FORD ABBEY. 229 



tural and legal protectors of the Abbey ; and Cleave- 

 land asserts in his history of that family, that they 

 considered it as a most beautiful feather in their 

 train ; and many of them chose its sanctuary for the 

 place of their interment. 



After a succession of twenty superiors of this ec- 

 clesiastical fraternity, the last of them surrendered his 

 convent in 1539. The duration of each abbot in his 

 office was on an average, twenty years ; the space of 

 time assigned by Sir Isaac Newton to every reign of 

 ancient kings, in his system of Chronology. 



The new and self-anointed head of the Church, 

 Henry VIII. granted the scite of this abbey to Ri- ' 

 chard Pollard, Arm. 



Sir John, the son of this Richard, alienated the 

 same to Sir Amias Paulet ; whose father. Sir Hugh 

 Paulet, had been appointed head steward of the 

 abbey by the last Abbot on 4. Mar. Hen. VIII. 

 with a pension of 100s. 



Sir Amias disposed of it to W. Roswell, Esq. 

 from whose family it passed to the Prideauxes. At 

 present it is in possession of the Gwynnes ; an heir- 

 ess of the property, having been married to a Mr. 

 Gwynne, of Lansanor, in Glamorgan. 



The original common seal of the Cistercian order, 

 in England and Wales, is still in existence, and in 

 perfect preservation. It is circular — has a church 

 engraven upon it, and bears a shield, containing the 

 arms of Bindon Abbey, in Dorsetshire. The inscrip- 

 tion runs thus : — " Sigill : coe : Capli : genalis : 

 ordis: Cistercien : in: Angl : et Wall:*' — 



W. E. 



Park Wood. 



Here pilgrims roam, that strayed so far to seek 

 In Golgatha him dead, who lives in heaven ; 

 And they w^ho, to be sure of Paradise, 

 Dying put on the weeda of Dominie, 

 Or in Franciscan think to pass disguised : 



