100 . ANCIENT CHURCH WITHIN THE CASTLE OF EXETER.

the periods of qiuartev sessions, until the rebuilding of the Shire Hall, by the "Act of Parliament passed in 1773 for takini;- down the Sliiro Hall of the County of Devon, and for rebuilding- a new Shire Hall in a more commodious manner ; and in ^vllich a new chapel Avas provided. Another Act of Parliament for making and declarinir tlie gaol for the County of Devon, called the High Gaol, a public and common gaol ; and for discharging Denys llolle and John Iittlle. Esqrs., and their respective heirs and assigns, from the office of keeper of the said gaol, and for improving and enlarging the same, or building a new one, and also for taking down the chapel in the Castle of Exeter, and for other purposes, Avas passed 27 Geo. III., 1787. In 179-2 the ancient building was removed : there is an engraving of it from a sketch by the late II. S. Vidal, Esq., which indicates no architectural beauty, indeed, all its later reparations appear to have been most unsightly. A quantit}'" of ancient armour which had been deposited in the chapel, was given by Lieutenant-General Simcoe, the commander of the district, to John Iloulton, Esq., of Farlcigh Castle, Colonel of the Wiltshire ]rilitia ; an act as ill-advised as it was illegal, and extremely to be regretted l)y those who take an interest in the preservation of local vestiges and memorials of by-gone times. Though a well-endowed Chapel within a Uoyal Castle, it would be an error to suppose that it was exempt from the visitation of the Ordinar}', as the old prebendal chapels of our sovereigns wove at Wolverhanqiton, Gnoushale, in Leicestershire, St. iIary's at Stallbrd, Tenkridge, Tetenhall, Ihidgenorth, St. JMary's at Shrewsbury, All Saints, Derby, ]iosham, in Sussex, St. Martin's, London, and Wind)urnc Minster (Stapeldon's Iveg. fol. 28) ; and subsequently St. Georire's, at Windsor. That our bishoits di<l exercise their j"ight of visitation and jurisdiction here, is manifest from their i-egisters ; it is suflicient to specify the one so publicly made by Jiishoj) StapcMdii, on IDth of Jannai-)', l.')2l, of its ncglectf.'d condition :-••. Memorandum ([uod xix die Januarii .M(JfJ('XXI. Dominusexistens personalilcr in Castro Civitatis Exon' ingressus est in ca])e]lani ejusdcni Castri, (|ue prcben- dalis est, assistentiljus sibi Henrico <lc Wahuesford, tunc tcncnte locum Vice Coiuitis Hcvoii. l><'iiiiiio Kobcrto do Stokliay, .Militc, Henrico do I'okenl. ••( .-iliis in niultitudinc