The journey from Chester to London

Table of contents

- THE JOURNEY FROM CHESTER TO LONDON.

- ADVERTISEMENT.

- PLATES.

- ERRATA.

- THE JOURNEY TO LONDON.

- PART II. FROM NORTHAMPTON TO LONDON.

- APPENDIX.

- No I. SANDON CHURCH, p. 60. UPON A CURIOUS MONUMENT AND TOMB AGAINST THE NORTH WALL.

- No II. EXPENCES IN THE REPAIRS OF LICHFIELD CATHE DRAL, AFTER THE RESTORATION. p. 105. [From Mr. Green of Lichfield's MSS.]

- No III. THE RESIGNATION OR SURRENDER OF THE PRIOR AND CONVENT OF SAINT ANDREWS, NORTHAMP TON: WITH A RECOGNITION OF THEIR MANIFOLD ENORMITIES. p. 303.

- No IV. THE WILL OF SIR EDMUND MULSHO. p. 328.

- No V. ON THE DEATH OF THE COUNTESS OF SOMERSET. See p. 372.

- No VI. EPITAPH IN AMPTHILL CHURCH. p. 377.

- No VII. EPITAPH IN MAULDEN CHURCH. p. 382.

- No VIII. EPITAPH IN FLITTON CHURCH, ON THE GOOD COUNTESS OF KENT. p. 394.

- INDEX.

THE JOURNEY FROM CHESTER TO LONDON.

EAST GATE CHESTER

LONDON Printed for B. WHITE, Fleet Street. MDCCLXXXII.

ADVERTISEMENT.

THE ground which is described in the following Sheets, has been for some centuries passed over by the incurious Traveller; and has had the hard fortune of being constantly execrated for its dulness. To retort the charge, and clear it from the calumny, is my present business. To shew that the road itself, or its vicinity, is replete with either antient historic facts, or with matter worthy of present attention; is an affair of no great difficulty. Possibly my readers may subscribe to the opinion, that the tract is not absolutely devoid of entertainment, and that the blame rests on themselves, not the country.

WHATSOEVER entertainment they may meet with, let them join with me in thanks to the following contributors. Firstly and chiefly, to the Reveread Mr. COLE of Milton, near Cambridge; after him, to the Reverend Doctor Edwards, of Nuneaton, near Coventry; to Mr. Greene, Surgeon, in Lichfield; and to the Reverend Archdeacon Coxe, of Flitton, Bedfordshire. To these Gentlemen I owe great obligations for their assistance.

PUBLIC! smile on what is right: candidly convey correction of what is wrong.

THOMAS PENNANT.
DOWNING, March 1782.

PLATES.

- FRONTISPIECE, Eastgate in Chester

- I. Beeston Castle Page 11

- II. Tomb in Acton Church Page 22

- III. Nantwich Church Page 32

- IV. Shugborough Page 67

- V. Temple of the Winds at Shugborough Page 68

- VI. Antiquities at Stafford and Lichfield Page 110

- VII. Sponne Gate, Coventry Page 146

- VIII. Greyfriars Gate and Steeple, Coventry Page 160

- IX. The Challenge between, the Duke of Hereford and Thomas Mowbray Duke of Norfolk, taken from the beautiful MS. of Froissart, in the Harleian Library, marked 4380 Page 167

- X. Gorhambury Page 224

- XI. Countess of Suffolk Page 228

- XII. The first Lord Baltimore Page 238

- XIII. Margaret Countess of Cumberland Page 246

- XIV. View into the South Transept of St. Alban's Church 263

- XV. View of part of the Body and Ailes Page 263

- XVI. Abbot Ramridge's Tomb Page 264

- XVII. Castle Ashby Page 310

- XVIII. John Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury Page 312

- XIX. His Countess Page 312

- XX. Gothurst Page 325

- XXI. Bust of Lady Venetia Digby Page 337

- XXII. Houghton Park Page 381

{inverted ⁂} A few Copies are printed on Large Paper, and may be had, finely illuminated on the Margin with Views, Coats of Arms, &c. &c. by applying to MOSES GRIFFITH, Painter, in Whiteford Parish Flintshire.

ERRATA.

- Page 17, Line 24, for Bas Bentagne read Bas Bretagne

- 25, 11, for health-keepers read heath-keepers

- 26, 17, for Droitwich read Durtwich

- 70, 2, after my countryman, add by descent

- 110, 6, for 4 XV read LXV

- 353, 5, for his read her

- 356, 21, for Earl of Russel read Earl of Bedford

- 370, last, for Chelsea read Oxford

- 381, 7, for bears read palms

- 383, 8, place a comma after age, and dele the full stop after before.

THE JOURNEY TO LONDON.

IN MARCH 1780, I began my annual journey to London. At Chester some improvements had taken place since my last account of the city. A very commodious building has been erected in the Yatchfield, near the Watergate street, for the sale of the Irish linen at the two fairs. It surrounds a large square area; on each side of which are piazzas, with numbers of shops well adapted for the purpose.

IN digging the foundation for certain houses near the street, were discovered some Roman buildings, and a large Hypocaust with its several conveniences; and some other antiquities, particularly a beautiful altar [*], dedicated Fortunae Reduci et Aesculapio. Much of its inscription is defaced; but the rudder, cornucopia, rod, serpent, and various sacrificial instruments, are in good preservation.

ON leaving the city, I passed under the fine arch of the East Gate: a work owing to the munificence of Lord Grosvenor.

Boughton,
BOUGHTON.

a suburb in the parish of St. Oswald, a little disjoined from this part of the city, had before the dissolution an hospital [*] for poor lepers, as early as the beginning of Edward II. From an eminence, the retreat of the unfortunate brave, is a view of very uncommon beauty; of two fine reaches of the Dee, bounded on one part by meadows and hanging woods; on the other terminated by part of the city, the antient bridge, and over it a distant view of the Cambrian hills.

ADJOINING to that part of Boughton which is within the liberties of the city, is the township of Boughton, in the county of Chester; the inhabitants of which appear at the court of the dean and chapter of Chester, and pay there a chief rent: but usually clame and dispose of the wastes.

NEAR the two miles stone I crossed the canal to Christleton, a pretty village, seated, as usual with those of Cheshire, on the freestone rock. Cristetone, as it is called in the Doomsday book, was held before the Conquest by Earl Edwin. At that event, probably, it had a chapel, or very soon after. This manor had been bestowed by Hugh Lupus on Robert Fitz Hugh, one of his followers, who gave the chapel of Cristentune, with the land belonging to it, and the land of a certain peasant, with the peasant himself, to the abbey of Chester [†]. His great great grand-daughter Isabel, wife of Sir Philip Burnet, joined with her husband in suing the abbey for this, and some other contiguous manors. It is probable, that the monks might have taken an advantage of a fit of remorse for some crime, or the weakness of an illness, to obtain this gift from her ancestor. They thought fit to compromise the matter with her; and on payment of two hundred pounds received, in 1280, the ninth of Edward I. a confirmation of the grant: and at the same time full liberty was given to the abbot to make a reservoir of water, and to convey it to the abbey.

IN the year 1282,
FREE WARREN.

William de Birmingham had free warren given him of all his demesne lands in this village; but it is apprehended he was only an inferior lord to the paramount privileges of the abbey. In the Saxon times, every man was allowed to kill game on his own estate, but on the Conquest, the king vested the property of all the game in himself, so that no one could sport, even on his own land, under most cruel penalties, without permission from the king, by grant of a chase or free warren. By this, the grantee had an exclusive power of killing game on his own estate, but it was on condition that he prevented every one else; so that, as our learned commentator [*] observes, this seeming favor was intended for the preservation of the beasts and fowls of warren; which were roes, hares, and rabbits, partridge, rails, and quails, woodcocks and pheasants, mallards and herons, for the sport of our savage monarchs. This liberty, which they allowed to a few individuals, being designed merely to prevent a general destruction.

Christleton passed from the Birminghams, in Richard II.'s time; to Sir Hugh Brower: Sir Hugh lost it by his attachment to the house of York; and Henry the IVth, in the fourth year of his reign, bestowed it on John Manwaring, of Over Peover, an attendant on his son, afterwards Henry V [*]. Manwaring having no lawful issue, bestowed this place on Sir Thomas le Grosvenor, lord of Hulme; but it passed immediately from him to John de Macclesfield, in the 10th of Henry V. One of his descendants alienated it, in 1442, or the 21st of Henry VI. to Humphrey (afterward Duke) of Buckingham. Henry Lord Stafford, son to Edward Duke of Buckingham, sold it to Sir William Sneyde, of Keel; and Sir Ralph Sneyde, to Sir John Harpur, of Swerston, in Derbyshire; one of whose descendants sold it to Thomas Brock, Esquire, the present lord of the manor. The living is a rectory, in the disposal of Sir Roger Mostyn: the church dedicated to St. James.

FROM hence I took the horse-road across Brownheath, by Hockenball, formerly the seat of a family of the same name. The rising country to the left of this road appears to great advantage, opposing to the traveller a fair front, beautifully clumped with, self-planted groves.

PASSED over a brook, and reached the small town of Tarvin, which still retains nearly its British name Terfŷn, or the Boundary, and is so to the forest of Delamere. In Doomsday book, it is stiled Terve: the bishop at that time held it. It then contained six taxable hides of land. The bishop kept on it six cowmen, three radmen, seven villeyns, seven boors, and six ploughlands. The first were to keep his cattle; the second to attend his person in his travels, or to go wheresoever he pleased to send them; the third, by their tenure, to cultivate his lands; and the fourth, to supply his table with poultry, eggs, and other small matters. The ploughland, or caruca, was as much as one plough could work in the year. This shews the establishment of a manor in those early times; which I mention now to prevent repetition.

IN Henry VI.'s time, the village and manor were estimated at £23 a year, and were held by Reginald, bishop of Lichfield, in the same manner as they were held by his predecessors, under the Prince of Wales, as earl of Chester. They continued possessed by them till the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when they were alienated to Sir John Savage, who procured for the town the privilege of a market. The church is a rectory, and still continues part of the see of Lichfield; being a prebendary, originally founded about the year 1226, by Alexander de Stavenby, bishop of that diocese. It is valued at £26. 13s. 4d. the highest endowment of any prebend in that cathedral. It is called the prebend of Tarvin, which presents to the living.

THE same prelate also bestowed this church on the vice-prebendal church of Burton, in Wiral [*]; and formed out of its revenues an hospital for shipwrecked persons. This hospital was probably at Burton, Tarvin being too remote from the sea for so humane a design.

AGAINST the church-wall is a monument, in memory of Mr. John Thomasine, thirty-six years master of the grammar-school. The epitaph deservedly celebrates the performances of this exquisite penman, as ‘highly excelling in all the varieties of writing, and wonderfully so in the Greek characters. Specimens of his ingenuity are treasured up, not only in the cabinets of the curious, but in public libraries throughout the kingdom. He had the honour to transcribe, for her Majesty Queen Anne, the Icon Basilike of her royal grandfather. Invaluable copies also of Pindar, Anacreon, Theocritus, Epictetus, Hippocrates's Aphorisms, and that finished piece the Shield of Achilles, as described by Homer, are among the productions of his celebrated pen.’

‘As his incomparable performances acquired him the esteem and patronage of the great and learned; so his affability and humanity gained him the good-will of all his acquaintance; and the decease of so much private worth is regretted as a public loss.’

FROM Tarvin I travel on the great road, and at about two miles distance, leave on the right Stapleford, which retains the name it had at the Conquest, when it was held by Radulpus Venator from Hugh Lupus. After a long interval, it fell to the Breretons. In 1378, or the second of Richard II. it was held by Sir William Brereton of the king, as earl of Chester. From that family it passed to the Bruyns, and was purchased by the late Randle Wilbraham, Esquire.

Two miles farther, on the left, stood Utkinton Hall: the manor, with Kingsley, and the baileywick of the forest of Delamere, was given by Randle Meschines, earl of Chester, to Randle de Kingsley; whose great grand-daughter Joan, about the year 1233, conveyed it to the Dones. Richard Done was possessed of it in 1311, the sixth of Edward II. He held it by a quarter part of a knight's fee, and the master forestership of Mere (Delamere) and Mottram, by himself, and a horseman and eight footmen under him, to keep that forest, then valued at £10. 10s. 3 d.

UPON the failure of issue male of Sir John Done, in the beginning of the last century, the manor of Utkinton came to his daughters, and has been since held by them, or persons claming under them. Mary, the second daughter, married, in 1636, John, second son of Sir Randle Crew, of Crew; and Elinor, the younger, to Ralph Arderne, Esquire.

THE Dones of Flaxyard, in this neighbourhood, were another considerable family, at constant feud with the former, till the houses were united by the nuptials of the heir of Flaxyard with the heiress of Utkinton. But at this time, both those antient seats are demolished, or turned into farm-houses.

FROM hence I soon reached Torporley, a small town, seated on a gentle descent. It had once been a borough town, of which Richard Francis was mayor in the twentieth of Edward I. In the tenth of the same reign, Hugh de Tarpoley had licence to hold a market here every Tuesday, and a fair on the vigil, the feast-day, and the day after the exaltation of the Holy Cross; but he alienated this privilege, with his property, to Reginald de Grey, chief justice of Chester.

IN the eighth of Richard II. this manor was divided into two moieties; one of which was held by John Done, the other by Reginald Grey, of the family of Lord Grey, of Ruthin.

THE manor and rectory of Torporley are now divided into six shares: four belong to the Arderns; one to the dean and chapter of Chester; and another to Philip Egerton, Esquire, of Oulton.

THE living is a rectory in the gift of John Ardern, Esquire. The church is dedicated to St. Helen, the Empress of Constantius, the daughter of Coel, a British prince, a popular saint among us, if we may judge from the number of churches under her protection. That in question is of no great antiquity, in respect to the building; nor yet of beauty. Within is much waste of good marble, in monumental vanity.

THE best, are two monuments in the chancel, seemingly copied from half-length portraits, included in carved borders of marble, in imitation of frames. The figures are included in them in mezzo-relievo: the one of Sir John Done, Knight, hereditary forester and keeper of the forest of Delamere, who died in 1629. His figure is picturesque, in a laced jacket, and a horn in his hand, the badge of his office: which horn descended to the different owners of the estate, and is now in the possession of John Ardern, Esquire.

WHEN that Nimrod, James I. made a progress in 1617, he was entertained by this gentleman at Utkinton; ‘who ordered so wisely and contentfully, ’ says King [*] ‘his Highness's sports, that James conferred on him the honor of knighthood.’ He married Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Wilbraham, Esquire, of Woodhey; who left behind her so admirable a character, that, to this day, when a Cheshire man would express some excellency in one of the fair sex, he would say, ‘There is Lady Done for you.’

The other is of John Crew, Esquire, second son of Sir Randle Crew, of Crew, Knight, married to Mary, daughter of Sir John Done. His face is represented in profile, with long hair. He died 1670.

His lady, and her elder sister Jane Done, an antient virgin, lie at full length in the Utkinton chapel, with long and excellent characters. One lies recumbent; the other reclined and strait laced, which give little grace in statuary. Jane died in 1662; Mrs. Crew in 1690, aged 86.

SIR John Crew, Knight, son of Mr. John Crew, lies reclined on an altar-tomb, with a vast perriwig, and a Roman dress, with a whimpering genius at head and feet. Sir John married, first, Mary, daughter of Thomas Wagstaff, of Tachbrook, in Warwickshire, Esquire; and for his second, Mary, daughter of Sir Willughby Aston, of Aston, Baronet. He died in 1711, aged 71.

I MUST not quit this place without letting fall a few tears, as a tribute to the memory of its honest rector John Allen; whose antiquarian knowlege and hospitality, I have often experienced on this great thoroughfare to the capital. From the antient rectorial house, at the bottom of the town, is an aweful view of the great rock of Beeston, backed by the Peckfreton hills, tempting me to take a nearer survey.

THE distance is about two miles. In my way I crossed the canal at Beeston Bridge, and called at the poor remains of Beeston Hall, the manor-house, inhabited by the agent for the estate. This place was burnt by prince Rupert, during the civil wars. There is a tradition, that he had dined that day with the lady of the house. After dinner, he told her, that he was sorry that he was obliged to make so bad return to her hospitality; advised her to secure any valuable effects she had, for he must order the house to be burnt that night, least it should be garrisoned by the enemy.

THIS manor had been part of the barony of Malpas, and was held under the lords, by the family of De Bunbury; who changed their Norman name, St. Pierre, and assumed that of the place where they first settled.

IN 1271, or the fifty-sixth of Henry III. Henry de Bunbury, and Margery his wife, gave it to their nephew Richard, who made the place his residence, and assumed its name. It continued in his family for many generations. Sir George Beeston possessed it in the forty-fourth of Queen Elizabeth. At length, by the marriage of Margaret, daughter of Sir Hugh Beeston, with William Whitemore, of Leighton, it was conveyed into that house; and as suddenly transferred, by Bridget, heiress of Mr. Whitemore, to Darcie Savage, second son to Thomas Viscount Savage, of Rock Savage; whose grand-daughter, another Bridget, brought it by marriage to Sir Thomas Mostyn, Baronet, with the lordships of Peckfreton, Leighton, and Thornton; in whose house they still remain. This lady was a Roman Catholic. Tradition is warm in her praise, and full of her domestic virtues, and the particular attention that she shewed in obliging her domestics, of each religion, to attend their respective churches. Her husband and she were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they died within a day or two of each other, at Gloddaeth, in Caernarvonshire, and were interred in the neighboring church of Eglwys Rbôs.

AT a small distance from the hall, is the great insulated rock of Beeston, composed of sand-stone, very lofty and precipitous at one end, and sloped down into the flat country at the other. Its height, from Beeston Bridge to the summit, is three hundred and sixty-six feet. From the summit is a most extensive view on every part, except where interrupted by the Peckfreton hills. The land appears deeply indented by the estuary of the Dee and Mersey, and the canal from Chester appears a continued slender line of water from that city to almost the base of this eminence. To this
BEESTON CASTLE.

place its utility has been proved to all the market-women of the neighboring farmers, who have the benefit of Treck-schuyts to convey their merchandize to their capital: a few coals also come up, and a little timber; and these form the sum of their present commerce.

THIS rock is crowned with the ruins of a strong fortress,
BEESTON CASTLE.

which rose in the year 1220; founded by Randle Blondeville, earl of Chester, on his return out of the Holy Land; for which purpose, and for the building, of Chartley Castle, he raised a tax upon all his estates [*]. At that time it belonged to the lords of the manor of Beeston; from whom he obtained leave to erect his castle. It devolved afterwards to the crown; for, according to Erdeswick, [*] •r Hugh Beeston purchased it from Queen Elizabeth, and restored it to his lordship.

It had been a place of very great strength. The access, about midway of the slope, was defended by a great gateway, and a strong wall fortified with round towers, which ran from one edge of the precipice to the other, across the slope; but never surrounded the hill, as is most erroneously represented in the old prince. Some of the walls, and about six or seven rounders, still •ist. A square tower, part of the gateway, is also standing. •th•n this cincture is a large area, perhaps four or five acres in •xtent. Near the top is the castle, defended, on this side, by an amazing ditch, cut out of the live rock; on the other, by the •upt precipice that hangs over the vale of Cheshire.

THE entrance is through a noble gateway, guarded on each •e by a great rounder, whose walls are of a prodigious thickness. Within the yard is a rectangular building, the chapel of the place. The draw-well was of a most surprizing depth; being sunk through the higher part of the rock, to the level of Beeston brook, that runs beneath. In the area just mentioned, was another well: both at this time are filled up; but King remembered the first to have been eighty, the other ninety-one, yards deep, although the last is said to have been half filled with stones and rubbish.

WE are quite unacquainted with the events that befel this strong hold, for several centuries after its foundation. Slow [†] says, that Richard II. lodged here his great treasures during his expedition into Ireland, and garrisoned it with an hundred men of arms, chosen and able; who, on the approach of Henry duke of Lancester, yielded it to the usurper. But other historians assert, his treasures were placed in the castle of Holt.

THE fortress certainly fell in ruins soon after this reign; for Ireland, in his poem on the birth of Edward VI. speaks of it as such, when he makes Fome to alight on its summit, and foretell its restoration.

E•plicuit dehine FANA suas perniciter alas,

Altaque fulmia•• 〈◊〉 Jovis atria victrix,

Circuiens liquidi spatiosa volumina coeli.

Tum quoque duspexit terram, sublimis, ocellcs

Sidereos sigens Bisduni in moenia casiri, &c.

Thence to Jove's palace she prepared to fly

With out-stretch'd pi•ons, thro' the yielding sky;

Wide o'er the 〈◊〉 of the ample space,

Survey'd the subject earth and human race.

[*]

Sublime in air she cast her radiant eyes,

Where far-fam'd Beeston's airy turrets rise:

High on a rock it stood, whence all around

Each fruitful valley, and each rising ground,

In beauteous prospect lay; these scenes to view.

Descending swift, the wondering goddess flew.

Perched on the topmost pinnacle, she shook

Her sounding plumes, and thus in rapture spoke:

From Syrian climes the conquering Randolph came,

"Whose well-fought fields bear record of his name.

"To guard his country, and to check his foes,

"By Randolph's hands this glorious fabric rose:

"Tho' now in ruin'd heaps thy bulwarks lie,

"Revolving time shall raise those bulwarks high,

"If faith to antient prophecies be due;

"Then Edward shall thy pristine state renew."

R. W.

The castle was restored to its former strength, between the days of Leland and the sad contentions betwixt the king and parlement, in the times of Charles I. It was first possessed by the parlement;
SI
•

G••. but on the 13th of September 1643, was taken by the royalists, under the famous partizan Captain Sandford; who scaled the steep sides of the rock, and took it by surprize [*]. Steel, the governor, was suspected of treachery, tried, and shot to death.

THE parlement made a vigorous attempt to recover a place of such importance, and besieged it for seventeen weeks; during which time it was gallantly defended by Captain Valet. At length, on the approach of prince Rupert, the enemy abandoned the attack, on the 18th of March 1644 [†].

IN the following year it was taken, after a most vigorous defence of eighteen weeks. The defendants were reduced to the necessity of eating cats, &c. when the brave Colonel Ballard, out of mere compassion to the poor remains of his garrison, consented to beat a parley, and obtained the most honorable conditions, far beyond what would be expected in such extremity; viz. to march out, the governor and officers with their horses and arms, and their own proper goods (which loaded two waggons); the common soldiers with colors flying, drums beating, matches alight, aproportion of cannon and ball, and a convoy to guard them to Flint Castle. On Sunday, the 16th of March, he surrendered the castle to Sir William Brereton, and, according to articles, marched out with his men, now reduced to about sixty [*]. The fortress soon after underwent the fate of the other seats of loyalty.

FROM Beeston Castle I continued my journey about two miles to Bunbury; a village,
BUNBURY.

and the seat of the parish church. This was the Boliberie of Doomsday Book; which, with several neighboring places in the antient hundred of Riseton, now comprehended in that of Ledesbury, were possessed by Robert Fitzhugh. The family who assumed the name of the place, held it under him and his successors, till, Humphrey dying without issue, his sisters, Ameria and Joan, became co-heiresses. Ameria's share came to the Patricks, and from them to the St. Piers. At length Isabel, daughter and heiress of Uriam St. Pier, brought it by marriage to Sir Walter —; who sold his share of the advowson of the church to the famous Sir Hugh de Calvely. Joan's moiety came to her son Alexander, who still continued the name De Bunbury. Sir Hugh de Calvely obtaining likewise the other share of the church, erected here a college for a master and six chaplains; for which purpose he obtained licence, dated March 12th 1386, from Richard II. on paying to the king the sum of forty pounds. It was instituted for the good state of the King and of Sir Hugh, as long as they lived; and on their death, for the souls of them and their progenitors, and those of all the faithful [*]. Its revenue was an hundred marks, but at the dissolution, was £48. 2s. 8d. when the foundation consisted of a dean, five vicars, and two choristers.

IN the fourteenth of Queen Elizabeth, it was purchased of the crown by Thomas Aldersey, of London, merchant-taylor, a second son of the house of Spurstow, in this parish. Here he founded a preacher's place, of 100 marks a year, with a good house and glebe; an assistant or curate, with £20 a year; the other for an usher [†], with £10; ten pounds a year to the poor; and several other charitable gifts. The disposal of the places here are in the haberdashers company, London. [‡]

IN respect to the succession of the manor, Sir Thomas Cokesey, in the latter end of the reign of Henry VII. having no issue, alienated his share to the Bunburies. In the thirty-second of Henry VIII. Richard Bunbury was lord of the manor; from whom the family of the Bunburies of Stanny, in Wirral, and the present Sir Charles, is lineally descended.

THE church is a handsome building, embattled,
CHURCH

and the tower ornamented with pinnacles. The architecture seems of the time of Henry VII. It is dedicated to St. Boniface; from whom the place takes its name. Whether the patron was Boniface, an Englishman, first archbishop of Mentz, who died in 754, or Pope Boniface the First, who died in 423, I cannot determine; for both received their apotheosis.

THE church is distinguished by the magnificent tomb of Sir Hugh de Calvely,
TOMB.

whose effigies in white marble lies on it recumbent. He is armed in the fashion of the times; and, to give an idea of his vast prowess, his figure is represented seven feet and a half long. He was the Arthur of Cheshire; the glory of the county: accordingly the most prodigious seats are recorded of him. Whether, like Milo, he could kill a bull with a blow of his fist, is not said; but our ballads give Sir Hugh no more than the honor of devouring a calf at a meal. His head rests on a helmet, with a calf's head for the crest, allusive to his name; yet probably gave rise to the fable.

Sir Hugh sprung from a neighboring hamlet (of which I shall have occasion to speak) from whence he took his surname. According to the cast of the times, he fought adventures in the military line; and, like a soldier of fortune, first appeared a principal commander of the Grandes Compagnies, Tard venus, or Malandrins, a species of banditti, formed out of the disbanded soldiery of different nations. On the captivity of king John, at the battle of Poitiers, they amounted at lest to above forty thousand veteran troops. They lived upon plunder; yet were ready to join the side most adverse to France. At the battle of Auray, in 1364, Sir Hugh [*] served with a considerable body of them, under the English general, Lord Chandos; and had the honor of turning the fortune of the day, in which was taken the great De Gueselin.

IN 1366, Sir Hugh was won over by that illustrious general, (again at the head of the armies of France) to join him in an expedition into Spain, to dethrone Peter the Cruel, king of Castile. The enterprize was successful; but, on the express command of Edward III. to Lord Chandos, Sir Hugh de Calvely, and others of his subjects, leaders of the companies, to forbear hostilities [*] against Peter, they deserted the quarrel they had espoused; and, on the appearance of the Black Prince in Spain, who, to his disgrace, took part with the tyrant, Sir Hugh, and a great body of the companies, joined him. The prince reinstated Peter on the throne, after the great victory of Najara over his rival Henry of Trastamare; to which the bravery of Sir Hugh, and his troops, was highly contributory. On the recall of the Black Prince, by his father, in 1367. Sir Hugh was left commander of the companies. History gives him a royal consort, in reward of his valour, and marries him to the queen of Arragon. If at this period he took a most antiquated piece of royalty; for I can find no other dowager of that kingdom, unless Leonora, relict of Alonso IV. who became a widow in 1335, was then alive. There was no issue by this match; [†] but by his second wife, heiress to Mottram Lord of Mottram, his line was continued.

IN 1376, the last year of Edward III. he was appointed to the important government of Calais. [‡] In 1378, he plundered and burnt La Bas Bentagne, with several vessels which lay in harbour: he also retook the castle of Mark, lost before by neglect. In 1379, he resigned the place to the earl of Salusbury, and was appointed by Richard II. admiral of his fleet ‖.

〈1 page duplicate〉

〈1 page duplicate〉

In 1382, we find him governor of Guernsey, and the adjacent isles. The last mention we find of him, is in a cause that was to be determined in 1388 [*]; after which, history is silent in respect to this hero. Fuller remarks, ‘It was as impossible for such a spirit not to be, as not to be active.’ probably old-age might subdue his enterprizing soul; for I find that he lived to the reign of Henry IV [†]: but mention is made of the weak state of his body in Rymer's record of the cause [‡].

THIS tomb is kept always very neat; which is owing to the piety of Dame Mary Calveley, of Lea; who, in 1705, left the interest of an hundred pounds, to be distributed annually among certain poor of this parish, on condition they attended divine service while they were able and swept the chancel, and cleaned the monument.

THE Ridley chapel, founded in 1527, belonging to the Egertons of Ridley, is separated from the church by a wood-work skreen, painted. This had been their place of interment; but nothing monumental remains, unless the impression of a plate of a kneeling man, against one of the walls.

IN the chancel is a recumbent figure of Sir George Beeston, who died in 1600. This monument was erected by his son Sir Hugh, the last male of this antient line; who for some time survived his only son George. ‖

AT a small distance from Bunbury, I fell into the great road, opposite to Alpram, a hamlet, whose name is corrupted from the Saxon Alburgham, in the Doomsday book. In after-times it was the seat of the Pages, now extinct.

A LITTLE farther lies Calvely, long the property of that illustrious family, now likewise lost. The place was bestowed on a Hugh, by Richard Vernon, Baron of Shipbrook, about the time of Richard I. In Edward the IlI.'s time, it came to the Davenports, by the marriage of Arthur to Catharine, daughter and heiress of Robert de Calvely: in which family it has continued till the present time.

MY road lay along the low unpleasant lane that led towards Nantwich; the prospect frequently deformed by the great fosses of the unfortunate canal, falling in on each side of the road; for it crosses at Barbridge, and is finished from thence to Nantwich. This was only a secondary consideration, executed on the hopes of considerable profit in the carriage of salt and cheese. The original and principal object was, to continue the main trunk by Church Minshul to the great Staffordshire canal, near Middlewich, and by that means share in the freight of the goods of the opposite side of the kingdom: but various causes have frustrated all hopes of that benefit; and this part of the plan remains unattempted.

AT Acton the prospect mends a little. That village,
ACTON.

with its handsome new church, stand on a small rising, and command another great extent of flat, beyond Nantwich. This place,
EARL MORKAR'S.

before the Conquest, was possessed by Morkar, the gallant brother of the gallant earl Edwin, last earl of Mercia. At that time, the hundred it lay in was called Warmundestreu, at present Namptwich. Actune, as it is stiled in the Doomsday book, was a very considerable place. There were eight hides of land taxable: there were thirty plough-lands; in the lord's demesn three: two servants, thirteen villeyns, and fifteen boors, with seven ploughlands, a mill for the use of the court (curiae) and ten acres of meadow: a wood six leagues long, and one broad: an aery of hawks: two presbyters, who had a plough-land: two aliens, having a plough-land and a half: a servant: six villeyns: seven boors, with four plough-lands.

THIS not only shews the greatness of this Saxon manor, but that it was the seat of Morkar, by the provision made for his support. The tenants had likewise the right of pleas in the hall of their lord, and one house in Wich (Nantwich) where they might make salt without interruption. In the time of the Confessor, the manor was valued at ten pounds a year; at the Conquest, at only six. It may be observed, once for all, that the troubles occasioned at that event, and the ravages committed, instantly sunk the value of the land.

AT the Conquest, this place was a member of the barony of Wich Malhang, or Nantwich. Hugh, second lord of Nantwich, bestowed the advowson of the living, with the lands belonging, on the abbey of Cumbermere, which he had founded in 1113 [*].

THE third, or last baron, had only daughters, among whom the estates were divided; and Acton sell to the share of Alinora, the eldest; whose daughter Joan marrying Lord Lovel, it remained in that line as late as 1389, the thirteenth of Richard II. when it was possessed by Sir John Lovel. It was afterwards the property of the Arderns. Sir Leonard Ardorn was lord of it in 1407, the ninth of Henry IV.

IN 1498, the fourteenth Henry VII. and in 1541, the thirty-third of Henry VIII. it was in the heirs of Ralph Ardens. In the reign of Queen Mary it was the property of the Wilbrahams of Woodhey, in this parish; and at present belongs to Wilbraham Tollemache, Esquire, by virtue of the marriage of Grace, eldest daughter of Sir Richard Wilbraham, Baronet, with his ancestor Lionel earl of Dysart.

ABOUT twenty years ago,
CHURCH.

the steeple and roof of the church were destroyed; but the whole has since been restored, in a very handsome manner. One monument is in good preservation, notwithstanding this church was a temporary prison after the battle of Nantwich, in the civil wars of Charles I; but the prisoners were of the party which respected these memorials of the dead.

THE most ancient is one in St. Mary's chapel, in memory of Sir William Manwaring, of Over Pever, and of Badely, in this neighborhood. This knight, before his departure on an expedition to Guienne, in 1393, settled his estate, and next year made his will; by which he bequeaths his body to this church, and orders a picture in alabaster, to cover his tomb. He also left to the same church part of Christ's cross, which the wife of his half-brother had shut up in wax, and a competent salary for a chaplain to say a competent number of masses, in St. Mary's chapel, for the sake of his son, for seven years, when it might be supposed to have been redeemed from Purgatory, and

"The foul crimes done in his days of nature

"Were burnt and purg'd away."

After his death, which happened in 1399, a magnificent tomb was erected beneath a Gothic arch, with a large embattled superstructure. Under the arch lies Sir William in full armour, with suppliant hands. His head is cased in a conic helm, bound with a fillet entwined with foliage. From his helmet is a guard of mail, which covers his neck, and rises to his lips; over which flow two great whiskers. His head rests on a casque, with an ass's head for a crest. Above, within the arch, is a row of half-lengths, with a book opposite to each; probably religious, chaunting his requiem. The whole is painted. On the edge of the tomb was this inscription, now much defaced by time: Hic jacet William Manwaring quondam dominum de Badeleye, qui obiit die Veneris xxo ante festum Pentecostae, anno Dni. moccco nonogessimo nono.

THE tomb of Sir Thomas Wilbraham, Baronet, and his lady Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Roger Wilbraham, Knight, and one of the Masters of Request to James I. is very handsome. Their figures are placed on an altar-tomb, in white marble, recumbent: he in armour, long curled hair, and a turn-over, with one hand in his breast, the other by his side. Beneath him is spread a large cloak. The lady has a book in one hand; the other, like his, reclines on her breast. He died in 1660.

THIS tomb is a specimen of the first deviation of the old form: a greater ease of attitude began to prevail. The hands, which used to be erect, close, and suppliant, here vary in the attitude, and shew a dawning of the grace that reigned on the revival of sculpture. In England, monumental beauty was soon ruined by the servile copying the dress of the times; by having night-gowns
TOMB in ACTON CHURCH.

and flowing perriwigs cut out of the Parian blocks; or adding the great wig to the absurdity of the Roman habit.

THE church had been long the place of sepulture of the houses of Woodhey and Badeley. The vain attention of our forefathers to posthumous honors and superstitious rites, is well exemplified from the probate of the will of William Wilbraham, of Woodhey, who died in 1536; by which ‘he bequeaths his body to be buried before the image of our Lady, in the chancel of the church of Acton, and bestows x^9. to be laid out on a tenor bell, if the parish will provide the rest; but if not, then the money to be laid out on a pax and two cruytts of silver, to serve at the high altar on good days. He further wills, that 12 white gowns be given to 12 a poor men; as also, that 12 torches be made, to hold about his body the day of his burial; and that a light be over him, with viii. tapers, in the middle whereof a bigger taper should spring out; also, that penny-dole should be given at his burial, to every person that would take it.’

HE, moreover, requires his executors to buy a stone of marble to lie on him, in the said chancel of Acton, with pictures of himself and his wife, and their arms; also, that they put out xi £ under sure keeping, to pay xis. yearly to a well-disposed priest, to sing (during twenty years) for him and his wife, children, father and mother, and all that God would be prayed for; and the said service to be performed in his chapel of Woodhey; which priest should likewise have iv £ more yearly for his salary, if so be his heir is not pleased to give him his board and chamber-room [*].

THE monument alluded to, either never was executed, or was destroyed by the fall of the steeple.

FROM Acton, I went down a gentle descent to Nantwich, about a mile distant. Antiently this place was known only by the name of Wich, [*] an Anglo-Saxon word for district, or habitation; and a very common termination of a multitude of places. Here the British Nant is added, to shew its low situation.

IMMEDIATELY before the Conquest, its revenues were divided between the king and earl Edwin. After that event, it was bestowed by the great proprietor of Cheshire, Hugh Lupus, on William de Malhedeng, or de Malhang, a Norman chieftain; from whom it was called Wich Malhang. Hugh erected it into a barony, in favor of Malhedeng, and honored him with a seat in his parlement.

THIS dignity continued only in him and his two sons, Hugh and William. The last died without issue male. Of his three daughters, Alionora, the eldest, by marriage of her daughter Joan, conveyed her share to the Lord Lovels; Philippa, the second, to the Audleys; [†] and Alda, the third, to the Vernons, barons of Shipbroke.

BY these marriages, the barony became divided into four, reckoning the part which had been given by Hugh Malhang to the abbey of Cumbermere; and soon after, by different alliances, became split into multitudes of other shares.

WHEN entire, it was under the government of the lord, or his steward; who were vested with the usual baronial powers. This town had been governed by a bailiff; but the election of that officer being dropt, it is at present under the government of the constables. It has likewise several other officers, such as the rulers of walling, who were guardians of the salt-springs, and regulated all matters respecting their important staple of the place [*].

AFTER them came the ale-tasters; whose office related to the assize of bread and drink.

THE next were the health-keepers; who attended to the right of the beam-heath, antiently called the creach; and took care to preserve it from all incroachments, or trespassers.

THE leave-lookers superintended the markets, inspected the weights, and destroyed unwholesome meat of every kind. These corresponded a good deal with the Aediles cereales of the Romans; as the next officers, the fire-lookers, did to the triumviri nocturni. They had the care of the chimnies, and were to guard against all accidents that might arise from fire.

THE town is large, but consists chiefly of old houses. The Weever, which divides it in unequal parts, is here a small stream, and not navigable higher than Winsford Bridge. The inhabitants of Nantwich had, many years ago, an act for making this river navigable from that place to their town; but they never carried the power into execution. The Chester canal is now completed from that city, and finishes in a handsome broad bason, near the road between Acton and the town; but at this time, it remains an almost useless ornament to the country; nor has it, as might have been expected, given the lest increase to the salt-trade, for which this antient town was once so distinguished. Unfortunately for it, the other salt-towns lie more conveniently for commerce, and abound almost to excess with that useful article.

THE chief trade of the place is in shoes, which are sent to London. Here is a small manufacture of gloves; but those of bone-lace and stockings, once considerable, are now lost. In the reigns of Queen Elizabeth, and James I. the tanning business brought much wealth into the town.

THE salt made from the adjacent brine-springs, formed once a very important business. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, here were two hundred and sixteen salt-works, of six leads-walling each: in 1774, only two works, of five large pans of wrought iron. The duty produced from them amounts annually to near five thousand pounds: from the whole district, including the works at Lawton, and a small one at Droitwich, from eighteen to twenty thousand pounds. The tax on this useful article is very considerable; which it bears, as being of most cheap fabrick, and most universal use. It seems, for that reason, to have been one of the earliest taxes of the Romans; for Ancus Martius, near 640 years before Christ, salinarum vectigal instituit [*]. This tribute was continued on the Britons when the Romans possessed our isle.

THE latter also made salt part of the pay of their soldiers, which was called salarium; and from which is derived our word salary.

THE art of making salt was known in very early times, to the Gauls and Germans: it is not, therefore, likely that the Britons, who had, in several places, plenty of salt-springs, should be ignorant of it. The way of making it was very simple, but very dirty; for they did no more than fling the water on burning wood; the water evaporated by the heat, and left the salt adhering to the ashes, or charcoal [*].

IT is very probable that the Britons used the spring of Nantwich for this purpose; numbers of pieces of half-burnt wood being frequently dug up in this neighborhood. Salinis was a place not far from hence, one of the wiches; but I am uncertain which. The Romans made use of the springs, and made salt by much the same process as we do at present. The salt produced was white. It struck the natives, who stiled this place, perhaps the first place where they saw salt of this kind, Heledd-Wen, or the white brine-pits, to distinguish them from the springs which they used in so slovenly a fashion.

THE Romans were acquainted with rock-salt, but had not discovered it within the limits of Italy. There were mountains of salt in India. Spain afforded the transparent colorless rock-salt, and Cappadocia the deep yellow [†]. The Romans were conversant in the methods of producing this useful article from the brine [‡], which they practised in our island, and communicated their instructions to the natives. Salt was an early import into Britain, but it was only to the Cassiterides, [*] and the neighboring parts, which were remote from the salt-springs.

THESE advantages are but sparingly scattered over Great Britain: Scotland and Ireland are totally destitute of them. In England there are several, but few that contain salt sufficient to be worked. Thus, there are some which rise out of the middle of the Were, in the bishoprick of Durham; others in Yorkshire, Cumberland, Lancashire, and Oxfordshire: [†] all those are neglected, either on account of their weakness, or, in some places, by reason of the dearness of fuel. These in Cheshire, and those at Droitwich in Worcestershire, with the small works at Weston in Staffordshire, are the only places where any business is done. Droitwich, and those in Cheshire, were worked by the Romans, and had the common name of Salinae.

FROM that period to the present, they have been successively in use. The Saxons, according to their idea of liberty, divided them between the king, the great people, and the freemen. Thus, at Nantwich was one brine-pit, which gave employ to numbers of salinae, or works. Eight of them were between the king and earl Edwin, of which the king had two shares of the profits, the earl one. Edwin had likewise a work near his manor of Aghton, out of which was made salt sufficient for the annual consumption of his houshold; but if any was sold, the king had a tax of two pence, and the earl of one penny.

IN this place were likewise numbers of works belonging to the people of the neighborhood; which had this usage: From Ascension-day to the feast of St. Martin, they might carry home what salt they pleased; but if they sold any on the spot, or anywhere in the county, they were to pay a tax to the king and the earl: but after the feast of St. Martin, whosoever took the salt home, whether his own, or purchased from other works, was to pay toll, except the before-mentioned work of the earl; which enjoyed exemption, according to antient usage.

IT appears, that the king and earl farmed out their eight works; for they were obliged to give, on the Friday of the weeks in which they were worked, xvi. boilings; of which xv. made one sum of salt. This is a measure, which, according to Spelman, amounts to a horse-load, oreight bushels. The pans of other people, from Ascension-day to that of St. Martin, were not subject to this farm on the Friday; but from St. Martin's day to Ascension they were liable to those customs, in the same manner as those of the king and the earl.

THE Welsh used to supply themselves from these pits, before the union of our country with England. Henry III. in order to distress them, during the wars he had with them, took care to put a stop to the works, and deprive them of this necessary article.

ALL these salt-works were confined between the river and a certain ditch. If any person was guilty of a crime, within these limits, he was at liberty of making atonement by a mulct of two shillings, or xxx. boilings of salt; except in the case of murder or theft, for which he was to suffer death. If crimes of that nature were committed without the precinct, the common usage of the county was to be observed.

IN the time of the Confessor, this place yielded a rent of xx pounds, with all the pleas of the hundred; but when earl Hugh received it, it was a waste.

THE Germans had an idea of a peculiar sanctity attendant on salt-springs; that they were nearer to heaven than other places; that the prayers of mortals were nowhere sooner heard; and that, by the peculiar favor of the gods, the rivers and the woods were productive of salt, not, as in other places, by the virtue of the sea, but by the water being poured on a burning pile of wood [*].

WHETHER this notion might not have been delivered from the Germans to their Saxon progeny, and whether they might not, in after-times, deliver their grateful thanks for these advantages, I will not determine; but certain it is, that on Ascension-day the old inhabitants of Nantwich piously sang a hymn of thanksgiving, for the blessing of the brine. A very antient pit, called the Old Brine, was also held in great veneration, and, till within these few years, was annually, on that festival, bedecked with boughs, flowers, and garlands, and was encircled by a jovial band of young people, celebrating the day with song and dance [†].

THIS festival was probably one of the reliques of Saxon paganism, which Mellitus might permit his proselytes to retain, according to the political instructions he received from Gregory the Great [‡], on his mission, least, by too rigid an adherence to the purity of the Christian religion, he should deter the English from accepting his doctrine. In fact, salt was, from the earliest times, in the highest esteem, and admitted into religious ceremonies: it was considered as a mark of league and friendship. ‘Neither shalt thou,’ says the Jewish Legislator, [*] ‘suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat-offering With all thy offerings thou shalt offer salt.’ Homer gives to salt the epithet of divine. Both Greeks and Romans mixed salt with their sacrificial cakes. In their lustrations they made use of salt and water, which gave rise, in after-times, to the superstition of holy water; only the Greeks made use of an olive branch instead of a brush, to sprinkle it on the objects of purification.

Next, with pure sulphur purge the house, and bring

"The purest water from the freshest spring;

"This, mix'd with salt, and with green olive crown'd,

"Will cleanse the late contaminated ground."

Theocritus, Idyl. 24.

Stuckius tells us, that the Muscovites thought that a prince could not shew a guest a greater mark of affection, than by sending to him salt from his own table [†]. The dread of spilling of salt, is a known superstition among us and the Germans, being reckoned a presage of some future calamity, and particularly, that it foreboded domestic feuds; to avert which, it is customary to fling some salt over the shoulder into the fire, in a manner truly classical [‡]:

Molibit et aversos penates

Farre pio, saliente mica.

IN this town was an antient hospital dedicated to St. Nicholas, endowed with a portion of tythes, which were granted to W. Grys by Queen Elizabeth [*]. The historian of this place also mentions a priory, dependent on Cumbermere, and a domus leprosorum, or lazar-house, called St. Laurence's Hospital; both which stood in the Welsh Row, the street next to Acton; but at present, even their scite is hardly known. Here was, besides, a chapel called St. Anne's, near to the bridge; but that, likewise, has been totally destroyed.

NEAR the end of this street stands a large house, called Town's End, till of late the residence of the very worthy family of the Wilbrahams; that honest and distinguished lawyer, the late Randle Wilbraham, was a younger brother of the late owner, and, with unblemished reputation, raised a vast fortune by his profession. For several years before his death, he retired from business, and enjoyed the fruits of his labors in an hospitable retirement.

THE church is a very handsome pile, in form of a cross, with an octagonal tower in the centre. The east and west windows are filled with elegant tracery. The roof of the chancel is of stone, adorned with pretty sculpture. The stalls are neat. Tradition says, that they were brought, at the dissolution, from the abbey of Vale Royal.

THE only remarkable tombs are, a mutilated one of Sir David Cradoc in armor, with three gerbs on his breast for his coat of arms. The other is to John Maisterson and his wife, engraven on a large slab, and dated 1586. The following quaint epitaph records the good intentions of the husband:
NANTWICH CHURCH

Within this fading tomb, vaulted, lies

"John Maisterson, and Margaret his wife;

"Whose soules do dwell above the moving skies,

"In paradise with God, the Lorde of lyffe.

"This John wrought means to build this Namptwich town,

"When fyer hir face had fret & burnde hir downe."

THIS town was the only one in the county which continued firm to the parlement from the beginning to the end of the civil wars. It underwent a severe siege in January 1643, by Lord Biron; who, after the signal defeat he here experienced from the army commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax [*], on the 25th of that month retired with his shattered forces to Chester. The place was defended only by mud-walls and ditches, formed in a hasty manner by the inhabitants and country people; who were highly incensed at some cruel and impolitic treatment they had met with from the royalists. The garrison defended themselves with great obstinacy. The most remarkable attack was on the 18th of January, when the besiegers were repulsed with great loss. Among the slain on their side, was the famous Captain Sandford; who again employed the eloquence of his pen, but to as little purpose as he did before at Hawarden. On each occasion [†] he maintains the same stile.

To the Officers, Soldiers, and Gentlemen in Namptwyche, these.

YOUR drum can inform you, Acton church is no more aprison, but now free for honest men to do their devotions therein; wherefore be persuaded from your incredulity, and resolve God will not forsake his anointed. Let not your zeal in a bad cause dazzle your eyes any longer; but wipe away your vain conceits, that have too long let you into blind errors. Loth I am to undertake the trouble of persuading you into obedience, because your erroneous opinions do most violently oppose reason amongst you; but, however, if you love your town, accept of quarter; and if you regard your lives, work your safeties by yielding your town to Lord Byron, for his Majesty's use. You see now my battery is fixed; from whence fire shall eternally visit you, to the terror of the old, and females, and consumption of your thatched houses. Believe me, gentlemen, I have laid by my former delays, and am now resolved to batter, burn, storm, and destroy you. Do not wonder that I write unto you, having officers in chief above me: 'tis only to advise you, because I have some friends amongst you, for whose safety I wish you to accept of my Lord Byron's conditions; he is gracious, and will charitably consider of you. Accept of this as a summons, that you forthwith surrender the town; and by that testimony of your fealty to his Majesty, you may obtain favour. My firelocks, you know, have done strange feats, both by day and night; and hourly we will not fail in our private visits of you. You have not as yet received mine alarms; wherefore expect suddenly to hear from my battery and approaches before your Welsh Row.

This 15th of January, 1643.
Tho. Sandford, Captain of Firelocks.

GENTLEMEN,

LET these resolve your jealousies concerning our religion: I vow by the faith of a Christian, I know not one Papist in our army; and, as I am a gentleman, we are no Irish, but true-born English, and real Protestants also, born and bred. Pray mistake us not, but receive us into your fair esteem. I know we intend loyalty to his Majesty, and will be no other but faithful in his service. This, Gentlemen, believe, from

Your's, Tho. Sandford.
January 15.

AMONG many other prisoners of distinction taken by Sir Thomas Fairfax, was Colonel George Monk, in after-times the famous instrument of the restoration of Charles II. Fairfax was so well acquainted with his merit, that he was determined that he never should have an opportunity of exerting his courage again in the royal cause. He sent him up to London, where he was committed prisoner to the Tower, and confined near four years. On his release he joined the parlement; but, through a sense of honor, declined acting against his old master: and employed his sword against the Irish rebels, in which service he was engaged till after the death of the King.

Nantwich was the residence of the widow of the great Milton, during the latter part of her life. [*] She was the daughter of Mr. Minshul, of Stoke, in this neighborhood. The poet married her in the fifty-third or fifty-fourth year of his age, wanting, in the season of his infirmities, assistance from a dearer relation than that of domestics. I fear that he was disappointed; for she is said to have been a lady of most violent spirit. Yet she maintained a great respect for his memory; and could not bear to hear the least imputation of plagiarism ascribed to him. She used to say, that he stole from nobody but the muse who inspired him; and that muse was God's grace, and the Holy Spirit, which visited him nightly. She probably had heard him say as much, in the composition of his invocation to Urania, in his 7th book:

—upled by THEE,

Into the heav'n of heav'ns I have presum'd,

An earthly guest, and drawn empyreal air,

THY tempting.

And again, with greater force,

More safe I sing with mortal voice, unchang'd

To hoarse or mute, though fall'n on evil days,

On evil days though fall'n, and evil tongues;

In darkness and with dangers compass'd round,

And solitude; yet not alone, while THOU

VISIT'ST MY SLUMBERS NIGHTLY.

I CONTINUED my journey along the London road, flat, tedious, and heavy. At the fourth stone lieth, a little out of the way, Wibbunbury, a small village, supposed to have taken, its name from Wibba, second king of the Mercians, who died in 615. The manor was antiently in the great family of the Praers. Sir Robert de Praer gave it to his son Richard, about the reign of King John, upon condition of rendering to the heirs of his elder brother two barbed arrows yearly, on the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, in lieu of all other services. But the Praers remitted all their right in this manor, and the patronage of the church, to the bishop of Litchfield and Coventry, in 1276, the fifth of Edward I. and the bishops continued to be lords of the manor till the second of Queen Elizabeth; about which time it was alienated: but the bishops still continue patrons of the church.

THERE had been, in much earlier times, a family in this place which took their name from it; for Richard de Wibbunbury was sheriff of Cheshire in 1233. Whether the Praers ever assumed that name, is uncertain. It is probable, that the Richard abovementioned was the same with the sheriff, and took the addition on receiving the place from his father.

THIS village was formerly surrounded with gentlemen's seats. Among those was Lee, the residence of a family of the same name; from which were descended the Lees, earls of Litchfield, derived from Benedict, a son of this house, who made a settlement at Quarendon, in Buckinghamshire, in the beginning of the reign of Edward IV.

THE church is a very handsome building, embattled and pinnacled: the tower lofty; the roof is timbered on the inside, and carved with the arms of the various benefactors. Part of the church was taken down in 1591; at which time many of the monuments were destroyed: of those remaining, are several in memory of the Delves of Doddington. The most antient is a large altar-tomb of alabaster, with the figures of a father, and son, and lady, engraven on the stone: at the feet of each is a dog, and beneath, a dolphin: on the front of the tomb, several figures, their progeny. The persons represented are Sir John Delves, his son John, and his wife Ellen, daughter of Ralph Egerton, of Wrinehill, in the county of Stafford; for which, probably on account of consanguinity, a dispensation was granted in 1439 [*].

SIR John was in high favor with Henry VI. and enjoyed several lucrative posts under him. This he repaid with the most faithful adherence, raised forces in his support, and lost his life valiantly fighting, in the fatal field at Tewkesbury, on Saturday, May the 4th, 1471. His son, with numbers of persons of distinction, took refuge in the abbey. The furious Edward pursued them, with his drawn sword, into the church [*]; but was opposed by a resolute priest, who for the present diverted his vengeance by listing up the host, interposing the sacred mystery, and denied him admittance till he obtained a promise of pardon; depending on the king's word, they neglected making their escape, and continued in the sanctuary till the Monday, when the relentless monarch caused them to be drawn out and beheaded, according to the custom of the times, without any process. The bodies of this unfortunate pair were at first buried at Tewkesbury [†], but afterwards translated to this place; where their remains lie, with the following inscription:

Hic jacet Johannes Delves, miles, et Elena uxor ejus, nec non Johannes Delves, armiger, filius et heres predicti Johis. qui quidem Johannes, miles obiit quarto die Maii, anno Dni. MCCCCLXXI. quorum animabus propitietur Deus. Amen.

Ralph, the second son of Sir John, and his wife Catharine, are represented on a tomb by two brass plates. The inscription imports, that he died the 11th March, 1513.

THE tomb of Sir Thomas Smith, of the Hough, in this parish, and his lady, is magnificent in its kind. Sir Thomas lies beneath a canopy, supported by four pillars of the Ionic order, of white marble, gilt and painted. He is represented recumbent and armed, with his gauntlets lying at his feet: his hair long, curled, and flowing: his visage bearded and whiskered. His lady (Anne, daughter of Sir William Brereton) has a fashionable fore-top, a great ruff, and extended hood. Sir Thomas died on the 21st of December 1614; and his relict erected this monumental compliment.

ON getting into the great road, I passed on the left the scite of the antient seat of Lee, and an iron forge.

A LITTLE farther stood the antient seat of Doddington, originally belonging to a family of the same name; but in the reign of Edward II. passed to the Praers: in 1352, the twenty-sixth of Edward III. to the Brescies, by marriage with the heiress of the house: but in the thirtieth of the same reign, John Brescie, with Margaret his wife, alienated it to John Delves, of Delveshall in Staffordshire, one of the four renowned 'squires who distinguished themselves under the Lord Audley, at the battle of Poitiers. Sir John Berniers, Lord Bourchier, the noble translator of Froissart, relates the deed with all the simplicity of the original.
But when Lord James Audeley sawe that shoulde nedes fyght (he sayde to the Prynce) I have alwaies served truly my lorde your father, and you also, and shall do as long as I live. I say this, because I made ones a vow, that the first batayle that other the Kynge your father, or anie of his chyldren, shoulde be at, howe that I wulde be one of the fyrst setters on, or else to dye in the sayle. Therefore I requyre your Grace, as in rewarde for any servyce that ever I dyde to the Kynge your father, or to you, that you will gyve me licence to departe fro' you, and to set up my self there, as I maye accomplyshe my vowe. The Prince, according to his desyre (and sayde) Sir James, God gyve you this daye that grace to be the best Knyght of all others, and to take hym by the hande. Than the Knyght departed fro the Prince, and went to the foremost front of all the batayles all, onely accompanyed with four Squyers, who promysed nat to sayle him. This Lorde James was a ryghte sage and a valiant knyght, and by hym was muche of the hooste ordeyned and governed the day before. — The Lord James Audeley, with his foure Squyers, was in the front of that battel, and these dyd marvels in armes; and by great prowes, he came and fought with Sir Arnolde Dandrchen, under his own banner; and there they fought longe togyder, and Sir Arnolde was there sore handled. — And there was Sir Arnolde Dandrchen taken prysoner by other men than by Syr James Audeley or his foure Squyers; for yt daye he never toke prisoner, but always foughte and wente on his enemyes. — On the Englyshe parte, the Lord James Audeley, with the ayde of his foure Squyers, foughte alwayes in the chyefe of the batayle: he was sore hurte in the bodye, and in the vysage. As longe as his breth served him he fought: at last, at the end of the batayle hys foure Squyers toke and brought hym out of the felde, and layed hym under a hedge syde, for to refreshe hym. And they unarmed hym, and bounde up his woundes as well as they coude.—After the battle, the Prince demanded of the Knyghtes that were aboute him, for the Lord Audley, if any knewe any thing of him. Some Knights yt were there answered and sayde, Sir, he is sore hurt, and lieth in a litter here beside; by my faith, said the Prince, of his hurts I am right forye, go and knowe if he maye be broughte hider, or els I will go, and se him there, as he is. Than twoo Knights came to the Lord Audeley (and sayde) Sir, the Prince desireth greatly to see you: outher ye must go to him, 〈◊〉 el• he will come to you. A, Sir, sayde the Knighte, I thanke the Prince when he thinketh on so pore a knight as I am, then he called eyght of his servanntes, and caused them to here hym 〈…〉 lytter to the place where was the Prince. Than the 〈◊〉 toke hym in his armes and kyst hym, and made him 〈◊〉 at ch•ar, and sayd, Sir James, I ought gretly to honour you, for by your valiance ye have this day achyved ye grace and renowne of us al, and ye are reputed for the most valyant of al others. I retain you for ever to be my knight, with five hun •ed ma•es of yearly revenues. When Syr James Audeley was broughte to his lodgynge, the•ne he send for Syr Peter 〈◊〉, his brother, and for the Lorde Bartylemawe of Bren •, the Lorde Stephanne of Goutenton, the Lorde of Wylly, and the Lorde Rasse Perres: all these were of his lynage: and than he called before them hys foure Squyers, that hadde 〈◊〉 hym that daye well and trewlye: than he sayde to the Hyde Lordes, Syrs, it hath pleased my Lorde the Prynce to g•ve •e five hundred markes of revenues by yere; for the which gyft I have done him but small servyce with my bodye. 〈◊〉, beholde here these foure Squyers, who hath alwayes served 〈◊〉 truely, and especyally thys day: that honour that I have is by there valyantnesse, wherefore I well 'eward them: I gyve and resigne into their 〈◊〉 the gyft that my Lorde ye Prynce 〈…〉 me of five hundred marke of yerely revenues, to 〈◊〉 and their heyres for ever. I clearly disheryte me there 〈◊〉 and inh•ryte there •ythout any rebell or condyryon [*].

I HAVE dwelt the longer on this account of the Lord Audley, 〈◊〉 only as his history is so mingled with that of his four 'squires, 〈◊〉, Dut• Fe•churst, and Hawkeston; but because all five were Cheshire mer• the 'squires, by attachment; following their neighbor to the 〈◊〉 of military glory. I must add, that their gallant leader enjoined them, as a further proof of his esteem, to bear in some part of their coa• of arms, his own proper atchievement gu•, a fret d•or [*]; which the families constantly re •ned.

THE statues of Lord Audley and his four 'squires, cut in stone, are still preserved at Doddington Hall. Doctor Gower supposes that of Lord Audley to have seen original; the others to have been made in the reign of Queen Elizebeth, when the late man •o• was 〈◊〉.

SIR John (for he was knighted by Edward III.) was distinguished by several marks of royal favo• had the wardship of the Dutchess of Bre•g•e: was constituted one of the justices of the King's Bench, and had •cence to embattle his house at Doddington. He beque•ced his body to be buried in the church of St. James, •t Audley in Staffordshire, and, dying on the 16th of August 1309, was interred there, according to his desire. Near him, in the same church, were deposited the remains of his illustrious patr•n.

Audley lies a very few miles to the north-east of Doddington, seated on the top of 〈◊〉 ill, on the road between Nantwich 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. A reveren•ed curiosity led me once to visit the •∣•ques of theose her•es. These of the Lord Audley •e beneath a •ain altar-tomb, formerly having his figure on the slab, engraven on a small brass plate.

His 'squire is perpetuated in a more ostentatious manner, and •resented in alaba•er, at full length, with his coat of arms on his breast. The inscription is lost.

ONE of the residences of the Audleys was at this village: from which they took their name. A farm occupies the scite of their •use; but in latter times they inhabited Heleigh Castle, about 〈◊〉 miles distant.

THE L•s had many privileges he•; such as court-lect, tumprel, and gallows: nor could any one •rrest a person here, except 〈◊〉 officer of the manor. These estates passed, by marriage of Sir •n T•uchet, to Joan, daughter of the great Lord Audley, and 〈…〉nd co-heir of his son Nicholas. George Touchet, Lord Audley, sold it, in 1577, to Sir Gilbert Gerrard; from whose fa •ly it descended to the Fleetwoods; and in this century was lost 〈◊〉 single night by the cast of a die.

THERE is a particularity in the situation of the house of Har 〈…〉nd, adjacent to this parish, which I cannot forbear men •ng Whenever the family go to church (which is that of 〈…〉) thev 〈◊〉 out of the province of Canterbury into that of 〈…〉 pass through two counties, viz. Staffordshire and Cheshire; 〈…〉hes, Woolsta• Audley, and Lawton; three constable 〈…〉 T•s•l, Chell, and Lawton two hundreds, Pirchill and 〈…〉 and two dioceses, L•tchfield and Chester.

•gton continued in the family of the Del•es till the present 〈…〉 when, by the failure of issue male, in descended to the 〈…〉 of •ghton in the county of Stafford, by virtue of the 〈◊〉 of Sir Br•an Broughton, in the •ear 1700, with Elezabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas delve•, Baronet. The house is feated in a yark, wa•ed on one side by a large mere; with a small Hand, o〈…〉ted with an elegant rotundo. The present owner, Sir Themes Bryghton, is now building a new house, in a magnificent 〈◊〉, and 〈◊〉 a far more •greeable situation, at the head of the 〈◊〉 a• some distance from the old mansion. The ancient house was fo•fied, and garrisoned during the civil wars; and taken and retaken in the course of the contest.

•TER, •av•ling about there miles surther, in the same tedious •e, a p•o• of SHROPSHIRE presents a hilly front,
W
〈…〉

. and inter •cts 〈◊〉 read. On the top of the ascent lies Wore, or Oare, a •m•e• of a few houses, with a small chapel, dependent on the rectory of Mucciesten, in the county of Stafford. Old Stow in •o•ms us that Ran•alph Woolley, of London, merchant-taylor, left to the reader of the place £5 for freely instructing the children of the inhabitants of this parish.

FROM W• I qu•ted, for the sake of a small digression, the London road, and at about two miles distance enter, at Bearston 〈…〉 county of STAFFORD[*].

A LI•TL• father stands V•ccl•sion,

〈…〉

a small village, seated on a 〈◊〉 sing ground. The church, •dicated to Si. Mary, a rectory in the gift of John Crew, h•quire, of Crew, lord of the manor. I〈…〉 the twentie• of the Cono•or, it wat held by Kenning, one of the Ty•nes it afterwards was possessed by the Morgans, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 west country, till about the first of Queen Elizabeth; when 〈…〉 sold by Robert Morgan, Esquire, to Sir Thomas Ossley, 〈◊〉 Lord Mayor of London in 1556; whom Fuller calls the 〈…〉 of that city, not for his low stature, but high charity.

FROM the tower of the church,
BATTLE OF BLOREHEATE.

Margaret of Anjou the faithful 〈◊〉 spirited consort of Henry VI. saw the fierce battle of Blore ••••, fatal to the cause of her meek husband, then at Coleshill. ••chard Nev•l, Earl of Salusbury, commanded the Yorkists: he was 〈…〉 time on his march from Middleham Castle, with four or five thousand men, under pretence of settling with the King the 〈◊〉, of the two houses. Margaret, fearing for her husband's 〈◊〉 directed Lord Audley to intercept him on the way. He 〈◊〉 himself on Bloreheath, with ten thousand troops, collected 〈…〉 C••shire and Shropshire, who•e chieftains were distinguished by silver swans, the badges of their young prince. Salusbury, 〈…〉 the disparity of numbers, determined to stand 〈…〉 of the day, but wisely had recourse to stratagem. He 〈…〉 at night on the banks of a rivulet, not broad, but 〈◊〉 and in the morning pretended a retreat; Audley follow ••• him with the impetuous valor natural to himself and the 〈◊〉 Salusbury made an instant attack on the divided forces of 〈…〉. The field was long disputed, with the animo ••• 〈…〉 usual in civil feuds, Audley sell, with two thousand four 〈…〉 of his troops, chiefly the flower of the Cheshire gentry; 〈…〉 led them to the front of the battle. A great 〈…〉 marks the spot of their leader's death. The Queen fled 〈…〉 Castle. Salusbury joined the Duke of York at Ludlow. 〈…〉 commemorates the slaughter of the day, and preserves the names of the Cheshire heroes; for the county listen 〈◊〉 both banners.

— The earl,

As hungry in revenge, there made a ravenous spoil.

There Du•ton, D•ton; kills; a Do•e doth kill a Done;

A B•th, a Do 〈◊〉 and Leigh by Leigh is overthrown;

〈…〉 against a 〈◊〉 doth stand;

A Tr•••beck fighteth with a Trcu••beck hand to hand;

There M•lineux doth make M•lineux to die;

And Egerton the strength of Egerton doth try.

I RETURNED into the great road by Winnington forge and Wil •••• edge wells. The last were once in high esteem for their fanative waters, strongly impregnated. with sulphur. They were formerly much frequented on account of bathing and drinking. A house for the reception of patients was built, and a bath inclosed, but it present the waters (which to look and caste differ not from common) are entirely deserted.

I RE-ENTERED the London road on Maer Heath,

〈…〉

in the parish of Maer, or M••• so stiled from a large piece of water, the head of the r•ver Tern, which flowing through Shropshire, falls into the 〈◊〉 three miles below Shrewsbury. Maer and Aston, an ad ••ce•• manor, were on the Conquest divided between William de Maer and Robert Stafford. Some centuries afterwards, a Stafford changed his part of Maer, with Ralph, the son of John M••••esfield; by which it came into that family, who sold it to John Lord Chetwynd.

THIS parish is remarkable for Saxon antiquities. On a hill is an antient •ortress or strorng hold,

〈◊〉

composed of two deep ditches and 〈…〉, formed chiefly of stone, the precinct not of any regular shape, for the fosses conform to the shape of the hill; as 〈◊〉 usual with the Britons and the earlier Saxons. Two of the •••ers project naturally, and form a species of bastions. The ••••ance was on the side next the present road. The approach is very visible: it crept up the steep sides; divided 〈◊〉 midway, one branch took to the left and the other to the 〈◊〉 Near this place finished his course Osred, the licentious ••ng of the Northumbrians; a despiser of monks and corrupter of •ans •lain in battle in 716, at Mear, in the bloom of youth. 〈◊〉 sortress is called the Bruss, corruptly from Burgh. It seems 〈…〉 been cast up by Kinred, king of Mercia, against the invasion of the former. Kinred probably gave his antagonist the 〈◊〉 funeral honors, and interred him, and his officers, with the respect due to their rank. Tumuli, or barrows, some round,
BARROWS.

others oblong are scattered over the neighboring hills and heath. Un ••• the large conical hill, called Coplow, might, be deposited the corpse of Osred; beneath the others, those of his unfortunate followers. I must not pass over in silence the Camp-hills, notwithstanding the name has outlived the vestiges of entrenchments; 〈…〉 does any tradition of the possessor remain. Shall we suppose 〈◊〉 to be Osred, who might have been there before his defeat?

THIS country is gravelly, full of commons and low hills, en ••••ly covered with heath; which still give shelter to a few black 〈◊〉 and red. The mention of the vegetable reminds me,
HEATH
••

ED 〈…〉. 〈…〉 a century ago it was sometimes made use of instead 〈…〉 a practice continued to this day in some of the He •••••.

〈…〉 Hatton and Swinerton heaths.
SWINERTON.

The last in a parish and 〈…〉 of the same name, owned, from the Conquest to the reign of Henry VIII. by the Swinertons. Their ancestor was called 〈◊〉 who held the estate from Robert de Stafford; who, at the time of the general survey, possessed in this county alone eighty-one manors This family produced numbers of knights; and, among them, Roger de 〈◊〉 had the honor of being sum¦moned to parlement in the reign of Edward III. He seems to have been favored in those reigns. In that of the first Edward 〈◊〉 obtained free 〈◊〉 for his manor, and got the privilege of a market and a fair to be held there. In the reign of Edward II. he was appointed governor of Stafford; afterwards, of the important castle of Ha•ch, in Marionethshire; and was made constable of the Tower of London. In that of his successor, besides the honor above recited, he was made a bannere•; and had for his several services as assignation out of the exchequer, of an hundred and forty-five pounds thirteen shillings and eight pence. In the reign of Henry VIII. this manor of Swinerton passed into the family of the Fitzherberts, by the marriage of the youngest daughter of H••••••y, left male heir of the line, to William Fitzherbert of Norbury; in which name it still continues.

THE church, and •eat of Mr. Fitzherbert command a vast view into Worcestershire and Shropshire. In the first is a tomb of a cros-legged knight; and a plain altar-tomb, inscribed Deminus de Swinerton & Ellen uxor ejur.

IN the school-house is placed the colossal figure of our SAVIOUR, sitting. He is represented as if after the resurrection, shewing the wound in his side to the incredulous disciple. It was found under ground, near the place it now occupies; and seems to have been buried in the reforming times, to preserve it form the rage of the image-breakers.

〈◊〉 the house is a very fine full-length portrait of Sir John Fitz •••••, Knight.

〈◊〉 descending a hill, I reached Darlaston,
DARLASTON.

a village on the 〈…〉 Near this place, on the summit of a hill, called Bury Bank, 〈…〉 area of an oval form, about 250 yards in diameter, envi •••ed by a deep trench and ramparts: the entrance is on the north-west. On the south part is a tumulus, surrounded with a 〈◊〉 This I imagine to have been formed out of the ruins of some buildings, and to have been a sort of praetorium to the occupier of this post. It is supposed to have been the residence of 〈◊〉 who reigned over Mercia from 656 to 675. The old 〈…〉 W•serecester in a manner confirms the opinion. Whether 〈◊〉 neighboring Cop, or Low, was the place of his interment, as 〈◊〉 drinks, is doubtful.

Hence I 〈◊〉 meet with the Trent. This river rises in the More •• 〈◊〉 Biddulph, out of Newpool, and two springs near Mole ••• 〈…〉 this place it is an inconsiderable stream, becomes navi •••• 〈◊〉 Burton on Trent, and, after flowing through this county 〈◊〉 it almost equally divides) that of Derby, Nottingham, and 〈…〉 it loses its name in the Humber, the great receptacle of 〈…〉 rivers. Poets have taken most beautiful liberties in 〈…〉 •••ologies of the name of this; for i• neither derives it 〈◊〉 its thirty kinds of fish, nor yet from its thirty rivers that 〈◊〉 waters.

The bounteous Trent, that in himself enseams

Both thirty sorts of fish, and thirty sundry streams.

AFTER quoting the sublime description of M•lon, we shall 〈…〉 simple derivation.

〈…〉 Feather the• a be the son

Of 〈…〉 or 〈◊〉, or gulphy Dun,

〈…〉 like 〈◊〉 earth-born giant, spreads

〈…〉 indented mends.

in 〈◊〉 the name is 〈…〉, and for•ed from the word •ie, (three) on account 〈…〉 from three heads.

AFTER crossing the river and ascending a small bank,
STONEFIELD

I find myself in a vast open tract rising to the left, called Stonefield Here, in 1745, the Duke of Comber••ed drew up his army, to give battle to the rebels, who were supposed to have been on their march this way. His intelligence failed him, and the Scotch insurgents possessed themselves of Derby. In future times pos•erity will almost doubt the fact, when they read that an incons;iderable band of mountaineers, undisciplined, unofficered, and half-armed, had penetrated into the center of an unfriendly 〈◊〉, with one •my behind them, and another in their front: that they rested there a few days; and that they retreated above three hundred miles, with scarcely any loss, continually presses by a foe supplied with every advantage that loyalty could afford.

PARA•••L to my road runs that magnificent enterprize the 〈…〉 for the junction of the eastern and and the western oceans;

〈…〉

designed to give to each side of the kingdom an easy share in the comm•∣••••• of both. In other countries, the nature of the land permits a ready execution of these designs. Egypt and Holland are levelled to the workmen's hands. Our aspiring genius scoffs at obstructions and difficulties serve but to what our ardor: our aqued•••• 〈◊〉 over our once-admired rivers, now despised for the purposes of navigation: we fill vallies, we penetrate mountains. H•• 〈◊〉 the prophet have been treated, who, forty years ago, should have predicted, that a vessel of twenty-five tons would be seen 〈◊〉 over Stonefield? Yet such is the case ar present.

Figitur 〈◊〉 viridi 〈◊〉 fors 〈…〉 prato.

〈◊〉 great enterprize was begun a July 17th 1766, near th ••••• end of Hare-castle Hill, in this county. Its •nure length is 〈◊〉 three miles, viz. sixty-one miles two furlongs from the south 〈◊〉 of that hill to Wil•••, ferry, in the county of Derby; and 〈◊〉-one miles six furlongs on the north side, to its function with 〈◊〉 Duke of Bridgewater's canal at Preston on the Hill, in Che ••••.

To affect this work, there we forty locks on the south side; 〈◊〉 in all three hundred and sixteen feet fall; and on the north 〈◊〉-five, with three hundred and twenty-six feet fall. Six 〈…〉 southern locks are fourteen feet wide adapted for the 〈…〉 of large vessels, from, opposite to Burton to Gainsho •••• Midd•••••, on the north side, is another, of the same 〈◊〉.

THE common dimensions of the canal are twenty-nine feet 〈◊〉 at top; at bottom sixteen; arid the depth four and a 〈◊〉 in the part from W•de•. to Burton, which is thirty 〈◊〉 at top, eighteen at bottom, and five and a half 〈◊〉 The same is observed from Middlewich to Preston on the 〈◊〉 upon which vessels, capable of navigating in the estuary of 〈◊〉 may pass to the port of Liverpool.

〈…〉 is carried over the river Dove, in an aqueduct of 〈◊〉 arches, and the ground raised one mile and two fur ••••• and to a very considerable height, It is also 〈◊〉 over the river 〈◊〉, on an aqueduct of six arches, 〈◊〉 twenty one feet span each: and again over the river Dane 〈…〉 the same 〈◊〉, on three 〈◊〉 of twenty feet diameter.

BESIDES these there are near a hundred and sixty lesser 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉, for the conveyance of brooks and 〈…〉 the canal many of which are in span from twelve to eighteen feet.

THE undertakers, for the conveniency of the several persons whose lands they have out though, or when the canal interfeers any public road, 〈◊〉 built a• hundred and eighty-nine cartridges, and 〈◊〉 fiit-bridges; and frequently, when the canal passes 〈◊〉 of any gentleman's 〈◊〉 have politely given it a 〈…〉, to improve me beauty of the prospect.

〈…〉 hills or rocks, that obstracted the canal 〈…〉 in the following places.

THE most 〈…〉 it is called, is at Hermits 〈…〉 of an hundred and thirty 〈…〉 horses 〈◊〉 and ••de.

〈…〉 through them 〈…〉 Castle is cut through 〈…〉 and was a 〈◊〉 of 〈…〉 difficulty and 〈…〉 of the courage and 〈…〉. In passes under 〈…〉 eight hundred and eighty yards 〈…〉 twenty 〈…〉 arches with 〈…〉.

〈…〉 in the parish of Great Budworth, is 〈◊〉 five hundred and sixty yards long; as Saltenford, in 〈…〉 and fifty yards long 〈…〉 〈◊〉, at Preston on the Hill is another, which passes under 〈◊〉 twelve hundred and forty-one yards; each of them 〈…〉 feet four inches high, and thirteen feet six inches 〈…〉 that, at Preston on the Hill it emerges, and soon con •••• 〈…〉 course, by falling into that formed by an useful Peer, 〈◊〉 of Bridgewater which drops into the Mersey at Run •••• with a fall of eighty-two feet, eased by terv magnificent 〈◊〉.

〈◊〉 Middlewide to Manchester is a dead level, which does 〈…〉 a look in all that space.

〈…〉 of this great work have employed on it about 〈…〉 exclusive of those belonging to other persons, which 〈…〉 left to the same number. They are calculated to 〈◊〉 twenty-five tons each; are drawn by one horse, for which 〈…〉 receive per mile three halfpence a ton.

〈…〉 be ungrateful not to pay some respect to the memory 〈…〉 architect and contriver or these works,
OF JAMES BRINDLEY.

Mr JAMES 〈…〉 rare genius was born at Tunsted, in the parish 〈…〉, in the year 1716. His father was a small 〈…〉 himself by following the sports of the 〈…〉 himself from giving his children any fort of 〈…〉.

〈…〉 shewed very early the goodness of his-heart, by 〈…〉 familly be such labore as he was ca ••• 〈…〉 he bound himself apprentice 〈…〉 Ma•••field, when his amazing abilities were 〈…〉 He speedily became a great proficient and per ••• 〈…〉 of things a which his master was totally ignorant 〈…〉 was equal to his genius; for he overpaid any instructions he might receive from his master, by maintaining 〈…〉 manner when, he 〈◊〉 past working, and felt into 〈◊〉.

THE first 〈◊〉 the public received from him, was a 〈◊〉 considerable improvement in the paper-press. He got great 〈…〉 water-engine at C•fro•, in Lancashire; and 〈◊〉 more 〈◊〉 the machinery of new silk-〈◊〉 at 〈◊〉, to which he gave many most imiportant movements. He highly 〈…〉 gr•ling 〈◊〉 for the potteries and in 1756, erected 〈…〉 on a new plan, by which he reduced the consumption of word to one half.

IT was a peculiar 〈◊〉, to the Duke of BRIDGEWATER, to find a genius such as Brindley, cotemporary to the great designs formed by his Grace. That wonderful mechanic 〈◊〉 rally fell under the Duke's patronage, 〈◊〉 was the grand con ••ver of all the work which his noble friend carried on. Many of his projects were of so stupendous 〈◊〉, and so incomprehensible to vulgar maids, as to subject him to great ridicule, 〈…〉 were put 〈◊〉 confusion by the successful execution.

〈◊〉 any great difficulty arose, be constantly took 〈◊〉 bed, excluded all light and lay in meditation for two or three 〈◊〉, all he had 〈◊〉 completed whole of his plan. A 〈◊〉 would have 〈◊〉, he was visited by his 〈◊〉 in those hours 〈…〉 certainly 〈◊〉 •lumma•, amidst she darkness by 〈…〉. He reminds 〈…〉 similar method: Claus•e se•estr• 〈…〉 〈…〉 sequor, qui cadem qu• mens •lent quoties non vi 〈…〉. [*]

〈◊〉 •ound his health and faculties to decline, he virtu •• 〈…〉 to extend as far as possible his services, even grave. He communicated all his plans and designs 〈…〉, his wife's brother, who had been employed 〈…〉, from the beginning, as clerk of the works. 〈…〉 and 〈◊〉 seem to have compensated for the loss 〈◊〉 for the most difficult parts in the undertaking 〈◊〉 successfully executed, since Mr. Brindley's death [†], un 〈◊〉 direction of M•. Henshall.

〈…〉 the clamors which have been raised against to undertaking, in the places through which it was, intended 〈◊〉 when ii was first projected we have the pleasure now to 〈◊〉 reign universally on its banks, and plenty attend its 〈…〉 cottage instead of being half covered with mi 〈…〉 is now secured with a subtaintial covering of tiles 〈…〉 brought from the distant hills of Wales or Cumberland. 〈…〉 which before were barren, are now drained, and, by 〈…〉 of man•, conveyed on the canal toll-free, are 〈◊〉 with a beautiful endore. Places which rarely knew the 〈…〉 plentifully supplied with that essential article upon 〈…〉 and what is 〈◊〉 of greater public utility, the 〈…〉 corn are prevented from exercising their infa ••• 〈◊〉, for, the communication being opened between Liver ••• 〈◊〉 and Hall line of the canal being through 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 countries abundant in grain, it affords a conveyance of corn unknown to past ages. At present, nothing but a general dearth can create a scarcity in any part adjacent to this extensive work.

THESE, and many other advantages, are derived, both to individuals and the public, from this internal navigation. But when it happens that the kingdom is engaged in a foreign war, with what security is the trade between those three great ports carried on; and with how much less expence has the trader his goods conveyed to any part of the kingdom, than he had formerly been subject to, when the goods were obliged to be carried coastways, and to pay insurance?

I BELIEVE it may be asserted, that no undertaking, equally expensive and arduous, was ever attempted by private people in any kingdom; and, in justice to the adventurers, it must be allowed, that, considering the difficulties they met with, owing to the nature of the works, or the caprice of persons whose lands were taken to make the canal, that ten years and a half was but a short time to perform it in; and that satisfaction has been made to every individual who suffered any injury by the execution of the undertaking. The profits arising from tonnage is already very considerable; and there is no doubt but they will increase annually; and, notwithstanding the enormous sum of money it has cost in the execution, the proprietors will be amply repaid, and have the comfort to reflect, that, by the conclusion of this project, they have contributed to the good of their country, and acquired wealth for themselves and posterity.

IMMEDIATELY after leaving Stonefield,
STONE

reached the little town of Stone, a place remarkable for religious antiquity. Legend tells us, that the before-mentioned Wulferus, then a Pagan, put to death his two sons, Wulfad and Rufin, on suspicion of favoring the Christian faith; Wulfad at this place, Rufin at Burston, about three miles distant. Over each, stones were erected, as usual, in memory of the dead; from whence the names of those places are derived. Wulfere, after this unnatural deed, was struck with the utmost remorse, and, by the influence of his queen and St. Cedda, or Chad, who lived in a neighboring hermitage, was converted to the religion he had so lately persecuted; and, by way of expiating his guilt, among other works of piety, founded at Stone a college of canons regular,
COLLEGE.

about the year 670. His queen Ermenilda is said to have also founded a nunnery here. On the invasion of the Danes, the religious were dispersed; but on the abatement of the cruelty of those barbarians, it is probable they returned, or at left a new establishment was formed. This is certain, that religious were found here after the Conquest; for there is an idle tale of two nuns and a priest being slain there, by Enysan, a Norman. This Enysan, of Walton, was the true re-founder. Caution must be used in reading the histories of these times, which are filled with pious romance. Little credit should also be given to the murder of the sons of Wulfere. The Saxon Chronicle is silent about the deed. That prince was a convert to Christianity, and seems to have founded the house through the common motives of zeal.

