The erection of Battle abbey was commenced by the conqueror in conformity, it is said, with a vow which he had made before the fight, but was not completed till 1094, in the reign of Rufus. The high altar is asserted to have been placed on the spot where the dead body of Harold was found. It is more probable, however, as other authorities record, that the spot was that on which the royal standard was raised at the commencement of the battle. The house was originally intended to contain one hundred and forty monks, but only sixty were placed in it, who were brought from the monastery of Marmoustier in Normandy. Many manors, chiefly in the counties of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Oxford, and Berks, were bestowed upon it, along with the most ample privileges, exemption from all taxation, the rights of free warren, treasure trove, and sanctuary, independence of episcopal jurisdiction, and to the abbot, the singular prerogative of pardoning any condemned thief or robber whom he should meet on his way to execution. Numerous charters, granted by the conqueror, by William Rufus, by Henry I., and by other kings, down to Henry IV., in favor of this establishment, are still preserved, copies of several of which may be seen in Dugdale's Monasticon. Its possessions, in course of time, were greatly extended, through the liberality of its regal patrons. The abbot enjoyed the dignity of wearing the mitre, and was always summoned to parliament so long as the ancient religion lasted. The last individual who held the office was named John Hamond. He was elected in 1529, and in 1538 he surrendered the monastery to the king. According to the valuation which had been taken a few years before, its revenues amounted to 8807., according to Dugdale, but Speed says to 9871. Hamond retired on a pension of 667. 13s. 4d.

After the dissolution, the property was granted to a person named Gilmer, who after pulling down a great part of the buildings and disposing of the materials, sold the place to Sir Anthony Browne. The latter soon after commenced the erection of a dwelling-house on the site of part of the old monastery, which was finished by his son, the first Lord Montague. This building, however, fell afterward into ruins; but the estate having been purchased by Sir Thomas Webster, the ancestor of the present Sir Godfrey Webster, a new house was erected, which still exists. It forms one of the sides of what appears to have been originally a complete quadrangle, of great spaciousness. The entire circuit of the ruins of the abbey, indeed, is not much short of a mile. Only a fragment of the church now remains, from which it is impossible to trace either its form or extent; but there are still to be seen some arches of the cloisters, a hall called the refectory, about one hundred and fifty feet in length, and another building, detached from the rest, exhibiting the remains of an immense room, one hundred and sixty-six feet in length by thirty-five in breadth, the walls of which are still adorned by twelve windows on one side, and six on the other. This is supposed to have been the great hall, in which the abbot and his monks gave their more solemn entertainments. Good living seems to have been cultivated in the establishment. The ample kitchen still exhibits the remains of no fewer than five fireplaces.

One of the most striking parts of the ruin is the great gate at the entrance of the quadrangle, of which the foregoing engraving is a representation. It is supposed to be of the reign of Henry VI., and with its battlemented towers, is a very imposing structure. Until about fifty years ago, the apartment over the gateway was used as a townhouse; but on the 18th of September, 1794, the roof was driven in by a violent storm of wind and rain, and it has not since been repaired.

Howden, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, is situated about a mile from the Ouse. It contains twelve townships, two chapelries, and about 4,500 inhabitants. This church and manor were in possession of the crown at the period of the conquest, and were given by the Norman monarch to the bishop of Durham, who obtained a confirmation of the grant from Pope Gregory VII. The bishop vested the church in the monks of Durham, but retained the manor. Thus the prior and convent of Durham obtained ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Howdenshire; and the bishop, being lord of the manor, was invested with extensive secular authority within the same district. The clergy were at that period the most enlightened men of the age, and from the position which they occupied, a large share of wealth and influence fell naturally into their hands. The intelligence, of which they were the chief and nearly exclusive possessors, has long ceased to be the inheritance of a particular class, and none are now excluded from the advantages which it confers. But though this change has been going on for a long period, it has only more recently begun to work out its

natural results. By virtue of the manorial rights with which the bishops of Durham were invested eight centuries ago, they still held their copyhold courts, their freehold courts, and courts-baron, in Howden. The separation of the secular from the ecclesiastical functions of the bishops of Durham is now on the point of being effected, and Howdenshire will, of course, be affected by the change.

