10, 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.

[Illustration: ST CROSS FROM THE QUADRANGLE. _Photochrom Co. Ltd., Photo._]

The #Hospital of St Cross#, the oldest almshouse in England, lies one
mile to the south of the town on the Southampton Road, and may be
reached from Winchester across the fields for part of the way. Situated
in the hamlet of Sparkford, it was founded originally by Bishop Henry de
Blois in 1136, on the site of a small monastery destroyed by the Danes.
The founder's wish was to give refuge to "thirteen poor men, feeble and
so reduced in strength that they can hardly or with difficulty support
themselves with another's aid"; while a meal was daily to be provided
for another hundred poor men. The Knights Hospitallers, in the person of
their Master, Raymund, were in 1151 A.D. put in charge of the
foundation. They agreed so ill, however, with the bishops of the
neighbouring cathedral that, about 1200, the Pope appointed a commission
which transferred to the bishops the right of choosing the master. The
new arrangement did not work well, for a little more than a century and
a half afterwards the master was found to be robbing his charge to such
an extent that the scandal was intolerable. William of Wykeham turning
his attention to the matter, a Papal Bull was procured ordering the use
of the revenues for the benefit of the poor. The next bishop, Cardinal
Beaufort, added to the buildings by the foundation of the "Almshouse of
Noble Poverty," for the maintenance of two priests, thirty-five
brethre