subsequently they purchased the ground at Princethorpe, where they have erected the present structure. This institution has among its objects that of educating young ladies of the Roman Catholic faith. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and has a chapel and cemetery in the Gothic style. Various articles of fancy workmanship are made by the inmates of this establishment, and, we believe, meet a ready and profitable sale. TEMPLE BALSALL is between five and six miles from Kenilworth, by the turnpike road in the direction of Birmingham. This is a place of great interest to the antiquarian, its old church remaining nearly in the same state in which it was left by its founders, the Knights Templars. Balsall, or Temple Balsall, is a hamlet and chapelry in the extensive parish of Hampton-in-Arden. In the reign of Henry II., it was bestowed by Roger de Mowbray upon the Knights Templars. These religious knights derived their name from the place of their residence, and the object for which they formed themselves into a religious order. Their residence was near the temple of Jerusalem; and they devoted themselves to the protection of Christian pilgrims who visited the Holy Land, Coming to England in the reign of Henry II. (1154 to 1189), they built their principal mansion in London, which is still known by the name of the Temple. The knights obtained valuable grants of land in various parts of this county, as well as elsewhere. They erected a church in this place, and a preceptory, or cell, to their principal mansion. The church still exists in good preservation; and part of the hall is still to be seen, incorporated with a barn, and encased in brick. The Knights Templars were formally dissolved in the reign of Edward II., and their estates bestowed on the somewhat similar order of Knights Hospitallers, who remained in possession of them till the dissolution. Queen Elizabeth bestowed the manor on her favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Lady Catherine Leveson, Leicester's grand-daughter, by her will devoted the manor to the foundation of an hospital for indigent females-a charitable institution now in a prosperous condition. The Church is 104 feet long, 39 wide, and 57 high. It is an entire and undivided apartment, without aisles or galleries. The chancel differs from the body of the church merely by being three steps above its level. The building is an admirable specimen of Gothic architecture. The great east window is very lofty, and consists of five lights, the mullions being adorned with exquisite carvings. On each side of the church are three windows, those opposite each other being the same, but different from all the others. These windows also are enriched with beautiful tracery, the two in the centre being the finest. There is also a very lofty window of five lights at the west end. It is surmounted by a fine marigold window of twelve compartments. The entrance to the church is under this window; and here, below the cornice, is a row of ten heads of excellent workmanship. In the chancel there are three sedilia, or stone seats, displaying some extremely delicate and beautiful carving of foliages. In a recess in the wall near these sedilia, formerly stood an octagonal piscina, now placed in the centre of the church and used as a font. The present roof is evidently lower than the original one, from its interference with the top of the west window, and its undue nearness to that of the east one. The church contains no monuments requiring to be particularly noticed. The exterior of this ancient building is equally interesting. The square bell-tower at the north-east corner is, partly at least, more modern than the rest of the building. The mouldings of the doorways and windows, and surmounting the base tablet, display much expression and beauty. Several doorways, now blocked up, have been of a rich architectural design. The Hall, or Refectory, of the Knights Templars stands near the church. Once a magnificent apartment, it has now the appearance of a large barn. Its walls are of modern brick, but it still contains in its interior many interesting traces of its ancient possessors. It has been 140 feet long, and seems to have been framed entirely of timber. The roof was supported by massive wooden pillars, which divided the building into a centre and aisles. Six of these pillars, with their cross beams, may be seen built into the brick wall. An apartment partitioned off from the rest of the Hall is called the Parlour, used, we believe, for the holding of courts connected with district business. This room is adorned with emblazoned shields probably taken from the roof of the hall, or of some ancient building now destroyed. The shields are of five different kinds, and nineteen in number. The building has a large and ancient stone chimney. The Alms-Houses, endowed by Lady Catherine Leveson, are near the church, on a pleasant site. They are of red brick, and, though possessing no architectural features calling for remark, are substantial and extensive. These buildings form a complete square. Agreeably to the will of its benevolent founder, this charitable institution is devoted to the reception of indigent females, either widows or unmarried women, of fair character, to be chosen from the following parishes:Temple Balsall (which has the preference) and Long Itchington, in Warwickshire; Trentham, in Staffordshire; or Lillenhall, Shropshire. This institution is at present in a flourishing condition, its annual revenue amounting to £1500. The number of alms-women is thirty. The trustees are, the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, the Earls of Warwick and Aylesford, and other leading county gentlemen. The institution is placed under the charge of a minister, who, besides his clerical duties, is required by the will of the founder to teach and instruct twenty of the poorest boys of Balsall and parish, till they shall be fit to be put out to apprenticeship. Jago, in his poem of " Edge Hill," thus speaks of Balsall :— A band of warriors bold, of high renown, COVENTRY. HOTELS.