now and then advancing to the west end and brandishing his cane towards the sleeping beauties on the ladder. I thought this was such a case of church repletion as I had no where else witnessed in the county, and began to think of writing to the secretary of the Incorporated Society for pecuniary aid in the enlargement of the building, or to the clergyman and churchwardens to induce them to remove the immense monuments in the chancel, which are some twelve or thirteen feet long by five feet wide, when I discovered the secret of the large attendance it was a valedictory sermon by the late incumbent, it being his last Sunday among the people of Badsey and Wickhamford, and the church-goers of both places had assembled together to take their leave of the reverend gentleman. An old Scotch wife, once parting with her priest, assured him that "he baith cam' and left wi' the guid will o' the parish;" but although this might have been deemed an equivocal compliment, I must beg to assure the Rev. Mr. Boggis that I do not mean it as such in applying the anecdote to his case, as he seems to have left behind him a savour of good works, and to have conciliated the esteem of his congregations; yet much remains for his successor to accomplish in both parishes, and that, too, with a firm but gentle hand.

The church. and family monuments were "restored and beautified (as is somewhat ostentatiously recorded on a tablet above the chancel arch) by Arthur, Lord Sandys, of Ombersley Court, in the year 1841," by whose family Wickhamford was purchased from the Throckmortons, to whom it had fallen at the dissolution. The seat-ends are carved, and the pulpit has alto-relievo figures carved on its panels. A painting of the royal arms, executed in 1661, occupies the width of the church where traces of the ancient rood yet remain. Folding wooden gates divide the chancel from the nave. The font is wood, nicely carved, with the four Evangelists surrounding the shaft, and winged cherubs the basin. The old font (a plain circular one) is turned upside down in the

chancel, and is made to serve as a seat. On the front of the gallery, which is at the west end, are carvings on the panels, representing cherubs and cornucopiæ, as also Joseph and the Virgin. A chancel, nave, and tower, complete the little church; some of the windows are lancet, and others square-headed; the walls are covered with scripture sentences painted within black outlines, and the roof is tied with cross-beams. In the chancel is a plain pointed piscina. The walls of the church require colouring, the doors painting, and the pews a sweeping measure of reduction, which, unitedly, would greatly improve the appearance of this neat little church. The oldest monument here is a mural slab-"Here lyeth Jane, the wife of Thomas Sponer, who departed the 10th of Marche, 1584." Two gorgeous tombs, which glisten with gold and bright colours, occupy the greater part of the chancel. They have recumbent figures of alabaster, lying beneath bedstead canopies, supported by five Corinthian pillars in length, and arches between. One of the monuments is to Sir Samuel Sandys, "eldest son of that famous prelate Edwyn, Archbishop of York," died 1626, and his wife Mercy, who was descended from the ancient family of the Culpepers. The other is to Sir Edwin Sandys, who also died in 1626, and Penelope his wife. This is the knight described as "a bold-spoken member of the House of Commons," who was arrested sometime between June and November, 1621, upon the prorogation of Parliament. The Commons, upon reassembling, stood by their member; and, as he was sick in bed, they sent two members to wait upon him, and hear from his own mouth the cause of his arbitrary arrest, giving no credit to the declaration of Secretary Calvert that he had not been committed for any Parliamentary matter.

Close to the church is an ancient manor-house, now occupied by Mr. Taylor. The population of the parish in 1841 was 123; in 1851, 129.

Bampton.

