Proceedings of the Association. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 1897. C. H. COMPTON, ESQ., V.-P., IN THE CHAIR. Thanks were ordered by the Council to be returned to the respective donors of the following presents to the Library : To the Society, for "Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects" Vol. iv, 3rd Series, First Quarterly Part. for "Journal of the Powys-land Club", Part LVII, December 1896. for "Journal of the Wiltshire Archæological and Natural History Society", No. LXXXVI, Dec. 1896, vol. xxix. for "Abstracts of Wiltshire Inquisitions Post Mortem", Part IV. for "Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archæological and Natural History Society", vol. xlii. for "Transactions of the Essex Archæological Society, vol. vi, Part 2. New Series. To the Smithsonian Institution for "Methods of determining Organic Matter in the Air", by D. H. Bergey, M.D. for "Index to Genera and Species of the Foraminifera", by L. D. Sherborn. Part II. From the Author, Mr. R. Burnard, for "Explorations of Carn Brê”. Dr. Brushfield, for "Raleghana". for "Devonshire Briefs", Part II. A paper by Dr. Fairbank, F.S.A., on "Portable Altars", was read in the author's absence by Mr. Patrick, Hon. Sec., illustrated by sketches made by the author. A lengthy discussion on this very interesting subject followed, in which Mr. Dobson, the Rev. CaveBrowne, and others took part. It has been printed on pp. 55-63. Mrs. Collier exhibited an interesting woodcut representing St. Blaise,1 the patron saint of woolcombers; also some illustrations of frescoes in Bardwell Church, near Ixworth, Bury St. Edmunds, the subject being St. Christopher. Mr. Dobson remarked that St. Blaize was a common sign in the neighbourhood of Bradford. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3RD, 1897. T. BLASHILL, ESQ., HON. TREASURER, IN THE CHAIR. An interesting exhibition of prehistoric implements was made by Mr. G. F. Lawrence, of Wandsworth, including a unique specimen of a weapon of stag's horn, still retaining its wooden handle, thought to be of blackthorn, which was recently found in the Thames at Hammersmith. This must have been a very effective weapon, from the toughness of the horn and the pliancy of the handle, in a fierce hand-to-hand combat. "ON THE DISCOVERY OF A PREHISTORIC HORN WEAPON, RETAINING ITS ORIGINAL WOODEN HANDLE, IN THE THAMES, NEAR LONDON. "I have the honour of presenting to your notice this evening a unique object of interest in the shape of a horn weapon, with its handle. These curious relics have been found in fairly large numbers in the beds of the Thames and Seine, peat bogs of Denmark, and the Swiss lakes; but whether they were in general use, as is most likely, or only used to any extent in marshy districts, is hard to determine, as only a few instances have occurred in which they have been found in barrows of the Bronze Age in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Wiltshire. There are two distinct types, or perhaps three. One is short, and undoubtedly a hammer, while another is long, and cut off at an angle, thus forming an effective point. These latter occur of various lengths from 7 ins. or 8 ins. to 15 ins., and even 18 ins., while a third type occasionally is found, in which, although the horn is long, yet it is cut off squarely at the end and forms much more of a hammer than the second type. 1 Blaise, and Jason of the Golden Fleece, appear together on a scal of Youghal, co. Cork, formerly a great place for woollen manufactures, in Dr. W. de G. Birch's Catalogue of Seals in the British Museum, vol. iv, No. 17,395. "There are also three apparent periods during which these things were used, as evidenced by the form of the shaft-hole. In the earliest, the hole is large and hacked out unevenly, and is somewhat square: this form is probably Stone Age, and the hole made with stone tools. In the next period the hole is round and perfectly drilled, and this type has been found in Bronze Age barrows, therefore they were made in the Bronze Age. "In the third the hole is oval, and shows that early man found that by making the hole of this form the weapon was not liable to turn round in using as it was when circular, and also shows that man was much more advanced in the art of drilling to be able to make an oval hole. The process of making these horn things was as follows:-First, the horn was selected, and then lines were removed by cutting deep notches in the horn at the part decided upon. When deeply notched a smart tap broke the horn off, and this was done wherever necessary ; the oblique end must have been formed in a different way, either by rubbing down at an angle-as in early times-or by means of saws, which could only have been easily done when saws were of metal, as flint saws from their size would not go deeply enough into the horn to be effectual. One or two specimens have been found where the whole of the rough outside of the horn has been removed and the surface polished, and in one instance a diamond pattern was cut on the implement. In the specimen before you, you will see how these, until now enigmatical things, were hafted and used. The handle is of a thorn wood', most probably blackthorn, and that is no doubt the reason that it has been preserved, from its innate toughness. The wood has, of course, now shrunk, but when it was first discovered it fitted quite tightly; the reason it has not shrivelled more is that it has been lying in a