which being well replenished with numerous Shoals of Fish after it hath for a time parted this County from Northamptonshire passeth through the midst of it and divides it as it were into two equal Portions In fine Nature hath here so generously scatter'd all her Largesses either for Pleasure or Profit that she certainly at first designed it as a Glorious Seat for the Muses and a fruitful Colony for Apollo's Children and therefore we now find here one of the Eyes of this Nation which is the Renowned Oxford Oxford Oxford q. Bovis Vadum a Ford for Oxen to pass over as the Thracian Bosphorus is called by the Germans Ochenfurt It was anciently called Bellositum for its healthy Air and commodious Situation betwixt two Rivers and is so ancient a City as to fetch its Original from the time of the Britaine so large to contain 13 Parish Churches besides the Cathedral so well adorned with private goodly Structures as well as with divers magnificent Colleges and Halls that it must needs be allowed to be one of the most beautiful and stately Cities in England it is supposed by Antiquaries to have been a place for publick Studies before the Reign of that learned Saxon King Alfred who very much augmented it out of his Princely Favour and Love to Learning and Religion and it justly glories in the Ancient and Royal Foundation of Vniversity-College founded by the aforesaid King Alfred about the year 872. afterward re-edified by William Archdeacon of Durham or as others write by William Bishop of Durham in the Reign of William the Conquerour In the curious Fabrick of New-College built by William of Wickham Bishop of Winchester in Richard II's time In the Magnificence of Christ-Church erected by Cardinal Woolsey in the Reign of Henry VIII and in Twenty two stately Colleges and Halls besides To wave the curious Fabrick of the Schools the admirable Structure of the Theatre built at the sole Cost and Charges of the most Reverend Father in God Gilbert late Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury the famous Bodleian Library which for a Collection of choice Books and rare Manuscripts is not much inferiour to that of the Vatican at Rome The Musaeum erected at the Charge of the University for the Improvement of Experimental Knowledge The publick Physick Garden replenished with the choicest Plants and surrounded with a strong Stone-Wall at the Expence of his Grace the present Duke of Leeds together with all the Customs Privileges Offices and Dignities which are already Elegantly set forth by the Ingenious Author of the Present State of England I shall only observe that the most Puissant King Henry VIII erected here first a Bishop's See and Endowed it as we are informed out of the Lands belonging to the dissolved Monasteries of Abington and Osney and for further Ornaments to the University and Encouragement of Learning through the Munificence of that Prince and divers other Benefactors there have been since added divers professors of several Arts and Sciences to instruct the younger Pupils in their Minority and to make them fit Instruments for the Service of Church and State From hence we moved forward to Burford Burford a Town in this County of good Note for its Antiquity situated very pleasantly on the side of a rising Hill It was formerly called Berghford or Bregforde saith my Learned Friend Mr. White Kennet in his Parochial Antiquities of Oxfordshire and as he further informs us A Synod was here Convened at which were present the two Kings Etheldred and Berthwald Theodore Arch-Bishop of Canterbury Sexwolph Bishop of Litchfield Bosel Bishop of Worcester and Aldhelm afterward Bishop of Sherborn then only Priest and Abbot of Malmsbury which said Aldhelm at the Command of this Synod wrote a Book against the Errour of the British Christians in the Observation of Easter and other different Rites wherein they disturbed the Peace of the Church the reading of which Book reclaim'd many of those Britains who were under the West Saxons After this 't is storied further That about the year 752. Cuthred King of the West Saxons when he was no longer able to bear the Severe Tributes and Exactions of Aethelbald King of the Mercians who did most cruelly oppress him and began 〈◊〉 suck the very Blood and Marrow of his Subjects came into the Field against him and in a pitâ—â—'d Battle at Beorgford saith the Saxon Chronicle published by the Learned Mr. Gibson routed him â—â—tally taking from him his Banners on which was painted a golden Dragon and so eased and freed himself and his Subjects from that Tributary Vassalage The Memory whereof has continued for several Ages in the Custom used here of making a Dragon and carrying it about the Town solemnly on Midsummer-Eve with the addition of a Giant to it the reason of which latter Practice is not so easily discovered saith the Ingenious Dr. Plot in his Natural History of Oxfordshire Having once passed from this place we soon arrived within the Limits of Glocestershire Glocestershire in the Eastern parts swelled up into Hills called Cotswold which Feed innumerable