-Castle, John Hall-Bed 1s. 6d. to 2s., breakfast 2s., dinner 2s. 6d. to 4s. 6d., tea 1s. 6d. King's Head, Charles Gabin-Bed 1s. 6d. to 2s., breakfast 1s. 9d. to 2s., dinner 2s. to 4s., tea 1s. 6d. to 2s. Red Lion, S. Hunt-Bed 1s. 6d. to 2s., breakfast 1s. 9d. to 2s., dinner 2s. to 2s. 6d., tea 1s. 6d. Craven Arms, Godiva, White Lion, and Mabbat's (late Knapp's) Commercial. Population in 1851, 36,812. Inhabited houses, 7783. "Coventre," says Sir William Dugdale (1656), “is still a city of eminent note, yet much short in glory and riches to what heretofore it hath been: . . . but for the originall of its name I can give no positive reason; and therefore, whether the first part thereof, viz. Coven, was occasioned by some con vent of religious persons antiently founded here, as some think; for there was a Monastery of Nuns long before the Priory, as I shall shortly manifest; or whether from this little brook (Shirburn), of which others conceive the true name to be Cune, I will not stand to argue. Sure I am, that the last sillable thereof, viz. Tre, is British, and signifieth the same that villa in Latine doth." From this Dugdale concludes the city to be of very great antiquity. Jobn Rous, the Warwick antiquary, who died in 1491, says that a nunnery existed here as early as the ninth century; and was destroyed in 1016 by Canute the Dane, when, in conjunction with the traitor Edric, he invaded Mercia. In 1043, Leofric, fifth Earl of Mercia, and his Countess Godiva, founded a monastery on the ruins of the nunnery. This monastery was richly endowed, and was possessed by an abbot and twenty-four monks of the Benedictine order. Earl Leofric bestowed on it twenty lordships in this and neighbouring counties, as well as one-half of the town in which it was situated. An idea of its opulence, and of the magnificence of its embellishments, may be formed from a statement of William of Malmesbury, that "it was enriched and beautified with so much gold and silver that the walls seemed too narrow to contain it; insomuch that Robert de Limesie, bishop of this diocese in the time of King William Rufus, scraped from one beam that supported the shrines, 500 marks of silver." Leofric died in 1057, and was buried in a porch of this monastery. His lady is also interred in the same place, but the exact date of her death is unknown. The name of Lady Godiva is held in high veneration in Coventry, on account of a romantic legend that she freed the inhabitants from some grievous imposts and services laid on them by her husband, by riding naked through the streets. This legend will fall to be noticed afterwards, in connection with the great Fair and the Procession of Godiva, which still sometimes takes place on that occasion. Soon after the Conquest, the lordship of Coventry devolved by marriage to the Earls of Chester, under whose patronage the city seems to have prospered. The Earls of Chester were succeeded by the Montalts and Arundels. On the failing of issue it became the property of the Crown. Edward III., when he advanced his son, Edward the Black Prince, to the dukedom of Cornwall, annexed this lordship, under the name of the manor of Cheylesmore, to the dukedom for ever. In 1344, the town received a charter of incorporation from Edward III. The great yearly fair is, however, of a much earlier date, having been granted by Henry III. in 1218. In 1397, Coventry was the scene of the famous hostile meeting between Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford (afterwards Henry IV.), and Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, which has been immortalised by Shakspere (King Richard II., act i. scene 3). Richard II. and a great array of his nobles were present on the occasion. When the champions were about to engage, the king suddenly interfered, and banished them both from England; Norfolk for life, and Hereford for a term of years. The meeting was at Gosford Green, near Coventry. În 1404, Henry IV. held a parliament here. From the circumstance of the writs forbidding the return of lawyers, or persons skilled in the law, this parliament acquired the name of Parliamentum indoctorum. The parliament met in the great chamber of the priory. Coventry received many marks of the favour of Henry VI. and his queen, who both frequently visited it. It was by this monarch that the city and certain hamlets and villages round it were, in 1451, formed into an entire and separate county. The charter enacted that "the bailiffs of the city shall be sheriffs of the county, and the same coroner preside over both." This charter was confirmed by Edward IV. (In 1842 a New Boundary Act was passed, which put an end to this ancient jurisdiction, and assigned a new boundary to the city.) A second parliament was held at the priory in 1459. From the multitude of attainders passed by it against Richard, Duke of York, and others, this parlia ment has been styled Parliamentum diabolicum. Its acts were afterwards reversed. For the support which it had rendered to Henry VI., in the struggle which ended in the dethronement and death of that unhappy monarch, Coventry had to pay a fine of 500 marks to Edward IV. On the overthrow of Richard III. at Bosworth Field, in 1485, Henry VII. was received with every demonstration of joy by the inhabitants of Coventry, who presented him with a cup and £100, in return for which compliment he knighted the mayor. Queen Elizabeth visited this city in 1565, when she was splendidly entertained by the mayor and citizens. In the year following, and again in 1569, the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots was kept a prisoner here for some time. In 1616 her son, James I., visited Coventry, and was entertained with great pomp, On this occasion he was presented with a gold cup of the value of £160. In the war between Charles I. and the parlia mentary party, Coventry sided with the latter; for which, on the restoration of Charles II., its walls and gates were dismantled. On this work 500 men were employed for 24 days. (The walls were 3 miles in circumference, 9 feet thick, and |