24 



The Parish Church of 8. Michael, Mere. 



chapel, otherwise a door would hardly have been made in the screen. 



80011 after the insertion of the window (in 1325) the north chapel 

 was founded and dedicated in honour of the Annunciation of the 

 Blessed Virgin by Johannes de Mere, steward of the manor under 

 King Edward II. 1 The work of this period can be distinguished, 

 as a rule, by the use of a large proportion of the green stone from 

 the Wolverton quarry, on the manor held with the chapel, which 

 is to some extent intermixed with Chilmark. This work consists 

 of the arcade of two bays between the chapel and chancel, and the 

 lower part of the jambs of the chancel arch with the rood-loft 

 staircase in the south jamb, which was entered from under the 

 north arch, and was afterwards superseded ; the exit door can be 

 seen on the west face. 



The chapel at this time probably only extended eastward as far 

 as the window over the door (which, it must be remembered, looked 

 into the open at this time) , and in width as far as the north wall of 

 the then existing nave aisle, some 2ft. 9in. less than the present 

 width, whilst it was probably much lower than the existing chapel. 

 Both arches of the arcade were at this time on a level, and the 

 raising of the western one is a later work ; these two arches are of 

 two orders of the quarter-round moulding, the outer order dying 

 out on to a plain chamfer on the jambs and on to the stilted part 

 above the cap of the central pier : this pier is an octagonal one. 

 The stop on the east respond is on the chapel side 1ft. lin. higher 

 than the base of the central pier, and than the stop on the chancel 

 side ; this seems to indicate a raising of the level for the sacrarium 

 floor of the chapel of this date. There is no evidence of a contem- 

 porary arch into the north aisle. 



The pieces of oak tracery now made up into a screen for the arch 

 opening into the north aisle are of this period, and may well have 

 formed part of the rood screen which undoubtedly existed before 

 the present one. 



The erection of this chapel seems to have aroused a spirit of 

 emulation, for the arcade of two bays on the south side of the 



1 See Appendices D. and E. 



