neat Cattall residue of those in Horsford parke, Jtem I doe gyve vnto ffrances my daughter ffuller Twentie powndes to be paide within a yeare next after my decease, and J gyve vnto Hanna and Elizabeth ffurnes my sonne Raphe ffurnes daughters to either of them twentie powndes, and I gyve vnto Henrye Hobart esquier my cosen all my hanginge clothes of Arres conteyninge fyve peece Jtem J gyve vnto my man Robert Allen fortye shillins Jtem J gyve vnto John Busshop my meare called the myllers meare, Jtem I gyve and will vnto the poore people of the Towne of Horninge to be disposed by my sonne Edward Blenhayset fortye shillins to be distributed within one yeare Jtem J gyve and will vnto suche good p'cher as shall preache the worde of god in Horsford to be disposed by my sonnes Thomas and Jeremye fortie shillinge to be paide in fower yeares tenn shillins a yere Jtem J gyve vnto Margaret my sonne Thomas his daughter six shillins eight pence Jtem J gyve vnto the prisoners in Norwch Castle fortye shillinge to be distributed by the appoyntmt of my executors wthin a quarter of a yeare next after my decease Jtem J will and gyve all my armor with the furniture vnto my sonne Edward, and J gyve vnto Margret Hayset my sonne Jeremyes daughter one little hooped goulde ringe and J gyve vnto St Johns Colledge in Cambridge to be bestowed in suche bookes as Mr Alvye and my sonne ffurnes shall thinke most meete, three pownde thirtene shillins and fower pence, Jtem J gyve and will vnto my saide sonne Edward all my bookes of Statute and service bookes.

Teste me Thomas Myhille.

Proved at Norwich 22 Dec'. 1598.-Reg Adams fo. 49.

AA. Scite of Trench & Wall containing Acoustic Jars.

Acoustic Pottery.

COMMUNICATED BY

THE REV. G. W. W. MINN S.

THE principles of acoustics, as applied to churches and public buildings, are now but little understood; their fitness or unfitness for the conveyance of sound is accidental, rather than the result of any system employed by our architects in their construction. It is well known that the Greeks and Romans employed means for repercussion, and increasing the volume of sound in their theatres; and Vitruvius describes vessels of bronze, (x) in some cases of clay, which were placed under the seats and in cells constructed for this purpose, of which practice traces have been found in the ancient theatres of Italy, and various parts of the Greek provinces.2

This statement of Vitruvius received but little credence, and his theory was regarded as puerile, until the discovery of a series of acoustic vases was made in the church of St. Blaise, at Arles, in the year 1842; when the question was revived by M. Huard, Director of the Museum at Arles, in a communication to the Bulletin Archéologique,3 and the

1 Vitruvius, lib. v. c. 5. Smith's Dictionary of Roman Antiquities. Art. "Theatrum."

2 Gentleman's Magazine, vol. ccxv. p. 750 (1863). 3 Bulletin Archéologique, vol ii. P. 440.

existence of a like practice in medieval times was fully established. Since that time similar discoveries have been made in various parts of Great Britain. In Ireland, at the church of St. Mary, Youghal, co. Cork, a series of orifices, five in number, were observed at the western ends of the north and south walls of the choir, giving vent to an equal number of earthen jars lying on their sides, and placed immediately behind them.4 At Fountain's Abbey, in 1854, earthen jars were found embedded in the base of the choir screen, and the attention of our Society was called to the subject by similar discoveries in the churches of St. Peter Mancroft and St. Peter per Mountergate, Norwich, of which record is made in our proceedings.5

cense.

Theories, most opposite and vague, have been suggested to account for the existence of these remains, and, upon the discovery at Fountain's Abbey, the subject was opened in the pages of Notes and Queries by a correspondent, who conjectures their purpose to have been to burn inThose at St. Peter Mancroft, having been found under the stalls of the choir, were intended, according to another correspondent, to receive the ashes of the hearts of canons attached to the church. Purposes of a secular character were also suggested, viz., that such jars were filled with some generous beverage, with which success was drunk to the commencing building; that they were intended for the feathered tribe; in fact, for dove-cotes or columbaries; and, more curious still, that they formed part of a warming apparatus. As pots, or pipes of earth, were, and are even now, in Italy frequently employed, where strength and lightness are required, or placed beneath the pavement for ventilation, and in damp situations to obviate the humidity of the soil, these purposes were also suggested; but the

4 Transactions of Kilkenny Archæological Society, vol. iii. p. 303.

5 Norfolk Archæology, vols. iv. 352; vi. 382.

& Notes and Queries, vol. x. p. 386, seq. Nov. 11, 1854.