Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 29.djvu/271

 PORTION OP ENGLAND. 221 much of these beautiful monuments as remain to us; -while the sole anxiety of those who possess the land that the monks formerly held, must be (and I believe I may speak for others as for myself) to make sure that those ^vho depend upon them should feel no loss of pious care for their welfare, and no lack of religious nunistratious and ordinances. To us in this county how full of interest is the period of the Civil War! Can we forget the act with which it virtually began, in the murder of the Duke of Buckingham by Felton in Portsmouth? or the gallant defence of leasing House (so rightly called Loyalty House) by tlic noble-hearted ancestor of our present Lord Lieutenant 1 The battle of Newbury, on the border of our county, rings in our ears, and wo can also claim the battle-fields of Basing Down, Cheriton, and Alton. We cast our eyes down to Hurst, and then across the Solent, to gaze on the grey towers of Carisbrook, to mark its deep moat and high walls, and we think with pity and sorrow of the royal captive who in his prison endeared himself to all, and more than wiped out by his holy resignation any mis- takes of a more prosperous time. Winchester suffered severely during this time of revolution, and the destruction caused b}' Oliver Cromwell's cannon will not be easily forgotten there. It was he who dismantled the Royal Castle, levelled that of the Bishop at Wolvcslcy, threw down the fortifica- tions of the Norman tower and west gate, and whose soldiers sacked and desecrated the cathedral, destroying the monu- ments and taking away the books and plate. At the llestora- tion, however, more peaceful scenes dawned again upon the town, and it became the favourite resort of Charles IL and his courtiers, who came here after the busy turmoil of London to enjoy their holiday. His palace now stands to mark this point in our history. We may remember that William IIL was the first after Charles II. to attempt to repair the ravages which amidst the license of the civil wars had been committed in the New Purest; and the Act known by his name is a sort of starting point in the modern legislation on this subject. We indeed should be well content if now, as then, its only object was the preservation of timber, not its destruction. The era of the Georges brings us to the time when from the great seaport of Portsmouth our gallant sailors went forth to victory, and returned with their prizes to its harbour. The name of Nelson, and that gallant ship, the Victory, which bore his flat?