CHAPTER VIWILTSHIRE: HAMPSHIRE: DEVONSHIREMALMESBURY: LACOCK: NETLEY: BEAULIEU: ROMSEY: SHERBORNE: CERNE: TAVISTOCK: BUCKLAND: BUCKFASTLEIGHMALMESBURY (Mitred Benedictine)

“This place of war is Battle called because in battle here,Quite conquered and overthrown the English nation were;This slaughter happened to them upon St Cecilia’s day,The year thereof (1066) this number doth array.”

A considerable amount of historical research has been undertaken at different times with a view to establishing the authenticity of this list of names (notably by the Rev. Joseph Hunter, F.S.A.), and not a few of our English aristocracy, whose ancestors came over with the Conqueror, trace their pedigree from some forefather whose name they claim to have been inscribed on the Roll of Battle Abbey. The site of the abbey at the Dissolution was granted to one Gilmer and passed through the hands of many families of distinction. In 1857 the estate was bought by Sir Harry Fane. Public admission to the historical field of Senlac is given only once a week. It is to be hoped that the site of one of the most memorable events in English history may some daybecome national property and that the many tourists attracted to Battle Abbey may help towards safeguarding its interests as a sacred possession of the people.

666, Founded by Frithwaldus, governor of the province of Surrey under Wulfar, King of Mercia—Church and conventual building burnt by the Danes in the 9th century—964, Refounded by King Edgar for Benedictine monks—1110, The abbey rebuilt—15—, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £659, 15s. 8d.

It is indeed a national loss that of this noble and extensive foundation, consisting formerly of a monastic church, a hospitium, two mills, a bridge and a few buildings beyond the Thames, practically nothing should remain save two walls and an arched gateway.

“So total a dissolution I scarcely ever saw,” says Dr Stukeley, “human bones of the abbots, monks, and great personages who were buried in great numbers in the church and cloisters were spread thick all over the garden so that we may pick up handfuls of bits of bones at a time everywhere among the garden stuff.”

Excavations undertaken by the Surrey Archæological Society have brought to light some of the foundations of the abbey, carved stones, stone coffins, and several monumental tiles illustrating the Arthurian legends. A piece of the chapter-house flooring and part of a stone chair have also been discovered. This ancient monastic foundation in Chertsey attained to great magnificence, its head becoming one of the mitred abbots, and consequently enjoying all the privileges of a seat in Parliament. The abbots of Chertsey suffered little, if at all, from molestations from without, or from rebellion and schism within. They cultivated vineyards, hunted hares and foxes, and retained peaceful and uninterrupted possession of the manor for close on 500 years. Though at the time of the Dissolution Henry VIII. appeared torelent his drastic measures with regard to this foundation, yet one year only elapsed between the placing of the Chertsey monks in the refounded priory of Bisham in Berkshire and the compulsory surrender to the Crown of the newly formed religious establishment.

The irregularly built market town of Chertsey in Surrey is situated on the banks of the Thames, and is connected with Middlesex by the seven-arched stone bridge which spans the river. Here lived and died Abraham Cowley, a poet of great celebrity in his day, who, after being ejected from Cambridge as a Royalist in 1643, engaged actively in the royal cause and obtained at the Restoration the lease of a farm at Chertsey which he held under the Queen. In the old church of Chertsey the curfew is regularly tolled upon a bell which was used for generations in the abbey.

1126, Built and endowed by Henry I.—Dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St John the Baptist—1121-1467, Parliaments held here—15—, Dissolved. Henry Farringdon, last abbot of Reading, executed at Tyburn.

“Hugh, Abbot of Reading, and his convent, reciting by their deed that King Henry I. had erected that abbey for the maintenance of monks then devoutly and religiously serving God, for the receipt of Strangers and Travellers, but chiefly Christ’s poor people, they therefore did erect an Hospital without the gate of the abbey there to maintain 26 poor people; and to the maintenance of Strangers passing that way they gave the profits of their mill at Leominstre. Also Aucherius, Abbot of Reading, built near this abbey a house for lepers that was called St Mary Magdelene’s, allotting for their sustenance sufficient of all things as well in diet as other matters.”

The foregoing extract from Dugdale’sMonasticonindicates the pious and generous motives which inspired the endowment of the once important mitredabbey of Reading. The abbots of Reading ranked next to those of Glastonbury and St Albans, their influence extending far beyond the precincts of the monastery.

