century?

C. W. G.

TOWN HALLS.

I have to thank two of your correspondents for their Notes in answer to my Query respecting mediæval towns built on a regular plan in England. They have reminded me of Hull and Wokingham, with both which places I was previously acquainted; neither of them is by any means of the same regular and perfect plan as the English towns in France, but they approximate to it in some degree; and I am not the less obliged for being reminded of them. My success in this instance encourages me to trouble you with another Query. Can any of your correspondents furnish me with information respecting any mediæval town halls remaining in England? I am acquainted with several, but believe there are many more than is commonly supposed. Some of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries are mentioned in Mr. Turner's work on Domestic Architecture, as the County Hall at Oakham; the Guildhall at Lincoln; the King's Hall at Winchester. In addition to these, the Guildhall at Exeter is partly of the thirteenth century, and partly of the fifteenth. The old Town Hall at Colchester of the twelfth has, I believe, been destroyed within these few years. The Town Hall at Winchelsea is of the time of Edward I., though mutilated. The Town Hall at Aldborough is of the fifteenth century, or earlier. The hall of St. Mary's Guild at Coventry is a well-known and beautiful example. The Town Hall of Weobly in Herefordshire is, if I remember rightly, an early example of timber work. These are a few instances which occur to my memory. I have no doubt there are many others; and, as the subject is one of considerable interest, perhaps you will not object to assist me in collecting information upon it. You will observe that I include under the general name of Town Halls all public halls, whether called by that name or by any other. I am aware that they do not all belong to the same class, strictly speaking; but I should be glad to know of other examples of any of them.

J. H. PARKER.

Oxford.

Minor Queries.

Chasseurs Britanniques.

—This regiment is noticed under the head of "Foreign Corps on English half-pay," in the Army List for 1850-1, pp. 494. 530. Can any of your readers favour me with some particulars regarding it, and when and where it was raised, &c.?

E. N.

Knights Templars and Freemasons.

—Can any of your readers inform me what connexion has ever existed between the Knights Templars and the Freemasons, as there is a degree in Freemasonry called the Knight Templar's degree? It is supposed that the persecuted Templars betook themselves to the Freemasons' lodges, and secured their protection. The two orders became closely connected, the succession of Grand Masters kept up, and the ritual of the Templars preserved. There is a French order of Knights Templars, which claims direct succession from Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the original order; but the Freemasons say that this is a spurious body, and that the only legitimate claimants to representation of this once powerful order are the Freemasons.

I shall be glad if any of your readers can give such information as may aid my inquiries into this subject; or if they can furnish me with the titles of such works as are most likely to aid my researches. My object is to trace the history of the order of Knights Templars subsequent to the persecution and death of Jacques de Molay, and to ascertain the correctness of the statements of those who profess to be the proper representatives of the order.

E. A. H. L.

St. Christopher.

—Can any of the readers of "N. & Q." supply any information which will assist my researches into the real meaning of the representations of St. Christopher, which are so frequently found on the north walls of churches? I have read Mr. Duke's essay on the subject in the Prolusiones Historicæ, but do not quite agree in his view of the meaning which these singular paintings were intended to convey. Why should this saint, of whom so little is correctly known and of whom Alban Butler gives a very scanty account, occupy such a very important position in the iconography of the mediæval church, and which it appears has not been maintained by the Roman Catholics of the present day? I am quite aware of the doggrel lines occasionally found underneath these representations, ascribing extraordinary powers of cure to the picture when looked upon by the faithful; but I cannot think that this reason alone would have led to the adoption of this extraordinary representation in almost all our parish churches. Are there any known representations of St. Christopher in painted glass; if so, where?

E. A. H. L.

Arnold Bilson's Wife.

—Can any of your readers inform me who was "the daughter of the house of Bavaria" married to Arnold Bilson, great-grandfather of Thomas Bilson, Bishop of Winchester (who died 1616); and under what circumstances the marriage took place?

It seems there was some romance in the case, as, according to memorandum (Lib. Coll. Arm., c. 19. p. 48., and Harl. MS. 1101. p. 29. [1582]), the arms granted by the duke to his son-in-law were—"azure, per pole, a rose and thistle, pper;" crest, "a horn, or." This union of what I apprehend to be the royal and plebeian flowers, would seem to indicate that the husband was merely a "roturier;" and, indeed, the "horn" itself may point to his occupation, as it is the simple hunting instrument of the time.

Arnold Bilson after his marriage left Germany, and settled in England.

T. C.

Exeter Controversy.

—W. Gifford, in his Autobiography, says, that the shoemaker to whom he was bound apprentice "was a Presbyterian, whose reading was entirely confined to the small tracts published on the Exeter Controversy."—Transl. of Juvenal, ed. 2. p. x. What controversy, and whose, was that?

A. N.

Education in the Time of Elizabeth.

—What means were employed in the time of Queen Elizabeth for the education of the people? Were there any schools at that time, such as we have now, for the education of the lower classes? Or was it confined chiefly to the higher orders of society?

JAMES COE.

Manchester.

Sword Swallowing.

—If some one of your learned correspondents could point out any other references to the useful accomplishment of sword swallowing, the information would confer a favour on me. The reference to which I allude is about the date of B.C. 326, and is, unless my memorandum be inaccurate, Plu. Lycur. c. 19, and runs thus:

"Ἄγις μὲν οὖν ὁ βασιλεὺς, σκώπτοντος Ἀττικοῦ τινὸς,
τὰς Λακωνικὰς μαχαίρας εἰς τὴν μικρότητα καὶ λέγοντος,
ὅτι ῥᾳδίως αὐτὰς οἱ θαυματοποιοὶ καταπίνουσιν ἐν τοῖς
θεάτροις, Καὶ μὴν