The English Haunts of "The White Company"
The English Haunts of "The White Company" is an article written by P. F. Westerman published in the magazine Cycling on 4 december 1907.
Article
Tudor House, Old Southampton, one of the finest existing specimens of an Elizatbethan mansion.
The Historic 'Slipway', Buckler's Hard.
Buckler's Hard, an old-time cradle of the British Navy.
The Old Gaol, Southampton.
Sowley Pond.
The Arundel Tower, Southampton.
The Arcaded Walls, Southampton.
Exbury, New Forest.
However thrilling a romance may be, its pages are doubly interesting when the plot is laid in a district that is familiar to the reader, and our own country offers us plenty of opportunities of following up some of the best works of English literature. At Conisborough or Ashby-de-la-Zouch one can conjure up a picture of the redoubtable Ivanhoe; Somerset abounds with reminiscences of Lorna Doone; the tourist on the Portsmouth road feels a sympathetic interest in the weary trudge of the ever-popular Nicholas Nickleby, and his henchman Smike; Salisbury Plain and Sedgemoor recall Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's creation, Micah Clarke; while the same author throws a glamour of romance around the New Forest in his masterpiece, "The White Company." The scene is laid in stirring times, yet people of the present day, who talk glibly of our insular position, will do well to remember that in the 14th and 15th centuries hardly a town on the South Coast of England escaped from the ravages and inroads of the French.
To explore the New Forest, the most convenient starting place is undoubtedly Southampton. Though the modern town has overgrown the older portion, the ancient buildings have been preserved, and most cyclists are familiar with the Bargate, one of the finest gateways in the kingdom. Within a quarter of a mile radius of the Bargate are to be found all the historic relics of Old Southampton. In the High Street is the ancient hostel where the rebels Scroope, Grey, and the Earl of Cambridge were confronted by their Sovereign, Henry V., to answer to a charge of treason. TheWest Gate is much in the same state as when the armies of Edward III, and Henry V, marched underneath to embark for France, and the town, walls, along the western shore, are still well preserved, their arcades giving them an appearance that is strangely unfamiliar, when compared with the still existing walls of other English cities. In this particular locality is Tudor House, a fine example of an Elizabethan mansion, while, hidden away in a mean and dingy street, is a shattered building that claims to be Canute's palace, which he inhabited at the time when he rebuked his courtiers by commanding the rising tide to retire from his presence. At the south-east corner of the old town stands an interesting group of buildings, now known as the old jail, a 15th century structure built over the old flood gates, and provided with "oylet-slits" or apertures for discharging arrows. Adjoining is the 13th century "God's House," with a fine gateway where the grooves of a triple portcullis can still be traced. This gateway was, in the 14th century, the scene of a night attack by the French, and gunpowder was employed by both sides during the fight — the first known instance of the use of explosives in England.
Crossing Southampton Water by the steam ferry to Hythe, the tourist is landed in the confines of the New Forest, but, instead of taking the direct route to Beaulieu, a detour towards the south-eastern corner of the Forest is recommended. It is a little-frequented tourist district, yet it is of absorbing interest. For awhile the road forms the boundary betwixt forest and sea; then, bending to the right and skirting Cadland Park, it enters Fawley, whose church is said to be one of the churches existing in this district before the creation of the New Forest — statement which, if true, somewhat belies the common story of how William the Conqueror devastated this part of Hampshire for the purpose of providing a royal chase. From Fawley one proceeds towards Calshot Castle, but as there is little of interest to compensate for the rough stretch of pebbly beach that has to be negotiated, a turning to the right can be taken to what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle described as the "Antient and powerful town of Lepe" — or, rather, to the site of this once thriving port. Gone are the crowds of townsfolk; razed are the town walls and gates. No a vestige of its former greatness remains, and the name only is preserved when applied to the Coastguard station at Lepe — a few cottages at the entrance to the mud-encumbered Beaulieu River.
Inland once more, by splendidly-surfaced roads, the route lies towards the village of Exbury, which derives its name from the old designation of the Beaulieu River. Exbury is a typical forest village, hidden in dense masses of trees. Close by is Gilbury Hard, whence it is possible to be ferried across the river to Buckler's Hard, by the same route as Sir Nigel Loring and his men took in the novel; but preferably the road to Hill Top should be followed in order to more fully explore the natural and architectural beauties of Beaulieu. At Hill Top the Hythe and Beaulieu road is met once more, stretching away on the right across the rolling Beaulieu Heath, while to the left a gate crosses the road that leads to the monastic village. Gates across the highway are common in the New Forest, and at night a certain amount of caution is necessary, as they are unlighted and frequently constructed of rough, unpainted timber, that is practically invisible till within a few feet.
It is a long run down into Beaulieu, and probably few Hampshire villages are seen under better conditions. To the left is the river — a spacious, tree-enshrouded lake should the tide be up; to the right the grey ruins and the stately mansion of Lord Montagu; while ahead cluster the quaint, red-tiled houses of the village.
THE RUINS OF THE ABBEY
can be inspected on payment of a small fee, and, though scanty, they give a good idea of the former extent of the establishment, which is the parent of the now more perfect abbey of Netley. The refectory, now used as the parish church is well preserved, and the dormitories and cloisters are fairly perfect, but the abbey-church itself has vanished — its stones embodied in Bluff King Hal's castles of Hurst, Calshot, and Cowes — and only a plan of the edifice, traced on the grassy sward, betrays the extent of this one-time flourishing abbey. The refectory can well be identified with the hall where, as recorded in the opening chapter of "The White Company," the monks assembled to hear the three — to them, unpardonable — plaints against Brother John, the sturdy young giant afterwards known as the archer, Hordle John. Truly these Cistercians had an eye for natural beauty when they chose the sites of the abbeys; but in this case they seem to have exceeded their expectations, and the very name betokens a superiority of choice.
