The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1865-08-15 00:00:00

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THE AR,O,4IO,4EOI_4LOGTE,AL INSTITUTE.
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On Monday fully' 200 excirsioneti vi it,,! Milton
Abbey, the suit of the Baron I I aiu bro., in onnnic ion
with tie annual congress of the Arches 'logical lostitrve
in Datehester. In well-hors d omnihn es supple I by
the King's Arms end Antelope Hotels' attended by
almost every other description of private earn 'go, the
company started from Dorche-ter at noon, and made the
hest of their way to Ashelliarapton flat!, which they
had courteously been isivited to visit by J. G. Wood,
ram. Less than an hour brought them to that inte-
I resting country nueefon. temp. Henry VII., remarkable
for its grand baronial hall, with apsci.ms gallery, rais
dais, windows containing some of the old glass; and •
nobly timbered roof, on all which archte logical
features Mr. Parker expatiated with great zed,
,ss the leading authority on our domestic architecture.
The grand five-light window adjoining the hall he
mauled to regard es an addition to the original struc-
ture; and there is adjoining it an old circular etaircsse
of gri at width. Mr. Parker pointed to some initials on
the glue as those of the feasible founders—" J. E.,"
"N.E.," and " B.E."—but he was uncertain whether
they might not have been reversed. The drawing-room
eontained a fine display of obi chine. But perhaps the
most striking relic stood outside upon the lawn in the
shape of a portion of the original gateway, taken down
em having stso I too near the house, but of which a fine
fragment has been carefully rebuilt, embodying a stone
sculpture with the arms of Martin, impaled with Cliel-
way in hish relief. Although the company were bound
to the Baron Hombre as his gussets, to their agr. °able
surprise they nevertheless found the hall tables of Athel-
bampton laid out on their entrance with an elqpint
&jeans?, delicately—too delicately provided foe their
entertainment, u Mr. Beresford Hope remarked, by
the liberal and large-hearted owner of the hall, because,
being bound to another, they could not partake of this
unexpected hospitality, and could not even include it in
the programme. By half-put two, the whole of the ex-
cursionists, nninbering, as we have nail, 200, had
, found their way to the beautiful scene which forms
the site of Abbey Milton. And whilst 115. as many as
the hospitable Baron Hatubro's hall could sooommodate,
eat down to a most sumptuous display, under the direc-
tion of Mr. Eyers, of the Crown Hotel, Blandford, who
had the honour of acting exclusively as purveyor of the
viande, wines, fruits, and everything connected with the
entertainment, another divisihn, amounting in num-
hit to 80, preferred following Mr. Parker over
the details of the Abbey restorations now in
progress by Mr. G. G. Scott (whom we were
glad to see present) and afterwards into a perfect
museum of Norman relics, rescued from the old stone-
woi k of the more modern perpentionlar edifice, and dis-
played in an adjoining conservatory on the grounds.
Abbey Milton, as our readers are aware, from the inte-
resting papers read on the subject, is a grand desigtr
never accomplished. The church possesses no nave, and
is composed exclusively of a square central tower, north
and south transepts, with choir and south aisle. We
had the benefit of bearing both Mr Parker's and Mr.
Freeman's disquisitions on the subject, but it were need-
less entering into many details; suffice it that we'point
to the flying buttresses (one of them double) on the
south; and to the splendid istone altar screen in process
of being restored in the interior, with the gorgeous
north and south transept windows, the latter magni-
ficiontly filled with stained glssa. Mr. Freeman seemed
to think the beautiful architecture defective from the
want of the u-ual string course under the triforium ;
bat Mr. Beresford Hope, although agreeing with him ,
as to the general effect, yet Considered that in this
particular instance the absenoe of the string course lent
a cornman-ling vertical effect to the altitude of the
interior which was really imposing. Suspended in the
south transept there is a wooden model, pronounced be
Hutchins, and by tradition, to be the original model I
for the intended spire of the tower; .bat this Mr. I
Freemar asked his audience not to believe, and Mr. T. T.
