188 



Notes on Churches visited in 1898. 



Castle Eaton Church consists of nave with north aisle, south 

 porch, and western tower, chancel, and north chapel, with a crypt, 

 or bone-hole, beneath. 



The earliest portions of the work here, as in many other cases, 

 are the doorways of the nave, which, doubtless, owing to their 

 elaboration and their being less influenced in their use by the 

 changes of style in subsequent periods than is the case with 

 windows, have been preserved. Both north and south doorways 

 of the nave are of the late Norman period — circa 1170 — the former 

 is a plain semi-circular-headed opening with label, and small 

 chamfer on the arch carried down the jambs (this doorway was 

 evidently re-built here when the aisle was thrown out) . The south 

 doorway, as usual, is richer in ornamentation — it has jamb shafts 

 with moulded bases and caps with circular necking and square 

 abacus. The arch has an inner order with small chamfer carried 

 down the jambs and stopped by a leaf near the floor. The outer 

 order has the chevrons and a roll mould, the label is moulded and 

 ornamented with the ball ornament, and has " monster " terminals 

 similar to those at Malmesbury. 



The font is very little later than this. It has a circular bowl 

 2ft. 6in. in diameter, with mouldings on the upper and lower edges, 

 and a band of very early conventionalised foliage carried round 

 the middle. This is, at present, supported only by a circular shaft 

 of 9in. diameter, with base moulds standing on a moulded base ; 

 the shaft is out of all proportion to the bowl, but there were formerly 

 four smaller shafts surrounding this. A close examination shows 

 that the bowl and the base are not parts of the same font, although 

 they each had the same arrangement of a central and four sur- 

 rounding shafts, for the spacing of the small shafts on the base was 

 llin. from centre to centre, and that on the bowl 16in. 



The re-building of the Church commenced with the chancel, 

 which dates from the second quarter of the thirteenth century, and 

 is very refined and interesting work. The east window is a triple 

 lancet with trefoil heads, the central one being higher than the side, 

 with chamfer and rebate on outside — these are contained within a 

 semi-circular arch with chamfer on edge stopping near the sill, the 



