Hi. 



astonished at the way in which effects were produced in the church. I 

 had no idea how much longer the body of the church was made to look 

 l>y the lowering of the floor and the raising of the roof. The north aisle, 

 too, is rendered a quite suitable adjunct to the church by the same 

 process. None but an expert, perhaps, would find out that it was built, 

 not at the date it represents namely, the latter part of the 15th century 

 but in the early part of the 19th. The two wings of the tower come 

 out very effectually, and I think are quite unusual features in a parish 

 church. Mr. Mayo, of the Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries, said 

 in his experience they were unique, but above all the best has been made 

 of the chancel difficulty. It looks to my eye quite suitable." Such are 

 the flattering remarks of Sir Talbot, and his concluding words as to the 

 solution of the chancel difficulty is my main reason for writing on a 

 subject that the Field Club might at first have thought too local for me 

 to have troubled them with. Our difficulty was this : The old Norman 

 arch was too low and narrow for musical purposes. With a full choir 

 there was no room for the singing to get out, so that whilst the clergy- 

 men when doing duty in our chancel complained that their heads were 

 nearly split in two by the chanting and hymns, there was scarcely sound 

 enough in the body of the church to lead the singing, and I have known 

 the organist in the west gallery being forced to give up accompanying 

 the choristers as a bad job, and then the choir lost courage and the 

 hymn broke down in the middle. Prior to the restoration of the church 

 the committee had to face this difficulty. Some were for pulling down 

 the old Norman arch and replacing it by a high Gothic arch similar to 

 that at the west end. Others said if the Norman arch was touched they 

 would neither subscribe a penny nor ever enter the church again. A 

 deadlock seemed imminent, when someone suggested ' Let us ask the 

 opinion of the Field Club.' The matter was laid before the club at a 

 winter meeting some two years ago. Valuable suggestions were made 

 by several members, and Sir Talbot Baker most kindly consented to 

 inspect the church and give us the benefit of his opinion. The result 

 was that the difficulty was most amicably and successfully solved by the 

 arch being left untouched. The choir stalls were placed at the west side 

 of the chancel arch in the nave, and the chancel now only contains the 

 Communion table, the voices and organ now being in the body of the 

 church. The singing is all that could be desired. Until the nave and 

 aisles were completed in September last the intention was to re-build our 

 chancel at its original length, but everyone visiting the church is now 

 of opinion that we had better leave well alone. At Montacute Church, 

 near Yeovil, in Somersetshire, the choir stalls are arranged on the west 



