Recent Wiltshire Books, Pamphlets, and Articles. 319 



Taking the book as a whole, however, as has been said before, its real 

 value lies in the part which is concerned with Calne itself. It is true 

 that the earlier history of the place— we get as far as the 16th century 

 in the first forty pages — is taken almost entirely from other books and 



The Whitefield Chapel, Bradenstoke. 



contains very little indeed that is new, but the municipal history from 

 the 16th century onwards is treated very fully and satisfactorily. Indeed 

 this is the best and strongest part of the book. The "obnoxious" 

 charter of James II., which was never acknowledged by the burgesses, 

 is printed in full in the appendix, from a copy at the Record Office. A 

 great part of the matter given in this connection comes from the "Burgus 

 Book or Book of th' accompte " begun by Philip Rich, town clerk and 

 vicar in 1561, which contains 500 or 600 pages, and records the receipts 

 and payments of the guild stewards, and is also occasionally used as the 

 minute book of the corporation. 



All this portion of the book, as well as the appendices containing 

 extracts from lay subsidies and other rolls, showing the names of the 

 inhabitants of Calne in the reigns of Edward III., Henry VIII., Edward 

 VI., Elizabeth, and Charles I. — indents of guild stewards and mayor s 

 from 1561 onwards — and the list of M.P.s from 1295 to 1885 — contains 

 a mass of information which is not to be found elsewhere. 



The chapter on the architecture of the Church, written by Mr. 

 Brakspear, is again full and valuable. He is inclined to think that the 

 jamb and springer of a window visible in the wall above the second 

 pier of the nave arcade on the north side may be the sole remains of 

 the Saxon Church mentioned as existing here in Domesday. 



The ecclesiastical history of the prebend of Calne is also fairly fully 

 dealt with. The chantries of St. Mary Magdalene and the B.V.M. 

 founded in the Parish Church by John St. Lo ; the benefaction of Sir 



