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since, and is preparing a paper upon them]. At Colerne, further 

 down the Fosse Way, near Box, there are in the Church two 

 fragments of the shaft of a pre-Norman cross, with very hold 

 and intricate interlacements of dragons. At Bradford-on-Avon 

 there is, among other very interesting early sculptured stones, 

 a portion of a small pre-Norman cross, with a special detail 

 on it, which I have observed also on some other small pre- 

 Norman crosses in the Museum at Bath. The problem which 

 these suggest to me, considering their distance one from another, 

 and their general alignment towards Malmesbury, is this : — What 

 was the route taken by those who carried Aldhelm's body from the 

 place of death, namely, the stone on which he sat and died in his 

 little wooden Church at Doulting, to its resting-place here at 

 Malmesbury ? You are familiar, of course, with the very 

 interesting facts. They went by such a route that the distance 

 was 50 miles, a good deal more than the direct distance. They 

 took seven days to it, presumably about seven miles a day. On 

 each spot where the body rested for a night, they erected in 

 memorial a cross of stone. Some of these remained in the time of 

 William of Malmesbury, 430 years after the event, and one was 

 in the cloisters here at Malmesbury. They were known as biscep- 

 stanes, bishop-stones. The name Bishopstone, or Bishopston, is 

 by no means rare. We have three, at least, in Wiltshire, but 

 none lies on the road from Doulting, near Shepton Mallet, to 

 Malmesbury. 



I do not know if the probable route has ever been worked out. 

 Considering Aldhelm's foundations at Frome and Bradford-on- 

 Avon, I think it most probable, practically certain, that they would 

 pass through those places and rest there. The distance suit the 

 conditions well. From Frome they may have gone to Bishopstrow 

 (the Saxon treow, i.e., tree, or cross) where again the Church is 

 dedicated to St. Aldhelm. To Bradford would be a very long 

 stage ; I should be inclined to look for some tradition or some 

 lingering remains of a name or a dedication half way. Bath, 

 Colerne, and Littleton Drew, conveniently provide the remaining 

 resting-places. If, as seems probable, we are to take it that there 



