us 



The Twentieth General Meeting. 



Rector, and of which I will give a few details. Down Ampney has 

 suffered greatly from the reckless destruction of landmarks. It was 

 long* connected with the see of Worcester, and there are many allusions 

 to it in the archives of that diocese. There we shall find the history 

 of Sir Nicholas de Villars, the personal friend of Edward the First, 

 and his companion in the Crusade, who gave him the manor of Down 

 Ampney in 1 268 in return for his services. The canopied tomb of Sir 

 Nicholas de Villars still exists in the church, but needs restoration ; 

 there is also a female recumbent figure by his side, which has remained 

 intact during the restoration of the church ; but a still more ancient 

 priest's tomb in the chancel was found to have been moved a few feet 

 eastward, and under its stone slab were found traces of a paten, and 

 other marks which shewed he had been buried with all the emblems of 

 priestly dignity. I may here mention also that the great Hungerford 

 family were closely connected with Down Ampney, one branch 

 of which settled there, and displayed that taste in the building of 

 the new mansion, which we have not, with all our modern appliances^ 

 been able to excel. The old itinerary of Leland in Henry the 

 Eighth's time, contains some particulars of the mansion belonging 

 to Sir Anthony Hungerford, and of the brook which runs by it. 

 The second volume of Hearne's edition, published in 1769, also gives 

 some interesting particulars of this mansion. Unhappily very much 

 of it has been destroyed, such as the old porch and the ancient 

 carvings of the hall chimneys, but there still remains in excellent 

 preservation the old chestnut roof over the whole hall, which now 

 forms part of the offices. One of the most striking features of the 

 place and apart from it is the old gateway, supposed by some to have 

 been constructed after the designs of Holbein, and which is well 

 worthy your notice, as it is of its kind quite unique, and it is still 

 occupied for dwelling-rooms. The boundary stone of the two 

 counties — Wilts and Gloucestershire — situated in the garden, 

 its dimensions and inscription, should also be inspected. In con- 

 nection with the church I might mention that some rude crosses 

 found in the walls of the south chancel, are considered by the 

 London Antiquarian Society to be decidedly Saxon, and of the 

 earliest form of extra-mural Christian monuments to be met with in 



