126 



THE HAMPSHIRE ANTIQUARY & NATURALIST. 



was built to protect the flood-gates of the moat or 

 ditch which extended along the east wall of the town 

 where now is Canal Walk. Somewhere or other 

 about this ditch there used to be a mill the common 

 mill ot the town worked by the tidal water, i.e. , the 

 water kept back in the ditch by the closing ot the 

 gates on the turn of the tide. This mill was situated 

 " under thg High Cross," but the true site of mill and 

 cross are now unknown. Mr. Shore thought it was 

 either on the north or east side of the tower. 

 Adjoining the tower to the westward is a large hall, 

 which became the residence of the military governor, 

 and, later, a debtors' prison. The Rev. G. N. Godwin 

 spoke of the fearful state of this prison in 1807. 

 God's House gateway came in for some 

 attention and was described as a good specimen of 

 I3th century work. The buildings have been restored 

 by the Harbour Board and are now used as corn 

 stores ; but it was fortunate for the party that on this 

 day they were empty. Passing through the gateway, 

 where recesses for the portcullis were noticed, God's 

 House was visited, a place with interesting historical 

 associations. In the wall on the east side of the 

 garden here was pointed out the piscina, which, Mr. 

 Shore said, had been pronounced by Mr. Critchlow, 

 the architect who restored the church, to be in situ. 

 They were thus standing on the site of an old church. 

 Mr. Critchlow had made a search for the remains of 

 the Earl of Cambridge (a direct ancestor of the Queen) 

 who was buried here in 1415 after his execution out- 

 side the north gate or Bar Gate of the town for 

 conspiracy to murder King Henry V as he was 

 preparing to sail for the war with France. But, 

 though he had dug to a depth of four feet, he had 

 been unsuccessful, except that he had found some 

 bones of a tall man ; whether they were the bones of 

 the unfortunate Earl it was impossible to say. 

 He came across some architectural fragments which 

 have since been built into the wall. Inside the 

 church attention was called to the chancel arch, 

 of Transition Norman date. Mr. Shore mentioned 

 also that there used to be a circular lepers' window, 

 shown in old prints, but this had been blocked up 

 in consequence of its being taken advantage of to 

 look in and disturb the services. 



At the bottom of the High-street it was found con- 

 venient to divide the large party, and whilst one por- 

 tion went to inspect some curiosities preserved in 

 the offices of the Harbour Board, the others visited 

 an old wine vault under No. 94, High-street. At the 

 Harbour Board office were some stone cannon balls, 

 supposed to be some of the stores of King Henry V, the 

 ' tennis balls" with which he pounded the French at 

 Harfleur. Some of the antiquaries expressed doubts 

 as to the largest of these being a cannon ball at all, 

 but Mr. Skelton said that many similar ones were pre- 

 served at Harfleur, and were considered to be relics 

 of the siege of that town by Henry V. Shak- 

 speare, in connection with the " tennis ball" incident, 

 refers to the return of " gun stones" in exchange for 



the Dauphin's insulting present to the English king. 

 There were also on the table a flagon cf the last 

 century, a metal dish, some horns of deer, &c., found 

 in dredging the Netley shoal, and specimens of mud 

 from the shoal. The wine vault visited is one of the 

 earliest and finest in Southampton. It is of late 

 Norman date, as shown by the ribs ot the barrel roof. 

 The floor is now some six feet below the level of the 

 street outside ; this is not because the Normans built 

 it underground, but because the accretions of centuries 

 have raised the street level to this extent. 



Passing through Porter's Lane, a stoppage was 

 made at the old building on the north side known as 

 "Canute's Palace," since Sir Henry Englefield's 

 erroneous conjecture that it might have belonged to 

 that monarch. It is, however, of late Norman date ; 

 in the west gable are the remains of a round-headed 

 Norman \vindow, and the capitals of the columns of 

 the rear arch of the remaining window are almost 

 Early English. A momentary halt was also called at 

 the ancient Woolhouse at the corner of Bugle Street, 

 where the French prisoners were confined, and then 

 the party passed through Cuckoo Lane, where on 

 the right hand side were pointed out the Tudor water- 

 gate of the Wriothesleys' palace, the place from which 

 the Earls of Southampton took their name. This is 

 built of brick, like those of Place House and Basing 

 House. 



Then turning through the West Gate, which 

 forms the subject of one of Mr. Frank McFadden's 

 recently published etchings, the party was permitted 

 by Mdme. Maes to inspect the portion of the town 

 wall, with the ancient guard room, in her garden. 

 From the top of one of the flanking towers of the 

 West Gate a good view is obtained over the South- 

 ampton Water. The guard-house, with a passage 

 running along the ramparts, dates from the 14111 or 

 I5th century and is one of the most ancient buildings 

 of the kind that we know of. The roof is supported 

 by some excellently preserved beams, as to which 

 there was difference of opinion as to whether they 

 were oak or chesnut. Inside the house too some in- 

 teresting old features were noticed, including some 

 decorative tiles in a fire-place taken from a Spanish 

 prize. 



The central attraction of the day's programme the 

 Norman house behind the arcade on the West Quay, 

 known as King John's Palace was next visited. 

 Special interest attaches to this almost unique ex- 

 ample of Norman domestic architecture from the fact 

 that it has just undergone a process of judicious 

 restoration under the hands of Mr. T. K. Dymond, an 

 enthusiastic local antiquary. The premises, which 

 have of late been occupied as a coal yard and stable. 

 having come into the hands of Mr. W. F. G. 

 Spranger, that gentleman was fortunately persuaded 

 by Mr. Dymond to put it into better condition and to 

 preserve it as one of the sights of the town. Under 

 the careful supervision of Mr. Dymond, who has de- 

 voted his unremitting attention to the operations, 



