afterward Earl of Northumberland pretending to deliver to him the Keys of the Castle upon the top of a Spear ran him through the left Eye * Mowbray was for that reason called afterward Pearce-Eie of which he died immediately and so relieved the Town again from all Extremity and his Son Prince Edward coming hither to revenge his Father's Death met with the same fatal Doom After this in the Reign of King Henry the Second the English Forces behaved themselves so bravely that they took Prisoner William King of Scots and presented him as a Captive to their Victorious Prince having fortified this place with a strong Garrison and in the Reign of King Edward the Fourth the Scots coming against it with another Army were in hopes to have taken it but the English Army retreating as if they had deserted it by that means discouraged the Scots from any further Onsets who supposing it to have been a Stratagem of the English and that they had only retreated Scythico more the more easily to entrap them very fairly left it to the possession of those Persons in which at first they found it Bamborough Castle Ten Miles further upon the Sea stands the Castle of Bamborough called formerly Bebbanbur from Queen Bebba who gave it that name Some Writers say that it was built by King Ebrank others by Ida * Saxon Cron. A. D. 547. the first King of Northumberland who fenced it at first with great Stakes and Piles of Timber and afterwards with a Wall It was one of the Receptacles of Robert Mawbray Earl of Northumberland in his Rebellion against King William Rufus over against which the King plac'd a Fort to annoy him which it did so effectually that it forced him to desert it In the Reign of Edward the Fourth when the Scots invaded England in the behalf of Queen Margaret they took this Castle but were quickly dispossessed of it by the English Forces who recovered it again for the King's Service and delivered up the Governor Sir Ralph Grey to the King who was afterward executed for holding it out against his Sovereign but both its Beauty and Strength began visibly to decay during the Wars betwixt York and Lancaster and since that Time and Age have more prevailed against it than all the Attacks of its most furious Enemies for the Rampires are broken down and the Trenches filled up and there is little now remaining of that famous Fortress About a League from this Castle we saw Farne-Island Farne-Island being a little spot of Land inclosed with the Ocean and encircled about with craggy Cliffs which render it almost every where inaccessible Hither did St. Cuthbert about the Year 676 retire from Lindisfarne for Devotion desiring to sequester himself from the rest of the World where for nine Years together he lived a very solitary and religious Life till by the great importunity of King Eegfrid and Trumwine Bishop of the Picts who came hither to him for that very intent and purpose he was at last persuaded to remove to Hexham where he succeeded Bishop Eata in that See After two Years spent in this Bishoprick this Holy Man foreseeing his Death approaching betook himself again to this very Island where in the space of two Months through the Malignancy of his Distemper he at last breathed out his pious Soul on the 20th of March A. D. 687. We once resolved to visit this place but the unseasonableness of the Weather which happened at that time prohibited our Passage the Wind being so high and the Sea so rough that none of their small Cobble Boats durst venture off to Sea but we were inform'd that there was then but one House standing upon the Island and continually such flocks of wild Fowl who laid generally in that place that it was not possible to walk far upon it without treading upon some of their Eggs of which here the Fishermen make a considerable advantage by selling them abroad to the Neighbourhood they are of all sizes and colours we saw some that were much speckled about the bigness of Hens Eggs and some larger than the Eggs of our ordinary Turkeys and Geese but both were no less pleasing and grateful to the Palate As to the Air of this place whatever it was formerly it is now reputed very unhealthy subject to the Dysentery or Bloody Flux and other Diseases by reason of the frequent Fogs that happen here and 't is no less troubled with Tempests of Wind Storms of Rain and Rage of the Sea the Soil is barren and good for little but what is gotten from the Fowl and the Fish which swim in shoals round about it Berwick upon Tweed We coasted on for Berwick which is one of the strongest Holds in all Britain and is almost environed with the Sea and the River Tweed whence the Town took its name is not so well agreed upon as that 't is a large and populous Town well Built and strongly Fortified 't is situated betwixt the two great Kingdoms of England and Scotland and hereupon was always the first place they took care of whenever they began to be at open variance with each other and according to the various and inconstant Successes ef each Nation hath been held in possession by one and sometimes kept under the power of the other Before the Reign of Henry the Second we find little or nothing Recorded of it for William King of Scots being taken Prisoner by the English did first surrender it into King Henry's hands upon condition that unless by such a day he paid the Ransom that was demanded for his Liberty it should always belong to the Crown of England hereupon the King built a Castle to strengthen it all which was afterward released to the Scots by King Richard the First upon the payment of that Money which before had been promised Afterward King John upon a great distast he took against the Northumbers for doing homage to the Scotch King won it again and not many Years after when Baliol King of Scots had violated his Oath King Edward the First brought it under his Subjection yet within a while after when the Fortune of the War began to smile upon the Scots it was unawares surprized but in a few days the English regained it afterward in that loose Reign of Richard the Second it was betrayed to the Scots and for a long time after it was in vain besieged by the English Forces until King Edward the Third that most Puissant Prince came thundering against it and forced his entrance Notwithstanding in the Reign of Richard the Second the Castle was surprized by certain Scotch Robbers but they could not hold it long for the Earl of Northumberland in a few days dislodged them of their Fortress Scarce seven Years were over passed when the Scots recovered it again not by force but by Money for which cause the aforesaid Earl was Impeached of High Treason but he being a very politick Man
Mart which in the Month of May holds constantly a Forthight which causing all kinds of Commodities to be brought hither is no less advantageous to the Town than commodious to the Neighbourhood who by this means may provide themselves of all Necessaries at a very reasonable Rate And for the better Government of the Town a Mayor was placed here by Queen Elizabeth which keeps the Town in a good Decorum and Order We removed our Quarters from this place to York which being the Metropolis of the County as well as the Ornament and Safe-guard of the Northern Regions is but one days Journey remote from it York York formerly stiled by the Britains Caer-Ebrank from King Ebrank the first Founder of it and Euerwick by the Saxons from the River Vre or Ouse is for its Magnificence very deservedly reputed the second City of England the situation of it is mighty pleasing and delightful and the Buildings both private and publick stately and beautiful 't is rich and populous glorious and honourable both in respect of its being governed by a Lord Mayor who moderates in all cases of temporal Affairs as also by an Arch-Bishop who is Chief Judge in all Spiritual Matters The River Ouse flowing with a gentle Stream from the North divides the City into two Parts which yet are conjoined by a strong Stone Bridge consisting of five Arches one of which is of so large a size that it contains twice the breadth of any of the other And round the City stands a thick and spacious Wall and as on the West side 't is fortified with a Wall and River together and a great Gate which is called Mikel Bar near to which is the Mount called the Old Bale raised and designed for a Fort by William Melton Arch-Bishop of this See so on the East side opposite to the Mount stands an ancient Castle built by William the Conqueror which is environ'd with a strong Wall and a deep Mote over which is a Draw-Bridge which gives entrance into it here is usually a small Garrison supplied by a Regiment of Soldiers which Quarters about the City and hath some great Guns and Ammunition suitable for the Defence of it Here are now but Seventeen Parish Churches though formerly there were Thirty and towards the North-East stands the Cathedral dedicated to St. Peter being one of the most magnificent and stately Fabricks in our native Soil near to which is the Prince's House called commonly the Mannor-House This Church was first Founded by Paulinus who converted Edwyn King of the Northumbers and his People to the Christian Faith about the Year 626. It was then a mean Oratory built only of Wood but as we are informed by the Saxon Chronicle the