A HISTORY OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 



the same period. Since the complete dismantling of the abbey church 

 at Biddlesden in 1569, the parishioners of that village had attended a 

 little chapel dedicated to the honour of St. Margaret ; but this also was 

 pulled down in 1713 by the lord of the manor, and the only place for 

 many years available for services was a large room under the same roof 

 as the stables of the manor house. 1 The tower of the disused church of 

 Filgrave was pulled down about 1758 to repair a mill, because it was 

 thought that old stones which had stood the weather so long would 

 be more trustworthy than new ; and the very foundations were dug 

 up shortly after by the rector, who was desirous to repair and fit up his 

 parsonage ' in a very handsome manner." It is also written of Sir 

 William Stanhope, successor of the Dormers at Eythrope, that in 1738 

 he ' wickedly, sacrilegiously and impiously demolished ' the remains of 

 the ancient chapel there to repair a bridge. 3 Such acts were unhappily 

 only too common at the time ; it was much if the parish churches 

 still in use were kept in decent repair. A real effort of reform in this 

 direction was made by Archdeacon Ibbetson of St. Albans in 1757, 

 which affected four churches now in the archdeaconry of Buckingham : 

 Grandborough, Little Horwood, Winslow and Aston Abbots. The first 

 two needed a complete repair of the whole fabric of the chancel, 

 besides whitewashing, glazing, etc. ; at Aston Abbots the pavement 

 and the flooring of the seats were out of order, and a new carpet 

 was needed for the altar ; at Winslow the pavement and pews wanted 

 repair, and a new west door had to be provided. The directions, often 

 repeated during this visitation, 1 that there should be a napkin provided 

 to cover the sacred vessels at the time of celebration, and that the surplice 

 belonging to the church should be washed at least four times a year, 

 point to a general slovenliness in the services of the Church at this 

 time. Yet there are indications here and there of a higher standard ; 

 one in particular connected with the church of Bledlow is of great 

 interest and deserves special notice. 



An inventory referring to this church and dated 1785 is still in 

 existence, and shows that it was better furnished than we should 

 naturally expect during this period. It is evident that the Holy 

 Eucharist was celebrated with much reverence and care, though we 

 do not know how frequently ; the bread and wine were placed before 

 the service not on the altar but on a ' sideboard ' or credence covered 

 with linen ; water and cambric towels were provided for the cleansing 

 of the sacred vessels ; and the celebrant was vested in an alb. It 

 seems probable too that he said the consecration prayer at any rate 

 before the altar. There is a similarly careful and reverent provision 

 of all things needful for occasional services : a litany desk stood in 



1 Browne Willis, History of Buckingham, 153 ; and Records of Bucks, ii. 78. 



* Add. MS. 5839, ff. ygd-So. Cole ascribes the destruction of the tower to the steward of the lady 

 of the manor, who had been valet to Mr. Thomas Uthwat of Great Linford, and ' inherited his master's 

 loose principles as well as his old clothes.' 



s Records of Bucks, vii. 258-61. 



* MS. Records of the Archdeaconry of St. Albans. 



340 



