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X. An Account of some Discoveries made in excavating the Foundations of Wymondham Abbey, with a Plan and Description of the Religious Establishment; communicated by Mr. Samuel Woodward, in a Letter addressed to Hudson Gurney, Esq. F.R.S., V.P., &c.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2012

Samuel Woodward
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Extract

The uncovering the ruins of Wymondham Abbey having been proceeded in to the extent originally proposed by the parish authorities, I now beg to lay before you the results; and, should the notice contain matter of sufficient interest to warrant your laying it before the Society of Antiquaries, I shall feel much honoured by your doing so.

Type
Research Article
Information
Archaeologia , Volume 26 , 1836 , pp. 287 - 299
Copyright
Copyright © The Society of Antiquaries of London 1836

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References

page 288 note a The foundation must have been in this year, as Stephen, Prior of Thetford, was not Prior till 1107, and Roger Bigod died in the same year; yet they were both witnesses to the foundation deed.

page 288 note b The houses on the west side of the London road abut upon the precinct wall; and its southern wall was some years ago to be traced on the north side of the lane just over the bridge.

page 289 note c The original steeple or lantern, must have been at the intersection of the nave and transepts, and was probably removed at this period.

page 289 note d Vide Miller's Ely Cathedral, p. 42.

page 290 note e The openings of the triforium over the three westerly arches on this side of the church, were found to have been filled up with solid masonry, which was plastered on both sides, and on that near the church were paintings in fresco of an early period. The first was of the floral kind, or it might be intended to represent a rose window; the next had represented in a lower compartment, three skeletons or emaciated human figures, above them a cloud, and in it three other figures “fat, and well liking;” the third and last had in the centrea figure on horseback, having on his head a triple crown, beneath him a wood, in which were to be seen wild beasts, with hares and hounds. Unfortunately, no artist was at hand to sketch this interesting remain, and it was so injured by whitewashing that only the general features of it could be traced.

page 291 note f In clearing away the rubbish at the entrance to the chapel on the south side of the quire, many fragments of sculpture in hard chalk were discovered, among which was one with the helmet and crest of Sir John Clifton; probably the remains of his funeral monument, as it appears he was buried in this church, in 1447.

page 291 note g Blomefield, vol. ii. p. 520.

page 293 note h In the Phil. Trans, vol. lxii. p. 465, is recorded a similar disinterment made in February 1772, at the abbey of Bury St. Edmund's. It was supposed, from some circumstances, to have been the remains of Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, who died in 1428.

page 293 note i It appears that this grave had been opened about twenty years before; but that the parties opening it considered it unsafe, from the presence of foul air, and that it was again covered up. The fracture in the coffin is believed to have been made at that time.

page 294 note k The Rev. Mr. Jeckell informs me, that in soldering up the large case two rows of holes were found in the under side, evidently made by fastening two transverse pieces of wood to it; most probably for the purpose of removal at the second interment.

page 294 note l On examining some of these flakes previous to my seeing the coffins, I discovered upon them the remains of a minute coleopterous insect, which proved to be the Cerylon hysteroides of Latreille. On uncovering the body, a number of small white maggots, probably the larvæ of this Cerylon, were moving about in all directions. These insects live under the bark of trees, and the only way of accounting for their presence is, that the eggs were deposited with the bark used in preserving the body, and that, from the perfect exclusion of air, they had lain dormant until the coffin was fractured, as before stated. Mr. Dalrymple has published a Report of his examination, with an engraving of the remains, in the Quarterly Medical Journal for October 1834.

page 295 note m From the perfect state of this seed (its interior presenting a natural and fleshy appearance) I had hoped that the vital principle was not extinct, and that it would have germinated; but the attempts to raise it by numerous individuals have (as far as my inquiries have gone) proved ineffectual.