 

 vided with one other Chaplain. Also presented that 

 John Whyte the Vicar there used to celebrate twice 

 a day appeared the same M"^ John before the of- 

 ficial of the said Dean, at the day and place aforesaid, 

 and confessed the Articles, and having made proper con- 

 cession was dismissed. 



"Also. It is presented that for time out of mind the 

 Vicar aforesaid and his predecessors used to take every 

 year in the name of Agistment Tithe arising from the 

 Estate called Whj'teyoke, being within the parish afore- 

 said, 20*, for which M'' Tho* Wroughton, the Prebendary 

 there, hath unjustly substracted for four years now last 

 past, one mark, to the prejudice of the Vicar aforesaid." 



I give the spelling, &c. as in the paper before 

 me; the date is altered in red ink to the "23*." 

 "Parishioners there" appear to have been more 

 particular in those days, 450 years ago ; and no 

 doubt their presentations were also better at- 

 tended to than now. Although " articles of en- 

 quiry " are sent to every churchwarden to answer 

 and " present" at visitations, such " articles" are 

 a dead letter. We presented the neglected and 

 dilapidated state of the chancel in our parish to 

 bishop and archdeacon for ten or twelve following 

 yearn, but no notice was ever taken of our pre- 

 sentment. It is true, a dignitary in the said 



cathedral (and in two or three other cathedrals !) 

 owned the great tithes (GOOZ. a-year, which he 

 leased to his son, a boy at school, to perpetuate 

 the sacrilege !), while he doled out 11. a-year for 

 local charities ! ! The poor vicar's portion was 

 about 2 per cent, on the great tithes ! As the 

 said dignitary has enjoyed this preference over 

 thirty years, he must have bagged net something 

 like 20,000Z. ; if the son lives " the days of our 

 age," I leave your readers to calculate his share 

 of the spoil. The chancel arch must be soon built 

 up, and the chancel itself will then vanish, as has 

 already actually occurred to a church, the great 

 tithes of which also belong to a still higher dig- 

 nitary of the same cathedral. Simon Ward. 



ST. BLAIN S CHAPEL. 



Buried in a deep glen, at the extreme end of 

 the island of Bute, and some ten miles from 

 Rothesay, lie the ruins of Blain chapel, one of the 

 oldest remains in Scotland. 



The chapel is divided into chancel and nave. 

 The first, about 23 ft. 6 in. ; the second, 45 ft. in 

 length. The width of the chancel is 14 ft. 6 in. ; 

 of the opening of the chancel-nave arch 5 ft., and 

 the total span of the nave not much over 18 ft., 

 rough dimensions. The chapel lies due east and 

 west. The eastern wall of the nave alone remains 

 perfect ; a most fortunate circumstance, since the 

 chancel arch was in all probability always the 

 ornamental feature in the chapel. 



The usual Norman mouldings are observable, 

 with zigzag and lozenge, or surface ornaments ; 

 the latter continued, as a string-course, along the 

 ruined north and south nave walls. 



The capitals on either side the arch are varied ; 

 a noteworthy fact in itself, indicating considerable 

 antiquity. 



A round-headed piscina of the very rudest con- 

 struction remains in the chancel ; the slab in which 

 the basin is sunk projecting some inches from the 

 south wall surface. And a curious cupboard, in 

 the east wall, on one side of the altar (which has 

 however disappeared), is in very perfect preserva- 

 tion, — a square-headed aperture, the exact pur- 

 pose of which I should be happy to learn. Was 

 it a sacristy ? 



There are vestiges of erections to the south of 

 the nave wall ; so ruined, however, that it was 

 mere surmise that proposed this as the site either 

 of a small transept, or out-building, not immedi- 

 ately connected with the church itself. Con- 

 siderable alterations have undoubtedly been made 

 in the chapel since its erection ; additions, dating 

 as early as the first Pointed, and only ending with 

 the "Perpendicular" style, from what i could 

 gather in the remains. 



There was perhaps a south door in the chancel. 



