their being no where to be found; and, considering that Stone-henge has stood for many hundred years liable to such treatment, the labour, time, and expence employed therein, cannot be thought so much as to overthrow my supposition. Another circumstance that pleads strongly in favour of Dr. Stakely is, that Stone-henge appears to have been long used for a temple; the many tumuli placed round it, and the remains of sacrifices said to be found there, are strong proofs of this; and it is the greatest absurdity to believe that such veneration and regard would have been ever paid to an unfinished pile.

In the next place, B. Martin thinks it does not appear that the Druids were the founders of this temple. It is true, we can in this particular go no farther than mere conjecture, not having any certain account of its building left us; but the Druids have, in my opinion, a much better claim to the honour of the work, than any other people that are though to have any pretensions to it. That it is of equal antiquity with most other edifices of the same kind in this island cannot be doubted, and, as some of them are crossed and mangled by the Roman ways*, it is evident they were erected before the arrival of the Romans, at which time the Druids presided over the worship and religious ceremonies of the Britons; and, as Stone-henge is allowed to have been a temple, they may with great reason be thought the founders of it.-I think it is plain, from what has been just said, that the Romans can have no claim to it, notwithstanding this was the opinion of the celebrated Inigo Jones; but though he had undoubtedly great merit as an architect, yet I cannot allow that his abilities as an antiquary were equal; at least, his conjectures on Stone-henge are far from being probable, as it is incredible, that a people so famous as the Romans for the beauty and elegance of their buildings, both at home and abroad, should ever construct a work so very rude and void of all ornaments as Stone-henge has always been.

I come now to consider what is offered by B. Martin in support of his notion, that the stones of Stonehenge are factitious. This was, doubtless, invented as the only resource of those who think it impossible for such ponderous bodies to be moved from one place to another by human art. The folly of such an opinion will appear, when we reflect, that, in an old wall surrounding the famous temple

Beauties of Nature and Art, Vol. II. p. 151

at Balbec, there are stones of much larger dimensions than any of those at Stone-henge; for we are told, that one of them is sixty-three feet in length, and two others sixty a piece, each of them being twelve feet deep, and of the same breadth, and these prodigious stones are also raised up into the wall many feet from the ground*: and that they are natural, cannot be doubted; their being three separate pieces is a sufficient proof of this, as they lie contiguous to each other.-I could bring other examples from authentic history, both ancient and modern, to prove what amazing weights may be managed by human art, the methods of doing which were not unknown to the Druids, if we allow Stone-henge to be their work; since I think enough has been alleged to convince any body that the stones of Stone-henge may be naturai. Besides, if they were factitious, how could the imposts be made of a different piece from the uprights? would not all the pieces have been united into one block of stone? It may be said, that the imposts were formed into their shape on the ground, and then lifted up into their places; but those who plead for the stones being artificial, are such as think it impossible to lift such heavy bodies to the height of 18 or 20 feet. Admitting, then, that these stones are natural, it is very probable that they were brought from Marlborough-downs; for though it is objected that there are now none among the Grey-Weathers equal to the smaller ones of Stone-henge, yet this by no means proves that there were not some much larger before the building of that temple, but instead thereof, it makes the contrary opinion very plausible, and that the materials of Stone-henge actually came from thence; which I doubt not will appear very practicable, as they might employ a vast number of hands in a work of so public a nature, and perhaps were months, if not years, in performing the task of bringing each of them so far.

I hope the above is sufficient to vindicate the sentiments of the learned antiquary before-mentioned: I shall therefore conclude by adding, that his many opportunities of examining Stone-henge, and his great abilities in searching into antiquity, render his authority very respectable; and as his conjectures on the present subject are plausible, so it is likely we shall never see any hypothesis better grounded than that he has favoured us with.

1774, May.

* Beauties of Nature and Art, Vol. X. p. 112,

LXXVIII. Auncient Ordre for hallowing of the Cramp Rings, &c.

[From a MS. belonging to the late Mr. Anstis, now to the Duke of Northumberland.]

"FIRSTE, the Kinge to come to the chappell or clossett, withe the Lords and Noblemen waytinge upon him, without any sword borne before hime as that day, and ther to tarrie in his travers until the Bishope and the Deane have brought in the Crucifixe out of the vestrie, and layd it upon the cushion before the highe alter. And then the Usher to lay a carpet for the Kinge to creepe to the crosse upon: and that done, ther shall be a forme sett upon the carpett before the crucifix, and a cushion laid upon it for the Kinge to kneale upon. And the Master of the Jewell house ther to be ready with the crampe rings in a bason of silver, and the Kinge to kneele upon the cushion before the forme. And then the Clerke of the Closett be redie with the booke concerninge the halowinge of the crampe rings, and the Aumer muste kneele on the right hand of the Kinge, holdinge the sayd booke. When that is done, the Kinge shall rise and go to the alter, wheare a Gent. Usher shall be redie with a cushion for the Kinge to kneele upon:.and then the greatest Lords that shall be ther, to take the bason with the rings, and beare them after the King to offer. And thus done, the Queene shall come down out of her clossett or traverse into the chappell, with ladyes and gentlewomen waitinge upon her, and creepe to crosse, and then goe agayne to her clossett or traverse. And then the ladyes to creepe to the crosse likewise, and the Lords and Noblemen likewise."