Enysan, on his re-establishment of this house, filled it with canons from Kenelworth,
PRIORY.

and made it a cell to that place. The Staffords, who were his superiors, assumed the honor of this new foundation; and a second Robert de Stafford, about the year 1260, rendered it free from Kenelworth, excepting the right of patronage, and a yearly pension. The church of this priory was the place of interment of several of this great family; and numbers of magnificent tombs, with their figures in alabaster, lay there till the dissolution; when they were removed to the Augustines, on Stafford Green. I see on the road-side a fragment of a thick wall, perhaps a remnant of the priory. The church is quite new, and is a very elegant building, dedicated to St. Wulfad, one of the supposed martyrs. At the time of the suppression, a tablet, giving the whole history of the house, was hung up in the priory: it is related in old English metre; but is so tedious, that I must refer the readers, who desire to peruse it, to the cited author. [*]

As soon as I left Stone,
ASTON.

I saw on the right a large house called Aston, originally the property of a branch of the Heveninghams of Suffolk. Walter, the last of the line, left two daughters; the second (who only had children) conveyed by marriage the estate to Sir James Simeon, who rebuilt the hall. He also built in the garden a mausoleum; in which, I think, he is interred. The place is at present the property of Edward Weld, Esquire, of Lulworth castle, in Dorsetshire, and descended to him of late years, by virtue of a marriage of an ancestor with a daughter of this house, in the reign of Charles II.

THE road from this place,
BURSTON.

for several miles, passes along a pretty vale, watered by the Trent, bounded by two hills, and much enlivened by the course of the canal. About the third mile from Stone, I went by Burston, a small hamlet, noted formerly for a chapel erected over the spot where Rufin, second son of Wulfere, was supposed to have been martyred; and on that account, in old times, greatly frequented by the devout.

ABOUT a quarter of a mile from hence, on the top of a hill, stands the church of Sandon.
SANDON.

This manor, in the twentieth of William the Conqueror, was in the hands of the king; who bestowed it on Hugh Lupus; and he again gave it to William de Malbanc, or Nantwich. It passed from this family (by the gift of Adena, eldest daughter of William, grandson to the former) to Warren de Verdon; and by his daughter Alditha, to Sir William Stafford; and by the marriage of Margaret, daughter of one of his descendants, in the twelfth of Edward III. to Thomas of Erdeswik. It continued in possession of that family till the reign of James I. In his time it was sold to George Digby, groom of the stole to that monarch, by his half-brother Richard Erdeswik. Charles Lord Gerard, of Bromley, became master of it, by marriage with a daughter of Mr. Digby; whose grand-daughter, by matching with William Duke of Hamilton, conveyed it to Lord Archibald Hamilton; who, in 1776, disposed of it to Lord Harrowby. A law-suit concerning this place gave rise to the fatal duel, in November 1712, between James Duke of Hamilton and Lord Mohun; in which both combatants lost their lives.

THE antient mansion stood near the church, within a moat; but is now demolished, and a beautiful house, commanding a fine view, was built by Lord Archibald Hamilton, on an eminence impending over the Chester road. The steep slope is beautiful, cloathed with plantations of recent date, but extremely flourishing.

THE church is in the gift of Lord Harrowby. Before the dissolution, it belonged to the abbey of Cumbermere; being bestowed on it by the founder, Hugh de Malbanc.

THE monuments are curious. The finest is in memory of the celebrated Sampson Erdeswik, the learned antiquary of the county; a faithful guide of all that concerned the families, till his death, which happened in 1603. He might have spared himself the expence of a monument; his work would have perpetuated his name. He erected one in his life-time; and is represented recumbent, a colossal figure in a jacket with short skirts, and spurs on his legs. Above, in two niches, are his two wives, kneeling: the one was Elizabeth Dikeswel; the other Maria Neale, widow to Sir Everard Digby, and mother to the unfortunate victim to the gunpowder plot. Besides inscriptions to these ladies, is a pedigree of the house; for which, as well as several other epitaphs of the Erdeswiks, the reader is referred to the Appendix. I shall only mention, that the tombs are of the altar-form, and have the figures of the persons commemorated engraved on the stone.

THE inscription on a plain marble tomb, in memory of Mr. Digby,
OF GRORGE DIGBY.

once owner of the place, is very worthy of preservation: as it records a remarkable piece of history, I shall give it here at length, and add notes to the obscure parts.

Si quis hic jaceat, roges, viator,

Georgius Digbaeus,

Armiger.

Vir (si quis alius) celebrati nominis.

Nobili clarus prosapiâ, sed vita nobiliori:

Quippe qui

Ipsum nobilitatis fontem caeno turbatum

Demum limpidum reddidit:

Hoc est

Ut memet explicem,

Qui regis Jacobi purpuram

Maledicti Schopii [*] dicterici soedatam

Obtrectatoris sanguine [†]

Retinxit.

Nec tamen homuncionem penitús sustulit

Sed gravius stigma fronti incussit

Quàm Henricus magnus

Libello [‡],

Quo scilicet toto vitae curriculo

(Utpote omnium contemptui expositus)

Sensit se mori.

Hujus egregii facinoris intuitu

A Jacobo honoribus auctus est

Digbaeus

Meritis tandem annisque plenus

Vivere desiit, semper victurus.

Ipsis Idibus Decembris ao. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Aetatis suae LXXXVI.

Tanti herois laudes

Licet non taceant historici

Haec saxa loqui curavit

Lectissima heroina Jana Baronissa Gerrard

De Bromley,

Clarissimi Digbaei filia

Superstes unica.

FROM Sandon the hills recede to the north. I directed my course to Chartley,
CHARTLEY.

about four miles and a half distant, and about three north from the great road. This venerable pile is built round a court, and great part of it curiously made of wood, embattled at top, and the sides carved. In many places are the arms of the Devereux; the devices of the Ferrars and Garnishes; and, in Saxon characters, the initials of the founder, W. D. (Walter Devereux) with the motto Loial suis je. Over the door of the gateway is carved a head in profile, with a crown above. In the middle of the court stands a fountain: and the whole building is surrounded with a moat. The view within the court is faithfully shewn in Plot, tab. v.

IN several of the windows are painted glass. In the great bow-window of the hall are the horse-shoes, the antient device of the Ferrars; in others, the arms of that family, the Devereux, Garnishes, and Shirlies. A bed is still preserved here, the work of Mary Stuart, who was for some time imprisoned in this house: besides this, at present there are no vestiges of its former grandeur. Within and without is a mortifying appearance of neglect and approaching decay [*].

AT a small distance from the house, on a knowl, are the poor remains of the castle;
CASTLE.

consisting of the fragments of two rounders, and a bit of a wall, almost hid in wood. This fortress was very soon permitted to fall in decay. Leland speaks of it as a ruin in his days. When the power of the nobility was broken, by the policy of Henry VII. numbers of the barons, finding their castle no longer a protection to their insolence, were glad to quit so incommodious a kind of habitation. We often see, as in the present instance, an antient mansion near the remains, or on the scite of a more antient castle: the times were so much bettered, and monarchy had recovered so much rightful strength, that the former became useless against; their prince, or their rival reguli, who then began to acknowlege the power of law. Yet still some species of castellated mansion, against popular commotions, or the attacks of bands of robbers, was requisite. Conveniency, and a sort of elegance, was affected in their houses; but a necessary suspicion still remained, and safety provided for by the deep surrounding moat, by the gateway, and the strong door.

Chartley castle was built by Randle Blundeville, Earl of Chester, in 1220, on his return from the Holy Land; and to defray the expences of this, as also of Beeston, which he also founded, a tax was levied on all his vassals. By his death, this part of his estate devolved on William Ferrars Earl of Derby, in right of his wife Agnes, third sister of Randle.

His son Robert, entering into the factious views of the barons, received a defeat at Chesterfield in 1266. His estates were confiscated, and the castle and manor bestowed by Henry III. on Hamon Le Strange; but, notwithstanding this, he possessed himself of it by force, and the king was obliged to order his brother, Edmund Earl of Lancaster, to besiege the place; which he took, but not till after much loss on both sides. Edmund, and the nobility who assisted in the siege, thought proper to obtain his majesty's pardon for the lives lost on the occasion. Ferrars himself received his pardon, was divested of the earldom of Derby, but was suffered to retain this castle; possibly, being reduced so low as to be incapable of giving farther disturbance. It continued in his line till the reign of Henry VI. when, in 1447, by the marriage of Anne, or Agnes, sole heiress to William Lord Ferrars, to Walter Devereux, sheriff of Herefordshire, it passed into another great race of peers. The lady was at that time only eleven years and eight months old; but by the king's special favor, in 1452, she had livery of her lands, without further proof of her age. This estate continued in his posterity (the Lords Ferrars, Viscounts Hereford, and Earls of Essex) till the year 1646, when it fell to Sir Robert Shirley, by his marriage with Dorothy, youngest sister to Robert Earl of Essex, the noted parlement-general; and is at present possessed by their descendant Earl Ferrers.

IN hopes of finding,
STOW CHURCH.

in the neighboring parish-church of Stow, the monumental honors usually attendant on great families, I visited it, at the small trouble of a mile's ride. I was disappointed; for I found only, one of this great line deposited in the place. This is very frequent with a race of heroes, whose active spirits carry them into scenes remote from their natal soil, or bring themselves to fates that prevent possession of their parental sepulchres. Walter Devereux, the first Lord Ferrars, fell in the field of Bosworth, fighting valiantly in behalf of Richard, and was buried among the undistinguished slain. Walter, his descendant, first Earl of Essex, died Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, September 22d. 1576, as supposed by poison, and was interred at Caermarthen. His son, the favorite of Elizabeth, fell a victim to his indiscretion and ambition; perished by the ax, and was flung among the attainted herd. His son, for a series of victories in the cause of liberty, received from his grateful party the magnificent honors of a public funeral in the capital, which his arms had defended.

I FOUND here only the tomb of Walter, first Viscount Hereford, grandson of the first Lord Ferrers, and founder of the house of Chartley. He served with honor in the French wars, under Henry VIII; and in the naval attack of Conquet, in 1512, he was honored with the garter by his royal master, and with the title of Hereford by his successor. His death happened in 1558. He lies here under a fine monument, erected in his life-time; his figure is represented in robes, with the collar of the garter round his neck: his head reposed on a plume of feathers, wreathed round a helmet. On one side of him is placed his first lady, Mary, daughter of Thomas Marquis of Dorset; on the other, his second, Margaret, daughter of Robert Garnyche, Esquire, of Kyngeton, in Suffolk. Around the side is represented, I suppose as mourners, six female and six male figures; the last begirt with swords.

NEAR this is another tomb of alabaster, with the figures of two persons engrav•n on it; but so cankered with age, that neither inscription nor distinction of sex, can be made out.

ON the chancel floor a brass plate preserves the memory of Thomas Newport, steward of the houshold to Walter, first Earl of Essex, and delivers his character in these terms:

Qui charus charis fuerat qui firmus amicis;

En! Thomas Newport conditur hoc tumulo.

Qui felix ortu suit et morta beatus;

Quem Deus et coelum, quem pia vota habent.

FROM Stow I hastened to the Chester road,
WYCH WESTON.

which I reached at the hamlet of Wych, in the parish of Weston on the Trent, whose spire steeple appears at a small distance on the other side of the road. This place is productive of salt, and has been long noted: for its brine-pits, the property of Earl Ferrers.

AFTER going about two miles farther,
HEYWOOD.

I passed through Great Heywood, a village bestowed by Roger de Melend, alias Long Epee, a worthless prelate, in the reign of Henry III. on his valet Roger de Aston; whose family made it their residence, till the marriage of a descendant with the heiress of Tixal, occasioned it to remove to the new acquisition. In my memory the old seat was in possession of the Whitbies. It has since been re-united to the house of Tixal, by purchase. The barn belonging to the manor-house of Heywood, was of a most magnificent size; but of late has been greatly reduced.

THE horse-bridge over the Trent,
ITS LONG BRIDGE.

adjoining to Heywood, was not less remarkable, for I remember it to have consisted of two-and-forty arches; but the number at present is much lessened. There is a tradition, that it was built by the county, in a compliment to the last Devereux Earl of Essex, who resided much at Chartley; and, being a keen sportsman, was often-deprived of his diversion for want of one. I am not clear about the truth, of this report. There certainly had been a bridge here long before, so that, if there was any foundation for such a mark of respect, it could only have been rebuilt after falling to decay.

SHUGBOROUGH.

FROM the middle is a view, of very uncommon beauty,
VALE OF SHUGBOROUGH.

of a small vale, varied with almost every thing that nature or art could give to render it delicious; rich meadows, watered by the Trent and Sow. The first, animated with milk-white cattle, emulating those of Tinian; the last with numerous swans. The boundary on one side, is a cultivated slope; on the other, the lofty front of Cannock Wood, clothed with heath; or shaded with old oaks, scattered over its glowing bloom by the free hand of nature.

IT is more difficult to enumerate the works of art dispersed over this Elysium; they epitomize those of so many places. The old church of Colwich; the mansion of the antient English baron, at Welsely Hall; the great-windowed mode of building in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, in the house of Ingestre; the modern seat in Oak-edge; and the lively improved front of Shugborough; are embellishments proper to our own country. Amidst these arise the genuine architecture of China, in all its extravagance; the dawning of the Grecian, in the mixed gothic gateway at Tixal; and the chaste buildings of Athens, exemplified by Mr. Stuart, in the counterparts of the Choragic monument of Lysicrates, [*] and the octagon tower of Andronicus Cyrrhestes. [†] From the same hand arose, by command of a grateful brother, the arch of Adrian of Athens, embellished with naval trophies, in honor of Lord Anson, a glory to the British fleet; and who still survives in the gallant train of officers who remember and emulate his actions. My much respected friend, the late Thomas Anson, Esquire, preferred, the still paths of private life, and was the best qualified for its enjoyment of any man I ever knew; for with a most humane and the most sedate disposition, he possessed a mind most uncommonly cultivated. He was the example of true taste in this country; and at the time that he made his own place a paradise, made every neighbor partaker of its elegancies. He was happy in his life, and happy in his end. I saw him about thirty hours before his death, listening calmly to the melody of the harp, preparing for the momentary transit from an earthly concert to an union with the angelic harmonies. The unfinished improvements are carried on with great judgment, by his worthy nephew and successor George Anson, Esquire.

AMONG the great number of statues which embellish the place, an Adonis and Thalia are the most capital. There is also a very fine figure of Trajan, in the attitude of haranguing his army. The number of rude Etruscan figures in the garden, shew the extravagance of the earliest ages, and the great antiquity of the art of sculpture in Italy, long before the Romans became, a people. The beautiful monument in the lower end of the garden, does honor to the present age. It was the work of Mr. Schemecher, under the direction of the late Mr. Anson. The scene is laid in Arcadia. Two lovers, expressed in elegant pastoral figures, appear attentive to an antient shepherd, who reads to them an inscription on a tomb,

Et in AZCABIA ego!

The moral resulting from this seems to be, that there are no situations of life so delicious, but which death must at length snatch us from. It was placed here by the amiable owner, as a
TEMPLE of the WINDS at SHUGBOROUGH.

memento of the certainty of that event. Perhaps, also, as a secret memorial of some loss of a tender nature in his early days; for he was wont often to hang over it in affectionate and firm meditation. The Chinese house, a little farther on, is a true pattern of the architecture of that nation, taken in the country by the skilful pencil of Sir Percy Brett: not a mongrel invention of British carpenters.

OPPOSITE to the back-front of the house, on the banks of the Sow, stand the small remains of the antient mansion, which, according to Leland, originally belonged to Suckborrow with a long heard, and who, as some say, gave it to the mitre of Lichfield. It must have been in very early times; for the manor of Haywood (in which this is included) belonged to the see in 1085, the twentieth of William the Conqueror, and so continued till the reign of Edward VI. who bestowed it on Lord Paget. The house was till that time one of the palaces of the bishops. The reliques, at present, serve to give the appearance of reality of ruin to some beautiful Grecian columns, and other fragments of antient architecture; which were tacked to the front by the late Mr. Anson.

Shugborough was frequently the house I had the happiness of making my head-quarters: from whence I made many an excursion to the neighboring places. I beg the reader's pardon for indulging myself with a recollection of what formerly gave me so much pleasure in the survey, and for detaining him with the account of a short circuit, rich in objects.

I SHALL cross the Sow, and begin with Tixal,
TIXAL.

distinguished at present only by the magnificent gateway, a motley pile of Gothic and Grecian architecture, embellished in front with three series of

〈2 pages missing〉

AT a very little distance from this heath lies Ingestre,
INGESTRE.

or Ingestrent, a respectable old house, seated on the easy slope of a hill, and backed by a large wood, filled with antient oaks of vast size: this makes part of the pleasure-ground. The walks are partly bounded by enormous hedges of forest-trees, and partly wander into the antient wood, beneath the shade of the venerable trees.

THIS manor, about the time of Henry II. was the property of Eudo de Mutton; in the reign of Edward III. it was transferred to the family of the Chetwynds, by the marriage of Isabel, daughter of Philip de Mutton, with Sir John de Chetwynd; in which line it continues, being at present owned by John Chetwynd Talbot, Esquire, grandson of John Lord Chetwynd.

THE house is built in the stile of the reign of Elizabeth, with great windows in the center, and a bow on each side: the last are of stone, the rest of the house brick. In the great hall, over the fire-place, is a very good picture of Walter Chetwynd, Esquire, in a great wig, and crossed by a rich sash. This gentleman was distinguished by his vast knowlege in the antiquities of his country,
CHURCH.

and more so by his piety. The present church of Ingestre was rebuilt by him, and was consecrated in August 1677. A sermon was preached, prayers read, a child baptized, a woman churched, a couple married, a corpse buried, the sacraments administred, and, to crown all, Mr. Chetwynd made an offering on the altar of the tythes of Hopton, worth fifty pounds a year, to be added to the rectory for ever. The church is very neat, and is prettily stuccoed. In it is a mural monument, in memory of its great benefactor, who died in 1692.

Hopton Heath lies on the side of Ingestre Park,
HOPTON HEATH SKIRMISH.

and is noted for a skirmish between a party of the King's forces, under the Earl 〈◊〉 Northampton, and another of the parlement's, commanded by 〈◊〉 William Brereton and Sir John Gell. Victory, notwithstanding 〈◊〉 great inequality of numbers, declared itself on the side of the •yalists; but it was purchased at so dear a rate, that, as Lord •arendon expresses, a great victory had been an unequal recom •ence for the loss sustained in the General. The earl fell in the •tion, neglected by his troops, busied in the pursuit; and left en •oned by enemies. He flew his first assailants, and died valiantly, •fusing the offered quarter.

AFTER riding from Ingestre three miles, through very bad roads, •eached Stafford, a good town,
STAFFORD.

containing about five thousand •habitants, seated on a plain, bounded by rising grounds at a •ry small distance. The streets in general are well built; the •arket-place large, ornamented with a handsome town-hall, with •e windows in front: it is built upon pillars, and presents a •cade with six arches, intercolumniated with Ionic pilasters. •is is the county-town; and here the assizes are appointed to 〈◊〉 held, by a statute of the first of Elizabeth.

THE county infirmary lies at a small distance from the town,
INFIRMARY.

•a good plain building; was finished in 1772, and is supported 〈◊〉 an annual subscription of between eight and nine hundred •ear.

Stafford consists of but a single parish,
CHURCHES.

with two churches. That 〈◊〉 St. Mary is a rectory, in the gift of the king; a large building •th an octagon tower, and formerly with a lofty spire rising from Here is to be seen the tomb of Sir Edward Aston, the builder Tixal; who died in 1567, and Joan his wife. Their figures are presented in alabaster, under a large canopy.

THE font is a singular piece of antiquity: very clumsy; but the sides and base most singularly carved into rude Gothic figures.

THIS church had been collegiate, and was given, a little before the year 1136, by King Stephen, to the bishop and chapter of Lichfield and Coventry. The patronage was granted, in 1445, by Henry VI. to Humphrey Duke of Buckingham. It was of exempt jurisdiction, and consisted, in the twenty-sixth of Henry VIII. of a •ean and thirteen prebendaries [*]. The dean's house stood at the vese end of the church, and serves at present for the school.

THE religious houses were the Grey Friars,
RELIGIOUS HOUSES.

or Franciscans, at the north end of the walls, founded, according to Erdeswik, by Sir James Stafford of Sandon. It was valued at £35. 13s. 10d. per annum, and granted in the thirty-first of Henry VIII. to James Leveson.

THE FRIERS AUSTINS had a piece of ground given them on the green, at the south end of the town, by Ralph Lord Stafford. [†] in order to found a house, about the year 1344, for his own soul's sake, those of his wives (Katharine and Margaret) Sir Humphrey Hastings, Knight, and that of Edward III. The tomb of his great line were removed to this church from Stone, at the dissolution, but soon suffered to perish. It was granted, in the 〈◊〉 of Queen Mary, to Thomas Neve and Giles Isam.

A PRIORY of black canons, founded by Richard Peche, bishop of Lichfield and Covenery, about the year 1180; as others say, by Gevard Stafford, on land which he held from the bishop, whom 〈◊〉 complimented with the title of founder [‡]. The prelate had a great affection for this house; for, on resigning his see, he became a canon of it: and here ended his days [*]. It maintained only seven religious, whose revenues were £198 a year. On the •tion it was granted to Rowland Lee, bishop of Lichfield.

BESIDES these, were two hospitals, and the free chapel of Saint Nu•••as. in the castle.

THE town was defended partly by the river Sow,
FORTIFICATIONS.

which bounds one half of it; the rest was guarded by a wall, and by a ditch, supplied by the river with water. It had formerly four gates; of these two are yet standing. The place never was defencible; at last ever stood a siege. Sir William Brereton, the parlement general, took it by surprize, in May 1643, with the loss only of a single man.

THE origin of Stafford is very uncertain: the first name of it is led to be Betheney,
ORIGIN OF STAFFORD.

and that it had been the seat of an hermit called Bertelin, in high fame for his sanctity. The earliest au •hentic mention of the place is in the year 913, when Ethelfleda [†] Countess of Mercia, and sister of Edward the Elder, built a castle her•. This lady had one child by her lord Ethelred; when, ba •ing the pangs of parturition with the joys of connubial rites, •azon like, she determined to forbear for the future all commerce with him. From thenceforth her delight was in arms, in conquests, and in securing her dominions. Such was her prowess, that laying aside all feminine titles, she received that of King, as if Countess and Queen were inadequate to her heroism [‡]

THE scite of this fortress is not precisely known. Doctor Plot is of opinion, that it lay within the entrenchments at Billington, at some distance from Stafford, and seems to found his conjecture from the lands wherein they are being still a remaining part of the demesne land of the barony of Stafford [*]. Cambden attributes a tower to Edward the Elder, founded in the year after that which was built by his sister, and places it on the north side of the river. A mount still remains near the new bridge, called by Speed, Castle-hill; at present named Bullyhill, on which it probably stood.

THE poor remains of the castle,
CASTLE.

which was garrisoned in the civil wars, stand on a little insulated hill, a mile south from the town. The keep was on an artificial mount: the whole is surrounded with a deep foss, which, on the south side, has besides the additional strength of a high rampart. This was founded by William the Conqueror, and was soon after demolished. It is supposed that during the time it stood, the custody of it was committed to Robert de Tonei, younger son of Roger, standard-bearer of Normandy, [†] a follower of the Conqueror, who took from this circumstance the name of Stafford. It is conjectured, that the king at that time reserved this manor to himself, and that it was not included in the vast grant made by him to Robert, of eighty-one manors in this county, twenty-six in that of Warwick, twenty in Lincolnshire, two in Suffolk, and one in each of those of Worcester and Northampton. It appears that it continued in the crown till the second of Edward II. when Edmund Lord Stafford received the grant, and held it in capite by barony, together with that of Bradeley and Madeley, by service, of finding for forty days, at his own charge, three armed men, with three equis coopertis, horses harnessed for war, as often as there should be war with Wales or Scotland. [*] I do not affirm for certain the restorer of this castle. Mr. Erdeswic says, it was Ralph de Stafford, a distinguished warrior, cotemporary with Edward III. It was garrisoned by the king in the last civil wars; was taken by the parlement forces, and demolished in 1644.

ABOUT a quarter of a mile south of the castle, in a low situation,
MANOR-HOUSE.

stood the manor-house of the family, fortified by the same Ralph; for I find from Dugdale, [†] that he had permission, in 1348, to make castles of his manor-houses at Stafford and Madeley. This great family had in it barons, earls, and dukes; and in the year 1637 became extinct: at that time humiliated into barens again. The moat of their antient residence is still to be seen, surrounding a rectangular piece of ground, the scite of the house.

My curiosity led me about two miles further, to Billington,
BILLINGTON BURY.

to examine the supposed scite of the antient Stafford castle. Near the extremity of a high hill, steeply sloping on three sides, and commanding a most extensive and beautiful view, I found a large sea, surrounded in some parts with one, in others with two, deep fosses. This had been a British post, as it agrees with those we find in many parts of the kingdom; but as it retains the name of Billington Bury, it probably might have been occupied by the Saxons, whose posts are distinguished by the addition of Borough, Bury, and Berry.

THE town of Stafford is governed by a mayor, recorder, ten aldermen, and twenty common-council-men; and was incorporated in the third of Edward VI. It first sent burgesses to parlement in 1294, the twenty-third of Edward I. They are elected by inhabitants paying scot and lot, and are returned by the mayor [*].

THE borough still retains one antient custom,
BOROUGH.

the privilege of borough English, or the descent of lands, within its liberty, to the youngest sons of those who die intestate: an usage which is supposed to have been originally founded on the presumption, that the younger child was the most incapable of providing for itself.

THE barony was,
BARONY.

even at the Conquest, one of the greatest in England, and afterwards, like other great seigniories, stiled the Honor of Stafford. None were such originally, but which were royal; but were afterwards bestowed in see on some nobleman, as proved the case with this, as mentioned in page 76; when it was given to Edmund Lord Stafford, with eighty-one dependent manors, with sixty knights sees, viz. nine in his demesne, and fifty-one in service.

AFTER leading the town, I crossed the Wolverhampton Navigation [†] at Redford Bridge. This may be called a port to Stafford. A little further is Weeping Cross, so stiled from its vicinity to the antient place of execution. A little farther on, opens the rich view of the vale of Shugborough, varied with rivers and canals, and bordered with the several seats before described.

CANK WOOD.

ON approaching Cank Wood,
HEYWOOD PARK.

I find on its confines Heywood Park; a small house, the property of Lord Paget, remarkable for the beautiful woody dingles that wind into the sides of the forest. When I was wandering through them, I imagined myself engaged in those of my native country. Here I suppose to have been the park of red deer, which Leland says the bishop of Lichfield had in his manor of Shugborow. I skirted part of the wood, which here ends boldly, almost driving the traveller into the Sow. This front has received from Mr. Anson a wonderful change. ‘Miraturque novas frondes.’

Pines instead of oaks; which, waving over the head of the passenger, would recall to his memory, had he been abroad, the idea of many an alpine scene.

RETURNING over Heywood bridge, I passed through the two hamlets of that name; and within two miles of the first, reached the church and village of Colwich. I must imagine the traveller,
COLWICH.

as well as myself, blinded, if we rode this space insensible of the most elegant view of the vale. It is perfectly prodigal in its beauties, and spreads at once every charm that can captivate the eye. It shews here at once, all that I before mentioned en detail.

THE parsonage and church of Colwich contribute to the variety of the view, from another station: both are antient. This place had been the property of a family of the same name [*], at le•t from Henry III's reign to about the beginning of Elizabeth; when it passed into that of Leicester of Tabley, in Cheshire, by the marriage of the daughter of Edward Colwich [†] to Peter Leicester, Esquire.

The church is dedicated to St. Michael,
CHURCH.

and is a prebend in 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 the cathedral of Lichfield. Within is a tomb, with the recumbent figure, dressed in a gown, of Sir William Wolsely. Here is also the burial-place of the Ansons, made a l'antique, in form of a catacomb. I must not forget an inscription, in memory of another Sir William Wolsely, which does not commemorate his unlucky and singular end; being drowned in his chariot, on the 8th of July 1728, by the accidental breaking of a mill-dam, in the village of Longdon, by a thunder-shower. His four horses perished. The coachman was saved, being carried by the torrent into an orchard, where he stuck till the water abated.

BISHTON.

AT a little distance from Colwich is Bishton,
WOLSLEY BRIDGE.

near which I cross the navigation again, and instantly after the Trent, at Wolsley Bridge, placed at the foot of the hanging-woods of Wolsley park; an inclosure of much native wild beauty. The antient mansion of the family of the same name, lies low and near the river. This manor is a member of Heywood. In the twentieth year of the Conqueror. Nigellus, the paternal ancestor of Greslei, held it of the bishop. About the reign of Henry II. it was a divided manor, between Richard Hints and Richard Wolsley. [*] Soon after this, they seem to have become sole proprietors.

AFTER riding a little way along the Lichfield road, I turned to the left, and crossing the vale, which now expands and grows less rionte, repass the Trent at Colton, on a bridge of a fine single arch.
THE BURBOT.

Near this place is sometimes taken the Burbot, [†] a fish of disgusting appearance, but of a delicate flavor, and very firm. It is not common in these parts, but abounds in the Witham, and in the fens of Lincolnshire; and is very common in the lake of Geneva, where it is called Lota. According to the new arrangement of fish, it is ranked among the gadi, or cod-fish: by Mr. Ray, among the eel-shaped fish. The form is long; the head depressed; the mouth large, armed with small teeth; the nose furnished with two beards, the chin with one: on the back are two fins; the skin smooth and slippery, of a disagreeable green color, spotted with yellow. It is very voracious, and very prolific. The noted old fisherman of the Rhine, Leonard Baltner, took out of a single fish not fewer than 128,000 eggs.

MR. Erdeswik informs us, that at the time of the Conqueror, one Galfridus was lord of Colton. Soon after,
COLTON.

Sir Hardulph de Gastenoys had either all, or shared it with another; for in the year 1315, Sir William Gastenoys and Anselm le Marshal were joint lords of it. After many generations, a female (Thomasine, sole heiress and daughter of Sir Thomas Gastenoys, last male heir of the family, by marriage with Sir Nicholas Greislei, about 1379) transferred it to the house of Drakelow. The old hall, which was large enough to contain fourscore lodging-rooms, was burnt down in the time of Charles I. by the carelessness of a servant. It at that time belonged to Lord Aston. [*]

THE country now alters for the worse, and the soil becomes wet and miry. About two miles distance from Colton stands Blithefield,
BLITHEFIELD.

the respectable old seat of the respectable family of the Bagots; a most antient and virtuous race. At the time of the Conquest they were found possessed of Bagot's Bromley. In 1193, or the fifth of Richard I. a younger branch became ennobled, by the marriage of Millisent, heiress of Robert Lord Stafford, [†] with Hervey Bagot; from which match sprung a long line of peers of every rank. The elder branch acquired this place by the marriage of Sir Ralph Bagot (before the reign of Henry IV.) with Elizabeth, sole heiress of Richard Blithefield, lineally descended from a Saxon of the name of Hereman, or the warrior.

THE house is built round a court, and still retains, on the outside, the simplicity of appearance of that of an antient baron; and within, the old hospitality. The best rooms are, the hall, the library, and a large drawing-room, lately added. The first is a noble apartment, unadorned, excepting over the chimney-piece, where is a representation in bold and good sculpture, in freestone, of an event dear as life to every true Englishman; that of King John granting to his subjects the great charter of liberty.

AMONG the portraits, I observed on a board, in a flat manner,
LORD-TREASURER BURLEIGH.

the head of lord treasurer Burleigh, with a white beard, bonnet, collar of the garter, the George, and a white wand. His abilities as a statesman were inimitable; his private virtues not beyond the power of the great to copy; his magnificence was attended with hospitality; his annual deeds of alms to the amount of five hundred pounds; his honesty, temperance, moderation, industry, and justice [*]. As his life was excellent, so his death was happy; dying in the fulness of years and of glory, envied, as his greatest enemy declared, only because his fun went down with so much lustre; not clouded, as generally is the fate of great ministers.

A CONTEMPORARY of his is painted in the same manner,
HENRY EARL OF HUNTINGTON.

with the collar of the garter; his beard forked: the date 1588, aet. 52. This preserves a likeness of a very different character, Henry Earl of Huntington, lord president of the north, and one of the peers to whom the custody of the queen of Scots was entrusted. Burleigh created a fortune by his prudence; Huntington dissipated his, by being the dupe to the ministers of the rising fanaticism of the age, which, nurtured by such wooers of popularity as Leicester, Essex, and this noble peer, in the next age attained strength sufficient to subvert the church it pretended to purify.

A NEIGHBORING statesman, Sir Walter Aston of Tixal,
SIR WALTER ASTON.

is painted on board. He appears with a firm countenance, short hair, and whiskers; in a black dress, laced with gold on the seams, and graced with a triple gold chain. Sir Walter was ambassador to Spain in the time of the negotiations about the Spanish match, in the reign of James I. and favored the designs of the young prince, and his favorite Buckingham. He was resolute and prudent, and had great knowlege of the importance of the English trade with Spain. [*] He might serve his master, but he hurt his own fortune; dissipating great part of £10,000 a year in supporting the dignity of his character, and the honor of his country. His reward was a Scotch peerage; being created by Charles I. in the third year of his reign, Lord Forfar.

AN half-length of Walter Earl of Essex, father to the unfortunate Robert. He is represented in rich armour.
WALTER EARL OF ESSEX.

On one side are the words Virtutis comes invidia; allusive to the constant ill usage he met with from the worthless favorite of Elizabeth, the Earl of Leicester. He was a nobleman of great merit and courage; was sent to command in Ireland, in 1573, and performed services worthy of his character; but at length, worn out by the ill usage of the ministry, who with-held from him the necessary support, he came over to England, to lay his complaint before the queen. He was artfully received, and sent back with the promises of better usage. Grief, or, as others say, poison, administered by the instigation of Leicester, who loved his wife, cut him off at the age of thirty-five, at Dublin, in 1576. Perhaps the infamy of Dudley's character, and the speedy and indecent marriage of the countess with that favorite, might give rise to the scandal; for an inquisition was made on his death, and the report in consequence was, that he died of the flux; a disorder very frequent in Ireland in those days.

HERE are several portraits of different persons,
COLONEL RICHARD BAGOT.

of this worthy house. Among them is Colonel Richard Bagot, governor of Lichfield, who fell in the cause of loyalty, in the fatal battle of Naseby. He is dressed in a buff coat, and represented with long hair.

I MUST not omit a curious-picture of a countrywoman of mine,
MRS. SALUSBURY.

Mrs. Salusbury of Bachymbed, in Denhighshire, in a vast high sugar-loafed hat and kerchief, bordered with ermine. Near her are two of her grandchildren, Sir Edward Bagot, and Elizabeth, afterwards Countess of Uxbridge, by her daughter Jane, who married Sir Walter Bagot, and conveyed the Welch estate into the family. A head of her son Charles Salusbury, in long hair, and flowered night-gown, is also preserved here.

MARY Countess of Ailsford,
LADY AILSFORD.

painted in her old-age, by Hudson, sitting, is a most beautiful portrait. She is dressed, simplex munditiis, in pale brown sattin, white hood, handkerchief, apron, and short ruffles: a reproach to the unsuitable fantastic dress of these times, which attempts to disguise respectful years, and renders that inevitable period the object of ridicule.

Mary, daughter to Hervey Bagot, Esquire, of Pipehall, first married to Sir Charley Berkeley. Earl of Falmouth, [*] and afterwards to Charles Earl of Dorset; a brown, beauty of the gay court of Charles II. and, as Grammont says, the only one that had the appearance of beauty and wisdom in the departments of maids of honor to the Dutchess of York.

William Legge, first Earl of Dartmouth, and his lady; parents of the late Lady Barbara Bagot.

THAT eccentric statesman, Henry Earl of Bolingbroke, when young, dressed in his robes.

A HEAD of that great actor, and dramatic poet, Moliere.
MOLIERE

He lived the adoration of his countrymen; but, dying in his profession, was, according to a custom of the church of his nation, refused Christian burial by Harlai de Chanvalon, a debauched archbishop of Paris. The king (Lewis XIV.) at length prevailed to have him buried in a church; but the curate would not undertake the office. The populace, with difficulty could be persuaded to suffer his remains to be carried to their grave. Bouhours marks the injustice done this great man, in the following lines:

Tu reformas & la ville & la cour,

Mais quella en fut la recompense?

Les François rougiront un jour

De leur peu de reconnaissance.

II leur falut an comedien

Qui mit à les polir sa gloire & son etude;

Mais Moliere, a tu gloire il ne manquera rien.

Si parmi les defauts que to peignis si bien,

Tu les avais repris de leur ingratitude.

I QUIT the subject of paintings, notwithstanding there are multitudes of pictures, by the best masters, in this house. They were all undergoing a removal; therefore I avoid further mention of them, until they are fixed in their permanent situations. But I must not be silent about the collection of coins, one of the most valuable and instructive in England, the bequest of his beloved neighbor and friend Thomas Anson, Esquire.

THE park is at some distance from the house.
PARK.

The oaks are of a very great size: a twin-tree was lately sold for £.120, and some single ones for half that sum; and I am told, that there are several now standing equally large.

THE church is very near the house,
CHURCH.

in the gift of Sir William Bagot, dedicated to St. Leonard. Within, are several sculptured tombs, of the time of the fifteenth century; some with imaged figures, others engraven; mostly in memorial of the Bagots: one of an Aston of Broughton, and another expressed by a little skeleton of a Broughton, a child of three months old. The monument of Sir Edward Bagot, who died in 1673, is mural, and supersedes the ten commandments, being placed over the altar. The inscription tells us, that he was a true assertor of episcopacy in the church, and hereditary monarchy in the state; which probably entitled him, in those days, to this sacred place. On the outside of the church, two modest heaps of turf, parallel to each other, mark the spot where the remains of the last amiable owners of the place repose; whole merit survives in their successor.

I FOUND myself here not very distant from Whichenoure Hall, and could not resist the desire of visiting the seat of the celebrated Flitch, the desperate reward of conjugal affection.

IN my road, not far from Blithefield, I again met with the Trent,
HERMITAGE.

and the Canal: the last a most fortunate embellishment to the neat seat of Mr. Lister of Hermitage. The proprietors (with the respect they usually pay to gentlemen) have before this house given it an elegant form; and, to add to the scenery, luckily the aweful mouth of a considerable subterraneous course of the navigation opens to view, and affords the amazing sight of barges losing themselves in the cavern, or suddenly emerging to day from the other side.

THE church of Hermitage, seated on a small eminence,
CHURCH.

forms another beautiful object. This belongs to the cathedral of Lichfield, and is stiled the prebendary of Hansacre, a hamlet in this parish, founded by Bishop Clinton.

ON the opposite side of the Trent is Maveston Ridware, a rectory,
MAVESTON RIDWARE.

whose church is dedicated to St. Andrew. This had been the property of the Mavestons, at left from the time of Edward I. to that of Henry IV. The tomb of Sir Robert Maveston, or Mauvesine, in the parish-church, recals to memory a melancholy story. In the beginning of the reign of the usurping Henry, when the kingdom was divided against itself, two neighboring knights, Sir Robert Maveston, and Sir William Handsacre, of Handsacre, took arms in support of different parties: the first, to assert the cause of Bolingbroke; the last, that of the deposed Richard. They assembled their vassals, and began their march to join the armies, then about to join battle, near Shrewsbury. The two neighbors, with their respective followers, unfortunately met, not far from their seats. Actuated by party rage, a skirmish ensued: Sir William was slain on the spot. Sir Robert proceeded to the field, and met his fate with the gallant Percy. What a picture is this accident, of the miseries of civil dissension! What a tale is the following, of the sudden vicissitude of hatred to love, between contending families! Margaret, one of the daughters, and co-heiress of Sir Robert Maveston, gave her hand to Sir William, son of the knight slain by her father; and with her person and fortune compensated the injury done by her house to that of Handsacre. [*]

THE other daughter, Elizabeth, married Sir John Cawardine, whose posterity was extinct here in the male line, by the death of Thomas Cawardine, Esquire, in 1592.

THE tomb of Sir Robert is altar-shaped: his figure armed and helmed, with a great sword on one side, and a dagger on the other, is engraven on the incumbent alabaster slab, with the following inscription: ‘Hic jacet Dns. Robertus de Mauvesine, miles, Dns. de Mauvesine Ridware, qui occubuit juxta Salopiam, 1403, stans cum rege, dimicans ex parte sua usque ad mortem, cujus animae propitietur Deus. ’

HERE is a tomb of two other Mauvesins, one cross-legged, with each hand on his sword; both under arches in the wall.

NEAR the church is the gateway, part of the antient mansion of the family of Mauvesin; and on the other side of the Trent, beyond High Bridge, is a moated fragment of the rival house of Handsacre.

AT the distance of about two miles from Maveston,
KING'S BROMLEY.

I passed by King's Bromley. Before the Conquest, this manor had been the residence of the Earl of Mercia. Here, in 1057, died the pious Leosric, [*] husband to the famous Godiva. At that time, it was called Brom-legge. After the Conqueror took it into his own hands, the name was changed to that of King's Bromley. It continued in the crown till the year 1258, or the forty-third of Henry III. when Roger Corbet died, holding it of the king in capite [†]. It continued in that family till the year 1451, or the thirtieth of Henry VI. when it came by descent to Praiers of Baddeleigh, in Cheshire: from him to one Partridge, who sold it to Francis Agard of Ireland; whose descendants possessed it for some generations, when it was sold to John Newton, Esquire, of Barbadoes; in whose line it remains.

FROM hence I passed by Orgrave, one of the seats of George Anson,
ORGRAVE.

Esquire, lately the property of the Turtons. Afterwards, through the village of Alrewas. The manor was in possession of Algar Earl of Mercia; but on the forfeiture of his son, the brave Edwin, was bestowed by the Conqueror, with the following, on Walter de Somervil, one of his Norman followers.

FROM hence I visited Whichenoure, or Wichnor,
WHICHENOURE MANOR.

where I crossed a bridge of the same name over the Trent, not far from the place where it receives the Tame. The Roman road passes this way, and on this marshy spot was formed upon piles of wood. It runs from the east side of Lichfield, and points to the north-east. Much brass money has been found, and, as I am informed, there are vestiges of a Roman camp in Whichenoure park.

THE church stands on an eminence,
CHURCH.

on the north side of the river. The house is at a small distance, and enjoys a most beautiful view. I believe this to have been on the site of a very antient mansion, which Leland observes to have been quite down in his days; and that the seat was then below,
SINGULAR TENURE.

much subject to the n•ngs of the Trent. The present house is a modern building, remarkable for the painted wooden bacon flitch, still hung up over the hall chimney, in memory of the singular tenure by which Sir Philip de Somervile, in the time of Edward III. held the manors of Whichenoure, Sirescote, Ridware, Netherton, and Cowlee, of the Earl of Lancaster, then lord of the honor of Tutbury. The services clamed were these, viz. two small fees; ‘that is to say, when other tenants pay for releef one whole knight's fee, one hundred shillings; he, the said Sir Philip, shall pay but fifty shillings; and when escuage is assessed throgheout the land, or ayde for to make the eldest son of the lord knyght, or for to marry the eldest doughter of the lord, the sayd Sir Philip shal pay bot the moiety of it that other shal paye.’

‘Nevertheless, the sayd Sir Philip shal synde meyntienge and susteiyne one bacon flyke hanging in his halle, at Wichenore, ready arrayed all tymes of the yere, bott in Lent, to be given to everyche mane or womane married, after the dey and yere of their mariage be passed; and to be given to everyche mane of religion, arch bishop, prior, or other religious; and to everyche preest, after the year and day of their profession finished, or of their dignity reseyved, in forme following. Whensoever that ony such before named wylle come for to enquire for the baconne in their owne person, or by any other for them, they shall come to the bayliff or porter of the lordship of Whichenour, and shall say to them in the manere as ensewethe: Baylife, or Porter, I doo you to knowe, that I am come for my self (or, if he come for any other, shewing for whome) one bacon flyke, hanging in the halle of the lord of Whichenour, after the forme thereunto belonginge.’

‘After which relation the bailiffe, or porter, shal assigne a daye to him, upon promise by his feythe to return, and with him to bring tweyne of his neighbours; and in the meyn time the said bailif shal take with him tweyne of the freeholders of the lordship of Whichenoure, and they three shal goe to the mannour of Rudlowe, belonging to Robert Knyghtley, and there shall somon the foresaid Knyghtley, or his bayliffe, commanding him to be ready at Whichenour the day appoynted, at pryme of the day, with his carriage; that is to say, a horse and a sadyle, a sakke, and a pryke, for to convey and carry the said baconne and corne a journey out of the county of Stafford, at his costages; and then the sayd bailiffe shal, with the said freeholders, somon all the tenants of the said manoir to be ready at the day appoynted at Whichenour, for to doe and performe the services to the baconne. And at the day assigned, all such as owe services to the baconne, shal be ready at the gatte of the manoir of Whichenour, from the fonne risinge to none, attendyng and awayting for the comyng of hym and his felowys chapaletts, and to all those whiche shal be there, to doe their services deue to the baconne: and they shal lede the said demandant, wythe tromps and tabours, and other manner of mynstralseye, to the halle dore, where he shal fynde the lord of Whichenour, or his steward; redy to deliver the baconne in this manere:’

‘He shal enquere of hym which demandeth the baconne, if he hath brought tweyne of his neighbours; who must answere, They be here redy; and then the steward shal cause theis two neighbours to swere yf the said demandant be a weddyt man, or have be a man weddyt, and yf syth his marryage one yere and a day be passed, and yf he be a freeman or a villeyn: and yf his seid neghbours make othe that he hath for hym all theis three poynts rehersed, then shal the baconne be take downe, and brought to the halle dore, and shal there be layd upon one half a quarter of wheatte, and upon one other of rye: and he that demandeth the baconne shal kneel upon his knee, and shal hold his right hande upon a booke, which shal be layd above the baconne and the corne, and shal make oath in this manere:’

‘Here ye Sir Philip de Somervyle, lord of Whichenour, mayntayner and giver of this baconne, that I A. syth, I wedded B. my wife, and syth I had her in my kepyng and at wylle, by a yere and a daye after our marryage, I would not have changed for none other, farer ne fowler, richer ne powrer, ne for none other descended of gretter lynage, slepyng ne waking, at noo tyme; and if the seid B. were sole, and I sole, I wolde take her to be my wife before all the wymen of the worlde, of what condytions. soevere they be, good or evyle, as helpe me God, and his seyntys, and this flesh, and all fleshes.’

And his neghbours shal make oath, that they trust verily he hath said truely. And yf it be founde by his neghbours before named, that he be a villeyn, there shal be delyvered to him half a quarter of wheatte and a cheese; and yf he be a villein, he shal have half a quarter of rye, withoutte cheese, and then shal Knyghtley, the lord of Rudlow, be called for, to carry all their thyngs to fore rehersed; and the sayd corne shal be layd upon one horse, and the baconne apperteyneth shal ascend upon his horse, and shal take the chese before hym, if he have a horse; and yf he have none, the lord of Whichenour shall cause him have one horse and sadyl, to such tyme as he passed his lordshippe; and soe shal they departe the manoyr of Whichenour with the corne and the baconne to fore him, him that hath wonne ytt, with trompets, tabourets, and other manoir of mynstralsce. And all the free tenants of Whichenour shal conduct him to be passed the lordship of Whichenour; and then shall they retorne except hym to whom apperteiyneth to make the carriage and journy withoutt the countye of Stafford, at the costys of his lord of Whichenour. And yf the seid Robert Knyghtley doe not cause the baconne and corne to be conveyed as is rehersed, the lord of Whichenour shal do it to be carryed, and shall distreigne the said Robert Knyghtley for his default, for one hundred shillings in his manoir of Rudlowe, and shall kepe the distresse so takyn irreplevisable [*]:

SUCH is the history of this memorable custom. I wish,
PRESENT STATE OF THE FLITCH.

for the honor of the state matrimonial, that it was in my power to continue the register of successful clamants, from that preserved in the 608th Spectator; but, from the strictest enquiry, the flitch has remained untouched, from the first century of its institution to the present: and we are credibly informed, that the late and present worthy owners of the manor, were deterred from entering into the holy state, through the dread of not obtaining a single rasher from their own bacon.

THE first pessessor of this manor was Sir Walter de Somervile, a Norman, on whom it was bestowed by the Conqueror. It rested in his family till the death of the above-mentioned Sir Philip de Somervile, who left two daughters, Joan, wife of Sir Rhys ap Griffith, Knight; and Maud, married to Edmund Vernon. This estate fell to the former, and remained in the family till the last century, when it was sold by Mary, daughter or widow to Henry Griffith, to — Offley, Esquire, ancestor to the late owner; who, within these few years, alienated it to the present John Levet, Esquire.

I CANNOT tell the precise year in which it was sold to Mr. Offley; but it appears that Henry Griffith was living in 1597.

IN compliance with my original plan, I took the same way, in order to return into the great road. Soon after,
RUDGLEY.

repassing the Trent, at Colton bridge, I reached Rudgley, a small town, celebrated for its great annual fairs for horses of the coach breed.

THE church is a little north of the town,
CHURCH.

is dedicated to Saint Augustin, and is a vicarage belonging to the chapter of Lichfield. Opposite is a very antient timber-house, belonging once to the Chetwynds; at present to Mr. Anson. On an eminence, above the town, is beautifully situated a large house, formerly belonging to the Westons, greatly enlarged and improved by the present owner, Ashton Curzon, Esquire.

THE antient owners of Rudgley were of the same name with the town: some of the family had the honor of being sheriffs of the county, in the reign of Edward III: another was knight of the shire, in the same period. The name continued here till after the time of Henry VI. Erdeswik mentions this to have been a manor belonging to the bishop of Lichfield; which I find was alienated to the king by bishop Sampson, in 1547.

THE parish and village of Longdon succeeds that of Rudgley.
LONGDON.

The church lies out of the road, on the left; is a vicarage, dedicated to St. James; and belongs to a prebendship of Lichfield. The village consists of scattered houses, extending for a vast way on each side of the lane; from whence the name. This gave rise, to a common saying in these parts,

The stoutest beggar that goes by the way,

Cannot beg thro' Long' in a summer's day.

THIS village antiently was full of gentlemen's seats; a most useful species of population to the poor, whose distresses seldom fail reaching the ears of mediocrity, but whose cries rarely attain the height of greatness. Sir Edward Littleton had a house called Chestal; Simon Rudgley, sheriff of the county in the time of Edward III. had another; the younger brother of the Astons had a seat here, from the reign of Edward I; the Broughtons had Broughton Hall, from the days of King John; and Adam Arblaster possessed Liswys (now Longball) in 1351, or the twenty-fifth of Edward III. in whose name it continued till of late, when it was purchased by Francis Cob, Esquire.

THIS manor is of vast extent. Above thirty other manors, lordships) and villages, owe suit and service, besides Cank, Heywood and Rudgley, to the court-leet, which is held here every three weeks. It once belonged to the bishop of Lichfield, but was alienated by Bishop Sampson.

AFTER winding up the steep of a high hill, an advanced part of the forest of Cank, I turned out of the road to Beaudesert,
BEAUDESERT.

the princely seat of Lord Paget, placed on the side of a lofty sloping eminence, sheltered above, and on each side, by beautiful rising grounds, and embosomed with trees, commanding in front, over the tops of far subjacent woods, a most extensive and agreeable view; so that it well vindicates the propriety of its name.

THIS had been a place belonging to the bishops of Lichfield, which, with the manors of Longdon, Heywood, Berkswick, Cank, Rudgley, and Shugborrow, were part of the spoils of that see, wrested from it in the time of Edward VI. with the connivance of Richard Sampson, then bishop, who accepted in their stead certain impropriations of the value of an hundred and eighty-three pounds a year. These livings at that time were good rectories; now poor vicarages, or mercenary curacies, annexed to the bishoprick.

THE leviathan who swallowed these manors, was Sir William Paget, created by Edward VI. Baron Beaudesert. He first appeared in the reign of Henry VIII. and from a low beginning, meritoriously rose to the dignity of secretary and ambassador to Charles V. and Francis I. In the next reign, he was made chancellor of the dutchy of Lancaster, and comptroller of the houshold; and obtained a peerage. In that of Mary, became lord privy-seal, and was restored to the order of the Garter, from which he had been degraded in the time of her predecessor. At the accession of Elizabeth, at his own request, he was permitted to retire from the service of the state, being zealously attached to the religion of his former mistress [*]. Yet his zeal for the old religion, produced in him no scruples about sharing in the plunder of the church. The reforming Somerset, and the papal Paget, agreed in that single point. His posterity derive from him an uncommon extent of interest and command.

Beaudesert was rebuilt by Thomas Lord Paget, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It is a very handsome stone edifice, in form of an half H; of late most admirably improved, and fitted up by the noble owner. It is totally disengaged from the gateway, walls, and other obstructions that encumbered it in the days of Plott; [†] and the grounds that environ it are layed with the simplicity that forms true grandeur.

HERE is a gothic hall of eighty feet by twenty-one; a diningroom of forty-two by twenty-seven; and a magnificent gallery of ninety-seven by seventeen. The other apartments are small.

IN the drawing-room is a fine portrait of the founder of the family,
PORTRAIT OF LORD PAGET.

the first Lord Paget, a three-quarters length; in a bonnet, black gown furred, with a great forked beard, the George, a stick, and dagger. A fine performance of Holbein's.

FROM the house I ascended to the summit of the hill,
CASTLE-HILL.

on the verge of Cank heath, to an antient British post called the Castlehill. It is encompassed with a vast rampart and two ditches. The two entrances are opposite to each other, and before the eastern are several advanced works. It commands a vast view, and was well situated for the purposes of a temporary retreat. I refer the reader, for an account of the uses of these entrenchments, to my Welsh Tour [‡]; for they are common to most parts of Britain. Doctor Plott ascribes this work to King Canute; but I suspect it to be of earlier origin.

FROM hence is an extensive view of the chace,
CANK FOREST.

or forest, of Cank, or Cannock, which Plott derives from the name of the Danish prince Canuti Sylva. This vast tract was once covered with oaks, but for some centuries past, has been spoiled of its honors; even old Drayton [*] deplores its losses, owing, as he says, to the avarice of the times.

O woeful Cank the while,

As brave a wood-nymph once as any of this isle,

Great Arden's eldest child!

Now by vile gain devour'd!

BUT this change is much more beautifully described by Mr. Masters, in his Itinerary [†] of 1675; in which he describes his journey in most elegant Latin. His passage over Cank wood, and the translation by my ingenious friend [‡], cannot but be acceptable to every reader of taste.

Hinc mihi mox ingens ericetum complet ocellos,

Sylva olim passim nymphis habitata ferisque:

Condensae quercus, domibus res nata struendis

Ornandoque foco, et validae spes unica classis.

Nunc umbris immissa dies, namque aequore vasto

Ante, retro, dextrâ, laevâ, quo lumina cunque,

Verteris una humili consurgit vertice planta,

Purpuresque erice tellurem vestit amictu;

Dum floret suaves et naribus adflat odores

Haec ferimus saltem amissae solatia sylvae.

A vast and naked plain confines the view,

Where trees unnumber'd in past ages grew,

The green retreat of wood-nymphs; once the boast,

The pride, the guardians of their native coast.

Alas! how chang'd! each venerable oak

Long since has yielded to the woodman's stroke.

Where'er the chearless prospect meets the eye,

No shrub, no plant, except the Heath, is nigh;

The solitary Heath alone is there,

And wafts its sweetness in the desert air.

So sweet its scent, so rich its purple hue,

We half forget that here a forest grew.

R. W.

FROM Castle-hill I descended towards the great road, and passed by Fairwell church [*], once conventual,
FAIRWELL CHURCH.

belonging to a priory of Benedictine nuns. It originally was the property of canons regular, or hermits; but at the request of Roger, Jeffry, and Robert, brothers of Farewell, [†] and with the consent of the chapter of Lichfield, was bestowed on the priory, about 1140, by Roger de Clinton, bishop of Litchfield; who endowed it with the mill, and all the lands between the brooks, then called Chistals, and Blache Siche, with other emoluments mentioned in his two grants. Henry II. was also a great benefactor to these nuns, bestowing on them three ploughlands at Fagereswell, one at Pipe, and one at Hamerwich, and forty acres of land cleared from wood, in the forest of Cank, [‡] in 1527. On the suppression of the lesser religious houses, it was given to Lichfield, to increase and maintain the choristers, in recompente of a pension which should have been given by Cardinal Wolsey, out of his college at Oxford. [*]

AFTER a short ride, I reached the summit of a long but gentle descent, from which is a fine view of the city of Lichfield, lying at the foot of it. The situation is delightful, in a fertile and dry soil, with small risings on almost every side. The cathedral, with its three spires, is a most striking object.

Lichfield is a place of Saxon origin,
LICHFIELD.

and owes its rise to Ceadda, or Chad, the great saint of Mercia. I omit the legend of the thousand Christians, disciples of St. Amphibolus, that were martyred here under Dioclesian; or the three kings slain at this place in battle, as sculptured over the-town-hall. I take up its history about the year 656, when Oswy, king of the country, established a bishoprick here, and made Dwina, or Dinma, the first prelate. To him succeeded Cellach and Trumberct; and on his demise,
ST. CHAD.

the famous Ceadda. This pious man at first led an eremitical life, in a cell, at the place on which now stands the church of his name, and supported himself by the milk of a white hind. In this place he was discovered by Rufine, the son of Wolphere, who was privately, instructed by him till the time of his martyrdom, before-recited. Remorse, and consequential conversion, seized the Pagan prince. As some species of expiation, he preferred the apostle to the vacant see. He built himself a small house near the church, and, with seven or eight of his brethren, during the interval of preaching, read and prayed in private. On the approach of his death, flights of angels, sang hymns over his cell. Miracles at his tomb confirmed the holiness of his life. A lunatic, that by accident escaped from his keepers, lay a night on it; and in the morning was found restored to his senses. The very earth taken out of it, was an infallible remedy for all disorders incident to man or beast.[*] Ceadda was of course canonized; a shrine was erected in honor of him; great was the concourse of devotees: the place increased and flourished.

THE history of our cathedrals is; in its beginning, but the history of superstition, mixed with some truth and abundance of legend: humiliating proof of the weakness of the human mind! yet all the fine arts of past times, and all the magnificent works we now so justly admire, are owing to a species of piety that every lover of the elegance of architecture must rejoice to have existed.

WE are told, that in the days of Jaruman, about the year 666,
CATHEDRAL WHEN FOUNDED.

the cathedral was founded.

I SHALL not trouble the reader with a dry list of prelates; but only mention those distinguished by some remarkable event, that befel the see during their days.

IN those of Winfrid, successor to St. Chad, in 674, Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, thought fit to divide the bishoprick into two, and to establish the other at Sidnacester; in Lincolnshire, the present Stow• Winfrid disapproving this defalcation, was deprived for contumacy. The diocese might well bear dividing; for at that time it contained the whole kingdom of Mercia. At present, it comprehends all Staffordshire, except 〈…〉, which belong to Worcester; the larger part of? 〈…〉 and about half Shropshire.

IN the time of Bishop Adulf, Ossa, king of the Mercians, procured liberty from the pope of erecting the fee into an archbishop•ick, in 786, and to assign him for suffragans Winchester, Hereford, L•g•ster (Leicester), Helmham, and Dunwick. This honor died with Adulf.

A BISHOP Peter, in 1067, the year succeeding the Conquest, removed the see to St. John's, in Chester; where he died, and was interred, in 1085.

HIS successor, Robert de Limesey, smitten with the love of the gold and silver [*] with which the pious Earl Leofric had covered the walls of his new convent at Coventry, in 1095 removed the see to that city, and at once scraped from a single beam, that supported a shrine, 500 marks worth of silver [†].

I NOW speak of a prelate of a different temper;

〈◊〉

C•I•TON. to whose munificence both the church and city were highly indebted. Roger de Clinton, consecrated in 1129, took down the antient Mercian cathedral. We are not informed of the dimensions or nature of the building, any more than we are of that built by this bishop. It must have been, according to the reigning mode of the times, of the species of architecture usually called Saxon, with massy pillars and round arches. There is not at present the left relique of this stile. But I am unacquainted with the accident, or calamity, which destroyed the labors of this pious prelate; who took up the cross, and died at Antioch, on a pilgrimage to the holy sepulchre.

AFTER a succession of twelve prelates, Walter de Langton,
BISHOP LANGTON

treasurer of England, was consecrated bishop of this see, in 1296. He was highly favored by Edward I. His prosperity was interrupted by the resentment of the prince, who meanly revenged on the bishop a short imprisonment he had suffered in the time of his father, for riotously destroying his deer. After a persecution and confinement of above two years, he emerged from all his difficulties, and resumed his pastoral charge in a manner that did him great honor. He may be considered as the third architect of this cathedral: to him we are indebted for the present elegant pile. He laid the foundation for our Lady's chapel; an edifice of uncommon beauty, finished after his death with money left for that purpose. He built the cloysters, and expended £2,000 upon a shrine for St. Chad. He bestowed on the choir several rich vestments, a chalice, and two cups of beaten gold, to the value of £200. To the vicars choral he gave a standing cup, and an annual pension of £20, and procured for them and the canons great immunities: in particular, there was an order from the king to the justices of Staffordshire, that, without trial, they should hang upon the next gallows divers persons that by force kept their lands from them. This prelate also surrounded the close with a wall and ditch, made the great gate at the west end, and the postern at the south. He gave his own palace, at the west end of the close, to the vicars choral, and built a new one for himself at the east end. He partly built, or enlarged, the castle at Eccleshal, and the manors of Heywood and Shugborow, and the palace in the Strand. He finished his useful life in November 1321, and was buried in the chapel of his own founding.

THE cathedral continued in the state it was left by Bishop Langton, till the time of the dissolution, when the rich shrine of St. Chad, and other objects of similar devotion, fell a prey to the rapacity of the prince. The building continued in its pristine beauty till the unhappy wars of the last century,
CATHEDRAL FORTIFIED.

when it suffered greatly by three sieges. The situation of the place on an eminence, surrounded by water and by deep ditches, and fortified with walls and bastions, rendered it unhappily a proper place for a garrison.

IN 1643, it was possessed by the royalists of the county, under the Earl of Chesterfield: when it underwent the attack rendered memorable by the death of Lord Brook, commander of the parlementary forces. His lordship, in reconnoitring the cathedral, in a wooden porch in Dams street, was shot into the eye by a musket-ball, on March 2d, 1643. This happened to be the festival of St. Chad, the patron of the church. The cavaliers attributed the direction of the fatal bullet to the influence of the Saint, in resentment of the sacrileges this nobleman was committing on his cathedral. What share the Saint had in this affair, I will not pretend to say; but the musket was aimed, and the trigger drawn, by a neighboring gentleman posted in the leads, known by the name of dumb Dyot. The loss of Lord Brook gave very short respite to the garrison; which was taken almost immediately after, by Sir John Gell.

IN April, in the same year, it was attacked by Prince Rupert At that time it was commanded by Colonel Rouswel; a steady governor over an enthusiastic garrison. He defended the plac• with vast resolution. A breach was made by the blowing up o• a mine. The attack was made with great bravery, but great loss At length the garrison gave up, on the most honorable conditions [*]. The colonel took care to plunder the church of the communion-plate, during the time the fanatics were in possession. They used every species of profanation; hunted a cat in it with hounds, to enjoy the fine echo from the roof; and brought a calf, dressed in linen, to the font, and sprinkled it with water, in derision of baptism [†].

THE prince appointed Colonel Hervey Bagot [‡]

Colonel Bagot met him, and after a brisk action, whipped the fellow himself into his retreat, and narrowly missed taking him.

the governor; who kept possession till the ruin of the king's affairs, in 1646; when the colonel, and other commanders, being satisfied that the king had not an hundred men in any one place in the field, nor any garrison unbesieged, surrendered on very honorable terms, on the 10th of July, to Adjutant Louthian ‖.

THE state of this church, after so many sieges, may easily be conceived. The honor of restoring it to its former splendor,
RESTORED BY BISHOP HACKET.

was reserved for John Hacket, presented to this see in 1661. On the very next day after his arrival, he set his coach-horses, with teams, to remove the rubbish; and in eight years time restored the cathedral to its present beautiful state, at the expence of twenty thousand pounds [*]; one thousand of which was the gift of the dean and chapter; the rest was done either at his own charge, or by benefactions resulting from his own solicitations. He died in 1670. A very handsome tomb was erected in the choir to his memory, with his effigies laid recumbent on it, with a mitre on his head, and in his episcopal dress.

THE west front is of great elegance, adorned with the richest sculpture, and, till of late, with rows of statues of prophets, kings of Judah, &c. and, above all, a very bad one of Charles II. who had contributed to the repair of the church, by a liberal gift of timber. This statue was the work of a Sir William Wilson, originally a mason from Sutton Coldfield, who, after marrying a rich wife, arrived at the dignity of knighthood.

THE sculptures round the doors were very elegant; but time, or violence, hath greatly impaired their beauty.

James II. when Duke of York, bestowed on this church the magnificent west window. The fine painted glass was given of late years, by Dean Addenbrook.

THE northern door is extremely rich in sculptured moldings:
RICH NORTH DOOR.

three of soliage, and three of small figures in ovals. In one of the lowest is represented a monk baptizing a person kneeling before him. Probably the former is intended for St. Chad; the latter for Wulferus. It is a misfortune, that the ornaments of this cathedral are made of such friable stone, that what fanaticism has spared, the weather has impaired.

IN the front are two fine spires, and a third in the centre,
FRONT.

of a vast height, and fine proportion.

THE roof was till of late covered with lead, but grew so greatly out of repair, that the dean and chapter were obliged to substitute slates instead of metal, on account of the narrow revenues left to maintain this venerable pile; and, after the strictest oeconomy, they will be under the necessity of contributing from their own income, in order to complete their plan. The excellent order that all the cathedrals I have visited are in, does great credit to their members; who spare nothing from their own incomes to render them not only decent, but elegant.

THE body is lofty,
BODY.

supported by pillars formed of numbers of slender columns, with neat foliated capitals. Along the walls of the ailes are rows of false arches, in the gothic stile, with a seat beneath.

THE upper rows of windows, in the body, are of an uncommon form, being triangular, including three circles in each.

IN each transept are two places, formerly chapels; at present consistory courts, and the vicar's vestry-room.

THE choir merits attention,
CHOIR.

on account of the elegant sculpture about the windows, and the embattled gallery that runs beneath them. On each side are six statues, now much mutilated, placed in beautiful gothic niches, and richly painted. The first on the left is St. Peter; the next is the Virgin; the third is Mary Magdalene, with one leg bare, to denote her legendary wantonness. The other three are St. Philip, St. James, and St. Christopher, with CHRIST on his shoulders.

THE beauty of this choir is much impaired by the impropriety of a rich altar-piece, of Grecian architecture, terminating this elegant gothic building.

BEHIND this is St. Mary's chapel,
ST. MARY'S CHAPEL.

with a stone skreen, the most elegant which can be imagined, embattled at top, and adorned with several rows of gothic niches, of most exquisite workmanship; each formerly containing a small statue. Beneath them are thirteen stalls, with gothic work over each. In this chapel are nine windows, more narrow, lofty, and of more elegant work than any of the others; three on each side, and three at the end.

In this chapel stood the shrine of St. Chad.
SHRINE OF ST. CHAD.

Here was interred Ceolred [*], king of the Mercians; and in later times, here was placed the magnificent tomb (on the site of the shrine) of the first Lord Paget, adorned with columns,
MONUMENTS.

with two kneeling figures of a man and woman between the front and back pillars. These were destroyed in the blind fury of civil war; as was another fine tomb of a Lord Basset of Drayton, who died in 1389. Few indeed escaped. Of those are the effigies of the great Bishop Langton, with his pastoral staff in one hand, and the other hand in the action of benediction: another of Hugh de Pateshul, who died in 1241, remarkable for having the stigmata, or marks of our Saviour's, wounds on the hands and feet: a respectful superstition of antient times. Dean Heywood is represented in his habit, and again naked, with the emaciated change which death occasions.

HERE are several monuments within the walls, of a most frugal nature, having no appearance of any part but the head and feet. From an intermediate bracket, it is probable some favorite saint might have been honored with a rich image.

I HAVE a singular drawing of a tomb now lost, of a knight naked to his waist; his legs and thighs armed, and at his feet and head a flag's horn; his hair long and dishevelled a 〈…〉 his hands, as if he was reading a confession, or act of cont•∣•ion: across his middle, on his ballet, is his coat of arms; which shew him to have been a Stanley. He is called Captain Stanley. 〈…〉 said to have been excommunicated, but to have received funeral rites in holy ground (having shewn signs of repentance) on condition his monument should bear those marks of disgrace. I •nd 〈◊〉 Sir Humphry Stanley of Pipe, who died in the reign of He• VI•. who had a squabble with the chapter, about conveying the water through his lands to the close. He also defrauded the pr•bendary of Stotford of his tithes: so probably this might be the gentleman who incurred the censure of the church for his •mp•ety.

ON the floor, near the west door, are two droll epitaphs.
Wiliam Roberts [*] of Overbury, some time malster in this town (tells •ou) for the love I bore to choir service, I chose to be buried in this place. He died Dec•. 16th, 1748.

THE other gives you the posthumous grief of a deceased wife, 〈◊〉 clas•ical knowledge of the living husband:

H. S. •.

Secunda Hora••• Line•

viz.

〈◊〉, •Z: 〈◊〉

〈…〉

Qu•

〈…〉

In St. Mary's chapel is a fragment of singular sculpture, of two 〈…〉 beneath one is a king sitting, with one hand on young p•••ce; in the other a monarch also seated.

〈…〉 there lay near the north door a very thick and clamsy 〈…〉, with a cross •eury on it, and a great knif• resembling those represented in Monfo•on I part II. tab 4xv. as 〈…〉 I know of ne•es in the Christian church which 〈…〉 instrument; therefore presume it to be a simp•• 〈…〉, and that the person whom the stone comme••• 〈…〉 was neither more nor less than a butcher. These 〈◊〉 acknowledgements are not unfrequent: I have seen a deceas• shearer de••••d by his shears, and a taylor by his goose.

[*] ON the part of the south choral aile is the chapter-house▪ 〈◊〉 is approached through a passage with gothic 〈…〉 s••te. The room is an octagon, consisting of two long 〈◊〉 six 〈◊〉 or side•, orn•mented with arches, like the approach; 〈◊〉 the lost pillars, instead of being restored, are now supplied wi• 〈◊〉 uniform pla••ter, supported in the center by a clustered 〈◊〉 l•m•. Above is a library, instituted by Dean Heywood, conta•••ng some •aluable books and manuscripts.

[*] T〈…〉, 〈◊〉 surrounding sp•re, is built on three sides. The palace originally founded by Bishop Longton, was rebuilt 〈…〉 manner by Bishop Hacket. The dea••• 〈…〉 in the civil wars, was resrtored after the restoration.

I• the hall of the antient palace •as pain•ed the life and most 〈…〉 of Edward I. and his officers; a•ng 〈…〉al• deeds of Sir Roger de Pulesdor, against my 〈…〉.

- 1. at Seafford. p. 74.

- 2.....Lichfield. p. 106.

- 3.....Lichfield. p. 109.

- 4.....Lichfield. p. 110.

THE prebendal houses are built around the close. The whole property is in the church, except two houses on the south side, bordering on the pool, which, before the present causeways were made, were granted to the city, that the inhabitants might have landing-places, and access to the cathedral; which in old times had a vast concourse of devotees to the shrine of St. Chad.

THIS precinct is supplied with water from Maple Hay,
WATER.

about a mile and a half to the north; two fountains having been bestowed on the church by Thomas Bromley, for ever, on the annual payment of 15s. 4d. I find that this donation was made before 1293; for in that year a dispute arose between the dean and chapter, and Thomas de Abbenhale, about the passage of the water through his lands [*].

THE whole close is of exempt jurisdiction,
MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH.

and quite independent of the city. Its members are, a dean, precentor, chancellor, and treasurer, who have prebends annexed to their offices. There are twenty-seven other prebends, of which that of Eccleshal is annexed to the bishoprick. Out of these thirty-one, the dean and four more are stiled canons residentiary; which four are chosen out of the prebendaries and dignitaries. Here are twelve minor canons: five of whom are called priest-vicars; the other seven, lay-vicars, or singing-men. Both these were formerly collegiated, and had their hall and houses. That of the priest-vicars is a handsome room, rebuilt, and usually is lent for the purposes of assemblies, and other amusements. A new house also stands on the ground once occupied by the house of the choristers: before it stood, within memory, a very pretty gate, which formed the entrance; on which was inscribed Domus Choristes.

BESIDES these members, are an organist, two vergers, a sacrist, and sub-sacrist. It is remarkable, that the four archdeacons have here no stalls, as is usual in all other cathedrals.

THE other churches are that of St. Mary,
ST. MARY'S

rebuilt since the year 1716, when, the body being ruinous, its fine spire steeple was unnecessarily pulled down. In the time of Edward III. a religious guild was instituted, and after that much promoted by Dean Heywood. Five priests belonged to this society, who officiated in the church [*]. It is a vicarage, in the gift of the dean.

ST. Michael,
ST. MICHAEL.

or Greenhill, is on an eminence east of the town; remarkable for its extensive church-yard. This, and that of Stow, or St. Chad's, are curacies dependent on St. Mary's. St. Chad's is reckoned the oldest of the churches of this city. In its north end formerly stood the shrine of St. Catherine, whose chauntry-priest had his stipend from the vicars-choral of the cathedral. Near it is the well of the faint, where he had his first oratory; which in antient times was much frequented by devotees.

THE grey friars had a house here,
GREY FRIARS.

founded about 1229, by Bishop Alexander, who gave certain free burgages, on which it was erected. It was destroyed by fire in 1291, but rebuilt in the thirty-sixth of Henry VIII. It was granted to Richard Crumblethorn. At present, both house and land support an hospital at Seal, in Leicestershire. The water which now supplies the city, was granted, on St. James's day, in 1301, by Henry Campanarius, son of Michael de Lichfield, bell-founder. Henry gave his fountains at Foulwel, near Alreschaw, in pure and perpetual alms to the friars of this house, with power to cover them with a head of stones, and of carrying the pipes through his land, on condition that, whenever they wanted repair, the friars were to indemnify him and his heirs for the damage done to the ground. Several parts of the house are yet standing, and form a pleasant and comfortable habitation. In digging near it, was found a large tombstone, with a cross fleury, surrounded by a singular inscription, to the following purpose:

Ricardus mercator victus morte noverca

Qui cessat mercari pausat in hâc ierarca.

Exculit ephebus paucis vivento diebus

Ecclesiam rebus ditat variis speciebus,

Vivat ut in Caelis nunc mercator Michaelis.

Richard the merchant here extended lies,

"Death, like a step-dame, gladly clos'd his eyes.

"No more he trades beyond the burning zone,

"But happy rests beneath this sacred stone.

"His benefactions to the church were great;

"Tho' young, he hasten'd from his mortal state.

"May he, tho' dead in trade, successful prove,

"Saint Michael's merchant in the realms above."

The stone is still to be seen there. A figure of it was sent to the Gentleman's Magazine, by Mr. Greene, in this city. The inscription and translation are copied from the same magazine: for they appear to me to be equally faithful and ingenious.

A LITTLE beyond, stands the hospital of St. John's,
HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN.

consisting of a master and twelve poor brethren. The master is a clergyman, who has a good house and stipend for superintending the charity, and reading daily prayers in the chapel belonging to it. The founder is uncertain. We only know that William Smith, while bishop of Lichfield, in the time of Henry VII. formed here a new foundation for a master, two priests, and ten poor men. Henry patronized the charity, and endowed it with the old hospital of Denhal, and the lands and impropriation of Burton church, both in Wiral, in Cheshire. Smith also founded the grammar-school in this city [*].

AMONG other things worthy of attention in this city, is the cabinet of curiosities, antient, natural, and artificial, in the possession of Mr. Greene, surgeon. It contains numbers of most valuable and instructive pieces in each class. A visit to my worthy friend is the more agreeable, as he takes great pleasure in gratifying the curiosity of all that favor him with their company.

THE city is divided from the close by a large piece of water,
CITY.

originally three; at present remain only this and another, called Stowpool, a little to the east. Bishop Langton made the causeway, bridges, and dams, at each end of the pool. Before that, the great road went round Stowpool, near Stow church. The city is neat, and well built; contains little more than three thousand souls; is a place of great passage, has a considerable manufacture of sail-cloth, and a small manufacture of saddle-cloths and tammies.

IT was originally governed by a guild and guild-master;
HOW GOVERNED.

which were the origin of corporations, and took rise before the time of the Conquest; the name being Saxon, signifying a fraternity, which unites and flings its effects into a common stock, and is derived from Gildan, to pay [*]. A guild was a public feast, to commemorate the time of the institution; and the guild-hall the place in which the fraternity assembled: These (at lest after the Conquest) paid fines to the crown, and formed part of its revenue. Richard I. enabled it to purchase lands to the value of ten pounds; but it was not chartered till the reign of Edward VI. who formed it into a regular corporation by its first charter. This was confirmed by Queen Mary and Elizabeth; and Charles II. granted a new one, confirming all the others.

IT is governed by a recorder, high steward, sheriff, two bailiffs, a town-clerk, and coroner. One of the bailiffs is elected by the bishop; the others to be elected annually by and out of the brethren which form the corporation. The city has power of life and death within their jurisdiction; a court of record; and a pie-powder [†] court, which regulated the disputes arising in fairs.

THE district of the city and county of Lichfield is called the sheriff's ride,
DISTRICT.

and lies at unequal distances around. In this the corporation has exclusive jurisdiction.

THIS city sent representatives in the thirty-third of Edward I;
MEMBERS.

the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and twentieth of Edward II. and first, fourteenth, and twenty-seventh of Edward III; from whose reign they were discontinued, till that of Edward VI [‡]. The members are returned by the sheriff and bailiffs. The right of electing is in the freemen by servitude; in the burgage-holders, or such who live in the town and pay a small acknowlegement to the corporation; and in the freeholders of forty shillings a year, within the sheriff's ride.

Lichfield is quite an open town: all the traces of the ditches made by Bishop Clinton are lost,
CASTLE.

as well as of the tower, on which he is said to have bestowed such great expence [*]. The name only of Castle Ditch, in the east part of the town, preserves its memory. Probably in this fortress Richard II. kept his sumptuous Christmas, in 1397, when he consumed two hundred tuns of wine, and two thousand oxen [†]; but with more certainty we know that it was his place of confinement, in his road to the tower of London, in 1399, a captive prince. The unhappy Richard here attempted his escape, by slipping from the window of the high tower into a garden; but being seen, was carried back to his imprisonment [‡].

Wall,
WALL, OR ETOCETUM.

the antient Etocetum, lies about a mile and a half from Lichfield, on the Watling-street road, on a rising ground. There are still some remains of the walls to be seen, mixed with roots of some very old ash-trees. Coins and tiles evince it to have been the Roman Etocetum, as well as its distance from Pennocrucium, a place somewhere on the river Penk, not far from Penkridge; but the site not well ascertained. The Watling-street road enters the county near Tamworth, and is continued into Shropshire, as far as Wroxeter. Near Wall, another Roman road crosses it; and at the intersection is an exploratory mount, about forty feet in diameter, called Offlo, in sight of Borough Cop, near Lichfield, on which the martyrdom of the thousand Christians, in the tenth persecution, is said to have happened. This is asserted by John Ross, a Warwickshire antiquary, who died in 1491, near twelve hundred years after the event; which he alone relates.

THESE lows, which have the same signification as laws in Scotland,
LOWS.

and mean a mount, and placed here in sight of one another, were usually designed as exploratory, and for the repetition of signals; and sometimes were sepulchral.

I MADE one day an excursion in search of the seven Tumuli,
TUMULI.

which are said, in the first volume of the Archaeologia, p. 57, to be near this town. As I could discover only Borough Cop and Offlo, which fall within the description, I was obliged to extend my ride. I passed through Whittington, a village with a church and spire-steeple, about two miles N. E. of Lichfield. Passed through Fisherwick park, a fine seat of the Earl of Donnegal, built from a design of Mr. Brown's: the grounds bounded by the Tame, a beautiful river. Elford church, village, and house, the seat of the late Earl of Suffolk, form a pretty groupe of objects on the opposite bank. I forded the river, and went by Elford Low, a verdant mount, which Doctor Plott proved, from examination, to have been sepulchral; but, from its situation and elevation, I suspect it might have had on it a specula, or watch-tower; and that all the others might have been for the same use, and to repeat signals in time of danger [*].

Elford, before the Conquest, was possessed by Earl Algar;
ELFORD.

after which the Conqueror himself seized it for his own use. About Henry the Third's reign, William of Arderne was lord of it, and his posterity was seised of it till the marriage of Maud, sole heiress of Sir John Arderne, with Thomas, second son of Sir John Stanley of Latham, Knight; he dying in 1463, the 6th of Edward IV. Margaret, his daughter, conveyed it by marriage to the Stantons: by the same means it passed from the Stantons to the Smiths; from the Smiths to the Huddlestons, and from the Huddlestons to the Bowes. So very rapid was the change of family in this place! It continued with the Bowes four or five generations; but, about the latter end of the last century, became the property of the Honorable Craven Howard, by marriage with Mary, daughter of George Bowes, Esquire: and continued in his posterity (the Earls of Suffolk) till the death of the late able and honest peer; when it devolved to his sister, the Honorable Frances Howard.

IN the church are several fine monuments,
CHURCH.

in the antient stile.

IN the north wall is a painted figure, with curled hair, gown down to his knees, buskins on his legs, sword, gold chain, his hands closed, and a ring on his thumb.

AN alabaster tomb of an Arderne, in a conic helmet, mail round his neck, chin, and shoulders, and a collar of S S: one of his hands clasps that of his wife, who has on a rich pearl bonnet, a cloak, and gown. Around the tomb are various figures, in the dress of the times.

SIR William Smith, who died in 1500, lies armed, has a collar of S S. and is represented beardless. He lies between his two wives: Isabel, in long hair and a coronet, daughter of John Nevil Marquis of Montacute, brother to the great Earl of Warwick; and Anne, daughter of William Stanton, by whom he acquired this place. Monks, and coats of arms, surround the tomb: the first, to express his piety; the last, to gratify the vanity of survivors.

