John and said to be the oldest in England, although
several others contest that distinction. At the head of Blue Anchor Lane
is a picturesque Tudor house, once the residence of Henry VIII and his
queen, Anne Boleyn. This is open to visitors and we were shown every
part of the house by the tenant, who is also custodian. With all its
magnificence of carved oak and wide fireplaces, it must have been a
comfortless dwelling measured by more modern ideas.

Leaving the city, we crossed Southampton Water on a steam ferry which
was guided by a chain stretched from bank to bank. Two or three miles to
the southward lies Netley, a small village with the remains of an abbey
dating from the reign of Henry I. The road to Netley followed the shore
closely, but on nearing the village suddenly entered an avenue of fine
trees which so effectually concealed the ruin that we stopped directly
opposite the abbey to inquire its whereabouts. Leaving the car standing
in the road, we spent a quarter of an hour wandering about the ruin and
trying to locate the various apartments from a hand-book. The custodian
here did not act as a guide, and we were left to figure out for
ourselves the intricacies of nave, refectory, cloister, etc. Only the
ivy-covered walls of the building are now standing, but these are in an
unusual state of completeness. The chapel or church was cruciform in
shape and built in the early English style. The walls of the west end
have practically disappeared, but the great east window is fairly well
preserved and its most remarkable feature is its two beautifully
proportioned lights, the stone tracery of which remains almost intact. A
legend in connection with this abbey no doubt grew out of the desire of
some of the people to prevent the destruction of the beautiful building.
After the abbey had been dismantled, the church was sold to a
contractor, who proceeded to tear it down for the material. He was
warned in a dream by the appearance of a monk not to proceed with the
work, but disregarded the warning and was killed by the falling of a
portion of the wall. If incidents of this kind had happened more
frequently England would no doubt be richer in historic buildings.

We were preparing to leave Netley when a man in plain clothes
approached us, and civilly touching his hat, inquired if I were the
owner of the motor car. I confessed that I was and he stated he was an
officer and regretted that he would have to report me to the p