King constituting Paulinus the first Bishop of this See ordered him to build a more ample Structure of Stone but he dying before the whole was finished it was at last compleated by Oswald afterward according to the various Successes and Conquests of the Nation it flourished or decayed till the Reign of King Stephen when a sudden Fire breaking out in the City amongst other great Buildings consumed this too together with a noble Library founded at first here by Egbert Arch-Bishop of York from whence Alcuinus the Preceptor of Charles the Great and Founder of the University of Paris borrowed those Lights which have since glittered there a Library which was stiled by the Men of those Days the Cabinet of Arts and Closet of all the Liberal Sciences In this forlorn Condition it continued and lay buried in its Ashes till the Reign of Edward the First when John Roman Treasurer of the Church laid the Foundation * The Notitia Monastica informs us That Thomas the first Norman Arch-Bishop A. D. 1067. laid the Foundation of the stately Cathedral that now is for a new Superstructure which afterward by the Munificence of William Melton and John Thursby both Arch-Bishops hereof together with the liberal Contributions of divers Persons amongst the Nobility and Gentry especially of the Piercies and Vavasors which their Arms and Images at the West end of the Church pourtray'd the one with Timber in their Hands as finding it Timber the other with Stones as supplying it with Stone doth declare recovered its Lustre and Dignity that it hath now justly the Pre-eminence above all others and outvies all its Neighbours in Art and Stateliness As for the Windows which convey Light to the whole Fabrick they are very admirable for their Workmanship all the Panes of Glass being exquisitely painted and adorned with most curious Colours and in the East Window is pourtray'd to the Life the History of the Bible in very lively Representations The Isles of the Church are large and spacious the Pillars strong and uniform and the whole Body adorned with the Monuments of several Persons of Quality and Renown who have lived and died in these Parts amongst which is interred Mr. Swinborn the great Civilian who wrote concerning Wills and Testaments on whose Tomb this Epitaph is engraved Non viduae caruere viris non patre pupillus Dum stetit hic Patriae Virque Paterque suae At quod Swinburnus viduarum scripsit in usum Longius aeterno marmore vivet opus Scribere supremas hinc discat quisque tabellas Et cupiat qui sic vixit ut Ille mori The Superstructure above is made with great Raftures of Timber which are covered with Lead raised Spire-wise and upon one of the Turrets is placed a Lanthorn Seventy Foot square which discovers it self at a great distance to be a beautiful Ornament and there are 286 Steps which lead up to it The Quire is well Roof'd and curiously furnished with all decent Habiliments and the Chapter-House is as famous and remarkable being circular and one and twenty Yards Diameter raised by many Pillars and finished by an Arch or Concave on the top having no Column at all to support it in the middle and indeed 't is so glorious a place that it justly deserves the Character which is written upon the Roof of it in golden Characters Vt Rosa flos florum sie est domus ista domorum In the Vestry upon the left hand is a little Well of pure Water called St. Peter's-Well in the times of Popery supposed to have been of great Virtue and Efficacy in charming Evil Spirits and curing of Diseases but it may be his Holiness since the Extirpation of his Papal Authority in these Parts hath laid an interdict upon its healing Faculty since which time it hath ceased no doubt in Reverence to St. Peter's Successor from any such miraculous Operations The first Original of this Church's Metropolitanism was from Pope Honorius at which time it had not only a Superiority over Twelve Bishopricks in England but its Primacy was dilated over all the Bishops of Scotland too but in process of time Scotland having exempted it self from its Jurisdiction other places likewise did the same so that there are only now left
and as nobly attended with a splendid Retinue the Heralds of Arms and other Officers that went before were wonderful gay and finely habited and the Servants that attended were clad in the richest Liveries their Coaches drawn with six Horses as they went ratling along did dazle our Eyes with the splendour of their furniture and all the Nobles appeared in the greatest Pomp and Gallantry the Regalia which are the Sword of State the Scepter and the Crown were carried by three of the antientest of the Nobility and on each side the Honours were three Mace-Bearers bare headed a Noble-man bare headed with a Purse and in it the Lord High Commissioner's Commission then last of all the Lord High Commissioner with the Dukes and Marquesses on his Right and Left Hand it is ordered that there be no Shooting under the highest penalties that Day neither displaying of Ensigns nor beating of Drums during the whole Cavalcade The Officers of State not being Noblemen ride in their Gowns all the Members ride covered except those that carry the Honours and the highest Degree and the most Honourable of that degree rid last Nor is their grandeur disproportionate to their demeanour which is high and stately but courteous and obliging having all the additional helps of Education and Travel to render it accomplish'd for during their Minority there is generally great care taken to refine their Nature and emprove their Knowlege of which when they have attain'd a a competent measure in their own Country they betake themselves to foreign Nations to make a further progress therein where they do generally become so great proficients that at their return they are by this means fitted for all great Services and Honourable employments which their King or Country is pleased to commit to their care and fidelity and are thereby enabled to discharge them with great Honour and applause On the West side a most steep Rock mounteth up aloft to a great height every way save where it looks towards the City The Castle on which is placed a Castle built by Ebrank the Son of Mempitius as some Write though others by Cruthneus Camelon the first King of the Picts about 330 Years before the Birth of our Saviour 't is so strongly fortified both by art and Nature that it is accounted impregnable which the Britains called Myned Agned the Scots the Maiden Castle of certain young Maids of the Picts Royal Blood which were kept here in old time and which in truth may seem to have been that Castrum alatum or Castle with a Wing before spoken of In this Castle is one of the largest Canons in Great Britain called Roaring Megg which together with two tire of Ordinance besides planted upon the Wall can command the City and all the Plains thereabouts but most famous is it in that Queen Mary was brought to Bed here of a Son who was afterward Christened at Sterling and called James who at last became the Happy Uniter of the two Crowns and in that Chamber in which he was Born are written upon the Wall these following Verses in an old Scotch Character James 6. Scot. 1. England Laird Jesu Christ that crown it was with Thorns Preserve the Birth qubais badgir here is Borne And send hir Son Succession to Reign still Lange in this Realm if that it be thy will Al 's grant O Laird quhat ever of hir proceed Be to thy glory honour and praise so beed July 19. 1566. A little below the Castle is a Curious Structure built for an Hospital by Mr. Herriot The Hospital Jeweller to the aforementioned King James and endowed with very great Revenues for the use of poor Orphans and impotent and decrepit Persons but by the ruinous and desolate Condition it seem'd at that time to be falling into it became to us a very doleful Spectacle that so noble a heroick design of Charity should be so basely perverted to to other Evil Ends and purposes contrary to the Will and intention of the Donor The City is governed by a Lord-Provost who hath always a Retinue befitting his Grandeur and for the punishing delinquents there is a large Tolbooth Tolbooth for so they call a Prison or House of Correction where all Malefactors are kept in hold to satisfie the Law as their Offences shall require Within seven Miles round the City there are of Noble and Gentlemens Palaces Castles and strong-builded Towers and Stone houses as we were inform'd above an hundred and besides the Houses of the Nobility and Gentry within it here dwell several Merchants of great Credit and repute where because they have not the conveniency of an Exchange as in London they meet about Noon in the High-street from whence they adjourn to their Changes i. e. Taverns or other places where their business may require them to give their Attendance The Fortune of this City hath in former Ages been very variable and inconstant It s variable Changes sometime it was Subject to the Scots and another while to the English who inhabited the East parts of Scotland until it became wholly under the Scots Dominion about the Year 960 when the English being over-poured and quite oppressed by the Danes were enforced to quit all their interest here as unable to grapple with two such potent Enemies A Mile from the