241 



Chapel of St. Cuthhert-in-the-Sea. By Major-General 

 Sir William Grossman, K.G.M.G., F.S.A., M.P., President 

 of B.N.G. Plate XII. 



In connection with the Priory, there was a small Chapel* 

 dedicated to St. Cuthhert, on St. Cuthbert's Island, sometimes 

 called Hobthrush and Thrush Island,! a small basaltic rock 

 about an acre in extent, situated oflf the south-west corner of the 

 main island, about 200 yards distant from it, and only accessible 

 at low water. 



Some years ago the walls of this chapel existed to a height of 

 four feet above the ground ; they are now level with it. These 

 have been cleared, and it is found that the chapel inside 

 was 24 feet 10 inches from east to west, and 12 feet 10 inches 

 wide. The east wall was 3 feet thick, west wall 2 feet, and side 

 walls 2 feet 6 inches. The door was at the western end of the 

 south wall; the sill and part of the jambs are still existing. 

 Near this was found, during the excavations, the only other 

 piece of cut stone in the building, a ridge stone, which was pro- 



* In the luventory of 1533, it is stated that in the chapel of St. Cnth- 

 bert-in-the-Sea, there were "an image of St. Cnthbert, one of St. 



Thomas, a pax (tabula) with the crucifix, and 9 (petychenors) silt," 



and in the Vestry of the Priory Church " 1 altarclothe of dyapere," 9 

 altarcloths of linen, 3 towels for the altar, 1 set of robes, with an alb, 

 stole, and maniple for that Chapel.— Raine, p. 125. 



t Referring to this island, Giraldus Cambrensis " De Mirabilibns 

 Hiberniae " says : Est, in boreali Britannise parte. Insula quaedam, quEe et 

 Sancta vocatur, ubi mulieres non pariunt ; concipiunt tamen, et pregnantea 

 effectse, usque ad pariendi articulum naturaliter intumescunt. Quo 

 imminente, ad alteram insulam {modicam, quae Thrushelande vacatur) 

 advectae, naturali libertate naturae indulgent. Quae si forte detentae 

 f uerint, sicnt aliqnoties proband! gratia (causa) compertum est, intolerabli 

 statim vexatione torquentur ; et usque ad ipsas fere mortis angustias, donee 

 emittantur, dolore prerauntur." " Works of Giraldus Cambrensis," edited 

 by James A. Dimock, M.A., published by the authority of the Lord 

 Commissioners of the Treasury under the direction of the Master of the 

 Rolls, Vol. v., p. 82. In this the clause in italics is omitted, which is 

 included in what professes to be an extract from Girald. Cambrensis in a 

 note to Symeon, chap. 21 (fol. 111b) given in Raine, p. 381. I could not 

 find any note to Symeon such as Raine refers to, in the editions of his 

 works. It must either be a note to a MS. copy in Durham — and the 

 words about Thrush Island have been iuserted by the Monkish transcriber 

 who probably knew the locality — or it may be that they did appear in 

 some other edition of Giraldus, for it appears that his " Itinerarium 

 Hiberniae," of which " De Mirabilibus " forms a part, was altered by him 

 several times. Giraldus wrote in 1188 ; Symeon lived at the commence- 

 ment of that century. There is no donbt that St. Cuthbert's Island is the 

 one referred to. 



If 