Flocks of Sheep the Wool whereof is much praised for its fineness the middle parts consist of a fertile Plain watered by the Severn and the Western part where lies the Forest of Dean is much covered with Woods 'T is a Country happy in the Enjoyment of all things that are necessary for the Use and Service of Man the very Lanes and Hedges being well-lined with Apple and Pear-Trees and the Vales which in William of Malmsbury's time were filled with Vineyards are now turn'd into Orchards which yield plenty of Sider The Towns and Villages stand mostly thick together and so it is populous the Houses numerous and so 't is sociable the Churches fair and magnificent and so 't is honourable But that which is one of the greatest Blessings of all is the Noble River Severn than which there is not any River in all this Island for its Channel broader for Stream swifter for variety of Fish better stored though sometimes it overflows its Banks and when it hath roved a great way upon the Land retires back again in Triumph as a victorious Conquerour This River Severn The River Severn or Sabrina was so called from Sabrine a fair Lady concerning whom there goes this Story Locrine the Eldest Son of Brutus who came first into Britain and from whom some Writers are of Opinion our Country received its Denomination took to Wife Guendoline Daughter to Corineus Duke of Cornwall the Companion of that Noble Trojan but notwithstanding this he kept a very beautiful Mistress whose Name was Estrilde and by her had a Daughter which he named Sabrine whereupon he grew so enamoured of her that after the Death of his Father-in-law Corineus he put away his Wife and Married this Lady at which Act his Wife was so extreamly netled that she immediately repairs into Cornwall makes her Complaint among her Friends and Relations and having gathered
this most flourishing College I must not forget the Munificence of some late great Benefactors who by their generous Liberality to it have erected to themselves a more lasting and durable Monument than the Pyramids of Egypt or the Coloss at Rhodes The one was the Right Reverend and Learned Dr. Ward the late Bishop of Salisbury who hath founded here four new Scholarships of Ten Pounds a piece per Annum The other Noble Benefactors were the Honourable Sir John Finch Brother to the Earl of Nottingham sometime Ambassador in Turkey and Sir Thomas Bayns a Physician his Companion and Fellow-Traveller sometime here a Student who at their Death added to the College two more considerable Fellowships and Scholarships for the due encouragement of Learning and lie interred in the Chapel as a signal Testimony of that indissoluble Love and Affection they had always even to the very last for this Learned Society As far the Town of Cambridge it self it is governed by a Mayor who at the entrance into his Office takes a solemn Oath before the Vice-Chancellor to observe and conserve the Privileges Liberties and Customs of the University and as the Assizes for the County are for the most part kept here so 't is observable that one High Sheriff serves for both the Counties of Cambridge and Huntingdon which borders upon it The chief Market every Saturday supplies it well with Corn and plenty of other Provision But nothing is more remarkable nor advantageous to it than the great Fair annually kept within a Mile of it in September called by the name of Sturbridge Fair Sturbridge-Fair from whence it received its denomination is uncertain but this is most certain that of all Fairs or publick Marts in England 't is supposed the largest and best stored with all kind of Wares and Commodities which the Londoners take special care to import hither When you are within the Limits you would rather be ready to imagine your self in some great Town by the variety of Shops and multiplicity of Booths than in a wide open Field Now those Booths are always built for the time in which it lasts which is about a Fortnight Neither are you presented with Booths only upon the Land but with Booths upon the Water too there being particular contrivances in their Boats upon the River which runs hard by this place for Rooms and secret Retirements all covered above for the conveniency of Strangers which resort thither and indeed here is always a great concourse of People from all parts of the Nation Not far from this place appears aloft a certain ridge of Hills called Hog-magog-Hills Hog-magog Hills fortified of old by the Danes when they infested these Parts with a threefold Trench some part whereof is still to be seen Having paid our Devoirs and taken a review of that which affords so great Variety we at last took our farewell and bidding it adieu we betook our selves into its Neighbouring County of Huntingdon Huntingdonshire 't is a fruitful Country both for Corn and Grass towards the East it is waterish and fenny and hath formerly been well beset with Woods In the Reign of King Henry the Second it had a large Forest which he destroyed converting it to other uses 'T is watered by the pleasant Rivers Avon and Ouse which render it very fertile