Ixxii. 



FIFEHEAD NEVILLE MEETING. 



The last of the summer meetings of the Chib, which was held 

 on Tuesday, September 22nd, was well attended. The members 

 and their friends assembled at Shillingstone Station soon after 

 midday and drove thence to the church, passing on the way the 

 ancient base of the village cross, which has recently been 

 repaired and renewed by the addition of a canopied head of 

 fifteenth century character, in keeping with the old work, and 

 the site of a lofty maypole that was removed only a few years 

 ago and that was devoted, as its inscription of 1850 declared, 

 to a pious function : Pinus m aelos indicet alta viam. At the 

 church the Club were courteously received by the Rev. R. 

 G. Bartelot, the missioner in charge ; but, instead of the 

 ancient church which the Club had expected to see, the 

 building, which was opened after restoration in IMay last, 

 now presents the appearance internally of a newly-built modern 

 church. 



In the course of the restoration some ancient work unfor- 

 tunately suffered. A 13th century piscina and an aumbry, the 

 latter from the description of it somewhat rude in construction, 

 were destroyed, and two brackets of 13th or 14th century date 

 were sawn oif. It was reported that two ancient square-headed 

 windows of the Early English period were also destroyed and 

 new ones substituted for them ; the architect, in reply to 

 enquiries on the subject, stated that the windows " were 

 obviously modern and extremely ugly." The ancient windows 

 doubtless existed in 1866, when the last edition of Hutchins' 

 " Dorset " was published, for it is there stated that painted glass 

 was about to be inserted in them ; in all probability it was found 

 that the stonework of the old windows was too rotten to bear 

 cutting for the new glass, and that they were then replaced by 

 the windows which have been lately removed. These were of 

 no historic, architectural, or archaeological value, and have been 

 replaced by windows which are good in design and work- 

 manship. 



