Visited by the Society in August, 1888, 157 



Church of S. James. Avebury. 



This Church was ably described by the Vicar, but as it was my 

 good fortune to deal with the nave and north aisle in the recent 

 restoration, it may not be without interest if I place on record the 

 result of my observations. 



The architectural history of the Church, as gleaned from its 

 stones, is one of the most interesting I have met with. In the 

 first place we have the entire framework of the Saxon nave unaltered 

 as regards its general dimensions, and it is to the preservation of 

 these, in spite of many subsequent enlargements and alterations of 

 the Church, that the present remarkable proportions are due ; for it 

 will be noticed that the body of the Church has an extreme width 

 across nave and aisles in excess of its east-to-west length, and the 

 height of the nave in relation to its width is a characteristic of early 

 work which is so well shown by the Saxon Church at Bradford. 



The Saxon Church was, apparently, a nave with probably a 

 chancel, although not being engaged in the restoration of the 

 chancel (nor, by the way, upon the south aisle and porch, or the 

 new clerestory windows) I have had no opportunity of searching for 

 foundations here — but the Rev. Bryan King states 1 that some were 

 found in the earlier stages of the work. The Saxon nave had four 

 windows on each side — the two westernmost of which remain — and 

 an upper, or clerestory stage of small openings, one of which is in 

 situ. The others, after having been displaced to make room for 

 new windows, have been re-fixed : but, as I took much trouble to 

 find the positions from which they had been taken in the early 

 stage of the restoration, I have satisfied myself that they are now 

 in pretty nearly the same places which they formerly occupied. 

 [As I have dealt fully with the peculiar construction of these 

 windows in a previous number, 2 it is unnecessary to repeat it here, 

 but I may state that the object of the " centre " of wattle work 

 there described seems to me to be, that the circular splay (or arch) 

 of small rubble stones might be turned over it instead of employing 



1 Wiltshire Magazine, vol. xxi., p> 396. 

 8 Ibid, vol. xxi.. p. 188. 



