of its Walls by the Danes who raised as it thought certain Trenches whereof one is called Maumbury being an Acre inditched another Poundbury somewhat greater and the third a Mile off as a Camp with fine Trenches containing near ten Acres called Maiden-Castle which in all probability was a Roman Station but that which argues its Antiquity is the Coin of the Romans both Copper and Silver found there and especially at Fordington hard by which the common People call King Dorne's Pence whom by some Allusion to the Name they think him to be the Founder of the Town It had anciently a Castle in that place where the Grey-Friars built their Convent out of the Ruins thereof It has three Parish Churches and several Alms-houses for the support and maintenance of poor impotent People and it was formerly a noted Place for the Manufacture of Cloth and is now for Sheep of which there are huge Numbers to the great benefit and enriching of the County The next Shire we design'd to pursue our Progress in was Hampshire of which it follows Hampshire We went out of Dorsetshire through some part of Wiltshire which I have already mentioned and so came into the Confines of Hampshire and past through part of New Forrest where along the East is the Banks of the River Avon William the Conqueror demolished all the Towns Villages both Houses and Churches far and near and likewise rejected the Inhabitants after having done so he made all the ground within the compass of 20 Miles into a Forrest or Harbour for Wild Beasts and so it was called New Forrest and this he did either that the Normans might arrive more securely in this place Normandy lying just over against it in case new Broils should arise after his Conquests or for the Pleasure he took in Hunting or else to encrease his Treasure for being better affected and more favourable to Beasts than Men he imposed very heavy Fines and Penalties yea and most grievous Punishments upon all such Persons as did meddle with the Game but it seems the Children suffered for the Cruelty of their Father for Richard his second Son and William Rufus who Succeeded him both perished in this Forrest the one with a Blast of pestilent Air the other with an Arrow shot by chance by Sir Walter Tirrel Henry likewise his Grandchild by his eldest Son Robert whilst he was here in the hot pursute after his Game was caught up by a Bough where in a very short time he underwent the miserable Fate of poor Absolom The first Town of Note we came to in this County was Southampton which is situated betwixt two Rivers the one running forth at the West side called Test and the other on the East The Town is fair and hath stately Buildings with two commodious Keys which do highly adorn it and the great concourse of Merchants which Trade to Foreign Parts do mightily enrich it There are five Parish-Churches with one for the French likewise it hath a strong Wall and seven Gates with a Castle upon a Mount cast up to a great height built by Richard the Second and it was made a Corporation by Henry the Sixth who Constituted it both Town and County which doth abundantly dignifie it It hath three Markets a week and that for Fish is five Days in a Week 't is likewise of great Note for building of Merchant's Ships After some small stay here we went to Winchester of which take this following Account Winchester I find it to have been a Place of great Antiquity and that it was in great Request amongst the Romans In this City was Constance who was become a Monk saluted Caesar by the Order of his Father Constantine though afterwards he paid dearly for his Honour by the loss of his Life This was the chief Seat in which the Saxons placed themselves and made it famous by their erecting Magnificent Temples in the Time of the Normans too it flourished exceedingly until it was almost once or twice quite destroyed by the Sword but now again 't is very fair and populous large and stately and is computed to be within the Walls above a Mile in length it hath six Gates which give entrance into the City though all of them have been very much defaced in our Civil Wars as likewise the Castle which formerly hath been very formidable for its Strength and Impregnableness This is that Castle that Maud the Empress having took held it out some considerable time against King Stephen and being at last strictly besieged by the Bishop of Winchester then in being who was Brother to the King fearing to be took Prisoner and delivered up into her Enemies hands she secured her self by this cunning Way she commanded it should be given out for a most certain truth that she was Dead and was carried out upon a Beir as if she had been so indeed and by this means she deceived her Enemies and secured her own Person Upon the Wall hereof hangs the Round Table so much talked of and called by the Name of King Arthur's Round Table whether this can gain to it self so great Antiquity as is attributed to it I shall not undertake to determine yet certain it is that those kind of Tables are of a very long standing for formerly when there hath been great Entertainments amongst the valiant Champions of this Nation it was usual for all such to sit round them lest any Difference should arise amongst the Noblemen about Superiority of Place About the middle of the City stands the Cathedral built by Kenelwalchius King of the West Saxons who Constituted Ina the first Bishop there and it was always had in great Veneration by the Saxons because divers of their Kings was Enterred in it and was called by them The Old Monastery there is a Dean and 12 Prenbendaries belonging to it the Church is curiously adorned with Monuments of ancient Hero's and Bishops of that See William Wainfleet Founder of Magdelen College in Oxford lies here Entombed with his Hart in his Hand and Cardinal Beaufort and Bishop Gardner that bloody Scourge to the poor Protestants in Queen Mary's days who did so insatiably thirst for the Blood of Queen Elizabeth but was always crossed in his most wicked Inclinations there lies also the Lord Weston Earl of Portland whose Monument is of Brass and by him his Father who lies in Marble here is likewise preserved the Chair of State in which Queen Mary was Married to King Philip the Countess of Exeter is also Enterr'd here also the Chappel of Bishop Fox is worth ones observation which he built for his own use together with his Study and Press for his Books all in one place In the Quire under a plain flat Marble Stone lies the Body of William Rufus King of England who received his Mortal Wound as he was Hunting in the New Forrest by Sir Walter Tyrrel Sir Walter shooting at a Deer unawares hit him on the Brest on which he died immediately and
Treasures and Mints of Money atchieved more magnificent Acts than ever any Prelate did before him for he erected the Royal Palace of Hampton-Court besides two famous Colleges the one at this Native Town and the other a most glorious Structure called Christ-Church College in Oxford and for the height of his Living and Attendance it is very elegantly set forth by the writer of his Life But notwithstanding he was the Favourite of his Prince and the Darling of Fortune and sued to by Foreigners and his own Country-men too as to be the only Person to apply to in all accounts yet true it is that Fortune very oft sets great Persons upon the Hill of Honour thereby to precipitate them with the greater Violence we find this lofty Cardinal could no way secure himself from the reach of fretting Envy and learn'd by the mutability of his own Condition for being retired into the Country after he seeing his Fortunes began to ebb at Court having the Great Seal took from him by the King's Order and was afterwards sent for by the Lieutenant of the Tower to appear before his Majesty and as returning out of the North to the City of London in his Journy he fell sick of a Flux at the Earl of Shrewsbury's house in Sheffeild-Park which being accompanied with a Fever did so weaken his Body that