Built upon the site of an ancient nunnery, the abbey ruins are beautifully situated on an eminence overlooking the river Kennet to the south and the Thames to the north. From the remaining portions it can be seen that the abbey church consisted of a nave and choir, both with aisles, transepts with eastern chapels, and also a Lady chapel—the entire length being 420 feet. The chapter-house on the east side of the cloister adjoins the south transept and possessed an apse in which were five large windows. On the south side of this cloister garth stood the Norman refectory. The stone facings of the buildings have been removed, leaving only flintstone, but fortunately the abbey mill still stands intact. Henry I. and his two queens, Matilda and Adeliza, were buried in Reading Abbey, though by some strange fancy of disseveration the king’s bowels, brains, heart, eyes and tongue were buried at Rouen. Many real or fancied relics of saints were presented to the abbey. Among other singular objects of the time was one assumed to be the head of the Apostle James—later the hand of this Apostle was brought from Germany by the Empress Maud—carefully enclosed in a case of gold, of which it was afterwards stripped by Richard I. It seems like some curious pioneer movement of foreign missions when one reads that the “maintenance of two Jewish female converts” was imposed on this house by King Henry III.

675, Built and endowed by Heane, Viceroy of Wiltshire—955, Monks reinstalled by Edred, King of all England, after the ravages of the Danes—c.955, Abbot Ethelwold builds the church, dedicates it to St Mary and institutes the rule of St Benedict—1071, Egclwya, Bishop of Durham, dies after imprisonment in the dungeons of the abbey—1084, William the Conqueror keeps the Easter festival at Abingdon—1146, Pope Eugenius III. grants many privileges to the Abbey—15—, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £1876, 10s. 9d.

One Aben, having escaped the cruel treatment Hengist perpetrated on the Barons and great men of the land, hid himself in the south of Oxfordshire for a great while, and the people of the place, pitying him, built him a house and chapel. This then was the beginning of the monastical institution in “Abendun,” so called, after the fugitive. The town of Abingdon, with its narrow winding streets and quaintly gabled houses, has grown up round the mitred monastery of many centuries ago. So closely are the ruins surrounded by houses that there is some difficulty in defining the original site of the abbey. The approach to the ruins is through a gateway of Perpendicular work, built probably about the end of the 14th century. The parapet is battlemented, and over the centre arch may be seen a canopied niche containing the figure of the Blessed Virgin, the patronal saint of the abbey. A few yards further on after turning slightly to the right one reaches the rest of the monastical remains, which consist only of the guest house, with its adjoining abbot’s or prior’s house.

The guest house presents at first sight a somewhat barn-like appearance; it is worthy however of closer inspection. It has two storeys—the ground floor forming the day room and the upper the dormitory. The prior’s house, built in the 14th century, is also a two-storeyed building. A flight of wooden steps, put up for the convenience of the visitor, leads througha pointed doorway into the upper apartments. In a direct line with the entrance is a wall dividing the storey into two rooms, of which the one to the right contains some imposing remains of a columned fireplace, a blocked-up pointed window and stairway door; and the other to the left, a blocked-up window. There are open windows on either side of the entrance, each lighting up one of the apartments. The kitchen or crypt forms the ground floor of the prior’s house, from the one single octagonal column of which spring the ribs that support the groined roof. The fireplace is to the right and facing the entrance is a doorway which formerly communicated with the abbey brook, now known as the mill stream. After being used as a malt house for several years the buildings have been restored by the Abingdon Corporation, by whom the room over the gateway is used as council chamber. To the left on passing through the gateway is the site of the former magnificent abbey church, enclosed in the private grounds of the Bishop of Reading. The whole of the foundations are unfortunately covered by greensward; but it is still possible to gain some idea of the immense size and bold outline of the structure. William of Worcester gives the following dimensions—

Nave, 180 feet.Two Towers west end, 100 feet high.Large central tower, 36 feet square.Choir, with chapel at east end, 162 feet.Central transepts, 174 feet broad.Other transepts, 138 feet broad.

At the upper end of the guest house a half circle of stone marks the site of Ethelwold’s church, built on the site of an earlier church erected by Heane in the 7th century. This was peculiar in form, having a circular east end. The fine carved roof of the Lady chapel in St Helen’s church is said to have beenremoved from the abbey. Along its shields are slight indications of these words

“In the worship of our LadyPray for Nicholas Gold and Amy.”

The Chronicle of Abingdon, written by the monks at a time when they were sure of the confidence of the people, is a faithful record of the monastic life-work. A quotation from Mr Stevenson’s review on the translation of the Abingdon Chronicle may be of some interest, as it portrays not only the daily customs of the monks at Abingdon, but of many other monastic establishments.

