finally concluded in favour of the abbot. This occurred in 1248, and three years later the doughty abbot was setting the pope at defiance by protesting against the persecution, oppression, and robbery of the conventual churches by the bishops and legates. Twice also Abbot Simon successfully resisted the extortionate demands of the king, and stubbornly refused to enrich the royal treasury at the expense of the monastery. I am afraid I have rather digressed from the main purpose of this little work in relating some of the deeds of this sturdy abbot, but I think the brief relation of these may be of some interest as an illustration of the social and religious conditions of Waltham in mediæval times and of the wonderful power wielded by these old ecclesiastical potentates. A Conventual Relic. Now to resume the broken thread. The remaining fragment of the conventual buildings to which I have alluded above consists of a beautiful little chamber, often spoken of as “an architectural gem,” which stands in the Abbey gardens. It is locally known by the undignified appellation of the “potato cellar,” due to its irreverent use in modern times. It consists of a small longitudinal apartment, with a beautifully groined ceiling and quadripartite vaulting. It is 29 feet long, running north and south, and has two doorways, one of which is blocked up. It is considered to have been either the fratry or an antechamber to the abbot’s mansion, in which the monks assembled preparatory to the procession to the church. One passes from the churchyard to the market-place—another interesting corner of the old town—by an ancient lych-gate, adjacent to the Harp Inn, which is peculiarly interesting as being probably the oldest existing relic of domestic architecture directly connected with the Abbey, and has from very early times formed the main entrance to the church. Turning sharp to the left, into Sun Street, one is soon in the old main road that runs from London, by Walthamstow, Chingford, and Sewardstone, to Nazeing, Roydon, etc. To the left, round by the New Inn, the fine old wall of the Abbey gardens comes into view, and midway along its extent will be noticed the sign of the cross and a lozenge (probably a sign indicative of the Trinity) inserted in black brick. The remains of the moat, which, with the mill stream, completely surrounded the Abbey, will also be seen.