regard to a precisely similar celt from Portland Beach, and others found in a hoard of 200 at Moussaye (Cotes du Nord),1 and suggests that these celts were regularly exported from Gaul to Britain. Does not the occurrence of these four specimens, three of which have never been used, in different localities within a few miles of each other, suggest that they were not only imported from Gaul but that they may possibly have passed from hand to hand in barter as a species of currency? This would account for their curious unused condition. I have just had the opportunity of examining another of these Celts in the possession of my brother, the Rev. C. V. Goddard, and bought by him at Dinan (Brittany). This, like our Wiltshire specimens, has the edge rough and fresh from the mould, and has never been used. It would be interesting if examples of this type of Celt in other Museums and Collections could be examined, to see whether their condition bears out the above suggestion or not.

Bronze Gouge. Since the above notes have been in type Mr. R. S. Newall, of Fisherton De la Mere House, writes that he has found ploughed up on the extreme north boundary of Teffont Magna parish, a socketed bronze gouge similar to Evans' (1881) Fig. 205 except that the collar of the socket is plain and not ribbed. It is in poor condition but still shows the raised line of the junction of the mould on the side. About in, seems gone from the socket. Present length 24in., diameter of socket, gin., width of cutting edge in.

Mr. R. S. Newall has also in his collection a palstave with long slots, the blade widening at the cutting edge, found on Bishop's Down, Salisbury, in 1915. It came into the hands of Mr. C. Scammel, af High Street, Salisbury, from whom Mr. Newall procured it. It measures 53in, in length by 2in. in width at the edge.

Mr. Peake informs me that there is a specimen from this hoard at Newbury, and also one of a somewhat similar type from Seven Barrows, Lambourne.

THE MEDIEVAL TITHE BARN, BRADFORD-ON-AVON, REPORT ON THE WORK OF REPAIR.

In the spring of 1914 Mr. Reginald Hobhouse, as Agent for his father, the late Sir Charles P. Hobhouse, Bart., wrote to me, stating that the Barn at Barton Farm was no longer required for the use of the farm, and that Sir Charles was not prepared to spend the necessary money to put it in repair, but was willing to hand it over to any Society which would do so; failing this, the only alternative would be to demolish it, which it would seem a pity to do.

I at once communicated with the Rev. E. H. Goddard, and at his suggestion wrote to Mr. C. R. Peers, F.S.A., of the Department of Ancient Buildings of H. M.'s Office of Works, who proposed to send down a surveyor to prepare an estimate of the cost of putting it into repair, and expressed the opinion that if, after this had been done, the building were handed over to the Office of Works, that department would probably accept it and keep it up in the future. The Office of Works accordingly sent down a surveyor, and when the War broke out the survey was in progress; the surveyor, however, was then recalled to London, and the negociations fell through.

I then approached the National Trust, whose reply was similar to that of the Office of Works, and War having broken out it seemed impossible to think of raising a sufficient fund to put the Barn in such a state of repair as would meet the requirements of either of these public bodies.

The Wilts Archæological Society then came to the rescue, and were willing to accept the building, and Sir Charles expressed his willingness to hand it over to the Society, stipulating that some immediate repairs should be undertaken to prevent portions of the building falling.

A small Committee was appointed, Mr. Harold Brakspear, F.S.A., was consulted, and was asked to submit a report to the Society, as

to what repairs it was absolutely necessary to undertake to prevent the building becoming a ruin, leaving the complete repair to a future time.

Mr. Brakspear, in the course of his report, says:

The roof is constructed with three sorts of framed principals, as shown on the drawing accompanying. A occurs only at the 1st and 9th bays from the east, B at the second, and roughly alternates with C over the whole building. Each form of truss is constructed in the unsatisfactory fourteenth century manner, without continuous side principals, which causes the roof to spread with its own weight. The spreading occurs naturally where there is least abutment, that being at the middle couple and the second couple from each end. The push occurs entirely to the north owing to the barn being built on the side of a hill, having the south wall on the rock, and the north apparently on made ground. Great attempts have been made to prevent this spreading by the erection of buttresses, struts, and ties, but still the building is anything but secure, and the tiling is in a deplorable state, and lets in the weather, which, in a short time, will rot all the timbers. Besides the faulty construction of the roof a most alarming, defect occurs in the condition of the couples themselves. These have a considerable amount of their lower parts embedded in the walls, where they rest on templates, and it seems as if the whole of this portion in the walls is quite rotten, so that these heavy couples have nothing to support them, and may collapse at any moment.