In the thirteenth century, a bull was issued, appropriating the church of Howden to sixteen monks; but the prior of Durham successfully exerted himself with the pope, and the church was rendered collegiate, with five prebendaries. Accordingly, in 1267, the archbishop of York, after setting forth that the parish church of Howden was very wide and large, and the rents and profits so much abounding as to be sufficient for many spiritual men, ordained that there should be endowed "for ever" five prebends out of its revenues, and that each of them should maintain, at his own proper cost, a priest and clerk in holy orders, to administer in the said church in a canonical habit, according to the custom of the church in York, except in matins, which they should say in the morning for the parish. There were five chantries, dedicated respectively to St. Thomas the Martyr, St. Mary, St. Catherine, St. Cuthbert, and St. Andrew. At the reformation, the net revenue of the prebends was 637. 18s. 4d.

The collegiate church of Howden was dissolved in the first year of Edward VI., and the temporalities thereby became invested in the crown. Thus they remained till 1582, when Queen Elizabeth granted them by letters-patent to Edward Frost and John Walker, their heirs and assigns for ever. The tithes are now in the hands of several impropriators. The living is a vicarage in the gift of the crown, and is only worth 1631. per year, out of which the salary of a curate is paid. The revenues of the church in the thirteenth century were sufficient for the maintenance of "many spiritual men ;" and if, at the dissolution of the church as a collegiate institution, these revenues had been reserved for public purposes, some provision might now have been made for religious instruction in the new port of Goole, only three miles from Howden, which, though containing only a few years ago some half-dozen houses, promises to become the resort of industry and a place of extensive commerce. There are at this moment two collegiate churches (at Heytesbury and Middleham), whose utility is, perhaps, not less than that of Howden at the period of its dissolution; but, instead of distributing their revenues to individuals, by which no security would be obtained for their beneficial employment, it is proposed by the commissioners, who have recently investigated such establishments, to render them subservient to public use, by bestowing their endowments in quarters in which they are really needed.

When the church of Howden had got into private hands, the work of decay soon became visible. In 1591 the churchwardens directed a survey to be made, for the purpose of ascertaining "what decay the choir of Howden church is in, whether it be in timber, in stone, in lead, or glass." No effectual repairs appear to have resulted from the investigation; for the choir becoming altogether unsafe, the parishioners, in 1634 and 1636, fitted up the nave for the celebration of public worship. In 1696 the groined roof fell in, and from that time the east end has been but a venerable memorial of its former magnificence. The church is built in the form of a cross, with a square tower one hundred and thirty-five feet in height. The chapter-house was formerly the most celebrated portion of the edifice. It was built in the thirteenth century, and contained thirty stalls, each under a Gothic arch, separated by clustered pilasters, very small, and of delicate form, having foliated capitals of pierced work, from which rich tabernacle-work rose, and formed a canopy for each stall. The tower of the chapter-house fell in 1750. The whole length of the church, including the ruins, is two hundred and fifty-five feet, and the breadth sixty-six feet. The length of the choir is one hundred and twenty feet, and of the nave one hundred and five feet, and the breadth of each is sixty-six feet.

Nearly close to the church the bishops of Durham had an ancient palace, which was their frequent summer residence. A park extended from it to the Ouse, distant about a mile. The ruins of this ancient edifice have been occupied as a farmhouse.

The old ruin of Tynemouth priory is situated in Northumberland, and stands on a peninsula, formed of stupendous rocks, on the north side of the mouth of the river Tyne, and to the east of the town of Tynemouth. It is of very remote antiquityearlier than the eighth century; but no authentic record appears to exist, respecting its original foundation.

