an engagement between the Parliament forces (under Sir W. Waller) and
the Royalists. The parish church, which has a squat tower surmounted by
a gable, contains within the chancel rails the coloured effigies of Sir
W. Bassett and his wife, whilst in the churchyard is buried Ralph
Allen, the friend of Fielding and Pope. His tomb is under an ugly
canopy, supported on arches. Above the village, to the N.W., is
_Hampton Down_, where there is a large British encampment.

_Cleeve_, a parish 2 m. E. from Yatton, on the Bristol and Bridgwater
road, with a modern church. Near it is _Goblin Combe_ (take the road
that leaves the highway near the "Lord Nelson" inn, and when past a
schoolhouse enter through a gate). It is a long cleft in the mountain
limestone, wild and solitary, and covered with tangled vegetation. The
whole neighbourhood round is picturesque.

[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO CLEEVE ABBEY]

_Cleeve Abbey_, the ruins of a Cistercian monastery, 1/2 m. S. from
Washford Station (G.W.R. branch to Minehead). Leave the station by the
Taunton road, and take first turning to R. It is only recently that
these interesting remains have been rescued from the farmer and made
accessible to the public. The abbey was founded in 1188. With the
proverbial monkish eye for a fine situation and a trout stream, its
builders set it in a fertile valley, to which old chroniclers gave the
name of the Flowery Vale. Contrary to the usual fate of such ruins, the
domestic portions of the monastery have survived; the church has gone.
Entrance is gained through a gatehouse standing well apart from the
main block of buildings. It is generally believed to have been a kind
of combined guest-house and porter's lodge, where the casual visitor
found temporary entertainment. Over its hospitable doorway is graven