Wolvesey Castle, as the other fortress was called, stood in the lower part of the city, to the south-east of the cathedral. Though less advantageously situated than the upper strong-hold, it rivalled it in magnitude. The two giants tried their strength in the time of the warlike Henry de Blois, but were too well matched for any decided result to ensue. Wolvesey Castle was built by the valiant prelate we have just mentioned on the site of the old Saxon palace wherein Egbert, Alfred, Edgar, and Canute had dwelt, and derived its name from the tribute of wolves’ heads exacted from the Welsh princes by Edgar, and paid at the palace gates. Soon after the completion of Wolvesey by De Blois, it was attacked by the Empress Maud, who had possession of the upper fortress, and was invested at the same time by the Earl of Gloucester, and David, King of Scotland, but it held out against all its assailants. During this conflict the city suffered much from the contending parties, but especially from the adherents of Stephen. Fire-balls thrown from Wolvesey Castle caused a tremendous conflagration, whereby the Abbey of Saint Mary, the royal palace, the suburb of Hyde, with its superb monastery of Saint Grimbald, commenced by Alfred the Great, and a multitude of churches were destroyed. Dismantled by Henry II., who dreaded its strength, Wolvesey was restored and refortified at a later period, and afforded shelter from the barons to the half-brothers of Henry III. During all this time, and for upwards of another century, Wolvesey was occupied by bishops, who belonging to the church militant, kept it in a good state of defence. Later on, it became less of a fortress, and more of an episcopal palace, and such it was at the period of our history, for though none of its fortifications were destroyed, and its walls, towers, and donjon were still standing, the buildings were devoted to pacific purposes. Great trees were allowed to grow up in its courts, and fair gardens were laid out beneath its walls. The principal apartments were in the keep, and here Mary was now lodged, while her large retinue found ample accommodation in the numerous towers and outbuildings. Gardiner had fitted up the palace splendidly for his royal mistress’s reception. During her stay at Wolvesey, unbounded hospitality reigned there; and never at any time—not even in 1522, when Henry VIII. feasted the Emperor Charles V. in its halls—had greater profusion been displayed within the castle. Of this vast and stately pile, demolished by Cromwell, some picturesque ruins, o’ergrown with ivy, are still left, attesting its former extent and grandeur.