Newspaper Article: Arthur's research causes rumpus over Rufus

This is the text of an article published in the New Milton Advertiser & Lymington Times (The A & T) on 14 April 2001

Caption for Photo: This "A & T" picture shows Arthur (Lloyd) and Ralph (Montagu) by the new Rufus Memorial Stone, and an aspen tree has been planted close by.

"In the year 1100, King William  Rufus, who earned an evil reputation which provoked many enemies, was killed by an arrow during a hunting expedition in the New Forest, and much later, 256 years ago, the Rufus Stone was erected at Canterton, near Minstead. But now another Rufus memorial has been unveiled, just over ten miles further south-east on the banks of the Beaulieu River which, says Lord Montagu, following zealous research by New Milton historian Arthur Lloyd, backed by best-selling historical novelist Edward Rutherford, is the more accurate spot where Rufus met his demise. All of whiuch has infuraited locals around Cadnam and Minstead who insist their claim as the most likely site is backed by centuries of chronicles, and wish to protect the tourist trade at Sir Walter Tyrrell inn.

Heralded by a lusty fanfare sounded by uniformed members of the Beaulieu Band, Lord Montagu's son Ralph greeted those attending the unveiling of the Rufus Memorial cairn held in pouring rain. "Welcome to Bishop's Truham on the banks of the Otter River - or to use today's nomenclature, welcome to the gardens of Palace House on the banks of the Beaulieu River."

Ralph continued: "I wonder if our late king William Rufus, is looking down on us today. The poor chap had to wait 645 years after his death until any monument was erected to remember him by - and now we know that this was about ten miles off the mark. But today he might be rather pleased as he now has two memorials to his name - and this, the latest one, in the vicinity of the fateful hunting accident."

Ralph then introduced genial 84 year old Arthur Lloyd, the historian who sparked off the rumpus over Rufus. Following wartime service in the Far East. Arthur spent 31 years as a history teacher at New Milton, first at Ashley School and the final seven years in the new Arnewood building. Such was Arthur's passion for his subject that he held pupils in rapt attention whether or not they showed any scholastic aptitude. And his diligent research as a local historian led to challenging local legends, such as the precise date Lymington was granted its ancient charter.

Regarding King William II, or Rufus as he is better known, the ruddy-faced son of William the Conqueror, Arthur has delved through ancient manuscripts including Gaimar's work which clearly states the king dismounted, by the side of an aspen tree and an elder, waiting by the edge of a thicket to conceal himself from the deer he was hunting.

How did Rufus die?

Despite the rainstorm, there was no stopping Arthur once he was in full verbal flow before unveiling the new memorial.He recalled how there are four contemporary accounts of the manner in which the monarch met his untimely end - that he fell on his own arrow, which is most unlikely; that an arrow hit him directly; another that it glanced off a stag; and fourthly that it glanced off a hairy beast, such as a wild boar. One hundred and fifty year after the event, it was stated that the arrow glanced off a tree - not necessarily an oak.

Sir William Berkeley had told Leland, Henry VIII's antiquarian, that Througham was the place name for the incident, meaning trough or valley settlement, which had been incorrectly spelt by the historian Stow in 1580, and copied by the great cartographer Speed 20 years later during the reign of Charles I. Arthur pointed out in 1962 that this must be one of the six manors called Truham in the Domesday Book of 1086.

Then there was the mention of a chapel near where Rufus fell which has strengthened Arthur's argument in claiming that chapel was situated close to where Lord Montagu's Palace House now stands at Beaulieu. When Beaulieu Abbey was bult in 1204 a monk at Waverley Abbey wrote that Bellus Locus Regus Abbey had been built close to where Rufus was killed. Charles II came to the north of the New Forest in the 1680s and presumably asked if anyone knew of the tree detaailed by Speed.

Souvenir hunters vandalised Minstead Stone

Earl de la Warr built the Rufus Stone near Minstaed in 1745. Originally 5' 10'' high including a topping ball, by the 1840s had been reduced to 2' 6'' by souvenir hunters, until it was enclosed by a cast-iron grill. The Tyrrell mentioned as the assassain in the Rufus folklore, came from the family which bought lands at Avon and Milton between 1365 - 1600, not Sir Walter Tyrrell, Arthur insists. And then there is the claim by Purkesses over the centuries that their predecessor, the charcoal burner Purkis, carried King Rufus' body by cart to Winchester for burial ....Lord Montagu's claim that Beaulieu is the correct site was roundly backed in 1983 by Prof. Frank Barlow, for many years professor of history at Exeter University, in his book on William Rufus, and now by 52 year old best - selling novelist Edward Rutherford, who has written four books with historical backgrounds since 1987. Over 3 million copies have been sold of his first , "Sarum" and the latest "The Forest" (see Note below) a New Forest tale published last summer, will soon pass the 1 million mark with the impending publication of a U.S. paperback.

Supporting the Montagu cause, Rutherford has relied heavily on Arthur's findings. It has been known for some 30 years from the Pipe Rolls, that Beaulieu was a royal hunting lodge before it became an abbey. "Arthur Lloyd's evidence about Througham puts the matter, in my view, beyond all doubt. I relocated the killing of Rufus to a new site in my book, and Lord Montagu is absolutely right in what he is doing."

Rutherford says the "so-called Rufus Stone" near Minstead has a fsscinating story of its own, marking the site of an oak tree that used miraculously to break into green leaf on old Christmas Day. "It is fully documented," he adds. "When the remains of its trunk rotted away by 1745, they put a stone there to mark the spot. The Forestry Commission does an excellent job maintaining the site, but it should now be renamed - "The Miraculous Oak' would be appropriate."

"The guidebooks will have to be amended. I am approaching the relevant Ministry to have the name changed, and intend to have the matter raised in Parliament. It's in a good cause. It's a rich addition to England's heritage."

Author challenges Pukesses

And Rutherford issued a provocative challenge. "If we are going to set the record straight, then the Purkess legend will have to be looked at. For generations this story of a Purkess carting the king's body away has been part of the legend. But it seems to be a later invention, aand I challenge the Purkesses to produce one scrap of evidence they were even in the Forest nine hundred years ago."

The 'A & T' contacted three local Purkess cousins: Ronda at Totton, Sylvia in Christchurch, and Brokenhurst grocer John Purkess. They agreed much relied on oral tradition since the 1500s, though retired scoolteacher Ronda - who coincidentally lives in Rufus Gardens, Totton - stated that she had traced the family back to the late 1600s, all in Minstead. The earliest record she's found of a variation concerns Thomas Purchas, who leased a plot of land at Ibsley in 1355."

Note

Edward Rutherford cleverly but fairly included his take on the story of William Rufus in his book, The Forest:

The Forest

Colin Bower
31 October 2024

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