A CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF DORCHESTER. 135 



Montacute led a party to the succour of the young king. They 

 entered at midnight, with the collusion of the governor, and 

 seizing Mortimer released the Royal prisoner. There are under- 

 ground passages at Windsor, and indisputable architectural 

 evidence that they are of the Norman period. A paragraph 

 which went the round of the papers last year shows that similar 

 subways have been found at Winchester; indeed, they may be 

 said to be a feature of Norman castles, at least of such as were 

 built upon the chalk. The paragraph was as follows : 



" A RELIC OF NOEMAN TIMES. The subterranean passage forming 

 part of the works of the Norman Castle of Winchester, and (except the 

 Great Hall) almost the only part preserved of the great structure, is 

 being partially cleared by the County Council. It is a remarkably fine 

 example of ancient work, and the excavations are watched with interest 

 by the antiquary." 



THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CASTLE. 



The later history of the Castle is enveloped in mystery. Very 

 little is known about it beyond the short entries recorded of 

 repairs in the pipe rolls and similar documents, but something 

 may be gleaned from them as to its destruction. The last entry 

 I have found relating to the Castle is in 38 Hen. III. (1254), 

 when S i6s. 5d. was laid out on the King's Chapel and on 

 books and suitable vestments for the same. Speed says that the 

 Priory was built out of its ruins, and this seems probable enough. 



Now the Priory existed in 5th Edward I. (1310), because, 

 according to Tanner, in that year Robert Bingham gave 6s. 8d. 

 to the Friars Minor in Dorchester by his will. Allowing a little 

 margin to these dates namely, the dates of the repair of the 

 chapel and the date of R. Bingham's legacy to the Priory, we 

 may fairly assume that the destruction of the Castle and the 

 building of the Priory occurred some time between 1260 and 

 1300 (assuming that there are no entries relating to the Castle 

 later than the entry of 1254). 



The Priory was a Royal foundation, and would, therefore, be 

 endowed with lands by the Crown : the Castle, which also 



