of his being seized of the Castle Honour and Lordships of Arundel in his own demesn as of Fee in regard of this his possession of the same Castle Honour and Lordships and without any other consideration or creation to be an Earl was Earl of Arundel Parl. 11. H. 6. and the Name State and Honour of the Earl of Arundel c. peaceably enjoy'd as appears by a definitive Judgment in Parliament in favour of John Fitz-Alan challenging the Castle and Title of Arundel 5 By virtue of an entail against John Mowbray Duke of Norfolk the right heir by his mother in the nearest degree From whence we gather That the Name State and Dignity of an Earl was annex'd to the Castle Honour and Lordship of Arundel as may be seen in the Parliament-Rolls An. 27 Hen. 6. out of which I have copy'd these notes word for word Of these Fitz-Alans 6 Edmund second Earl son to Richard marry'd the heir of the Earl of Surrey and was beheaded through the malicious fury of Q. Isabel not lawfully convicted for that he oppos'd himself in King Edw. the 2d's behalf against her wicked practices His son Richard petition'd in Parliament to be restor'd to blood lands and goods for that his father was put to death not try'd by his Peers according to the Law and Great Charter of England Nevertheless whereas the Attainder of him was confirm'd by Parliament he was forc'd to amend his Petition and upon the amendment thereof he was restor'd by the King 's meer grace Richard his son as his grandfather died for his Sovereign 4 Edw. 3. lost his life for banding against his Sovereign K. Richard 2. But Thomas his son more honourably ended his life serving King Henry 5. valorously in France and leaving his sisters his heirs general Sir John of Arundel Lord Maltravers his next Cousin and Heir Male obtain'd of K. Henr. 6. the Earldom of Arundel as we even now declared See before the Earls of Surrey and also was by the said King for his good service created Duke of Touraine Of the succeeding Earls I find nothing memorable the 11th liv'd in our time and dying without issue male was succeeded by Philip Howard his grandson by his daughter who not being able to digest wrongs and hard measure put upon him by the cunning tricks of some invidious persons fell into the snare they had laid for him and being brought into the utmost danger of his life dy'd But his son Thomas a most honourable young Gentleman ennobled with a fervent desire and pursuit after virtue and glory worthy his great birth and of an affable obliging temper was restor'd by King James and had all his father's honours return'd him by Act of Parliament Except the Castle and it's Earls Arundel hath nothing memorable for the College that there flourish'd and had the Earls for it's founders it's revenues being alienated now falls to decay Nevertheless there are some monuments of the Earls in the Church amongst the rest one of Alabaster very fair and noble in which in the middle of the Quire lie Earl Thomas and Beatrix his Wife 2d Daughter of John King of Portugal Neither must I pass by this Inscription very beautifully gilt set up here to the honour of Henry Fitz-Alan the last Earl of this Line since some possibly may be pleas'd with it VIRTUTI ET HONORI SACRUM MAGNANIMUS HEROS CUJUS HIC CERNITUR EFFIGIES CUJUSQUE HIC SUBTER SITA SUNT OSSA HUJUS TERRITORII COMES FUIT SUI GENERIS AB ALANI FILIO COGNOMINATUS A MALATRAVERSO CLUNENSI ET OSWALDESTRENSI HONORIBUS EXIMIIS DOMINUS INSUPER AC BARO NUNCUPATUS GARTERIANI ORDINIS EQUESTRIS SANE NOBILISSIMI SODALIS DUM VIXIT ANTIQUISSIMUS ARUNDELIAE COMITIS GUILIELMI FILIUS UNICUS ET SUCCESSOR OMNIUMQUE VIRTUTUM PARTICEPS QUI HENRICO VIII EDWARDO VI. MARIAE ET ELIZABETHAE ANGLIAE REGIBUS A SECRETIS CONSILIIS VILLAE QUOQUE CALESIAE PRAEFECTURAM GESSIT ET CUM HENRICUS REX BOLONIAM IN MORINIS OBSIDIONE CINXERAT EXERCITUS SUI MARESCALLUS PRIMARIUS DEINDE REGIS FUIT CAMERARIUS EJUSQUE FILIO EDWARDO DUM CORONARETUR MARESCALLI REGNI OFFICIUM GEREBAT EIQUE SICUT ANTEA PATRI CAMERARIUS FACTUS REGNANTE VERO MARIA REGINA CORONATIONIS SOLENNI TEMPORE SUMMUS CONSTITUITUR CONSTABULARIUS DOMUSQUE REGIAE POSTMODUM PRAEFECTUS AC CONSILII PRAESES SICUT ET ELIZABETHAE REGINAE CUJUS SIMILITER HOSPITII SENESCALLUS FUIT ITA VIR ISTE GENERE CLARUS PUBLICIS BENE FUNCTIS MAGISTRATIBUS CLARIOR DOMI AC FORIS CLARISSIMUS HONORE FLORENS LABORE FRACTUS AETATE CONFECTUS POSTQUAM AETATIS SUAE ANNUM LXVIII ATTIGISSET LONDINI XXV DIE FEBRUARII ANNO NOSTRAE SALUTIS A CHRISTO MDLXXIX PIE ET SUAVITER IN DOMINO OBDORMIVIT JOANNES LUMLEY BARO DE LUMLEY GENER PIENTISSIMUS SUPREMAE VOLUNTATIS SUAE VINDEX SOCERO SUAVISSIMO ET PATRONO OPTIMO MAGNIFICENTISSIME FUNERATO NON MEMORIAE QUAM IMMORTALEM SIBI MULTIFARIIS VIRTUTIBUS COMPARAVIT SED CORPORIS MORTALIS ERGO IN SPEM FELICIS RESURRECTIONIS RECONDITI HANC ILLI EX PROPRIIS ARMATURIS STATUAM EQUESTREM PRO MUNERE EXTREMO UBERIBUS CUM LACHRYMIS DEVOTISSIME CONSECRAVIT That is Sacred to Virtue and Honour The Valiant Heroe whose Effigies you here see and whose Bones are buried underneath was Earl of these parts he had his Sirname by being the son of Alan and moreover took the honourable titles of Lord and Baron from Maltravers Clun and Oswaldestre he was Knight of the Garter and liv'd to be the Senior of that Noble Order only Son to William Earl of Arundel and heir both of his Estate and Virtues He was Privy Counsellor to Henry 8. Edward 6. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth Kings and Queens of England Governour of Calais and when Bologne a town of the old Morini was besieg'd by that King Henry was Marshal of the Army He was afterwards Lord Chamberlain to the said King and at the Coronation of his son Edward exercis'd the Office of Marshal of England to which King he was Lord Chamberlain as he had been to his Father Upon Queen Mary's coming to the Crown he was made High-Constable of England for the Coronation afterwards Steward of her Houshold and President of the Council which honour he had under Queen Elizabeth to whom he was likewise Steward of the Houshold Thus this person noble by birth by the honourable discharge of Offices more noble and most of all so by his great Exploits at home and abroad with his honour untainted his body broken and worn out with age in the 68. year of his life dy'd in the Lord devoutly and comfortably at London on the 25. of February in the year of our Lord 1579. John Lumley Baron of Lumley his most dutiful and disconsolate son in Law and Executor with the utmost respect put up this Statue with his own Armour after he had been buried in great pomp for the kindest of Fathers-in-Law and the best of Patrons as the
in the publick Records of the kingdom they must excuse me if I suspend my assent till they convince me upon better grounds Not but I own the family of the Glanvils to have made a very great figure in these parts But before Edward the third's time I could never yet find it vouch'd by good authority that any one was honour'd with the title of Earl of this County But that King made Robert de Ufford a person of great exploits both at home and abroad son of Robert Steward of the King's house under Edward the second by Cecilia de Valoniis Lady of Orford Earl of Suffolk To him succeeded his son William whose four sons were snatcht away by an untimely death in his life time and himself just as he was a going to report the opinion of the House of Commons in Parliament fell down dead Robert Willoughby Roger Lord of Scales Inq. 5. Rich. 2. and Henry de Ferrariis of Grooby as next heirs at Law divided the estate Lel. Com. in Cygnaam Cant. Wallingham p. 35â— Regist Mâ—n de Melsa And Richard the second advanc'd Michael de la Pole from a Merchant to this honour and to the dignity of Lord Chancellour of England Who as Tho. Walsingham tells us was better vers'd in merchandize as a Merchant himself and the Son of a Merchant than in martial matters For he was the son of William de la Pole the first Mayor of Kingston upon Hull See Hull in Yorkshire i See Brook's Catalogue p. 305. and Discovery of Errours p. 46. 57 58 59. who upon account of his great wealth had the dignity of a Banerett conferr'd upon him by Edward the third But wanting a spirit fit to receive those crowds of prosperity he was forc'd to quit his Country and dy'd in banishment However his being a Merchant does not by any means detract from his honour for who knows not that even our Noblemen's sons have been Merchants Nor will I deny that he was nobly descended though a Merchant 20 Michael his son being restor'd dy'd at the siege of Harslew and within the space of one month his son Michael was in like manner slain in the battel of Agincourt leaving daughters only Michael his son being restor'd had a son Michael slain in the battel of Agincourt and William whom Henry the sixth from Earl of Suffolk first created Marquiss of Suffolk 21 As also Earl of Pembroke to him and the heirs male of his body and that he and his heirs male on the Coronation-day of the Kings of England carry a golden Verge with a dove on the top of it and such another Verge of Ivory at the Coronation of the Queens of England Afterwards he advanc'd the same person for his great deserts to the honour and title of Duke of Suffolk And indeed he was a man truly great and eminent For when his father and three brothers had lost their life in the service of their Country in the French wars he as we read in the Parliament-Rolls of the 28th of Henry 6. spent thirty whole years in the same war For seventeen years together he never came home once he was taken while but a Knight and paid twenty thousand pound * Nostrae monetae sterling for his ransom Fifteen years he was Privy-Councellor and Knight of the Garter thirty By this means as he gain'd the entire favour of his Prince so did he raise the envy of the people 22 Insomuch that being vehemently accus'd of treason and misprisions and on that account summon'd to appear before the King and Lords in Parliament assembled after having answer'd the Articles objected he referr'd himself to the King's Order Whereupon the Chancellor by his Majesty's special command pronounc'd That whereas the Duke did not put himself on his Peers the King as for what related to the Articles of Treason would remain doubtful and with respect to those of Misprision not as a Judge by advice of the Lords but as a person to whose order the Duke had voluntarily submitted himself did banish him from the Realms and all other his Dominions for five years But he was surpriz'd c. and so for some slight misdemeanours and those too not plainly prov'd upon him he was banish'd and in his passage over into France was intercepted by the enemy and beheaded He left a son John who marry'd Edward the fourth's sister and had by her John Earl of Lincoln This Earl John being declar'd heir apparent to the Crown by Richard the third could not suppress his ambition but presently broke out against King Henry the seventh to his own destruction for he was quickly cut off 23 In the battel at Stoke in the Civil war to his father 's also who dy'd of grief and to the ruine of the whole family which expir'd with him For his brother Edmund styl'd Earl of Suffolk making his escape into Flanders began to raise a Rebellion against King Henry the seventh who better satisfy'd with repentance than punishment had pardon'd him for some heinous Crimes But a little after he was by Philip of Austria Duke of Burgundy against the Laws of Hospitality as they then worded it deliver'd up to Henry who solemnly promis'd him his life but clap'd him in prison Henry the eighth not thinking himself oblig'd to a promise of his father's when he had thoughts of going for France cut him off for fear there might be some insurrections in his absence But Richard his younger brother living under banishment in France made use of the title of Duke of Suffolk who was the last male of the family that I know of and dy'd bravely in the thick of the enemies troops An. 1524. in the battel of Pavie wherein Francis the first King of France was taken prisoner For his singular valour his very enemy the Duke of Bourbon bestow'd upon him a splendid Funeral †Atratúsque interâ—uit and was himself one of the Mourners Afterwards King Henry 8. conferr'd the title of Duke of Suffolk upon 24 Sir Charles Charles Brandon to whom he had given Mary his sister widow of Lewis the 12th King of France in marriage 25 And granted to him all the Hmours and Manours which Edmund Earl of Suffolk had forfeited He was succeeded by his young son Henry and Henry by his brother Charles but both dying of the ‖ Sudore Britannico Sweating-sickness 26 On one day in the year 1551. Edward the sixth dignify'd Henry Grey Marquiss of Dorchester who had marry'd Frances their sister with that title But he did not enjoy it long till he was beheaded by Queen Mary for endeavouring to advance his daughter to the Throne and was the last Duke of Suffolk From that time the title of Suffolk lay dead till of late King James in the first year of his reign created Thomas Lord Howard of Walden second son of Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk Earl of Suffolk
de Scremby At last the King gave it to 6 Sir Henry Henry de Bellomonte for nothing is more clear than that he enjoy'd it in Edward the second 's reign 〈◊〉 4. E. 2. â—ckingâ—m Near this is Skrekingham remarkable for the death of Alfric the second Earl of Leicester kill'd by Hubba the Dane Which place 't is very probable Ingulphus speaks of when he writes In Kesteven three Danish petty Kings were slain and they interr'd them in a certain village heretofore call'd Laundon but now Tre-king-ham by reason of the burial of the three Kings More to the east is Hather famous for nothing but the name of the Busseys or Busleys â—â—fy who live here and derive themselves from Roger de Busley cotemporary with the Conquerour â—â—xd And then Sleford a castle of the Bishops of Lincoln erected by Alexander the Bishop where also 7 Sir John John Hussy 〈◊〉 â—â—ly the first and last Baron of that name 8 Created by King Henry 8. built himself a house but lost his head for rashly engaging in the common insurrection in the year 1537 when the feuds and difference about Religion first broke out in England A few miles from hence stands Kime â—me from whence a noble family call'd de Kime had their name but the Umfranvils three of whom were summon'd to sit in the house of Lords by the name of Earls of Angus in Scotland â—s of â—gus became at last possessors of it The sages of the Common Law would not allow the first of these forasmuch as Angus was not within the bounds of the Kingdom of England to be an Earl before he produc'd in open Court the King 's Writ by which he was summon'd to Parliament under the title of Earl of Angus From the Umfravils this came to the Talbois one of which family nam'd Gilbert was by Henry the eighth created Baron of Talbois whose two sons died without issue so that the inheritance went by females to the family of the Dimocks Inglebies and others More to the west stands Temple Bruer â—mple â—er that is as I take it Temple in the Heath it seems to have been a Preceptory of the Templars for there are to be seen the ruinous walls of a demolish'd Church not unlike those of the New Temple in London Near it is Blankeney â—ons â—ncourt once the Barony of the Deincourts who flourish'd in a continu'd succession from the coming in of the Normans to the times of Henry 6. for then their heir male fail'd in one William whose two sisters and heirs were married the one to 9 Sir William William Lovel the other to Ralph Cromwell I have the more readily taken notice of this family because I would willingly answer the request of Edmund Baron Deincourt who was long since so very desirous to preserve the memory of his name having no issue male he petition'd K. Ed. 2. for liberty To make over his Manours and Arms to whomsoever he pleas'd â— 21 H. 6. â— 10 â—w 2. for he imagin'd that both his name and Arms would go to the grave with him and was very sollicitous they should survive and be remembred Accordingly the King complied and he had Letters Patents for that end Yet this sirname so far as my knowledge goes is now quite extinct and would have been drown'd in oblivion if books and learning had not sav'd it In the west part of Kesteven where this County borders on Leicestershire on a very steep and as it seems â—voir or â—erâ—le artificial hill stands Belvoir or Beauvoir-Castle so call'd whatever the name was formerly from its pleasant prospect which with the little Monastery adjoyning was built as 't is given out by Todeneius a Norman from whom by the Albenies Britans and by the Roos's Barons it came to be the inheritance of the Manours Earls of Rutland by the first of whom nam'd Thomas it was as I have heard rebuilt after it had laid in ruins many years For William Lord Hastings in spight to Thomas Lord Roos who sided with Henry 6. almost demolish'd it and upon the attainder of Baron Roos had it granted him by Edward 4. with very large possessions But Edmund Baron Roos the son of Thomas by the bounty of Henry 7. regain'd this his ancestors inheritance o About this castle are found the stones call'd Astroites Astroites which resemble little stars link'd one with another having five rays in every corner and in the middle of every ray a hollow This stone among the Germans had its name from Victory for they think as Georgius Agricola writes in his sixth book of Minerals That whosoever carries this stone about him shall be successful against his enemies But I have not yet had an opportunity to make the experiment whether this stone of ours when put in vinegar will move out of its place and whirl round like that in Germany The Vale beneath this castle commonly call'd from it The Vale of Belver The Vale of Belver is pretty large and exceeding pleasant by reason of the corn-fields and pastures there It lies part in Nottinghamshire part in Leicestershire and part in Lincolnshire If not in this very place yet for certain very near it †See the Additions to Rutlandshire under the title Market-Overton where 't is more conveniently plac'd stood formerly that Margidunum Margidunum which Antoninus makes mention of next to Vernometum and this may sufficiently be prov'd both by its name and distance from Vernometum and the Town Ad Pontem otherwise Paunton for Antoninus places it between them It seems to have taken this ancient name from Marga and the situation of it For Marga among the Britains is a sort of earth with which they manure their grounds and Dunum which signifies a hill is applicable only to high places But I do for all that very much question this etymology seeing there is very little Marle in this place the not searching for it being perhaps the reason except the Britains by the name of Marga understand ‖ Gypsum Plaister-stone which is as I am inform'd dug up not far from hence and was as Pliny declares in his natural history in great request among the Romans who used it in their Plaisterings and * Sigillis Cielings Thro' this part of the Shire runs Witham Riv. Witham a little river but very full of Pikes and the northern parts are bounded by it It s spring head is at a little town of the same name Bitham not far from the ruins of Bitham-Castle which as we find in an old pedigree was by William the first given to Stephen Earl of Albemarle and Holderness to enable him to feed his son as yet a little infant with fine white bread for at that time nought was eaten in Holderness but oat-bread altho' 't is now very little used there This castle nevertheless in the reign of Edward 3. was when
raised Edmund Crouchback his younger son to whom he had given the estate and honours of Simon Montfort Earl of Leicester of Robert Ferrars Earl of Derby and of John of Monmouth for rebelling against him to the Earldom of Lancaster Eaâ—â—â—â— Lancastâ—â— giving it in these words The Honour Earldom Castle and the Town of Lancaster with the Cow-pastures and Forests of Wiresdale Lownsdale Newcastle under Lime with the Manour Forest and a Castle of Pickering the Manour of Scaleby the Village of Gomecestre and the Rents of the Town of Huntendon c. after he had lost the Kingdom of Sicily with which the Pope by a ring invested him to no purpose and what expos'd the English to the publick scoff and laughter of the world he caus'd pieces of gold to be coyn'd with this Inscription AIMUNDUS REX SICILIAE 〈…〉 having first chous'd and cully'd the credulous King out of much money upon that account The said Edmund his first wife dying without issue who was the daughter and heir of the Earl of Albemarle 10 Of William de Fortibus Earl c. yet by her last Will made him her heir had by his second wife Blanch of Artois of the 〈…〉 Royal Family of France Thomas and Henry and John who dy'd very young Thomas was the second Earl of Lancaster who married Alice the only daughter and heir of Henry Lacy Earl of Lincoln she convey'd this and her mother's estate who was of the family of the Long Espee's Earls of Salisbury as likewise her father Henry Lacy had done before with his own Lands in case Alice should dye without issue as indeed it afterwards hapen'd over to the family of Lancaster But this Thomas for his Insolence and disrespect to his Prince Edward the second and for imbroiling the State was at last taken prisoner in the field and beheaded having no issue However his Sentence was afterwards revers'd by Act of Parliament because he was not try'd by his Peers and so his brother Henry succeeded him in his estate and honours He was also enrich'd by his wife Maud daughter and sole heir of Patrick Chaworth and that not only with her own but with great estates in Wales namely of Maurice of London and of Siward from whom she was descended He dying left a son Henry 〈…〉 whom Edward the third rais'd from Earl to a Duke and he was the second of our Nobility that bore the title of Duke But he dy'd without issue-male leaving two daughters Mawd and Blanch between whom the Inheritance was divided Mawd was married to William of Bavaria Earl of Holland Zeland Friseland Hanault and of Leicester too in right of his wife But she dying without issue John of Gaunt so call'd because he was born at Gaunt in Flanders fourth son of Edward the third by marriage with Blanch the other daughter of Henry came to the whole estate And now being equal to many Kings in wealth and created Duke of Lancaster by his father he also obtain'd the Royalties of him The King too advanc'd the County of Lancaster into a Palatinate by this Rescript wherein after he has declar'd the great service he had done his Country both at home and abroad he adds We have granted for us and our heirs to our son aforesaid that he during the term of life shall have within the County of Lancaster his Chancery and his Writs to be issued out under his own Seal belonging to the Office of Chancellor his Justices likewise as well for Pleas of the Crown as for other Pleas relating to Common Law to have cognisance of them and to have power of making all Executions whatsoever by his Writs and Officers And to have all other Liberties and Royalties of what kind soever appertaining to a County Palatine as freely and as fully as the Earl of Chester within the said County is known to have c. Nor was he only Duke of Lancaster but also by marriage with Constantia daughter of Peter King of Castile John of Gaunt K. of Castile for some time bore the title of King of Leon and Castile But by contract he parted with this title and in the 13th of King Richard the second was created by consent of Parliament Duke of Aquitain 11 To have and to hold the same title for term of life of the King of England and Monarch of France but to the general disgust of the inhabitants of the Province of Aquitain who gave it out that their Seigniory was inseparably annext to the Crown of England to the great dissatisfaction of that Country At that time his titles were John son to the King of England Duke of Aquitain and Lancaster Earl of Derby Lincoln and Leicester and high Steward of England After this John Henry de Bullingbroke his son succeeded in the Dutchy of Lancaster 12 Who when he had dispossess'd Richard the second and obtain'd the Kingdom of England he considering that being now King he could not bear the title of Duke of Lancaster and unwilling that the said title should be discontinu'd ordain'd by assent of Parliament that Henry his present son should enjoy the same and be stil'd Prince of Wales Duke of Aquitain Lancaster and Cornwall and Earl of Chester and also that the Liberties and Franchises of the Dutchy of Lancaster should remain to his said son sever'd from the Crown of England who having deposed Richard the second obtain'd the Crown and conferr'd this honour upon Heny his son K. Henr. 4. afterwards King of England And that he might entail it upon him and his heirs for ever he had an Act of Parliament made in these words We being unwilling that our said inheritance or its liberties by reason of our now assuming the Royal state and dignity should be any ways chang'd transferr'd diminish'd or impair'd but that our said inheritance with its rights and liberties aforesaid should in the same manner and form condition and state wherein they descended and fell to us and also with all and singular liberties franchises and other privileges commodities and profits whatsoever which our Lord and Father in his life time had and held it withal for term of his life by the grant of the late King Richard be wholly and fully preserv'd continu'd and enjoy'd by us and our heirs specified in the said Charters And by the tenure of these presents we do upon our certain knowledge and with the consent of this our present Parliament grant declare decree and ordain for us and our heirs that as well our Dutchy of Lancaster as all and singular Counties Honours Castles Manours Fees Advowsons Possessions Annuities and Seigniories whatsoever descended to us before the Royal Dignity was obtain'd by us how or in what place soever by right of inheritance in possession or in reversion or other way remain to us and our said heirs specified in the Charters abovesaid after the said manner for ever Afterwards King Henry the fifth by Act
V. M. Who this Apollo Grannus was and whence he had this denomination no one Antiquary to the best of my knowledge has ever yet told us But if I that am of the lowest form may give my sentiments I should say that Apollo Grannus amongst the Romans was the same as the Grecians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is having long locks For Isidore calleth the long hair of the Goths Granni But this may be lookt upon as foreign to my business Something lower near the Scottish Frith stands Edenborough â—â—â—â—boâ—â—â—gh called by the Irish-Scots Dun-Eaden that is Eaden Town which without doubt is the same that Ptolemy calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Castrum Alatum the winged Castle for Edenborough signifies certainly the same as Winged Castle Adain in the British denoting a Wing and Edenborough from a word compounded of the British and Saxon Tongue is nothing else but the Winged Borough From Wings therefore we are to derive its name which if you think good may be done either from those Squadrons of horse which are called Wings or else from those Wings which the Greek Architects call Pteromata that is as Vitruvius tells us two walls so rising up in height that they bear a resemblance of Wings For want of these a certain City of Cyprus was antiently as we read in the Geographers called Aptera that is Wingless But if any man hath a mind to believe it took its name from Ebrauk a Britain or from Heth a Pict he may for me I shall not be against it This City in regard of its more eminent situation the goodness of the air and fertility of the soil many of the Nobilities lofty Seats lying all round it its being water'd with excellent Springs and reaching from East to West a mile in length and half as much in breadth is justly counted the Metropolis of the whole Kingdom strongly walled adorned with publick and private buildings well peopled and frequented for the advantage of the Sea which the neighbouring Port at Leith affords And as it is honoured with the King's residence so is it the sacred repository of the Laws and chief tribunal of Justice For the high Court of Parliament is generally held here for the enacting or repealing of Laws as also the Session and the Courts of the King's Justice and of the Commissariat whereof I have already spoken are here settled On the East side joyning to Holy-Rood-Monastery stands the Palace Royal built by King David the first over which within a Park stored with game hangs a double-topt mountain called Arthur's Chair from Arthur the Britain On the West side there mounts up a rock to a mighty height steep and inaccessible on all sides but that which looks towards the City upon which a Castle stands so strongly fortified with a number of Towers that it is look'd upon as impregnable This the Britains called Castle Myned Agned the Scots the Maidens Castle and the Virgins Castle because the Princesses of the Blood-Royal of the Picts were here kept and the same may really be lookt upon as the Castrum Alatum or Winged Castle abovementioned How Edenborough by the vicissitudes of war has been subject sometimes to the Scots sometimes to the Saxons who inhabited this Eastern part of Scotland until it became wholly under the Scots Dominion in the year of our Lord 960. when the English Empire under the convulsions of the Danish Wars lay as it were expiring How likewise as it is in an old Book Of the Division of Scotland in the Library of the Right Honourable my Lord Burleigh late High-Treasurer of England In the Reign of Indulph Eden Town was * Vacuatum quitted and abandonned to the Scots to this present day and what different turns of fortune it felt afterwards the Historians relate from whom you are to be informed †In the mean time you may read See a fuller description of this place in the Additions if you please the ingenious Johnston's Verses in praise of Edenborough Monte sub acclivi Zephyri procurrit in auras Hinc Arx celsa illinc Regia clara nitet Inter utramque patet sublimibus ardua tectis Urbs armis animis clara frequensque viris Nobile Scotorum caput pars maxima regni Paenè etiam gentis integra Regna suae Rarae artes opes quod mens optaverit aut hic Invenias aut non Scotia tota dabit Compositum hic populum videas sanctumque senatum Sanctaque cum puro lumine jura Dei An quisquam Arctoi extremo in limite mundi Aut haec aut paria his cernere posse putet Dic Hospes postquam externas lustraveris urbes Haec cernens oculis credis an ipse tuis Beneath a Western hill's delightful brow The Castle hence and hence the Court we view The stately town presents it self between Renown'd for arms for courage and for men The kingdom's noblest part the lofty head Or the whole kingdom of the Scottish breed Wealth arts and all that anxious minds desire Or not in Scotland or you meet with here The people sober grave the Senate show The worship pure the faith divinely true In the last borders of the Northern coast What rival land an equal sight can boast These glories Trav'ler when at last you see Say if you don't mistrust your wondring eye And think it transport all and extasy A mile from hence lieth Leith Leith an excellent Haven upon the River Leith which when Monsieur Dessie had fortified with works to secure Edenborough by the conflux of people thither from a mean Village p It has in it several Manufactures it grew to a large Town Again when the French King Francis 2. had married Queen Mary of Scotland the French who then made themselves sure of Scotland and began now to gape after England in the year 1560 strengthned it with more fortifications But Q. Elizabeth of England upon the solicitation of the Scotch Nobility of the Puritan party effected by her wisdom and authority that both they retuâ—ned into France and these their fortifications were levell'd with the ground and Scotland ever since hath had little cause to fear the French e. In the mid'st of this Frith where it begins by degrees to contract it self there stood as Bede noteth the City Caer-Guidi Caer-Guidi which seems now to be Inch-Keith-Island Whether this be the Victoria mentioned by Ptolemy I will not now dispute though a man might be easily induced to believe that the Romans turn'd this Guith into Victoria as our Isle Guith or Wight into Victesis and Vecta Certainly since both these are broken from the shore there is the same reason for the name in both languages For Ninius informs us that Guith in the British Tongue signifies a breaking off or separation Upon the same Frith more inwardly lies Abercorne a famous Monastery in Bede's time which now by the favour of King James 6. gives the Title of Earl to James