when he came to Leicester Abby which way he took he told the Abbot after the Solemnities of receiving him were past That indeed he was come to lay his Bones amongst them which accordingly came to pass for their he died and after his death his Corps being invested by the Monks with all such Ornaments as he was Professed in when he was made Bishop and Archbishop as Mitre Cross-King and Pall with all other things due to his Order and Dignity and having lain some few days in State to be visited by those who had a mind to pay their last Respects to his Person he was buried in their Chappel dedicated to the Virgin Mary with great Solemnity though all perished in the ruin of the Monastery Subverted not long after when Popery was banished from the Confines of England This Town had its share of Calamities in the unhappy Civil Wars It is well furnished with all kind of Grain it is governed by a Mayor Alderman and Recorder with other inferiour Officers to attend them The Town is strengthened with several Gates in one whereof is kept the Magazine it is also adorned with divers eminent Fabricks both Sacred and Civil the Cross in high Street is a very excellent Structure there are likewise five Churches by that which is called St. Martins stands the new Hospital being a stately Edifice built and endowed by several Benefactors for the use of divers aged Men and Women with a Chappel and a Chaplain to read Divine Service and to be assistful to those poor People therein and to this joins their publick Library which was given for the use of Ministers and Schollars who inhabit here hard by St. Mary's Church stands the Castle where the Assizes are kept for the County and by St. Nicholas there is a Wall which by the Ruins of it seems to be of very great Antiquity having several hollow places in it of an oval form of which the Inhabitants have strange Conjectures concerning them as if there had been some place in which the Pagans did offer up their Children to their blood-thirsty Idols or that they made them here pass through the fire as the Israelites did to Moloch but of this there is no probability at all and these only being conjectural Guesses I shall leave them and observe one thing more concerning this Town After the fatal Battel betwixt King Richard the Third and Henry Earl of Richmond afterwards Henry the Seventh King of England in Bosworth-field about the Year of our Lord 1485 in which King Richard with four Thousand Men more were slain and not above ten Persons on the other side The Corps of the deceased King was brought to be buried there in great disgrace as the day before he went out in pomp for his Body being rifled by the Souldiers was carried naked behind a Pursivant at Arms and being all over daub'd with Mire and Blood was conveyed to the Grey Friar's Church that then was within the Town and there buried very obscurely and meanly whilst Richmond with joyful Acclamations was proclaimed King in the very midst of slaughtered Bodies round about CARLETON all that are born there whether it be by a peculiar Property of the Soil or of the Water or else by some other secret Operation of Nature have an ill favoured untunable and harsh manner of Speech fetching their Words with very much ado deep from out of the Throat with a certain kind of wharling the Letter R being very irksome to them to pronounce Rutlandshire It is the least County of all England Lying in form almost round like a circle it is in compass so far about as a Light-horsman will ride in one day It was called Rutland as one would say Red-land the Earth in this Shire is every where red and so red that even the Sheeps fleeces are thereby coloured red The English-Saxons called Red in their Tongue Roet and Rud. UPPINGHAM a place upon an high ascent whence that name was imposed a well frequented Market Town The Vale of Catmose a field full of Woods Okeham is in the middle of it so called from Oaks This small Shire hath Parish Churches fourty eight Lincolnshire A very large County reaching almost three Score Miles in length and carrying in some places above thirty Miles in breadth passing good for yielding of Corn and feeding of Cattel well furnished and set out with great number of Towns and watered with many Rivers having great store of Fish and Fowl BOSTON is a famous Town standing on both sides the River Witham which hath over it a wooden Bridge of great height well frequented by means of a commodious Haven unto it The Market-place is fair and large and the Buildings are very beautiful also a most stately Church with a very high Tower-steeple and hath as many steps in its steeple from the bottome to the top as there are Days in the Year which Steeple salutes Passengers and Travellers a great way off and giveth Direction also to Sailers In the Coat of Boston for the Corporation there are three Crowns relating to the three Kingdoms the Crest a Ram lying upon a Wool-sack the Ram signifying the great Sheep-walks in the Fens round about and the Wool-sack that it was a Staple-Town the Supporters of the Coat are two Maremaids signifying that it was a Port-Town LINCOLN The chief City of the County and is large well inhabited and frequented it is situated upon the side of an Hill and thence hath its Name from its Situation or because it hath been a Colony Certain it is a Place of great Antiquity and of a very long standing there are fourteen
the Diabolical Regions The Second Wonder Is Mamtar 't is a high steep Cliff and from the top of which Cliff or Rock the Sand tho' the Air be never so Calm doth continually trickle to the bottom Night and Day and now and then great Stones fall down with a very great Noise and do much affright the poor Neighbouring Inhabitants On the top of it bubbles up a Fountain which in some places streams down the Cliff The Third Wonder Is a Fountain which Ebbs and Flows like the Sea receiving an influence from the Moon and observing the same regular Motions by which the Ocean it self continually is regulated The Fourth Wonder Is called the Marble Stones by their orderly Dispositions into several rows one row higher than another it seems rather to be the contrivance of Art than of Nature but that we ought not to Derogate from that great Parent whose production are continually Rare and Unimitable The Fifth Wonder Is Elden Hole near unto the Fourth Wonder 't is reputed a bottomless Abyss and could never as yet by any Art be Fathomed The Mouth of it is wide and craggy but the inward recesses contracted and intrecate There is a Story that they let a Man down by Ropes and Candles to light him to give an Account of this infernal Pit but paid dearly for his Presumption with the loss of his life for his Boldness The Sixth Wonder Is Buxtons-Well about two Miles from the fifth Wonder it glories in a hot Well 't is inclosed in a very fair Stone Building erected formerly by the Earl of Shrewsbury the Operation is very near to that of the Cross Bath having two Springs of Water the one within a hand breadth of the other and one is Hot the other cold as Ice The Seventh and last Wonder Is Pool Hole 't is a Hollow Cave under a very high Rock bearing some resemblance with that by the City of Wells called Ochy Hole but not containing in it self half so great Varieties From hence we went into Cheshire It is a County Palatine and of great Note for plenty of several Commodities as also for most excellent Cheese and the Men and Women are generally Acounted very Handsome here There is in this County great store of Salt-Springs Mettals and Mines and in the River Dee is plenty of Salmons on the South part of Cheshire Trees are very frequently found by Diging under the Ground which is believed have been here ever since Noah's Flood The chief Town of this County is West Chester a City famous for its Antiquity and Situation and no less for its Renown 't is Built in the form of a Quadrant with very spacious Houses neat and uniform and environed with a very strong Wall and hath a Castle stands