TREATMENT OF HISTORIC MONUMENTS.. (To raz Eareoa Or THE "
Sszersroz."l SIR,—A:few days 'ego I Visaed Mattereey Priory, Notts, the only °libertine House -in the country. Very scanty _ruins remain. From a notice-board acid from-theVillagers I learnt that the care of the' nine bad beeif handed over by the owner to the nation, who, through the Office of Works, two years ago generously spent over £1,000 in excavation, repairs, and enclosure. These appear to have been successfully effected, and further decay is now arrested. No plan, however, of the conventual buildings was to be seen. During excavation a number of stone coffins, carved stone figures, and domestic utensils were unearthed. Except for a pile of mouldings and broken shafts reposing in a neighbouring cartshed, not one of these " finds " remains in situ or near by. They were carted, so I was told, to London—to the British Museum, which it is granted should be the depository of samples of these mediaeval relics, but which should certainly not have entire pre- ference over the equal claims of the locality. Your interest in the National Trust leads me to ask whether that institution displays a more generous regard for local claims in dealing with monus meats entrusted to its care than is shown by H.M. Office of Works. One may hope that the present welcome epidemic of gifts of historic abbeys to the nation may not be spoilt by the dispropor- tionate claims of a distant museum.—I am, Sir, de.,
AN ARCHAEOLOGIST IN 'CIRRI. [We are all for local claims, but in each case a fund for upkeep has, of course, to be guaranteed, and the income of the National Trust is limited. As regards the Office of Works, we can only say that under the guidance of Sir Lionel Earle the operations of the Office in connexion with ancient monuments and works of art are conducted with a jealous care and a discrimination wholly admirable.—ED. Spectator.]
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