“Most persons who have bestowed any attention to our early annals will admit, however strong may be their Protestant prejudices, that the best features of our modern civilisation are due to the social organisation introduced by the monks. Agriculture, for example, the parent of all other arts, was despised and neglected by the pagan tribes of German origin, whereas the rule of St Benedict, which was of primary authority with every monastic establishment, proclaimed the ‘nobility of labour’ as a religious duty, inferior in its responsibility only to prayer and study.“Benedict thought it good that men should be daily reminded that in the sweat of their face they should eat bread, and day by day they toiled in the field as well as prayed in the church. After having been present at the service of Prime, the monks assembled in the chapter-house, each individual received his allotted share of work, a brief prayer was offered up, tools were served out, and the brethren marched two and two, and in silence, to their task in the field. From Easter until the beginning of October they were thus occupied from six o’clock in the morning until ten, sometimes until noon. The more widely the system was diffused the more extensive were its benefits. Besides the monks lay brethren and servants were engaged, who received payment in coin, and as by degrees more land was brought into tillage than the monastery needed, the surplus was leased out to lay occupiers. Thus, eachmonastery became a centre of civilisation, and while the rude chieftain, intent on war or the chase, cared little for the comfort either of himself or his retainers, the monks became the source, not only of intellectual and spiritual light, but of physical warmth and comfort, and household blessings.”

“Benedict thought it good that men should be daily reminded that in the sweat of their face they should eat bread, and day by day they toiled in the field as well as prayed in the church. After having been present at the service of Prime, the monks assembled in the chapter-house, each individual received his allotted share of work, a brief prayer was offered up, tools were served out, and the brethren marched two and two, and in silence, to their task in the field. From Easter until the beginning of October they were thus occupied from six o’clock in the morning until ten, sometimes until noon. The more widely the system was diffused the more extensive were its benefits. Besides the monks lay brethren and servants were engaged, who received payment in coin, and as by degrees more land was brought into tillage than the monastery needed, the surplus was leased out to lay occupiers. Thus, eachmonastery became a centre of civilisation, and while the rude chieftain, intent on war or the chase, cared little for the comfort either of himself or his retainers, the monks became the source, not only of intellectual and spiritual light, but of physical warmth and comfort, and household blessings.”

—, Founded by Maydulphus—635, King Berthwald gives land at Summerford on Thames to the monastery—680, The monastery receives the town of Malmesbury from Lutherius, Bishop of Winchester—1248, Pope Innocent confirms the various grants and ordains that the rules of St Benedict “should always be observed here”—1539, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £803, 17s. 7d.

ASin the case of Abingdon, the ruins of “the right magnificent abbey” of Malmesbury have been ruthlessly encroached upon—squalid streets and shabby houses crowd about its walls, and only a small stretch of land remains undisturbed in the immediate precincts of the abbey. One indignity upon another has been heaped upon this monastery (with which the name of St Aldhelm is inseparably connected), which formerly stood second alone to Durham for beauty of situation and majesty of aspect. At the Dissolution, one William Stumpe, clothier, bought the monastery with the adjoining land for the extraordinarily large sum of £1117, 15s. 11d., selling the nave of the abbey soon afterwards for use as a parish church. The conventual buildings he converted into a mill for the weaving of cloth—whilst small houses were built and streets laid out over the gardens and orchards. Later on, the conventual buildings were turned into a stone quarry, and to-day nothing remains of them except

MALMESBURY.MALMESBURY.

the abbot’s house which has been rebuilt, serving now as a picturesque and beautiful private house.

Of the ruins there still stand the nave of seven bays with its massive Norman pillars, the aisles, and a wall belonging to the south transept. The south porch—a beautiful piece of Norman work—is said to be the finest of its kind in England, in execution as well as design. The west front—also Norman work—is ornamented with the signs of the Zodiac. In the north wall may be seen a door which led into the cloisters. These, and also the tower at the west end of the church were destroyed during the furious bombardment of Malmesbury by Oliver Cromwell, and on Restoration Day when the abbey was reduced to its present mutilated condition. Nothing remains of the great central tower save two arches. Work of the 12th and 14th centuries are evident in the vaulting of the nave and aisles. The Decorated clerestory was added during the reign of Edward III. The monument to the devout King Athelstan is also on the south side.

St Aldhelm, master of oratory, master of music and master of Greek, Latin, and Saxon letters, was buried in the precincts of Malmesbury. Fuller writes that, “the English monks were bookish themselves and much inclined to bound up monuments of learning.” This can be applied to Malmesbury more perhaps than any other monastic house. For 400 years the monks worked not only at translating the Greek and Latin Classics, compiling and writing theological books and books on law, but also in illuminating these books, and in binding them in gilded and jewelled covers. This huge library was destroyed to the last folio, while the manuscripts were used for such purposes as stopping the bungholes of barrels of special ale, and for lighting the bakery ovens. The splendid traditions as well as the location of Malmesbury might have led one to expect its inclusion among the abbeys destined after the Dissolution forpreservation as cathedrals. Malmesbury was surrendered on December 15th, 1539, by Robert Frampton, who accepted a pension amounting in the money of our time to about £2000 a year.

