®Be ^onptt geCfars at '^ooZe. 



By W. K. GILL. 



(Ecad 3rd December, 1007.) 



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jnHE long low stone building which stands a little 

 back from Poole Quay, between the Harbour 

 Office and the Custom House, and is 

 commonly known as the Town Cellars, has 

 always been a puzzle to the local antiquary. 

 " Quo molcm banc statuere ? Quis auctor ? " 

 are the questions that naturally arise as one 

 considers the situation and peculiarities of this 

 ancient edifice. Turning to the Histor}- of 

 Poole written by a competent authority, and 

 one, too, familiar with all the printed or written evidence that 

 can be brought to bear as yet, we find the following :-^ 



"The large 'buildiug on the Quay, known as the Town Cellars, and 

 which has been used for centuries as a place for the temporary deposit 

 of goods brought to the town, is of considerable antiquity, but so 

 mutilated by time, violence, and alterations that it is difficult to trace in 

 the structure itself the characters of its original use. It has been 

 conjectured that the general architectural features bear indications that 

 the building was formerly devoted to ecclesiastical pui-poses, but no 