SIR John Stanley, son of Thomas Stanley and Maud Arderne, lies under an arch, with both hands supplicatory, in armor, with a mail muffler. His head rests on a helm, with the Eagle and Child, the cognizance of the Stanleys.

UNDER another arch is his eldest son, a child with curled hair, and in a long gown, recumbent: one hand points to his ear; the other holds a ball, the unfortunate instrument of his death; on which was inscribed Ubi dolor ibi digitus.

ABOUT two miles further, in a place called Elford Park Farm, I discovered the site of the seven Tumuli, or Barrows: only one exists, the rest having been destroyed within a few years; that which remains is small, and evidently sepulchral. There had probably been a battle on this spot during the heptarchy: whether between Saxons and Danes, or two Saxon princes, is uncertain.

Croxal church stands on an eminence. Within are two tombs,
CROXAL CHURCH.

with the figures of an armed man and his wife, curiously engraven on each. One commemorates John Horton, of Caton, and his spouse, Anne, daughter of John Curzon, of this place. He died in the year 1500. His name is expressed in form of a rebus; the word Hor cut upon a tun.

THE other tomb is of George Curzon, Esquire, and his wife Catharine, who died in 1605. By the marriage of their only daughter Mary, to the famous Sir Edward Sackville Earl of Dorset, it was conveyed to that noble family, in which it still remains. The Curzons had been possessed of it ever since the reign of Henry I.

PASS by Hazelar hamlet and chapel. The last is prebendal, and at present converted into a pig-stye. Ride for some time by the side of the little river Mease, the boundary, in this part, between Staffordshire and Derbyshire. A little further is the village and church of Clifton,
CLIFTON.

usually called Clifton Camville, from a family of that name, who possessed it from the year 1200, or the second of King John, to about the year 1315. The spire of the church is extremely elegant, joined to the tower by flying buttresses. In the church is a tomb, with the effigies of Sir John Vernon of Harleston, in this neighborhood, and Dame Allen, his wife. He is dressed in a bonnet and long gown, with a chain from his neck, as usual with people of worship; for he had been one of the king's counsel, and custos rotulorum of the county of Derby. His wife is dressed in a square hood, with a purse, knife, and beads by her side. They died in 1545.

VISIT Thorp Constantine,
THORP.

a small church close by the seat of my matrimonial relation, William Inge, Esquire, who deservedly bears the respectable and useful character of being the best justice of any country gentleman in England. The living is in his gift, and the whole parish his property. The manor was once belonging to the see of Ely; for it appears that Hotham, bishop of that diocese in 1316, obtained for it a charter of free warren.

Henry Lord Scrope, favorite of Henry V. beheaded for his ungrateful plot against his master, left to this church a vestment worth 26s. 8d. on condition the priest should pray for his soul on Sundays, and in all his masses. His will, made before his treason was discovered, is a curious piece of hypocrisy [*].

I CONTINUED this little ramble to Sekindon, a mile distant, on the edge of Warwickshire, remarkable for a lofty artificial mount, the keep of a Saxon castle, with a flat area beneath; at the bottom are the remains of a great rampart, and the whole surrounded with a deep ditch. This place is celebrated for the battle between Ethelbald, king of the Mercians, and Cuthred, king of the West Saxons, in 755 [†], when Ethelbald, disdaining flight, was slain by Beonred; [‡] one of his own officers, who, for a short space, usurped the kingdom.

ABOUT four miles farther lies Tamworth,
TAMWORTH

between the conflux of the Tame and the Ankor, which formed at this place the appearance of an island; its Saxon name being Tameneordige and Tamanweorthe; ige signifying an island. It had long been the residence of the Mercian princes, who preferred it on account of its pleasant situation, and the quantity of woodland, which afforded them in plenty the pleasures of the chase. Offa dates a grant, in 781, to the monks of Worcester,
A ROYAL RESIDENCE.

from his royal palace at Tamworth. Ceonulf, Bernwulf, and Burthred, date other charters, in the years 814, 841, and 854, from the same place [§]. The precinct of their residence was an enormous ditch, forty-five feet wide, protecting the town on the north, west, and east; the rivers serving as a defence on the other side. The ditch is filled up in many places, yet still there are vestiges of it, and also of two mounts, on which probably stood two small towers.

Tamworth was totally ruined by the incursions of the Danes:
RUINED BY THE DANES.

at length was restored by the celebrated Ethelfleda, who,
RESTORED BY ETHELFLEDA.

in the spring of 913, erected a tower [*] on the artificial mount on which the present castle stands. Here, in 920, she finished her glorious life, and in 922 she received, I may say, posthumous honors, by the assemblage of the Mercian tribes she had conquered, who, with the princes of North Wales, here acknowleged the sovereign power of her brother Edward, [†] probably obtained by her valour and prudence.

THE town, or borough, as it was called on the Conquest, continued part of the royal demesne, but was afterwards set at a certain rent to the lords of the castle; the first of whom, after that event,
MARMIONS.

was Robert Marmion, one of the followers of the Conqueror, on whom it was bestowed. His posterity remained masters of it for some generations, holding of the crown in capite, by the service of finding three knights at their own costs, for forty days, in the wars of Wales.

ON the death of Philip Marmion, in 1291, the twentieth of Edward I. this fortress descended to his eldest daughter Joan, wife of William Mortein; who dying without issue, it fell three years after, by agreement among the co-heirs, to Joan,
FREVILES.

a relation of Philip Marmion, and wife of Alexander Frevile. The Freviles by this means owned it till the year 1419, or seventh of Henry V. when Sir Baldwyn Frevile dying childless, Thomas Ferrers, second son of William Lord Ferrers, of Groby, became master of it, in right of Elizabeth his wife, eldest of the three sisters of Sir Baldwyn.
FERRERS.

The Ferrers held it till the beginning of the present century; when it passed into the family of the Comptons, by the marriage of James Earl of Northampton with Elizabeth, sister to Robert Lord Tamworth, grandson and heir apparent to Robert Earl Ferrers, who had obtained it by his marriage, in 1688, with Anne, daughter of Sir Humphrey Ferrers, of this place. Lady Charlotte Compton, sole surviving daughter of the match, Baroness de Ferrers in right of her mother, married the present Lord Townshend, whose son, now Lord De Ferrers, enjoys the place. I must not forget to add, that Sir John Baldwyn, Knight, on the coronation of Richard II. claimed the honor of being the king's champion, by virtue of tenure of this castle (a service performed by his predecessors the Marmions); but it being found that the Marmions held their right only from the tenure of Scrivelsby manor, it was challenged by Sir John Dymock, the then owner, and adjudged to him [*].

TILL the present century it had been the seat of its lords.
CASTLES.

The rooms are numerous, but inconvenient and irregular, except a dining-room and drawing-room; each with large projecting windows. Around the first are painted great numbers of coats of arms of the family of the Ferrers, and its alliances. The chimney-piece of the drawing-room is richly carved, in the old taste, and beneath the arms is the motto, Only one.

THE beauty of the situation of Tamworth is seen from the castle to great advantage, varied with rich meadows, two bridges over the Tame and the Ankor, and the rivers wandering picturesquely along the country. Michael Drayton, born on the banks of the last, most elegantly paints out his love-complaints, and celebrates the last in the sweetest strain.

Clear Ankor, on whose silver-sanded shore

My soul-shrin'd saint, my fair idea lies:

A blessed brook, whose milk-white swans adore

Thy crystal stream, refined by her eyes;

Where sweet myrrh-breathing zephyr in the spring

Gently distils his nectar-dropping showers;

Where nightingales in Arden sit and sing

Amongst the dainty dew-impearled flowers.

Say thus, fair brook, when thou shalt see thy queen:

Lo, here thy shepherd spent his wand'ring days,

And in these shades, dear nymph, he oft has been,

And here to thee he sacrific'd his tears.

Fair Arden, thou my Tempe art alone;

And thou, sweet Ankor, art my Helicon.

THE town is large and well-built; part is situated in Staffordshire, and part in Warwickshire; for which reason its members are returned by the sheriffs of both counties [*]. It first sent representatives in the fifth year of Queen Elizabeth: and was made a corporation two years before; which consists of two bailiffs, a recorder, and twenty-four capital burgesses. The right of voting is in the inhabitants paying scot and lot.

THE church is large,
CHURCH.

built at different times. Near the chancel are two great round arches, with zigzag moldings, which were prior to the reign of Henry III. when this species of arch fell into disuse. Here are numbers of monuments, some antient, of the Freviles and Ferrers, with their figures, and those of their wives. Here is also a handsome monument of John Ferrers, Esquire, who died in 1680, aged 52; and of his son Sir Humphry Ferrers, knight, who died in 1678, aged 25. Their figures are represented in marble, as big as life, in a Roman dress, long flowing hair, and half-kneeling. Sir Humphry was the last male heir of his line.

THE church is dedicated to St. Editha, daughter to king Edgar; who, preferring the cloistered life to the troubles of a throne, received after death the honor of saintship. It has been said, that she founded here a nunnery, and that Robert Marmion, lord of this place, received from her very sensible marks of resentment, for daring to remove the holy sisters. St. Editha descended from heaven, and, while Marmion was lying down, after a costly feast, in Tamworth castle, she admonished him to restore them to their rights, and, by way of memorandum, gave him such a blow with her crosier on his side, that he rose in extreme torments; which instantly ceased on repentance and restitution [*]. It is probable that this very Marmion made the church collegiate, and placed here a dean and six prebendaries, each of whom had his substitute, or vicar; for it is the opinion of Leland, this foundation arose from the piety of one of the name [†] The idle legend might have been formed from some real offence [‡], which might have been expiated in the manner usual in old times.

SAINT Editha had also an image here. After the dissolution, the seven incumbents had pensions, as late as 1553 [*]. Queen Elizabeth granted the college, and all its prebends, to Edward Downing and Peter Ashton. At present, this great church is only a curacy.

In 1286,
HOSPITAL.

the fifteenth of Edward I. Philip Marmion dedicated here an hospital to St. James, intending to found a house of Premonstrensians; but, till he could execute his design, granted it to William of Combery-hall, with all its appurtenances, and pasture in Ashfield for four oxen and two horses, on condition it should celebrate mass for his soul [†]. There is now an hospital founded for more useful purposes, by Mr. Guy.

FROM Tamworth I returned to Lichfield, and resumed my journey along the London road.

ABOUT two miles from the city,
SWINFEN.

see on the left Swinfen, the seat of a gentleman of the same name; happy in its beautiful demesne, ornamented with an extent of water, meads, and hanging-woods. This place was once the property of the Spermores; but in the time of Henry VI. by marriage of Joyce, daughter and heiress of the family, with Willam Swinfen, it came into that name. The executors of the last of that line, a Doctor Swinfen, sold it, in the present century, to Mr. Swinfen, of London; in whose family it continues.

A LITTLE farther, the great Watling-street crosses the road near Weford, or the ford on the way. This is seated on Blackbrook, a small stream, now furnished with a bridge. The stream runs through a beautiful tract of narrow but rich meadows, prettily bounded by low and fertile risings. This spot had been the scene of much civil rage. A Purefoy was here slain by Sir Henry Willoughby, in the cause of Edward IV; and Sir Henry in the same place fought, and was desperately wounded by Lord L'Isle [*]. Weford Common, a black heath, succeeds; and a little beyond, on the left, stood Canwell priory, founded about the year 1142, by Geva,
CANWELL.

widow of Jeffry Riddel, and daughter of Hugh Earl of Chester, for Benedictine monks. It had ten pounds a year in spiritualities, and fifteen pounds ten shillings and three pence in temporalities. It became at length a cell for a solitary monk; was suppressed, and granted by Henry VIII. to Cardinal Wolsey, towards the endowment of his two colleges [†].

NEAR this place I entered WARWICKSHIRE, in the parish of Middleton; from which the Willoughbies take their title. The road is over part of the common of Sutton Cofield, which is finely bounded on the left by a long-continued range of woods.

A FEW miles farther, I passed Moxhull hall,
MOXHULL.

the neat-dressed seat of Mr. Hacket, a descendant of the worthy bishop of that name; whose son, by marriage with Mary, eldest daughter of John L'Isle, became owner of it, after it had been in the L'Isles, or de Insula, for some hundreds of years [‡]. On the right is the parish-church, Wishaw, and a little farther, that of Curdworth.
CURDWORTH.

That manor was possessed, in the time of the Conqueror, by Turchil de Warwik, son of Alwine, a potent Saxon in the time of Edward the Confessor. Turchil is recorded to have been the first in England who, in imitation of the Normans, took a surname, stiling himself Turchil de Eardine, [*] or Arden, from his residence in that part of the country then called Arden, or the forest; a word, according to Cambden, [†] by which both Britons and Gauls expressed a woodland tract. He was ancestor to the antient and respectable family which flourished under the same name, till the year 1643, when it was lost in the male line, by the death of Robert Arden.

ABOUT half a mile from Curdworth, I crossed the Tame at Curdworth Bridge, and a mile further the Cole, The view from hence, of the stream watering a range of rich meadows, bounded on one side by hanging-woods, is extremely agreeable; as is, a little farther, the town of Coleshill,
COLESHILL.

covering the steep ascent of a lofty brow, on whose top appears the handsome church and elegant spire.

THE place had been long a royal demesne; was possessed by Edward the Confessor, and afterwards by the Conqueror. It fell, either in his reign or that of William Rufus, into the hands of the Clintons, in whom it continued till the year 1353, the twenty-seventh of Edward III; when it passed to Sir John de Mountfort, by virtue of his marriage with Joan, daughter of Sir John Clinton. [‡] The Mountforts held it till the reign of Henry VII. when, by the cruel attainder and execution of Sir Simon Mountfort, for sending thirty pounds, by his younger son Henry, to Perkin Warbeck, on supposition that Perkin was the real son of his former master Edward IV. This brought ruin on himself and family. He was tried at Guildhall, in 1494, and condemned to be drawn through the city, and hanged and quartered at Tyburn. [*] His manor of Coleshill was immediately bestowed on Simon Digby, deputy-constable of the castle, who brought the unfortunate gentleman to the bar. He was a younger son of the house of Tilton of Leicestershire, ancestor of the Lord Digby, the present worthy possessor.

IN the upper part of the town is a small PLACE, neatly built. The church-yard commands a fine view of a rich country. The vicarage was formerly belonging to Markgate, in Bedfordshire, but is now in the gift of its lord. The spire, lofty as it is, was fifteen feet higher, before it had been struck with lightning in 1550; when the inhabitants sold one of the bells towards the repairs.

IN the church are numbers of fine tombs of the Digbies,
CHURCH.

with their figures recumbent. Among others, that of the abovementioned Simon, and his spouse Alice, who lie under a tomb erected by himself. He died in 1519: she survived him, and left by her will a silver penny to every child under the age of nine, whose parents were housekeepers in this parish (beginning with those next the church) on condition that, every day in the year, after the sacring of the high mass, they should kneel down at the altar and say five paternosters, an ave, and a creed, for her soul, that of her husband, and all Christian souls; and the annual sum of six shillings and eight pence to the dean, for seeing the same duly performed, and likewise for performing the same himself. At the reformation, this custom was changed. The inhabitants purchased from the crown the lands charged with this money part maintains a school: the rest is distributed to such children who repair to the church every morning at ten o'clock, and say the Lord's prayer; and the clerk has an allowance for seeing the performance, and for the ringing the bell to summon them [*].

THE figure of Simon Digby is in armor, with lank hair, and bare-headed. His grandson John, and great grandson George, knighted at the siege of Zutphen, are represented in the same manner, with their wives. The first died in 1558; the last in 1586. These are of alabaster, and painted.

THE tomb of Reginald, son of Simon, who died in 1549, differs. His figure, and that of his wife, are engraven on a flat slab of marble, with twelve of their children at their feet.

ON a pedestal, with an urn at the top, is an inscription to Kildare Lord Digby, of Geashil, in the kingdom of Ireland, who died in 1661; and on the opposite side is another, in memory of his lady, who died in 1692, drawn up by Bishop Hough, forming a character uncommonly amiable and exemplary; the integrity of that worthy prelate giving sanction to every line.

I FELT great pleasure in perusing an epitaph, by a grateful mistress, to the memory of a worthy domestic, Mary Wheely, whom she stiles an excellent servant and good friend; for what is a faithful servant but an humble friend?

BENEATH two arches are two antient figures of cross-legged knights, armed in mail, with short surtouts, in all respects alike; only one has a dog, the other a lion, at his feet. On their shields are two fleurs de lis, which denote them to have been some of the earlier Clintons; and by Dugdale [*] it appears, that one was John de Clinton, lord of this place, a strong adherent to the barons against Henry III. who suffered a temporary forfeiture of his estate; but was restored to it by the famous Dictum de Kenelworth. He became a favorite of Edward I. and clamed for his manor of Coleshill by prescription, assize of bread and beer, gallows, pillorie, tumbril, a court-leet, infangthef, outfangthef, mercate, faire, and free warren. He died in the year 1291, the period of crusades, and is buried cross-legged.

I OBSERVE, that the piety of the Catholics has given the same attitude to several of the Sherborns, in the church of Mitton, in Yorkshire, who were interred in the last century; so that I suspect it to have sometimes been considered merely as a reverential sign of our SAVIOUR'S suffering.

THE deserted seat of the Digbies lies about a mile or two from the town,
COLESHILL HALL.

in a fine park. The house consists but of one story, besides garrets; yet the apartments are numerous, approachable by strange and unintelligible access to all that are unacquainted with them, according to the stile of old buildings.

FROM Coleshill I descended to pay a respectful pilgrimage to Blithe Hall, the seat of the great antiquary Sir William Dugdale;
BLITHE HALL.

from whose indefatigable labors, his successors in the science draw such endless helps. In respect to this county, he has fairly baffled every effort towards the discovery of any thing that could escape his penetrating eye.

THE house lies about a mile below Coleshill, on the river Blithe; was purchased by Sir William from Sir Walter Aston, and made his place of residence. It at present belongs (by female descent) to Richard Guest, Esquire; whose politeness to an inquisitive intruder I shall ever acknowlege. He was so obliging as to shew me an excellent half-length of his great ancestor, dressed in black, with a bundle of manuscripts in his hand,
PORTRAIT OF SIR WILLIAM DUGDALE.

painted at the age of sixty, by Peter Bosscler, [*] in 1665.

ANOTHER portrait of his wife, Margery, daughter of John Huntback, Esquire, of Sewal, in Staffordshire; a head of Lord Keeper Bridgeman, a thin primitive face;
LORD KEEPER LITTLETON.

another of Lord Clarendon; and a third of Lord Keeper Littleton, with a jovial open countenance. As a judge (for he had been lord chief justice of the King's Bench) he was, as Sir Edward Coke said, a well-poised and weighed man [†]. As lord keeper, dispirited, from the melancholy apprehensions he had of the approaching calamities of the times. For a while he temporized with the views of the opposition. At length, finding the resolution of the leaders to seize on the seals, and make use of them against his royal master, he gave them up to a messenger, appointed for that purpose, and followed them, at the hazard of his life, to the king at York; [‡] where he loyally resumed their use, till his death, at Oxford, in 1645; when he at once performed the functions of lord keeper, privy-counsellor, and colonel of a regiment of foot.

A HALF-LENGTH of the famous Elias Ashmole,
ELIAS ASHMOLE.

whom Antony Wood stiles
the greatest virtuoso and curioso ever known or read of in England. Uxor solis took up its habitation in his breast, and in his bosom the great God did abundantly shore up the treasures of all sorts of wisdom and knowlege [*].
It is well for poor Ashmole, that the peevish historian never read the wonderful diary of his life, in which is a most minute and filthy detail of all his ails and strange mishaps [†]; otherwise Antony never would have been so profuse of his praise. Yet, amidst his foibles, he was an able botanist; of most uncommon knowlege in the study of antiquity and records; a physician, herald, chemist, and astrologer. On rectifying his nativity, he found his birth to have been on the 23d of May 1617, about three in the morning, or
3 hours 25 minutes 49 seconds A. M. the quarter 8 of II ascending; but, upon Mr. Lilly's rectification thereof, anno 1667, he makes the quarter 36 ascending [‡].
This jargon should not deprive him of his real merit. To him we owe a most elaborate treatise on the institution of the order of the Garter, he having been Windsor herald; various manuscripts respecting county antiquities, still extant; and, above all, the foundation of the Museum at Oxford, which bears his name, finished in 1682, on purpose to receive the vast collection of curiosities bestowed by him on that university, which he had defended in 1646, as comptroller of the ordnance. Mr. Ashmole was doubly engaged to the worthy owner of this house: first, by the friendship resulting from the congenial turn of their studies; and again, by his alliance with Sir William, in his marriage with his daughter Elizabeth, which proved a source of great generosity, on his part, towards his father-in-law and his family. By his portrait, drawn by Nave, ‖ in 1664, in his herald's coat, he appears to have been a good-looking man, in long hair, with a view of Windsor in the back-ground.

FROM hence I visited Maxstoke castle,
MAXSTOKE CASTLE.

three miles south-east, most of the way through fields. The castle is very entire, and stands on a plain, in a most sequestered spot, surrounded with trees, and guarded by a moat. It is of a square form: at each corner is an hexagonal tower, and at the entrance a fine gateway, with a tower of the same form with the rest on each side. The gates are in their original state, covered with plates of iron. Above, are the holes for pouring of hot sand, or melted lead, on assailants, and the cavity which once held the portcullis. These gates were made in the time of Humphry Stafford earl (afterwards duke) of Buckingham. He fixed on them his arms (still remaining) impaled with those of his wife, Anne Nevil; supported by two antelopes, derived from his mother, as one of the daughters of Thomas Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester; and added the burning nave, or knot, the cognizance of his own ancestors. Within the court the walls are pierced with divers cells, the antient casernes of the garrison.

MUCH of the habitable part is still standing, but part was burnt by accident; what remains is the dwelling-house of Mr. Dilkes, in whose family it has been for several generations. The great vault ribbed with stone, the old chapel, and kitchen, still remain; and the noble old hall, and a great dining-room with a most curious carved door and chimney, are still in use.

AFTER the Conquest,
OWNERS.

it was given to Turchil de Warwick; from one of his posterity it was granted to the Limesies, lords of Long Icbinton and Solibull; from them to the Odingfells; and from the Odingfells, by Ida, eldest daughter of the last of the name, to the great family of the Clintons before mentioned, who made it their chief seat. In 1437, the sixteenth of Henry VI. Sir William de Clinton exchanged it with Humphry earl of Buckingham, with whom it became a favorite residence. On the execution of his son Henry Duke of Buckingham, in 1483, the first of Richard III. it was seized by the king. Richard, on his march towards Nottingham, ordered all the inner buildings of Kenelworth castle to be removed here [*]. After his defeat and death in Bosworth field, this place reverted to Edward, son of the last duke; who fell a victim, in 1521, to Henry VIII. a tyrant greater, and more inexcusable, than him who destroyed the father. The estates, again forfeited, were granted to Sir William Compton, a favorite, and gallant tilter, in the reign of the former, and ancestor of the Earl of Northampton. In 1596, his great grandson, William Lord Compton, conveyed it to Lord Keeper Egerton, who, in two years after, sold it to Thomas Dilke, Esquire; in whose family it remains.

I DID not visit the neighboring priory of Maxstoke; so shall say no more of it; than that it was founded in 1336, by Sir William de Clinton, afterwards Earl of Huntingdon, and peopled with canons regular of St. Augustin [†]

RETURNED through Coleshill, and at a small distance, on the left of the road, digressed to Packington, the seat of the Earl of Ailsford.
PACKINGTON.

The manor antiently belonged to the priory of Kenelworth, being granted to it by Geoffry de Clinton, lord chamberlain to Herny II: At the dissolution, it was sold for the sum of six hundred and twenty-one pounds and one penny, to John Fisher, Esquire, gentleman-pensioner to Henry VIII. and four succeeding monarchs. By the marriage of Mary daughter and heiress of Sir Clement Fisher, Baronet, with Heneage, second Earl of Ailsford, the place was transferred to that noble family. The situation has of late years been highly improved by the change of the road. The grounds are prettily sloped by nature, are well wooded, and the bottom filled with two pleasing pieces of water. The house has also undergone many alterations; is a plain convenient building; except on one side, where opens a loggio (in our climate) most admirably adapted for the encouragement of rheums and rheumatisms.

WITHIN is a good portrait of its founder, John Fisher; a halflength, with a square white beard, close black cap, upright ruff, and black jacket.

A BEAUTIFUL picture of Henrietta Maria, consort to Charles I. She is represented sitting, in blue, with roses in her hand, and her thorny crown by her.

HERE is also a portrait of Charles Duke of Somerset, in his robes, father to the Countess Dowager of Ailsford.

THE country here begins to lose the comforts of a gravelly soil, and changes to the wet-retaining clay. At the pleasant village of Mireden it is uncommonly deep,
MIREDEN.

but by the assistance of turnpikes become an excellent road. The pretty houses on each side of the way, and the magnificent inn, famed for time immemorial for its excellent malt-liquor, with the various embellishments (made by the old inn-keeper, Reynolds) of gateway, little ponds, statues, and other whims, enliven the spot greatly.

THE church is seated a little higher up,
CHURCH.

on an eminence. Within is a handsome alabaster tomb of John Wyard, in armour and mail, with sword and dagger by his side; his arms a cinquefoil on his breast. This gentleman had been 'squire (as the inscription relates) to Thomas de Beauchamp Earl of Warwick, and founder of a chauntry in this church; near which he had his residence. He was also knight of the shire for this county, in the second year of Richard II.

HERE is another tomb, with a figure in stone, supposed to have been that of one of the Walshes, the antient lords of this manor. His figure, as well as the former, is recumbent, with their hands in the action of supplication: but this gentleman has a short skirt over the lower part of his armour.

THE antient name of this place was Alspath, or Ailespede, even till the beginning of the reign of Henry VI; about which time, becoming a great thoroughfare, it got the name of Myreden; den signifying a bottom, and myre, dirt: and I can well vouch for the propriety of the appellation, before the institution of turnpikes.

IN March 1739-40, I changed my Welsh school for one nearer to the capital,
OLD FASHION OF TRAVELLING.

and travelled in the Chester stage; then no despicable vehicle for country gentlemen. The first day, with much labor, we got from Chester to Whichurch, twenty miles; the second day, to the Welsh Harp; the third, to Coventry; the fourth, to Northampton; the fifth, to Dunstable; and, as a wonderous effort, on the last, to London before the commencement of night. The strain and labor of six good horses, sometimes eight, drew us through the sloughs of Mireden, and many other places. We were constantly out two hours before day, and as late at night; and in the depth of winter proportionably later.

Families which travelled in their own carriages, contracted with Benson and Co. and were dragged up in the same number of days, by three sets of able horses.

THE single gentlemen, then a hardy race, equipped in jackboots and trowsers, up to their middle, rode post through thick and thin, and, guarded against the mire, defied the frequent stumble and fall; arose and pursued their journey with alacrity: while in these days their enervated posterity sleep away their rapid journies in easy chaises, fitted for the conveyance of the soft inhabitants of Sybaris.

I CONTINUED my way to Coventry through Allesey,
ALLESEY.

a village with a church and spire-steeple. The place was originally a member of that city, Bishop Clinton having permitted a chapel to be built here for the use of the poor, reserving the right of burial to the mother church [*]. In a place called The Parks, stood a castle, doubly moated, probably the residence of the Hastings, who possessed this place in the time of Edward I. The present handsome seat is owned by — Neale, Esquire.

AFTER a ride of two miles from hence,
COVENTRY.

I entered Coventry, a great and antient city. The time of its foundation is unknown. By the addition of tre, a town, it should seem as if it had been inhabited by the Britons, before the Saxons added the word coven to it, as is conjectured, from a nunnery very antiently established here. The site of the old town is supposed to have been on the north side of the present, not only because great foundations are discovered about the spot called St. Nicholas Church-yard, but, I may add, from the tumulus near it, on the Atherston road, called Barrs Hill, on which might have been a castelet.

THE certainty of there having been a convent here in the early times,
SAXON NUNNERY.

depends on the authority of John Rous [†] who says, that when the traitor Edric ravaged this country, in 1016, he burnt the nunnery in this city, of which a holy virgin, St. Osburg, had been abbess.

ON its ruins, Leofric, fifth earl of Mercia, and his countess Godeva, founded a monastery. At that period Coventry must have been a considerable place, and its number of inhabitants great, otherwise the fair Godeva could never have made so great a merit of riding naked through the town,
STORY OF GODEVA.

to redeem it from the intolerable taxes and grievances it at that time labored under. The cause must have been equal to the deed. Her husband long resisted her importunity in its behalf, on account of the profits that accrued to him: at length thought to silence her by the strange proposal: she accepted it, and, being happy in fine flowing locks, rode, decently covered to her very feet with her lovely tresses. The history was preserved in a picture, about the time of Richard II. in which were portrayed the earl and countess. He holds a charter of freedom in his hand, and thus addresses his lady:

I Luriche (Leofric) for love of thee,

Doe make Coventre toll-free.

Legend says, that previous to her ride, all the inhabitants were ordered, on pain of death, to shut themselves up during the time; but that the curiosity of a certain taylor, overcoming fear, took a single peep; which is commemorated even at present, by a figure looking out of a wall in the great street. To this day, the love of Godeva to the city is annually remembered, by a procession; and a valiant fair still rides (not literally like the good countess) but in silk, closely fitted to her limbs, and of color emulating their complexion.

AFTER the Conquest,
NORMAN OWNERS.

the lordship of this city fell, by the marriage of Lucia (daughter to Algar, successor and son of Edwin, and grandson of Leofric) with her third husband Randle Meschine, to the earls of Chester [*]. Randle bestowed on it the same privileges that Linsda enjoyed, and bestowed great part of the city on the monks. When Henry III. took the earldom of Chester into his hands, the remainder of Coventry fell to William de Albany earl of Arundel, in right of his wife Mabil, daughter of Hugh Cevelio•. On the death of Hugh earl of Arundel, in 1243, it fell to Roger de Montalto, who had married Cecilia, his youngest sister. After that, it was granted by his grandson Robert, in default of issue, to Isabel, queen mother of Edward III. with remainder to John of Eltham, afterwards earl of Cornwall; and then to Edward king of England. It thus became annexed to the earldom of Cornwall,
INCORPORATED.

and became more immediately the object of royal favor. Edward III. in the eighteenth of his reign, by letters dated the 20th of January, made it a corporation, consisting of a mayor and two bailiffs, whom the inhabitants were to chuse out of themselves. The first mayor was John Ward, who was chosen in the year 1348.

Henry VI. in 1451, bestowed on this city a very particular mark of his affection, by erecting it, with a considerable district around,
MADE A COUNTY.

into a county[†], by the name of the city and county of Coventry; and ordered that the bailiffs from that time should be sheriffs: so that at present, it is governed by a mayor, recorder, two sheriffs, ten aldermen, thirty-one superior and twenty-five inferior common-council-men. Henry came expressly to Coventry, heard mass in St. Michael's church, presented the church with a gown of cloth of gold, and then created the first sheriffs.

THE representatives are chosen by the citizens paying scot and lot, and are returned by the sheriffs. The city sent members the four first parlements of Edward I. That privilege was interrupted (except the eighth of Edward II. and twentieth and twenty-fifth of Edward III.) till the thirty-first of Henry VI. when it was resumed.

AMONG all its privileges, unfortunately for the magistrates, it has that of life and death.

Two parlements have been held in this city,
PARLEMENTS HELD HERE.

in the great chamber of the priory. The first, in 1404, by Henry IV. which was stiled Parliamentum indoctorum; not that it consisted of a greater number of blockheads than parlements ordinarily do, but from its inveteracy against the clergy, whose revenues it was determined not to spare: whence it was also called the Laymen's Parlement.

THE other was held in the chapter-house of the priory, in 1459, by Henry VI. and was called Parliamentum diabolicum, by reason of the multitude of attainders passed against Richard Duke of York, and his adherents.

THE trade of this city was originally the manufacture of cloth,
TRADE, CLOTH.

and caps, or bonnets [*], which arose to a great degree of consequence, as early as 1436, and continued till the last century, when it was changed for the worsted business; and, for a long time, the making and sale of shags, camblets, lastings, tammies, &c. &c. proved a very extensive and profitable trade; but this gradually migrated into Leicestershire and Northamptonshire; and at present, only a few articles, such as camblets and lastings, constitute the woollen trade.

I MUST remark, that in the beginning, or middle,
BLUE THREAD.

of the sixteenth century, Coventry had a vast manufacture of blue thread; which was lost before the year 1581 [*]. So famous was it for its dye, that true as Coventry blue became proverbial.

ABOUT eighty years ago,
RIBANDS.

the silk manufacture of ribands was introduced here, and, for the first thirty years, remained in the hands of a few people, who acquired vast fortunes; since which, it has extended to a great degree, and is supposed to employ at left ten thousand people; and has likewise spread into the neighboring towns, such as Nuneaton, and other places. Such real good results from our little vanities!

THERE are about a dozen traders in Coventry, who have houses in London; to which they send up weekly great quantities of ribands; and, before our unhappy breach with America, a very extensive trade was carried on with the colonies: but the home-consumption has been always reckoned most material. A few ribands are exported to Spain, Portugal, and Russia; but the French undersell us at those markets.

WITHIN these few years, four or five houses have begun to introduce the making of gauzes; and for that purpose chiefly, employ hands from Scotland. This branch is at present in its infancy. Another of broad silks was likewise set up, which, I am sorry to find, does not go on with the expected success.

THE military transactions of this city are very few. It was an open town for many centuries, and, of course, incapable of sustaining a siege. The walls were not begun till the year 1355,
WALLS.

and then by virtue of a licence granted by Edward III. twenty-seven years before; nor were they finished in less than forty. They were built by money raised by taxes, and by customs on the wine, malt, oxen, hogs, calves, and sheep, consumed in Coventry. These walls were of great strength and grandeur, furnished with thirty-two towers and twelve gates. These continued till the 22d of July 1661, when great part of the wall, and most of the towers, and many of the gates, were pulled down, with certain circumstances of disgrace, as a punishment for the disloyalty of the inhabitants, in shutting their gates against their monarch Charles I. on the 13th of August 1642. His majesty, after setting up his standard at Nottingham, had sent to this city, to acquaint them that he meant to reside there for some time, and desired quarters for his forces in and about the place. The mayor and aldermen, with many expressions of affection, offered to receive the king, but refused admittance to any of the soldiery. Incensed at this, his majesty attacked the city,
CITY ATTACKED BY CHARLES I.

and with his ordnance forced open one of the gates; but was repulsed by the valour of the citizens, and obliged to retire with loss [*]. In the following month Coventry was regularly garrisoned by the parlement [†], and remained in its possession during the whole war.

I SHOULD have mentioned before, that in the fifteenth century another monarch had been denied the possession of this city. The great Earl of Warwick armed it against Edward IV. in 1470, when he attempted entering on the side of Gosford Green. The king amply repaid the insult on the citizens, who perhaps acted by constraint. He deprived them of their privileges, and made them pay five hundred marks for the recovering of them, by having the sword restored to them.

BEFORE the building of the walls,
CASTLE.

there had been, from very early times, a castle on the south side of the town, near Chylesmore, with a park belonging to it. This had been the residence of the kings and earls of Mercia: it afterwards fell to the earls of Chester, and at length was vested in the royal line. No vestige of it is now to be seen: in its place is a very antient wooden building, the remains of the manor-house of Chylesmore, probably built after the demolition of the castle.

KING Stephen forcibly took this fortress from Randle de Gernons earl of Chester. The earl, in 1146, attempted to reduce it, not by siege, but by erecting a fort near it, in order to distress the garrison, by cutting off supplies. The king twice attempted its relief; the first time without success, but in the second action he defeated the earl; forced him to fly, covered with wounds;
DEMOLISHED.

and then demolished the castle [*].

I SHALL take notice of the ecclesiastical history, churches, remains of religious houses, and the public buildings, in the course of my walk about the city, in which I was accompanied by the Reverend Doctor Edwards; whose hospitality and politeness I have more than once had occasion to experience.

Coventry is seated on ground gently sloping on most sides:
CITY DESCRIBED.

its length, from Hillstreet-gate to Gosford-gate, is about three quarters of a mile, exclusive of the suburbs. The streets in general are narrow, and composed of very antient buildings, the stories of which, in some, impend one over the other in such a manner, as nearly to meet at top, and exclude the sight of the sky. By the appearance of the whole, it is very evident that it never under •ent the calamity of fire; which, deprecated as it ought to be, is usually the cause of future improvement.

THE number of inhabitants, taken at different periods,
NUMBERS.

in the last two hundred years, is very different. Before 1549, they were found to have been 15,000; but on that violent convulsion, the Dissolution, trade grew so low, and occasioned such a dispersion of people from this city, as to reduce them to 3,000. To remedy this evil, Edward VI. granted the city a charter for an additional fair. To this cause perhaps was owing the increase, by the year 1586, to 6502. In 1644, when the inhabitants were •umbered, from the apprehension of a siege, they were found to amount to 9,500 [*]. By Bradford's [†] Survey of Coventry, made in 1748 and 1749, there appears to have been 2,065 houses, and 1211, people. The accounts at present vary from 20,000 to •0,000; but, from my enquiries, the middle sum between both may come nearest the truth.

THE city is watered by the Radford and the Sherborn brooks, which, from N. and S. meet within the walls, and, after a short 〈◊〉, bound the north-eastern parts without the walls.

WE began our progress from the Chester road,
SPONNE HOSPITAL, FOR LEPERS.

on the western side of the city, at the reliques of Sponne hospital, consisting of the chapel and gateway. It was founded for the lepers which happened to be in Coventry, by Hugh Ceveilioc earl of Chester, out of affection to William de Auney, a knight of his houshold, afflicted with the leprosy. Here was also a priest, to pray both for the living and the dead; also certain brethren and sisters, to pray, with the lepers, for the good estate of all their benefactors. This hospital is said once to have belonged to the abbey of Basingwerk, in Flintshire; but at length was appropriated to the monk• of Coventry, from whom it passed to the crown, in the time of Edward IV; who gave it to the canons of Studley, in order to obtain their prayers for him, and all his connections.

THAT loathsome disorder, which gave rise to this,

〈…〉

APPEARANCE IN ENGLAND. and number• of other similar foundations, was introduced into England in the reign of Henry I. and was supposed to have been brought out of Egypt, or perhaps the east, by means of the crusades. To add to the horror, it was contagious; which enhanced the charity of a provision for such miserables, who were not only naturally shunned, but even chaced by royal edict, from the society of their fellow-creatures [*]. All the lesser Lazar houses in England were subject to the rich house at Burton, in Leicestershire, which again was subject to that in Jerusalem. [†] They were usually dedicated to St. Lazarus, from whom they derived their name.

A LITTLE farther is the entrance into the city;
SPONNE GATE.

in my me• under a venerable and magnificent gate, called Sponne Gate, 〈◊〉 late years demolished, in order to give admittance to the e••∣mous
SPONNE GATE.

waggons, loaden beyond the height of arches erected when war was our chief trade.

IMMEDIATELY within the walls, on the left, stands the church of St. John,
CHURCH OF ST. JOHN.

a very handsome building, with a neat but not lofty tower, placed in the centre: the inside is in form of a cross, intersected by a short transept: the windows high, and form a long range, with very narrow divisions. This church was originally a chapel to the merchants gild, the most antient in Coventry, licensed by Edward III. in 1340, for a fraternity of brethren and sisters, with a warden, or master, to be elected out of the body; who might make chauntries, bestow alms, and do other works of piety; constitute ordinances, and purchase lands to the value of £20 a year, within the liberty of the city, for the founding of a chauntry of six priests, to sing mass every day in the churches of the holy Trinity and St. Michael, for the soul of king Edward, queen Philippa, their children, and for the souls of the gild, and others. Soon after, Isabel, queen-mother, assigned the land on this spot, then called Bablake, for the building a chapel, in which masses were to be sung daily for the same purposes; which was finished and dedicated in 1350. At length, in 1399, licence was given for celebrating divine service here, provided it might be done without injury to the mother-church [*].

ON the dissolution, its revenues were found to be £111. 13s. 8d. and that they supported a warden and eight priests, who had chambers in the precinct; a master of a grammar-school, two singing-clerks, and two singing-boys, and several poor men, who had been brethren of the gild. The church has of late years been rebuilt; made a rectory by act of parlement, in 1734, and settled on the master of the free-school of Coventry [*].

BEHIND this church is Bablake hospital,
BABLAKE HOSPITAL.

an old building, with a court in the middle: one part is occupied by Bond's alms-houses, founded in 1506, by Thomas Bond, mayor of Coventry in 1497, for ten poor men and one poor woman, with a priest to pray for the soul of the founder, his grandfather, father, and all Christian souls. At that time the revenues were £49. 11s. 7d. In the first of Edward VIth's time, they were vested in the city; and, the revenues being improved, at present they maintain eighteen old men and a nurse, each of whom have three shillings a week, a black gown, and other emoluments [†]. About the year 1619, an infernal ambition of becoming chief of the house, seized one of the alms-men; who, to attain his end, poisoned eight of his brethren; five of whom instantly died. On detection, the wretch effected his own destruction by the same method, and was buried with the usual marks of infamy. Had his fortune flung him into a higher station, his deeds would have paralleled him with Cesar Borgia, or his more monstrous father, Pope Alexander VI.

THE other part of the building is allotted for the blue boys: a foundation owing to a very singular accident. Mr. Thomas Wheatly, mayor of Coventry in 1556, and ironmonger and cardmaker by trade, sent his servant, Oughton, to Spain, to buy some barrels of steel gads; which he thought he did, in open fair. When they were brought home and examined, they were found to contain cochineal and ingots of silver. Mr. Wheatly kept them for a considerable time, in hopes of discovering the owner; for his servant did not know from whom he bought them. At length he applied the profits, as well as much of his own estate, for the support of poor children.

FROM thence my walk was continued along the west side of the city,
CANAL.

to Bishopgate-street. A little without is the head of the great canal, which, passing by the neighboring collieries at Hawkesbury, is to extend to Brinklow, Hill-Morton, Branston in Northamptonshire, return into Warwickshire, and, after passing by Banbury, conclude at Oxford [*]. By another branch, likewise begun near to Coventry, it is to pass by Atherston and Tamworth, and to unite with the great Staffordshire canal on Eradley heath, three miles N. E. of Lichfield [†]. which, by means of the Stour Port canal, would have become the uniting spot of the commerce of Thames, the Severn, and the Trent, had Britain flourished in the manner it did when these vast designs were undertaken, in the full intoxication of its prosperity. At present it is only finished as far as Atherston.

AT the lower end of this street is the free-school: it sprung out of an hospital,
FREE SCHOOL.

founded in the beginning of the reign of Henry II. by Laurence, prior of Coventry, and his convent, at the request of Edmund, archdeacon of Coventry, for the reception of the sick and needy. At the dissolution, John Hales, a gentleman who had large share in the plunder of the church, and having neither wife or child, converted this foundation, which he had purchased at a very cheap rate, into a free school, and endowed it with CC marks a year in land. At first, the boys were instructed in the church of the White Friers; but the magistrates finding that Mr. Hales had bought the lands but not the church, took advantage of the flaw, and removed the scholars to the present place, and pulled down the church [*]. The chapel, now reduced to one aile, is the present school; and the master resides in the house belonging to the antient master of the hospital. The school has also a library belonging to it.

PASS by Cookstreet Gate, on the outside of the city, and a little further, by the Three Virgins, or Priory Gate, between which there is a complete part of the wall. On the outside was a paved road, in imitation of the military way from turret to turret on the famed wall of Severus: [†] and besides, here were four others, which went a mile each way from the city.

AT a small distance without the Priory Gate, is Swanswell Pool, which supplies the city with water. This did belong to the priory, but was at the dissolution purchased by the corporation from the crown [‡].

FROM hence I returned to the priory,
PRIORY.

seated on the south side of the brook Sherburn. What bears that name is an uninhabited house, of much later date than that monastery; but built on some part of the site of this great foundation.

ABOUT the year 1043, earl Leofric and his fair countess more than repaired the loss in 1016, in the destruction of the famous Saxon nunnery, by founding in its stead a magnificent monastery. They placed here an abbot, and twenty-four monks of the Benedictine order; enriched the very walls and the church with massy gold and silver, and endowed it with half the town and twenty-four manors. All this they did with the advice of king Edward the Confessor and the reigning pope, and dedicated the church to the honor of God and his blessed mother, St. Peter, St. Osburg, and all saints. The pious founders were buried, according to the custom of the times, in the porches; for the distasteful custom of church interment did not prevale till long after.

THE first abbot was Leofrin; but that dignity was of short duration, for, on the removal of the see of Lichfield to this place, in 1095, by Robert de Limisie, the office was suppressed, the bishop being in such cases always esteemed supreme of the house [*] in his stead; a prior was appointed, but without derogating from the honor of the house; for the priors were barons in parlement as well as the preceding abbots, and the place a mitred abbey. This first prelate was more attracted by the wealth of the house than by any spiritual call; for he at once scraped from a single beam five hundred marks worth of silver, in order to carry on the intrigue at Rome against the poor monks. He reduced them to such short commons, that he depressed their spirits, discouraged all sorts of knowlege among them, and, in short, rendered them too dejected to think of obtaining any redress.

THIS was a prelude to greater misfortunes. In the latter end of the following century, Hugh Novani, a Norman, became bishop. He soon fell at variance with the monks; who, in a synod held before the high altar, doubtless on some high provocation, broke his head with the holy cross. ‘Tantaene animis caelestibus irae!’

This enraged the proud prelate (as he was called by those meek monks) to lay his complaint against them at Rome. The pope attended to it, expelled the antient inhabitants, and placed in their room a set of secular canons. The monks, now driven into the wild world, had only the satisfaction of seeing their persecutor struck with deep remorse; for, in 1198, lying on his death-bed, in the abbey of Bec, in Normandy, he was seized with fierce horrors at his conduct towards those holy men; implored forgiveness, and desired their intercession with the Almighty in his behalf. He requested to be buried in the habit of the order, that he might receive the benefit of its protection in the other world, and finally consigned himself to purgatory, ibi in diem judicii cruciandus.

LUCKILY at the time of this event, Thomas, a monk of Coventry, happened to be at Rome soliciting the cause of his brethren: he so enraged Innocent III. (then pope) by his importunities, as to order him to withdraw. The poor monk, with tears, replied, ‘Another pope will come, to whom I shall not sue in vain. I therefore will patiently wait your death, as I have that of your two predecessors.’ "Here is a devil of a fellow" (says his Holiness, in high wrath, to his attendants)
by St. Peter! He shall not wait for my death; so I will not put him off any longer, but make out the purpose of his petition before I put a morsel more into my mouth [*].

THIS troublesome affair ended, they were replaced with double advantage; their privileges, as if by way of atonement for their short sufferings, increased beyond all reason; for in the time of Edward III. they obtained, that they and their tenants, except those who held by knight service more than half a knight's see, should be quit of murder, robbery, suit to the county or hundred courts, aid to the sheriffs, view of frankpledge, and repair of the king's castles or pools [*]. Reign after reign they received fresh emoluments; so that in the end it became possessed of revenues to the amount of £731. 19s. 5d. or, after reprises, £499. 7s. 4d [†].

AMONG the sacred furniture was an image of the Virgin Mary, adorned with a chain of gold enriched with gems, bestowed by the Countess Godeva on her death-bed: to which the devotees were to say as many prayers as there were in it precious stones.

AND besides this, an arm of St. Augustine of Hippo, which Agelnethus, archbishop of Canterbury, in 1020, bought at Rome from the pope, for the small sum of C talents of silver, and one of gold [‡].

BUT even this arm had not power to ward off the blow given by the more irresistible one of Henry VIII; who, not content with the expulsion of its inhabitants, and seizure of the revenues, directed this noble pile to be levelled with the ground; which he did, notwithstanding the earnest prayers of its bishop, Rowland Lee, one of his most servile tools. A deed equally wanton and impious!

THE loss is the more to be regretted, as this cathedral is supposed to have been built on the model of that of Lichfield, and equally beautiful. Nothing remains except a fragment, constituting part of a private house, to be seen with difficulty, and after some search. The palace stood between the priory and Saint Michael's, and was sold in 1651, for its materials, to Nathaniel Lacy and Obadiah Chambers, for the sum of an hundred guineas. The last prior, Thomas Camsel, in 1538, was prevaled on to make a surrender of the house, either through fear of death, for withstanding the tyrant's pleasure, or through lucre of pension; for he had not less than £133. 6s. 8d. annuity, besides other allowances to the monks [*]. The site was then granted to John Combes and Richard Stansfield, after flourishing under monastic government above five hundred years.

WHEN the cathedral was standing, Coventry possessed a matchless group of churches, all standing within one coemetery.
ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH.

Saint Michael's at present is a specimen of the most beautiful steeple in Europe: a tower enriched with faintly figures on the sides; an octagon rising out of it, and that lengthened into a most elegant spire. Every part is so finely proportionable, that it is no wonder that Sir Christopher Wren spoke of it as a masterpiece of architecture. The outside is extremely handsome; the inside light and lofty, consisting of a body and two ailes, divided by four rows of high and airy pillars and arches. The height of the steeple and length of the church are the same, three hundred and three feet; the width of the latter an hundred and four.

IN king Stephen's time, this church was a chapel to the monks; became afterwards a vicarage, and on the dissolution fell to the gift of the crown. This, Trinity, and St. John's, form the parishes of this great city; so numerous are the dissenters.

ITS beautiful steeple was begun in the reign of Edward III. in 1372, by two brothers, Adam and William Bota, at their own charges, which amounted annually to one hundred pounds; nor was it finished in less than twenty years. By the stile of architecture, I agree with Sir William Dugdale, that the present body was built in the reign of Henry VI. Some ornament was also added to the steeple at the same time. Coventry seems to have been particularly favored by Henry, or, to speak more properly of that meek prince, by the heroine Margaret; for this city used to be stiled the secret harbour of that queen.

TRINITY church, and its spire, would be spoken of as a most beautiful building, was it not eclipsed by its unfortunate vicinity to St. Michael's. Within are two epitaphs, which I give for their singularity. One is on Philemon Holland, the famous translator. He was school-master and physician in the city. A wag made this distich on one of his labors:

Philemon with translations doth so fill us,

He will not let Suetonius be Tranquillus.

HE was called translator-general of his age; acquired much credit by his fidelity, but none greater than by his translation of Cambden, in that great antiquarian's life-time, and by his consent; to whose work he made considerable additions.

HE wrote a great folio with one pen, and, as he tells us, did not wear it out.

With one sole pen I writ this book,

Made of a grey goose quill:

A pen it was when it I took;

A pen I leave it still [*].

AT length (if I may be allowed to pun with Fuller) death translated this translator to the other world, in 1636, at the good old age of eighty-five; leaving behind this epitaph of his own composition.

Nemo habet hic, nemo'? hospes salveto, Philemon

Holland hâc recubat ritè repostus humo:

Si quaeras ratio quaenam sit nominis, haec est,

Totus terra fui, terraque totus ero:

At redivivus morte tua servabor, Iesu,

Una sides votis, haec est via sola salutis

Hâc spe fretus ego, culpâ poenaque solutus

Jamque renatus, et inde novo conspectus amictu,

Coetu in sanctorum post redimitus ero.

Claudicat incessu senior mea musa, videsne?

Claudatur capulo mecum simul ipsa, valeto. Valedictio

Ad liberos et nepotes superstites.

Dantque omnes unâ dudum de stirpe creati

Henrice ah! septem de fratribus une superstes

Orphanici patris Gulielmi nuper adempti

Et mihi (bis puero) nutricis Anna, Maria

Cumque tuis angelis Elizabeta; valete [†].

THE other commemorates a Captain Gervas Scrope, written; as the proem tells you, in the agony and dolorous pains of the gout, soon before his death.

Here lies an old tennis-ball,

Was racketted from spring to fall,

With so much heat and so much haste,

Time's arm for shame grew tir'd at last.

Four kings in camps he truly serv'd,

And from his loyalty ne'er swerv'd,

Father ruin'd, the son slighted,

And from the crown ne'er recruited.

Loss of estate, relations, blood,

Was too well known, but did no good,

With long campaigns, and pains of gout,

He could no longer hold it out.

Always a restless life he led;

Never at quiet till quite dead.

He married, in his latter days,

One who exceeds the common praise;

But wanting breath still to make known

Her true affection and his own,

Death timely came, all wants supply'd,

By giving rest, which life deny'd.

ON leaving of these churches, I surveyed with indignation, such as antiquaries experience, the site of the elegant and antient cross, till of late years such an ornament to the city.
CROSS.

I am not furnished with an apology for the corporation who destroyed this beautiful building; so must leave it doubtful, whether the gothic resolution was the result of want of money, or want of taste. In 1629, the city paid it such respect, as to expend £323. 4s. 6d. in its repair [*].

IT was built, or rather begun, in 1541, to replace another cross, taken down some years before. The founder was Sir William Hollies, lord mayor of London, and son of Thomas Hollies of Stoke, near this city, who left by his will two hundred pounds towards the design. The base was hexangular, finely ornamented with gothic sculpture; above, rose three stories of most light and elegant tabernacle-work, lessening to the summit. In the niches were saints and English monarchs, from Henry II. to Henry V. and around each story variety of pretty figures with flags, with the arms of England or the rose of Lancaster expressed on them: and on the summit of the uppermost plate Justice, and other gracious attributes.

A LITTLE south of St. Michael's,
ST. MARY HALL.

stands St. Mary Hall, at present used for corporation-assemblies. This place was built in the beginning of the reign of Henry VI: a venerable pile, whose entrance is beneath a large gateway, over which are the figures of a king and queen sitting; probably Henry and his consort Margaret. Within this building is a fine old room: in the upper end is a noble semicircular window, divided into nine parts, elegantly painted with figures of several of our monarchs, with coats of arms and ornaments, but now very imperfect: those in the windows on the one side are lost; several of those on the other are entire, and were designed to represent some of our great nobility, who had honored this hall with their presence as brothers and sisters of the gild, for whose use this hall was founded. This had been the gild of St. Katherine, established by certain citizens of Coventry, in 1343, by licence of Edward III; after which it was united to those of the Holy Trinity, Our Lady, and Saint John the Baptist.

THE illustrious personages represented here, are William Beauchamp, lord of Abergavenny, and fourth son to Thomas Earl of Warwick; and by him is his countess Jean, daughter of Richard Earl of Arundel.

Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick, and his second wife Isabella, daughter of Thomas Lord D' Espencer; Humphry Earl of Stafford, with a battle-ax in his hand; and one of the John Mo•••rays Dukes of Norfolk. All those great men are dressed with the magnificence and luxury of the east, in long robes lined with ermine, and with large and singular hoods. These were the garments of peace, when they passed the festive day in honor of their fraternity.

ALONG the walls are ranged a number of Latin verses, with a •ort of Ste•nhold translation opposite. I shall only give the last, as Doctor Stukely has already preserved the former in his Itinerary.

Edward the floure of chivalre, whilesome the Black Prynce hyghre,

Who prisoner tooke the French king John, in claime of grandames right;

And slew the kyng of Bram• in field, whereby the ostrich penn

He won, and w•re on crest here first; which poesie bare Ich Dien▪

•n•d their martial seats of arms, wherein he had no peere,

His countie eke to shew this seate he chose and lov'd full d•e•.

The former state he g•• confirmed, and freedom did encrease

〈◊〉 president of knyghthood rare, as well for warre as peace.

〈◊〉 time that first this antient town Earl Leofrike feoffed free,

〈…〉 suite and merit strange, or else it could not bee.

In princes grace by long descent, as old recordes do date,

It stood manteind, until at length it grew to cities state.

Quene Isabel, sole heire of Fraunce, great favor hither caste,

And did procure large fraunchises by charter ay to last.

〈…〉 therefore, in loialtie our selves, and all wee have,

〈◊〉 Elizabeth, our ladie liege; whom God in mercy save.

When 〈…〉 once to fade, and commonwealth decay,

No 〈…〉 in cities great; for what endureth aye?

John, late Duke of Northumberland [*], a prince of high degree,

Did graunt 〈◊〉 lands for commons weale, as here in brass you see.

And Leicester 〈…〉 great affairs▪ whereto high place doth call,

His father's worthy steps hath traced to prop, that his might fall

On •oth i• p•••ce and countrie's 〈◊〉 hold forth this course your days:

Such dee•• do •o••e bloud comm•nd, such bring mortal praise.

IN the apartments of this building are held the balls and assemblies of this city. In one of the drawing-rooms is to be seen, in high preservation, an antiquity equally delicate and curious; an unique, which Coventry alone has the happiness of possessing. Here it is known by the name of The Lady's Spoon, but is doubtless no other than the S••ph••m of the antients, described by Coelius Rhs •nus and 〈◊〉, Rerum ••morab••• deperd [†].

THE front of the Drapiers Hall is very elegant,
DRAPIER
•

HALL. ornamented with Tus•an pi•asters, and does much ••edit to the city. It was lately rebuilt on the site of the antient hall, •ounded by certain drapiers, whose n•mes have long since perished.

FROM hence we crossed the city to the Grey Friars,
GREY FRIARS.

which stood on the south side. This order arrived in Coventry before the year 1•34, when they had only an oratory, which was covered with shingles from Kenelworth wood, by an order of Henry III. to the sheriff of Warwickshire. Both the house and church, of an order devoted to poverty, were built by pious alms, on a spot of ground bestowed on them by the last Randle Earl of Chester, ou•
GREY FRIERS GATE and STEEPLE COVENTRY.

〈◊〉 •is neighboring manor of Cheyl•smor. The church seems nor to have been built till the ••me of Edward III. when the Black 〈◊〉 permitted the friars to take stone out of his park of Cheyles ••• for that purpose. A beautiful steeple, with a spire springing from an octagon, is all that remains of this church. Dugdale supposes the Hastings to have been great benefactors; for numbers of them were interred here, in a chapel of their name, and 〈◊〉 in the habit of the order, from a superstition of the respect 〈…〉 Spirit would pay to it on the last day.

THOSE friars were celebrated for their annual exhibitions of the 〈◊〉 stories called Corpus Christi plays,
CORPUS CHRISTI PLAYS.

which they performed on that day, to their great emolument, before crowds of spectators. 〈◊〉 •••orted hither at that season from all parts. Like Thespis of old, they are recorded ‘Plaustris vexisse poemata.’

〈…〉 have gone to the most advantageous parts of the city, 〈◊〉 po•table theatres drawn on wheeled carriages, from which 〈◊〉 exhibited their pageants, which amounted to forty. The •ubjects are announced in a sort of prologue, by a person called 〈…〉 or, who probably carried a flag painted with the subject of the day, and at the same time gave out to the crowd the his • 〈◊〉 was to expect. The history is taken up at the creation, 〈◊〉 ••ds with the last day. I have said much of these religious 〈◊〉 in my Wesh Tour [*] therefore will not pester the reader • present with more than Eve's rhetoric, after being tempted by the serpent, to persuade poor Adam to taste of the forbidden 〈◊〉.

My semely spouse and good husbond,

Lystenyth to me ser, I ʒow pray;

Take þis •ayr appyl all in ʒow hond,

Þerof a mursel byte & asay

To ete this appyl loke that ʒe •ond

Goddys felaw to be alway;

All his wisdom to undyrstonde,

And Goddys p•r to be for ay.

All thyng for to make,

Both •ysch & soule, se & sond,

Byrd & best, waty• & lond,

Þis appyl you take out of myn hond

A bete herof you take [*].

Henry VIII. put an end to the performances of these poor friars, who had the honor of falling with the greater monasteries having escaped the wreck of the lesser, because they had nothing worth sei•ing to gratify that rapacious court. But the king, net content with their ruin, added to it the mortifying obligation of making their surrender on the 5th of October 1538, and to sign it with their names and common seal. The instrument is curiou• and worthy perusal.

‘For as moche as we the wardens and freers of the house of Say•• Frances in Coventre, commonly callyd the Grey Freers in Coventre, in the county of Warwick, doo profoundly consider, that the perfection of Christian livynge dothe not consi•t 〈◊〉 ••me ceremonies, werynge of a grey coot, disgeasinge our selfe 〈◊〉 strau•ge fassions, do kynge, noddynge, and beckyng, in gu•rdyng our selves wythe a gurdle fulle of knotts, & other like papisticall ceremonies, wherein we have ben mooste principally practised and mislyd in tymes paste; but the very true waye to plese God, and to live a tru Christian mon, wytheout all ypo •••• and fayned diseimulation, is sinceerly declared unto us by our Mr. Christe, his evangelists and apostles; being myndyd hereafter to followe the same, conformynge our self unto the will and plesure of our supreme hedde under God in erthe, the kynges majestie, and not to folowe henseforth die supersti ••us traditions of any forinsecall potentate or peere; wythe mu •••il assent and consent do surrendre and yelde up into the •ondes of the same all our seide house of Saynt Frances, in the 〈◊〉 of Coventre, commonly callyd the Grey Freers in Coventre, wythe also the londs, tenements, gardens, medows, waters, •••diards, fedings, pastures, comens, rents, reversions, & alle other our interest, ryghtes, or titles appertaining unto the •ame: mooste humbly beseechinge his mooste noble grace to 〈◊〉 of us, and of the same, as beste shall stonde wythe his •ooste gracious pleasure. And further, frely to graunte unto ••ery on of us his license under wretyng & seealle, to chaunge 〈◊〉 habits into secular fashion, and to receive suche maner of 〈◊〉 as other secular priests commonly be preferred unto. And we all faithfully shall pray unto Almighty God long to preserve his mooste noble grace wythe increase of moche feli • and honour. And in witnes of alle and singular the pre •, we the seide warden and covent of the Grey Freers is Coventre to thes presences have putte our covent seealle, the fivithe day of October, in the thertythe yere of the raynge of our mooste soveraynge lord king Henry the eyghte.’

- Per me Johannem Stafford, Guardian,

- Per me Thomas Maller,

- Per me Thomas Sanderson,

- Per me Johannem Abell,

- Per me Johannem Wood,

- Per me Rogerum Lilly,

- Per me Thomam Aukock,

- Per me Matheum Walker,

- Per me Robartum Walker,

- Per me Thomam Bangsit,

- Per me Willielmum Gosnelle.

Which s•d house, or site, was in the thirty-fourth of Henry VIII. granted by the king 〈◊〉 ali• ) to the mayor, bailiffs, and commonalry of this city, and their successors for ever.

NOT far from the friary is a f•ne gate, called The Grey Frier Gate, the most beautiful of any left standing.

A 〈◊〉 farther to the east is Cheleysmor, where is still to be se•• part of the ma•or-house: a wooden building, with a gate way beneath. This, or some other on the site of it, had been the ••••dence of the lords of the place, and of the kings and earls of 〈◊〉; after that, of the earls of Chester; and finally, it fell to the 〈◊〉, when that •arldom was resumed: which, with the park, about three miles in circumference, belongs to the Prince of W••es as Earl of Chester. The castle stood not remote from the manor-house.

FROM hence we proceeded to the Carmelites, or White Friars; whose house stands at the east end of the city: another order devoted to poverty, who lived on charity both from the living and the dead; for they often received legacies, supposed expiations for sins. Their house was built about the year 1342, by Sir John Poultney, four times lord mayor of London: a gentleman deservedly celebrated for his pious munificence [*]. At the dissolution it was granted to Sir Ralph Sadler. It was afterwards •ell to John Hales, who, residing here, occasioned it to be called H•les' Place. At present, it is occupied by numbers of poor families.

HERE are considerable remains of the building: part of the •••ed cloisters; the refectory and dormitory, and vast vaulted room, which served as magazines for provisions. A very handsome gateway, with three niches on the front, is still standing; and on an inner gate are three arrows, the arms of one of the be ••factors.

IN the course of my walk a chamber was shewn me, in Gosford-street, noted for the melancholy end of Mary Clues, in February 1772, who was found almost consumed by fire, occasioned by an accident of a most uncommon nature. She had been confined to her bed by illness, the consequence of intemperance. The room was ••ored with brick; the bed furnished with only one curtain, and that was next to the window. The fire-place was on the other side. She was left, the evening before the accident, with two •mall bits of coal put quite back in the grate, and a rush-light on the chair, by the head of the bed. The next morning a great smoke was perceived in the room. On bursting open the door 〈◊〉 flames appeared, which were easily extinguished. The remains of the woman lay on the floor, but the furniture of the room was only slightly damaged; the bedstead superficially burnt but neither sheets, feather-bed, nor blankets destroyed.

THE solution of this phaenomenon is rather ridiculous. Mrs. 〈◊〉 was excessively addicted to dram-drinking: she would drink a quart in a day, either of rum or anise-seed water; and by that means, filling her veins with pure spirits, became as inflammable as a lamp. She tumbled out of bed, took fire by the candle, and in about two hours was fairly burnt out to her thighs and one leg, and nothing left except her bones, completely calcin•d [*].

THIS is not the only instance I have read of persons being 〈◊〉 by their own phlegist•n, natural or •equired. Two Co•∣•nd noblemen, after a drinking-match of spirituous liquors, died scorched and suffocated: and the Countess Cornelia Bau•••, of 〈◊〉 in Italy [†], was found in the situation of Mary Clu••, but without imputation of the guilty origin. Semele was certainly one of those combustible ladies; but the gallant Ovid has ascribed her fatal end to another cause.

Corpus mortale tumultu•

Non •ui•t Aethereo•; donisque jugalibus arsit.

IN Gosford-street I took horse to visit Combe abbey,
GOSFORD GREEN.

the 〈◊〉 Lord Craven; passed through Gosford-gate, and by a green of 〈◊〉 same name, memorable for the single combat which was to 〈◊〉

been •ought there in September 1398, between the Duke of Here •ord [*] and the Duke of Norfolk, earl marshal [†]. The former had ••sely betrayed a private conversation, in which he said that M••bray had dropt several expressions of a treasonable nature. The accusation was denied, and, according to the barbarous •sage of the times, Mowbray demanded the privilege of acquit ••ng himself by single combat. Each of the dukes, agreeable to the laws of chivalry, flung down his glove, which was taken up before the king and sealed [‡] (I suppose, to prevent any future den•al of the challenge). The king appointed Coventry for the place of combat, and caused for that purpose a vast and magnificent theatre to be erected on this green ‖. The rival dukes •••de all requisite preparation, and particularly about the essential article armour. Froissar• relates the steps they took; which •hews the preference which was given to foreign armourers. 〈◊〉 I shall deliver in the words of his noble translator [§].

These two lordes made provision for that was necessarye
for them for their battayle. The Earl of Derby [**] sent his •••ssangers in to Lombardy, to the Duke of Myllayn, Sir Gal••, for to have armure at his pleasure. The duke agreed 〈◊〉 the erles desyre, and caused the knight that the erle had sent 〈◊〉, whose name was Fraunces, to se all the dukes armorye; 〈◊〉 wh•n the knight had chosen such as he lyked, than the duke ••rthermore, for love of the erle of Derby, he sent four of the best armourers that were in Lombardy to ye erle into Englande with the knight, to •henten• yt thei shuld arme & make armure accordyng to the cries entent. The Erle Marshal, on his part, 〈…〉, and in to other places, to provyde him for the journey. The charge of these two lords was greate. But the Erle of Derby was at mooste charge.

THE armour of the great men was uncommonly splendid and expensive usually inlaid with gold and silver, with most elegant devices and patterns. That of Francis I. in possession of Mr. W••p••e and that of George Earl of Cumberland, at Appleby castle, exist as specimens of the great attention given to that circumstance. Besides beauty, the utmost regard was paid to the essential requisite of its being proof. This was to be the result of the 〈◊〉 of the a•m•ourer not of art-magic; for the combatants •ere to clear themselves by oath, from having any commerce with 〈◊〉 any or of rendering their armour or bodies invulnerable by any charm. Let their cause be ever so bad, they determined to die like good Christians; disavowed all dependence on the power of Satan, and supplicated the prayers of the pious 〈◊〉.

Ad• •roof unto my armour with thy prayers,

And with thy blessings steel my lance's point [*].

I SHALL give the consequence of this important affair in the very graphical words of honest Holinshed, who minutely describes the pomp and ceremony preceding the resolution taken by the unfortunate monarch, which in the end cost him his crown and life.

‘At the time appointed, the king came to Coventrie, where the two dukes were readie, according to the order prescribed therein; comming thither in great arraie, accompanied with the lords and gentlemen of their linages. The king caused a sumptuous scaffold, or theater, and roial listes there to be erected and prepared. The Sundaie before they should fight, after dinner, the duke of Hereford came to the king (being lodged about a quarter of a mile without the town, in a tower that belonged to Sir William Bagot) to take his leave of him. The morrow after, being the daie appointed for the combat, about the spring of the daie came the duke of Norfolke to the court, to take leave likewise of the king. The duke of Hereford armed him in his tent, that was set up neere to the lists; and the duke of Norfolke put on his armor betwixt the gate and the barrier of the town, in a beautiful house, having a fair perclois of wood towards the gate, that none might see what was done within the house.’

‘The duke of Aumarle that daie being high constable of England, and the duke of Surrie marshal, placed themselves betwixt them, well armed and appointed. And when they saw their time, they first entered into the lists with a great company of men, apparelled in silke sendal, imbrodered with silver both richlie and curiouslie; everie man having a tipped staff, to keep the field in order. About the houre of prime came to the barriers of the lists the duke of Hereford, mounted on a white courser, barded with green and blew velvet, imbroidered sumptuously with swans and antelopes of goldsmiths worke, armed at all points. The constable and marshal came to the barriers, demanding of him what he was? he answered, 'I am Henrie of Lancaster, duke of Hereford: which am come hither to do mine indevor against Thomas Mowbraie duke of Norfolke, as a traitor untrue to God, the king, his realme, and me.'—Then incontinentlie he sware upon the holie Evangelists, that his quarrel was true & just; and upon that point he required to enter the lists. Then he puts up his sword, which before he held up naked in his hand, and, putting down his visor, made a cross on his horsse, and with speare in hand entered into the lists, and descended from his horsse, and set him down in a chaire of green velvet, at the one end of the lists, and there reposed himself, abiding the comming of his adversarie.’

‘Soone after him entered into the field, with great triumph, King Richard, accompanied with all the peerses of the realme; and in his companie was the earle of Saint Paule, which was come out of France, in post, to see this challenge performed. The king had there above ten thousand men in armour, least some fraie or tumult might rise amongst his nobles, by quarrelling or partaking. When the king was set in his seat, which was richly hanged and adorned, a king at arms made open proclamation, prohibiting all men, in the name of the king, and of the high constable and marshal, to enterprise or attempt to approach, or touch any part of the lists, upon pain of death, except such as were appointed to order or marshal the field. The proclamation ended, another herald cried, 'Behold here Henrie of Lancaster duke of Hereford, appelant, which is entered into the lists roiall, to do his devoir against Thomas Mowbraie duke of Norfolke, defendant, upon paine to be found false & recreant.’

The duke of Norfolke hovered on horsseback at the entrie of the lists, his horsse being barded with crimson velvet, imbrodered richlie with lions of silver and mulberie trees; and when he had made his oth before the constable and marshal, that his quarrel was just & true, he entered the field manfullie, saieng aloud, 'God, and him that hath the right;' and then he departed from his horsse, & sate him downe in his chaire, which was of crimson velvet, courtined about with white and red damaske. The lord marshall viewed their spears, to see that they were of equall length, and delivered the one speare himself to the Duke of Hereford, and sent the other unto the Duke of Norfolke by a knight; then the herald proclamed, that the traverses & chaires of the champions should be removed, commanding them, on the king's behalf, to mount on horssebacke, and address themselves to the battel and combat [*].

‘The duke of Hereford was quicklie horssed, and closed his bauier, and cast his speare into the rest; and when the trumpet founded, set forward couragiouslie towards his enemie six or seven pases. The duke of Norfolke was not fullie set forward, when the king cast downe his warder, and the heralds cried 'Ho, ho.' Then the king caused their speares to be taken from them, and commanded them to repaire againe to their chaires; where they remained two long houres, while the king and his councell deliberatlie consulted what order was best to be had in so weightie a cause. Finallie: after they had devised, and fullie determined what should be done therein, the heralds cried 'Silence;' and Sir John Bushie, the king's secretarie, read the sentence and determination of the king and his councell, in a long roll; the effect whereof was, that Henrie duke of Hereford should, within fifteene daies, depart out of the realme, and not to returne before the terme of ten yeares were expired, except by the king he should be repealed againe; and this upon paine of death: and that Thomas Mowbraie duke of Norfolke, bicause he had sowen sedition in the relme by his words, should likewise avoid the realme, and never returne againe into England, nor approch the borders or confines thereof, upon pain of death: and that the king would sta•e the profits of his lands, till he had levied thereof such summes of monie as the duke had taken up of the king's treasuror, for the wages of the garrison of Calis; which were still unpaid.’

‘When these judgements were once read, the king called before him both parties, and made them to sweare that the one should never come in place where the other was, willinglie, nor keepe any companie togither in any forren region: which oth they both received humblie, and so went their waies. The duke of Norfolke departed sorrowfullie out of the realme into Almanie, and at the last came into Venice, where he, for thought and melancholie, deceassed; for he was in hope (as writers record) that he should have beene borne out in the matter by the king; which, when it fell out otherwise, it greeved him not a little. The duke of Hereford tooke his leave of the king at Eltham, who there released foure yeares of his banishment; so he tooke his jornie over into Calis, and from thence went into France, where he remained.’

‘A woonder it was to see what number of people ran after him, in everie towne and street where he came, before he tooke the sea, lamenting and bewailing his departure; as who should saie, that when he departed, the onlie shield, defense, and comfort of the commonwealth was vaded and gone.’

ABOUT two miles from Coventry, I crossed the little river Sow at Binly bridge, a little beyond which stands the beautiful small church of the name, dedicated to St. Bartholomew,
BINLY CHURCH.

formerly belonging to the monks of Coventry; now a curacy in the gift of Lord Craven, who rebuilt the church with uncommon elegance. The roof is coved, and ornamented with scriptural histories, in form of medallions, and with pious ornaments of crosses, crowns, and thorns, and other decorations adapted to the place. The altar is in a tribune, with marble pillars; and its window consists of glass painted with a fine holy family, by Mr. William Pecket.

Combe Abbey, or, to spell it with propriety, Cwm, from its low situation,
COMBE ABBEY.

lies about two miles farther. Notwithstanding its conversion to the seat of a nobleman, it retains in part the form of its conventual state. The cloisters are preserved on three sides of the antient court, glazed as when occupied by the antient owners, and their walls enriched with the spoils of the chace. Methinks the jovial abbot is now before me, formed out of the monk so admirably described by old Chaucer.

A monk ther was, a fayre for the maistrie,

An out rider that loved venerie;

A manly man, to ben an abbot able;

Full many a deinte hors hadde he in stable.

And when he rode, men mighte his bridel here,

Gingeling in a whistling wind as clere

And eke as loude as doth the chapell belle.

Ther as this lord was keper of the celle,

The rule of Seint Maure and of Seint Beneit,

Because that it was olde & somedele streit,

This ilke monk lette olde thinges pace,

And held after the newe world the trace.

He yave not of the text a pulled hen,

That saith that hunters ben not holy men;

Ne that a monk, when he is rekkeles,

Is like a fish that is waterles:

This is to say, a monk out of his cloistre,

This ilke text held he not worth an oistre.

And I say his opinion was good:

What shulde he studie, & make himselven wood,

Upon a book in cloistre alway to pore,

Or swinken with his hondes, & laboure

As Austin bit? How shall the world be served?

Let Austin have his swink to him reserved.

Therefore he was a prickasoure a right;

Greihounds he hadde as swift as soul of flight:

Of pricking, & of hunting for the hare,

Was all his lust; for no cost wolde he spare.

THE abbot is now represented by a jovial English baron, not less a lover of the generous exercise. He derives his right to the place from his ancestor Sir William Craven, Knight, great grandson of Henry Craven, elder brother to Sir William, lord mayor of London in 1610; one of the richest men of his time. It was purchased from that squanderer Lucy countess of Bedford, who inherited it from her brother Lord Harrington, who derived it from his mother Anne, daughter of Robert Kelway, who received it in lease after the forfeiture of John Dudley duke of Northumberland, to whom it had been granted by Edward VI. It had been founded by Richard de Camville, in 1150, and peopled with Cistercian monks;
FOUNDER.

who were at the dissolution found to be endowed with upwards of three hundred pounds a year [*]. Robert Bates, alias Kymmer, was the last abbot; who, for his surrender, was rewarded with a pension of eighty pounds a year [†], and his thirteen or fourteen religious with small pittances, as the merit of the deed rested in the former.

THAT accomplished nobleman Lord Harrington was the refounder of this house; which Cambden says arose from the ashes of the antient abbey. His taste is evident, in his preservation of the venerable cloisters. It is indebted to the owners of the present name for its instructive furniture of portraits; probably entirely to the hero William Craven, a most distinguished personage of this family.

IN the north parlour is a fine full-length of his great master in the art of war,
PORTRAITS.

Gustavus Adolphus; under whose banners he defended the Protestant cause in Germany, and, when very young, gained immortal honor at the desperate storming of the fortress of Creutenach, in the palatinate.

A FULL-LENGTH of James Stewart duke of Richmond, in black, with long flowing flaxen hair, and a dog by him. This illustrious nobleman forms one of the most amiable characters in the reign of Charles I. His attachment and affection to his royal relation was unequalled: he is even said to have offered his own life, to save that of his devoted master [‡]. He was permitted to attend the funeral of the beloved remains; then lingered away a few years, and died a victim to grief on March 30, 1655.

Frederick V. elector palatine, a full-length, in robes, and with the unfortunate crown which he wore, as short-lived king of Bohemia, elected by the revolted state in 1619, when it attempted to shake off the yoke of the emperor Ferdinand II. The battle of Prague, in the following year, deprived Frederick of his new kingdom and his hereditary dominions, and, from a potent prince, reduced him hereby to that of a fugitive beggar in Holland. He survived his own misfortunes twelve years, but died with grief, on the death of his great friend Gustavus Adolphus, in 1632.

NEAR him is his queen, dressed in black, and with a melancholy look. She was the daughter of our peaceful monarch James I; who, either through hatred of war, or disapprobation of his son-in-law's ambition, reluctantly undertook his defence, and made, under Mansfield, an unfortunate essay. His daughter Elizabeth supported her unhappy situation with uncommon dignity, and shewed, amidst the most distressful poverty, an illustrious example of magnanimity. She visited the army of Gustavus, which had in view her husband's restoration, as well as the giving liberty to the German Protestants. The English volunteers seem to have fought her battles, inspired by love. She was the admiration of the camp, and had votaries among every nation. The young Craven was among her warmest devotees, and continued his attachment to the last moment of her life; possessed her deserved confidence, directed all her affairs, and gave a most distinguishing proof of his esteem, by building for her use, at his estate in Berkshire, a magnificent palace. The difference of rank alone prevented the publication of their union, which is generally supposed to have taken place. Her spotless fame was never aspersed with improper connection.

I MUST step to another room, the picture-gallery, for the portrait of her admirer; a fine head, with the body armed, and crossed with a sash. Let me finish his history with saying, that after the death of Gustavus, he retired from the Swedish army into the service of the Dutch, and, notwithstanding he never interfered in the civil wars of his own country, yet, in 1650, his estates were confiscated by the parlement (as is said) through false accusations of favors done the exiled king. On the restoration he came over, and in 1670, on the death of the Duke of Albemarle, he was appointed colonel of the Coldstream regiment of guards. His gallant spirit never forsook him: he braved the pestilence in its greatest fury, and, with a few other worthies, undertook the care of London in 1665, during the desolation of the plague; and in every fire, was so active in preventing the devastation of that other scourge, that it was said, ‘his very horse smelt it out.’

I MUST return to the parlour, to mention a fine conversation-piece, consisting of prince Rupert, prince Maurice, and the duke of Richmond at table, in the manner of Dobson, by Honthurst. Those of the king of Bohemia and his queen are by the same hand; Honthurst having had the honor of instructing that unfortunate princess and her family.

A HEAD of Raphael.

THE brazen serpent, surrounded by the terrified multitude: a fine performance.

Judith and Holofernes. Her maid, a swarthy old woman, is performing the operation of cutting off the head.

ON the stair-case is a large picture of Lord Craven on horse-back, with a truncheon in his hand.

IN the breakfast-room is a fine scene among the Alps, by John Loren, a Dutchman, who, residing much in Switzerland, became celebrated for his wild romantic views.

IN the picture-gallery is a fine half-length of David, with the head of Goliah, by Guercino. Frederick Tromellus, count Lavella, a head.

John Ernest duke of Savoy.

Gustavus Adolphus, a half-length, and the heads of sixteen of his illustrious generals, by Mirevelt. These, and most of the other portraits of men of eminence in Germany, were brought over by the queen of Bohemia, and by her bequeathed by will to Lord Craven.

A HEAD of Mirevelt, and another of Honthurst, painted by themselves. The former resided chiefly at Delft, and was prevented from visiting England by reason of the plague. The latter was here some time, by the encouragement of Charles I.

Christian duke of Brunswick, a fierce hero in the army of Gustavus, subdued by the charms of our royal countrywoman. It is said, that he snatched a glove from her, put it in his cap, and swore he would never part with it, till he saw her husband in possession of the capital of Bohemia [*].

SIR Edward Cecil, third son of the earl of Exeter, a celebrated commander during thirty-five years in the Netherlands. He died in 1638, after being honored with the title of Lord Wimbledon. His picture is a head, with short grey hair; his body in rich •rmour, with a sash. From this the print by Simon Pass was 〈◊〉.

A REMARKABLE legend of Otto, or Otho I. earl of Oldenberg, represented as wearied with the chace, and separated from his compassions, on a wild mountain. When he was almost fainting with 〈◊〉, a beautiful virgin, in white, with long flowing hair, and a •••land on her head, bursts out of the side of the hill, and offers him drink out of a rich horn, which she put into his hand, assur ••• him, that if he drank, prosperity would attend him and his house. He disliked the proposal, suspecting deceit. Accordingly, pouring some of the liquor on the hind part of his horse, found it so noxious as to take off the hair. He instantly rode off 〈◊〉 the horn full speed, terrified at the adventure; and the sp•••re retired into the bowels of the mountain. The horn, which gave rise to this fable, is of silver, gilt, and of most exquisite workmanship; and is still preserved in the museum at 〈◊〉. [*] Instead of being of the age of Otho I. or about the year 〈◊〉, it is proved to have been made by Christian I. in honor of the three kings of Cologne, whose names are inscribed on it; •or it seems it was customary, among the northern nations, to de • their cups or horns to saints, and make large libations out of them, invoking the saint to assist the mighty draught: Help Gol 〈◊〉 Maria dat •w Got [†]. What gave rise to the particular le • relative to the horn, is the figure of a woman on the recur •••ed up, with a label, with this jovial exhortation, Drine all w••; 〈…〉 the lip, O mater Dei memento mei.

