THE HAMPSHIRE ANTIQUARY & NATURALIST. 



But the jackdaws have it all their own way, and, 

 though the building is strong, the place must betore 

 long tumble down, unless some munificent antiquary 

 steps in. I wish some skilful friend, say Mr. Mickle- 

 thwaite, would at any rate visit it, report upon it, and 

 make sketches of it. 



THE HAMPSHIRE INDEPENDENT, April 5, 1890. 



EARLY NONCONFORMITY AT ROMSEY. 



A correspondent, referring to a recent Note* con- 

 cerning an interesting Ronisey document on view at 

 a bazaar there, sends for our inspection the original 

 of the following letter : 



Winton, n Martii, 1718-19. 



These are to certifie that on the day of the date hereof 

 was delivered into the Registry of the Right Reverend 

 fiat her in God, Jonathan by Divine p'mission Lord 

 Bpp. of Winchester at Winchester a certificate under the 

 hands of William Troughton Willm. Baker Willm. 

 Thorne and others certifying that there was and is a 

 new erected meeting house in Rumsey Infra in the County 

 of Southampton for the use of his Majties protestant 

 Dissenters called presbyterians for the Worship of God 

 according to the Act of parliament in that behalfe. 



THO. CRANI.EY, Depty. Reg. 



The Presbyterian chapel referred to, we are informed, 

 stood in " the Abbey," on a site nearly opposite that 

 now occupied by the new Congregational church. 



WEATHER REPORT FOR THE WEEK. 

 From the meteorological register, made at the Ordnance 

 Survey Office, Southampton, under the direction of Col. Sir 

 Chas. Wilson, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., F.R.S., R.E. Lat. 50 

 54' 50" N. ; long. i 24' o" W. ; height above sea, 84 feet. 

 Observers Mr. J. T. Cook. 



YAVERLAND CHURCH, I.W. 



According to a report of the Society for the Pro- 

 tection of Ancient Buildings, published in The 

 Reliquary for this month, it appears likely that serious 

 injury will be done to this interesting old church. 

 The edifice is of great archaeological value as a relic of 

 Norman times, and the proposed destruction of the 

 north wall seems to be entirely uncalled for. It is a 

 great pity that such valued heirlooms of the past 

 should be left to the tender mercies of ignorant aud 

 meddlesome busybodies. The extract from the re- 

 port is as follows : 



In November of last year a gentleman wrote to the 

 society to say that this church was to be destroyed, 

 and at the same time gave the address of one who 

 would be willing to correspond on the subject. The 

 committee at once wrote for particulars, and when it 

 had obtained all the necessary information, laid its 

 views before the vicar. The reply received showed 

 that the views of the society were not appreciated. 

 The vicar informed the committee that he had accepted 

 the living for three years, for the purpose of restoring 

 and preserving Yaverland Church, and that he was 

 going to pull down the north wall in order to enlarge 

 the building, by adding a north aisle. The committee 

 urged the vicar not to enlarge the church, as it was qnite 

 large enough for the population of the parish , and it was 

 shown that to enlarge such a perfect little building, 

 which had escaped enlargement since Norman times, 

 in order that accommodation for summer visitors 

 might be provided, was not justifiable, for it was 

 spoiling the building for its rightful owners, who 

 would have to suffer the inconvenience of being in a 

 church far too large for them during the greater part 

 of the year. All appeals to the vicar soon proved 

 useless, and the committee then wrote to the patron, 

 but with no better success ; for he assured the com- 

 mittee that the church was in Mr. Christian's hands,, 

 and consequently safe. 



* Page 60 ante. 

 t Black bulb in racuo. 



HIGHCLERE CASTLE. 



The English Illustrated Magazine for this month 

 contains an interesting article on Highclere Castle, 

 the seat of the Earl of Carnarvon. Formerly a strong- 

 hold of the bishops of Winchester, Highclere Castle 

 is now in the possession of the younger branch 

 of the great Herbert family, of which the repre- 

 sentative of the elder branch, the Earl of Pembroke, 

 has his family seat at Wilton, near Salisbury. The 

 present building is of the Elizabethan, or, more 

 strictly speaking, the Jacobean, style of architecture, 

 and dates only from the year 1841, but its 

 massive walls still attest to its strength as a 

 place of defence. " The Herberts have been a 

 clan, rather than a family, and in every age 

 noted for great intellectual capacity. When Henry, 

 third Earl of Carnarvon, whilst still Lord Porchester 