also Justices of Assize Nisi prius and Oyer and Terminer as in England Justices of Peace in every County to preserve the Peace and the King has his Serjeant at Law his Attorney and his Sollicitor General There are also other Governors besides these to administer justice in the remoter Provinces and that is in Conaugh stilled chief Commissioner is call'd b Since the Country has been well inhabited with English and much more civiliz'd than heretofore the Presidencies of Munster and Conaught were superseded by King Charles II. about the year 1671. President in Munster who have certain of the Gentry and Lawyers to assist them and are all directed by the Lord Deputy As for their Law the Common-law used there is the same with this of ours in England For thus it is in the Records of the Kingdom King Henry the third in the twelfth of his reign sent an order to his Justice in Ireland that he should assemble the Archbishops Bishops Barons and Knights of that Kingdom and make the Charter of King John be read unto them which he did accordingly giving them an oath to observe the laws and customs of England and that they should hold and keep the same 3 Nevertheless the meer Irish did not admit them but retain'd their own Brehon-Laws and lâ—ud Customs And the Kings of England used a connivance therein upon some deep consideration not vouchsafing to communicate the benefit of the English Laws but upon especial grace to especial families or sects namely the O Neales O Conors O Brien O Maloghlins and Mac Murough which were reputed of the blood royal among them So that even the Parliamentary Laws or Statutes of England were of force in Ireland till King Henry the seventh's time For in the tenth year of his reign they were established and confirmed by Act of Parliament in Ireland 4 In the time of Sir Edward Poinings government But since that time they have lived by Acts and Statutes of their own making Besides these civil Magistrates they have also one Military officer named the c There being no War in the Kingdom there is no such Officer Marshal Marshal of Ireland who is serviceable to the State not only in restraining the insolence of soldiers but also in checking the outrage of rebels who are now and then troublesome This office formerly belonged hereditarily to the Lords Morley of England 9 of King John For King John gave them this Office to hold in see of him in these words We have given and granted to John Marshall for his homage and service our Marshalship of Ireland with all appurtenances We have given him likewise for his homage and service the Cantred wherein standeth the town of Kilbunny to have and to hold to him and his heirs of us and our heirs From him it descended in a right line to the Barons of Morley This Marshal has under him * Submaresâ—allum a Provost-Marshal and sometimes more according to the difficulties and exigencies of affairs who exercise their authority by Commission and Instructions under the Great Seal of Ireland But these and all other curiosities of this nature I leave to the diligence of others As for the methods of Justice and Government among the wild Irish I shall take care to insert something in a more proper place when I come to treat of their Mannors and Customs The d See Ware 's Antiquitat Hibern Cap. 3. pag. 11. Division of IRELAND â—â—â—on â—â—â—land IReland from the manners and customs of the Inhabitants is divided into two parts e At present there is no such Div sion or distiâ—ction but the King 's Writ runs through the whole Kingdom and every part of it is now answerable to Law they who reject all Laws and live after a barbarous manner are called the Irishry or wild Irish but those civilized who submit themselves with respect and obedience to the laws are termed the English-Irish and their Country the English Pale for the first English men that came hither set their boundaries in the east and richest part of the Island as taken in for themselves within which compass even at this day some remain uncivilized and pay no deference to the laws whereas some without are as courteous and genteel as one would desire But if we consider it as it was more early this Country from its situation or rather number of its Governors heretofore must be divided into five parts for it was formerly a Pentarchy namely Munster southward Leinster eastward Connaught westward Ulster northward and Meath almost in the middle Which as to civil administration are thus divided into Counties In Munster are the Counties of Kerry f At this day there is no such County as Desmond part of that Territory lying in the County of Kerry and the rest in the County of Cork Desmond Cork Waterford Limerick Tiperary g The County of the Holy-Cross is swallowed up in that of Tiperary with the County of S. Cross in Tiperary In Leinster are the Counties of Kilkenny Caterlough Queen's County King's County Kildare Weishford Dublin In Meath are the Counties of East-Meath West-Meath Longford In Connaught are the Counties of h Instead of this Dr. Holland has put Clare which yet is in the Province of Muâ—ster Twomund Galloway Maio. Slego Letrim Rofcomon In Ulster are the Counties of Louth Cavon Farmanagh Monaghan Armagh Doun Antrim Colran Tir-Oën Tir-Conell or Donegall Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction The Ecclesiastical state of Ireland was antiently managed by the Bishops either consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury or by one another But in the year 1152 as we find it in Philip of Flattesbury Christianus Bishop of Lismore Legat of all Ireland held a very full and honourable Council at Meath where were present the Bishops Abbots Kings Dukes and Elders of Ireland and there by the Apostolical authority with the advice of the Cardinals and the consent of the Bishops Abbots and others met together four Archbishopricks were constituted in Ireland Armagh Dublin Cassil and Tuam The Bishopricks which were under these formerly for some of them have been abolished to feed the greedy humor of ill times others have been confounded or annexed to one another while others again have been translated I do desire to subjoyn here in their true and ancient order from an old Roman Provincial faithfully copied from the Original Under the Archbp. of Armagh Primate of all Ireland are the Bishops of Meath or i Cluanard The Bishop is stiled of Meath Elnamirand Down otherwise Dundalethglass k Clogher Cloghor otherwise Lugundun l Connor is united to Down Conner m Ardagh Ardachad n Rapho Rathbot Rathluc Daln-liguir o Derry or London-Derry Dearrih 4 Holland has added Cloemacniso which ought to be writ Clonmacnois and is now united to Meath as also Dromor and Brefem now Kilmore Under the Archbp. of Dublin are the Bishops of
and holding there could not be three persons and one God Among other tenents he asserted that the blessed Virgin our Saviour's mother was an harlot that there was no resurection that the holy Scripture was a mere fable and that the apostolical See was an imposture and a groundless usurpation Upon these Articles Duff was convicted of heresie and blasphemy and was thereupon burnt at Hoggis green near Dublin on the Monday after the octaves of Easter in the year 1328. MCCCXXVIII On Tuesday in Easter-week Thomas Fitz John Earl of Kildare and Chief Justice of Ireland departed this life and was succeeded in the office of Justiciary by Frier Roger Outlaw Prior of Kilmaynan The same year David O Tothil a stout rapperie and an enemy to the King who had burnt Churches and destroy'd many people was brought out of the castle of Dublin to the Toll of the City before Nicholas Fastol and Elias Ashburne Judges of the King's-Bench who sentenc'd him to be dragg'd at a horse's tail through the City to the Gallows and to be hang'd upon a Gibbet which was after executed accordingly Item In the same year the Lord Moris Fitz Thomas rais'd a great army to destroy the Bourkeyns and the Poers The same year William Lord Bourk Earl of Ulster was knighted at London on Whitsunday and the King gave him his Seigniory Item This year James Botiller married the daughter of the Earl of Hereford in England and was made Earl of Ormond being before called Earl of Tiperary The same Year a Parliament was held at Northampton where many of the English Nobility met and a peace was renew'd between the Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland and confirm'd by marriages It was enacted also that the Earl of Ulster with several of the English Nobility should go to Berwick upon Tweed to see the marriage solemniz'd The same year after the solemnity of this match at Berwick was over Robert Brus King of Scots William Lord Burk Earl of Ulster the Earl of Meneteth and many other of the Scotch Nobility came very peaceably to Cragfergus whence they sent to the Justiciary of Ireland and the Council that they would meet them at Green Castle to treat about a Peace between Scotland and Ireland but the Justiciary and Council coming not accotding to the King's appointment he took his leave of the Earl of Ulster and return'd into his own Country after the Assumption of the blessed Virgin and the Earl of Ulster came to the Parliament at Dublin where he staid six days and made a great entertainment after which he went into Conaught The same year about the feast of S. Catharine the virgin the Bishop of Ossory certified to the King's Council that Sir Arnold Pour was upon divers Articles convicted before him of heresie Whereupon at the Bishop's suit Sir Arnold Poer by vertue of the King's Writ was arrested and clapt in the Castle of Dublin and a day was appointed for the Bishop's coming to Dublin in order to prosecute him but he excused himself because his enemies had way-laid him for his life So that the King's Council could not put an end to this business wherefore Sir Arnold was kept prisoner in the Castle of Dublin till the following Parliament which was in Midlent where all the Irish Nobility were present The same year Frier Roger Outlaw Prior of the Hospital of S. John of Jerusalem in Ireland Lord Justice and Chancellor of Ireland was scandalized by the said Bishop for favouring heresies and for advising and abetting Sir Arnold in his heretical practice Wherefore the Frier finding himself so unworthily defamed petitioned the King's Council that he might have leave to clear himself which upon consultation they granted and caused it to be proclaim'd for three days together That if there were any person who could inform against the said Frier he should come in and prosecute him but no body came Upon which Roger the Frier procured the King 's Writ to summon the Elders of Ireland viz. the Bishops Abbots Priors and the Mayors of Dublin Cork Limerick Waterford and Drogheda also the Sheriffs and Seneschals together with the Knights of the Shires and the better sort of Free-holders to repair to Dublin out of which six were chosen to examine the cause viz. M. William Rodyard Dean of the Cathedral-Church of S. Patrick in Dublin the Abbot of S. Thomas the Abbot of S. Mary's the Prior of the Church of the holy Trinity in Dublin M. Elias Lawles and Mr. Peter Willebey who convened those who were cited and examined them all apart who deposed upon their Oaths that he was a very honest faithful and zealous embracer of the Christian Faith and would if occasion serv'd lay down his Life for it And because his vindication was so solemn he made a noble entertainment for all them who would come The same year in Lent died Sir Arnold Pouer in the Castle of Dublin and lay a long time unburied in the house of the predicant Friers MCCCXXIX After the feast of the annunciation of the bless'd Virgin Mary the Irish nobility came to the Parliament at Dublin to wit the Earl of Ulster Moris Lord Fitz Thomas the Earl of Louth William Bermingham and the rest of the Peers where was a new peace made between the Earl of Ulster and my Lord Moris Fitz-Thomas and the Lords with the King's Council made an Order against riots or any other breach of the King's peace so that every Nobleman should govern within his own Seignory The Earl of Ulster made a great feast in the Castle of Dublin and the day after the Lord Moris Fitz-Thomas made another in S. Patrick's Church in Dublin as did also Frier Roger Outlaw Lord Chief Justice of Ireland on the third day at Kylmaynan and after this they went all home again The same year on S. Barnaby's eve Sir John Bermingham Earl of Louth was kill'd at Balybragan in Urgale by the inhabitants and with him his own brother Peter Bermingham besides Robert Bermingham his reputed brother and Sir John Bermingham son to his brother Richard Lord of Anry William Finne Bermingham the Lord Anry's Uncle's son Simon Bermingham the aforesaid William's son Thomas Berminghan son to Robert of Conaught Peter Bermingham son to James of Conaught Henry Bermingham of Conaught and Richard Talbot of Malaghide a man of great courage besides 200 men whose names are not known After this slaughter Simon Genevils men invaded the Country of Carbry that they might by their plunder ruin the inhabitants for the thefts and murders they had so often committed in Meth but by their rising they prevented the invasion and slew 76 of the Lord Simon 's men The same year also on the day after Trinity-sunday John Gernon and his brother Roger Gernon came to Dublin in the behalf of those of Urgale that they might be tried by the Common-law And on the Tuesday after S. John's-day John and Roger hearing the Lord William Bermingham was a coming to Dublin left
century and tithing or if he could not should expect the severity of the laws But if any one standing thus accused should make his escape either before or after the bail was given that whole Hundred and Tithing was liable to be fined by the King By this project he settled peace in the Kingdom so that even upon the high-roads where four ways met he commanded golden bracelets to be hung up which might expose the avarice of travellers whil'st there was none durst venture to take them away Wappentacks Tithings and Laths These Centuries are in some parts of the Kingdom called Wappentaches if you desire to know the reason I will give it you out of Edward the Confessor's Laws When any one received the government of a Wappentach on a set day and in the place where the meeting used to be held all the elder sort met him and when he was got off his horse rose up to him Then he held up his spear and took security of all there according to custom for whoever came touched his spear with theirs and this touching of armour confirmed them in one common interest and was a publick league In English arms are called wepun and taccare is to confirm as if this were a confirmation of weapons or to speak more agreeably to the English tongue b See Sir Henry Spelman's Glossary under the word Wapentachium Wepentac is a touching of armour for wepun signifies armour and tac is touching There were also other Jurisdictions above those of Wapentaches which they called Ãrihingas including the third part of the Province and those who were Lords over them were termed Ãrihingerefas To these were appeals made in such causes as could not be determined in the Wapentaches So that what the English named a Hundred these called a Wapentach and what was in English three or four hundreds they called c Of which the Ridings in Yorkshire are a corruption Ãrihinge But in some Provinces what they called Trihing was in English term'd Lew and what could not be determined in the Ãrihinge was carried into the Shire These Counties which if you would express in proper Latin Shirâ— may be term'd either Conventus or Pagi we call by the peculiar name of Shyres from the Saxon word Scyre signifying to branch and divide By the first division there were only 32. for in the year 1016. in the Reign of Aethelred Malmsbury assures us there were no more In the life of Aethelred he writes thus At this time the Danes invaded 16 Counties whereas there are but 32 in all England And in those days these Counties were divided according to the variety of the laws Div'faâ— Englaâ—â— acc râ—â—â— to Laâ— For the Laws of England were threefold those of the West-Saxons called West-saxenlage those of the Danes called Denelage and those of the Mercians called Merchenlage Under the West-Saxon-Law were comprehended nine Counties Kent Sussex Surrey Berkshire Hamshire Wiltshire Somersetshire Dorsetshire and Devâ—â—shire To the Dane-Laws belonged fifteen Counties Yorkshire Derbyshire Nottinghamshire Leicestershire Lincolnshire Northamptonshire Bedfordshire Buckinghamshire Hertfordshire Essex Middlesex Norfolk Suffolk Cambridgeshire Huntingdonshire The other eight were judged after the Mercian-Law Lib. â— S. Eâ—â— di those were Glocestershire Worcestershire Herefordshire Warwickshire Oxfordshire Cheshire Shropshire and Staffordshire But when William the first made his Survey of this Kingdom Domâ— book there were reckoned 36 Counties as the Polychronicon tells us But the publick records wherein he registred that Survey reckon up no more than 34. For Durham Lancashire Northumberland Westmorland and Cumberland did not come into the number the three last as some wouâ—d have it being then under the Scots and the other two either exempt from taxes or included under Yorkshire But all these being afterwards added to the number made it as it is to this day 39. Besides which there are 13 moâ—e in Wales d But thâ— Statute of 34 and 35 of Hen. 8. Cap. 26. tells us That eight Shires were of ancient and long time to wit those of Glemorgaâ— Caeâ—mâ— then Pembroke Cardigan Flint Caernarvon Anglesey and Merioneth and other foâ—r were made by the Statute of 27 Hen 8. Cap. 26. beâ—des Monmouthshire namely Radnor Brecknock Montgomery and Denbigh So that in Edward's time there seem to have been eight whereof six were in Edward the first 's time Wal◠〈…〉 Câ—â—â— the rest Henry the eighth settled by Act of Parliament In each of these Counties in troublesome times especially there is appointed a Deputy under the King by the name of Lieutenant who is to take care that the State suffer no damage The first institution hereof seems to be fetch'd from King Alfred who settled in every County the Custodes regni or keepers of the kingdom These afterward were restored by Henry the third under the title of Capitanei For in the fiftieth year of his Reign he as John of London has it held a Parliament wherein this wholsome Law was enacted That in every County there should be one Capâ—nâ—â—â— Captain maintained by the King who by the assistance of the Sheriff should restrain the insolence of robbers Upon which many were so affrighted that they left that trade and the Royal power began to revive This was wisely enough ordered but whether Canutus the Dane when he made a Tetrarchy in a Monarchy 89 〈◊〉 Wâ—â— did not act more prudently let our Politicians determine For he as Hermand the Archdeacon says being an exceeding sagacious man so contriv'd the government of the Kingdom He 〈…〉 that it should fall under Tetrarchs such as he had found faithful to him The government of the West-Saxons which was the greatest he took to himself â—rcha Mercia the second part he committed to one Edrick the third called Northumbre to Yrtus and Earl Turkille had the fourth i.e. East Anglia a very plentiful country This account I owe to the diligence of Fr. Thinne who hath prosecuted this study of Antiquities with great honour and particularly communicated this to me 〈◊〉 of Shire But every year some one inhabitant of the Lesser Nobility is set over the County and stil'd Vice-Comes i.e. a deputy of the Comes or Earl and in our language he is called Shiriff i.e. one set over the County and may very well be term'd the Quaestor of the County or Province For 't is his business to get up the publick revenues of the County to gather into the Exchequer all Fines even by destraining to attend the Judges and to execute their orders to empannel twelve men â—â—elve 〈◊〉 who are to judge of matters of fact and bring in their Verdict to the Judges who are with us only Judges of law and not of fact to take care that such as are condemned be duly executed and to give judgment in petty causes There are also in every County certain Eirenarchae or Justices of the Peace settled by King Edward III. and those
take cognizance of murders felonies trespasses for so they term them and many other misdemeanors Besides the King sends every year into each County two of the Justices of England to give sentence upon Prisoners â—es of â—e and to use the law-term in that cause to make a Gaol-delivery But of these more hereafter when we come to the Courts As to the Ecclesiastical Government after the Bishops of Rome had assigned to each Presbyter his Church and divided the parishes among them Honorius Archbishop of Canterbury â—â—â—â—and â—ed inâ—â—â—â—rishes about the year of our Lord 636. first began to divide England into Parishes as we read in the History of Canterbury Now England has two Provinces and two Archbishops Canterbury Primate of all England and Metropolitan and York Under these are 25 Bishops 22 under Canterbury and the rest under York What these Bishopricks are with their Counties or Dioceses which they now contain â—ops are shown us in those words of that excellent person the most reverend Father in God Matthew Parker Archbishop of Canterbury a Patron of Learning and a great Judge of Antiquities In the Province of Canterbury THE Bishoprick of Canterbury along with Rochester contains the County of Kent London has under it Essex Middlesex and part of Hertfordshire Chichester has Sussex Winchester has Hamshire Surrey Isle of Wight with Gernsey and Jersey Islands lying upon the Coast of Normandy Salisbury contains Wiltshire and Berkshire Exeter includes Devonshire and Cornwal Bathe and Wells joyntly have Somersetshire and Glocester Glocestershire Worcester Worcestershire and part of Warwickshire Hereford Herefordshire and part of Shropshire Coventry and Lichfield joyned together Staffordshire Derbyshire and the other part of Warwickshire as also that part of Shropshire which borders upon the River Repil Next Lincoln the largest contains six Counties Lincolnshire Liecestershire Huntingdonshire Bedfordshire Buckinghamshire and the other part of Hertfordshire Ely Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely Norwich Norfolk and Suffolk Oxford Oxfordshire Peterburrow Northamptonshire and Rutlandshire Bristol Dorsetshire To which 18 Dioceses in England must be added those of Wales or Cambria which are both deprived of an Archbishop of their own and also made fewer seven hardly coming entire into four These are â—eâ—e â—sis St. Davids whose seat is at St. Davids Landaff Banchor and Asaph or Elwensis In the Province of York YOrk it self comprehends Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire Chester Cheshire Richmondshire Lancashire with part of Cumberland Flintshire and Denbighshire Durham the Bishoprick of Durham and Northumberland Carlisle part of Cumberland and Westmerland To these may be added the Bishoprick of Sodor in Mona commonly called the Isle of Man Amongst those the Archbishop of Canterbury takes the first place the Archbishop of York the second the Bishop of London the third the Bishop of Durham the fourth and the Bishop of Winchester the fifth The rest take place according to the time of their Consecration But if any of the other Bishops happen to be Secretary to the King he claims the fifth place There are besides in England 26 Deaneries 13 whereof were made in the larger Churches by King Henry VIII upon expulsion of the Monks The Archdeaconries are sixty and the Dignities and Prebends make 544. There are also 9284 Parish-churches under the Bishops of which 3845 are appropriate as is plain from the Catalogue exhibited to King James which I have here subjoyned Now appropriate Churches are such as by the authority of the Pope and the consent of the King and Bishop of the Diocess are upon certain conditions settled upon those Monasteries Bishopricks Colleges and Hospitals whose revenues are but small either because they were built upon their ground or granted by the Lords of the Mannour Such a Settlement is expressed in form of law by being united annext and incorporated for ever But these upon the subversion of the Monasteries were to the great damage of the Church made Feuda Laicalia Lay-fees In the Province of Canterbury Dioceses Parish-Churches Churches appropriate Canterbury 257 140 London 623 189 Winchester 362 131 Coventry and Lichfield 557 250 Salisbury 248 109 Bath and Wells 388 160 Lincoln 1255 577 Peterburrow 293 91 Exeter 604 239 Glocester 267 125 Hereford 313 166 Norwich 1121 385 Ely 141 75 Rochester 98 36 Chichester 250 112 Oxford 195 88 Worcester 241 76 Bristol 236 64 S. Davids 308 120 Bangor 107 36 Llandaff 177 98 S. Asaph 121 19 Peculiars in the Province of Canterbury 57 14 The whole number in the Province of Canterbury 8219 3303 In the Province of York York 581 336 Durham 135 87 Chester 256 101 Carlisle 93 18 The whole number in York 1065 592 The whole number in both Provinces 9284 3845 But in the Book of Thomas Wolsey Cardinal written in the year 1520. there are reckoned in all the Counties 9407 Churches I know not how this difference should happen unless it be that some were demolished in the last age and Chapels which are Parochial be omitted others which are barely Chapels being reckoned up amongst the Parish-churches However I have set down the number of Churches at the end of each County out of this Book of Wolsey's There were also in the Reign of King Henry VIII if it be not a crime to mention them monuments of the piety of our fore-fathers Monasteries built to the honour of God the propagation of the Christian faith and good learning and for the support of the poor Of Religious houses i.e. Monasteries or Abbies and Priories to the number of 645. whereof when 40 had been suppressed by a Grant from Pope Clement the seventh Hen. 5. had before that dissolved 100 Pâ—iories of Monks Aliens obtained by Cardinal Wolsey who had then laid the foundation of two Colleges one at Oxford and another at Ipswich presently about the 36th of Henry VIII a torrent as it were that has thrown down the banks broke in upon the ecclesiastical state of England and to the great surprize of the whole world and oppression of this nation at once threw down the greatest part of the Religious with their curious structures For what the Pope granted to the Cardinal the King took himself by consent of Parliament Whereupon in the year 1536. all religious houses with their revenues which had 200 l. yearly or under that were granted to the King in number 376. And the next year under a specious pretence of rooting out superstition the rest along with the Colleges Chauntries and Hospitals were given up to the King's disposal At which time there were valued or taxed 605 religious houses remaining Colleges besides those in the Universities 96. Hospitals 110. Chauntries and Free-chapels 2374. Most of which in a short time were every where pulled down their revenues squander'd away and the riches which had been consecrated to God by the pious munificence of the English from the time they received Christianity were as it were in a moment dispersed and if I may use the
word without offence profaned The Degrees of ENGLAND AS to the division of our State it consists of a King or Monarch the Nobles Citizens Free-men which we call Yeomen and Tradesmen The KING The King stiled by our Ancestors Coning and Cyning e Either relating to cene which in Saxon signifies stout valiant c. or to cunnan which signifies to know or understand from whence a designing subtle man is called a Cunning man a name under which is coucht both power and wisdom by us contracted into King has in these Kingdoms the supreme power and a meer government nor holds he his Empire by vassalage neither does he receive Investiture from another nor own any superior Bracton l. 1. c. 8. but God And as that Oracle of Law has delivered it Every one is under him and himself under none but only God He has very many Rights of Majesty peculiar to himself which the learned in the law term The Holy of Holies and Individuals because they are inseparable but the common people The King's Prerogative and those they tell us are denoted by the flowers in the King's Crown Some of these the King enjoys by a written Law others by Right of custom which without a law is established by a tacit consent of the whole body and surely he deserves them Seneca since by his watchfulness every man's house by his labour every man's ease by his industry every one's pleasure and by his toil every one's recreation is secured to him But these things are too sublime to belong properly to my business Next the King is his eldest son and as he amongst the Romans that was designed for the Successor The Prince was first called Prince of the youth * Princeps juventutis and as flattery prevail'd afterwards Caesar Noble Caesar and the most noble Caesar so ours was by our Saxon Ancestors termed Aetheling Aetheling i.e. noble and in Latin Clyto Clyto from the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 famous that age affecting the Greek tongue Upon which that saying concerning Eadgar the last heir male of the English Crown is still kept up Eadgar Eðeling Englands Searling i.e. Eadgar the noble England's darling And in the antient Latin Charters of the Kings we often read Ego E. vel AE Clyto the King's son But the name of Clyto I have observed to be given to the King's children in general After the Norman Conquest he had no standing honorary title nor any other that I know of but barely The King's Son or The King's eldest Son till Edward I. summoned to Parliament his son Edward under the title of Prince of Wales Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester to whom he granted also afterwards the Dukedom of Aquitain And this when he came to be King Edward II. summoned his son Edward to Parliament then scarce ten years old under the title of Earl of Chester and Flint But that Edward coming to the Crown created Edward his son a most accomplisht soldier Duke of Cornwal since which time the King 's eldest son f If he be eldest son but if the first dies the second is not born to the same Title See concerning this in the Notes upon Cornwall p. 15 is born Duke of Cornwall And a little after he honoured the same person with the title of Prince of Wales by a solemn Investiture The Principality of Wales was conferred upon him in these words to be held by him and his heirs Kings of England And as the heirs apparent of the Roman Empire were as I observed but just now called Caesars of the Grecian Despotae Lords those of the Kingdom of France Dauphins and of Spain Infantes so those of England have been since that time stiled Princes of Wales And that title continued till the time of Henry VIII when Wales was entirely united to the Kingdom of England But now the formerly divided Kingdoms of Britain being reduced into one under the government of the most potent King James his eldest son Henry the darling and delight of Britain is called Prince of Great Britain whom as nature has made capable of the greatest things so that God would bless him with the highest virtues and a lasting honour that his success may outdo both our hopes of him as also the atchievements and high character of his forefathers by a long and prosperous Reign is the constant and hearty prayer of all Britain Our Nobles are divided into Greater and Less The Greater Nobles we call Dukes Marquesses Earls and Barons who either enjoy these titles by an hereditary claim or have them conferred on them by the King as a reward of their merits A DUKE A Dukâ— is the next title of honour to the Prince At first this was a name of office not of honour About the time of Aelius Verus those who were appointed to guard the Frontiers were first called Dukes and this title in Constantine's time was inferiour to that of a Count. After the destruction of the Roman Empire this title still continued to be the name of an Office and those amongst us who in the Saxon times are stiled Dukes in such great numbers by the antient Charters are in the English tongue only called Ealdormen The same also who are named Dukes are likewise termed Counts for instance most people call William the Conqueror of England Duke of Normandy whereas William of Malmesbury writes him Count of Normandy However that both Duke and Count were names of Office Mar. â—â— Formaâ— is plain from the form of each's creation which we find in Marculph an antient writer The Royal clemency is particularly signalized upon this account that among all the people the good and the watchful are singled out nor is it convenient to commit the judiciary power to any one who has not first approved his loyalty and valour Since weâ—t therefore seem to have sufficiently experienced your fidelity and usefulness we commit to you the power of a Count Duke or Patriciâ—us President in that Lordship which your predecessor governed to act in and rule over it Still upon this condition that you are entirely true to our government and all the people within those limits may live under and be swayed by your government and authority and that you rule justly according to law and their own customs that you zealously protect widows and orphans that you severely punish the crimes of robbers and malefactors so that those who live regularly under your government may be cheerful and undisturbed and that whatever profit arises from such actions to the Exchequer you your self bring yearly into our coffers It began to be an honorary title under Otho the Great â—gâ—ius l. 〈◊〉 Regni â—â—lici about the year 970. For he in order to bind valiant and prudent persons more effectually to his own interest honour'd them with what he call'd Râ—gelia Royalties Those Royalties were either Dignities or Lands in Fee The
