The Montagus and the great West Doors of Bath Abbey - Lackham ...

The Montagus and Bath abbey 18
Fig 17 Inscription on doors 1789 44
The engraving clearly shows that it stops after the word “jucundum”,
presumably because of lack of space, and refers to the rest of the (well
known at least at the time) line by “etc”. The description of the doors in
the Society of Antiquaries book confirms that
under the two upper shields, on a label is the inscription
'ecce quam bonum et quam jucundum etc’ 45
Even a cursory glance at the current doors, however, will make it clear
that in the current inscription “jucundum” is followed by “est”, the Latin
for “is” which would fit better with the wording of the psalm but not with
what is seen earlier.
44 Copyright www.bathintime.co.uk - Bath Central Library Collection
45
Some Account of the Abbey Church of Bath. Illustrations of the Plans, Elevations,
and Sections of that Building. Engraved by James Basire from Drawings made by Mr
John Carter, Architect. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London, 23rd April
1798 in Collections Hunt vol 1 Bath Library