Cocks letter diary, 1916-1919 / Verner Cocks - Page 78
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[Page 78]
We had always struck the other places when the boys were on holidays. After a good dinner at the leading hotel we visited an old castle containing the Round Table of King Arthur. Although the place was closed on Sundays we knocked up the caretaker & craved admittance. The table is circular about 20' in diameter being marked off into sectors each containing the name of the knight who occupied that position at the table. The position of King Arthur was marked by the figure of a king: on his right sat Sir Galahad & next Sir Lancelot du Lac - many of the other names we could not make out being printed in O.E. characters. The table originally stood on eight leggs but is now hung up on the wall where it has been for the last 500 years, so you may get an idea of its age. The hall where it is situated was originally where England's parliament met, Winchester originally then being the chiefest city of the land - it is certainly about the oldest. We struck many things of interest in & around the city - a palace built by Alfred the Great now used as an od book shop, the ruins of an old castle, & St Mary's College. The last named has been a college like Eton & Harrow for at least half a
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