The Monks kept these till their suppression, and used to shew them as great curiosities ; likewise a table of the Norman gentry who came into England with the Conqueror.
In the year 1381, the then Abbot of Battle, Hamo of Offinton, it is supposed, signalized himself in a very courageous manner, in repulsing a body of French, who had landed, and attacked Rye and Winchelsea ; to which latter place the Abbot repaired with what force he could muster, and fortifying it, kept the enemy at bay till such time as the country gentlemen assembled in. a body ; and coming to his assistance, drove the French from the island.
It would require much time and minute investigation to remark the separate points that command the spectators' attention in this celebrated place. The grounds are delightfully situated, the prospect rich and various ; you see Standard and Tellman hills : the former, by tradition, is the spot where William erected his consecrated colours - the latter, the place where his army was mus-
