Ateg.8, 1872] 



NATURE 



281 



Director of the Gardens in a manner satisfactory to both, 

 whoever may be the occupants of those offices, maintain- 

 ing the proper authority of the First Commissioner, with 

 due regard to the position and character of the Director 

 of the Gardens. 



Let a copy of this Minute be sent to the First Commis- 

 s'oner, with a request that it may be communicated to 

 the Director of Kew Gardens. 



THE ROYAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE 

 MEETING AT SOUTHAMPTON 



'■pHE annual meeting of the Royal Archjeological In- 



-^ stitute was opened in the Hartley Institution, South- 

 ampton, on Thursday last. The members of the Institute 

 were welcomed by the Mayor and Corporation of the 

 borough, the chair being taken by Lord Talbot de Mala- 

 hide, the permanent president. 



Archdeacon Jacob furnished some interesting informa- 

 tion respecting the tomb of William Rufus. He was, he said, 

 accessory to the removal of the tomb of William Rufus, 

 and he had not heard the last of it. He thought, how- 

 ever, he was sufficiently pachydermatous not to mind 

 this. There was William Rufus's tomb, an eyesore and a 

 footsore, for persons dashed their feet against it to their 

 injury, and the place was particularly wanted, by reason 

 of the enlargement of Winchester Cathedral, for the 

 boys to sit. The question raised was — Is that the 

 grave of William Rufus? Is there anything in it.' 

 If there is, whose bones are they ? If there are bones, 

 aie they William Rufus's? Might it not be perfectly 

 empty, and, if so, why should it stand there an ob- 

 struction ? He, then, having skilled persons about 

 him, ventured to take up the slab, and found that the 

 tomb had been rifled and dishonoured in every way. 

 There were bones there thrown about and trodden. It 

 was suggested by some that the Parliamentarians had 

 done this, whereupon he sent for and consulted the chief 

 science men in Winchester. They had the bones taken 

 out and placed on the pavement, so as to see the height 

 of the man, and, gauged by the height which Thackeray 

 says does the work of the country, he was found to be 

 5ft. Sin. Having examined them microscopically, they 

 came to the conclusion (it was not stated how) that 

 they were the bones of William Rufus, and were 

 quite certain the tomb had been moved again and 

 again before. When they visited Winchester they 

 would find where he had had it placed, and if they 

 had not been told otherwise they would probably have 

 believed it had always been there. Believing in the 

 diitnin of Bishop Andrews, who said the church was for 

 the living and not for the dead, and knowing that King 

 Rufus had not been a benefactor to his country, he thought 

 it not unbecoming to move him a little further, but he was 

 still within the sacred walls. Therefore, anticipating their 

 judgment, he trusted they would not pitch him into the 

 river Itch en for the so-called disturbing of the bones of 

 WiMiam Rufus. 



At three o'clock the members of the society and friends, 

 including tlie Marquis of Bristol, Lord Talbot, Colonel 

 Pinney, and many others, visited the town under the 

 guidance of Mr. Parker, who described most of its ancient 

 features. 



The Mayor, and Mayoress, gave a soiree to the 

 members of the Institute at the Hartley Institution in the 

 evening. It proved to be a very successful affair. Over 

 800 invitations were issued, and a large number of these 

 were accepted, several officers from the United States 

 fleet being present. 



The sections met on Friday. The Bishop of Winches- 

 ter presided for a short time, and introduced Lord Henry 

 Scott, who read an introductory address in the Historical 

 Section. 



Lord H. Scott confined his remarks to a history of the 

 County of Hampshire. As to the origin of Southampton, 

 he said there was an ancient British town called Hamp- 

 ton, which was probably situate higher up the Itchen, at 

 Bitterne. The town was even now often called Hampton 

 by the country people. In " Domesday Book" the county 

 was called Hampton-shire and the town Hampton. It 

 suftered severely from the incursions of the Danes. 

 Henry 1. made it a borough, and King John gave it its 

 first charter and had a palace there. Thence sailed the 

 expedition for Palestine, and Henry embarked for Cressy 

 and Agincourt. Philip of Spain also landed there to meet 

 his Queen at Winclrester. It was also from thence that 

 the great apostle of Germany, afterwards better known 

 as St. Boniface, departed on his mission. After referring 

 to Leyland's "History of Southampton," he came to the 

 general historj- of the county. One of the most valuable 

 historical monuments that had been left to them was the 

 New Forest ; and however much they might condemn the 

 severe laws which were made for the protection of what 

 were called "the King's beastes," yet they felt some grati- 

 tude that it had been preserved to their use as it was 

 now. He then gave a sketch of the historical associations 

 connected with the Forest. He disbelieved the old sup- 

 position that houses and churches had been destroyed by 

 Wiiliam Rufus to make the Forest, though some small 

 holdings might have been enclosed. The connection of 

 Tyrrel with the death of Rufus was preserved by a ford 

 which at this day was called Tyrrel's Ford. In the Forest 

 was Beaulieu Abbey, which was described in the charter 

 of King John as the hclla loca Tcgis. It was founded by 

 King John in 1234. It was forty years in building, and 

 Henry III. and all his Court attended the dedication. It 

 was the sanctuary of Perkin Warbeck for many years. 

 His lordship observed that this part of our coast had 

 always in our early history been exposed to invasion. 

 Hampshire also suftered much during the civil wars, and 

 after the Restoration Charles II. used to come down from 

 London to enjoy hoUday in it. William HI. was the first 

 after Charles II. to attempt to repair the damages which 

 the Civil War had created in the Forest ; and later, in the 

 era of the Georges, the county had been connected with 

 our naval victories under Nelson. Hampshire also con- 

 tained the Strathfieldsaye so closely connected with the 

 later days of the Iron Duke ; and in Hampshire the poet 

 Keble found a quiet and honourable grave. 



The Rev. F. W. Baker then read a memoir of Beaulieu 

 Abbey. — Lord Henry Scott, in moving a vote of thanks 

 to Mr. Baker, gave the Institute an invitation to Beaulieu 

 for the following day, and said that Mr. Baker would be 

 in attendance to explain every point worthy of their con- 

 sideration in this most interesting abbey. — The proposition 

 having been heartily accorded, the sitting was then sus- 

 pended. In the afternoon there was an excursion of the 

 members of the Institute to Romsey and Porchester, which 

 occupied until eight p.At. At Romsey the vicar (the Rev. 

 E. L. Berthon) gave a discourse on the Abbey of Romsey, 

 and showed the result of recent excavations ; and at Por- 

 chester Mr. G. T. Clark lectured upon the Castle there. 

 Saturday was devoted to the excursion to Beaulieu Abbey 

 and a visit to Christchurch and Rufus's Stone. 



On Tuesday, the members of the institute visited Sil- 

 Chester (Sa.xon " Sil," great or best, and " castrum "), 

 which has the largest area of any of the Roman fortifica- 

 tions in England. The walls at present are about 13 ft. 

 high and S ft. thick. The city had four gates — north, 

 south, east, and west — and beyond the wall was a deep 

 ditch, and beyond the ditch a vallum 15 ft. high. The 

 amphitheatre is situated outside the city, 150 yards from 

 the north-east corner of the wall. The members also 

 visited the remains of the Chapel at Basingstoke, dis- 

 mantled by the Parliamentarians, and Basmg House, 

 formerly the abode of the Marquis of Winchester, by 

 whom it was defended against the Parliamentarians. In 



