THE POOLE TOWN CELLAR. 91 



they forced an entrance, the defenders escaped at the back part ; 

 and here the invaders found arms and sea stores of all kinds ; they 

 carried off what they could, and then set the storehouse on fire. 

 Meanwhile the English had rallied, taken the doors out of the 

 houses, and using them as pavaises to protect them from the 

 quarrels of the crossbows, kept up such a brisk fire of arrows that 

 the arbalisters durst not expose themselves by stooping to charge 

 their arbalists. Many were wounded, and those whose armour 

 protected them were as if fledged with arrows. The Spaniards and 

 French who landed to the support of their comrades were driven 

 back, and sailed towards Southampton. Sydenham then says this 

 account " evidences that the old church and tower, with a cupola 

 had been previously erected ; but that the wall which surrounded 

 the seaward side of the town was of a subsequent date. The large 

 building that was sacked and set on fire was probably that since 

 known as the Town Cellar." They appear to have burnt only this 

 one storehouse, full of arms and sea stores, highly inflammable 

 contents, and such a conflagration in the Town Cellars would have 

 left some traces on roof or walls. I have carefully examined the 

 Town Cellars, and there are no such traces, and, as I have pointed 

 out, the roof is a good early English roof, and presumably not built 

 later than the beginning of the 13th century; the timbers of the 

 roof are as old in appearance as the hammerbeams of the Ship Inn; 

 the walls were of stone, and the roof was stone tiled ; there was 

 also no door at the back by which the defenders could escape, nor 

 was there much space in front of the building for a large attacking 

 party. There is another reason why the Town Cellar was not the 

 store attacked and burnt. It would have been a most disadvan- 

 tageous place to make a landing, as the attacking force would have 

 had to run the gauntlet of some 200 yards in front of the town, 

 and, the channel being narrow and the defenders active, but few of 

 them would have reached the landing by the Town Cellars. The 

 most natural place to land would have been at the end of the little 

 channel, at a spot opposite the lower end of what is now known as 

 Fish Street, where is much greater space of ground in front of the 