In several apartments whose names I have forgotten, are var••ty of other paintings and portraits.

AMONG them is one of the founder of the family, Sir William Craven, lord ma•or of London, by Jansen; two full-lengths of Earl Craven, in armour, one very spirited; and a portrait of Sir William Craven of this place, by Sir Peter Lely; Lucy countess of B••ford, by Jansen, in the same attitude and dress in which she is painted at Weburn and at A•• [*].

AN elegant figure of Henry prince of Wa••s, in a gay silk jacket, crimson hose, roses to his shoes, a white silk hat and feather before h••, and a glove in one hand. He stands in a room with a pretty view through the window. Drawn while that amiable prince was in his boyhood.

Charles II. when young, his body armed with steel, the rest with buff.

GENERAL Monk, cloathed entirely in buff. This species of defence was usually made of the sl••n of the elk, and oftentimes of the stag, and was proof enough to turn a ball.

DUKE of Ormond, by Sir Peter Lely.

A PRETTY half-length of Lord Herbert, young, in armour, laced crav•t, and his helmet before him.

THE punishment of sloth: a man whipping a woman out of bed.

A F•NE decollation of St. John, by Albert Dur•r. The executioner sheathing his sword▪ Herodias's daughter receives the head with great satisfaction of countenance, and her swelling waist shews the price of the Evangelist's destruction.

FOUR musicians: two, a Flemish gentleman and a lady; the other, peasants: a capital performance, by Frank Hals.

THE offering of the wise men in the east, by Paul Veronese, equally fine.

AN old woman and boy, heads, by candle-light, likewise fine.

TWO fine paintings, by Rembrandt, of two philosophers; each with a noble pupil: one in a Turkish dress; the other in an ermine robe. These young figures are called Prince Rupert and Prince Maurice. The time of the residence of their mother in Holland, agrees entirely with that of Rembrandt in Amsterdam, which makes the conjecture probable.

I RETURNED through Coventry, and, passing over the site of the New gate, soon entered on a long common. At about a mile's distance from the city, on the left side of the road, stood the Chartreux, now inhabited by — Inge, Esquire. Little of the antient building remains. The wall of the precinct is still standing and in a wall in the garden are the marks of many small doors, the entrance into the cells of the austere inhabitants.

THIS religious house arose from the pious intentions of William Lord Zouch of Harringworth, in Northamptonshire, who obtaining, in 1381, fourteen acres of land in this place from Sir Baldwyn Frevile the elder, determined on that to erect a monastery of Carthusians, and endow it with ample revenues. Death prevented the execution; but in his last illness he left sixty pounds towards a future establishment.

THE design was speedily completed by various pious persons. Richard Luff, a mayor of Coventry, and Richard Botoner, a fellow-citizen, bestowed four hundred marks on the church-choir, cloisters, and three cells: others followed their example. Richard II. on his return from Scotland, in 1385, assumed the honor of being the founder, and, at the instance of his queen Anne, laid the first stone of the church with his own hands, declaring, in the presence of his nobility, and of the mayor and citizens of Coventry, that he would bring it to perfection. After this, it received considerable endowments, and at the dissolution was found, according to Dugdale, to be possessed of £131. 6s. 8d. above all reprizes. The prior seemed to want the resolution of this severe and conscientious order; for more of this than any other resisted the will of their cruel monarch, and underwent martyrdom in support of the trusts committed to them. It is probable that John Bochard, the last who presided over the house, was prevaled on to surrender for the consideration of the great pension of forty pounds a year: after which it was granted to Richard Andrews and Leonard Chamberlain.

A LITTLE farther I crossed the Sherbourn, leaving on the right Whitley,
WHITLEY.

a large old house, in which Charles I. resided during the attempt upon Coventry. I was told, that the history of many of his actions had been painted on the wainscot. About a mile and a half from hence I passed the Avon, at Finford bridge. This is the river that runs by Warwick and Stratford, and discharges itself into the Severn, near Tewkesbury; still retaining the British name Afon, or river, as is the case with several others watering English ground.

ASCEND an extensive brow, commanding a rich and vast view toward the north and west. On the summit is a tumulus, from which the spot, which gives name to the hundred, is called Knightlow,
KNIGHTLOW.

or mount. It seems to have been sepulchral, and to have covered the ashes of some Roman eques, or knight, from which it was denominated. It lies very near a great Roman road, as customary with similar memorials. On it in after-times stood a cross; on whose base the inhabitants of several towns in this hundred still attend, and pay the dues to the lord on Martinmass-day: the sums are from 1d. to 2s. 3d. each. These rents are called Wroth-money, and Warth or Swarff penny, and are supposed by Dugdale to be the same as ward-penny: Vicecomiti aut aliis castellanis persoluti ob castrorum praesidium vel excubias agendas. They must be paid at this cross before sun-rise, and the party paying must go thrice round the cross, say wroth-money, and put it into the hole in the stone before good witness, or on omission to forfeit thirty shillings and a white bull [*].

A SMALL space beyond, the Roman foss-way crosses the road:
ROMAN ROAD.

it enters this county at High Cross, on the verge of Leicestershire, where it is intersected by the great Watling-street, and traverses direct to Stafford upon Foss, near the edge of Glocestershire.

Go over Dunsmore heath (now inclosed) and, after riding in a tedious avenue of elms and firs for five miles, reach Dunchurch, or the church on the hill; a small village, whose church once belonged to the monks of Pipwell, in Northamptonshire.

DESCEND the hill, and about three miles further go near Willoughby, or the place of willows; a little village,
WILLOUGHBY.

with a church dedicated to St. Nicholas, formerly appropriated to the hospital of St. John, without East-gate, Oxford; now in the patronage of Magdalen College. This bottom, at present enlivened with the windings of the canal, assumes a commercial appearance, by the number of new buildings rising on its banks, and the magazines of coal and limestone laid up for sale. The former gives a most comfortable prospect to the half-starved inhabitants of Northamptonshire, by flattering them with the speedy approximation of the means of warmth, and giving to their poor good fuel, instead of the wretched substitute of horse-dung, which they collect in scanty portions for that purpose.

IT would be ungrateful to leave Warwickshire, without paying a tribute to the memory of Mr. Henry Beighton, author of the map of this county, surveyed by him in 1722, 23, 24, and 25. As it was the earliest, so it was the best performance of the kind. He had an estate of about a hundred a year, in the parish of Coton, in this county. He assisted his income by surveying, in which, for elegance, accuracy, and expedition, he had few equals. He left behind him, in his neighborhood, numbers of excellent surveyors, who own him for their master. His account of London bridge, in the Philosophical Transactions, shews his skill in mechanics. He was interred at Chilvers Coton; where a small monument barely tells that he lived and died, without mentioning his merit, neglected by his countrymen during life; for he never met with encouragement to publish his admirable map: which was done about the year 1750 [*]. by subscription, for the support of his widow.

FROM Willoughby I instantly entered NORTHAMPTONSHIRE,
BRAUNSTON.

in the parish of Braunston. The village, church with spire steeple, and the number of narrow inclosures, appear on the side of a slope, on the left of the road. This is among the few places I neglected to visit. I must therefore speak from Mr. Bridges [*] of its cross, twenty-four feet high; of the effigy of the Knight Templar in the church; and of the instance of the longevity of William Bren, of this village, who attained the age of an hundred and twenty-one.

AFTER the Conquest, the D' Aiencourts and the Peverels held land here. From the last it fell, by marriage, to Albricius de Harcourt; by his daughter, to William de Trussebot, a man raised from a low situation, by his desperate valour, to great estates. In the reign of king Stephen, being attacked in Bonville, of which he was governor, he set fire to his own house in four places; which so terrified the enemy, that they instantly evacuated the town.

BY his daughter Roese, it fell to Everard de Roos; a family who flourished here for several centuries, a distinguished race. One of them, William, was clamant to the crown of Scotland, under the arbitration of Edward I [†]. They became extinct in the male line, in the reign of Henry VII. when Elinor, eldest sister of the last Lord Roos, conveyed it by marriage to Sir Robert Manners; and it was sold by his descendant, Henry earl of Rutland (who died in 1563) to Gregory Isham, of London, merchant, a younger son of the respectable and antient family of that name.

THE present lord of the manor is — Web, Esquire; who keeps in the small manor-house a court-leet and baron.
SINGULAR TENURE.

The tenure of a considerable portion of land in the parish is very singular. If a widow appears at the next court after her husband's death, and presents a leathern purse with a groat in it, she can keep her husband's copyhold lands for life; but she must attend every court after she has done this service.

FROM Dunchurch the country grows hilly, and till of late uninclosed; pleasant during the verdure of the young, and the rich yellow of the ripened corn. About three miles from Braunston appears Daventry,
DAVENTRY.

on the side and top of a hill. The place is populous, and carries on a considerable manufacture of whips: is an incorporated town, governed by a bailiff, twelve burgesses, and a recorder; has two serjeants at mace, and one town-clerk. The bailiff for the time is justice of the peace, and also the year following; and is likewise coroner of the inquest. The serjeants may arrest any within their jurisdiction for a sum under one hundred pounds, and the cause is to be decided here. No county justice hath power in this place; the justices of the borough having power of commitment to the county-jail in criminal causes. The inhabitants also enjoy the privilege of exemption from serving on juries at the county assizes.

ITS charter is said to have been first granted by king John, and was renewed by queen Elizabeth. The place is of considerable antiquity; especially if we give into the derivation of its name, Dwy Avon tre, the town of the two Avons, or rivers, from its situation between them. Certainly it was a place of note at the Conquest; had in it sixteen plough-lands; in the manor three, with three slaves, twenty villeyns, a presbyter, and ten boors, and twelve acres of meadow. It had been worth three pounds: after that event improved to eight.

THIS was part of the great possessions of the countess Judith, niece to the Conqueror, whom he had married to the brave Waltheof earl of Northumberland; and farther to engage his fidelity, he gave with her this county, and that of Huntingdon. Waltheof unfortunately engaged in a conspiracy; and, notwithstanding he repented, and flung himself at the king's mercy, was beheaded in 1074, at the instigation of his wife [*]. It seems she had cast a favorable eye on another person: but was disappointed; for the king offered to her Simon de Liz, a noble Norman, lame of one leg: him she rejected; which so enraged her uncle, that he deprived her of the two earldoms, and gave them to De Liz, with her eldest daughter; which obliged Judith to a state of penitential widowhood during life.

HERE are some remains of the priory,
PRIORY.

inhabited by poor families. The place is easily discovered, by several gothic windows, and a door accessible by a great flight of steps. Four Cluniac monks were originally placed at Preston Capes, in this county, by Hugh de Leycester, sheriff of the county, and steward to Maud, sister to the first S. Liz earl of Huntingdon; but finding the situation inconvenient, for want of water, he built a priory here; to which place he removed them, about the year 1090. It was dedicated to St. Augustine, and was subordinate to St. Mary de Caritate [†]. Its spiritualities were valued at £115. 17s. 4d. per annum; its temporalities £120. 10s. 2d. Cardinal Wolsey made five of his emissaries to pick a quarrel with the poor monks, about certain lands of theirs; and, causing the dispute to be referred to himself, took occasion to dissolve the house, and, as Stow says, to be given to his own college.
But of this irreligious robbery, done of no conscience, but to patch up pride, which private wealth could not furnish, what punishment hath since ensued by God's hand (sayeth mine author) partly ourselves have seen; for of those five persons, two fell at discord between themselves, and the one slew the other; for which the survivor was hanged: the third drowned himself in a well: the fourth, being well known, and valued worth two hundred pounds, became in three years so poore, that he begged till his dying-day: and the fift, called Doctor Allane, being cheefe executor of these doings, was cruelly maimed in Ireland, even at such time as he was bishop [*]
.—The pious historian then traces the judgment to the cardinal, who died under the king's displeasure: to the colleges which occasioned the sacrilege; that of Ipswich being pulled down; that of Christ-church never finished under Wolsey's patronage: and lastly to the pope, who permitted these violences on religious houses; for he was besieged in his holy see, and suffered a long imprisonment.

THE parish-church had been the conventual:
CHURCH.

of late years it was handsomely rebuilt; but is no more than a curacy in the gift of Christ-church college. The arms of the college, and of the earl of Winchelsea, lord of the manor, grace the east window.

FROM Daventry I visited the noted camps on Borough-hill,
BOROUGH-HILL.

or Danes-hill, about a mile south-east of the town. It is lofty and insulated. The area is of an oblong or oval form, about a measured mile in length, and near two in circumference. The whole is surrounded by two, three, or four deep trenches, and the same number of great ramparts, or banks; according as the strength or weakness of the ground required. These run on the margin of the hill, and on the slope; and having the entrance on the eastern and western sides opposite to each other.

WITHIN the area, near the middle, is a bank, which passes strait from the western side towards the eastern: the remainder is destroyed. Farther on is the vestige of another, running parallel. These, when entire, would have formed a rectangular camp, by the assistance of part of the ditches on the sides of the hill.

NEAR this camp are several tumuli of the sepulchral kind; but since Mr. Morton's time, their number is evidently lessened; for in his days, he informs us, there were eighteen.

THE northern end of the hill is formed into a third camp, of a circular shape, and of vast strength. Two ditches, of prodigious depth, with suitable ramparts, and a deep entrance, cross the area, and fall into the general surrounding ditches, which have been deepened to add to the strength of the third part. There is likewise the imperfect remains of another ditch and bank on the outside, a little south, designed to add to the security.

ON the north-west part of the great rampart of this round camp, is a great mount, either exploratory, or the spot where the chieftain pitched his tent.

I MUST differ with Mr. Morton about the makers of the first of these camps or posts, which were the Britons themselves. It has every agreement with the multitudes of others scattered over the kingdom, and suits exactly with the description left by Tacitus of the method of defence used by our ancestors, Tunc montibus arduis, et si qua clementer accedi poterunt in modum valli saxa praestruit. I shall not here repeat what I have fully dwelt on in my Tours in Wales and Scotland [*].

THIS post was in all probability made use of when the victorious Ostorius was traversing this island, to quell the commotions he found on his arrival in Britain. It is evident, that the Britons at this period made use of the same species of defence which is proved to have been common to the whole country. The Iceni lodged themselves within a post of this kind, against this very general (Locum pugnae delegere septum agresti aggere et aditu angusto ne pervius equis foret) [†] but it did not avale. The Coritani of these parts had recourse to the strong hold of what I dare say they called Ben Avon, or the head over the river; one of the streams which form the Nen, the river of this country, passing beneath.

THIS post proved no obstacle to the Conqueror; he found it sit for a station: he contracted its limits east into the shape of the camps of his people, and made this a summer station, as he did the warm bottom, near the fort, a winter station. Numbers of Roman coins found on the spots, evince the conjecture. The Romans, as is frequently the case, latinized the British name, and formed from it their Benvenna; which I beg leave to place here, rather than at Wedon, a place destitute of all classical traces.

I MUST add, that on the south-east side of Borough-hill, about two or three hundred yards below the ditches, is a lesser camp, surrounded by a foss and bank. Mr. Morton guesses it to have been the receptacle of the carriages of the greater camp: I imagine it to have been a procestria, a sort of free post attendant often on camps, where provisions and other necessaries were brought.

As to the third division of the area of this hill, it is probably Saxon; the words borough, burgh, berry, and bury, being the constant appellation left by the Saxons to similar places. It is my belief, that every post of this nature, occupied by that nation in our island, had been originally British; which they altered to their conceptions of strength and defence; which was usually done by deepening the ditches, raising the ramparts, and clearing the area, and often exalting one part into what was called the dunjeon, or keep. These places were stationary, not properly camps; for the antient Germans, from whom these invaders were derived, and whose customs they retained, made use of no other defence to their camps than a barrier of waggons, with which they formed the precinct. Omnes Barbari, says Vegetius, carris suis in orbem connexis ad similitudinem castrorum securas a supervenientibus exigunt noctes [*]. Caesar twice [†] mentions this custom among the German nations; and I am told, that even in later days, this mode of defence has been used, and called Waggenburg, or the camp of waggons.

EVERY thing on this hill must not be attributed to remote antiquity; for Charles I. a few days before the fatal battle of Naseby, occupied this post, and fortified it: so possibly some of the entrenchments might be the work of the unfortunate monarch [‡].

I MUST not quit this place without mentioning a spot which I overlooked.
BURNT WALLS.

This is what Mr. Morton calls the Burnt Walls; where many loads of walls and foundations have been dug up. The precinct is about six acres, and was moated round. The water that filled the moat was conveyed from pools in Daventry Park, a place not remote. Tradition says, that within the area stood a seat of John of Gaunt; which is probable, as this manor was once possessed by the earls and dukes of Lancaster, in Edward III's time, annexed to that dutchy, and assigned to that great duke [*].

CONTINUE my journey: turn a little out of my road, on the left,
DODFORD CHURCH.

to Dodford church; and found there a tomb of a cross-legged knight, armed in mail, with both hands upon his sword, as if in the attitude of drawing it. On his shield are, ill-blazoned, vaire, argent and azure; two bars gules, which denote the person here deposited to have been a Keynes, one of the antient lords of the place; and, from the attitude of his legs, to have lived during the fashionable madness of crusades.

Two ladies, in hoods, recumbent, said to have been two sisters, co-heiresses of the manor, and probably Margaret and Maud de Ayote, who were possessed of this manor, I think, in the time of Richard II; which descended to their father, Laurence, from his mother, Lettice, sister to William de Keynes.

A BRASS plate of William Wyde, who died owner of this place in 1422, and another of his wife.

AN alabaster figure, armed, of John Cressy, a successor of the former; who distinguished himself in the French wars, under the duke of Bedford, was captain of Lycieux, Orbef, and Pontesque, in Normandy, and privy-counsellor in France. He died in 1443, at Tove, in Lorrain [*].

IN this manor, the Watling-street crosses the road to Wedon: it enters the county at Dowbridge, on the edge of Leicestershire, passes close by Borough-hill, and proceeds from Wedon to Toucester and Stoney Stratford, where it enters the county of Bucks.

NEAR the sixty-eighth mile-stone is the entrance to the new turnpike-road to Northampton, which is above seven miles distant; and on an eminence, a little to the left, is pleasantly seated the church and village of Flore, or Flower.

A LITTLE beyond, on the right, lies the village of Wedon on the Street,
WEDON.

or Weedon Bec; from which I chuse to transfer the old Bennevenna to Borough-hill, on account of deficiency of classical evidence at this place, and the little difference of distance from the other stations.

SUFFICIENT honor will remain to Wedon, in allowing it to have been the site of the royal palace of Wulfere [†], the Mercian monarch; afterwards converted into a nunnery, at the instance of his daughter, St. Werburg; who presided for a time over it. Here she performed the miracle of the wild geese; who, at her word, forgot their nature, were driven by her steward from their ravages among the corn, into the grange, and, after receiving from her a severe check for their depredations, were commanded to take wing, and never appear in her demesns. They obeyed in part, but kept hovering about, till one of their companions, which had been stolen (and some say eaten) by a servant, was restored; on which they bid an eternal adieu to the fields of Wedon [*].

THIS nunnery was destroyed by the Danes; but the memory of the foundress was preserved in Leland's day, by a fair chapel dedicated to that saint [†].

AFTER the Conquest, Roger de Thebovil gave a moiety of lands in this monastery to the abbey of Bec, in Normandy; which was, with many other grants to the same house, confirmed by Henry II. That abbey afterwards became possessed of the whole, when it was made dependent on their great cell or priory at Okeburn, in Wiltshire. Vast privileges were bestowed in favor of the monks of this abbey; such as exemption from suit and service to the county and hundred courts; from toll passage and pontage; and exemption from forest laws. They had also free warren, and right of determining in murder, manslaughter, &c. &c. all which perished at the dissolution of the priories; and this manor, as part of the possessions of Okeburn, was vested in the provost and fellows of Eton college, by Henry VI; in which it still continues [‡].

FROM hence, I was led by my curiosity about two miles westward,
CASTLE DIKES.

to Castle Dikes, in the parish of Farthingstone, remarkable for some antient works attributed to the Saxons. They are placed on the brow of a steep hill, commanding a vast view; but at present so overgrown with thick woods, that I had but a very indistinct sight of them. They appeared to comprehend near thirteen acres of ground, and to consist of strong holds, divided from each other by a ditch of stupendous breadth and depth. A plat, called the Castle-yard, stands to the south-west of these, entrenched on all sides but the south-west, comprehending about seven acres, on which, tradition says, a town was situated.

MR. Morton informs us, that a vaulted room, formed of squared stones, was discovered in his time, and beneath that another, which falling in accidentally, a smell, resembling that of putrid carcases, issued from it. Two or three, rude sculptures were also discovered among the rubbish.

IT is conjectured that this place was burnt by the Danes; for vast masses of cinders, mixed with pebbles and clay, have been found in different parts; and many of the stones had on them the marks of fire [*]. There is no account left of the particulars of their ravages; so this rests upon conjecture, as well as the notion of Ethelfleda having been founder of this place, among her other great works performed in 913.

ON my return to the great road, about two miles from the place, I visited the church of Stow-nine-Churches,
STOW-NINE-CHURCHES.

to see the most elegant tomb which this or any other kingdom can boast of; that of Elizabeth, fourth daughter of John lord Latimer, wife, first to Sir John Danvers, of Dantrey, Wiltshire, and afterwards to Sir Edmund Cary, third son of Henry lord Hunsdon. Her figure is of white marble, lying recumbent on a slab of black. The attitude is the most easy possible, that of one asleep; her head, covered with a loose hood, reclines on a rich cushion. One hand is placed on her breast, the other lies on one side. Round her neck is a quilled ruff. The fashionable stiffness of her embroidered stays is a disadvantage to this elegant sculpture. Her gown flows to her feet in easy folds, and covers them. She lies on a long cloak, lined with ermine, fastened at her neck with rich jewels. At her feet is a griffin holding a shield of the family-arms. The whole rests on a white marble altar-tomb, with inscriptions and arms on the sides. After informing us of her parentage, marriages, and children, are these lines:

Sic familia praeclara

Praeclarior prole

Virtute praeclarissima

Aetatis 84,

Anno

Dni. 1630.

Commutavit Saecula; non obiit.

She left three sons and seven daughters by her first husband. Sir Charles, the eldest, lost his head through his unfortunate attachment to the ill-fated Earl of Essex; Henry, an able warrior, died Earl of Danby, full of years and glory; Sir John married into the great family of the Newports, in Shropshire.

THIS noble monument was erected by the lady in her lifetime, and was the chef d'oeuvre of that great statuary Nicholas Stone, master-mason to king James and Charles I. statuary and stone cutter; so humbly does he stile himself. It appears by a note of his, that,
March the 16. 1617. I undertook to make a tomb for my lady, mother to Lord Davers; which was all of whit marbell & touch [*]; and I set it up at Stow of the nine Churches, in Northamptonshire, som 2 yeare after. One altar tombe: for the which I had 220 li. [*]

OPPOSITE to this is a very handsome cenotaph, in memory of the Reverend Doctor Thomas Turner, born at Bristol in 1645, and buried in 1714, in Corpus Christi college, Oxford, of which he had been president.

HE laid out his great income in acts of hospitality and charity; and on his death, after bequeathing £4000 to his relations and friends, left the rest of his wealth to pious uses. He augmented the stipends of the poorer members of Ely cathedral, in which he was prebend: he left £100 to be expended in apprenticing poor children of that city: he left £6000 for improving the buildings of the college he presided over: and finally, left £20,000 to be laid out by his executors in estates and lands, to be settled by them on the governors of the charity for the relief of the poor widows and children, of the clergy. Accordingly they purchased this manor, and other estates here, and at West Wratling in Cambridgeshire, to the amount of upwards of £1000 a year, and settled them, in 1716, agreeable to his will [†]. This manor was purchased from Edward Hooley, Esquire, for £16,000; which occasioned the honorable mark of gratitude in this church. It is singular, that Francis Turner, bishop of Ely, lost his preferments in 1690, for refusing the oaths to William and Mary, when this gentleman, his brother, had the good fortune to preserve his, without injuring his conscience.

IN 1702, the last year allowed for undergoing the test, he left London on the 28th of July, and went to Oxford with a full resolution to sacrifice all his preferments on the first of August, the last day allowed by the act. He wisely made no resignation, well knowing that his refusal would be ample deprivation. Whether he was forgotten, or whether the omission was winked at, does not appear; but he retained all his benefices to his dying day [*].

THIS charitable divine is placed standing in a graceful attitude, in his master of arts robes, in his own hair, under a canopy supported by two fluted pillars of the Corinthian order, of colored marble. On the side of him is Religion, represented by a woman on a celestial globe, with a cross in one, and a font in the other hand. On the last is inscribed 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. The doctor stands on a terrestrial globe, with a book in his hand, in which is written 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. The account of his various charities is placed on the pediment.

IN a corner of an aile, to make room for this sumptuous monument, was removed the tomb of a cross-legged knight, armed in mail, and partly covered with a surtout. One hand is on his breast, the other on his sword. On an enormous shield, which is belted to his body, is a rude figure of a lion passant guardant, and crowned. He is supposed to be one of the Gilbert de Gants, the antient owners. There were five of them. The first was great nephew to the Conqueror; the last died in 1295.

FROM hence I descended to the great road: the country hilly and clayey. The quarries are of a coarse grit stone, often filled with shells, but of too shattery a nature to be used, except in ordinary buildings. A few miles farther is an eminence, called Forster's Booth, so named from a booth erected here by one Forster, a poor countryman. It grew at length into a scattered street, of several houses and carriers inns, through which runs the Watling-street road in a direct line to Toucester, four miles distant.

THIS is a pretty considerable town, seated on a plain,
TOUCESTER.

on a small stream called the Tove, from which the name is derived; Toucester, or the castle on the Tove. The great tumulus on the east side of the town, points out of the site of the speculum or watchtower. The Roman coins found in digging about, prove it to have been an appendage to a Roman station, whose name has never reached us. The Saxons profited of this little fortress, and added the foss which surrounded it. From them it received its present title of the Bury, or Borough, to which has been since added the double tautology of Berry Mounthill.

THE Saxons called the town Tofeceastre. In the time of Edward the Elder it was almost ruined by the ravages of the Danes; but in 921, the king determined to restore it, and for that purpose detached part of his forces; who, soon after their arrival, were attacked by the Danes resident in Northampton and Leicester [*]; but, assisted by the townsmen, they repelled the barbarians; and Edward, in order to prevent future insults, fortified the whole place with a stone wall [*]. But time hath destroyed every vestige of it.

THIS manor, after various changes, became the property of the famous Sir Richard Empson, one of the instruments of the avarice and oppression of Henry VII; who, in 1509, lost his head, with Edmund Dudley, on Tower-hill; perhaps more deservedly than legally. Empson had been the son of a sieve-maker in this town: by his great abilities in the profession of the law, he was promoted to the chancellorship of the duchy of Lancaster; but by his unbounded submission to the will of his rapacious master, fell a victim, in the next reign, to the demands of an enraged nation. At present, the manor belongs to the Earl of Pomfret, who derives it from his ancestor Richard Fermor, a merchant of Calais, and a younger brother of the antient house of Fermors, of Oxfordshire.

THERE was a church here at the Conquest,
CHURCH.

which was given by the Conqueror to the abbey of St. Wandragasile, in Normandy. In the present, is nothing remarkable, excepting the tomb of William Sponne, archdeacon of Norfolk, and rector of this parish in the reign of Henry VI. who founded here a college and chantry for two priests to say mass for his soul, and the souls of his friends. At the dissolution, it was worth £19. 6s. 8d. a year [†]. He was also a great benefactor to the town, and his charities are still felt here, governed by feoffees, consisting of fifteen of the principal inhabitants.

HIS figure is represented recumbent, dressed in a red gown, which reaches round his feet, with ermine hood and sleeves. Beneath is another representation of him after death, with a sunk nose and emaciated body, and all the changes wrought by that fell monster on the human frame.

THE town is supported by the great concourse of passengers, and by a manufacture of lace, and a small one of silk stockings. The first was imported from Flanders, and carried on with much success in this place, and still more in the neighboring county of Buckingham.

I TOOK a walk about a mile east of the town, to see Easton-Neston,
EASTON-NESTON.

the seat of the Earl Pomfret. The wings were built by Sir Christopher Wren, in 1682; the center by Hawkesmore, about twenty years after, who is said to have departed greatly from the original design. It has nine windows in front, and is enriched with pilasters. The inside has been long since despoiled of its curious portraits and valuable statues: the latter having been presented to the university of Oxford, by the late Countess of Pomfret, grandaughter to the lord chancellor Jeffries.

THIS manor was purchased by the same Richard Fermor,
MANOR.

in 1530, from Thomas, son of Sir Richard Empson. The antient house stood below the church, in a park inclosed by Sir Richard, by licence from Henry VII, at the time it came into the possession of Mr. Fermor. He lived here with boundless hospitality, till the year 1540, when, for sending 8d. and a couple of shirts, to one Nicholas Thane, his confessor, then in prison at Buckingham for denying the king's supremacy, he incurred the tyrant's displeasure. He fell under a praemunire, and, in his old-age, being stripped of all he had, was forced to live with the parson of, Wapenham (whom he had presented); which he did for several years, with consummate piety and resignation [*].

THE recovery of part of his fortune was owing to a singular accident. During his prosperous days he kept, as usual in those days, in the establishment of people of rank, a fool or jester: his was the noted Wil. Sommers,
WIL. SOMMERS.

who, for his drollery, was promoted to the same office under Henry VIII. I have a very scarce print of this illustrious personage, by Delaram, with all the insignia of his place about him. Wil. with a gratitude not frequent at courts, remembered his old master; and in the latter days of Henry, when his constitution was weakened by infirmities, took occasion, by some well-timed speech, to awaken the king's conscience; who, touched with a compunction rarely known to him, ordered restitution [*]; but died before it could be effected. His pious successor, Edward VI. restored to him this manor, that of Toucester, and some others of his estates, and added many grants, by way of compensation for the injury done him; but all fell short of the great losses he had sustained from the cruel father. He returned to his house, which he enjoyed only two years, dying in January 1552-3. He seemed to have a presage of his end; for on the day of his death he had invited a number of his friends and neighbors, took his leave of them, retired to his closet, and was found dead in an attitude of devotion [†]. His tomb, with his figure in brass, and that of his wife, are still to be seen in the adjacent church.

THERE are,
CHURCH.

besides, several other family-monuments. Sir John Fermor (son of Richard) and Maud his wife, are represented kneeling at a desk, beneath an arch: she is dressed in a great ruff and lappets. He, perhaps out of respect to his father's sufferings in the cause of the see of Rome, received the honor of Knight of the Bath at the coronation of queen Mary. He died in 1571.

His son Sir George lies in alabaster, recumbent and armed, with peaked beard and small whiskers. His wife, Mary daughter of Thomas Curzon, of Addington, Bucks, lies by him, dressed in a gown tied neatly with ribands from top to bottom, a quilled ruff, and great tete à caleche. Beneath are represented, kneeling, their seven sons and eight daughters. Above all, is a vast quantity of ornaments, arms, &c. &c. This gentleman might, like Sir Fulk Grevil, have boasted of being the friend of Sir Philip Sydney, having contracted an intimacy with him in the wars in the Netherlands, where he served all his youth, under William prince of Orange, and walked at the funeral of the celebrated English hero. He also improved himself by foreign travel; lived at home with vast splendor and hospitality; and, on June 11, 1603, his house had the honor of being the place of meeting between James I. and his queen, on her journey from Scotland, to receive her new crown. Here they dined, and were entertained, with all their trains, in a princely manner [*]. He quitted this life in 1612.

SIR Hatton Fermor, who with nine other gentlemen were knighted at the above interview, is also buried here. He died of the consequences of a broken leg, in 1620. He and his lady are very elegant figures, placed standing: he armed; in great boots, flapping down; vast whiskers; peaked beard; and, what was not in use at the time of his death, a cravat. It seems the monument was not erected till 1662, when his widow Anna, daughter of Sir William Cockain, lord mayor of London, gave this proof of her affection.

She is dressed in a loose gown, and with long flowing tresses: her hand is on an hour-glass; his on a scroll: between, is a bust of a man in long hair: above, are three most aukward figures of kneeling women. I must not quit the lady, without saying she suffered, with exemplary patience, a long imprisonment and great confiscations, on account of the loyalty of her family; which were rewarded with a peerage in the person of her son Sir William Fermor.

FROM hence I continued my journey southward, and much of the way near the borders of Whittlewood, or Whittlebury Forest,
WHITTLEBURY FOREST.

which still continues wooded for several miles in length, and of different extents in breadth, in a most deep and clayey country. Much of the timber is cut in rotation, but in parts towards the edge of Buckinghamshire, are considerable quantities of good oak. This forest remained in the crown till the year 1685, when Henry Fitz-roy, first duke of Grafton, was appointed hereditary ranger. The present duke hath an elegant house, called Wakefield Lodge [*], originally built by Mr. Claypole, son-in-law to Oliver Cromwell, and ranger of the forest. This was one of the five tracts, called walks; viz. Wakefield, Shelbrook, Hazelbury, Shrob, and Hanger. Fourteen townships are allowed the right of common in the open coppices and ridings, from the principle of justice, that some reparation might be made to them for the damages sustained by the deer. In this great tract here are two lawns, i. e. spots inclosed with pales, for pasture for the deer: one is Wakefield Lawn, the other Sholbrook Lawn, which are secluded from the forest cattle.

THAT fierce animal the wild cat, is still met with in this forest. In the reign of Richard I. the abbot and convent of Peterborough had a charter for hunting in this place the hare, the fox, and the wild cat; which was confirmed to them, in 1253, by Henry III [*]. By these charters, the wild cat should be added to the beasts of forest, or of venerie; which the book of St. Albans, and old Sir Tristram, in his worthie Treatise of Hunting, confined to the hart, the hynde, the hare, the boare, and the wolfe: the hart and hind being separated, because the season of hunting them was different; yet they remain in species still the same. Beasts of the chace (which was an inferior sort of forest) were the buck, the doe, the fox, the martion, and the roe [†].

THE fondness that seized the regular clergy for the pleasures of the chace, did not appear till after the Conquest. The Saxon clergy were expressly forbidden the amusement. King Edgar directs the priest
to be neither a hunter nor hawker, nor yet a tippler; but to keep close to his books, as becomes a man of his order [‡].

THE canon law still preserved its severity, and forbad to spiritual persons the amusement of the chace. This probably was rather designed to check what might by the excess estrange them from their sacred function. The common law, from a principle of good sense and humanity, permitted the recreation, from these arguments; that nothing could contribute more effectually to the performance of their duty than good health, resulting from fit exercise; as nothing could disqualify them so greatly as the disorders arising from a sedentary life. This indulgence probably soon ended in abuse. In the twelfth century, we find Abelard unhappy in presiding over a monastery of huntsmen. Chaucer, as I have before quoted, flings a fine ridicule on the sporting monk. Finally, the chace became so necessary an appendage to the ecclesiastical state, that every see had a number of parks: that of Norwich, thirteen; and the sixth mortuary which the king clamed on the death of a prelate, was his kennel of hounds.

PASS by Potters Pery,
POTTERS PERY.

a village which takes its name from the manufacture of coarse ware, such as flower-pots, &c. which has been long carried on here. The clay is yellowish, pure, and firm; yet the pots made with it are very brittle, unless glazed; when they endure the weather as well as any.

THE post-road is still continued the whole way on or near the Watling-street. Near Potters Pery I quitted it,
PASSENHAM.

through curiosity of visiting Passenham, about a mile or two distant, on the banks of the Ouze, near this village. Edward the Elder encamped here to cover his workmen, who were employed in building the walls of Toucester [*], from being interrupted by the Danes. A square entrenchment is supposed to have been cast up by him, and garrisoned for that purpose.

THE church is small,
CHURCH.

and without ailes; dedicated to Guthlaius, the saint of the fens. It was rebuilt in 1626, at the sole expence of Sir Robert Banastre. This gentleman was lord of the manor; he died in 1649, aged about eighty. His figure is a halflength, with a book in his hand, placed against the wall. His epitaph informs us, that he was born at Wem, in Shropshire; that he was bred at court, and served three princes; that he had three wives, and by the last an only daughter, who conveyed the estate, by marriage with William lord Maynard, into that family; a younger branch of which possesses it, as I apprehend, at present.

I REGAINED the great road, and passed through the hamlet of Old Stratford, seated on rich meadows,
OLD STRATFORD.

watered by the Ouze' which rises in this county, not remote from Brackly. This place is reasonably supposed to have been the Lactodorum, or Lactorodum, of the Itinerary, as the distance suits extremely well, and Roman coins have been found in the neighboring fields. Antiquaries derive it from Llech dwr, and Llech rhyd: one signifying the stone on the water; the other, the stone on the ford [*]: a name bestowed on it by the Britons, probably because the bank of the river was marked by a military stone on this great military way. I here cross the river into BUCKINGHAMSHIRE; which, with Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, formed the country of the Catticuchlani. The present name is, according to Mr. Cambden, taken from the quantity of beeches found in parts of it; a word derived from the Saxon bucken. Two arguments serve to confirm the assertion of Caesar, that this tree was not found in Britain at the time of his invasion: one is, that the woods of it are merely local, and confined to a very few of our southern counties: the other is, that the Britons had no name for it, but 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 what they derived from the Latin fagus; for they stiled it, as we do still, Ffawydden, and Pren ffawydd.

ON crossing the Ouze I entered Stoney Stratford,
STONEY STRATFORD.

a town built on each side of the Watling-street. It suffered greatly by fire on May the 19th, 1742, which almost destroyed the whole place; but it was soon restored by the vigour of English charity. One church (that of St. Giles) has never been rebuilt; the body of the other (St. Magdalene's) is restored in a very handsome manner, by Mr. Irons, architect in Warwick, and, I suppose, enlarged sufficiently to supply the want of the other. St. Giles's had been a chantry, valued at £20. 2s. 6d. a year; and was at the time of its ruin a curacy: St. Magdalene's was a chapel belonging to Wolverton, but now in the presentation of the parishioners.

MY journey was continued along the Street road to the 47th stone,
BLECHELEY CHURCH.

where, tempted by the same of certain monuments in Blecheley church, I digressed about a mile and a quarter to the right. I found there a very fine alabaster tomb of Richard lord Grey of Wilton,
TOMB OF LORD GREY.

restored by the celebrated antiquarian Brown Willis, Esquire, who added an inscription, and in the front the arms. From the former we find, that besides Richard, his son Reginald, who died February 22, 1493; and his great granson Edmund, who died Water-hall, on May 6th 1611; were interred here.

THIS Richard lord Grey, by will, dated at Blecheley, August 12, 1442, bequeaths his body to be buried in the church of the B. V. Mary of Blecheley; and directs his executors to find a priest, for four years, to perform divine service in the said church for his soul; and that they make a tomb of alabaster or marble, according to his state and degree. He bequeaths to the lady Margaret his wife, his mano• of B•••y-hall, in Essex, for life. The residue of his lands and goods he gives to his executors, to dispo•e of for the health of his soul; viz. the lady Margaret Grey, 〈◊〉 Darcy, Esquire. John •••ethal, Esquire, Roger Eton Clere, rector of Blecheley, and William Barker [*].

THE tomb is of alabaster: his figure is armed, his hair cropt, his face without a beard; round his neck is a collar of SS, and round the lower part of his armour is another collar of jewels, in the midst of which is a small shield with the cross St. George; for he was made Knight of the Garter by Richard II. On the fingers of his left hand are not fewer than six rings.

NOTWITHSTANDING it may be thought tedious to many, yet I cannot forbear describing two monuments, full of the fashionable ••blem, p•n, and quibble of the times. The first is in memory of THOMAS SPARKE, S. See. Theol. Dr. ••le•er bujus eccle. reb•or vi •••••issimus,
DR. SPARKE.

as inscribed round the oval that contains his figure. A little altar with sparkling flames is placed near his name. The monument is a small but extremely neat one of brass set in a white marble frame: on the top is the crest, a demi •albot rampant, studded with •orteauxes, and sparks of fire issuing from his mouth• on the brass is finely engraven an altar-tomb, on the ta••e of which is an urn, with sparks issuing from the mouth; and on the •elly is written

Non extincta, sepulta licet; S•i•tilla favilla est.

ON the 〈◊〉 side of the urn stands Death, in ••rm of a skeleton, 〈…〉 a spade, on the flat part of which, going to cover the mouth of the urn, is wrote Mors teg••; and an angel in the he heavens founding a trumpet, from the end of which issues these words, Retege• •untius is•e 〈◊〉; and on a s•r••, in the same ha•• is written, Is•a cadu•• ro•• est: just above which, in the other hand of the angel, is a fresh-blown rose, inscribed Sed 〈…〉, about the angel's head, and in the clouds, are several sta• and quite at top is written, Qu• •ultos ad just•••m, 〈◊〉 s•ell• semper spl•ndebunt.

〈◊〉, with her usual attributes of ears, eyes, and tongue• blowing a trumpet, stanos on the other side of the urn. On each side of her are two scrolls: o• one •s▪ ‘Vindex fam• li•ros sa•a•l to•lit ab ur•a.’ on the other, ‘Si• S•ntilla micat quem tegit atra cinis.’

Fame holds in one hand a book, near the mouth of the 〈◊〉 on which is written Funer•• Sermons. On other books, scat••••• about are inscribed, A Persuasive to Conformity; A comfort•• •reatise for a troubled 〈◊〉, Motives to Qu. Elizabeth for Successor, A Treatise of Ca•••chising; A Confutation of J. Albin •word out of the mouth of the trumpet, The high way to Heaven. Th•• were the works of the Doctor, who was a most famous contro•• •ia•ut, in the reign• of Elizabeth and 〈◊〉 I. He is engraven 〈◊〉 front of the tomb, a half-lenght, in gown, cassock, scarf, scull-〈◊〉 ruff, and square beard. On each side of him is a shield: on o• is 〈◊〉: on the other, 〈◊〉 a nostr• sunt spiritual••. 〈◊〉 side of the figure are three clergymen in their habits, 〈◊〉 with a church o• each; and beyond them two women in high crowned hats. These five were h•s children, whom he ad• •••es, Filioli cavete vobis ab idolis; and above their heads are 〈◊〉 lines:

Bis geniti, retinete, fidem zelumque paternum:

Hoeredis vestri sic dece• esse patris

Sic dece•, O mea tun• quam molli•er ossa cubabunt

Si licet in natis sic superesse meis:

Scintillam S•••tilla meam si vestra sequetur

Orba sua flamma mor• erit ara Dei.

〈◊〉 the other side of his picture are represented his parishioners, 〈◊〉 these verses:

〈…〉 sacra in populo signatur epistola Paul•

Sic mea in h•• sancto lucet imago grege.

Co•poris in •abula datur imperfecta; sed ill•

Cordi•us in vestris viva figura mei e•t.

Viva mei, dixi, CHRISTI a• sit vera figura;

S•• mini si populus vera figura Dei.

〈◊〉 Doctor died in 1616; his wife the year before. Luckily, 〈…〉 was Rose; which afforded fresh matter of allusions.

Sixty-eight years a fragrant ROSE she lasted:

No vile reproach her virtues ever blasted.

Her autumn past, expects a glorious spring,

A •••ond better life, more flourishing.

〈…〉 is in memory of Mrs Fa••h Taylor, wife of Mr. 〈…〉, minister of the parish, with many pretty sportings 〈…〉 Fa•th; but the dulness of this species of epitaph has 〈…〉 ••me, as I fear it has the reader, that I dare not venture on the transcript of •hat was probably •uch admired at the p•∣• of 〈…〉.

I 〈…〉 I got into 〈◊〉 great road at Fenny Stratfford,
FENNY
〈…〉

. 〈◊〉 from its 〈◊〉 The chapel, which is in the par•s• 〈…〉 as 〈…〉 at the expence of Mr. 〈…〉 His 〈…〉 was nea• the church 〈…〉 for the works of his own hands, he 〈…〉 the Reverend Mr. William Cole, the• 〈◊〉 of the parish, the following inscription; which Mr. Cole was requested to 〈◊〉 to be inscribed on a white marble stone •i•cered with •••ck, to be laid over him in this chapel.

〈1 line〉

〈◊〉 W•l••s, antiquarius

〈1 line〉

The Wil••• 〈…〉 berri••

〈…〉 Sancti 〈◊〉 A. D. 1675

〈…〉 est.

〈…〉. Anno Domini 1760.

Aetatis •uae •8.

O Chris•e Seter e• J••ex,

〈◊〉 •ecatorum primo

M••ereco•• et propitius esto.

ON the 〈◊〉 are the 〈◊〉 of all benefactors of ten pounds 〈◊〉 upwards The chapel had been originally a chantry [*]. 〈…〉 was dedicated to St. Martin, out of respect 〈…〉 who happened to die on that day. The same 〈◊〉 physician first made a settlement in this parish, by the purchase of the manor of Blecheley, and that of Fenny Stratford, from the 〈◊〉 George Villiers duke of Buckingham.

FROM hence I kept a gentle ascent to Little B••ckhill, seated on the sleep of a long range of sand-hills, divided by pleasant 〈◊〉 dingles, which extend for a considerable way, and form a any frontier at this end of the county. Very soon after my ••age over them, I entered the county of BEDFORD, 〈◊〉 keep as far as Dunstable on the Wa•ling-street, which goes di • to this town. In the beginning it crosses a most undula•ed 〈◊〉. On the right are the woods and park of Battlesdon, a seat 〈◊〉 •rs. Page. In the bottom go through Hockley in the Hole;
HOCKLEY.

〈◊〉 range of houses, mostly inns, built on each side of the 〈◊〉 The English rage of novelty is strongly tempted by one sa • publican, who informs us on his sign, of news-papers 〈◊〉 to be seen at his house every day in the week.

〈…〉, place, whose proper name is Occleie, or Hockeliff,
HOCKELIFF.

was 〈…〉, with a master and several brethren, dedicated to 〈…〉 Baptist [*]. In 1•83 here was a •eudal of quarrel, between 〈…〉 of the priory of D•nstaple and those of William de 〈◊〉, a potent baron; in which one John the Smith was 〈…〉 on the side of the priory, and Thomas Musta•a, a fierce 〈…〉 o• the other [†]. In old times, these were very frequent, 〈…〉 fatal: men were always formed into ••rties, and ready to ••rsue the most bloody ends on the most trivial occasions.

TWO miles farther,

〈◊〉

I reached the foot of Chalkhill, formerly of a tremendous steepness, and the terror of country passengers; at present formed into an easy ascent. This is the first specimen the traveller 〈◊〉 with of the great chalky str••um which intersect• the kingdom. A lint drawn from Dorchester, in the county of Dorset, to the county of Norfolk, would include all the chalky be•• of the kingdom; for none is found in any quantity to the west of that line. This earth was of great estimation, and an article of comm••ce in the times of the Romans. The workers in it ha• 〈…〉 their goddess Nehele•nia, who presided over it. To her 〈…〉 we find this votive altar,

DEAE NEHELENNIAE.

O• merce•••ite conservata•

M. secundus 〈◊〉

Negetor Cretarius

Brit•nni•ianus

•. • L. M.

AFTER descending the ••ll,

〈…〉

I turned about half a mile out of 〈…〉 to visit M•••e•'• Bower, a very large Danish camp of 〈…〉, surrounded with a great rampart with a ditch 〈…〉 side 〈…〉 on a plain with a portion verging towards a 〈…〉. Its history is unknown, yet mer•ts a 〈…〉 the 〈…〉 of the ••nes are not very common 〈…〉.

〈…〉,

〈◊〉

enter Dunstable, a long town, 〈…〉 side of the Wa•ling street, and intersected in the midd•• 〈◊〉 •e I••nield-street. This town had been the Magiovinum, or Magi •, of the Itinerary: and probably had four port•, answerable 〈◊〉 the great •oads. The Icknield-street issues out on the north side of the church. Antiquarians derive the name, very properly, from Maes Gwyn, or the wh••e field, from the color of the chalky 〈◊〉. Roman money has been found about the place, which the country people call ma•ing money: which, as Dr. Stukely observes, 〈◊〉 have no reference to Maiden's Bower, which belonged to another people. But on a hill, called Castle-hill, about half a mile well of it, is a Roman camp: within which, near one end, is a 〈◊〉 mount, very hollow in the top; and near the outside of one of the ramparts is a deep hole, probably the place of the draw •. The whole stands on a •t•ep promontory, projecting west •.

〈…〉 was certainly occupied by the Saxons, after the de • of the Romans. We can indeed only argue from the pre • 〈◊〉 Du•-Staple, the mart near the hill. We cannot allow 〈…〉 sh ••gend, that it was called Dun's Stable, or the stable 〈…〉 of that name. It probably was a waste at the time 〈…〉 Conquest, as many places were, and might become a har • 〈…〉, by reason of the woods with which the country 〈…〉. This determined Henry I. to colonize the spot; 〈…〉 that purpose, he encouraged people by proclamation to 〈…〉 and, in order to destroy the shelter which the forest 〈…〉, directed the woods to be grubbed up. He also 〈…〉 •oyal palace, called Kingsbury [*], which stood near the 〈…〉 and whose site is now occupied by a farm-house. Here he kept his Christmas in 1123, with his whole court, and received at the same time the embassy from the earl of Anjou [*]. He ma•• the town a borough, bestowed o• it a fair and a market, and various other privileges; particularly, that the inhabitants should not be 〈◊〉 to be called before the ••iner••t justices, but that 〈◊〉 causes should be determined by the justices of the king, 〈◊〉 a jury of twe•ve of the burgesses [†]. He kept the town 〈…〉 in •is own hands, and then bestowed it, with all 〈◊〉 priveleges (re••r••ng only his royal residence) on the priory, 〈…〉 founded here some time after the year 1•31, for black 〈…〉 honor of St. Peter. At the time of the dissolution, here 〈◊〉 prio• and twelve canons, whose revenues, according to 〈◊〉 were £344. 13s. 3 d. a year: to Speed, £40•. 14s. 7 d.

THE last prior 〈…〉 ••rv•se Markham,

〈…〉

who, with his canon• •••scribes to the king's supremacy in 1534; and on the dissolution• had a pension of sixty pounds a year for life. His reward was the greater, as his conven• was the residence of the commi• 〈◊〉 for carrying on the divorce between Henry VIII. and Catharine of Arragon; in which he took an active part [‡]. The unfortunate princess at that time resided at Ampthill. 〈…〉 neighborhood.

THE church,
CHURCH.

and an arch in the wall adjoining, are the only •∣mains of the prio••. The front of the church is singular, 〈◊〉 a gallery d•vided •y c•rved gothic arches: a great door with round arch richly c•rved with scrolls and ovals, including 〈◊〉 figures. 〈…〉 ••pitals of the pillars cut into grotesque forms. The lesser door is gothic, richly ornamented with nail heads. Between both doors is a row of false arches interlaced; the co • consist of very singular greater and lesser joints, placed alternate, not unlike one species of the fossils called en •.

THE steeple is attached to one side of the front, and has two 〈◊〉 of niches,
STEEPLE.

now deprived of their statues. Formerly 〈◊〉 towe• corresponded with this: both fell down in 〈◊〉 and destroyed the prior's hall and part of the church [*]. 〈◊〉 body was rebuilt in 1273, by the parishioners; but one 〈◊〉 Ch••de went to the greatest expence [†]. The inside of the church is supported with six round arches, all plain except one: the windows above are also round at the •op. Either the date 〈◊〉 the rebuilding is wrong, or the Saxon or round-arched mode and have continued longer than is generally allowed.

THE church had been originally in form of a cross, with a 〈◊〉 the center. Two of the vast pillars which supported it 〈…〉 to be seen at the east end.

ABOVE the altar in a large and handsome painting of the Last ••pper; which, with 〈◊〉 plate and ••ch pulpit-cloth, were 〈…〉 two maiden sisters, of the name of Carter.

I ••ITTED in its place a visit made to the priory by Henry III. 〈…〉 family; when the monks presented the king with a gilt 〈◊〉 and the queen with another; and gave his son Edward and daughter Margaret a gold clasp apiece. In return, the royal vi • bestowed on the church eight pieces of silk; and the king 〈…〉 for the making of a thuribule and a pix [‡].

〈1 page duplicate〉

〈1 page duplicate〉

I 〈◊〉 with some a••i•nt tombs,

〈◊〉

dated between the years 1400 and 1500▪ but none of dignity sufficient to be mentioned. Sir 〈…〉 's •amous pedigree-book has preserved one, in memory of William M•ls• and his wife [*]. Both are dressed in their 〈…〉 their •and in the •titule of pr•ver. At their feet 〈◊〉 group of 〈…〉, another of seven daughters. The 〈◊〉 of th• four evangelists are placed at the corners. •etween their •eet were these lines:

〈…〉 scciavit et Ali•.

〈…〉 •ors gener•li•:

〈…〉 hic •atos 〈…〉

〈…〉 binos, De•s 〈◊〉 cle•e•s 〈◊〉

THIS gentleman was 〈…〉, in the county of Northhamp • The name of the 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 Marmore. This seems to have been 〈◊〉 •hem 〈…〉 celebrates for having three times, three children 〈…〉, and twice five children [†] I suppose they must 〈…〉 by 〈…〉 and h••band; for the pedigree gives her but 〈…〉 [‡].

BESIDES the religious house, was one of friars preachers, who ••ttled here about 1•59. It was valued only at £4. 18s. 4d; and at the dissolution its site was granted to Sir William Herbert. These brethren as the Chronicle says, came sorely against the will of the 〈…〉; but by their interest with 〈…〉 queen, and courtiers, got leave to stay here.‖. It seems the inhabitants of the priory did not like such insinuating interlopers as Chaucer describes this order to have been, who were sure to win all the penitent males and females.

Ful swetely herde he confession,

And plesant was his absolution.

HERE was a house or hospital for lepers. Whether it was the same with that marked at the post-house, a mile west of the town, in the new map, I cannot determine.

THE schools here were probably considerable; for I find the quarrels between the scholars and the townsmen important enough to be mentioned in the Chronicle.

THIS town is now supported chiefly by the great passage of travellers. A small neat manufacture of straw hats, and baskets, and toys, maintains many of the poor. In old time the breweries raised many of the inhabitants to great wealth. We are told by Hollinshed of one William Murlie, an eminent brewer in this town, who fallied out in the time of Henry V. to join the foolish insurrection of the Lollards, near London, followed with two led horses with gilt trappings. He also took with him a pair of gilt spurs, ready to wear on his receiving from lord Cobham the honor of knighthood [*]; but had the hard luck to be taken and hung, with them about his neck.

ABOUT four miles from Dunstable I passed by Market Cell,
MARKET CELL.

at present a gentleman's seat; formerly a nunnery of Benedictines, dedicated to the Holy Trinity of the Wood. Legend ascribes its origin to Roger, a monk of St. Alban, who, on his return from Jerusalem, led here an eremetical life; and, taking under his care Christina, a rich virgin of Huntingdon, inspired her with the same contempt of the world. She succeeded to his cell, and many temptations resisted, many divine visions visited by, and many miracles wrought in her favor [*]. She was patronized by Geoffry, elected abbot of St. Albans in 1119, who built and endowed a house, and constituted Christina first abbess. The site of some adjoining lands were the gift of the dean and chapter of Saint Paul [†]; but the rest of the pious work resulted solely from the abbot, who twice rebuilt the same, after it had suffered by fire [‡]: but Mathew Paris complains, that all this was done at the expence of the convent of St. Albans, and even without its consent ‖, to the great injury of the church. In the time of Henry VIII. Humphry Boucher [§], ‘base sunne to the late Berners, did much coste in translating of the priory into a maner place;’ i. e. converting it into a mansion for himself, but left it unfinished. It probably was granted to him; but it afterwards was bestowed by Edward VI. on George Ferrers [**]. At the dissolution it was valued by Dugdale at £.114. 16s. 1d. a year; by Speed at £.143. 18s. 3d.

IT appears that these religious were grievously oppressed by a neighboring knight; of whom they complained in certain lines too ludicrous to be inserted [*†]. Whether they got any redress does not appear.

AFTER passing through the village of the same name, built on each side of the Watling-street road, I entered the county of HERTFORD; and near the twenty-eighth mile-stone leave on the right Flamsted,
FLAMSTED.

where stood a small priory of Benedictine nuns, founded in the time of king Stephen, by Roger de Tonei. The manor had been granted by the Conqueror to Ralph de Tonei. His predecessor was a Saxon knight, called Thurnoth, who, with the true spirit of the times, engaged with thirteen soldiers, Waldef, and Thurman, to protect all passengers from the thieves and wild beasts which then infested the road; and in time of war, to protect the church of St. Albans with all their might. Leofftan, abbot of that convent in the time of the Confessor, facilitated the undertaking, by cutting down the great woods on the side of the Watling-street, which gave shelter to robbers. He bestowed on Thurnoth this manor; who, in return, presented Leofftan with five ounces of gold and a fair palfrey. Thurnoth, at the Conquest, resisted the power of the Norman invader; who bestowed it on de Tonei; who directed that the same services should be strictly performed to the abbey [*].

ABOUT three miles further, go through Redburn, a small town,
REDBURN.

built like the former, on each side of the antient road. At this place was discovered the bones of St. Amphibalus, the noble Briton, who lodging at the house of St. Alban, at Verulam, proved the means of his conversion. In the Dioclesian persecution he was diligently sought after; but St. Alban, generously determined not to give up his guest, promoted his escape by putting on his preceptor's cloak, and suffering himself to be seized by the soldiers in his stead [*]. Amphibalus for a time evaded their fury; but was at length seized, and underwent a most cruel death [†], on the spot on which his pious convert was martyred. The Christians stole the body, and gave it a private interment at this place. In 1178, the reliques were removed to St. Albans, enshrined near those of his fellow-sufferer; and a prior and three monks, with 20s. a year, were appointed guardians of the sacred deposit. I am sorry to find, that, after all, the very existence of this Saint is doubted; for there are some who believe that the Saint was no more than an amphibalus, a long cloak, which St. Alban, before he went to execution, threw about him; which being at length personified, was canonized, and received into the Kalendar [‡].

A CELL, consisting of a prior and a few Benedictines from St. Albans, was placed here. It was dedicated to St. Amphibalus and his companions, and was inhabited before 1195. After the dissolution, it was, with the manor, granted to John Cork ‖.

THE present great road, a little beyond this place quits the Watling-street, which runs direct on the right to Verulanium. The former can boast of no great extent of view, but is bounded by beautiful risings varied with woods, and inclosures dressed with a garden-like elegance. The common soil is almost covered with flints: the stratum beneath is chalk, which is used for a manure.
CHALK.

Pliny describes this British earth under the title of Creta argentaria; and adds petitur ex alto in centenos pedes actis puteis ore angustatis: intus ut in metallis spatiante vena, hac maxime Britannia utitur [*]. This very method is used in the county at present. The farmer sinks a pit, and (in the terms of a miner) drives out on all sides, leaving a sufficient roof, and draws up the chalk in buckets, through a narrow mouth. Pliny informs us, in his remarks on the British marls then, that they will last eighty years; and that there is not an example of any person being obliged to marl his land twice in his life [†]. An experienced farmer, whom I met with in Hertfordshire, assured me, that he had about thirty years before made use of this manure on a field of his, and that, should he live to the period mentioned by the Roman naturalist, he thought he should not have occasion of a repetition.

THIS bottom is watered by the small stream of the Verlume, Ver, or Mure; which rises at Rowbeach, beyond Market-street; flows by Flamsted, Redburn, and St. Albans; and loses itself and name in the Coln, a little N. E. of Colney-street.

ABOUT a mile and a half from St. Albans I turned out of the road to the right, to visit Gorhambury,
GORHAMBURY.

the venerable seat of that glory of our country Sir Francis Bacon viscount Verulam. His matchless talents, his deplorable weaknesses, and his merited fall, have been the subjects of so many able pens, that it would be a presumption in me to enter into a detail either of his life or works. I shall prefer giving an account of the place, and perhaps touch accidentally on what may relate to one whom Mr. WALPOLE justly stiles ‘ The Prophet of Arts, which Newton was sent afterwards to reveal.’

THIS manor was, from very antient times, part of the lands of the abbey of St. Albans: the original name is not delivered to us; that which it has at present was derived from Robert de Gorham, elected abbot of the house in 1151. Mr. Salmon conjectures, that he might have built here a villa [*]: a luxury not unfrequent with the abbots of the richer houses. In 1540, Henry VIII. made a grant of it to Ralph, afterwards Sir Ralph Rowlet; who sold it to Sir Nicholas Bacon, the worthy and able lord keeper, and father of the great lord Verulam. The elegance of his taste was apparent in his buildings; which confirm the observation of Lloyd [†], that "his use of learned artists was continual." To him we are indebted for Redgrave in Suffolk, and the seat in question. In both he adhered to his rational motto, Mediocria Firma. He is said to have departed a little from it in the instance of Redgrave, but not till after his royal mistress, who honored him with a visit there, told him, ‘You have made your house too little for your lordship.’ 'No, madam,' replied he; ‘but your highness has made me too big for the house.’ But after this, he added the wings [‡].

THE building consists of two parts, discordant in their manner, yet in various respects of a classical taste. On the outside
GORHAMBURY.

of the part which forms the approach is the piazza, or perticus, with a range of pillars of the Tuscan order in front, where the philosophic inhabitants walked and held their learned discourse; and withanside is a court with another piazza: the one bring in ••ded for enjoying the shade, the other to catch, during winter, 〈◊〉 comfortable warmth of the sun. The walls of the piazzas are 〈◊〉ed of freseo, with the adventures of Ulysses, by Van Keopen. 〈…〉 is a statue of Henry VIII; in the other a bust of the founder. Sir N••holas Bacon; and another of his lady. Over the en 〈◊〉 from the court into the hall, are these plain verses; which 〈◊〉 the date of the building to have been 1571.

Hae• cum perfecit Nicholaus tect• Baconus

Elizabeth regni lustra 〈◊〉 duo.

Factus eque• magni cu•os fuit ip•e sigilli.

Gloria sit soli tota •••buta Deo.

MEDIOCRIA FIRMA.

Some lines ove• the statue of Orpheus, that once stood on the en 〈◊〉 into the orchard; shew what a waste the place was before 〈◊〉 possessed by this great man.

Horrida nuper eram aspectu Intebraequ• serarum;

Ruricolis tantum numinibusque locus.

Edomitor fausto hic dum forte superveni• Orph•us,

Ul•e•ius qui me no• finit esse rudem:

••••cat avulsis virgulta vi•e•tia truncis:

E•sedem quae vel diis placuisse potest.

Si•qu• mei cultor, sic est 〈◊〉 cultus et Orpheu•:

Floreat O noster cultus amorque diu.

〈…〉ouse (no longer 〈…〉, [*] but to re•••• 〈…〉 •phered on the walls, 〈…〉 illustrious antients 〈…〉.[†] This room seemed to 〈…〉 favorite summer-room of the 〈…〉 for the enjoyment 〈…〉 from the 〈◊〉 of his house [‡]. Mo • 〈…〉 between the villas of the 〈…〉 countrymen This building, 〈◊〉 〈…〉 ••••ble gal • 〈…〉 placed at different 〈…〉 to mind many parts of the villa, 〈…〉 owner.

〈…〉 over the 〈◊〉-piece is 〈…〉 II.

〈…〉

Most of the others 〈…〉 〈…〉 of 〈◊〉 beginning of the last century.

〈…〉

〈…〉 of the• 〈…〉 of his or any age appears 〈◊〉 〈…〉 who succeeded his brother Anthony 〈…〉 Much is said of his depravity 〈…〉 of his a• sawing after his fa• 〈…〉 I look or the la• part of his 〈◊〉 as the period to 〈…〉 with greatest dignity. That soul which 〈◊〉 〈…〉 beneath the temptation of corruption, ar• 〈…〉 by d• and superior to obloquy. He passed 〈◊〉 [§] 〈◊〉 days in labors which have made him the admiration of succeedings times. He was then disengaged from business, which •d his •nius, and was supported (notwithstanding assertion, •me contrary) by a great pension (£1800 2 year) which •d him to purpose his studies at c•, removed from every 〈◊〉 of the embarrassments of poverty.

His portait is a full-length, by Varsomer, dressed In his than •'s robes.

HERE is besides, in one of the room, another portrait of 〈◊〉 and a bust of him while a child. N• him is his accom • kinsman his half-brother Sir Natha• B•,
SIR NATH BACON

Knight of 〈◊〉 〈…〉, leaning back in 〈◊〉 chair, in a g• 〈◊〉 laced, yel • •kings, a dog by him, and •ord and pallet hung up. In the art of paintings none," says P•, "des• more respect and admiration than Master N• Bacon, of Brome 〈…〉, not inferior, in my judgment, to our sk•ullest 〈◊〉 He improved his ta• by travelling into Italy;. 〈◊〉 in this home, as a proof of the excellency of his persor •, this por•, and a most beautiful one of a cook, a perfect with an old game-keeper: behind is a variety of dead 〈…〉 particular a swan, whose plumage is expressed with 〈◊〉 •le •o•ness and gloss.

In the house is a half-length of a beautiful woman reading, 〈…〉 Melancholy Cock; perhaps the same with the former. 〈◊〉 who,
COUNTERS OF SUFFOLK.

like lord 〈◊〉,
〈◊〉 Gentlemen,

Mr. Walp•le's 〈◊〉 Painting, i. 163, where the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is engraven. fell under the charge of cor • should have been placed next to him In the room is a fine ful-length of the countess of Suffolk, daughter of Sir Henry •word, and wife to the lord tre•. She is dressed in whi•, 〈◊〉 in a great 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 b• 〈◊〉 exposed: her waist show and swelings, for she was 〈◊〉 prolis•. This lady had un • 〈…〉 and was extrem 〈◊〉 〈…〉 to in 〈…〉 •varics, and took bribes from 〈◊〉. Sir •ran• Ba•, in 〈…〉 in the star-chamber against her husband, wittily compares her to an exchange wo•, who kept her shop, while S• John Bingley, a 〈◊〉 of the Exchequer, and a tool of her's, cried 〈…〉 Her beauty was remarkable, and I fear the made a bad use of her charms. "Lady 〈◊〉," says the famous Anne C•, in the d•ary, under the year 1019, ‘had good face of 〈…〉, which spoiled that good face of 〈…〉 had bought to other much misery, and to herself gre• is, •ch 〈◊〉 in much unhappiness.’

A 〈…〉 of T• duke of Norfolk,

〈…〉

is a bonnet, so 〈…〉 of the Garter, and a where rod: an unfor • 〈◊〉, who through weakness and ambition, aspired to be husband to the 〈◊〉 queen of Scots, and for that, and his practice for her 〈…〉 •ead in 1572.

A 〈…〉 Thomas Wentwort• and of Clev•∣•,

〈…〉

〈…〉 at the creation of Henry prince of W•. He 〈…〉, with a red 〈◊〉, turnover, and yellow hair. He was •p• or the guard to Charles 〈◊〉 a distinguished 〈…〉 the Restor•, and enjoyed his for m• 〈◊〉.

COUNTESS OF SUFFOLK.

A REMARKABLE picture of Sir Thomas Meautys,
SIR THO. MEAUTYS.

secretary to lord Verulam. His dress confirms the account of the choice he made of his servants, whom he selected from the young, the prodigal, and expensive [*]. Sir Thomas makes a most finical appearance: his habit elegant: has on a sash, a hat with a white feather, laced turnover, a long love-lock extended on his left arm, an ear-ring in one ear, a spear in the other, and brown boots. Thus he is represented as a smart office-clerk, walking in his new-acquired park; for he was clerk of the privy council to two kings: and got possession of Gorhambury from his master, who conveyed it to him on foreseeing his fall. Like a grateful servant, Meautys erected a handsome monument to him in a neighboring church, more to shew his respect, than from any necessity of endeavouring to preserve the memory of one self-immortalized.

FROM the heirs of Sir Thomas Meautys,
SIR HARBOTTLE GRIMSTON.

this place passed by sale to Sir Harbottle Grimston, Baronet; whose portrait is here at full length, in black, with a turnover and black coif, leaning on a slab. On the picture is this motto, Nec pudet vivere, nec piget mori. This gentleman was one of those worthy persons who set out with a view of reforming the abuses of the arbitrary court of Charles I. but whose moderation and good sense made them oppose their own party, when it attempted measures subversive of the constitution: in consequence, he, with several others, were excluded the house. In 1656, he was elected one of Cromwell's parlement; but not being approved by the slavish council of the usurper, was laid aside. He was active in promoting the Restoration; was chosen speaker of the parlement; was rewarded with the mastership of the Rolls, and died in great reputation, at the age of ninety, in 1683 [*].

IN the same room is a head of Mr. Chiffinch;
MR. CHIFFINCH.

a beautiful picture of Catharine, queen to Charles II. in the character of St. Catharine; and a fine half-length of St. Augustine.

IN the dining-parlour is a piece containing the portrait of Algernon earl of Northumberland,
ALGERNON EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND.

in black, standing: his lady, in blue, sitting, and a child by them. This generous peer stepped forward in the cause of liberty, in the beginning of the troubles of Charles I. while he held the post of lord high admiral: a post he was displaced from by the popular party, by reason of his moderation; which they suspected would be a check to their unreasonable views. He was constantly a mediating commissioner in all treaties on the side of the parlement; in which he behaved with dignity, spirit, and integrity. He was appointed governor of the king's children while they were separated from him, and behaved to them with respect and affection. He joined with opposing the ordonnance for the trial of his master; and, after his death, retired to Petworth, and took no part with the usurping powers. He joined heartily in the Restoration; but, like a true friend to his country, wished for it on terms of security to the people, and advantage for the nation. He received from the restored king honors suited to his rank, and enjoyed them till his death, in 1668.

OVER the chimney-piece is a half-length of Sir Edward Grimston,
SIR EDW. GRIMSTON.

in black, a bonnet, and lawn ruff, by Holbein. Its date is 1548, aet. 20. On one side are these verses:

The life that nature sends, death soon destroyeth,

And momentarie is that life's remembrance;

The seeminge life which peaceful art supplieth

Is but a shadow, though life's perfect semblans:

But that trewe life which virtue doth restore,

Is life indeed; and lasteth evermore.

THIS gentleman was comptroller at Calais, at the time it was taken by the duke de Guise in 1558. He had frequently wrote to the ministry, to inform them how ill provided it was against a siege. His remonstrance was neglected; but when the place was lost, the English government permitted him to remain prisoner, for fear of his complaints. The French demanded, as the price of his ransom, a large estate he had purchased about Calais; but he preferred captivity rather than injure his family. He suffered a long and rigorous imprisonment in the Bastile: at length escaped to England, and was honorably acquitted of any thing that could be laid to his charge [*]. He lived to the great age of ninety-eight. Another portrait shews his figure at that of eighty-one, with a skull in his hand, and white bushy beard.

SIR Samuel Grimston, in a long wig and laced cravat.
SIR SAMUEL GRIMSTON.

He had rendered himself so obnoxious to James II. as to be excepted out of an act of grace, when that prince meditated a descent, 1692.

HIS two wives, lady Anne Tufton, and lady Elizabeth Finch,
HIS TWO WIVES.

the last, daughter of lord chancellor the earl Nottingham; whose portrait is also here,
EARL OF NOTTINGHAM.

dressed in black robes.

IN the great drawing-room is the portrait of lady How,
LADY HOW.

with white long hair, daughter to Sir Harbottle Grimston, and wife of Sir John How, of Wiltshire.

SIR Herbottle Luckyn,
SIR HARBOTTLE LUCKYN.

Baronet, in a blue coat, long white wig, and breast-plate; a castle at a distance. His granfather, by the marriage with Mary, eldest daughter of Sir Harbottle Grimston, brought the estate into his family; which changed its name for that of his lady.

A HEAD of Thomas Howard,
THOMAS EARL OF ARUNDEL.

the virtuoso earl of Arundel; who, by much residence in foreign parts, acquired a thorough contempt for his own country. Filled with family-pride, he was sent to the Tower for a contempt shewn in the house to a nobleman less highly born than himself: yet on the breaking out of the troubles of his royal master, Charles I. he shewed a great want of true spirit, consulting his own safety and ease, rather than to risque them by siding with either party. He quitted England, for which, as lord Clarendon says, he had little other affection than as he had a great share in it, in which, like a great leviathan, he might sport himself. He was a man of a noble presence, and affected a plain garb. He accordingly is here dressed in a dark habit, robed with fur. His countenance corresponds to the description: his hair short, and his beard bushy: his turnover plain; and the only ornament is the pendent order of the Garter.

IN the turret-room is the fine picture of the cook, by Sir Nathaniel Bacon.

THE great gallery is a magnificent room,
GALLERY.

a hundred and thirty feet long, and nineteen wide; the roof wooden, richly gilt, and painted, and the sides filled with full-length portraits of the great cotemporaries with its illustrious owner lord Verulam. They are indeed all copies; but copies taken during the lives of the personages represented.

His peaceful master James, is drawn in inconsistent armour,
JAMES I.

black and gold, with each foot on a rock. Above him, ‘Jam tu• tenditque sovetque.’ beneath, ‘ Jacobus unitor Britanniae, plantator Hiberniae, conditor imperii Atlantici. ’

The last, I fear, a piece of the characteristic adulation of the chancellor.

NEAR him are two monarchs, not in fact coeval with Bacon, but placed here from the admiration he had of their abilities, in extending their dominions to the Indies. By Emanuel king of Portugal,
EMANUEL KING OF PORTUGAL.

he pointed out the advantage of commerce, received by the discovery of the new passage to India under his auspices, by Vasco di Gama: by Ferdinand V. he points out the discovery of America by Columbus.
FERDINAND OF SPAIN.

The first monarch he calls Conditor imperii Europae super Indias orientales; the other, Super Indias occidentales. Each of these princes are represented knee-deep in water: but I suppose, by the situation of his cautious master, he would shew he had too much prudence to wet his feet.

IT is to no purpose to preserve the present order of portraits, in a house unhappily devoted to demolition. I shall therefore, at lest in this part of it, give a chronological series; out of which the noble owner may, if he pleases, give, in the succeeding edifice, an interesting history of past times, in the lively representation of the great actors of a great period.

Ludovic Stuart duke of Richmond and Lenox,
LUDOVIC DUKE OF RICHMOND.

and earl of Newcastle, properly follows his prince and relation. He is dressed in his robes, a bonnet with a white feather: the George and a white rod are other appendages; the last, as lord high steward of the houshold. He was also high chamberlain, and admiral of Scotland, and was sent ambassador to France [*] before the accession of his royal master to the English throne. He was a most deserved favorite, and supported himself with such true dignity, that, as Wilson expresses it, ‘the king, as it were, wanting one of his limbs to support the grandeur of majesty at the first meeting of parlement, in 1623, sent for him with great earnestness,’ and received, by the return of the messenger, the melancholy news of his being found dead in bed, after going to rest in the fullest health [†]. His majesty shewed the sincerest respect to his deceased servant, by proroguing the parlement for several days, unable sooner to digest his loss.

William earl of Pembroke,
WILLIAM EARL OF PEMBROKE.

in black, with the white rod and key, as lord chamberlain; George pendent, flat ruff, short hair, peaked beard: a great and amiable character, and the most universally esteemed and beloved of any man of that age; and, having a great office in the court, he made the court itself better esteemed, and more reverenced in the country; [‡]. He was beloved in court, because he was disinterested; in the country, because he was independent. In 1630, he died universally lamented: his many fine qualities causing his abandoned sensualities to be forgotten.

His brother, and successor to the title, is painted here twice: in full-length,
PHILIP EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY.

in black, with a star, George, and turnover, with black hair and peaked beard; and again in half-length, advancing. Philip was a complete contrast to his brother: rude, reprobate, boisterous, and devoted to his dogs and horses: so mean as to receive tamely a horse-whipping from one Ramsay, a Scotchman, at a public horse-race; and for his civility in not resenting the insult, was rewarded by the peaceful James, by being made a knight, baron, viscount, and earl on the same day. His mother, ‘ Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother,’ tore her hair when she heard of her son's disgrace. He was likewise lord chamberlain to Charles I. and, as Osborn observes, in that office broke with his white rod many wiser heads than his own; but his fear always secured him, by a quick and ample submission. Notwithstanding the profundity of his ignorance, he became, on the king's imprisonment, chancellor of the university of Oxford, a fit instrument for the eradication of loyalty. A noble statue of him stands in the picture-gallery. On the usurpation, he had the meanness to sit in Cromwel's mock parlement as knight of the shire for Berkshire; and concluded his despicable life on January the 23d, 1649-50.

A MAN in black and gold, a ruff, chain round his waist, and sword. Date 1594.

A LADY with red hair, great lawn ruff, her dress black and gold. In materials resembling the former. Three long chains of pearl.

Charles Howard earl of Nottingham,
CHARLES EARL OF NOTTINGHAM.

lord high admiral, drest in his robes, with a view of a fleet and storm; the conqueror of the Spanish armada.

SIR Edward Sackville,
EDWARD EARL OF DORSET.

the accomplished, witty, and learned earl of Dorset: a nobleman of quick passions and resentments, violent in his friendships and enmities. In the great national quarrel between the English and Scots, at Croydon races, he alone left his countrymen and sided with the latter, out of friendship to lord Bruce; for which, had not the affray been prevented, the English had fixed on Sir Edward as the first victim [*]: yet a dispute with his beloved Scot produced the famous duel, which was pursued with unheard-of animosity, and terminated in the death of Bruce [†]. He behaved in the public quarrel of his royal master with equal spirit, and survived till 1652.

EDWARD earl of Worcester,
EDWARD EARL OF WORCESTER.

master of the horse to queen Elizabeth, and privy seal to James I. What recommended him to the first, was his being of royal blood, and at the same time the finest gentleman, and the best horseman and tilter of his time [‡]. He is represented here at the period at which he had outlived the athletic exercises, with a bald head and white beard; in a white jacket and ruff, and George pendent.

THE first lord Cornwallis,
THE FIRST LORD CORNWALLIS.

with long hair, in black, and a turnover: an active and valiant adherent to Charles I; brought up from his youth in his service, and that of his brother Henry. So resolute, that he knew not fear; so chearful, that sorrow never came next his heart. Death would not try him by illness, but took him off suddenly, on January 31, 1661-2, after he had been raised to the peerage the preceding year.

THE gallant fickle earl of Holland, in a striped and very rich dress: hat with red feather in his hand, the blue riband across his breast.

A YOUNG warrior has somehow crept in among the veterans: Henry duke of Gloucester,
HENRY DUKE OF GLOUCESTER.

in buff coat, breast-plate, long black hair, the Garter, and a truncheon. A prince whose eminent virtues made his early end universally deplored. He died in 1660, in his twenty-first year, feelingly lamented by his brother Charles; who was never observed to shew a sensibility equal to what he did on this occasion.

George Carew earl of Totness,
GEORGE EARL OF TOTNESS.

in a white flowered jacket; hand on his sword; white beard, and short hair: a nobleman celebrated as a warrior, scholar, and author. He was son of a dean of Exeter; received his education at Oxford. His active spirit led him from his studies into the army; but in 1589, he was created master of arts. The scene of his military exploits was Ireland, where, in the year 1599, he was president of Munster. With a small force he reduced great part of the province to her majesty's government, took the titular earl of Desmond prisoner, and brought numbers of the rebellious Septs to obedience [*]. The queen honored him with a letter of thanks under her own hand [†]. He left his province in general peace in 1603, and arrived in England three days before the death of his royal mistress. Her successor rewarded his service, by making him governor of Guernsey, creating him lord Carew, of Clopton, and appointing him master of the ordnance for life. Charles I. on his accession, created him earl of Totness [*]. He died in March 1629, aged seventy-three, and was interred beneath a magnificent monument at Stratford upon Avon [†].

HE was not less distinguished by his pen than his sword. In his book Pacata Hibernia, he wrote his own commentaries; of which his modesty prevented the publication during life. He collected four volumes of antiquities relating to Ireland, at this time preserved unheeded in the Bodleian library: he collected materials for the life of Henry V [‡], digested by Speed into his Chronicle. To conclude, he merited entirely the encomium given him by Wood, of being
a faithful subject, a valiant and prudent commander, an honest counsellor, a gentle scholar, a lover of antiquities, and great patron of learning ‖.

SIR George Calvert lord Baltimore,
FIRST LORD BALTIMORE.

is dressed in black, a turnover, and with short hair. He was born at Kipplin in Yorkshire, was educated at Oxford, and received his first preferment, which was in the law line, in Ireland. His political abilities occasioned his being taken notice of by Sir Robert Cecil. Mr. Calvert was first his clerk, and after knighthood promoted to be one of the secretaries of state; and was in great confidence with his master
GEORGE CALVERT the First Lord Baltimore

James I. He thought fit to change his religion, which he ingenuously avowed. The king, pleased with his sincerity, continued him of his privy council, and even created him lord Baltimore, of the kingdom of Ireland, and made him large grants in that kingdom: a proof that the perversion of his subjects was far from exciting his displeasure. He also obtained a grant of a part of Newfoundland, which he called Avalon, after Old Avalon, the site of Glastonbury abbey, where (as is said) Christianity was first planted in Britain. He was constituted absolute lord and proprietor, with the royalties of a county palatine, except the sovereign dominion and allegiance, with a fifth part of the gold and silver reserved to the crown. After the king's death, he twice visited the place, built a fair house there; and, when his settlement was molested by the French, he fitted out two ships at his own expence, and drove them away. At length, on a repetition of their insults, was obliged to abandon the island. Charles I. to make him amends, gave him a new grant of the country on the north side of Chesapeak Bay, to hold in common socage as of the manor of Windsor, delivering annually to the crown, in acknowlegement, two Indian arrows on Easter Tuesday, at Windsor castle, with a fifth of the gold and silver ore [*]. His lordship died on April 15th 1632, before the patent was made out; but his son Cecil took it in his own name, in June following, and laid the foundation of a flourishing colony, which was named by the king himself Maryland, in honor of Henrietta Maria, his royal consort.