Dignities were those of Dukes Marquisses Counts Captains Valvasors and Valvasins An hereditary title came but late into France not before Philip 3. King of France granted that for the future they should be called Dukes of Britain who were before stiled promiscuously Dukes and Counts But in England in the Norman times when the Norman Kings themselves were Dukes of Normandy there were none had that honour conferr'd upon them for a long time till Edward 3. created Edward his son Duke of Cornwall by a wreath on his head a ring on his finger and a A gold â—erge afâ—â—â—wards â—â—me into 〈◊〉 and a †silver verge as the Dukes of Normandy were formerly by a sword and a banner delivered to them and afterwards by girding the sword of the Dutchy and by a circlet of gold garnished on the top with little golden roses And the same King Edward 3. â—t Paris â—cernâ— John â—aâ—ed D. Norâ—â—ndy created his two sons Leonel Duke of Clarence and John Duke of Lancaster in Parliament By the putting on a sword setting upon their heads a furr'd cap with a circle of gold set with pearls and by the delivery of a Charter After this he created several and there have been now and then hereditary Dukes made in this Kingdom with such like expressions in the Charter the name title state stile place seat preheminence honour authority and dignity of a Duke we give and grant and do really invest you with them by the putting on a sword setting a cap with a golden circle upon your head and the delivery of a golden verge â—â—rquis A MARQUISS i.e. g From the Saxon mearc a bound and mearcan mearcian to set out mark distinctly c. in the same language according to the import of the word one set to guard the limits is a title of honour the second from a Duke This title we had but late none being invested with it before the time of Richard 2. For he created his darling Robert Vere Earl of Oxford Marquiss of Dublin and that was merely titular For those who were formerly to secure the frontiers were commonly called Lord Marchers and not Marquisses as we now stile them They are created by the King by girding on a sword putting on a Cap of honour and dignity 1 With the Coronet Hol. and delivering a Charter And here I shall take the liberty of relating what I find register'd in the Parliament-rolls â—â—m 4. When John de Beaufort Earl of Somerset was made Marquiss of Dorset by Richard 2. and was deprived of that title by Henry 4. the Commons of England in Parliament made an humble Request to the King that he would restore to him the title of Marquiss but he himself opposed his own cause and openly declared that it was an upstart dignity altogether unknown to our Ancestors and therefore that he did not by any means desire it nay utterly refused it â—â—s The EARLS which hold the third place we seem to have had from our German Ancestors For as Tacitus tells us they had always â—â—mites Earls attending their Princes to furnish them with counsel and to gain them authority But others are of opinion that both the Franks and we received them from the Romans For the Emperors after the Empire was come to its height began to keep about them a sort of domestick Senate which was call'd Caesar's †Comitatus retinue and these by whose counsel they acted in war and peace were called Comites Attendants from whence we find it common in old Inscriptions Comiti Impp. This name in a few years prevailed so much that all Magistrates had the name of Comites * Qui sacrum Comitatum observarunt Parati ad Cod. who gave their attendance at the said Council or had been of it insomuch that it was afterwards extended to all who had the supervisal of any business and Suidas as Cujacius has told us defined Comes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Governour of the people From whence also we gather that before Constantine the Great the name of Comes was not used to denote Dignity But he modelling the Roman government by new distinctions and endeavouring to oblige as many as possible by bestowing honours upon them first instituted the title of Comes as barely honorary without any duty nay there were certain rights and privileges annex'd to that title as to accompany the Prince not only when he appeared in publick but also in his palace and private retirements to be admitted to his table and to his secret consultations Upon which we read in Epiphanius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. i.e. Who also had obtained of the King the Dignity of a Count. At length such as had the favour of this title had other honours conferr'd upon them to which some duty was annext and again to those who were before in Offices and were engaged in the affairs of State he added this piece of honour 2 Comes domesticorum Lord Great Master of the Houshold Comes sacrarum largitiâ—num Lord High Treasurer Comes sacrae vestis Master of the Wardrobe Comes Stabuli Master of the Horse Comes Thesauri Tresurer Comes Orientis Lieutenant of the East Comes Britannia Comes Africa c. Hol. Hereupon the name of Count implied both Dignity and Government and being at first but temporary it was afterwards for term of life But when the Roman Government was divided into several Kingdoms this title was still retained and our Saxons call'd those in Latin Comites which in their own tongue were named Ealdormen The same persons were stil'd by the Danes in their language Eorlas i.e. honourable men Eorles at this day Earles P. Pithaeus in his Memorabilia Campania as Ethelwerd tells us and by a little melting of that word we call them at this day Earls And for a long time they were simply so called till at last an addition was made of the place's name over which they had jurisdiction But still this Dignity was not yet hereditary The first hereditary Earls in France by the way were the Earls of Bretagne But when William the Norman and Conqueror had in his hands the Government of this Kingdom the Earls began to be Feudal hereditary and patrimonial and those too as appears from Domesday were stil'd simply Earls without any addition as Earl Hugh Earl Alan Earl Roger c. Afterwards as appears by ancient Records the Earls were created with an addition of the name of the place and had every third penny of the County assigned them For instance Mawd the Empress daughter and heir of King Henry 1. created an Earl by this form of words as is manifest from the very Charter now in my hands I Mawd daughter of K. Henry and Governess of the English do give and grant to Gaufred de Magnavilla for his service and to his heirs after him hereditarily the Earldom of Essex and that he have the third penny out
In Burgundy the use of this name is very antient for we find in Gregory of Tours Abou◠〈◊〉 year 5â— The Barons of Burgundy as well Bishops as those of the Laity The first mention of a Baron with us that I have met withal is in a Fragment of the Laws of Canutus King of England and Denmark and even in that according to different copies it is read Vironis Baronis and Thani But that the Barons are there meant is plain from the Laws of William the Conqueror amongst which are inserted those of Canutus translated into Norman where it is writ Baron Take the whole passage But let the * Hâ—â—iâ—â— or Reâ—â— Exercituals be so moderated as to be tolerable An Earl shall provide those â—hings that are fitting eight horses four saddled and four unsaddled four steel caps and four coats of mail eight javelins and as many shields four swords and two hundred maucae of gold But a King 's Viron or Baron who is next to him shall have four horses two saddled and two unsaddled two swords four javelins and as many shields one steel cap and fifty †Possiâ—â— for â—â—â—usae iâ— 30 pâ—â—â— Many Thâ—â—â—â— Englâ—â— in the Câ—queroâ— time maucae of gold In the beginning also of the Norman times the Valvasors and Thanes were reckoned in dignity next the Earls and Barons and the Greater Valvasors if we may believe those who have writ concerning Feudal-tenures were the same as Barons are now So that Baro may seem to come from that name which time has by little and little made better and smoother But even then it was not so very honourable for in those times there were some Earls who had their Barons under them and I remember I have read in the antient Constitutions of France that there were ten Barons under one Earl and as many * Câ—â—inâ—â— Chieftans under a Baron 'T is likewise certain that there are extant some Charters since the Norman Conquest wherein the Earls write thus To all my Barons as well French as English greeting c. Nay even citizens of the better rank were called Barons so in Domesday-book the citizens of Warwick are stiled Barons and the citizens of London with the Inhabitants of the Cinque Ports enjoyed the same title But a few years after as Senators of Rome were chosen by their estates so those were accounted Barons with us who held their lands by an entire Barony or 13 Knights fees and one third of a Knight's fee every fee as we have it in an antient Book being computed at twenty pounds which in all make 400 Mark For that was the value of one entire Barony and they that had lands and revenues to this value were wont to be summoned to Parliaments It seems to have been a dignity with a jurisdiction which the Court-Barons Court â—â—rons as they call them do in some measure show And the great number of Barons too would persuade us that they were Lords who could give judgment within their own jurisdiction such as those are whom the Germans call Free-heirs especially if they had their castles for then they answered to the definition of Baldus that famous Lawyer who calls him a Baron that had a †Morâ— mixtuâ—â— impeâ—â—â— mere and mixt government in some one Castle by the grant of the Prince And all they as some would have it who held Baronies seem to have claimed that honour so that some of our Lawyers think that Baron and Barony Earl and Earldom Duke and Dukedom King and Kingdom Matth. Parts pag. 1262. were as it were Conjugates 'T is certain in that age K. Henry 3d reckoned 150 Baronies in England Upon which it comes to pass that in the Charters and Histories of that age almost all Noblemen are stil'd Barons a term in those times exceeding honourable â—aâ—onage 〈◊〉 Engâ—and the Baronage of England including in a manner all the prime Orders of the Kingdom Dukes Marquisses Earls and Barons But that name has come to the greatest honour since King Henry 3d out of such a multitude of them which was seditious and turbulent summoned to Parliament by his Writs some of the best only For he the words are taken out of an Author of considerable Antiquity after those great disturbances and enormous vexations between the King himself Simon de Montefort and other Barons were laid appointed and ordained that all such Earls and Barons of the Kingdom of England to whom the King should vouchsafe to direct his Writs of summons should come to his Parliament and no others unless their Lord the King please to direct other Writs to them also But what he begun only a little before his death was strictly observed by Edward the First and his successors From that time those were only looked upon as Barons of the Kingdom â—ummons 〈◊〉 Parliaâ—ent whom the King by such Writs of summons as they term them should call to Parliament 5 And it is noted that the said prudent King Edward I. summoned always those of antient families that were most wise to his Parliaments but omitted their sons after their death If they were not answerable to their Parents in understanding Hol. until Richard the 2d the 10th of October in the eleventh year of his reign created John de Beauchamp of Holt Baron of Kederminster by the delivery of a Diploma From which time the Kings have often conferred that honour by a Diploma or rather honorary Letters and the putting on of a long robe And at this day this way of creating Barons by a Diploma and that other of Writs of summons are in use though they are greeted not under the name of Baron but of Chevalier 6 For the Common Law doth not acknowlege Baron to be a name of dignity Hol. Those that are thus created are call'd Barons of Parliament Barons of the Kingdom and Barons honorary to distinguish them from those which are commonly call'd Barons according to the ancient constitution as those of Burford and Walton and such as were Barons to the Count Palatines of Chester and of Penbroch who were feudal and Barons by tenure Those Parliamentary Barons are not like those of France and Germany call'd barely by that name but are by birth Peers Noblemen Great States and Counsellors of the Kingdom and are summon'd by the King in this form to treat of the weighty affairs of the nation and to deliver their judgment upon them They have their peculiar immunities and privileges as in criminal causes to be judged by their Peers only not to have an oath demanded of them but in such case 't is sufficient if they deliver any thing upon honour not to be called among the Jury of twelve to enquire into matters of fact not to be liable to the Writs Supplicavit Capias Essoins and a great many other privileges which I leave to the Lawyers whose proper business it is to treat of these and things of the like nature Besides
these the two Archbishops and all the Bishops of England â—â—hops â—rons are also Barons of the Kingdom or Parliamentary Barons as also were in the memory of our grandfathers several belonging to Monasteries whereof this is a List Abbots of â—bots â—rliaâ—ntary â—rons Glassenbury St. Austin's Canterbury St. Peter's Westminster St. Albans St. Edmundsbury Peterburgh St. John's of Colchester Evesham Winchelcomb Crowland Battaile Reding Abingdon Waltham S. Cross Shrewsbury Cirencester St. Peter's at Glocester Bardney S. Benedict of Hulm Thorney Ramsey Hyde Malmesbury St. Marie's at York Selbey Prior of Coventry The Order of St. John of Jerusalem commonly stil'd Master of the Knights of St. John and would be counted the first Baron of England To these as to this day to the Bishops it belong'd by right and custom in every Parliament as the Publick Records word it to be present in person as Peers of the Realm along with the rest of the Peers to consult treat order decree and define by virtue of their Baronies held of the King For King William the first as the Ecclesiasticks of that age complain'd though those of the next look'd upon it as their greatest glory put the Bishopricks and Abbies holding Baronies in Frank almoigne Matth. Paris and so free from all secular services under military service enrolling every Bishoprick and Abbey according to the number of souldiers he and his successors might demand in times of war Since that the Ecclesiastical Barons enjoy all the immunities which the other Barons of the Realm do except that they are not judged by their Peers For as they by the Canons of the Church are not to be present at sanguinary causes so in the same causes they themselves are to be judged in matters of fact by twelve Jury-men But whether this be agreeable to the strict rules of the Law let the Lawyers determine Vavasors Vavasors or Valvasors formerly took place next the Barons derived by Lawyers from Valvae folding-doors a dignity that seems to have come to us from the French Sigonius For whilst their dominion in Italy lasted they call'd those Valvasors who govern'd the common people or part of them under the Duke Marquiss Earl or Chieftain and as Butler the Lawyer words it Had a full power of punishing but not the right of fairs and markets This is a piece of honour never much in vogue among us or how much soever it was it is now long since by degrees quite disused In Chaucer's age it was not very considerable as appears from what he says of his Frankelin or free-holder A Sheriff had he been and a contour Was no where soch a worthy Vavasour The Lesser Noblemen are the Knights Esquires Lesser Noblemen Knights and those which we commonly call Gentlemen Knights call'd by our English Lawyers in Latin Milites have almost in all Nations had their name from horses Thus they are called Cavelliers by the Italians Chevalier by the French Reuter by the Germans Marchog by the Welsh all with respect to riding They are called Knights only by the English a word in the ancient English as also German tongue signifying promiscuously servant or one that does service and a young man Upon which in the old Saxon Gospels the Disciples are call'd Leornung cnyhts and in another place we read Incnyht for a Client and our Common Lawyer Bracton mentions the Radcnihtes i.e. Serving horsemen who held lands upon this condition that they should furnish their Lord with horses from whence by shortning the name as we English love contractions I was perswaded long since that Knights remains now in use with us But for what reason the Laws of our own Country Knights why call'd Milites and all the Writers since the Norman Conquest should term them in Latin Milites I do not well apprehend Not but I know that in the decline of the Roman Empire the name of Milites was transferr'd to such as were always about the King's body and had the more considerable employments in the Prince's retinue But if I know any thing of this matter the first who were call'd so among us were they that held beneficiary lands or in fee for their service in the wars For those fees were called Militarie and they that in other places are term'd Feudataries were with us stil'd Milites souldiers as the Milites or souldiers of the King of the Archbishop of Canterbury of Earl Roger of Earl Hugh c. because they had by these persons lands bestowed upon them on this condition that they should fight for them and pay them fealty and homage whereas others who served in the wars †Pro solidis Solidarii for so much in money were call'd Solidarii and Servientes However these Milites or Equites which you please are fourfold with us The most honourable are those of the Order of S. George's Garter the second the Bannerets the third of the Bath and the fourth such as we call in English simply Knights and in Latin Equites aurati or Milites without any addition Of the Knights of the Order of S. George I will speak in their proper place when I come to Windsor Of the rest in this place briefly Banerett Banerets otherwise but falsly call'd Baronets have their name from a banner for they were allowed upon the account of their military bravery to use a square banner as well as the Barons and from thence they are by some truly call'd Equites Vexillarii and by the Germans Banner-heires I cannot trace their antiquity beyond the times of Edward the third when England was at it's height for martial discipline so that till time sets this matter in a clearer light I must believe that this honorary title was then first invented as a reward to warlike courage In the publick Records of that age among the military titles of Banerets there is mention also made of Homines ad vexillum Purs 2. Pat. 15. E. 3. M. 22 23. men at the banner and of homines ad arma men attending in arms which last seem to be the same with that other And I have read a Charter of King Edward the Third's whereby he advanced John Coupland for taking David second King of Scots in a battle at Durham to the honour of a Baneret in these words Desiring so to reward the said John who took David de Bruis and cheerfully delivered him up to us and to set such a mark upon his loyalty and valour as may give others example to serve us faithfully for the future we have advanced the said John to the Quality of a Baneret and to support that title have for us and our heirs granted to the same John the sum of 500 l. yearly to him and his heirs c. Nor may it be improper to mention out of Frossardus the form by which John Chandos a celebrated souldier in his time was made Baneret When Edward Prince of Wales was ready to engage
of the Pipe the Comptroler of the Pipe the five Auditors of the old Revenues the Foreign Opposer Clerk of the Estreats Clerk of the Pleas the Marshal the Clerk of the Summons the Deputy-Chamberlains two Secondaries in the office of the King's Remembrancer two Deputies in the office of the Treasurer's Remembrancer two Secondaries of the Pipe four the other Clerks in several Offices c. In the other part of the Exchequer call'd * Recepta the Receiving-Office two Chamberlains a Vice-treasurer Clerk of the Tallies Clerk of the Pells four Tellers two Joyners of the Tallies two Deputy-Chamberlains the Clerk for Tallies the Keeper of the Treasury four Pursevants ordinary two Scribes c. The Officers likewise of the Tenths and First-fruits belong to this Court. For when the Pope's authority was rejected and an Act pass'd that all Tithes and First-fruits should be paid to the King these Officers were Instituted Besides these three Royal Courts of Judicature Justices Itinerant for the speedy execution of Justice and to ease the subject of much labour and expence Henry the second sent some of these Judges and others every year into each County who were call'd Justices Itinerant or Justices in Eyre These had jurisdiction as well in Pleas of the Crown as in common causes within the Counties to which they were sent For that King as Matthew Paris says by the advice of his son and the Bishops appointed Justices over six parts of the Kingdom to every part three who took an oath to do every man right and justice This institution expir'd at length in Edward the third's time but was in some measure reviv'd by an Act of Parliament soon after For the Counties being divided into so many Circuits two of the King's Justices are to go those Circuits twice every year for the trial of prisoners and Gaol-delivery Hence in Law-latin they are call'd Justiciarii Gaolae deliberandae They are likewise to take cognizance of all Assizes of novel disseisin and some others from which they are call'd Justices of Assize and also to try all issues between party and party in any of the King 's three great Courts by Recognitors of the same Peerage as the custom is Hence they are call'd Justices of Nisi prius from the Writs directed to the Sheriff for these tryals which have the words Nisi prius in them The b This Court is since Mr. Camden's time taken away Star-Chamber The Star-Chamber or rather the Court of the King's Council takes cognizance of all matters criminal perjuries Impostures Cheats Excesses c. This Court if we consider it in respect of standing and dignity is ancient and honourable above all others For it seems to be as early as Appeals from the Subjects to their Sovereign and the very birth and rise of the King's Council The Judges of it are men of the greatest honour and eminence being those of the King 's Privy Council It has had the name of the Star-Chamber ever since this Court was held in the Star-Chamber in Westminster which has now been a long time set a part to that use For in an Act of Parliament in Edward the third's time we find Conseil en le Chambre des Estoielles pres de la receipte al Westminster i.e. The Council in the Star-Chamber near the Receipt at Westminster The authority and jurisdiction of this Court was enlarg'd and confirm'd by an Act of Parliament procur'd by that wise Prince Henry the 7th so that some have falsly ascribed the institution of it to him The Judges of this Court are the Lord Chancellor of England the Lord Treasurer of England the Lord President of the King's Council the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal and all those of the King's Council whether persons spiritual or temporal also sâ—n of the Barons of the Realm as the King will â—ppoint with the two Chief Justices or two othâ—â— Judges in their absence The Officers are tâ—â— Clerk of the Council the Clerk of the Writs and â—f the process in the Star-Chamber c. Causes of tâ—â—s Court are not try'd per Pares according to the Common-Law but after the method of the Civil-Law Thâ—â—â—urt oâ— Wards The Court of c The Court of Wards is now taken away Wards and Liveries which is so call'd from Minors whose causes are here try'd was instituted by Henry the 8. whereas before all business of this nature was determined in the Courts of Chancery and Exchequer For by an old Custom derived from Normandy and not as some write instituted by Henry the third when any one dies holding lands of the King in capite by Knight's service both the heir and the whole estate with the revenues of it are in Ward to the King till he has compleated the age of one and twenty and then he may sue out his livery The judge in this Court is the Master-General under him a Supervisor of the Liveries an Attorney-General a Receiver-General an Auditor a Clerk of the Liveries a Clerk of the Court forty Feudaries and a Messenger In after-ages were institued two other Courts for correcting of errors the one for those of the Excheqeur the other for those of the King's Bench. The Judges of the first were the Chancellor and the Treasurer of England taking such of the Judges to their assistance as they should think fit those of the latter were the Judges of the Common Pleas and the Barons of the Exchequer The Court of Admiralty has jurisdiction in marine affairs The Court of Admiralty and is administred by the Admiral of England his * Locum-tenens Lieutenant a Judge two Clerks a Serjeant of the Court and the Vice-Admirals Now for the Courts of Equity The Court of Chancery The Chancery takes its name from the Chancellor a title of no great honour under the old Roman Emperors as may be learnt from Vopiscus At present it is a name of the greatest dignity and the Chancellors are raised to the highest honours in the State Cassiodorus derives the word it self a cancellis i.e. rails or Balisters because they examine matters †Intra sâ—creta Cancellorum Epist 6. Lib. 11. in a private apartment enclos'd with rails such as the Latins call'd Cancelli Consider says he by what name you are call'd What you do within the rails cannot be a secret your doors are transparent your cloysters lye open and your gates are all windows Hence it plainly appears that the Chancellor sat expos'd to every one 's within the rails or cancels so that his name seems to be deriv'd from them Now it being the business of that Minister who is as it were the mouth the eyes and ears of the Prince to strike or dash out with cross lines * Cancellation lattice-like such writs or judgments as are against law or prejudicial to the state not improperly call'd Cancelling some think the word Chancellor to be deduc'd from it And thus we find it in a
Marshall were complained of it was ordained in these words Marescallus de quolibet Comite Barone integram Baroniam tenente de uno palfrido sit contentus vel de pretio quale antiquitus percipere consuevit ita quod si ad homagium quod fecit palfridum vel pretium in formâ praedictâ ceperit ad militiam suam nihil capiat Et si fortè ad homagium nihil ceperit ad militiam suam capiat De Abbatibus Prioribus integram baroniam tenentibus cum homagium aut fidelitatem pro Baroniis suis fecerunt capiat palfridum vel pretium ut praedictium est Hoc idem de Archiepiscopis Episcopis observandum est De his autem qui partem Baroniae tenent sive sint Religiosi sive Seculares capiat secundum portionem partis Baroniae quam tenent De Religiosis tenentibus in liberam elymosynam non per Baroniam vel partem nihil de caetero exigat Marescallus And about that time were set down all the Droites belonging to the Earl Marshall in a Roll which was laid up in the Wardrobe but that vanished shortly after For as it appeareth by Record in the 18th of Edward the third the Kind directed a brief to the Barons of the Exchequer of the fees and all things else belonging to the office of Earl Marshal and they returned in their certificate annexed to the Brief nothing but certain petty allowances of money wine candles for the Marshal and Magister Marescallus and for the four Marshals for every day qua faciant herbergeriam And out of the red book of the Exchequer they certifie in these words De officio Marescalciae survivit Gilbertus Mareschal Comes de Strigal cujus est officium tumultus sedare in domo Regis liberationes hospitiorum facere ostia aulae Regis custodire Accipit autem de quolibet Barone facto Milite à Rege quolibet Comite eâ die palfredum cum sella And by an inquisition taken about the 11th of Henry the fifth it appeareth that there belongeth to the Earls Marshals disposing the office of the Marshal in the King's-Bench the Marshal of the Exchequer with the office of the Cryer before the Marshal and the Marshal of the Hall of the King's House and some other such places But the greatest encrease of the authority of this Office hath been since there were no Constables for the Kings since that time have referred many matters to them which in former times were proper to the Constable Neither had the Marshal any precedency in respect of his place until King Henry the eighth in the 31st year of his reign by Parliament assigned him place next to the Lord Constable and before the Lord Admiral William Camden The Original and Dignity of the Earl Marshal of England By the same Hand SOme learned men which have discoursed of offices and magistracies in respect of some conveniencies in military matters have thought the office of Marshal in our age to be answerable to that of the Tribuni militum in the ancient Roman Estate and of the Protostrator in the late state of the Greek or Eastern Empire But this name of Marshall now in use which in process of time hath ascended unto so high a dignity began at such time as the Goths Vandals Franks and other Northern people overflowed Europe who setling themselves in the provinces of the Romans liking well their policy and government began not only to imitate the same but also to translate their titles of civil and military dignities into their own tongues so they translated retaining the signification Limitanei Duces into Marche-graffes Scutati into Shield-Knights Praefectus Palatii into Seneschalk Comes Stabuli into Mar-staller Minister Dei into Gods-schalke Praefectus Equitum into Mar-schalk For all they who have lately traced out Etymologies do consent that as Mar and Mark signifie a horse so Schalk signifieth a ruler an officer or Provost But the French mollified this harsh concurrence of consonants and have made of Seneschalk Marschalk c. Senschal and Marshall This name albeit happily the office might be was not in use in this realm in the Saxon government only they had their Staller which by signification and authority of Historians doth seem to be all one with the Constable But as this name came out of Germany with the Franks into France so out of France first arrived here with the Normans and Roger de Montgomery which was Marshall of the Norman army at the Conquest is accounted the first Marshal of England For some years after there is in Histories no mention of this office until in the confusion under King Stephen when as Maud Fitz-Empress for strengthening of her part made Milo Earl of Hereford and Constable of England so he for assuring his faction made Gilbert Clare Earl of Pembroke and Marshal of England with the state of inheritance who in respect of his usual habitation at Stryghall was commonly called Earl of Stryghall in which office his son Richard sirnamed Strongbow succeeded who first opened the way to the English for the conquest of Ireland by whose only daughter and heir it descended to William Marshall who had by her five sons which died all without issue and five daughters the eldest of them named Maud to whom in the partition was assigned the office of Marshal of England with the Mannor of Hempsted Marshal which as it is in old records the Marshals held in Marescaugiâ per virgam Mareschalliae This Maud was married to Hugh Bigot Earl of Norfolk whose son Roger in right of his mother was Marshal of England and after him Roger Bigot his nephew by the brother who incurring the displeasure of King Edward the first by denying to serve him in Guienne practising to hinder the King's expedition into Flanders and dissuading the Commons to pay subsidies imposed by Parliament in that respect for recovery of the King's favour surrendred up to the King for ever both his Earldom of Norfolk and office of Marshal of England which King Edward the second granted to his brother Thomas of Brotherton from whom it came inheritably to Thomas Mowbray Earl of Nottingham whom King Richard the second created Earl Marshal of England whereas in former time they were stiled only Marshals of England and so from the Mowbrayes to Howards late Dukes of Norfolk yet this office hath not so descended without interruption in the aforesaid families but that upon disfavours and attainders it hath been oftentimes conferred upon others as appeareth by this Catalogue of them wherein they are set down successively The Marshals of England Roger de Montgomery Earl of Shrewsbury Walter Giffard Earl of Buckingham Robert Fitz-Ede base son of King Henry the first Gilbert de Clare Earl of Pembroke Richard his son Earl of Pembroke William Marshall the elder Earl of Pembroke William his son Earl of Pembroke Richard his brother Earl of Pembroke Gilbert his brother Earl of Pembroke
