Ixiv. WEST PURBECK MEETING. 



before. Hence the chimney gable on the south side of the hall. 

 That this is an addition is clear from the straight joint between 

 the old masonry and the masonry of the gable. And that some 

 of the walls are original may be inferred from this fact : To 

 build a fireplace some of the wall had to be taken down ; near 

 the base of the Tudor wall, which backs it, is a chamfered string 

 course, which has the appearance of i3th century work, and is 

 certainly much earlier than the Tudor masonry. Had it been 

 an original part of this masonry, it would have been carried from 

 end to end at least. There was evidently not enough of it to do 

 this ; the length is only about the length of the portion of the 

 old wall which was taken down, and therefore, presumably 

 belonged to it ; and, if so, much of the walling of the lower part 

 of this hall is of the ijth century also. There were further 

 changes in this hall. A second doorway was made at F, opposite 

 the old doorway at E, and the passage between them screened off 

 as in college halls. The remains of the scantling to which the 

 oak screen was attached may be seen on the massive beam above, 

 where indicated on the plan. The dais was at the west end of 

 the hall. The wall which now divides the hall is modern. 



A wall protected the whole range of buildings. On the south 

 side and at some little distance from the house this wall can be 

 plainly traced, and at the junction of this wall with that which 

 met it on the east the gate-house is said to have stood ; there 

 are some stones in position here which might have been part of 

 the foundation of this gate-house. 



The court was between this wall and the present house. The 

 outbuildings, which were taken down some 60 years ago, and 

 are said in Hutchins' to have had " an appearance of great 

 antiquity," were on the east and south of this court, according to 

 the testimony of old inhabitants of the village, and were used at 

 that time as farm buildings. 



The walls were carried round the east, south, and west of the 

 court ; on the north side the house itself seems to have been the 

 boundary, for the walls are from jft. to 3 ft. 6in. in thickness on 

 this side, and the central portion is strongly buttressed, and, as 



