upon the other 3 divisions of ye parish, viz. Sunning, Erly, and Woodley, according to ye proportion and number of ye yard-lands therein contained."

Thos. Saxby, Vic:

Thos. Marlow

John Symonds

Richard Lovgrove

William Pont

William Barker.

Church-wardens.

Eight or nine other names follow. One of the four Churchwardens, Thos. Marlow writes the letter T only as his mark. The four bells noticed in this record, are the tenor, seven, six, and five. The tenor bell has a peculiarly fine, rich, and deep tone. The inscription on it is "Love God," and the date, 1641. Number seven and five have the same words, "Love God," and the date, 1640. Number six, "Feare God," and the same date. Of the other bells in the octave, the treble, as mentioned before, was re-cast when we restored the Church; it bears on it now simply the words, " 1853, C. & G. Mears, Founders, London." Number two has for its inscription the following lines :

"At proper times our voices we will raise,

In sounding to our benefactor's praise."

There is also the date, and the name of the founders, "Pack and Chapman, London, fecit 1778."

Number four has the inscription:

"Our voices shall with joyful sound

Make hills and valleys echo round.
Lester and Pack, fecit 1759.

Benj. Matthews, and Joel Lane, and Wm. Scott and
Jno. Berry, Ch: Wardens."

Number three we have reserved to the last, because it bears an inscription of singular historical interest. The inscription is,"ECCLESIÆ, REGINA, SACHEVERELLISQUE CANO LAUDES," in English, "Of the Church, of the Queen, and of Sacheverell, I sing the praises." The date is, " 1711, R. Phelps, fecit." Who would have thought that our Church should be brought into any kind of connection with the famous Dr. Sacheverell? He is almost forgotten now, but in the reign of Queen Anne, from the year 1709 to 1713, his name was in everyone's mouth from one end of England to the other. A few words must be said to explain this, and to account for the extraordinary circumstance of his name being found on a church bell. Dr. Sacheverell was a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and preacher at St. Saviour's, Southwark. In 1709 he preached two famous sermons, the first at Derby, and the second before the Lord Mayor at St. Paul's Cathedral on the 5th of November, upon St. Paul's words, " Perils from false brethren." These sermons having been printed came under the notice of the House of Commons on account of their violent attack on the Government, and abuse of the Revolution as an unrighteous change. Forty thousand copies had been distributed throughout the kingdom, through the efforts of the Tories and High Church party. The House of Commons ordered him to appear before the bar, and after he had admitted the authorship of the sermons, it was resolved that he should be impeached. The trial was put off till the next year, and in the meantime the High Church party had agitated so earnestly

in his favour, that the popular opinion was all on his side. At his trial before the House of Lords in Westminster Hall, Sacheverell was attended by the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, and above a hundred of the most eminent clergymen in London. Queen Anne herself was present, and as she entered Westminster Hall the people pressed upon her, exclaiming, "We hope your Majesty is for God and Dr. Sacheverell." He was, however, found guilty, and sentence was passed enjoining him not to preach for three years ensuing, and ordering his two sermons to be burnt by the common hangman. This comparatively lenient sentence was regarded rather as an acquittal than a condemnation; and the populace who looked upon him as the champion of the Church, celebrated the event as a grand ecclesiastical triumph. There were bonfires and rejoicings both in London and all over England, and when in the following year, 1711, (the year of the founding of our bell), he set out to take possession of a living in Shropshire, to which he had been presented, his journey to Oxford, and thence to the North, was a continued triumph. He was generally attended by a numerous and mounted escort, the roads were thronged with spectators; flags were displayed on the Church towers, and the air resounded with the cries of "Sacheverell and the Church." He must have passed very near Sonning, and probably many parishioners witnessed his progress towards Oxford. It is a most curious evidence of his immense notoriety, and of the importance attached to his trial, that so permanent a record as the inscription on a bell should have been devoted to his fame. The bell is also a proof that Sonning itself took the liveliest interest in the public affairs of that day, and sided with the Tory and High Church party.

