On a large altar tomb in the north aisle, the front of which displays a ship under sail, sculptured in basrelief, in alabaster, and the ends, shields of arms, &c. is the following inscription: Sub hoc Marmore sepultæ jacent exuvia Navis Onerariæ quondam Gubernatoris ; Integer vitæ, scelerisque purus; Inter marium hostiumque discrimina, Inter res pecuniarias, Res humanas utcunque secundas, tandem pertæsus, Ubi procul negociis, dum Agriculturæ se dedit, Natus fuit apud Banbury, in agro Oxoniensi Nonis Februarii, Era Christi MDCXXXVII: Ex familiâ antiquâ quidem et olim satis opulenta; Quam postea inclinatam, et ad angustias fortunæ quodammodo redactam Ipse vivens pie sustentavit et moriens probe curavi Ex integrâ valetudine celeri pede ad beatam transîit Duffeild é Medmenham, in Commitatu Buckinghamiensi, Ex quà, prolem quidem nullam suscepit, Marito viventi Optimæ uxoris egregie præstitit officium; Lugubrem (sicut viduam decet) sapienter instituit vitam; Votivam hanc suspendit Tabulam. strument, standing at the west end of the church, in a new gallery, erected for the purpose in the year 1819. The particulars of Mr. Leverton's benefactions are stated in one of the tables within the tower. A brass plate affixed against one of the great columns, records the memory of an aged couple, viz. Edward Stacy, Gent. (of Waltham), and Katherine, his wife, the former of whom died in Philip and Mary's reign, aged seventy years; and the latter in that of Queen Elizabeth, aged “threescore and eyghtene." Their figures, kneeling, with that of an only son, are engraven on the brass; and below are these lines: This tyme we have desired, Lord, But thow O Lord didst time prolonge Ovr Lives for to amende, That so in tyme wee mighte repente Of All did thee offende. And now, here Lord in clay we lye, Hoping that thow hast chosen vs To rest with thine Elect. The last sepulchral memorial we shall particularize is a mutilated effigy of a female, placed in a corner of the north aisle, but to whom related, or how named, is now forgotten; it is probably of Henry the Eighth's time. 66 Some idea of the former extent of this church may be conceived from stating, that the ancient tomb, considered to be King Harold's, was situated about forty yards from the present termination of the building; in the eastern part of the original choir. This tomb is described as plain," in form, but of a rich grey marble;" having sculptured on it "a sort of cross fleury, much descanted on by art." Fuller says, that it was supported by "pillarets," one pedestal of which was" "in his own possession." In Queen Elizabeth's reign, a gardener, in the service of Sir Edward Denny, discovered, in digging, a large stone coffin inclosing a corpse, supposed to be that of King Harold: but the remains, on touching, mouldered into dust. Near the same spot, about forty years ago, a second coffin was found, containing an entire skeleton inclosed in lead. Against the wall of the north aisle is an inscribed tablet in white marble, with a small figure of an angel mourning over an urn, in memory of Thomas Leverton, Esq. "a benefactor to this, his native parish, the donor of its organ, and the founder of its charity schools." He was 66 many years architect and sur- Near the Abbey Mill, which is still occupied for veyor to his Majesty's land revenue, and other public grinding corn, is a wide space of ground, surrounded offices;" but dying on the 23rd of September, 1824, by small dwellings, called the Bramblings, but foraged eighty-one years, his remains were interred in merly Rome-land, which is conjectured to have been the nave. Arms: Gu. three martlets Or, a canton so called from its rents being in former times approErm crest, a pelican Or.-The organ is a large in-priated to the use of the Holy See. On this spot King Beyond the gateway, about two hundred yards to [ which, in detached branches, extend for a distance of the north-eastward, near a small farm-house, is a nearly four miles, towards Epping. dilapidated stone bridge crossing another branch of the river, supported by three strong ribs of an ellip tical form. The various streams of the river Lea, in this neighbourhood, are traditionally said to flow in the same channels that were made by the great King Alfred, when he diverted the current of the river and left the Danish fleet on shore. They are now partly occupied by Government, for the use of the gunpowder mills and other works which have been erected here; and BATTLE OF ETHANDUN. B. B. AMONG the most remarkable and influential events recorded in the history of the Anglo-Saxons, there is scarcely one of more importance than the battle of Ethandun, in which the Danes, who had long in fested England, and nearly subdued it, were vanquished by ALFRED, so deservedly named the Great, and who by this victory, so completely broke the power of his formidable foes, as to reduce them to become his vassals. Much discussion has arisen among modern writers on our national history concerning the locality of this great battle. The Saxon historians, Asser, and the Saxon Chronicler, both of whom may be regarded as contemporary recorders of this occurrence, inform us that it took place at Ethandun. This appellation, however, is not to be discovered in the map of modern England; and hence various conjectures, chiefly founded on etymological data, have been hazarded as to the situation and present name of the spot thus designated. Among the existing names of places, Edington or Heddington, has usually been regarded as bearing a greater