Excursion on Tuesday, August Yith. 



133 



by permission of Mrs. Grubbe, and much admired that ancient 

 residence of the Grubbe family, which has been located there for 

 above three hundred years. Thence they proceeded, through Erle- 

 stoke, to Edington Church, and here they spent a considerable time 

 in inspecting that noble specimen of Late Decorated architecture. 

 Here Col. Bramble gave a full explanation of the chief features of 

 interest in this magnificent building : prefacing his remarks with 

 some allusions to the Battle of Ethandun. He said the parish was 

 long considered to have been the scene of that battle where King 

 Alfred obtained what Camden speaks of as "the most glorious 

 victory that was ever obtained over the ravaging Danes, and drove 

 them to that extremity that they took solemn oath immediately to 

 depart the land." The claims of Edington, however, he said, had 

 been disputed, and after a careful perusal of the arguments he had 

 come to the conclusion that Edington was not the site of the battle. 

 Setting aside the question of the battle, the history of the parish 

 appeared to be confined to that of the priory attached to the Church 

 near which they were then standing. Having traced this as far 

 back as 967, but of which there was very little record, Colonel 

 Bramble said the rectory from 1286 to 1351 was a prebend of 

 Romsey, and the names of several rectors presented by the abbess 

 during that period had been preserved. Of the early Church, how- 

 ever, no vestiges appeared to remain above ground. In 1347 a 

 College of Canons was established there, which afterwards became 

 a branch of the great Augustinian Order known as the Bon- 

 Jwmmes, who were little known, and according to Col. Bramble, 

 had only two other houses in the country. The monastic buildings 

 were then traced up to 1784, when the property was purchased by 

 Joshua Smith, and at his death was sold to the ancestors of the 

 present worthy owner of the property, who pulled down the buildings 

 and erected the mansion at Erlestoke with the materials. Passing 

 on to the Church, before which they stood, Col. Bramble said the 

 President had the day before referred to the satisfaction felt by 

 archaeologists at occasionally meeting a Church not restored, and 

 said they might feel that satisfaction to the fullest extent at Eding- 

 ton. The architectural features of the Church, which* is cruciform 



VOL. XIX. NO. LVI. L 