Richard Earl of Cornwall 7 This Richard began to make Ordinances for these tinn-works and afterwards c. Afterwards a Charter was granted them by Edmund Earl Richard's Brother with several immunities by whom also the Stannary-Laws were fram'd and confirm'd with his own Seal laying a certain impost upon the tinn payable to the Earls of Cornwall The Polity of the Tinners These Liberties Privileges and d They are recited in Plowden's Commentaries p. 327. Laws were afterwards confirm'd and enlarg'd by Edward 3. who divided the whole society of Tinners that were as it were one body into four parts or quarters call'd from the places Foy-more Black-more Trewarnaile and Penwith He constituted one general Warden or Overseer over all the rest 8 Called Lord Warden of the Stannaries of Stannum that is tinn who is to do justice both in causes of Law and Equity and to set over every company each their Sub-warden who should 9 Every three weeks every month within their respective jurisdiction determine controversies 10 In causes personal between tinner and tinner and between tinner and foreigner except in causes of Land Life or Member and such Sentences from the Stannum or tinn are call'd Stannary-Judgments but from these an Appeal is sometimes made to the Lord Warden himself 11 From him to the Duke from the Duke to the King In matters of moment there are by the Warden general Parliaments or several Assemblies summon'd whereunto Jurats are sent out of every Stannary whose Constitutions do bind them As for those that deal with tinn they are of four sorts the owners of the Soil the Adventurers the Merchants or Regraters and the Labourers call'd the Spadiards of their Spade who poor men are pitifully out-eaten by usurious Contracts But the Kings of England and Dukes of Cornwall in their times have reserv'd to themselves a Praeemption of tinn by the opinion of the learned in the Law as well in regard of the Propriety as being chief Lords and Proprietaries as of their Royal Prerogative And lest the tribute should not be duly paid to the prejudice of the Dukes of Cornwall who according to ancient custom for every thousand pound of tinn are to have 40 shillings it is provided that whatever tinn is made shall be carried to one of the four towns appointed for that purpose where twice every year it shall be weigh'd stamp'd 12 They call it Coynage and the impost paid and before that no man may sell it or convey it away 13 Under forfeiture of their tinn without being liable to a severe fine Nor is Tinn the only Mineral found here but there is likewise gold Cornish Diamonds silver and diamonds naturally cut into angles and polish'd some whereof are altogether as big as a walnut and only inferior to those in the East in blackness and hardness c Sea-holme Sea-holme is found in great plenty upon the coasts and all manner of grain tho' not without great industry in the husbandman is produced in such plenty that it does not only supply their own necessary uses but Spain also yearly with vast quantities of corn They make likewise a gainful trade of those little fishes they call Pylchards Pylchards which are seen upon the sea-coast as it were in great swarms from July to November these they catch garbage salt smoak barrel press and so send them in great numbers to France Spain and Italy where they are a welcome commodity Fumados perhaps Pliny's Gerres and are named Fumados Upon which Michael a Cornish-man by much the most eminent Poët of his age writing against Henry of Auranches Poet-Laureat to King Henry 3. who had play'd upon the Cornish-men as the fagg-end of the world in defence of his country has these verses which I shall here set down for your diversion Non opus est ut opes numerem quibus est opulenta Et per quas inopes sustentat non ope lenta Piscibus stano nusquam tam fertilis ora 'T were needless to recount their wondrous store Vast wealth and fair provisions for the poor In fish and tinn they know no rival shore Nor is Cornwall more happy in the soil than it's inhabitants who as they are extremely well bred and ever have been so even in those more ancient times for as Diodorus Siculus observes by conversation with merchants trading thither for tinn they became more courteous to strangers so are they lusty stout and tall their limbs are well set 〈…〉 and at wrastling not to mention that manly exercise of hurling the Ball they are so eminent that they go beyond other parts both in art and a firmness of body requir'd to it And the foremention'd Poet e Michael Blaunpinus Cornubiensis look'd upon as a most excellent Poët in his time and flourish'd in the year 1250. Bal. Cent. 4. N. 10. Wood Antiq. Oxon. pag. 85. Michael after a long harangue made upon his country-men telling us in his jingling verse how Arthur always set them in the front of the battel at last boldly concludes Quid nos deterret si firmiter in pede stemus Fraus ni nos superet nihil est quod non superemus What can e'er fright us if we stand our ground If fraud confound us not we 'll all confound And this perhaps may have given occasion to that tradition of Giants formerly inhabiting those parts For Hauvillan a Poët who liv'd four hundred years ago describing certain British Giants has these verses concerning Britain Titanibus illa 〈…〉 Sed paucis famulosa domus quibus uda ferarum Terga dabant vestes cruor haustus pocula trunci Antra Lares Dumeta thoros coenacula rupes Praeda cibes raptus Venerem spectacula caedes Imperium vires animos furor impetus arma Mortem pugna sepulchra rubus monstrisque gemebat Monticolis tellus sed eorum plurima tractus Pars erat occidui terror majórque premebat Te furor extremum Zephyri Cornubia limen Of Titan's monstrous race Only some few disturb'd that happy place Raw hides they wore for cloaths their drink was blood Rocks were their dining-rooms their prey their food Their cup some hollow trunk their be a grove Murder their sport and rapes their only love Their courage frenzy strength their sole command Their arms what fury offer'd to their hand And when at last in brutish fight they dy'd Some spatious thicket a vast grave supply'd With such vile monsters was the land opprest But most the farther regions of the West Of them thou Cornwall too wast plagu'd above the rest But whether this firmness of constitution which consists of a due temperature of heat and moisture be caused in the Danmonii by those fruitful breezes of the West-wind and their westerly situation 〈…〉 as we see in Germany the Batavi in France the Aquitani and Rutheni which lye farthest toward the West are most lusty or rather to some peculiar
Fishermen it has now very considerable Merchants in it It is remarkable for being the landing place of the unfortunate Duke of Monmoâ—th June 11. 1685. when he asserted his pretended right to the Crown He brought with him but one man of War of about 30 guns and two other small vessels with Arms for about 4000 men having not above 100 that came over with him But notwithstanding the great increase of his Forces in a very short time he was routed in a pitch'd battel and his attempt prov'd faâ—al to him and his Followers c From hence our Author passes on to Bridport Bâ—â—dport which he says seems to want nothing to make it a port but industry But it appears by experience that it is not this will do it for the inhabitants have lately attempted it and fail'd in the undertaking the tides perpetually barring it with land against which they could not find any remedy North east from hence is Winford-Eagle Wâ—â—ford-Eâ—gâ—e * â—â—â—r M n. Brit. MS. near which in a ground call'd Ferndown upon the road to Bridport is a barrow amongst many others thereabouts that was search'd and open'd some years ago Upon the first removing of the earth they found it full of large flints and at length came to a place perfectly like an Oven curiously clay'd round and in the midst of it a fair Urn full of very firm bones with a great quantity of black ashes under it But what is most remarkable one of the diggers putting his hand into the Oven when first open'd pull'd it hastily back not being able to endure the heat and several others doing the like affirm'd it to be hot enough to bake bread †Dr. Jorden of Baths c. 14. p. 106. The same natural heat is often found by our mineral-men in their mines so as sometimes they are not able to touch them Digging farther they met with 16 Urns more but not in Ovens and in the middle one with ears to it they were all full of sound bones and black ashes Not far from hence is Winterborne Winterborne ‖ Aubr Mon. Brit. MS. in the parish whereof within an inclosure near the London-road there stand certain stones nine in number in a circular form The highest of them is seven foot the next highest almost six foot the rest are broken and now not above a yard high And upon the same road half a mile farther there stand three stones which are four foot high The stones of both these monuments seem to be petrify'd lumps of flints cc Descending from hence to the sea-coast we come to Portland Portland which in the year 1632. gave the title of Earl to Richard Lord Weston of Neiland Lord High Treasurer of England who was succeeded by several of the same family It now gives that title to William Bentinck After the donation of Edward mention'd by our Author this Island continu'd in the Church of Winchester to the time of Edw. 1. in whose reign Gilbert de Clare Earl of Hertford and Glocester probably looking upon it as an impregnable place gave other lands to the Church in exchange for it through whose heirs it came to the Crown in Edw. 4. where it still continues d Upon the south-east-part of this County lies the Isle of Purbeck Purbecâ— the south part whereof is very good land It has plenty of marble and of many sorts of good stone from which as tradition informs us the Cathedral Church of Salisbury was supply'd and they to their great advantage carry much of it to London e The most considerable piece of Antiquity in it â—orffe-â—â—â—â—e is Corffe Castle the foundation whereof is not distinctly clear'd by any history though there are some circumstances that would justifie at least a conjecture of it's being built by K. Edgar For by an Inquisition taken 54 Hen. 3. concerning the Abbess of Shaftsbury's claim of Wreck in her mannour of Kingston in Purbeck it is thus mention'd Juratores dicunt quod ante fundationem Castri de Corffe Abbatissa Moniales S. Edwardi de Shaston habuerunt wreccum maris quod evenire consuevit in manerio suo de Kingston sine contradictione Now the Nunnery of Shaston was founded An. 941. by K. Edmund after which time the castle must have been built and 't is probable was not done in either of the two succeeding Reigns which were but short till Edgar the peaceable the rich and the great builder too for he founded and repair'd 47 Monasteries came to the Crown After the strength and safety of the Realm began to consist in Castles this was one of the most principal belonging to the Crown and in the 42 Hen. 3. when Simon Montfort had took that King prisoner it was the third Castle requir'd to be deliver'd up to that party and was afterwards by Mortimer look'd upon as the fittest place wherein to secure his prisoner Edw. 2. It was repair'd by K. Hen. 7. and in the late Civil Wars was a garrison for the King and defended by the owner of it Lord Chief Justice Banks nor did it come into the Enemies hand but by the treachery of one who pretending to have brought relief let in the besiegers The town is one of the nine burroughs of the County that send Burgesses to Parliament and what is remarkable the principal members of it especially as many of them as have born the Office of Mayor are call'd Barons as the Chief citizens of London anciently were and the governing part of all the Cinque-ports still are In the Island there is one family Clavil recorded in Domesday-book to have been here in the time of the Conqueror f To the north lies Poole which our Author says in the last Age arose out of a few Fishermens houses Notwithstanding it seems to be a town of good note and antiquity though no mention be made of it in Domesday For it appears by Records that in the 2 Edw. 2. the Free Burgesses of Poole Thomas Plantagenet Earl of Lancaster being then Lord in right of his wife paid to the said Lord the sum of 8 l. 13 s. equal to about 80 l. now for the farm of their Liberties and in 14 Edw. 3. they sent Burgesses to Parliament g Upon the river Frome lies Dorchester â—hester a pretty large town with very wide streets and delicately situated on a rising ground opening at the south and west-ends into sweet fields and spacious downs It is a Corporation formerly govern'd by two Bailiffs and Burgesses but was in the 5 Ch. 1. incorporated a-new by the name of Mayor Bailiffs Aldermen and Burgesses with an enlargement of Privileges Franchises and Immunities In the 29 Hen. 8. it contain'd 349 houses In the time of the Romans it was one of the two winter Stations of their Legions mention'd in those parts Vindogladia now Winburne being the other 〈…〉 h So Maiden-castle is observ'd by our Author to have been a summer Station and
write that his Ancestors were â—purâ 〈◊〉 Emperors and slain here and if so why may not I positively affirm that he was descended from that Constantine who in the fourth Consulship of Theodosius the younger out of hopes that good fortune would attend that name was chosen Emperor in Britain and afterward murder'd at Arles 25 I have heard that in the time of K. Hen. 8. there was found near this place a table of metal as it had been tinn and lead commix'd inscrib'd with many Letters but in so strange a Character that neither Sir Th. Eliot nor Mr. Lily Schoolmaster of Paul's could read it and therefore neglected it Had it been preserved somewhat happily might have been discovered as concerning Stonehenge which now lieth obscured About four miles from Ambresbury on this side of the Avon â—arren is a warren commonly called Everly Warren where is a great breed of hares which afford the recreation of Hunting to the neighbouring Gentry But the number is not so great as that the adjacent inhabitants are forc'd to demand a guard of soldiers against them as Pliny reports that the inhabitants of the Baleares did altho' they are alike mischievous to their corn ff Not far from hence is Lutgershall heretofore the Castle of Geffrey Fitz-Peters the rich Earl of Essex and Lord Chief Justice of England Not much higher is Wolfhall â—haâ—l the seat of the noble family of the Seimours or de Sancto Mauro who were Lords of great possessions in this County by marriage with an heiress of the Esturmies â—y or â—y who bore Argent three Demi-Lions Gul. and had been ever since the time of Henry 2. hereditary Bailiffs and Keepers of the neighbouring Forest of Savernac which is famous for plenty of game â—acâ— and for a sort of sweet-smelling Fern In memory whereof the great Hunting-horn tip'd with silver is yet preserved by the Seimours A little more eastward the river Cunetio by the Saxons called Cynetan but vulgarly Kennet m It rises west of Wolfhall ariseth near a village of the same name which some would have to be the Cunetio mention'd by Antoninus but the distance on both sides contradicts this assertion Here Selbury a round hill riseth to a considerable height and seemeth by the fashion of it and by the sliding down of the earth about it to be cast up by mens hands Of this sort are many to be seen in this County round and copped which are call'd Burrows or Barrows Burrows and Barrows perhaps raised in memory of the Soldiers there slain For bones are found in them and I have read that it was a custom among the Northern People that every soldier escaping alive out of Battel was to bring his Helmet full of Earth toward the raising of Monuments for their slain Fellows Tho' I rather think this Selbury-hill to be placed instead of a Boundary if not by the Romans yet by the Saxons as well as the ditch call'd Wodensdike seeing there were frequent battels in this country between the Mercians and West-Saxons about their limits and Boetius In his Geometry and the Writers that treat about Surveying tell us that such heaps were often raised for Landmarks gg 26 Within one mile of Selbury is Albury an uplandish Village built in an old Camp as it seemeth but of no large compass for it is environed with a fair trench and hath four gaps or gates in two of which stand huge stones as jambs but so rude that they seem rather natural than artificial of which sort there are some other in the said village At the first this River runs 27 Eastward thro' the fields in which stones like Rocks every where appear from whence there is a village call'd Rockley Rockley between which there now and then breaks out water upon a sudden in manner of a * Torrentis Land-flood which the Country-people call Hungerborn Hungerborn i.e. a rivulet of Hunger because it is commonly the prognostick of great scarcity From thence the Kennet runneth to a town of it's own name which was called Cunetio Cunetio by Antoninus and placed 20 miles from Verlucio At which distance that old town called by the new name of Marleborow heretofore Marleberge Marlborow is seated all along the side of a hill from east to west upon the banks of the river Cunetio I shall not be very forward to affirm that this new name came from Marga which in our language we call Marle and use it to improve our Lands This is certain that it lies at the foot of a hill of white stone which our Forefathers called Marle before they had borrowed the word Chalk from the Latin Calx The derivation of this place from Merlin's Tomb is to be ridicul'd which Alexander Necham in his book of Divine Wisdom hammer'd out in this Distich Merlini tumulus tibi Merlebrigia nomen Fecit testis erit Anglica lingua mihi Great Merlin 's grave The name to Marlborough in Saxon gave The History of the fortune as well as the name of this Cunetio from the entrance of the Saxons till the Norman times is wholly buried in oblivion for in that interval not so much as it's name occurs in our Annals hh In the next Age we read that John sirnamed Sine terra or Lack-land who was afterwards King of England had a Castle here which in his rebellion against his brother K. Richard I. was surrendred to Hubert Archbishop of Canterbury That which it was afterwards most famous for was the great Parliament here n 52 Henry 3. assembled which by an unanimous consent made a Law for the suppressing of Riots which is yet called Statutum de Marleborow This Castle is now by the injuries of time nothing but ruines there are indeed some few remains of the wall of the Keep and near it is an Ale-house which hath a Castle for the sign But the inhabitants brag of nothing more than of the Font probably of * Lapis obsidianus Touch-stone in the neighbouring Church of Preshut in which as the tradition goes several Princes were heretofore baptised And I cannot omit what I have read o They only now pay something in money in lieu of it but the Arms of the Town plainly points to this Custom being thus blazon'd Party per Saltier Gules and Azure on the firct quarter gules a bull Arg. on the second Azure a Cock or Capon Arg. the third as the second and on the base Gules are three Greyhounds currant Arg. between two roses Gules namely that every Free-man by an old custom gives to the Mayor at his admission a couple of Beagles two white Capons and a white Bull. On the same side of this river lies Ramesbury Ramesbury a small village now only famous for it's pleasant meadows tho' it was once honoured with the See of a Bishop who was Diocesan of this County but this See being joyn'd to
had possession of this Monastery 270 years they were turn'd out by the command of King Eadwy and secular Priests put in their room but the Monks were restor'd by King Edgar Bishop Herman would willingly have translated the Bishop's See hither but was prevented in his design by the diligence of the Monks So that the †Monast Angl. T. 1â— p. 97. Abingdon Historiographer is under a mistake when he tells us that the seat of the Bishop of Barkshire and Wiltshire was at Malmsbury and Radulphus de Diceto when he calls Odo Bishop of Ramesbury Bishop of Malmsbury as also Gervasius Tilburiensis when he says that S. Aldhelm had the city of Maidulf that is Scireburn The Abbey here exceeeded all the rest in Wiltshire both in riches and honour the Lord Abbot sitting in Parliament as Peer of the Realm Robert Jenner Esq Goldsmith of London the 1 Car. 1. built an Almshouse here for 8 persons and endow'd it with 40 l. a year g From hence the Avon goes to Dantesey Dantesey of which place Henry Lord Danvers was made by K. Charles 1. Earl of Danby He it was who built the Physick-garden in Oxford and among many other acts of charity founded here an Alms-house and Free-school Upon the attainder of his brother and heir Sir John Danvers the town was given by K. Charles 2. to James then Duke of York whose second son James was created Baron of Dantsey it was afterwards part of the dowry of Queen Mary and since the Revolution belongs to the Earl of Monmouth The Avon bending it's course southward from hence runs near Bradenstoke Bradenstoke without doubt the same town to which Aethelwold carry'd his devastations in the year 905. At which time Bromton says he put to military execution all Brithendune i.e. all in Bradon-forest as far as Brandestok or as Higden more rightly calls it Bradenestoke so that Polydore Virgil Holinshed Speed and our late Historians are very much mistaken in asserting this to be Basingstoke in Hamshire Somewhat lower the Avon receives the Caln Oldbury-hill a little river rising at the bottom of Oldbury-hill * Aubr MS. on which is a large oval camp with double trenches possibly Danish g 2. For the town of Caln Caln 't is probable it arose out of the ruines of the old Roman Colony on the other side of the water near Studley where Roman Coins are frequently found It was one of the Palaces of the West-Saxon Kings and at the time of the Conquest enjoy'd great privileges one whereof was that it never gelded For says Domesday Cauna nunquam geldavit ergo nescitur quot sunt hidae ibidem Not far from Caln is Cummerford Cummerford probably the Cynemaeresford of the Saxon Chronicle call'd by Florence of Worcester Kimeresford where Aethelmund Earl of Mercia making an inroad into the country of the West-Saxons was met by Werstan Earl of Wiltshire between whom was a bloody battle wherein both Commanders lost their lives but the victory fell to the Wiltshire-men Upon second thoughts the circumstances of that action agree more exactly to this place than * Glossar ad Chron. Sax. to Kempsford in Glocestershire for setting aside that the Saxon name is more easily melted into Cummerford Higden tells us it was out of the bounds of Mercia Ethelmundus says he fines suos egressus usque ad vadum Chimeresford and if so it cannot be in Glocestershire If there is as I have been told a large entrenchment near this Cummerford it puts the matter so much the more beyond dispute h The Avon having receiv'd this little river goes forward to Chippenham Chippenham call'd by Bromton Urbs Chipenham one of the chiefest towns in the Kingdom of the West-Saxons and so very often mention'd in the Histories of those times That the Church there was founded by one of the Hungerfords as our Author observes I am afraid is hardly grounded upon any clear authority The Chappel indeed yet call'd Hungerford's Chappel might possibly be founded by Walter Lord Hungerford for 21 Henr. 6. he obtain'd a licence for the founding of a Chantry in the Chappel of our Lady within the Parish-Church of this place Queen Mary in the beginning of her reign granted her Charter to this Corporation which consists of a Bailiff and 12 Burgesses i Next is the Devises Devises call'd by Westminster Visae and by Walter Hemingford Wysae That this town was built by Dunwallo King of the Britains is scarce probable neither is it easie to imagine that it should be inhabited by the Romans tho' on the utmost part of Rund-way hill that overlooks the town there is a square single-trench'd Camp which seems to point out to us the presence of the Romans in those parts The Annotator upon the life of King Alfred has told us upon the authority of Tradition that the Castle here was built by that King but we have ground from the best Historians to believe it was built or at least repair'd by Roger Bishop of Salisbury Speed says It was one of the goodliest Castles in Europe and Holinshed That it was the strongest hold in England Which made Ralph Fitz-Stephen in the war between King Stephen and Mawd the Empress after he had possess'd himself of this Castle boast that by the assistance of it he would subject all the Country between London and Winchester The government of it was formerly look'd upon to be such an honourable post that it has been accepted by the greatest Lords It was not so much demolish'd but that some shew of fortifications were left till the Civil Wars when it was besieg'd more than once And Sir Ralph Hopton's being enclos'd herein by Sir William Waller occasion'd that memorable battle call'd Rundway-fight from the Down upon which it was fought July 13. 1643. Now all the Fortifications are dismantl'd and the very top of the Keep which Leland calls a work of incredible cost dug up by the Gardiners The town is a very populous Corporation consisting of two great Parishes and is govern'd by a Mayor Recorder c. Not far from hence his Heddington Heddington which without doubt was a Roman town as is evident from the foundations of houses that have been dug up here for a mile together and the finding of silver and copper coins of several Roman Emperors some of which are given by Mr. John Aubrey to the Royal Society and to Ashmole's Musaeum in Oxford These circumstances and the situation of this Heddington on the exact road between Bath and Marlborough made the learned Commentator on â— Alfred's life conclude this to be the Verlucio of Antoninus plac'd by him 15 miles from Aquae Solis and 20 from Cunetio But Heddington not being above 12 from Bath and but 10 from Marleburgh we must †See â—â—â—ward look for Verlucio in some other place South from hence is Steeple-Lavington or East-Lavington commonly call'd Market Lavington Lavingâ—â—â— East from the great
is Yanesbury â—esbury which 't is something strange our Author should affirm to be a Roman Camp which were for the most part square and had only a single vallum when he tells us at the same time this has a doubleditch a way of encamping not observ'd by any Author to have been us'd by that nation It 's being so very like Bratton-castle only something bigger and of an oval form would induce one to believe it Danish The length of it is 360 paces and it has three entrances one toward the north another toward the south and a third which is the principal and fortify'd with out-works after the Danish fashion toward the east â—on s From hence the Willey runs to Wilton prov'd to have been formerly call'd Ellandune from the Records quoted by our Author from the â—m 2. â— 8â—1 Monast. Anglicanum and from Brian Twine's MS. Collections where we find Ellendinia or Ellenduna that is Ellenge donne or a place naked desolate or wild from hence is Wyldton or Wylddoun and he tells us immediately after that he takes Ellendune to be Salisbury-plain But in what language is it that Ellan or Ellendge signifie wild or in what age was Wilton call'd Wyldton or Wyld-down Notwithstanding these authorities the circumstances of King Egbert's battel with Beornwulf make the opinion suspicious for 't is not probable that Egbert the most powerful Prince in the Island should let an enemy make an inroad into the very heart of his kingdom without any opposition And 't is as unaccountable why none of our Historians should tell us the battel was fought at Wilton when it is plain the town was known by this name long before that time To place Ellendune here is perhaps as unreasonable as Bromton's settling it in Middlesex But if the authority of the †Monast Angl. tom 1. p. 31. Winchester Annals may be allowed in this case the controversie is clearly enough decided For they tell us expresly this fight was at Ellendun 〈◊〉 â—â—â—â—d â—hâ— a mannour belonging to the Prior of Winchester now this can be no other place than Elingdon near Highworth upon the borders of the Mercian kingdom which once belong'd to the Monastery of S. Swithin t We come next to Salisbury Salisbury the old Sorbiodunum Sorbiodunum which our Author upon the information of a Welshman affirms to signifie a dry hill in that language Yet those who are Masters of that Tongue cannot discover any thing in it that both answers the sound of Sorbiodunum and can possibly be wrested to that sense The Saxons indeed seem to have drawn their Searesbyrig from this quality of the soil searan in that language signifying to dry but without having any eye to the old Sorbiodunum which I take to be a more probable original than either Hollingshed's derivation of it from Salisbury in Germany or John Ross's from a tower built here by Julius Caesar which he says might be call'd Caesaris burgus and so corrupted into Sarisburge as Caesar Augusta in Spain into Sarogosa But setting aside that Julius Caesar did not pursue his victories thus far that denomination is not warranted by any Author and to be sure Antoninus would have us'd the true genuine Roman name if there had been any such u How it came by the name Severia Severia I cannot certainly tell but 't is possible enough that Severus the Emperor living most of his time in Britaine might sometimes reside here and either by re-edifying the town or doing some other memorable thing at it might derive upon it that name which occasion'd the calling of this County Severnia and Provincia Severorum However that it was much frequented in the times of the later Emperors appears by the Coins of Constans Magnentius Constantine and Crispus found there w In the Saxon times It 's Condition in the Saxon times between Cynric's taking it and K. Egbert's age we meet with no mention of it but this Prince very often resided here and K. Edgar call'd here a Parliament or Great Council A. 960. After the Conquest it flourish'd mightily the Norman Kings very commonly living and sometimes holding their Parliaments here x The insolence of the Garrison Cause of the removal hinted to by our Author was no doubt one great cause of their removing For the Castle which formerly belong'd to the Bishop was upon the difference between King Stephen and Bishop Roger seis'd by the King who plac'd a Governour and a garrison in it But that being look'd upon as a violation of the Liberties of the Church gave occasion for frequent differences by which the Bishop and Canons were induc'd to the thoughts of removing into a place where they might be less disturb'd This was projected by Herebertus Pauper the brother and immediate predecessor of Richard Poor in the reign of Richard 1. But that King dying before the design could be effected and the turbulent reign of K. John ensuing they were forc'd to lay aside the thoughts of it till Henry 3.'s reign wherein it was reviv'd and completed by Richard Poor Not but Mr. Camden is in the right when he tells us that the citizens for the causes by him mention'd began by degrees to remove from Old Sarum in the reign of Richard 1. And this serves to correct those who think that the Bishop and Clergy remov'd first and that the Citizens follow'd or at least that they remov'd about the same time y The foundation of the New-Cathedral New Cathedral was begun the 4th of the Calends of May A. D. 1220. for the more effectual carrying on whereof we find that Bishop Poor in his Constitutions recommended to all Priests in his Diocese the putting dying persons in mind of a charitable contribution to this intended fabrick But a distinct account of those matters may in due time be expected from Mr. Tanner's larger History of this Church and County whose great abilities and the model he has already drawn of it encourage us to hope for a more complete and accurate Work than any thing of that kind the world has yet seen the Undertaker not contenting himself with a bare account of Families but so contriving the whole as to include both British Roman Saxon and Danish Antiquities with something of Natural History Number of Prebends z Only I cannot omit taking notice of an error observ'd in our Author by the present worthy and learned Dean of this place It has says Mr. Camden 33 Prebendaries and when he wrote this 't is very possible there might be but 33 Prebends actually full tho' the succession about that time is deliver'd so imperfectly that there is only room for conjecture But whatever might cause the mistake 't is certain when Mr. Camden wrote that there were 41 single Prebends in this Church besides four annex'd to the Dignities of the Bishop Dean Chancellour and Treasurer When the Church of New-Sarum was built it had 50. besides those annex'd as
whatever we admir'd in you still continues and will continue in the memories of men the revolutions of ages and the annals of time Many as inglorious and ignoble are bury'd in oblivion but Sidney shall live to all posterity For as the Grecian Poet has it Virtue 's beyond the reach of fate From hence the river Medway 30 Branching it self into 5 streamlets is joyn'd with as many stone-bridges and thereof giveth the name of Tunbridge to the town there situate as the town of bridges This about K. William Rufus's time Richard son of Count Gâ—lbert Grandchild to Godfrey Earl of Ewe and Lord of Briony goes on to Tunbridge Tunbridge where is an old Castle built by Richard de Clare who got it by exchange for Briony in Normandy For his grandfather Godfrey natural son to Richard 1. Duke of Normandy was Earl of Ewe and Briony For after a long contest about Briony Richard as we are told by Gulielmus Gemeticensis in recompence for the same castle took the town Tunbrige in England For they affirm that the Lowy of Briony was measur'd about with a line and that he râ—ceiv'd an equal quantity of ground at Tunbrige measur'd by the same line brought over into England 31 Shortly after he built here a fair large Castle fenc'd with the river a deep ditch and strong walis And albeit it is now ruinous and the Keep attir'd with ivy yet it manifestly sheweth what it was But his successors Earls of Glocester 32 And sirnam'd de Clare for that they were Lords of Clare in Suffolk built here a Priory for Canons of S. Austin's Order founded the Parish-Church which was impropriated to the Knights of S. John of Jerusalem and compounded about the Tenure of the Manour for which there had been long suit * The Lowy of Tunbridge Leuca * Clientelari jure held the manour as they call it of Tunbrige of the Archbishops of Canterbury upon condition that they should be stewards at the instalment of the Archbishops and should grant them the Wardship of their children 33 From those Clares Earls of Glocester it came by an heir general to Sir Hugh Audley Earl of Glocester and by his only daughter to the Earls of Stafford who were afterward Dukes of Buckingham and from them by attainder to the Crown It hath in latter ages been beholden to Sir Andrew Jude of London for a fair Free-school and to John Wilford for a Causey toward London Three miles directly south from hence in the very limit of Sussex Whetstenes and near Frant I saw in a white sandy ground divers vasty craggy stones of strange forms whereof two of the greatest stand so close together and yet severed with so streight a line as you would think they had been sawed asunder and Nature when she reared these might seem sportingly to have thought oâ— a Sea n From hence Medway glides forward 34 From Tunbridge Medway passeth by Haudelo from whence came that John Haudelo who happily marrying the heir of the Lord Burnell had issue by her a son who was call'd Nicholas summon'd to Parliament among the Baronâ— by the name of Burnell Then Medway encreased with another water called Twist which twisteth about and insulateth a large plot of good ground runneth on not far from Mereworth c. not far from Mereworth Mereworth where is a house like a little Castle which from the Earls of Arundel came to the Nevils Lords of Abergeuenny and to Le Despenser whose heir in a right line is Mary Fane to whom and her heirs King James in his first Parliament restor'd gave granted c. the name stile title honour and dignity of Baronesse le Despenser and that her heirs successively be Barons le Despenser for ever Barâ—nâ— Despâ—â— Ounâ—â—â— Letteâ—â— tents The Medway 35 Having receiv'd a rivulet that loseth it self under ground and riseth again at Loose serving 13 fuling-mills hastens next to Maidstone which because the Saxons call'd it Medwegston and Meopeageston I am inclin d to believe is the Vagniacae mention'd by Antoninus Vagâ— and nam'd by Ninnius in his Catalogue of Cities Caer Megwad corruptly for Medwag Nor do the distances gainsay it on one hand from Noviomagus and on the other from Durobrovis of which by and by Under the later Emperors as we learn from the Peutegerian Table publishd lately by M. Velserus it is call'd Madus And thus we see in progress of time names are chang'd by little and little Maâ—â—â— This is a neat and populous town 36 For the â—air stone-bridge it hath been beholding to the Archbishops of Canterbury Among whom to grace this place of the conscience or waters Boniface of Savoy built a small College stretch'd out into a great length In the middle it has a Palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury begun by John Ufford Archbishop and finish'd by Simon Islip †and between them which it standeth in plight William Courtney erected a fair collâ—giaâ—â— Church in which he so great a Prelate and so high born lieth lowly entomb'd Here is likewise one of the two common Gaols of this County 37 And it hath been endow'd with sâ—ndry Privileges by K. Edw. 6. incorporated by the name of Mayor and Jurates all which in short time they lost by favouring rebels But Queen Elizabeth amply restor'd them c. and it is beholding for a great many immunities to Queen Elizabeth who made their chief Magistrate a Mayor instead of a Portgreve which they had till that time Portgâ—â—â— a thing I the rather take notice of because this is an ancient Saxon word and to this day among the Germans signifies a Governour as Markgrave Reingrave Landtgrave c. o Here below the Vagniacae the Medway is joyn'd by a small river from the east which rises at Leneham very probably the Durolenum of Antoninus writ falsly in some Copies Durolevum Duâ—â—â— Laâ—â— For Durolenum in British is the water Lenum and beside the remains of the name the distance from Durovernum and Durobrovis confirms this to be the Durolenum not to mention it's situation upon the Consâ—lar way of the Romans which formerly as Higden of Chester affirms went from Dover through the middle of Kent Hard by at Bocton Malherb Bocâ—â— Maâ—â—eâ—â— dwelt long since the noble family of the Wottons of which within our memory flourish'd both Nicholas Wotton Doctor of Laws Privy Counsellor to K. Henry 8. Edward 6. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth sent Embassador to foreign Courts nine times and employ'd thrice in a Treaty of Peace between the English French and Scots and so run out the course of a long life with great commendations both of piety and prudence as also 38 Sir Edward Edward Wotton Barâ—â—â—ton his nephew's son by a brother whom for his great experience and knowledge Q. Elizabeth made Lord Controller and K. James created Baron Wotton of Merlay 39 Here