upon a high Hill near the River Dee strongly Fortified Here are several Churches which are very Antient and goodly Fabricks but especially for the Cathedrals The Houses are very fairly Built and along the chief Streets are Galleries or Walking-places they call them Rows haing Shops on both sides through which a Man may walk dry from one end to another NANTWICH which the River Wever first visiteth is reputed the greatest and fairest built Town of all this Shire after Chester It is called the White-wich or Salt-pich because the whitest Salt is there boiled This Shire containeth 13 Market Towns and 68 Parishes We went next into Shropshire Or the County of Salop is for the most part Rich in Corn and Cattle and glories in in its most famous City of Shrewsbury which is compassed almost round by the River Severn having two fair Bridges upon it and is Fortified both by Art and Nature It is like a Horse-shew in the opening place and doubtless deserves the Observation of all Travellers more than any Town or City in this Nation and is built upon the Riseing of a Hill the Churches are very fair and Spacious it is inhabited with both Welsh and English speaking both Languages One of their Rarities there is their Cakes such as cannot be made so well in any other place of England and many things here is very observable which I shall not mention because they have been allready so well set fourth by other Pens From hence we went into LUDLOW is one of the chiefest Towns in this County and is of greater Antiquity than Beauty 't is Situated by a pleasant River and is famous for its Castle built by Roger Earl of Mountgomery who environed it with a Wall a Mile in compass afterwards when Robert Earl of Shrewsbury and Eldest Son to Mountgomery was taken in his Rebellion against Henry the First and was banished out of the Land the King took this Castle into his own Hands after this it was given away from the Crown by King Henry the Second and came into the Family of the Lacys and Mortimors at last to be the inheritance of the Princes of Wales And by this means beginning to be in great request the Inhabitants erected a very large Church to make it more Famous and in a little time it excelled all its Neighbourhood and out-shin'd them in Lustre and Dignity for King Henry the Eighth instituted here the Counsel of the Marches of Wales in which he Ordered there should be a President Secretary Attorney and Solicitor four Justices of some of the Neighbouring Counties of Wales and as many other Privy Counsellours as the Prince of Wales should Elect to be Assistant to himself in this Court being erected for his own particular Use and Service We staid in this Town but two Nights and went from hence into Staffordshire Is very Rich in Pasture and Cattle and enriched by the River Trent Trigenta as some will have it because there are Thirty several Streams or Rivolets which run into it or Thirty several sorts of Fish which Swims within its Streams However 't is very Advantageous to the whole County the first Town of Note we came to in this County was STAFFORD is situated on a pleasant Soil sweet Air Environed with a Wall and Fortified with Gates and adorned with two Churches and a Spacious Free-School and a large Market-place and the Houses very Handsome and Beautiful it is Governed by a Mayor and Aldermen not far from the Town are to be seen the Ruins of an old Castle Situated upon a Hill heretofore belonging to the Barons of Stafford LICHFIELD This City is low Seated of good Largeness and Fair withall divided into two parts with a shallow pool of clear Water which Parts notwithstanding join in one by the means of two Bridges or Causeys made over that have their Sluces made to let out the Water It was beautified with a very goodly Cathedral Church which being round about compassed with a fair Wall-Castle-like and garnished besides with fair Houses of Prebendaries and with the Bishop's Palace also mounting up on high with three Pyramids or Spires of Stone making a lovely shew and for elegant and proportional Building it did yield to
it were on the side of a little Hill with a small ascent towards the Market-place It is very well watered by a good River which runs along the one side of it and hath the Noble River of Thames which comes within a little distance on the other side It hath a Mayor for its chief Magistrate and it is famous for a very great Market once a Week for all Sorts of Grain We stayed here but one Night having a design to take a farther view of this County by Wallingford and so to ABBINGTON This is a fair Town in this County the River Isis after it hath winded it self a long way about in a crooked Channel makes its approach to this Town It is a large and populous Place and receives its Denomination from a famous Abby which was here erected although this Monastery did for some Years flourish exceedingly yet it was afterwards Subverted by the fury of the Danes but through the Bounties and Munificence of King Edgar was restored again to its Primitive Splendor and Greatness and by the Industry and Care of the Norman Abbots it grew to that pitch of Grandeur and so exceeding Rich and Wealthy that it began to have an Esteem of it self beyond all Comparison and indeed the Ruins too be-speak it to have been a very glorious Structure As for the Town though it had its chief Dependance from this Abby yet from the Year 1430 that one John Surnamed St. Helena built a strong Bridge of Stone over its River and so made a Through-fair and High Road through the Town it began to be populous and much frequented and ever since hath been most deservedly reputed the eminent principle Town in this County The Inhabitants are great Maulsters and Barly is the great Commodity of the Market The Magistrates by their Vigilancy and Care do keep up this Corporation in great Honour and Request and the Mayor and Aldermen are very Circumspect in the discharge of their Offices and for the more great and weighty Matters which are above their Sphere the Judges when they come their Circuit and keep the Assizes here for the County do ease them of that trouble by giving a final Determination of all FARRINGDON was the next Town of Note we went to in this County which though it be situated upon a stony Soil yet 't is now as famous for its great Market as it was once Renowned for its Impregnable Fortress which Robert Earl of Gloucester built here against King Stephen which the King though with the loss of a great number of Soldiers at last by his continual Assaults and Batteries took and utterly demolished But one thing is to be observed in this County That it is very pleasant and fertile watered with the River Isis adorned with woody Hills and thick Groves and in its Eastern parts thereof with fertile Valleys and in the Western part being called The Vale of White Horse is extreamly delightful and Nature compensates the Barrenness of the Soil in one place by her manifold Gifts she bestows upon it in another NEWBURY was the next place we went to 'T is a Town of very good Note and of a considerable largeness governed by a Mayor and Aldermen and hath a very commodious Market-house which is not much inferior to any in the County The Town is situated in a pleasant Valley and watered by a very good River called Newbury River which runs through one part of the Town near the Market-house and in the other part of it is a very find Rivelet which runs from one end of the Town to the other and is mighty necessary for all the Inhabitants We made no long stay here but went to Marlborough in Wiltshire of which hereafter Wiltshire MARLBOROUGH is a Town of an indifferent largeness and is Ruled by a Mayor and Aldermen The Buildings of this Town and the Market-place are not much inferior to any Town in England but that which is most remarkable and to be admired at is a Mount belonging to the Duke of Summerset the like is not in England The Mount it self is made round with a Quick-set Hedge which is all entire and