Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 29.djvu/462

384 lieu.' Her heart was sent to Tewksbury, where her brother was Abbot.

"Her grave was recently discovered in front of the high altar at Beaulieu, and the body was wrapped in lead, which, being unrolled, the skeleton, head, and teeth were in a fair state of preservation, but no rings or ornaments were found. A tombstone had some years previously been removed from that spot, and is now preserved in the chancel of the parish church, bearing this inscription:—'Hic jacet Isabella prima uxor . . . .' the remainder of the inscription is wanting.

"There is also in the same chancel a much larger tombstone, with a royal crown, always supposed to have covered the remains of Queen Eleanor, mother of King John, but there is no inscription to indicate that such was the case; and, on the contrary, the annals of the monks of Fontevraud testify that Queen Eleanor took the veil of their order in 1202, and died two years afterwards, and was buried by the side of Hen. II., at Fontevraud, where her tomb, with its enamelled effigy, was to be seen till the French Revolution, and the beautiful statue is still preserved there.

"Several of the Abbots of Beaulieu were men of note in their day, and three of them were promoted to Bishoprics. The second Abbot, Hugh de Beaulieu, was appointed third Bishop of Carlisle. The King sent him, with strong letters of commendation, to the pope, and commanded his treasurer to pay thirty marks for his expenses in attending the Council of Verona. He built the choir of Carlisle cathedral.

"In the reign of Richard II. Tidman de Winchcombe, Abbot of Beaulieu, was private physician to the king, and was promoted to the Bishopric of Llandaff, and afterwards to Worcester.

"In the first year of Hen. VIII., Thomas Skeffington, Abbot of Beaulieu, was raised to the see of Bangor, and was a great bene- factor to the cathedral of Bangor. He finished the Bishop's palace, and built the porch and oratory over, as recorded on an inscription over the great gate-way. He also built the cathedral and the tower as it now stands, on which are inscribed 'Hoc Campanile et Ecclesiam hanc Thomas Skiffington fieri fecit.' At his death his heart was sent to Bangor, and his body was interred at Beaulieu, close to where the gospel was wont to be read.

"(In more recent times Beaulieu has furnished a Bishop to the Colonial Church. The present bishop of Newcastle (Tyrrell) has been incumbent of Beaulieu, and has adopted the Abbey arms—a pastoral staff issuing from a royal crown—as the arms of his Australian see.)

"Many special privileges were granted to Beaulieu by successive popes—the chief ones being that the Abbey precinct was to be entirely free from episcopal control, and to have the right of sanctuary. Hither in the year 1471 came the unfortunate Margaret of Anjou, with some of her staunchest followers. She had sailed from Hartleur, with her son, Prince Edward, and his bride, Anne of Warwick. She landed at Weymouth, and went thence to Cerne, but hearing of the decisive result of the battle of Barnet, she fled for sanctuary to Beaulieu, where she was met by the Countess of Warwick, who had, on her arrival at Portsmouth, heard of the death of her husband at Barnet. There came also the chiefs of the Lancastrian party, and at Beaulieu they held their last Council, a few days only before the battle of Tewks-