year 1252, King Henry III. granted leave to Thomas Ive to enclose a portion of the highway adjoining to his mansion at Kentish Town. On the north wall is a monument of Purbeck marble, with an elliptical arch, ornamented with quatrefoils, to the family of "Gray," of Gray's Inn. The inscription and arms are obliterated.

The rectory of S. Pancras was valued at thirteen marks per annum in 1327. It appears by the visitation of the church in 1251 that the vicar had all the small tithes, a pension of £5 per annum out of the great tithes, four acres of glebe, and a vicarage house near the church.

Richard Cloudesley, of Islington, by will, dated 13th January, 1517, 9 Henry VIII., gave as follows: "Item-I give and bequeath to the Church of S. Pancras, two torches, price xivd., and two poor men of the same parish two gowns, price the piece vis. viiid. Item-I give and bequeath to the priest of the church aforesaid xxd., to ye intent yt he shall pray for me by name openly in his church every Sunday, and to pray his parishioners to pray for me and forgive me, as I forgive them and all the world."

From the certificates of the commissioners for dissolving colleges and chantries, in the first year of the reign of King Edward VI., it appears that John Morrant gave unto the parson and churchwardens of

S. Pancras, for the intent that they should keep an obit* yearly, for ever, four acres of meadow ground, called Kilbornecroft, valued in 1547 at sixteen shillings per annum, whereof, at the obit, twelve shillings was to be given to the priest, and four shillings to the poor in recreation.

In the inventory of the ornaments, jewels, and bells belonging to the parish church of S. Pancras in the Fields, Kentish Town, made the 12th of March, 3 Edward VI., mention is made of "a hearse cloth of sattyn of Brydges, and four standards for the hearse of latten."

Phillis Oldernshaw, wife of William Oldernshaw, gent., of Tottenhall Court, in this parish, gave, the 9th day of February, A.D. 1627, a black cloth for ever, to be laid on the poor deceased people of this parish, without fee, and all others to pay for the use of it to the churchwardens.

Mrs. Rose Knightly, of Green Street, Kentish Town, gave, the 25th day of September, 1632, to this parish for ever, a fair gilt plate, to be only used for the bread at the Holy Sacrament, in the same parish.

At a vestry held 12th July, 1721, it was agreed and ordered that a new pall should be bought at the joint charge of the minister and the parish, ac

* The anniversary of any person's death was called the obit, and to observe such day with prayers and alms, or other commemoration, was called keeping the obit.

cording to the custom of this parish, and that the fee for this new pall should be as usual, viz., ten shillings for a foreigner and five shillings for a parishioner; and that the fee for the old pall, for the use thereof, should be half of the other; that the profits of these palls should be equally divided between the minister and the parish; and that the clerk, for his taking care, carrying, and bringing home of the same (the palls being kept at his house) shall have a shilling out of every ten or five shilling fee; and that all foreigners shall, as much as possible, be obliged either to use one of these palls or pay the fee aforesaid. In pursuance of the above order, a new pall was bought at the joint expense of the minister (the Rev. E. De Chair*) and the parish, and cost £17. 10s. 6d.

The vicarage is rated in the king's books at £9 per annum; in 1650 it was valued at £28; an augmentation of £50 per annum was at that time voted by the committee.

The earliest date of the register of baptisms and marriages is 1660; that of burials, 1668. It is to be feared that for several years the registers, particularly those of baptisms, are incomplete.

Average of baptisms from 1660 to 1668, 13%, and of burials II.

* He was Canon of S. Paul's, and presented to the Rectory of Coulsdon, Surrey, 1737.

In the sixteenth century, Norden, in his account of the parishes of Middlesex, describes it "as standing solitary, as utterly forsaken, old, and weather-beaten, which for the antiquity thereof is thought not to yield to S. Paul's, in London. Folks from the hamlet of Kentish Town now and then visit it, but not often, having a chapel of their own. When, however, they have a corpse to be interred, they are forced to leave the same within this forsaken church or churchyard, where it resteth as secure against the day of resurrection as if it lay in stately S. Paul's."

It was usual formerly to perform divine service at this church only on the first Sunday in each month; at other times in Kentish Town chapel. This arrangement was sufficiently convenient before the great increase of buildings on the south side of the parish. Divine service is now held at S. Pancras three times every Sunday. The present highlyrespected vicar is the Rev. W. Arrowsmith, M.A.

The old church remained in much the same shape as when seen by Norden (with the exception of thorough renovation and slight alterations) until 1848, when it was altered and partly rebuilt, from the design and under the direction of Mr. A. D. Gough, architect, of Lancaster Place. The old church had no galleries, and the accommodation was limited to about 120 persons. By the enlargement and reconstruction, sitting room is now provided for

500 persons. The exterior is entirely faced with rag stone, principally obtained in rough unhewn masses from the old tower, removed to effect an elongation of the church, so that no new stone of this description was required; but the old stone which had existed for many centuries in the fabric was re-worked and reapplied to the entire casing of the structure throughout. The ornamental details are executed in Caen stone, entirely new.

The arrangement of the church, as now restored, consists of an elongation westward; a new tower occupying a central position on the south side of that part which constituted the old church; and a stair turret in a corresponding position in that, which is entirely new. The west front and tower are the main features of the structure. Of the interior, its fittings are those of the old structure, retained, altered, and adapted to the present church. The oak carvings of Gibbon's time have been preserved and applied, the whole being treated as the furniture of the church rather than as part of the structure itself. The lower part of the tower opens into the cross gangway of the church, and is applied to the purposes of a baptistry. The organ occupies a position in the west gallery. In the western gallery are introduced two stages, one slightly elevated above the other, the latter being appropriated to children only. Narrow galleries on the north and south sides are so arranged as to afford