towards the repairs of the highways in the parish of Selborne. That sum was carefully and judiciously laid out in the summer of the year 1730, by his son John White, who made a solid and firm causey from Rood Green, all down Honey Lane, to a farm called Oak Woods, where the sandy soil begins. This miry and gulfy lane was chosen as worthy of repair, because it leads to the forest, and thence through the Holt to the town of Farnham in Surrey, the only market in those days for men who had wheat to sell in this neighbourhood. This causey was so deeply bedded with stone, so properly raised above the level of the soil, and so well drained, that it has, in some degree, withstood fifty-four years of neglect and abuse; and might, with moderate attention, be rendered a solid and comfortable road. The space from Rood Green to Oak Woods measures about three quarters of a mile.

In 1727, William Henry Cane, B. D. became vicar; and, among several alterations and repairs, new built the back front of the vicarage house.

On February 1, 1740, Duncombe Bristowe, D. D. was instituted to this living. What benefactions this vicar bestowed on the parish will be best explained by the following passages from his will:-"Item, I hereby give and bequeath to the minister and churchwardens of the parish of Selbourn, in the county of Southampton, a mahogany table, which I have ordered to be made for the celebration of the Holy Communion; and also the sum of thirty pounds, in trust, to be applied in manner following; that is, ten pounds towards the charge of erecting a gallery at the west end of the church; and ten pounds to be laid out for clothing, and such like necessaries, among the poor (and especially among the ancient and infirm) of the said parish: and the remaining ten pounds to be distributed in bread,

↑ "Such legacies were very common in former times, before any effectual laws were made for the repairs of highways."-Sir John Cullum's Hawsted, p. 15.

at twenty shillings a week, at the discretion of John White, Esq. or any of his family, who shall be resident in the said parish."

On November 12, 1758, Andrew Etty, B. D. became vicar. Among many useful repairs he new roofed the body of the vicarage house; and wainscoted, up to the bottom of the windows, the whole of the chancel; to the neatness and decency of which he always paid the most exact attention.

On September 25, 1784, Christopher Taylor, B. D. was inducted into the vicarage of Selborne.

[August 10, 1800. John Covey, B. D., by cession of Dr. Taylor. He made several alterations and improvements in the vicarage house and court; and removed the stone wall from the front court, which he separated from the Plestor by an open palisade.

1809. William Alcock, D. D. This vicar, in a fit of melancholy, destroyed himself. He lies buried in the churchyard, on the northern side, without any mark to distinguish his grave.

1813. William Rust Cobbold. The present vicar has added considerably to the comfort of the vicarage house by alterations which have increased the number of rooms, and have rendered them more light and cheerful. He has also much improved the original gardens of the vicarage, having converted them into ornamental grounds enriched with luxuriant exotics, including the finest of the American shrubs; and he has formed, south of his rick yard, an entirely new fruit and kitchen garden, which, being on the black malm, is of surprising fertility. His donation of an organ to the church has been already mentioned: and it is in a great measure under his superintendence that the interior of the church has assumed the decent and orderly appearance that now belongs to it. He has also built and fitted up two rooms near the Plestor, the use of which he has offered for the schooling of the children of the poorer parishioners.]

LETTER VII.

I SHALL now proceed to the Priory, which is undoubtedly the most interesting part of our history.

The Priory of Selborne was founded by Peter de la Roche, or de Rupibus1, one of those accomplished foreigners that resorted to the court of King John, where they were usually caressed, and met with a more favourable reception than ought, in prudence, to have been shown by any monarch to strangers. This adventurer was a Poictevin by birth, had been bred to arms in his youth, and distinguished by knighthood. Historians all agree not to speak very favourably of this remarkable man; they allow that he was possessed of courage and fine abilities, but then they charge him with arbitrary principles, and violent conduct. By his insinuating manners he soon rose high in the favour of John; and in 1205, early in the reign of that prince, was appointed Bishop of Winchester. In 1214 be became Lord Chief Justiciary of England, the first magistrate in the state, and a kind of viceroy, on whom depended all the civil affairs in the kingdom. After the death of John, and during the minority of his son Henry, this prelate took upon him the entire management of the realm, and was soon appointed protector of the king and kingdom.

