All that now
remains of this stronghold is the fine old hall built by Henry III.
For some time this apartment was used as the County Hall, and here Judge
Jeffreys opened his Bloody Assize before proceeding to Dorchester,
Exeter, and Taunton. Alice Lisle was the widow of John Lisle, who had
been Master of St. Cross Hospital, and member for Winchester in the Long
Parliament. Although the men of Hampshire had taken no part in
Monmouth's Rebellion, many of the fugitives had fled thither, and two of
them, John Hickes, a Non-conformist divine, and Richard Nelthorpe, a
lawyer, found refuge in the house of Alice Lisle, where they were
eventually discovered. At her trial, Alice Lisle stated briefly that,
although she knew Hickes to be in trouble, she was quite ignorant of the
fact that he had participated in the rebellion. When the jury said they
doubted if the charge had been made out, Jeffreys was furious, and after
another long consultation they returned a verdict of "Guilty". The next
morning the judge pronounced sentence, and ordered the prisoner to be
_burned alive_ that same afternoon.
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