Dr. Percy, who has printed this curious extract at the end of his notes on Northumberland Household-book, observes, that our ancient Kings, even in the dark times of superstition, do not seem to have affected to cure the King's Evil; at least this MS. gives no hint of any such power. This miraculous gift was left to be claimed by the Stuarts; our ancient Plantagenets were humbly content to cure the cramp. The doctor adds, that, in 1536, when the convocation under Henry the VIII. abolished some of the old superstitious practices, this of creeping to the cross, on GoodFriday, &c. was ordered to be retained as a laudable and edifying custom. See Herbert's Life of Henry VIII. It appears, in the Northumberland Household-book, to have been observed in the earl's family, the value of the offerings then made by himself, his lady, and his sons, being there severally ascertained.

There is also specified a candle to be offered by each of the above persons on St. Blase day; on which the learned editor observes, that "the anniversary of St. Blasius is the 3d of February, when it is still the custom, in many parts of England, to light up fires on the hills on St. Blase-night; a custom anciently taken up, perhaps for no better reason than the jingling resemblance of his name to the word Blaze."

1774, June,

D. H.

LXXIX. Ancient Baptisteries, Lavatories, &c.
MR. URBAN,

THE sensible and lively author of the book entitled, A Walk in and about the city of Canterbury, has, at p. 105, given a new name to the circular building, vulgarly called Bell Jesus, situated near the north door of that cathedral; but, when Mr. Gostling ventured to be the sponsor upon this occasion, I am suspicious he might not recollect, that few old baptisteries are to be traced in the churches and chapels formerly belonging to the monasteries in this kingdom. Archbishop Edmund, in his Constitutions, published about the year 1236, directed a stone font to be provided for every baptismal church; which Lyndwood interprets to be a church having the people (i. e. the laity) connected with it; "for," adds this eminent civilian, "in a collegiate or conventual church, which has not the people, there ought to be no font"*. Keysler, in his Travels, vol. ii. p. 44, 45, has given a particular description of the baptistery at Florence, mentioned by Mr. G. in which this traveller informs

* Baptisterium habeatur in qualibet ecclesia baptismali (a) lapideum, &c. (a) Baptismali] Sive cathedrali, sive parochiali; tali nempe quæ habet populum: nam in ecclesiâ collegiatâ, vel conventuali, quæ non habet populum, non debet esse baptisterium, &c.

The writer was from the first doubtful whether there might not be an instance or two to the contrary of what he has here advanced, and, since he finished his letter, he has discovered, that a Bishop of Coventry granted to the abbey of Haghmon, in Shropshire, an officer, whose province it was to baptise as well Jews as infants, and who was to discharge parochial duty for the servants and domestics in that monastery. But the reverend author of the Preface to ́Tanner's Notit, Monast. p. 29, mentions this to be a very different sacristan from what usually belonged to other religious houses. It may also be remarked, that Haghmon-Abbey was a fraternity of regular Austin canons and not Benedictines, the monks of which stricter order were settled in all our cathedral priories, Carlisle excepted.

us, that it is opposite to the cathedral, that it is called I Battisterio, or St. John's Church, and that all the children of Christian parents in that city are baptised in it. A baptistery of this kind could not well have been wanted in Canterbury; because the right of administering baptism seems to have been annexed to all the parochial churches there, from the first establishment of them; and from the author's account of the font in St. Martin's church, there is a presumptive proof of its being more ancient than the cathedral itself. For these reasons, I am apt to imagine, that the building in question was never designed for a baptistery; and, indeed, had there been an edifice for this purpose within the precincts of the cathedral, one should hardly have expected to have found it near the centre of the offices belonging to the convent. But, as I have taken the liberty to object to the new name conferred on this little building, in order to afford others the like opportunity of making exceptions, I will hazard a guess at what may have been the true appellation of it; and, in my opinion, it was the ancient lavatory, i.e. the place where the members of the priory used to wash themselves. In the constitutions given to the monks of the Benedictine order, by Archbishop Lanfranc, this apartment is expressly named, and in a manner which will induce us to fix it not far from the dortor, or dormitory*; and it appears, by the inclosed extracts from Du Fresne's Gloss. Med. et Infim. Lat. that there was, in other monasteries, such a building, which adjoined to the chapter-room, as did also the scriptorium (i. e. the room in all great convents in which persons were constantly employed to transcribe books for the choir and the libraryt.) The situation of this circular recess in Canterbury cathedral nearly answers to this description, it being at a very inconsiderable distance from the old chapter-house, and contiguous to the old library, which was over the prior's chapel, and of which library the scriptorium was probably a part. It is observed by Mr. G. that this building consists of two rooms, one on the ground floor, and the other on a level with the gallery leading to the

Cum appropinquaverit tempus horæ tertiæ pulsetur a secretario modice signum minimum, quam “skillam" vocant, et statim pergant in dormitorium, et calcient se diurnalibus, et cultellos accipiant; deinde ad lavatorium veniant, et prius lavent se, et postea pectinent, deinde ad ecclesiam veniant, &c. &c. Wilkins' Concil. Mag. Britan. v. i. 529.

+ Lavatorium, ubi manus lavant monachi priusquam cant ad refectorium.Pyrale, hypocaustum conventuale, estuve, in quo capitulum celebratur.— Veniunt in pyrale, et inde in lavatorium, necnon et proximum pyrali scriptorium: et has tres regularissimas præ omnibus quas unquam viderint, asserebant esse officinas. Eckehardus junior, de Casibus S Galli, cap. 11.