156 Notice of Phelps's History and Antiquities of Somersetshire. 



of Durham is one of the very limited number of county histories the matter 

 of which need never be re-arranged. The history of the bishops of Dur- 

 ham, forming the first part of Mr. Surtees's work, is interesting even to 

 those who feel but little disposition to read topographical details, however 

 accurate, and will we trust be borne in mind by Mr. Phelps, in that section 

 of his work which he promises to occupy by an " ecclesiastical history of 

 the diocese." 



We rejoice to find Geology among the subjects included by Mr. Phelps, 

 and we trust that the organic remains will also be enumerated, since 

 geological strata without fossils are very much in the condition of a volume 

 containing nothing but blank leaves. 



The subjects embraced by the "historical introduction" are abundantly 

 interesting, and present an ample field for the exercise of learning and 

 judgment on the part of the author; great light has of late years been 

 thrown upon the Belgic and Roman anticpiities of our counties, much 

 false and absurd hypothesis has been overthrown, and many fair and safe 

 deductions established in its stead ; many works once supposed to be 

 Belgic have l)een shewn to be Roman, and many antiquities, formerly at- 

 tributed to the Saxons, have been restored to their legitimate authors, the 

 Normans. Of these changes no comprehensive view has yet been given 

 to the public. 



We trust also, that in an historical introduction, the valuable deductions 

 from Philology will find a place ; that attention will be paid to the names 

 of the physical features of the country, and especially of its minuter water- 

 courses. This subject has hitherto been much neglected. Tlie new 

 registration act also affords great facilities for the classification and com- 

 parison of the names of persons, a subject to which but little attention 

 has been paid since the days of Camden. 



There is besides another, and that a very important point, to the illus- 

 tration of which we look forward — Architecture. Somerset is one of the 

 richest English counties in architectural splendour; it contains towers, 

 many of which are among the noblest specimens of Gothic art; and it 

 is peculiarly rich in stone pulpits, crosses, and baptismal fonts. To the 

 description of such works, every lover of Gothic Architecture will look 

 forward with pleasure. Let us hope that instead of the loose and undefined 

 terms which have ever disgraced the pages of topographers, we shall find 

 employed the concise and intelligible phraseology of Rickman. It has 

 been shewn to be possible to describe a building as a botanist describes a 

 plant, so that a drawing of it may be executed from the description, and 

 the nomenclature of ecclesiastical Architecture is sufficiently ample. 



But we must conclude. Our readers need not be reminded that a county 

 history is somewhat of a patriotic undertaking, and therefore that it has a 

 claim upon the support even of those whose pursuits may not lead them to 

 derive any direct advantage from its contents. 