City lies Leith a most commodious Haven hard upon the River Leith Leith which when Dessry the Frenchman for the security of Edenburgh had fortified very strongly by reason of a great Concourse of People which after this Flocked hither in abundance in a short time from a mean Village it grew to be a large Town In the Reign of our King Henry the Eighth the Sufferings and Calamities both of it and its Neighbours were grievous and inexpressible being both Burnt and plundred by Sir John Dudly Viscount Lisle Lord High Admiral of England who came hither with a puissant Army and broke down the Peer burning every stick thereof and took away all the Scotch Ships that were fit to serve him which kind of Execution was done likewise at Dunbar afterward when Francis King of France had taken to Wife Mary Queen of Scots the Frenchmen who in hope and conceit had already devoured Scotland and began now to gape for England A. D. 1560. strengthned it again with new fortifications But Queen Elizabeth solicited by the Nobles who had embraced the Protestant Religion to side with them by her Wisdom and Prowess so effected the matter that the French were enforced to return into their own Country and all their fortifications were laid level with the Ground and Scotland hath ever since been freed from the French and Leith hath become a very opulent and flourishing Port for the Peer is now kept up in so good repair and the Haven so safe for Ships to ride in that here commonly lieth a great Fleet at anchor which come hither Richly laden with all sorts of Commodities After we had spent
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
Prince unawares in the Breast of which he died immediately and was brought hither and buried in this place though afterwards they say his Bones were translated and put into the same Coffin with those of King Canutus At the West End of the Quire stand two Statues in Brass very curiously wrought the one of King James I. and the other of his Son King Charles I. of Blessed Memory but that which is most remarkable in this Cathedral is the rich and famous Monument of William of Wickham who from a mean Beginning by the Favour of Edward III. was created Bishop of Winchester and having after this run likewise through all the Grand Stages of Temporal Honour in this Kingdom though now and then the Wheel of Fortune turn'd very cross against him he by that means became no less a Benefactour to the Church than he still approved himself an Ornament to the State and to perpetuate his Name with the greater Glory to succeeding Generations he built in this City a College and liberally endow'd it for the Education of Youth and for a Seminary to New College in Oxford also founded by him and notwithstanding the great Expences he must needs have been at in Erecting two such large and noble Structures as these were he Re-built likewise the present Body of the Cathedral where his own Body lies Interr'd Nor did all this lessen his Charity or diminish his Hospitality for he fed both Rich and Poor as his Tomb Stone informs us and for all this died exceeding Rich and deceasing in the Reign of King Henry IV. when he was Fourscore years old he bequeathed great Legacies to Persons of all Degrees and gave something at his Death to every Church throughout his Diocess * See the Life of this Great and Worthy Prelate VVrote by Tho. Chandler Chancellour of Oxford Angl. Sacr. Pars a. p. 355. Here is one thing yet further not to be pass'd by in Silence That when King Alfred divided his Kingdom into Counties Hundreds and Tythings he had an Inquisition taken and digested into a Register call'd Dome-boc which was reposited in the Church of Winchester thence call'd Codex Wintoniensis a Model afterward followed by William the Conquerour in his Domes-Day Book which Mr. Kennet observes was for some time kept in the same Church But to return again into our Discourse relating to the City we find it not only to have attain'd a great Eminency for its Religious Houses for its pleasant Gardens for its Brooks and Meadows for its publick and private Edifices for its great Hall wherein the Assizes are usually held for the County of Southampton not to be parallell'd for length and breadth by any throughout this Nation except Westminster but likewise for the true and exact Rules of Equity and Justice which are follow'd and prescrib'd by its chief Magistrates and Governours and before we take our leaves of it we shall add for a Conclusion that as in the time of Athelstane King of the West Saxons that Invincible Hero Guy Earl of Warwick is reported in a single Combat to have slain Colobraild the Danish Giant in Hide-Mead near this City so Waltheof Earl of Northumberland being beheaded here without the Walls in the Reign of William the Conquerour is observ'd as the very first Example of Beheading in this Island Having took a sufficient Prospect of the great Curiosities of this place Surrey we advanc'd forward into Surrey q. d. South Rey from its Situation on the Southside of the Thames the Saxons calling that Rey which we term a River The Skirts of this County are noted for their Fruitfulness and the middle parts for their Barrenness which has occasion'd the saying That Surrey is like a course piece of Cloth with a fine List However in point of Health the middle parts have the advantage besides the Pleasure they yield by their Downs in Hunting and Horse-Races 'T is adorn'd is most places with very stately Palaces of Gentlemen and Merchants who by reason of the Parks well stor'd with Deer and the Rivers replenished with Fish have no Divertisement wanting to recreate their Bodies and gratifie their Senses The first Town of Note we ariv'd at here was Farnham Farnham receiving its Denomination very probably from the great quantity of Fern which grows thereabouts 'T is a Town of no very large Extent but situated in a wholsom Soil and a pleasant Air and for its further Accommodation hath the conveniencies of a Market for those Commodities which the Inhabitants mostly want Here it was that in the year 894 saith the Saxon Chronicle King Alfred routed a great Army of the Danes with a small Party taking from them a considerable Booty and putting them to flight to the River Colne in Essex After this when King Stephen gave a general Toleration for building Castles and Fortresses Henry his Brother then Bishop of Winchester built for himself in this place a magnificent Castle but proving in length a Nursery and Receptacle for Sedition and Rebellion King Henry III. quite demolish'd and pull'd it down though afterwards it was again Re-edified by the Bishops of Winchester to whom it peculiarly belongs and is at present a glorious Seat for the Prelates of that See Guilford Passing from hence through Guilford a Town of good Note seated on the River Wey consisting of three Parishes well frequented and full of fair Inns we observ'd here still the Ruines of a large old Castle near the River and have since learnt That the Saxon Kings had formerly a Royal Mansion here in whose times it was a place of a greater Extent Kingston Coming after this to Kingston a Market-Town of good Resort we were inform'd that it went anciently by the Name of Moreford but after that chang'd its Name to Kingston when it had the Honour to become a place for the Coronation of the Saxon Monarchs Athelstan Edwin and Ethelred being here Crown'd Kings upon an open Stage in the Market-place Richmond And now we began to draw near to our Journies end but calling in at Richmond heretofore call'd Sheen we found it still a Town of a considerable Account though perhaps no less in the Reign of King Edward III. who when he had lived sufficiently both to Glory and Nature died at this very place King Henry VII gave it the Name of Richmond from the Title he bore before he obtain'd the Crown of England and ended his Life here as did after him here likewise the most Glorious and Puissant Queen Elizabeth From hence pacing along by the Noble River Thames which is on both sides of it wonderfully graced with many pleasant Towns and Villages we arriv'd again in safety at the Renown'd Metropolis of England The End of the First Journey To the Right Worshipful George Elcock of Barham Esq One of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County of Kent SIR THE great Civilities you are naturally inclined to shew all Travellers who have seen and