1232, Founded by Ella, widow of William Longespee, Earl of Salisbury, for nuns—1246, The foundress elected abbess—1539, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £168, 9s. 2d.

The ruined walls of Lacock, or “waterlea,” stand in an open meadow on the banks of the river Avon, sheltered by many stately trees. Though the church was totally destroyed at the time of the Dissolution, many of the conventual parts remained unchanged, and are decidedly the best preserved of any nunnery in the kingdom. The cloisters were built in the reign of Henry IV.; the chapter-house and sacristy—both of two aisles divided by four pillars—are on the east side; the great hall on the north; and the ambulatory—above which is the dormitory—on the west. The remains of a former bathroom can be discerned near the sacristy. The historical and legendary associations of Lacock Abbey are of exceptional interest, and are fully dealt with in the Rev. Canon Bowles’History of Lacock. The abbey was founded in 1232 by Ella, Countess of Salisbury, in pious remembrance of her husband William Longespee, brother of Richard Cœur de Lion. The Earl, who was in close attendance on King John, assisted in founding Salisbury Cathedral, and died by poisoning in 1226. A few years afterwards Ella, directed by visions, founded the monastery and became abbess of her own establishment. This office she retained until five years before her death, when she retired from monastic life. She was buried in the church, but though at the Dissolution the bones of the foundress and her family were scattered, her epitaph and stone were preserved with the cloisters and cells of the nuns.

1237, Founded by Henry III. Dedicated to SS. Mary and Edward—Inhabited by Monks from Beaulieu—1239, Receives its charter from Henry III.—1539, Suppressed. Annual revenue, £100, 12s. 8d.—Granted to Sir William Paulet who adapts part of it to the purpose of a dwelling—1572, Comes into possession of the Earl of Hertford, and late in the 17th century into the possession of the Earl of Huntingdon.

At first sight, the abbey is not impressive. There are no majestic towers nor light and graceful spires—nothing but dense luxuriant foliage. The cloisters have vanished entirely, but where they stood is a deep turfed court, thick with trees and bounded with ivy-covered walls. “Behind this court is the site of the refectory, entirely destroyed except for its cloister walls; to the left the quarters of the lay brothers; to the right the wonderful triple arch of the chapter-house; and in front, seen only dimly through the trees, the windowed wall of the south aisle of the church.” All the buildings to the south of the cloister have been destroyed. The abbey church is fortunately in a fairly good state of preservation, for with the exception of the north transept the rest of the ruin is intact. It is of course roofless, but the elegant east window still conveys an idea of the elevation of this exquisite building. The nave was of eight bays with chapels, the choir of five bays with aisles, the transepts (with eastern chapels) measured 120 feet, and there was also a presbytery and central tower. The whole building appears to have been about 200 feet in length by 60 in breadth. Compared with Beaulieu, when both the abbeys were standing, Netley was far the smaller of the two. The little abbey’s almost perfect proportions are very apt to deceive one as to its real size, and its dimensions are very much smaller than one would ever imagine. Its length was 220 feet, while its height inside the church was only 43 feet. Of the classical reserved 13thcentury style, Netley, along with the abbeys of York and Rievaulx, attain more than any other the finality of pure Gothic architecture.

In 1700 the entire church was sold by Sir Berkeley Lucy on condition that the buildings be wholly removed, to a certain Walter Taylor, a builder of Southampton. Taylor was a Nonconformist and friend of the father of the eminent Dr Watts, by whom he had been advised to have nothing whatever to do with the impending sacrilege. Still persisting, however, in his communications with Sir Berkeley, he became tormented in dreams, in which it was revealed to him that his death would follow should he take any part in the ruin of the abbey. The unhappy man, however, signed the agreement with Lucy. He removed the roof, destroying the vaulting of the choir, nave, and north transept, together with the centre tower, selling them as so much building stone. While at work on the west end the tracery of the great window fell upon him suddenly, inflicting dreadful injuries to which he soon succumbed. In 1861 steps were taken to preserve what was left of the abbey by the next owner, Mr Chamberlay. The treatment which was given it was quite judicious, and it has not been furbished up into smug neatness like Kirkstall or Tintern, nor has it been abandoned to decay like Rievaulx. As the result of this careful handling, Netley is now left to rest a faultless and perfect ruin—a thing of almost indescribable beauty. The present-day value of Netley really lies in the infinite picturesqueness of its ruins. In the words of Sir Horace Walpole: “They are not the ruins of Netley but of Paradise. Oh! the purple Abbots! what a spot they had chosen to slumber in.”