under is Ulcomb anciently a Mansion of the family De Sancto Leodegario commonly called Sentieger and Sellinger and Morinden where Sir R. Rockesley descended from Kriol and Crevecer built a house who held Lands at Seaton by Serjeanty to be Vantraâ—â—s Regis Fin. Mic. 11 E. 2. when the King goeth into Gascoin donec perusus fuerit pari solutarum pretii 4 d. which as they that understand Law-Latin for I do not translate that he should be the King's fore-footman until he had worn our a pair of shooes prized 4 d. Nor hath this river any other thing memorable upon it besides Leeds-castle Leeds-castle Famâ—y the Câ—â—queâ— built by the noble Crevequers call'd in ancient Charters de Crâ—uecuer and de Crepito corde Afterwards it was the unfortunate seat of Bartholomew Baron of Badilsmer who treacherously fortify'd it against King Edward 6. that had given it him but afterwards had the rewards of his treachery upon the gallows Take if you please the whole relation out of a little history of Thomas De-la-More a Nobleman of the same time which I lately publish'd In the year 1321. came Queen Isabel to the castle of Leeds about Michaelmas where she had design'd to lodge all night but was not suffer'd to enter The King highly resenting this as done in contempt of him call'd together some neighbouring inhabitants out of Essex and London and gave orders to besiege the Castle Bartholo mew de Badilsmer was he who own'd it and having left his wife and sons in it was gone with the rest of the Barons to spoil the estate of Hugh De-Spenser The besieg'd in the mean time despairing of succour the Barons with their Associates came as far as Kingston and by the mediation of the Bishops of Canterbury and London and the Earl of Pembroke petition'd the King to raise the Siege promising to surrender the Castle after the next Parliament But the King considering that the besieg'd could not hold out and moreover incens'd with their contumacy would not listen to the petition of the Barons After they had betook themselves to other parts he gain'd the Castle tho' with no small difficulty the rest of them that were in it he hang'd and sent his wife and sons to the Tower of London Thus the Medway after it has receiv'd the little river Len passes through fruitful Corn-fields and by Allington-Castle where Tho. Wiat senior a most learned Knight â—â—ford rebuilt a fair house 40 Now decay'd whose son Sir Thomas enrich'd by an heir of Sir T. Haut proposing to himself great hopes upon fair pretences pitifully overthrew himself and his state to Ailesford in Saxon Eaglesforð call'd by Henry Huntingdon Elstre by Ninnius Epifford who also has told us that 't was call'd Saissenaeg-haibail by the Britains because of the Saxons being conquer'd there as others have in the same sense call'd it Anglesford For Guor-timer the Britain son of Guortigern fell upon Hengist and the English Saxons here and disordering them so at first that they were not able to stand a second charge he put them to flight so that they had been routed for ever had not Hengist by a singular art of preventing dangers betook himself into the Isle of Thanet till that resolute fierceness of the Britains was a little allay'd and fresh forces came out of Germany In this battel the two Generals were slain Catigern the Britain and Horsa the Saxon the latter was buried at Horsted a little way from hence â—d and left his name to the place the former was bury'd in great state â—â—en's as 't is thought near Ailesford where 41 Under the side of a hill but not so artificially with mortis and tenents those four vast stones are pitch'd on end with others lying cross-ways upon them much of the same form with that British monument call'd Stone-henge And this the ignorant common people do still from Catigern name Keith-coty-house 42 In Ailsford it self for the religious house of the Carmelites founded by Richard Lord Grey of Codnor in the time of K. Henry 3. is now seen a fair habitation of Sir William Siddey a learned Knight painfully and expencefully studious of the common good of his country as both his endow'd house for the poor and the bridge here with the common voice do plentifully testifie p Nor must we forget Boxley â—â—y hard by where William de Ipres a Fleming Earl of Kent built a monastery in the year 1145. and supply'd it with monks from Clarevalle in Burgundy 43 Medway having wound himself higher from the east receiveth a brook springing near Wrotham or Wirtham so named for plenty of worts where the Archbishops had a place until Simon Islip pull'd it down leaveth Malling which grew to be a town after Gundulph Bishop of Rochester had there founded an Abbey of Nuns and watereth Leibourn which hath a Castle sometime the seat of a family thereof sirnamed out of which Sir Roger Leibourn was a great Agent in the Barons wars and William was a Parliamentary Baron in the time of K. Edw. 1. and not far from the opposite bank â—g just over against this is Birling 44 Now the habitation of the Lord Abergeveny formerly the Barony of the Maminots then of the Saies whose estate at last came by females to the families of Clinton Fienes and Aulton On the east-side of the Medway after it has pass'd by Halling â—â—g where Hamo de Heath Bishop of Rochester built a seat for his successors a little higher up is an ancient city call'd by Antoninus Duro-brus Duro-brivae and in some other places more truly Duro-provae â—â—revâ—s â—anciâ—ble â—sh'd â—elfer 〈◊〉 â—r 〈…〉 â—ester or Durobrovae Bede has it Duro-brevis and in the decline of the Roman Empire time did so contract this name that it was call'd Roibis whence with the addition of Ceaster which being deriv'd from the Latin castrum was us'd by our Forefathers to signifie a city town or castle they call'd it Hroueceaster and we more contractly Rochester as the Latins Roffa from one Rhoffus as Bede imagines tho' to me there seems to be some remains of that in the old Duro brovis And as to the name there is no reason to doubt of that since beside the course of the Itinerary and Bede's authority in an old Foundation-Charter of the Cathedral Church it is expresly call'd Durobrovis Only this I would have observ'd that the printed Copies of Bede read Daruervum where the Manuscripts have Durobrovis It is plac'd in a valley on some sides encompass'd 45 With a marsh river with walls but not very strong and as Malmesbury says is pent within too narrow a compass so that 't was formerly look'd upon as a Castle rather than a City for Bede calls it Castellum Cantuariorum i.e. the castle of the Kentish men But now it runs out with large suburbs towards west east and south It has had a great many
of Kingsdowne had that seditious 57 Sir Bartholomew Lord Badlismere Bartholomew mention'd before He again by Margaret Clare had 58 Sir Giles Lord Badilsmere Giles who dy'd without issue Margery wife of William Roos of Hamlak Mawd of John Vere Earl of Oxford Elizabeth of William Bohun Earl of Northampton and afterwards of Edmund Mortimer and Margaret of 59 Sir John John Tiptoft from whence descended a splendid race of Princes and Noblemen 60 Then saw I Tenham not commended for health but the parent as it were of all the choice fruit-gardens and orchards of Kent and the most large and delightsome of them all planted in the time of K. Henry 8. by Richard Harris his fruiterer to the publick good for 30 Parishes thereabout are replenish'd with Châ—rrygardens and Orchards beautifully dispos'd in direct lines Next I saw Feversham Feversham which is very commodiously seated for the most plentiful part of this Country lyes all round it and it has a bay very convenient for the importation and exportation of commodities for which reasons it flourishes at this day above it's neighbours And it seems formerly to have made a good figure since K. Aethelstan held a Meeting here of the Wise men of the Kingdom and enacted Laws in the year of our Redemption 903. and that Stephen who usurp'd the Crown of England built a Monastery for Cluniacks wherein himself his wife Mawd and his son Eustace were all bury'd u Near this place as also in other parts of the County they discover here and there pits of great depth which tho' narrow at the top yet more inward are very capacious having as it were distinct chambers with their pillars of Chalk To what end the pits in Kent might be made Several opinions have been broach'd about them For my part I have nothing to offer as my own conjecture unless they were those pits out of which the Britains digg'd white chalk to manure their ground as they are mention'd by Pliny For says he they us'd to sink pits a hundred foot deep narrow at the mouth but within of a great compass and just such are those very pits we describe nor are they met with any where but in chalky grounds Unless some imagine that the English-Saxons might digg such holes for the same uses the Germans did from whom they were descended They were wont says Tacitus to digg holes under ground and to overlay them with great quantities of dung thus they prov'd a refuge against winter and a garner for their corn for the bitterness of the cold is allay'd by such places And if at any time the enemy should surprise them he plunders only what 's open and expos'd the secret corners and pits being either altogether unknown or safe upon this account that they are to be sought for From thence upon an open shore abounding with shell-fish and particularly oysters of which the pits are very common we see Reculver Reculveâ— in Saxon Reaculf but formerly by the Romans and Britains Regulbium Regaâ—â—â—â— as 't is call'd in the Notitia which tells us that the Tribune of the first Cohort of the Vetasians lay here in garrison under the Count of the Saxon shore 61 Who had the command then of nine ports as the Lord Warden hath now of five ports for so in those times were the sea-coasts hereabouts stil'd And it justifies this it's Antiquity by l There have been ancient Medals and Coins lately dugg up here the coyns of Roman Empeâ—ors that are dugg up in it Aethelberht King of Kent when he gave Canterbury to Austin the Monk built here a palace for himself Basso a Saxon adorn'd it with a Monastery out of which Brightwald the eight in the See of Canterbury was call'd to be Archbishop Whereupon it was from the Monastery call'd also Raculf-minster when Edred brother to Edmund the Elder gave it to Christ-Church in Canterbury m Nothing is left but the Church and about 12 houses the sea having gain'd all the Town and at this day the Church it self is in great danger to be lost and to preserve it there are men almost continually employ'd to make good the wall or banks which may prevent it's breaking At this day 't is nothing but a little Country village and the small reputation it has is deriv'd 62 From the salt savoury oysters there dredged from that Monastery the towers whereof in the form of Pyramids are of use to sea-men for the avoiding of sands and shelves in the mouth of the Thames Haâ—râ—aâ—â— Jâ—â—â—â— H. â— in maâ—g For as a certain Poët has it in his Philippeis Cernit oloriferum Tamisim sua Doridi amarae Flumina miscentem See Thames renown'd for Swans with brackish waves Mix her pure stream w Now we are come to the Isle of Tanet divided from the Continent by the small chanel of the river Stour by Bede called Wantsum Stour 〈◊〉 which is made up of two different rivers in that woody tract nam'd the Weald So soon as it gets into one chanel it visits Ashford and Wy noted market-towns but small Both of them had their College of Priests that at the latter built by John Kemp Archbishop of Canterbury a native of the place x and the other by Sir R. Fogg Knight Wy had a peculiar Well also into which God was mov'd to infuse a wonderful virtue by the Prayers of 63 Eustace a certain Norman Monk if we may believe Roger Hoveden Pag. 45â— whom I would by all means recommend you to if you are an admirer of Miracles 64 As how the blind by drinking thereof recovered sight the dumb their speech the deaf their hearing the lame their limbs And how a woman possess'd of the Devil sipping thereof vomited two toads which immediately were first transform'd into huge black dogs and again into asses And much more no less strange than ridiculous which some in that age as easily believ'd as others â—asly forg'd Thence the Stour leaving East well the inhabitation of the family of the Finches worshipful of it self and by descent from Philip Belknap and Peoplesham goeth on to Chilham c. Next is Chilham Chilham or as others call it Julham where is the rubbish of an ancient Castle which one Fulbert of Dover is said to have built Fulbert of Dover which family soon ended in a female heir marry'd to Richard natural son of King John to whom she brought this castle and very large possessions He had two daughters by her Lora wife of William Marmion and Isabel wife of David de Strathbolgy Earl of Athole in Scotland 65 Afterward of Sir Alexander Baliol who was call'd to Parliament by the name of Lord of Chilham and mother to that John Earl of Athole who having been sentenc'd for repeated treasons to make him conspicuous in proportion to the nobility of his birth was hang'd at London upon a gallows 50 foot
to reckon up the Earls of Kent in their order omitting Godwin 99 And Leofwin his brother and others under the Saxons who were not hereditary but officiary Earls Odo brother by the mother's side to William the Conqueror is the first Earl of Kent we meet with of Norman extraction He was at the same time Bishop of Baieax and was a person of a wicked factious temper always bent upon sowing sedition in the State Whereupon 1 Whereupon he was committed to prison by a subtil distinction as Earl of Kent and not Bishop of Bayeux in regard of his Holy Orders after a great rebellion he had rais'd his Nephew William Rufus depriv'd him of his whole estate and dignity in England Afterwards when Stephen had usurp'd the Crown of England and endeavour'd to win over persons of courage and conduct to his party he conferr'd that honour upon William of Ipres a Fleming who being as Fitz-Stephen calls him ‖ Vâ—â— Canâ—â— cubaâ—â— a grievous burthen to Kent was forc'd by King Henry 2. to march off with tears in his eyes 2 And so became a Monk Henry the second 's son likewise whom his father had crown'd King having a design to raise a rebellion against his father did upon the same account give the title of Kent to Philip Earl of Flanders but he was Earl of Kent no farther than by a bare title and promise For as Gervasius Dorobernensis has it Philip Earl of Flanders promis'd his utmost assistance to the young King binding himself to homage by oath In return for his services the King promis'd him revenues of a thousand pound with all Kent as also the Castle of Rochester with the Castle of Dover Not long after Hubert de Burgo who had deserv'd singularly well of this kingdom was for his good service advanc'd to the same honour by K. Henry 3. 3 Who also made him chief Justice of England He was an entire Lover of his Country and amidst the very storms of adversity discharg'd all those duties that it could demand from the best of subjects But he dy'd divested of his honour and this title slept till the reign of Edward the second An. Eâ—â— Edward bestow'd it upon his younger brother Edmund of Woodstock who being tutor to his nephew K. Edward 3. undeservedly fell under the lash of envy and was beheaded The crime was that he openly profess'd his affection to his depos'd brother and after he was murther'd knowing nothing of it endeavour'd to rescue him out of prison 4 Perswaded thereto by such as covertly practis'd his destruction but his two sons Edmund and John 5 Who were restor'd by Parliament to blood and land shortly after And withal it was enacted That no Peer of the Land or other that procur'd the death of the said Earl should be impeach'd therefore than Mortimer Earl of Marsh Sir Simon Beresford John Matravers Baious and John Devoroil had that honour successively and both dying without issue it was carry'd by their sister for her beauty call'd The fair maid of Kent to the family of the Holands Knights For 6 Sir Thomas Thomas Holand her husband was stil'd Earl of Kent 7 And she after marry'd by dispensation to the Black-Prince heir to him King Richard 2. and was succeeded in that honour by 8 Sir Thomas Thomas his son who dy'd in the 20. year of Richard 2. His two sons were successively Earls of this place Thomas who was created Duke of Surrey and presently after raising a rebellion against K. Henry 4. was beheaded 9 Leaving no child and after him Edmund who was Lord High Admiral of England and in the siege of †â—aâ—um Bâ—oâ—i Tho. Walsingham S. Brieu in Little Britain dy'd of a wound in the year 1408 10 Leaving likewise no issue This dignity for want of issue-male in the family being extinct and the estate divided among sisters K. Edward 4. honour'd with the title of Earl of Kent first 11 Sir William William Nevill Lord of Fauconberg and after his death Edmund Grey Lord of Hastings Weisford and Ruthyn who was succeeded by his son George He by his first wife Anne Widevile had Richard Earl of Kent who after he had squander'd away his estate dy'd without issue 12 1523. But by his second wife Catharine daughter of William Herbert Earl of Pembrook he had Henry Grey Knight 13 Of Wrest whose grandchild Reginald by his son Henry was made Earl of Kent by Queen Elizabeth in the year 1572. He dying without issue was succeeded by his brother Henry a person endow'd with all the ornaments of true nobility This County hath 398 Parish-Churches ADDITIONS to KENT THE History of this County having been already publish'd in three just Volumes by Mr. Lambard Mr. Philpot and Mr. Kilbourne beside what has been done by some others one would think that little more could be said upon the subject Mr. Camden too spent some of the latter part of his life in this County which gave him an opportunity of informing himself more particularly concerning it's Antiquities Yet some things there are which have escap'd the diligence both of him and the rest and mistakes have happen'd here as well as in other Counties a Our Author has observ'd that this County was given by Vortigern to Hengist on account of his daughter But the Saxon Chronicle which says nothing of that Rowena shews us that he rather got it by force of arms having worsted Vortigern in two pitch'd battles once at Aylesford and again at Crayford where he kill'd 4000 Britains and put the rest to flight And thus the Kingdom of Kent continu'd under a race of Kings descended from him till Baldred last King of Kent in our Author's account lost it to Egbert King of the West-Saxons He was the last of that race but Egbert's * Caron Sax. An. 830 Chron. Maâ—â—os p. 1. 2. leaving his son Aethelstan that kingdom shows that he was not the very last King of Kent b At the Norman-Conquest our Author tells us these Inhabitants made a Composition for their ancient privileges Which however oppos'd by †Somner Gâ—â—â—lkind l. 2 p. 63. Mr. Somner and others seems to have some remains in their present Constitution For how else come they to retain their custom of Gavelkind which once prevail'd all over Britain as it does still in some parts of Wales and why do the Heirs particularly in Kent succeed to the Inheritance tho' their Father suffer for felony or murder To come now to the Survey of the County it self we will begin in the north part and go along with Mr. Camden c The river Ravensbourn runs into the Thames near Greenwich upon which there yet remains a large fortification the area whereof is enclos'd with treble rampiers and ditches of a vast height and depth near two miles in circuit which must certainly be the work of many hands but of whose
dark stars with her refulgent train There Earth and Ocean their embraces join Here Ganges Danube Thermadon and Rhine And fruitful Nile in costly sculpture shine Above the rest Great Britain sits in state With golden fleeces cloath'd and crown'd with wheat And Gallick spoils lye trampled at her feet c. Here awful Isis fills his liquid throne Isis whom British streams their monarch own His never-wearied hands a spatious urn Down on his azure bosom gravely turn And flaggs and reeds his unpoll'd locks adorn Each waving horn the subject stream supplies And grateful light darts from his shining eyes His grizzly beard all wet hangs dropping down And gushing veins in wat'ry chanels run The little fish in joyful numbers crowd And silver swans fly o'er the crystal flood And clap their snowy wings c. Now as to what relates to the Earls of Glocester Earls of Gâ—ocester some have obtruded upon us William Fitz-Eustace for the first Earl Who this was I have not yet met with in my reading and l believe there was never such an one extant kk but what I have found I will not conceal from the Reader 'T is said that about the Norman Invasion one Bithrick a Saxon was Lord of Glocester Hist Monast against whom Maud the wife of William the Norman was highly exasperated Tewkesbury for the contempt of her beauty for he refus'd to marry her and so maliciously contrived his ruin and when he was cast into prison his estate was granted by the Conquerour to Robert the son of Haimon of Curboyle in Normandy commonly call'd Fitz-Haimon Fitz. Haimon who receiving a blow on the head with a Pole Guil. Malm. lived a great while raving and distracted His daughter Mabel by others call'd Sybil was married to Robert natural son of King Henry 1. who was made first Earl of Glocester and by the common writers of that age is call'd Consul of Glocester a man above all others in those times of a great and undaunted spirit that was never dismay'd by misfortunes and performed heroick and difficult actions with mighty honour in the cause of his sister Maud against Stephen the usurper of the crown of England His son William succeeded in the honour 31 Who dejected with comfortless grief when death had deprived him of his only son and heir assured his estate with his eldest daughter to John son to K. Henry 2. with certaine proviso's for his other daughters whose 3 daughters conveyed the dignity to so many families †John when he had obtained the kingdom repudiated her upon pretences as well that she was barren as that they were within prohibited degrees of consanguinity and reserving the castle of Bristow to himself after some time passed over his repudiated wife with the honour of Glocester to Geoffrey Mandevile son of Geoffrey Fitz-Peter Earl of Essex for 20000 marks who thus over marrying himself was greatly impoverished and wounded in Tournament died soon after without issue she being re-married to Hubert of Burgh died immediately The eldest Isabella brought this title to John the son of K. Henry 2. but when he had possessed himself of the throne he procured a divorce from her and sold her for 20000 marks to Geoffry de Mandeville son of Geoffry son of Peter Earl of Essex Pat. 15. Joan. R. 4. and created him Earl of Glocester He being dead without issue Almaric †Ebroicensis son to the Earl of Eureux had this honour conferred upon him as being born of Mabil 32 The eldest the youngest daughter of Earl William aforesaid But Almaric dying also childless the honour descended to Amicia the second daughter who being married to Richard de Clare Earl of Hertford was mother to Gilbert de Clare Earl of Glocester 33 Who was stiled Earl of Glocester and Hertford and mightily enrich'd his house by marrying one of the heirs of William Marshall Earl of Pembroke His son and successor Richard in the beginning of the Barons Wars against K. Hen. 3. ended his life having Gilbert his son to succeed him who powerfully and prudently swayed much in the said wars as he inclined to them or the King He obnoxious to K. Edw. 1. surrendred his lands unto him and received them again by marrying Joan the King's daughter sirnamed of Acres in the Holy Land bâ—cause she was there born to his second wife who bore unto him Gilbert Clare last Earl of Glocester of this sirname slain in the flower of his youth in Scotland at the battel of Sterling in the sixth year of K. Edw. 2. Earls of Glocester and Hertford whose son Richard and his grandson Gilbert 2. and great grandson Gilbert 3. who fell in the battel at Sterling in Scotland successively inherited this title But in the minority of Gilbert 3. 34 Sir Ralph Ralph de Montehemer who did clandestinely espouse the widow of Gilbert 2. and * Call'd Jeanna D'Acres because born at Acon daughter of Edward 1. 35 For which he incurred the King's high displeasure and a short imprisonment but after reconciled was summoned to Parliaments by the name of Earl of Glocester and Hertford But when Gilbert was out of his minority he was summoned among the Barons by the name of Sir Ralph de Mont-hermer as long as he lived which I note more willingly for the rareness of the example for some time enjoy'd the title of Earl of Glocester But when Gilbert had arrived at the age of 21 years he claimed the title and was call'd to serve in Parliament amongst the Barons After Gilbert 3. who died childless 36 Sir Hugh Le de Spencer Hugh de Spencer or Spencer jun. is by writers stiled Earl of Glocester in right of his wife who was the eldest sister of Gilbert 3. But he being hang'd by the Queen and her Lords in despight to Edward 2. Tho. de la Marc in the life of Ed. 2. whose Favourite he was 37 Sir Hugh Audley Hugh de Audley who married the other sister by the favour of Edward 3. obtained the honour After whose death King Richard 2. erected this title into a Dukedom of which there were three Dukes with one Earl between and to them all it was unfortunate and fatal and brought them to their ruin Thomas of Woodstock Earl of Buckingham the youngest son of King Edward 3. Dukes of Glocester was the first that was dignify'd with the title of Duke but presently fell into the displeasure of King Richard 2. for being an ambitious man of an unquiet spirit he was surprised and sent to Calais and there smothered he with a Feather-bed having before made a confession under his hand as appears in the Parliament Rolls that by virtue of a Patent which he had extorted from the King he had arrogated to himself Regal Authority appear'd armed in the King's presence contumeliously revil'd him consulted with learned men how he might renounce his Allegiance and
entertain'd a design to depose him For which after he was dead he was attainted of High Treason by Act of Parliament He being thus taken off the same King gave the title of Earl of Glocester to Thomas De-Spencer 38 In the right of his great Grandmother who a little while after met with no better fate than his great Grandfather 39 Sir Hugh Hugh had before him for he was prosecuted by Henry 4 and ignominiously degraded and beheaded at Bristol 40 By the Peoples fury Henry 5. created his brother Humphry the second Duke of Glocester who us'd to stile himself 41 In the first year of King Henry 6. as I have seen in an Instrument of his Humphrey by the Grace of God Son Brother and Uncie to Kings Luke of Glocester Earl of Hainault Holland Zeeland and Pembroke Lord of Friseland Great Chamberlain of the Kingdom of England Protector and Defender of the same Kingdom and Church of England Son Brother and Uncle of Kings Duke of Glocester Earl of Pembroke and Lord high Chamberlain of England He was a great Friend and Patron both of his Country and Learning but by the contrivance 42 Of a Woman of a woman he was taken off at St. Edmunds-Bury The third and last Duke was Richard the third brother to King Edward 4. who having inhumanly murther'd his Nephews usurp'd the Throne which within the space of two years he lost with his life in a pitcht battle and found by sad experience That an unsurped power unjustly gain'd is never lasting Richard 3. Concerning this last Duke of Glocester and his first entrance upon the Crown give me leave to act the part of an Historian for a while which I shall presently lay aside again as not being sufficiently qualify'd for such an undertaking When he was declared Protector of the Kingdom and had his two young nephews Edward 5. King of England and Richard Duke of York in his power he began to aim at the Crown and by a profuse liberality great gravity mixed with singular affability deep wisdom impartial Justice to all people joyned with other subtle devices he procured the affections of all and particularly gained the Lawyers on his side and so managed the matter that there was an humble Petition in the name of the Estates of the realm offer'd him in which they earnestly pray'd him That for the publick good of the Kingdom and safety of the People he would accept the Crown and thereby support his tottering Country and not suffer it to fall into utter ruin which without respect to the laws of Nature and those of the establish'd Government had been harrassed and perplexed with civil wars rapines murders and all other sorts of miseries ever since Edward 4. his brother being enchanted with love potions had contracted that unhappy march with Elizabeth Grey widow without the consent of Nobles or publication of Banns in a clandestine manner and not in the face of the Congregation contrary to the laudable custom of the Church of England And what was worse when he had pre-contracted himself to the Lady Eleanor Butler daughter to the Earl of Shrewsbury from whence it was apparent that his marriage was undoubtedly unlawful and that the issue proceeding thence must be illegitimate and not capable of inheriting the Crown Moreover since George Duke of Clarence second brother of Edward 4. was by Act of Parliament attainted of High Treason and his children excluded from all right of succession none could be ignorant that Richard remained the sole and undoubted heir of the kingdom who being born in England they well knew would seriously consult the good of his native Country and of whose birth and legitimacy there was not the least question or dispute whose wisdom also justice gallantry of mind and warlike exploits valiantly performed for the good of the Nation and the splendor of his noble extract as descended from the royal race of England France and Spain they were very well acquainted with and fully understood Wherefore having seriously considered again and again of these and many other reasons they did freely and voluntarily with an unanimous consent according to their Petition elect him to be their King and with prayers and tears out of the great confidence they had in him humbly besought him to accept of the Kingdom of England France and Ireland which were doubly his both by right of inheritance and election and that for the love which he bore to his native Country he would stretch forth his helping hand to save and protect it from impendent ruin Which if he performed they largely promis'd him all faith duty and allegiance otherwise they were resolv'd to endure the utmost extremity rather than suffer themselves to be brought into the bonds of a disgraceful slavery from which at present they were freed This humble Petition was presented to him before he accepted the Crown afterwards it was also offered in the great Council of the Nation and approved of and by their authority it was enacted and declared in a heap of words as the custom is That by the Laws of God Nature and of England and by a most laudable Custom Richard after a lawful Election Inauguration and Coronation was and is the true and undoubted King of England c. and that the inheritance of these Kingdoms rightfully belongs to the heirs of his body lawfully begotten and to use the very words as they are penned in the original Records It was enacted decreed and declar'd by authority of Parliament that all and singular the Contents in the aforesaid Bill are true and undoubted and that the same our Lord the King with the assent of the three Estates of the Realm and the authority aforesaid doth pronounce decree and declare the same to be true and undoubted I have more largely explained these matters that it may be understood how far the power of a Prince pretended godliness subtle arguings of Lawyers flattering hope cowardly fear desire of new changes and specious pretences may prevail against all right and justice even upon the great and wise assembly of the Nation But the same cannot be said of this Richard as was of Galba That he had been thought fit for Empire had he not reigned for he seated in the Empire deceived all mens expectations but this had been most worthy of a Kingdom had he not aspired thereunto by wicked ways and means so that in the opinion of the wise he is to be reckon'd in the number of bad men but of good Princes But I must not forget that I am a Chorographer and so must lay aside the Historian There are in this County 280 Parishes ADDITIONS to GLOCESTERSHIRE a GLocestershire in Saxon Gleaƿceastre-scyre and Gleaƿcestre-scyre is said to be in length 60 miles in breadth 26 and in circumference 190. The Vineyards mention'd by our Author have nothing left in this County but the places nam'd from them one near Tewkesbury at present