ancient Records testifie in the first year of William the Conqueror and in the fifth year of William Rufus in the year of our Lord 1092 a Nobleman of the Norman Blood nam'd Picot a Vice-comes or Sheriff at the request of Hugolin his Wife founded a Church and Dedicated it unto St. Giles near to this Castle placing in it a Convent of six black Canons which was twenty years after remov'd to Barnwell a Village near a Mile distant from this place by Pain Reverell where he built a Priory to the Honour of St. Giles and St. Andrew and endow'd it with Revenues for the maintainance of thirty Canons of St. Austin's Order As Mr. Tanner informs us As to the Antiquity of the University of Cambridge if any Credit may be given to King Arthur's Diploma which says That King Lucius was converted by the preaching of the Doctors of Cambridge for which reason he gave Privileges to that University which were after confirm'd by King Arthur or if the Bull of Pope Honorius the First may be allow'd Authentick which bearing date Feb. 20 An. Dom. 624. makes mention of the Privileges granted to the University of Cambridge by Pope Eleutherius and takes notice of Doctors and Scholars Resident there at that time Why then as it is truly observ'd by our most Learned Bishop of Worcester in his Antiquities of the British Churches This is a sufficient Proof to all that relie on the Pope's Authority that in the time of King Lucius and Eleutherius there might be a sufficient number of Learned Men in Cambridge to have instructed King Lucius in the Christian Faith and that it is not improbable that Eluanus and Medwinus might be of that number especially considering that Camboritum or as many Copies have it Camboricum was a Roman Colony and mention'd amongst the best Copies among the 28 Cities of Britain and that the Roman Colonies had their Schools of Learning wherein the several Professors of Arts and Sciences did instruct both the Roman and British Youth But what ever Favours the Romans were pleased to confer upon this place 't is certain it met afterwards with very great Encouragement from divers other Benefactors and by the Countenance of Segebert King of the East-Angles and other Saxon Princes it held up its Head in a flourishing Condition till about the year 1100 as the Saxon Chronicle informs us The cruel and merciless Danes laid all waste before them and Swene their King with Fire and Sword burnt this place to the Ground contrary to what we read of the Roman Captain Sylla who though otherwise as furious as a Tyger or a Lion yet when he raged in Greece spared the much celebrated Athens for Minerva's sake Yet nevertheless when these Storms were once blown over in the time of the Normans Learning began to peep out again and seeing all was clear and quiet sprouted up a fresh recruiting it self by degrees till at last in progress of time it return'd to its Primitive State and flourish'd more vigorously than ever it did before For in the Reign of K. Henry I. for his Learning sirnam'd Beauclere it began again to be new modell'd into an University and hereupon Religious Houses and Halls were immediately erected and they have ever since been increasing to the number of Sixteen namely Twelve Magnificent Colleges and four famous Halls where the Buildings are so Uniform the Chapels so Stately the Privileges so Great the Government so Regular the Orders so Strict the Ceremonies so Decorous and the Preferments so Honourable that in all the European Countries no nor perhaps in all the Nations of the World can we find out one University excepting that of Oxford so richly endow'd so famous and renown'd for its Structures so admirable for its Discipline and so courted and address'd to for its most Polite Learning So that when Erasmus was pleased to give us a Strain of his Eloquence in Decyphering both their Characters he doth it but in such a Style as is very suitable to the Subject and the Elogy is no less than what they justly deserve I have before this saith he been extreamly well satisfy'd and have exceedingly rejoyced that England hath constantly been furnish'd with Men who have been as Eminent for their Parts as Learning But now I begin to envy her Felicity had he lived now in our days he would still have had greater reason for this Harangue by reason that she is now so enrich'd with all kind of Literature that by taking the Commendation thereof from other Regions she doth marvellously obscure and eclipse their Glory and yet this Commendation is not only due to England at this present time for it is well known for divers years past to have flourish'd with persons of deep and profound Learning The Universities prove this to be true which have for their Antiquity and Worthiness contended with and outstripped the most ancient and celebrated Academies that ever were planted in the Christian World It might now be expected that I should further exspatiate into a more particular Description of these Famous and Ample Colleges and give an exact Portraiture of the large and spatious Quadrangle of Trinity-College so excellently contriv'd and admirably surrounded with a curious Pile of Buildings which was at first founded by King Henry VIII Of the noble Fabrick of St. John's founded by Margaret Countess of Richmond and Darby both which Colleges have of late years been so extreamly beautify'd and enlarg'd Of Corpus-Christi or Bennet-College founded by Henry Duke of Lancaster whose Library is so famous for its divers ancient Manuscripts as well as from the great Honour it daily receives from His Grace the present Lord Archbishop of Canterbury who was formerly a Learned Fellow and still continues the greatest Glory of it Of that unimitable Piece of Architecture in King's College Chapel founded by that Heroick Prince King Henry VI. Of the Publick Schools of the University which have been of so ancient a continuance that there is no mention when or how they began Of the Publick Library which though it be not so spacious and glorious as the Vatican or Bodleian yet it is so well stock'd with all kind of Divine and Humane Writers that there is not sufficient Room for all the Manuscripts and choice Books which are daily given to it especially if that Order be strictly observ'd of which I have been credibly inform'd That a Copy of every Book which is printed in England be by the Printer presented to it I might insist further on the laudable Modes and Customs which are duly observ'd in this Renown'd University of the large Privileges and Immunities which have been ever granted to it of the honourable Degrees in Divinity Law and Physick which are here annually conferr'd of the great Encouragements which are daily given to all such Persons who have been most Exemplary for their Piety and Learning for which Reason undoubtedly three great and eminent Persons the Pious and Humble Dr. Sancroft the
divers though his too great Familiarity with the Queen his unpardonable Treachery to the King and his secret Services to David King of Scots were the chief having burnt the very Charters by which the Scotch King stood obliged to do Homage to the King of England and thereupon ensued a great War betwixt them for King David being spurred on by the French King invaded England and having made a great Inroad into the Northern Counties spoiling and burning all Places as he came along at length at Durham his Army was routed and himself taken Prisoner being first sent to the Tower afterwards committed to this Castle where during his Confinement he engraved upon the Walls of his Apartment the History of our Blessed Saviour's Death and Passion some of the Relicts of which are still there to be seen After Eleven Years Imprisonment he was restored again to his Kingdom by paying a good Ransom for his Liberty but before he returned he was one of the Four Kings that was nobly treated by Henry Picard a Vintner then Lord Mayor of London King Edward the Third John King of France and the King of Cyprus together with Edward the Black Prince all bearing him Company at the same Table This was about the Year 1358. But before I leave this Town I cannot but take notice of one thing more memorable in our Age this being the first place where King Charles the First set up his Royal Standard against the Rebels in the late unhappy Wars and when the King's Forces were forced to leave it the Castle was then quite demolished but of late it hath been curiously rebuilt beautified and furnished by his Grace the Duke of Newcastle Having pleasured our selves with the Antiquities of this Town we took Horse and went to visit the Well and ancient Chair of Robin Hood Robin Hood's Well and Chair in Sherwood Forest which is not far from hence within the Forest of Sherwood Being placed in the Chair we had a Cap which they say was his very formally put upon our Heads and having perform'd the usual Ceremonies befitting so great a Solemnity we receiv'd the freedom of the Chair and were incorporated into the Society of that Renowned Brotherhood But that we may not receive such Privileges without an honourable mentioning of the Persons that left them to Posterity know we must that the Patent was bequeathed to the inferiour Rangers of this Forest by Robin Hood and Little John honourable Personages indeed being the chief Lords of some most Renowned Robbers in the Reign of King Richard the First who descended from good Families as some averr but having wasted their Estates betook themselves afterward to such profligate Courses This same Robin Hood entertained One hundred tall Men all good Archers with the Spoil he daily made himself Master of upon whom Four hundred though very well accoutred to give Battel durst scarce make an Onset He suffered no Woman to be violated oppressed or any ways molested poor Mens Goods he spared and did relieve the necessitous very liberally with what he got from rich Carls and Misers he killed none willfully and by this means he did for a long time keep up the Order of his Knight Errants till King Richard issuing out a Proclamation to apprehend him it happened that he fell sick at a certain Benedictine Nunnery in Yorkshire called Kirkeley built by Reynerus Flandrensis to