ARCHBISHOP Abbot, in a cap and episcopal habit,
ARCHBISHOP ABBOT.

with a grey square beard. This prelate owed his preferment under James I, to the Scottish favorite, the able and worthy earl of Dunbar: perhaps from the Calvinistical principles with which he was strongly imbued. Fuller says,
he honoured cloaks above cassocks; lay, above clergymen [*].
He was upright and firm in his principles: probably too favorable to the tenets which, under him, acquired strength, in the following reign, to subvert both church and state, with the assistance of the contrary conduct of the indiscreet and furious Land. How difficult is the virtue of moderation! Abbot gloriously resisted the licensing of a slavish sermon, preached by doctor Sibthorp, and fell into disgrace; his office was suspended: nor was it taken off, till the rising strength of the puritanical party made the compliance with the times prudent. His manners had in them an uncourtly stiffness and moroseness [†]. He found he was restored more through policy than affection. As he attained to the age of seventy-one, I can scarcely think that grief, either on account of his suspension, or unconquerable sorrow for the sad accident of killing a gamekeeper with a cross-bow, in shooting at a deer [‡], brought him to his end. Nature might effect his dissolution, without having recourse to other causes.

THE beautiful George Villiers duke of Buckingham,
GEO. VILLIERS DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.

in white, with a hat and feather on a table. A minion of fortune, who owed his rise to a handsome face and elegant person: merits irresistible with James I. The king, by the insolence and ingratitude of his favorite, received sufficient punishment for his folly. Buckingham was possessed of abilities, clouded by the violence of his passions, and almost rendered useless. In his embassy to France, in 1625, he had the presumption to make his addresses to the queen Anne of Austria [*]. On receiving the treatment which his vanity merited, he not only, in revenge, involved his country in war, but endeavoured to alienate the affection of his master Charles from his spouse, her lovely sister-in-law, Henrietta Maria. I ought to have mentioned the common report, that his ill success with the wife of Olivarez, the Spanish minister, and a cruel deception in consequence [†], was the primary cause of the breach of the Spanish match, and the hazard his young prince ran in escaping from an incensed court. He fell at length by the hands of the melancholy Felton, who, taught by the murmurs of the people, thought he did an acceptable service, by freeing his country from so distasteful a minister.

SIR Richard Weston earl of Portland, appears drest in black,
SIR RICHARD WESTON EARL OF PORTLAND.

with a ruff blue riband, and white rod; his hair and beard grey. This nobleman is a proof how honors change manners. He set out with a great character for prudence, spirit, and abilities, and discharged his duty as ambassador, and, on his return, as chancellor of the exchequer, with much credit. Under the ministry of the duke of Buckingham, he was appointed lord treasurer: on which he suddenly became so elated, that he lost all disposition to please; and, soon after the duke's death, became his successor in the public hatred, without succeeding him in his credit at court [‡]. His lust after power, and his rapacity to raise a great fortune, were unmeasurable; yet the jealousy of his temper frustrated the one, and the greatness of his expences the other. His imperious nature led him to give frequent offence; yet his timidity obliged him to make humiliating concessions to the very people he had offended. He had a strange curiosity to learn what the persons injured said of him; the knowlege of which always brought on fresh troubles; as he would expostulate with them for their severe sayings, as if he had never given cause for them; by which he would often discover the mean informant of his fruitless intelligence. He died in March 1634, in universal disesteem; and the family and fortune, for which he labored so greatly, were extinct early in the next reign.

Thomas Wentworth earl of Strafford,
THOMAS EARL OF STRAFFORD.

in armour. Like Buckingham, a victim also to the popular fury; but brought to his end by all the solemnity of trial and pomp of strained justice. His great abilities and moving eloquence, his fortitude and great deportment on the scaffold, make us lose sight of his failings, and lament that so much heroism should be devoted to plans which made his life incompatible with the public security.

THE illustrious and faithful servant to Charles I. James duke of Richmond,
JAMES DUKE OF RICHMOND.

in long, flowing, flaxen hair; his star; and a dog by him.

Thomas Wriothesley earl of Southampton,
THOMAS EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON.

another nobleman, not less attached to his royal master; and who, like the former, offered himself a victim for his prince's life. The earls of Hertford and Lindsey joined in the generous petition to the commons, on the condemnation of the king; alleging, that they having been counsellors to his majesty, and concurring in the advice of the several measures now imputed as crimes, they alone were guilty in the eye of the law, and ought to expiate the supposed offences of majesty. He survived to see the restoration of the royal family; was rewarded with the treasurer's rod; and died a friend to his country as well as prince, on May 16th 1667. His death, and the fall of chancellor Hyde, removed from the abandoned court every check upon its profligate designs. It was so impatient to remove him, as to wish to wrest the rod from his dying hands, had not Hyde earnestly entreated the king to wait four or five days, till his death must happen. He died of the stone. So little credit had our surgeons at that time, that he sent to Paris for one; but his end prevented the operation [*].

THE chancellor himself is dressed in robes. In him is the character of an honest great man;
CHANCELLOR HYDE.

the glorious victim to a prince and party, that neither could nor dared to attempt the slavery of their country, while he remained in power in it. He was exiled in 1667, by the contrivances of an ungrateful master, and lived abroad, venerated by the good, till this ornament to human nature gave way to death, on December the 9th, 1674.

George Monk duke of Albemarle,
GENERAL MONK.

the well-known instrument of the Restoration. He is drest in a buff coat, with an anchor by him. He entered at a very early age into the military life, and first made trial of his sword in the ill-conducted expedition to Cadiz, in 1625: but his military experience was attained by a ten years service in the Low Countries. On the breaking out of the civil wars, his principles led him to embrace the royal party, after serving for some time against the rebels in Ireland. In his first campaign he was taken prisoner at Namptwich, and imprisoned for some years, with such severity, that he was at last induced, for the sake of obtaining liberty, to engage with the parlement. Perhaps by stipulation, he never served the remainder of the war in England. [*] Ireland was the scene of his exploits, and afterwards Scotland, which he entirely reduced. He was justly loaden with honors by his restored prince, under whom, by indulging his spirit of frugality, he amassed a vast fortune. His great military abilities fitted him equally for sea or land. He commanded, jointly with prince Rupert, the fleet against the Dutch, in the dreadful engagement of 1666. His success was equal to his valour. He became the darling of the sailors, who called him by the familiar appellation of honest George; for he was a plain man, of few words, but inviolable in his promises. Worn out with fatigue, he died in 1670, and received a funeral pomp, which his eminent services so well merited.

LORD keeper Coventry in his robes,
LORD KEEPER COVENTRY.

and a ruff, with his hands on the seals: his look remarkably pleasing; a mark of the internal comfort he felt in a life passed in the full integrity of the discharge of his profession. He held the seals for fifteen years, and died in universal esteem, January 14, 1639-40, at a period unhappy for his country; when the respect borne to his counsels might have prevented the dreadful feuds that so immediately followed his decease.

FOUR portraits of the Stuart line: James I. Charles I. and II. and James II. The first is dressed in black, barred with gold. Typical of the Stuarts, the prerogative is before his eyes, in form of the crown and scepter. William III. who gave us the power of happiness, makes a fifth portrait in this royal succession.

Heneage Finch earl of Nottingham, in his robes, with the seals in his hands,
CHANCELLOR NOTTINGHAM.

and long deep brown hair. This nobleman was lord chancellor in the reign of Charles II. and in those dangerous times distinguished himself for his integrity and prudence, in steering clear from a criminal compliance with the views of the court, or humouring the unbounded faction of the popular side. He brought the peerage into the family, which (rare to say) has never been fullied by those who have derived the honor from him. He received the seals in 1673; died in 1682.

THIS concludes the list of portraits in the noble gallery of Gorhambury: scattered over the house are a few others which merit mention, as persons eminent in their generation. Among them is one which ought properly to have led the van; the head of Sir Nicholas Bacon; his dress a furred robe.
SIR NICHOLAS BACON.

He was a person of a very corpulent habit; for which reason queen Elizabeth used to say, "that her lord keeper's soul lodged well." To what I have given of him before, I shall only add, that he caught his death by sleeping in his chair with a window open. He awoke disordered, and, reproving his servant for his negligence, was told, that he feared to wake him. "Then," replies the keeper, "your complaisance will cost me my life." He died in 1579.

ANOTHER head of his second wife, in a close cap and white gown,
HIS SECOND WIFE.

worked with oak-leaves and acorns. This distinguished lady was Anne daughter of Sir Anthony Cook, of Giddy-hall, in Essex. She had great abilities, natural and acquired, and was eminently skilled in Greek, Latin, and Italian. She had the honor of being appointed governess to Edward VI [*]. To her in¦structions was probably owing the surprizing knowlege of the excellent young prince. She shared his education with her father, doctor Cox, and Sir John Cheek [†]. Her sons Anthony and Francis were not a little indebted, for the reputation they acquired, to the pains taken with them by this excellent woman in their tender years [‡]. When they grew up, they found in her a severe but admirable monitor. She translated from the Italian the sermons of Barnardine Ochine; and from the Latin, Jewel's Apology for the Church of England: both which met with the highest applause. She died in the beginning of the reign of James I. and was buried in the neighboring church of Saint Michael ‖.

A BEAUTIFUL picture of lady Margaret Russel,
COUNTESS OF CUMBERLAND.

daughter to Francis earl of Bedford, and wife to George earl of Cumberland, and mother to the celebrated Anne Clifford: a lady happier in the filial affections of her daughter, than the conjugal tenderness of her husband; who, taken up with military glory, and the pomps of tilts and tournaments, paid little attention to domestic duties. In her diary, which is preserved in manuscript, I find she suffered even to poverty, and complains of her ill usage in a most suppliant and pathetic manner. Her lord felt heavy compunction on his death-bed. I cannot help relating two of the minutiae of her journal. She relates, that Anne Clifford was begot on her the first of May 1589, in Channel-row House, hard by the
MARGARET COUNTESS OF CUMBERLAND.

river Thames; and in Skipton Castle, on Bardon tower, she felt a child stir in her belly. She survived her lord.

THE dress of the portrait is very elegant. Her hair is turned up before, and backed with chains of pearl. Over her head is a black feather: a beautiful ruff and pearl necklace surround her neck. Her gown is black, hung with chains, and set with ornaments of pearl.

A HALF-LENGTH of Sir George Croke,
SIR GEORGE CROKE.

one of the judges of the King's Bench in the time of Charles I. in his robes; distinguished for his knowlege of the laws. He was one of the judges who had the honor of deciding against the illegality of ship-money; yet still, on account of his eminent qualities, preserved the favor of the court. When sunk in years, and petitioning for a retreat, the king granted his request, and rewarded his services with the sees and honor of chief justice during life[*]. Mundum vicit et deseruit, says his epitaph, aet. 82. Anno R. C. 1. 17. Anno Domini 1641.

HIS lady is in black, with a lawn ruff: her portrait is dated 1626.
HIS LADY.

Lady Croke should by no means be passed unnoticed; especially as Whitelock [†] gives her the chief merit in her husband's decision in the case of ship-money. He had, it seems, resolved on the contrary side; but appearing wavering, was told by his wife, ‘that she hoped he would do nothing against his conscience, for fear of any danger or prejudice to him or his family; and that she would be contented to suffer want, or any misery, with him, rather than be an occasion for him to do or say any thing against his judgment or conscience.’

I SHALL conclude with a very singular portrait on wood,
PHILIP LE BON DUKE OF BURGUNDY.

called Sylvester de Grimston, a noble Norman, standard-bearer to the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings, and afterwards his chamberlain. He held lands in Yorkshire of the lord Roos; among others, that of Grimston in Holderness; from whence he took the name. The picture is antient and curious, but wants four centuries of the great period in which Sylvester lived; neither did that age afford any artists that could give even a tolerable representation of the human figure, much less convey down a likeness of the fierce heroes of their times. I premise this, to shew the impossibility of this portrait having been a copy of some original of this great ancestor. The dress is singular: a large bonnet, with a very long silken appendage; a green jacket, hanging sleeves: a collar of SS held in one hand: his face beardless. On the back of the picture is Petrus xoi. me fecit, anno 1416. The artist is unknown to me: but the habit of the person is that of the date; for I find in Monfaucon's Monarchie Francoise several persons of rank in the dress, particularly Philip Le Bon duke of Burgundy: between whom and this portrait, there is so strong a resemblance of feature[*], that I do not hesitate to imagine that the Gorhambury portrait is no other than one of this illustrious prince. He was born in 1396; died in 1467: so that he was a youth when the picture was taken.

I NOW resume my journey, and, in my way to St. Albans, about a mile and a half distant, pass by the site of St. Mary de la Pre, de Pratis, or the Meadows; an hospital for leprous women, founded about 1190, by Warine, abbot of St. Alban's. It afterwards rose to a priory of Benedictine nuns; but fell in 1528, when Wolsey, commendatory abbot, obtained from Clement VIII. a bull for its suppression, and for annexing it to the abbey; after which he got a grant of it for himself from the king; who, on the ruin of the cardinal, gave it to Sir Ralph Rowlet [*].

IMMEDIATELY after quitting this place,
VERULAMIUM.

I entered the celebrated Verulamium, at a spot distinguished by a great fragment of the antient wall, known by the name of Gorhambury-block, which probably bounded one side of one of the portae, or entrances, being exactly opposite to that on the eastern part. The precinct departs from the rectangular form of the Romans, this being among those which were laid out, Prout loci qualitas aut necessitas postulaverit [†]. It inclines to an oval shape; is placed on a slope, and the lower side bounded by the river Ver, which in former times might have spread into a lake, and given greater security to the town. According to Humphry Lloyd [‡], it gave also the name to the place, Gwerllan, or the temple on the Ver; rightly bestowing on the Britons a pre-occupancy of it to the Romans. I shall not dispute the notions of the particular ford over which Cesar crossed the Thames, when he penetrated into our island. It probably was at or near Coway Stakes. Cesar leaves us no room to depart from that opinion, as he expressly tells us that he led his army to the river Thames, towards the borders of the territories of Cassivelaunus, [*], the golden-locked leader of the country of the Cassi: and these Cassi are reasonably supposed to have been a clan of the Cattieuchlani, and to have inhabited the hundred of this county now called Cashio, in which Verulamium stood. But I must contend, that the distance of that city is far too remote from the fordable parts of the Thames, to admit it to have been the town of the British leader destroyed by the invader. It lies, in the nearest line, thirty-seven miles from those parts of the river: a distance too great for the time given to Cesar for his second campaign in Britain. The town, or rather post, which was forced by him, was not remote from the camp occupied by him on the side of the river; and most likely was that which is still very entire, in the park of her Grace the dutchess dowager of Portland, at Bulstrode, about fifteen miles distance from the Roman camp; whose vestiges are still to be seen, not far from the famous ford[†]. Partly by length of time, partly by constant cultivation, this post has lost some of the characters ascribed by Cesar to the town of Cassivelaunus; for it wants at present the marshy defence it had in his days.

THE town alluded to was within the territories of the British chieftain, and one of the strong holds into which the Britons were used to drive their cattle in time of danger. This, by Cesar's account, was certainly not the most capital; for his first relation informs us, it only contained saits numerus pecorum, a pretty considerable number of cattle. Notwithstanding his vanity, a few lines lower, swells his booty into magnus numerus, a vast number[*]. Near Shepperton, also, near that place, in a field called War Close, are found spurs, swords, bones, and other marks of a battle. See Cambden, i. 366: but in all likelihood, the first is the nearest to the truth.

•erulamium was the capital of this country, and the residence of its princes. I do not reckon Cassivelaunus among them; he was a chieftain of the Cassi, and, for his great abilities, elected general on the Roman invasion, if our British history is to be trusted. He was a guardian to his nephews, Anarwy and Tenafan [†] (the last) father to Cunoboline, whose coins are so frequent. Here was one of the British mints; for we find the word Ver on the coins, but no prince's name to distinguish the reign.

After the Romans had effected their conquest, they added walls to the ordinary British defence of ramparts, and ditches. Many great fragments of the former still remain, proofs of the strength and manner of the Roman masonry. On the one side is a vast foss; on another, two. The walls are twelve feet thick, where entire,
WALLS.

formed of flints bedded in mortar, now grown into amazing hardness. By intervals of about three feet distance, are three, and in some places four, rows of broad and thin bricks, or tiles, which were continued the whole length of the walls, which seem designed as foundations to sustain the layers of flints and lime, while the last was in a moist state. There were, besides, round holes, which penetrated quite through[*]; but these are either filled up, or escaped my notice. According to Doctor Stukely's measurement, the area is five thousand two hundred feet in length, and the greatest breadth about three thousand. It is at present inclosed into fields; but under the hedges, in many places, are vestiges of buildings, and, as I am told, when it is under tillage, the sites of the streets appear, by the different color of the corn above them. The Watling-street comes to the Porta Decumana, the gate on the western side, and passes quite through the city. There is another road goes on the outside of the south side; a small military way, like that which passed from turret to turret on Severus's wall[†], for the conveniency of external passengers.

THIS place, by its attachment to the conquerors, acquired the privileges of a free borough,
A MUNICIPIUM

a municipium, or municipal city, whose inhabitants enjoyed all the rights of the Roman citizens; for which reason such towns derive their name a muneribus capiendis, their power to bear public offices. They had their senators, knights, and commons; magistrates and priests; censors, ediles, questors, and flamens.

THE attachment of this town to its new masters, proved the cause of a heavy misfortune, which befel it under the reign of Nero. Boadicea,
SACKED BY BOADICEA.

widow of Prasutagus, king of the Iceni, enraged at the cruel indignity offered to her and her daughters, raised an insurrection against the Romans and their friends, and repaid with the most dreadful cruelties the injuries they had received. Camolodunum, Londinium, and Verolamium, suffered from the fury of the Britons; and seventy thousand citizens and allies fell by the edge of the sword. This city was remarkable for its wealth[*]; which was another incentive for the Britons to attack it, added to a particular animosity against a people who had forsaken the customs and religion of their ancestors.

THE place in a short time emerged from its misfortune; and had the honor of producing Albanus,
OF ST. ALBANUS.

the proto-martyr of Britain, a wealthy citizen of Verulamium, and, by privilege, of Rome also. He had been a Pagan, but was converted by means of a guest, whom he had sheltered during the great persecution of Dioclesian, as I have before related. St. Alban suffered in the year 302. Let not legend destroy the credibility of the martyrdom, by assigning attendant miracles, long after their cessation. We are told, that after he had refused to sacrifice to the heathen gods, the usual test of the alleged crime of Christianity, he was, as customary, whipped with rods, and then led to execution, and beheaded on Holmhurst, where the town of St. Alban's at present stands. In his passage, the torrent, which then divided the place from Verulamium, like the Red-sea, divided its waters, and gave dry passage to the Saint and his followers: a fountain sprung up where the martyr kneeled: one of the executioners relenting, was converted, and suffered with Albanus; another, who performed the deed, lost his eyes, as a penalty for his cruelty; for they dropped out of his head in the moment in which he gave the blow[†]▪ St. Alban was interred on the spot; and his remains were miraculously discovered several centuries after their interment.

IN 429,
SYNOD HOLD HERE.

this place was honored with a synod, in which St. Germanus and Lupus, two French prelates, assisted. A chapel was erected, about the year 945, by abbot Ulsin, in honor of the former, on the spot in which he preached; whose ruins were to be seen the beginning of this century.

AFTER the Saxon invasion, the name of the town was changed for that of Verlamcester and Watlincester. The British hero, Uther Pendragon, after a long siege, wrested it out of the hands of the Saxons, and held it during his life; after which they soon recovered it; but by reason of the cruel wars that raged during the contest between them and the Britons, the place became totally desolated.

LIKE the antient Deva [*], Verulamium had its great vaults,
GREAT VAULTS.

or subterraneous retreats, strongly and artfully arched. These are supposed, by Sir Henry Chauncy, to have been designed as places of retreat in time of war for the women and children, and for the concealing of the most valuable effects. In 960, they were found to give shelter to thieves and prostitutes; which caused Eldred, the eighth abbot, to search after these sousterrains, and found several ways and passages; all which he caused to be destroyed, but preserved the tiles and stones for the rebuilding the church, then in ruins[†].

THE present St. Alban's arose from the ruins of Verulamium. Offa king of the Mercians, directed, says legend, by a vision from heaven, discovered the reliques of St. Alban, by beams of glory springing from the grave[*]. In 793, he erected on the spot the magnificent monastery, for the maintenance of a hundred Benedictine or black monks, and in a parlementary council, which he held in the same year, bestowed on it most liberal endowments. Verulamium was now reduced to the state elegantly described by Spencer, assuming the character of the Genius of the place.

I was that city which the garland wore

Of Britain's pride, delivered unto me

By Roman victors, which it wore of yore,

Though nought at all but ruins now I be,

And lie in mine own ashes, as ye see.

Verlame I was: what boots it that I was,

Sith now I am but weeds and wasteful grass?

Ruines of Time.

BEFORE I quit these antient precincts, I must note the church of St. Michael,
CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL.

built within them, by the same pious abbot who founded the chapel of St. German. It became an impropriation of the abbey, and, after the dissolution, a vicarage. The church is small, supported within by round arches. It is most distinguished by the monument of the great lord Verulam. His figure is of white marble, placed sitting in a chair, reclining, in the easy attitude of meditation. He is dressed in robes lined with fur, and a high-crowned hat. Any emblems of greatness would have been unnecessary attendants on this illustrious character. The spectator's ideas must render every complimental sculpture superfluous. The epitaph conveys high honor to the grateful servant: his master could receive nothing additional.

H. P.

Francisc. Bacon, Baro de Verulam, Sanct. Albani viceco'

Sen notioribus titulis

Scientiarum lumen facundiae lex,

Sic sededat:

Qui postquam, omnia naturalis sapientiae

Et civilis arcana evolvisset,

Naturae decretum explevit.

Composita solvantur.

Anno Dom. MDCXXVI.

AEt. LXVI.

Tanti viri Mem.

Thomas Meautys Superstitis cultor.

Defuncti admirator.

ON leaving St. Michael's, I passed through a sort of suburbs to St. Alban's,
ST. ALBAN'S.

and crossing the Ver, to the site of the palace of Kingsbury. It had long been the residence of the Saxon princes, who, by their frequent visits to the abbey of St. Alban's, became an insupportable burden to its revenues. At length abbot Alfric, by his interest with king Ethelred II. prevaled on him to dispose of it, the king only reserving a small fortress in the neighborhood of the monastery[*]. This also continuing to give offence to its pious neighbors, was destroyed by king Stephen, at the intercession of Robert, the seventh abbot[†].

I SEE in Doctor Stukeley's plan, a bury, or mount, called Osterhill, on which the palace might have stood; and a ditch, called Tonman Ditch, which took its name from this Tommin, or Tumulus.

ON ascending into St. Alban's, up Fishpool-street,
FISHPOOL.

the bottom on the right reminded me of the great pool which once occupied that tract. This had been the property of the Saxon monarchs, and was alienated by Edgar to the all-grasping monks. Those princes were supposed to have taken great pleasure in navigating on this piece of water. Anchors have been found on the spot; which occasioned poets to fable that the Thames once ran this way. One of them, speaking to the Ver, says,

Thou saw'st great burden'd ships through these thy vallies pass,

Where now the sharp-edg'd scythe shears up the spiring grass;

And where the seal and porpoise us'd to play,

The grasshopper and ant now lord it all the day[*].

THE town spreads along the slopes and top of the hill. The magnificent mitred parlementary abbey graced the verge of the southern side. Of this there does not remain the lest vestige,
ABBEY.

except the gateway, a large square building, with a fine spacious pointed arch beneath: so that all the labors of Offa, and the splendid piety of a long train of abbots, and a numerous list of benefactors, are now reduced to the conventual church; and the once-thronged entrance of the devout pilgrims, to the shrine of our great proto-martyr, is now no more than an empty gateway.

A BARBAROUS murder was the true spring of Offa's munificence.
A MURDER.

The Mercian monarch cast a longing eye on the dominions of Ethelbert, prince of the East Angles; treacherously invited him to court, under pretence of marrying him to his daughter Althrida; seized on the young prince (who is represented to have been the most amiable of his time) beheaded him,
CAUSE OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE ABBEY.

and seized on his dominions [*]. Offa had recourse to the usual expiation of his crime, that of founding a monastery; when the grateful monks, to conceal the infamy of their benefactor, call down a vision from heaven, as a motive to his piety. But Offa did not trust to this solely: he made a penitential pilgrimage to Rome, and, by the merit of his monastic institution at St. Alban's, readily obtained absolution,
ITS GREAT PRIVILEGE.

and not only procured for the house exemption from the tax of Peter-pence, but power to collect the same for its own use, through the whole province of Hertford: a privilege which no person in the realm, the king himself not excepted, ever enjoyed. By the same bull, his holiness granted, that the abbot, or monk, whom he appointed archdeacon, should have pontifical jurisdiction over the priests and laymen of the possessions of this church; and that no person whatsoever, save the Pope himself, should offer to interfere. It was, by the charter of the king, to be free from all taxes, repair of bridges and castles, and free from making entrenchments against an enemy; to be exempt from episcopal jurisdiction; and that the fines for crimes, which belonged to the king, should be given for ever to this monastery. Offa, not content with this, inclosed the body of the Saint in a shrine of beaten gold and silver, set with precious stones; and, encircling the scull with a golden diadem, caused to be inscribed on it, Hoc est caput SANCTI ALBANI, Anglorum protomartyris [*].

Wiligord was the first abbot. It flourished from his time to the dissolution,
FIRST AND LAST ABBOT.

and received vast endowments and rich gifts. At that fatal period it was surrendered, on the 5th of December 1538, by Richard Boreman, alias Stevenache, the last abbot; who got, in reward for his ready compliance, the annual pension of £266. 13s. 4d; and the thirty-nine monks, then of the house, lesser sums; some even as small as five pounds a year[†]. The house, and the greatest part of the lands, were granted to Richard Lee, captain of the band of pensioners, as scandal reports, in reward for his prudence in winking at the king's affection for his handsome wife[‡]. The town, or, as Willis says, the abbot, purchased the church from the king for £400, and by that means preserved it from destruction; which gave him so much merit with queen Mary, that when she determined to restore the abbey, she appointed him to preside over it‖. It is said that he died of a broken heart, within a few days after he received the news of her death.

THE revenues at the dissolution were valued by Dugdale at £2102. 7s. 1d. per annum;
REVENUES.

by Speed, at £2510. 6s. 1d. [§] Notwithstanding the purchase made by Boreman,
GRANTED TO THE TOWN.

Edward VI. granted the monastery to the corporation of St. Alban's, which he had lately instituted, and ordered that the church should be reputed the parish church of the place, and be served by a rector, to be nominated by the mayor and burgesses of the town.

THE abbots lived in splendor, suitable to their rank and revenues. They dined in the great hall, at a table to which there was a flight of fifteen steps. The monks served up the dinner in plate, and in their way made a halt at every fifth step, where there was a landing, and sung on each a short hymn. The abbot usually sat alone in the middle of the table; and when any persons of rank came, he sat towards the end of the table. After the monks had waited some time on the abbot, they sat down at two other tables, placed on the sides of the hall, and had their services brought in by the novices; who, when the monks had dined, sat down to their own dinners[*].

THE church,
CHURCH.

in its present state, is a most venerable and great pile: its form that of a cross, with a tower. At the intersection the length is six hundred feet; that of the transepts one hundred and eighty. The height of the tower one hundred and forty-four feet; that of the body sixty-five; of the ailes thirty; the breadth of the body two hundred and seventeen.

BY neglect,
RUINED.

or by the ravages of war, the original church fell to decay. Abbot Ealdred, who lived in 969, designed to pull down and rebuild it; and for that purpose collected, from the ruins of Verulamium, all the stone, tiles, and timber, he could find. Death put a stop to his intention. His successor, Eadmer, resumed the task of getting together the materials; and in his search, found great quantities of curious antiquities; such as altars, urns, &c. which the pious man broke to pieces, as heathen abominations. He also, as is said, discovered several books, some in British, others in Latin; and a great one in a language and character unknown to any but an old priest. This was found to be the authentic life of St. Alban; which was carefully treasured up, being a confirmation of what Bede had wrote on the same subject. The other books, being only accounts of heathen mythology, inventions of the devil, were instantly condemned to the flames[*].

A FAMINE stopped the design of the new church, under the abbot Leofric. The troubles that ensued, under the remaining Saxon monarchs, and the unsettled state of the kingdom at the Conquest, occasioned the plan to lie dormant till the year 1077, when it was executed by abbot Paul, a Norman monk. He applied to that purpose the timber,
AND REBUILT.

the stones, and tiles, collected by his predecessors[†]: accordingly we see the far greater and more antient part of the walls a motley composition of stones and Roman tiles.

MANY other parts afterwards were pulled down,
ALTERATIONS.

and rebuilt in the stile of the times; and I suspect that, in general, the present windows are long posterior to those coeval with the walls; being painted, and of a taste of another age. The windows in the great tower, and perhaps the range along the nave, are of time intervening; for they differ from the mode of each of the others. I find this confirmed in the lives of the abbots. John (first of the name) who died in 1214, pulled down the frontwall, which was built of old tiles, so strongly cemented with mortar, that it proved a work of great labor. Master Hugh Goldcliff, a most excellent workman, was employed; who, consulting more the ornaments of sculpture, of images and flowers, neglected the security of his building; so that it fell down, and was left unfinished during the life of this good abbot[*]. His successor, William of Trampington, had the honor of completing his design. He not only rebuilt that front, but made new windows, and put glass into them, so as to give more light to the church. He also raised the steeple much higher, covered it with lead, and died full of good works, in 1235 [†].

IN the abbacy of John of Whethamstead, this church received the most considerable alterations. To avoid prolixity, I omit the numerous works of that most munificent abbot: I shall only note the change he made in the exterior part, by enlarging and glazing the windows on the north side of the church, which was before dark, and by causing a large window to be made at the west end of the north a••e, which was as destitute of light as the other part[‡]. John died in 1464; before which time the narrow windows had been changed for those more expanded, lightsome, and less painted.

IT is in the inside only that any part of the original building,
PART STILL SAXON.

or the genuine Saxon architecture, is preserved; which is to be seen in the round arches which support the tower, and some of
VIEW into the SOUTH TRANSEPT of ST. ALBAN'S CHURCH.

View of part of the BODY & AILES of ST ALBANS CHURCH.

•normous pillars with round arches in the body of the church, 〈…〉 the stile of each transent. After the Conquest the round 〈◊〉 was continued, but the pillars were also round and massy: 〈◊〉 are square, and not less than twenty-nine feet thick, with 〈◊〉 totally unadorned. Their composition, as well as that 〈◊〉 the stair-cases, are of brick: the other pillars are light, 〈…〉 arches pointed, evidently of a 〈◊〉 later 〈◊〉 then the d••e than the 〈◊〉. Above, are two galleries; the lowest is very elegant, 〈◊〉 with light slender pillars, much enriched; but I have no 〈…〉 to ascertain the time.

ABO•• the antient arches are galleries, with evenings round; 〈…〉 probably coeval with the former.

THE upper part of the choir is entirely of gothic architecture,
CHOIR.

〈…〉 from the body by a stone skreen, ornamented with ••le-work. Before this stood the chapel of Saint 〈…〉 a work owing so the piety of abbot Richard, who 〈…〉 to be present at the translation of the incorruptible 〈◊〉 that Saint to the church of Durban, apprehending, from •ess then, it was going to fall to pieces, •••ght it in his 〈◊〉 and in reward, one of them, which was withered, was in • 〈◊〉 [*].

〈…〉 altar fills the end of the choir a most rich and ele • 〈◊〉 of gothic sculpture,
HIGH ALTAR.

once adorned with images of gold 〈…〉 placed in beautiful ni•hes: the middle part is not of 〈…〉 the rest, being modern and c•umsy. This altar was made by abbot Wallingford, either in the reign of Edward IV. or Richard III. at the expence of eleven hundred marks.

THE hind part of it, which stands in the chapel of St. Alb• is of gothic work,

〈…〉

inferior indeed to the other side, but still of much elegance. The 〈◊〉 of both are nearly similar; consi• of 〈…〉 work battlement: at the bottom is a large arched 〈◊〉,

〈◊〉

in which stood the superb shrine which contained the re • of St. Alban, made of beaten gold and silver, and enriched 〈◊〉 and sculpture. The gems were taken from the treasure one accepted, •hich being of singular use to parturient women wa left 〈◊〉. This was no other than the famous Ae••es, •gle, 〈…〉 superstitious repute from the day of Pl•ny to that of 〈…〉, re-founder of the shrine; which had been taken down and 〈◊〉 during the reign of Edward the Co•∣•essor, to preserve them from the ravages of the Danes [†]. To guard the invaluable treasures, a careful and trusty monk was ap •eed who was called Custos Foretri, and who kept watch 〈…〉 gallery, still standing, near the site of 〈…〉 [‡].

ON the north side of the high altar stands the magnificient o• 〈…〉 who was elected in the year 1496.

〈…〉

〈…〉 of most elegant gothic open work; the upper p•: 〈…〉 •tatues: in many parts are carves, al • 〈…〉 two ram•, with the word Ridge• 〈…〉,[293] supporting a coronet over the arms.
ABBOT RAMRIDGE'S TOMB.

the abbey. At the foot of this beautiful structure is a large flag, with the figure of an abbot, with figures of rams: probably the spot of the good man's interment.

ON the south side of the chapel of St. Alban is the magnificent tomb[*] of Humphry duke of Glocester,
TOMB OF HUMPHRY DUKE OF GLOCESTER.

distinguished by the name of The Good. He was uncle to Henry VI. and regent of the kingdom, under his weak nephew, during twenty-five years. His many eminent qualities gained him the love of the people; his popularity, the hatred of the queen and her favorites. His life was found to be incompatible to their views. They first effected the ruin of his dutchess by a ridiculous charge of witchcraft, and after that, brought as groundless a charge of treason against himself. He was conveyed to St. Edmund's Bury, where a parlement was convened in 1446; before which the accusation was to be made. His enemies, fearing the public execution of so great and so beloved a character, caused him to be stifled in his bed, and then pretended that he died of vexation at his sudden fall. His body was interred in this church, the scene of his detection of the pretended miracle of the blind restored to sight at the virtuous shrine of St. Alban. Shakespear gives us the relation admirably[†]. Glocester had a predilection for this place: he had bestowed on it rich vestments, to the value of three thousand marks, and the manor of Pembroke, that the monks should pray for his soul: and he also directed that his body should be deposited within these holy walls. The sees attendant on his funeral, were not of the most moderate kind; unless we may suppose, as probably was the case, that the house was at the charge of erecting the monument to so great a benefactor. Sir Henry Chauncy expressly says[*], that abbot Whethamsted adorned duke Humphry's tomb; which shews, that part at left of the expences were borne by the convent. The account is curious.

CHARGES of the burial of Humphry duke of Gloucester,
FUNERAL EXPENCES.

and observances appointed by him, to be perpetually born by the convent of the monasterie of St. Alban [†].

£

s.

d.

First. The abbat and convent of the said monastarie have payd for markynge the tumbe & place of sepulture of the said duke, within the seid monasterie, above the sume of —

CCCCXXXIII.

2.

VIII.

Item. To two monks prests, dayly seiying messe at the auter of sepulture of the seid prince, everich takyng by 1 day VId sma. thereoff, by 1 hole yere —

XVIII.

V s.

Item. To the abbat ther yerely, the day of the anniversary of the seid prince, attending his exquys ther —

XL. s.

Item. To the priour yerly ther, the same day, in likwyse atteinding —

XX s.

Item. To XL monks prests, yerly, to everich of them, in the same day, VIs. VIIId. sm. theroff —

XII.

VI.

VIII.

Item. To VIII monks not prests, yerly, in the seid day, to everich of them 3s. 4d. sm. thereoff —

XXVI s.

VIII d.

Item. To II ankeresses, I at St. Peter church, another at St. Mich. the seid day, yerly, to everich sm. —

III s.

4d.

Item. In money, to be distribut to pore peple ther, the seid day, yerly —

XL. s.

Item. To XIII pore men beryng torches, the seid day, about the seid sepulture —

II s.

II d.

Item. For wex brennyng dayly at the messes, and his anniversary of torch, yerly —

VI.

XII.

III.

Item. The kechin of the convent ther yerly, in relief of the great decay of the hustode of the seid monasteri in the marches of Scotland, which before tyme shall be appointed to the kichyn —

X.

THIS beautiful tomb was once insulated, as appears by one of these items. In the middle is a pervious arch, adorned above with the coat of arms of the deceased; and others again along a freeze; with his supporters, two antelopes with collars. From the freeze arises a light elegant tabernacle-work, with niches; containing on one side the effigies of our princes; the other side is despoiled of the figures.

IN 1703, the vault in which reposed the remains of this illustrious personage was discovered. The body was preserved in a leaden coffin, in a strong pickle; and over that was another case, of wood, now perished. Against the wall is painted a Crucifixion, with four chalices receiving the blood; a hand pointing towards it, with a label, inscribed Lord have mercy upon me.

THE epitaph has long since been defaced; but was as follows:

Hic jacet Umphredus dux ille Glocestrius, olim

Henrici regis protector, fraudis ineptae

Detector; dum ficta notat miracula caeci[*]

Lumen erat patriae, columen venerabile regni:

Pacis amans musisque favens melioribus; unde

Gratum opus Oxonio [†] quae nunc scola sacra refulget,

Invida sed mulier regno, regi, sibi, nequam

Abstulit hunc, humili vix hoc dignata sepulchro.

Invidia rampente tamen post funera vivit.

ABBOT Whethamsted's,
WHETHAMSTED'S CHAPEEL.

tomb (or Johannes de loco frumentario, as he stiled himself) is covered by a small chapel, erected by himself. It is a plain building, on the south side of the choir. His arms, allusive to his name, are three ears of wheat; and the motto, allusive to the flourishing state of the monastery under his government, is Valles abundabunt, twice repeated. Weever, from p. 562 to 567, enumerates all his munificent works. He had a great turn towards ornamental generosity; and caused this church, the Lady's chapel, and several parts of the house, to be adorned with historical paintings, and inscriptions of his own composition to be placed under them. He also was a great composer of epitaphs. The reader will accept, as a specimen of the first, a distich placed in our Lady's chapel:

Dulce pluit manna, partum dum protulit Anna,

Dulcius ancilla dam CHRISTUS crevit in illa[*].

Of the other, a curious one upon one Peter, who was interred in the lower choir.

Petram petra tegit; qui post obitum sibi legit

Hic in fine chori, se sub tellure reponi.

Petra fuit Petrus, petrae quia condicionis

Substans et solidus, quasi postis religionis

Hic sibi sub petra, sit pax et pausa quieta[†].

His artist was Alan Strayler, painter;
STRAYLER, THE PAINTER.

who is said to have been so well paid for his work, that he forgave the convent three shillings and four pence of an old debt, for colors; and on that account was probably complimented with the following epitaph:

Nomen pictoris Alanus Strayler habetur

Qui sine fine choris celestibus associetur[‡].

I BELIEVE, some of his labors are yet extant in the roof of the choir; on which is painted, in compartments, an Eagle and a Lamb. Under others, in our Lady's chapel, was this line: ‘Inter oves Aries, ut sine cornubus Agnus.’ under the other, ‘Inter aves aquila veluti fine felle columba.’

IN the middle of the cieling of the north aile, is a painting of the martyrdom of St. Alban, (as is said) over the very spot on which he suffered. There is, besides, a rude sculpture of his death in a small aile on the back of his chapel, expressing the manner how the executioner lost his eyes for his impiety.

IN the center of another cieling, is a rude painting of king Offa; and this inscription beneath:

Fundator ecclesiae circa annum 793

Quem malé depictum, et residentem cernitis altè

Sublimem solio Mercius Offa fuit.

BRASS MONUMENTS.

IN the choir are some fine brasses of mitred abbots. That of Thomas de la More, a most munificent and pious man,
ABBOT THOMAS.

who died in 1396, is very richly engraved. His figure lies in the center, surrounded by the twelve Apostles in miniature: a proof that this art was arrived at great perfection at so early a period.

I MUST not omit the modest epitaph of an antient abbot.

Hic quidem terra tegitur,

Peccato solvens debitum:

Cujus nomen non impositum

In libro vitae sit inscriptum.

ON a large brass plate is engraven the figure of a warrior.
HEIR OF EDMUND EARL OF KENT.

Fragments of the inscription are given by Mr. Salmon; which inform us, that it was in memory of the son and heir to Edmonde erle of Kent. The date 1480. The historian says, that he was killed in the second battle of St. Alban's. This must be a mistake; for none of the name of that family fell on that day, except Sir John Grey of Groby. This must therefore have been a cenotaph in honor of Anthony Grey, eldest son of Edmund earl of Kent, buried at Luton, who died before his father[*]; the earl dying in 1489: which might bring the son's death to the date on the brass.

AGAINST a wall, near Whethamsted's chapel, is painted, kneeling, in a cloak, Ralph Maynard, of this town, of the family of the ancestor of lord Maynard.

A LONG inscription[†] against a column, on the north side of the body of the church, clames the honor of having the body of the celebrated Sir John Mandeville interred beneath. We admit that this place gave him birth;
SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE.

but he found a grave at Liege, in the convent of the Gulielmites, in 1371. He was the greatest traveller of his or any other age; having been out thirty-four years; and in the character of pilgrim, knight-errant, and man of observation, visited the greatest parts of Africa and Asia then known. It is probable that he penetrated as far as China. He left an account of his travels, which were shamefully falsified by the monks; who destroyed much of their credit, by mingling with them legendary tales, and stories out of Pliny: but still truth appears so frequently, that the authenticity of the groundwork is by no means impaired. He was called Johannes de Mandevile, aliter dictus ad Barbam, from his forked beard. He is engraven on his tomb with that addition, armed, and treading on a lion. At his head, the hand of one blessing him; and these words in the French of the time, Vos ki paseis sor mi pour l'amour Deix proies por mi. His knives, horse-furniture, and spurs, were, in the time of Ortelius, [*] preserved at Liege by the monks, and shewn to strangers.

AN inscription under the great west window denotes, that the courts of justice were adjourned from London to this town: once, in the reign of Henry VIII, and again in that of his daughter Elizabeth, on account of the pestilence which at those times raged in the capital.

THE magnificent brazen font,
FONT.

brought from the plunder of Leith by Sir Richard Lee, in the reign of Henry VIII. was again stolen in the civil wars. The knight commemorates his benefaction in these bombastic terms: ‘Cum Laethia oppidum apud Sco••s non incelebre et Edinburgus primoria apud eos civitas incerdio conflagrarent, Ricardus Leius eques auratus me flammis ereptum ad Anglos perduxit. Hujus ego tanti beneficii memor non nisi reeum liberos lavare solitus, nunc meam operam etiam infimis Anglorum li•enter condixi. LEIUS VICTOR SIC VOLUIT. Vale. A. D. 1543.’

THE last inscription I shall mention, is that in memory of two hermits, now almost defaced, inscribed near a benetoire, by the door in the south aile leading into the cloisters.

Vir domini verus jacet hic hermita Rogerus

Et sub eo clarus mentis hermita Sigarus.

THE door adjacent is extremely beautiful; rich in sculpture. The cloisters lay on the other side. Nothing but the marks of their junction with the outside of the church now remains; a series of tripartite arches: nor is there the lest relique of the vast and magnificent buildings, which once covered a large space on this side.

ADJOINING to the east end of the church is the chapel of St. Mary,
CHAPEL OF SAINT MARY.

supported by light and elegant pillars. The roof is of stone; the sides of the windows ornamented with a fine running foliage; and little images adorn the pillars of each widow. The stair-case from hence to the leads has a beautiful imitation of cordage cut in stone, following the spiral windings. All the arches are of the sharp-pointed gothic.

I CANNOT trace the founder of this elegant building. It was prior to the days of John of Whethamsted; for he caused[*] ‘our Lady's chapel to be new trimmed, and curiously depicted with stories out of the Sacred Word; and caused some verses (before quoted by me) to be curiously depensed in gold.’

Edmund Beaufort duke of Somerset, Henry Percy earl of Northumberland, John lord Clifford, and others of the nobility and gentry, to the amount of forty-seven, slain in the first battle of St. Alban's, were interred in this chapel.

SAINT Peter's, the third church in St. Alban's,
ST. PETER'S

lies at the upper end of the town: it was founded by abbot Ulfin: was an impropriation of the abbey, now a vicarage in the patronage of the bishop of Ely. This church received the overflowings of the bodies of the men of rank slain in the same battle. There is still a perfect brass of Sir John Entwysle, in complete armor. He was born in Lancashire, and was viscount and baron of Brikbeke in Normandy. He died on May 28th, 1455, of the wounds he received on fighting in the cause of Henry.

THE two Ralph Babthorps of Yorkshire, father and son (the one sewer, the other squire to that unfortunate prince) found their graves here; slain in the same cause.

ON a stone is this inscription: Edithe le Vineter gist: ici: Dieu: de: sa: alme: eie: merci.

A LARGE marble monument, with a bust, commemorates the reward of ingenuity and honest industry. ‘Beneath, lie the remains of Edward Strong, a shepherd's boy near this town, who took to masonry, worked at St. Paul's cathedral, and laid the last stone. He acquired a good fortune, with a fair character, and died aged 72, in 1723.’

AT the bottom of the town is a small brick house[*],
HOLYWELL HOUSE.

called Holywell; once the residence of Sarah dutchess of Marlborough. Her portrait, in white, exquisitely handsome, is preserved here; as is that of her aged mother, Mrs. Jennings. In the first, are not the lest vestiges of her diabolical passions, the torments of her queen, her husband, and herself.

TWO little pictures in this house are so charmingly finished, as to merit a visit. One is of a beautiful woman, with red hair parted in the middle; a close cap, placed far behind; with a long black coif, edged with pearl.

SHE is dressed in a scarlet gown, with sleeves and mantle of purple: breasts and shoulders naked. She appears a deep devotee, reading a rich illuminated missal, seated in a chair. Her middle is surrounded with a chain, a rosary of gold and colored beads pendent from it. On a table, behind, is a chalice of gold, set with pearls.

THE other is a head of an old man, in a black gown; his beard grey and square, finely finished.

THE town of St. Alban's is large, and, in general,
TOWN.

filled with antient buildings. It originally sprung from a few houses built by king Offa, for the conveniency of the officers and servants of the monastery. About the year 950, it was so increased, that king Ethelred, at the intercession of abbot Ulfin, gave it a grant of a market, and the rank of a borough. In the Doomsday Book, it appears at the Conquest to have been rated for ten hides. The ‘arable was sixteen ploughlands. In demesne, three hides, two ploughlands, and another may be made. There were four aliens, sixteen villeyns, and thirteen boors, having thirteen ploughlands: forty-six burgesses: the toll, and other rents of the town, eleven pounds fourteen shillings a year: three mills, forty shillings a year: meadow, two ploughlands in quantity: wood to feed a thousand hogs in pannage-time: and seven shillings rent. The total twenty pounds at that time; in that of Edward the Confessor, twenty-four. There are now twelve cottagers, a park of deer, and a fish-pond.’

THE town was always considered as part of the demesne of the abbey; and at the Conquest it was part of its possessions. Richard I. by charter, confirmed it to them, with a market, and all the liberty attending a borough: the abbot holding, as he alleged, of the king in capite, and holding the burgesses as demesned men of the abbey. This tenure the burgesses wished to force from him; which they attempted by the following stratagem: —In the thirty-fifth of Edward I. they had sent representatives to parlement, and also in the first and second of Edward II; but in the fifth of the same reign, the sheriff of Hertfordshire, by the contrivance of the abbot, to save the expence, had omitted the usual summons. This the burgesses complained of, asserting that they held of the king; hoping thereby to get released of the services they owed their lord abbot: or, if they succeeded in sending members, to be freed of those which they owed the king. Both of which expectations, in the opinion of Mr. Madox, were illfounded[*]. Burgesses were returned to parlement the fifth of Edward II. and in the second, fourth, and fifth of Edward III; after which the load, or the privilege, as it was respectively thought by the disputants, ceased. At the time of the dissolution, the town, with the other possessions of the abbey, fell to the king (Henry VIII.) and from him to his heir, Edward VI; who, by letters patent, dated May 12th, 1553,
INCORPARATED

made the town of St. Alban's a body corporate, by the name of the mayor and burgesses, and granted to the said mayor and burgesses, and their successors, the said profits, and other franchises; they to hold the premises in free burgage, and to render yearly to the crown XL. as a fee-farm, at the feast of St. Michael [†].

THESE were changed, by Charles II. into a mayor, recorder, twelve aldermen, and twenty-four assistants. The members are returned by the inhabitants and freemen (about a thousand in number) and the returning-officer is the mayor[*].

THE remarkable events, which befel this town in earlier times, were, as usual, of the sanguinary kind. During the rage of the barons wars, in the reign of Henry III. the burgesses fortified the place, and defended it with strong gates, well secured. They were particularly jealous of horsemen; therefore refused passage to all cavaliers. The constable of Hertford, displeased at this prohibition, in a bravado, boasted that he would enter the town with three youths (knights) and four of his best villeins. He did so; and, walking up and down with great insolence, asked his companions which way the wind was. The townsmen, alarmed at the question, thought he designed to fire their houses. In a summary way they executed justice, by knocking down and beheading him, his youths, and villeins; placing their heads on poles, at the corners of their streets. The king resented this invasion of his prerogative, and fined the town in a hundred marks; which was immediately paid[†].

IN the reign of Richard II. they underwent a mortification of a far heavier nature. In 1381, after the bloody insurrection of Wat Tyler, a court of justice was held here, by the famous Sir Robert Tresilian. John Ball, a priest of Coventry, was tried and executed. Several of the inhabitants had favored the rebels, or, taking advantage of the turbulence of the ••mes, had demanded from the abbot a release from all their services. Several of them were condemned and put to death, and orders given, that their bodies should remain on the gallows in terrorem. The burgesses, in contempt of the king, took them down; but when a discovery was made, Richard, in a rage, commanded the townsmen to make chains, and hang the putrid carcases on the same places they took them from; which, disgusting and horrible as the task was, they were obliged to perform[*].

IN the civil wars between the houses of York and Lancaster,
FIRST BATTLE AT ST. ALBAN'S.

this town was the scene of dreadful carnage. Here was shed the first blood in that fatal quarrel. As soon as ever the weak Henry, or rather his queen and ministers, found themselves free from the power of his rival the duke of York, they armed their forces, and marched from London to St. Alban's to meet their enemy, who was advancing towards them with a mighty host. They met on the 22d of May, 1455. The peaceful prince sent out a herald to York, strictly commanding him to keep the peace as became a dutiful subject, and to avoid effusion of blood. York's answer was humble, yet resolute; demanding the duke of Somerset, and other delinquents, to be delivered into his hands, that justice might be executed on them, for the miseries they had brought on the realm. Somerset, who had been regent of France, was charged in particular with the loss of Normandy. The king determined to stand the event of the day, rather than give up his friends. His banner was placed in St. Peter's street. Orders were issued by Henry (but most probably by the bloody Margaret) that no quarter[†] should be given to his opponents. The Yorkists began the attack in three places. The famous John lord Clifford defended the barriers with his accustomed valour. The king-making Warwick, who at this time espoused the cause of York, collected his force, and broke in through the gardens into Holywell-street [*]: his soldiers shouted his tremendous name. The duke of York entered at the same time, and a dreadful fight ensued. Victory declared in his favor. Numbers of the nobility and gentry, with about eight hundred common men, fell on the side of Henry: the valiant Clifford, usually called The Old, though only forty years of age; the earl of Northumberland, son to the noted Hotspur; and the great duke of Somerset, were slain. The last lost his life beneath the sign of the Castle, to fulfil the prophecy thus delivered by Shakespeare:

Let him shun castles.

Safer shall he be on the sandy plains,

Than where castles mounted stand[†].

Numbers of the nobility were wounded, and numbers fled till the fury of the battle was over. None were executed by the victor: the barbarity of civil feuds had not yet taken place, provoked by the reciprocal cruelties which speedily followed.

Henry, wounded in the neck by an arrow, which hurtled in showers on him, retreated to a poor cottage, where he was found by the conquerors. They asked forgiveness on their knees; which the humane prince readily gave, on condition they would stop the carnage. He became their prisoner, and they of course became governors of the kingdom. The abbey escaped plunder; for fortunately the king did not make it his head-quarters.

THE king, from this time to the year 1461, remained a mere shadow of royalty, entirely under the directions of the Yorkists, His queen was driven from him, under the terror of a proscription. That spirited woman did not employ her time in prayers, or counting her beads, like her weak husband; but, by the assistance of her northern friends, raised a potent army, fought and slew the duke of York at the battle of Wakefield, on December 30th, 1460; and, marching towards London, gave occasion to a second battle at St. Alban's.

THE earl of Warwick,
SECOND BATTLE AT ST. ALBAN'S.

now in possession of the king, hastened from London with the captive monarch, and took post in St. Alban's. Margaret, attempting to pass through the town, was repulsed by a storm of arrows, directed from the market-place; but she quickly forced her way through a lane into St. Peter's street. The conflict became then very bloody; and, after great slaughter, both parties quitted the town, and continued the battle, with the animosity usual in civil feuds, on Bernard Heath, north of St. Alban's, as far as the village of Sauntbridge, and even beyond it, at a place called No Man's Land [*]. There a corps de reserve of Warwick's army, to the number of four or five thousand, made so vigorous an onset on the Lancastrians, as to render the victory for some time doubtful. At length the treachery or cowardice of a captain Lovelace, who commanded the Kentishmen, determined the day: he quitted the field, and left a complete victory to the queen. The confederated lords fled, and left the king in company of Lord Bonvil and Sir Thomas Kiriel, a gallant knight of Kent, both Yorkists. These gentlemen Henry had prevaled on to stay with him, assuring them of pardon and security; but his barbarous queen, in contempt of the royal word, and in defiance of all good faith, caused them to be beheaded in presence of her son Edward [*], as it were to familiarize the young prince with blood, and train him to cruelty.

THREE-AND-TWENTY hundred men perished in this battle. Only one man of rank was slain, Sir John Grey of Groby; who had that morning, with twelve others, been knighted by the king at Colney. His widow became queen to Edward IV. and occasioned fresh calamities to the kingdom; and proved the innocent cause of the destruction of her kindred.

ON quitting St. Alban's, I passed by the long wall which inclosed the nunnery of Sopewell,
SOPEWELL.

made of stone mixed with great quantities of Roman tiles. The religious house took its rise from two pious women, who on the site built a hovel with boughs of trees, and covered it with bark, in order to indulge in privacy their fondness for prayer and fasting. Abbot Jeffry, about the year 1140, encouraged their virtue, by founding a nunnery of Benedictines.

IN this house Henry VIII. was privately married, by Doctor Rowland Lee, afterwards bishop of Lichfield, to Anna Bullein. It maintained thirteen nuns: on the dissolution, only nine; when its revenues, according to Dugdale, were £45. 7s. 10d.; to Speed, £68. 8s. It was first granted to Sir Richard Lee; but finally became the property of Sir Harbottle Grimston, and his heirs [*].

AFTER passing through the village of London Colney,
LONDON COLNEY.

seated on the Colne,
RIDGEHILL.

at about a mile's distance I ascend Ridgehill, remarkable for a most extensive and rich view northwards of the fine country about St. Alban's. At South Mims, enter the county of MIDDLESEX;
WROTHAM PARK.

and soon after leave, on the left, Wrotham Park; a beautiful house, built by admiral Byng, who was put to death in 1757!

ABOUT a mile farther,
BATTLE OF BARNET.

reach the bloody field of Barnet, marked by a column, that shews the spot where the decisive battle was fought between the houses of York and Lancaster, which fixed the crown on the head of Edward IV.

THE great earl of Warwick, resentful of the injuries he had received of that prince, deposed him from the throne he had enabled him to mount. So popular was the character of this potent baron, that a numerous army flew to his standard: every one was proud of bearing his cognisance, the bear and ragged staff, in his cap: some of gold, enamelled; others of silver; and those who could not afford the precious metals, cut them out of white silk, or cloth. When he visited London in peaceful times, he came attended by six hundred men, in red jackets, embroidered with ragged staves before and behind. He kept house at his palace in Warwick-Lane. Six oxen were consumed at every breakfast; and every tavern was full of his meat; and every guest was allowed to carry off as much, roasted or boiled, as he could bear upon his long dagger [*].

Edward, on his return to England, was joyfully received in London. Hearing that Warwick was on his march towards the capital, he hastened to meet him, and posted himself at Barnet. So bad was the intelligence in those days, that Edward advanced in the night so near to Warwick's camp, that the earl, unapprized of his vicinity, kept firing his ordnance over that of the king the greatest part of the night, without the lest execution. On the morning, being that of Easter-day, April 14th 1471, both the leaders placed their armies in order. Warwick wore as his cognisance an ostrich's feather [†], the badge of Edward, the son of king Henry: his friend Vere earl of Oxford, a star; the fatal cause of the loss of the day. Edward wore a sun; from a fancy, that before the battle of Mortimer's Cross, he saw three distinct suns at last unite in one [‡]. The battle began at four in the morning, which opened in a thick mist, with that deadly hate which the long series of civil wars had created. The battle raged with various success, as might be expected from the undaunted courage and animosity of the leaders, and from the reflection on the certain destruction consequential of defeat. They fought obscured in fog till ten o'clock: victory seemed to incline to Warwick; when his people, mistaking the stars in the helms of Oxford's soldiers, for the suns of Edward's party, charged their own friends; who, crying Treason! Treason! fled with eight hundred men. The marquis of Montacute, with the fickleness usual in those times, had privily agreed with Edward to desert his brother Warwick, and had changed his livery. This was discovered by some of the earl's men; who instantly put him to death: a fit reward of fraternal perfidy! Warwick, seeing his brother slain, Oxford fled, and the fortune of the day turned against him, leaped on a horse, in hopes of escaping; but coming to an impassable wood, was there killed, and stripped naked; and, after being exposed, with the body of Montacute, for three or four days, in the church of St. Paul's, was interred in the abbey of Bisham in Berkshire, founded by the Montacutes, his maternal ancestors. About four thousand were slain on both sides; who were interred for the most part on the spot. Edward built here a chapel, and, according to the custom of the times, appointed a priest to say mass for the souls of the deceased. This place, in the days of Stow [*], was converted into a dwelling-house. The following conversation relative to this battle, between Civis and Roger, extracted from Doctor Bullein's Dialogues both pleasante & pietifull, &c. will probably be acceptable to the reader:

Civis.

How like you this heath? Here was foughten a fearful field, called Palme Sondaie Battaile, in king Edward the fowerthes tyme. Many thousands were slain on this grounde. Here was slain the noble erle of Warwiche.

Roger.

If it please your maistership, my granndfather was also here, with twenty tall men of the parishe where I was borne, and none of them escaped but my granndfather only. I had his bowe in my hande many a tyme: no man could stir the string when it was bent. Also his harnes was worn upon our S. Georges back, in our churche, many a colde winter after; and I hearde my grand-dame tell how he escaped.

Civis.

Tell me, Roger, I pray thee, howe he did escape the danger?

Roger.

Sir, when the battaile was pitched, and appointed to bee foughten nere unto this windmill, and the somons given by the harolts of armies, that spere, polax, blackbille, bowe and arrowes, should be sette a worke the daie following, and that it shoulde be tried by bloudie weapon, a sodaine fear fell on my grandfather; and the same night, when it was darke, he stale out of the erle's campe, for fear of the king's displeasure, and hid him in the woode; and at lengthe he espied a greate hollowe oke tree, with armes somewhat greene, and climbed up, partly through climing, for he was a thatcher; but feare was worthe a ladder to him: and then, by the helpe of the writhen arm of the tree, he went down, and there remained a good while; and was fedde there by the space of a monthe with old achorns and nuttes which squirrels had brought in; and also did in his sallet kepe the raine water for his drinke, and at length escaped the danger.

AT a small distance stands Hadley church, and pleasant village,
HADLEY CHURCH.

on the edge of Enfield Chace; where, in my boyish age, I passed many happy days with my uncle, the Reverend John Pennant; who, during forty years, was the worthy minister of the place. Here had been, in early times, a hermitage; which Geffry de Magnaville, about the year 1136, bestowed on his newfounded abbey of Walden in Essex [*]. The church was probaby a chapel to the hermitage, and, from its being annexed to Walden, was called Hadley Monachorum. It is at present a donative in the gift of the lords of the manor. The present church is built with flints. Over the west door is the date 1498, and the sculpture of a rose and a wing. The same is found under the upper window of Enfield, and on a gateway opposite to the Curtain in Shoreditch, once belonging to the Benedictine nunnery of Haliwell. Sir Thomas Lovel, who lived at the period in which this church was built, was a great benefactor to the nunnery, and had his residence at Enfield. Whether he contributed to the building of Hadley, does not appear; otherwise it would seem to have been a badge of his: but others have conjectured it to have been a rebus, expressive of the name of an architect, Rosewing.

ON the top of the steeple there remains an iron pitch-pot,
BEACON.

designed as a beacon, occasionally to be fired, to alarm the country in case of invasion. It takes its name from the Saxon Becnian, to call by signs. Before the time of Edward III. the signals were given by firing great stacks of wood; but in the eleventh of his reign, it was first ordered that this species of alarm should be made with pitch-pots placed on standards [†], or on elevated buildings, within due distances of one another.

Hadley stands at the edge of Enfield Chace [*], a vast tract of woodland,
ENFIELD CHACE.

filled with deer. The view of the county of Essex, over the trees, is extremely beautiful. This great extent of forest was first granted, by William the Conqueror, to Geffry de Magnaville, a noble Norman, one of his followers: the name afterwards corrupted to Mandeville. His posterity were earls of Essex till the death of William Fitzpier, in 1227, his descendant by the female line; when this chace, and the title of Essex, fell to Humphry de Bohun earl of Hereford, in right of his mother, sister to Fitzpier [†]. It continued with the Bohuns till the decease of the tenth of the name; after which, the property of the Chace descended to Henry earl of Derby, afterwards Henry IV. by virtue of his marriage with Mary, younger sister to the last Bohun, and became annexed to the dutchy of Lancaster [*].

FROM Hadley to Barnet is half a mile:
BARNET.

a small thoroughfare town on the top of a hill; whence its name, corrupted from the Saxon Bergnet, a little hill. It has also the title of Chipping Barnet, on account of its market. In Saxon times, a vast wood filled this tract; which was granted to the abbey of St. Alban's. An inscription in the midst of the church shews it was founded by a Beauchamp:
CHURCH.

‘Ora pro anima Johannis Beauchamp hujus operis fundatoris.’

HERE is a fair monument to a countryman of mine, Thomas Ravenscroft, Esquire, born at Hawarden, of an antient family in that parish. He lies in a gown and ruff, recumbent. He died in 1630. He and his son James were considerable benefactors to this place. To him was owing the vestry-room; to James, an alms-house for six poor women, which he amply endowed.

Near Barnet is a medicinal well, a gentle and safe chalybeate; in former times in great repute.

FROM this town is a quick descent.
WHETSTONE.

Near the village of Whetstone I again enter Middlesex;
FINCHLEY COMMON.

which I quitted on going into Barnet. Just beyond Whetstone, the road passes over Finchley Common; infamous for robberies, and often planted with gibbets, the penalty of murderers. The resort of travellers of all ranks, and the multitudes of heavy carriages which crowd this road, compared with those between St. Dennis and Paris, give a melancholy idea of the overgrown size of our capital, which makes such annual havock of the lives and fortunes of the distant visita•ts.

ABOUT a mile beyond this common, stands Highgate, a large village,
HIGHGATE.

seated on a lofty eminence, overlooking the smoky extent of the town. Here, in my memory, stood a large gateway, at which, in old times, a •oll was paid to the bishop of London, for liberty granted (between four and five hundred years ago) by one of his predecessors, for passing from Whetstone, along the present road, through his parks, instead of the old 〈◊〉 way by Friarn Barnet, Colme-b••ch, Muswell-hill, Crouch ••d, and (leaving Highgate to the west) by the church of Paneras. In the time of queen Elizabeth, it was farmed from the bishop for forty pounds a year [*]. After resting for a small space over the busy prospect, I descended into the plain, reached the metropolis, and disappeared in the crowd.

Notes

*
Engraven in Moses Griffith's Supplemental Plates to the Tours in Wales, tab. X.
↵

*
Tanner, 65.
↵

†
Dugdale Mon. i. 201.
↵

*
Judge BLACKSTONE.
↵

*
Leicester, 333.
↵

*
Anglia Sacra, i. 446.
↵

*
Vale Royal, ii. 106.]
↵

*
Polychronicon cccvi.
↵

*
Polychronicon, cccvi.
↵

†
A•ais 321.
↵

*
Ta'e Ro•al, iii
↵

*
Genethliacon Eaduardi Pr. Walliae, L. 749.
↵

†
MS. account. Mr. Grose, article Beeston.
↵

*
Rushworth, vol. i. part 4. p. 136.
↵

*
Dugdale Monast. iii. part 2. p. 107.
↵

†
A schoolmaster, with £20 a year.
↵

‡
King's Vale Royal, ii. 104, 105.
↵

*
Froissart, i. ch. ccxxvi.
↵

*
Rymer, vi. 480.
↵

†
Salusbury Pedigrees, 72.
↵

‡
Hist. Calais, ii. 55.
↵

‖
Rymer, vii. 223.
↵

*
Ryneer, vii. 576.
↵

†
Two visitations of Cheshire, &c. MSS. in my possession: one in 1566; the other in 1580.
↵

‡
This satisfies me, that his royal consort was not Syhilla Fortia, relict of Perdo fourth king of Arragon, who lost her spouse in 1388; as was suggested to me by a most ingenious friend.
↵

‖
He died in 1640.
↵

*
Dugdale Monast, ii. 914.
↵

*
Collins's Baronets, ed. 1725. vol. ii. 291.
↵

*
See Skinner's Etymologicon. Notwithstanding the word does not appear to have any thing to do with salt, yet wich, or wych, is always applied, with us, to places where salt is found; as Droitwich, Nantwich, &c and the houses in which it is made, are called wych houses.
↵

†
Doctor Gower.
↵

*
History of Nantwich, 1774.
↵

*
Aurelius Victor, c. v.
↵

*
Plinii Hist. Nat. lib. xxxi. c. 7. Galliae Germaniaeque ardentibus lignis aquam salsam infundunt.
↵

†
Piiny, lib.xxxi. c. 7. Strabe, lib. xx. 1057. But the rock-salt of our island remained undiscovered till past the middle of the last century.
↵

‡
Fit et e putcis in salinas ingestis. Plin. xxxi. 7.
↵

*
Strabo, 265.
↵

†
See Campbel's Politic, Survey, i. 76.
↵

*
Taciti Annal. xiii. c. 57.
↵

†
Hist. Nantwich, 60.
↵

‡
Bede, lib. i. c. 31.
↵

*
Levit. ch. ii. v. 13.
↵

†
Pane ipso princeps suam erga aliquem gratiam; Sale veto amorem ostendit. Antiq. Conviviales, 17.
↵

‡
Horace, lib. iii. ode 23.
↵

*
Tanner, 65.
↵

*
Rushworth II. part iii. 302.
↵

†
Tour in Wales, vol. i.
↵

*
Life of Milton by Bishop Newton. She died in a very advanced age, in March 1726.
↵

*
Collin's Baronet. ed. 1720, p. 300.
↵

*
Stow's Annals, 424.
↵

†
Leland Itin. vi. 88.
↵

*
Ch. clxii. clxv. clxvii.
↵

*
Dr. Gowe• Material,
〈◊〉
47.

↵

*
This county as well as Ch
•
r

•

, was the seat of the Cornavil, and was in S• times par of the Mer•n Kin
•
lo
〈…〉
its
•
hn
•
rants what Bede ca
•
d the Middle Engl•en.
↵

*

〈…〉
op. 30.

↵

†

〈…〉
the parish of Welste•ton, Staffordshire, September 27th.

↵

*
Dugdale Mon. ii. 126.
↵

*
Gaspar Scioppius was a German of great erudition, but of a most turbulent disposition: he became a convert to Popery in 599, and naturally distinguished himself by a blind and furious zeal against his former religion; and went so far as even to recommend the utter extirpation of its professors. He was a fierce antagonist to Scaliger, Causabon, and other Protestant writers; and in his book stiled Ecclesiasticus, 611, he attacked James I in a very indecent manner.
↵

†
The affront, offered to our monarch, induced Mr. Digby, and some other followers of the Earl of Bristol, then ambassador to Spain, to attack Scioppius in the streets of Ma•rid, in 16
•
4; where they left him for dead. As soon as he recovered, he removed to Padua, dreading another attack. He lived afterwards in continual apprehensions, and shut himself up in his room for the last fourteen years of his life. He died in 1649 at enmity with all mankind.

↵

‡
He was as profuse of his abuse of Henry IV in the book above mentioned, as he was of the English monarch. The regency of France, in honor to the memory of that great prince, directed it to be burnt by the hands of the common hangman.
↵

*
A fire in July 1781, completed its destruction.
↵

*
Antiquities of Athens, ch. iv. tab. 1. 3.
↵

†
The same, ch. iii. tab. 1. 3.
↵

*
Tanver, 495.
↵

†
Dagdale's Baron. i. 161.
↵

‡
Tanner, 499.
↵

*
〈…〉 Sacra, i. 435. This house was dedicated to St. Thomas Becker,
〈◊〉
ten years after his death.

↵

†
Saxon C• 104.
↵

‡
Tour in Wales.
↵

*
Hist. Staff. 416.
↵

†
Dugdale's Baron. i. 256.
↵

*
Blunt's Tenures, 25.
↵

†
Baron, i. 160.
↵

*
Willis, iii. 50.
↵

†
Distances. Heywood, to its junction with the Birminghaus canal, near •∣verlampton, 22. 4. 0: rise 125 feet: Stainport on the Severn, 24. 0. c;
〈◊〉
301 feet.

↵

*
Erdeswic.
↵

†
Leicester's Cheshire, 303.
↵

*
Bedeswic,
↵

†
Plot, 241, tab. xxii. Br. Zool. 111. No
↵

*
Mr. Allen's MSS.
↵

†
Dugdale, i. 158.
↵

*
Cambden's Annals, year 1598.
↵

*
Lloyd's Worthies, ii. 248.
↵

*
According to Lord Clarendon's account, he was a very worthless young favorite of Charles II. He was killed in the great sea-fight with the Dutch, in 1665. Charles wept bitterly at his death. The loss of better men never went so near his heart. Clarendon's Continuation, 268.
↵

*
Erdeswik.
↵

*
Dugdale's Baron. i. 10.
↵

†
Erdeswik.
↵

*
Blunt's Tenures, 95.
↵

*
Fuller's Worthies, 210.
↵

†
See his plate viii. p. 126.
↵

‡
Vol. i. 412.
↵

*
Polyolbion, song 12.
↵

†
Published under the title of Iter Boreale.
↵

‡
The Rev. Richard Williams of Vron, Flintshire.
↵

*
Called Ecclesia Sanctae Mariae. DUGDALE.
↵

†
Dugdale Mon, i. 441.
↵

‡
The same, 443, 444.
↵

*
Leland Itix. iv. 119. Rymer, xiv. 193. —This place is called in different places Fairweld, Faurwell, Fagrewell, and Fagereswell.
↵

*
Bede Hist. lib. iv. c. 3.
↵

*
Wharton's Augl. Sacr, i. 433.
↵

†
William of Malmsbury, as quoted by Dugdale, Hist. Warwick, i. 157.
↵

*
Clarendon, ii. 235.
↵

†
Mr. Greene's MSS.
↵

‡
During the time this gentleman commanded at Lichfield, he received the following extraordinary challenge from a Captain Hunt, a parlementary commander in Tamworth. Mercurius Aulicus, p. 1347.
Bagot, thou sonne of an Egiption hore, meete mee half the way to morrow morning, the half way betwixt Tamworth and Litchfeald, if thou darest; if not, I will whippe thee when soever I meete thee. Tamworth, this Decemb. 1644. The. Hunt.

↵

‖
Articles of Surrender.
↵

*
Br. Biogr. iv. 2457. A MS. with which Mr. Greene favored me, makes the sum much less. See Appendix.
↵

*
Saxon Chr. 51.
↵

*
A
•
SURD EPITAPHS.

↵

*

〈…〉

↵

*

〈…〉

↵

*
Mr. Greene's MSS.
↵

*
Leland Itin. iv. 117.
↵

*
Leland Itin. iv. 117.
↵

*
Spelman, 260. Kennet's Gloss. to Paroch. Antiq.
↵

†
So called from pier poudreux, or dusty feet, because country people usually come with dusty shoes to fairs. See Doctor Pettingal's able dissertation on the word, Archaeol. i. 190.
↵

‡
Willis's Notitia Parliam. iii. 50.
↵

*
Goodwin, 367.
↵

†
Stow's Chr. 318.
↵

‡
The same, 322.
↵

*
See Vegelius, Not. ad lib. iii. 307.
↵

*
Rymer's Faedera, ix. 275.
↵

†
Saxon Chr. 59.
↵

‡
Brompton, 769. Ingulphus, 853.
↵

§
Dugdale's Warwicksh. ii. 1130. Plott's Staffordsh. 410.
↵

*
Saxon Chr. 104.
↵

†
The same, 110.
↵

*
Dugdale's Warwicksh. ii. 1134.
↵

*
Willis Notitia Parl, iii. 51.
↵

*
Dugdale, Baron, i. 375.
↵

†
Itin. iv. 121.
↵

‡
As it is very doubtful whether, there had been any nunnery here, the offence might be the expulsion of the nuns from Polesworth convent, dedicated to Saint Editha; but were restored by Robert Marmion and his wife. Stevens, 1251. Tanner, 566.
↵

*
Willis, ii. 218.
↵

†
Tanner, 502.
↵

*
Leland Itin. iv. 120. Probably one of the neighboring L'Isles of Moxhull.
↵

†
Tanner, 497.
↵

‡
Dugdale Warwicksh, ii. 936.
↵

*
Dugdale Warwiksh. ii. 925.
↵

†
i. 606.
↵

‡
Dugdale Warwicksh. ii. 925.
↵

*
Dugdale Warwicksh. ii. 1012. Digby Pedigree, viii. 15.
↵

*
Dungale Warwicksh. ii. 1013, 1014.
↵

*
Dugdale, &c. 1009.
↵

*
I imagine, the same with the person Mr. Walpole calls Bustler, ii. 26.
↵

†
Lloyd, ii. 322.
↵

‡
Clarendon, ii. 574.
↵

*
Athen Oxon. ii. 289.
↵

†
Mr. Ashmole's Life, 287.
↵

‡
Mr. Ashmole's life.
↵

‖
Probably Neve.
↵

*
Dugdale, ii. 995.
↵

†
Tanner, 583.
↵

*
Dugdale, i. 129.
↵

†
Leland (iv. 124.) says it was founded by king Canute.
↵

*
Leicester, 127. Cambden, i. 611.
↵

†
Accurately laid down in Mr. Beighton's map of Warwickshire.
↵

*
Anderson's Dict. i. 262.
↵

*
Anderson's Dict. i 422.
↵

*
Vicar's Parliament, Chron. 141.
↵

†
Whitelock, 63.
↵

*
Leicester's Cheshire ex gestis Stephani, 124.
↵

*
Dagdale, i. 146, 150, 152.
↵

†
Published by 〈◊〉 in 1750.
↵

*
Edward III. drove from London all the lepers, except fourteen, who
〈◊〉

•

dmittance into St. Giles's hospital.
↵

†
•anner, 239.
↵

*
Dugd. W. i. 188.
↵

*
Ecton, 93.
↵

†
Dugd. W. i. 193.
↵

*
Distances. Coventry to Hill Morton, 20 1 0. Napton Napton Field, 17 1 5, rise 88. f. Claydon, — 8 5 1 Oxford, — 36 0 7, fall 204.
↵

†
Distances. Staffordshire canal to Atherston, 21 0 0, rise 95. Coventry, 14 4 0 Branches to coal mines, 1 4 0.
↵

*
Dugd. W. i. 179, 180.
↵

†
Tour Scotl. vol. iii. 288.
↵

‡
Dugd. W. i. 146.
↵

*
Willis's Abbeys, i. 70.
↵

*
Dugdale W. i. 161.
↵

*
Dugdale, i. 161.
↵

†
Tanner, 567.
↵

‡
Dugdale W. i. 158. Goodwin, 78.
↵

*
Stevens, i. 223. Willis's Abbeys, i. 72.
↵

*
Fuller's Worthies, 127, 128.
↵

†
Copied from Dugdale.
↵

*
Dugdale W. i. 146.
↵

*
John Dudly, beheaded in 1553. a character as wicked as that of his son.
↵

†
As quoted by the learned author of The Dialogue on Decency, &c. &c. 40, 41.
↵

*
Tour 1773. p.
••••

↵

*
Stevens, i. 145, &c.
↵

*
Barton's Leicestershire, 191.
↵

*
〈…〉. LXIV, part i. p
•
40.

↵

†
Annual Register,
••••

↵

*
Afterwards Henry IV.
↵

†
Thomas M•wbray.
↵

‡
Polychronico•
•••
xxi

•

.
↵

‖

〈◊〉
Ricar•• II. 145.

↵

§
Sir John Bourchier, Lord 〈◊〉.
↵

**
The
〈◊〉
of Hereford.

↵

*
〈…〉 II. in a speech of Hereford on this occasion.
↵

*
Holinshed's Chr. 494.
↵

*
Tanner.
↵

†
Willis, ii, 241.
↵

‡
Perichef, as quoted by Mr. Hume.
↵

*
Harte's Gustavus Adolphus, i. 177.
↵

*
〈◊〉 Regium Hav•iae, &c pars II. sect. iii. par.
•
o. tab. v.

↵

†

〈…〉
, par. 62.

↵

*
Tour Se•l. 1772, part ii. p. 223.
↵

*
Dugdale, i. 4.
↵

*
He begun his survey in 1725, and finished it in 1729.
↵

*
Twenty-six.
↵

†
Sir David Dalrymple's Annals Scotl. i. 203.
↵

*
Order Vital.
↵

†
Tanner, 375.
↵

*
Annals, 522.
↵

*
Tour Scotl. 1772, part ii. 159. Tour Wales, 413.
↵

†
Taciti Annal. lib. xii. c. 31.
↵

*
Lib. iii. c. 10.
↵

†
Bell. Gal. lib. 1. & lib. iv.
↵

‡
Whitelock, 150.
↵

*
Hist. Northampt. 44.
↵

*
Hist. Northampt. 51.
↵

†
Bridges, 93.
↵

*
Cressy's Cb. Hist. 427.
↵

†
Leland Itin. i. 11.
↵

‡
Hist. Northampt. 93; in which Mr. Bridges denies that there ever was a priory here, as Sir W. Dugdale and Bishop Tanner imagine.
↵

*
Mr. Morton, 543.
↵

*
Touch, Pierre de Touch was a name applied to any black stone which was used for the touching or trying of gold. At length the statuaries bestowed it on all the black marbles, because they were sometimes used for that purpose.
↵

*
Mr. WALPOLE, in the 2d vol. of his Anecdotes of Painting, p. 23, informs us, that this able artist was born at Woodbury, near Exeter, in 1586, and died in London, 1647. I refer the reader to that elegant performance for a list of his works. Let me add, that the first time I saw this beautiful tomb, it was going fast to decay; but, since that time, has been fully restored, by the care of the worthy
•
ector and (I think) patron of this church, Doctor Lloyd.

↵

†
Willis's Cathedrals, ii. 389.
↵

*
Bentham's Hist. Ely, 263.
↵

*
Sax. Chr. 107.
↵

*
Sax. Chr. 108.
↵

†
Tanner, 388.
↵

*
Bridges, 290.
↵

*
Collins's Peerage, v. 50.
↵

†
Ibid.
↵

*
Collins, 52.
↵

*
Designed by W. Kent.
↵

*
Morton, 443.
↵

†
Manwood's Forest Laws, 39.
↵

‡
Leges Saxon. 86.
↵

*
Saxon Chr. 108.
↵

*
See Gale, 60, and Burton, 144.
↵

*
H
••
will,

•

ated Aug
••
. 442. Mr. Cole's MSS.
↵

*

•
ct

••

.
••
.
↵

*
〈◊〉, 8.
↵

†
〈◊〉 Danstaple
••
. 48.

↵

*
Stow, 136. Dugdale M•nast. ii.
•
3

•

.
↵

*

〈…〉
22

••

〈◊〉 Antiq Ex••
•
.
•
.
↵

†
Dugdale M•nast
〈…〉

↵

‡
〈…〉 •, ii. 2.
↵

*
〈◊〉 de D•nstable, i. 126.
↵

†
The same, 417.
↵

‡
The same, 277.
↵

*

〈…〉

↵

†
British 〈◊〉, p. 110.
↵

‡
P. 42.
↵

‖
Chr.
↵

*
Hollinshed, p. 544.
↵

*
Dugdale Monast. i. 350, &c. &c.
↵

†
Ibid. ii. 872.
↵

‡
Mathew Paris, 1013.
↵

‖
The same.
↵

§
Leland Itin, i. 116.
↵

**
Tanner, 4.
↵

*†
See Weever, 585.
↵

*
Chauncy, 432, who by mistake calls this De Tonei, Roger; but in page 565 gives him his right name.
↵

*
Bede de Br. Eccl. 539.
↵

†
Weever's Fun. Mon. 585.
↵

‡
Usher de Br. Eccl. 539.
↵

‖
Tanner, 185.
↵

*
Lib. xvii. c. 8.
↵

†
The same.
↵

*
Salmon Hist. Hertf. 83. Chauncy, 464.
↵

†
i. 356.
↵

‡
Collin's Barouets, i.
↵

*
W••• 〈◊〉.
↵

†
W••••• 〈…〉. 58
•
.

↵

‡
Lib. ii.
〈◊〉

↵

§
Lib.
〈…〉
. 17.

↵

*
Wilson, 159.
↵

*
Here is another portrait of him, in his robes, as master of the Rolls.
↵

*
Lodge's Irish Peerage, iii. 267.
↵

*
Crawford's Peerage Scot. 262.
↵

†
Wilson, 257, 258.
↵

‡
Clarendon.
↵

*
Osborn's Reign of King James, paragr. 26.
↵

†
For an account of this dreadful affair, read the Guardians, No 129, 133.
↵

‡
Collins's Peerage, i. 204.
↵

*
Prince's Worthies of Devonshire, 197.
↵

†
The same.
↵

*
Dugdale's Baron, ii. 423.
↵

†
Beneath a rich arch, supported by Corinthian pillars. He and his countess lie in their coronets and robes. In front are artillery, balls, powder-barrels, and other marks of his office as master of the ordnance. See Dugdale's Warwicksh. ii. 686.
↵

‡
Prince, 198.
↵

‖
Athen. Oxon. i. 529.
↵

*
Fuller's Worthies of Yorkshire, 201.
↵

*
Worthies of Surrey, 83.
↵

†
Clarendon.
↵

‡
Illustr. Heads, i. 60.
↵

*
Clarendon, i. 38.
↵

†
Granger, i. 326, note.
↵

‡
Clarendon, i. 49.
↵

*
Continuation. Clarendon, 411.
↵

*
Clarendon.
↵

*
Chauncy, i. Hertfordsh. 464.
↵

†
Complete Hist. Engl. ii. 274.
↵

‡
Br. Biegr. i. 412.
↵

‖
Ballard's Br. Ladies, 136.
↵

*
Lloyd, ii. 267.
↵

†
Memorials, 25.
↵

*
See the book cited, vol. iii. p. 260. tab. xlix. fig. 2.
↵

*
Tanner, 185.
↵

†
Vegetius, lib. i. c. 23.
↵

‡
Commentariol, 31.
↵

*

Caesar cognito consilio eorum ad flumen Tama•in in finos Cassivelauni exe•∣citum duxit. Bel. Gal. lib. v.

