314 NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE 



market was less frequented ; the rough and sequestered 

 situation gave a check to resort, and the neglected roads 

 rendered it less and less accessible. 



That it had been a considerable place for size, formerly, 

 appears from the largeness of the church, which much 

 exceeds those of the neighbouring villages ; by the ancient 

 extent of the burying-ground, which, from human bones 

 occasionally dug up, is found to have been much en- 

 croached upon ; by giving a name to the hundred ; by 

 the old foundations and ornamented stones, and tracery 

 of windows that have been discovered on the north-east 

 side of the village ; and by the many vestiges of disused 

 fish-ponds still to be seen around it. For ponds and stews 

 were multiplied in the times of popery, that the affluent 

 might enjoy some variety at their tables on fast days ; 

 therefore, the more they abounded the better probably 

 was the condition of the inhabitants. 



