and the stairs at the west end, leading up into the church, enveloped in
a luminous obscurity, from the scanty light admitted by the window at
the east end. From the account given by Venerable Bede, that the body
of Cedd was interred on the right of the altar, we may suppose that the
crypt was built after the erection of the church, though the time cannot
be ascertained.

About fifty years ago, the remaining part of the venerable monastery,
founded by Cedd, was razed, and its walls, hallowed by the dust of the
holy brotherhood, furnished materials for building. The Rev. W. Ellis,
the then incumbent, whose indignation, at the circumstance, was
unbounded, wrote some Latin verses on the subject; but they have been
lost in the stream of time, and, like the ashes of the hand that wrote
them, cannot be found.

The late Mr. Jackson, R.A., was a native of the village of Lestingham;
and, with feelings of regard for the land of his childhood, he proposed
to execute a painting, as an altar-piece for the church. His Grace the
archbishop of York and the Rev. F. Wrangham, were consulted on the
subject, and gave it their approval; but, we believe, the meritorious
artist died before he had finished the painting.

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