supposition that, when Sir John Spencer and his daughter occupied the mansion, the poet was present at masques and theatricals which took place there.

It has been a tradition that Sir Thomas More lived at Crosby Place about five years. He has been said to have written his "Utopia," and to have received Erasmus, in this splendid dwelling. Quite recently new evidence has come to light, which is dealt with by Mr. Philip Norman in his exhaustive monograph (with Mr. W. D. Caröe) on Crosby Place, prepared for the Committee for the Survey of the Memorials of Greater London. In the summer of 1907 eight original deeds relating to Crosby Place were sold at Sotheby's. They show that Sir Thomas More paid £150 for the property to the executors of Sir John Rest, the date being June 1st, 1523. As he sold the lease to his friend Antonio Bonvisi for £200 in the following January, there is doubt if More actually resided there.

In general, the first impression of the visitor on entering Crosby Hall was of its admirable proportions, and the fine effect of the plain walls contrasting with the rich and harmonious scheme of windows and roof. In detail, the eye first lingered on the grand oak roof, divided into numerous compartments, from the pendents at the intersection of the main transverse and longitudinal ribs springing a series of four-centred arches in every direction. Above them were perforated spandrils, and with the chief transverse ribs brought down below the springing line of the roof on to stone corbels, the whole wore an appearance of depth and solidity which was most striking. Few specimens of fifteenth century timber work now extant can rival this roof either for the beauty of its design or the skill which the medieval craftsmen displayed in its construction. There was an especial charm about the oriel window. In

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reality it was a great bay, set out on five sides of an octagon, three sides of which, and half of a fourth, were pierced by twolight windows. In the angles were single groin shafts from which the main ribs of the vault sprang. So delicate a piece of composition is rare. None of the original glass survived, in this window or others, but with the light passing through that which in modern days had replaced it the effect was delightful. In addition to the banqueting hall, there remained of old Crosby Place two apartments of the north-west wing known as the "great chamber" and the "great parlour," one above another, but they had suffered so much from decay and restoration as to be of little value.

I cannot conclude these all too brief notes on Crosby Hall better than by quoting from Mr. Caröe the following passage: "It was not one of the great halls in size, but even in its forlorn condition, with its suspicion of early 19th century restorations upon it and the later veneer of eating-house vulgarities to alloy its charm, it yet stood a monument of the highly developed artistic taste of a great building age. In it was displayed a combination of simplicity of parts, of solidity of construction, and of richness of detail where richness is called for-the whole a striking and impressive unity, put together without conscious effort, a lesson of repose to the modern architect. Fortunate are we to be the successors of those who could produce work of this high class; unworthy when, as in this case, we fail to appreciate or understand our fortune."

W. B.