the Honour of the Blessed Virgin where being desirous to be let Blood he was betrayed and made bleed to Death Having for some short time pleased our selves with our new Fraternity we equipped again for a Journey and proceeded to find out new Adventures We travelled over the wide and desolate Forest of Sherwood for several Miles together but met with no place of any Note till we arrived at Alfretton Alfretton a Town within the Precincts of Darbyshire 't is a Market-Town and of considerable Antiquity being supposed first to have shewn its Head in the time of the Saxons and to have received its primary rise from the Noble and Heroick King Alfred The Inhabitants here as in divers other places of this County make a sort of Liquor which they call Ale which is very strong and nappy which as it hath been the old drink of England coming from the Danish word Oela so questionless in it self it is a very wholesom and sound sort of Drink and therefore however it pleased a Poet in the time of Henry the Third thus to descant on it Nescio quid monstrum Stygiae conforme paludi Cervisiam plerique vocant nil spissius illa Dum bibitur nil clarius est dum mingitur ergo Constat quod multas feces in ventre relinquit In English thus Of this strange Drink so like the Stygian Lake Men call it Ale I know not what to make Folk drink it thick and piss it very thin Therefore much Dregs must needs remain within I think it not amiss to invert a little his Stanza's in the Reign of King William the Third thus Nescio quid Stygiae monstrum conforme paludi Cervisiam plerique vocant nil spissius unquam Quam caput illius qui sic depinxerat unde Constat quod saeces quia non epota reliquit In English again thus They that will have our Ale so like the Lake Of Styx I know not what of them to make Their Skulls are thick nor can be rinsed clear If Ale ben't drank but dregs will still appear After a little pause we rode on two or three Miles further Darbyshire till we came into the edge of those wide and dangerous Moors which extend many Miles both in length and breadth throughout this County where being several Bogs and dangerous Rocks which do much annoy the Roads that lie through them and the Roads themselves very cross and irksom to Strangers we resolved to take a Guide to conduct us safe over them and the Guide we happened to make choice of was a plain but sensible Peasant going homeward with his Cart loaded with Stones the poor Man readily complied with our Proposals whereupon taking a Horse out of his own Team and leaving the rest to graze thereabouts till his return our Pilot began to steer forward As we rode along we became very inquisitive after the nature of the Soil and the modes of the Country of which our Guide gave us the best account which he could The Country saith he Eastward is fruitful and pleasant abounding with all sorts of Grain but more particularly with Barley which makes many of the Inhabitants considerable Maltsters but the Western into which we are now entring and is commonly called the Peak is Mountainous as you see and Rocky though Nature makes a sufficient amends for the Barrenness of the Soil by her hidden Treasures which are here frequently discovered It s length from North to South is about 30 Miles and its breadth about 20 and the Moors upon which we now are are of an unknown Longitude
Ruines of Churches and other Edifices declare it to have been of a very long standing its Condition was always mutable according to the mutability of Affairs betwixt the Britains and the Saxons and if it was the burying place of that great Man of Valour and prowess the Noble Britain Vortimer as is credibly reported then this hapned contrary to his own Command for he was desirous to be interred near the Sea Shore where he thought his very Ghost would be sufficient to Protect the Britains from all Saxon Invasions But however after his Death the Saxons got possession of it and fortified themselves on the South-side of the Hill about which time Paulinus having preached the Gospel in Lindsey was the first that converted Blecca the Governour hereof to the Christian Faith and erected a Church all of Stone-work some of the Ruines whereof remain to this Day Afterwards it was much impaired and depopulated by the Danes but in the Norman time it flourished so exceedingly that it became one of the most populous Cities of England King William the Conquerour strengthned it with a Castle and Remigius having translated hither the Bishops See from Dorchester a small Town which stood in the remotest corner of this Diocess erected upon the top of the Hill a large and sumptuous * His successor Robert Bloet â—ounded with him the Cathedral and endow'd the Dean and Chapter â—anner's Not. Monast Cathedral mounting up aloft with high Turrets and stately pyramids and dedicated to the Virgin Mary which afterward being defaced by Fire Alexander his Successor re-edified and beautified after a more glorious manner than before Nor indeed did the Bishops that succeeded him add less to its Beauty and Lustre and raised it to so great Magnificence and unconceivable Height that its starely Towers discover themselves at many Miles distance the Workmanship of the whole Fabrick is very curious and admirable and the carved Images on the Front of the West-end were such unimitable pieces of Art till some of them in our late unhappy broils were sacrificed to the fury of the Insolent Soldiery who committed a new Martyrdom upon the Saints in Effigie that they did even allure and ravish the Eyes of all Spectatour Nor was it less glorious without than beautified within for besides the Bell called Great Tom for which this Church is so famous being cast in the Year 1610 and of a larger Size than any Bell in the Kingdom 't is adorn'd with divers Monuments of very ancient Families for the Bowels of Queen Eleanor Wife to King Edward the First lie here interr'd in Copper and the Body of the Lady Catharine Swinford third Wife to John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster and Mother to the House of Somerset and of the Lady Joan her Daughter Second Wife to Ralph Nevil Earl of Westmorland besides many other Persons of great Note and Quality In the former Ages of the Church the Precincts of this Diocess were of so large an extent that the greatness hereof became even burdensom to it hereupon they were contracted into a narrower compass by some Princes of this Nation and though King Henry the Second took out of this the Diocess of Ely and King Henry the Eighth the Bishopricks of Peterborough and Oxford yet still it is reputed the greatest Diocess of England both for Jurisdiction and number of Shires there being no less than six Counties and One thousand two hundred forty seven Parish Churches as is generally computed belonging to it As for the Town though it flourished mightily for some Years together after the Norman Conquest by reason of a Staple for wooll and other Commodities setled here by King Edward the Third yet it met still with some Calamities or other which hindred its Growth and eclipsed its Grandeur for it had its share of Sufferings both by Fire and War in King Stephen's days about which time it seems though the King had at first been conquered and taken Prisoner yet he afterward entred into the City in Triumph with his Crown upon his Head to break the Citizens of a superstitious Opinion they held that no King could possibly enter into that City after such a manner but some great disaster or other would befal him but neither did it then or by the Barons wars afterwards sustain half the damages which of late Years it hath received from the devouring Hands of Time who hath wrought its downfal and from a rich and populous City hath reduced it almost to the lowest ebb of Fortune and of Fifty Churches which were all standing within one or two Centuries hath scarce left Fifteen so that the old Proverbial Rhymes which go currant amongst them seem so far to have something of verity in them Lincoln was and London is And York shall be The fairest City of the three Sure I am that this doth abundantly verifie the verses of the old Tragedian Sophocles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Only the Gods cannot Times sickle feel Nothing can else withstand his Powerful Steel But though the City be gone to decay the Magistrates preserve their Authority and their ancient Charters and Privileges are not as yet involv'd in the same Fate with the Town which is governed by a Mayor and Aldermen and hath the Assizes held here where the Judges twice a Year determine all Suits and Controversies depending either in the City or the County and for provision it affords great Plenty for 't is replenished every Friday which is their chief Market Day with such variety of Fish and Fowl to be bought up at easy and cheap Rates that there is hardly the like to be met withal in any other City of England From this City we set forward for Barton Barton a small Town Situate upon the River Humber famous for the abundance of Puits Godwits Knots which are a sort of Bird so called say some from Canute the Dane who perhaps brought them hither first from Denmark and likewise for Dottrels a simple kind of Bird much given to imitation these Dottrels are caught by candle-light after this manner The Fowler stands before the Bird and if he puts out an Arm the Bird stretcheth out a Wing if he hold out his Head or set forward his Leg the Bird doth the like and imitates the Fowlers gesture so long till coming nearer and nearer by degrees at length throws his Net over him and so takes him Here we met with a convenient Passage to Ferry over into York-shire York-shire whereupon we took the first opportunity of Wind and Tide and sailed away for Hull which is about a League from the place on the other side of the River This County is the greatest in extent being parted into three Divisions which are called the West-Riding the East-Riding and North-Riding amongst which Providence hath so wisely distributed her Blessings that what one wants the other enjoys and makes a compensation for the Barrenness of one
