Farther up the street is the church of St. Stephen, mentioned in Domesday. The original church was destroyed by the Commonwealth in 1658, and rebuilt in 1664. Stephen's Bow, the adjacent archway, was always a part of the church, and above it rises the tower; beneath the church is an ancient crypt. A turning to the right close by leads to Bedford Circus, with a statue of the Earl of Devon at the entrance. In the thirteenth century a Dominican Convent was founded in this part of the city, and occupied the southern portion of the circus, together with Chapel Street and the adjoining mews. In 1558 the convent was dissolved, and Bedford House, the West-Country residence of the Dukes of Bedford, was erected. Here Henrietta Maria held her Court, and here the little princess was born. The Dukes of Bedford ceased to use this residence in the eighteenth century, and in 1773 it fell into the builders' hands, when the eastern side of the circus was built, the western side not being begun until 1826. The place to-day possesses no attractive features, and only the memories of its past history remain. The earlier excavations brought to light a great number of skulls, bones, and fragments of sculpture; while during the later building operations, especially those conducted on the site of the conventual church, a large number of carved stones were unearthed which had evidently formed part of the Dominican house. Some of these fragments were richly ornamented with painting and gilding. Another discovery was the life-size stone head of an effigy with a hood of closely set ring mail. This is now preserved in the Cathedral cloisters. Returning to High Street, Bampfylde Street lies a little higher up. A great portion of this street is occupied by the front of Bampfylde House, built by Sir Amyas Bampfylde at the end of the sixteenth century. In later years this became the town house of the Poltimore family. Although shamefully modernized the house has retained a few interesting features. In the hall is seen a narrow window filled with old glass on which armorial bearings are displayed, while the broad staircase leads to a fine apartment panelled in oak, and having an elaborate plaster ceiling. The mantelpiece is a good piece of work and bears the arms of the Poltimores in its centre. There are one or two other good rooms and some deep cupboards, and one very small apartment is said to be a genuine eighteenth-century powdering closet. The beautiful old courtyard at the back will no longer be recognized by those who knew it a few years ago. It has been "restored".