solution (kindly recommended to me by Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., of the British Museum) for over a fortnight, and this has hardened the wood. "This, no doubt, must have been a formidable weapon amongst the denizens of the Thames valley; the toughness of the horn and the pliancy of the handle giving it great weight in a hand-to-hand combat, the fierceness of which we cannot conceive in these civilized days. Before closing, I may remark that in the Yorkshire pile dwellings, and in a few instances in the Thames, the leg bones of oxen and other large animals were used in the same way for weapons; but the greater difficulty of boring bone must have made the use of the more kindly stag's horn more general." Mr. Earle Way exhibited two specimens of Cyprian pottery and a whistle, together with a pretty little model of a quern in soapstone, and a bronze bracelet from Egypt. Mr. Hoyle exhibited a translucent jade earring, from New Zealand, about ten miles from Christchurch, the hole in which had been made by a stone instrument close to the edge, but yet without in any way injuring the jade. Mr. Patrick, Hon. Sec., read a short paper descriptive of the discovery of a Roman house at Burham, in Kent, upon the property of the Burham Brick, Lime, and Cement Company, which, by whose invitation and generous assistance Mr. George Payne, F.S.A., of Rochester, and himself, had recently had the opportunity of disinterring. It is printed above at pp. 31-35. This was illustrated by plans and drawings from sketches made and measured on the spot by the author, and by numerous photographs taken by Mr. Payne of the various features and phases of the excavations. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH, 1897. C. H. COMPTON, Esq., V.-P., IN THE CHAIR. THE following Members were duly elected :— W. Richard Ward, Esq., The Mill House, Sutton Valence, G. R. Crickmay, Esq., 6, Keswick Road, East Putney, S. W. Thanks were ordered by the Council to be returned to the respective donors of the following presents to the Library: To the Society, for "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries”, 2nd Series, vol. xvi, No. 2; and "Archæological Survey of Hereford and Lancashire", two parts. for "Journal of the Cambrian Archæological Association", 5th series, No. 53, vol. xiv. for "Journal of the Royal Archæological Institute" 2nd Series, vol. iii, No. 4. for "Journal of the Society of Antiquaries of Ireland", 5th Series, vol. vi, Part 4. for "Journal of the Brussels Archæological Society", January 1897. was read A paper entitled "London under the Monastic Orders" by Miss Edith Bradley, which was well illustrated by maps of the city, indicating in different colours the sites of the many religious houses which existed, both within and without the walls, between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. Miss Bradley noticed in detail many of the houses, arranging them in groups under the Orders to which they belonged. Thus, the Benedictines, the Cistercians, the Carthusians, the Augustine Canons, and the three orders of Friars were each in turn described, and the circumstances of the foundation of the several houses were related. The Cistercians apparently possessed but one abbey in London, that of "St. Mary Graces," on Tower Hill, founded by King Edward III in 1349. He called it "Eastminster," in contradistinction to Westminster. The King and his grandson richly endowed it, and it was regarded as of great importance; notwithstanding which, only the very scantiest knowledge of it remains. It was surrendered in 1539, and was valued at £602 11s. 6d., according to Speed. The names of its two earlier abbots alone are known, viz. William de Sancta Cruce, 1349, and William Warden, 1360. The site it occupied is now covered with victualling storehouses and biscuit bakeries for the Royal Navy; not a trace or fragment of its walls remains. : It is not generally known, but it is stated on authority, according to Miss Bradley, that even Westminster Abbey had a very narrow escape from similar destruction at the hands of the Protestant Vandal, the Protector Somerset, when he required stone for the building of his palace in the Strand; this, however, he obtained by demolishing instead the Priory of St. John, Clerkenwell. The paper was listened to with great interest, and conveyed a good impression of the power and influence wielded by the religious Orders in London, and showed what a large space they must had in the making of the history of our great city during the mediæval centuries. At the conclusion of the paper, the Chairman expressed, what he felt was the feeling of all present, the obligation they were under to Miss Bradley for the comprehensive and Catholic spirit in which she treated her subject; and brought so prominently forward the great benefit which the monastic Orders conferred on the country in preserving religion and learning, in times when but for their existence the country would have sunk into barbarism and gross darkness. A very animated and interesting discussion ensued, in which Mr. Blashill, Hon. Treasurer, spoke of the value of the Ordnance Maps in identifying the sites of the religious houses, and in other ways enabling us to illustrate the life of the old city. Mr. Patrick, Hon. Sec., pointed out that, although the Great Fire was destructive of the majority of the churches of old London, yet much of their walls must have remained standing, and their foundations, |