had “extraordinary commons, and on the eve of which days they had a fire of charcoal in the Common Hall, and one jack of six quarts and one pint of beer extraordinary, to drink together by the fire.  And on the said feast-day they had a fire at dinner, and another at supper in the said hall, and they had a sirloin of beef roasted, weighing forty-six pounds and a half, and three large mince-pies, and plum broth, and three joints of mutton for their supper, and six quarts and one pint of beer extraordinary at dinner, and six quarts and one pint of beer after dinner, by the fireside; six quarts and a pint at supper, and the like after supper.”  During Lent, each brother had eight shillings paid to him instead of commons, and on Palm Sunday the Brethren had a “green fish, of the value of three shillings and fourpence, and their pot of milk pottage with three pounds of rice boiled in it, and three pies with twenty-four herrings baked in them, and six quarts and one pint of beer extraordinary”.  On Good Fridays they had at dinner “in their pot of beer a cast of bread sliced, and three pounds of honey, boiled together, which they call honey sop”.  Beneath the hall is a fine vaulted cellar, of ample proportions, a worthy resting-place for the stock of St. Cross ale.

[Illustration:  THE BRETHREN’S HALL, ST. CROSS]

But, interesting as are all these portions of the Hospital of St. Cross, it is the church which has the greatest attraction for architect and antiquary alike, for it contains good examples of every style.  From Romanesque, through Norman and Early English, to Later Decorated, and to Transition Norman, the church is considered to be the best example in existence.  This building, unfinished after nearly two hundred years, was roofed with lead, in place of the thatch which originally covered it, by William of Edyndon, the famous Wiltshireman who became Master of St. Cross in the fourteenth century, and who restored the fabric from the ruinous state in which he found it to a condition of beauty and strength.  The windows of the clerestory were erected by him; he re-roofed the “Hundred Menne’s Hall”, and built a new chamber for the Master.

On entering the church, through the north porch, one is struck by its loftiness and dignity, the vaulting throughout being of stone, while almost every ornamental feature of the Norman style can be seen.  Proceeding to the western end of the church, and looking down the nave, the gradual development of its architecture can be well seen.  The east end is Norman, the bay next the transepts Transition Norman, while the west end is Early English.  The windows vary from Norman and Transition Norman to Early English, while those of the clerestory are Decorated.  Mention must be made of the fine stone screens and tabernacle-work on either side of the altar, the altar slab of Purbeck marble, the triforium of intersecting arches in the choir, and the roof pendants.  The western portion of the church was built during the mastership of Peter