JOHN BRITTON.

Author of the Cathedral Antiquities Erected in the Norwood Cemetery - under the superintendance of Wm Hosking Esq. who suggested having a copy of some part of Stone. henge, with which Antiquity Mr Britton's name is so intimately connected.

391

Britton's Monument.

HE accompanying illustration of the Grave Stone of the late John Britton at Norwood Cemetery, is presented to the Society by his widow.

The Royal Institute of British Architects have placed a brass in memory of Mr. Britton in Salisbury Cathedral; and shortly after his death, a subscription was commenced by the members of the Wilts Archæological and Natural History Society to erect a memorial window in the Church of his native parish, Kington St. Michael, and to present a purse to his widow. The window has been completed, the sum raised by the Society having been increased by the subscriptions of several gentlemen in the neighbourhood.

Beneath the window, has been placed at the expense of the Rev. Canon Jackson, Rector of Leigh Delamere, a Brass plate on which is the following inscription:

"At the Restoration of this Church A.D. 1857, this Window was erected by public Subscription to commemorate two Natives of this parish, alike distinguished by their writings on the Antiquities of Wiltshire. JOHN AUBREY, F.R.S. born at Easton Piers, March 12th 1625; died at Oxford, June 1697; and JOHN BRITTON, F.A.S., born at Kington St. Michael, July 7th 1771; died in London, January 1st 1857.

"LAUS DEO."

Mrs. Britton was anxious that the place of her husband's interment should be appropriately marked out, and at the suggestion of Professor Hosking a large monolith of Bramley-fall stone, similar in form to those at Stonehenge, has been erected as represented in the engraving. A suitable foundation having been prepared, upon this was laid at the ground level, a 6 inch "York ledger" 5 feet square, and upon that a plinth of Bramley-fall stone of the same superficies, and 8 or 10 inches thick. This is wrought all round and weathered from the base of the monumental block, which stands on the plinth and is tenonjoggled 4 inches into it. The monumental block is 3 feet 6 inches by 2 feet 4 inches at the base, and 11 feet high; diminishing slightly on all sides, and is about 5 tons in weight. It is not wrought, but is as it was rent from the quarry, except

ing where some rougher irregularities have been removed. There is no other inscription than the name and dates of birth and death cut into the wrought plinth; there is nothing whatever on the upright block itself.

The subscription raised by the Society for Mrs. Britton amounted to about £70, and this sum she has appropriated to defray the expenses of the monument at Norwood.

W.C.

SIR,

TO THE EDITOR OF THE WILTSHIRE MAGAZINE.

I beg to be allowed to rectify an assertion that I made too broadly at p. 199 of this volume: viz., that an initial is never dropped in our Germanic languages. I had in my mind those words in which it precedes a vowel, and ought to have so limited the expression. There are numerous cases in all these languages where an h once preceded 1, n, ror w, but is now no longer heard. Indeed it has been dropped in all of them, and in all cases before 1, n, and r, as for instance in hlihan, hlaf, hleapan, hlud, hnut, hræfen, hreod, which have become laugh, loaf, leap, loud, nut, raven, and reed. Similar changes have taken place in the Germanic languages of the Continent where an h has formerly preceded a w. It is in English only that it has been retained: and here by some strange caprice the h is now written after the w, as for instance in whale, whom, wheat, while, which were formerly spelt hwæl, hwæm, hwæt, hwil, and in German are wall-fisch, wem, weitzen, weil.

This h before the consonants , n, r, and perhaps before vowels also, must have formerly had the sound of ch, for in proper names, when these were used in Latin or French, it was replaced by ch, as in Chlodovicus or Clovis for Hludvig, Childeric and Childebert for Hilderic and Hildebert, Chlodomere and Chlodovalde. In a few cases this h before a consonant has in modern English been replaced by a c or k, as in Cleeve from hlæw, and knoll from hnoll. In Scotch it is become qu as in quhair, quhen, where, when, quhene, a bit, from AngloSaxon hwæne, quhig, whey, from Anglo-Saxon hwæg, quhit, wheat, from AngloSaxon hwæt.

I am, Sir, Yours,

R. C. ALEXANDER.

Hammersmith, Dec. 13th, 1858.

REPORT.

1858.

The Committee of the Wiltshire Archæological and Natural History Society will not occupy the attention of its Members with any longer Report than will be sufficient concisely to set before them its present condition and the results of the year 1858.

As the Society has now been in existence some years, during which it has had the honour of enrolling among its Members a great number of the most intelligent gentlemen of the county, it will be readily understood that there is no

longer the same expectation of a considerable annual increase in the number of Members, as when the Society was in its infancy.

Owing to a particular circumstance, such increase was still less to be expected during the year 1858. The principal addition of new Members has always hitherto been made at the General Annual Meeting. But, it will be recollected that in consequence of the Two great National Archæological Societies having each held its Congress this summer, within or close upon our own peculiar district, (The Institute, at Bath, and the Association, at Salisbury), it was considered desirable that the General Meeting of our own Society should be for this once, abandoned. The usual opportunity of recruiting our strength has accordingly not occurred.

We have also to regret the loss, by death, withdrawal, or removal from the county, of no less than Ten of our former Members.

Notwithstanding these drawbacks, our Society has continued to increase; the number of the names on our books now amounting to 380, being a slight addition since last year.

The next point to which your Committee would call particular attention is a very important one: the Financial position of the Society.

The funds would be in a very prosperous condition, if the only have the goodness to pay up their subscription regularly. mittee regrets to say that the amount of subscriptions in arrear at this present moment, no less than the sum of £130.

Members would

But your Comand unpaid, is

Your Committee, in discharge of its duty, ventures very respectfully to point out to the observation of those who have neglected payment, not only the great inconvenience occasioned by such irregularity, but (with all deference they add,) its unfairness. For it should be recollected that every registered Member, whether he had paid his subscription or not, has been duly supplied, from the date of his enrolment to the present time, with the Numbers of the Magazine as they have issued from the Press. In the next place; whatever expense has been and continues to be incurred, either in the publication of the Magazine or in any other of the Society's proceedings, is incurred entirely upon the faith of the subscriptions promised. If the payment is neglected, not only are the accounts deranged and the expenditure crippled; but the necessity must very soon arise, of encroaching upon the Capital of the Society, now invested in Exchequer Bills and bearing interest. Your Committee has referred to this subject with very great reluctance.

The next point is more agreeable: the opening of a Museum and Library in Devizes. This has been happily carried into effect since last year. A complete and accurate catalogue of the contents, prepared by the Assistant Secretary, together with such Rules for the circulation of Books as may be settled by the Library sub-committee, will shortly be distributed among the Members. Whilst returning their best thanks to those gentlemen who have already deposited many valuable and interesting objects, your Committee again solicit continued Donations of Books and specimens in illustration of the Archeology and Natural History of Wiltshire.

With regard to the Wiltshire Magazine, your Committee ventures to express a hope that the Volume for this year has not been found inferior to those that have preceded it. They rejoice to see that the number of Topographical essay