similarity than others to the term in question; and three different localities in Wiltshire and Berkshire thus denominated have had their respective advocates, and been made the subjects of much ingenious speculation. The analogy, however, on which arguments have been grounded, is rather in the sound than in the orthography or signification of the words, and it is therefore, altogether imperfect and unsatisfactory. But previously to any further notice of the various opinions of antiquaries relative to the site of the Battle of Ethandun, it may be proper to adduce the testimony of the ancient historians already referred to, concerning the circumstances which preceded and followed this engagement. Mr. men of Hampshire who had not fled beyond sea. Ingram also supposes the battle to have been fought at Heddington, and consequently introduces the name of that place into his version. Asser's account of the battle, and the events connected with it, is more circumstantial; and it appears to have formed the basis of the preceding narrative, as well as of those of later historians. Removing from Ethelingay, where he had erected a fortress, and assembled his noble vassals, "in the seventh week after Easter, he rode to Egricht-stone, (Brixton) on the eastern part of the forest called Selwood, but in Latin the Great Wood; and there came to meet him all the inhabitants of Hampshire who had not sailed beyond the sea for fear of the Pagans, and seeing the King, as if raised from the dead after so many tribulations, as was becoming, they were inspired with great delight; and there they encamped for one night. At daylight the following morning, the King, removing his camp, came to the place which is called Iglea, Iley Mead, and there he encamped one night. That night, while he was asleep, there appeared to him a certain figure, in the likeness of St. Neot, formerly his familiar friend and relation, who admonished him that he should cast away all terror and fear of the barbarians, and that he should not fall into despair on account of their multitude, because the Lord on the morrow was about to visit him and his people, and because it was on account of his pride, which he had in his youth, that all these adversities had come upon him. And ho The following is the statement given in the Saxon | added:-Chronicle: 878. "Then in the seventh week after Easter, he [Alfred] rode to Ecgbyrhtes-stone, Brixton, by the eastern side of Selwood: and there came out to meet him, all the people of Somersetshire and Wiltshire, and those of Hampshire who remained on this side of the sea; and they rejoiced to see him. Then, within one night, he went from this retreat to Iglea, Iley Mead; and after one night more, he proceeded to Ethandun, Handune, or Hampton; and there he fought with all the army (of the Danes), and put them to flight, riding after them as far as the fortress, where he remained a fortnight." This translation from the Saxon Chronicle corresponds with that of Mr. Ingram, except in the passages in Italics: the former of which he translates "that part of Hampshire which is on this side of the sea;" but it is obvious, from a comparison of the passage with the Annals of Asser, that the Chronicler intended to state that Alfred was joined by all the 'To-morrow, I will go the whole day before thy standard, that thou mayest more securely fight against thy enemies, nothing fearing, and that thou mayest know that the Lord Almighty will fight for thee and for thy people.' And immediately the King, roused from sleep, was made joyful by the Angelic Vision, In the dawn of the morning, moving his standards thence, he came to the place which is called Ethandun; and against the whole army of the Pagans, fiercely fighting in a dense body, and struggling boldly for a long while, at length, by the divine assistance, he obtained a victory, having overthrown the Pagans with a great slaughter, and as they fled towards their fort, he pursued, smiting them; and all that he found without the fort, namely men, and horses, and cattle, immediately killing the men he took the latter; and before the gates of the Pagan *" Ihique obviaverunt illi amnes accola Hantunensis Page, qui non ultra mare propter metum Paganorum navigâ» rent."-Asser. fort with all his army he boldly encamped. And Among the different places to which the site of this battle has been assigned, Edington, about three miles eastward of Westbury, has found the greatest number of advocates. Camden, in his Britannia, adopts this conjecture, regarding the engagement as having taken place in or near the village of Edington, and assuming the fact that the circular entrenchment, called Bratton Castle, on the hill above Edington, to the south, was the fortified camp whither the vanquished Danes fled, and where they were besieged for fourteen days, by King Alfred. Gibson, Gough, and Sir Richard Colt Hoare, agree in opinion with Camden; and the last mentioned writer coincides with him also in considering Clay Hill, eastward of Warminster, as the Iglea of Asser, whence Alfred marched to attack the Danes. But Gibson and Gough take Iglea to have been Westbury Leigh, a mile south of the town of Westbury. It is hardly possible to reconcile any of these conjectures with the narrative of Asser, supposing (what seems to be admitted on all sides) that Egbright's-stone, Petra Ecgbrichti, was the place now called Brixton Deverel, a few miles to the south of Warminster. It may be inferred from the history, that Iglea was a day's march from Brixton, while Clay