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similar defence to the south and south-east, which is a prolongation of the curtain of the central court.

A cross curtain wall divided this hill from the courtyard. Presumably there was a gatehouse at the northwest corner, leading to the summit of the lesser hill. This wall and certain buildings adjoining it in the court are now mere heaps of rubbish.

The central courtyard was entered by a gatehouse on each side, each consisting of a square tower with a circular bastion. The north side of this court was bounded by an earlier rampart, doubtless stockaded.

On the south a long masonry curtain stretches from the greater to the lesser rock: against this (west of the gate) has been a long building with a cellar.

This completes the plan of the castle, which was somewhat intricate, and had evidently been built with enormous labour.

The castle has many weak points as a place of defence; difficult ground is not always strong ground.

The failure of Henry's campaign was greatly due to the choice of inefficient military sites; while the success of Edward was greatly aided by good judgment in this respect.

The capture of the castle was evidently made exactly at the weakest points; the walls have been undermined and thrown down in great masses.

The rest of the buildings have been differently treated, and the tradition that the materials were taken to Conway is corroborated by the fact that the walls were deliberately taken down to a few feet above the ground, and not overthrown like the gatehouse and the keep; also from the fact that the north-east corner of the town walls of Conway, and the destroyed water-tower, were built of similar materials to those to be found at Deganwy.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I will conclude by repeating the cordial welcome which it gives me great pleasure to offer to the members of the British Archæological Association, on behalf of the inhabitants of Conway and the neighbourhood, and to assure them that we shall look with interest for instructive papers which they are doubtless prepared to read before us.

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LONDON UNDER THE MONASTIC ORDERS.

A SKETCH.

BY MISS EDITH BRADLEY.

(Read February 17th, 1897.)

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ONDON, like all great cities, has been the silent witness of many changes within and without its walls.

Few contrasts could well be more remarkable than that presented by London of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, and London of to-day. It is true that the configuration of the City is little altered, standing as it has always done on the north bank of the Thames, intersected by the same main thoroughfares; but a comparison of the two maps1 will show how great the difference is.

The black line traces the ancient City walls, which were entered by Ludgate and Newgate on the west, Aldersgate and Cripplegate on the south, Moorgate and Bishopsgate on the north, Aldgate and the Tower, with its postern, on the east. Within the walls, churches and monasteries met the eye in every direction; the City was literally permeated with the outward semblance of religious life; and even this area was too confined, for on the south side of the Thames stood the noble Augustine priory of St. Mary Overie, and the monastery of Bermondsey. On the west, beyond the Fleet river, stretched the Whitefriars or Carmelites, almost to the boundary of the Knights Templars. Another Augustine priory stood on the north of the wall, St. Bartholomew's, Smithfield, built on a great open waste by Rahere, minstrel or jester to King Henry I. Farther north still was the 1 The Plate herewith and a modern map of London.

Carthusian priory of the Salutation, better known as the Charter House, having as close neighbour the priory of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and the Benedictine nunnery of Clerkenwell, both founded by Jordan de Brisset, a wealthy Norman baron, at the beginning of the twelfth century.

Coming eastward, we find another celebrated nunnery of Franciscans, dedicated to St. Clare, and built for the Minoresses, 1293, by Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, brother to King Edward I, at the instigation of his wife, Blanche, Queen of Navarre, who brought the nuns to England. They became extremely popular amongst the citizens of London.

Close to the Tower arose the great Eastminster, or Abbey of St. Mary Graces, founded by Edward III, of which there will be more to say later.

St. Katherine's Hospital, founded by Stephen's queen, Matilda, was situated in that part now called Wapping ; and, as it could boast of two subsequent queens as foundresses, viz., Elinor and Philippa, wives of the first and third Edwards, it became a very well-known religious house. Even Henry VIII and Queen Katherine were numbered among its patrons. It survived the Dissolution, but surrendered to Edward VI. In 1825 this venerable institution was destroyed for the construction of St. Katherine's Dock.

With this brief survey of the abbeys and priories outside the walls, I propose next to notice in detail those both within and without the City proper, arranging them in groups under the Order to which they belonged.

These are:-Benedictine, with its Cistercian secession; Carthusians; Augustinian Canons. Friars: Dominicans, black; Franciscans, gray; Carmelites, white.

Though Westminster was not included in London between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, no sketch of religious life would be complete without mention of this great Abbey, which was the dominating influence over all other metropolitan foundations. In its beauty, its wealth, its power, its associations with English sovereigns and English government, the sepulchre of our kings,

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