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[Page 7]
about the walls of the castle towards the River I observ'd Alexanders sea beet & abundance of Garden Parsley which I had never before observd to grow wild on the top of the castle common whitloe [also spelt whitlow] grass was Just beginning to flower about a stones throw from the castle farther within the town stands the Cathedral which has also from its circular arches the appearance of Saxon architecture Especially the Great Entrance Round which is carv'd the Beasts worshiping [worshipping] from the Revelations within side it has a good deal the appearance of Christchurch at Oxford tho Much Larger the small Pillars throughout this church are of Granate[granite] tho that is not easily seen as they have whitewash'd every thing here has sufferd miserably by the Civil Wars almost all the ornaments are defacd as well as the monuments only one of which is in tolerable repair which is that of Walter de Merton Chancellor to Henry the Third it is situate in an Isle on the right side of the altar on one of the cross beams of the Roof fronting the Choir is in inscription Containing the date 1014 in Large fair characters black upon white which seems to have been renewd lately tho I could not get an account when. The material of the Building is rough Freestone mixd with Bricks which seems to have been coverd with a kind of Plaster or Rough Cast tho that is wore off by time from most Parts of it one particularity I observd that in the whole Cathedral there is not a bit of Painted Glass except a few Pains [panes] irregularly put into the South window Probably it was broke by the mistaken Zeal of the Olivarian Soldiers as I do not remember any other so totally destitute of it.
24 - Went this day to see the Vitriol works but none of the