Preceding this, he speaks of the fines Cassivelauni, as being a mari circiter •∣lia passaum lxxx.

↵

†
Sylves Paludibusque munitum.
↵

*
Le•vis Hist. Br. 73.
↵

†
Stukely Itin. i. 117.
↵

*
See Doctor Stukely's admirable plan of this place.
↵

†
Tour Scotl. 1772, part ii. p. 288.
↵

*
Taciti Annal. lib. xiv. c. 31, &c.
↵

†
Bede Hist. Eccl. lib. i. c. 7. Father Cressy, in his Church History, lib. vi. has given a much longer detail.
↵

*
Tour in Wales, p. 108.
↵

†
Chauncy, 431.
↵

*
Cressy, lib. xxv. c. 6.
↵

*
Chauncy, 431, 463.
↵

†
The same, 436.
↵

*
Drayton, song xvi. Spenser sings in the same strain, See Ruins of Time.
↵

*
Carte, i. 274.
↵

*
Mat. Paris, 984.
↵

†
Willis, i. 27.
↵

‡
Stevens, i. 265.
↵

‖
Willis, i. 27.
↵

§
Tanner, 180.
↵

*
Antiquarian Repertory, iii. 60.
↵

*
Stevens, i. 237.
↵

†
Ex lapidibus et tegulis veleris civitatis Verolamii et materie lignea quam invenit a praedecessoribus suis collectam et reservatam. Mat. Paris, 1001.
↵

*
Mat. Paris, 1047.
↵

†
The same, 1054, 1063.
↵

‡
Stevens, i. 262.
↵

*
M. Paris. 1006.
↵

†

〈…〉

↵

‡

〈…〉

↵

293

〈…〉
at R•dbourn. M. 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉

↵

*
Finely engraven in Sandford's Genealogical History, p. 318.
↵

†
Henry VI. part ii. sc. 2. taken from Grafton, p. 597, 598.
↵

*
448.
↵

†
Cotton Library Cla•dii, A. S. fol. 195. A copy of this is hung up in the church.
↵

*
Alluding to the detection of the impostor.
↵

†
He founded the beautiful divinity-school at Oxford.
↵

*
Weever, 562.
↵

†
Idem, 577.
↵

‡
Idem, 578.
↵

*
Vincent's Discoverie, &c. 287.
↵

†
This, and many others, are nearly defaced with white; but may be seen in Weever. 567.
↵

*
Life of Sir J. M. prefixed to his Travels. The tomb was in being in the time of Weever, who law both that and the inscription.
↵

*
Weever, 562.
↵

*
Lord Treasurer Godolphin died in that house.
↵

*
Antiquities of the Exchequer, i. 760.
↵

†
Madox, i. 762.
↵

*
Willis Notit. Parl. iii. 26.
↵

†
Chauney, 442.
↵

*
Holinshed, 438.
↵

†
Stow, 399.
↵

*
Stow, 399.
↵

†
Henry VI. part ii. act 1. Hulle's Chronicle, lxxxvi.
↵

*
Stow, 413.
↵

*
Halle, p. c.
↵

*
Tanner, 183.
↵

*
Stow's Hist. London, edit. 1611, p. 130.
↵

†
Ibid. 422.
↵

‡
Hollinshed, 660. Shakespeare, Henry VI. part iii. act 2.
↵

*
Annals, 423.
↵

*
Newcourt's Repertorium, i. 621.
↵

†
Lambarde's Kent, 66.
↵

*

This Chace was inclosed in the seventeenth of the present reign, and was found to contain 8349 acres; which were thus allotted:

A.

R.

P.

Enfield parish —

1732

2

6 including 200 to be inclosed and let, in aid of land-tax and poor's rate.

Old Park in ditto

30

0

15

Edmonton —

1231

2

6

Hadley —

240

0

0

South Mims —

1026

0

0

Oldfold Farm —

36

3

24

The Crown —

3213

2

20

Tythe Owners —

519

0

32

Four Lodges —

313

0

3

To be enfranchised

6

2

1

The 200 acres allowed in relief of Enfield parish, are divided into forty-one lots, and let at £1. 16s. per acre, and some for two guineas, for ninety nine years, commencing at Michaelmas 1778. The crown makes £1300 a year of twenty-four lots, for the same term, and at various and higher rents.

↵

†
Vincent's Discoverie, 180.
↵

*
Cambden, i. 398.
↵

*
Norden's Speculums Brit, Middlesex, 15.
↵

PART II. FROM NORTHAMPTON TO LONDON.

IN a preceding year, I determined to vary part of my journey• to the capital, by quitting the common road near Daventry. I began with making a digression about five miles to the south of that town, as far as Fawsley. I passed through the village, and by the church of Badby. The manor, in Saxon times,
BADBY.

was bestowed on the abbey of Crowland, by one Norman, a sheriff; and 〈◊〉 grant was confirmed by Witlaf and Beored, kings of M•r•i•, in 868. That great convent held it for no• very long 〈◊〉. In 1017 it devolved to Leofric earl of Leicester, by 〈…〉 of his brother, also of the name of Norman, to 〈…〉 house of Crowland had granted it for one hundred 〈◊〉, on the payment of a pepper-corn▪ but Leofric severed 〈…〉 on the abbey of E•••ham. 〈…〉 VIII. •ave it to Sir Edm•nd Kinghtly the 〈◊〉 of Sir Edward 〈…〉 of 〈◊〉 and it now is the sole 〈…〉 of 〈…〉 Esquire.

〈◊〉 the parish, and at a small distance to the west of the 〈…〉, noted for the vast d•••h and rampa•• 〈…〉. It is of an irregular shape, conforming to the shape of a hill; notwithstanding which, it may have been 〈◊〉, and possessed afterwards by the Saxons; who bestowed on 〈◊〉 present name of A•d, which signifies, in the British, high: 〈◊〉, which in their own tongue, is an eminence[*].

AT a 〈◊〉 distance from hence is Cates•y: long the prop••• of a family of the same name. Sir William Cates•y one of the three favorites of Richard III. was lord of this manor. 〈◊〉 ancestors possessed the place in the reign of Edward III, and 〈◊〉 in his posterity till the infamous conclusion of his 〈…〉, the execrable [†] con•••• of the Gun-p•••• Plot.

FROM Badly, I rode through some pretty woods,

〈◊〉

and through E•-park, to the house of •••s•ey, the seat of the antient 〈…〉 o• the 〈◊〉; standing in an improved de••esne, above some pretty pieces of •ter, winding along a fine woo•ed 〈◊〉

THE present owner derives it from a very long race of 〈◊〉 ••••ors, who were settled here from the year 1•15: at which 〈◊〉 it was purchased by Richard Knightly, descended from a Stafford-shire •a••ly• taking in name from a manor in that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they had possessed from the twentieth year of William the Conqueror.

THE present house is a motley building; part being exceedingly old,
HOUSE.

part middle-aged, and part new. The hall is a mag • 〈◊〉 gothic, of a vast height, timbered at top, and fifty-two 〈◊〉 long. The recess, or bow-window, is richly ornamented at 〈◊〉 with sculpture in stone. Ail the other windows are very 〈◊〉, and placed at a great height above the floor. In every 〈…〉 arms of the family, and their alliances. I enumerated above sixty; for it has been greatly allied, from very early 〈◊〉.

THE chimney-piece is large, grand, and well carved. Above 〈◊〉 great window. The smoke is conveyed by flue• passing on 〈◊〉 of it; so that the chimney does not in the lest disturb 〈◊〉 •••formity of the room: at the lower end are two arched 〈◊〉 There would be a faultless prop•iety, if it was not for 〈◊〉 wooden skreen trespassing on the lower end.

THE kitchen is most hospitably divided. On each side of the 〈◊〉 is an enormous fire-place,
KITCHEN.

fitted for a hecatomb of 〈◊〉 they are placed back to back, so as not to interrupt their 〈…〉 operations.

〈◊〉 portraits preserved here are very curious:
PORTRAITS.

than of Sir 〈◊〉 Knightly caught my eye first, as senior of the company. He is represented half-length, in black, with short brown hair, 〈◊〉 and a small beard; one hand on •us sword, the other 〈…〉. I find nothing more remarkable of him than being 〈◊〉 more active spirit.

Sir Richard Knightly: who is painted in two periods of 〈…〉 in advanced years, sitting; his head kept warm by a coi•; 〈◊〉 dress black; his ruff laced. Near him are his spectacles, a Bible, and hour-g•a•s. Between his leg, is a little girl playing with his stick, while he, •••ing one hand on her shoulder, forms a true picture of aged affection. In the inscription he is stiled of Norton; a manor belonging to the family, and possibly the residence of Sir Richard at this time

THE other portrait represents ••m in the thirty-third year of his age, A. D. 1•67. On his head is a bonnet: his dress is yellow: his clock black: his ruff small. He is painted with a sword and small rod. It should seem, from some not ill-wrote 〈◊〉 that he had p•ssed his youth licentiously; but afterwards made a 〈…〉 reform. They begin,

In 〈◊〉 Fotuna.

So hit•••• by helpe of hevenlie powers,

My doubtful liffe hath •onne his postinge race;

Whos 〈◊〉 you••• hath passed such stormie showers

As might have cute me of in halfe this space.

Yet mightie JO••, by his celestial grace,

Hath brought my barke to such a blissful shore,

As da••ie doth advaunce me more and more,

In vita Fortuna.

It is probable he had an enthusiastic turn. He took part with the puritans, who early beg•n to give disturbance to the church of England. Their spirits were so greatly e•t•tered by the unfavorable conclusion of the mock conference between their •i¦nister• and the royal paedagogue, in 1603 [*], that they gave •ent 〈◊〉 their rage in variety of most s•urrilous pamphlets against the •••la•ical order. These were the productions of secret presses, 〈◊〉 travelled from place to place. The lord of Fawsley was 〈◊〉 guilty of harboring then. He was cited before the Star •, and would have been severely treated, had it not been 〈◊〉 the mild Whitgift, archbishop of Canterbury, who had been 〈◊〉 principal object of their abuse [*]. The agreement of Sir 〈◊〉 with Sir Francis Hastings, in a petition to the House for •••n•ing a toleration to the Roman catholics, must not be thought 〈◊〉 ••nsistent with the views of his party; for, had, success followed the puritans might have clamed, and most probably ob • the same indulgence. He died in 1615.

HIS first wife was Mary, daughter of Mr. Richard Fermor, of 〈◊〉 Neston: his second, was lady Elizabeth Seymour, sixth [*] daughter to the protector duke of Somerset. There are two por • of this lady: one dated 1590, at ••. Her hands and face 〈◊〉 •mall: her dress a quilled ruff; black gown hung and beset 〈◊〉 vast strings and rows of pearls. The other is also in black, 〈…〉 ruff. This lady brought her husband seven sons and 〈◊〉 daughters: died in 1602, and was interred in the church at 〈◊〉 [‡].

•LL-LENGTH of Thomas lord Grey of •roby, in armour, 〈◊〉, a turnover, and boots; with a boy in red giving him 〈◊〉. This nobleman was eldest son to the first earl of 〈◊〉, and married to Anne, second daughter of Edward 〈◊〉 earl of Bath. He is represented as a young man of mean 〈◊〉 who took a determined part in the civil wars against his sovereign: was active against him in the field, and submitted, 〈◊〉 others equally warm in the cause of liberty, declined the ••nge••s office, to sit among the judges on the trial of the king; and finally in sign his name to the warrant which brought him. to the block. These services were fully rewarded. He had 〈…〉 •mou•• of a thousand a year bestowed on him [*], and 〈…〉 of the royal manor of Holdenby; but before the Restoration, 〈◊〉 luckily rescued him from the fate of •is b•••• d••inquents.

I MUST close this 〈…〉 mentioning two most beautiful heads of women, do•e in crayons; much to the honor of the fair performer, a lady of the present generation.

THE church is dedicated to St. Pet••,
CHURCH

and was bestowed by Henry II. on the mo•ks of Daventry. On the dissolution, it was given to the college of St. ••s•ide, Oxford;
TOMB
•

. but is now in the gift of Mr Knightly. Within are numbers, of antient tombs of the 〈…〉 from its first settlement in this country; but many of them much •••lated. That of Sir Richard Knightly, who died in 15•4, and Jane his wife, are magnificently represented 〈…〉, rec•mbent, on an altar-tomb: he in 〈…〉 with a herald's mantle over it, and a defence of 〈◊〉 over his th•g••.

SIR Edward Knightly, and his wife Ursula, sister to John Vere earl of Oxford is figured on a brass plate; and, according to the fashion of the times, is armed, notwithstanding he was a serjeant of law. He died in 1542.

〈1 page duplicate〉

A VAST mural monument preserves the memory of another Sir Valentine and his spouse, Anne, daughter of Sir Edward Ferrers of Badesly, in Warwickshire. He died in 1566. This memorial is a great pile of marble, with a great black sarcophagus in the middle, and finished with a pediment.

THE seats are most ridiculously carved with variety of droll subjects: such as a cat fiddling, and the mice dancing; an animal riding on a sow, bridled and saddled: and other figures equally calculated to spoil the gravity of the best-disposed congregation.

FROM Fawsley I returned into the London road, near the eighth stone from Toucester; and crossing it, reached the village and church of Flore, or Flower, pleasantly seated on rising ground,
FLORE.

at a small distance from the great road. In Doomsday-book it is called Flora; perhaps from its agreeable situation. I left the church unvisited. I must speak from Mr. Bridges [*] of the most remarkable particulars. It is dedicated to All Saints. It was bestowed in the reign of king John,
CHURCH.

by a Ralph de Kaines, on Merton abbey, in Surrey; but at the dissolution, was given to Christ-church, Oxford; under the patronage of which it continues.

ON a grey stone, in brass, is the figure of the VIRGIN,
TOMBS.

clasping our SAVIOUR in her arms. Beneath them is Thomas Knaresburght, in armour, and Agnes his wife; both with suppliant hands, addressing themselves to the object of the adoration of their days. She in these words: O Blyssyd Lady, pray to IHU, of us to have mercy. He died in die ramis palmarum, 1450; she, on the 26th of March, 1488.

THE following curious epitaph informs us of the end of Robert Saunders, and Margaret his wife.

ROBERT Saunders, the seconde sone of Thomas Saunders of Sybbertoft, lyethe here buryed:

To Margret Staunton, the heyre of Thomas Staunton, he was fyrste marryed;

WHICH Margret being dead, Joyse Goodwyn he tooke to wyfe.

THE XIII daye of November, Ao. XCVO. XLIX. he departyd thys lyfe;

AND reste the at GOD'S pleasure, tyll the daye of perfection.

GOD sende us and hym then a joyful resurrection. Amen.

CLOSE by Flower I enter on the new turnpike-road, which forms a communication between Daventry and Northampton, and which opens into the London road between Dodford and Weedon.

ABOUT two miles from Northampton, I passed through the village of Upton,
UPTON.

and by Upton-hall, the seat of Sir Thomas Samwell, Baronet, and property of his ancestors since the year 1600; when it was purchased from Sir Richard Knightley by William Samwell, Esquire, a gentleman of antient Cornish descent.

AFTER a short space, I crossed the northern water, or Naesbyhead, a river that rises due north, and by its junction a little below with another stream, which flows from Fawsley-pools, forms that which receives at Northampton the name of Nen. Leland calls one of these branches the Avon; the other the Weedon.

I ENTERED this beautiful town at the west gate,
NORTHAMPTON.

and passed beneath the site of the castle. Nothing, excepting an outer wall and foss, remains; in part of which is a vast stratum of ferruginous geodes.

OPPOSITE to the castle is a great mount,
CASTLE.

once the foundation of some more antient fortress; perhaps one of the line of forts which crossed this and the neighboring counties. One exists at Toucester, and another I shall have occasion to speak of, lying about three miles to the east. I cannot speak with certainty of the period in which it was occupied by the Saxons, who gave it the name of Hamtune. Mr. Bridges supposes it to have risen from the ruins of Eltavon, a Roman station on the side of the town. It appears that the Danes were possessed of Northampton in 917; and from thence long made their barbarous excursions[*]. Before the year 1010, they had quitted the place; but in their inroads in that year, they burnt the town, and desolated the country.

IN 1064, it found in the Northumbrians, under Morcar, who had advanced as far as Northampton, a cruel set of banditti, who committed most unprovoked outrages. They murdered the inhabitants, burnt the houses, and carried off thousands of cattle, and multitudes of prisoners. But in the reign of Edward the Confessor, here were LX burgesses in the king's lordship, and LX houses. At the time of the Conquest, fourteen were waste; but at the time of the survey, there were forty burgesses in the new borough[†].

Simon de Sancto Licio, or Senliz, a noble Norman, founded here the castle. He had married Maude, daughter of Waltheof, the Saxon earl of Northampton, and succeeded to the title.

THE Conqueror had bestowed this town, and whole hundred of Fawsley, then worth forty pounds a year, on St. Liz, to provide shoes for his horses[*]. From that period it became considerable, and frequently was the seat of parlements, and was on several other occasions honored with the royal presence.

I MUST particularize the great council held there in 1164, in which the contumacy of Thomas Becket was punished by a heavy fine. At this time, the whole people came, as one man; and yet all were unequal to the pride and obstinacy of the single prelate[†]. The other great council, or parlement, was summoned in 1176, to confirm the statutes of Clarendon; in which the rights of the crown and customs of the realm, especially as to judicial proceedings, had been established[‡].

DURING the civil contests which England was so unhappily afflicted with, it came in for its share of the calamities incident to war. In that between king John and the barons; it was stoutly defended on the part of the king against Robert Fitzwalter, fanatically stiled marshal of the army of God and the holy church ‖; who, for want of military engines, was obliged to raise the siege[§]. This post was of such importance, that, after the charter of liberties was extorted from John, the constable for the time being was sworn (by the twenty-five barons appointed as a committee to enforce its execution) to govern the castle according to their pleasure. This was done in the fullness of their power; but as soon as the perjured prince got the upper hand, he appointed Fulk de Breans (a valiant but base-born Norman) to the command, as one in whom he could entirely confide[*].

IN the year 1263, the younger Mounfort and his barons held it against their sovereign Henry III. The king marched against them with a great force; and having with his battering-rams made a great breach in that part of the town-walls nearest to the monastery of St. Andrew, entered the place, and, after a short but vigorous resistance, made the whole garrison prisoners[†].

IN 1460, Henry VI. made Northampton the place of rendezvous of his forces. The strength of his army encouraged his spirited queen to offer battle to his young antagonist, the earl of Marche, then at the head of a potent army. A conference was demanded by the earl, and rejected by the royal party; who marched out of the town, and encamped in the meadows between it and Hardinston. The battle was fierce and bloody; but by the treachery of Edmund lord Grey of Ruthen; who deserted his unhappy master, victory declared in favor of the house of York. Thousands were slain, or drowned in the Nen: among them the duke of Buckinghum, earl of Shrewsbury, John viscount Beaumont, and lord Egremont. The duke was interred in the church of the Grey Friars; others of the men of rank, in the adjacent abbey of De la Prè; and others, in the hospital of St. John, in the town.

THE town had been inclosed with a strong wall, probably before the reign of king John; for mention is made, in the second year of his reign, of the east-gate, one of the four. The walls were of breadth sufficient for six men to walk abreast. Both walls and castle were early neglected; for they appear to have been in 1593 in a ruinous state[*]; yet part of it was used as a prison before the year 1675: and within had been a royal free-chapel, dedicated to St. George; to which a chaplain was presented by the crown, with a salary of Ls. a year.

IN the civil wars of the last century, Northampton was seized by lord Brook, for the use of the parlement. In 1642, he fortified it with a foss and ramparts; converted the bridges into draw-bridges; and brought several pieces of cannon here to defend it, in case of attack. Whether it distinguished itself by any particular acts of disloyalty beyond other places, I cannot say; but in 1662, pursuant to an order of council, the walls, gates, and part of the castle, were demolished[†].

RELIGIOUS HOUSES.

THE most antient of the religious houses in this town was the priory of St. Andrew,
ST. ANDREW'S.

founded about the year 1076, by Simon de St. Liz, (first earl of Northampton of his name) and Maude his wife. He peopled it with cluniacs, and in 1084 made it subject to the abbey of St. Mary de Caritate, a monastery upon the Loire. This occasioned it to undergo the common fate of all alien priories, that of being seized into the king's hands. It was surrendered to Henry at the dissolution, by Francis Abràe, then prior; who, in reward for his ready compliance, was appointed the first dean of Peterborough [*].

ITS revenues, according to Dugdale, was £263. 7s. 1d.; to Speed, £344. 13s. 7d. The house stood near the north end of the town, and, with the demesne lands, was granted by Edward VI. to Sir Thomas Smith [†].

THE Grey Friars, or Franciscans,
GREY FRIARS.

had a house on the west side of the place. They originally hired a habitation in St. Giles's parish, but afterwards built one on ground given them by the town, in the year 1245. John Windlowe, the last warden, and ten of his brethren, surrendered their poor revenues, of £6. 13s. 4d. per annum, on October 28th, 1539[‡]; after which it was granted to one Richard Taverner.

ABOVE this house was a priory of Carmelites, or White Friars,
WHITE FRIARS.

founded in 1271, by Simon Mountfort and Thomas Chetwood. It was valued at £10. 10s. and granted to William Ramesden ‖, after being resigned by John Howel, the last prior, and eight brethren.

THE Dominicans, or Black Friars, were fixed here before 1240.
BLACK FRIARS.

John Dalyngton was either founder, or a considerable benefactor. Its revenues were only £5. 11s. 5d. [§] It was resigned to the crown by its prior William Dyckyns, and seven of his friars.

William Peverel, natural son to the Conqueror, founded,
BLACK CANONS.

before 1112, a house of Black Canons, in honor of St. James. This Peverel has no less than forty-four manors granted to him in this county. The revenues of this house amounted to £175. 8s. 2d. according to Dugdale; or £213. 17s. 2d. according to Speed. Henry VIII. granted it to Nicholas Giffard [*]. Its last abbot was William Brokden, who, with five monks, resigned it in 1540.

THE Austin Friars,
AUSTIN FRIARS.

or Friars Eremites, had a house here in the Bridge-street, founded in 1322, by Sir John Longueville of Wolverton, in Buckinghamshire; and several of his name were interred there. John Goodwyn, the prior, with seven friars, resigned it to the king in 1539. It was soon after granted to Robert Dighton. Its revenues are unknown[†].

THE college of All Saints was founded in 1459,
ALL SAINTS.

with licence of purchasing to the value of twenty marks. It consisted only of two fellows. In 1535, it was found, clear of all reprizes, to be worth XXXIX s. IV d. College-lane, in this town, takes its name from it[‡].

THE hospital of St. John is an antient building,
HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN.

standing in Bridge-street. It consists of a chapel, a large hall with apartments for the brethren, and two rooms above for the co-brothers. It was founded for the reception of infirm poor, probably by William St. Clere, archdeacon of Northampton; who died possessed of that dignity in 1168. He is supposed to have been brother to one of the Simon St. Clere; but Leland justly insinuates, that they never were called by that name, but by that of St. Liz ‖.

AT the dissolution, its clear revenues were £57. 19s. 6d. Sir Francis Brian was then high steward of the house, and had 40s. yearly; and eight poor persons were maintained at 2d. a day each: a charity founded by John Dallington, clerk, and confirmed in 1340, by Henry Burgherst, bishop of Lincoln. It is at present governed by a master, and two co-brothers or chaplains, whose salary is £ v. each, with XI s. each, in lieu of firing, and Xs. on renewing of leases. The eight poor people are named by the master, and maintained in lodging, firing, and common room, and 1s. 2d. weekly.

ST. Thomas's hospital stands a little more to the south of St. John's,
ST. THOMAS'S.

beyond the south gate, in the suburbs called The Quarters, which extend to the south bridge. This owes its foundation, in 1450, to the respect the citizens had for St. Thomas Becket. Originally it maintained twelve poor people: six more were added in 1654, by Sir John Langham; and one more of later years, by Richard Massingberd. It is governed by a warden, who is one of the aldermen; and the vicar of All Saints is the chaplain, with an annual salary of £ III. XVIs. VIII d. [*]

I FIND, besides, an hospital on the south side of the town, in the parish of Hardingstone, dedicated to St. Leonard, for a master and leprous brethren; founded before 1240. The mayor and burgesses were patrons. Dugdale valued it at ten pounds a year[†].

I MUST not omit mention of the short-lived university which existed in this town;
UNIVERSITY.

and which arose from the following occasion: — In 1238, Otho, the pope's legate, happened to visit the university of Oxford, and took his residence at the neighboring convent of Osney. He was one day respectfully waited on by the students; who were insolently refused admittance by the Italian porter. At length, after intolerable provocation from the clerk of the kitchen, a Welsh student drew his bow, and shot him dead[*]. The resentment of government, and the fear of punishment, caused the first secession of the students to Northampton, and other places. In succeeding years fresh riots arose, and occasioned farther migrations. At length, these migrations were made under sanction of the king; who imagined that the disturbances arose from the too great concourse of scholars to one place. It is said, that not fewer than fifteen thousand students settled in this town. Whether from resentment of former proceedings against them, or from the usual dislike youth has to governing powers, they took the part of the barons. They formed themselves into companies, had their distinguishing banner, and, when Henry III. made his attack on Northampton, proved by far his most vigorous opponents. After the king had made himself master of the place, he determined to hang every student; but being at length appeased, he permitted them to return to Oxford, under the conduct of Simon Mountfort, and abolished the university of Northampton [†].

THE town is extremely finely situated on an eminence,
TOWS DESCRIBED.

gently sloping to the river, which bounds it on the south, as it also does on the west. The streets are in general strait, and very handsomely built. The great market-place is an ornament to the town: few can boast the like. Much of the beauty of Northampton is owing to the calamity it sustained by fire, on September 20th, 1675; when the greatest part was laid in ashes. The houses were at that time chiefly wooden. Twenty-five thousand pounds were collected by briefs and private charity towards its relief; and the king gave a thousand tons of timber, out of Whittlewood forest, and remitted the duty of chimney-money in this town for seven years: so that it was soon rebuilt; and changed its wooden edifices for more secure and ornamental houses of stone.

THE church of All Saints fell a victim to the flames. The old church was a large pile,
CHURCHES.

with a tower in the center. It was rebuilt with great magnificence, and is a considerable ornament to this pretty town. The portico is very elegant, supported in front by eight columns of the Ionic order. The body stands on four lofty columns, and has a neat dome in the middle. The roof beautifully stuccoed. This church, and that of St. Peter, were bestowed on the priory of St. Andrew, by Simon de St. Liz, the founder. All Saints is at present in the gift of the members of the corporation, who are inhabitants of the parish.

THE church of the Holy Sepulchre was supposed to have been built by the Knights Templars, on the model of that at Jerusalem. The imitative part is round,
HOLY SEPULCHRE.

with a nave issuing from it. In the round part is a peristyle of eight round pillars, thirteen feet eight inches high, and twelve feet three in circumference. The capitals consist of two round fillets: the arches sharp and plain. The space from the wall to the pillars is eleven feet: the diameter, from the inside of one pillar to that of the opposite, is twenty-nine feet two inches. In the center of the area stands, in the church at Jerusalem, the supposed sepulchre[*]; and it is probable a model might be placed in those which we find of the same kind in our island; for, besides this, the Temple church in London, and St. Sepulchre's in Cambridge, are built on the same plan. The steeple, and some other parts of that in question, have been added after the building of the circular church.

ST. Peter's church is a singular building.
ST. PETER'S.

Two corners of the tower are ornamented with three round pillars: above these are two, and above them one; all gradually lesser than the others. The middle of the tower is ornamented with small round arches, which are continued along the outside of the body of the church, and have a good effect. Within are two rows of round arches, carved with zigzag work: the pillars which support these are alternately single and quadruple. A small monument commemorates John Smith, that eminent metzotinto scraper[†], who died in January 1742, aged ninety.

THE advowson of this church was given by Edward III. to the hospital of St. Catherine, near the Tower, in London, and still remains under its patronage.

WHOSOEVER intended to clear himself of any criminal accusation in this town, was obliged to do it in this church only; having here first performed his vigil and prayers in the preceding evening[‡]. St. Giles's church stands in the east skirts of the town; but contains nothing worthy notice.

IN old times Northampton was possessed of three other churches, which are now destroyed. St. Bartholomew's stood on the east side of the road going to Kingsthorp; and was bestowed by St. Liz on his convent of St. Andrew. St. Edmund's stood without the east gate, and was also under the patronage of St. Andrew's: and the church of St. Gregory was the third; also the property of that much-favored house.

AMONG the public buildings, I first speak of the county infirmary;
INFIRMARY.

not on account of the beauty or magnificence of the house; for it is laudably destitute of both; but because the subscription which supports it does honor to the province, by proving the benevolence of its inhabitants. That of 1779 amounted to near eight hundred pounds; and the number of patients perfectly cured, from its foundation in 1744 to the former year, is not fewer than thirteen thousand one hundred and fifty.

THE county hall is a very handsome building,
COUNTY HALL.

and ornamented in the manner which gives dignity to courts of justice. The vulgar are affected with external shew, and never pay half the respect to a judge scampering in boots and bob-wig up the stairs of a barn-like court, as they would to the same person, who adds solemnity to his merit, and assumes the garb suited to his character.

THE jail is at a small distance from the sessions house,
JAIL.

and was originally a house built by a Sir Thomas Haselwood, and sold by him to the justices of peace.

THE town or guild hall, is an antient building, in which the corporation transacts its business. Northampton was incorporated by Henry II. Henry III. gave it power of chusing annually a mayor, and two bailiffs, to be elected by all the freemen; but Henry VII. ordered by charter,
CHARTER

that the mayor and his brethren, late mayors, should name forty-eight persons of the inhabitants, with liberty of changing them as often as was found necessary; which forty-eight, with the mayor and his brethren, and such as had been mayors and bailiffs, were annually to elect all future mayors and bailiffs. There are, besides, a recorder, chamberlain, and town-clerk. The mayor, late mayor, and one other member of the corporation, nominated by the mayor, aldermen, and bailiffs, are justices of the peace within the town for one year. The mayor, recorder or his deputy, and one justice, are necessary to form a sessions: they have power in criminal causes to try all offenders; but wisely leave all but petty larcenies to the judges of the great sessions[*].

Northampton is among the most antient boroughs. In the parlement held at Acton Burnel, in the time of Edward I. it was one of the nineteen trading towns which sent two members each. Every inhabitant, resident or non-resident, free or not free, has liberty of voting: a cruel privilege for such who have of late years been ambitious of recommending their representatives.

FROM Northampton I visited Castle Ashby,
CASTLE ASHBY.

the princely seat of the Comptons earls of Northampton. It lies about six miles south-east of the town, in a wet country, and without any advantage of situation. It is a large structure, surrounding a handsome square court, with a beautiful skreen, the work of Inigo Jones, bounding one side. More is attributed to that great architect. Some is more antient than his time; yet he probably had the restoring of the old house, as the finishing appears, by a date on the stone ballustrade, to be 1624, preceded by the pious text, Nisi DOMINUS aedificaverit Domum, in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant cum.

CASTLE ASHBY.

ONE front is taken up by a long gallery, and at the end is a small room,
PROTRAITS. COMPTON, BISHOP OF LONDON.

the chapel closet. In it is a full-length or Henry Compton, bishop of London. He was youngest son of the famous loyalist earl of Northampton. Went for a short time into the army, after the Restoration; but soon quitted it for the church. In 1674 he was promoted to the bishoprick of Oxford, and in the next year to that of London. His abilities were said not to be shining; but his discharge of his pastoral office gained him great reputation. He was firmly attached to the constitution and re •••ion of his country; and, in the reign of the bigotted James, underwent the honor of suspension, for not complying with the •aws of the court. He appeared in arms at Nottingham, in support of the Revolution; and lived till 1713, when he died, at the age of eighty-one.

IN the same closet is a good head of the Reverend Mr. 〈◊〉, who began the Saxon Dictionary,
MR. LYE.

finished and published by the Reverend Mr. Man•ing, 1772. He also published Junius's •••••ogicum Angli•num, in 1743. He was born at To•ness, in 〈◊〉 became possessed of benefices in this county; and died in ••67, at the rectory of Yardly Hastings.

THE drawing-room is remarkably grand; it is fifty feet five,
DRAWING-ROOM.

by twenty-four; and eighteen feet ten inches high. It is hung 〈◊〉 tapestry, the meritorious labor of two aunts of the present 〈◊〉. The chimney-piece is of an enormous size: a quarry of 〈◊〉 filled with shells from Raunce.

MR. WALPOLE had made me impatient for the sight of the pic •••• of the hero JOHN TALBOT,
JOHN TALBOT EARL OF SHREWSBURY.

first earl of Shrewsbury, by inform ••• that such a portrait existed in this house. I was at first 〈…〉 •••grined, by my attendant denying all knowlege of it. 〈…〉 m•ch search, I discovered it in a garret, and re •••• the earl and his 〈◊〉 countess from beneath a load of 〈…〉 of the garrets.

THE portraits 〈◊〉 originals: coarse, and rudely painted on 〈…〉 might be 〈…〉 from the artists of the period in 〈…〉 this later inscription: ‘ John 〈◊〉 lord 〈…〉 E. of Shrewsbury by Henry VI.’ 〈…〉 his hair short and ill-combed, his hands 〈…〉 of prayer. He is in armour, but 〈…〉 emblazoned with his arms. His 〈…〉, is wanted. He was 〈…〉 •ame put armies to flight. He had 〈…〉 in forty several and dangerous skirmishes: at 〈…〉 aged eighty, at Cha•••lon: and with him 〈…〉 good fortune of the English during that unhappy 〈…〉, dressed in the sortout of the hero's arms 〈…〉 bed embraced 〈◊〉 took off the sortout painted with his ma•ters arms 〈◊〉 the dead corpse with it, and burst into these passionate expressions:
Alas! is it you? I pray God par ••• all my misdoings! I have been your officer of arms •orty years or month 〈…〉 I should surrender them to you[*].

HIS countess 〈◊〉,

〈◊〉

HIS 〈◊〉 eldest daughter and co-•eir of Richard Be••cham• earl Warwick, is represented in the same attitude, and with a herald's 〈◊〉 properly emblazoned. Her cap• worked 〈…〉, the arms of her husband: her 〈◊〉 ornamented with gold chairs. She died June 14th 1468, 〈◊〉
JOHN TALBOT EARL of SHREWSBURY.

MARGARET COUNTESS of SHREWSBURY.

was interred in St. Paul's cathedral. The body of her lord was brought over and buried at Whichurch, Shropshire.

HERE is a portrait of Spencer earl of Northampton (the justly-boasted character and hero of the house) represented in armour.
SPENCER EARL OF NORTHAMPTON;

His genius was so extensive, that in his youth he at once kept four different tutors in employ, who daily had their respective hours for instructing him in the different arts they professed. In the civil wars he was the great rival of lord Brooks, whom he drove out of his own county of Warwick; and was a most successful opponent to the earl of Essex. He brought two thousand of the best-disciplined men in the army to the royal standard at Nottingham. At length fell in Staffordshire, in March 1743, desperately fighting; forgetting, as is too frequently the case with great minds, the difference between the General and common man.

HIS eldest son, James earl of Northampton, is in armour,
HIS SON JAMES.

and with a great dog near him. He inherited his father's valour, and was wounded in the battle in which his father was slain. In all the following actions he maintained a spirit worthy of his name. On the fall of monarchy he lived retired. On the Restoration he was loaden with honors, and died in fullness of glory at this place, in December 1681.

A PORTRAIT, which I take to be Sir Spencer Compton [*], his third brother,
SIR SPENCER COMPTON?

is dressed in a green silk vest, a laced turnover, and with long hair. This youth was at the battle of Edgehill, at a time he was not able to grasp a pistol; yet cried with vexation that he was not permitted to share in the same glory and danger with his elder brothers.

THE celebrated Edward Sackville earl of Dorset is painted in armour.
EDW. SACKVILLE EARL OF DORSET.

His well-known spirit, in the duel between him and lord Bruce, would make one imagine that he would have appeared with peculiar lustre in the field of action, during the civil wars; but fortune f•ung him but once into the bloody scenes of that period. He fought with distinguished bravery at Edgehill, and retook the royal standard, after its bearer, Sir Edward Verney, was slain. Might not the weight of the sanguinary conflict at Tergose rest heavy on his mind, and make him shun for the future scenes of destruction? for HE could do it with unimpeached reputation. Certain it is, that his lordship acted chiefly in the cabinet, was a faithful servant to his master, and a true friend to his country; and spent the rest of his service in earnest and unremitting endeavours to qualify affairs, and restore peace to his country. After the king's death, he never stirred out of his house; and died in 1652, at his house, then called Dorset-house, in Salisbury-court.

HERE is a singular head,
GEO. VILLIERS DUKE OF BUCKINGHUM.

called that of George Villlers duke of Buckingham; bearded, whiskered, and represented as dead.

THE heads of the duke of Somerset, Protector, Francis first earl of Bedford, and Sir Thomas More, and another, the name of which I have forgot, are beautifully painted in small size.

THAT favorite of fortune Sir Stephen Fox,
SIR STEPHEN FOX.

is represented sitting, in a long wig and night-gown: a good-looking man. He was the son of a private family in Wiltshire, but raised himself by the most laudable of means, that of merit. After the battle of Worcester, in which his elder brother was engaged, he fled with him to France, and was entertained by Henry lord Percy, then lord chamberlain to our exiled monarch. To young Fox was committed the whole regulation of the household; "who," as lord Clarendon observes, ‘was well qualified with the languages, and all parts of clerkship, honesty, and discretion, as was necessary for such a trust; and indeed his great industry, modesty, and prudence, did very much contribute to the bringing the family, which for so many years had been under no government, into very good order.’ On the Restoration he was made Clerk of the Green Cloth; and on the raising of the two regiments, the first of the kind ever known, he was appointed paymaster, and soon after paymaster-general to all the forces in England. In 1679, he was made one of the lords of the Treasury; and in the same year, first commissioner in the office of master of the horse; and in 1682, had interest to get his son Charles, then only twenty-three years old, to be appointed sole paymaster of the forces, and himself, in 1684, sole commissioner for master of the horse. James II. continued to him every kind of favor; yet Sir Stephen made a very easy transition to the succeeding prince, and enjoyed the same degree of courtly emolument. James thought he might have expected another return from this creation of the Stuarts: accordingly excepted him in his act of grace, on the intended invasion of 1692.

SIR Stephen made a noble use of the gifts of fortune: he rebuilt the church of Early, his native place; built an hospital there for six poor men, and as many poor women; erected a chapel there, and handsome lodgings for the chaplain, and endowed it with £188 a year: he founded in the same place a charity-school; he built the chancel of a church in the north of Wiltshire, which the rector was unable to do. He also built the church of Culford in Suffolk, and pewed the cathedral of Salisbury: but his greatest act was the founding of Chelsea hospital, which he first projected, and contributed thirteen thousand pounds towards the carrying on; alleging, that he could not bear to see the common soldiers, who had spent their strength in our service, beg at our doors [*].

HE married his second wife in 1703, when he was seventy-six years of age, and had by her two sons: Stephen, late earl of Ilchester; and Henry, late lord Holland. His happiness continued to his last moment; for he died, without experiencing the usual infirmities of eighty-nine, in October 1716.

THE manor of Castle Ashby was called in the Doomsday-book,
MANOR OF CASTLE ASHBY.

Asebi: it was afterwards called Ashby David, from David de Esseby, who was lord of it in the time of Henry III. It fell afterwards to Walter de Langton, bishop of Lichfield; who, in 1305, got leave to fortify it[†]; from which it got the name of Castle Ashby. It afterwards passed through several owners. The Greys, lords of Ruthin and earls of Kent, possessed it for a long time, till Richard, who died in 1503, parted with it to lord Hussey; who alienated it, in the time of Henry VIII. to Sir William Compton, of Compton Vinyate, in Warwickshire, ancestor of the present noble possessor.

THE grounds have been laid out by Mr. Brown, and the church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, stands in them, at a small distance from the house. I took horse and rode through the park,
EASTON MAUDUIT.

and, after a mile and a half, reached Easton Mauduit, one of the seats of the earls of Sussex; a large but low old house, with a quadrangle in the middle. This place probably took the addition of Mauduit from some antient owner. Sir Christopher Yelverton, third son of a very antient family in Norfolk, was the first of the name who settled at this place.

THE portraits in this house are numerous. In the hall is a full-length of Henry,
PORTRAITS.

seventh earl of Kent, of the name of Grey,
HENRY, SEVENTH EARL OF KENT.

dressed in black, with a turnover; and another of his lady, Elizabeth, second daughter and co-heir of Gilbert, seventh earl of Shrewsbury. She is also in black, with a great black aigret, light hair, bare neck, and ruff.

HER father, in white, with a black cloak, ruff, and George. He died in 1616. A misnamed portrait, called his great ancestor, the first earl of Shrewsbury, is shewn here. It seems to be of some nobleman of the time of Edward VI. dressed in black, with a sword, the George, and the garter about his leg.

ON the stairs is an excellent painting of an old poultry-woman.

IN the dining-room is a half-length of Sir Christopher Yelverton,
SIR CHRISTOPHER YELVERTON.

with a ruff, and in robes, as one of the justices of the King's Bench. He distinguished himself in the profession of the law in the reign of queen Elizabeth, was appointed queen's serjeant, and was chosen speaker of the House of Commons in 1597. His speech of excuse is singular, and historical of himself[*]. His prayer (for in those days it was usual for the speaker to compose one, and read it every morning during the sessions) ran in a strong vein of good sense and piety[†]. He was the purchaser of this estate. Died here in 1607, and was buried in the adjacent church.

His son,
SIR HENRY YELVERTON.

Sir Henry, appears in the same habit with the father. The date is 1626, aet. 60. He proved as distinguished a lawyer as his father, but was less fortunate, in falling on more dangerous times. He owed his rise to the profligate favorite Ker earl of Somerset. On the disgrace of his patron, Sir Henry had gratitude enough to refuse to plead against him[*], notwithstanding his office as solicitor-general might have been a plea for doing it. When he was attorney-general, he fell under the displeasure of the court: — He was charged by the commons with making out the patents for the monopolies, so justly complained of in that reign. In his defence he suffered to escape some indiscreet truths, which were interpreted as if his delinquency was not disagreeable to the king and the then favorite Buckingham. The rage of the court was directed against him: he was fined in ten thousand marks to the king, and five thousand to Buckingham; who instantly remitted the last[†]. Perhaps the favorite might fear him; it having been said, that one cause of his disgrace was the refusal of making out patents to the degree which the duke desired[‡], whose brother was deeply concerned in this plunder of the public. A mean letter to Buckingham, and a submission in the star-chamber, acknowleging errors of negligence, ignorance, and misprision, restored him to favor‖. In the following reign he was made one of the judges of the Common Pleas, and died in January 1630.

HIS grandson, Sir Henry Yelverton, Baronet,
HIS SON HENRY.

is dressed in a brown mantle and large wig. He was a worthy character, with a most religious turn; a strenuous defender of Christianity in general, and of the church of England in particular, as appears by his writings in behalf of both.

HIS lady Susanna, daughter and sole heiress of Charles Longueville lord Grey of Ruthin; which title devolved to her, and afterwards to her son Charles. She is very beautiful, and represented by Sir Peter Lely with her head reclining on her hand.

Anne, daughter to the second Sir Christopher [*], is drawn by the same painter, in yellow, leaning on an urn. She was first married to Robert earl of Manchester, and afterwards to Charles earl of Halifax.

A Lady Bulkeley.

A HEAD of Frances viscountess Hatton, daughter to the last Sir Henry Yelverton.

BARBARA, daughter to Sir Thomas Slingsby, second wife to Thomas earl of Pembroke, by Dahl.

MRS. Lawson, a celebrated beauty of her time, bare-necked, in a loose habit clasped before, with a sort of veil flung over her head.

SIR John Talbot, a head, with a big wig and armour.

THE church is at a small distance from the house:
CHURCH.

is now in the gift of Christ-church, Oxford; but formerly belonged to the abbey of Lavendan, Buckinghamshire. Within are very expensive monuments. The first is in memory of Sir Christopher Yelverton,
TOMES.

who died in 1607, aged seventy-six; and his lady Margaret, daughter of Thomas Catesby of Ecton and Whiston, in this county.

Their figures are placed recumbent, and painted: he in his robes, and square cap, and an artichoke at his feet; she, in a black jacket and petticoat, and great distended hood. At her feet a cat, allusive to her name.

OVER them are two arched canopies of veined marble, supported by six square pillars of shell-stone. On one side of the tomb are eight females; on the other, two male figures, and a little girl.

THE other monument is of his son Sir Henry. His figure is placed in his robes: and on one side his lady Anne, daughter of Sir William Twisden of Rawdon-hall, in Kent, lies by him, wrapped in a black cloak from head to feet. Round her neck is a ruff: in one hand an open book. Above them is a vast canopy, with various statues on the top. This is supported on each side by two full-length figures of almsmen, in black gowns and hoods, with great white beards; the arch resting on their heads. This probably alludes to some charitable foundation with which I am unacquainted. In front, beneath Sir Henry, is an altar, at which kneel two men in armour, and two in cloaks, and five women. It does not appear that either Sir Christopher or Sir Henry left a number of children equal to those expressed on their respective tombs.

IN my return I saw at Little Billings the poor remains of the mansion of the great family of the Longvilles.
LITTLE BILLINGS.

John de Lungville was declared lord of the place in 1315. This was he who founded the Augustines in Northampton. It continued in the name till the time of queen Elizabeth, or James I. when that succession expired in the person of Sir Edward Longeville.

NOT far from hence I visited Clifford's Hill, in the parish of Houghton Parva, a vast artificial mount, having once on it a specula, or watch-tower. The coins found in and near it, prove it to have been the work of the Romans. Before the river Nen was diverted, by the building of Billings Bridge, the channel ran under this mount; which it is supposed to have guarded[*].

REACH Northampton, and, after a short stay, pass over the river into the suburbs, called the South Quarters, and into the parish of Hardingstone. On each side is a fine range of meadows; those on the left are greatly enlivened by the beautiful plantations and improvements of the Honorable Edward Bouverie, whose house stands on the site of the Abbey de Pratis, or de la Prè; a house of Cluniac nuns,
DE LA PRÈ ABBEY.

founded by Simon de St. Liz the younger, earl of Northampton [†]. It had in it ten nuns at the time of the dissolution. The last abbess, Clementina Stokes, governed it thirty years; obtained the king's charter for the continuance of her convent; but, fearing to incur the displeasure of the tyrant, resigned it into the hands of Doctor London, the king's commissioner, and got from him the character of a gudde agyd woman; of her howse being in a gudde state; and, what was more substantial, a pension of forty pounds a year.

BETWEEN this place and the town, in 1460, encamped Henry VI. and his insolent nobility, immediately before the bloody battle of Northampton. The king (or rather queen) depending on the strength of their entrenchments and warlike engines, returned a haughty answer to the humble proposals sent by the earls of March and Warwick.
BATTLE OF NORTHAMPTON.

These spirited commanders led their troops instantly to the attack, and forced the camp, favored by the treachery of Edmund lord Grey of Ruthen; who, on some disgust, changed sides, and assisted the enemy in forcing their way into the works. "Ten thousand talle Englishmen and their "king," says Halle [*], "were taken, and numbers slain or drowned "in the river;" for the fight was carried on with the obstinacy usual in civil dissension. Humphrey duke of Buckingham, John earl of Shrewsbury, John viscount Beaumont, Thomas lord Egremont, and Sir Thomas Lucy, were among those who fell. Multitudes of my countrymen also perished on that day[*]. The slain were buried either in the church of this convent, or in the hospital of St. John.

ON the road-side,
QUEEN'S CROSS.

on an ascent near this place, stands one of the pledges of affection borne by Edward I. to his beloved Eleanor; who caused a cross to be erected on the spot wheresoever her body rested, in its way from Hareby in Lincolnshire, where she died, in 1290, to Westminster, the place of her interment. It is kept in excellent repair: is of an octagonal form, and stands on a base of seven steps. Coats of arms and an open book adorn the lower compartments. Above, in six gothic niches, are as many female figures, crowned. Above them, are four modern dials, facing the four cardinal points; and above those is the cross.

AROUND this spot are frequently found Roman coins and medals; from which it is conjectured, that this might have been the site of Eltavon,
ELTAVON.

or Eltabon (from the British Ael, a brow, and Avon, a river); and is supposed to have been the Eltanori, or Eltavori, of the geographer of Ravenna [*]. The dry and elevated situation, and its vicinity to a river, makes it very probable that this was a Roman station, at left a summer camp.

NEAR this place, on the summit of the hill called Hunsborough,
HUNSBOROUGH.

are some antient works, of a circular form; i. e. conforming to the shape of it; consisting of a foss and double rampart, with a single entrance. Mr. Morton [†] attributes this to the Danes, and imagines it to have been a summer-camp of one of the plundering parties which infested the kingdom of Mercia about the year 921. Another was raised, about the same time, at Temsford, in the county of Bedford, for the same purpose. This has very much the appearance of a British post; but as there is great similitude between the early fortifications of the northern nations, I will not controvert the opinion of that ingenious author; yet I have probability on my side, as he admits that the Danes had possession of Hamtune, i. e. Northampton, in 917. I think they would scarcely trouble themselves with raising these works so near their former quarters, which, for any thing that appears, was as open to them in 921, as in the former year.

ABOUT five miles from Queen's Cross I turned a little out of my road, to see Horton church,
HORTON CHURCH.

remarkable for a fine monument of William lord Parr, uncle, to Catherine, the last queen to Henry VIII. His lordship is represented in alabaster, recumbent,
WILLIAM LORD PARR.

with his lady, Mary Salusbury, by his side; in right of whom he became master of this manor. He is dressed in armour, with a collar of SS, and a rose at the end. His head rests on a helmet, whose crest is a hand holding a stag's horn. His upper lip is bare, but his beard is enormous, regularly curled in two rows. He was called to the House of Peers on this second marriage of his niece, was appointed her chamberlain, and, during the queen's regency, on the king's expedition to France in 1544, had the respect shewn him to be named as a council to her majesty, occasionally to be called in[*]. He died in 1548; left four daughters, the eldest of whom conveyed, by marriage with Sir Ralph Lane, the estate into his family.

ON the floor are the figures of Roger Salusbury, between his two wives, in brass. He died in 1482, first owner, of his name, of this estate; whose grandaughter became mistress of it on the death of her father William.

THE Lanes kept it for some generations. On the death of Sir William, it was found to be held of Sir Richard Chetwood, as of his manor of Woodhall, by the service of one knight's see, suit of court, and the annual payment of 6s. towards the guard of Rockingham castle. The estate passed from the Lanes (I believe by purchase) to Sir Henry Mountague, first earl of Manchester, and, by descent, fell to the earl of Halifax; and is now possessed by lord Hinchinbroke, in right of his lady, daughter and heiress of the last earl.

THE house is in a very unfinished state; part modern, part antient and embattled.

GOTHURST.

FROM the Queen's Cross to this place the country is uneven, unwatered, and far from pleasant. It is now, in general, inclosed; but the hedges are young, and, till within these few years, quite a novelty.

NEAR the fifty-eight mile-stone enter the county of BUCKINGHAM. Here the country improves. After passing Stoke Goldington,
STOKE GOLDINGTON.

a small village, a beautiful vale opens on the left, watered by the Ouze, running through rich meadows,
THE OUZE.

and embellished with the spire of Oulney church. This river rises near Sysam in Northamptonshire, and, after watering this country, becomes navigable above Bedford, by means of locks; runs by Huntingdon; and, after creeping almost undistinguished amidst the canals of the fenny tracts, falls into the sea at Lynn Regis. The name is probably derived from the British, perhaps signifying a river[*]; being, in common with Avon, the name of numbers of British streams.

ABOUT half a mile from its banks, on a rising ground on the right, stands Gothurst, antiently Gaythurst;
GOTHURST.

whose venerable form has not been injured by inconsistent alterations. It was begun in the forty-third of queen Elizabeth, and was greatly improved, a few years after, by William Mulsho, Esquire. The windows are glazed with propriety: only part of the back-front is modernized. The lands are very finely dressed, and swell into extensive lawns. One before the house consists of a hundred and twenty-eight acres; and on the sides are others of great extent. The woods are vast, and cut into walks extensive and pleasing. Several pretty pieces of water, the view of the Ouze and its verdant meadows, and the old respectable house of Tyringham, with its church, on the opposite side, are no small embellishments to the place.

THIS manor, at the time of the compilation of the Doomsday-book, was held by Robert de Nodavirs, or de Nouers, under Odo bishop of Baieux, earl of Kent, and half-brother to the Conqueror.
THE DE NOUERS.

The De Nouers became possessed of it in their own right in the time of Henry II; perhaps earlier[*]: but the first I meet with is Radulphus, and his son Almaric, who lived in 1252, the thirty-seventh of Henry III. It continued in that family till 1408[†], the tenth of Henry IV. when it became the property of Robert Nevyll, descended from Hugo de Nevyll, who had lands in Essex in 1363, or the thirty-fifth of Edward III. Robert Nevyll possessed himself of Gothurst, by marrying Joanna, sister and sole heir to the last Almaric de Nouers; his two other sisters, Agnes and Gracia, having preferred a monastic life[‡].

THE Nevylls remained owners of it till the reign of Henry VIII. when Maria,
NEVYLLS.

only daughter of Michael Nevyll, on the death of her two brothers; became possessed of it; and she bestowed it, with her person,
MULSHOS.

on Thomas Mulsho of Thingdon, in the county of Northampton ‖, a respectable family. I find sheriffs of the name, as early as the time of Richard II; and one of that house governor of Calais in the reign of Henry VI. But the first mention of the name is in 1370, when lived John Mulsho of Goddington.

Gothurst continued with the Mulshos till the beginning of the reign of James I; when Maria, daughter and sole heiress to William (who died in 1601) resigned herself and great fortune to Sir Everard Digby [*], one of the handsomest and completest gentlemen of his time:
DIGBYS.

but

Eumenides tenuere faces de funere raptas:

Eumenides stravere torum.

She had not been married three years, before her husband was snatched from her by an ignominious and merited death, for his deep concern in the plot, which, thanks to the charity of the times, is execrated by each religion. It is very probable, that a mind so tinctured with bigotry as his was, soon devoted itself to the most desperate resolutions, for the restoration of the antient church. He foresaw the certain consequences of ill success, and, preparing against the event, took every method to preserve his infant son from suffering from the fault of the father. Before he committed any acts of treason, he secured to his heirs his estates, in such a manner as to put it out of the power of the crown to profit by their confiscation[†].

THIS illustrious line was the chief of the Digby family; the peers of that name springing from younger branches. The origin is Saxon. The first, of whom notice is taken, is Aelmar, who had lands at Tilton in Leicestershire, in 1086, the twentieth of William the Conqueror. They afterwards took the name of Digby, from a place in Lincolnshire; and became owners of Stokedry in Rutlandshire (which, till the acquisition of Gothurst, was their usual residence) by the marriage of Everard Digby, Esquire, in the reign of king Henry VI. with Agnes, daughter of Francis Clare of Wyssenden and Stokedry, Esquire. This gentleman, with three of his sons, fell in the bloody field at Towton, fighting in the cause of the house of Lancaster [*].

MOST of the particulars relative to this great family,
DIGBY PEDIGREE.

I owe to the friendship of my worthy neighbor Watkin Williams, Esquire, who favored me with the use of the famous genealogy of the Digbys of Tilton; a book compiled by the direction of Sir Kenelm in 1634, at the expence of twelve hundred pounds. This tradition, is very credible, to any who have seen the book: a large folio, consisting of five hundred and eighty-nine vellum leaves; the first hundred and sixty-five ornamented with the coats of arms of the family and its allies, and of all the tombs of the Digbys then extant, illuminated in the richest and most exquisite manner. The rest of the book is composed of grants, wills, and variety of other pieces, serving to illustrate the history of the family; drawn from the most authentic records, as the title sets forth. Several of the wills are curious proofs of the simplicity of the manners of the times; and another, of the magnificence, superstition, and vanity of our greater ancestors. One of the first kind I shall give here; the other, being of great length, is reserved for the Appendix.

In the name of God,
CURIOU
•

WILL. Amen. The XVI day of the moneth of January, the yere of our Lord God a thousand fyve hundred and VIIIth, I Everode Dygby of Stoke dry, in the countie of Rutland, of the diocese of Lincoln, seke in body and hole in mynde, make my testament and last will in this fourme following. Fyrst, I bequeth my soul to God Allmyghty, our blessed lady seynt Mary, and all the seynts of heven. My body to be buryed in the parishe churche of Seynt Pet at Tylton, before the ymage of the blessed Trinitie, at o'lady autther. Itm. I bequeth to reparacon of the said church, for my buryall ther, vi s. viij d. Item. I bequeth to the said church a webe of land; whiche the churhmasters of the said churche have in their kepyng. Item. I bequeth to the high aiot. of the parish church of Stokedry, for tythes by me forgotten, ij s. Itm. I bequeth to the reparacons of the said churche of Stokedry vi s. viij d. Itm. I biqueth to the cathedrall churche of Linc, ij s. Itm. I biqueth to John Dygby, my son, all my rents, lands, and tenementes whiche I have prchased, by dede or by copyhold, in the townes and fields of Vipinghm, Preston, Pysbroke, and Elynden, to have and to hold, to hym and his assigneys, duryng the terme of his lyff; and aftr his decease, I will that the said rentes, londes, and tenementes, shall remayne to Everod Dygby, my eldest sonne, and to his heyres and assignes for ever. Item. I biqueth to Alice, my daughter, all my rentes, landes, and tenementes, wth all prousetts and comodities to them belongyng, whiche I have prchased, by dede or by copy, in the townes and feldes of Hareborow, Bowden, and Foxton, to have and to hold to hyr, hyr heyres and assigneyes for ever. Itm. I biqueth to the foresaid John Dygby, my son, ij geldyngs, iij maires for his ploughe, with all barnes and other thynges to it belongyng, and also a pair of cart wheles unshode. Itm. I biqueth to my forsaid doughter Alice, a fetherbed, a matras, a bolster of fethures, with pillowes, blanketts, shetys, coverletts, and covyng. with all the hangyng of rede say pertenyng to the bed whiche I now ly in. Itm. I biqueth to Elyn, my dowght. lxxx l. of gode and lawfull money, to be payed to hir by my sone Everode, within the space of iij yeres next following aftr my decease, if she within that tyme be maryed; and if she be not maried within iij yeres next after my decease, then I will that my sone Everad shall delyv. hir 10 l. in gode money, and the residue of the lxxx l. I will be put into stock, and be occupyed by my said sonne Everad to hir use and proufitt, untill the tyme that she be maryed, and then to be delyvered to hir: and if she decease before that she be maryed, then I will that the said residew of lxxx l. besids the x l. paid to her, be gyven and payed to the fynding of a preste to syng for my soul, as long as the money will extend to, after the discrcion of my executo. Itm. I biqueth to my said dought. Elyn, a fetherbed, a matras, a spaiver wt hangynge, blankette, shetis, and coverlitts, and other things to it belongyng, as it lies in the chamber called the Norcery, within my place of Stoke bifor said. Itm. I bequeth to Everad my sone, and Alice my daughter, iiij pair of my best and finest shetis, to be devided equallie bitwixt them. Itm. I biqueth to my said daughter Elyn, the next best pair of shetis that I have, and other v pair of fflexyn shetys, and ij pair of hardyn shetis. Itm. I bequeth to my daughter Alice aforsaid, x other pair of flexyn shetis, and ii pair of harden shetis. Itm. I bequeth to my daughter Kateryn, nunne at Sempinghm. xx s. in money, and a pair of flexyn shete, and a white sparnar. Itm. I bequeth to Darnegold, my daughter, ij kyne and 12 ewes. Itm. I bequeth to my sonne Everad Dygby, my grettest bras pot, to be kept for a standard of that hows, and the next bras pott and two little bras pottes, and halfe a garnysh of pewter vessell, with all other ledy fattys, tubbys, and bolles wtin my hows, and my grettest bras pane, wt two other lesser pannes: and all other my brass pottes, panes, and pewt. vessel, I will be devided betwene John Dygby my sonne, and Alice and Elyn my doughters. Itm. I biqueth to my said sonne Everod, a plough, wt all harnes pertenyng to it, and six of my plough horses, for his said plough, and my waynes, and viij of my best oxen, wt all thinges pertenyng to the same waynes, and six of my best keyn, and lx of my best shepe. Itm. I will that the residew of all my shepe, keyn, calves, and oxen, not by me biquested, divided bitwen John Dygby my sonne, and Alice and Elyn my forsaid doughters, equally. Itm. I biqueth to Rowland of Lee, my susters sonne, ij keyn and a young black ster, and vj ewes. Itm. I bequeth to Everard Ashby, my godson, iiij of my best calves, which be goyng in Tylton feilds. Itm. I biqueth to Margaret Kynton, my hunte, a matras, a gode coverlitt, a bras pott, a pair of flexyn shete, a kow, and vj ewes, and xiij s. iiij d. in money, for hir wages. Itm. I biqueth to Elyn Hall, my hunte, at Tylton, a kow and xl s. in money. Itm. I biqueth to the parishe church of Skevyngton vj s. viij d. Itm. To the parishe churche of Vpinghm. x s. Itm. To the parishe churche of Lidington iij s. iiij d. Itm. To the abbot of Wolston vj s. viij d. and every chalon. of his hous viij d. if they be at my buriall. Itm. I gyve to the couent there, to have placebo and dirige song in their church for my soul, x s. Itm. I biqueth to Sir Robert Kyrkby, chalon. ther, to py. for my soul, xx s. Itm. I will that my executo. doe fynde an able prest, to syng for my soull, and the soulles of my father and mother, and all Cristen soules, by the space of iij yere next following after my decease, in parishe church of Tylton. The residue of all my rentes, londes, and tenementes, dettes, and all other my godes, moveable and unmoveable, I give and biqueth them to Everad Dygby, my eldist sonne and myn heyre, whom I ordeyne and make my sole executor, to pay therwith my dette, and to dispose the residew thereof act his discretion,
Of Dalison.

for the helth of my soulle and my friendes. Thyes beryng witness,
Of Skeffington.

Mr. Thomas Dalyson, pson. of Stoke dry, William Skevyngton, Everod Darby, and John Dalyson,
Of Darby.

gentilmen, Sir Robart Kyrkby, chalon. of Wolston,
Of Kirkby.

and Sir Thomas Northmpton, chalon. of Laund,
Of Northampton.

of the diocise of Lincoln above rehersed.

E. Watson.

Tenore putm. nos Willmus. permissione divinae Cant' Archiepus totius Anglie primus et Aplice sedis legtus notum sacimus universis quod duodecimo die mentis Februarij anno Dm. millimo quingentesimo octavo, apud Lamehith probatum fuit coram nobis ac p. nos approbatur et insinuatur testm. Everardi Dygby defuncti putib. annexu. trents. dum vixit & mortis sue tempore bona in diversis dioc nre. Cant, provinc. cujus pro textu ipsius testamenti approbatio et insinuatio ac administrationis bonorum & debitorum concessio nec non compoti calculi sive rationarii administrationis hinor. auditio finalisq. liberatio sive dimissio ab eadm. nos solum et insolidum et non ad alium nobis inferiorem cudicem de nre prerogativa et censuetudine nris ac ecclie. pre xpi. tant hactenus quiete pacifice et inculle in hac pte. usitat. et obsuat. ltimeq. prescript dmonstrat. notorie pertinere comissaq. suit admistratio om. et singulor. bonor. et debitor: dri. defuncti Everardo Dygbi executori in timor. testamento noint. de bene et fidelit. admistrando eadm. ac de pleno et fideli inuentario omni. &c. singlor. bono. et debitoru. timoi. conficiend. et nobis citra festid. annunciationis beate Marie Virginis px. futur. exhibendo, nec non de plano et vero compoto calculo sive ratiotino nobis aut successoribus nris. in ea pte. redend. ad fta. dei eungelia. in rat dat. die mends, anno Dni. et loco predicto et nre. trans anno sexto.

Exam. a. concard. recordia J. Hen. Lilly, Rouge Rose.

Everard Digby made his will anno 1508. Everard Digby, eldest son and heir. John Digby. Alice. Ellen. Katharine, a nun at Sempringham. Darnegold.

I NOW return to the period when the family emerged from its misfortune; and in the person of Sir Kenelm, the son of the last Sir Evarard, was restored to its former honor, by the uncommon merits of the successor. He married Venetia, daughter of Sir Edward Stanley of Tongue Castle, Shropshire, Knight of the Bath. His eldest son, Kenelm, was slain in 1648, in the civil wars, at St. Neots: his second son, John, succeeded to the estate, and survived his father many years. He left by his wife Margaret, daughter of Sir Edward Longueville of Wolverton, in this county, Baronet, two daughters; the eldest, Margaret Maria, married Sir John Conway of Boddruddan, in Flintshire; the younger, Charlotta, married Richard Mostyn of Penbedw, in the same county, Esquire. These two gentlemen, in 1704, sold this manor, with Stoke Goldington, and the advowson of both the churches, to George Wright, Esquire, son of the lord keeper, Sir Nathan Wright; in whose posterity it still remains. By the preceding owners, the reliques of Sir Kenelm's collection came into my country; but the leaving behind the two beautiful busts of lady Venetia, impress no favorable idea of their taste.

SOME portraits,
PORTRAITS.

belonging to the former possessors, still keep a place in the house. In the parlour is a full-length of old Mr. Digby,
OLD MR. DIGBY.

father to the unhappy Sir Everard. He is represented in a close black dress, a laced turnover ruff, and with lace at his wrist: his hair black, his beard round, with one hand on his sword, the other

HIS lady,
HIS LADY.

Mary daughter of Francis Neile, Esquire, of Prestwold, and Keythorp, in Leicestershire, and widow to the Staffordshire antiquary, Sampson Erdeswik. Her dress is black, pinked with red; has a high fore-top adorned with jewels, a thin upright ruff, round kerchief, a farthingale, with gloves in her hand.

THEIR son,
SIR EVERARD.

the victim to bigotry, is here at full-length, in a black mantle and vest, the sleeves slashed, and pinked with white, large turnover, and turn-ups at his wrists: one hand holds his gloves; the other is gracefully folded in his mantle.

A REMARKABLE portrait,
SIR KENELM.

of a young man of large size, in a quilled ruff, white jacket, black cloak, purple hose, flowered belt, a bonnet with a white feather in it, flowered belt, with one hand on his sword. Above him, in a tablet, is represented a lady, in a most supplicatory attitude, with a lute in one hand, and a purse in the other, offering it to him. He stands by her, with averted look, one hand on his breast, and with an air which shews his rejection of her addresses, and horror at the infamy of mercenary love; and as if uttering to her the words inscribed near to him, his majora [*].

THIS is a portrait of the famous Sir Kenelm, in his youthful days; that prodigy of learning, credulity, valour, and romance, whose merits, although mixed with many foibles, entirely obliterated every attention to the memory of his father's infamy. The circumstance of the lady painted along with him, is a strong confirmation of the truth of the story related by Lloyd, that an Italian prince, who was childless, earnestly wished that his princess might become a mother by Sir Kenelm, whom he esteemed as a just model of perfection. It is probable that the princess would not have disobeyed the commands of her lord: but whether the painting alludes to our knight's cruelty on this occasion, or whether it might not describe the adventure of the Spanish lady, recorded in an elegant old ballad[†], I will not pretend to determine.

IN the long room above stairs,
LADY VENETIA.

is the picture of his beloved wife Venetia Anastatia Stanley, in a Roman habit, with curled locks. In one hand is a serpent; the other is on a pair of white doves.

She is painted at Windsor in the same emblematic manner, but in a different dress, and with accompaniments explanatory of the emblems. The doves shew her innocency; the serpent, which she handles with impunity, shews her triumph over the envenomed tongues of the times. We know not the particulars of the story. Lord Clarendon must allude to her exculpation of the charge, whatsoever it was, when he mentions her as
a lady of an extraordinary beauty, of as extraordinary same[*].
In the same picture is a genius about to place a wreath on her head. Beneath her is a Cupid, prostrate: and behind him is Calumny, with two faces, flung down and bound; a beautiful compliment on her victory over Malevolence. Her hair in this picture is light, and differs in color from that in the other. I have heard, from a descendant of her's, that she affected different hair-dresses, and different-colored eye-brows, to see which best became her.

SIR Kenelm was so enamoured with her beauty, that he was said to have attempted to exalt her charms, and preserve her health, by a variety of whimsical experiments. Among others, that of feeding her with capons fed with the flesh of vipers[†]; and that, to improve her complexion, he was perpetually inventing new cosmetics. Probably she fell a victim to these arts; for she was found dead in bed, May 1st, 1633, in the thirty-third year of her age. She was buried in Christchurch, London, under a large insulated
BUST of LADY VENETIA DIGBY.

tomb of black marble, with her bust on the top. This perished in the great fire; but the form is represented in the Pedigree-book, and from that engraven in the Antiquaries Repertory.

BOTH the pictures are the performances of Vandyck. In this at Gothurst are two of her sons, of a boyish age, and in the dress of the times.

HERE are, besides, two most beautiful busts of the same lady,
BUSTS OF LADY VENETIA.

in brass; whether by Le Soeur or Fanelli, I am not certain. One is in the dress of the times: an elegant laced handkerchief falls over her shoulders, leaving her neck bare. Her hair is curled, braided, twisted, and formed on the hind part of her head into a circle; beneath which fall elegant locks. On this bust is inscribed, ‘ Uxorem vivam amare voluptas, defunctam, religio. ’

THE other is a l'antique. The head is dressed in the same manner, only bound in a fillet: the drapery covers her breast; but so artificially, as not to destroy the elegancy of the form.

I KNOW of no persons who are painted in greater variety of forms and places, than this illustrious pair: possibly because they were the finest subjects of the times. Mr. Walpole is in possession of several most exquisite miniatures of the lady, by Oliver, bought from the heirs of Boddrudan and Pembedw, at a very high price. The most valuable is one in a gold case, where she is painted in company with her husband. There is another, said to be painted after she was dead; and four others, in water-colors.

THE same gentleman is in possession of a beautiful miniature of her mother, lady Lucy Percy, purchased at the same time. She is dressed like a citizen's wife, and with dark hair.

AMONG other portraits,
LORD KEEPER WRIGHT.

is a full-length of the lord keeper, Sir Nathan Wright, in his robes, and a head of Sir Joseph Jekyll, with a long wig and robes. The first received his appointment in the year 1700, unfortunately for him, as successor to lord Somers; whose precipitate dismission, in favor of a Tory, hardly allowed time for reflection on the impropriety of the choice. Sir Nathan kept his place till the year 1703, when he was dismissed, not without disgrace; more through defect of ability than want of integrity: but contemned by both parties.

SIR Joseph was a very different character: a staunch Whig, and a man of great abilities and worth. He died Master of the Rolls, in 1738. His wig was probably none of the best, if we are to trust these complimentary lines of Pope [*]:

A horse-laugh, if you please, on honesty;

A joke on Jekyll, or some odd old Whig,

Who never chang'd his principle, or wig.

THE church is at a little distance from the house;
CHURCH.

is new, and very neat, having been rebuilt, in pursuance of the will of George Wright, Esquire, son of the keeper. The figures of father and son face you as you enter the church: the first in his robes; the other in a plain gown: both furnished with enormous Parian perriwigs.

In the old church was a grave-stone, lying in the chancel, supposed to have been laid over John de Nouers, who lived in the time of Edward III. The inscription was in French [*].

JO: DE: NOVERS: GIST ICI DIEV: DE: S'ALME: EIT: MERCI: AMEN.

FROM Gothurst I crossed the Ouze, to the respectable old house of Tyringham,
TYRINGHAM.

(once the seat of a family of the same name) which stands very high in point of antiquity. Giffard de Tyringham gave the church of Tyringham to the priory of Tickford, near Newport Pagnel, in 1187. Sir Roger was one of the knights who attended Edward I. into Scotland; and Roger, his son, was sheriff of this county as early as the fifteenth of Richard II[†]. A Sir John Tyringham had the honor of losing his head in the cause of Henry VI; being, with several others, put to death unheard, in 1461, for the murder of the duke of York; that is, for being present at the battle of Wakefield, where that prince fell by some unknown hand. It continued in this antient family till 1685, when, on the death of Sir William Tyringham, it devolved to John, son of Edward Backwell, alderman of London, who had married his only daughter.

THE house has been neglected for some time, but not wholly unfurnished. Several family-portraits still continue there: such as a head of lady Tyringham,
PORTRAITS.

in a yellow laced cap and ruff, of the same kind with that in which the famous Mrs. Turner went to be hanged, for her concern in Overbury's murder.

A VERY curious picture, full-length, of an aged lady, in a great quilled ruff and gauze cap, distended behind, with an enormous gauze veil falling to the ground; a black gown spotted with white; jewels, in form of a cross, on her breast; another on her arm, and great strings of pearl round her wrists. She stands beneath a canopy, on which is a crown and coat of arms.

ANOTHER, of a young lady leaning on a chair, in a gauze cap, falling back; yellow petticoat flowered with red, and a feather-san.

A HALF-LENGTH of Colonel Backwell, in blue, gold sleeves and frogs, a sash; and a battle in view.

A SMALL portrait of Edward Backwell,
EDW. BACKWELL.

Esquire. He is represented in long hair and a flowered gown, with a table by him. I have a fine print of him, given me by the late Mr. Backwell, one of his descendants. He was, says Mr. Granger, an alderman of London and a banker, of great ability, industry, and integrity, and of most extensive credit; but ruined in the reign of Charles II. by the infamous project of shutting up the Exchequer. He retired to Holland, where he died, and was brought over to be interred in the church of Tyringham; where he lies embalmed. A glass is placed over his face; so his visage may possibly be seen to this time.

I COULD not but admire a spirited picture of a Falcon stooping at Bitterns.

IN the hall is a curious table, of an ash-colored marble. I should call it a polynesious marble, being veined like a chart filled with little islands, nicely shaded at their edges.

As my curiosity led me to explore the kitchen, I found on the walls the rude portraits of me following fish, recorded to be taken in the adjacent river, in the years below-mentioned.

- A carp, in 1648, 2 feet 9 inches long.

- A pike, in 1658, 3 7.

- A bream 2 31/2.

- A salmon, 3 10.

- A perch, 2 0.

- A shad, in 1683, 1 11.

These are the records of rural life; important to those who were perhaps happily disengaged from the bustle and cares attendant on politics and dissipation.

THE adjacent church is dedicated to St. Peter, and united with Filgrave: it is in the gift of Mr. Backwell. The village of Tyringham is quite depopulated, and the church of Filgrave dilapidated; but the inhabitants of that parish make use of the church of Tyringham.

ABOUT a mile farther, go through the village of Lathbury;
LATHBURY.

near which is the church, and a large old house.

A LITTLE farther is Newport Pagnel: in former times of dangerous approach,
NEWPORT PAGNEL.

by reason of the overflowing of the Ouze. This small town stands between that river and the Lovet, near their junction. Soon after the Conquest, it was the property of William Fitz-Ausculph; [*]; from him it passed to the Paganels, or Painels, in the reign of William Rufus, who continued possessed of it above a century. Leland mentions them as lords of the castle of Newport Pagnel [*]. On the death of Gervase Pagnel, in the reign of Richard I. this manor became the property of John de Somerie, by marriage with Hawise, daughter of Gervase. [†] His son Ralph, gave king John a hundred pounds, and two palfreys, for livery of this lordship, and did homage for it. In the reign of Henry III. Roger de Somerie forfeited his lands, for neglecting (on summons) to receive the honor of knighthood[‡]. The king then granted the farm of this place to Walter de Kirkham for life, quitting him of suits to county and hundred, and of aid to sheriffs and his bailiffs; and that, when the king or his heirs should tallage their manors and demesnes, the said Walter might by himself, and to his own use, tallage the said manor in like form as it might be tallaged if it were in the king's hand‖. But I find that it afterwards reverted to the Someries. In the reign of Edward II. it was conveyed to Thomas de Botetourt, by his marriage with Joan, one of the sisters of John de Somerie, last male heir[§]. I now lose sight of the succession, and can only say, that it continued a place of strength till the civil wars of the last century, when its strength was demolished, or, according to the phrase of the time, slighted, by order of parlement, in 1646[**].

IT flourishes greatly,
LACE MANUFACTURE.

by means of the lace manufacture, which we stole from the Flemings, and introduced with great success into this county. There is scarcely a door to be seen, during summer, in most of the towns, but what is occupied by some industrious pale-faced lass; their sedentary trade forbidding the rose to bloom in their sickly cheeks.

THE church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul;
CHURCH.

was an impropriation belonging to the neighboring abbey of Tickford; and is in the gift of the crown.

Here were three hospitals, founded in early times. That by John de Somerie,
HOSPITALS.

about the year 1280, still survives, for three poor men, and the same number of poor women; having been refounded by Anne of Denmark, and from her is called Queen Anne's Hospital. The vicar of Newport, for the time being, is appointed master[*].

ABOUT eight miles from Newport, at the forty-four mile-stone, at Hogsty-house, enter the county of BEDFORD, on Woburn Sands, seated on the extremity of the range of hills which traverse the east end of the former county,
WOBURN SANDS.

and contain the parishes of the three Brickhills. Near the road side are the noted pits of fullers earth, that invaluable substance,
FULLERS EARTH.

which is supposed to give that great superiority to the British cloth (honestly worked) over that of other nations.

THE beds over this important marl are, firstly, several layers of reddish sand, to the thickness of six yards; then succeeds a stratum of sand-stone, of the same color; beneath which, for seven or eight yards more, the sand is again continued to the fullers earth; the upper part of which, being impure, or mixed with sand, is flung aside, the rest taken up for use. The earth lies in layers; under which is a bed of rough white free-stone, about two feet thick, and under that sand; beyond that the laborers never have penetrated.

THE great use of this earth is cleansing the cloth, or imbibing the tar, grease, and tallow, which are so frequently employed by the shepherds, in healing the external diseases which sheep are liable to; neither can the wool be worked, spun, or woven, unless it be well greased. All this grease must be gotten out, before the cloths are fit to wear. Other countries either want this species of earth, or have it in less perfection. The British legislature therefore have, from the days of Charles I. guarded against the exportation, under severe penalties. The Romans attended to the fulling business by their lex Metella, which was made expressly to regulate the manufacture[*]. They used various kinds of earth: the cimolia, the sarda (which came from Sardinia) and the umbrica. The two first were white; the latter might be allied to ours, crescit in macerando. It swells in water[†]; a property of the true marls. But the application of earths in the woollen manufacture, and for the cleansing purposes, was of very early times: — But who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like FULLERS SOPE[*].

AT a small distance from hence lies the little town of Woburn,
WOBURN TOWN.

in which is a free-school, founded by Francis I. earl of Bedford, and a charity-school for thirty boys, by Wriothesly duke of Bedford. The church was built by the last abbot of Woburn [†], and
CHURCH.

belonged to that religious house; having been a chapel to Birchmore, a church long since demolished. This place is of exempt jurisdiction, under the patronage of the adjacent great family[‡]. The steeple is oddly disjoined from the church. The chancel has been very elegantly fitted up with stucco by the late duke. The pulpit is a pretty piece of gothic carving, probably coeval with the abbey.

A NEAT monument of Sir Francis Stanton is preserved here;
TOMBS.

who, with his lady, is kneeling at an altar.

IN the south aile stood a grey marble, robbed of the figure of a priest under a large canopy, and four coats of arms, with the inscription entire.

Hic jacet Johs Morton, filius quonda Johes Morton, de Portsgrave, domini de Lovelsbury, qi obiit in die comemorcois Sci Pauli, anno Dni Millmo C. C. C. nonagesimo quarto. Quor aie ppicietur Deus ‖.

IN the east window were the arms of Robert Vere earl of Oxford, impaling Samford; the last, in right of his wife Alice, daughter and heiress to Gilbert lord Samford, chamberlain to Elinor, consort to Edward I.‖

AT a little distance from the town was situated the abbey,
ABBEY.

founded, in 1145, by Hugh de Bolebec, a nobleman of great property in this neighborhood; who, inspired by God, made a visit to the abbot of Fountains, to advise with him about his pious design[*]. The abbot encouraged him to proceed; and Hugh erected the buildings, endowed them, and peopled them with monks of the Cistercian order, and placed over them, as first abbot, Alan, brought from the monastery of St. Mary, at York. [†]. The place prospered, by several benefactions; and at the dissolution, was found, according to Dugdale, to be possessed of revenues to the amount of £391. 18s. 2d. a year, or to £430. 13s. 11d. according to Speed [‡].

THE last abbot, Robert Hobbs, was hanged at Woburn, in March 1537, for not acknowleging the king's supremacy. The monastery and its revenues, in 1547, were granted by Edward VI. to lord Russel, soon after created earl of Bedford by the same prince. No one profited so greatly by the plunder of the church as this family: the fortune, even to the present time, doth principally originate from gifts of this nature. To the grant of Woburn it owes much of its property in this county, and in Bucks; to that of the rich abbey of Tavistoke, vast fortunes and interest in Devonshire; and, to render them more extensive, that of Dunkeswell was added. The donation of Thorney abbey gave him an amazing tract of fens in Cambridgeshire, together with a great revenue. Melchburn abbey (I should have before said) increased his property in Bedfordshire; the priory of Castle Hymel gave him footing in Northamptonshire; and he came in for parcels of the appurtenance of St. Alban's, and Mountgrace in Yorkshire; not to mention the house of the friars preachers in Exeter, with the revenues belonging to the foundation: and finally, the estate about Covent Garden, with a field adjoining, called The Seven Acres, on which Long Acre is built, appertenances to the convent of Westminster; the first, a garden belonging to the abbot.

THE superstitious will stand amazed, that no signal judgment has overtaken the children of sacrilege; yet no house in Britain has thriven more than the house of Russel.

