170 Fragments of the Parochial ffixtory of Avebury. 



skin would make such a nice present for my father." And the 

 incident which I have above recorded is most interesting, as 

 betraying the same spirit of filial piety surviving to the very close 

 of his father's life. 



I am, 



Avebury Vicarage, Yours trul y> 



Feb. 23rd, 1866. BRYAN KlNG. 



Jrapettts of % f)arotjrkI Pistorg of ^fahtg- 



By the Rev. Bbyan King, Vicar. 

 The Church. 



HE present piers and arches, dividing the nave from the 

 aisles, were substituted for Norman work (the remains of 

 which in some very delicate capitals and shafts still exist), in the 

 year 1811 ; the present work was executed by a Mr. Button, 

 builder of Calne, and was probably copied by him from some of 

 Inigo Jones' "improvements" in Calne Church. But there was 

 a peculiarity in the structure then removed which I have never 

 seen in any other church ; this will be better understood from the 

 following sketch than from any mere description of it. (See plate.) 

 The continuous lines in the above sketch represent the existing 

 remains, whilst the dotted lines represent a restoration of the 

 original work as described to me by Mr. Chivers, our aged parish 

 clerk, who has always taken a very intelligent interest in the 

 church, and whose memory is most accurate. It will be seen from 

 this restoration, that the aisles were shut out from the nave by 

 seven feet six inches of solid stone-work between the two arches, 

 whicn served as the only communication ; and it was, doubtless, 

 with a view of partially remedying the inconvenience hence arising, 

 that large hagioscopes were formed from the east end of each aisle 

 into the chancel ; that of the north aisle being of unusual size, and 

 forming in fact a passage similar to the one in the north aisle of 

 Hilmarton Church. These openings between the aisles and the 

 chancel answered their purpose so long as the chief religious interests 