The first Village we arrived at in this County was Fenny-Stanton but found nothing observable till we came to Godmanchester Godmanchester a great Country Town and of as great a Name for Tillage situate in an open Ground of a light Mould and bending for the Sun Here have been observed more stout and lusty Husbandmen and more Ploughs agoing than in any Town besides in England for they make their boast that they have in former times receiv'd the Kings of England as they passed it their Progress this way with Ninescore Ploughs brought forth in a rustical kind of Pomp for a gallant Show Soon after King James the First came into England the Bayliffs of this Town presented him with Seventy Teem of Horses all traced to fair new Ploughs of which when His Majesty demanded the reason he was answered That it was their ancient Custom whensoever any King of England passed through their Town so to present him besides they added That they held their Lands by that Tenure being the King's Tenants His Majesty took it well and bad them make good use of their Ploughs being glad he was Landlord of so many good Husbandmen in one Town Antiquaries do affirm it to have been formerly a flourishing City and not only the old Roman Coins which have been digged up here do attest its Antiquity but its ancient denomination too It was formerly called Duroliponte corruptly for Durosiponte which in the British Language signifies a Bridge over the River Ouse but this Name being antiquated in the Saxons time it began to be called Gormoncester by Gormon the Dane for King Alfred having conquer'd the Danes who had made an Invasion into these Parts reduced them at last to these Conditions either forthwith to give him Pledges that they would immediately depart this Land or else that they would embrace the Christian Religion which latter Proposal being made choice of Guthrus or Gormundus the Danish King with Thirty more of his Nobility was Baptiz'd into the Christian Faith and their Prince adopted by Alfred for his Son who changing his Name to Athelstan appointed him his Station here and committed the Provinces of the East-Angles and Northumbers to his peculiar Charge And if it be likewise allowed that one Machutus was here Bishop when it was called Gumicastrum hou quantum mutatur 'T is certainly now reduced to a poor and despicable Condition to what it could then glory of in former Generations Huntingdon Huntingdon is about a Mile distant from this place and is the chief Town of the County situate upon the River Ouse over which stands a Bridge made of Stone which gives entrance into it the Houses are fair and the Streets large 't is adorn'd with Four Churches and had formerly a Benedictine Nunnery dedicated to St. James saith the Notitia Monastica and a Priory of Black Canons founded about the Year 1140 to the honour of St. Mary by Eustace de Luvetot some of the Ruins whereof are still to be seen Near the River upon a high Hill stands the remains of a Castle which was built about the Year of Christ 917 by Edward the Senior Afterwards David King of Scots waging War against King Stephen upon the account of Mawd the Empress who was his Neice this was surrendred upon some certain Conditions to the Scots King who did exceedingly beautifie and strengthen it by making strong Rampires and Fortifications about it but Henry the Second finding it in process of time a Cage only for Rebels and Ringleaders of Sedition at last quite demolished it and from the top of this Hill is a very pleasant Prospect for the space
Scruffel wotes full of that And there goes also this usual By-Word concerning the height as well of this Hill as of the other two Skiddaw Lanvellin and Casticand Are the highest Hills in all England Nay so liberal to it is Nature in the distribution of her largesses that she seems to have enriched it with every thing that may any way be conducible to Health as well as Wealth for here are such Varieties of vulnerary Plants which grow plentifully in these parts especially near to the Picts-Wall that in the beginning of Summer many Persons that are curious in these things come hither out of Scotland on purpose to Simple here are likewise upon the Sea-Coast very frequently discovered Trees at Low-water which have been covered with Sand and that in many other mossy places of the Shire they digg up Trees without boughs and that by the directions of the dew they say in Summer which they observe ne'er stands upon that Ground under which they lie At Carlile wee took up our first qaarters in this Province Carlile an ancient City very commodiously situated 't is guarded on the North side with the River Eden on the East with Peterial and on the West with Cawd and besides these Natural fences 't is fortified with a strong Wall with a Castle and a Cittadel the Fashion of it is long running out from West to East on the West side is the Castle of a large compass which King Richard the Third as appears by his Coat of Arms repaired and on the East the Cittadel built by Henry the Eighth In the middle almost of the City riseth on high the