Architecture And Archæology.

Charles II ., by the Rev . George Dodd . The house in whieh Hing Charles ivas concealed remains in good preservation , -ft was built for tho purpose of forming a place of concealment for recusants , and the general character of the building has not undergone alteration . There arc two places of concealment , one of ivhich is near tho chimney place , and consists of a small closet about five feet square , ivith a

passage that leads to tho bottom of the chimney stack , where there was a doorway that led into the garden for the purpose of escape , hub that door is noiv covered with ivj * . The other place of concealment is in an upper room , where there is a small hiding place covered with a trap-door . The present Royal Oak of Boscobel is variousl y supposed to have cither grown from an acorn from , the original tree , which

was destroyed by thc loyal pilgrims , who cut branches from it as relics , or to be a sprout from the roots of the original oak . There are some , indeed , who entertain the opinion that it is the veritable oak . It is now walled round to

protect it from the knives of curiosity collectors . Mr . Dodd , after having described King Charles ' s places of concealment , followed his progress , and noticed the various incidents ancl hairbreadth escapes during the forty-two days that followed the battle of Worcester before his landing in Prance . Thanks having been given to the authors of the papers , ¦ the meeting adjourned . The excursion on Thursday to Ludlow was very

numerously attended . On the way thither the train stopped at a short distance beyond Church Stretton , at Stokesay Castle , which is a ruined fortified mansion , part of which has been destroyed by fire , and has been roofed over within recent years . Thc building is of small extent , and though it forms a pictursque ruin , it presents few objects of interest , ¦ excepting as an example of the style of fortification adopted

by those favoured knights and gentlemen ivho obtained permission from the king to turn their dwellings into fortresses . The license to fortif y Stokesay is supposed to have been granted b y Henry AH . Mr . Roberts gave a short description of tho place to the assembled visitors . On arriving at Ludlow , thc party proceeded to the church , which is the finest ecctesiasticat building in the

• county . It deserves to be called a cathedral , ancl , having been formerly collegiate , is fitted up with richly carved stalls . Externally tho church is a striking object from a great distance , as its finely proportioned central tower rises to a considerable height . The interior was , till within a short period , very dilapidated , but has been recently completly a-estorcd , and now presents a magnificent specimen of richly decorated architecture . It was only on Friday

August 3 rd , that the church was re-opened , with much ceremony , after the completion of thc restoration . The most striking features of tho interior arc the lofty pointed arches that support the tower , which have been cleaned from whitewash and restored to their ori ginal form . Thc lantern of the tower has been opened , and the ceiling , which is eighty-five feet from the floor , is richly coloured

and gilded ; so , indeed , is the entire ceiling of the chancel and nave . A beantif ' nllj * carved screen of dark oak , which divides those portions of tho building , presents a fine contrast , when seen from the end of the nave , to tho elaborately-executed rercdos under the east window , carved in fine white freestone . This sculpture consists of a series of pointed niches , with figures of the apostles and of angels ,

extending from side to side . Tho large east window represents in coloured glass the history of St . Lawrence , to whom the church is dedicated ; and at thc west end there is a large window of stained glass , presented to the church by Mr . Botfiekl , the president ofthe present congress of thc Association . Mr . T . Wright states , in his historical and descri ptive sketch of Ludlow Castle and church , that a small

church occupied the present site in thc twelfth century , that it was enlarged in 1199 , and was rebuilt in the fourteenth century . When the party ivas assembled inside the church , Mr . T . Wright and Mr . Roberts pointed out thc objects of most interest in thc building . From the church to tho castle is about a quarter of a mile distant . It is situated on a rock overlooking thc rich valley of the 'feme , with tho river flowing at its feet . The ancient keep of the castle forms a grand object on entering through

height . Mr . Wright undertook to explain the principal the gateway , its outward walls remaining at their original features of this magnificient relic of feudal times , and proceeding from one spot of interest to another he pointed out tho successive additions to the original structure , and tho uses to which tho different portions had been applied . The castle is stated to have been first built b y William tho

Conqueror ' s kinsman , Roger do Montgomery , in 1094 , and , in connection with more recent times , tho hall is shown wherein the "Masque of Comus" was first represented . The top ofthe keep commands a magnificient view of the Clcc hills and the surrounding country , with the winding of tho river Temo at its base . Thc rock , which rises high above the castleon the opposite side of the river , possesses an interest

, of far more remote antiquity , as it was there Sir Roderick Murchison discovered the fossils in thc lower transition series of geofogical formations , which gave origin to his Silurian system . After rambling over the extensive and interesting ruinsof the castle , the party repaired to tho Feathers Inn , where luncheon on a most liberal scale ivas provided for them

by-Sir C . R . Boughton . At the evening meeting the Rev . J . L . Petit read a paperon Shiffnal Church , which had been visited the day before . Shiffnal Church , like most of the ancient churches in Shropshire , has been rebuilt on the site of an older structure , but it still retains much of tho original Norman Architecture . The tower is a curious instance of the construction of a ,

tower of smaller proportions within thc remains of a larger ; for , though the present tower appears sufficiently massive , there are distinct indications that it is considerably smaller than the former one . Mr . T . "Wri ght then read a paper on the local legends of Shropshire , in reference to their bearings on Archa . ological investigations , such stories , as he observed , being fur from unimportant materials for the history of past times . Mr .

Wright at the conclusion of his paper expressed the hope that all those who have tho opportunity of collecting suchlocal legends will not allow them to perish , for they are now rapidly disappearing . The President , on behalf of the meeting , thanked Mr . Wright for his very interesting paper . On Friday , there was an excursion to the Roman Lead

Mines at Shecbee , and to Linley Hall . The evening ' s meeting was especially interesting , on account of an exhibition of an extensive collection of flint and stone implements , principally from the neighbourhood of Burlington , in Yorkshire , and including also a number of the same kind which had been found among the fossil remains of extinct animals , in what geologists call the

' " 'drift , " or uppermost deposit , and respecting which there is . at present much speculation how they came there . The first paper read ivas by Mr . Maw , the gentleman whose encaustic tile manufactory was visited on Tuesday , the subject being the tessclated jiavement found during the excavations at AVroxeter .

The Eev . II . If . Scarf read a paper on Wroxeter Church , which is situated within a short distance of the excavations . Ho said that there are four styles of Architecture visible in the structure , and that some of thc materials of the ruined Roman city of Uriconium had been used in its erection . He dated the original foundation of tho church as far back as two centuries before the Norman Conquest .

Mr . T . Wright then made some observations on tho collection of flint implements on tho table . He said that in considering this subject two or three questions presented themselves ; the first of which was the antiquity of the instruments . Ho hacl been assured that implements made of flint must necessarily be of great antiquity , and , according to some antiquaries , there was a stone period , a bronze

period , and an iron period ; those distinctions of time being made to depend oil the character of the implements employed . In his opinion , however , this was a mistaken notion . There could be no doubt that flint had been used at all times for making such implements when metal could not be procured ; therefore the use of stone instruments could not be correctly considered as a proof that the working in metals was then unknown . Saturday lowered dismally after a heavy night's rain ;