132 Swindon and its Neighbourhood. 



the present Cathedral of Salisbury was built, Old Sarum was the 

 chief city, and within that large circular mound, large for a 

 mound but small enough for a chief city, they were building a 

 new Cathedral. Several Rectories were given towards its endow- 

 ment, and among the rest the Rectory of Wanborough ; and besides 

 the Rectory a hide and a half of land in the parish. I find by 

 another ancient record in what is called the Red Book in Salisbury 

 Registry, that in the year 1150 the then Bishop of Old Sarum 

 granted some of his lands at Wanborough to one of his dependents 

 of the name of Segur, on the curious but somewhat easy condition 

 of providing wine for the Holy Sacrament in Old Sarum Cathedral 

 at Easter. 



By what means the See of Old Sarum came to lose the Rectory 

 of Wanborough does not appear. But it was given to the Prior 

 and Brethren of Nugent-le-Rotroi, in France, from whom, about 

 the year 1191 it was transferred to the Monastery of Ambres- 

 bury. The Rectory of Wanborough continued to belong to 

 Ambresbury Monastery till the Dissolution, when it was granted 

 to the Dean and Chapter of Winchester, who are now patrons of 

 the Yicarage. 



Wanborough Church is peculiarly built, having two steeples ; 

 one a spire at the East end of the nave, the other square at the 

 West end. Wherever there is peculiarity there is always a popular 

 tradition ready to explain it, and the popular explanation in the 

 present case is as follows : That there were once upon a time, two 

 lad-ies, sisters, who were piously minded to build one steeple ; but 

 as sisters, in all places, and at all times, are not like those happy 

 geminse of whom Ovid so pleasantly tells, that they had only one 

 eye in common, so it happened here. Nothing in the world would 

 be more likely to contribute to perfect coincidence of domestic 

 opinions than that members of one family should take Ovid's hint, 

 and endeavour to see all things through one and the same medium. 

 But these two ancient sisters of Wanborough persisted in looking 

 through a very contradictory medium, and the end of it was that 

 as they could not agree whether the one steeple should be pointed 

 or square, Wanborough Church came in for both. That is the 