goes several times round about the Mount rising with a very small Ascent till it comes up to the top within this Hedge is a very plain Path or Walk and the ground seems to be so even that you cannot well perceive the rise of it till you are at the top which is of a very great height and of a large circumference but yet as you go down you may easily perceive the ground fall much The Gardner there told us That it is a Mile from the bottom up to the top and go the Path-way which leads up to it On the top of the Mount is a very fine level piece of Ground planted with several sorts of Fruit-Trees there stands likewise on the top a very large leaden Cestern of about 12 foot square and 4 foot deep and is replenished with Water by a leaden Pipe which comes from a Spring along the Path that leads up to the top On the one side of this Mount is a very commodious Wilderness and on the other a fine Garden in a word this Mount is the most to be admired and must have the Respect of all Travellers to be the greatest piece of Artificial Workmanship in our own Nation We stayed here but one Night and went to take a farther View of this County in which there are many things very observable About two Miles out of this Town is a great Down called Marlborough Downs where there is an exceeding Curiosity of Nature's workmanship it is a huge number of Massy Stones they are called by the Name of The Grey Wethers and shew to your sight at a distance like a great number of Sheep and some of them higher but for the great number of them and containing such a vast distance of Land to be all in one and the like posture It is a large Plain or Valley between two Hills where they stand and is in breadth almost a Mile and about six Miles in length as we were informed undoubtedly it hath as much need to be mentioned as any thing in the Kingdom Having made some Observations here we went to take some account of Stonehenge in this County of which I shall give you a short Relation STONEHENGE This place contains in it within the circumference of three Hundred foot a rude and indigested Mass of vast large Stones rough and of a grey colour 25 Foot in length 10 in breadth and 8 in thickness they look as if they were hewen square and are joined two and two together and every couple hath a third Stone lying a-cross which is fastened by Tennants that enter into Mortesses not closed with any Morter It appears as if they had been set in three Ranks going round as Circles one within another whereof the uttermost and largest is in compass about 300 Foot but the other Ranks are decayed and
Merchant of this City about 108 years since who in the erecting this famous piece of Architecture employ'd at his own Expence 800 Labourers and Artificers besides Masons and Carpenters to the number 300 in all 1100 for 2 years together until the Work was totally compleated and in it his Monument doth stand in Marble May his Memory be more lasting than that Marble which is set to preserve it and his Name more durable than any Monument and remain to succeeding Generations S. Vincent's Rocks On the Northern side of this City are several high and craggy Rocks by which the River Avon gently glides along till it returns back again into the Severn one of the chief whereof is called S. Vincent's Rock which hath great plenty of pellucid Stones commonly called Bristol-stones the learned Mr. Cambden hath observed that their Pellucidness is beyond that of the Diamond we receive from the Indies only the Hardness of the latter gives them the pre-eminence and yet certainly Nature never made greater demonstrations of her Art having made some of these Stones as smooth as the most expert Jeweller could have done as round and sharp as broad above and small beneath as the greatest Artist could have effected shaping some of them with four some of them with six Angles apiece like the Stones which we usually set in Rings To make us still the more admire her Perfections she hath not given them all one colour but some of them are like Chrystal clear and some of a more ruddy colour and sanguine complexion according to the nature of the Soil she causeth her Productions not to be unlike their great Parent The Hot Well There is one thing still here very remarkable and that is the Hot Well which is just at the bottom of this Rock and at the very brink of the River Avon yet it still retains its natural Head and by its constant Ebullitions purgeth away all the Scum and saltish froth it might have contracted by the Sea the Water is exceeding wholesome and very good to purge away ill Humors and purifie the Blood and I was there credibly informed that it hath wrought great Cures and is much frequented and resorted to by several sorts of People Devonshire The next County we went to in these Parts was Devonshire where we made but little Stay The Air is sharp and wholesome the Soil hilly and woody and they use here as they do likewise in Cornwall Sea-Sand to mend and inrich their Land The chief Commodities of this County are Wooll Kerseys Sea-Fish and Sea-Fowl and the West of it is well stored with Tin Mines and Loadstones have been found upon Dartmore Rocks of good value and vertue so at other places in this County are found Mines of Lead and some Veins of Silver Upon Exmore Forest are such huge Stones and placed confusedly as they are upon Salisbury Plain and one of them hath Danish Letters upon it directing Passengers that way At Hubblestow in this County was a Battle fought by the Danes where their Banner called Reafan in which they reposed all their confidence of Victory and Success was notwithstanding taken and Hubba their General slain The People of this County are strong and well made and as they have a peculiar sort of quaking Pudding which they call Whitepots so the Women have a peculiar kind of Garment which they wear upon their Shoulders called Whittles they are of divers Colours made like Mantles with Fringes about the Edges without which the common sort of People never ride to Market nor appear in publick In divers places of this County the ways are so rocky and narrow that it is not possible for Waggons to pass so that the Country People are forced in Harvest time to carry home their Corn upon Horses in certain Crooks made for that purpose which creates no small Toil and Labour to them EXETER is the principal City in this Province situated upon the Eastward by the Banks of the River Ex or Ise upon a little Hill gently arising with an easie Ascent to a pretty height the Pendant whereof lies East and West environed about with Ditches and very strong Walls having many Turrets orderly interposed and six Gates which gives entrance into the City and contains about a Mile and half in circumference the Suburbs branch forth a great way on each side the Streets are broad kept clean and well paved the Houses are as gay within as trim without there are Seventeen Parish-Churches and in the very highest part of the City near the East Gate is a Castle formerly the Seat of the West Saxon Kings and afterwards the Earls of Cornwal which Baldwin de Redures the Governor holding out against King Stephen was by scarcity of Provisions forced to Surrender and after the surrendry he with his whole Family was banished that Kingdom Just without the East Gate are two pleasant Walks call Southney and Northney beset on both sides with Rowes of high Trees which being mounted up aloft afford a curious Prospect to Topesham the place where all the Ships and Vessels of the Citizens lie at Anchor from whence since the River was stopt up by certain Dams or Wears that Edward Courtney Earl of Devonshire for some Distaste that he had took from the City caused here to be made all their Goods and Commodities are brought home by Land In the same quarter of the City stands the Cathedral founded by King Athelstan in honour to St. Peter and Edward the Confessor made it the Bishop's See of Cornwall and Kirton and Constituted the first Bishop thereof who Successors