call'd the Vineyard Vineyards and another on a rising hill by Oversbridge near Glocester where was a large house moted round belonging to the Bishop of Glocester built about the year 1351. by the Abbot of Glocester but 't was totally ruin'd in the late Civil Wars b The Custom of having forfeited Estates return'd them is now lost by desuetude for upon the strictest enquiries among understanding men it does not appear that 't is us'd oâ— claim'd in any part of this County c The present Forest of Dean â—ean forest contains about 30000 Acres the soil a deep clay fit for the growth of Oak The hills are full of Iron-ore which colour the several Springs that have their passage through them Here are several Fornaces for the making of Iron which by the violence of the fire becomes fluid and being brought to their forges are beat out into Barrs of various shapes The workmen are very industrious in seeking out the Beds of old Cinders which not being fully exhausted are burnt again in the furnaces and make the best Iron The Oak of the forest was so very considerable that 't is said to have been part of the Instructions of the Spanish Armada to destroy the timber of this place But what a foreign power could not effect our own Civil dissentions did for it went miserably to wrack in the Civil wars d The Aventon â—venton mention'd by our Author is at present call'd Alvington being a Chapel of Ease to Wollaston the estate of Henry Duke of Beaufort St. Brevial's-Castle is now ruin'd and serves as a prison for offenders in the Forest It has been always esteem'd a place of trust and honour and several of the Nobility have been Governours of it His Grace the Duke of Beaufort is Constable of the place Here it is that the Mine-Court Swain-Mote and Speech-Court are kept wherein are several old Customs of Pleading e By the river Wye lyeth Newland â—wland a large Parish standing in a pleasant plain where are vast Mine-pits of 60 or 70 foot deep and as large as a considerable Church Mr. Jones a Hamborow-Merchant erected here an Alms house for 16 poor men and women and gave a very good house and stipend to a Lecturer the Company of Haberdashers in London being Trustees North-west from hence is Westbury â—estbury a very large Parish reputed about twenty miles in compass f Our next guide is the Severn â—ern which runs in this County above 40 miles by land 't is in some places 2 or 3 miles over and yet the tyde floweth the whole length of the current as high as Tewkesbury It is remarkable that the tydes one year are largest at full Moon the next at the change and and that one year the night-tydes are largest the other the day-tydes g This river first goes to Tewkesbury â—wkesâ—y where but little of the Abbey remains saving only the Church which is now Parochial and had once a fair Spire upon it Mr. Fuller in his Church-History makes it a controverted point whether the Abbot of Tewkesbury had a voice in Parliament but by Bishop Godwin's Annals it appears he had one 1539. So that this County had four mitred Abbies Glocester Cirencester Tewkesbury and Winchcomhe The Corporation was dissolv'd by the Proclamation of King James 2. 1688. h At a little distance from hence is Deorhirst â—rhirst where Mr. Powell in the year 1675. dug up in his Orchard an old stone with this Inscription Odda Dux jussit hanc Regiam Aulam construi atque dedicari in honorem S. Trinitatis pro animâ germani sui Elfrici quae de hoc loco assumpta Ealdredus vero Episcopus qui eandem dedicavit 2 Idibus April 14. autem anno S. Regni Eadwardi Regis Anglorum i.e. Duke Odda commanded this Royal Palace to be built and to be dedicated to the Holy Trinity for the soul of his Cousin Elfrick which was parted from his body in this place But Ealdred was the Bishop who consecrated it on the second of the Ides of April and the 14th year of the reign of the Holy King Edward i Next is what our Author calls Oleaneag Olaniage in Saxon instead of Olanige for so our ancient Annals read it and makes it famous for the battle between Edmund and Canutus But general tradition will not allow this to be the place neither is it justify'd by any analogy between the old and new names Near Glocester betwixt Oversbridge and Maysemore there is an Island call'd to this day the Isle of Alney which one need not scruple to say was the very place of that action k From hence the Severn runs to Glocester Glocester in Saxon GleaÆ¿anceaster where the Castle mention'd by Mr. Camden is now the common Goal for Debtors and Felons The Monastery built there by Osrick being ruin'd and decay'd was repair'd by Beornulph King of the Mercians in the year 821. who chang'd the former institution into Seculars and they continued till Wulstan Bishop of Worcester plac'd Regulars there of the Order of St. Benedict in the year 1022. A learned Member of this Church has discover'd by some ancient Records that Ralph Willington and not the two mention'd by our Author built our Lady's Chapel and gave Lands to find two Priests for ever there The Offerings at King Edward's Tomb were very large for presently after his death so great a respect was paid to the memory of their injur'd Prince that the Town was scarce able to receive the Votaries that flock'd thither And the Register of the Abbey affirms that if all the Oblations had been expended upon the Church they might have built an entire new one from the very foundation The Tower is so neat and curious that several Travellers have affirm'd it to be one of the best pieces of Architecture in England Abbot Seabroke the first designer of it dying left it to the care of Robert Tully a Monk of this place which is intimated in thole two verses written in black Letters under the arch of the Tower in the Quire Hoc quod digestum specularis opusque politum Tullii haec ex onere Seabroke Abbate jubente The Whispering-place seems to be purely accidental for if one survey the out-side of the Church he will see that two parts of it were tackt on only as passages into a Chapel erected there l As for the City King John made it a Burrough to be govern'd by two Bailiffs and King Henry 3. who was crown'd here made it a Corporation On the south-side of the Abbey King Edward 1. erected a noble Free-stone-gate which is still call'd Edward's Gate it was repair'd by the last Abbot but almost demolisht in the late Civil wars K. Richard the third gave it his Sword and Cap of Maintenance and added the two Hundreds but after the Restoration of King Charles 2. they were taken away by Act of Parliament and the walls pull'd down because they had
expresly says that the Founders did therein instituere Canonicos seculares who were of the Order of S. Augustine Roger de Iveri is there mention'd as a Co-Founder a Parish-Church dedicated to St. George to which the Parishioners not having free access when the Empress Maud was closely besieg'd in this castle by King Stephen the Chapel of St. Thomas Å¿ Westward from the Castle hard by was built for that purpose He is supposed likewise to have beautified the city with new walls which are now by age sensibly impair'd Robert his Nephew son of his brother Nigel Chamberlain to King Hen. 1. t Who design'd thereby to expiate the sins of her former unchaste life and to prevail with her husband told him a story of the chattering of birds and the interpretation of a Frier which legendary tale Leland tells us was painted near her Tomb in that Abbey by persuasion of his wife Edith daughter of Furn who had been the last Concubine of that Prince in the island meadows nigh the castle built Oseny Oseney Abby which the ruins of the walls still shew to have been very large At the same time as we read in the Register of the said Abbey of Oseney Robert Pulein began to read the holy scriptures at Oxford which were before grown almost out of use in England which person after he had much profited the English and French Churches by his good doctrine was invited to Rome by Pope Lucius 2. and promoted to the dignity of Chancellour of that See To the same purpose John Rous of Warwick writes thus By the care of Keng Henry the first the Lecture of Divinity which had been long intermitted began again to flourish and this Prince built there a new Palace which was afterward converted by King Edward 2. into a Convent for Carmelite Friers But u Richard Ceur de Lion third son of Henry and Queen Eleanor his wife was born on the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary An. 1157. 4 Hen. 1. in the King's Palace of Beaumont in a Chamber upon the ground whereof the Carmelites when this house was given them by King Edw. 2. built a Belfrey and Tower of which they us'd to boast as the place of Nativity to this Martial Prince long before this conversion was born in that Palace the truly Lion-hearted Prince King Richard 1. commonly call'd Ceur de Lion Richard ceur de Lyon a Monarch of a great and elevated Soul born for the glory of England and protection of the Christian world and for the terror and confusion of Pagans and Infidels Upon whose death a Poet of that age has these tolerable verses Viscera Carleolum corpus Fons servat Ebrardi Et cor Rothomagum magne Richarde tuum In tria dividitur unus qui plus fuit uno Nec superest uno gloria tanta viro Hic Richarde jaces sed mors si cederet armis Victa timore tui cederet ipsa tuis Great Richard's body's at Fontevrault shown His bowels at Carlisle his head at Roan He now makes three because too great for one Richard lyes dead but death had fear'd his power Could this proud Tyrant own a Conquerour The City being thus adorn'd with beautiful buildings many Students began to flock hither as to the common Mart of civility and good letters So that learning here quickly reviv'd chiefly through the care of the foresaid Robert Pulein a man born to promote the interest of the learned world who spar'd no trouble and pains to cleanse and open the fountains of the Muses which had been so miserably dried and damm'd up under the favour and protection of King Henry 1. King Henry 2. and Richard his son whom I mention'd just before And he met with such fortunate success in his endeavours that in the reign of King John there were three thousand Students in this place who went away altogether some to Reading and some to Cambridge w As also to Maidstone Salisbury and other places when they could no longer bear the x Which happen'd An. 1209. the 10th of King John upon a Clerk in Oxford accidentally killing a woman and complaint being made to the King then at Woodstock he commanded two of the Scholars who upon suspicion of that fact had been imprison'd by the Towns-men to be immediately hang'd without the City walls This so much offended and frighted the poor Scholars that they all deserted the Town But the Inhabitants being soon sensible of the desolation and poverty they had brought upon themselves did upon their knees deprecate the fault at Westminster before Nicholas the Pope's Legate and submitted to a publick Penance Upon which the dispersed Scholars after five years absence return'd to Oxford An. 1214. and obtain'd some new Privileges for their more effectual protections abuses of the rude and insolent Citizens but when these tumults were appeas'd they soon after return'd Then and in the following times as Divine Providence seem'd to set apart this City for a seat of the Muses so did the same Providence raise up a great number of excellent Princes and Prelates who exercis'd their piety and bounty in this place for the promoting and encouraging of Arts and all good Literature And when King Henry 3. came hither and visited the shrine of S. Frideswide which was before thought a dangerous crime in any Prince and so took away that superstitious scruple which had before hindred several Kings from entring within the walls of Oxford He here conven'd a Parliament to adjust the differences between him and the Barons and at that time confirm'd the privileges granted to the University by his Predecessors and added some new acts of grace and favour After which the number of learned men so far encreas'd as to afford a constant supply of persons qualified by divine and humane knowledge for the discharge of offices in Church and State So that Matthew Paris expresly calls Oxford The second School of the Church after Paris nay the very foundation of the Church r. For the Popes of Rome had before honour'd this place with the title of an University which at that time in their decretals they allow'd only to Paris Oxford Bononia and Salamanca And in the Council of Vienna it was determin'd That Schools for the Hebrew Arabic and Chaldaic tongues should be erected in the Studies of Paris Oxford Bononia and Salamanca as the most eminent that the knowledge of those Languages might be hereby propagated and encourag'd and that out of men of the Catholick Communion furnisht with sufficient abilities two should be chosen for the profession of each Tongue For the maintenance of which Professors in Oxford all the Prelates in England Scotland Ireland and Wales and all Monasteries Chapters Convents Colleges exempt and not exempt and all Rectors of Parish-Churches should make a yearly contribution In which words one may easily observe that Oxford was the chief School in England Scotland Wales and Ireland and that
order and the last worst of all As soon as it 's cropt it 's carried to the Woad-mill and ground as small as it can be until it becomes fit to ball When it is ball'd they lay the balls on hurdles to dry and when it is perfectly dry they grind the balls to powder in the Mill as small as is possible Thus ground they throw it upon a floor and water it which they call couching and let it smoke and heat turning it every day till it be perfectly dry and mouldy which they call silvering When it is silvered they weigh it by the hundred and bag it putting two hundred weight in a bag and so send it to the Dier as fit for sale who tries how it will die and they set the price accordingly The best Woad is usually worth 18 l. per Tonn With the tincture of this Plant the ancient Britains were wont to die their bodies that they might appear more terrible to their enemies The Romans call'd this herb in Latin Vitrum witness Caesar Vitruvius Mela and Marcellus Empyricus which word being manifestly an interpretation of Glastum it appears thence that Glassa or Glasse signified the same thing to the ancient Britains that it doth to us and not to a blue colour as Mr. Camden tells us it now doth to the Welsh Why the Britains should call this herb Glasse I know no better reason than because it resembles some kind of Glass in colour which we know hath often a tincture of blue in it whence also a dilute blue is call'd color hyalinus Glaux Dioscoridis Dioscorides his Milk-tare Upon Barton-hills four miles from Lewton Ger. p. 1242. This hath been already mentioned in severl Counties Melampyrum crystatum Crested Cow-wheat See the Synonymes in Cambridgshire It is no less plentiful here than there about Blunham and other places Ribes nigrum Black Currans Sqinancy-berries By the river side at Blunham and elsewhere HERTFORDSHIRE UPON the Confines of Bedfordshire toward the East and partly toward the South lieth Hertfordshire the third of those Counties as I said before which were possessed by the Cattieuchlani It s West-side bordereth upon Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire the South-side of it wholly upon Middlesex the East upon Essex and the North upon Cambridgeshire It is well furnish'd with corn-fields pasture-ground meadows a little woods and small but very clear streams And so eminent is it for several famous ancient places that as to that point it may justly dispute the preeminence with its neighbours For scarce is there any one County in England that can shew more footsteps of Antiquity HERTFORD-SHIRE By Robt. Morden From hence Southward Tharfield Tharfield amongst the tops of some small hills hangs over Royston Here was the seat of the most ancient Family of the Berners Bâ—rners descended from Hugh de Berners upon whom as a reward for the valour he had shown in the Norman Conquest William the Conqueror bestow'd a fair estate in Eversdon in Cambridgshire And to that degree of reputation did his posterity arrive that Sir 3 Sir John John Bourchier who married the sole heiress of this family had the title of Lord Berners upon his being created a Baron by King Edward the fourth Not far from hence lyeth Nucelles Nucelles a place formerly belonging to the Roffes or Rochesters Family of Râ—ffes or Râ—chesters But all its reputation was took from the Barons de Scales who were originally of Norfolk but heirs to the Roffes For King Edward the first for the great services he had performed in the Scotch wars granted to 4 Sir Robert Robert de Scales certain lands then worth 300 marks per annum and summoned him amongst his Barons to Parliament Barons de â—â—les The Arms of this family are Gules with six Escallops Argent which I have seen in several places They flourish'd till the reign of Edward the fourth when the only daughter and heiress thereof was married to 5 Sir Anthony Anthony Widevile Earl * De Ripaâ—iis Rivers Whom as his sister's marriage with the King and his own most signal valour raised so the malice of his enemies never left pursuing him till they brought him to his end For Richard the third beheaded him though he had no way deserved it After the death of this Earl's Lady who left no issue the inheritance was divided in the time of Henry the seventh between John Earl of Oxford and Sir William Tindale Kt. who were found to be next in blood and coheirs the former by the Howards the latter by the Bigods of Felbridge 6 The Manour of Barkway hereby appertain'd also to those Lords Scales a well known through-fare Beyond which is Barley that imparted sirname to the ancient and well ally'd family of the Barleys and on this side Anestie which was not long since the inheritance of the house of York and in elder times the Castle there was a nest of rebels wherefore Nicholas of Anestie Lord thereof was expresly commanded by Henry 3. to demolish so much of it as they rais'd since the Barons wars against his father King John But now time hath wholly rased it all Lower eastward standeth Ashwell â—â—hwell that is the Fountain among Ashes a good large country village and full of houses It stands just upon the northern border of the County in a low ground and is famous for Springs which here break forth out of the side of a stony bank or creek covered all over and shaded with tall Ashes Hence the water flows continually in so large a quantity that it 's whole current being at a small distance collected into a chanel serves to drive a Mill and quickly after becomes a considerable river From these Wells and Ashes together as it is most certain that the English-Saxons imposed this modern name of Ashwell so I was formerly of opinion that the ancient Britains who were wont to give divine honours to mountains rivers fountains and groves as Gildas hath observed had accordingly on the same account and in the very same sense given to this place the name of Magioninium and that it was the old Magioninium of Antoninus But a He has upon second thoughts plac'd it at Dunstaple in Bedfordshire time hath now informed me better and I am not asham'd to change my opinion in this point it is not my humour to be fond of my own mistakes And yet this place has its Antiquity evidenc'd by a large square fortification hard by which by the Roman coins there frequently found shows whose work it has been Also in Domesday-book which contains the Survey of all England taken by William the Conquerour above 500 years ago it is expresly termed a Borrough More to the South I saw Baldoc Bâ—â—doc a Market-town seated upon a whitish sort of soil concerning which place as well as its neighbour Hitching Antiquity is wholly silent b From thence is Wimondley Wimondlâ—y seated in a well-câ—ltivated
and rich soil an ancient and famous Manour which is held by the most honourable tenure in this Kingdom the Lawyers call it Grand Serjeanty Grand Serjeanty by which the Lord thereof is bound upon the Coronation-day to present the first Cup to the King of England and for that time to be as it were the Royal Cup-bearer This Honour with respect to the Lordship was enjoyed towards the beginning of the Norman times by a noble family who had the name of Fitz-Tecs Fitz-Tecs from whom it came by a daughter to the Argentons Argentons These derived both their name and pedigree from David de Argenton a Norman Souldier who served in the wars under William the Conquerour in memory whereof they long time gave for their Arms Three Cups Argent in a field Gules But at length upon failure of issue male in the reign of Henry the sixth Elizabeth Argenton who was sole inheritrix brought to her husband Sir William Allington Kt. a very fair estate together with this honour from whom the seventh in the lineal descent is the present 7 Sir Giles Giles Allington a young Gentleman of an obliging and truly generous temper whose many vertues are like to add a new lustre to the ancient reputation of this family Hard by near the high-road between Stevenhaugh and Knebworth the seat of the famous family of the Littons 8 Descended from Litton in Darbyshire I saw certain hills cast up of a considerable bigness which are such as the old Romans were wont to raise for Souldiers slain in battel where the first turf was laid by the General Unless one should rather suppose them to have been placed as limits for it was an ancient custom to raise such little hills to mark out the bounds of places and underneath them to lay ashes coals lime broken potsherds c. as I will shew more at large in another place c †In the County of Northampton Lower but more to the South lyes the head of the river Lea Lea. heretofore by our Ancestors call'd Ligean which with a very gentle stream passeth first by Whethamsted a place very fruitful in wheat from whence also it took its name John of ‖ De loco frumentario Whethamsted Whethamsted there born and thence so named was by his learning a great ornament to it in the days of Henry the sixth From thence it runs by Broket-hall the seat of the Knightly-family of the Brockets and Woodhall Woodhall the seat of the Butlers who being descended from the Barons of Wem by marriage came to enjoy the estate of the Gobions Thence it comes near to Bishops-Hatfield Bishops Hatfield a town seated upon the side of a hill on the upper part whereof standeth a very fair house which now belongs to the King as it did before to the Bishops of Ely which was re-built and much beautified by John Morton Bp. of Ely For K. Edgar gave 40 hides in this place to the Church of Ely d Hence Lea passeth on to Hertford Hertford which in some copies of Bede is written Herudford in that place where he treats of a Synod there holden A. D. 670. which name some will have to signifie the Red Ford others the Ford of Harts e This town in the time of William the Conquerour as we find in Dooms-day book discharg'd it self for ten hides and there were in it 26 Burgesses 9 And at that time Ralph Limsey a noble man built here a Cell for St. Alban's Monks But in our days it is neither well peopled nor much frequented and only considerable for its antiquity for the whole County hath taken its name from it and it still continues the Shire-town It hath a Castle seated upon the river Lea which is thought to have been built by Edward the elder and enlarged first by the family of Clare to whom it belonged For Gislebert de Clare about the time of Henry the second had the title of Earl from this Herudford and Robert Fitz-walter who was of the same house of Clare when King Stephen seized into his hands all the Castles of England confidently told the King himself as we read in Matthew Paris that by ancient right the custody of that Castle belong'd to him Afterward it came to the Crown and King Edward the third granted to his son John of Gaunt then Earl of Richmond afterward Duke of Lancaster this Castle together with the Town and Honour of Hertford that there as the words run in the Grant he might keep a house suitable to his quality and have a decent habitation From hence the river Lea in a short course reacheth Ware Ware so named from a sort of damm anciently made there to stop the current commonly call'd a Weare or a Ware f This Town was from the first very prejudicial to Hertford and now by its populousness hath as it were eclips'd it For in the time of the Barons Wars with King John under the countenance and protection of it's Lord the Baron of Wake it presumed to turn the high-road thither 11 And at that time Ralph Limsey a Nobleman built here a Cell for S. Albans Monks for before that time no wagons could * Inspeximus H. 6. pass thither over the river by reason of a chain drawn cross the bridge the key whereof was always in the custody of the Bailiff of Hertford Much about the same time Gilbert Marshal Earl of Pembroke then the principal Peer of England proclaimed a Tournament at this place under the name of a Fortuny Fortunium designing thereby to affront or at least to elude the force of the King's Proclamation by which Tournaments had been prohibited This drew hither a very great concourse of Nobility and Gentry and when he came himself to make his Career his horse unfortunately broke the bridle and threw him and he was in a miserable manner trampl'd to death These Tournaments Tournaments were publick exercises of Arms practis'd by Noblemen and Gentlemen and were more than meer sports or diversions They were first instituted if we may believe Munster in the year of our Lord 934. and were always managed by their own particular laws which may be seen in the same Author A long time this practice was continued in all parts to that degree of madness and with so great a slaughter of persons of the best quality Neubrigensis l. 5. c. 4. especially here in England where it was first brought in by King Stephen that the Church was forced by several Canons expresly to forbid them Matth. Par. An. 1248. with this penalty annexed That whoever should happen therein to be slain should be denied Christian Burial And under King Henry 3. by advice of Parliament it was also enacted that the Offenders estates should be forfeited and their children be disinherited And yet in contempt of that good law this evil and pernicious custom long prevailed
the French King put in a golden little Urn upon a Pyramid 53 Sir Charles Blunt Earl c. instead of Charles Earl of Devon c. Charles Earl of Devonshire Lord Deputy of Ireland and Geoffrey Chaucer who being Prince of the English Poets ought not to be pass'd by as neither Edmund Spencer who of all the English Poets came nearest him in a happy genius and a rich vein of Poetry There are also several others both Clergy and Gentlemen of quality r Hard by there was another College 54 Of a Dean and c. of 12 Canons dedicated to S. Stephen which King Edw. 3. rais'd to such a royal magnificence and endow'd with such large possessions after he had carry'd his victories thro' France that he seems rather to have been Founder than only the Repairer devoutly considering as the Foundation-Charter has it the great benefits of Christ whereby out of his rich mercy we have been prevented upon all occasions delivering us altho' unworthy of it from divers perils and by the right hand of his power mightily defending us and giving us the victory in all the assaults of our enemies as also comforting us with unexpected remedies in the other tribulations and difficulties we have labour'd under Near this was a Palace the ancient habitation of the Kings of England from the time of S. Edward the Confessor which in the reign of K. Hen. 8. was burnt down by a casual fire This Palace was really large and magnificent Fitz-Steph a building not to be equall'd in that age having a * Anteâ—â—rale vawmure and bulwarks For the remains of this are the Chamber wherein the King the Nobility and great Ministers of State meet in Parliament and that next to it wherein our Forefathers us'd to begin their Parliaments call'd the painted Chamber of S. Edward 55 Because the Tradition holds that the said King Edward therein died How bloody black hainous and horrible how odious to God and man that act was whereby certain brutes in the shape of men under that Arch-traitor Fr. Catesby by undermining Fr. Catesby's Plot and placing a vast quantity of gun-powder under those buildings lately contriv'd the destruction of their Prince Country and all the Estates of the Kingdom out of a specious pretence of Religion my very heart quakes to consider and I cannot reflect without the greatest horrour and astonishment into what an inevitable darkness and lamentable ruin they would have thrown this most flourishing Kingdom in a moment But what an old Poet said in a matter of less concern we may mournfully apply to our case Excidat illa dies aevo ne postera credant Secula nos certè taceamus obruta multa Nocte tegi propriae patiamur crimina gentis May that black day ' scape the record of fate And after-ages never know 't has been Or us at least let us the time forget And hide in endless night our guilty nation's sin Near these is the White-hall wherein is at this day the Court of Requests Below which is that Hall larger than any of the rest Westminster-Hall the Praetorium and Hall of Justice for all England s In this there are held Courts of Justice namely King's-Bench Common-Pleas Chancery and in places round it The Star-Chamber the Exchequer Court of Wards Court of the Dutchy of Lancaster c. In these are heard Causes at the set seasons or Terms of the year whereas before the reign of Hen. 3. the General Court of Justice was moveable and always follow'd the King's Court. Guil Lâ—â—bard But he in his Magna Charta made a law in these words The Common-Pleas shall not follow our Court but be held in some one certain place Tho' there are some who understand only by this that the Common-Pleas should from that time forward be held in a distinct Court and not in the Kings-bench as formerly The * Praetorium Hall which we now have was built by K. Rich. 2. as we learn from his Arms in the stone-work and the †Lacunaribus beams which having pull'd down that more ancient Hall built in the place by William Rufus he made his own habitation For then the Kings us'd to hear causes themselves as being the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Judges Prov. c. 1â— whose mouth as the Royal Pen-man has it shall not err in judgment But this Palace being burn'd down in the year 1512. lay desolate and a little after Henry 8. remov'd the Royal Seat to a neighbouring house that not long since was Cardinal Wolsey's which they now call White-hall This is a truly Royal Palace enclos'd on one side with a Park reaching to another house of the King 's 56 Robert Catesby built by K. Henry 8. and call'd S. James's 57 Where anciently was a Spittle for Maiden Lepeus on the other with the Thames A certain Poet from it's Whiteness has term'd it Leucaeum Regale subintrant Leucaeum Reges dederant memorabile quondam Atria quae niveo candebant marmore nomen Quod Tamisis prima est cui gloria pascere cygnos Ledaeos rauco pronus subterluit aestu To the Leuceum now the Princes came Which to it's own white marble owes it's name Here Thames whose silver swans are all his pride Runs roaring by with an impetuous tide Hard by near the Mues The Mâ—â—s so call'd because 't was formerly a place for keeping of Hawks but is now a beautiful stable for the King's horses there stands a monument which King Edw. 1. erected in memory of Queen Eleanor Châ—ring-cross the dearest husband to the most loving wife The tenderness oâ— wife whose tender affection will stand upon record to all posterity She was daughter to Ferdinand 3. King of Castile and marry'd to Edward 1. King of England with whom she went into the Holy Land When her husband was treacherously wounded by a Moor with a poyson'd sword and rather grew worse than receiv'd any ease by what the Physicians apply'd to it Rodâ—ricus Tâ—â—â—tanus lâ—b 1. she found out a remedy as new and unheard of as full of love and endearment For by reason of the malignity of the poyson her husband's wounds could not possibly be clos'd but she lick'd them dayly with her own tongue and suck'd out the venomous humour thinking it a most delicious liquor By the power whereof or rather by the virtue of a wife's tenderness she so drew out the poysonous matter that he was entirely cur'd of his wound and she escap'd without catching any harm What then can be more rare than this woman's expression of love or what can be more admirable The tongue of a wife anointed if I may so say with duty and love to her husband draws from her beloved those poysons which could not be drawn by the most approv'd Physician and what many and most exquisite medicines could not do is effected purely by the love of a wife And thus
