was not the Church of the Priory. 



15 



house, and the gate with the gatehouse in the base court." 



Against this, is a note, in the margin : — " Committed to the 

 custody of John Barwic, servant to the Earl of Hertford." 



Hoare and Jackson print the above as the " Priore's " lodging, 

 but though there undoubtedly was, at one time, a Prior, besides 

 the Prioress, I think the latter is meant, as I find the spelling is 

 the same here as when the Prioress is certainly referred to, so that 

 it is a mere question of the position of an apostrophe, and probably 

 an accident in printing from the original. 



This lodging then appears to have been reserved, as a dwelling- 

 house for the Earl of Hertford. 



Then follows a schedule of buildings, "Deemed to be super- 

 fluous," consisting of "The Church, Cloister, Frater, [or Refectory], 

 Dormitory and Chapter-house : the Convent Kitchen, with all the 

 houses adjoining to the same : the old Infirmary, with the Chapel 

 Cloister, and lodgings adjoining : the Sextery, with houses joining 

 to the same: the steward's, receivor's, auditor's and priests' lodgings: 

 and all other houses in the Base Court, above not reserved," and 

 again, in the margin, " committed as abovesaid," that is, to Mr. 

 Barwic's custody. 



In the very forefront of the buildings, scheduled as " deemed to 

 be superfluous," stands the Priory Church. It seems incredible 

 that, if the present Church had been the only Church, they should 

 have proposed to destroy it and to leave Amesbury without any 

 Church at all. 



It must.be remembered that it is in January, 1541, that provision 

 is made for the salary of the perpetual curate. 



This document then gives an estimate of the weight of the " leads 

 remaining upon the church choir, aisles, steeple, chapels, revestry 

 [or vestry], cloister, frater, hall and chambers there, with the 

 gutters belonging to the same, esteemed at 230 foders," (a fother 

 being 19 cwt.) 



It looks as if the words " the church quere," in this instance, 

 meant the whole body of the Church, from east to west, exclusive 

 of the steeple. It is, in general, not very easy to say, when the 

 word " choir " is used, precisely, what is meant. 