THE house is situated in a very pleasant park, well wooded,
HOUSE.

but defective in water; the several pieces being too much divided, and the dams too conspicuous. The present house was built by the late duke, excepting a paltry grotto, by Inigo Jones (which shews that his taste was superior to such childish performances) and the great stables, which were part of the antient cloisters, and still preserve their pillars and vaulted roof. The offices are also the work of the late duke, and form two magnificent but plain buildings, at a small distance from the mansion.

THIS house is a treasure of paintings; of portraits of the great,
PORTRAITS.

now illustrious by their figure they make in the eyes of posterity, undazzled with their wealth, rank, power, or qualifications, mental or corporeal, which concealed their failings, and made them pass at lest unnoticed openly by their cotemporaries. They now undergo a posthumous trial, and, like the Egyptians of old, receive censure or praise according to their respective merits.

THE first which struck me was a lady, who defied the strictest scrutiny; a small full-length, in widow's weeds, with her head reclined on one hand, and a book by her;
RACHEL LADY RUSSEL.

with a countenance full of deep and silent sorrow: the sad relict of the virtuous lord RUSSEL, and daughter to the good and great Wriothesly earl of Southampton. I imagine her in the third month of her affliction, filled with the following meditation:

LORD, let me understand the reason of these dark and wounding providences, that I sink not under the discouragement of my own thoughts. I know I have deserved my punishment, and will be silent under it; but yet secretly my heart mourns, because I have not the dear companion and sharer of my joys and sorrows: I want him to talk with, to eat, and sleep with. All these things are irksome to me now: the day unwelcome, and the night so too. All company and meals I would avoid, if it might be; yet all this is, that I enjoy not the world in my own way; and this sure hinders my comfort. When I see my children before me, I remember the pleasure he took in them! This makes my heart to shrink. Can I regret his quitting a lesser good for a bigger? O! if I did stedfastly believe, I could not be dejected! But I will not injure myself, to say I offer my mind any inferior consolation to supply this loss: no, I most willingly forsake this world, this vexatious, troublesome world, in which I have no other business but to rid my soul from sin; secure, by faith and a good conscience, my eternal interest; with patience and courage bear my eminent misfortunes, and ever hereafter be above the smiles and frowns of it; and when I have done the remnant of the work appointed me on earth, then joyfully wait for the heavenly perfection, in GOD'S good time; when, by his infinite mercy, I may be accounted worthy to enter in the same place of rest and repose, where he is gone for whom only I grieve[*].

I NOW turn my eyes to a lady, whose felicity consisted in a different fate; in being early cut off from the embraces of a capricious tyrant,
LADY JANE SEYMOUR.

whose inconstancy and whose lusts would probably have involved her in misery, had not heaven, in its mercy, taken her to itself. Lady Jane Seymour, the lady in question, became queen to Henry VIII. in 1536, and was released from him by death, 1537. The portrait expresses the elegance of her person. She is dressed in red, with great gold net-work sleeves, and rich in jewels. Her print, among the illustrious heads, does her little justice.

THAT gloomy insipid pair, Philip II. and his consort Mary,
PHILIP AND MARY.

are painted in small full-lengths, by Sir Antonio More. The first of these ungracious figures is dressed in a black jacket, with gold sleeves and hose; the queen sitting, in a black-and-gold petticoat, and furred sleeves. Her black conic cap is faced with gold and jewels. A rich chain of great pearls and small vases, red and gold, are other ornaments to our bigotted sovereign. The date is 1553. Sir Antonio was sent from Spain to draw her picture; so has placed them in a scene of aukward courtship; for they were not married till the following year.

ANOTHER remarkable portrait, by the same painter,
ED. COURTENEY EARL OF DEVONSHIRE.

is that of Edward Courteney, last earl of Devonshire of his name; who, for his nearness in blood to the crown, was imprisoned by the jealous Henry, from the age of ten till about that of twenty-eight. His daughter Mary set him at liberty, and wooed him to share the kingdom with her. He rejected her offer, in preference to her sister Elizabeth; for which, and some false suspicion of disaffection, he suffered another imprisonment with Elizabeth. He was soon released. He quitted the kingdom, as prudence directed, and died at the age of thirty, at Padua.

HE is represented as a handsome man, with short brown hair, and a yellow beard, a dark jacket, with white sleeves, and breeches; behind him is a ruined tower; beneath him this inscription, expressive of his misfortunes:

En! puer et insons et adhuc juvenilibus annis;

Annos bis septem carcere clusus eram.

Me pater his tenuit vinclis, quae filia solvit:

Sors mea sic tandem vertitur a superis.

Fourteen long years in strict captivity,

Tyrant-condemn'd, I pass'd my early bloom,

'Till pity bade the generous daughter free

A guiltless captive, and reverse my doom.

R. W.

SIR Philip Sydney is painted in the twenty-second year of his age;
SIR. PHILIP SYDNEY.

in a quilled ruff, white slashed jacket, a three-quarter length. He was a deserved favorite of queen Elizabeth: who well might think the court deficient without him; for, to uncommon knowlege, valour, and virtuous gallantry, was joined a romantic spirit, congenial with that of his royal mistress. His romance of Arcadia is not relished at present: it may be tedious; but the morality, I fear, renders it disgusting to our age. It is too replete with innocence to be relished. Sir Philip was to the English, what the Chevalier Bayard was to the French, Un Chevalier sans peur, et sans reproches. Both were strongly tinctured with enthusiastic virtue: both died in the field with the highest sentiments of piety.

I LAMENT that the portraits are not placed in chronological order: I must give them as I found them. Isabella,
ISABELLA DUTCHESS OF GRAFTON.

daughter to Henry Bennet earl of Arlington, and wife to the first duke of Grafton, is represented a half-length, in white, with long flowing hair, very handsome.

IN one of these apartments is a head of the duke of Monmouth.
DUKE OF MONMOUTH.

A CAPITAL picture of the plague. The dead bodies appear infectious, by the attitudes of the living. To increase the horror, the artist has placed a live infant by its dead mother: a circumstance not unknown in the dreadful pestilence in London, of 1665. By Nicholas Poussin.

A FINE view of Pout Neuf, with numbers of figures, by Wovermans.

IN the green drawing-room is a fine landscape by Claude Lorrain; with a view of the sea. The figures are shepherds and shepherdesses.

David, and Abigail averting his wrath. Her beauty and suppliant looks are admirable. By Lucca Jordano.

A LANDSCAPE, by G. Poussin; with the figure of an old man begging.

FROM hence I crossed through the hall, a low room, supported by eight pillars, into

THE DINING-ROOM. In this apartment are four pieces, representing Alexander's campaigns, by old Parocel. The first is a repose after a march: he and his companions feasting under a tree. Two others are battles.

A LANDSCAPE, by Mr. Gainsborough; containing cattle, figures, and an antient tree: a piece that would do credit to the best masters.

IN THE COFFEE-ROOM is a large family-picture,
FAMILY PICTURES.

by Jervis, of Elizabeth Howland, dutchess to the first Wriothesley duke of Bedford, in her weeds, with her four children. Above her, in the back part of the picture, hangs the portrait of her lord; the same who built Covent Garden church, and was called The good Duke.

IN another apartment is a large picture, representing the present dutchess, presenting her daughter (the dutchess of Marlborough) to Minerva, the Sciences, and Graces; painted by Hamilton, an artist settled, I believe, at Rome.

A FULL-LENGTH of a nobleman, in a hat with a red crown and feather, square black beard, red ear-rings and stockings: in his robes, with a white rod in his hand. This was brought from Thornbaugh, a seat of the family in Northamptonshire.

OPPOSITE to him is a portrait of a lady, in black, a red-and-white petticoat, flat ruff, and a great string of pearls across her breast.

Two children in one piece,
LADY DIANA AND ANNE RUSSEL.

lady Diana and lady Anne Russel, daughters of William, first duke of Bedford. They had the misfortune of being poisoned, by eating some noxious berries which they met with. Lady Anne died; lady Diana survived, and is again painted, in more advanced life, by Sir Peter Lely.

A MAN, with his jacket grey, breeches red, short hair, and small beard; a stick in his hand, and helmet by him. Date 1592, aet. 28.

Elizabeth Bruges,
ELIZABETH BRUGES.

or Bridges, aged 14, 1589, painted in a flat stile, by Hieronymo di Custodio, of Antwerp. She is represented in black, flowered with white, with full sleeves, a gold chain, a great pearl set in gold on one shoulder, and a gold ornament on the other. This lady was eldest daughter to Giles lord Chandos, and wife to Sir John Kenneda, Knight[*]: she dying childless, the whole fortune of her family devolved to his second sister, Catherine countess of Bedford.

IN this room is a full-length of that fantastic lady,
LUCY COUNTESS OF BEDFORD.

Lucy countess of Bedford, in a dancing attitude, dressed in as fantastic a habit, with an immense transparent veil distended behind her. I have spoken sufficiently of this lady elsewhere[†]; so shall add nothing more, but that her vanity and extravagance met with no check under the rule of her quiet spouse Edward earl of Bedford, whom she survived only one year.

A STRANGE figure of a man, in black, half-length, in a close black cap, and a letter in his hand, directed to Pr. de Nassau. I am informed, by a very able herald, that, from the arms on the picture, the personage represented is the Count de Nassau-Uranien Nassau.

IN the billiard-room is a curious painted pedigree.

THE arras hangings fall over the doors, in the old fashion. The lifting up of such hangings have often given opportunity for dreadful assassinations.

IN the passage-room is a portrait of the present dutchess of Marlborough.
PRESENT DUTCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH.

James earl of Carlisle, [‡], in long hair, buff coat,
JAMES EARL OF CARLISLE.

and red sash.

SIR Edward Stradling,
SIR EDW. STEADLING.

of St. Donet's, in South Wales. A head, with whiskers, a turnover, and black dress. I imagine him to be the gentleman who had a regiment under Charles I; who was taken prisoner at the battle of Edgehill, and who died on his release at Oxford.

THE Angel hastening the departure of Lot out of Sodom, by Rubens. Small.

LORD Francis Russel, a miniature, in black dress.

RUBENS and his two wives. Heads.

A BOY and girl, by Morillio.

THE LIBRARY, with a coved roof, painted by Cypriani and Rebecca. Apollo and the Muses by the first; the other subjects by the latter.

IN the green room is a singular picture of Ignatius Loyola, in black, with a dog behind him, kneeling to the apparition of our Saviour in the clouds, by Bassan.

TWO, by Rosa di Tivoli.

AN Ascension, a fine piece, by Sebastian Ricci. The confusion and terror of the soldiers are inimitably expressed.

A BATTLE, by Pandolfo.

THE castle of St. Angelo, by Lucatelli. A MAN'S head, in which is a noble appearance of contrition and hope, by Balestra.

AN old woman's head, by Guido.

IN the little blue room is a fine full-length of a nobleman, in a black-and-gold vest, and a high-crowned hat in his hand. On the back ground is a curtain, almost concealing a lady; of whom nothing but one hand and part of her petticoat is seen. By this is Aetatis. 1614. L• I.

THE music-room is small, but elegant, stuccoed and gilt. Several oval compartments, and prettily filled with paintings in clare obscur, by Cypriani and Rebecca.

A PORTRAITS, called Lucy countess of Bedford, in a white satin gown worked with colors,
LUCY? COUNTESS OF BEDFORD.

a laced single ruff, and a long scarlet velvet cloak hanging gracefully, with one arm folded in it. On her head is a pearl coronet, and pearls on her wrists. In the back ground she appears in a garden, in the true attitude of stately disdain, bent half back, in scorn of a poor gentleman bowing to the very ground. Unfortunately for her lover, it is probable that Donne had just told her,

Out from your chariot morning breaks at night,

And falsifies both computations, so;

Since a new world doth rise here from your light,

We your new creatures by new reck'nings go.

This shows that you from nature lothly stray,

Thus suffer not an artificial day.

In this you have made the court the antipodes,

And will'd your delegate, the vulgar sunne,

To doe profane autumnal offices,

Whilst here to you wee sacrificers runne.

In all religions as much care hath bin

Of temples frames and beauty', as rites within[*].

HEADS of lions, by Rubens.

THE Israelites carrying the ark, by Parocel.

A FEMALE dwarf; dwarf to Catherine, queen to Charles II.

IN the upper dining-room is a full-length portrait of the well-known unfortunate Robert,
ROBERT EARL OF ESSEX.

earl of Essex, in white. The queen's passion for Essex certainly was not founded on the beauty of his person. His beard was red, his hair black, his person strong, but without elegance, his gait ungraceful[*]. But the queen was far past the heyday of her blood: she was struck with his romantic valour, with his seeming attachment to her person, and, I may add, with the violence of his passions; for her majesty, like the rest of her sex, probably ‘Stoop'd to the forward and the bold.’ At length his presumption increased with her favor: her fears overcame her affection, and, after many struggles, at length consigned him to the scaffold; having thoroughly worked himself out of her gracious conceit. [†].

Catherine countess of Bedford,
CATHERINE COUNTESS OF BEDFORD.

wife to Francis earl of Bedford, and daughter to Giles Bruges, third lord Chandos. Her dress is a pearl coronet, and hair flowing below her waist, a worked gown, and red mantle: a fine full-length.

Edward earl of Russel,
EDWARD EARL OF BEDFORD.

sitting. He is dressed in black-and-gold, with a high-crown hat; his hand in a sash, being gouty. This nobleman was an exception to the good understanding this family is blest with; and unluckily was matched with a lady whose vanity and expences were boundless.

LORD TREASURER Burleigh, the able statesman of Elizabeth; a favorite,
TREASURER BURLEIGH.

whom she chose, as she expressed it, not for his bad legs, but for his good head [*]. His maxims did not quite agree with those of the ministers of later days; for he held, That nothing could be for the advantage of the prince, which makes anyway against his reputation: wherefore he never would suffer the rents of lands to be raised, nor the old tenants to be put out[†].

THIS great statesman is represented sitting. His countenance comely, his beard grey, his gown black and furred, and adorned with a gold chain. His mistress lost this faithful servant in 1598, aged seventy-seven.

HIS second son is placed near him, standing: a mean, little,
ROBERT EARL OF SALISBURY.

deformed figure, possessed of his father's abilities, but mixed with deceit and treachery. His services to his master and his country, will give him rank among the greatest ministers; but his share in bringing the great Raleigh to the scaffold, and the dark part he acted, in secretly precipitating the generous, unsuspecting Essex to his ruin, will ever remain indelible blots on him as a man. His dress is that of the Spanish nation (though he was averse to its politics) a black jacket and cloak, which add no grace to his figure.

NEXT is the portrait of Sir William Russel (afterwards duke of Bedford) when young.
SIR WILLIAM RUSSEL, FIRST DUKE OF BEDFORD.

He is dressed in robes of the order of the Bath, leaning on his sword; and by him a dwarf, aged thirty-two. On the picture is inscribed Johannes Priwezer, di Hungaria, fecit. 1627: a painter of merit, but whose works are rare. There is another portrait of him in the gallery, a full-length, in a long wig, and, I think, the robes of the Garter.

Anne,
HIS DUTCHESS.

daughter of that infamous pair, Robert Car earl of Somerset and his countess, is painted by Vandyck, in blue, drawing on a glove: a most beautiful half-length. She was the wife of Sir William Russel, above mentioned, married to him in the year 1637. She proved worthy of the alliance she made. It is said that she was ignorant of her mother's dishonor, till she read it in a pamphlet she found accidentally left in a window. It is added, that the was so struck with this detection of her parents guilt, that she fell down in a fit, and was found senseless, with the book open before her. She died on May 10th, 1684. The anecdote is omitted in the histories of the family, probably to avoid the revival of a disgraceful tale. Francis earl of Bedford was so averse to the alliance, that he gave his son leave to chuse a wife out of any family but that. Opposition usually stimulates desire: the young couple's affections were only increased. At length the king interposed, and, sending the duke of Lenox to urge the earl to consent, the match was brought about. Somerset, now reduced to poverty, acted a generous part; selling his house at Chiswick, plate, jewels, and furniture, to raise a fortune for his daughter of twelve thousand pounds, which the earl of Bedford demanded; saying, that seeing her affections were settled, he chose rather to undo himself than make her unhappy[*].

HER father-in-law,
THE SECOND FRANCIS EARL OF BEDFORD.

the second Francis earl of Bedford, by Vandyck; full-length, in black, with light hair and short peaked beard; painted in 1636, aged forty-eight. He died in 1641, and left behind him a distinguished character. He was of the popular party; but of such an excellent understanding, so good a heart, and of such great moderation, that it is supposed, that, had he lived, his influence with his friends would have been exerted to have composed the unhappy violences of the times. This was the nobleman who undertook, and succeeded in the arduous attempt of draining the vast fen in Cambridgeshire, called The Great Level; containing three hundred and six thousand acres[*].

IN the saloon is a fine half-length of a man, by Titian.

Cain slaying Abel, by Guido.

A BEAUTIFUL young woman washing, with an old man by her: a most pleasing picture, by Le Moine.

OVER the chimney is a full-length of the earl of Bristol,
EARL OF BRISTOL AND SIR W. RUSSEL.

and Sir William Russel (afterwards earl of Bedford). The former is in black; the other in red. A copy from Vandyck.

LATE king of France: full-length.

ANGELS flying: a very graceful painting, by Morillio.

THE Last Supper, by Tintoret.

THE vision of our Saviour's passion to admiring spectators. God appears above, and angels support the cross. By Luca Jordano.

Two landscapes, by Poussin•

IN the blue drawing-room is an exquisite picture of Joseph expounding the dream to Pharaoh's baker. The last, sitting, with vast and eager attention in his countenance. In Joseph appears vast concern, at his assured foreknowlege of the fatal prediction. By Rembra•. Near it is a portrait of that great painter, by himself.

IN the French dressing-room is a striking resemblance of the present dutchess of Bedford; and in the gallery is a very fine full-length of her worthy husband, the late duke, represented sitting, in his robes.

A MADONNA and child, by Guercino.

A MAGDALENE, by An. Caracci.

Anne countess of Warwick,
ANNE COUNTESS OF WARWICK.

daughter to the first Francis earl of Bedford, and wife to Ambrose Dudley earl of Warwick. The date is 1600. She is in her full age, and dressed in black and gold, with white-and-striped sleeves.

IN the state dressing-room are numbers of small pieces. A fine landscape, with figures, by Cuyp: Oliver Cromwell, represented in a field of battle: two very fine small views of rock and wood, by Salvator Rosa: a sea view, by Vandevelde: a holy family, by Simon de Pesaro: the child seizing on a crown of thorns, out of a basket of flowers, in preference to the most exquisite of the assemblage; the turn of his head beautiful: a Magdalen, by Hannibal Carracci: and a horse in a stable, by Wouverman: another Magdalen, by Trevisiani: a fine bright landscape, by Claude Lorrain; two, by Salvator Rosa; one, by Cuyp; and two humorous Dutch pieces, by Both, merit attention.

LATE lord and lady Tavistoke. His lordship in a red gown,
LORD AND LADY TAVISTOKE.

furred. He is again represented in another room, in the uniform of the Dunstable Hunt.

THE gallery;
GALLERY.

a room unparalleled for its valuable and instructive number of portraits: their history would make a volume. I can only pretend to point out some principal facts, that the spectator, who may honor me with his company through this illustrious assemblage, may not have to reproach me, with suffering him to depart wholly uninformed.

THE first I shall point out, is a head of lord WILLIAM RUSSEL,
LORD WILLIAM RUSSEL.

the sad victim to his virtuous design of preserving our liberties and constitution from the attempts of as abandoned a set of men as ever governed these kingdoms. True patriotism, not ambition nor interest, directed his intentions. Posterity must applaud his unavailing engagements, with due censure of the Machiavelian necessity of taking off so dangerous an opposer of the machinations of his enemies. The law of politics gives sanction to the removal of every obstacle to the designs of statesmen. At the same time, we never should lessen our admiration and pity of the generous characters who fell sacrifices to their hopes of delivering purified to their descendants, the corrupted government of their own days. To attempt to clear lord RUSSEL from the share in so glorious a design, would be to deprive him of a most brilliant part of his character. His integrity and ingenuity would not suffer even himself to deny that part of the charge. Let that remain unimpeached, since he continues so perfectly acquitted of the most distant design of making assassination a means; or of intriguing with a foreign monarch, the most repugnant to our religion and freedom, to bring about so desired an end.

OVER the door is Sir Nicholas Bacon, in a black dress, furred[*].
SIR NICHOLAS BACON.

By Zucchero.

SIR Nicholas Throgmorton.

SIR. Ed. Gorges?
SIR ED. GORGES.

a head.

ANOTHER,
SIR JOSSELYN PERCY.

head, of Sir Josselyn Percy, seventh son of Henry, eighth earl of Northumberland. He and his brother Charles were concerned in the earl of Essex's insurrection. Both received their pardons: and Josselyn survived till 1631.

ANOTHER,
COMPTROLLER ROGERS.

of a gentleman of the name of Rogers, comptroller to queen Elizabeth. I imagine him to have been Sir Edward Rogers: a person of some consideration at the time of her accession; for he was one of the few who waited on her at Hatfield, on the death of queen Mary, and formed one of the privy-council held there on that great event[*].

Thomas earl of Exeter,
THOMAS EARL OF EXETER.

eldest son to the great Burleigh, is painted, a full-length.

NOTWITHSTANDING this nobleman was inferior in abilities to his younger brother, yet was he a man of spirit and of parts. He served as volunteer at the siege of Edinburgh castle, in 1573; distinguished himself in the wars in the Low Countries; and, with his brother, served on board the fleet which had the honor of defeating the Spanish armada. He entered also into the romantic gallantries of the reign of queen Elizabeth, and was a knight-tilter in the tournaments performed for the amusement of her illustrious lover the duke of Anjou, in 1581. In the following reign he was employed as a man of business; was created earl of Exeter; and finished his course, aged eighty, in February, 1622.

NEAR him is the head of Charles Brandon duke of Suffolk,
CHARLES BRANDON.

son of Sir William Brandon, standard-bearer to Henry VII. slain in the battle of Bosworth. His dress is black, with red sleeves, with the collar of the Garter and the George. His beard is white; his countenance bluff, not unlike that of his master, Henry VIII. Their qualities, happily for the favorite, were different; for the inscription with truth says, that he was ‘gratiose with Henry VIII.; void of despyte; most fortunate to the end; never in displeasure with his kynge.’ He was brought up with his master, and justly beloved by him for his noble qualities, for his goodly person, courage, and conformity of disposition (I suppose only) in all his exercises and pastimes[*]. He was a principal figure in every tilt and tournament. In his younger days (1510) he appeared at Westminister in the solemn justs, held in honor of Catherine of Arragon, in the dress of a recluse, begging of her highness permission to run in her presence; which obtained, he instantly flung off his weeds, and came out all armed. He signalized himself at the just at Tournay, in 1511, instituted by Margaret princess of Castile, in compliment to his royal master. The place was flagged with black marble, and the horses of the knights shod with felt, to prevent them from slipping[†]. He here won the heart of the fair foundress of the entertainment; but fortune reserved him for another princess.

IN 1514 he performed amazing deeds of arms at St. Dennis, at the coronation of the youthful Mary, sister to Henry, on her marriage with the aged and decrepid Louis XII. The good king, says Henault, forgot his age, and met with death in her arms in less than three months. This opened the way to the possession of the beautiful dowager. Her heart was lost to him at the preceding tournaments; in which she had opportunity to compare her feeble bridegroom with the dexterity, the grace, and strength of her valiant knight; who, at single combat, overthrew man and horse. The French, envious of his prowess, introduced into the lists a gigantic German, in hopes of bringing the English hero into disgrace. He treated the Almain so roughly, that the French interfered; but, in a second trial, Suffolk caught him round the neck, and pummelled him so severely about the head, that they were obliged to convey the fellow away secretly; who had been surreptitiously introduced in disguise, merely on account of his great strength[*].

Mary, on the death of her royal consort, proposed to Suffolk, and gave him only four days to consider of the offer[†]. This seems concerted, to save her lover from the fury of Henry, for daring to look up to a dowager of France, and, what was more, his sister. His master, fortunately, favored the match. He continued beloved by the king to the end of his life; after seeing the following knights and attendants on the conjugal festivities, the earl of Devonshire, lord Leonard Grey, Sir Nicholas Carew, and Anne Bullein, sent headless to their graves. But Charles went off triumphant with his royal spouse; carried with him her jewels, to the amount of 200,000 crowns; the famous diamond le mirroir de Naples; and secured her jointure of sixty thousand crowns[*]. He married almost as many wives as his master, leaving his fourth to survive him. He died universally lamented, in August 1545, and was buried magnificently, at the expence of his master; his loss being one of the few things that touched his hardened heart.

Edward Clinton, first earl of Lincoln, sitting: a half-length,
EDW. CLINTON, FIRST EARL OF LINCOLN.

in black, a short ruff, bonnet, and with his George. By Cornelius Ketel, the whimsical artist, who took it into his head to lay aside his brushes, and paint with his fingers only; and at length, finding those tools too easy, undertook to paint with his toes[†]. This nobleman was one of the most distinguished persons of his age, and shone equally as a soldier and a sailor; for, during the reigns of Henry VIII. Edward VI. Mary, and Elizabeth, there were scarcely any expeditions in which he did not signalize himself. He was lord great admiral for thirty years; counsellor to three princes; and of unspotted reputation. In an advanced age, he married for his third wife the fair Geraldine, the subject of the gallant earl of Surrey's affection, and of his amorous Muse. Their union never took place. It is probable that she deserted him; for soon after his sonnet, descriptive of the fair, ‘From Tuscane came my ladies worthy race.’ follow several others, complaining of his hard lot, in experiencing the scorn and inconstancy of his mistress; but what affects him most is, the giving the preference to a lover of meaner rank.

I know (though she say nay, and would it well withstand)

When in hir grace thou yeldest the most, she bare thee but in hand.

I see her pleasant cheere in chiefest of thy suite,

When thou art gone I see him come that gathers up the fruite;

And eke in thy respecte, I see the base degree

Of him to whom she gave the heart that promised was to thee[*].

The lady,
THE FAIR GERALDINE.

like many other beauties, humiliated by years, at length resigned the noon of her charms to this antient peer; who quitted her and the world in 1585.

IN this room is the portrait of Geraldine herself, a head. Her hair yellow: her face, a proof how much beauty depends on fancy: her dress far from elegant.

A HEAD of John Russel,
JOHN RUSSEL, FIRST EARL OF BEDFORD.

first earl of Bedford, a profile, with a long white beard, and the George hanging from his neck. This gentleman was the founder of the family, and owed his rise to his merit and accomplishment. Philip archduke of Austria, being, in 1508, driven by a storm on the coast of Dorsetshire, was entertained by Sir Thomas Trenchard; who sent for his neighbor, Mr. Russel, who was skilled in the languages, to wait on his highness. The duke was so pleased with his conversation, as to insist on his going with him to the king, then at Windsor. Henry, at the recommendation of the duke, took him into his service. In the following reign he advanced in fortune with vast rapidity. He fortunately was cotemporary with the fall of monastic life, and obtained vast grants of the possessions of the church. Edward VI. created him earl of Bedford. The last act of his life was a voyage to Spain, to bring over Philip II. (grandson of the prince to whom he owed his rise) to espouse his royal mistress. He died in March 1555, and lies buried at Cheneis, in Buckinghamshire, with his lady; by whom he acquired that estate. The church of Cheneis, from that time, became the aeterna domus of all this great family, and contains a most superb collection of different-fashioned monuments.

Ambrose Dudley earl of Warwick, a head, with a bonnet,
AMBROSE EARL OF WARWICK.

black dress, the George pendent. His third wise, lady Anne, daughter to Francis earl of Bedford, in black-and-white sleeves, and a black body.

A HALF-LENGTH of Henry earl of Southampton,
HENRY EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON.

by Solomon de Caus [*]; with short grey hair; in black, with points round his waist, a flat ruff, leaning on a chair, with a mantle over one arm. This nobleman was friend to the earl of Essex, and through friendship, not disaffection, attended him in the mad and desperate insurrection which brought the favorite to the block. The plea was admitted: he was condemned, but reprieved; and continued in the Tower till the accession of James I. when he was instantly restored to his honors and estate. By reason of his love to the earl of Essex, he never was on good terms with the minister, the earl of Salisbury. He was one that attended Mansfield's army into the Netherlands, and died in 1624, at Bergen op Zoom, of a fever, contracted in that fatal expedition.

Thomas earl of Southampton,
THOMAS EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON.

in black, with a star on his mantle.

SIR William Russel,
SIR WM. RUSSEL LORD THORNHAUGH.

in a black slashed vest. He was lord deputy of Ireland in the reign of queen Elizabeth, in 1594: a wise and most gallant commander, and successful in various expeditions against the rebels; but not brooking a divided power with the general, Sir John Norris, was, at his own request, recalled. He was created by James I. baron of Thornhaugh, and died in 1613.

HIS lady is painted,
HIS LADY.

dressed in great sleeves. She was daughter of Edward Long, Esquire, of Thingay, in Cambridgeshire, and died two years before her lord.

THEIR son Francis, afterwards earl of Bedford, is painted in his childhood, in white, with green hose; with a hawk on his hand, and two dogs in couples near him.

ANOTHER,
LUCY COUNTESS OF BEDFORD.

portrait of Lucy countess of Bedford, exactly resembling that at Alloa.

A FULL-LENGTH of Catherine, wife of the second Francis earl of Bedford, full-length, in black, with roses in her hand.

Edward earl of Manchester,
EDWARD EARL OF MANCHESTER.

lord chamberlain to Charles II. Long hair and robes.

QUEEN Elizabeth,
QUEEN ELIZABETH.

full-length, with a rich gown, white, embroidered with flowers, and a fan of feathers in her hand. I find that her majesty would condescend to accept of the smallest present, as a mark of her subjects love; for, in passing through a Doctor Puddin's house, in her way to the celebrated wedding of Mrs. Anne Russel with lord Herbert, she did the Doctor the honor of accepting from him a fan en passant [*].

THE first Francis earl of Bedford, with a long white beard and furred robe,
FIRST FRANCIS EARL OF BEDFORD,

and George pendent; a head. Another illustrious personage of this house, who discharged several great offices in the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth. Such was his hospitality, that the latter used to say of him, that he made all the beggars. He died, aged fifty-eight, on the 28th of July 1585, the day after his third son, Sir Francis, was slain, happily unknowing of the misfortune.

THIS youth, and his elder brother Edward lord Russel,
AND HIS BROTHER.

are represented in small full-lengths, in two paintings; and so alike, as scarcely to be distinguished: both dressed in white close jackets, and black-and-gold cloaks, and black bonnets. The date by lord Edward, is aet. 22, 1573. He is represented grasping in one hand some snakes, with this motto, Fides homini, serpentibus fraus: and in the back ground he is placed standing in a labyrinth, and above is inscribed, Fata viam invenient. This young nobleman also died before his father.

HIS brother Francis has his accompaniments not less singular. A lady, seemingly in distress, is represented sitting in the back ground, surrounded with snakes, a dragon, crocodile, and cock. At a distance the sea, with a ship under full fail. The story is not well known; but it certainly alludes to a family transaction similar to that in Otway's Orphan, and gave rise to it. He, by the attendants, was perhaps the Polydore of the history. Edward seems by his motto, Fides homini, serpentibus fraus, to have been the Castalio, conscious of his own integrity, and indignant at the perfidy of his brother. The ship alludes to the desertion of the lady. If it conveyed Sir Francis to Scotland, it was to his punishment; for he fell there on July 27th, 1585, in a border fray.

A FULL-LENGTH of Henry Danvers,
HENRY DANYVERS EARL OF DANEY.

created baron Dauntsey by James I. and earl of Danby by Charles I; a full-length, by Vandyck. His beard square and yellow; his jacket black; over that a red mantle, furred and laced with gold. His rich armour lies by him. Near him is written Omnia praecepi. He was son of Sir John Danvers of Dauntsey, in Wiltshire, by Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of John Nevil lord Latimer [*]. His elder brother, Sir Charles Danvers, lost his head for his concern in Essex's insurrection. James, who on all occasions testified his respect to that unhappy nobleman, countenanced every family who suffered in his cause; accordingly, had Danvers restored in blood. Besides a peerage, he made him governor of Guernsey for life. Charles promoted him to an earldom, and created him knight of the Garter. He passed his life as a soldier, under Maurice prince of Orange, in the Low Countries; under Henry IV. in France; and under the earl of Essex and lord Monjoy, in Ireland [†]. At length, in 1644, died, as his epitaph says, at his house of Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire, full of honor, wounds (verified in the portrait, by a great patch on his forehead) and days, in the seventy-first year of his age. Besides his military glory, we may add that of founding the physic-garden at Chelsea, in 1632; purchasing for that use the ground, (once the Jews cemetery) and inclosing it with a wall and beautiful gate, at the expence of five[*] thousand pounds.

AN earl of Rutland, a full-length, in a rich slowered jacket,
AN EARL OF RUTLAND.

red full skirts, a single laced ruff, short hair and beard, brown boots: a plumed helmet near him. He wears the honor of the George. From his boots (a fashionable part of dress in the time of James I. and Charles I.) I suspect him to be Francis earl of Rutland, who commanded the fleet which convoyed Charles, when prince of Wales, in his return from his romantic expedition into Spain. This nobleman died in 1632.

Giles, the third lord Chandos, in a high-crowned hat,
GILES LORD CHANDOS.

white jacket, black gown laced with silver, short hair and beard.

Aet. 43, 1589. He died in 1594.

HIS lady, Frances, daughter of the first earl of Lincoln, in a great ruff,
HIS LADY.

a black dress rich in pearls; aet. 37, 1589: lived till the year 1623.

LADY Anne Ayscough, eldest daughter of the first earl of Lincoln,
LADY ANNE AYSCOUGH.

and wife to William Ayscough, son to Sir Francis Ayscough, of Lincolnshire.

A HEAD of Catherine, youngest daughter to the treasurer,
CATHERINE COUNTESS OF SALISBURY.

earl of Suffolk, and wife to William earl of Salisbury. She is in a flowered dress; her ruff worked with gold; and her breasts naked.

THE head of her infamous sister, Anne countess of Somerset,
COUNTESS OF SOMERSET.

is placed over one of the doors, dressed in black, striped with white, and her ruff and ruffles starched with yellow. This fashion soon expired; for her bawd and creature, Mrs. Turner, went to Tyburn in a yellow ruff, and put the wearers out of conceit with it. I need not enlarge on the well-known marriage and divorce of this lady from the earl of Essex. They are too well known to be insisted on; as is her weakness, in having recourse to the impostor Forman for philtres to debilitate Essex, and impel the affections of Somerset towards her. Her wickedness, in procuring the death of Overbury, who obstructed this union; her sudden fall, and confession of guilt on her trial, need no repetition. Her earl avowed his innocency; he had been more covert in his proceedings. Her passions were more violent, her resentments greater, and, of course, her caution less. They both obtained an unmerited pardon, or rather reprieve, being confined in the Tower till the year 1622, and then confined, by way of indulgence, in the house of lord Wallingford. The little delicacy which people of rank too frequently shew, by countenancing the vices of their equals, was conspicuous at this time. The countess felt their pity, and was visited even by the stern Anne Clifford. Somerset lived with his lady, after their confinement, with the strongest mutual hatred: the certain consequence of vicious associations. He died in the year 1645[*]: she, before him. In her end may be read a fine lesson on the vengeance of Providence on the complicated wickedness of her life. It may be held up as a mirror to posterity, persuasive to virtue, and teach that Heaven inflicted a finite punishment on the criminal, in mercy to her, and as a warning to future generations. I give the relation (filthy as it is) in the Appendix; but hope the utility of the moral will excuse the grossness of the tale.

IN this gallery is a full-length of a nobleman, in a black jacket, double ruff, brown boots, and a stick in his hand: armour by him: a manly figure, with short black hair and square beard: miscalled Car earl of Somerset, this lady's husband. I forget whether the print among the illustrious heads, (vol. ii. 19.) was not copied from this. But Car was a person of effeminate features, and light hair.

A PORTRAIT of a very different character follows, in the head of lady Cook,
LADY COOK.

dated 1585, aet. 44. She has on a quilled ruff; is dressed in black, richly ornamented with pearls. I apprehend this lady to have been the wife of the son of Sir Anthony Cook, one of the tutors to Edward VI. and distinguished by being father to five daughters, the wonders of their age for intellectual accomplishments.

Margaret countess of Cumberland,
MARGARET COUNTESS OF CUMBERLAND.

is dressed much like the former. She was youngest daughter to the first Francis earl of Bedford, and wife to the celebrated George Clifford earl of Cumberland [*].

LADY Bindloss, wife to Sir Francis Bindloss, of Berwick,
LADY BINDLOSS.

near Lancaster, and daughter to Thomas, third lord Delawar.

LADY Wimbledon, wife of lord Wimbledon.

Christiana, daughter to Edward lord Bruce, of Kinloss,
LADY WIMBLEDON.

and wife to the second William earl of Devonshire; a small head.
CHRISTIANA COUNTESS OF DEVONSHIRE.

with long hair: her dress white[†]. This lady, who is less talked of than others, was by far the most illustrious character of the age in which she lived. Her virtues, domestic and public, were of the most exalted kind. Hospitality, charity, and piety, were in her pre-eminent. I speak not of her great maternal cares; nature dictates that, more or less, in all the sex: but her abilities in the management of the vast affairs of her family, perplexed with numberless litigations, gave her a distinguished character. She at left equalled her lord in loyalty, and was indefatigable in inciting the nobility, who had quitted the cause of majesty, to expiate their error. After the battle of Worcester, she lived three years in privacy at her brother's house at Ampthill, and had correspondence with several great personages, on the subject of restoring the exiled king. The reserved Monk had such an opinion of her prudence, as to communicate to her the signal by which she might know his intentions on that subject. She lived in high esteem, to a very advanced age; died in 1674, and was interred by her beloved lord, at Derby.

IT is no wonder that so illustrious a character should attract the powers of the poets. She had the honor of being celebrated by one equal in rank to her own. That accomplished nobleman William earl of Pembroke, wrote several poems to her, and dedicated a collection of them to her.
There is wit and ease in several; but a great want of correction, and often of harmony. The following is the lest faulty[*];
the subject,

That he would not be beloved.

Disdain me still, that I may ever love;

For who his love enjoys can love no more:

The war once past, with peace men cowards prove,

And ships return'd, do rot upon the shore.

Then tho' thou frown, I'll say thou art most fair,

And still I'll love, tho' still I must despair.

As heat to life, so is desire to love;

For these once quench'd, both life and love are done.

Let not my sighs nor tears thy virtue move;

Like basest metals, do not melt too soon:

Laugh at my woes, although I ever mourn:

Love surfeits with rewards; his nurse is scorn.

FROM Woburn, for the sake of variety, I left the great road, and, crossing the county, went through the village of Ridgemont, and, soon after, through that of Millbrook, whose church is pleasantly seated on the bluff point of a hill. About two miles farther, reach Ampthill, a small market-town,
AMPTHILL.

on a rising ground, noted in old times for the magnificent mansion built by lord Fanhope, as Leland says, with such spoiles that he wanne in Fraunce [*]. It had four or five fair towers of stone in the inner ward, beside the basse court[†]. It was worthy the princess for whom it is supposed he built it, Elizabeth dutchess of Exeter, and sister to Henry IV. This hero was son of Sir John Cornwall:
LORD FANHOPE.

his mother, niece to the duke of Britany, who was delivered of him at sea. He was usually stiled green Cornwall, from the color of that element. He rose by his merit; was celebrated for deeds of arms and acts of chivalry, and those equally in the field, and in the lists of arms. At York he fought and vanquished, in the presence of Henry IV. two valiant knights; one a Frenchman, the other an Italian. In reward for his prowess, Henry created him knight of the Garter. He signalized himself at the battle of Azincourt, where he took prisoner Louis de Bourbon count of Vendome, and had his ransom confirmed to him[*], with which he might have built the house; for it seems to be the spoiles alluded to by Leland. In reward for his services, he was created by Henry VI. baron of Fanhope and Millbrook; and died in 1443. He had no lawful issue; neither were the large grants made to him by the crown, for more than term of life; so that they reverted on his decease.

THE place was afterwards bestowed by Edward IV. on Edmund lord Grey. The gift was not (as Leland supposes) founded on the ruin of lord Fanhope, after the battle of Northampton; for that event did not take place till seventeen years after Fanhope died peaceably in his bed. It continued in the family of the Greys till the death of Richard earl of Kent, who made it over to Henry VIII. That prince added it to the crown, and erected it, with the great estate belonging to it, into the honour of Ampthill [†]. Here was the residence of the injured princess Catherine of Arragon, during the period that her divorce was in agitation; and from hence she was cited to appear before the commissioners, then sitting at Dunstable [‡]. About the year 1774, John earl of Ossory, on the site of the castle, erected a gothic column (designed by Mr. Essex) to perpetuate the memory of this ill-fated queen, with the following elegant inscription:

In days of old, here Ampthill's towers were seen,

The mournful refuge of an injur'd queen;

Here flow'd her pure, but unavailing tears;

Here blinded zeal sustain'd her sinking years:

Yet Freedom hence her radiant banner wav'd,

And Love aveng'd a realm by priests enslav'd;

From Catherine's wrongs a nation's bliss was spread,

And Luther's light from Henry's lawless bed.

Johannes Fitz-Patrick,

Comes de OSSORY, posuit, 1773.

THE only remarkable thing I observed in the church,
CHURCH.

was a mural monument in memory of Richard Nicolls, governor of Long Island after the expulsion of the Dutch. He was a gentleman of the bed-chamber to the duke of York, and was slain in the celebrated engagement of May 28th, 1672, attending his royal highness on board of his ship. What is singular in this monument is, the preservation of the very ball with which he was killed, a five or six pounder; which is placed within the pediment, inlaid in the marble; and on the molding of the pediment, on each side of the bullet, are the words, ‘Instrumentum mortis et immortalitis.’

MR. Sandford [*] has given a plate of the figures of Sir John Cornwal and his wife, as painted in a window of this church. They are either lost, or I have overlooked them. They are represented kneeling, and both with mantles of their arms over them: she in her ducal coronet. Between them, at top, is a banner with her arms; at bottom, his arms included in the Garter.

FROM the town I descended to Ampthill Park,
AMPTHILL PARK.

the seat of the earl of Ossory: a modern house, plain and neat, with eleven windows in front, and wings. Within, is the portrait of Richard lord Gowran, in his robes: he was ancestor to the noble owner, and married, in 1718, to Anne, younger daughter of Sir John Robinson of Farming Wood, in Northamptonshire, her ancestor. Sir John Robinson's portrait is preserved here: a half-length, in a great wig, cravat, sash, and buff coat. He was an eminent loyalist; was lord mayor of London in 1663, and lieutenant of the Tower, from the Restoration to the time of his death. His double employ is expressed by a distant view of the Tower, and the gold chain placed by him on a table.

THE indiscreet prelate Laud, is admirably painted by Vandyck.

HERE is a full-length of Catherine Cornaro,
CATHERINE CORNARO.

queen of Cyprus: a bulky woman, in black, with flaxen hair, much curled. This distinguished female was daughter to Mark Cornaro, the most illustrious of the Venetian families. James Lusignan, or James the Bastard, king of Cyprus, in order to strengthen himself in his throne, demanded, by his ambassador, a wife out of the republic of Venice. The senate fixed on this lady, adopted her as their own, and stiled her, from its tutelar saint, the daughter of St. Mark. She reigned long in that island, and governed fifteen years after the death of her husband. He had left the senate of Venice protectors of her, and the child with which she was pregnant at the time of that event. The infant son lived only ten months; and the Venetian state considered itself as heir to the kingdom, in right of its daughter Catherine. Apprehensions arose, that the Turkish emperor Bajazet, and the Christian monarch Ferdinand, had designs on it: they determined to frustrate both, and sent George Cornaro, brother to the queen, to assist her in the government. By his eloquence, he succeeded in the arduous task of persuading a lady out of her love of power. He promised her regal state in her native county. She accepted the terms, and erected the Venetian standard in her capital; and, on her arrival at Venice, was met by the whole senate, and the ladies of rank, and received, during life, every mark of esteem which her patriotism merited; with a magnificent establishment, equal to the dignity she had so generously quitted. This event happened about the year 1489[*].

Albert archduke of Austria, commonly called the Cardinal Infant,
CARDINAL INFANT.

in black, a great ruff, and with a sword. He was fifth son of the emperor Maximilian II. and was originally brought up in the church; became cardinal, and had the archbishopric of Toledo conferred on him. His talents were more fitted for the field and cabinet. Accordingly, we find him in universal esteem, for his prudent administration as regent of Portugal; and a brave and enterprizing general in the Low Countries, in the reign of Philip II. who had invested him with their government. In the year 1598, Philip bestowed on him his daughter, the infanta Isabella, and with her the sovereignty of the Netherlands. Under him was undertaken the famous siege of Ostend, which cost the Spaniards a hundred thousand men. He lived till the year 1621, and died universally lamented by his subjects. He was a patron of the arts. He was so struck with the merit of Rubens, that he detained that able painter some time at Antwerp; and to him we owe the portrait of this illustrious prince[*].

HERE is a fine half-length of a general, by Baroccio; an artist who died at a great age, in 1612. The person is represented with light hair and whiskers, a hat, armour, and red sash.

A CONVERSATION; consisting of Edward late duke of York, lord Ossory, lord Palmerston, Topham Beauclerk, colonel H. St. John, and Sir William Boothby: done when they were at Florence, by Brompton.

Ampthill Park, and that of Houghton, contiguous to it, were granted by James I. to Sir Edward Bruce of Kinloss (a favorite, brought by his majesty out of Scotland) or to his son Thomas earl of Elgin. It continued for some time in his posterity, earls of Elgin and of Aylesbury. It became, about the year 1690 (by purchase) the property of lord Ashburnham, who built the house; which still retains nearly the original form. It was alienated by John, the first earl of that title, between the years 1720 and 1730, to lord viscount Fitz-William. His lordship sold it, in the year 1736, to lady Gowran, grandmother to the present lord Ossory.

FROM hence is a very short ride to Houghton Park,
HOUGHTON PARK.

formerly part of the estate of Ampthill. As soon as that honor was alienated from the crown, the earl of Elgin pulled down the old castle,
HOUGHTON.

and built what is now called Houghton House, and inclosed the park which goes by that name; and then Old Ampthill Park became only the second park to the seat. The house is seated on a bold eminence, and commands a fine view. Two of the fronts are very beautiful; each has an elegant portico and loggio above. On the intervening space are variety of cyphers, devices, and crests; such as bears and ragged staves, staves and palms, crowned lions and crowns, and beards of arrows, or hedge-hogs and porcupines[*]. Some of these certainly relate to the Sydnies. This gave rise to the assertion of the editor of Cambden, that it was built by the countess of Pembroke, ‘ Sydney's sister, Pembroke's mother;’and that the model was contrived by her brother, the incomparable Sir Philip Sydney, in his Arcadia. From the letters on the south front, I. R. with a crown over them, it is evident that the house was built in the time of James I; and, as there is great reason to suppose that Inigo Jones was the architect, it is possible that he might have been recommended by that lady, wife to William earl of Pembroke, one of Inigo's great patrons; from whose designs the earl built the noble front of his seat at Wilton. Let this be admitted, we are not to wonder at seeing the devices, of her beloved brother ornamenting a place, with which she might have no connections, but those of friendship.

THE portico and loggio are of stone, and ornamented with columns of the Doric and Ionic orders: the rest of the house is of brick. The fronts are unequal; one being a hundred and twenty-two feet in extent; the other, only seventy-three feet six inches.

THE house and manor were purchased by the late duke of Bedford, from Charles earl of Aylesbury, and with it the stewardship of the honor of Ampthill, hold under the crown.

THIS place must not be confounded with Houghton Conquest:
HOUGHTON CONQUEST.

a very antient house, at the foot of the hill. This had been the property of the very old family of the Conquests, and was purchased, with the manor, from the last Mr. Conquest, by the late earl of Ossory.

I DID not leave the neighborhood without visiting the church of Maulden,
TOMBS IN MAULDEN CHURCH.

a mile or two to the east of Ampthill. This is noted for the octagonal mausoleum erected by Thomas Bruce earl of Elgin, in honor of his second wife Diana, daughter of William lord Burgbly, and by her first husband countess of Oxford. Her tomb, of white marble, is placed in the center. On it is a sarcophagus, or at lest what was designed to represent one; out of which rises a miserable figure of the countess in her shroud: on whom the country people, by a very apt similitude, have bestowed the title of The lady in the punch-bowl. In a niche in the wall of the building is the bust of her husband, with long hair, a short beard, and turnover; and on the floor is another bust (I think) of her son-in-law, Robert earl of Elgin, placed at a respectable distance, as well as the other, for the reason given in the inscription, Eminus stantes venerabundi, quasi contemplabuntur [*].

IN the church are the brasses of Richard Faldo and his family, inlaid on a tomb of shell-marble.

AFTER a short ride, I reached the large house of Wrest, seated in a low and wet park, crossed with formal rows of trees. The pleasure-grounds have, since their first creation, been corrected by Brown: his hand appears particularly in a noble serpentine river. Several parts are graced with obelisks, pavilions, and other buildings, the taste of the age before.

From his melon-ground the peasant slave

Had rudely rush'd, and levell'd Merlin's cave.

In the quarters of the wilderness are to be seen two cenotaphs, for the late duke and dutchess, erected by the duke himself: and, if you gain a steep ascent, from the hill-house is a most extensive view of the country. The front is plain and extensive. Within, is a great court. This place is the property of the earl of Hardwick, in right of his lady Jemima, marchioness Grey, daughter to John earl of Breadalbane, by Amabel; daughter to Henry Grey, thirteenth earl and first duke of Kent of the name. That illustrious family had been possessed of the manor of Wrest, and other estates in this county, at lest from the time of Roger de Grey, who died owner of it in the year 1353.

THE portraits and their history would take up a volume. I must, therefore, be excused for giving a more brief account than their merits might demand.

IN the hall is a full-length of the unfortunate Mary queen of Scots,
PORTRAITS.

aet, reg. 38, 1580, in black, with her hand on a table: a copy from one at Hampton Court.

ANOTHER of her grandmother, Margaret, daughter of Henry VII. and queen of James IV. of Scotland. Another full-length, in black hair, naked neck, with a marmoset in her hands.

THREE very fine portraits of James I. in his robes.
JAMES I.

Anne of Denmark,
ANNE OF DENMARK.

in white; dressed in a hoop, with a feather fan, and neck exposed. Their son Henry, in rich armour, boots, and with a truncheon. His military turn appears in the dress of most of his portraits. Had he lived, England might probably have transferred the miseries of war to the neighboring kingdom. His mother had inspired him with ambitious notions, and filled his head with the thoughts of the conquest of France. She fancied him like Henry V. and expected him to prove as victorious. I am sorry to retract the character of this lady; but I fear that my former was taken from a parasite of the court[*]. She was turbulent, restless, and aspiring to government; incapable of the management of affairs, yet always intriguing after power. This her wiser husband denied her[†], and of course incurred her hatred. Every engine was then employed to hurt his private ease: she affected amours, of which she never was guilty, and permitted familiarities, which her pride would probably have never condescended to. James was armed with indifference. At length, in 1619, he saw her descend to the grave; but not with the resignation of a good Christian monarch, as might have been expected from her conduct.

LORD SOMERS, in a long wig and his chancellor's robes, sitting.

A PERSON unknown; a full-length, in a black cloak laced with gold, laced bonnet, triple gold chain.

OVER the chimney is a copy of the Cornaro family.

IN the eating-room is a full-length of Philip baron of Wharton,
PHILIP EARL OF WHARTON.

with long hair, breast-plate, and truncheon, and boots; aet. 26, 1639. This nobleman took part with the parlement in the civil wars. Mr. Grainger relates, that at the battle of Edgehill he hid himself in a saw-pit: a fact incredible, as he gave a very clear account of the battle, in a long speech in Guildhall [*]. He survived long, and in 1677 was sent to the Tower, for doubting the legality of one of Charles's parlements, after a recess of fifteen months[†].

LADY Rich, in black. This is, I suspect,
LADY RICH.

the lady who was married by Laud to Charles Blount earl of Devonshire, during the life of her first husband, Robert lord Rich, afterwards earl of Warwick. She was daughter to Walter Devereux earl of Essex: and had been addressed by Blount while he was a younger brother, and she favored his passion. Her friends broke off the match, and married her to a very disagreeable suitor, her first lord. When Blount, after some years absence in the Irish wars, returned laden with glory, and, by the death of his elder brother, honored with the title of Mountjoy, he commenced a criminal connection with his former mistress. She was fully and legally divorced from lord Rich. Blount, now earl of Devonshire, determined to make her reparation, and persuaded Mr. Laud, then his chaplain, to marry them. In those days this was looked on as so high a crime, that king James was for several years extremely averse to the bestowing any preferment on him: and Laud himself had such a sense of his fault, as to keep an annual fast on the unlucky day ever after. These two pictures were painted by Vandyck, and part of the Wharton collection; bought by Sir Robert Walpole, and sold after his death.

LORD CHANCHELLOR Hardwich, in his robes, by Hoare: a character superior to my pen.

HIS son, the present earl, by Gainsborough.

ON the stair-case is Henry seventh earl of Kent, a full-length, in black. Elizabeth, daughter of Gilbert earl of Shrewsbury, is painted in the same color, with a ruff, flaxen frizzled hair, and a great black egret. He died in 1639; she, in 1651.

HIS successor Anthony, grandson of Anthony, third son of George earl of Kent, is drawn in black, with his hand on a book: a meagre personage. He was surprized with the peerage at his parsonage of Burbach, in the county of Leicester, where he lived in hospitality, and the full discharge of that great character, a good parish-priest. He was summoned to parlement, but preferred the duty to which he was first called[*]; never would forsake his flock, and was buried among them in 1643.

HIS wife, Magdalene Purefoy, is represented a half-length, sitting, with a book in her hand, and a long motherly black peaked coif on her head.

Amabella,
AMABELLA COUNTESS OF KENT.

surnamed, from her super-eminent virtues, The good countess of Kent, is drawn in black and ermine, full curled hair, and a kerchief over her neck; aet. 60, 1675: by Lely. She was second wife to Henry, son and successor to the parson of Burbach, and daughter to Sir Anthony Ben of Surrey. Her epitaph speaks her deserts[*].

HER husband is in his robes, with a small beard and whiskers, painted by Glosterman; aet. 53, 1643. He died in 1651.

THEIR son, Anthony earl of Kent, and his lady, Mary, daughter and sole heir to John lord Lucas; both in their robes: by Lely. The date to his portrait is 1681, aet. 36. He died in August 1702; she, in November, in the same year.

THE old dining-room is most curiously furnished: mock pilasters finished with stripes of velvet, and worked silk festoons between each. This is said to have been done for the reception of Anne of Denmark.

IN this apartment is the portrait of that eminent statesman and honest man Sir William Temple: a copy from one by Lely; yet a most beautiful picture. He is placed sitting, and looking towards you, in a red vest; his hair long, black, and flowing; his whiskers small. In his hand is the triple alliance: the greatest act of his patriotic life; but soon frustrated by the profligate ministry of the time.

IN the chapel-closet is the glory of the name, lady Jane Gray,
LADY JANE GRAY.

the sweet accomplished victim to the wickedness of her father-in-law, and the folly of her father. Her person was rather plain; but that was amply recompensed by her intellectual charms. She was mistress of the Greek and Latin tongues; versed in Hebrew, Chaldee, Arabic, French, and Italian; skilled in music; and excellent at her needle. I have seen in the library at Zurich several of her letters, wrote in a most beautiful hand, to Bullenger, on the subject of religion; and a toilet, worked with her own hand, is preserved there with great reverence. She fell at the age of seventeen. Could there be wanting any proof of her amazing fortitude, it was supplied near her last moments with the most invincible one: — As she was passing to the scaffold (whether by accident, or whether by the most cruel intention) she met the headless body of her beloved husband. A line in Greek, to the following purpose, was her consolation: ‘That if his lifeless body should give testimony against her before men, his most blessed soul should give an eternal proof of her innocence in the presence of GOD.’

THE dress of this suffering innocent is, a plain white cap, a handkerchief, fastened under her arms, and a black gown: a book in her hand.

IN the same room is the picture of Banaster lord Maynard,
BANASTER LORD MAYNARD.

who had married a daughter of this house.

A PORTRAIT of the valiant Sir Charles Lucas, by Dobson: a half-length, in armour, fine sash, long hair. He was barbarously shot to death, at Colchester, after quarter given; and for a reason that should have endeared him to a soldier—the vigorous defence made by the garrison.

HIS niece, Mary Lucas, sole heiress to his elder brother lord Lucas, married to Anthony earl of Kent.

SIR Anthony Ben, in hoary short hair, quilled ruff, red dress faced with black.

HIS lady, in black, a kerchief, and curled hair. These were parents to the good countess.

IN the passage is a most curious portrait of lady Susanna Grey,
LADY SUSANNA GREY.

daughter to Charles earl of Kent, and wife to Sir Michael Longueville. She was a celebrated workwoman; and the dress in which she is drawn is said to have been a wedding-suit of her own doing. This is the lady who is fabled to have died of the pricking of her finger with the needle, and who is shewn as such in Westminster abbey. She looks as pale as if the fact was true. Her gown is finely flowered; her petticoat white and striped; her robe lined with ermine; her veil vast and distended; her wedding-ring hanging from her wrist by a silken string.

IN another room is the portrait of Sir Randle Crew, in a bonnet,
SIR RANDLE CREW.

ruff, gold chain, and robes, as lord chief justice of the King's Bench: a dignity he filled with credit in the last year of James I. and first of Charles I. He had the honor of being displaced in 1626, for his disapprobation of the imprisonment of those gentlemen who refused the arbitrary loan proposed by the court. He discovered, says Fuller, no more discontentment at his discharge, than a weary traveller is offended at being told that he is arrived at his journey's end[*]. He lived many years, in great hospitality, in Westminster: he purchased the estate of the Falshursts of Crew, in Cheshire; built the magnificent seat of Crew Hall; and was the first who brought the model of good building into that distant county. He died in 1642. He was the son of John Crew of Nantwich, and the ancestor of the present flourishing family.

THE next portrait is that of his younger brother Sir Thomas Crew,
SIR THOMAS CREW.

in red robes, and a coif as king's serjeant. He was among the most active supporters of the rights of the commons in the reign of James I. The king, under pretence of redressing certain matters in Ireland, sent him, and several of the most obnoxious members, into that kingdom, with proper commissions[*]. In 1623 he was chosen speaker, and made a speech, which his majesty heard with no more patience than approbation[†]; yet, by his lord keeper, thanked him for several parts of it. He was again speaker to the first parlement of Charles I. and died in February 1633, aged sixty-eight. By his marriage with Temperance, fourth daughter of Reginald Bray, Esquire, he obtained the manor of Stene, in Northamptonshire; which became the settlement of him and his posterity, till it devolved to this house, by the marriage of Henry duke of Kent with Jemima, eldest daughter of Thomas lord Crew.

HIS son,
JOHN LORD CREW.

John lord Crew, is represented in his baronial robes, with long grey hair, and a small coif. He was created lord Crew of Stene, in 1661, having been active in promoting the Restoration, and freeing his country from the confused government it had long labored under. No one was more active in defence of the liberties of his country, in the beginning of the troubles of the former reign, than himself. He had been member for Northamptonshire in the long parlement; was chairman to the committee of religion; and was committed to the Tower, for refusing to deliver up the petitions and complaints[‡]. He was nominated one of the commissioners for the treaty of Uxbridge: he was one of those entrusted with the receipt of the king's person from the Scots, and the conveying him to Holmby House. He again acted as commissioner in the treaty of the Isle of Wight; and finally, was so far in the favor of the usurper, as, in 1657, to be constituted one of the sixty which formed the upper house of his mock parlement[*]. The game being soon over, he conciliated himself to the approaching change, and proved so active an instrument in the Restoration, as not only to make amends for his past demerits, but to obtain, in 1661, the honor of baron of Stene. He died in 1679, after attaining the good old age of eighty-two.

HIS wife Jemima, daughter of Edward Walgrave of Lawford, in Essex, is sitting, in black, and a great black hood.

A VERY fine half-length of their son Thomas lord Crew,
THOMAS LORD CREW.

in black, with long hair, and his hand on his breast, by Lely. In the old dining-room is another portrait of him, in his robes, dated 1680. He was father to Jemima, dutchess of Kent.

Nathaniel Crew, bishop of Durham, fifth brother to the former.
CREW BISHOP OF DURHAM.

He is in red robes faced with ermine, a turnover, and long hair; his countenance good. By the death of his brother, he became lord Crew. Never was any person of his time so subservient to the will of his master, as this noble prelate. He was the most active member of the inquisitorial commission, established by James II. to promote his wild designs in religious matters. Of the three bishops joined in it, one declined acting; a third, struck with his own imprudence, resigned. Crew continued obstinately servile, and suspended thirty of his clergy for refusing to come into the views of the court. Conscious of his conduct, he fled out of the kingdom at the Revolution; but at length made his peace, and died in 1721, aged eighty-eight, after having been bishop, and of Durham, forty-seven. His charity, it is to be hoped, has covered his multitude of political sins. Oxford experienced largely of his bounty; and the navigators of the Northumberland sea may bless his well-planned benevolence as long as tempests endure[*].

A STRANGE picture of lady Harold,
LADY HAROLD.

daughter to Thomas earl of Thanet; first married to lord Harold, the late duke of Kent's eldest son, and afterwards to the late earl Gower. She is dressed in the riding-habit of the time, a blue-and-silver coat, silver tissue waistcoat, a long flowing wig, and great hat and feather.

I FORGOT to mention,
SECRETARY WALSINGHAM.

that in a bedchamber is a portrait of Secretary Walsingham, in a quilled ruff: the active, penetrating, able, and faithful servant of queen Elizabeth; the security of the kingdom as well as her own person. So attentive to the interests of his country, so negligent of his own, as to die (in 1590) so poor, as not to leave enough to defray his funeral expences.

A FINE portrait of Sir Nicholas Throgmorton:
SIR NICHOLAS THROGMORTON.

his face thin, his beard black. At his girdle is a large ring to hold his handkerchief. Has a sword and stilletto, and is graced with a gold chain and medal. He had a narrow escape in the time of queen Mary; being tried, and narrowly acquitted, for a supposed concern in Wiat's insurrection. Was employed by Elizabeth in important embassies to France and Scotland. His abilities were great: his spirit was said to have bordered on turbulence: his death, therefore, was esteemed rather fortunate: it happened in 1570, at the table of Cecil; not without suspicion of poison[*]: an end in those days more frequently attributed than it ought to be.

THE mausoleum of the Greys adjoins to the church of Flitton,
FLITTON CHURCH.

about a mile and a half from the house. It consists of a center and four wings. In one is the tomb of Henry fifth earl of Kent,
TOMBS.

and his countess Mary, daughter of Sir George Cotton of Cumbermere, Cheshire: both are in robes, and painted; both recumbent, with uplifted hands: his beard long and square, his ruff quilled. This was the fiery zealot who fat in judgment on Mary Stuart, and, with the earl of Shrewsbury, was deputed to see execution done on the unhappy princess. They, with true bigotry, refused her the consolation of her almoner in her last moments; and Kent had the brutality to give a most reluctant assent to her request of having a few of her domestics to perform their final duties to their dying mistress. Kent even burst into the exclamation of saying, ‘Your life will be the death of our religion, and your death will be the life of it.’ A cause of triumph to Mary Stuart. He founded this building, and took possession of it in the beginning of the year 1614. The tomb of the countess is a mere cenotaph; for she was buried, in 1580, at Great Gaddesden.

Henry earl of Kent, and his second lady, the good countess, repose in another wing, with Justice, Temperance, and other Virtues, on each side. Both are represented in white marble, recumbent, and both in robes. His beard is small, his lip whiskered; one hand is on his breast, the other on his sword. She is dressed in an ungraceful pair of slays; her hands before, holding her robes; her neck naked; her hair curled, and enormously bushy. He died in 1651; she finished her excellent life in 1698, aged ninety-two.

AT one end is an inscription of Elizabeth Talbot countessdowager of Kent, who died in 1651; and another to lady Jane. Hart, relict of Sir Eustace Hart. Her figure is in white marble, in a reclining posture.

ON the floor is a brass of Henry Grey, second son of Sir Henry Grey, Knight, in armour.

IN another appears Henry late duke of Kent, reclined on a sarcophagus, in a Roman dress, in white marble, with a coronet in his hand. His Grace died in 1740. His first dutchess, Jemima Crew, is represented with her countenance looking up, and leaning on one side. Opposite to his Grace is a most amiable character of his second lady, Sophia, daughter of William earl of Portland.

A MONUMENT of his son Anthony earl of Harold, in a Roman dress. He died in 1723. And near him is another son and a daughter of his Grace; but not one of the figures do any credit to the statuary.

NEAR the altar, on the floor, is an admirable figure, in brass, of an honest steward; a true Vellum in aspect: in a laced nightcap, great ruff, long cloak, trunk breeches. This was Thomas Hill, receiver-general to three earls of Kent.

Aske how he lived, and you shall knowe his end:

He dyde a saint to GOD, to poore a friende.

These lines men knowe doe truely of him story,

Whom GOD hath cal'd, and seated now in glory.

He died May 26th. 128, aged 1601.

GRATITUDE forbids me from leaving this place without my acknowlegements to the Reverend Mr. Archdeacon Coxe, the worthy incumbent, for his great hospitality, and the various information he favored me with respecting these parts.

FROM hence I went southwards, over a hilly and open country. Ride over Luton Downs, and reach Luton, a small dirty town,
LUTON.

seated on the Lea; remarkable for its church and tower-steeple, prettily chequered with flint and freestone. Within is a most remarkable baptisterium,
FINE FONT.

[*], in form of an octagon, open at the sides, and terminating in elegant tabernacle-work. In the top is a large bason, in which the consecrated water was kept, and let down by the priest into the font, by means of a pipe. On the top of the inside is a vine, guarded by a lamb from the assaults of a dragon. The vine signifies the church, protected by baptism from the assaults of the devil.

ADJOINING to the church is a chapel, founded, as appears by the following lines, by John lord Wenlock:

JESU CHIRST, most of myght,

Have mercy on John le Wenlock, knight,

And of his wyffe Elizabeth,

Wch out of this world is past by death;

Wch founded this chapel here.

Helpe them with yr harty praer;

That they may come to that place

Where ever is joy and solace[*].

THIS lord Wenlock rose in the reign of Henry VI;
LORD WENLOCK.

was knighted, made constable of Bamburgh castle, and chamberlain to the queen. He acquired great wealth, and was able to lend his master a thousand and thirty-three pounds six shillings and eight pence; for which he received an assignment of the fifteenth and tenth, granted by parlement in 1456; and soon after he was rewarded with being made knight of the Garter. He valiantly supported the royal cause at the first battle of St. Alban's, and was carried out of it dreadfully wounded; yet, with the fickleness of the times, he joined the duke of York, in 1459, and was of course attainted by the Lancastrian parlement. He fought valiantly in Towton field, and received, as recompence for his former loss, the office of chief butler of England, and the stewardship of the castle and manor of Berkhamstead; and was created a baron[†]. He was employed by the Yorkists in several important embassies, and advanced to the great post of lieutenant of Calais. Notwithstanding all these favors, he again revolted, and joined the earl of Warwick. to restore the deposed Henry. He raised forces, and joined Margaret of Anjou, before the battle of Tewkesbury. He was appointed by the general, John earl of Somerset, to the command of what was called the middle ward of the army. When Somerset, who led the van, found himself unsupported in the fierce attack he had made on the enemy, he returned, enraged, to see the cause. He found lord Wenlock, with his troops, standing in the market-place. Whether a panic had seized him, or whether, through a mutability of mind, he was meditating a new revolt, does not appear; but the earl, unable to curb his fury, rode up, and with one blow of his battle-ax clove the skull of the supposed traitor[*]. He was interred at Tewkesbury; and his tomb is still to be seen in that noble church.

IN this chapel are several tombs: one very magnificent, in the altar-form, with a rich canopy, open beneath on each side. On the top various arms, some inclosed in a garter. On a wreath is a crest, a plume of feathers.

ON the tomb lie the effigies of William Wenlock,
WILLIAM WENLOCK.

in the habit of a shaven priest: his hands closed as if in prayer; beads hang from them; and on a label from his mouth is a small shield of a chevron, between three croslet gules, and these words:

Salve Regina Mater miserecordie

Jesu fili Dei miserere mei.

On the side which opens into the chapel is this inscription:

In Wenlok brad I, in this toun lordschipes had I.

Her am I now layed, Christes moder helpe me, Lady.

Under thes stones, for a tyme, schal I reste my bones.

Deye not I ned ones myghtful God graunt me thy wones.

Ave.

On the other side, in the chancel,

Wills sic tumulatus de Wenlok natus

In ordine presbyteratus.

Alter hujus ville: dominus Someris fuit ille

Hic licet indignus: anime Deus esto benignus.

This William was prebend of Brownswood prebendary, in the church of St. Paul's, London, in 1363; before which he had been rector of St. Andrew's, Holborn. In 1379, Richard II. made him custos of the hospital of Farle, in Bedfordshire. [*] He died in 1392, and was buried here, in pursuance of his will. By the garter, in which one of the coats of arms is included, it is evident that the tomb was erected by the founder of the chapel. This also directs us to the origin of lord Wenlock. It is most likely that his father was related to this prebend, and that he left his possessions to him; and that lord Wenlock, in the height of his prosperity, paid this ostentatious compliment to the memory of his kinsman.

IN the middle is an altar-tomb of shell-marble, with the brass plate of a woman.

IN the wall, beneath two arches, are the tombs, I think, of the Rotherhams, owners of this chapel after the Wenlocks. On one had been an inscription to a Rotherham, who had married Catherine, daughter of a lord Grey; and was himself nephew to Scot, alias Rotherham, archbishop of York.

THE following odd medley of English and Latin, merits transcribing. It is on the tomb of John Ackworth, Esquire, who died in 1513; and is represented here with his two wives, eight sons, and nine daughters.

O man, who eer thow be, timor mortis shulde trouble the;

For when thow beest wenyst,

Veniet te

Mors superare.

And so—grave grevys

Ergo mortem memorare

Jesu mercy: Lady helpe: Jesu mercy.

NEAR the altar is a large mutilated figure in the wall, in a priestly habit, with a pastoral staff, or a crosier, lying on him. He was an abbot, and probably of St. Alban's, for the abbots had a seat near this town [*]. The chancel appears to have been rebuilt by abbot Whethamsted; whose motto, VAL LES HA BUN DA BUNT VAL LES, is to be seen on the walls.

PART of this place was said to have been bestowed by king Offa on the monks of St. Alban's, Gilbert de Clare earl of Gloucester, had the patronage of the church; which they bought from him in 1166, for eighty marks, and kept in their own hands, till they were compelled to appoint a vicar. The purchase was in the time of abbot Robert [†]. It appears that this place, Houghton, and Potesgrave, had been bestowed on the monastery, for the support of the kitchen for the guests. This is seen in the charter of confirmation, made by king John, in the first year of his reign [‡].

The church is dedicated to St. Mary, and is a vicarage in the gift of the earl of Bute.

Luton Ho, the seat of that nobleman, lies near the London road;
LUTON HO.

about three miles from the town. I lament my inability to record his taste and magnificence; but alas! the useful, talent, Principibus placuisse viris, has been unfortunately denied to me. I must therefore relate the antient story of the favored spot. In the twentieth of Edward I. it was possessed by Robert, [*] who took the addition of de Hoo, from the place; which signifies a high situation. His grandson, Thomas, was created lord Hoo and Hastings, by Henry VI. in 1447. He, if no mistake is made in the account, settled two parts of the tithes on the abbey of St. Alban's, for the use of strangers. Lord Hoo left only daughters. From one, who married Sir Geofry Bullen, was descended queen Elizabeth. I do not discover the time in which the tower in Luton Park was built. It is an antient structure, of flint and Tottenhoe-stone intermixed.

ABOUT two miles to the north-east of Luton Hoo,
SOMMERIS.

is the village of Sommeris, where, as Leland informs us, lord Wenlock had begun sumptuously a house, but never finished it: that the gatehouse of brick was very fair and large. The gateway and part of a tower are yet to be seen. In the last are fourteen or fifteen brick steps; and there was originally a hole, or rather pipe, which conveyed the lowest whisper from bottom to top. Part of this, and of the other building, was pulled down by Sir John Napier, about forty years ago. Leland also acquaints us, that these estates of lord Wenlock passed, by marriage of an heir general [†] of his, to a relation of Thomas Scot, alias Rotherham, archbishop of York from 1480 to 1500: a prelate remarkable for nepotism, and the preferment of his kindred by marriage, and other ways [‡]. This family assumed the name of Rotherham, and flourished here for some centuries. John was sheriff of the county in the seventeenth of Edward IV. and others, in after-times, enjoyed the same honor [*]. Luton Hoe and this place became the property of the Napiers; from them they passed to Mr. Hearn, who sold them to the earl of Bute.

FROM Luton I pursued my journey southward: near the twenty-sixth mile-stone, passed through the village of Hardin, or Harpedon, and by its chapel, dependent on Whethamsted. This manor belonged, in 1292, to Robert Hoo, and continued in his line till the death of Thomas lord Hoo and Hastings, about the latter end of the reign of Henry VI; when it devolved to his three daughters [†]. The manor was sold soon after their marriages to Matthew Cressy, in the time of Edward IV. It continued in his line till the reign of queen Elizabeth, when, by the marriage of a female descendant, it fell to the Bardolfs. Richard Bardolf sold it to Sir John Witherong, created baronet in 1662; and it is now possessed by John Bennet, Esquire.

ABOUT four miles from this village, passed through St. Peter's street, in ST. ALBAN'S, and turning towards the east, after a ride of about five miles, reach the small town of Hatfield,
HATFIELD.

prettily seated on a gentle ascent. Its Saxon name was Haethfeld, from its situation on a heath. The important synod,
SYNOD.

held during the heptarchy, at the instance of Theodore, consecrated archbishop of Canterbury in 668, in which the most interesting tenets of Christianity were declared and confirmed [‡], is generally supposed to have been held at a place of the same name in Yorkshire. Hatfield was part of the revenues of the Saxon princes, till it was bestowed by Edgar on the monastery of Ely. At the time of the Conquest, it was found to be in the possession of that great house; in which it continued, till that abbey was converted into a bishopric, in the reign of Henry I. It then became one of the residences of the prelates; for they had not fewer than ten palaces belonging to the see [*]; and from that was called Bishop's Halfield, to distinguish it from other places of the same name. It probably fell into decay during the long wars between the houses of York and Lancaster; for I find it was rebuilt and ornamented by bishop Morton, in the reign of Henry VII.[†] Among the shameful alienations made from the bishopric of Ely, by queen Elizabeth (by virtue of the imprudent statute, which gave her power of exchanges over all) must be included the manor of Hatfield. The palace had at times been an occasional royal residence, notwithstanding it was the property of the church. William, second son of Edward III. was born here in 1335, and was called, from that circumstance, William of Hatfield. Queen Elizabeth resided here many years before she came to the crown [‡]; and, on the death of her predecessor, removed from hence, on the 23d of November, to take possession of the throne. This place did not continue long a part of the royal demesne. James I. in the fifth year of his reign, exchanged it for Theobalds, with his minister, Sir Robert Cecil, afterwards earl of Salisbury; who built, on the site of the palace, the magnificent house now standing; and inclosed two large parks, one for red, the other for fallow deer. At the bottom of the first was a vineyard, in being when Charles I. was conveyed there a prisoner to the army [*].

THE building is of brick, and of vast extent;
HOUSE.

in form of an half H. In the center is an extensive portico of nine arches: over the middlemost rises a lofty tower, on the front of which is the date 1611, and three ranges of columns, of the Tuscan, Doric, and Composite orders. Between the second are the arms of the family, in stone [†].

IN the chapel is a small antient organ;
CHAPEL.

a fine window of stained glass, in twelve compartments; and a gallery, on the front of which are painted the twelve apostles.

OVER the chimney-piece of the hall is a painting of a great clumsy grey horse,
HALL.

given by queen Elizabeth to Sir Robert: a sign our breed was at that time far from excellent.

IN the common parlour are portraits of lord-treasurer Burleigh and his son Robert,
PORTRAITS OF THE CECILS.

the first earl, the founder of this house: both in robes, and with white staves [‡].

William second earl of Salisbury, in black, with long hair, a star on his cloak, and the George, a dog by him. He was captain of the band of Gentlemen Pensioners to Charles I. privy counsellor and ambassador extraordinary to the court of France. He was one of those characters who preferred his own safety to all other considerations. He had been in two reigns so supple a courtier, as to over-act every thing he was required to do. No act of power was ever proposed, which he did not advance and execute with the utmost tyranny [*]; but, on the first appearance of danger, he deserted his royal master, fled to the parlement, and subscribed an engagement to be true to his new party, to whom he passively adhered; and, on the usurpation, condescended to be a member in the usurper's parlement. He ended his inglorious life in 1668, aged 78. This portrait, and that of his son, viscount Cranbourn (who died in his father's life-time) are both by Lely.

Two children of the second earl, caressing a dog. Lely. Good.

A portrait, called the second earl of Salisbury, but probably lord Danby: the Garter on his shoulder; hand on a dog's head. Vandyck.

FOURTH earl, probably by Kneller; as are two others, called the fifth earl and lady; but probably lady Ranelagh, engraved by Faber, among the Hampton Court beauties.

James third earl of Salisbury, a full-length, in his robes. Lely.

A head of Anne, daughter to the first earl, married to Algernon▪ earl of Northumberland.

Charles I. a full-length,
CHARLES I.

in the dress in which he went into Spain, with the blue ribband tied under his arm, instead of being pendent: a mode of wearing begun in this reign. The hand remarkably fine. His picture at Gorhambury greatly resembles this.

A half-length of a lady. Good.

IN the drawing-room is a portrait of the late earl of Thanet,
EARL OF THANET.

in a long black wig. Another of his lady. They were maternal, grandfather and grandmother to the late earl of Salisbury.

OVER the chimney a fine half-length of lady Latimer, by Lely.
CURIOUS HISTORICAL PIECE.

IN the dressing-room is a picture, on board, uncommonly curious; a representation of some of the amusements of the court of Henry VIII. who often relaxed his savage disposition in little progresses about the neighborhood of the metropolis. This seems to have been in the spring of 1533; for Halle says [*], that ‘this seasone the kynge kepte his progresse about London, because of the quene;’ which means, on account of queen Anna Bullen's being then pregnant. Accordingly we see Henry, with his royal consort [†], in the condition described, at a country wedding, fair, or wake, at some place in Surrey, within sight of the Tower of London. In the back ground is an open room in a temporary building, with the table spread. At the entrance appears a man, seemingly Henry's favorite, Charles Brandon duke of Suffolk, inviting them in.

THERE are great numbers of other figures; many of which appear to have been portraits. In one group is a lady with a gold chain, between two men with white beards. The utmost festivity is exhibited. There are four fiddlers, and a number of dancers. Behind the king is his 'squire, carrying his dagger and buckler; and near Henry are a boy and a girl; perhaps the children of Charles Brandon, by the king's sister, Mary dowager of France; for at this time Henry had only one child, Mary, afterwards queen of England, who was at this period older than the others represented in this picture.

OTHER figures are, a man on foot, with a buckler on his back: a yeoman of the guard, in red, with a rose and crown on his breast: five figures on horseback; the first with a hawk on his hand, and a portmanteau before him; the second on a bay horse, followed by a lady on horseback; after her a cavalier with another lady behind him.

IN the room called King James's dining-room, is a bronze-colored stone statue of that prince. The cieling is of rich old-fashioned stucco.

Algernon Percy earl of Northumberland; his lady Anne, daughter of the second earl of Salisbury; and their daughter. Half-lengths, by Vandyck.

THE portrait of queen Elizabeth is extremely worth notice;
QUEEN ELIZABETH.

not only because it is the handsomest we have of her, but as it points out her turn to allegory and apt devices. Her gown is close-bodied: on her head is a coronet and long aigret, and a long distended gauze veil: her face is young; her hair yellow, falling in two long tresses; her neck adorned with a pearl necklace, her arms with bracelets. The lining of her robe is worked with eyes and ears, and on her left sleeve is embroidered a serpent: all to imply wisdom and vigilance. In the other hand is a rainbow, with this flattering motto, "Non sine sole IRIS."

IN the gallery,
THE GALLERY.

which is a hundred and twenty feet long, are two vast marble chimney-pieces. The portrait furniture are, first, a curious half-length of the first earl of Salisbury, in mosaic.

THE head of Laura,
LAURA.

in a furred robe, with red sleeves, reading. La belle Laure, the celebrated object of love with the virtuous and elegant Petrarch, for the space of twenty-one years before, and twenty-six after her death; for he first saw Laura on April 6th, 1327. Their passion seems to have been of the seraphic kind. She devoted herself to religion, and persuaded him to do the same. She died in the convent of the Cordeliers, in Avignon, April 6th, 1348: he, in 1374, in Italy, his native country; to which he had retired after the loss of Laura. Her age was probably about forty; his seventy. Both of them became the subject of the finest pens for centuries after their deaths. Francis I. celebrates her memory in a beautiful epitaph. The tender and amorous earl of Surrey made them the subjects of two sonnets [*]. He modestly yields the palm to Petrarch, but denies, the superiority of beauty to Laura in preference to his mistress, the fair Geraldine. The inscription on this picture is, ‘LAURA fui. Viridèm RAPHAEL fecit, atque PETRARCHA.’

THE next portrait is on wood,
MARGARET COUNTESS OF RICHMOND.

of a lady not less celebrated for her piety than the fair inhabitant of Vaucluse; but it appears in a less amiable form, attended with high rank and great austerity. Her virtues were of a nature fitted for the praise of bishop Fisher, not for the sweet pen of the elegant Petrarch. Margaret countess of Richmond did not pique herself to far (virtuous as she was) as to carry her passion for a single object to the grave. The pious prelate gravely tells you, that she accepted her first husband, Edmund duke of Richmond, at the instance of St. Nicholas, patron of virgins, who appeared to her in a dream. We are not told at whose recommendation she took Sir Henry Stafford and Thomas earl of Derby; for she liked the state matrimonial so well, as afterwards to accept both their hands. She signalized herself, during life, by her piety, charity, humility, and chastity. The first appeared in her rigorous attendance on the duties of the church, and her admittance into the fraternity of five religious houses: the second, in her noble foundations of Christ College and that of St. John, in Cambridge, besides a number of other great deeds of charity: the third, in her declaration, that, ‘if the princes of Christendom would undertake a crusade, she would chearfully be the laundress of the army:’ and then, for her chastity, in her last husband's days she obtained a licence from him to live chaste, and took the vow of celibacy from bishop Fisher's hands, at the age of sixty-four. For this reason she is usually painted in the habit of a nun, and here is represented veiled.