It is said that when he was at Lichfield in 1712, Dr. Johnson, then a child of three years old, was taken by his father to hear the Doctor preach in the Cathedral, and on its being remarked as strange that so young a child should be brought to Church, his father answered, that "it was impossible to keep him at home, for, young as he was, he had caught the public spirit and zeal for Sacheverell." Up to 1778, our Church had only six bells; the other two, the highest in the octave, were given at that time, I am inclined to think, by a Mr. Peter Bluck. A passage has been pointed out to me in a number of "All the year round," in which his name is mentioned in connection with our bells. In the possession of the Society of Bell-ringers of St. Saviour's, Southwark, is an old fashioned twohandled silver cup bearing this inscription, "This cup, the gift of Mr. Peter Bluck of Sonning in the County of Berks, was adjudged to the Society of College Youths for the superior style in which they rang ten hundred and eight bob-major in a contest with Oxford and Farnham Societies at the above Parish Church, on Monday, August 4th, 1783." Probably this was one of the earliest occasions of the whole peal of eight bells being rung, and a tradition lingers at Sonning that this Mr. Bluck gave the two bells which completed the

octave.

There was formerly a set of chimes which played every three hours. I have not been able to discover who gave them, or to whom we owe the old clock. The chimes, amongst other things, played the tune called Hanover. We thought of restoring them, but

Mr. Moore, the Clockmaker, reported that the machinery was so hopelessly damaged and out of repair, that it would cost less to have new chimes. They have been disused about seventy years. Our old clock was in bad condition and never kept time. A new clock was presented to the parish by the Rev. Richard Palmer, Rector of Purley, and his brother, the Rev. Henry Palmer, Rector of Little Laver. It was made by Mr. Moore of Clerkenwell, and is of excellent workmanship; the skeleton iron face, designed by Mr. Woodyer, is a great ornament to the tower. The clock strikes on a small bell placed outside the roof of the tower. On this bell, apparently a very ancient one, is inscribed the single word, MARIA. Was this the ancient Sanctus bell? On the door into the tower, Mr. Woodyer has pointed out the use and object of the bells by engraving on the hinges the following words :

"Deum Laudo," (I praise God.)

"Vivos voco," (I call the living.)
"Mortuos ploro," (I bewail the dead.)

To be continued.

H.P.

SONNING CHURCH.

BAPTISMS.

September 12th,—Ada Amelia, daughter of John and Mary Wright, Sonning. ALL SAINTS'.

September 12th,—Sarah, daughter of Thomas and Emma Herbert, Dunsden, Emma, daughter of William and Ellen Simmonds, Dunsden. MARRIAGE.

September 4th,-At the Parish Church, Daniel Barnes, to Mary Sharp, both of Dunsden.

SONNING.

BURIALS.

September 13th,-Ellen Stubbles, Reading, aged 13.

Bibles, Prayer Books, and Hymn Books, may be obtained at the

Back numbers of the Magazine can be had on application.

Church Services.

SONNING,--Sunday Morning, at 11 o'clock.

Afternoon, half-past Three.

The Services at All Saints will be the same as in previous months. The Evening Service will be discontinued until further notice.

HARVEST THANKSGIVINGS.

Thankgivings for the late abundant Harvest were held at Sonning Church and at All Saints', on Sunday, October 3rd. Collections were made at Sonning in aid of the Schools of the Parish, amounting to £24, and at All Saints on behalf of the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education, under the Bishop's pastoral letter, amounting to £4 3s. 3d. Both Churches were beautifully decorated.

EVENING SCHOOLS.

Evening Schools will be held during the winter months at Woodley and All Saints' Schools. Notice will be given of the day of opening them. An additional teacher is much needed at the All Saints' School; any one who may be disposed to help is requested to send his name to the Rev. H. E. Hulton.

MOTHERS' MEETINGS.

The first of the Mothers' Meeting will be held at Woodley School, on Wednesday, November 3rd, at two o'clock.

IMPRESSIONS OF A VISIT TO SONNING.

The Editor has received the following paper upon Sonning, and though it comes without a name, he has not hesitated to print it, as he has no doubt it will interest many readers of the Magazine.

"It was my good fortune, some years ago, to pay several visits to Sonning. I spent many happy days there which have left a bright and vivid impression on my mind; and though my knowledge of the inhabitants and of the place itself, is, of course, but a superficial one, still I think it may interest some who live there now, to know what struck me most when I came as a stranger amongst them, and what were the thoughts suggested to me, as I wandered about the place, never tired of admiring the various combinations of colour and light and shade, which the pretty gabled red brick houses embowered in trees constantly afforded.

"All my life I have lived in the country in an agricultural district, and I have seen much of the life of the poor. Circumstances led to my going more among the cottagers of Sonning than is usual in a place, where one is only on a visit,—and there was one thing which especially struck me, a love of beauty, and a certain refinement of taste among them, more marked, and more widely diffused than I had seen among those in my own part of the country.