corrupted both their Faith and their Fortitude and straitway restored it to the English Crown A great while after when England was embroiled in Civil Wars King Henry the Sixth flying into that Kingdom for refuge surrendred it up into the hands of that King to secure him his Life and Safety in that Country but many Years were not expired before Sir Thomas Stanley did again reduce it under the command of King Edward the Fourth but not without a great loss of his Men and much Blood spilt about its Walls since which our Kings have been still strengthening it with new Fortifications especially Queen Elizabeth who to the Terrour of the Scots and Safe-guard of this Nation enclosed it about in a narrower compass within the old Wall with a high Wall of Stone most strongly compacted which she hath so forwarded again with a Couterscarp a Bank round about with Mounts of Earth cast up on high and open Terraces above-head upon all which are planted a double tire of great Ordnance that when the Scots entred England in 1640 they took Newcastle but durst not attempt Berwick In this place is still maintained a constant Garrison of Soldiers and the Guards which are placed at the foot of the Bridge which is built over the Tweed do every Night pull up the Draw-Bridges and lock up the Gates which give entrance into the Town so that there is no admission when once the day is gone Tweed All along the Tweed is notable Fishing for Salmons of which there is such great store and plenty in this River that they take vast numbers at one draught as we were credibly informed by the Fishermen of this place who hire out the Fishery from the Lords of the River and have each Man his Bounds set out and mark'd for him The Salmon which they catch are dried barrelled up and transported beyond Seas and are purchased at such easie and cheap Rates that a Man may buy one of the largest for a Shilling and boil it and eat it while the Heart is yet alive a thing which is frequently practised in this place nay they are so common about these Parts that the Servants as they say do usually indent with their Masters when they hire them to feed them with this Fish only some Days in the Week that they may not be nauseated by too often eating of it but as for all other Provisions they are scarce enough here and dearer than in any other parts of the North so that he that first called Berwick the little Purgatory betwixt England and Scotland by reason of the hard Usage and Exactions which are customary here did confer upon it a very just and deserved Title The Borders of Scotland After we were past Berwick we came into that noted Ground lying betwixt the two Kingdoms called the Borders the Inhabitants whereof have ever been reputed a sort of Military Men subtile nimble and by reason of their frequent Skirmishes to which they were formerly accustomed well experienced and adventurous These Borders have been formerly of a far greater extent reaching as far as Edinburgh-Frith and Dunbritton Northward and taking in the Counties of Northumberland Cumberland and Westmorland Southward but since the Norman Conquest they have been bounded by Tweed on the East Solway on the West and the Cheuiot Hills in the midst From these Borders we marched towards the Kingdom of Scotland concerning which I shall in the first place give a brief Account of some Observations we made here in general before I proceed to a particular Description of such Places and Cities through which we travelled From whence at first it received this denomination is dubious and uncertain Scotland being formerly called Caledonia from the Caledonii a chief People of it and Albania from Albany a principal Province in the North but as for the Inhabitants some will fetch their Original from thy Scythi a Sarmatian People of great Renown who after they had wandred about through many Countries came at last and setled themselves in this place but the most probable Opinion is that they were no other than Irish united in the name of Scot about the declination of the Roman Empire the word Scot signifying in their Language a Body aggregated into one out of many particulars as the word Alman in the Dutch Language Though I find the Scotch Historians will rather derive it from Scota Daughter to Pharoah King of Egypt who being given in Marriage to Gathelus Son of Cecrops King of Athens who with some valiant Grecians and Egyptians transplanted themselves into a part of Spain then called Lusitania but by reason of his arrival named Port-gathel now Portugal they afterwards setling themselves in Gallicia sent from thence a new Colony into Ireland from whence at last they removed into this Country This Gathelus brought with him from Egypt the Marble fatal Chair which was transported to Ireland and to Albion now called Scotland wherein all their Kings were Crowned until the time of King Edward the First who transported the whole ancient Regalia of Scotland with the Marble fatal Chair to Westminster where it remaineth to this day by which was fulfilled that ancient Scotch Prophecy thus expressed in Latin by Hector Boethius Ni fallat fatum Scoti hunc quocunque locatum Invenient lapidem regnare tenentur ibidem In English by Raphael Holinshead Except old Saws do fail And Wisards Wits be blind The Scots in place must Reign Where they this Stone shall find By another Hand thus The Scots shall brook that Realm as Native Ground If Weirds fail not where e'er this Chair is found This Kingdom being divided into two parts by the River Tay hath thirty-four Counties in the South part are reckoned up these that follow Teifidale March Lothien Liddesdale Eskdale Annandale Niddesdale Galloway Carrick Kyle Cunningham Arran Cluidsdale Lennox Sterling Fife Stratherne Menth Argile Cantire Lorne In the North part are reckoned these Counties Loquhabre Braid-Albin Perth Athol Angus Merne Marr Buquhan Murray Ross Southerland Cathaness Steathnavern These are subdivided again according to their Civil Government into divers Seneschallies or Sheriffdoms which are commonly Hereditary and the People which inhabit each are called High-landers and Low-landers The Highlanders High-landers who inhabit the West part of the Country in their Language Habit and Manners agree much with the Customs of the Wild Irish Elgin and their chief City is Elgin in the County of Murray seated upon the Water of Lossy formerly the Bishop of Murray's Seat with a Church sumptuosly built but now gone to decay They go habited in Mantles striped or streaked with divers colours about their Shoulders which they call Plodden with a Coat girt close to their Bodies and commonly are naked upon their Legs but wear Sandals upon the Soles of their Feet and their Women go clad much after the same Fashion They get their Living mostly by Hunting Fishing and Fowling and when they go to War the
some time in this City we went from hence through Linlithgow Linlithgow a Town beautified with a fair House of the King 's a goodly Church a pleasant Park and a Loch a lake under the Palace Wall full of Fish of which lake it seems to have derived its Name Falkirk Lin in the British Tongue signifying a lake to another Town called Falkirk Famous for the notable Battle which was fought here betwixt King Edward the First and the Scots wherein were Slain no less than two Thousand Men not far from which place likewise upon the River Carron was formerly situate the Famous City of Camelon chief City of the Picts founded by Cruthneus Camelon before the Birth of Christ 330 Year which was destroy by King Kenneth the Great about the Year of Christ 846 and what was left was afterward swallowed up by an Earthquake where the void place is now filled with Water Glasgow At last we came to the renowned City of Glasgow which lying in Liddisdail was indeed the furthest of all our Northern Circuit 't is situated upon the River Glotta or Cluyd over which is placed a very fair Bridge supported with eight Arches and for pleasantness of Sight sweetness of Air and delightfulness of its Gardens and Orchards enriched with most delicious Fruits surpasseth all other places in this Tract the Buildings in this Town are very large and beautiful and the Tolbooth itself so stately a Structure that it appears rather to be a Palace than a Prison This has formerly been the See of an Arch-Bishop The University and in the Year 1554 an University which consists of one College was founded here by Arch Bishop Turnbill for a Rector a Dean of