NETLEY.NETLEY.

1204, Founded by King John—1539, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £326, 13s. 2d.

The spiritual brothers of every monastic order had in common, it would seem, the gift of discerning for their foundations sites as perfect in natural charms and resources as in their adaptability for lives of study and meditation, and in their security against encroachments from without. Beaulieu and Netley had each in a measure these advantages. At the time of the Dissolution remoteness and inaccessibility proved the salvation of Netley Abbey. The vast mother-abbey of Beaulieu however lay along tide-water, and its stones were materially available for the king’s purposes. Very little remains therefore of this seat of a mitred abbot except a few of the domestic buildings, including the refectory, now used as the parish church of Beaulieu (Early English), some remnants of the cloisters, and also the fratry and kitchen. On the east side of the cloister area three arches of the chapter-house still stand. The ruins of the abbey may be reached through a stone gateway adjoining the abbot’s house—now a modern mansion, in the Decorated hall of which is a particularly fine vaulted roof. Surrounding the house is a moat constructed by an Earl of Montague as a defence against the attacks of French privateers.

The site of the abbey church was fully disclosed during excavations undertaken at the instigation of members of the ducal house of Buccleuch, and we may trace the location of every wall and pier of what must once have been a noble church with its great nave of nine bays and complete double-aisled choir with a circular termination. The body of Isabella, wife of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, known as King of the Romans, has been found in front of the highaltar. The loss of Beaulieu is irreparable in the history of English architecture. One can but be thankful that the little that remains is in the hands of so thoughtful and reverent a custodian, and that the exquisite natural charms are left, not only undisturbed, but are tended with such appreciation and discrimination that “Bellus locus” justifies its name as fully as ever it did. Close to the New Forest, surrounded by majestic trees, the beauty of the scene is greatly enhanced by the sheet of water which spreads itself in sight of the foliage—whilst glimpses of a tidal river can be seen winding between banks edged with trees towards the not far distant ocean.

“Now sunk, deserted and with weeds o’ergrownYon prostrate walls their awful fate bewail;Low on the ground their topmost spires are thrown,Once friendly marks to guide the wandering sail.The ivy now with rude luxuriance bendsIts tangled foliage through the cloistered spaceO’er the green windows ’mouldering height ascendsAnd fondly clasps it with a last embrace.”

907, Founded by Edward the Elder—Greatly enlarged and rebuilt in the reign of Edgar, grandson of Edward the Elder, by Ethelwold, Archbishop of Winchester—Benedictine nuns placed there—974, Opened by the King on Christmas day—Almost destroyed by the Danes early in 11th century—Subsequently restored, enjoying many privileges and high repute under the Norman and Plantagenet rule—1129-69, Nave built by Bishop Henry de Blois—15—, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £393, 10s.

The village of Romsey has grown round the venerable abbey church of SS. Mary and Elfleda, where in former days devout women lived their secluded and consecrated lives. There is considerable difference of opinion as to the origin of the name Romsey, for while some authorities see in it a survival of theRoman “Romana insula,” others trace its present form to the Saxon “Rumes-eye”—“the broad island.” Romsey may formerly have been a Roman city, its position making it practically equidistant from other well-known Roman stations, whilst the island site of the town, surrounded by the tributary stream, the Test, affords some support to the theory of the Saxon origin of the name. The abbey minster has been wisely treated at its various restorations, and although definite types of Early English and Decorated work are represented, the dominating Norman characteristics have not been interfered with. Eastern apsidal chapels, peculiar to Norman work, are in both transepts. The nave of eight bays was built by Henry de Blois, Bishop of Winchester in the 12th century, whilst two examples of Norman piscinæ may be seen—one in the south choir aisle and the other on the south side of the choir. The west window is Early English, the central of the three lights being 40 feet high. The doors at the west of the north and south aisles, and the graceful arch which spans the west front of the nave are all beautiful work of this period. There is a bas-relief of the Crucifixion on the outer wall of the south transept. The apsidal chapel of the north transept is now used as a school.

