220 THE IIISTul:V OF THE SOUTH-WESTERN described in the Charter of King John as the Belhun Locum Regis, or the King's Beau Lieu." Of the magnificence of this abbey ue have many records. It was forty ^'cars in building, and Iving Henry IIL with all his court ^Yere present at its dedication. The wife of Henry Y. took refuge there, and it was there that the last niectintr of the Lancastrian party was held, just before the batlle of Barnet. Its sanc- tuary harboured for many years the person of Perkin War- beck. Xetlc}', the fair daughter of Beanlieu, was founded from this abbe}'. We have besides the abbeys or priories of Titchfield and Christchurch, the preccptories of the Templars of South Baddesley, Godsfield, and Sclborne, to mark the religious work of that age. Nor can we foro-et the many castles scattered throui;h the land which owe their origin to the Normans. The great Castle of Merdon, the remains of which stand in Hursley Park, built by Henry de Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and the fme Castle of Carisbrook in the Isle of W^iglit, with which is associated a touching picture of the most eventful period of our history-, attest the valiant spirit of their time. Our sea-coasts were much exposed to the attacks of enemies, and the sea-coast towns felt alike the fury of the Norsemen or Danes, and the attacks of the French and Dutch even in later days. Three times has Lymington been destroyed by the French, South- ampton was twice attacked in the fourteenth century, Ports- mouth was once burnt to the ground ; and those who aver that England can never be invaded, may make a note of the fact that the French once penetrated as far as Odiliam before they were repelled. It would be endless for me to dwell on every incident of historical inteiest which has occurred in the county ; 1 can but iii;irk the outline, and, as I have showii to you tiie giandeur of its historical monuments in their priuie, so 1 must point to their ruin.s, which are all we have now left to elieri.^h. In propoilioii as this county was rich in its religious estalilislnnents, so llie more heavily did the iiand (jf destruction fall upon it in the time of Henry Vlli. Tlic KpleU'li'l al.hiy-. of !)• aulii u and Netley, (Im- priories of Titchfield anil ClirisLciiurch, are all in ruins, while some of the smaller houses have passeil away from view altogether. In this present da}', however, (lie a|ipreciati(»n of what is old, and the desire to preserve it, aie at work to keep intact as
