at the Salisbury Meeting. 



41 



of Decorated architecture in windows, doors, and in portions o£ 

 Churches, but there are fewer entire Churches in this style than in 

 the midland counties. The chancel of Downton is a good example 

 of early Decorated. We have rich Flamboyant work in the transepts 

 of Great Bedwyn, and in those of Lacock ; also in the chancel and 

 transepts of the very interesting* Church of Bishopston, especially 

 the south transept with its very curious external cloister. The 

 chancel at Wroughton is also a very charming example of flowing 

 Decorated, with very good tracery and mouldings. At Boyton the 

 Decorated work is earlier in date, and very good. 



The transition from Decorated to Perpendicular is exemplified in 

 the very remarkable Church of Edington, now being very carefully 

 restored by Mr. Ponting. This is one of the most important 

 buildings we possess for the history of English architecture, in 

 which we trace the beginnings of the new style — the special growth 

 of English soil — and watch the curves of the tracery stiffening into 

 rectilinear uniformity. Perpendicular not improbably had its rise 

 in the Abbey of Gloucester. We find the earliest dated instance 

 of its employment in the south transept of the Abbey Church now 

 the Cathedral, soon after which it appears in the re-modelling of 

 Winchester Cathedral, commenced by Bishop Edington, and though 

 less fully developed in the noble Collegiate Church founded by him 

 in his native village as a thank-offering for his elevation to the 

 episcopate, whieh is deservedly one of the chief glories of Wiltshire. 

 The first stone of this Church was laid in 1352, and it was dedicated 

 in 1361 ; dates of some importance in the origin of the Perpendicular 

 style. 



It would occupy too much of your time to dwell on the Perpen- 

 dicular work in this county. As everywhere else there is hardly a 

 Church which does not exhibit large or small traces of the great 

 wave of rebuilding and alteration which passed over the country as 

 the Gothic style was losing its life and freedom, and preparing to 

 give way to the newly-introduced classical revival. The stately 

 Church of Mere, with its noble west tower, may be mentioned as 

 I one of the best in South Wilts. Westbury deserves notice as an 

 j example of a Church originally Norman re-cast in Perpendicular, 