There are many peculiarities in the interior of the church—amongst others, the elevation of the flooring of the aisles above that of the nave, where the nuns had their stalls. Many of these nuns were of royal blood, and in Saxon times the nunnery enjoyed high patronage. Under the rule of the Abbess Marivanna the monastery was blessed with peace, and Marivanna is said to have miraculously warned her successor Elwina of the approach of Sweyn and his band of Danish marauders. Matilda, wife of Henry I. and niece of the Abbess Christina, was educated here; and subsequently Mary, Countess of Boulogne, daughter of King Stephen, was elected abbess. This royal abbess openly defied the Pope and, in spite of hermonastic vows, married the son of the Count of Flanders, without obtaining the necessary dispensation from the Vatican. After ten years of married life, the rash lovers were compelled to separate, the power of the Church proving too strong for them. In the reign of Henry III. power to condemn and to hang criminals was restored to the abbess of Romsey—this peculiar privilege having become obsolete. The rules of the monastery were strict and the discipline well maintained, earning for Romsey a reputation for high moral tone, as well as for liberality and learning. A marvellously beautiful piece of the nuns’ handiwork can still be seen in an altar cloth of the present church. It is of green brocaded velvet embroidered with golden stars and with lilies exquisitely worked into the material. This work belongs to the 12th or 13th century and was formerly intended for a cope.

705, Ina, King of the West Saxons, makes Sherborne the seat of a Bishopric—998, Bishop Wulfsiu builds a priory—1075, Bishop Herman transfers the See to Sarum—1122, Sherborne and Horton made one house—1139, Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, changes the priory of Sherborne into an abbey, that of Horton being destroyed—Benedictine monks placed within it—1436, The abbey suffers from fire, and is changed in restoration from Norman to Perpendicular style—1539, The monastery surrenders to Henry VIII. Annual revenue, £682, 1s.—Sold to Sir John Horsey for £200—The parishioners of Sherborne buy the church from him for £230—1848-58, Restored at a cost of over £32,000.

The old-fashioned town of Sherborne, or “clear brook,” lies on a gentle slope above the river Yeo, in the vale of Blackmore. The first view of Sherborne is delightful. The narrow, winding, roughly-paved streets make a picturesque setting for the solid and stone-built houses, and there is a general impression of peaceful comfort and prosperity about the place.The surrounding country is rich and fertile; the air clear and invigorating. In monastic days the hillsides were covered with vines, so sheltered was Sherborne from extreme severity of weather. It is only from the south that a good view of the parish church—originally the abbey church of the monastery—can be obtained. From the other sides it is much built in.

This abbey of St Mary’s has undergone many vicissitudes, having been built and rebuilt in remote Saxon times; burnt by the dreaded Sweyn when passing through the town on his march from Exeter to Sarum; nearly razed to the ground and again rebuilt in the 15th century; dissolved in the 16th century, at which time the church was made parochial and purchased by the inhabitants of the town; and finally restored at an enormous cost in the 19th century, with the result that no church of such antiquity was ever in a better state of preservation. Considering the chequered history of the building, its many examples of different architectural periods is not to be wondered at. Perpendicular work is most largely represented—the abbey having been restored in the reign of Henry VI. (when this style was in vogue) after a fire, which devastated particularly the east end of the structure. The Norman period found expression in a peculiar south porch and part of the transepts, while the Lady chapel affords a good example of Early English architecture. The church is cruciform, with transepts, choir, and presbytery. The nave, with its two aisles—the one to the north boasting some Decorated windows—has a beautiful vaulted roof and clerestory. From the central tower there is an extensive view over the undulating country for many miles round Sherborne. In the bell chamber below hang ten bells—a sanctus bell, a peal of eight, and a fire bell. Cardinal Wolsey is said to have given the tenor bell—the largest tenor bell in England ever rung in a peal—to the abbey. It was importedfrom Tournay, and although recast still bears this distich—

“By Wolsey’s gift I measure time for all;To mirth, to griefe, to church, I serve to call.”

Attached to the church are some ancient chapels, including the Wickham Chantry, where lies Sir John Horsey, also Bishop Roger’s Chantry, with its beautiful Early English window. Sir Thomas Wyatt, the poet, Bishop Asser, tutor to Alfred the Great, more than one of the Saxon kings, and Abbot Clement (1163) (of whose tomb but a fragment remains in the north choir aisle) are interred in the cathedral church. The cloisters were on the north side of the church—the former dormitory is now used as a schoolroom. A portion of the refectory still remains, also the abbey barn and the abbey house—the latter being rebuilt after the Dissolution.

987, Founded by Egelwaldus or Ethelwerdus—Dedicated to St Peter—Endowed by Ethelmer, Earl of Cornwall—15—, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £515 17s. 10.

