A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE 



which the college took the wrong side were the probable causes of the 

 indifferent repute in which it appears to have been held. The number of 

 commoners, the record of which henceforward forms a fairly accurate 

 gauge of its position, was steady at about fifty for the first ten years under 

 the rule of Thomas Cheyney, the headmaster from 1701. But in 1710 

 a decline began, and in 1717 there were only twenty commoners on the 

 roll, though they were headed by the august name of ' His Grace ye 

 Duke of Hamilton and Brandon.' 



Domestic dissensions began over the disputed election of a fellow in 

 1708, in which Warden Nicholas had procured the election of a fellow, 

 at a meeting held at twenty-four hours' notice, on 30 December, with 

 only two fellows present. The rest protested and appealed to the visitor, 

 the Bishop of Winchester. The election was confirmed. Apparently by 

 way of retaliation, the sub-warden and other fellows then began an attack 

 on the warden's allowances and perquisites. This resulted in another 

 appeal to the visitor by the warden, a denial of jurisdiction by Ralph 

 Bridcombe, his consequent expulsion from his fellowship, proceedings in 

 Chancery and the Queen's Bench, and a published Plea of the Fellows 

 of Winchester College against the Bishop of Winchester's local and final 

 visitatorial Power over the said College. 1 This publication is chiefly 

 interesting for its collected record of all the archiepiscopal visitations, 

 cited to show that the bishop's visitations were not final, and for its full 

 account of a queer quarrel which had arisen between the warden and 

 fellows in 1608 and produced a visitation by Archbishop Bancroft. In 

 February, 1712, before the case was determined, Warden Nicholas died. 

 Meanwhile, the quarrels of their rulers for once benefited the ruled. The 

 scholars obtained improvements in their ' commons,' which the fellows 

 said were ' industriously misrepresented,' as ' the Warden, for some private 

 reasons, constantly opposed these as well as all other alterations,' and 

 endeavoured ' to make them be thought of less advantage to the scholars 

 than they really are.' The table compiled by the fellows to show the 

 improvement effected is a curious example of the way in which the 

 interests of the scholars, the main object of the foundation, had been 

 sacrificed to those of the fellows, a mere afterthought and appendage, 

 who, with the warden, had shared the bulk of the unearned increment 

 of the college revenues. 



TABLE 



A SCHOLAR'S COMMONS, AS LATELY 



Sunday s. d. 



Morning Beef broth 



Noon Roast mutton and beef ... - 2-^ 



Night Boiled mutton and broth ... - 2 

 Monday 



Morning Beef broth made of the dinner beef 



Noon Boiled beef cold, or sodden in water i 



Night Boiled mutton and broth ... - 2 



A SCHOLAR'S PRESENT COMMONS 



s. d. 

 Beef broth ...... 



Roast beef ...... - 2$ 



Boiled mutton without broth 



- 2 



Mutton broth, saved Sunday 

 night ....... 



Boiled beef hot without broth 

 Boiled mutton and broth . 



- 2 



1 London : Printed by George James for Jonah Bowyer at the Rose in Ludgate Street, 1711. 



340 



