Of the cloisters, the north alley is the most perfect, with its seven carols, where the monks sat and talked; whilst above project the corbels which carried the cloister-roof. Here and there, too, as at the two north doors leading into the church, some of the original pavement still remains, and at the south-east corner a staircase led to the lavatory.
The church, however, has long since been destroyed. Nothing, except a portion of the south transept, is left. The foundations, though, can be accurately traced, showing the nave and aisles, and the large circular apse at the east end. Scattered about, too, appear the tesselated floor, bright as on the day it was laid down, and the graves of the abbots, and of Eleanor of Acquitaine, mother of the founder.[1]
Out in the fields beyond stand the ruins of a building, now a mere pinfold for cattle, called by tradition the Monk's Vine-Press, whilst the meadows beyond, lying on the slope of the hill, are still known as "the Vineyards."[2]
But the refectory still remains on the south side of the cloisters, from which a doorway, still ornamented with iron scroll-work, used to lead. Ever since the Reformation it has served as the parish church, differing only in its appearance by
- ↑ A few years ago, when the foundations were being excavated, a female skeleton was found near the high altar, and was supposed, by its position, to have been that of the Queen.
- ↑ Warner (vol. i. 255) mentions that in his time there was still brandy in the steward's cellars made from the vines growing on the spot. Domesday gives several entries of wines (see Ellis's Introduction, vol. i. pp. 116, 117), though none in the Forest district. But the term 'Vineyards' is still frequently found hereabouts as the name of fields generally marked by a southern slope, as at Beckley and Hern, near Christchurch, showing how common formerly was the cultivation of the vine, first introduced into England by the Romans.