augmented it greatly both in Edifices and Revenues and William the Ninth Bishop after him when the Monks were displanted brought in a Dean and Four and Twenty Prebendaries to which has been added in our times four Arch-Deacons In the Church are Six private Chappels and a Library very handsomly built and finished by a Physician of this City the Quire is curiously beautified and adorned especially with Organs whose Pipes though they are of a larger size than any which ever we beheld in any Cathedral besides yet the Musick is extreamly pleasing and melodious to the Ear. All which Additions hath been erected since the Return of K. Charles II. On the West side of this City runs the River over which is built a strong Stone-bridge with four Arches and about the middle of the City is the Town-Hall where the Assizes and Sessions are held for the City it being both City and County of it self 'T is governed by a Mayor two Sheriffs four and twenty Aldermen a Recorder and Town-Clerk with other Officers befitting the Grandeur of so honourable a Place Plimouth So called from the River Plime which runs along by it where is one of the largest and most securest Haven in England for before the very Mouth of it lies St. Nicholas Island strongly fortified both by Art and Nature and in the Haven are Fortifications laid on both sides for the safe
Riding of Ships and the annoyance to Enemies One 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 digged a certain kind of Marble with which they were built being Eleven Foot thick at the bottom and Seven at the top and 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 very great 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 by which is placed his Royal Statue with the Arms of the Earl of Bath who is Governor hereof within the Walls is the Governor's house and divers Appartments for Soldiers a Magazine for Ammunition and a Store-house for Provisions For the Strength and Conveniencies of this Fortress which is almost impregnable the Town is much obliged to the excellent Ingenuity of Monsieur Bernard de Gum his Majesty's Engineer The Commodiousness of the Harbour oftentimes causeth a Fleet of Ships to ride here 't is now so replenished with Marriners frequented by Merchants enriched by Traffick that it seems to outvey some great Cities of this Kingdom It is Governed by a Mayor Aldermen and Common-Councel who have a stately Guild-hall for their more solemn Conventions and is adorned with two handsome Churches Cornwall This place is hilly one cause of a very temperate heat of the Summer and the lateness of Harvest as its Situation is the cause of the gentleness of the Winter Its Hills are parted with short and narrow Valleys the Earth is but shallow underneath is Rocks and Shelves so that it is hard to be Tilled and apt to be parched by a dry Summer The middle of the Shire lies open the Earth being of a blackish colour and bears Heath and Spirry-grass there is but little Meadow-ground but store of Pasture for Cattle and Sheep and plenty of Corn-ground They have a Stone called here a Moor-stone found upon Moores and waste Ground which serves them instead of Free-stone for Windows Doors and Chimnies it is white with certain glimmering Sparkles they have likewise a Stone digged out of the Sea-cliffs of the colour of a grey Marble and another as black as Jet and out of the Inland Queries they dig Free-stone nor must we omit what is here observed of some Stones That the Sea works the Pebbles upon the shoar by the frequent rolling of the Waves into a kind of roundness They have a Slate of three sorts Blew Sage-leaf coloured and Grey which last is the worst and all these Slates are commonly found under another kind of Slate that they Wall with when the depth hath brought the Workmen to the Water They also make Lime of a kind of Marble-stone by burning it There are Copper Mines in sundry places of this County and the Ore is sometimes shipped off to be refined in Wales and tho' Cicero will have none in Brittain yet Silver hath been found in this County in the time of Edward the First and Third who reaped good profit by it Nay Tinners do find little quantities of Gold and sometimes Silver amongst the Tin Ore as I was informed but for the generality the Mettal that the Earth abounds with in this County is Tin Richard Earl of Cornwall Brother to King Henry the Third was the first that began to make Ordinances for these Tin works and afterwards Edmund his Son granted a Charter and certain Liberties and prescribed withal certain Laws concerning the same which he ratified or strengthened under his Seal and imposed a Rent or Tribute upon Tin to be paid unto the Earls these Liberties Privileges and Laws King Edward the Third afterwards confirm'd and augmented In some places on the Sea Coasts there are Pearls found that breed in big Oisters and Musles yet though they are great they are not good here are also Aget and white Coral as they say c. In the West Parts of Cornwall there are Bents growing on Sandy Fields which are knit from over the head in narrow breadths after a strange fashion of which they make Mats Many other things here are very observable in this County but I shall forbear mentioning any more because it will seem tedious Dorsetshire 'T is a County of very fertil Soil well shaded with Woods enriched with Pasture and covered with great Flocks of Sheep PORTLAND although some would have deriv'd its Name for its lying over against the Port of Weymouth yet it seems rather to have receiv'd it from one Port a Noble Saxon who about the Year 703 grievously infested and annoyed these Coasts This same Portland was very much exposed to the Danish outrage but after their Wars were over it fell into the Possession of the Church of Winchester when Emma Mother to Edward the Confessor being Accused by her Son with too great familiarity with Aldwin Bishop of Winchester and having cleared herself of that unjust Imputation by suffering which in those Days was a usual Trial of Chastity in walking bear-foot upon Nine Culters of red hot Iron which she did to a Miracle without any harm or prejudice to her self she for a Memorial hereof bestowed Nine Lordships upon the See of Winchester to which her Son added this Island with many other Revenues to expiate the Crime of this defamitory Suspicion and unjust Accusation of his Mother's Honesty The Island is about seven Miles in compass rising up about the sides with high Rocks but lying low and flat in the midst inhabited scatteringly here and there plentiful enough of Corn and very good to feed Sheep but great scarcity of Wood. The ancientest of their Inhabitants do find amongst the Weeds of the Sea a thing growing without Leaves like Coral which when it is cut waxeth hard and black but 't is very brittle and if it fall it soon breaketh it grows amongst that Sea-Weed called Alga here is likewise divers Querries of excellent Stone which is conveyed into divers Parts of this Nation and especially to London for the rebuilding of Churches on the East side there is only one Church and some few Houses standing close thereto and on the North side is a Castle built by King Henry the Eighth which being well Fortified commands the Entrance into the Haven of Weymouth From hence we went to Dorchester DORCHESTER is about 7 Miles from the Sea and is the Head Town of the whole Shire watered by a small River but neither very large nor beautiful being much decayed and long since dispoiled