The choice of the situation, however, appears to have been dictated by two mo

tives, security and gain. The exalted height on which the monastery stood, rendered it visible at sea, a long way off, in every direction, where it presented itself, as if reminding and exhorting seamen in danger to make their vows, and promise masses and presents to the Virgin Mary and St. Oswin. Thus, therefore, though during stormy and inclement weather the situation must have been very unpleasant, yet in those unsettled and credulous times it afforded the advantage of presenting to the eye of the sailor in distress an object toward which he could direct his prayers and bend his course, and also an outpost from which a hostile armament might be descried, and an alarm communicated. Neither its utility nor sanctity, however, could preserve it; for in the infancy of the establishment it suffered greatly by the incursions of the Danes, by whom, as the old chronicles state, it was thrice plundered, the church at one time being burned to the ground. Tosti, Earl of Northumberland, in the reign of Edward the Confessor, is said to have rebuilt and endowed the priory for black canons, dedicating it to the honor of the Virgin Mary and St. Oswin, the remains of that saint having been found among the ruins.

That the situation, at the mouth of a river, and on an elevated site, early recommended the place, as suitable both for military defence and religious purposes, is evident from the fact that Robert de Mowbray, about the year 1090, fled thither, and defended himself within its walls, against William Rufus, against whom he had conspired; but, after a time, finding that he could hold out no longer, he sought "sanctuary" at the altar of the church, from which, however, he was taken by force, carried to Windsor, and after suffering a tedious imprisonment, was put to death. The monastery at one time enjoyed considerable wealth. It possessed twen ty-seven manors in Northumberland, with their royalties, besides other valuable lands and tenements. At the dissolution, in 1539, there was a prior, with fifteen prebendaries and three novices. The annual revenues of the priory were then estimated (separate from the abbey of St. Alban's, on which it depended) at 3977. 10s. 5d. by Dugdale, and at 5117. 4s. 1d. by Speed. The prior, on the surrender of the monastery, received a pension of 801. per annum. The site and most of the lands were granted in the reign of Edward VI. to John Dudley, Earl of Northumberland; but by his attainder in the next year it reverted to the crown, in which it remained till the time of Elizabeth, during whose reign it was occupied as a fortress.

During the civil war, it was besieged and taken by the Scots, in 1644, when thirtyeight pieces of ordnance, and a large store of arms, ammunition, and provisions, fell into their hands. The garrison were allowed to march out with their baggage, but bound themselves to submit to the instructions of parliament. A snm of 50001. was voted to repair the damages it had sustained. Colonel Henry Lilburne was made its deputy-governor; but having declared for the king, Sir Arthur Hazelrig immediately marched from Newcastle against him, and stormed the place with almost ferocious bravery, the men entering the fortress at the very cannon's mouth. During the assault, Lilburne was slain.

The approach to the priory is from the west, by a gateway tower of a square form, having a circular exploratory turret on each corner; from this gateway, on each hand, a strong double wall has been extended to the rocks on the seashore, which from their great height have been esteemed in former times inaccessible. The gate, with its walls, was fortified by a deep outward ditch, over which there was a drawbridge, defended by moles on each side. The tower comprehends an outward and interior gateway, the outer gateway having two gates, at the distance of about six feet from each other, the inner of which is defended by a portcullis and an open gallery; the interior gateway is, in like manner, strengthened by a double gate. The space between the gateways being a square of about six paces, is open above to allow those on the top of the tower and battlements to annoy assailants who had gained the first gate.

On passing the gateway, the scene is strikingly noble and venerable; the whole enclosed area may contain about six acres; the walls seem as well calculated for defence as the gateway tower; the view is crowded with august ruins; many fine arches of the priory are standing. The most beautiful part of these remains is the eastern limb of the church, of elegant workmanship. The ruins are so disunited, that it would be very difficult to determine to what particular offices each belong. The ruins which present themselves in front, on entering the gateway, appear to be the remains of the cloister, access to which was afforded by a gateway of circular arches, comprehending several members inclining inward, and arising from pilas