Page:VCH Herefordshire 1.djvu/255

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ROMANO-BRITISH HEREFORDSHIRE 365]. Thirty-seven of these are now in the Gloucester Museum. Cooke also mentions a coin of Constantius from this find, minted at London and inscribed beat . tranqvilitas, on rev. an altar v/ith votis and p. lon {Hist, of Herefs. iii, 217]. Bishop's Frome. — A small bronze statuette of Jupiter found 4 ft. below the surface is now in the Winnington Ingram Collection in the museum at Worcester (fig. 8). BiSHOPSTONE. — The site of a Roman villa was discovered in the rectory grounds in 181 2, in the middle of a ploughed field above the valley, during excavations for the foundations of the rectory. A tessellated pavement was exposed 1 6 in. below the surface, 30 ft. square, stated to be ' of elegant and graceful design, the colours as bright as when they were laid.' The tesserae were laid in thin cement on a bed of clay, and the design appears to have been a geometrical pattern. At a distance of one to two hundred yards on every side of the rectory Roman bricks, coarse and fine pottery, and fragments of ' cinerary ' urns were discovered at different times, also three coins. In 182 1 south-west of the house, foundations of sandstone came to light about 3 ft. from the surface at the east end, deepening at the west to about 5 ft. ; the foundations were about 3 ft. wide, increasing to 5 ft. at the angle where they turned. A total length of 55 ft. could be traced, parallel with the sides of the pavements, but no part of the walls remained standing. On the east side of the house were the foundations of a 20-in wall, strongly cemented. Quantities of black earth were also discovered near the places where the fragments of urns came to light, and bones at a depth of about eighteen inches. The site is on the road from Kenchester about a mile and a half from the supposed site of Magna, [vfrc^. xxiii, 417 ; Woolhope Club Trans. %iz,'^. 257; Arch. Journ. xxxiv, 361 ; Arch. Surv. Index; Heref. Times, 28 Oct. 1882; Duncumb-Cooke, Hist, of Herefs. iv, 6 ; Soc. Antiq. MS. Min. xxxvi, 54 ; O.S. Hereford, 25-in. xxxii, 8. A drawing of the pavement was made for the Society of Antiquaries, and a plan of it was published in 1836 by Friedel of 15 Southampton Street, Strand, London, which is reproduced in fig. 14 from a copy in the possession of Mr. Pilley. Part of the pavement is now in the Hereford Museum [Antiq. xxvi, 246], having been presented by Mrs. Jenkins of Holmer in 1895. It is referred to by Wordsworth in one of his sonnets, written in 1837 [Poems (Globe ed.), 744]. BiSHOPSWOOD. — See Walford. Blackwardine. — See Stoke Prior. Bolitree. — iSf^ above, p. 187. Brampton Bryan. — In 1854 a number of Roman coins were found on this estate, and in a field higher up the valley towards Coxall Knoll, fragments of pottery have come to light. [Arch. yaurn. xxxiv, 366 ; Woolhope Club Trans. 1 882, p. 254; Arch. Cambr. (Ser. 4), v, 164; Arch. Surv. Index]. See also under Leintwardine, p. 186. Brandon. — (Camp). See under Leintwardine, p. 184. Brinsop. — Traces of a Roman well were discovered in 1887 by the subsidence of soil in a field belonging to the ' Eleven Acres ' farm. The discoverer, the Rev. W. Elliot, thought it characteristic of a later date, but Professor Haverfield asserts its Roman origin. The ground had sunk for 2 ft. in an irregular circle 8 ft. in diameter, and the subsidence was sufficiently uniform in character to leave the sides of the cavity clearly cut. In excavating it was found that they were regularly ' steened ' with undressed stone put together without mortar, but skilfiilly and strongly built. At a depth of from i o ft. to 1 5 ft. pottery and animals' bones were found. For 16 ft. lower the space was filled with several tons of rough blocks of stone such as might have been used for building, also mixed with bones. Below were two or three feet of clay, and finally very wet sand. At 36 ft. the work had to cease owing to the encroachment of water. The diameter of the well varied in size : at the mouth it was from 2 ft. 4 in. to 2 ft. 6 in. ; at 14ft. it increased to 3 ft. 6 in., and then decreased rapidly to about 2 ft. 6 in. At a depth of 30 ft. was a triangular recess in the west wall of the well, about 6 ft. high ; here were found bones of animals and considerable quantities of fragments of pottery, one of highly-glazed red ware, also the foot of a jar of ordinary red ware, parts of two ' cinerary ' urns, and fragments of jars of so-called Upchurch ware. There were also found parts of two stone querns, and three rude clay amphorae. These remains are now in the Hereford Museum. The well appears to have been used as a rubbish-pit [Woolhope Club Trans. 1887, p. 127 if, with plate ; Antiq. xxvi, 245 ; Arch. Surv. Index]. Bury Hill. — See Weston-under-Penyard, p. 187. Capler Camp. — See Fownhope. Clehonger. — In the Hereford Museum are bronze brooches, buckles, keys, and bodkins, ' found at Clehonger and elsewhere,' given by Mrs. Jenkins of Holmer in 1895. Coxall Knoll. — See p. 168. Credenhill. — Roman remains have been frequently found in the village, which is close to the site of Magna {see p. 175), and in the cutting of the Hereford and Brecon Railway quantities of 191