408 THE CASTEL CHURCH. 



12th of January, 1830 ; the lightning fell on the Church, 

 descended by the conductor, and not being carried off into the 

 ground, burst through the window and did some amount of 

 damage to the interior of the Church, especially to the 

 plastering. A meeting of the parishioners was convened some 

 time afterwards for the purpose of taking measures for the 

 repairing of the damage and putting the Church in order 

 preparatory to an expected visit from the Bishop. An old man 

 who was present said he remembered to have seen in his youth 

 certain paintings on the vault of the chancel, but that they 

 had disappeared under repeated coats of whitewash. Directions 

 were accordingly given to the workmen to remove the white- 

 wash carefully, and the result was the discovery of some rude 

 but to the antiquary very interesting specimens of mural 

 decoration on the northern side of the chancel vault (St. 

 James' District Magazine). The vault of the chancel is divided 

 into two bays by a flat rib rising from corbels rudely moulded, 

 and on this rib is depicted the figure of an ecclesiastic in a 

 long black or dark blue gown with a white, close-fitting cowl 

 and tippet, and a sort of scarf hanging over the right shoulder 

 as low as the bend of the arm. The scarf is coloured red, and 

 may perhaps be intended to represent blood. The right hand 

 holds a flagon coloured yellow, and the left a chalice coloured 

 red. Across the neck is laid an axe, the handle of which is 

 yellow and the head dark blue tinged towards the edge with 

 red. The face of the figure is turned to the left, that is, looking 

 eastward. It is evidently meant for the representation of some 

 martyr, perhaps St. Thomas of Canterbury, the memory of 

 whose death, if the date (1203) assigned to the consecration of 

 the church be correct, must have been still fresh. Between 

 this figure and the eastern wall of the Church is a painting of 

 our Lord at table with his disciples. It is probably intended 

 for the Last Supper, but it is mixed up with the history of the 

 anointing of Jesus' feet by Mary — the figure of a female with 

 long yellow hair lying at the feet of the Saviour being 

 distinctly visible. The third painting, which is westward of 

 the vaulting rib, between that and the tower, represents the 

 subject, so common in medieval churches, known as " le Fabliau 

 des trois morts et des trois vifs" Three knights on horseback 

 with hawks on their hands are confronted in a wood, repre- 

 sented by a single tree, by three skeletons in various stages of 

 decomposition. The drawing of all these figures is very rude, 

 and the only colours employed are black for the outlines and 

 parts of the dresses, red and yellow ochre, and a very dark 

 blue scarcely distinguishable from black. At the time of the 

 discovery I sent drawings to the late Colonel Charles Hamilton 

 Smith, F.S.A., a competent authority on ancient costume, who 

 pronounced the dress of the knights to be that of the first 