Cathedral Church being formerly a stately and Magnificent Structure adorned with rich Copes and other sacred Garments and Vessels and two Unicorns Horns of great Value which by an ancient custom were placed here upon the Altar but now deplores the want of part of its Body being ruined by a wicked War whilst it was only intended for a House of Prayer and Peace It was first founded by Walter Deputy of these parts for King William Rufus and by him dedicated to the Blessed Virgin but finished and endowed by King Henry the First out of the Wealth which the said Walter had amassed for that purpose The Romans and Britains called this place Lugoballum that is saith Cambden the fort by the Wall which Name it derived probably from that famous military vallum or Trench which stands apparent a little from the City and that it flourished exceedingly in the time of the Romans the famous mention of it in those Days and diverse remains of Antiquity which have been here frequently discovered do sufficiently attest After the departure of the Romans it suffered extreamly by the insolent outrages of the Scots and Picts and afterward being almost quite ruined by the Danes it lay about two hundred Years buried in its own Ashes until it began again to flourish under the government and by the favour of King William Rufus who as the Saxon Chronicle tells us A. D. 1092 coming hither with a great Army repaired the City and built the Castle driving from hence the Daulphin of France who had got too sure footing in some of those Northern parts and planted here a new Colony of Flemmings say some Historians whom presently upon better advice he removed into Wales and setled in their room a more useful plantation of Southern English-men After this here having been formerly a Covent of Monks and a Nunnery built by St. Cuthbert A. D. 686. which were both destroyed by the Danes King Henry the First established here the Episcopal See * A. D. 1135. saith Mr. Wharton Ang. Sacr. Tom. 1. P. 699. and made Athulph Priory of St. Oswalds his Confessor Bishop hereof and endowed it with many Honours and emoluments in the successive Reigns of our Kings it was Subject to great casualties and misfortunes the Scots won it from King Stephen and King Henry the Second recovered it again in the Reign of Edward the First the City and Priory with all the Houses belonging to it were consum'd by Fire and a little after King Edward the Second came to the Crown all the Northern parts from Carlile to York fell under the subjection of the Scots at which time our Chronicles tell us that the English by their faint-heartedness grew so Vile and Despicable that three Scots durst venture upon an hundred English when a hundred English durst hardly encounter with three Scots but under victorious King Edward the Third the Englishmen pluck'd up their Spirits and recovered their ancient Valour enforcing the Scots to quit all their strong holds and retire back again to their own Territories and Dominions nevertheless this City with the parts adjacent were frequently pestered by Scotch Invasions till the happy Union of the two Crowns since which time it is grown more Populous and opulent being governed by a Mayor and having the Assizes and Sessions held here for that County Salkelds We rode away from Carlile by Salkelds upon the River Eden where is a trophy of Victory as is supposed called by the Country People Long Megg ' and her Daughters being seventy seven Stones each of them ten Foot high above Ground and one of them viz. Long Megg fifteen Foot to Penreth Penreth which is saith Cambden if you interpret it out of the Brittish Language the Red-head or Hill for the Soil and the Stones are here generally of a reddish Colour but commonly called Perith sixteen Miles distant from this City This Town is but small in compass but great in Trade fortified on the West-side with a Castle of the King 's which in the Reign of King Henry the Sixth was repaired out of the Ruines of a Roman Fort not far from it called Maburg adorned with a spatious Church and large Market-place where there is an Edifice of Timber for the use of such as resort hither to Market garnished with Bears at a ragged Staff which was the device of the Earls of Warwick it belonged in times past to the Bishops of Durham but the Patriarch Bech taking two much State upon him and carrying himself with more haughtiness than became him did hereby so displease King Edward the First that he took from him Werth in Tevidail Perith and the Church of Simondburn But for the commodious use of this town William Strickland Bishop of Carlile descended from an ancient Race in this tract at his own proper charge caused a Channel for a Water-course to be made out of Peteril which near unto the Bank had Plumpton Park a large plat of Ground which the Kings of England had appointed as a Chase for wild Beasts to range in but King Henry the Eighth disparked it and converted it into a better Habitation for Men it lying near to the Marches where the Realms of England and Scotland confine one upon another Not far from this Town begins the County of Westmorland Westmorland being one of the worst
