tastefully restored to its original proportions. The spring is never-failing and supplies the whole of the village with the purest water.
"At St. Leonards Grange, about three miles distant, are the remains of an ivy-covered barn, the great 'Spicarium' of the Abbey, 226 ft. long, and there are also some exquisite fragments still standing of a Late Decorated chapel, which may possibly be again roofed over and appropriated to the purposes of worship.
"Many of the farms still retain the names given them by the French Cistercians who first reclaimed the lands and established the colony there, such as 'Beufré,' the Cow Farm, and 'Bergerie,' the Sheep Farm. Few spots can be found which so thoroughly exhibit the type of a Cistercian settlement, with its winding river, its numerous fish-ponds, its retired woods, its open heaths, and its sloping vineyards, and which will amply repay the visit of the lover of nature or antiquity."
Lord Henry Scott having expressed his high sense of the value of this communication, and of Mr. Baker's labours in working out the investigations on the site of Beaulieu, a vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Baker, and the meeting adjourned.
In the afternoon au excursion was made by railway to Romsey and Porchester. Arriving shortly after one o'clock, the numerous party, accompanied by Lord Talbot de Malahide, Lord Henry Scott, M.P., Sir E. Smirke, Mr. T. H. Wyatt, and the principal members of the Institute, were met at the Town Hall by the Right Hon. W. F. and Mrs. Cowper- Temple, the Mayor of Romsey (Mr. George), the Vicar (the Rev. E. L. Berthon), Mr. Wyndham Portal, and other local gentry. Here they were soon joined by the President of the meeting, and the Vicar proceeded to read a memoir "On the Abbey Church of Romsey." Commencing by a reference to the fragmentary character of the records of the noble Abbey, he would only notice them when necessary to elucidate the structural discoveries made within the last few years. By closing the churchyard against burials, explorations had been possible which could not have been attempted earlier, and from these he had arrived at a correct understanding of the surroundings of the church and the changes that had been made. Glancing at the early history of the Nunnery, from its foundation by Edward the Elder, and continuing to the time of the Abbacy of the Princess Mary, the daughter of King Stephen, special attention was directed to the probability of the chief part of the present structure being her work. The architectural details of the church of the twelfth century were then discussed, with the aid of a large coloured sketch, and the subsequent changes made in the structure were passed in review, and an account given of the various discoveries lately made in connection with them, and of the restorations in progress. These were illustrated by many fragments of masonry, and numerous plans, sketches, and drawings. A cordial vote of thanks having been passed at the suggestion of the President of the meeting, the large party then proceeded to the Abbey, where the Vicar pointed out the most important features of the structure, and adverted to those which illustrated the chief points of his lecture.[1] After some very hospitable attentions to many of the visitors by the Mayor of Romsey and the Vicar—time not
- ↑ See "Romsey Abbey Church, by the Rev. J. L. Petit," in the Winchester volume of the Archaeological Institute, 1845.