which Nature notwithstanding hath liberally apportioned so many Blessings that she compensates the Defects of one thing by the Collation of another not suffering any peculiar Place to monopolize all her Favours at once but thus if the Weald be very eminent for Wooll the same of East Kent shall be as great for Corn and Tenham Goddington and Otham shall be no less cried up for Orchards and Sheppey for the best Wheat and Thanet shall bring forth as good Crops of Barley but if Dover and Cranbrooke hath the Name for Beer Tunbridge shall for Water and if either the fertility of the Soil or safe Roads or sure Harbours for Ships or the broad Streams of great Navigable Rivers or the vicinity of a vast and large City can be any ways to advance it Prosperity it must needs be one if not the most flourishing County in the Kingdom of England As touching the Customes and Privileges of Kent they have been already so fully discoursed of by Mr. Lambert in his Kentish Perambulation and what was by him omitted have been supplied by the ingenious Pen of Mr. Philipot so that I shall wave them and only give a very small account of it although I have been in most Towns and Parishes in this County Canterbury because the Antiquity of this City with all its Liberties and Privileges the Beauty and number of all its Churches and Religious Houses before their Dissolution the Magnificence of its Cathedral with all its renowned Tombs and Monuments are very exquisitely Surveyed and Discribed by other Pens I shall not go about to pourtray that in any contracted Landskip which hath been before represented in so large a Scheme but referr all such as desire a particular Account of this City to those Writters who have pencelled out every Part and Limb thereof with great Exactness and Accuracy Rochester A City which in ancient Times was eminent for its Strength and Granduer and had not those violent Impressions which the rough hands of War formerly defaced and deminish'd its Bulk and bereaved it of its Beauty it might have been registered at this day in the Inventory of the principal Cities of this Nation 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 more concernment 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 Dignitâ— 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 indeed formerly many and dismal Calamities did attend it and that so frequently that the fury of the Elements seemed to enter into a Corrivalship or Competition with the fury of the Enemies for its ruin and the Fire and Sword seem'd to be join'd Confederates to destroy it Nevertheless it maugres all these Casualties by the Favour of the Princes and their Royal Munificence it still recruits its Losses and survives in Splender The goodly Skeleton of the Castle which yet courts the eyes of the Beholders to an admiration of its former Strength and built many hundred Years since The Cathedral with the Bishoprick of Rochester united to it were formerly Established by that pious Monarch Ethelbert King of Kent and the first Bishop to whom was entrusted the Pastoral Staff or Crosier was Bishop Augustine the Apostle to the Saxons Here is likewise a very fine stone Bridge built by Sir Robert Knowles over the River Medway which is fixed and built upon one and twenty Arches and coped about with Iron-spikes by Archbishop Warham and leads into Stroud And because according to the Orator every one is obliged to be serviceable to his Country proportionable to his Abilities and every one hath an inrate Propensity to love the Native Soil which first gave him a Being I cannot but in Duty pay some Acknowledgments of the Benefits I have received herein both for my Nativity and first Education and indeed I may justly say without any partially That it is a Province not much inferior to any in England being divided into three several Parts of which I have made some mention before It is in all parts so sufficiently fruitful of all things necessary for the use of Man and if we will take the pains to course over the Vallies we shall find the Earth groaning under the burdens of bountiful Ceres and the Fields and Meadows in contest which should shine most gay and glorious if we range the Woods and Hills we shall hear such charming Melodies by the mutual reciprecation of Birds and Trees that we should fancy all had got the knack of Speaking and Pratling Groves being now become visible to us if we be so curious as to dig into the Entrails of the Earth and take a view of the recondite Treasures we shall find plenty of Iron-Ore in the South parts of this County and great Queries of Stone in several places also towards the North side they dig out of the Earth plenty of excellent fat Chalk which they use to lay upon their Land for the enriching of it and causeth it to bring forth great Crops of Corn If we be taken with the harmonious Murmurs of Brooks and gentle Rivers there are several the Banks of the Noble River of Thames on the North side and the River Medway which comes out of Surrey glides along for many Miles together on the South side of this County and takes its course through almost the middle of the County and doth not run swift in many places but glides softly admiring as it were the pleasantness of its Soil there is also at Newel in the Parish of Orpington the finest Spings undoubtedly in the Kingdom both for the clearness of its Water and the rising up of it in such abundance that within two Furlongs of the Head it drives a Mill and afterwards is called by the Name of Cray River Most of the Rivers in this County do afford several sorts of Fish to gratifie the Pallate and all the Towns and Villages are well inhabited having a great many very fine Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in which respect 't is honourable the Churches fair and uniform and so 't is glorious the Air in many parts is clear which renders it wholsome One word or two I must I say in relation to Maidstone 'T is the principal Town in the County as in respect of its having the Assizes and Sessions kept in it and its being situated near the middle of the County upon the River Medway which renders it so pleasant and delightful that even that alone might be sufficient to set forth all the other Parts of it Leaving this place we soon after arrived in London where we only tarried a reasonable space of time to give our Selves and Horses some Rest and Refreshment as
on the South Northamptonshire on the North and West and Cambridgeshire on the East 'T is a very fruitful County both for Corn and Grass and is watered by two pleasant Rivers Avon and Ouse The first Village we arrived at in this County was Fenny-Stanton but found nothing observable we went from hence to GODMANCHESTER a very 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 There is not a Town in all England that hath more stout and lusty Husbandmen or more Plows a going For they make their boast That they have in former time received the Kings of England as they passed in their Progress this way with Nine-score Plows brought forth in a rustical kind of pomp for a gallant shew Soon after King James the First came into England here the Bailiffs of the Town presented him with seventy Teem of Horses all traced to fair new Plows in shew of their Husbandry 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 use well their Plows being glad he was Landlord of so many good Husbandmen in one Town It is mention'd in History to have been a flourishing City and the old Roman Coins which have been digged up there do attest its Antiquity and that a Bishop did formerly reside in this place when it was in that condition HUNTINGDON is about half a Mile distant from this place and is the chief Town of the County situated 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 adorned with four Churches and had formely an ancient Monastery belonging to it some of the Ruins 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 afterwards David King of Scots waging War against King Stephen upon the account of Maud the Empress who was his Niece this then was given upon some certain Terms to the Scotch King who did exceedingly beautifie and strengthen it by making strong Rampers and Fortifications round about it but Henry the Second finding it in process of time a Cage for Rebels and Ring-leaders to Sedition at last quite demolished it from the top of the Hill is a very pleasant Prospect for some Miles The Town is governed by a Mayor and Aldermen and the Assizes are held here