The Cloisters, Church, and Refectory. 



Of the cloisters, the north alley is the most perfect, with 

 its seven carols, where the monks sat and talked ; whilst above 

 project the corhels which carried the cloister-roof. Here and 

 there, too, as at the two north doors leading into the church, 

 some of the original pavement still remains, and at the south- 

 east corner a staircase led to the lavatory. 



The church, however, has long since been destroyed. 

 Nothing, except a portion of the south transept, is left. The 

 foundations, though, can be accurately traced, showing the nave 

 and aisles, and the large circular apse at the east end. Scattered 

 about, too, appear the tesselated floor, bright as on the day 

 it was laid down, and the graves of the abbots, and of Eleanor 

 of Acquitaine, mother of the founder.* 



Out in the fields beyond stand the ruins of a building, now 

 a mere pinfold for cattle, called by tradition the Monk's Vine- 

 Press, whilst the meadows beyond, lying on the slope of the 

 hill, are still known as " the Vineyards. "f 



But the refectory still remains on the south side of the 

 cloisters, from which a doorway, still ornamented with iron 

 scroll-work, used to lead. Ever since the Reformation it has 

 served as the parish church, differing only in its appearance by 



* A few years ago, when the foundations were being excavated, a female 

 skeleton was found near the high altar, and was supposed, by its position, to 

 have been that of the Queen. 



f Warner (vol. i. 255) mentions that in his time there was still brandy 

 in the steward's cellars made from the vines growing on the spot. Domesday 

 gives several entries of wines (see Ellis's Introduction, vol. i. pp. 116, 117), 

 though none in the Forest district. But the term 'Vineyards' is still fre- 

 quently found hereabouts as the name of fields generally marked by a 

 southern slope, as at Beckley and Hern, near Christchurch, showing 

 how common formerly was the cultivation of the vine, first introduced int > 

 England by the Romans. 



K 2 07 



