tecture. The tower at the west end contains a clock and six bells, on one of which is this poesy:

"Come, when I call, to serve God all."

There are several monuments here, some of which are hand

some, but in other respects not deserving of description.

Tickenham lies in the hundred of Portbury, at the bottom of a chain of mountains, running from east to west. Several centuries ago all this parish was a deep impassable morass; indeed it is now only rendered safe for horses, by a causeway raised across it.

The

The church is dedicated to St. Quiricus and Julietta. building is Gothic, and has a tower at the west end. The font here is a square stone cistern, supported by five pillars. One larger than the rest stands in the centre, and the other four occupy the angles. Three full-sized effigies, two of them men in armour, and one a female, lie on a stone tablet in the south aisle. The inscriptions are entirely defaced, so that the persons they were intended to commemorate are unknown.

Near the church formerly stood the mansion of Tickenham Court. It is now a ruin, but some of the walls are still standing. These being adorned with noble windows, of the Gothic order, and clothed with ivy, present to the eye an interesting and venerable object.

Barrow Court, another ancient mansion, now entirely de molished, was situated under the hills, on the road lead. ing to Clevedon. The summit of the same ridge, which overlooks the village, is distinguished by an ancient Roman entrenchment, called Cadbury Castle, resembling that of a similar name, which we have already described, but of much less extent and consequence. This camp is of an oval form, and surrounded by a large double rampart, composed of loose lime-stone, the produce of the spot on which it is placed.

Nemnet lies in the hundred of Hareclive and Bedminster. The grounds of this parish are in general high, but intersected

• Vide Ante, 477,

by

by deep woody glens. The church is a small building of modern construction.

66

What renders this parish chiefly worthy of notice, is a tu mulus, or barrow, situated in a field, called Fairy Field, at a short distance eastward from the church. This ancient sepulchre is undoubtedly one of the noblest in England. It extends sixty yards in length, twenty in breadth, and fifteen in height. The surface of it is covered with ash trees, briars, and thick shrubs. When opened it was found to be a mass of stones, "supported on each side, lengthwise, by a wall of thin flakes." The space between contained two rows of cells, or cavities, formed by very large stones, set edgewise." These cells are entered from the south, and are divided from each other by vast stones, placed on their edges, and covered with others still larger, by way of architrave. In one lay seven skulls; and in another a great quantity of human bones and horses' teeth; but no coins or other reliques were found in any of them, which could lead to a discovery of the persons who own this receptacle of mortality. It certainly, however, indicates the neighbourhood to have witnessed some great and fatal battle, which has escaped the page of history, as well as oral tradition.

Chew Magna, so called from being larger than any of the other places named Chew, is an extensive and populous parish in the hundred of Chew. It is sometimes called Bishop's Chew, from being the property of the Bishop of Wells. The town of Chew was anciently a borough, and considerable for its manu facture of cloth. These advantages, however, are now no

more.

In this parish are the remains of an ancient Roman encampment, called Bow Ditch. The form of this entrenchment is circular, with a triple row of ramparts. The spot on which it is placed commands a fine prospect towards the Bristol Channel.. The church is a massive building, with a tower at at the west

end, surmounted by an open ballustrade, and having a turret

at one corner.

Sir John de Loe, and his lady, lie in effigy, on a large tomb, in the north aisle. The figure of the former is of gigantic size, and in armour, with his limbs crossed, to denote his having been at Jerusalem. That of the lady is much defaced. From the inscription and date beneath she seems to have died in 1443.

The south aisle contains the effigy of Sir John Hautvil, in armour, cut out of one solid piece of Irish oak. He reclines on his left side, resting on his hip and left elbow, the left hand supporting his head. His right arm crosses his breast, the hand touching the edge of an oblong shield, which lies between his left elbow and hip. The left leg is raised, and the foot placed against a lion, in the act of biting his spur. The right leg forms a right angle at the knee. Over the armour is a loose red coat, bound round the waist with a girdle, fastened by a gilt buckle.

