=Theobalds=, on the borders of Hertfordshire, was built by Robert Cecil, Lord Burleigh, who often entertained Queen Elizabeth, an honour which cost him £2,000 a visit. James I. was so delighted with it when he came there on his royal progress from Scotland, that he induced his host to let him have it in exchange for Hatfield. He was frequently there, enjoying the hunting in the neighbourhood, and died there in 1625, his son Charles being proclaimed at the gate. At the Civil War it was much damaged, afterwards being parcelled out among some Parliamentarian officers. The last remains disappeared in 1766. =Winchester Castle= was built, according to tradition, by Arthur, and was constantly used by the early English Kings. It was the birthplace of Henry III., and Parliament assembled there occasionally until the fifteenth century. Henry V. was the last King to reside there. In the time of the Commonwealth it came into the possession of Sir William Waller, from whom the Corporation bought it. =Woodstock=, in Oxfordshire, was a royal manor when the Domesday survey was made. It was at Woodstock that Queen Eleanor, the wife of Henry II., discovered the Fair Rosamond, daughter of Lord Clifford, who was so much loved by her royal master. Much of the story is probably legend; she was certainly not murdered by the jealous Queen, but died in Godstow nunnery. Edward III. and Queen Philippa were much attached to the palace, where their eldest son, the Black Prince, was born. After Wyatt's rebellion, Queen Elizabeth was guarded there as a prisoner. James I. liked it for the hunting it afforded, and Charles I. was often there during his reign, especially when his army was at Oxford during the Civil War. It fell into ruin after the war, and the estate was given to the Duke of Marlborough after his famous victory at Blenheim. The architect of Blenheim Palace wished to save the ruins which still remained, but the Duchess of Marlborough declared that they spoilt the view, and so swept them away completely in 1723. [Illustration: EDINBURGH CASTLE Stands upon a great rock rising abruptly from low-lying ground. Its history stretches back to the dim time of legends.] CHAPTER XIV EDINBURGH CASTLE Edinburgh Castle has a history that stretches far back till it is lost in the misty realm of legend. The great rock upon which it is built could not fail to have appealed to all the successive rulers of the land as of great strategic importance. It rises abruptly from the low-lying land, and dominates the country for many miles around, from the Forth on the north to the Pentland Hills on the south. Its Celtic name of _Maidun_, meaning the fort of the plain, became corrupted in later times to Maiden's Castle, the name being responsible for the tradition that the castle was used by the royal Princesses, during times of great danger. [Illustration: Edinburgh Castle, from the North.]