“St Augustine, the monk, after he had converted Kent, travelled with his companions over the rest of King Ethelbert’s dominions, which extended as far as the Northumbers, preaching the Gospel of Christ. And being in Dorsetshire, a great company of people offered themselves for baptism in a place where water was wanting, whereupon by miracle a fountain of water burst out of the ground, which was in the succeeding times called St Augustine’s Fountain. Here Edwaldus, brother of St Edmund the King and martyr, led a hermit’s life and died with a reputation of great sanctity”—(Dugdale’sMonasticon).

These circumstances, according to Dugdale, led to the founding of the abbey of Cerne in 987. Otherwriters, however, hold the opinion that credit is due to the great Apostle of the Anglo-Saxons for an even earlier foundation.

Only the gateway of this once magnificent abbey remains, and near it the well dedicated to St Augustine. The gateway—a large embattled structure—is in a good state of preservation, and even yet possesses some of its former dignity. When excavating on the site of the abbey church, a stone effigy of peculiar interest was found. It is 15th century work, representing a lady, of royal birth possibly, who once held the position of abbess in this monastic house. She carries a staff in her right hand and in her left she holds a book. Fragments of a leaden chalice and paten and encaustic tiles, chiefly of Perpendicular work, have also been found. The present abbey house has been built from the remains of the abbey.

Near the town of Cerne on the southern slope of Trendle Hill there may be seen the outline of a remarkable figure of a man, 180 feet high and with outlines about 2 feet broad. Various traditions are held concerning the origin of this figure; one being that it represents a Saxon deity Heil (Hercules), and another that it serves as a memorial to Cendric, king of the West Saxons; while the most popular legend speaks of the figure as that of a giant, who, after eating some sheep, indulged in a post-prandial nap and was pinioned by the inhabitants of the town, who in this way judged his dimensions.Chacun à son gout!—for there is doubtless a grain of truth in all three stories, and failing opportunity and inclination for authentic research, imagination and prejudice may be allowed to have free play.

961, Founded by Ordgarus, Earl of Devonshire and father of the infamous Elfrida, Queen of Wessex—981, Building completed by Ordulph—King Ethelred endows it with land and liberties—997, Burnt and despoiled by the Danes—11—, Henry I. becomes a benefactor to this house which is re-established—1513, Tavistock becomes a mitred abbey—1539, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £902, 5s. 7d.—The estate given to the first Lord Russell by whom it has descended to the family of Bedford.

Tavistock, like Buckland, is on the Tavy, and here, amidst beautiful country in a trough of hills, stands the skeleton of a formerly magnificent structure, once inhabited by Benedictine monks. Typical Devonshire scenery, both stern and gentle, with its bleak moorland and well-wooded, peaceful valleys, is nowhere more strongly exemplified than in the surroundings of this abbey, for though sheltered in a fertile valley, the dreary Dartmoor lies very close, and stretches away in the far distance, adding a grim and sombre tone to the aspect.

Two gateways, the fratry, and a porch are the principal portions remaining of the abbey. The frater, which has a fine portico, is now used as a Unitarian chapel. This Benedictine house of Tavistock was fortunate in gaining (among other benefactions) the goodwill and support of King Ethelred, Leving, Bishop of Worcester, and of Henry I. A school for the study of Saxon was founded in connection with the abbey soon after its re-establishment, and later, after the introduction of printing into England, a press was set up there and many books, including a Saxon grammar, were published. History and legend combine with exceptional interest in connection with the foundation of Tavistock—attributed to Ordgarus, whose good work was carried on by his son Ordulph, father and brother respectively of Queen Elfrida, who so treacherously and cruelly connived at the murder ofher stepson. Ordulph is said to have been of such gigantic stature as to be able to break the bars of gates and to stride a river 10 feet wide. Huge bones, said to be his, may still be seen in Tavistock church. Ordulph endowed the abbey with many lands, which bounties, added to the benefactions of King Ethelred, were the cause of the institution becoming both wealthy and flourishing. After total destruction by the Danes, the abbey was rebuilt only to become more prosperous than ever.

There are still evidences of its former grandeur and of the sumptuous manner in which the dignitaries lived. Risdon relates the following curious circumstance, from which we can gather the unexpectedness of some of the many sources from which wealth accrued to the abbey.

“It is lefte us by tradition,” says he, “that one Childe, of Plimstocke, a man of faire possessions, havinge noe issue, ordained, that wherever he shoulde happen to be buried, to that churche his land should belong. It so fortuned that he, ridinge to hunt in the forest of Dartmoor, casually lost his companye, and his waye; likewise the season beinge so colde and he so benumbed therewithe, that he was enforced to kill his horse, and havinge so killed him, to creepe into his bellye to gett heat; which not beinge able to preserve him, he was there frozen to deathe; and so founde was carried by Tavystokemen to be buried in the churche of the Abbeye; which was not so secretlye done, but the inhabitants got knowledge thereof, which to prevent, they resorted to hinder the carryinge of the corpse on the bridge where they concluded necessitye compelled them to passe. But they were deceived by a guile, for the Tavystokemen forthwith builded a slyghte bridge and passed at another place without resistance, buried the bodye, and enjoyed the lands. In memory whereof, the bridge beareth the name of Gylebridge to this daye.”