The barons saw with indignation a stranger possessed of all the power and influence, to part of which they thought they had a claim; they therefore entered into an association against him, and determined to wrest some of that authority from him which he had so unreasonably usurped. The bishop discerned the storm at a distance; and, prudently resolving to give way to that torrent of envy which he knew not how to with

1 See Godwin de Præsulibus Angliæ, folio, Cant. 1743, p. 217.

stand, withdrew quietly to the Holy Land, where he resided some time.

At this juncture a very small part of Palestine remained in the hands of the Christians: they had been by Saladine dispossessed of Jerusalem, and all the internal parts, near forty years before; and with difficulty maintained some maritime towns and garrisons: yet the busy and enterprising spirit of de Rupibus could not be at rest; he distinguished himself by the splendour and magnificence of his expenses, and amused his mind by strengthening fortresses and castles, and by removing and endowing of churches. Before his expedition to the east he had signalized himself as a founder of convents, and as a benefactor to hospitals and monasteries.

In the year 1231 he returned again to England; and the very next year, in 1232, began to build and endow the PRIORY of SELBORNE. As this great work followed so close upon his return, it is not improbable that it was the result of a vow made during his voyage; and especially as it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Why the bishop made choice of Selborne for the scene of his munificence can never be determined now: it can only be said that the parish was in his diocese, and lay almost midway between Winchester and Farnham, or South Waltham and Farnham; from either of which places he could without much trouble overlook his workmen, and observe what progress they made; and that the situation was retired, with a stream running by it, and sequestered from the world, amidst woods and meadows, and so far proper for the site of a religious house2.

'The institution at Selborne was a priory of Black Canons of the order of St. Augustine, called also Canons Regular. Regular Canons were such as lived in a conventual manner, under one roof, had a common refectory and dormitory, and were bound by vows to observe the rules and statutes of their order: in fine, they were a kind of religious, whose discipline was less rigid than the monks'. The chief rule of these canons was that of St. Augustine, who was constituted Bishop of Hippo, A. D.

The first person with whom the founder treated about the purchase of land was Jacobus de Achangre, or Ochangre, a gentleman of property who resided at that hamlet; and, as appears, at the house now called Oakhanger House. With him he agreed for a croft, or little close of land, known by the name of La Liega, or La Lyge, which was to be the immediate site of the Priory.

De Achangre also accommodated the bishop at the same instant with three more adjoining crofts, which for a time was all the footing that this institution obtained in the parish. The seller in the conveyance says, "Warantizabimus, defendemus, et acquietabimus contra omnes gentes;" viz. “We will warrant the thing sold against all claims from any quarter." In modern conveyancing this would be termed a covenant for further assurance. Afterwards is added-" Pro hac autem donacione, &c. dedit mihi pred. Episcopus sexdecem marcas argenti in Gersumam:" i. e. "the bishop gave me sixteen silver marks as a consideration for the thing purchased."

As the grant from Jac. de Achangre was without date3, and the next is circumstanced in the same manner, we cannot say exactly what interval there was between the two purchases; but we find that Jacobus de Nortun, a neighbouring gentleman, also soon sold to the Bishop of Winchester some adjoining grounds, through which our stream passes, that the priory might be accommodated with a mill, which was a common necessary appendage to every manor: he also allowed access to these lands by a road for carts and waggons.

395 but they were not brought into England till after the conquest; and seem not to have obtained the appellation of Augustine Canons till some years after. Their habit was a long black cassock, with a white rocket over it; and over that a black cloak and hood. The monks were always shaved: but these canons wore their hair and beards, and caps on their heads. There were of these canons, and women of the same order called Canonesses, about one hundred and seventy-five houses.

3 The custom of affixing dates to deeds was not become general in the reign of Henry III.