times past full of Woods and Timber but instead thereof it yieldeth now plenty of Corn Sheep and Cattel the Air is reasonably Healthful save only a little Aguish at some time and in some places by reason of the Fogs that do arise from the Sea It yieldeth also great store of Millstones and Grindstones and in some places a sort of Earth of which they make Alum and Copperas but more especially it affords such plenty of Wheat it is deservedly entitled the Mother of Wales In Caernarvanshire the Air is sharp and piercing and in it are the highest Hills in Wales Caernarvanshire for which reason 't is justly called the English Alps on some of which the Snow lies long and on others all the Year long hard crusted together In the Pool called Lin-paris there is The Pool Lin-paris as 't is reported a kind of Fish called Torroch having a red Belly which is no were else to be seen but here 'T is affirmed likewise that on some of the high Hills of this Shire are too Meres one of which produceth Fish which have but one Eye and in the other is a movable and floating Island which as soon as any Person treads on it presently falls into a moving posture Snowdown-Hills Snowdown Hills although they have always Snow lying upon them yet they are exceeding Rank with Grass insomuch that they are become a Proverb amongst the Welshmen That those Mountains will yield sufficient Pasture for all the Cattel in VVales And 't is certain that there are Pools and standing Waters upon the top of these Mountains and they are so coated with a snowy Crust that lies on them that if a Man doth but lightly set his Foot upon the top of them he shall perceive the Earth to stir for several Foot from him which probably might occasion the story of the floating Island before mentioned Penmaen-Mour i. e. The great stony Head Penmaen-Mour is an exceeding high and steep Rock which hangeth over the Sea when it is Flood affordeth a very narrow way for Passengers having on the one side huge Stones over their Heads as if they were ready to fall upon them and on the other side the raging Ocean lying of a wonderful depth under it but after a Man hath passed over this together with Penmean-Lythan the less stony Head he shall come to an open broad Plain that reacheth as far as the River Conway in which are bred a sort of Shell-Fish which being conceived of an Heavenly Dew as is conjectured bring forth Pearl Bangor Within this County is Banchor q. Penchor so called a Choro pulchro being a Bishop's See the Church was dedicated to Daniel Bishop hereof but that which is now standing is but a mean Structure for Owen Glendover who designed to have utterly destroyed all the Cities in Wales set it on Fire because the Inhabitants of this Place chose rather to side with the King of England than with him hereupon the ancient Church being defaced Henry Dean Bishop hereof did afterward repair it about the Reign of Henry the VIIth But that which is most observable was the famous British Monastery of this place where as the learned Bishop Stillingfleet hath observed Men were bred up to Learning and Devotion together and so more resembling our Colleges than the Aegyptian Monasteries where Men were brought up to Ignorance and Labour as much as to Devotion The Right Reverend Bishop Floyd in his Historical Account of Church Government in Great Britain tells us farther out of Bede that here were above Two thousand Persons together in seven Colleges of which none had fewer than Three hundred Monks in it This we may believe by what we see saith another Historian that writ Four hundred Years after Bede's time we see saith he so many half ruined Walls of Churches so many windings of Porticos so great a heap of Ruins as you shall scarce meet with elsewhere by which Account it seems in its flourishing State to have been not much less than one of our Universities at this Day How Twelve hundred innocent Monks of this Place though the Saxon Chronicle mentions but Two hundred who came along with their Army by Fasting and Prayer to intercede with Heaven for its prosperous Success were all cruelly put to Death by Ethelfrid King of Northumberland A. D. 607. at the Instigation of Ethelbert King of Kent is too Tragical a Story to insist long upon but that Austen the Monk was the first Spring of this fatal Tragedy moving Ethelbert to it as he did Ethelfrid there are not only strong Suspicions saith the Learned Dr. Cade in his Discourse concerning Ancient Church-Government but the thing is expresly affirmed by several Historians of no inconsiderable Credit and Antiquity In Denbighshire the Air is cold Denbighshire but very wholesom and the Snow lies long upon the Hills which resemble the Battlements of Walls and upon the top of Moilenny-Hill Moilenny-Hill which is one of the largest in this Shire is a Spring of clear Water In this County is VVrexham Wrexham a Market Town distant about Fifteen Miles from Holy-VVell and much admired for the Steeple of its Collegiate Church being a curious Fabrick contrived