of Wight," 4to. 1781, p. 244, he gives the substance of this same instrument, but he could not have seen its importance for the present purpose, that of ascertaining with certainty the actual date of one of our old parochial churches, as he has omitted to give us its exact date, describing it merely as a deed of the time of Henry the First; and he has said nothing of the age, the structure, or even of the existence at the present time of a church at Chale. It was under this instrument that Chale was made a parish, separate from Carisbrook, and it is evident from it that no previous ecclesiastical structure existed at Chale, so that whatever features of the original architecture are still to be traced in Chale church, however few, they may be of use as tests for comparison in forming an opinion of the age of other parochial churches. Henry the First's was a reign in which many new parish churches were erected[1].
Mr. Smith read an extract from a letter from Mr. R. Weddell, of Berwick-upon-Tweed:—"I was recently at Gilsland, and from thence took several short trips to examine the Roman wall in the vicinity. At Caervoran not a vestige remains. The tenant has recently filled up the baths, &c., and the site of the camp is covered with potatos and turnips! Notwithstanding all that has been done and said, down to Hodgson, much remains for investigation, and I hope some of the Members of the Association will soon direct their steps to that district. At Caervoran I saw an inscription which I suspect has never been printed. It is on a stone with fluted sides, ornamented on the top with a vase, and reads
At Burdoswald another stone has been recently found, but the inscription is much defaced, and part of the upper side has been lost. All I can make out of it is,
The tenant also shewed me a small brass coin of the emperor Licinius, much defaced, which he lately found on his farm. The entrance to the camp through the west wall is distinctly seen, and about midway between it and the wall to the north are several large stones clasped together with iron rods. I have some other rough memoranda, which I shall hereafter write to you about, having previously compared them with Horseley's "Britannia Romana,"
- ↑ Anno ab incarnatione Domini M.C. xiiij. kal. Decembr. facta est Conventio in Insula Vecta inter Ecclesiam Sanctæ Mariæ de Caresbroe et Almetum eiusdem Ecclesiæ presbiterum, et Ecclesiam S. Andreæ de Chale, et Hug. Gernun qui eandem Ecclesiam fundavit, in presentia Willielmi Giffard Wintoniensis Episcopi qui eadem die prædietam Ecclesiam de Chale dedicavit; apud quam dedicationem exclamata et confirmata est hæe Conventio multorum testimonio. Almetus presbiter calumpniabatur quod Ecclesia de Chale crat de parochia Ecclesiæ Sanetæ Mariæ de Caresbroe, et Hugo Gernun dicebat quod homines de feodo suo non erant Ecclesiæ de Caresbroe, vel alibi atitulati, set vivi potuerant ire antiqua consuetudine ad quam vellent Ecclesiam, et mortuorum corpora ubienmque vellent sepelire. Hoc dicebat cos potuisse et fecisse. Almetus autem hoc negabat, et per considerationem calumpniæ suæ probationem offerebat. Set ne dumpnum super utramlibet Ecclesiam verteretur et ut pax et amor inter eos et ipsorum amicos confirmaretur, per considerationem communium amicorum et per concessionem et confirmationem Episcopi faeta est hæe Coneordia. Hug. Gernun concessit Ecclesiæ S. M. de Caresbroe totam medietatem terræ et decimarum et sepulturæ et oblationum, accepta propria domo sua, quas miserunt vel mittent ad Ecclesiam de Chale sive homines in ipsius Hugonis feodo manentes, sive quieunque alii. Et ad serviciam et sustentationem et defensionem et reparationem Ecclesiæ remanet sine participatione terra qua Hugo dotavit Ecclesiam et decima propriarum carucarum, et ut supradictum est oblationes propriæ domus. Et presbiter de Chale faciei totum servicium Ecclesiæ in vivis et defunctis, in libris et vestimentis, in defensione et reparatione, eciam si funditus corrnerit. Et hoe tolum faciet sine auxilio et erogatione presbiteri de Caresbroe. Et per hane Concordiam concessit Alnetus presbiter fieri atrium apud Ecclesiam de Chale. Hane Conventionem Episcopus sigilli sui testimonio approbavit, et sub perpetuo Anathemate confirmavit ut quicunque hane Conventionem scienter violaverit anathema sit. Testibus hiis Richerio capellano Episcopi et decano, Stephano clerico, Rogero de Melafold, Radulfo Mausello.
Carta Willielmi Wint. Episcopi de Ecclesia de Chale.
"The Chartulary," a small 4to. on vellum, in the hands of Mr. Rodd, the bookseller of Great Newport-street. 1844.
