REPORT Ot' MEETINGS FOR l905 2^3 



alteration of the rood-screen; two slits in the jambs of the 

 chancel arch, one, a squint or hagioscope for viewing the 

 raising of the host, and the other, a cupboard ; and a 

 remarkable East window representing in five lights the 

 favourite subject of the tree of Jesse, in which figures of 

 Jesse, David, Solomon, and Christ, as well as of the Old 

 Testament prophets, are depicted. The glass of the upper 

 portion is old, but that of the lower has been restored by 

 Clayton & Bell in 1859. The scrolls are copied from the 

 Vulgate, and the quotations regarding the coming of Christ, 

 as for example: — "Out of Egypt have I called My Son," 

 are inscribed in black-letter and contracted Latin characters. 

 The oldest window in the building stands in the South aisle. 

 It is very delicate in colour, and represents St. Blaise, the 

 patron of wool-combers, and St. Denis, the patron of cattle 

 and farm-produce. A two-storeyed vestry on the North side 

 contains in its lower room a curious recess, pierced at its 

 head with a quatrefoil opening, which looks into the aisle 

 of the church, and which has not as yet been satisfactorily 

 explained. Attention was drawn also to the adjustment of 

 the roof of the main building to meet the divergence in 

 the width of wall and aisle, so that the brackets supporting 

 the spandrels are sometimes on the edge of the bays in 

 place of in the centre. A very delightful hour was spent 

 in the inspection of the building and of many objects of 

 interest brought under notice by Canon Bulkeley, to whom 

 was accorded a hearty acknowledgment of his kindness. 

 On the invitation of the Worshipful Mayor of Morpeth, 



Councillor Oliver, the members drove to his 

 Mace private residence, Bowmer Bank, where a boun- 



Bearer, tiful supply of light refreshments was provided 



and Mace, and partaken of. For their entertainment 



several articles of interest in the custody of 

 the Mayor were exhibited and explained, among them being 

 the Town's Mace, the Civic Plate, and the Branks, an ancient 

 instrument of female castigation. With regard to the first of 

 these, the ofiice of Mace Bearer in Morpeth seems to have 

 been a very old one. Prior to the formation of a Municipal 

 Council, the office was known as that of Sergeant-at-Arms. 

 He was servant of the bailiffs, who formerly governed the 