according to the most exact Draught and Model of Architecture and no where to be parallelled in those Parts for Workmanship of which taking a transient view we passed on again through Shrewsbury and the Strettons to Wigmore Strettons Wigmore which lies within the Confines of Herefordshire where are the Ruins of a Castle built by Edward the Senior and fortified by VVilliam Earl of Hereford from whom the Mortimers who were afterwards Earls of March did lineally descend That this Castle was formerly an Asylum or Sanctuary is generally reported by such as live near it who will tell you that whatsoever Malefactors fled hither for Refuge and could but get his Hand within the Ringle of the Gate secured himself from the Hands of Justice which indentical wreathed Ring of Iron they shewed us upon a Door of one of the Inns in the Town A. D. 1100. Ralph de Mortimer founded here a little College for Secular Canons which was 1197 changed into a Priory and endowed with more Lands by his Son Hugh Mortimer who removed hither the Black Canons from Scobbedon there placed by Oliver de Merlymond his Steward it was commended to the Patronage of St. James A. D. 921. a great Pagan Host of the East-Angles and Mercians came against this Place which the Saxon Chronicle calls Wigingamere but were beaten off from it by the Valour of its Inhabitants only with the loss of some Cattel which they took away with them Three Miles from Wigmore in the Road to Hereford is Mortimer's-Cross Mortimer's-Cross being a Way where four Roads meet so called from Mortimer Earl of March Son to Richard Duke of York betwixt whom and King Henry the Sixth's Friends and Allies was fought a bloody and terrible
in a Book Printed for that purpose A. D. 1640. I shall not undertake to pourtray that in a contracted Landskip which hath been before represented to the Publick with so great applause but refer those who are so curious as to desire a more particular Account of this City to that most ingenious Person who hath pencilled out every part and Limb thereof with great exactness and accuracy only one thing I must not omit that of late a Marble Monument hath been erected in St. Margaret's Church Canterbury in Honour of Mr. Somner who lies there interred by his own Widow who afterward Married to Mr. Hannington Vicar of Elam in Kent upon which is engraven this ingenious Epitaph H. S. E. Gulielmus Somnerus Cantuariensis Saxonicam Literaturam Civitatis Cantuariae Historiam Tenebris utramque involutam Illustravit Cantii Antiquitates meditantem Fatum intercepit Officium Erga Deum pietate severa Erga Homines probitate simplici Erga Principem fide periculosa Erga Patriam scriptis immortalibus Indicavit Ita Mores Antiquos Studium Antiquitatis efformat Cantuariae Natus est Martii 30. 1606. Cantuariae Omnem aetatem egit Cantuariae Obiit Martii 30. 1669. Feversham Passing from hence through Feversham a Town pretty large and well inhabited famous formerly for its Abby erected here by King Stephen wherein himself his Queen and Eustace his Son were buried the next place of consequence that was obvious in the Road was Sedingbourn Sedingbourn which being a great thorough-fare is well furnished with Inns a Town of which there are two things more principally Recorded the one is that in the Year 1232 Henry Bishop of Rochester as Mr. Philpott hath collected it out of some old Monkish Writers came with much exultation out of Sedingbourn Church and desired the People to express their joy because on that day by the efficacious Prayers of the Church Richard the First formerly King of England and many others were most certainly ransomed from the Flames of Purgatory The other that in the same Church was a Monument of Sir Richard Lovelace inlayed richly with Brass who was an eminent Soldier in his time and Marshal of Calice under Henry the Eighth with his Portraiture affixed in Brass which the Injuries of Time and the Impiety of Sacrilegious Mechanicks have utterly defaced In the Neighbourhood of Sedingbourn is Newington Newington which though but a small Village hath afforded some worthy Remarks of Antiquity for not many Years ago there were digged up Roman Urns not far distant from the High-way or Common Road it being agreeable to Roman Practice to inter in those Places where their Monuments might be obvious almost to every Eye Memorials of themselves and Memento's of Mortality to living Passengers whom the Epitaphs of great Ones did beg to stay and look upon them From hence the Road brought us directly to Chatham Chatham where the repair of the Parish Church and new Buildings of the Steeple commend the Religious Care and Cost of King Charles the First 's Commissioners and Officers of the Royal Navy in the Year 1635 but the Arsenals Store-Houses and Ship-Docks erected by the same most incomparable Prince are so magnificent and universally useful that they are become a principal Pillar of the Nations support and afford variety of Employment by the Manufacture of Cordage as also the Careening and Building of Ships Contiguous to Capham is Rochester Rochester a City which