The Cirencester Excursion. 145 



of this massive piece of early architecture. He said they were now 

 before the Spital-gate of St. Mary's Church. It was locally known 

 as " the Saxon Gate," but he thought they would ascribe it to the 

 time of Henry the First, about 1130. This gate, he remarked, 

 seemed to have led direct to nowhere, but Mr. Bravender mentioned 

 that the line of road had been altered. He had on the previous 

 evening' spoken of Wigg-old, formerly Wiggewold, and the road 

 which they had just left was formerly Wigge-ham-way, now mo- 

 dernised to the " White Way." As another instance of the man- 

 ner in which the names of streets got corrupted, the Rev. gentle- 

 man mentioned Dollar Street, which was in reality Dole-Hall 

 Street, as the Dole-Hall (the place for the distributing of alms) 

 was there originally situated, and the gate of the Abbey opening 

 into the street was named until quite recently the Almery- 

 gate. 



The party then proceeded through the beautiful grounds of the 

 Abbey, kindly thrown open by T. W. C. Master, Esq. Here Mrs. 

 Master welcomed the visitors, and stated that Mr. Master had 

 unavoidably been called away to fulfil a prior engagement, or he 

 would have had great pleasure in being present. 



Professor Church pointed out a handsome capital to a Roman 

 pillar, which was discovered in the Nursery, Cirencester, and which 

 he said, was one of the finest specimens of Roman work made in 

 Britain, and still in existence. 



As to the exact position of the old Abbey, Mr. Fuller said he could 

 not give them an}^ information. He should show them, when in the 

 church, a roof which was said to have been brought from the abbey, 

 and which was plainly not constructed for its present position. 

 Portions of a roof precisely similar were discovered a few years ag*o 

 about eight feet below the surface by excavations made during some 

 repairs to. the Abbey-house, and at the same time in the walls of 

 the present building had been found many fragments of Norman 

 moulding, &c. The condition on which Henry the Eighth gave 

 the property to its first owner after the dissolution of the Abbey, 

 was that all traces of the Abbey should be thoroughly destroyed, 

 and that condition seemed most truly carried out, as no traces of 



