the fon of that Philip, who gave fo much trouble to our Henry II, and I fhall hereafter quote inftances to be feen at home. there are pictures too of the lords of the court of France, about that time, in Montfaucon which in their whole habit, are exactly like the men in our chapel. There are other women whofe vails are kept out fquare at top, by circlets put underneath the head-drefs. these circlets, both those put on the outfide and thofe on the infide, were adorn'd with flowers or jewels. the fame fashion both for men and women lafted both in France and England, to the time of Philip the bald, 100 years after lady Roifia's time. for the intire figure of a woman, fee that of Blanch de Caftile queen to Lewis VIII. Tome II. table XVII, figure 2. the lived 1220. fhe has the fame fquare vail on her head, without a crown, or circlet. her gown, bating the mantle royal, is exactly the fame, as lady Roifia's females. there is another like figure, n°. 3. in the fame plate. These are evidences beyond all exception, not imperfect, not dubious; as those must needs be, that he quotes from his own church, and at last, altogether inconclufive. for in the first place, his argument is falfe, or at best very precarious, which he draws from the stone heads in his church, being the fame perfons, as those named in the painted glass. In the year 1745. having a journey which led me within a mile of Oxburgh, I visited the church there. As soon as I enter'd the church yard, I discern'd, that the church, like most others, had been rebuilt. and particularly,that the weft end only both on the north and fouth fide the fteeple, is of the old foundation. in the arch of the fouth weft window is a head female with the dress we are difputing on, and of Henry II, time. I am pofitive, that the windows there, and on the other fide the steeple are of that time. the remainder of the church and chancel has been rebuilt. all or most of the upper windows of the nave of the church, were glaz❜d by Sir Robert Weyland: and had either his name or arms on them, and perhaps he rebuilt the church, perhaps not only glaz'd the windows, but the argument produc'd by Mr. P from it, is of a very extraordinary kind. thus it is. " in a window, fays he, over the 4th arch of the church, on the "north fide, is orate pro aia Dni Robti de Weyland, & Cecilie ux. ejus, in an oppofite window is his shield, a. on a crofs, g. five escalops, o. and on "the ftones that fupport the arches of the faid window, on the out fide, are Сс two "two heads carv'd, Sir Robert who dy'd 1385. and his lady. he with a "bonet or cap; fhe in a head-drefs, like thofe at Roifton. "Further, in the chancel, which was built about 1440. is the head of a woman carv'd in ftone; with the fame drefs, and ferves as a pedestal "to fupport one of the great beams or principals of the roof. The intended argument here, is of an enormous length, what the lo gicians call a Sorites. obferve, it begins at a window on the north fide of the church, it stretches quite a crofs the church, to the fouth fide thereof. all this within the church, and in glass work: then it goes quite from the infide of the church to the outfide, and there makes its conclufion, in ftonework. fo that it errs against all logical rules whatever. 'tis not just either in matter or mood. the premifles and conclufion are diffimilar. indeed this pretended argument is no better than one of thofe cobwebs which in autumn, o're fpread all the ground. naturalifts fay, the spiders that make them, have the faculty of fhooting them to confiderable distance, taking advantage of the wind: fo that they fhall ftretch across rivers, or from one tree to another, or from one fide of a church to another. Juft fo is Mr. Ps's argument here produc'd from his own church, and just as strong. if the name of Sir Robert and his wife are in the glass of the infide of the north window: then two images in ftone on the outside of the fouth window, are the figutes of Sir Robert and his wife. But to be ferious, the matter is really thus. Sir Robert made most of the glass of the upper windows of this church, as appears by their fimilarity: his name is on fome: his coat of arms on others, and oftner than once, on feveral of them is Thu meaning Jefus. and the great Saxon meaning Maria. now very often in old times, when churches were to be rebuilt, they took the old painted glafs of the windows and fitted it up for the new work and likewife the old ftones as far as they they would go but especially the carved ftones. very often the painted glafs is of the fecond or third edition (if we fo fpeak) fince the stonework was made. tho' Sir Robert made the glafs, perhaps he did not make the stone work: and though he made fome of the glafs, he did not make all. Our churches are very feldom built the whole at one time; : or rebuilt, altogether. they were built and rebuilt by feveral perfons, at different times. and different perfons commonly undertook to perform different parts of them, both glass-work and stone-work. as may be feen in the history of the laft foundation of Croyland church. Blefenfis, p. 118. fo that there is no poffibility of deducing a conclufive argument, of the nature that Mr. P aims at. we can make no inference from glass work to stone-work, in whole or in part: and e contra. and in the cafe alledged none can be more unluckily projected. I obferved on the fouth fide of the church without, four windows out of five have this fquare female head-drefs: fome with men correfponding, fome without. but all vastly unlike. now there's no reason why Mr. P fhould pitch upon the 4th window for Sir Robert and his lady's images more than the 2d or 5th. or the fame reason would fix other two images to be our Saviour and the virgin Mary. they are all either old heads taken from the more antient church, for fake of the carving, or they are merely fanciful and grotesque, and indeed very poorly perform'd. there are the like correfponding on the north, and outfide of thefe windows, men, women, and grotesque. fome men's heads have a kind of night cap on or a coit: which indicates the time of the conqueft, as may be feen abundantly in Montfaucon's tapestry, abovemention'd. fome women have this fquare head-drefs, fome not. all very ill done. Mr. P has not made a compliment to Sir Robert and his lady by making any of thefe heads defign'd for them : and in pitching upon these only of the 4th window of the fouth fide, not the least reafon. The like must be said of that which he mentions to be in his quire, fupporting one of the principals of the roof. 