RELIGIOUS HOUSES 



at about this time was the gift in 1041 by 

 Queen Emma, widow ofCnut, of the head of 

 St. Valentine, which was cherished as one of 

 the most valuable possessions of the house. 



Alwyn, brother of Earl Godwin, became 

 abbot in 1064. During his abbacy a disas- 

 trous fire destroyed a considerable part of the 

 domestic buildings of the Minster on St. 

 George's Day, 1066. This abbot naturally 

 took the part of his nephew Harold in re- 

 sisting the Norman invasion, and according to 

 the register of the monastery he was slain in 

 battle on the field of Hastings. Mr. Round 

 has already dealt with the question of the 

 supposed active part that the monks of New 

 Minster took at the battle of Hastings, and 

 has shown from the Domesday Survey how 

 considerable are the exaggerations usually 

 current with regard to the consequent confis- 

 cations of the Conqueror. 1 At the time of 

 the Survey the Abbey held in Hampshire, 

 Brown Candover, Woodmancote, Fullerton 

 in Wherwell, Leckford, Micheldever, Cran- 

 bourne, Drayton in Barton Stacey, West 

 Stratton, East Popham, Abbot's Worthy, 

 Alton, Worting, Bighton, Bedhampton, 

 Lomer in Corhampton, Warnford, Lickpit 

 in Basing, North Stoneham, Kingsclere, 

 Tatchbury in Eling, Abbots Anne, and Laver- 

 stoke.* 



Not long after the Conquest evil days fell 

 upon the abbey. On the death of Rewalan 

 the Red King made his 'infamous chancellor,' 

 Ralph Flambard, abbot. By an openly simoni- 

 acal arrangement between the abbot-chan- 

 cellor and the king, Herbert Losinga, Bishop 

 of Norwich, bought the New Minster for his 

 father, Robert Losinga, who was appointed 

 abbot in 1091. On the death of Abbot 

 Robert in 1093, the unhappy abbey again fell 

 into the unscrupulous hands of Ralph Flam- 

 bard. Relief however came to this scandal 

 with the accession of Henry Beauclerk in 

 noo, when Hugh, a monk of St. Swithun's, 

 was appointed abbot. 



The will of the next abbot, Geoffrey, was one 

 of singular moment to the abbey ; the register 

 styles him Fundator Hide. In 1 109 the monks 

 were enabled to leave their crowded site, the 

 cause of many a serious inconvenience, and 

 move to commodious quarters on the north 

 side of Winchester, just beyond the city 

 walls, known as Hyde Mead. Henceforth 

 this important Benedictine house was known 

 as Hyde Abbey. The old site was sur- 

 rendered into the king's hands, and was 

 shortly afterwards restored to the cathedral 



1 V. C.H.Hants, i. 417. 

 1 Ibid. 469. 



church of St. Swithun. To the monks of 

 Hyde the king granted another charter, 

 whereby, amongst other regulations, it was 

 arranged that a joint procession of the monks 

 of St. Swithun and Hyde was to be made 

 year by year. 3 Their new home was speedily 

 ready for occupation, and in i no the monks 

 of New Minster carried with them to the 

 Abbey of Hyde, in solemn procession, their 

 sacred relics, the great gold cross of Cnut's 

 benefaction, together with the illustrious 

 remains of Alfred, his queen and his son. 

 Henry I. made several grants to the abbey, 

 among them the churches of Kingsclere and 

 Alton and 5 hides in Alton which William I. 

 had given in exchange for land in the city of 

 Winchester. 4 He also confirmed to them 

 the right of soc and sac, thol and theam and 

 other liberties. 5 



To Geoffrey succeeded Osbert in 1124. 

 The length of his rule is somewhat uncer- 

 tain, but it probably ended in 1135- The 

 new abbey, however, only lasted for thirty 

 years, for when the city was fired in 1 141, in 

 the midst of the fierce civil war between the 

 adherents of Maud and Stephen, the Abbey 

 of Hyde perished in the conflagration. 6 Then 

 for several years there was continuous strife 

 between the monks of Hyde and the high 

 born and imperious Bishop Henry de Blois. 

 By him, say the Hyde annalists, was the 

 great cross of Cnut burnt, alluding to its loss 

 in the great fire, when the bishop directed 

 fireballs to be thrown from his castle of 

 Wolvesey into that quarter of the city adjoin- 

 ing the abbey. 



In 1142 Hugh de Lens succeeded as abbot 

 after a vacancy of six years. There was 

 much internal dissension at this time, and in 

 11493 large deputation of the monks pro- 

 ceeded to Rome to complain of their abbot, 

 as well as to renew their charges against 

 their diocesan. Hugh was removed, and for 

 two years the abbey was again vacant, whilst 

 Bishop Henry endeavoured to persuade the 

 Pope to convert his ancient see to an archi- 

 episcopate, and to make Hyde Abbey the 

 centre of one of his suffragan bishoprics. 

 The scheme however failed, and Selid was 

 elected abbot in 1151. In the seventeenth 

 year of his abbacy, the continuous suits 

 against the bishop were at last decided in 

 favour of Hyde, and amongst other acts of 

 restitution the bishop presented to the abbey 

 as skilful a reproduction of Cnut's golden 



3 Charter R. 16 Edw. IV. m. 9. 



* Ibid. 



5 Had. MS. 1761 f. z6b. 



* Ann. Man. (Rolls Series), ii. 52. 



117 



