16 KINGSBRIDGE 



Kingsbridge." Edmund Stafford, Bishop of Exeter, and 

 Lord Chancellor of England, died in 1419. In the north 

 wall of Exeter Cathedral there is a stately monument of 

 alabaster, with a latin inscription to his memory. The 

 name of the Abbot of Buckfast, at this time, was William 

 Slade. 



Kingsbridge Church stands in a cemetery, on the west 



side of Fore Street. The edifice is of stone, and built in 



the form of a cross. The bells (six in number) were 



made in London, in the year 1761, at which period the 



old set having been taken down and shipped for the 



capital, to be re-cast, were captured by a French privateer, 



and carried off as a lawful prize. It certainly cannot be 



said that the present bells were chosen for sweetness of 



tone; and the question of a new set has been mooted, 



and may, perhaps, at no very distant time be carried out. 



On Sunday, the 22nd of June, 1828, there was an awful 



thunderstorm, which came on about one o'clock p.m. : the 



lightning struck the spire of the church, descending by the 



iron bar which supports the top and carries the vane; it 



exploded with a tremendous crash, knocked out a large hole 



about fifteen feet from the summit, and shifted a considerable 



portion of the spire from its centre. The stones, which were 



hlown to shatters, flew over the houses, and into the gardens 



adjacent. Providentially, no person was injured; but if it 



had occurred one hour sooner, the consequences might have 



been very serious, as many people were then in the church. 



The lightning came down, and after partially fusing a small 



bell used for calling the attention of the ringers, and knocking 



out the staples with which the communion table was secured, 



then escaped through a window, the glass of which was 



