ures on the west front of the Cathedral Church at Wells,
grasping the cord that holds up the mantle to the shoulders; the head
rests on a cushion; beneath the head-dress the wimple may be seen passing
beneath the chin. The pointed shoes rest on an animal, possibly intended
for a dog. This effigy bears a strong resemblance to that of Eleanor, wife
of Edward I, at Westminster, and is certainly late thirteenth century
work. There is no staff or other symbol to show that the lady was an
abbess. By some it has been supposed that it was erected to the memory of
Isabella de Kilpec by her daughter, Alicia Walrand, who was abbess from
1268 to 1298. At any rate, the date fits in well with the character of the
monument. Its original position in the church is unknown. It was found
somewhere towards the west end of the nave, by some workmen who were
engaged in digging a grave, and as it chanced to fit the ogee canopy in
the transept, it was laid under it, but it must not be supposed that it
originally had any connection with it. Near by is a seventeenth century
monument of John St. Barbe, and Grissel his wife, whose family owned the
estate of Broadlands, near Romsey, which was afterwards bought by the
great-grandfather of the well-known statesman, Lord Palmerston. Several
coffin lids of various dates have been found, among them, that of the
Abbess, Joan Icthe, who died in 1349, of the terrible scourge that visited
England in the fourteenth century, known as the Black Death. Almost all
the persons buried in the abbey were women, but one curious exception may
be noted. In 1845 a coffin was discovered in the nave, under an enormous
slab of stone, measuring 11 ft. 5 in. by 3 ft. 9 in. Mr. Ferrey, the
architect, under whose supervision the restoration of the abbey was then
being carried out, thus describes the discovery:

"Great care was exercised in raising the stone. Upon its being moved,
there was discovered immediately under it a stone coffin, 5 ft. 10 in.
long, by 2 ft. wide in the broadest part, and 1 ft. deep; containing the
skeleton of a priest in good preservation, the figure measuring only 5 ft.
4 in. in length; the head elevated and resting in a shallow cavity worked
out of the stone, so as to form a cushion. He had been buried in the
vestments peculiar to his office, viz., the alb and tunic. Across the left
arm was the maniple, and in his hand the chalice covered with the paten.
Considering these remains to be about five hundre