The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-02 00:00:00

The British Archaeological Institute,

WARWICK, Monday.
The congress assembled again to-day at the Court-house
here, under the presidency of Lord Neaves, for the reading
of the following papers :
"On the Early Mints of Warwick," by E. Hawkins,
Esq. ; a paper of little general interest.
"On Recent Discoveries at St. Alban's," by Mr S.
Sharpe. Mr Sharpe, in his paper, said he was led to this
inquiry by coming upon the Beech Bottom, in the neigh-
bourhood of St. Alban's, a very remarkable ditch about a
mile long, which might be compared to a deep railway cut-
ting, the depth varying from 20 to 30 feet. The banks are
covered with wood, and it is so obviously an ancient mili-
tary work that he (Mr Sharpe) was led to search for traces
of its continuation, and he came to the conclusion that the
fortification was about 24 miles long by l miles broad, em-
bracing the town of St. Alban's. Ca3sar describes the city
of Cassivelaunus in the sth Book of the Gallic War as being
fortified by woods and marshes, and then holding a large
number of men and cattle who had come together there as
a place of safety ; and he says that when the Britons had
fortified with bank and ditch woods which were nearly im •
passable, so that they might take refuge there from the in-
cursions of their enemies, they called the place a town.
Caesar did not give any name to the town, but it was pro-
bably called Verulam, the name given by the Romans to
their fortified camp in the neighbourhood. The name of
the 1 ribe, the Cassii, and of their leader, Cassivelaunus, may
yet be traced in Cassiobury, the name of the hundred
in which St. Alban's stands. The British fortified area
was about twelve times the size of the well-walled
Roman camp on the other side of the ruin; a good deal
of it has been filled up, and the space reclaimed by
agricultural operations; but sufficient remained of signs
of art to trace it on the map. The whole town of St.
Alban's, a common, and several farms are enclosed in it.
In conclusion, Mr Sharpe recorded his opinion that if
the boundaries of the town of Cassivelaunus was cor-
rectly traced there was no work of art in the British isles
that could boast of greater antiquity than the ditch called
the Beech Bottom. It was the only fortification that could
be shown to have been made before Caesar landed on cur
shores.

"On the Black Book of Warwick," by G. Robinson,
Esq. The interest in this paper was a good deal local. It
recorded Warwickshire events as far back as the reign of
William and Mary, and among the entries is a record of the
visit of Queen Elizabeth to Kenilworth Castle, on which
occasion her Majesty is represented as having " laid at
Kenilworth days" (the blank is not tilled up in the record)
her household lying at 'Warwick at the same time.
"On the Portraits, Bust, and Cast of Shakespere," by
Mr Craig. This was a paper taking a phrenological view
of the bust and portraits of Shakspere, The writer chiefly
extended his notice to the bust on the monument in Strat-
ford Church, the Chandos portrait, the Jansen portrait,
and the cast said to be from the face and forehead ot Shaks-
pere, taken after death. Mr Craig doubted the statement,
believing the cast had been taken during the poet's life.
Although the Chandos portrait was the most attractive, he
did not think it could be relied on as a genuine portrait of
the bard. Of the Jansen portrait, he said that Jansen lived
in England a few years before the death of Shakspere ; that
he painted portraits for Lord Southampton and others dur-
ing the last five or six years of the poet's life, and he con-
sidered that his picture had the best claim to the considera-
tion of the students of Shakspere as a veritable semblance
of his outward form.

One of the most interesting papers read during the
sitting of the congress was, perhaps, that of Dr. Hook,
Dean of Chichester, " On the Life and Times of John
De
_Stratford." The very reverend compiler of this
paper observed that Stratford-on-Avon was, towards
the close of the thirteenth century the birth-place of,
two brothers, both of whom were bishops, one of
whom was Archbishop of Canterbury, and both of them
High Chancellors of England. The parents of Archbishop
John De Stratford were Robert and Isabel, who were nearly
related to another Stratford celebrity, Ralph Halton De
Stratford, Bishop of London. John became Fellow of Mer•
ton College, Oxford; in 1319 he was Archdeacon of Lincoln
and shortly after a canon of York. In 1320 he became
Judge of the Court of Arches. Between 1321 and 1323 he
was engaged in frequent embassies to the Papal Court of
Avignon, In 1323 the Bishop of Winchester died suddenly
at Avignon, and the death of a prelate in curia whilst in
attendance at the Papal Court gave the Pope the right o •
nominating his successor. The Archbishop of Canterbury
solicited the appointment of John De Stratford, and the
King, Edward 11,, was as urgent for the appointment of
Robert de Baldock, a creature of the Spencers. The Pope
nominated John De Stratford, which excited the indigna-
tion of the King, and John De Stratford was accordingly
subjected to bitter persecution. He was recalled from the
embassy and deprived of his bishopric, and the vengeance
of the whole faction was directed against him. At last, how-
ever, a reconciliation was effected, and on the 28th of June,
1324, the temporalities of the see were restored to him, but
for the recognition of his authority he was sentenced to pay
a fine of £lO,OOO to the King—a payment which, however,
was not enforced. The state of the King came under the
consideration of Parliament, and it being decided that the
King should cease to reign, to John De Stratford was as •
signed the delicate and difficult task of drawing up the rea-
sons to be constitutionally assigned for a measure so extreme.

After a touching sketch of the manner in which the King
received the announcement, and a graphic) account of the
formalities observed when the official decision was made
known by the commission, when Edward, after swooning
away, with tears coursing down his cheeks, acknowledged
ho had governed badly, and agreed to abdicate, the very
rev. dean proceeded to say that John De Stratford was ap-
pointed one of the 12 regents of the young king. This
arrangement, he observed, was not likely to be satisfactory
to Queen Isabella and Mortimer, and therefore the destruc-
tion of John De Stratford was determined upon. The first
step taken by his enemies was to call on him to pay the
£lO,OOO which he had incurred for the King's recognition
of his appointment to the bishopric of Winchester. He
accordingly took refuge in various places, but found means
of communicating with the young King, and on the 28th of
November, 1330, he was restored to honour, and received
the Great Seal of the kingdom, and was released from per-
secution. The King and John Da Stratford then wont
over to France, and visited the various shrines to which
they had vowed pilgrimages during the struggle with Mor-
timer. John De Stratford retained the office of Chancellor
four years, and as Edward described it in the " Sibellas
Jamosas"—" He was to the King as a father, and was, next
to him, the admired of all men." He was, therefore, justly
entitled to be ranked with the greatest statesmen this country
had produced. On the death of Archbishop Leathern ho
was translated to the see of Canterbury, and afterwards
resigned the Great Seal. In January, 1335, however, he
was again appointed Chancellor, and in 1339 he again re-
signed the office. Again, on 30th April, 1340, he was re-
appointed, only, however, to resign the office in the following
June. Although no breach had arisen between him and the
King a now set of councillors had risen up around Edward,
and John De Stratford was not listened to with the defer-
ence once paid io him, The very rev. dean then gave a
lengthy account of the conflict between the archbishop
and his enemies—of his determination to attend parliament
when summoned, without answering to any ottohetrhetrinbuonuettel
than one composed of his peers,. .and of the attempt by
armed force to prevent bins gaining access
of Parliament until he had first answered to the charges
brought against him in the Court of. Exchequer, to the
effect that he had counse.lled th. e King to enter upon
war, and after pledging his credit for the money borrowed
of the merchants of Flanders, had neglected and refused to
fulfil his bond, and that in consequence of his neglect in
supplying the King with money the war had been pro-
tracted. To these John De Stratford published a complete