380 PROCEEDINGS AT MEETINGS OF

tastefully restored to its oriirinal jiroportions. The sprinjj; is never- failing and supiilies the whole of the village with the purest water. "At St. Leonards Grange, about three miles distant, are the remains of an i'y-covered barn, the great 'Spiearium' of the Abbey, 22G ft. long, and there are also some exquisite fragments still standing of a Lato Decorated chapel, which may possibly be again roofed over and appro- priated to the pur{H«ses of woi-ship. " Many of the farms still retain the names given them by the French Cistercians who first reclaimed the lands and established the colony there, such as ' Beufrc,' the Cow Farm, and ' Bergerie,' the Slieep Farm. Few sjKits can be found which so thoroughly exhibit the type of a Cistercian settlement, with its winding river, its numerous fish-ponds, its retired woods, its open heaths, and its sloping vineyards, ami which will amply repay the visit of the lover of nature or antiquity. Lord Henry Scott having expressed his high sense of the value of this communication, and of Mr. Baker's labours in working out the in- vestigations on the site of Beaulieu, a vote of thanks wixs accorded to Mr. Baker, and the meeting adjourned. In the afternoon au excursion was made by railway to Ilomsey and Porchester. Arriving shortly after one o'clock, the numerous party, accompajiied by Lord Talbot de Malahide, Lord Henry Scott, M.P., Sir E. Smirke, Mr. T. H. Wyatt, and the principal membei-s of the Institute, were met at the Town Hall by the Bight Hon. W. F. and Mrs. Cowper- Temple, the Mayor of Romsey (Mr. Ceorgc), the Vicar (the Rev. E. L. lierthon), Mr. Wyndham Portal, and other local gentry. Here they were soon joined by the President of the meeting, and the Vicar pro- ceeded to read a memoir " On tiie Abliey Church of Bomsey. Com- mencing by a reference to the fiagmcntary character o( the records of the noble Abbey, he would only notice them when necessary to elucidate the structural discoveries made within the last few years. By closing the churchyard against burials, explor.itions had been possible wliich coidd not have been attempted earlier, and from these he had arrived at a* correct undei-standing of the suiToundings of the church and the changes that ha<l l)een made. Glancing at the early history of the Nunnery, from its foundation l)y Edward the Elder, and continuing to the time of the Al)l)acy of tiie Princess Mary, the daughter of King Stephen, special attention was directed to the j)robaliility of the chief part of the present structure being her work. The architectural details of the chinch of the twelfth century were then discussed, with the aid of a large coloured sketch, and the sulisequent changes tiiaile in the struetin-e were passed in review, and an acc<iunt given of the various discoveries lately ma«lo in »>nnoction with them, and of the restorations in jirogre.ss. These were illuKtnitcd by many fragments of masonry, ami immerons plans, sketches, and «lrawingH. A cordial vote of thanks having l»een jm.ssed at tho suggestion of the President of the meeting, tiie largo i)arty then pro- ceeded to tho Abbey, where tho Vicar pointed out the most in)portant features of the Htructnre, and adverted to those which illustrated tho chief points of Ids lecture." After some very hospitable attentions to many of the visitoi-s l)y the Mayor of Komsey and the Vicar — time not • Hflo " UotnHi-y Abt^-y Clnirch, l.y fin- Hev. J. L rulit." in tlio WiiiclicHter volumu of iho Arcliaoologicnl InstittiUs, lUii,