'tis one wretchedly carv'd female head, among a number of heads that fupport the rest of the principals, which are notoriously grotesque, the mere fancy of the carver. it cannot be infer❜d to be the habit of the times (exclusive of other times) any more than the ridiculous grotefque figures, in the quire. the like in the church. for all the principals of the roof are fupported by grotesque, rather diabolical figures, mere hobgoblins. and Mr. P— might as well have found Sir Robert and his lady among them, as go to the outfide of the church for them. of all the weak arguments in his book (and they are all fo) this seems, as the last, the weakest, and the merryest. I have had a good deal of acquaintance, both with painted glafs, and thefe carvings on our churches. and know, how far, with judgment, we may make fome conclufion from these heads. I fhall give an instance, by and by, from Balderton church. painted glafs is of a gufto and age very different; fet up at very different times, from before the conqueft to the 15th century. perhaps made new two or three times, fince the ftone-work of the church was made. Therefore it must be very falfe argumentation, from the glass, to conclude the age of the ftone-work. nor can we be fure, in churches that have been repair'd, of the age of the carving, in those parts that have been repair'd. A careful obferver of the fabrick of churches, can easily diftinguish the old and the new parts, and give a very good guess at the age of the refpective parts, from the manner of building, the ornaments, windows, &c. I see these kind of heads, which are the fubject of our difpute, very often on the outside of churches, under the arches of the windows and elfewhere, and find they belong to buildings of the age we are writing on. but because I would not put off my conjectures in the cafe, as my adverfary does, I fhall give inftances only from what is to be prov❜d. : Stamford, Grantham, and abundance of other towns in our neighbourhood were royal demefnes, and therefore feveral churches near us, are dedicated to Becket; and built in and about Henry II. time. Mr. Peck tells us, of a chapel of this fort, on the fouth fide of the bridge, at Stamford, founded 1174. it stood over the bridge. Gretford church in my neighbourhood, is dedicated to Becket. 'tis built. in form of a crofs; in the porch fome of the first rectors were buried, as was the custom. it cannot be doubted, but this and all churches fo dedicated, were built in Henry II. time, or very foon after. there is a man's and a woman's head on each fide the inward door of the porch or church door, on the fouth, and likewise on the outfide, the porch door. both man's and woman's are exactly like thefe of the time we are fpeaking of. the woman's head fquare at top, a fhort vail, the folds not reaching the fhoulders. Bernake in our neighbourhood is a very antient church, which belong'd to the great Waltheof earl of Northumberland, by him given to Croyland. In a chapel on the north of the quire, in the wall, perhaps older than the prefent quire, though not fo old as the original parts of the church, lyes two effigies's in ftone, a man in armour, and his wife. I take them to be Ralf de Bernake and Roifia his wife, who contributed to the rebuilding of Croyland abby in the time of Henry I. as recounted in Peter of Blois. the woman's head-drefs is exactly like what we have been defcribing, and has a circular chaplet round the top. the man was a croifader. The church of Burton coggles near us, is dedicated to Becket, therefore of the age we are writing of. within the fouth porch, under the arches of the door leading into the church, are a man's and woman's heads. the woman's has our vail on, though the face is almoft rubb'd off. but on the fouth fide of the upper leads, are a man's and a woman's head in the stonework disfigur'd with spouts in their mouths, to carry the water off. the woman's has the fquare vail on. likewise at the east window of the quire, is a man's and a woman's head. the woman's fquare at top, with a chincloth, crimp'd elegantly. Bafingthorp hard by, is likewife dedicated to Thomas Becket, and Weldon, Northamptonshire. under the arch of a window, without, on the north fide, over the charnel house, a man's head and a woman's: the latter with the head-dress, we are difcourfing of, all these churches are of like architecture. and from their manner, we can easily fee what other churches near us, are of the fame age. in many of them, are these fame heads to be seen but enough on this head. After Mr. P has difcharg'd his whole battery: then, like the French, he fings Te Deum without a victory, and thus recounts the execution he has done, in the fix following corollarys. 1. "It appears then, fays he, that there was an oratory with a hermit's "cell at Roifton, in the Saxon age, long before the time of lady Roifia, fo "that she could not have any part in the founding of it. I answer. this is a chimerical affertion of his, without the least shadow of reafon to countenance it: and of which he has not given us one jot of a proof: as I have most copiously fhewn. and that the whole stream of authority of all the great antiquarys, who have ever wrote, are against him; the |