Faculty a Principal or Warden to teach Theology and three Professors to teach Philosophy Afterwards some Clergymen professed the Laws here being invited to that Profession rather by the convenience of a Collegiate Life and the immunities of the University then by any considerable Salary King James the Sixth A. D. 1577. did establish twelve Persons in the College viz. a Principal three Professors of Philosophy called Regents four Scholars called Bursars an Oeconomus or Provisor who furnisheth the Table with Provisions the Principal 's Servant a Janitor and a Cook The Cathedral is a very fair ancient Fabrick The Cathedrel built by Bishop John Achaian A. D. 1135. it oweth Thanks to the Memory of King James the Sixth and which is most remarkable to the Mob it self at that time for its preservation from Ruine for the Ministers here having perswaded the Magistrates to pull it down and to build two or three other Churches with the materials thereof and the Magistrates condescending a Day was appointed and Workmen ready to demolish it but the common Tradesmen having notice given them of this design convene in Arms and oppose the Magistrates threatning to bury the Demolishers of it under the Ruines of that ancient Building whereupon the matter was referred to the King and Council who decided the controversy in the Tradesmens Favour and reproving very sharply the Magistrates for their Order so that it still continues with four other Churches here beside for the exercise of their Religion The City is governed by a Mayor and is very eminent for its Trade and Merchandize and is noted upon Record for being the place where William Wallace the Renowned Champion of Scotland was traitourously Betrayed by Sir John Menteith and delivered up to our King Edward the First by whose Order he was afterward publickly executed in Smithfield Hamilton Passing away hence by Hamilton a famous Palace then belonging to Duke Hamilton which hath a fair and spatious Park adjoyning to it we had two Days journy very doleful and troublesome for we travelled over wide Meers and dangerous Mountains in the Company of some Scotch Gentlemen who were going that way for England where the Weather was ill the ways worse and the long Miles with their Way-bitts at the end of them worst of all where our Lodging was hard our Diet course and our Bodies thin that it might easily be discerned how we had lately pass'd through the Territorys of Famine who Reigns very potently over that cold and pinching Region Dunfries But coming at length to Dunfries in the County of Nidisdail it made us some amends for being situate between two Hills upon the Mouth of the River Nid over which is laid a Bridge of large fine Stones it appears to be one of the most flourishing Towns in this Tract notable no less for its ancient Castle and Manufacture of Cloath then for the Murther of John Cummins one of the most Renowned Personages for his Retinue and Equipage in all this Kingdom whom Robert Bruce for fear he should fore-stal his way to the Crown run quite through with his Sword in the Fryars Church and soon obtain'd his pardon from the Pope though he had committed so great a Murder in so sacred a place Anandale After this we came to Anandale at the Mouth of the River Anan in the County of Anandale bordering upon our own Nation which lost all its Glory and Beauty upon the War which was raised in Edward the Sixth's Days in these two last named Counties have been bred a sort of warlike Men who hath been infamous for Robberys and depredations for they dwell upon Solway-Frith a fordable Arm of the Sea at low Water through which frequently they have made many inroads into England to fetch home great Booty's and in which they were wont after a delightful manner on Horse-back with Spears to hunt Salmons of which there are in these parts a very great abundance After we had passed these borders we arrived again safe in our own native Soil within the precincts of Cumberland Cumberland which like the rest of the Northern Counties hath a sharp piercing Air the Soil is fertile for the most part both with Corn and Cattel and in some parts hereof with Fish and Fowl here are likewise several Minerals which of late have been discovered not only Mines of Copper but some veins of Gold and Silver as we were informed have been found and of all the Shires we have it is accounted the best furnished with the Roman Antiquities Nor is it less renowned for its exceeding high Mountains for beside the Mountain called Wrye-Nose The Hill called Wrie-Nose on the top of which near the high way side are to be seen Three Shire-Stones within a foot of each other one in this County another in Westmorland and a third in Lancashire there are three other Hills Skiddaw Lanvalin and Casticand very remarkable Skiddaw riseth up with two mighty high Heads like Parnassus and beholds Scruffel Hill The Hill of Skiddaw Lanvellin and Casticand which is in Anandale in Scotland and accordingly as mists rise or fall upon these heads the People thereby prognosticate of the change of Weather Singing this Rhime If Skiddaw have a Cap
the River Dart and fortified with a Castle for the defence of Vessels which lie dispersed hereabouts where we ferried over to Dartmouth opposite to it on the other side of the River Dartmouth Dartmouth is situate upon the brow of an high Hill being divided into three Streets one rising above the other to each of which is a gentle ascent gradually by Free-stone Steps contrived and laid there for that purpose 'T is enriched with a safe and commodious Haven and is guarded with a strong Castle which commands the River being placed aloft just at the very mouth or entrance into it The great Trade of this Place is fishing to Newfound-land in which there are employed a great many Ships every Year Their Chief Magistrate is the Mayor for which Office there was a Charter granted to the Town by King Edward the Third since which it hath been subject to divers Changes and vicissitudes and hath frequently couragiously held out against the French who have endeavoured to destroy it but especially in the Reign of King Henry the Fourth for Monsieur de Castle having by his Men of War Stopp'd all entercourse of Traffick in those Parts and burnt Plimouth and being come hither to serve this place after the same manner met with some shrewd repulses contrary to his expectation and was by a company of Women and Country People prevented in his designs and having all his Men cut off was himself also slain by the Hands of such Boors which he always had in the greatest Contempt and derision One days visit here having satisfied our curiosity the next gave us a sight of the renowned Town of Plimouth Plimouth so called from the River Plime that runs along by it Here is one of the largest and most secure Havens in England for before the very mouth of it lies St. Nicholas Islands strongly fortified both by Art and Nature and in the Haven are fortifications laid on both sides for the safe riding of Ships and anoyance of Enemies On the one side is Mount Batton in which is a strong Garrison having twelve Guns mounted upon its platforms and on the other side the Cittadel which may for Strength compare with most Places in the Nation commanding both the Sea and Town at pleasure Without the Walls of the Cittadel runs a Trench out of which was diged a certain kind of Marble with which they were built eleven foot thick at the bottom and seven at the top and about three quarters of a Mile in compass upon the Walls are placed divers Watch-Towers and each of them are adorned with a round Ball upon the top so curiously gilded and painted with the King's Arms that they make a glistering shew at a distance and round about are placed between two and three hundred pieces of Ordnance there are two Gates and as many Draw Bridges which gives entrance into the Castle and upon the front are admirably carved the Arms of his Majesty King Charles the Second by which is placed his Royal Statue with the Arms of the Earl of Bath who was then Governor thereof within the Walls is the Governor's House and divers Apartments for Soldiers a Magazine for Ammunition and a Store-House for Provisions and for the Strength and conveniencies of this Fortress which is almost impregnable the Town was much obliged to the excellent Ingenuity of Sir Bernard De-Gum then his Majesties Engineer The commodiousness of the Harbour often causeth a Fleet of Ships to ride here so that though this place was formerly but a poor despicable Village 't is now so replenished with Mariners frequented by Merchants enriched by Traffick that it seems to outvye some great Cities of this Kingdom being made a Corporation by King Henry the Sixth which consists of a Mayor twelve Aldermen and twenty-four Common-Council Men who have a stately Guild-Hall for their more solemn Conventions and is adorned with two handsome Churches The story of the great Giant Gogmagog who was here worsted by the famous Champion Corinaeus and thrown headlong from the Haw a Rock standing between the Town and the Ocean hath a little too much of the Romance to gain Credit but the magnificent House near to this Town called Mount Edgecomb Mount Edgecomb adds so great a Lustre to these Western Parts that Plimouth hath great reason