Reformation the shrine was destroyed, as is recorded in the commissioners' letter, dated September 21, 1538:—

"About three o'clock this Saturday morning, we made an end of the shrine here at Winchester. There was no gold, nor ring, nor true stone about it, but all great counterfeits; but the silver alone will amount to 2000 marks."

The popular tradition regarding St. Swithun's Day, July 15, is to the effect that, as it rains or is fair on this day, the ensuing forty days will be either wet or dry.

The tradition is said to be due to the saintly request being disregarded, with the result that, when his remains were about to be translated, a heavy rain burst forth, and continued without ceasing for the forty succeeding days. This was interpreted as a divine warning, so that, instead of disturbing the saintly bones, a chapel was erected over them. As a matter of fact, Professor Earle and other authorities assure us that the legend is fictitious, and that the translation was attended by the utmost éclat and success, and blessed with fine weather.

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL FROM THE DEANERY GARDENS

Foreign pilgrims coming from Normandy and Brittany, on their way to the shrine of St. Swithun, or to that of St. Thomas of Canterbury, would land, many of them, at Southampton, and journey to Winchester, there to await other bands of pilgrims bound for the great Kentish shrine. This was the route taken by Henry II when he did penance before the tomb of the murdered Becket, in July, 1174. Although clearly seen in the wold of Surrey and the weald of Kent at the present time, it must be confessed that but faint traces of the Pilgrims' Way remain in Hampshire, although early chroniclers speak of an old road that led direct from Winchester to Canterbury. The great concourse of pilgrims to St. Swithun's shrine caused Bishop Lucy to enlarge much of the church, and in the reign of the first Edward the building still known as the Strangers' Hall was erected by the monks of St. Swithun for the poorer class of pilgrims, who here found food and shelter for the night. On their departure they repaired to the doors of the Prior's lodging—the three beautiful arches of which now form the entrance to the Deanery—where they were given alms and fragments of food to sustain them on their journey.

The associations of Alfred with this ancient Wessex capital are many and various. He founded the famous Abbey of Hyde, situated without the city gates, known for long as the New Minster, and first removed from its original site near the cathedral in the twelfth century. That Alfred's remains were laid to rest somewhere within, or just without, the walls is beyond question, although the exact spot has not yet been definitely located. When the Benedictine monks of Hyde obtained a charter from Henry I in 1110, giving them leave to erect a new convent and church in the green meadows outside the north gate, they are said to have taken to their new home the wonder-working shrine of St. Josse, the silver cross given by Canute, and the bones of Alfred.

At the Reformation, Thomas Wriothesley wrote to Cromwell saying:—

"We intend both at Hyde and St. Mary to sweep away all the rotten bones that be called relics; which we may not omit, lest it be thought we came more for the treasure than for the avoiding of th' abomination of idolatry".

So the resting-place of the noblest of English kings remains unknown; but a passing antiquary is said to have carried off a stone marked with the words, "ÆLFRED REX, DCCCLXXXI", and this stone may still be seen at Corby Castle in Cumberland.

Of Hyde Abbey nothing but an old gateway near St. Bartholomew's Church, and some slight fragments of wall, remain; but a considerable portion was standing until the ruins were pulled down to provide the site for a new Bridewell, which has vanished in its turn. The property has now come into the hands of the Corporation, and scientific excavations have been commenced. Strong hopes are entertained that Alfred's tomb may be found, although the iconoclasts of the Reformation and the Magistrates of later days have made the task a difficult, if not an impossible one. In 1901 Alfred's thousandth anniversary was celebrated at Winchester, and on September 20 of that year Lord Rosebery unveiled Hamo Thorneycroft's magnificent bronze statue, standing in the Broadway, and bearing on its granite pedestal the single word, eloquent in its simplicity:—

AELFRED.

Interesting and important as are the associations of Alfred and St. Swithun with this ancient capital of Wessex, the genius loci is William of Wykeham, one of the most remarkable men the world has ever produced. The more we study his life and character the more we are amazed at the versatile nature of his splendid gifts. Born, like Wolsey, the only other clerical architect with whom he can be compared, of humble parents, in the sleepy little village of Wickham, in the autumn of 1324, he early attracted the attention of Sir John Scures, the lord of the manor of Wickham, and Constable of Winchester Castle. By Sir John's influence he became a scholar at the Priory School, the "Great Grammar School of Winchester", then situated just outside the west wall of the priory enclosure. Taught by the brethren of St. Swithun's, he was eventually recommended to Bishop Edington, who appears to have appreciated the great talent for architecture shown by young Wykeham. Edington himself was no mean builder, and he had already begun to rebuild the west front of the cathedral, and to transform the nave from the Norman to the Perpendicular style, a transformation that was to be completed by Wykeham when he succeeded his old master in the episcopacy.

In Wykeham's twenty-third year Edward III came to Winchester, and he, having heard of the clever young architect, wished to test his skill in the warfare then being waged against Scotland and France, and particularly in the new fortifications of Calais. On taking service with the King, plain William Wykeham became Sir William de Wykeham, and as Surveyor of Works he superintended such buildings as St. Stephen's Chapel, Westminster, and the castles of Dover and Queensborough. In 1356 he was in charge of Windsor Castle, which, as his birthplace, Edward wished to beautify by many additions. It has been said that the Round Tower Wykeham built at Windsor made the fortune of its designer. We now find Wykeham Warden of all the royal castles, and sub-dean of the church of St. Martins-le-Grand, on the site of which is the General Post Office; and as a public notary he was present at the signing of the Treaty of Bretigny.

Possibly owing to the dearth of clergy caused by the Black Death, Wykeham, after the laying-on of hands by his old master, Bishop Edington, became an acolyte in the December of 1361, a sub-deacon in the March following, and priest in the June of 1362. A few years later, when Edington was laid to rest within his cathedral, a sharp controversy arose between the King and the Pope as to who should succeed. The differences, which need not be discussed here, being eventually settled to the satisfaction of both parties, Wykeham was offered the vacant see, when he said to the King:

"Sire, I am unworthy, but wherein I am wanting myself, that will I supply by a brood of more scholars than all the prelates of England ever showed".

And how worthily he fulfilled his promise is a matter of history.

To quote the authors of