•72 Report of the Meetings for 1894. 



families, supposed to be those who helped to build the 

 Castle. It is probable that the shields in the roof of the 

 Church may be meant to commemorate the donors in one 

 of the restorations. 



Outside the present vestry are two interesting objects. 

 One is the old font belonging to the Church at Sheepwash. 

 Ashington and Sheepwash, with an area of about 700 acres, 

 of which 112 acres are glebe land, formed a parish by itself. 

 Of the 112 acres of glebe, 34^ acres are on the south side 

 of the river Wansbeck and of the bridge, and situated in 

 the parish of Bedlington, which formerly belonged to the 

 Palatinate or Bishopric of Durham. It is therefore probable 

 that there was a bridge Chapel here ; that the glebe and 

 the offerings of travellers went towards the repairs of the 

 bridge, as well as to the celebration of daily prayer for 

 those in peril of land and water. 



The other interesting object is a small stone coffin which, 

 with a few bones, was found beneath the wall of the present 

 chancel. There were traces of a Norman Chapel, smaller in 

 every way than the present chancel, and the child had been 

 buried just outside of it. 



The remains of Norman work, which now form a screen 

 wall of the vestry, point to a fine east window. 



In the vestry, as stated above, are copies, drawn out in a 

 complete form, of the Saxon crosses found during the restoration. 



It is thought that Ealpli, the third Lord Ogle, whose tomb 

 it is supposed to be which is now in the east end of the 

 south aisle, raised the walls of both aisles, put in the 

 present windows, and filled them with stained glass. At the 

 same time the high pitched roof was taken down, a clerestory 

 added, and a leaden roof substituted. The belfry, which is 

 a somewhat rare one of three bells, has been put together 

 roughly from the remains of a fine one with open stone 

 tracery; but the date, 1578, found on the roof, may point 

 to Cuthbert, the last Lord Ogle, who died in 1597. 



Outside, on the western face, the different angles of the 

 aisles, are easily noted. 



From the remains found, when the Church was restored, 

 it is clear that there have been four Churches. 



1. — A Saxon one, of which no trace has been found, but 

 the Saxon crosses show that there must have been a churchyard. 



