Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 29.djvu/463

Rh bury. The Queen and her son left Beaulieu with Somerset to join her forces at Gloucester, and thence to Tewksbury, where 'the aspiring blood of Lancaster sunk in the ground.'

"In 1497, Perkin Warbeck, having landed at Whitsand Bay and besieged Exeter, and being defeated at Taunton, sought sanctuary at Beaulieu, where he was kept strict prisoner by Lord Daubeny and an armed force, till, lured out by promises of the King, he was committed to the Tower, and was executed at Tyburn.

"In the year 1539, Thomas Stevens, Abbot, with nineteen monks, surrendered the Abbey possessions into the hands of Henry VIII., he receiving a pension of 66l. 13s. 4d. The deed of surrender, with names attached, and the seal of the Abbey, is still preserved in the Public Record Office.

"In the same year, Henry VIII. granted to Thomas Wriothesley, Esq., afterwards Earl of Southampton, all that manor of Beaulieu, with all its rights and appurtenances, the great close of the Abbey, the tower, the bells, with its three chapelries attached. From him it descended to Henry the 2nd earl of Southampton, and the friend of Shakspeare; thence to the 3rd and 4th earls; the latter leaving only daughters, his property was divided between—

"1. Rachel Lady Russell, who inherited Stratton.

"2. Frances, who married the Earl of Gainsborough, and inherited Tichfield. And

"3. Elizabeth, who married Ralph Lord Montagu, and inherited Beaulieu. He was the builder of Montagu House, now the British Museum, and was afterwards created Duke of Montagu. He was succeeded by his son, John Duke of Montagu, who married the daughter of the great Duke of Marlborough, who, leaving only two daughters, Beaulieu became the joint property of Isabella, whose husband was created Earl Beaulieu, and whose son died in their lifetime, and of Mary, who married George Earl of Cardigan, afterwards created Duke of Montagu. His only daughter marrying Henry, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch, Beaulieu passed into the family of Scott, and is now the property of Lord Henry Scott, M.P. for South Hants.

"Of the remains of the Abbey, the most interesting to the archæologist is the old Gate House, popularly known as the Abbot's Lodging, which was converted many years ago into a modern dwelling-house, and is now being most carefully restored for Lord Henry Scott by A. Blomfield, Esq.

"The Abbey church was entirely destroyed, but its foundations were some years since most carefully excavated, and their position marked, by the direction of the Duke of Buccleuch, to whom, and to his son, Lord Henry Scott, the warmest thanks of all antiquarians are due, for the careful preservation of every relic of interest that has been at any time discovered upon any part of the monastic property.

"The old refectory of the Abbey has been appropriated as the parish church, and contains that well-known unique specimen, in perfect preservation, of the monastic reader's pulpit, approached by a beautiful arcade of arches, constructed in the thickness of the wall.

"About a mile from the precincts is the Abbot's Well, situated in a picturesque nook in the woods that crown the hills, and covered over by a groined chamber, which the Lord of the Manor has lately most