Irvine, -who had officiated here as clerk of the works for
Mr. G. G. Scott, creaked the nut as Mr. Beresford
Hope declared, by stating it to be the osie which had
contained the Sanctus bell rung at the celebration of
the Sacrament, for, although the bell its If was gone,
the apparatus for ringing it still remained inside. On the
floor of the couservatiry was a large and curious collec-
tion as we have said, of carved Norman remains, knots,
bosses, quoins, ornaments of zig-zag, and almost every
description of moulding used in that period of early
church architecture, amongst them a complete stone
figure of a Palmer or pilgrim from the Holy Land with
the scallop shell displayed in his hat. Taking his stand
at the upper end of this apartment, Mr. Parker dia.
ism:treed most learnedly on the Norman period as illus-
trated by these fragments, resuming much the same
discussion ache had raised in visiting the Church of St.
George at Fordington, viz., whether the priority in the
introduction of Gothic Architecture was doe to French
or English artists? He contended stoutly for the
English, and incidentally alluded to the researches of a
deceased Count a personal friend of his own whose loss
appeared to affect the speaker visibly; he endeavoured
to show that the array of Gothic mouldings before
us were imitations imported k the Crusaders of
Churches which they had seen in Syria but
which exist no more. This party having returnedto the
baronial hall, which it now appeared was that et the
Lord Abbot of old, and the only remains of his lordly
reeidencte, the rest of the family house bele); only about
100 years old, here found the larger oomnany just conclud-
ing their round of toast-. They at once resigned their
places to the new comers, who fared none the worse for
corning in at "the end of • feast rather than the
beginning of a fray. Under the canopy of that magni-
ficent conventual roofing, envirtmed by old and inte-
resting tapestries of great size, and pictures of great
beauty and value; with floral decorations of surpassing
loveliness upon the tables, and wines and delicacies of
the most recherche kind—ohampsgne, claret, and sherry
—all vouched for by Mr. Byers RS his best, there was
no drawback to the enjoyment of this visit to Milton
Abbey, and the munificent hospitality of the Hambro
family (of whom Mr. Percy Hambro was present) as
carried out through the kind and assiduous attentions
of Mr. Gibson will be long remembered by all
who partook of it. The afternoon was, however,
advancing; and at balf-past four the whistle of the
Rev. Edwin Hill sounded to horse and 'bus for
Bingbam's Melcombe, where in due time the whole
cortege of carriages arrived and debarked their living
freightage. Col. and Mrs. Bingham, with the Rev. C.
W. Bingham, in the most courteous and affable manner
received the vest company, sad ushered them through
the ample halls of their ancient house, which less con-
tinued in possession of this, one of our oldest Dorset
county families for at least 600 years. The quaint
harmony of this fine old structure is altogether in
keeping with the spirit of its architectural period; and
the great hall was pronounced by Mr. Beresford Hope
and other competent judges eminently picturesque. ,
The bowling green behind la • magnificent plateau ; the
old yew hedge that separates it from the garden (entered
through a perforated alley in the immerse° thickness of
the hedge) uni.ole and altogether the antique style ef the
garden., "the pleaohed orchard" RS Shakespeare has it,
the old-world avenues and the remarkable ponds (which
we omitted to see) may well have recalled to those
embned with the least archaeological feeling the days of
Queen Elizabeth. From the mansion the company
proceeded to inspect the fine old perpendicular church
of Ideloombe Horsey, adjoining. And so they were
getting into their carriages the noble President, the
Marquis of Camden called for an acknowledgment on
their put of thekind reception afforded them by Colonel
Bingham and of the services rendered throughout their
meeting by his brother the Rev. C. W. Bingham, con.
eluding with three cheery, which were heartily
responded to, and the vehicles then drove off to Walters-
town or Waterston 'house belonging to Lord Ilohester
and at present in process of restoratioe. There is
nothing, however, tube seen bere beyoodthe curious dld
sculptured gable, fieured we believe by Nash, AM
considered to have formed part ol the ancient
gateway of the old edifice. The -last houses
which stood here having suffered destruction front.
fire, is now rebuilt, with exception of this old gable,.
which has heen retained and certainly gives it character.
It was sufficiently late, after this detour, before the
party reached Dorchester; and the attendance at the
evening conrersaztoise in the Museum was necessarily
rather thin.