[Soon after writing this passage Aubrey probably obtained a copy of Sir Christopher Wren's report, which he has inserted in his original manuscript. It is dated in 1669, and occupies eleven folio pages. In The History and Antiquities of the Cathedral of Salisbury, &c. (1723, 8vo.), it is printed, and described as "An Architectonical Account of this Cathedral", by "an eminent gentleman". Part of the same report was printed in Wren's Parentalia (1750); and a short abstract of it will also be found in Dodsworth's Salisbury Cathedral (written by the late Mr. Hatcher), p. 172. In a communication from the last named gentleman in 1841, when he was engaged upon his History of Salisbury, he wrote to me as follows: "I have lately fallen upon what appears to have been Sir C. Wren's original report relative to the cathedral; a very elaborate report on the state of the building in 1691, by a person named Naish; some good observations on the bending of the piers (anonymous); and several estimates and observations made by Price. What I shall do with them I have not yet determined." - J. B.] ___________________________________
Wardour Castle was very strongly built of freestone. I never saw it but when I was a youth; the day after part of it was blown up: and the mortar was so good that one of the little towers reclining on one side did hang together and not fall in peeces. It was called Warder Castle from the conserving there the ammunition of the West. ___________________________________
Sir William Dugdale told me, many years since, that about Henry the Third's time the Pope gave a bull or patents to a company of Italian Freemasons to travell up and down over all Europe to build churches. From those are derived the fraternity of adopted Masons. They are known to one another by certain signes and watch-words: it continues to this day. They have severall lodges in severall counties for their reception, and when any of them fall into decay the brotherhood is to relieve him, &c. The manner of their adoption is very formall, and with an oath of secresy.
Memorandum. This day, May the 18th, being Munday, 1691, after Rogation Sunday, is a great convention at St. Paul's Church of the fraternity of the adopted Masons, where Sir Christopher Wren is to be adopted a brother, and Sir Henry Goodric, of the Tower, and divers others. There have been kings of this sodality. ___________________________________
At Pottern, a great mannour belonging to the Bishop of Sarum, is a very faire strong built church, with a great tower in the middest of the crosse aisle. It is exactly of the same architecture of the cathedrall church at Sarum, and the windowes are painted by the same hand, in that kind of Gothick grotesco. Likewise the church at Kington St. Michael's, and that at Sopworth, are of the same fashion, and built about the same time, sc. with slender marble pillars to the windowes; and just so the church of Glastonbury Abbey, and Westminster Abbey. Likewise the architecture of the church at Bishop's Cannings is the same, and such pillars to the windowes. ___________________________________
At Calne was a fine high steeple which stood upon four pillars in the middle of the church. One of the pillars was faulty, and the churchwardens were dilatory, as is usual in such cases. - Chivers, Esq. of that parish, foreseeing the fall of it, if not prevented, and the great charge they must be at by it, brought down Mr. Inigo Jones to survey it. This was about 1639 or 1640: he gave him 30 li. out of his own purse for his paines. Mr. Jones would have underbuilt it for an hundred pounds. About 1645 it fell down, on a Saturday, and also broke down the chancell; the parish have since been at 1,000 li. Charge to make a new heavy tower. Such will be the fate of our steeple at Kington St. Michael; one cannot perswade the parishioners to goe out of their own way. [In another of Aubrey's MSS. (his "Description of North Wiltshire"), is a sketch of the tower and spire of the church of Kington St. Michael, shewing several large and serious cracks in the walls. The spire was blown down in 1703, its neglected state no doubt contributing to its fall. The following manuscript note by James Gilpin, Esq. Recorder of Oxford (who was born at Kington in 1709), may be added, from my own collections for the history of this, my native parish. "In ye great storm in ye year 1703, ye spire of this church was blown down, and two of ye old bells I remember standing in ye belfry till ye tower was pulled down in 1724, in order to be rebuilt It was rebuilt accordingly, and the bells were then new cast, with ye assistance of Mr. Harington ye Vicar, who gave a new bell, on which his name is inscribed, so as to make a peal of six bells. On these bells are the following inscriptions:- 1. Prosperity to this parish, 1726. 2. Peace and good neighbourhood, 1726. 3. Prosperity to ye Church of England, 1726. 4. William Harington, Vicar. A. R. 1726 (A. R. means Abraham Rudhall, ye bell founder). 5. Has no inscription, but 1726 in gilt figures. 6. Jonathan Power and Robert Hewett, Churchwardens, 1726." - J. B.] ___________________________________
Sir William Dugdale told me he finds that painting in glasse came first into England in King John's time. Before the Reformation I believe there was no county or great town in England but had glasse painters. Old …… Harding, of Blandford in Dorsetshire, where I went to schoole, was the only countrey glasse-painter that ever I knew. Upon play dayes I was wont to visit his shop and furnaces. He dyed about 1643, aged about 83, or more.
In St. Edmund's church at Salisbury were curious painted glasse windowes, especially in the chancell, where there was one window, I think the east window, of such exquisite worke that Gundamour, the Spanish Ambassadour, did offer some hundreds of pounds for it, if it might have been bought. In one of the windowes was the picture of God the Father, like an old man, which gave offence to H. Shervill, Esq. then Recorder of this city (this was about 1631), who, out of zeale, came and brake some of these windowes, and clambering upon one of the pews to be able to reach high enough, fell down and brake his leg. For this action he was brought into the Starr-Chamber, and had a great fine layd upon him [£500. J. B.] which, I think, did undoe him. [See a minute and interesting account of Sherfield's offence, and the proceedings at the trial, in Hatcher's History of Salisbury, p. 371-374. - J. B.] ___________________________________
There was, at the Abbey of Malmesbury, a very high spire-steeple, as high almost, they at Malmesbury say, as that of St. Paul's, London; and they further report, that when the steeple fell down the ball of it fell as far as the Griffin Inne. ___________________________________
The top of the tower of Sutton Benger is very elegant, there is not such another in the county. It much resembles St Walborough's [St. Werburg's] at Bristoll. [The tower of Sutton Benger church, here alluded to, has a large open-work'd pinnacle, rising from the centre of the roof; a beautiful and very singular ornament. See the wood-cut in the title-page of the present volume.- J. B.]