79 
These memorials may be briefly described as plates of brass, or a 
mixed metal called latten , representing either in their outline, or by 
the lines engraved upon them the living forms of departed individuals. 
All presented by Mr. John Brown , except otherwise described. 
1. The most important brass in the county, and one which may be 
taken as a type of the art generally, is that of Robert Wyvil, 
Bishop of Salisbury, who died in 1375, from the Cathedral of 
this city. This interesting and costly memorial may be re¬ 
garded as one of the finest remaining examples of brass 
engraving executed in England. 
The engraver has endeavoured to perpetuate two remarkable 
events which took place during his prelacy; the recovery of Sher¬ 
borne Castle, and of Bere Chase, in Dorsetshire, both of which had 
long been alienated from the See. Any allusion of this kind to a 
particular circumstance in the history or actions of the deceased is 
very rarely met with. On the brass is seen a representation of the 
contested Castle, with the Bishop’s champion standing at the gate 
of the outer ward, with buckler and the singular weapon the 
uncinus used in judicial conflict. In the gate of the first ward is a 
half-length efflgy of the bishop, with uplifted hands, and clad in 
eucharistic vestments. Rising above the rest of the building is the 
keep or central tower, with its gateway and portcullis, and in the 
foreground of the fortress, the representation of a chase, with the 
figures of hares, in allusion to the recovery of the chase of Bere. 
2. Figure of an ecclesiastic vested in a cope, date 1383, from St. 
Cross, near Winchester. 
3. Rubbing from an incised slab of Purbeck marble, recently dis¬ 
covered in the chancel of Steeple Langford Church. Pre¬ 
sented by Mr. Nightingale , The date of this interesting 
specimen of miniature effigy is probably early in the thirteenth 
century. The person portrayed appears in a long robe, open 
in front, his hands are raised and hold an escutcheon, which is 
perfectly plain. At the right side of the figure is a horn, 
suspended by a strap over the left shoulder, and this has been 
regarded as allusive probably to Waleran Venator, who held 
lands at Steeple Langford, Wilts, and was patron of the living 
at the early part of the thirteenth century. 
The hunting horn is of comparatively uncommon occurrence on 
sepulchral memorials in England. These effigies of miniature 
dimensions are rare; a well-known example exists in the Cathedral 
of this city—that of the boy bishop; the story, however, needs 
confirmation. Diminutive effigies, in which the proportions are 
those of a man, are sometimes supposed to represent children, but 
probably without good reason. 
4. Effigy in plate armour of Sir Anthony de G-rey, from St. 
Albans Abbey. 