66

ROM the railway, by the river's side, to Hampton F is a scene that would make the heart of a Dudley miner, a Stourbridge artisan, or a Brummagem mechanic, leap for joy; and if this series of sketches in "the Vale" shall have the effect of enticing any of those hardy and long-suffering sons of toil forth from the black and murky scene of their labours, to imbibe pure air and a taste for the beautiful in this lovely neighbourhood, one portion of my object will have been gained. The parish of Great and Little Hampton consists of two villages, watered by the "soft-flowing Avon, from whose sloping banks a number of pretty villas and mansions look down over verdant lawns and meadows, producing scenery of the most richly varied character. Among these are Hampton House, the mansion of B. Workman, Esq. (from whose lawn the park-like landscape, comprising hill, wood, and water, becomes, under the influence of the setting sun, truly enchanting); and Avon Villa, that of H. Workman, Esq., the present liberal and thrice elected mayor of Evesham. There is also the manorhouse at Little Hampton, occupied by a farmer, and Hampton Lodge, the residence of J. Allen Stokes, Esq. We need not be surprised at finding that the sagacious old abbots of Evesham also possessed a mansion here, as indeed it appears they did at most of the parishes comprised in "the Deanery of the Vale." In the reign of William I, Abbot Walter constructed a vineyard here, upon the bank now called Clarke's Hill, facing the park then belonging to the monastery on the other side of the river; and in Domesday book is an account of a salt-work then being within the parish. Some salubrious springs have been lately discovered here, from the

analysis of which it appears that they contain less of common salts and more of the medicinal than those of Cheltenham; and, referring to the Hampton waters, Dr. Hastings, in his "Illustrations of the Natural History of the County," thus remarks: "We only require some accidental circumstance to tempt fashionable visitors to resort to the neighbourhood of Evesham, in order that the springs of this spot may vie with those of the two former celebrated watering places (Cheltenham and Leamington) in their famed restorative virtues."

The church is built upon a gentle knoll above the river, whence its modest tower looks forth as though in admiration of the repose and beauty which reign around, and desiring to have its own pleasing features reflected by the stream beneath. The building consists of a nave and chancel, with the tower at the junction of the two. The latter stands on four handsome pointed arches, with vaulted stone ceiling, and the effect is to give the interior a light and lofty appearance, aided also by the open roof and the absence of galleries. The chancel (which is of unusually large size) was rebuilt in the thirteenth century by Abbot Randulph, but the church has been since almost entirely reconstructed in the Perpendicular style. Rubble, faced with ashlar, is the material. There is a curious and handsome stone porch on the south side. It has a somewhat depressed pointed arch, with a square label above, terminating in corbel heads; the buttresses at the side of the porch are continued up the slopes of the tiling in an angular ridge, the tiling or roof itself being composed of stone slabs. There is a square niche over the doorway, and in the porch are traces of the stoup which was formerly attached to the wall. The chancel contains a pointed piscina. On the north side of the tower is a turret staircase leading to the belfry, and upwards to the chamber in which the bells are hung. There is also a doorway before reaching the belfry, which formed the approach to the rood-loft. There were formerly six bells, but the first and fifth are missing.

I have been informed by an old parishioner that about fifty years ago they were sent to be recast by a bell-founder who became insolvent, and the churchwarden, who took little interest in the matter, did not care to recover them. The absence of bells from other towers hereabout has been accounted for in the same manner, which leads one to doubt very much the honesty of those who rejoiced in the profession of bell-founders, or else to suspect that the parishioners in those days preferred to put in their pockets the paltry price of the old metal to having a new bell wherewith to complete their peal. The church is in excellent condition, having been recently repaired and repewed by subscription. A little brick vestry at the north of the chancel spoils the view on that side. There is an old conical font, raised on two square steps. On the north wall is a table of bequests, setting forth that John Martin, of Little Hampton, in 1713, gave a messuage, tenement, and lands, at Little Hampton, from which £10 to be paid to an "orthodox and pious minister, that shall read prayers, preach, and catechise, every Sunday in this church;" such sum to be payable in March and September; also £10 for a similar object at Bengeworth; 25s. yearly for teaching poor children of Hampton to read and learn the church catechism; 10s. in bread to the poor every Christmas Day; 5s. yearly to the parish clerk, and the residue for setting out boys and girls apprentices; and £193. 1s. 6d., the residue of personal estate, laid out in land at Pebworth, for the benefit of the minister of Hampton. I am told these bequests are fully carried out. On the south wall is the following inscription: