Church Book of St. Mary the Virgin, Tenby. By Edward
Laws and Emily Hewlett Edwards. (John Leach, Tenby. 10s. 6d. net.)— We would gladly give more space than circumstances permit to an estimate of this very deserving book. The parish church of Tenby is one of the finest in Wales, we might say in Great Britain, and it has received an adequate treatment in this handsome volume. The authors begin with a "Chronicle of Events" extending from 1090, when the church was "re-dedicated, if not rebuilt," by Arnulph de Montgomery, down to 1905. The church has gone through the usual course of prosperity, neglect, and injudicious restoration. In 1849 we find the entry : " Church whitewashed outside." In 1866 restoration was begun, and, among other things, "every window, except the three west windows over the galleries, was renewed." Mr. Laws is very energetic in his pronouncement on this subject, though there is probably another side. One thing seems tolerably certain,— that the Corporation behaved very badly in the period 1725-1833. They had possession of the church property, and repudiated responsibility for repairs. The property they were compelled to disgorge in 1833 by the Royal Charity Commission of that year. Going back to the fifteenth century, we find an important fact relating to the great "condition of the religious houses" question. Cardinal Morton visited the nunnery of de In Pre, and found that it was nothing better than a lupanar. No notice was taken, and the scandal continued till 1528, when, at the instance of Wolsey, Pope Clement VII. summarily suppressed it. Next comes a chapter on " Memorials of the Dead," with photographs of the principal monuments; after this an account of the fabric, followed by a description of the " Environment," a description of the " Furniture and Appurtenances," and some extracts from the churchwardens' accounts, with a list of the clergy.
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