"Each of the North Porches have wide doorways with flat. segmental arches surmounted by pointed relieving arches, and are so pushed out of place by the thrust of the arches as to be dangerous.

"In order that the Barn may be preserved it will be compulsory to tackle the roof principals, the roof, and the angles of the porches at once.

The roof should have the whole of the stone tiles carefully taken off in small sections at a time, sorted, dressed, and drilled

for re-use, and re-hung with oak pegs on rent oak laths. There are 100 squares of roofing.

"The walls of the Barn have gone very badly at one time and another, but I see no evidence of any recent movement. "The Porches, however, are different, and movement is certainly taking place, especially in the N.W. angle of the Eastern Porch. This should be underpinned to solid bottom in cement concrete, and have a strong tie-rod inserted across the gable on the inside.

"The great size of the building and the bulk of the materials. employed, the roof couples being 9in. in thickness, and the rafters 6in. square, will cause any extensive repairs to be of an expensive nature. The cost of those described, which are absolutely necessary to preserve the building, will amount to at least £775,"

Though in the midst of War, it was felt that it would be a disgrace to the County of Wilts to allow this interesting building to collapse. But the sum of £775 was more than the Society seemed justified in asking for. After further discussion with Mr. Brakspear (who to assist the object in view very generously offered his services gratuitously), it was decided that the couples which were propped up should remain as they were for the present. On further examination it was found unnecessary to take off the whole of the tiles, and the foundations were found to be in a sufficiently satisfactory condition to be left, without going to the expense of underpinning. In this way the cost of the repairs which have been carried out up to the present has been reduced to about £425, including the cost of the iron fence which it has been necessary to erect, between the Barn and the farmyard.

Mr. Brakspear, in reporting upon them, says :

"The repairs that have been carried out to the present, may be divided into three parts, the tiling, the roof principals, and the north-east Porch.

"Of the tiling of the roof the unsound portions have been taken out, the old tiles sorted, dressed, and refixed on new battens and pegs. As much of the tiling as was moderately

sound has been left for the present. The roof is now waterproof and keeps the timbers protected from the weather.

"Of the roof timbers the repairs were begun at the east end and continued gradually westward. The new timbers consisted chiefly of ridge pieces and rafters in place of those entirely perished. The feet of the principal rafters, being bedded in the walls and resting on templates, had, where not exposed to the air, completely rotted away. Each couple, save the three westernmost, has now had all the rotten timber removed and the whole made good with reinforced concrete securely bolted to the sound timber and firmly bedded on the walls. By this means little or no disturbance of the original work has taken place and the whole is rendered secure for many years to come. The three western couples were in a far worse condition than the rest, but had previously been securely strutted from the ground, so that they have been left for the present, until they can be properly dealt with when funds and labour allow.

"Of the north-east Porch the outer arch had spread to a dangerous extent, and to preserve this from going further a tie-rod has been placed across the opening. This has necessitated a steel plate being fixed to the wall on either side, so that this tie may clear the great doors. A number of open joints in various parts of the building have been filled with slate and mortar and pointed to keep out the weather." The Editor of "The Spectator" called attention to the condition of the Barn, with the result that donations came in from readers of that journal from many parts of the country and abroad, including Salonika and Central India. The Times" also and

Country Life" drew attention to its dangerous condition. The Society is thus indebted to these journals, as well as to Wiltshiremen, for providing the funds for saving the Barn. A full list of subscriptions received up to date is given below, and the repair accounts are printed with the other accounts of the Society in this number of the Magazine.

ALFRED W. N. BURDER, F.S.A.,

Hon. Sec. of the Repair Fund.