are kept. Among the MSS., etc., kept here are certain Anglo-Saxon documents and charters of Privileges from Richard II. to Charles II.; a table of Wykeham's domestic expenses; a thirteenth century Vulgate in manuscript; a "Briefe description of the Newe Founde Lande of Virginia," by Sir Walter Raleigh; and a pedigree of Henry VI., tracing his descent from Adam. The chief relic of Wykeham is a gold ring with a large sapphire in it. The Cloisters are 132 feet in length on each side, and the stone roofing is supported by rafters of Irish oak. The ground enclosed by the Cloisters was once used for the burial of the Fellows. Among the names cut in the walls may be seen the name of "Thos. Ken, 1646." In the square formed by the cloisters is the Chantry Chapel, built in 1420, converted into the library after Edward VI. had forbidden its use as a chapel, and now used once more as a chapel for the junior scholars. A portrait of Wykeham (the oldest on record) is shown in the east window, the glass of which dates from 1470, and comes from Warden Thurbern's chantry in the larger chapel. Behind the hall is "School," a detached building erected in 1687 by the Warden, Nicholas. It is now used for glee-club concerts and like events. The western wall has on it the often-quoted inscription: Aut Disce Aut Discede Manet Sors Tertia Cædi. Modern additions to the college buildings include a library in memory of Bishop Moberly, formerly head-master; a gymnasium, fives courts and a racquet court, and a new infirmary. One of the most curious properties of the College is the old painting (probably sixteenth century) of the "Trusty Servant," the words being ascribed to Johnson, the head-master in 1560-1571.
| THE TRUSTY SERVANT |
|
A trusty servant's portrait would you see, This emblematic figure well survey; The porker's snout—not nice in diet shows; The padlock shut—no secrets he'll disclose; Patient the ass—his master's wrath to bear; Swiftness in errand—the stag's feet declare; Loaded his left hand—apt to labour saith; The vest—his neatness; open hand—his faith; Girt with his sword, his shield upon his arm— Himself and master he'll protect from harm. |
The remains of Hyde Abbey lie considerably to the north of the cathedral, outside the old North Gate of the city, where it was erected during the bishopric of William Giffard by Henry I. The buildings were occupied in 1110 A.D. by the monks who were forced to leave Alfred's "New Minster," pulled down because of its too close neighbourhood to the cathedral. Though the foundations of the abbey still exist, little is left of the upper part except an arched gateway with hood-mouldings and two royal corbel-heads. This gateway is in some walls that apparently were once part of the out-buildings of the abbey. The body of Alfred the Great was brought hither in 1110, and must still be here, though all traces of the tomb have now vanished utterly. The institution, which was a very wealthy one, was not always on good terms with the cathedral authorities, of whom it was, of course, independent. A record is kept of a dispute between Cardinal Beaufort and the Abbot of Hyde. In the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII. it was impossible that the riches of Hyde Abbey could escape, and in 1538 pillage and violation overtook it. The Royal Commissioners wrote that they intended "to sweep away all the rotten bones that be called relices, which we may not omit, lest it should be thought that we came more for the treasure than for avoiding the abominations of idolatry." Probably Thomas Cromwell, to whom they wrote, understood how far the two motives influenced them and the king. The monastic buildings did not altogether disappear until close on the end of last century, when the materials were devoted to other purposes.