This gentleman was remarkable for prodigious strength, as the Irish oak is probably intended to denote. Vulgar tradition informs us, that Edward the First having requested Sir John to shew him a specimen of his abilities, the knight undertook to convey three of the stoutest men in England to the top of Norton Tower, situated in a neighbouring parish. Accordingly, taking one under each arm, and a third in his teeth, he proceeded on his task. The two in his arms, making some resistance, were squeezed to death, but the other was carried up without sustaining the smallest injury.

Stanton Drew, is a large parish, situated in the south-west angle of the hundred of Keynsham. It is washed by the river Chew, which passes near the church, in its course to Pensford. The lands are noted for the excellence of their pasture. In the church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, and adorned with a tower, there are several neat monuments, mostly of modern date, which do not seem to require a particular description.

This parish is remarkable for a curious monument of antiquity, which stands in an enclosure, to the north-east of the church. It consists of the remains of four clusters of huge massive stones, forming two circles, an oblong and an ellipsis. The first of the circles is three hundred feet in diameter, composed of fourteen large stones, some of which lie flat on the ground. The second is only eighty feet in diameter, and is formed of eight stones. The oblong, consisting of five stones, stands between the circles, and at the south-east extremity is the ellipsis, composed of seven stones, one of which stands centrically, and out of the line of arrangement. The largest stones are those which form the second, or inner circle. One of them is no less than twenty-two feet in circumference, and nine in height, weighing, upon calculation, upwards of fif

teen tons.

Extensive as this part is, it would appear to have been only the centre of the whole building. It had many avenues to it, and a huge stone near the road to Chew, commonly called Hautvill's Coit, from a tradition that it was thrown here by the knight we have mentioned above, seems to have served as part of a portal to one of them. At a little distance south-west of the church, on a small eminence, there are other three large stones, placed in a triangular form, which are supposed to have been outworks to the circles. The whole of this relique goes, among the vulgar, by the general name of the wedding, from a prevailing opinion, that a woman going to be married was, with all her attendants, converted into stones.*

The real origin of this immense work is uncertain. Some antiquaries, and among them Dr. Stukeley, contend that it was a temple, erected by the British Druids.† Wood even supposes it to represent the Pythagorean planetary system, adopted by that people, who pretended not only to have a perfect idea of the form and magnitude of the universe, but also of the courses of the stars, and their several revolutions.* These opinions, however, are far from being satisfactory, and it seems much more probable, considering the vicinity in which this monument is situated, that it was raised to commemorate some great and signal victory.

Stanton Prior, on the east side of the same hundred with Stanton Drew, lies in a fine woody vale, sheltered on all sides by gently rising hills, in high cultivation. It derives its name from being formerly the property of the priors of Bath.

Like Stanton Drew, this parish is distinguished by a noble relique of antiquity. On a large insulated knoll, called Stantonbury Hill, we find an extensive camp, containing, within its ramparts, upwards of thirty acres. The principal rampart, which runs westward from the north-west point of the hill, extends to the length of one hundred and eighty yards, forming a fine terrace, five feet broad, and commanding a beautiful prospect of the vale of Avon and the city of Bath. From the extremity of this terrace runs a ditch, seven feet deep, which divides the whole hill from east to west. The steepness of the hill, to the south, has rendered fortification less necessary on that side, so that the traces of art are not nearly so well marked. As Roman coins have been often discovered in this parish, many conclude this encampment to have been of Roman construction. This, however, we are inclined to doubt, and refer its formation to an earlier period, though it is not improbable that the Romans may have used it in succeeding times.

The church is a small building, dedicated to St. Lawrence, and contains no monuments of interest.

Gilbert Sheldon, first Bishop of London, and afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of Oxford, was born in this parish, in 1598. The theatre erected by him, at the latter place, will long perpetuate the memory of his name.

About two miles to the east of this parish, and in the vicinity