Hill is not above three or four miles from that station, and Westbury Leigh not more than six or seven; and both these places (especially the latter) are so near Edington, the alleged field of battle and the camp of the Danes, that Alfred's movements on the two successive days preceding the conflict must • Asserii Annales, inter Gale Scriptor. xv. vol. i. P. 167, 8. + Id. P. 168. have been perfectly well known to them, and it would have been impossible for him to have fallen upon them unprepared, as apparently was the case. Milner, in his History of Winchester, proposes Heddington, northward of Devizes, as the scene of of action; and he is followed by Ingram, in his Translation of the Saxon Chronicle. But except the fancied analogy of the names, there appears scarcely any evidence in support of this conjecture; and Oldborough Castle, whither Milner imagines the Danes to have fled after their defeat, seems to be more distant from the alleged field of battle than would be inferred from Asser's narrative. Some writers take Roundaway Hill, south of Heddington, to have been the site of the fortified camp of the Danes; but this opinion involves a serious inconsistency, as Roundaway is nearer to Alfred's line of march than Heddington, and the Danes could not therefore have reached that hill unless they had driven back their assailants, instead of fleeing before them, as Asser represents them to have done. That very learned and ingenious but fanciful antiquary, Whitaker, in his Life of St. Neot, asserts that Yatton Keynel, between Chippenham and Castle Combe, was the Ethandun of the Anglo-Saxon Historians, and that the Danish camp was the entrenchment of which there are traces in Bury Wood, northward of Colerne. It may be sufficient to notice one of Whitaker's arguments, which is deduced from the local appellation, Slaughtenford, belonging to a place on the river Avon, near Yatton, which he regards as having been given to the ford from the Danes having suffered slaughter there. Lysons, in the "Magna Britannia," Berkshire, favours the hypothesis of Dr. Beke, Professor of Modern History, at Oxford, who proposes fixing the situation of Ethandun at Heddington, or Edington, near Hungerford, in Berkshire. Dr. Beke is unable to ascertain the locality of Iglea, and is reduced to conjecture that there was a place called Iglea or Eglea in the ancient hundred of Eglei, now forming with that of Kentbury, the hundred of Kentbury Eagle, which lies north of Edington or Heddington, near Hungerford. He says, "Alfred passed the night, after a march from day-break, in the middle of May, at Eglea, short of the scene of action, that the ancient village of Daneford, (now Denford,) and the town of Hungerford, anciently Ingleford, are adjoining to Edington, and the hamlet of Englewood on the opposite which seem to imply some considerable battle between side of the Kennet, at a very short distance, names the two nations, of which we have otherwise no men tion in history."* Dr. Beke's conjecture may be dismissed as unsatisfactory, with the observation that he states, that the manor of Ethandun was bequeathed by King Alfred to his wife Ealhswitha, and that it "is mentioned (in his will) with other Berkshire lands;" but this is no proof that Ethandun was in Berkshire, as it might naturally have been mentioned with Berkshire lands, if it was situated in an adjoining county. Though Whitaker may be regarded as having failed in his attempt to ascertain the site of Ethandun, yet with respect to the disputed station of Iglea his opinion is entitled to attention; for Iley Common, or Mead, near Melksham, which this writer would identify with Iglea, is about twenty miles, or a moderate day's march, from Brixton; and, as will be seen, it is in a direct line leading towards a place where the Danes sustained some dreadful disaster, commemorated in the appellation which the spot retains to this N. Wraxhall+ day, namely," WOEFUL DANES' BOTTOM," near Minchinhampton, in Gloucestershire, which we shall endeavour to prove was the scene of Alfred's victory; the hill or lofty down now called Hampton Common, where are traces of a large entrenched camp, having been the Ethandun of Asser and the Saxon chronicler. E. Lavington It seems clear, from the narrative of Asser, that Alfred led his army from Brixton towards that part of the country where the Danes were encamped, but not with the intention of immediately attacking them; for he is stated to have been prompted to march against the enemy by a dream, and admitting the dream to be a fiction of the historian, yet it is manifest that Alfred's resolution to seek the enemy was adopted after his troops arrived at Iglea, or Iley. The distance from that place to Danes' Bottom, by the shortest road, is not more than twenty miles. The probable route of the Anglo-Saxon army must have been northward till the troops reached the Fossway, perhaps a little beyond Norton, and after proceeding along that road to Long Newnton, they diverged north westward, across Tetbury Warren, now inclosed, pursuing their course to the valley of Avening. This village is situated in a hollow, between two steep hills; and the Saxons may probably have en-isting mound near it, whence it will be perceived that countered the out-posts of the Danes at Avening, or else on the hill beyond it, which divides the valley of Avening from Woeful Danes' Bottom, the descent to which is but inconsiderable, and on the rising ground * Vide Lysons' Magna Britannia, v. i., pt. ii., Berkshire, Lont P. 162. |