sixty monks who started the monastery
were brought over by William from the Benedictine monastery of
Marmontier in Normandy. They were granted many extraordinary privileges,
including the right of treasure-trove. A further privilege was given to
the abbots in the form of authority to pardon any sentenced criminal
whom they might chance to meet on the road. The abbey was not completed
until after the death of William the Conqueror.
On the left, as one goes through the great gateway, are the portions of
the abbey which have been converted into the house which was, until her
death, the home of the Duchess of Cleveland. At right angles to these
buildings runs a terrace, from which one looks towards the sea across
the battlefield on which was decided one of the most momentous issues
which have affected the English nation.
One must have read Lord Lytton's _Harold_ to fully realise the
tremendous pathos of the struggle to the death between the English and
the Normans. The green facing the great gateway has half hidden on its
surface an old bull ring. In wet weather this is scarcely discoverable,
the ring being easily hidden in the small puddles of water which
accumulate.
[Illustration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._
THE GATEWAY OF BATTLE ABBEY.
The high altar of Battle Abbey was placed exactly over the spot where
the body of Harold II. was discovered after the battle of Senlac Hill.]
CAMBRIDGE
=How to get there.=--Train from St. Pancras or Liverpool Street.
Great Eastern Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Cambridge.
=Distance from London.=--55-3/4 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies between 1-1/4 and 2-1/2 hours. Quickest train,
1 h. 13 m.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 8s. 9d. ... 4s. 7-1/2d.
Return 15s. 10d. ... 9s. 3d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Bull Hotel," "Lion Hotel,"
"University Arms Hotel," "Hoop Hotel," "Bath Hotel," etc.
=Alternative Routes=.--From Euston by L. and N.W. Railway.
From King's Cross, Great Northern Railway. From St.
Pancras, Midland Railway.
Cambridge shares with its sister university, Oxford, the honour of being
one of the two most ancient seats of learning in Great Britain. The town
itself is of very remote origin, and stands on the site of the Roman
station _Camboricum_, on the _Via Devana_. By the Saxons, Cambridge
appears to have been known as Grantabrycge, which was probably later
abbreviated into Cantbrigge. The true
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