O'Eeilly— 0/(i? Churches of Balhcy Town and iHhind. 223 



"vara" to the metre became familiar to mc. "When, therefore, I 

 came to examine the metric measurements of the Dalkcy Island 

 church, I soon observed that the " vara " unit seemed to have been 

 that employed in the construction of the building. 



In O'Shea's "Guide to Spain and Portugal," p. 109, he gives the 

 following table of " Reduction of Varas into Metres'''' : — 



M. 





M. 



1 vara = 0-835 



7 varas = 5-845 | 



2 varas = 1-670 



8 



, = 6-680 



3 „ = 2-505 



9 



, = 7-515 



4 „ = 3-840 



10 



, = 8-350 (correctly 8-3489) 



5 „ =4-175 



11 



, = 9-185 



6 „ = 5-010 



12 



, = 10-020 



Examining the pilasters or " antse " of the building, the following 

 were the thicknesses found : north-east, 86 cm. ; south-east, 82-5 cm, ; 

 north-west, 83 cm. ; and south-west, 85 cm. ; the mean value of these 

 is 84-1 cm. ; a close approximation to 83-5 cm. ; that is, a "vara." 



Examining then the horizontal dimensions of the building, the 

 breadths interiorly of the east and west gables give the following 

 measurements (two for each end) : 416 cm., 418 cm., 417 cm., 

 416 cm., of which the mean is 416'75 cm., or approximately 

 417*5 cm., that is, "5 varas," according to the above table, with a 

 di:ffierence of 0*75 cm. 



The breadth of the opening of the western door at the sill was 

 found to be 82 cm., probably intended for a "vara," so that the 

 spacing on the inner side of the gable shows the intervals of 167 cm., 

 82 cm., and 166 cm., that is 2 varas, 1 vara, 2 varas. 



The length of the south wall on the inner face is 626-5 cm. 

 (mean value), equal to 7^ "varas " (or 626-3 cm.). 



The same dimension taken on the interior face of the north side 

 wall is 6 19" 5 cm., which differs sensibly from that of the south wall, 

 and may be taken as the result of imperfect construction, since the 

 two diagonal measurements differ ; that from the south-east to the 

 north-west measuring 750 cm. = 9 " varas" (7-515 m.) ; while that 

 from north-east to south-west measures only 746 cm., that is a differ- 

 ence of 4 cm. (almost negligible, in a building so primitive and so 

 ruined). The lengths of the north and south side walls on their 

 exterior faces measure : for the north wall, 881 cm.; and for the 

 south wall, 879 cm. ; this last approximates to the " vara " measure- 

 ment of lOi varas = 876*7 cm. 