And now to explore the right bank of the Beaulieu River. Between this stream and the River Lymm lies a tract of forest land that is a terra incognita to the average tourist, yet it is full of interest. A stiff climb out of Beaulieu village brings the rider to a cluster of ruined, ivy-clad walls. At first sight there is little to attract attention, yet these remains mark the spot where the boeuffré, or ox-stalls, of Beaulieu Abbey stood. Continuing, one has an occasional glimpse through the forest glades of the winding Exe, till at length the woodland gives way to a collection of dwellings that is designated Buckler's Hard. Two rows of Georgian dwellings, some retaining
SIGNS OF FORMER AFFLUENCE,
stand on either side of a grassy sward that slopes gently towards the river. This stretch of grass, once a busy street, tells its own tale of ill-fortune and decay, for Buckler's Hard, up to less than a century ago, rivalled Portsmouth and Chatham as the birthplace of many a noble line of battleship. The slipway still exists, untenanted and desolate, yet here such vessels as "Hannibal" (1771), "Europa" (1764), "Boadicea" (1797), "Indefatigable" (1784), Nelson's favourite "Agamemnon" (1781), and the "Illustrious" (1789) made their first acquaintance with the salt water.
From Buckler's Hard to Christchurch the rider uses the reverse route to that over which the White Company journeyed from Twynham Castle to the seaport of Lepe. Soon the scanty ruins of St. Leonard's Abbey — one of the dependencies of Beaulieu — are reached, and a halt is worth while to trace the outlines of the spicarium and great monastic barns where the Company halted for their last night in England for many a long day. A short distance westward the road skirts a lake, whose name, even in the 14th century, was a byword for good fishing. Thus we find Alleyne telling the grey friar that Sowley — for thus is the lake named — was hard by, and that "the eels of Sowley were well spoken of." This lake was one of the stock ponds of the Cistercian monks. Though emptied for the purpose of restocking, there was probably another motive for the work, as it is recorded that at the dissolution of the monasteries the monks of Beaulieu consigned a life-sized golden image of the Virgin to its depths. The monks, expert in metal working, had iron-works on the shores of the lake, and the charcoal pits are still pointed out, though, like the Sussex' Weald, the industry has long forsaken the forest glades.
Pitt's Deep, the landing place of Sir Nigel after his captivity in Spain, lies on the mud-fringed shore, a short distance from Sowley. Like Lepe, it is an utterly decayed town, a few fishing huts and a coastguard station marking the spot where Alleyne met Sir Nigel under extraordinary circumstances at "an inn, a little way back from the road, very large and widespread, with a great green bush hung upon a pole from one of its upper windows." The displaying-of a bough was the customary sign of mediaeval inns, whence the proverb, "Good wine needs no bush."
And now the Forest gives place to a stretch of heath, dotted at intervals with natural mounds and artificial burrows, the latter the resting place of many a prehistoric warrior. Here it is not hard to picture the desperate struggle between Alleyne and the two rievers, and the quick punishment that was meted out to the latter at the hands of the bailiff of Southampton. The next town, Lymington, does not require any particular mention, but an easy ride through byroads soon brings the rider to Milford, whose ancient church, with a massive square tower surmounted by a diminutive spire, speaks for its own antiquity. Then onward, by the coast road that runs
ALONG THE EDGE OF CRUMBLING CLIFFS,
till Hordle, the birthplace of the renowned archer, Hordle John, is reached. Still westwards lies the route, till the lofty tower of Christchurch Priory and the clear outline of Hengistbury Head break the skyline, and soon the tourist crosses the Avon by a narrow and weather-worn bridge. This bridge must be in practically the same condition as in the days of Edward III., and one can easily identify it as the structure upon. which Sir Nigel Loring paused to inert for the first tune his new squire, Alleyne, who, with his companions, Hordle John and Samkin Aylward, were approaching "the straggling and broad-spread town which centered round the noble church and frowning castle." The view, too, from the bridge, coincides with the description given in the novel. On the left is the noble priory church, while nearer rises the scanty remains of the castle, which one can identify with Sir Nigel Loring's Twynham Castle. Christchurch possesses much of interest, and an afternoon can well be spent in exploring its treasures of architectural, historical, and literary interest. As this town is the western limit of the district mentioned in "The White Company," the tourist can return towards Southampton by a different route, in order to make the acquaintance of other places mentioned in the romance. It is a hilly though good-surfaced road through Holmsley to Lyndhurst, and being on the beaten tourist-track needs no description. At Lyndhurst, in the Verderers' Hall, is preserved
THE STIRRUP WORN BY THE RED KING
on the fatal day when he met his death at the hands of Sir Walter Tyrrel.
The byroad from Lyndhurst to Minstead lies through a tract of forest unsurpassed by any in England. Minstead, the dwelling of the "Socman," still preserves its mediaeval aspect to a certain extent. The Southampton-Ringwood road is struck at Castle Malwood, the modern residence that replaced the historic royal hunting-lodge of Malwood Keep. Here a steep decline through a thick belt of trees brings one to Cadnam, where a venerable inn, now known as the Lord John Barleycorn, has existed for centuries.
Six miles farther on is Romsey, a town of great historic interest, and as here is laid the concluding scene of "The White Company," namely, the timely arrival of Alleyne to save Lady Maude Loring from the rigours of a convent life, the description of the New Forest may likewise be concluded, leaving the tourist, after he has explored the magnificent old abbey, to either journey back to Southampton or to the old capital of England, the royal city of Winchester.
