Built on crossroads, years ago,
There’s so much here for you to know,
de Clinton laid the foundation stone,
And from this act, so much has grown,
King John, he built a massive mere,
Although it is no longer here.
de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, made
Defences of the highest grade,
Henry the III was kept at bay,
For a full six months, rebels held sway,
Until then forced into defeat
When they ran out of things to eat.
Old John of Gaunt, he had a ball,
Entertaining, with his Great Hall,
To Henry the V the French sent balls
For tennis, so ‘to war’ he calls!
From Portchester, his army sailed
The Southampton plot, it having failed.
These stone walls, so much they’ve seen,
Knightly jousts for a cheering Queen,
Dudley here, for the Queen to woo,
Put on such a lavish do,
Lots to drink and loads of nosh,
Paid for by tons of dosh!
With Elizabeth he wanted heirs,
But his first wife fell down the stairs,
Or was she pushed? No-one knows,
But for courtiers, suspicion grows,
So reflect on what might have been,
Had she not died the Virgin Queen.
Then came Roundheads
And Cavaliers,
And we move forward
Though the years,
Robert Dudley’s gatehouse made
A home where Colonel Hawkesworth stayed.
Sir Walter Scott, of this place did write,
And many came to see the site,
Of courtly love, years ago,
Yes, so much here for you to know,
Not just grass and walls of stone,
But a tapestry of England’s throne!
© David Gibson, 2018