Richard III.
RICHARD III.

a head. He is represented with three rings; one of which he is taking from or putting on his little finger.

A head of John Frobenius,
FROBENIUS THE PRINTER.

by Holbein. He is dressed in a black gown lined with fur. Frobenius was a native of Franconia, but settled at Basil, in Switzerland; of which city he became a citizen. He was a man of considerable learning, and the finest printer of his time. Erasmus resided a long time with him; attracted by his personal merit, and his admirable skill in his profession: for to him we are indebted for the most beautiful edition of the works of his illustrious friend. Frobenius died in 1527, and was honored by the same hand with two epitaphs; one in Greek, the other in Latin.

Francois de Coligni, seigneur de Dandelot, a head. Rich armour,
COLIONI SHIGNEUR DE DANDELOT.

short hair, and peaked beard. He was youngest son of the first Gaspar de Coligni, and colonel-general of the French infantry.

THREE dukes of Guise: one is Le Balafreè,
DUKES OF GUISE.

or the slashed; so called from a scar on his left cheek, occasioned by a wound he received in his face in the battle of Chateau-Thierri, against the Huguenots. He fell a victim to his turbulent disposition, and his practices against the state, on the 23d of December, 1588; being assassinated at Blois, by order of his prince, Henry III: the common fate, in that age, of such great men who were grown too potent to be brought to justice by the ordinary means[*].

LADY Burleigh, very old, blind, and decayed.

A FULL-LENGTH, on board, of Mary queen of Scots, in a long black mantle edged with white lace,
MARY STUART.

and reaching to the ground; a small gold crucifix; a cross and rosary at her girdle; beads of gold richly wrought, and set with rubies. The inscription, ‘ Maria D. G. Scotiae piissima regina, Franciae dotaria. Anno aetatis regnique 36. Anglicae captivitatis 10. S. H. 1573.’ resembles that I have mentioned, in a former tour, on her whole-length portrait at Hardwick House, in Derbyshire.

A PORTRAIT of Charles Gerard, baron Gerard of Brandon,
GERARD EARL OF MACCLESFIELD.

created earl of Macclesfield in 1679: died January 7th, 1694. He is dressed in black; a coif on his head, a turnover on his neck, grey hair and beard; his hand on his breast. He was a brave and successful commander on the side of Charles in the civil wars: yet, notwithstanding his zeal in the royal cause, he was one of the persons who thought it his duty to present the duke of York, in the King's Bench, as a popish recusant [*]; in which he thought he did his country equal service as when he bled in the field in support of regal authority.

Robert Dudley earl of Leicester, the unmerited favorite of queen Elizabeth. His hair and beard are represented grey; his gown black, his vest white and gold. On his head is a bonnet: by him a white rod.

IN a lumber-room is a picture of Christopher de Harlay count Beaumont,
COUNT BEAUMONT.

ambassador from Henry IV. to queen Elizabeth, in her last year, and the first years of her successor. He was a nobleman of great personal merit, and an able negociator. He died governor of Orleans, in 1615. He is painted as a tall thin man, in black, with white sleeves, and a ruff. Aet. 34, 1605; the year in which he concluded his embassy [†]

SIR Simon Bennet of Bechampton,
SIR SIMON BENNET.

in the county of Bucks, knight. His dress is that of a magistrate, in a red gown furred, ornamented with a gold chain; ruff; high hat. Aet. 70, 1611. He died 1631, being uncle to Simon Bennet, who was his heir; and whose daughter, Frances, married James fourth earl of Salisbury, and died 1713.

HIS lady, in a great ruff, red dress furred, gold chain, jewels on her breast, feather-fan set in silver.

Frederic P. la gra. de Dieu comte Palatin de Ryn, small, in an ermined cap: in his hands two covered dishes, with a napkin over them. I believe this prince to have been Frederic IV. father of the unfortunate Palatin king of Bohemia.

Henry VI. a head on board. There is another at Kensington-palace, from which Vertue took his print.

Catherina de Cornara regina de Cipri, in black, with blue mantle, pearl necklace, and crowned. See the account of her, p. 378.

IN the chaplain's room is another portrait of queen Elizabeth,
QUEEN ELIZABETH.

richly dressed in black. On the table is a great sword, as if she was sitting ready to confer the honor of knighthood. A spotted ermine, with a crown on its head and collar round its neck, is represented running up the arm of her highness. This little beast, being an emblem of chastity[*], is placed here as a compliment to the virgin queen.

SINCE this account of these pictures was taken, they have been differently arranged. I have the pleasure to learn, that the house has undergone a complete repair, in the original stile, under the conduct of Mr. Donowell, the architect; the pictures have been repaired by Mr. Tomkins; the grounds disposed in the modern taste; a considerable tract of road is going to be removed to a proper distance from the park; and the splendor of this noble family is reviving with all the magnificence of the Cecils.

THE church is dedicated to St. Ethelreda. In an adjoining chapel is a beautiful monument to the first earl of Salisbury;
CHURCH.

who is represented in his robes, in white marble, lying on a slab of black, which is supported by the four cardinal Virtues, with their attributes. Beneath, is a skeleton, in white marble, lying on a well-counterfeited mat of the same, also placed on a slab of black marble.

IN the church is a monument of Sir John Brocket of Brocket Hall, knight, who died in 1598: and not far from him are the figures of two ladies: one is his first wife, Helen Litton; the other a younger figure, with a scull in her hand, representing his second lady, widow of Gabriel Fowler. Both lie on their sides, one above the other.

FROM hence I continued my journey along the great road;
GOBIONS.

passed by Gobions, in the parish of North Mims. It took its name from the old family of the Gobions, its antient lords, as early as the time of king Stephen. [*] The Mores afterwards possessed it for some generations. Sir John, the father of the celebrated Sir Thomas More, owned it in the reign of Henry VII; and it became the residence of that illustrious character till the time of his cruel sacrifice; when the son was stripped of every part of his fortune, by the most arbitrary attainders. It reverted again to the family; but the grandson of Sir Thomas, being ruined by the civil wars, sold it to Sir Edward Desbovery. It afterwards passed, by sale, to Mr. Pitchford, and to Sir Jeremiah Sambroke. From his sisters it devolved to Mr. Freeman of Hammels; and was afterwards sold to the present owner, Mr. Hunter.

NOT far from a place called Potters Bar (probably from some pottery, such as is still carried on at Woodside, about two miles to the north, on the same road) I entered the county of MIDDLESEX: kept along the edge of Enfield Chace [*] to Hadley; passed through Cheping Barnet, and, in less than a mile beyond, quitted the great road at Pricklers Hill; again skirted the Chace, descended Winchmore Hill, and concluded the day's journey at my friend RICHARD GOUGH'S, Esquire, at Enfield, the object of this little digression.

THE New River,
NEW RIVER.

the work of my illustrious countryman Sir Hugh Middleton [†] (which on the north edge of this parish, for some yards, as till lately at Islington, is conveyed in a trough of wood lined with lead, called The Boarded River, over a brick arch fifteen feet high) was the first object of my attention.

I NEXT visited the antient brick house called Enfield Palace, built by Sir Thomas Lovel, knight of the Garter, and privy counsellor to Henry VII; where he died in 1524 [‡]. It is conjectured that Henry VIII. bought it for a nursery for his children ‖. Here Edward VI. received the first news of his father's death, and his own accession. On the chimney-piece of the great parlour are the arms of England in a Garter, supported by a Lion and a Griffin; on the sides, the Rose and Portcullis crowned; with E. R. beneath. These initials are also on the stucco in front of the house.

QUEEN Elizabeth used sometimes to make this place a visit. Robert Cary earl of Monmouth informs us he once waited on her Highness at this place; where she went to take a dinner, and had toiles set up in the park, to shoot at bucks, after she had dined [*].

IN the time of the great plague, in 1665, a very flourishing school was kept here by Mr. Uvedale. That gentleman was very fond of gardening, and, among other trees,
GREAT CEDAR.

planted here a cedar of Libanus; which is still in being. The storm of 1703 broke off eight feet of the top. The dimensions of it at present are these:

- Height 45 feet 9 inches.

- Girth at top 3 7

- Second girth 7 9

- Third 10 0

- Fourth 14 6 [†]

NOT far from hence, on the north side of Fourtree-hill, stood Worcester House, built by the accomplished John Tibetot, or Tiptoft, earl of Worcester [‡], who was beheaded in 1470. The manor, which still retains his title, descended to him from his father, Sir John Tiptoft. The house was rebuilt on higher ground, by Sir Nicholas Raynton, knight, lord mayor of London in 1640• who died in 1647, and has a splendid monument in Enfield church. The place is now owned by Eliab Breton, Esquire, who married a co-heiress of the Raynton and Wolstenholme families.

UNDER the conduct of my friend before mentioned, I made a visit to Waltham Abbey, seated in ESSEX, about three miles from Enfield, on the west side of the river Lea. I past by Waltham Cross,
WALTHAM CROSS.

one of the affectionate memorials of Edward I. towards his beloved queen Eleanor. The cross is in excellent preservation, and richly adorned with gothic sculpture. This tract is a rich flat of verdant meadows, watered by the Lea, and bounded on each side by gentle risings. The meads belonging to the abbey are distinguished by the name of Halifield, or The holy field.

THE present church of Waltham is only the nave of the antient structure,
CHURCH.

which was in form of a cross, with a central tower; which fell down after the dissolution, and the new tower was built at one end, 1555. Within are six massy pillars; some carved with spiral, others with zigzag furrows, like those of the nave of Durham cathedral. The arches are round; above them two rows of galleries, in what is called the Saxon stile. At the east end remains one vast round arch of the tower.

THE only monuments of any note, are those of the Dennies. That of Sir Edward Denny, and Joan his wife, has on it their figures, in a reclined posture; he in armour: and in front are the figures of six of their sons and four of their daughters kneeling. Sir Edward was of the privy chamber to queen Elizabeth; governor of Kerry and Desmonde, and colonel of some Irish forces. He died in 1599, aged about fifty-two; and, I hope, merited this eulogy inscribed on the tomb:

Learn, carious reader, how you pass;

Your once Sir Edward Denny was

A courtier of the chamber,

A soldier of the field;

Whose tongue could never flatter;

Whose heart could never yealde.

THE tombs of earl Harold, founder of the abbey; of the famous Hugo Nevill, who slew a lion in the Holy Land; and of several others, are now lost; having perished with the fall of the tower on the eastern part of the church, in which they were placed [*].

THE abbey stood near the church. Its only remains are a gate and postern, with the arms of England in the time of Henry III; part of a cloister; and an elliptic bridge over the moat. The edifice was pulled down after the dissolution, and the materials applied to building a mansion by Sir Anthony Denny (father of Sir Edward) to whom the place had been granted by Edward VI. His lady afterwards purchased the reversion in see of Waltham manor, from the same prince, for between three and four thousand pounds, with several large privileges in the adjoining forest [†]. This, and the great estate of the family, passed afterwards to the luxurious Hay earl of Carlisle, by his marriage with the heiress of Edward Denny earl of Norwich, grandson of Sir Anthony. The fortune was soon dissipated; and the estate sold by their heirs to Sir Samuel Jones of Northamptonshire; who gave it to the Wakes: and it is at present owned by Sir William Wake, baronet.

THE abbey was founded in 1062,
ABBEY.

by earl Harold, afterwards king of England. It might more properly be stiled a college, being supplied by a dean and eleven secular black canons, who were excellently provided for; the dean having six manors, and each canon one. A copy of the charter of confirmation by Edward the Confessor is preserved by Sir William Dugdale [*].

AFTER the battle of Hastings, Githa, the mother of Harold, and Osegod, and Ailric, by their prayers and tears moved the Conqueror to deliver to them the corpse of the Saxon monarch, and of his brethren Girth and Leofwin, to be interred here. Harold's tomb was of rich grey marble, with a cross fleury on it, and supported by four pedestals [†].

Henry II. in 1177, changed the foundation into an abbot and regulars, of the order of St. Austin [‡]. The first abbot was Walter de Gaunt; who obtained the privileges of the mitre, and of being exempt from episcopal jurisdiction ‖.

Robert Fuller was the last abbot; who, with seventeen of his religious, resigned the monastery to the king, March 23d, 1540. Their whole number was twenty-four. Their revenue, according to Dugdale, was £900. 4s. 3d. to Speed, £1079. 12s. 1d.

THE largest tulip-tree, I believe, in England, stands within the abbey precinct; being fourteen feet in circumference near the bottom.

FROM hence, at a distance, on a rising ground, I saw Copthall,
COPTHALL.

once a villa and park belonging to the abbots. Richard I. bestowed the lands on Richard Fitz-Auchor, to hold them in see, and hereditarily of the abbey. He fixed himself at this seat. At length the abbot became possessed of it, and retained it till the dissolution. Queen Elizabeth granted it to Sir Thomas Heneage. His daughter, afterwards countess of Winchelsea, sold it to the earl of Middlesex, in the reign of James I. Charles earl of Dorset sold it, in 1700, to Thomas Webster, Esquire, created Baronet in 1703: and he sold it to Edward Conyers, Esquire, of Walthamstow; whose grandson, John, is the present possessor [*].

RETURNING the same way over the Lea, I could not but reflect on the different appearance this tract made, to what it did in the days of king Alfred, when it was navigable for ships to the Thames,
ALFRED'S EXPLOITS IN 896.

and by which the piratical Danish navy came up quite to Hertford. Our great monarch instantly set about frittering this vast water into various small streams; and, to the amazement of the free-booters, left their fleet on dry land [†]. At present a useful canal passes along the country.

CLOSE to Cheshunt stood the magnificent palace of Theobalds,
THEOBALDS.

built by lord treasurer Burleigh. When James I. came from Scotland to take possession of the English throne, on May 3d, 1603, he was received here by the lords of the privy council, and was most sumptuously entertained by the owner, Sir Robert Cecil, afterwards earl of Salisbury. James fell in love with, the place; obtained it from Cecil in exchange for Hatfield; enlarged the park, and inclosed it with a brick wall ten miles in circuit. The place was resigned to the king and queen, on the 22d of May 1607. A poetical entertainment was made on the occasion, by Ben Jonson, and suitable scenery invented, in all probability by Inigo Jones [*]. The Genius of the place is at first very anxious about her lot; at last is reconciled to it by Mercury and the Fates: and the piece concludes with a most flattering chorus [†]. James was particularly fond of this palace, and finished his days here in 1625. In 1651, the greatest part of this magnificent place (so particularly described by Heutzner) was pulled down, and the plunder given to the soldiers. The small remains (such as the room in which the king died, and a portico with the painting of the genealogical tree of the house of Cecil) were demolished in 1765, by the present owner, George Prescot, Esquire; who leased out the site to a builder, and built himself a handsome house a mile south of it; so that the memory of it is only preserved by the picture in possession of earl Poulet, at Hinton St. George; and the description, from lord Burleigh's own hand-writing, preserved in Murden's State Papers [‡].

I RETURNED by Enfield, pursued the direct road to London, passed by Tottenham High Cross (so called from a wooden cross formerly placed on a little mount) and in a short space joined my friends in the great metropolis.

Notes

*
〈◊〉, 524.
↵

†
Dod•s Church Hist. ii 430.
↵

*
Rapin, ii 162.
↵

*

〈…〉

↵

*

〈…〉
〈◊〉 Discoverie. 483.

↵

‡
Bridges, 79.
↵

*
Drake's Parl Hist. xx. 50.
↵

*
P. 506, &c.
↵

*
Sax. Chr. 104, 106.
↵

†
Doomsday-book, in Mortor's Northampt.
↵

*
Blunt's Antient Tenures, 16.
↵

†
Lord Lyttelton's Henry II. 41 to 56.
↵

‡
The same, V. 264, octavo, 2d edit.
↵

‖
Cambden, i. 519.
↵

§
Dugdale Baron, i. 219.
↵

*
Dugdale Baron, i. 743.
↵

†
Carte, ii, 141.
↵

*
Norden, as quoted by Bridges, 432.
↵

†
Bridges.
↵

*
Willis, ii, 160. The recantation which he and his poor monks were forced to make, is well worth perusal. See Appendix.
↵

†
Tanner.
↵

‡
Willis, ii. 160,
↵

‖
Tanner, 386.
↵

§
Bridges, 455.
↵

*
Tanner, 377.
↵

†
Bridges, 456.
↵

‡
The same, 458.
↵

‖
Leland Itin, i. 10. and Bridges, 456.
↵

*
Bridges, 457.
↵

†
Tanner, 386.
↵

*
Wood's Hist. Ox. i. 89.
↵

†
Bridges, 426.
↵

*
See Sandys's Travels.
↵

†
Mr. WALPOLE, Engravers, 105.
↵

‡
Bridges, 445.
↵

*
Bridges, 433.
↵

*

〈…〉
last edit.

↵

*
In the house he is called earl of Northampton.
↵

*
Collins, v. 368.
↵

†
Bridges, 341.
↵

*
Drake's Parliam. Hist. iv. 411.
↵

†
The same, 413.
↵

*
Lloyd's Worthies, ii. 86.
↵

†
Carte, iv. 73.
↵

‡
Wilson.
↵

‖
Cabala, 409, &c.
↵

*
Son to Sir Henry Yelverton, the solicitor-general, and father to the second Sir Henry.
↵

*
Morton, 518.
↵

†
Dugdale, i. 1011. in which is the recital of the old charters.
↵

*
xxiv. xxv. The battle was fought July 9th.
↵

*
xxiv. xxv. The battle was fought July 9th.
↵

*
Morton Northampton, 504. Gale's Iter. Br. Com. 145.
↵

†
Morton, 538.
↵

*
Herbert's Henry VIII. 577.
↵

*
Skinner.
↵

*
Mr. Cole.
↵

†
Digby Pedigree, 46 to 47.
↵

‡
The same
•
, 47.

↵

‖
The same, 45.
↵

*
Digby Pedigree, x. 43.
↵

†
Wright's Antiq. Rutlandshire, 114
↵

*
Collin's Peerage, vii. 631.
↵

*
This portrait is inscribed on the back John Digby; but from the romantic circumstance attending it, the dress, and the likeness to other pictures of Sir Kenelm, I cannot help supposing it to be his.
↵

†
Antient Songs and Ballads, ii. 231.
↵

*
Lord Clarendon's Life, 34.
↵

†
I am told, that the great snail, or Pomatia, (Br. Zool. iv. No 128) is found in the neighboring woods, which is its most southern residence in this island. It is of exotic origin. Tradition says, it was introduced by Sir Kenelm, as a medicine for the use of his lady.
↵

*
Epilogue to the Satires.
↵

*
Communicated by Mr. Cole, from church-notes, taken in 1634.
↵

†
In 1322, or the fifteenth of Edward II. Roger de Tyringham was appointed to superintend the estates forfeited in this county, on the earl of Lancaster's rebellion. Rymer, iii. 963.
↵

*
Dugdale Baron. i, 431.
↵

*
Ireland Itin. i. 26.
↵

†
Dugdale Baron. i. 612.
↵

‡
The same, p-613.
↵

‖
Madox Antiq. Exch. i. 418.
↵

§
Dugdale Baron. ii. 46.
↵

**
Whitelock, 167, 236.
↵

*
Tanner, 33.
↵

*
Keque enim pigebit hanc quoque partem attingere, cum lex Metella extet fullonibus dicta, quem C. Flaminius, L. Aemilius, censores dedere ad populum ferendam. Adeo omnia m
•
joribus curae fuere. Ergo ordo hic est

•

primum abluitur vestis Sarda, dein sulphure suffitur: mox desequamatur Cimolia quae est coloris veri. Plinii Hist. Nat. lib. XXXV. c. 17. — The finest foreign earth of this kind, is what the prince of Biscari sent me from Sicily, under the title of Terra Chiemata supona
•
a della quale si servono quei Paesani per lavare i pennilini.
↵

†
Plin. ibid.
↵

*
Malachi iii. 2.
↵

†
Willis, ii. 4.
↵

‡
Ecton, 211.
↵

‖
These two particulars I collect from Mr. Cole's papers.
↵

‖
These two particulars I collect from Mr. Cole's papers.
↵

*
Dugale Monast. i. 829.
↵

†
Willis, ii. 4.
↵

‡
Tanner, 4.
↵

*
Lady Russel's Letters, Letter vi.
↵

*
Dugdale's Baronage, ii. 395. There is another picture of her in the gallery.
↵

†
Tour Scotland 1772, part ii. p. 220.
↵

‡
See a full account of him, Tour Scotl. 1772, part ii. p. 84.
↵

*
Donne's Poems, p. 80. This portrait is so extremely unlike others of this lady, that I doubt whether it was designed for her.
↵

*
Reliquiae Wottianae, 3d od. 170.
↵

†
The same, 165.
↵

*
Lloyd's Worthies, i. 360.
↵

†
Cambden's Eliz.
↵

*
British. Biogr. v. 3534.
↵

*
Dugdale on Embanking, 344.
↵

*
See p. 245 of this volume.
↵

*
Carte iii. 355. Perhaps Rogers of Briainston, in Dorsetshire. There was a Sir John Rogers, who died in 1566; possibly Carte might mistake the Christian name.
↵

*
Herbert's Henry VIII. 35.
↵

†
The same, 41.
↵

*
Halle, xlix. Holinshed, 833.
↵

†
Herbert's Henry VIII. 54.
↵

*
Herbert, 55.
↵

†
Mr. WALPOLE, i. 38, 139.
↵

*
Folio 11. edition 1585.
↵

*
Mr. WALPOLE, i. 20.
↵

*
Sydney Papers, ii. 203.
↵

*
Dugdale Baron. ii. 416.
↵

†
See his Epitaph, ibid, and in Lloyd's Worthies, ii. 263.
↵

*
Wood's Hist. Oxon. lib. ii, 45. and Dugdale, as above.
↵

*
Dugdale Baron. ii. 426.
↵

*
For an account of both, see my Tour in Scotland, vol. iii. 355.
↵

†
Eleven
••••
rs, of the same size with the portrait of this lady, hang up in this gallery; copies, by a painter of the name of Russel.

↵

*
Communicated to me by Mr. WALPOLE; who is in possession of this very scarce book: a thin small quarto, published in 1660. It consists of the earl's Poems, and Responses by Sir Benjamin Ruddier; and other poems, by both, on other subjects. See Royal Authors, i. 192; also p. 234 of this Tour, for a farther account of this noble poet.
↵

*
Itin, i. 115.
↵

†
The same.
↵

*
Sandford's Genealog. Hist. 258.
↵

†
Cambden, i. 340.
↵

‡
She died at Kimbolton, in Huntingdonshire, on the 8th of January, 1535-6.
↵

*
Geneal. Hist. 259.
↵

*
Gratiani's Wars of Cyprus, 10, 11.
↵

*
Anecdotes of Painting, ii. 81.
↵

*
In an old edition of the Arcadia, date 1629, is a hedge-hog, or porcupine, as a crest to the top of a frontispiece. A proof, perhaps, of a Sydney being concerned in the plan.
↵

*
See the whole epitaph in the Appendix. Thomas earl of Elgin died in 1663; the countess in 1654.
↵

*
Wilson.
↵

†
See Carte, iii. 746. This historian is far from being singular in this account.
↵

*
Drake, xi. 474.
↵

†
Macpherson, i. 216.
↵

*
Fuller's Worthies, 299.
↵

*
See Appendix.
↵

*
British Worthies, Cheshire, 178. It must not be forgot that Sir Randle had been speaker of the House of Commons in 1614.
↵

*
Drake, v. 525.
↵

†
The same, vi. 10.
↵

‡
The same, viii. 489.
↵

*
Whitelock, 233, 334, 666.
↵

*
See article BAMBOROUGH, Tour Scotl. 1769.
↵

*
Complete Hist. ii. 430.
↵

*
Engraven in Gent. Mag. 1778.
↵

*
Br. Mus. H. M. II. No 1531. fo. 15.
↵

†
Dugdale's Baron, ii. 264.
↵

*
Halle's Chr. xxxii.
↵

*
See Bromfield's Collect. article LUTON.
↵

*
Leland Itin. vi. 63.
↵

†
Chauncy, 438.
↵

‡
Dugdale Man. i. 179. Henry I. had confirmed the same. In his charter the names are mis-spelt. See Chauncy, 434.
↵

*
Chauncy, 352.
↵

†
Leland, vi. 63.
↵

‡
Goodwin Pros. Angl. 70.
↵

*
Fuller's British Worthies, 123, 124.
↵

†
Chauncy, 525.
↵

‡
Beda, lib. iv. c. 17. p, 160. Beda had been an eleve of this venerable archbishop.
↵

*
Bentham's Ely, 163.
↵

†
Ib. 181.
↵

‡
See the curious account of the practices of the lord admiral on her at this place, in 1548, in Burghley's State Papers, 99, 100.
↵

*
Herbert's Memoirs, 30.
↵

†
Among Kip's Views is one of this house, engraven from a drawing by Thomas Sadler, Esquire.
↵

‡
See p. 357.
↵

*
Clarendon iii. 209.
↵

*
P. ccxvii.
↵

†
I think the king and queen are masked.
↵

*
Songes, &c. ed. 1585, p. 74.
↵

*
Consult Sully, vol. i. book 3. and Montfaucon Monarchie Francoise, v. 297.
↵

*
Granger, iii. 219, octavo.
↵

†
See Sully.
↵

*
Gwillim's Heraldry, 14.
↵

*
Salmon's Herts, 46.
↵

*
This chace was inclosed by act of parliament, 1779; and of the 8000 acres whereof it consisted, 2584 were appropriated to the use of the Crown, and the residue divided between the four adjoining parishes of Enfield, Edmonton, Hadley, and South Mims.
↵

†
See some account of it in my Welsh Tour, vol. ii. p. 29.
↵

‡
Camden, i. 398.
↵

‖
See the Antiquarian Repertory, ii. 231; where a print of this palace is given. It is now divided into several dwellings.
↵

*
His Memoirs, 2d edit. p. 136.
↵

†
See the ingenious account of cedars planted in England, by my respected friend the Reverend Sir John Cullum, bart. Gent. Mag. 1779. p. 138.
↵

‡
Norden's Middlesex, 19.
↵

*
Weever, 644.
↵

†
Fuller's Hist. Waltham Abbey, 13.
↵

*
Monast. ii. 11.
↵

†
Fuller's Waltham, 7.
↵

‡
Tanner, 119.
↵

‖
Willis, i. 191.
↵

*
The late Mr. Conyers took down the old house (of which a print may be seen in Farmer's History of Waltham Abbey) and built the present on a higher site, about thirty years ago. The beautiful east window in St. Margaret's church at Westminster, came originally from the chapel of this old mansion.
↵

†
Saxon Chr. 96. Chr. J. Bromton, 813.
↵

*
Tour in Wales, ii. 142.
↵

†
Ben Jonson's Works, v. 226.
↵

‡
Mr. GOUCH'S Br. Topogr. i. 426.
↵

APPENDIX.

No I. SANDON CHURCH, p. 60.
UPON A CURIOUS MONUMENT AND TOMB AGAINST THE NORTH WALL.

Hoc s•bi spe in Xpo resurgendi posuit Sampson Erdeswik •miger. qui gen' recta serie ducit a Rico de Vernon, barone de Sibroc tempore gui' comāqst.

Hujus ffili' et heres Hugo de Vernō duxit ffiliā et heredē Rainaldi Ballioli dni de Erdeswik et Holgreve dedern̄nt ffilio Mattheo cuju' ffili' inde dict' fuit de Holgreve.

Vernon. Malbanc.

Vernon.

Vernon.

Vernon. Balliole.

Vernon.

Holgreve.

Holgreve.

Vernon. Mandevill.

Richardus s•ilius junior Mathai de Holgreve tertij cum pater illi Erdeswik dedisset nomen de Erdeswik sibi assumpsit et posteris reliquit et ex altera herede Guil. dni de Leighton Thomam de Erdeswik genuit cujus pronepos Thomas quartus accepit in uxorē Margaretā unica ffiliā et heredem Jacobi Stafford de Sandon militis cujus proavia fuit AVda, una ffiliar et heredu Warini ultimi baronis de Sibroc proav' vero Guil. Stafford, ffilius secund' Harvaei Bagod ex Melicēta baronissa Staffordiae qui fuit proneptis Roberti primi baronis Staffordiae qui Angliā Guil. Conquestore ingressus.

Holgreve. Bunbury.

Stafforde. Vernon.

Holgreve. Leigh•.

Stafford. Walkelin.

Stafforde.

Stafforde. Stafforde.

Erdeswik. Stafforde.

Erdeswik. Mirshull.

Erdesw. Clinton.

Erdeswik.

Erdeswik.

Erdeswik.

Erdeswik. Basset.

Erdeswik. Harccurt.

Erdeswik. Grey.

Erdeswik. Lee.

Sampson Erdeswik. Elizabetha Dikeswell. Elizabetha uxor prima fuit silia secunda, et una trium •eredum Humfridi Dikeswell de Church Waver in com •arwici armigeri ex qua quinque suscepit filias, Mar •aretam nondum nuptam, Helenam uxorem Thomae •eyne •e Westen Coyne in comitatu Staffordiae armigeri, Elizabetham. Mariam, et Margerian•, omnes supers•ites •cdum enuptas.

Sampson Erdeswik. Maria Neale. Maria uxor secunda fuit ffilia secundo genita et una heredū Ffra•cisci Neale de Kaythorpe in comitatu Lecestrie armigeri quae illi peperit Richardum et Mathaeum filios et Jehan. fili• at priori marito Everardo Digby armigero 14 liberos en•xa est., e quibus Everardus, Jeannes, Georgius, Maria, Elizabetha, Ffrancisca, et Christiana, nunc sunt super•ites

Vernon semper viret anno Domini 1601.
Ricardus de Vernon Baro de Sibroc 20 Willmi Conquestoris Pater harum ffamiliar' de Vernon Holgreve et Erdeswik 1086.

No II. EXPENCES IN THE REPAIRS OF LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL, AFTER THE RESTORATION. p. 105.
[From Mr. Green of Lichfield's MSS.]

£.

s.

d.

BY the accounts of the late Bishop Hacket, Mr. Glazier, and Mr. Harrison, the sum of money received by them, for the repairs of the cathedral church of Lichfield, amounts to —

9092

1

7½

Besides two fair timber trees, which his majesty gave out of Need-wood, inserted, but not valued, in the book of the said accounts —

As also, there is omitted out of the said accounts, glazing seven of the south windows, by Mr. Creswell; wherein his arms, which (saith he) cost about —

30

00

0

Out of which £9092. 1 s. ½ d. the late Bishop Hacket gave out of his own purse, to the repairs of the said cathedral —

1683

12

0

Bishop Wood, when dean, gave —

50

00

0

And since bishop —

10

00

0

And promised (saith Dean Smallwood) more

100

00

0

In St. Peter's chapel (which is now a place to lay ladders and scaffolding) was painted upon the wall St. Peter crucified with his head downwards; and two other apostles. And in this place is the noted St. Chad's tomb (though defaced) removed from the Lady Choir to be put here, since the Restoration.

No III. THE RESIGNATION OR SURRENDER OF THE PRIOR AND CONVENT OF SAINT ANDREWS, NORTHAMPTON: WITH A RECOGNITION OF THEIR MANIFOLD ENORMITIES. p. 303.

MOST noble and vertuous prince, owr most rightuous and gracyous soueraign lorde, and vndoubted founder, and in erthe next vndre GOD supreme heed of this Englyshe churche. We yowr gracys pore and most vnworthy subiects, FRANCYS, priour of yowr graces monastery of Saint ANDREW the apostle, within yowr graces town of Northampton, aud the hoole couent of the same, being steryd by the gryffe of owr conscience, vnto greate contricion for the manifolde negligence, enormytes, and abuses, of long tyme by vs and other owr predecessours, vndre the pretence and shadow of perfyght religion, vsyd and commytted, to the greuous displeasure of Almyghty GOD, the craftye decepcion, and subtell seduccion of the pure and symple myndys of the good Christian people of this yowr noble realme, knowlegen owr selffes to haue greuously offendyd GOD, and yowr highnesse owr soueraign lord and founder. Aswell in corrupting the conscience of yowr good Christian subiects, with vayne, superstitious, and other vnprofitable ceremonyes, the very means and playn induccions to the abominable synne of idolatry; as in omyttyng the execucion of suche deuowte and due observances, and charitable acts as we were bounden to do, by the promises, and avowes made by vs and our predecessors, vnto Almighty GOD, and to yowr graces most noble progenitors, orygynall founders of yowr saide monastery. For the which obseruances, and dedys of charyte, only yowre saide monastery was indowed with sondry possessions, iewels, ornaments, and other goods, moueable and vnmoueable, by yowr graces said noble progenitors. The revenues of which possessions, we the saide priour and couent, voluntaryly onely by owr propre conscience compellyd, do recognyce, neither by vs, nor owr predecessors to haue ben imploied accordyng to the origynall intent of the founders, of yowr saide monastery; that is to saie, in the pure observaunce of CHRYSTS religion, accordyng to the deuowte rule, and doctryne, of holy Saint BENEDICT, in vertuose exercyse, and study, according to owr professyon and avowe; ne yett in the charytable sustayning, comforting, and releiuing of the pore people, by the kepyng of good and necessary hospitality. But aswell we as others owr predecessours, callyd religiouse persones within yowr said monastery, taking on vs the habite or owtewarde vesture of the saide rule, onely to the intent to lead owr liffes in an ydell quyetnes, and not in vertuose exercyse, in a stately estymacion, and not in obedient humylyte, haue vndre the shadowe, or color of the saide rule and babite, vaynly, detestably, and also vngodly, employed, yea rather deuowred the yerely reuenues yssuing and comyng of the saide possessions, in contynuall ingurgitacions and farcyngs of owr carayne bodyes, and of others, the supportares of owr voluptuose and carnall appetyte, with other wayne and ungodly expensys to the manyfest svbuertion of deuocion, and clennes of lyuyng; and to the most notable slaunder of CHRYSTS holy e•angely, which in the forme of owr professyon, we dyd oftentate, and openly advaunte to kepe most exactely: withdrawing therby from the symple and pure myndys of yowr graces subiects, the only truth and comfort, which they oughte to haue by the true faith of CHRISTE. And also the devyne honor and glory, onely due to the glorious maiestye of GOD Almighty, steryng them with all persuasions, ingynes, and polyce, to dedd images, and counterefeit reliques, for owr dampnable lucre. Which our most horryble abhominacious, and execrable persuacions of yowr graces people, to detestable errours, and our long couered ipocrysie cloked with sayned sanctitie; we reuoluing dayly and continually ponderyng in owr sorrowfull harts, and therby perseyuing the bottomles gulf of euerlastyng fyre redy to deuowre vs, if perseysting in this state of lyuynge, we shulde departe from this vncertayn and transytory liff; constrayned, by the intollerable anguysh of owr conscience, callyd as we trust by the grace of GOD, who wolde haue no man to perysh in synne: with harts most contrite, and repentante, prostrate at the noble feet of yowr most roiall maiesty, most lamentably doo craue of yowr highnes, of yowr habundant mercy, to grant vnto us, most greuous agaynst GOD, and yowr highnes, yowr most gracious perdon, for owr saide sondry offences, omyssyons, and negligences, commytted as before by vs is confessyd, agaynst yowr hyhnes, and yowr most noble progenitors. And where yowr highnes, being supreme hedd, immediately next aftre CHRISTE, of his church, in this yowr roialme of England, so consequently generall and only reformatur of all religious personnes, there, haue full authority to correct or dyssolue at your graces pleasure and libertye, all couents and religious companyes abusyng the rewles of their profession. And moreouer to yowr highnes, being owr soueraygn lord and vndoubted founder of yowr saide monastery, by dissolucion wherof apperteyneth onely the oryginall title, and propre inherytance, as well of all other goods moueable and vnmouable, to the saide monastery in any wise apperteyning or belonging, to be dispossessed, and imployed, as to yowr graces most excellent wysdome shall seme expedyent and necessary. All which possessyons and goods, yowr highnes for owr saide offences, abuses, omyssyons, and neglygences, being to all men obedyent, and by vs playnly confessed, now hath, and of long tyme past hath hadd, iust and lafull cawse, to resume into yowr graces hands and possessyon at your graces pleasure. The resumption wherof, yowr highness neverthelesse, licke a most naturall lovyng prince, and clement govenour, ouer vs yowr graces pore, and for owr offences, most vnworthy subiects, hath of long season differred, and yet doth, in hope and trust of owr voluntary reconciliation and amendment, by yowr graces manyfolde, louyng and gentyll admonyshments, shewyd vnto vs by dyuerse and sondry meanys. We therfor consyderyng with owr selffes your graces exceedyng goodnes and mercy, extended at all tymes vnto vs, most miserable trespassers against GOD and yowr highnes; for a perfight declaracion of owr vnfeyned contricion and repentance, felyng owr selffes uery weeke, and vnable to obserue and performe owr aforesaid avowes and promyses made by vs and owr predecessors, to GOD, and yowr graces noble progenitors; and to employ the possessyons of yowr saide monastery, accordyng to the fyrst will and intent of the oryginall founders. And to the intent that yowr highnes, yowr noble heires and successors with the true Christian people, of this yowr graces roialme of England, be not from hensforth eftsones abused with such feyned deuocion, and deuilysh persuasions, vndre the pretext and habyte of relygion, by us or any other, which shulde happen to bear the name of relygyous within yowr saide monastery. And moreouer, that the said possessyone and goods shulde be no lenger restreyned, from a bettyr or more necessary employment. Most humble beseechen yowr highnes, owr most graycious soueraign lord and founder, that it might licke yowr maiesty, for the discharging and exonerating vs, of the most greuous bourden of owr payned consciens, to the immynent parell and danger of owr dampnacion, that we shulde be in, if by persisting in the state that we now rest in, we shulde be the lett of a more godly and necessarie imployment: graciouslie to accept owr free gifts without coercion, persuasion, or procurement, of any creature living, other then of our voluntary free will, of all such possessions, right, title, or interest, as we the sayd prior and couent hath or euyr hadd, or a supposed to have hadde, in or to our sayd monastery of Northampton aforsaide. And all and euery parcell of the lands, aduousons, comodytes, and other reuenues, whatsoeuyr they ben belonging to the same. And all maner of goods, iewels, ornaments, with all other manner of cattals, moueable and vnmoueable, to the sayd monastery in any wise apperteyning or belonging, into whoes handes or possession so euyr they ben come into, to be imployed, and disposed, as to your graces most excellent wysedome shall seme expedyent and necessary. And although, most gracious soueraign lord, that the thyng by vs gyven vnto your highnes, is properly, and of right ought to be yowr graces owne, as well by the meryts of our offences, as by the ordre of your graces lawes; yen notwythstandyng we estsones most humble beseechen yowr highnes, graciously, and benevolently to accept owr free wyll, with the gyft therof, nothing requyring of yowr majesty therfor, other than yowr most gracious perdon, with some pece of yowr graces almes, and habundant charyte towards the mayntenance of owr pore lyving, and lycence hensforth to liue in such forme in correcting the rest of our liffes, as we hope to make satysfaccion therby to GOD, and yowr highnes: for owr hypocrasie, and other owr greuous offences by vs commytted, as well againe his Deite, as your maiesty. And for the more infallyble proffe that this our recognycion vnto yowr highnes, is only the mere and voluntary acte of us the said priour and couent aforesaid, withought any compulcion, or inducement, other then of owr propre consciens, we haue not only publyshed the same, openly in the presence of your graces true and faithful subiects, and seruants, Sir WYLLIAM APARRE, knyghte, RICHARD LAYTON, doitor in the lawes, archedeacon of Buckingham, and ROBERD SOUTHWELL, atturnay for the augmentacions of yowr graces most noble crowne, yowr graces commyssyoners here, with diuerse other that wer present at that tyme. And vndre this owr present recognicion sealed with our couent seale, subscrybed owr owne names; but also haue made sealed with owr couent seale, and delyuered to the saide ROBERD SOUTHWELL, to yowr highnesse vse, a sufficient and lawfull deade, accordyng to the form of yowr graces lawes, for the possessing your grace, yowr noble heires, and successors therof for euyr, to be presented by him vnto yowr highnes, together with this owr free recognicion and assent; offering owr selffes most humbly vnto your highnes, to be at all tymes redy to do from tyme to tyme, any other act or acts, as by yowr highnes, and yowr most honorable councell shall be of vs farther requyred, for the more perfight assurans of this owr voluntary surrendre and gift vnto yowr highnes. And fynally we most humbly, and reuerently, with habundant teares proceedyng from our harts, having before owr eyen owr detestable offences, submytt owr selffes totally to the ordre of GOD, and yowr mercyfull and benygne maiesty, most hartely beseching Almyghty GOD, to grant your highnes, with the noble prince EDWARD your graces most noble and naturall sonne, next vnto yowr grace the most precious iuell, and chyse comforte of this yowr graces roialme, long to lyue among vs, yowr graces honorable and deuoute procedings, which hytherto thorow yowr graces most excellent wysdome, and wonderfull industry, assidually solycyted abought the confirming and stablyshying mens consciens contynually vexed, with sondry doubtfull opynions, and vaine ceremonyes, haue taken both good and lawdable effecte; to the vndoubted contentation of Almighty GOD, the great renowne, and immortall memorie of your graces hye wysedome and excellent knowledge, and to the spyrituall weale of all your subiects. Datyd and subscrybyd in our chaptre the first day of March in the xxix yeare of yowr graces reign. By the hands of yowr graces pore and vnworthy subiects:

- Per me Franciscum priorem.

- Per me Iohannem subpriorem.

- Per me Tho. Smyth.

- Per me Tho. Golston.

- Per me Rob. Martin.

- Per me Iacob. Hopkins.

- Per me Rich. Bunbery.

- Per me Iohannem Pelte.

- Per me Io. Harrold.

- Per me Tho. Barly.

- Per me Will. Ward.

- Per me Tho. Atterbury.

- Per me Will. Fowler.

No IV. THE WILL OF SIR EDMUND MULSHO. p. 328.

IN the name of the highe Trinitie, Fader, Sonne, & Holy Ghost. Amen. The firste daye of the monethe of Maye, the yeare of our Lorde Godd M. CCCCLVIIJ, and in XXXVJth yeare of the raigne of my soveraigne lorde kynge Henry the Syxte, I Edmude Mulso, knight, of our Lorde Gods vysitation, weake, sycke, and feble in bodie; neuerthelesse, of holle, sownde, and clere mynde, and of sensible witte, beinge honorid & thancked my Maker. I make and ordeyne this my prnte testament and laste will, in maner and forme that suethe. First, I bequethe & recomende my soule unto Almightye God, my Maker and Sauior, and to his blessyd moder virgin Marie, and all the companye of heauen; and my bodye to be buryed in the chappell of or ladye, in the churche of St. Mychaell, called Pater Noster Churche, in the Ryall of London, besyde the tombe where the worshipfull knight Herre Tancke lyethe buried. And I will firste, afore all thinges, after yt my bodie ys buryed, that all my debtes, in wch of right I am bownde, be fully contentid and payed, in discharge of my soule. Alsoe, I wyll & ordayne, that, that myne executors under wrytten make and ordayne, or do to be made and ordayned, in all godly and honest wife, wthin the firste yere next after my deceasse, a tombe of allabaster, in the place whereas my bodye ys buryed, as ys aforesaid, wth an image ouer the same tombe, after my p•son and degree, to be sett with myne armes aboute the same, in all places therupon, wher as myne executors shall seeme moste conuenient and necessarye. And I bequethe for the same tombe so to be made, XLL sterlinge, or more, as yet neadethe, after the discrection of myne executors. Allso, I bequethe all my goods, jewells, and ornaments, in any wise belonginge to my chappell, for to serue at the aulter of our Ladie, in the chappell abouesaid, for any tow prists there, for to synge as hereafter followethe, as longe as they maye endure. Also, I bequethe my ornaments and garments of clothe of golde and veluit, in any wise belonginge to my bodie, to be made in alter clothes, and vestments so made, I bequethe to be distributed and disposed, by my executors, unto the chappell of our Ladie abouesayd, and to the churches of Miche Newton and Lytell Newton, in the shier of Northt. after there beste discrection. Also, I will that mine executors ordeyne and doe make an aulter clothe, and a frounte, of white satin or damaske, with low curtaynes of the same sute, wth my armes, which I bequethe unto the auter of our Ladye at Pewe, Westminr. there to serve as longe as they maye enduer. Also, I bequethe, to be disposed and distributed unto the sayd churches of Miche Newton and Lyttell Newton, XXL sterlinge in bookes, jewells, and ornaments, after the best discrection of my executors, Soo: alwayes that the p.sons and p.ishons of bothe saide churches devoutly, every Sondaie, pray hartely God for the goode estate and prosperytie of the noble prynce Ric. duke of Yorke, and of dame Cecyley his wyffe, and for the souls of me and my fader and moder, and for the soule espially of John Washebourene, all Xtian soules. Also, I bequethe to Wyllm. Mulso, my brother, XLL sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to Margrett Langley, my syster, XLL sterlinge, and a standinge cuppe coverid of syluer. Also, I bequethe to John Mulso, my nephew, XXt sterlinge, and parte of my rayment and vesture longinge to my body, after the discrection of my chosen Rychard Whettebey to be dd to the same John. Also, I bequethe to Alice and Margrett, daughters to the said Symon, XX•• markes sterlinge: that is to say, to every of them tenne markes sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to Alyce Chamber, the dowghder of Willm, cytyzen & mercer, whilst he lived, tenne markes sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to Thomas Tanner, cytezen and scryvener of London, XLs. sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to John Purfoote, late seruant to my sayde lord the duke, tenne markes sterlinge. Also, I bequethe, to be disposed emongste my servants and mene, XXXt sterlinge, after the discrection of my executors, as I have mencyoned in a byll of pap. under my signe manuell. I bequethe to him or hir, now on lyve, next of the blood of the Candyshes, that laste hadd off the manor off Pentlow, in possession before me and my feoffees, XL• sterlinge. Also, I bequethe A C markes sterlinge, to be disposed and distrybuted for my soule, and for the soules abouesayd; as in massis to be songe, highe waies and brydges to be amendid and holpen, and to poore people most needefull, and in other wourkes of charytie and pyttie, to be done after the best discrection of mine executors. Also, I will and bequethe, that all my lands and tenements, rents, and seruices, wth thappurtennes in Nassington and Yarwell, in the county of Northt. shale remayne to my executors, by them to be solde; and all the mony of that same sale comeinge, I bequethe to be disposed and distributed by my sayde executors into the p.formeigne of my bequests, and for my soule, and for the soules above sayde, and in espiall for the soule of my son Walt. in works of charitie and pittie, as is abouesaid. Also, I will and ordayne, that myne executors, imediately after my decesse, sell my manor of Rychmonds, in Thackstedd, in the shier of Essex, with the appurtennances, in the best wyse and the most auailable proffitt that they can or maye; and all the money of that sale comeinge, I bequethe to p.forme and fullfilll the bequests in this my testament contayned: and yf by any p.son now one liue, being next vnto the kyneredd of the Rychemonds that last had the said manor of Rychemond in possessyon before err yt came into the hands of me, or any feoffees that woll bye the sayd manor of Rychemonds; than I will that he haue it better cheap then any other by XL markes sterling. Also, I will & ordeyne, that myne executors, immediatlye after my decesse, sell my manor of Greys, in the shier of Suffolke, wth thappurtenances, in the best wysse, and to the most auaile and profitt that they can or maye; and all the monney of that same sale comminge, I bequethe to fullfill and p.forme the bequests in this my testament conteyned: and if there be any p.rson now one lyve, beyinge next unto the kyndred of the Greys that laste hadd the sayde mannor of Greys in possessyon before yt came to the hands of me or my feoffes, that will bye the sayde mannor of Greys, with the' appurtenances; than I will that he have the sayde mannor of Greys bett. chepe then any other, by A C markes sterlynge. Also, I will that myne executors, imedyatelye after my decesse, sell th'advouson of the church of Candyshe, in the saide shier of Suff.; & all the money of that sale comeinge, I bequethe to fulfill the bequestes in this my present testament contayned. Also, I will & inwardly desire, and praye and beseech the most reverend Fader in God, and my goode lorde Thomas archebishopp of Cantsbury, his brother my lorde Bourcher, & all my feoffees I straightly requier wch of great trust and confidence bene feoffees o enfeoffid in any of my landes and tenements, rents & seruices, mannors & advousons, as of churches or chappells, wth th'appurtenances, wheresoever they be, within the realme of Englonde, or in any other place, that they make such estates, feoffments, and releases thereof, to suche p.sons, & in such convenyent and lawfull forme as myne executors shall desyer, assoone after my deceasse, as myne executors them thereto shall praye & requyer. Also, I bequethe to Dame Elizabeth Mutton j pewe bason, and a peue ewre of syluer, or a pewe pottes of hir choyse. Also, I bequethe unto John Neuell, knyght, my black horse. Also, I bequethe unto John Otter fiue markes sterlinge. Also, I bequethe unto Robert Kolfey fiue markes sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to John Groue, scryuener, XLs sterlinge. Also, I bequethe unto y• chappell and fraternitie of the Resurrection, in the churche of St. Nicholas, of the towne of Calace, XLd sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to the reparation of the same churche XXVjs. viijd. sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to the fraternytye and almes table in the same churche of the Holye Trinitye, of the same churche, vj. viij. sterlinge. Also, I bequethe fiue markes sterlinge to the makeinge of a new glasse wyndow to my memory, to be made in our Ladye churche of Calace, wth three images of the Holye Trinitye; our Lady, and St. George, and my good angel; presentinge my persone wth my armes. Also, I bequethe to the hospitall of Callace, called the Mayson dyne, & to the poore peoples fyndinge there, & to the relieuing of the lazar-house, withoute the town of Collace, to be disposed by the discrection of Richard Whyttwell, xxvj•. viijd. sterlinge: also, to be dealte by the discrection of the same Richard, to the prysoners in Callace, where mooste neede ys, xxvjs. viij sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to fryer James Stope, to praye especyallye for me to God in his massys, by a yeare, Lijs. iiijd. sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to the pryer and couente of the fryers churche in Callace, that they spially have my soule recomendid to God, xxvjs. viijd. sterlinge. Also, I bequethe Liijs. iiijd. to the reparation of the churche of St. Peter wthoute Callace, and to the makeinge of an auter clothe, and a frontell, stayned wth an image, or the storye of St. Peter, and myne armes, & name of them, to be made; there to serue at the highe alter, in the honor of God and St. Peter, as longe as it maye enduer. Also, I bequethe to the makeinge of a challyce to the parryshe of Bockarde, in the marche of Callace, where Doctor Salmon ys parson, xxs. sterlinge. Also, I giue and bequethe to Johanat of Fanne, at Thakestedd, xxtie markes starlinge. Also, I bequethe to the chappell of our Ladye in the Woule, in Callace, vjs. viijd. sterlinge; Also, I will and bequethe that CCL. markes sterlinge of my moveable goodes, jewells, and lyvelood, shale remayne in the hands of my deare sister Margarett Langley, and of my cosen Rychard Whytwell; and they to dispose the same some withoute any mynyshing, defalcacon or abridgement of eny parte there of in suche wyse as I have declared unto them my wryghtinge, under my sygnett and sygne manuell, by me delyuerid afore my menyall meny to the sayde Richard Whyttwell. Also, I will that my householde and menye shale be kepte wholle and togyder fownden of my goodes by XV. dayes nexte sueinge after my decease. Also, by this my present testamente and will, I adnull & defeate my former testament and will that I made in Englonde; afore that I came to Callace, and all the bequestes conteyned in the same, bearynge date the tenth daye of the moneth of September, in the yeare of or Lord God M.CCCLIII, and in 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 the yeare of yt raigne of kynge Henry the Syxt, after the Conqueste the xxxijth, and all other testaments and willes by me made. As for my proper goodes and lyue lodde, yf eny be afore this my present testament. Also, I will and specially requier, that all the parsons that have any moueable goodes or jewells of myne, by wrytinge or other wyse, in there possessyon and keepinge, that they, and euery of them, make delyuerance thereof to my executors, when they desyer them. Also, I will that myne executors be rewardid, recompensyd, and allowed, for all manner of costes and expensys that they make, or shale make and dafer me in eny wyse, in any of the matters & causys conteyned in this my testament, and by the ouersight and knowledge of my overseers wnder written. Also, I bequethe unto the Trynitie Table, wthin our Ladye churche of Callace aforesayde, vjs. viij•. sterlinge. The resydue of all my goodes, cattalls, and debtes, whatsoeuer they be, in whose hands that they be, after that my debts be payed, my body brought on earthe, my bequests fullfilled and payed, and this my present testament & last will in all wyses performed, I bequethe to my executors underwrytten, they therwithe for to do dispose and distribute for my soule, & for all the soules above rehearsed in werkes of charytie and pittie, in maner and forme aboue specyfyed, as they maye beste please God and most profitt my soule. And over all this, as to the disposytion of my maner of Pentlowe, with appurtenances, in the shier of Essex, and the advouson of the churche of Pentlowe there, I will, requier, and hartelye praye all my feoffees in the saide mannor of Pentlowe, wth th'appurtenances & th'aduouson of the same churche, and myne executors vnder wrytten, that they, or the more parte of them, with th'aduise of learned councell, imediatly after my deceasse, sue, purchase, chase, and gett of the kynge, our soueraigne lorde, his lers patents, to be made and hadd unto them in all sufficyent and suer wyse, vunder his greate seale, whereby that my feoffees or executors, or on or moe of them, may haue power and auctoritye sufficient, after the forme of lawe, to giue and graunt vnto Mr. Thomas Eborall, p.son of the churche of St. Michall, abouesaide; and to the wardins & keep.s of the goodes and ornaments of the same church of St. Michaell, and to their successors, p.sons and wardins of the same church, wch for the tyme shalbe, for euermore, my said mannor of Pentlowe, wth th'appurtenances and advouson of the saide churche of Pentlow; and so therof that they establish mortise and fowunde a channterie in the saide churche of St. Michaell, and to be cauled Mulso Chaunterie, for tow preists there perpetually for to singe for my soule; to have and to hold to the said parson and wardins, and to their successors of p.sons and wardins of the saide church of St. Michaell for the tyme beinge for evermore, vnder the maner & forme and condition that followethe; that ys to saye, First, I will and ordayne the sd. p.son and wardins, and there successors, parsons & wardins of the saide churche of Saincte Michaell for the tyme beinge, of the revenew and profitts cominge of the saide manor of Pentlowe, and th'advouson of the churche off Pentlowe, wth appurtenances, fynde tow seculer priests dailye & perpetually, for to singe in the saide churche of St. Michaell's for my soule, and for the soules of my fader and moder, and my friendes & kyneffolkes, for euermore. And I will & ordeyne, that the sayde towe priests be alwayes chosen, receiued, and admitted to the sayd chaunterye by the sayd parson and wardins, and their successors, parsons & wardins of the saide churche of Saincte Michaell for the tyme beinge; and the saide towe priests to be honest goode men, & of goode name and same, & of honest conversation and condicon; and that they be at all mattins howers, masseys, and evensonges, and at all other divine services & obsequies there now used and done, and to be used and done. And yf the saide towe preistes, or eyther of them, so chosen, receyued, and admitted to y• saide chaunterie at eny tyme hereafter, be unhoneste, or any vngodly or outragyous wyse behaue or beare him, then I will and ordeyne that the saide towe preists, or either of them, lyneinge unhonestly, or in any ungodly or outragious wyse ruleinge, behavinge, or beareinge himselfe, be removed by the sayde parson and wardins, and theire successors, parsons & wardins of the saide churche of St. Michael's for the time beinge, from the saide service; and that another prieste or preistes, in his place or their places, by the saide parsone & wardins & their successors, parsons & wardins, unto the said chaunterie be chosen and putt in, in the maner and form above-saide; and so from tyme to tyme to be done, as ofte as yt so happethe or faullethe vayde by the death of them, or that they, or eyther of them, be promotid to any benyfyce or offyce. Also, I will and ordeyne the revenewe and profitts cominge of the saide manor of Pentlow, and advouson of the church of Pentlow, wth th'appurtenances, duely repayere, sustaine, & meynteine the said manor, wth th'appurtenances, & all manner rents and chargis thereof goinge out, pay and supporte yerely fortever more. And that the said parson and wardins, and their successors, parsons and wardins of the saide churche of Saincte Michaell for the time beinge, pay yearely for evermore unto the sd. towe preistes for their salarie, XXtie markes sterlinge, att the feastes of Xmas, Easter, Midsomer, and Mychaellmas, by euen portions; that is to saye, to each of them X markes sterlinge. And I will & ordeyne furthermore, that the saide parson and wardins, & their successors, parsons and wardins of the saide churche of St. Michaell, which for the tyme shall be, withe a parcell of the revenews comeinge of the saide mannor of Pentlow, wth th'appurtenances, yerely for euermore, in the churche Saincte Mychaell abouesaide, holde and keepe myne anniversarie the daye of my deceasse; that is to saye, in the even, dirige by note, & one the morrow, masse of requiem by note, wth tow tapers at my saide tombe, eache of tow pounde of waxe; and that the parson have for his labour, being there present in there obsequies, XXd, and every of the priests XIJd, and of the clarks XIJd, and either of the church wardins XXd; and that there be disposed emongste xxiiij poore men and the women, the same daie of my anniversarrie, iiijs in money yerely, for ever more. Also, I will and ordayne, that the day following myne anniversarye, an account be had and made between the parson and wardins, and their successors for evermore, yerely, of all the receiptes, payments, & chargis, by them hadd and done within yc yere; and that all the money that upon such accounts, from yere to year, over and above the sustenatcon of the saide towe preists, reparatyons of the saide mannor of Pentlowe, wth th'appurtenances, fownden & done, the saide anniversarie kept and holden, and all other chargis aboue saide done & payde, remayne the cleare, be put in a boxe, or in a chiste with tow lockes and keyes, fast locked, for the repacyon and new edeficationes and sustenation of the saide manor of Pentlowe, wth th'appurtenances, and chargis aforesaide, in the saide churche safelye to be kepte; and that the saide parsone have and keepe the one keye, & the saide wardins the other keye. Furdermore, I will and ordeyne, that if the saide person and wardins, and their successors, parsons and wardins of the saide churche of Saincte Michaell for the tyme beinge, at any after, by neglygent and slothfull, and fynde not the towe preistes, nor keepe not the saide anniversarye, & all other chargis abouesaide, in manner and forme aboue declared, and haue no cause reasonable whereby they shoulde be lettid or tarryed; than I will that the state, right, and possession of the said parson and wardins, & their successors, parsons and wardins of the saide churche of Sat. Michaell for the tyme beinge, be voide & of no strengthe; and than I will and ordeyne, that the saide mannor at Pentlowe, with th'advouson of the saide churche of Pentlowe, and all th'appurtenances, remayne & turne unto Mr. Thos Bucksall, maister of the colledge of Fodringhey, in the shier of Northampton, to have and to holde all the saide manor of Pentlowe, and all th'appurtenances, to the saide now master of the saide colledge of Fodringhey, and to his successors, maisters of the said colledge, forevermore; so alwaies that the same maister & his successors fynde for evermore towe preistes dayleye for to singe in our Ladye chappell there, for the soule of me the saide Edmonde, and the soules before rehearsydd; & also hold and keep my anniuersarye in the maner and forme aboue writtenn, and all other chargis and things, before rehearsed, do obserue and fullfill yerely in the saide colledge, in manner and forme as ys aboue specifyed and declared evermore. Also, I charge and requier, and will that none of myne executors, in absense of the other, in the execution of this my testament and laste will, take upon them, nor presume to doe any thing• wthout the agreement, will, and assent of them all, or the more parte of them; and when neede be, they to take thadvise of the overseers hereafter named of this my testament, except only as for the CCL markes bequethed and assigned to my saide sister Margarett Langley, and my chosen Richard Whytwell, in forme aforesaid; and also all suche thinges as of right and very nescessitye must be done in Callace and marches of the same; the which I comytt only, by this my testament, to my saide cosen Rychard Whytwell, in absence of his fellowship co-executors, with hym wholly to execute and parforme. Of this my present testament and last will, I make & ordayne myne executors; that is to saye, the wort• knight William Oldehalle, Mr. Robert Wyatt, clerke, the saide Willm. Mulso, Symon Reyham, and Rychard Whyttwell. And I bequethe to the sd. William Oldhall, knight, for his labour in this behalfe to be had, XXL sterlinge, and a gowne of fyne French blacke, or of puowke, and a furre with a pursle of browne martirs for the same. Alsoe, I bequethe to the saide Mr. Robert, Wm. Mulso, & Symon Reyham, for their labore about the premyssys. trewly to be done, XXL sterlinge eche of them to have. And to the sd. Rychard Whyttwell, for hys labor, I bequethe fiftye poundes sterlinge. And I make overseers of y• my present testament and laste will; that is to say, the mooste reverende Father in God, and my right goode lorde Thomas archebishop of Canterbury; the high, mightie, and my full good lorde, Rycharde earle of Warwicke; Henry Bourchere, knight, lord Bourchire; & th'aforesaid Mr. Thomas Eborall. And I bequethe to the saide most reverende Fader the Archbishopp, XXL sterlinge; to the saide mightie earle, my double harneys complete, that I had of the gifte of the dolphin of France; to my saide lorde Bourchir, XXL sterlinge; and to the saide Mr. Thomas Eborall, XL sterlinge; instantly beseeching & desyreing my saide goode lordes, and requireinge all other of my overseers and executors of this my testament and laste will, to shew and doe for me, in th'execution of all the premisses, as they would I did for them in semblable wise one God his behalfe. Over this, I will that an able preiste of conversation synge and pray for my soule, and the soules of my fader & moder, and of all other soules that I am in deade to praye for at Scala: Celi, in Rome, by the space of one wholle yeare and XXX daies; and, wth in the same tyme, I will that the same preiste shale synge and praye for my soule, and the soules afore rehearsed, a trentall in certeyne principall churches at Rome aforesaide in suche forme, and at suche tymes, as Saincte Gregory did, and as yt is there used and accustomed; for the which seruice so to be done by the saide preiste, I will that my saide executors giue him a competent sallary, in suche forme as they wth hym conveniently may accorde. Also, I will that my saide executors ordeyne and doe prouide a gentill and a well doinge horse, wth and harneys to the same; and that the saide horse and harneys, and also my chawferyn wth the whyght feather for the saide horse, by my executors, for and in my name, be giuen to righte noble lorde the earle of Marche, as for my remembrance to his goode lordshipp. Provydid alwayes, that if any goods moueable, as well here as Callace, and in the marches of the same, as in Englonde, and my londes and tenements beinge in my feoffees hands, wheresoevere they byn, will not suffice ne streche easely to the performing and fullfillinge of these my saide bequestes and will (as I trust to God they shalle) than I will and ordeyne by this my testament and laste will, that my saide executors abridge and make desalcacon of parte of all and every of my saide bequestes, wills, and ordinances, in suche forme as they shalle seeme most expedient and behofefull to be done for the health of my soule, except only the CCL markes bequethed and assigned to my saide sister Margarett Langley, and to my cosen Rychard Whyttwell, and also the said XXtie markes to the said Johane at Fann; whiche towe somes I will specially to be performed, and my debtes payed. In wyttness whereof, to this my present testament and laste will I have putto my seale, wrytten and yearenthe day and yeare afore rehearsed.

Testamentu Edmundi Mulso, militis, quo ad disposionem tam omniu et singuloru manerioriu, terraru, et tenementoru suoru quam omniu et singuloru bonoru suoru mobiliu; ultimam suam in se contineu volunt ap. te lect p. dictu Edmundu sigillo suo ad arma sigillat. in p.sentia testiu subscriptoru specialiter ad hoc vocatoru.

Aerat.

- John Groue

- John Wryght

- Robt. Wynnington

- John Deley

- John Pycharde

- Willm. Toste

- Radi Knyston

- Robti. Leche

- Thome Laverocke

- Guuley Walmesley.

- Thome Vsher

No V. ON THE DEATH OF THE COUNTESS OF SOMERSET. See p. 372.

HER death was infamous: and though she died (as it were) in a corner (in so private a condition) the loathsomeness of her death made it as conspicuous as on a house-top: for that part of her body which had been the receptacle of most of her sin, grown rotten (though she never had but one child) the ligaments failing, it fell down, and was cut away in flakes, with a most nauseous and putrid savour; which to augment, she would roll herself in her own ordure in her bed; took delight in it. Thus her affections varied; for nothing could be found sweet enough to augment her beauties at first, and nothing stinking enough to decypher her loathsomeness at last. Pardon the sharpness of these expressions; for they are for the glory of God; who often makes his punishments (in the balance of his justice) of equal weight with our sins.
Wilson's Life of King James I. p. 83.

No VI. EPITAPH IN AMPTHILL CHURCH. p. 377.

M. S.

Optimis parentibus nunc tumulo conjunctus

Pietate semper conjunctissimus

Hic jacet

Richardus-Nicolls Francis. Is•i. ex Margar. Bruce

Filius

I-l-limo Jacobo Duci Ebor. a cubiculis intimis;

Anno 1663, relictis musarum castris,

Turmam equestrem contra rebelles duxit,

Juvenis strenuus, at{que} impiger,

Anno 1664, aetate jam & scientiâ militari maturu•

In AMERICAM

Septentrionalem cum imperio missus

Longam I-s-lam caeteras{que} insulas,

Belgis expulsis, vero Domino restituit.

Provinciam arces{que} munitissimas

Heri sui titulis insignivit,

Et Triennio pro preside rexit.

Academiâ Literis

Bello Virtute

Aula Candore Animi

Magistratu Prudentiâ

Celebris:

Ubi{que} bonis carus, sibi & negotiis par,

28o Maii, 1672.

Nave praetoriâ contra eosd. Belgas

Fortiter dimicans,

Ictu globi majoris transfossus occubuit.

Fratres habuit,

Praeter Gulielmum praecoci fato defunctum,

Edvardum, et Franciscum.

Utrum{que} copiarum pedestrium centurionem,

Qui faedae & servilis tyrannidis

Quae tunc Angliam oppresserat impatientes

Exi•o praelato (si modo regem extorrem sequi exit. sit)

Alter Parisiis, alter Hagâ comitis,

Ad coelestem patriam migrarunt.

No VII. EPITAPH IN MAULDEN CHURCH. p. 382.

Diana

Oxonii & Eligini Comitissa

Quae

ILLUSTRI orta sanguine, sanguinem illustravit, Ceciliorum meritis clara, suis clarissima, ut quae nesciret minor esse maximis. Vitam ineuntem honoravit, & prodeuntem ampla virtutum cohors, et exeuntem mors beatissima decoravit, volente Numine ut nuspiam deesset aut virtus aut felicitas. Duobus conjuncta maritis, utri{que} charissima; primum (quem ad annum habuit) impense dilexit; secundum (quem ad 24) tanta pietate & amore coluit, ut cui vivens obsequium, tanquam patri praestitit, moriens testimonium filio reliquit. Noverca quum esset maternam pietatem facile superavit; famulitium adeò mitem prudentem{que} curam gessit ut non tam domina familiae praesse quam anima corpori in esse videretur; deni{que} cum pudico, humili, forti, sancto animo, virginibus, conjugibus, viduis omnibus exemplum consecrasset integerrimum, terris anima major ad similes evolavit superos Anno salutis 1654, April 17, aetatis{que} 58.

Ita gemuit Dominus Thomas Bruce, Comes Eliginensis & Baro Bruce de Whorlton, qui hoc monumentum aeque sacellum

In perpetuam conjugis optimae memoriam

Erigendum curavit

Anno 1656.

The following inscription appears under a busto:

Thomas Comes de Elgin

Baro Bruce de Whorlton

In comitatu Eboracensi,

Hanc dilectissimi patris sui effigiem Robertus Comes de Ailesbury & Elgin, &c. filius unigenitus in extimo sacelli circulo erigendam curavit. Medium quippe soli Comitissae de Oxford uxori fuae cariffimae praedictus Thomas sacrum voluit, cujus in aeternum memoriam monumentum illud centrale extruxit, quod & ipse & prosapia sua, fatis olim cessura, eminus stantes venerabundi quasi contemplabuntur.

Obiit Decemb. anno salutis 1663.

Aetatis suae 73.

Edwardus Bruce Armiger, Rob. Baris Bruce, filius domae Dianae Henrici Grey Comis de Stamford, filiae nu. m••. quinetiam Thomae Comitis de Elgin nepos a quo hanc vivendi rationem cum didicisset, gratus scholaris exemplo suo docuit avum (ei vix paucis mensibus superstitem) mori. Anno salutis 1663. Aetatis suae 17mo.

No VIII. EPITAPH IN FLITTON CHURCH, ON THE GOOD COUNTESS OF KENT. p. 394.

HERE lyes the Right Honble. Amabella, late countess dowager of Kent, entombed by her dear lord Henry earl of Kent, to signifie her resolution to dye with him to the rest of ye world, and to live after so great a loss only to God, & the interest of this noble family. This she made good, by her exemplary piety & regular devotion in her chappel; whereto she obliged all her domesticks, every morning & evening, to attend her.

And, surviving her own monument 45 years, she had time to raise to herself a more lasting one, by restoring the fortune of this illustrious family, which she found under an eclipse, to near the height of it's antient splendour.

This she effected by her wise conduct & large acquisitions, & by the advantageous disposal of her only son Anthony earl of Kent, in marriage, with Mary, sole daughter and heiress of the Rt. Honble. John lord Lucas, baron of Shenfield, in Essex.

To the concerns of her children & grandchildren she confined her thoughts; & fixed her residence at Wrest, their usual seat; which she wonderfully improved & imbellished; continually adding to the profit or ornament of the place, until death gently seiz'd her, Augst. 17th, 1698, in the 92d year of her age; & was here interred by the Rt. Honble Anthony earl of Kent, her most dutiful son; who would have caused y• to be engraven, had not a sudden death prevented him; but it was afterwards performed, in due acknowledgement of her great beneficence, & to perpetuate her precious memory to all his posterity, by her grandson, Henry Duke of Kent.

Mary, one of the daughters of Sir George Cotton of Combermere, in y• county of Chester, knight, first espowsed to Edward earle of Derby, & after, to this Henry earle of Kent; who deceased the 16th of November, in the yeare of our Lord God 1580, and lieth buried at Great Gaddesden, in the covnty of Hertford. In tender affection & good respect of wt lady, the said earle of Kent, her husband, caused this remembrance to be made of her.

Here lyeth the body of the most noble, vertvous, & worthy peere, Henry Grey earle of Kent, lord Hastings, Weisford, & Rvthyn, lord lievtenant of the covnty of Bedford: ever loyall to his prince, assvred to his covntry, kinde to his friends, loving to al good men, & charitable to the poore; the first erector & fovnder of this chapell; who deceased the 31st of Janvary. 1614.

INDEX.

A.

- ABBOT, archbishop page 239

- Acton church 19

- Alban's, St. See Saint Alban's, Albert archduke of Austria 379

- Allesey village 138

- Altar, Roman, at Chester 1

- Amphibalus, St. 222

- Ampthill 375

- Ankor river, Draiton's verses on 124

- Anne dutchess of Bedford, daughter to Robert Car earl of Somerset, her story 358

- Anson, Thomas, his amiable life 67, 68

- Armour, great attention paid to 168

- Arundel, Thomas earl of 232

- Ashmole, Elias 132

- Aston-hall 58

- Aston, Sir Edward, tomb of 73

- Aston, Sir Walter, lord Forfar 83

- Audley church 42

- Audley, lord; and his Esquires 39

- Avon river 182

B.

- Bacon, Sir Francis 226, 256

- —, Sir Nathaniel 227

- —, Sir Nicholas 224, 245

- Bacon, lady, second wife of Sir Nicholas page 245

- Badby manor 291

- Bagot family 81

- Baltimore, first lord 238

- Barnet, battle of 282

- —town 288

- Battle of Barnet 282

- —Bloreheath 48

- —Hopton Heath 72

- —Northampton 321

- —St. Alban's, first 278

- —St. Alban's, second 280

- Beaudesert 96

- Bedford family 346

- Bedford, Lucy countess of 353 5

- Beestor-hall 9

- —family 10

- —castle 11

- Beighton, the surveyor 184

- Bertelin the hermit 75

- Bethuei, now Stafford ib.

- Billings, Little 320

- Billington Bury 77

- Binley church, elegant 173

- Blecheley church, tombs in 208

- Blithe-hall 131

- Blithefield 81

- Bloreheath, battle of 45

- Beadicea sacks Verulamium 252

- Borough-hill, near Daventry page 188

- Boughton 2

- Branden, Charles duke of Suffolk, account of 363

- Braunston village 184

- Brickhill 213

- Brindley, James 54

- Broughton family 43

- Bruff the 47

- Buchingham, George Villiers first duke of 240

- Bunbury church 14

- Burbolt fish 80

- Burleigh, lord treasurer 82

- Burston 58

- Bury-bank, near Stone 49

- —Stafford 77

C.

- Calveley, Sir Hugh, his tomb and history 16

- Camp hills 47

- Canal, Cheshire 19

- —Staffordshire 51

- —Oxford or Coventry 149

- Ca•• wood 73, 98

- Castle Ashby 310

- —hill 97

- —dikes 194

- Cecil, Sir Edward 178

- Chad, St. or Ceadda 100

- Chalk, antiquity of its use 214

- Chalk-hill ib.

- Chartley house 62

- —castle 63

- Christleton village 2

- Clifford hill 320

- Clifton church 120

- Clifton village page 120

- Clinton, Roger de, bishop of Lichfield 102

- Coleshill 128

- Colton 81

- Colwich 79

- Combe abbey 173

- Combustible woman 165

- Compton family 310

- Cornara, Catherine, queen of Cyprus 378

- Cornwallis, first lord 236

- Corpus Christi plays 161

- Courtney earl of Devonshire, his story 349

- Coventry, 138

- —, its trade 141

- —, its churches 147, 154, 155

- —, the priory 150

- —, lord keeper 244

- Craven, Sir William 180

- —William lord 177

- Crew, Sir Randle 389

- —lord Crew 390

- —, bishop 391

- Croke, Sir George, a judge 247

- Cross, queen Eleanor's 322

- Croxal church 119

- Cumberland, Margaret countess of 246

D.

- Danby, Henry earl of 370

- Danes, at Toucester 199

- Danvers earl of Danby 370

- —, lady, her fine tomb 195

- Darlaston bridge 49

- Daventry 186

- Devonshire, Christiana countess of 373

- Digby, George, his singular epitaph 60

- —family 327

- Digby, Sir Everard page 327

- —pedigree-book 328

- —, Lady Venetia 335

- Doddington-hall 39

- Dodford church 192

- Dorset, Edward earl of 236

- Duel, great, in 1398, designed at Coventry 166

- Dugdale, Sir William 1•8

- Dunchurch 183

- Dunsmore heath ib.

- Dunstable 214

- Dwina, first bishop of Lichfield 100

E.

- Easton Manduit house ••6

- —church ••9

- Easton Neston 201

- Eleanor, queen, her crosses 322.

- Elford church and village 117

- Eigin, Diana countess of, her strange tomb 38•

- Elizabeth, queen, curious portrait of 406

- El•avon 322

- Empson, Sir Richard 200

- Enfield, 413

- Erdeswik, Sampson 59

- Ethelfleda countess of Mercia 75

- Etocetum 1•6

F.

- Fairwell church 99

- Fanhope, lord 375

- Fawsley house 292

- Fenny Stratford 212

- Femor family 201

- Flamsted 221

- Elitton church •••

- Flor• church page 297

- Font at Luton 395

- —Stafford 74

- Free warred 3

- Frevils 122

- Frebenius the prinrer, portrait of 408

- Froissart, quotations from 89, 167

- Fuller's-earth 344.

G.

- Geese dropping down miraculously 193

- Geraldine the fair 365, 366

- Gerard family 58

- Gobions, seat •. Sir Thomas More 412

- Godiva 139

- Goldington 325

- Gorges, Sir Edward 362

- Gorh••nbury 223

- Gosford-green, remarkable duel designed at 167

- Gothurst 325

- Gray lady Jane 387

- Greene, M•, of Lichfield, his cabinet 114

- Grey family 383

- Grimston family, and portraits 230

H.

- Haket, bishop 105

- Ha•dley 285

- Hatfield house 403

- —church 411

- H•lead-Wen 27

- H•••••ge, Mr. Lyster's 8•

- Heywood bridge 65

- Historical piece, curious at Hatfield 405

- Hoo family 400

- Hop••• 〈◊〉 72

- 〈…〉

- 〈…〉

- 〈…〉 •65

- 〈…〉

I.

- 〈…〉 •15

- 〈…〉 72

K.

- 〈…〉 •9

- 〈…〉 292

L.

- 〈…〉 4•5

- 〈…〉 bishop, 〈…〉 37•

- 〈…〉 4•6

- 〈…〉 ••6

- 〈…〉 395

- 〈…〉 139

- 〈◊〉 146

- 〈…〉

- 〈…〉

- 〈…〉

- 〈…〉

- 〈…〉 •5• ••5

- 〈…〉

- 〈…〉

M.

- 〈…〉 215

- 〈…〉 •14

- 〈◊〉 his epitaph page 32

- Mandeville, Sir John, his birth-place 271

- Margare• queen of Henry VI. 45, 155

- Market S••eet 219

- Mary queen of Scots 409

- 〈◊〉 Church 382

- 〈◊〉, Sir Robert's tomb and 〈◊〉 history 87

- 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 134

- 〈◊〉, Sir Thomas 229

- M•••, S••ffordshire 46

- 〈◊〉 127

- 〈◊〉 widow, account of 35

- 〈◊〉 village 136

- 〈◊〉 General, his beginning 35

- 〈◊〉 Sir Thomas 10

- 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Norfolk 167

- — his designed duel 168

- M•ccleston church 44

- 〈…〉 326

- — Sir Edmund, his curious will 432

N.

- •••wich 24

- Nassa• count de 353

- 〈◊〉, goddess 214

- N••• River 298

- New River 413

- 〈◊〉 P•gnel 342

- 〈…〉 his epitaph 377

- Northampton 299

- —〈◊〉, earls of 310

- 〈◊〉, family 326

O.

- O••a, king 25•

- 〈◊〉 family 45, 94

- O•grave house page 89

- Orphan, supposed origin of that play 369

- O•je river ••6

P.

- Packington house 135

- Paget family 96

- Pagnel, Newport 342

- Parliamentun diabolium et indoctu• 141

- Passenham church 206

- Pembroke, William earl of, verses by 375

- Pennoruc•um 116

- Philip L• Bon duke of Burgundy 248

- Potter's Pery 206

- Pri••de la, abb•y 321

R.

- Ram••dge, abbot, his tomb 264.

- R•nb•• 22•

- R•b•y her story 385

- Richmond, Marga at countess of 40•

- Roger and Ci•••, dialogue between, on the battle of Bar•et 284

- Rogers, comptroller •62

- Roman roads, 252, 1•6, 265, 2•3

- Roos family 18•

- Rothera•• family •9•

- Rudghy village ••

- Rufin, prince ••, ••0

- R•ssel lady Rachel 348

- —Lord William 361

- —Lord Edward and Sir 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 port• •69

S.

- 〈…〉

- 〈…〉

- Salines page 2•

- Salt, its antient history 26

- Salt-works 26, 66

- Sandon church 59

- S•ruppius, account of 61

- Schindon village and church 121

- Sevmour, lady Jane 349

- Shugborough 67

- Somerts tower 400

- Somerset, countess of her infamous life 371

- —loathsome death 446

- Somer•th, Sir Philip 90

- Sommers, Will, the jester 202

- Sop•well •unnery 28•

- Sow river 67

- Sparke, reverend Dr. quibbling epitaph on 209

- Stefford town 73

- —castle 76

- —family ib.

- S••ne priory 57

- Stow church, near Lichfield 112

- —near Chattley 64

- S•••-nine-Churches 195

- Stragle Alan, 〈◊〉 old painter at St. •lban's 261

- Stratford St•ney 203

- —•enny 212

- Surrey, earl of, his passion for the fair Geraldine 365

- S•innerton house 47

- Sydney, Sir Philip 35•

T.

- Talbot, John, first earl of Shrewsbury, curious portrait of 311

- 〈◊〉 121

- T••worth ib.

- Tarvin village page 4

- T•••r• 〈◊〉 90

- T••• river 46

- Te•l•• singular 328

- Th••bau• 〈◊〉 36•

- Th•• C•n••ine 120

- Tir 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 Nicholas 392

- 〈…〉 George •rew Earl of 237

- 〈…〉 199

- 〈◊〉 river ib.

- 〈◊〉 river 49

- 〈◊〉 house 339

V.

- Ver••r Ver••ame river 213

- Ve••la••• 249

- Vers colum• at Ampthill 377

- Up•on village 298

W.

- Wall, the antient E•o••t•m page 116

- Waltham abbey and cross 415, 416

- W••l•ng-street 208, 213

- Wedon 193

- Wetlock, lord 395

- Whethamsied abbot, his tomb 268

- Whitbenoure flitc• 90

- Whitby 184

- Will•oughby 183

- Wills, curious 328

- Woburn town 345

- —abbey 346

- Wrest house 382

Y.

- Yelver•on family 317

- —tombs 319

FINIS.

Information about this book

Title statement

The journey from Chester to London

Pennant, Thomas, 1726-1798.

Publication

Distributor

University of Oxford Text Archive
Oxford University Computing Services
13 Banbury Road
Oxford
OX2 6NN
ota@oucs.ox.ac.uk

ID [ota]

http://ota.ox.ac.uk/id/5406

ID [isbn10]

1106024052

ID [isbn13]

9781106024053

ID [TCP]

K117344.000

ID [BIBNO]

CW3301815413

ID [ECHG]

0369200900

Availability

Distributed by the University of Oxford under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Source

— The journey from Chester to London, Pennant, Thomas, 1726-1798.. [2],iv,452,[6]p.,XXII plates ; 4⁰. London :: printed for B. White,. 1782.. [Advertisement signed: Thomas Pennant.] [The titlepage is engraved.] [With an index.] [Reproduction of original from the British Library.] [English Short Title Catalog, ESTCT160571.] [Electronic data. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale, 2003. Page image (PNG). Digitized image of the microfilm version produced in Woodbridge, CT by Research Publications, 1982-2002 (later known as Primary Source Microfilm, an imprint of the Gale Group).]

Creation

Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2p5.xsl, TEI @ Oxford.

Editorial practices

This electronic text file was keyed from page images and partially proofread for accuracy. Character capture and encoding have been done following the guidelines of the ECCO Text Creation Partnership, which correspond roughly to the recommendations found in Level 4 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines. Digital page images are linked to the text file.