

XXV. 



King Edward's Chapel a fragment of, apparently, a pillar bore some 

 indistinct lettering of the same character. * 



In the Dorset County Chronicle, October, 1841, there is a letter from 

 the Rev. W. Barnes in reference to this inscription. He refers to an 

 article in The Foreign Quarterly Review of that date, in which examples 

 are given of Roman writing in the cursive character in inscriptions found 

 on waxen tablets in a gold mine at Abrudhanya, in Transylvania, which 

 are unique, and are described by Dr. Massman, of Leipsic. Mr. Barnes 

 says he was " pleased to recognise in this writing the characters of the 

 Wareham inscription." 



Passing to the chancel the Rector pointed out that this part of the church 

 was formerly much longer, but had been shortened in 1842 by about 

 10 feet to give greater length to the nave, which was then newly built. 

 The destruction of the Norman nave which then took place caused great 

 regret to Professor Freeman. A wooden screen removed in 1720 separated 

 the choir from the chancel ; a vaulted roof used to rest upon carved 

 corbels, and was at a later date strengthened by the addition of another 

 row of corbels of plain stone. A doorway of Norman chevron work led 

 from the priests' room over King Edward's chapel into the chancel. The 

 Rector drew attention to the large east window, the filling in of which 

 with stained glass was only completed in 1890 ; the window itself was 

 presented by the county to Hutchins, the Historian of Dorset and 

 formerly incumbent of the parish. The organ was erected as a memorial 

 to the late Mr. Miles Rodgett by his widow. The party then visited the 

 little cell or chapel at the south-east corner of the sacrarium. This 

 chapel with the groined roof and curious stones in the wall is highly 



* The following notes on these inscriptions have been lately received by the Rev. O. P. 

 Cambridge from Prof. Rhys : Referring first to the larger stone (fig. 1) Prof. Rhys says : 

 " The whole will read 'Cattug. C . . . . (Ji.)lius Gideonis.' The next (fig. 2) I read thus : 

 ' Gongorie,' the genitive feminine (Gongorise) of a name Gongorie, which I am sorry to 

 say I have never heard of anywhere else. De Comson's Cortulaire de Redon has, p. 395, 

 an ' Ecclesia Sancti Guengari, in Brittany.' This would make the Wareham name look 

 like a sort of Latin feminine of Guengar. The reading of the next inscription (fig. 3) 

 (what there is of it) I take to be 



" ____ eniel . f(ilius) 



" . . . . ruprit .1 ..... 



" I imagine the first name to have been Deniel, an old Welsh form of Daniel. I read 

 the next inscription (fig. 4) thus : 



"filius VI. 



" The meaning is not evident of the first line above the step. Then there was one more 

 stone (fig. 5) with lettering, which I read somewhat as follows : > 



" judn .... 



" fil . . . tiu 



" I cannot make anything of this. With the above readings, when correctly given, begins 

 a question of another order : How came those Welsh names there, and when '!" 



