Ixviii. MILTON AP.P.EY MEETING. 



The Ceossing. — The crossing contains the arms of King Athelstau, Milton 

 Abbey, Cerne Abbey, and the families of Bingham, Latimer, Morton, Coker, and 

 others. The tower which rises on the crossing is bereft of its ancient bells, and 

 has modern ones in their place. The old tenor l)ell is not at Walcot, Bath, as 

 stated in " Hutchins." The only old bells of the Abbey whose resting place is 

 certainly known are the two preserved in the tower of St. James' Church in tins 

 parish, and they bear the inscriptions " ND : A : 6751," with six fleur-de-lis, 

 and " SANG. TA. IHO. HAN. NES," with a cross on an E. 



South Teansept. — In the south angle of this transept are the only remains 

 of the two altars which once existed here. In the south wall is a piscina of 

 Decorated date, and from the east wall projects the remains of a panelled wall of 

 Perpendicular date with a piscina and a small "credence" near its west end. 

 In addition to the arms and devices in the roof mentioned by Hutchins, there is a 

 monogram " T," the head of a king, the head and shoulders of a queen, and the 

 arms of Coker. In this transept are gathered together many stone fragments 

 which were formerly behind the altar screen and under the boarded floor of the 

 rood loft. These fragments, some of which are richly coloured in gold, green, 

 blood red, and pale blue, give some idea of the beauty of the interior of the 

 Abbey in pre-Eeformation days. There are parts of the niches of the original 

 altar screen, and also a portion of a statue which filled one of the niches. On six 

 of the fragments is lettering, and on three of them are the words "animabus," 

 ** hoc," and " sumptibus," which words also appear on the copied inscription on 

 the present screen, but the wording on the other three fragments is more difficult 

 to decipher, and, as far as it can be made out, it does not agree with the inscription 

 on the great screen, nor is the lettering in this case painted on Ham Hill stone. 

 Other fragments appear to have been portions of altar cornices, side chapels, 

 chantry shrines, and the like. There are also some of the old tiles of the Abbey, 

 There is the upper portion of a statue of St. James with his pilgrim's staff, book, 

 scrip and hat, with its escallop shell, and also a winged figure holding the portion 

 of a scroll with an indistinct inscription. But I must not say any more. The 

 fragments in this church really deserve a paper to themselves, and if some learned 

 member of the club would undertake to write it I should be very pleased to 

 offer him any of the little help which it might be in my power to give. 



The Vicar then leaving the pulpit conducted the members to 

 various parts of the Abbey and pointed out the chief features of 

 interest. 



The reredos, partly renewed at the restoration of the church ; 

 the ancient silver cross of foreign workmanship, presented to the 

 church last year by Mr. Hambro ; the piscina and sedilia in the 

 sanctuary taken from Abbot INIiddlcton's shrine in the south 

 transept. 



The marble grave slab of Abbot Walter (in front of the altar) 

 which it was suggested covers the grave of Abbot Walter Archer, 



