There are many peculiarities in the interior of the church--amongst others, the elevation of the flooring of the aisles above that of the nave, where the nuns had their stalls. Many of these nuns were of royal blood, and in Saxon times the nunnery enjoyed high patronage. Under the rule of the Abbess Marivanna the monastery was blessed with peace, and Marivanna is said to have miraculously warned her successor Elwina of the approach of Sweyn and his band of Danish marauders. Matilda, wife of Henry I. and niece of the Abbess Christina, was educated here; and subsequently Mary, Countess of Boulogne, daughter of King Stephen, was elected abbess. This royal abbess openly defied the Pope and, in spite of her monastic vows, married the son of the Count of Flanders, without obtaining the necessary dispensation from the Vatican. After ten years of married life, the rash lovers were compelled to separate, the power of the Church proving too strong for them. In the reign of Henry III. power to condemn and to hang criminals was restored to the abbess of Romsey--this peculiar privilege having become obsolete. The rules of the monastery were strict and the discipline well maintained, earning for Romsey a reputation for high moral tone, as well as for liberality and learning. A marvellously beautiful piece of the nuns’ handiwork can still be seen in an altar cloth of the present church. It is of green brocaded velvet embroidered with golden stars and with lilies exquisitely worked into the material. This work belongs to the 12th or 13th century and was formerly intended for a cope. SHERBORNE (_Benedictine_) 705, Ina, King of the West Saxons, makes Sherborne the seat of a Bishopric--998, Bishop Wulfsiu builds a priory--1075, Bishop Herman transfers the See to Sarum--1122, Sherborne and Horton made one house--1139, Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, changes the priory of Sherborne into an abbey, that of Horton being destroyed--Benedictine monks placed within it--1436, The abbey suffers from fire, and is changed in restoration from Norman to Perpendicular style--1539, The monastery surrenders to Henry VIII. Annual revenue, £682, 1s.--Sold to Sir John Horsey for £200--The parishioners of Sherborne buy the church from him for £230--1848-58, Restored at a cost of over £32,000.