ntial manner: "When Edward
II. was taken by order of his Queen and carried to Berkeley Castle, to
the end that he should not be known, they shaved his head and beard,
and that in a most beastly manner; for they took him from his horse
and set him upon a hillock, and then, taking puddle water out of a
ditch thereby, they went to wash him, his barber telling him that the
cold water must serve for this time; whereat the miserable king,
looking sternly upon him, said that whether they would or no he would
have warm water to wash him, and therewithal, to make good his word,
he presently shed forth a shower of tears. Never was king turned out
of a kingdom in such a manner." And there can be no doubt that many of
the rooms which have attracted notice on account of their
architectural peculiarities, were purposely designed for concealment
in times of political commotion. Of the numerous stories told of the
mysterious death of Lord Lovel, one informs us[19] how, on the
demolition of a very old house--formerly the patrimony of the
Lovel's--about a century ago, there was found in a small chamber, so
secret that the farmer who inhabited the house knew it not, the
remains of an immured being, and such remnants of barrels and jars as
appeared to justify the idea of that chamber having been used as a
place of refuge for the lord of the mansion; and that after consuming
the stores which he had provided in case of a disastrous event, he
died unknown even to his servants and tenants. But the circumstances
attending Lord Lovell's death have always been matter of conjecture,
and in the "Annals of England," another version of the story is
given:[20] "Lord Lovel is believed to have escaped from the field, and
to have lived for a while in concealment at Minster Lovel,
Oxfordshire, but at length to have been starved to death through the
neglect or treachery of an attendant."

At Broughton Castle there is a curiously designed room, which, at one
time or another, has attracted considerable attention. According to
Lord Nugent, in his "Memorials of Hampden," this room is "so
contrived, by being surrounded by thick stone walls, and casemated,
that no sound from within can be heard. The chamber appears to have
been built about the time of King John, and is reported, on very
doubtful grounds of tradition, to have been the room used for the
sittings of the Puritans." And, he adds: "It seems an odd fancy,
although a very prevailing one, to suppose tha