to be proud of its Vicinity And which is still farther observable it was from this Town that Sir Francis Drake set Sail A. D. 1577 when he went that Voyage in which he sailed round the Terrestrial Globe and it was out of this Haven that the English Fleet commanded by the Lord Howard Admiral of England was towed by Ropes A. D. 1588. to fight the Spanish Armada unwisely called Invincible Being now upon the very Borders of Cornwall the unseasonableness of the Weather which then happened and the short time allotted for our return to Exeter not permitting us to take a particular view of it we made it our business to inform our selves concerning some of the most remarkable things in this utmost Region of England Cornwall Devonshire and Cornish Men are more active in Wrestling and such like boisterous Exercises than any other Shires in England being also more brawny stout and able of Body Ordulphus a Devonshire Man Son of Ordarus Earl of Devonshire was such a strong Gigantick Person that if William of Malmsbury say true he would break open any Bars of Gates and stride ten Foot John Bray a Cornish Man carried on his Back at one time a good way six Bushels of Wheaten Meal and the Miller a Lubber of Twenty-four Years of Age upon the whole And one John Roman a thick short Fellow would carry at one time the whole Carcass of an Ox. There was also one Kiltor who lying in Lanceston-Castle Green upon his Back threw a Stone of some Pounds weight over the top of one of the highest Towers in that Castle Which stoutness and goodly stature of this People Cambden reflecting on makes this Observation That the Western People of most Countrys are the tallest and stoutest The Cornish Men are very healthy and long lived Eighty or Ninety Years of Age is ordinary as we were told in every place and in most Persons accompanied with an able use of the Body and Senses One Polzew lived an 130 Years a Kinsman of his 112 one Beaucamp 106 and one Brown a Beggar above 100 and in one Parish in Queen Elizabeth's time there died in Fourteen Weeks space four People whose Years added together made 340 And to urge no more Examples Mr. Chamond who lived at Stratton in this County was Uncle and Great Uncle to at least 300 the cause of which Healthiness and longevity is in all probability the rockiness and driness of the Country which though it be for the most part environed with the Sea yet it hath few Marshes or Ouzy Shores but most Sandy and withal the Air is cleansed by frequent Winds lying open to the Sea The
the Air clear and serene and so 't is salubrious And to begin with that Town which being the principal of all gives a Denomination to the whole County even that alone will be sufficient to set forth and demonstrate the great Lustre and Symmetry of all the other Parts Nottingham by the Britains called Caer-Snotynham Nottingham is built upon a Rock and is environ'd with Rocks on one side which are washed by the crooked Windings of a commodious River hath a fair Park of the Duke of Newcastle's adjoining to it with Sherwood Forest bordering upon it The Streets are large and well paved the Market-place handsom and convenient the Churches spacious and usefully contrived and the Houses high and stately they are for the most part built with Brick but some of them are rare pieces as well for Structure as Design and in short the whole front of their Fabrick is beautified with Sculptures and glistering Balconies the Inhabitants being very curious in the new Modes and Draughts of Architecture The Castle which is on the West-side of the Town being situated upon an exceeding high Rock did formerly for strength prospect and stateliness challenge the precedency of most Castles in the Kingdom And here the Danes held out a very long Siege against three Kings united against them For in the Year 868 Buthred King of the Mercians sent Ambassadors to Aethelred King of the West-Saxons and Alfred his Brother to crave their Aid and Assistance against the Danish Army which they accordingly obtained for the two Brothers mustering up a considerable Army arrived in the Kingdom of Mercia and made no stop till they came to Snotenghaham now Nottingham and when the Pagans confiding in their Fortress refused to give Battel and the Christians had then no Engines to batter or rase the Walls the Mercians were enforced to conclude a Peace with the Pagans and the two Brothers to return home ingloriously without doing any feats After this saith the Saxon Chronicle in the Year 942 the most Valiant and Puissant King Edmund not only rescued this place out of its Danish Bondage but four other Cities Lincoln and Leicester Stamford and Darby were by the same victorious Hand delivered from the Shackles and Oppressions of those most bloody Infidels In process of time King Edward the Senior strengthened it with Walls and a new Castle was built by William the Conqueror Edward the Fourth enlarged it with various dwelling Houses for Commanders and Soldiers and in the Rock upon which the Castle stands are several small Cottages hewn out of it in which at present dwell divers poor People And it is reported that it was never taken until by a subtil Stratagem it was surprized by Robert Earl of Darby in the Barons Wars who having once got this soon entred the Town and then used the Townsmen according to his pleasure Though I find too in the Life of King Stephen that Robert Earl of Gloucester invaded this Town with a great Power and when most of the Townsmen were slain or burnt in the Churches whither they fled for Refuge There is a Story of one of them which was richer than the rest that being forced to return to his own House by the Soldiers that had taken him to shew them where his Treasure lay he bringing them into a Cellar whilst they were busie in breaking open Locks and Coffers convey'd himself away and shutting the Doors after him set fire on the House and so the Soldiers being 30 in number perished in the Flames which catching hold of other Buildings joining to it almost burnt up the whole Town But that which makes this Castle most signally remarkable was the discovery of the secret Amours of Roger Mortimer Earl of March and the Imprisonment of David Bruce King of Scots the Relation of which I shall set down as briefly as I can After King Edward the Second had been Deposed and Murthered by the Contrivances and Plots of his own Wife Queen Isabella and King Edward her Son had Reigned about Four Years a Parliament was called at Nottingham where this Roger Mortimer who was the Queen's most especial Favourite was in such Glory and Renown that it was beyond all Comparison none so much Lord Paramount as the Earl of March none appears in so great an Equipage and attended with so honourable a Retinue as the Earl of March so that the King's Train was inferiour to his and his Majesty's Glory eclipsed by the Pomp and Grandeur of one of his Nobles for he very often would presume to go foremost with his own Officers and was so exceeding proud and haughty as to make all Persons cringe and do as great Homage to him as to Majesty it self Nay he undertook to order and dispose of all Persons and Affairs according to his own Will and Pleasure and hereupon he one day rebuked the Earl of Lancaster the King's Cousin for presuming to appoint Lodgings for certain Noblemen near the Court without his particular License and Assignation and having dislodged the Earl with some other Persons of very great Quality and removed them a Mile out of Town He did by this means so incense the Nobility against him that they began to pry more narrowly into his Actions and being enraged to see his Pride and his Usurpation of such great Prerogatives they unanimously Libelled against him and gave it out amongst the People that this Mortimer was the Queen's Gallant and the King's Master and sought by all means he possibly could to destroy the Royal Blood and Usurp the Crown which report did so work upon some of the King 's most trusty Friends that they got Robert Holland who had a long time been Governour of the Castle and knew well all the secret Corners therein to swear Secrecy to them and Fidelity to the King and accordingly to assist them in those Designs they had in hand Whereupon one Night King Edward lying without the Castle both he and his Friends were brought by Torch-light through a secret Place under the ground beginning afar off from the said Castle 't is the Vault which is still call'd Mortimer's Hole till they came even to the Queen's Chamber which by chance they found open being Arm'd with naked Swords in they rush'd leaving the King in the same posture at the Door when they had entred into the Privy-Chamber they found the Earl of March undressed ready to go to Bed to the Queen but they crossed his Design and cooled his Courage halling him away immediately by force upon which the Queen cried out in French Good Son take Pity of Gentle Mortimer suspecting her Son to have been in the Company The Keys of the Castle were presently called for and every Place with all the Furniture committed into the King's Hands and Mortimer was forthwith sent to the Tower who being Tryed by his Peers Arraign'd and found Guilty was hang'd upon the common Gallows two Days and two Nights The Articles that were brought against him were