Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 4.djvu/20

8 cargoes of wine, the prisage of which, two tuns from each ship, was long an important item of the crown revenue.

It is obvious that during the times this port was so much frequented by English sovereigns, there must have been some place for their accommodation while waiting to embark, or on landing. Accordingly it appears that there was anciently a "king's house" in Southampton ; and by the joint aid of tradition and early records we are enabled to identify its site and probable remains. At the back of the present custom house, on a parallel line with the quay, there is yet remaining an extensive ancient frontage, now in a very mutilated state, which bears marks of having formed part of a building of some importance in the twelfth century. This edifice is popularly known as "the king's house." We have no means of ascertaining the precise date of its erection, but it may be reasonably ascribed to the long and energetic reign of Henry the Second; there is some evidence against the supposition that it might have been built by King John, to whom so many castles and palaces are traditionally given, since early in his reign the hall which it contained was decayed, and the keeper of Knutwood forest supplied twenty rafters (cheverones) for the repairs of its roof. The next references to this building are important, as they demonstrate that it was situated by the water side, on a quay. By writs dated respectively in the fifth and sixth years of Henry the Third, the bailiffs of Southampton were directed to repair the quay before the king's house. These commands appear to have been neglected or imperfectly fulfilled; for by another writ dated Nov. 21, in the seventh year of the same reign, they were ordered "to repair the quay this winter, lest the king's house should be damaged thereby, and, at an opportune time, to cause it to be well built ." In the following year the bailiffs had directions to mend the gutters of the king's chamber.

Now if the present custom house were removed, this ruinous frontage in its rear, which we believe to have been the "king's house," would, in point of fact, be situated on the quay, although the vacant space before it might be rather large: there is every reason, however, to suppose that anciently this