I shall try to tell you what I think; but I have not put my thoughts on the subject in sequence, so you must forgive me if due order is not observed in my narration.

I suppose you have seen the house at Diana's Grove ?" "The outside of it; but I have that in my mind's eye, and I can fit into my memory whatever you may mention." "The house is very old--probably the first house of some sort that stood there was in the time of the Romans.

This was probably renewed--perhaps several times at later periods.

The house stands, or, rather, used to stand here when Mercia was a kingdom--I do not suppose that the basement can be later than the Norman Conquest.

Some years ago, when I was President of the Mercian Archaeological Society, I went all over it very carefully.