ever born When e're thy lofty towers thy stately wall And all thy glories my glad thoughts recall My ravish'd soul still swells with full delight And still my absent eyes admire the grateful sight Fame that 's all tongue and would if silent dye Of thee her greatest theme nor dares nor needs to lye And another in a Poëtical vein penn'd this Haec Urbs illa potens cui tres tria dona ministrant Bacchus Apollo Ceres pocula carmen ador Haec Urbs illa potens quam Juno Minerva Diana Mercibus arce feris ditat adornat alit A place where Ceres Phoebus Bacchus joyn Their three great gifts Corn Poetry and Wine Which Pallas Juno and chast hunting Maid With buildings goods and beasts adorn enrich and feed But my friend the famous John Jonston of Aberdeen Professor of Divinity in the Royal University of St. Andrew's has manag'd the subject more soberly Urbs Augusta cui coelúmque solúmque salúmque Cuique favent cunctis cuncta elementa bonis Mitius haud usquà m coelum est uberrima Tellus Fundit inexhausti germina laeta soli Et pater Oceanus Tamisino gurgite mistus Convehit immensas totius orbis opes Regali cultu sedes clarissima Regum Gentis praesidium cor anima atque oculus Gens antiqua potens virtute robore belli Artium omnigenûm nobilitata opibus Singula contemplare animo attentúsque tuere Aut Orbem aut Orbis dixeris esse caput Renown'd Augusta that sea earth and sky And all the various elements supply No peaceful climate breaths a softer air No fertile grounds with happier plenty bear Old Ocean with great Thames his eldest son Makes all the riches of the world her own The ever famous seat of Britain's Prince The nation's eye heart spirit and defence The men for ancient valour ever known Nor arts and riches gain them less renown In short when all her glories are survey'd It must with wonder still at last be said She makes a world her self or is the world 's great head But these matters with others of this kind are handl'd more at large and with more accuracy by John Stow a Citizen of London and a famous Chronicler in his Survey of London but lately publisht And so I will take leave of my dear native place after I have observ'd that the Latitude of it is 51 Degrees 34 Minutes b Our modern Mathematicians will only allow it 32 minutes and the Longitude 23 Degrees and 25 Minutes that * Orpheus's â—arp Fidicula of the nature of Venus and Mercury is the Topick Star which glances upon the Horizon but never sets and that the Dragon's-head is lookt upon by Astrologers as the Vertical Radcliff The Thames leaving London waters Redcliff a neat little Town inhabited by Sea-men and so call'd from the red cliff Next after it has took a great winding it receives the river Lea the Eastern bound of this County 69 When it hath collected his divided stream and cherished fruitful Marish-meadows which yet has nothing situate upon it belonging to this shire that 's worth our notice For Aedelmton Edmonton Waltham-Cross has nothing remarkable but the name deriv'd from nobility nor Waltham but a Cross built by King Edward the first for the funeral pomp of Queen Eleanor from which it has part of the name Only there is Enfield Enfield-chase a Royal seat built by Thomas Lovel Knight of the Garter and Privy-Councellor to King Henry the seventh 70 And Durance neighbour thereto a house of the Wrothes of ancient name in this County as one may infer from the Arms. Near which is a place cloath'd with green trees and famous for Deeâ—-hunting Enfield-chace formerly the possession of the Magnavils Earls of Essex then of the Bohuns their Successors but now belongs to the Dutchy of Lancaster ever since Henry the fourth King of England marry'd a Daughter and Co-heir of the last Humfrey Bohun And almost in the middle of this Chace there are still the ruins and rubbish of an ancient house which the common people from tradition affirm to have belong'd to the Magnavils Earls of Essex 71 As for the the title of Middlesex the Kings of England have vouchsafed it to none neither Duke Marquess Earl or Baron Towards the north bounds of Middlesex a Military way of the Romans commonly call'd Watlingstreet enters this County coming straight along from the old Verulam through Hamsted-heath from which one has a curious prospect of a most beautiful City and a most pleasant Country Then not where the Road lies now through Highgate for that as is before observ'd was open'd only obout 300 years ago by permission of the Bishop of London but that more ancient one as appears by the old Charters of Edward the Confessor pass'd along near Edgeworth Edgeworth a place of no great antiquity so on to Hendon Hendon which Archbishop Dunstan a man born for promoting the interest of Monkery purchas'd for a few Bizantine pieces of gold and gave to the Monks of St. Peter's in Westminster These Bizantini aurei were Imperial money coyn'd at Bizantium or Constantinople by the Grecian Emperors but what the value of it was I know not There was also a sort of silver-money call'd simply Bizantii and Bizantini Bizantine Coins which as I have observ'd here and there in ancient Records were valu'd at two shillings But leaving those matters to the search of others I will go forward on the Journey I have begun In this County without the City there are about 73 Parishes within the City Liberties and Suburbs c This must needs be a mistake of the Printer for 121. as we find it in some other Copies But neither will that account be true For excluding the seven Parishes in the Cities and Liberties of Westminster which I suppose are thrown into the County and the our parishes of Middlesex and Surrey which can none of them reasonably be accounted in London there will remain in the City Liberties and Suburbs but 113 Parishes as plainly appears by the Bills of Mortality And in the whole County and City together but 186. 221. ADDITIONS to MIDDLESEX THE Extent of this County being very small and our Author a native of it having already been very nice and copious in its description the Reader must not expect any great advance either in the corrections or additions to it a The first place that admits of further remarks is Uxbridge Uxbridge made more famous since our Author's days by a treaty there held Jan. 30. 1644. temp Car. 1. between the King and Parliament then sitting at Westminster Of which we have a full relation given us by Sir William Dugdale in his View of the late Troubles printed at Oxon 1681. to which I refer the Reader for a more particular account b After Uxbridge Stanes Sâ—â—nes is the next Market-Town that offers it self to our consideration which though
nor burrow for that King requiring an account of the cities burrows and villages of this Shire Norwich was the only City return'd and Yarmouth and Lynne the only burrows possibly because such had only that name as sent Representatives to Parliament whereas that Privilege was not then granted to this place c Northeast from hence lyes Buckenham Buckenham which can scarce be suppos'd to come from bucken beach-trees as our Author imagines but rather from the great number of bucks with which the neighbouring woods may be easily suppos'd to have been well-stock d as at this day they do not altogether want them as for beeches they have few or none d In the time of Henry 3. it pass'd from the Earl of Arundel to the Tatsals for then upon default of heir-male this large estate was divided amongst daughters Since it came into the family of the Knivets Philip Knivet who in Sir Henry Spelman's time was the possessor had the title of Baronet conferr'd upon him but the ancient estate was very much gone to decay e From hence we pass into the Hundred of Forehowe so call'd from the four hills upon which are held their meetings as Sir Henry Spelman has observ'd and heah in Saxon is at this day high On the Southeast side thereof lyes Wimundham or Windham Windham sold by the last of the Knivets of that place to Henry Hobart Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. There is this Epitaph upon William de Albeney Butler to K. Henry 1. and founder of a Monastery of Black-Monks there Hunc Pincerna locum fundavit hic jacet illa Quae dedit huic domui jam sine fine tenet f At Depeham Depeham in the same Hundred is a Linden-tree of vast bigness mention'd and describ'd by Mr. Evelyn in his Sylva where he calls it Tillia Colossia Depemensis To the eye it stands over the other trees when view'd at a distance as a Giant to so many pigmies At the foot of it is a spring which petrifies sticks leaves and whatever falls into it South from hence is Attilburrough Attilborough a place if John Bramis a Monk of Thetford may be credited of great note and antiquity He will have it built and fortify'd by Atlynge a King of those parts and his evidence for it are two Copies of that History which he translated one in French and the other in old English But whatever credit this may deserve 't is certain that the termination burrough wherever it occurs denotes something of antiquity as a castle a fort or such like g Between this and Norwich is Carleton Carleton which our Author tells us was held upon condition of carrying a hundred herings bak'd in pies to the King wherever he was The town of Yarmouth by Charter is bound to send to the Sheriffs of Norwich these hundred herrings but they are to be bak'd in 24 pies or pasties and thence deliver'd to the Lord of the manour of East-Carlton who is to convey them to the King This is every year duly observ'd to this day and an Indenture drawn up the substance whereof is That upon delivery of these pies to the Lord of the manour he shall acknowledge the receipt and be obliged to convey them to the King I have seen a Copy of one made ten years since and the same is every year drawn up with the necessary alterations At a little distance Eastward is Castor Castor the famous Roman camp which agrees exactly with the description given by Polybius Vegetius and others concerning the Roman's ancient way of encampment The faces for the four gates are still manifestly to be seen The Porta Praetoria lookt toward the east opposite to which without the Porta Decumana and close by the river's side there still remain some ruins of a tower The walls enclosing the camp were of flint and very large bricks i From hence we are carried to Norwich Norwicâ— the original of which name seems plainly to be from the castle there For though it cannot be deny'd but Æ¿ic as Mr. Camden observes signifies as well a bosom of the sea a station for ships and a village as a castle yet the circumstances seem here to determine it to the last sense For the initial North being a relative term must have something directly contrary to answer it whereas we meet with no bays or bosoms on the south-side but not above three miles south we find the remains of an ancient royal castle which still keeps some footsteps of antiquity in its name of Castor Now from hence the age of the town does in some measure appear For if it took its name from the castle 't is evident it must be of less antiquity The castle indeed one would imagine from the circular form of the ditch and vast compass of it to have been either Danish or Norman but that there must have been one earlier is clear both from the Saxon original and a charter of Henry 1. directed to Harvey first Bishop of Ely whereby that Church is absolv'd from all services due to the Castle of Norwich Now as Sir Henry Spelman very well observes such services could not be impos'd whilst the lands were in the hands of the Bishops Monks c. and by consequence must needs become due whilst in the hands of some secular owner and the last was Tombertus Governour of the Southern Girvii who bestow'd them upon his wife Aetheldreda foundress of the Monastery of Ely about the year 677. So that from hence it appears that the age of this castle reaches at least so low and perhaps much lower The reason why the Church-lands were exempt from services seems to be express'd in the Laws of Edward the second because the prayers of the Church ought to be look'd upon as more effectual than secular assistance The City is honour'd by making up one of the many titles of his Grace Henry Duke of Norfolk whose father was created by King Charles the second in the 24th of his Reign Earl of Norwich k From hence the river leads us to Redeham â—â—â—â—â—â—m a small village upon the same river so call'd from the reeds growing in the marshy grounds thereabouts Here it was that Lothbroc the Danish Noble-man landed being by a sudden storm driven from his own coast whilst he was a hawking and finding entertainment at King Edmund's Court then at Castor liv'd there till he was murther'd by the King's huntsman Upon the news his sons though the murtherer had been sufficiently punish'd and with 20000 men to revenge the death of their father waste the whole kingdom of the East-Angles and on the 20th of Novemb. An. 870. barbarously murther the King of it By this account Redeham must be of elder date than Yarmouth because if this hâ—d been then built Lothbroc had no doubt stopt there for assistance and directions l At Yarmouth the river Thyrn likewise empties it self into the sea upon which stands Blickling
be made toll-free in all places saith Ely book freed it from that burthen of watching and warding the duty it ow'd to Norwich-Castle He made the way from Exning to Ely above six miles through the fens 5 He began the fair Palace at Ely for his successors and purchas'd many a fair estate for the Church s use His successors by lessening the number of Monks for from 70 they brought 'em to 40 and by the plenty of all things overflow'd with wealth and riches even till our fathers days and their Holydays and Festivals were always celebrated with such great provisions and pomp that they won the prize in that point from all the Monasteries in England Whence a Poet in those times not improperly says Praevisis aliis Eliensia festa videre Est quasi praevisa nocte videre diem After all others see but Ely's feast You 'll see glad day when tedious night is past The Cathedral also which began to totter with age they built by degrees and brought it to that magnificence it now has 't is a spacious stately and beautiful structure but somewhat defac'd by shamefully breaking down the Noblemens and Bishops tombs Now instead of the full Convent of Monks there is a Dean Prebendaries and a Free-school for the teaching and maintaining 24 boys m In Ely the Bishop has a stately Palace built of late years there are four things about this Church much talk'd of by the common people the Lantern on the top of all just over the Quire supported by eight pillars with singular art hung by John de Hothum the Bishop St. Mary's Chapel standing under the Church to the North a delicate piece of work built by Simon Montacute Bishop a great round heap of earth and very high call'd The Mount on the South-side where a Wind-mill stands lastly a famous fruitful Vine which is now wither'd Which four were joyn'd together in these Rhimes by a certain Monk of the place Haec sunt Eliae Lanterna Capella Mariae Atque Molendinum necnon dans vinea Vinum Saint Mary's Chapel you at Ely see The lofty Lantern rival of the sky The Mill and Vine that bread and drink supply As for Ely it self it is a pretty large city but not much remarkable either for beauty or populousness by reason of its fenny situation and unwholesom air 6 Although it be seated somewhat higher Near to it is Downham where the Bishop hath his residing house with a Park Near to Downham is Cowney the ancientest seat of the family sirnam'd for their habitation here Lisle and De Insula and first planted here by Nigellus the second Bishop of Ely their allie in the time of King Henry 1. as is set down in a Leiger-book of Ely Chateries or Cheaterich is not far hence westward where Alwena a devout woman founded a Nunnery upon a copped ground encompass'd with fens while her husband founded Ramsey z Amidst the same fens to the North-west was a famous Abby from its standing among thorns and bushes call'd Thorney Thorney formerly Ankerige from the Anchorites dwelling there where Sexuulph a very religious devout man as it is in Peterborough-book founded a Monastery with Hermits Cells It was afterwards ruin'd by the Danes but Ethelwold Bishop of Winchester to encourage the Monastick way of living rebuilt it stor'd it with Monks and encompass'd it with trees This place says Malmsbury is the very picture of Paradise for pleasantness resembling Heaven it self amidst the very marshes fruitful in trees whose straight tapering tallness emulates the stars a plain smooth as water charms your eyes with pleasing green where 's no rub to stop the swiftest pace There 's not an inch of ground uncultivated here a place swelling with apple-trees there a field overspread with vines either creeping upon the ground or climbing up poles to support them A mutual strife there is between nature and husbandry that one may always supply what the other forgets What shall I say of the beauty of the buildings to be admir'd if it were only for the fenns making such solid and unshaken foundations It is a wonderful solitary and retir'd place fit indeed for Monks it makes them more mindful of heavenly things and more mortify'd to things below 'T is a prodigy to see a woman here and when but a man comes he 's welcom'd like an Angel So that I may truly call this Isle a Lodge for Chastity an Harbour for Honesty and a School for Divine Philosophy Wisbich Wisbich the Bishop of Ely's castle stands about 13 miles off situated among fens and rivers and lately made a prison for the Romish Priests I have nothing more to say of it but only that this Town and Walepole Walepole were both given to Ely-Monastery by the owner of them at the same time that he dedicated his little son Alwin to a monkish life that William the first erected a castle here when the out-laws made their incursions from these fenny parts and that in the year 1236 the tempestuous waves for two days so violently broke in upon this shore that it drown'd both land and people all about But the Brick-castle that is still there was built by John Morton Bishop of Ely in our grandfathers days who also drew a straight ditch through this fenny Country call'd Newleame Newleame for the better convenience of water-carriage and for encreasing the trade and wealth of this his town tho' indeed it hapn'd to the contrary for it is but of small use and the neighbours mightily complain that this has quite stop'd the course of the Avon or Nen into the Sea by Clowcross Clowcrâ—ss The first Earl of Cambridge Earls of Cambridge was William brother of Ranulph Earl of Chester as may be seen by a Patent of Alexander Bishop of Lincoln dated 1139. After him 't is probable that those Earls of Huntingdon that were of the royal blood of Scotland were likewise Earls of Cambridge for it appears from the publick records of the kingdom That David Earl of Huntingdon receiv'd the third penny of the County of Cambridge A long time after John of Hainault brother to William third Earl of Holland and Hainault was advanc'd to this dignity by Edward 3. for the sake of Queen Philippa whose Kinsman he was For her sake also he honour'd William Marquiss of Juliers her sister's son with the same title after John had revolted and gone over to the French After the decease of these Forreigners King Edward 3. settled this Honour upon his fifth son Edmund of Langley which after he had held four years I have my authority from an old manuscript belonging to that admirable Antiquary Francis Thinn The Earl of Hainault Queen Philippa's Cousin came and openly claim'd it in Parliament but he return'd satisfy'd at last This Edmund of Langley afterwards Duke of York had two Sons Edward Duke of York for a while Earl of Cambridge and slain in the battel of Agincourt and
an ancient family but now of execrable memory for a most cruel and horrible plot never parallel'd in any age which Robert Catesby of Ashby St. Leger the dishonour of his family running headlong upon villanies gaping after the most detestable cruelties and impiously conspiring the destruction of his Prince and Country lately contriv'd under a specious pretext of Religion Of this let all ages be silent and let not the mention of it convey this scandal to posterity which we our selves cannot reflect on without horrour nay the dumb and inanimate Beings seem to be moved at the hainousness of such a villanous conspiracy Hard by is Fawesley Faweâ—â—â— where the Knightleys have long dwelt adorn'd with the honour of Knighthood descended from the more ancient family of Knightley of Gnowshall in Staffordshire And more eastward upon the Nen whose chanel as yet is but small stands Wedon on the street Wedâ—◠〈◊〉 the Street once the royal seat of Wolpher K. of the Mercians and converted into a Monastery by his daughter Werburg a most holy Virgin whose miracles in driving away Geese from hence some credulous writers have very much magnified I shou'd certainly wrong truth shou'd I not think tho' I have been of a contrary opinion that it is this Wedon which Antonine in his Itinerary calls Bannavenna Bennavenna Bennaventa Bannâ—â—na 〈◊〉 Isaâ—â—â—na 〈◊〉 naâ—â—â— and once corruptly Isannaventa notwithstanding there remain not now any express footsteps of that name so much does length of time darken and change every thing For the distance from the ancient Stations and Quarters on both sides exactly agrees and in the very name of Bannavenna the name of the river Aufona Avenna now Nen the head whereof is near it in some measure discovers it self Likewise a Military-way goes directly from hence northward with a Causey oft broken and worn away but most of all over-against Creke a village where of necessity it was joyn'd with bridges but elsewhere it appears with a high ridge as far as Dowbridge near Lilborne A little more northward I saw Althorp â—â—â—â—p the seat of the noted family of the Spencers Knights allied to very many Houses of great worth and honour out of which Sir Robert Spencer the fifth Knight in a continued succession a worthy encourager of virtue and learning was by his most serene Majesty K. James lately advanced to the honour of Baron Spencer of Wormleighton Hard by Althorp Holdenby-house 〈…〉 â—â—denby makes a noble appearance a stately and truly magnificent piece of building erected by Sir Christopher Hatton 〈◊〉 Christoâ—er Hatâ—◠〈◊〉 died 〈◊〉 1591. Privy Counsellour to Qu. Elizabeth Lord Chancellour of England and Knight of the Garter upon the lands and inheritance of his great grandmother heir of the ancient family of the Holdenbys for the greatest and last monument as himself afterwards was wont to say of his youth A person to say nothing of him but what is his due eminent for his piety towards God his love for his Country his untainted integrity and unparallel'd charity One also which is not the least part of his character that was always ready to encourage Learning Thus as he liv'd piously so he fell asleep piously in Christ Yet the monument the learned in their writings have rais'd to him shall render him more illustrious than that most noble and splendid tomb in St. Paul's Church London deservedly and at great charges erected to the memory of so great a person by Sir William Hatton Kt. his adopted son Beneath these places the Nen glides forward with a gentle small stream and is soon after encreas'd by the influx of a little river where at the very meeting of them the City called after the river Northafandon and in short Northampton â—orthampâ—â—n is so seated that on the west-side it is water'd with this river and on the south with the other Which I was of late easily induced to imagine the ancient Bannaventa but I err'd in my conjecture and let my confession atone for it As for the name it may seem to have had it from the situation upon the north-side of the Aufona The City it self which seems to have been all of stone is in it's buildings very neat and fine for compass large enough and wall'd about from which walls there is a noble prospect every way into a spacious plain Country On the west-side it hath an old Castle 10â—5 â—egister of Andrews beautiful even by it's antiquity built by Simon de Sancto Licio commonly call'd Senliz the first of that name Earl of Northampton who joyned likewise to it a beautiful Church dedicated to St. Andrew for his own sepulture and as 't is reported re-edified the town Simon the younger also his son founded without the town ‖ De Pratis De la Pree a Nunnery It seems to have lain dead and neglected during the Saxon Heptarchy neither have our Writers made any where mention of it in all those depredations of the Danes unless it was when Sueno the Dane with barbarous fury and outrage ravag'd all over England For then as Henry of Huntingdon reports it was set on fire and burnt to the ground In the reign of St. Edward there were in this City as we find in Domesday 60 Burgesses in the King 's Domain having as many Mansions of these in King William 1.'s time 14 lay waste and 47 remained Over and above these there were in the new Borough 40 Burgesses in the Domain of K. William After the Normans time it valiantly withstood the siege laid to it by the Barons during the troubles and slaughters with which they had then embroil'd the whole Kingdom Who being maliciously bent against King John for private and particular reasons did yet so cloak them with pretences of Religion and the common good â—â—â—rtitus 〈◊〉 that they termed themselves The Army of God and of Holy Church At which time they say that military work was made they call Hunshill But it stood not out with like success against Hen. 3. their lawful King as it did against those Rebels For when the Barons brought up and now inur'd to sedition begun a war against him in this place he made a breach in the wall and soon won it by assault After this as before also the Kings now and then held their Parliaments here for the conveniency of its situation as it were in the very heart of England and in the year of Christ 1460. a lamentable battel was here fought wherein such was the Civil division of England after the slaughter of many of the Nobility Richard Nevill Earl of Warwick took that most unfortunate Prince King Hen. 6. then a second time made Prisoner by his subjects To conclude the longitude of Northampton our Mathematicians make 22 deg 29 min. and the latitude 52 deg 13 min. d From hence the Nen hastens by Castle-Ashby where Henry Lord Compton has begun a very fine House near which is
I cannot tell The Saxon Annals call it Lygeanburh except Laud's Copy which calls it Lygeanbyrig and Florence of Worcester confirms the reading when he terms it Liganburh the later writers call it Lienberig Lienberi The placing it at Loughburrow seems to draw Cuthwulf too far out of his road for the next town he took was Ailesbury and 't is strange that in such a great distance he should not make an attempt upon some other The manner of his progress seems to favour Leighton in Bedfordshire See that County That this Loughborrow was that royal Vill in the Saxon tongue calld Lieganburge which Marianus says Cuthulfus took from the Britains in the year of Christ 572 the affinity of the names does in some sort evince At present it is justly esteem'd the second town of all this County next to Leicester as well in respect of its bigness and buildings as the pleasant woods about it For near the side of this town the forest of Charnwood Charnwood Forest or Charley q The forest of Charley is 20 miles in compass Lel. Itin. p 14. See a larger description of it in Burton's Leicestersh pag. 69. spreads it self a long way Within the bounds whereof is Beaumanour Park which the Lords Beaumonts enclos'd as I have heard with a stone-wall 17 These Beaumonts descended from a younger son of John Count of Brene in France who for his high honour and true valour was preferr'd to marry the heir of the kingdom of Jerusalem and with great pomp crown'd King of Jerusalem in the year of our Lord 1248. Hence it is that we see the Arms of Jerusalem so often quarter'd with those of Beaumont in sundry places of England Sir Hâ—n Beaumont was the first that planted himself in England about the year 1308. Which Lords were descended as is commonly believ'd of a French family certain it is that they come from John de Brenne King of Jerusalem and that they first settled in England about the reign of Edw. 1. And by marriage with the daughter of Alexander Comyn Earl of Boghan in Scotland whose mother was one of the heirs of Roger de Quincy Earl of Winchester they got a very plentiful inheritance and became a great family Of which family Viscounts Beaumont in the reign of King Edward 3. Henry was for several years summoned to Parliament by the name of Earl of Boghan and in the reign of Hen. 6. John was for a time Constable of England and the first in England The first honorary Viscount in England that I know of whom the King advanc'd to the honour of a Viscount But when William the last Viscount dy'd without issue his sister became the wife of the Lord Lovel and the whole inheritance which was large was afterwards confiscated for High Treason 18 By attainder of Loved it fell into the hands of King Henry 7. In this north part nothing else occurs worth mentioning unless it be a small Nunnery founded by Roifia de Verdon and call'd Grace-dieu 19 Now belonging to a younger house of the Beaumonts that is God's grace and not far from thence by the stream of Trent Dunnington Dunnington an ancient Castle built by the first Earls of Leicester which afterwards came to John Lacy Earl of Lincoln who procur'd it the privilege of a Market and Fairs from Edw. 1. But when in the proscription of the Barons under Ed. 2. the possessions of the proscribed were sequester'd and alienated the King gave this manour to Hugh le Despenser the younger 20 The hereditaments of Thomas Earl of Lancaster and Alice Lacy his wife were seiz'd into the King's hands and alienated in divers sorts the King enforc'd her to release this manour to Hugh le Dispenser the younger h The east part of this County which is hilly and feedeth a vast number of sheep was heretofore adorned with two principal places of great note Vernometum or Verometum mention'd by Antoninus and Burton-Lazers of great account in former ages Vernometum Vernometum â—â—â—rometâ—â— the name whereof is lost at this day seems to me to have been situated in that place which is now call'd Burrow-hill and Erdburrow for between Verometum and Ratae according to Antoninus were twelve miles and there is almost so much between this place and Leicester The present name also of Burrows which signify'd among the Saxons a fortify'd place comes from Burgh 21 And under it a town call'd Burrough belonging to an old family of Gentlemen so sirnam'd But the most considerable proof is that the ground is a steep hill on all sides but the south-east on the top of which remains the manifest appearance of a town destroy'd a double trench and the track where the walls went which enclosed about 18 acres of land At this day it is * Resâ—â—â— arable ground and noted on this account chiefly that the youth of the neighbouring parts meet here yearly for wrestling and such like exercises i One may conjecture from the name that some great Temple of the Heathen Gods hath formerly stood in this place For in the ancient Language of the Gauls which was the same with that of the Britains Vernometum Vernometum what it signâ—â—â—s in the oâ—d Gâ—ulish signifies a great and spacious Temple as Venantius Fortunatus plainly tells us of Vernometum a town in France in these verses in his first book of Poems Nomine Vernometum voluit vocitare vetustas Quod quasi fanum ingens Gallica lingua sonat The Gauls when Vernomet they call'd the place Did a great Temple by the word express As for Burton call'd for distinction Lazers Burton-lazers from Lazers so they nam'd the Elephantiaci or Lepers it was a rich Hospital to the Master of which all the lesser Lazer-houses in England were in some sort subject as he himself was to the Master of the Lazers of Jerusalem r It was founded about the time of K. Hen. 1. and as Leland saith Tom. 1. p. 69. by the Lord Mowbray for a Master and 8 brethren which did profess the Order of St. Austin See Burton's Leicestersh p. 63. It is said to have been built in the beginning of the Normans by a general collection throughout England but chiefly by the assistance of the Mowbrays About which time the Leprosie Leprosie in England by some call'd Elephantiasis 22 Because the skins of Lepers are like to those of Elephants did run by infection over all England And it is believ'd that the disease did then first come into this Island out of Egypt which more than once had spread it self into Europe first in the days of Pompey the Great afterwards under Heraclius and at other times as may be seen in History 23 Whether by celestial influence or other hidden causes I leave to the learned but never so far as I read did it before that time appear in England Besides these places of greater note and fame we