twice a Year for the Shire and wants no kind of Provision to entertain Travellers who resort hether out of the Northern parts the great Road to the City of London lying through this Town In this Town in the Year 1599 was that Usurper and Religious Cheat Oliver Cromwel Born and Educated whom though we have reason to curse his very Name and detest his Memory as odious and execrable yet since prosperous Successes of the most cruel Tirants makes others inquisitive after those Persons which they did so fortunately attend It will not be amiss to tell the World that this place gave him his first Being who Nero like destroyed his Father and his Mother too the Father of his Country and his Country too being a Murderer of the one and a Plague to the other who was of so unparallel'd and base a Temper of Mind from his Cradle to his Grave that nothing could stay with him or be pleasing to him long but what carried even the World before it Confusion and Ruin In this little Shire are numbred seventy eight Parishes four Hundreds and six Market-Towns We stayed here one Night and the next day we went into Northamptonshire This County is situate in the very middle and heart as it were of England On the East lie Bedford and Hunting donshires On the South Buckingham and Oxfordshires Westward Warwickshire Northward Rutlandshire and Lincolnshire separated from it by Avon the less and Welland two Rivers It is a champion County exceeding populous and passing well furnished with Noblemens and Gentlemens Houses replenished also with Towns and Churches insomuch as in some places there are twenty and in others thirty Steeples with Spires or square Towers within view at once The soil very fertile both for Tillage and Pasture yet nothing so well stored with Woods unless it be in the further and hither sides But in every place as elswhere also in England it is over-spread and as it were beset with Sheep THARPSTONE is twelve Miles distant from Huntingdon has a great Market for all sorts of Grain and well stored with Inns from hence we went to another Town called KETTERING which is of much more Note than it Neighbours by reason of a handsome Cross beautified with divers Images curiously carved the next place was HIGHAM-FERRERS The excellent Ornament of this place was Henry Chichley Archbishop of Canterbury who built All-Souls College in Oxford and another here where he placed secular Clerks and Prebendaries and withal an Hospital for the Poor FOTHERING-HAY-Castle environed on every side with most pleasant Medows Here Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded There belongs unto this Shire three hundred twenty six Parishes Leicestershire The next place of Note we went to was Leicester the Metropolis of Leicestershire 'T is more venerable for its Antiquity than its comeliness or present beauty I find that about the Year 680 it was a Bishop's Seat though in few Years after the Sea was Translated and the Dignity being taken away from the Town it began to go much to decay but in the time of the Normans it flourished exceedingly and encreased mightily in Inhabitants yet afterwards in the Reign of King Henry the Second it was again involved in great Calamities and Disasters Here is to be seen an ancient Hospital in the Chappel whereof Henry Earl of Lancaster and Henry his Son the first Duke of Lancaster lie Interred for that Duke being very Aged and being willing to give some visible Testimony of his Charity built this Hospital for the Use and Maintenance of divers poor aged decreped Persons of both Sexes and on the other side amongst those flowry Meadows which the River Sore enricheth with its bubling Stream Robert the crook-backt Earl of Leicester built a Monastery very spacious and magnificent and Dedicated it to the Virgin Mary and endowed it with large Revenues In the Chappel of this Monastery lay interr'd the great and puissant Cardinal Woolsey who being at first a poor Man's Son of Ipswich in Suffolk was raised by King Henry the Eighth for his great Parts and Learning to the greatest Degree of Honour in this Nation being advanced to be Lord Chancellor of England and presented with a Cardinal's Cap from the Pope and the unknown Incomes and Revenues and by his great
Churches whereof the Cathedral is very glorious being not much in feriour to any and in one of the Steples there is a very great Bell rung by sixteen Men called Great Tom of Lincoln 'T is governed by a Mayor and Aldermen The Diocess here is the largest in England for after three Bishopricks were taken out of it it contained four whole Counties and parts of two the whole Shire is divided into three Part whereof one is called Holland a second Kestuen and the third Lindsey GRANTHAM a Town of good resort adorned with a School built by Richard Fox Bishop of Winchester and with a fair Church having a Spire-steeple of a mighty height There are in this Shire six hundred and thirty Parishes thirty and one Hundreds and thirty Market Towns We went from hence into Nottinghamshire It is limited Northward with Yorkshire Westward with Darbyshire and in some other parts with Yorkshire The South and East parts thereof are made fruitful by the River Trent with other Riverets resorting unto it NOTTINGHAM is built upon a Rock and is environed by Rocks on one side which are washed by a crooked winding of a commodious River and hath a very fair Park of the Duke of Castle 's adjoining to it with the Forest of Shirewood bordering upon it The Streets are large and well paved the Market-place very handsome and convenient the Churches spatious and well 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 be very desirous of the new Modes and Draughts of Architecture The Castle which is on the West side of the Town is situated upon an exceeding high Rock and is supposed to be a place of very great Antiquity This Castle held out a Siege by the Danes against Alfred and it was then called Snottenham and now Nottingham King Edward the Second strenghened the Town by an addition of Walls and a new Castle was built by William the Conqueror to keep the English in awe and subjection and by Art and Nature together it became even impregnable Edward the Fourth illustrated it with several Dwelling-houses for Commanders and Soldiers and indeed in the Rock upon which the Castle stands are several small Cottages hewen out of it in which at present dwells divers poor people and it is reported that it never was taken until it was surprized by Robert Earl of Derby in the Baron's Wars who having once got this entered 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 and burnt in the Churches whither they fled for refuge there is a Story of one of them who was richer than the rest and being forced to return to his own house by the Soldiers that had taken him to shew them where all his Treasures lay he bringing them into a Celler and whilst they were busy in breaking open Locks and Coffers conveyed himself away making the Door fast after him and set the House on fire so that the Soldiers being thirty in number perished all in the Flames which ketching hold of other Buildings joining to it almost burnt up the whole Town But that which makes this Castle most signally remarkeable was the Discovery of Roger Mortimore Earl of March and the Imprisonment too of David le Brase King of the Scots who was here confined the relation of which I shall set down as briefly as I can After King Edward the Second had been Deposed and Murdered by the Plots of his own Wife Queen Isabella and King Edward the Third her Son had Reigned about four Years a Parliament was called at Nottingham where this Roger Mortimore who was then 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 Equippage 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 oft would presume to go foremost and 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 to his own Will and Pleasure and hereupon one day he very sharply 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 