in Elder times was as eminent for its Antiquity as it was for its Strength and Grandeur and had not those violent impressions which the rough Hand of War made upon it Demolished its bulk and bereaved it of its Beauty it peradventure might have been registred at this Day in the Inventory of the principal Cities of this Nation but so great and dismal Calamities did frequently attend it that the Fury of the Elements seemed to enter into a Corrivalship or Competition with the Fury of Enemies for its Ruine and the Fire and Sword were joint Confederates to destroy it nevertheless maugre all these Casualties by the Favour of Princes and their Royal Munificence it recovered all its Losses and survives in Splendor In the Year 1225 by the indulgent Bounty of King Henry the Third it was invested with a Wall and that this Fortification might be of the greater importance it was secured or fenced with a Ditch it was governed by a Port-Reeve until King Edward the Fourth in the second Year of his Reign raised it to a higher Dignity and decreed by his Royal Grant that it should henceforth be under the Jurisdiction of a Mayor and Twelve Aldermen and to this Monarch doth the City owe much of its present Felicity The goodly Skeleton of the Castle which yet courts the Eye of the Beholder to the admiration of its former strength acknowledgeth for its most eminent Benefactor if not Founder Odo Bishop of Baicux and Earl of Kent half Brother to William the Conqueror which Fortress he afterward breaking forth into open Rebellion against his Nephew Rufus did seize but was quickly dispossessed by the vigorous Expedition of his Prince and enforced immediately to depart the Kingdom After this when the Dauphin was invited into England by the Seditious Barons to wrest the Kingdom from K. John their native Sovereign the Dauphin uniting their strength with his made such a furious Onset on the Castle that like a Tempest which beats down all before it he carried it by Assault the like had been atchieved by Simon Montford Earl of Leicester when he raised an Insurrection against King Henry the Third had not that Prince arrived most opportunely and by a successful Encounter wrested both Earl Warren who had so resolutely maintained it and that likewise from the Impressions of his Fury since which time there hath been little of moment acted in this Place tho it is worth taking notice of what Mr. Philpott hath observed farther concerning it that there being much Land in this County held thereof whose Tenure is perfectly Castle-guard upon the day prefixed for the discharging the quit Rents relating to it there is a Banner displayed and hung out antiently it was on the Castle Wall and all those who are Tenants to this Mannor and are in default by their Non-appearance and do not discharge their accustomary Duties and Services the penalty imposed upon their neglect is that the return of every Tide of the adjacent River Medway which finds them absent doubles their Service or Quit-Rents The Cathedral which the Bishoprick of Rochester united to it was founded and established by that pious Monarch Ethelbert King of Kent and the first Bishop to whom was entrusted the Pastoral Staff or Crosier by Austen the Apostle of the Saxons was Justus who being sent over hither as an Adjutant to Austen in the Propagation of Christianity about the Year 601 Angl. Sacr. Tom. 1. p. 329. was afterward ordained Bishop of this See A. D. 604. much about that time
their Men the English who were there placed for the defence of that Port killed at that time 240 Men all that whole Ships Crew and afterward burnt the Ship out of which they landed Now after this slaughter these Mens Bones in all probability might be gather'd up and laid there after which daily accessions of more might be made till they encreased to so vast a number as is still visible Saltwood Castle A little above the Hill within the Parish of Saltwood are to be seen the remains of an old ruinated Castle which did formerly belong to the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury but is now in the Tenure of Sir Philip Boteler Baronet Here it was that John Kirkeby being elected Bishop of Ely 1286 was confirmed by John Peckam Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and whither afterward proud Arch-Bishop Courtney having taken a distast at some of his Tenants for not bringing him Hay and Litter in Carts but in Sacks to Canterbury did peremptorily cite them and enjoin them this Penance that they should each one march leisurely after the Procession bare-headed and bare-footed with a Sack of Hay or Straw upon his Shoulder open at the mouth so that the stuff might appear hanging out of the Bag to all the Beholders 'T is generally believed that the Sea hath come up to the very Walls of this Castle for in the adjacent Grounds and particularly in a Field called Black-House have been digged up Anchors and Cables which puts me in mind what the Poet Ovid sings in the Person of the Samian Philosopher Pythagoras Vetus inventa est in montibus Anchora summit Adjoining to the Hyth is