John Penryn, elected Abbot of Tavistock in 1522, began his rule in peace and quietness, little thinking that he was to be last abbot of Tavistock.In 1526 this dignitary, according to Oliver’sMonasticon, was ordered to supply a servant of the king with a corrody, consisting of “One white loaf, another loaf called Trequarter, a dish called General, another dish of flesh or fish called Pitance, and three pottels, or three halfpence daily; also a furred robe at Christmas yearly, of the same kind as that of our esquires, or the sum of 20 shillings.” Pensions were paid to one John Elyote and William Tyler, M.A., of Oxminster; in the first instance for doing the duties of organist and choirmaster, and in the second for teaching grammar to the boys of the house and for expounding Scripture in the refectory. One wonders why this work had ceased to be done by the monks themselves. The literature of the time shows plainly that monks and friars were losing hold on popular regard—although some of the best houses were still doing earnest work in study and in relieving distress. Cromwell had a large share of public opinion on his side when he suppressed nearly four hundred of the smaller houses. John Penryn, among other wise abbots, expecting the blow, had been putting his house in order, and making arrangements for its future good management. He called his twenty brethren together a month or so before the Act of Parliament for the Suppression was passed, and surrendered his monastery—with its manors, churches, lands, down to books and parchments, into the hands of the king. In doing so he secured fairly good terms for himself and his monks, for the abbot’s pension was equivalent to more than £100 a year in our present money, and the monks, with the exception of one, received pecuniary compensation in proportion.

1278, Founded and endowed by Amicia, Countess of Devonshire—Dedicated to St Mary and St Benedict and colonised by Cistercian monks from Quarr Abbey—1541, After the Dissolution the site and demesne sold by Henry VIII. to Sir Richard Grenville—1571, The new owner converts the abbey church into a private residence and afterwards sells it to Sir Francis Drake.

The history of this Cistercian house is of twofold interest, for in addition to its foundation as a religious establishment in the 13th century, it became eventually, after its reconstruction as a manor house, the home and favourite residence of one of England’s greatest naval heroes, Sir Francis Drake. Buckland Abbey, one of the most notable ancient halls of England, is still in the possession of the Drake family, and many relics of the famous explorer are to be seen within its walls, including a Bible which had been his constant companion on all his journeys. The building consists chiefly of stones of the original structure, although totally different in construction.

Of the monastical parts of this foundation, practically only a barn, 180 feet long, and a belfry are still preserved. The fragments in the Vicarage garden are supposed to be all that is left of the last abbot’s house. Still, even in these days, it is quite possible to picture the happy situation and consequent beauty of the monastic demesne. The river Tavy flows past the abbey, which is surrounded on all sides by delightful gardens, including an orchard said to have been the first planted in Devonshire. To the industry and discernment of the monks is greatly due the fame of Devonshire for the excellence of its cider—the greatest care having been taken in those early days to secure the very best grafts from Normandy. Nothing particular is recorded of the fortunes of this religious house. Disgrace fell upon it at one time—the monks having presumed to perform certain ceremonies without the necessary permission of Walter deBronescombe, Bishop of Exeter, and being consequently excommunicated. From this suspension they were happily relieved by the interposition of Queen Helena.

Buckland Abbey, as in the case of all religious foundations, succumbed to the demands of the insatiable Henry VIII., but was fortunate in eventually passing into the hands of Richard Grenville, who did not utterly remove all vestiges of the original structure when building the present noble house called Buckland Abbey. The connection of the great Drake with the manor house was not limited to his ownership of the old abbey, for here he spent the earliest, and not a few of the later years of his life; while many of his triumphs were won on the waters which washed this lovely county of Devon. It is sad that at the close of a life so full of successful effort, a life almost unparalleled in its daring initiative of action, Sir Francis Drake should not have found a resting place in his beloved home. Failure attended his expedition to the West Indies, where he had hoped to strike a blow at the gigantic power of Spain. By the capture of the Spaniards of one of Drake’s smaller vessels, the plans of the English admiral became known to his enemies and all his schemes were more or less defeated. Bent down and disheartened by failure, Drake succumbed after twenty days’ illness to disease which had broken out among his men, receiving a sailor’s funeral off the shores of Puerto Bello, December 1595.

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