Usurpation of his great Prerogatives they unanimously held against him and gave it out amongst the People That this Mortimore was the Queen's Gallant and the King's Master and sought by all means he possibly could to destroy the Royal Blood and to 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 Governor 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 ground beginning a far off from the said Castle 't is the Vault which is still called Mortimore's Hole till they came even to the Queen's Chamber which by chance they found open being armed with naked Swords in they rushed leaving the King in the same posture at the Door being entered 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 cool'd his Courage halling him away by force upon which the Queen cried out Good Son take pitty upon gentle Mortimore suspecting her Son to be there in the company The Keys of the Castle were presently called for and every place withal the Furniture committed into the King's Hands and Mortimore was forthwith sent to the Tower who being Tried by his Peers Arraign'd and found Guilty was hanged upon the common Gallows two Days and two Nights The Articles that were brought against him were divers though his Familiarity with the Queen his Treachery to his King and his great Service to David King of the Scots was the chief whilst he also burnt
brief relation of it tho' not in its proper place Surrey From the West it boundeth partly upon Barkshire and Hantshire from the South upon Sussex and from the East on Kent towards the North it is watered with the River Thames and by it divided from Middlesex It is a County not very large yet wealthy enough where it beareth upon Thames and lieth as a plain and champion Country FERNHAM so named of much Fern growing in that place GUILFORD a Market Town well frequented and full of fair Innes KINGSTONE a very good Market Town for the bigness and well frequented It had begining from a little Town more ancient than it of the same name in which when England was almost ruinated by the Danish Wars Aethelstan Edwin and Ethelstred were crowned Kings upon an open stage in the Market place whence it was called Kingstone SHENE so called of its shining brightness now Richmond wherein the most mighty Prince King Edward the Third when he had lived sufficiently both to glory and nature died King Henry the Seventh built it and gave it that name of Richmond of the Title he bore being Earl of Richmond before he obtain'd the Crown of England He had scarce finished this new work when in this place he yeilded unto Nature and ended his Life Here Queen Elizabeth also died CROIDON there was the Archbishop's House of Canterbury There are Charcoles LAMBETH Canutus the Hardy King of England there amidst his Cups yeilded up his vital Breath It is the Palace of the Archbishop of Canterbury This County hath in it an hundred and forty Parish Churches I have been both in North and South Wales of which other Pens have already set forth so that I do not intend to deliver any thing to the Publick that hath been already set forth by others but only give a short Account of several things very observable not yet set forth by any WALES Flintshire THe Air is healthful without any Fogs or Fenny-Vapours and the People generally are very Aged and hearty The Snow lies here very long upon the Hills the County affords great plenty of Cattel but they are small Millstones are also digged up in these Parts as well as in Anglesey Towards the River Dee the Fields bears in some places Barley in others Wheat but generally throughout Rye with very great encrease and especially the first Year of their breaking up their Land and afterward two or three Crops together of Oats Holy-Well or St. Winifrid's-Well This County is most remarkable for a little Village called Holy-Well where is the Well of St. Winifrid so famous for the strange Cures which have been wrought by the Vertue of it as it is supposed the Water hereof is extream cold and hath likewise a very great Stream that flows from it which is presently able to drive a Mill the Stones which are at bottom being of a sanguine colour are believed to receive that colour from the Drops of Blood which trickled down from her Body when she was here beheaded by the bloody Tyrant that would have ravished her and the Moss which grows upon the sides and bears a very fragrant Smell is averred to have been the product of her Hair though I find by some we brought away with us that in process of time it loseth all its sweetness Over the Well stands a Chappel dedicated to her built of Stone after a curious manner to which formerly was much resorting by Pilgrims who came hither out of blind Devotion and the generality of the Commonalty hereabouts do believe That this Martyred-Virgin and the great Miracle that was wrought by St. Benno who restored her to life again as they say by claping on her head immediately after it was cut off upon her Shoulders which Relation those Inhabitants thereabouts do verily believe to be true So having made some small stay here in which time we conversed with the Welshmen and gathered up a true Account of this County which was as follows Radnorshire In the East and South parts thereof 't is more fruitful than the rest but is uneven and rough with Mountains yet it is well stored with Woods watered with running Rivers and in some places with standing Pools the Air is very cold and sharp because the Snow lying long unmelted under the shady Hills and hanging Rocks whereof there are many and upon the Borders of it which lies next to Herefordshire runs a-long a famous Ditch which Offa King of the Mercians with great toil and labour caused to be cast up from Dee mouth to Wye mouth for the space of 90 Miles to separate the Britains from the English Several other things there are very observable which are too tedious to relate Brecknockshire Lies beneath Radnorshire It is thick with Hills and fruitful in the Valleys MOUNTH-DENNY three Miles from Brecknock is a Hill so called that hath its top above the Clouds and if a Cloak or Hat or the like be thrown from the top of it it will never fall but be blown up again nor will any thing descend but Stones or Mettals or things as heavy LYNSARATHAN-MERE two Miles East from the same place is a Mere called Lynsarathan which as the People dwelling there say was once a City but the whole City was swallowed up by an Earthquake and this Water or Lake succeeded in the place they say likewise That at the end of Winter when aftr a long Frost and the Ice of this Lake breaks it makes a fearful noise like Thunder possibly because the Lake is encompassed with high steep Hills which pen in the sound and multiply it or else the ground may be hollow underneath or near the Lake LIVENNY-River Through this Lake runs a River called Livenny without mixture of its Waters as may be perceived both by the Colour of the Water and also by the Quantity of it because it is no greater afterwards than when it entered the Lake CADIER-ARTHUR or Arthur's Chair a Hill so called on the South side of this County from the Tops resembling the form of a Chair proportionate to the Demensions of that great and mighty Person upon the top whereof riseth a Spring as deep as a Well four square having no Streams issuing from it and yet there are plenty of Trouts to be found therein Glamorganshire Hath a temperate Air and is generally the most pleasant part of all South Wales MINYD-MORGAN Hill On the top of a certain Hill so called is a Monument with a strange Character which the Inhabitants thereabouts say if any Man read the same he shall die shortly after The Springs by Newton Upon the River Ogmore and near to Newton in a sandy Plain is a Well the Water whereof is not very clear in which at full Sea in Summer-time can hardly any Water be took up but at the Ebb it bubbleth up amain in Summer-time I say for in the Winter the Ebbing and Flowing is nothing near so evident because of the Veins of Water coming in by