THE VALLEY OF THE WIN OR ALLEN. XXIX. 



WlTCHAMPTON I 



ITS BARN, MANOR HOUSE, AND CHURCH. 



The Members were welcomed to this charming village by 

 the Rev. E. W. BAKER, the Rector, who acted as their guide. 

 The ruins of the so-called Abbey Barn were, by local tradition, 

 part of a monastery ; but Mr. Baker was of opinion that the 

 building was almost certainly the original manor house of 

 the Matravers and Arundel families, who had successively 

 owned the manor from 1300 to 1600. The PRESIDENT 

 recalled the fact that a holy- water stoup had been found in a 

 fallen portion of the wall, but the RECTOR said that his 

 predecessor came to the conclusion that the stoup was from 

 the private oratory of the house. Mr. PENTIN added that 

 there was no evidence of any monastic foundation in the 

 parish. 



At the Manor House, which may be dated as not earlier 

 than 1520, the PRESIDENT read a few notes prepared by 

 Miss Williams, who had recently lived there. The dining- 

 room, kitchen, pantry, and another small room, with the 

 chambers over them, were the only surviving portions of the 

 old structure, the other part having been added about 38 

 years ago. Over a small window are the letters W. R., 

 which stand for William Rolle ; when the house was enlarged 

 a worn stone reading, " Pray for the soule," was removed 

 from between the two letters. (The rector in 1505 was 

 Walter Rolle.) The oak mantelpiece and the panelling are 

 Jacobean ; the latter had been covered with white paint, 

 which was scraped off by Mrs. Williams. 



The church of All Saints was rebuilt, with the exception of 

 the Perpendicular tower, by Mr. C. H. Sturt between 1832 

 and 1845, and was restored in 1898 by the Rev. C. P. Wix, 

 then rector. Mr. BAKER related the history of the church 

 and parish, with which were associated the families of 

 Arundel, Scovel, and Cole. He also drew attention to the 

 monuments formerly in the old church, to the 13th century 

 font of irregular octagon shape, which had at one time been 