the Parish of Newington Newington by Hyth a Vicaridge conferred upon me some few Years ago by my most generous Patron James Brockman Esq since deceased concerning which Parish I have thought fit to add an ancient Record taken out of Doomsday Book 18 Willielmi Conquestoris sub tit terra Archiepiscopi In Limwarlaed est Hundred de Selebrichtindaene habet Archiepiscopus de terra Monachorum i Manerium Niwendene in dominio quod in T. R. E. tenuit Leofric de praeterito Archiepiscopo pro i sull se defendebat subjacebat Saltwode Nunc est appretiatum VIII lib. X s. garfumae In English thus Within the Lath of Limn and the Hundred of Selbrightenden the Arch-Bishop has of Lands allotted to the Monks one Mannor called Niwendene Newington in Demesne which in the time of Edward the Confessor Leofric held of the last Arch-Bishop and was taxed for one Hide and did his Service to Saltwood It is now valued at 81. per Annum and 10 s. Fine Bitchborough In this Parish is Bitchborough the Seat of my much Honoured Friend William Brockman Esq Son to that Worthy Gentleman before-mentioned a Seat to which Nature hath been so liberal of its choicest Blessings that there wants nothing to render it a very delightful Mansion for the House it self which not many Years ago was new Modell'd is so curiously surrounded with pleasant Hills murmuring Streams shady Groves whispering Woods and flowery Meads besides the charming Prospect of the Sea and Cliffs of France which terminating the sight do greatly enhanse the Rarity of its Situation that the most curious Eye cannot possibly find a more inviting Object to entertain it St. Nicholas Chappel In the same Parish in a Field belonging to Seen-Farme called Chappel-Field formerly stood a Chappel belonging to St. Nicholas who in the time of Popery had the same Empire saith Mr. Lambard that Neptune had in Paganism and could with his only beck both appease the rage of the Sea and also preserve from Wrack and Drowning so many as thought fit to be his humble Petitioners and therefore this was one of the Places as the Poet said Servati ex undis ubi figere dona solebant where such as had escaped the Sea were wont to leave their Gifts insomuch that if any of the Fishermen upon this Coast had hardly escaped the Storm and taken any store then should St. Nicholas have not only Thanks for that Deliverance but also one or more of the best Fishes for an Offering To which I may add farther that if the Fishermen before such Voyages did make their due Offerings at this Shrine it was a certain means to secure the Chastity of their Wives till their return but if out of niggardly and penurious Humour they neglected that Duty it was ten to one but their Punishment was that severe one which fell on poor Actaeon From Hyth there runs along a great ridge of Beach to Sandgate-Castle which glories not more in its Royal Founder King Henry the Eighth Sandgate Castle than that it was graced once with the Royal Presence of Queen Elizabeth who in her Progress to these Parts was pleased to lodge in one of the Chambers of this Castle The Castle is within the Parish of Folkstone Folkstone a Town situated upon the brow of a Hill about a Mile distant from it 'T is a Place of greater Antiquity than Beauty especially if it be allowed what is but reasonably suggested by that most Celebrated Antiquary Mr. Somner and confirm'd by the most Judicious Bishop Stilling fleet that this was the Lapis tituli of Nennius or rather Lapis populi where Vortimer desired to be Buried Scipio like as a terrour to the Saxons because of its lofty situation and not as he would have it Stonar in Thanet which lying in a low flat level subject to Inundations was a very improper place for such a daring project it was formerly of a far greater extent than it now is for there were then in it five Churches four of which were long since by the assaults of the Enemies and devastations of Men utterly dismantled besides a Nunnery founded by King Eadbald about A. D. 630. which was Destroyed during the Danish Wars only that Church which was erected by Nigellus de Munewell and devouted to St. Mary and St. Eanswith hath been as yet too hard a morsel for the Teeth of time to consume That there was formerly an Harbour adjoyning to the Town made chiefly at the great charge of the Honourable Sir Basil Dixwel Baronet the ruinous Skeleton of the demolished Peer which is as yet visible may be sufficient to evince but though the Haven be quite lost the Fishery is still kept up by a considerable Colony of Industrious Fishermen who take great quantities of Fish which is every Week bought up and conveyed away to London by the Rippers as they are called or taken in by Smacks which come hither for such lading the quickness of which Trade makes the Town mightily encrease and grow more and more Populous as well as Rich by their Industry But before I leave this place I cannot but take notice that as that great Man of his time John Salmon Prior of Ely Bishop of Norwich and Lord Chancellour of England who being sent Embassadour by Edward the Second into France at his