Friday, July 17th. 



105 



incautiously expressed a doubt as to the conclusiveness of the 

 evidence for the pre-Norman date of the font. For this Mr. 

 Medlicott, who followed with some remarks on the history of the 

 place and Church, fell upon him with much severity, and it was 

 evident that Potterne folk were quite prepared to do battle 

 for the credit of their Saxon font. From the Church the party 

 moved on to the POECH HOUSE, where they were most kindly 

 received by the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Hornby, and were allowed 

 to wander over the charming old wooden mansion as they pleased. 

 The history of the house and its rescue and restoration by Mr. 

 G. Eichmond was given shortly by Mr. H. E. Medlicott, and 

 Mb. W. Heward Bell followed with a few words on the manner of 

 life in a medireval dwelling house of the kind. The time was all too 

 short to see the house itself and the many nice things in it before 

 the journey to WEST LAVINGTON had to be resumed. Here the 

 CHUECH was visited, Mr. Brakspear again acting as architectural 

 guide, as he did, too, at TILSHEAD CHUECH, which was the next 

 point on the programme. Mr. Sloper spoke on the decadence of 

 Tilshead from its condition in 1086, when it had sixty-six burgesses 

 and nine mills, and was as large as Calne and twice the size of 

 Warminster. Dr. Beddoe also joined in the discussion, and the 

 Bev. C. V. Goddard gave some particulars from notes by Miss 

 Johnson, daughter of the late vicar. 1 At luncheon, at the inn, 

 some fifty Members were present. 



STONEHENGE was reached in good time after lunch, and here 

 the party was met by Sir Edmund and Lady Antrobus, and 

 some other friends — being admitted free within the much-discussed 

 enclosure by the kindness of Sir Edmund. The Bev. E. H. Goddard 

 gave an account of the recent work of re-erecting the " Leaning 

 Stone," carried out at the expense of Sir Edmund, and of the results 

 of the excavations made for that purpose, as given in Dr. Gowland's 

 very important paper just placed in the hands of Members in the 

 last number of the Magazine. For the work that had been done 

 he expressed the warmest gratitude, not only of our own Society, 



1 See Devizes Gazette, Aug. 27th, 1903. 