mark of infamy by wickedly conspiring with those wretched Incendiaries who design'd with one single charge of Gun-powder to have destroy'd both their Prince and Country d 2 More eastward upon the river Welland I saw nothing remarkable unless it be Berohdon now Barodon which Thomas Beauchamp Earl of Warwick held with South-Luffenham and other hamlets by service to the King's Chamberlain in the Exchequer Fiâ— 14 Ed. 3. In the furthermost division beyond the river encompass'd with hills lyes the pleasant and fruitful valley now call'd The Vale of Catmose perhaps from Coet maes which in the British tongue signifies a woody field or ground In the midst of which vale stands Okeham Okeham that seems for the same reason to have taken it's name from Oaks Near the Church 3 Which is large and fair are still remaining the ruinous walls of an old castle built as is reported by a He was a younger son to William de Ferrers Earl of Derby and held Okeham by the service of one Knights fee and a half 12 Hen. 2. Wright pag. 95. Walkelin de Ferrariis in the beginning of the Normans And that it was the habitation of the Ferrars besides the authority of tradition is sufficiently evident from the Horse-shoes which that family gave for their Arms nail'd on the â—â—tes and in the hall Afterwards this town belong'd to the Lords of Tatteshall But when King Richard 2. advanced Edward son of the Duke of York to the title of Earl of Rutland he also gave him this Castle In the memory of the last age it came to Thomas Cromwell Barons Cromwell and as I have read b He was Baron Cromwell of Wimbledon but not of Okeham See the printed Stat. of 31 Hen. 8. concerning Gavelkind gave him the title of Baron Henry 8. advanc'd this person to the highest dignity but soon after when by his many projects he had expos'd himself to the storms of envy on a sudden he depriv'd him both of life and honours e Eastward from hence is Burley Burly most pleasantly situated overlooking the Vale. This is now the magnificent seat of the Harringtons who by marriage with the daughter and heir of Colepeper came to so large an inheritance in those parts that ever since they have been a flourishing family in like manner as the Colepepers were before them to whom by N. Green the great estate of the Bruses did in part descend Which Bruses being of the chief Nobility of England match'd into the Royal family of Scotland from whom by Robert the eldest brother the Royal Line of the Scots and by Bernard a younger brother the Cottons of Connington in the County of Huntingdon of whom I have already spoken and these Harringtons are descended Upon which account K. James dignify'd Sir John Harrington Barons Harringtâ—â— 4 Branch'd from the stem of the ancient Lords Harington a most famous and worthy Knight with the title of Baron Harrington of Exton 5 A town adjacent where be hath also another fair house f On the east-side of this County near the river Guash lye Brigcasterton of which more hereafter and Rihall where when superstition had so bewitched our Ancestors that it had almost remov'd the true God by the multiplicity of Gods one Tibba a Saint of the lesser rank was worship'd by Falconers The Falcoâ—ers Saint as a second Diana and reputed a kind of Patroness of Falconry g Next adjoyning is Essenden whose Lord Robert Cecil the excellent son of an excellent father who was the support of our kingdom was lately created by King James Baron Cecil of Essenden Baron Câ—â—â— of Essendâ—n This little County Edward the Confessor devised by his last Will to his wife Eadith conditionally that after her death it should go to St. Peter's at Westminster These are the words of the Testament I will that after the decease of Queen Eadgith my wife Roteland with all things thereunto belonging be given to my Monastery of the most blessed Peter and that it be surrender'd without delay to the Abbot and Monks there serving God for ever But this Testament of his was vacated by William the Norman who keeping a great part of this estate to himself divided the rest to Judith the Countess whose daughter marry'd David K. of Scots to Robert Mallet Oger Gislebert of Gaunt Earl Hugh Alberic the Clerk and others But to Westminster he left indeed at first the tithes but afterwards only the Church of Okeham with the Appendices or Chapelries thereunto belonging Oppida Mercatoria per Ichnographiam Villae Parochiales per Pagi minores per Sedes vel loca devastata Olim Villae per Denotantur COMITATUS ROTELANDIAE Tabula Nova Aucta This little County is adorn'd with 48 Parish-Churches ADDITIONS to RVTLANDSHIRE a WHat the original of this County's name was we are in a great measure in the dark for as Mr. Camden's Roet and Rud will not do because we are assur'd there is nothing in the County to justifie such a conjecture so Mr. Wright's Rotelandia quasi Rotunda-landia will hardly pass till we can give some probable account how it came by a Latin name more than other parts of England The Conquest could not bring it in because we find it call'd so in the time of Edward the Confessor and beside so much of it as belong'd to Nottinghamshire to which the name Roteland was given before the rest came to be part of it is far from making a circular figure how round soever it may be when all together b When the County of Rutland came to be distinct or upon what occasion is altogether unknown Mr. Camden says that Authors 300 years old make no mention of it as of a separate Shire but that it was distinct before is certain for in the 5th of King John Isabel his new Queen had at her Coronation assigned her in Parliament for her dowry among other lands * Wright â—g 3. Com. Roteland villam de Rokingham in Com. Northampt. c. And in 12 Johan the Custos did account for the profits of this County in the Exchequer Which Custos can relate to nothing but the Sheriff of the County who was and still is as it were a Guard and his office is imply'd in his name Scyre-gerefa from which Sheriff is contracted signifying no more than a Keeper of the County â—iâ—g 〈◊〉 c In the south part of this County lies Uppingham the site whereof will hardly bear Mr. Camden's derivation from an ascent †Wright â— 130. the ground upon which it stands being something above a level but hardly amounting to a hill Johnson who is said to have built the school was call'd Robert and beside that built two Hospitals one at Okeham and another here at Uppingham Near this place is Lydington where about the year 1602. Thomas Lord Burgley settl'd an Hospital or Alms-house for a Warden 12 poor men and 2 poor women
Norman-writers Nichol and Mr. Thomas Twyne in his Breviary of Britain fol. 24. b. says he has observ'd the same many times in ancient Charters and Records of the Earls thereof written in the French-tongue And even as low as Edward the fourth's time William Caxton in his Chronicle entitl'd Fructus temporum pag. 141. and 295. calls it Nichol. I know none who remove the Roman Lindum from hence except Talbot who carries it to Lenton in Nottinghamshire which opinion we have consider'd in its proper place ‖ Itinerar p. 21. Leland tells us he heard say that the lower part of Lincoln-town was all marish and won by policy and inhabited for the commodity of the water è regione that this part of the town is call'd Wikerford and in it are 11 Parochial-Churches besides which he saw one in ruins The White-Fryers were on the west-side of the High-street in Wikerford * Pag. 22 That beyond old Lincoln much money is found in the North-fields What Mr. Camden has concerning the decay of this town wherein he says of 50 Churches are scarce left 18 he seems to have borrow'd from a hint of Leland's and if he had no other authority it seems to be deliver'd in terms too positive and general For Leland mentions it very tenderly and only says †Ibid. There goeth a common fame that there were once 52 Parish-Churches in Lincoln-city and the suburbs of it At a little distance from Lincoln is Nocton Nocton formerly a Religious-house where is a very magnificent seat lately built by Sir William Ellys Baronet At Wragby Wragby eight miles East of Lincoln the wife of one Charles Gays An. Dom. 1676. brought forth a male-child with two heads which liv'd some hours The mother of the child is still living and keeps an Inn in the town and the matter of fact can be attested by at least 100 people who saw it u Upon the little river Bane stands Horn-castle Horn-castle which evidently appears to have been a Camp or Station of the Romans as from the Castle which is Roman work so also from the Roman coins several whereof were found therein the time of Charles the first and some they meet with at this day tho' not so commonly in the field adjoyning The compass of the Castle was about 20 Acres which is yet plainly discernable by the foundation of the whole and some part of the wall still standing It is a Seigniory or Soke of 13 Lordships and was given by King Richard the second to the Bishop of Carlisle and his Successors for his habitation and maintenance when by the frequent incursions of the Scots he was driven from his castle of Rose in Cumberland and spoil'd of his revenues Three miles South-east from hence is Winceby Winceby where Octob. 5. 1643. was a battel fought between the King and Parliament the forces of the first commanded by Colonel Henderson and the Lord Widdrington those of the latter by Colonel Cromwell The fight scarce lasted an hour and the victory fell to the Parliament w At the meeting of the rivers Bane and Witham is Tatteshall Totteshall where in the front of the castle not long since were to be seen the Arms of the Cromwells the ancient Lords of it It afterwards came to be one of the seats of the Clintons Earls of Lincoln besides another at Sempringham which Mr. Camden mentions in this County x At a little distance from Bullingbrook is Eresby Eresby which gives the title of Baron to the Earl of Lindsey the third division of this County The first who enjoy'd this title oâ— Earl was Robert Lord Willoughby of Eresby creaâ—â—â— Nov. 22. in the second year of King Charles 1. He was son to that Peregrine Berty whom Catharine Baroness of Willoughby and Dutchess of Suffolk bore to Richard Berty while they made their escape into foreign parts in Queen Mary's persecution He was call d Peregrine eo quod in terra peregrina pro consolatione exilii sui piis parentibus à Domino donatus sit as the publick Register of Wesel in the Dutchy of Cleve where he was born expresses it At the request of the honourable Mr. Charles Berty Envoy extraordinary to the Electors and other Princes of Germany in his passage through that City the Burgomasters Aldermen and Counsellors took a copy of the evidences of his birth and Christening as they found it in their Register and presented it to him under the common seal of the City This Robert the first Earl Lord High Chamberlain of England was succeeded by his son and heir Mountague upon the restoration of Charles 2. made Knight of the Garter who dying in the year 1666. was succeeded by Robert his eldest son y A little above Bullingbroke stands Hareby Hareby eminent for the death of Queen Eleanor wife to King Edward 1. who being conveyed from thence to Westminster had a great many Crosses erected to her memory in several noted places This is the more observable because our Chronicles tell us she dy'd at a place call'd Hardby without giving us any hints where it stands z Hard by is Bollingbroke Bollingbroke whereof Oliver Lord St. John of Bletso was created Earl 22 Jac. 1. Dec. 28. and was succeeded by his grandchild Oliver St. John by Pawlet his second son Oliver Lord St. John the eldest being slain at Edge-hill fight At present the place gives the title of Earl to the right honourable Pawlet St. John aa More towards the sea lies Boston Boston where Mr. John Fox Author of the Acts and Monuments was born bb At Grimesby Grimesby were formerly three Religious-houses i.e. one Nunnery and two Monasteries and not far from the same coast between Salflet-haven and Louth is Salfletby memorable for its late Minister Mr. John Watson who was incumbent 74 years during which time as he himself reported it he buried the inhabitants three times over save three or four persons He had by one wife fourteen sons and three daughters the youngest now past the fiftieth year of his age In all this time he was a constant industrious Preacher except during his imprisonment for 40 weeks in Lincoln Gaol by Cromwell who put a Militia-Drummer in his place Since the present reign he was also suspended ab officio but considering his great age not à beneficio He dy'd in Aug. 1693. aged 102. cc Turning to the west towards the river Trent we meet with Osgodby Osgodby otherwise call'd Ostegobby and Osgoteby where Mr. Camden places the seat of St. Medardo and deduces it to the family of Ashcough But Mr. Dugdale has assur'd us that the whole is a manifest mistake that family belonging to another Osgodby in the same County about 30 miles south of this dd Directly towards Lincoln is Stow Stow. the Church whereof is a large building in the form of a cross and very ancient It was founded by Eadnoth a Bishop of Dorchester in Oxfordshire
Throw in a cloth you 'll see it straight ascend For all 's bore upward by the conqu'ring wind But all that 's remarkable in this high and rough little country a certain person has endeavour'd to comprise in these f Hobbs has comprehended the seven wonders in one verse Aedes mons barathrum binus fons antraque binà four verses Mira alto Pecco tria sunt barathrum specus antrum Commoda tot plumbum gramen ovile pecus Tot speciosa simul sunt Castrum Balnea Chatsworth Plura sed occurrunt quae speciosa minus Nine things that please us at the Peak we see A Cave a Den and Hole the wonders be Lead Sheep and Pasture are the useful three Chatworth the Castle and the Bath delight Much more you 'll find but nothing worth your sight 7 To these wonders may be added a wonderful Well in the Peake-forest not far from Buxtons which ordinarily ebbeth and floweth four times in the space of one hour or thereabouts keeping his just tides and I know not whether Tideswell a market town hereby hath his name thereof Hol. As to what he says of the justness of the tides there is no such thing for sometimes it does not flow once in two days and sometimes it flows twice in an hour Those of the Peverels who as I have said before were Lords of Nottingham Lords aâ—â— Earls of Derby are also reported to have been Lords of Derby Afterwards King Rich. 1. gave and confirm'd to his brother John Simeon Dunchâ—â—â—sis Horeden Mat. Par. 204. the County and Castle of Nottingham Lancaster Derby c. with the Honours belonging to them and the Honour also of Peverel After him those of the family of the Ferrars as for as I can gather from the Registers of Tutbury Merivall and Burton Monasteries were Earls William de Ferrariis born of the daughter and heir of Peverel whom King John as it is in an ancient Charter An ancieâ—â— Charter 1 Joan. ‖ Cinrit c. created Earl of Derby with his own hands William his son 8 Who being bruis'd with a fall out of his coach dy'd in the year 1254. and Robert the son of this William who in the Civil wars was so stripp'd of this dignity that none of his posterity tho' they liv'd in great state were ever restor'd to their full honours Many possessions of this Robert were given by King Henry 3. to his younger son Edmund and King Edward 3. so says the original record by Act of Parliament gave Henry of Lancaster the son of Henry Earl of Lancaster the Earldom of Derby to him and his heirs and likewise assign'd him 1000 marks yearly during the life of Henry Earl of Lancaster his father From that time this title continued in the family of Lancaster till King Henry 7. bestow'd it upon Thomas Stanley who had not long before marry'd Margaret the King's mother 9 To him and his heirs males He had for his successor his grandson Thomas begotten by George his son on the body of Joan the heiress of the Lord Strange of Knocking This same Thomas had by the sister of George Earl of Huntingdon Edward the third Earl of this family highly commended for his courteousness and hospitality who of the Lady Dorothy daughter to the first Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk begat Henry the fourth Earl who soon obtain'd very honourable employments and left by the Lady Margaret daughter of Henry Earl of Cumberland Ferdinand and William successively Earls of Derby Ferdinand dy'd after a strange manner in the flower of his youth leaving by Margaret her right name is Alice his wife daughter of Sir John Spenser of Althorp three daughters viz. Anne marry'd to Grey Bruges Lord Chandos Frances espous'd to Sir John Egerton and Elizabeth the wife of Henry Earl of Huntingdon William the sixth Earl now enjoyeth the honour and hath issue by Elizabeth daughter to Edward late Earl of Oxford and now William g See an account of this family in Lancashire under the title Ormeskirke the sixth Earl of Derby of this family a man of great worth and honour enjoys that dignity Thus far of the Counties of Nottingâ—â—â— and Derby partly inhabited by those who in Bede 's time were call'd Mercii Aquilonares The Noâ—thern â—â—cians because they dwelt beyond the Trent northward and possest as he says the land of seven thousand families This County includes 106 Parishes ADDITIONS to DERBYSHIRE a IN the more southerly part of this County upon the river Trent is Repton Repton where Matilda wife to Ralph Earl of Chester founded a Priory of Canons Regular of the Order of St. Austin in the year 1172. And since the dissolution Sir John Port of Etwall in this County by his last Will order'd a Free-school to be erected appointing certain lands in the Counties of Derby and Lancaster for the maintenance of this and an Hospital at Etwall both which are still in a prosperous condition b The Trent running forward receives the river Derwent and upon it stands Derby Derby which had not this name by an abbreviation of Derwent and the addition of by as our Author imagines but plainly from being a shelter for deer which is imply'd in the true name of it Deoraby And what farther confirms it is that 't was formerly a park and in the arms of the town to this day is a buck couchant in a park Which joyn'd to the Lodge-lane still the name of a passage into the Nuns-green as they put the original of it out of all doubt so do they evidently shew the ancient condition of the place When the town was built does not appear but its privileges and ancient charters argue it to be of good antiquity It is exempted from paying toll in London or any other place except Winchester and some few other towns and is a staple-town for wool a very ancient manufacture of this Kingdom There was formerly in it a Chapel dedicated to St. James near which in digging some cellars and foundations of houses bones of a great size have been found And on the north-side of St. James's lane within the compass of ground where the Chapel stood a large stone was made bare which being gently remov'd there appear'd a stone-coffin with a very prodigious corps in it but this upon the first motion of the stone turn'd into dust The Coffin was so cut as to have a round place made for the head wide about the shoulders and so narrower down to the feet On the south-east corner of the town stood formerly a castle tho' there have been no remains of it within the memory of man But that there was one appears from the name of the hill call'd Cow-castle-hill and the street that leads west to St. Peter's Church in ancient Deeds bearing the name of Castle-gate In Allhallows Church there is a monument for one Richard Crashaw of London Esquire who dy'd the 20th of June An.
College here A little higher upon Watlingstreet for so this Military way of the Romans is vulgarly call'd where there is a bridge of stone over the river Anker Manduessedum Manduessedum is seated a town of very great antiquity mention'd by Antoninus which having not yet altogether lost its name is call'd Mancester Mancester and in Ninnius's Catalogue Caer Mancegued Which name since a quarry of free-stone lies near it 't is probable was given it from the stone there digg'd and hew'd For in the Glossaries of the British tongue we learn that Main signifies a stone and Fosswad in the Provincial language digging which being joyn'd together seem aptly enough to express the name Manduessedum u But how great or of what note soever it was in those times 't is now a poor little village containing not above fourteen small houses and hath no other monument of Antiquity to shew but an old Fort which they call Old-bury i.e. an old Burrough w Atherston on the one side a well-frequented market where the Church of the 14 Augustine Friers Friers was converted into a Chapel which nevertheless acknowledges that of Mancester to be the Mother Church and Nonn-eaton on the other side have by their nearness reduc'd Mancester to what you see it Neighbour to Atherston is Meri-val Merival i.e. Merry-vale where Robert de Ferrers built and dedicated a Monastery to God and the blessed Virgin in which his body wrapp'd up in an Ox-hide lies interr'd Beyond these Northward lies Pollesworth Pollesworth where Modwena an Irish virgin fam'd for her wonderful piety built a Nunnery which Robert Marmion a Nobleman who had his castle in the neighbourhood at Stippershull repair'd x Hard by also in the Saxon times flourish'd a town of which there appear now but very small remains call'd Secandunum at this time Seckinton Seckinton where Aethelbald King of the Mercians in a civil war was assassinated by Bcornred Chron. Sax. Beared in the year 749 but in a little time he was cut off by King Offa by the same means falling from the throne by which he had impiously got it y To close the whole I must now give you a Catalogue of the Earls of Warwick Earls of Warwick And to pass over Guar Morindus Guy that Echo of England and many more of that stamp which the fruitful wits of those times brought forth at one birth Henry son of Roger de Bellomonte brother of Robert Earl of Mellent was the first Earl of the Norman race who marry'd Margaret daughter of Aernulph de Hesdin Earl of Perch a person of mighty power and authority Of this family there were who bore that honour Roger son of Henry William son of Roger who dy'd in the 30th of King Henry the second Walleran his brother Henry son of Walleranâ— Thomas his son who dy'd without issue in the 26th of Henry the third and his sister Margery surviving was Countess of Warwick and dy'd childless Her two husbands nevertheless first John Mareschal Plaâ—â—â—3 Rot â—34 then John de Plessets in right of their wife and by the favour of their Prince were rais'd to the honour of Earls of Warwick But these dying without any issue by Margery Walleran Margery's uncle by the father succeeded in the honour and he dying without issue Alice his sister came to the Inheritance Afterwards William her son call'd Male-doctus Malduit and Manduit de Hanslap who dy'd also without issue But Isabel his sister being marry'd to William de Bello Campo or Beauchamp Baron of Elmesly carry'd the Earldom into the family of the Beauchamps Who if I am not mistaken because they were descended from a daughter of Ursus de Abtot gave the Bear for their Cognisance and left it to their posterity Of this family there were six Earls and one Duke William the son of Isabel John Guy Thomas Thomas the younger Richard and lastly Henry to whom King Henry the sixth made a Grant without precedent That he should be primier Earl of all England and use this title Henry primier Earl of all England and Earl of Warwick Rot. Parâ— 23 Hen. â— He made him also King of the Isle of Wight afterwards created him Duke of Warwick and by the express words of his Patent granted that he should have place in Parliament and elsewhere next to the Duke of Norfolk and before the Duke of Buckingham He had but one daughter Anne 24 Hâ— who in the Inquisitions was stil'd Countess of Warwick and dy'd in her Infancy She was succeeded by Richard Nevill who had marry'd the daughter of the said Duke of Warwick a person of an invincible spirit but changeable and fickle in his Allegiance the very sport and tennis-ball of fortune Who altho' no King himself was yet superiour to Kings as being the person who depos'd Henry the sixth a most bountiful Prince to him and set up Edward the fourth in his place Afterwards he un-king'd him again re-establisht Henry the sixth in the Throne and involv'd the kingdom in the flames of a civil war which were not extinguisht but with his own blood 15 After his death Anne his wife by Act of Parliament was excluded and debarred from all her lands for ever and his two daughters heirs to him and heirs apparent to their mother being married to George Duke of Clarence and Richard Duke of Glocester were enabled to enjoy all the said lands in such wise as if the said Anne their mother were naturally dead Whereupon the name stile and title of Earl of Warwick and Sarisbury was granted to George Duke of Clarence who soon after was unnaturally dispatch'd by a sweet death in a Butt of Malvesey by his suspicious brother King Edw. 4. His young son Edward was stil'd Earl of Warwick and being but a very child was beheaded by King Henry 7. to secure himself and his posterity The death of this Edward our Ancestors accounted to be the full period and final end of the long lasting war between the two royal houses of Lancaster and York Wherein as they reckon'd from the 28th year of Henry 6. unto this being the 15th of Henry 7. there were 13 fields fought 3 Kings of England 1 Prince of Wales 12 Dukes 1 Marquis 18 Earls with one Vicount and 23 Barons besides Knights and Gentlemen lost their lives Edward son of one of his daughters by George Duke of Clarence succeeded whom Henry the seventh for neither youth nor innocence could protect him to secure himself and the line put to death The title of this Earldom which was become formidable to Henry the eighth by the great troubles Richard Nevil that scourge of Kings had created lay dormant till Edward the sixth gave it to John Dudley deriving a title from the Beauchamps He as the before mention'd Richard endeavouring to subvert the Government under Queen Mary had his boundless ambition punisht with the loss of his head But his sons first John whilst his father was
living and Duke of Northumberland by the courtesie of England made use of this title for some time and afterwards Ambrose a person most accomplisht in all heroick qualities and of a sweet disposition by the royal favour of Queen Elizabeth had in my time the title restor'd him 16 And his heirs males and for defect of them to Robert his brother and the heirs males â—f his body lawfully begotten maintain'd the honour with great applause and at last dy'd without issue 17 This Honour Ambrose bare with great commendation and died without children in the year 1589. shortâ—y â—fter his brother Robert Earl of Leicester In this County are 158 Parish-Churches ADDITIONS to WARWICKSHIRE THIS County at first sight should promise a considerable stock of Antiquities being almost encompass'd with old Roman ways which generally afford us the largest treasure Watlingstreet runs along the East-part Ykenild-street upon the West and both are cut by the Foss crossing it from South-west to North-east And had but Sir William Dugdale took the liberty of making larger digressions of that kind either in the body of his work as such places lay in his way or in the method which Dr. Plott has since us'd making such Antiquities an Appendix to his elaborate work we should probably have found the discoveries answerable to the appearance and that those ways would have contributed the same assistance to that search as they do in other Counties I dare not call it an omission because it did not so directly fall under his design but if it were those many excellent digressions he has given us concerning the nature and difference of Monastick orders consecrations of Churches and such like would make ample satisfaction However since we cannot compass the whole let us be content with what we have and accompany Mr. Camden to the several parts of this County a Only we must premise something of the condition of its two general branches Feldon and Wood land That the first was once exceeding populous may certainly be inferr'd from the numbers of villages enter'd in Domesday the situation whereof are now known only by their ruins or at most by a cottage or two of a Shepherd's who ranges over and manages as much ground as would have employ'd a dozen Teems and maintain'd forty or fifty families The reason of converting so much Tillage into Pasture in this part seems to be the great progress the Woodlanders have made in Agriculture by which means the County began to want Pasture For the Iron-works in the Counties round destroy'd such prodigious quantities of wood that they quickly lay the Country a little open and by degrees made room for the plough Whereupon the Inhabitants partly by their own industry and partly by the assistance of Marle and of other useful contrivances have turn'd so much of Wood and Heath-land into Tillage and Pasture that they produce corn cattel cheese and butter enough not only for their own use but also to furnish other Counties whereas within the memory of man they were supply'd with Corn c. from the Feldon b Feldon is recommended for the delicate prospect it affords from Edge-hill â—c â—hill but Edge-hill it self is since become much more considerable for that signal battel fought there between the King and Parliament Sept. 9. 1642. The generality of our Historians compute the number of the slain to have been five or six thousand but by the survey taken by Mr. Fisher Vicar of Kineton who was appointed by the Earl of Essex for that purpose the list of the slain amounted only to thirteen hundred and odd On the Noth-east corner of Edge-hill stands Ratley â—y call'd falsly by our Author Rodley it never appearing under that name only in Domesday-book it is indeed call'd Rotelei The fortification he mentions is not round but quadrangular and contains about 12 acres Near which within our memory were found a sword of brass and a battle-ax something of this kind our Author observes to have been discover'd at the foot of St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall The shape of the horse mention'd by our Author is on the side of Edge-hill and the trenches that form it are cleans'd and kept open by a neighbouring Freeholder who holds lands by that service c Kineton â—on cannot be as Mr. Camden would have it deriv'd from its market of kine because Henry 1. gave this Church under the name of Chinton to the Canons of Kenilworth â—â—de â—â—orth whereas the market was not granted till 4 Henr. 3. But 't is probable it had that name from being the possession of the Kings particularly of Edward the Confessor or William the Conquerour And to the North-west of the town at the point of a hill still call'd Castle-hill there has been a Castle as appears by a little mount cast up and a broad and deep ditch round it where tradition says King John kept his Court a Spring also at the foot of the hill goes at this day by the name of King John's well North-east from Kineton is Chadshunt Chadshunt one of the 24 towns given by Leofrick Earl of Mercia to the Monastery of Coventry in his Charter call'd Chaddesleyhunt and in Domesday Cedesleshunte 'T is probable it had that name from S. Chadde call'd also Cedde and Ceadde For in the Chapel yard was an ancient Oratory and in it as the Inhabitants report the Image of St. Chadde by reason of the resort of Pilgrims worth 16 l. per An. to the Priest Inquis capt 4. Eliz. Here is also a Well or Spring that still retains the name of Chad's well Not far from hence is Nether Ealendon Nether Ealendon which manour was held of Henry de Ferrers at the time of the Conquest and continues at this day in the hands of his posterity of the male-line such an uninterrupted succession of owners for so many ages as we seldom meet with Till Henry the third's time it was their principal seat then removing into Derbyshire they took the name of Shirley and the present Lord of this place is Sir Robert Shirley Baronet d More Eastward stands Wormleighton Wormleighton of which place Mr. Camden tells us Robert Spenser was created Baron by K. James 1. * Baronage Tom. 2. p. 418. Dugdale also says that Sir Robert Spenser son to Sir John and not Sir John as it is in some Editions of our Author was he upon whom K. James 1. on the 21th of July and first year of his reign conferr'd the dignity of a Baron under the title of Lord Spenser of Wormleighton whose grandson Henry Lord Spenser being advanc'd by K. Charles the first to the title of Earl of Sunderland and in arms for that Prince in the late civil wars lost his life in the first battel of Newbury e Next we go forward to Long-Ichingdon Long-Ichingdon so call'd from the river Ichene on which it stands †Dugdaâ— p. 230. and memorable for the
cyperoides palustre elegans spica composita asperiore Elegant Cyperus-grass with a rough compound head In a Pool at Middleton towards Coleshill Gramen cyperoides polystachion majus spicis teretibus erectis Cyperoides angustifolium spicis longis erectis C. B. Great Cyperus-grass with round upright spikes In several pools about Middleton Lunaria minor Ger. Park Moonwort This is found in several closes about Sutton-Colfeld on the west side of the town Narcissus sylvestris pallidus calyoe luteo C. B. Pseudo-narcissus Anglicus Ger. Anglicus vulgaris Park Bulbocodium vulgatius J. B. Wild English Daffodil In some pastures about Sutton Colfeld on the East side of the town plentifully Ranunculo sive Polyanthemo equatili albo affine Millefolium maratriphyllum fluitans J. B. Millefolium maratriphyllum Ranunculi flore Park Millef aquat foliis Foeniculi Ranunculi flore capitulo C. B. Fennel-leav'd Water-Crowfoot In the River Tame and the Brooks that run into it plentifully It is also found in the river Ouse near Oxford It is a perfect genuine Crow-foot and ought to be call'd Ranunculus aquaticus Foeniculi foliis Turritis Ger. vulgatior J. B. Park Brassica sylvestris foliis integris hispidis C. B. Tower-mustard On Dorsthill-hill near Tamworth Vaccinia rubra buxeis foliis Park Red-whorts or Bill-berries See the other Synonymes in Derbyshire On the black boggy-heaths between Middleton and Sutton Equisetum sylvaticum Tab. Ger. sylvaticum tenuissimis setis C. B. omnium minimum tenuifolium Park Equisetum sive Hippuris tenuissima non aspera J. B. Wood-Horsetail In moist places and by the watery ditches by the wood-side on the right hand as you go from Middleton to Sutton a little before you come to the heath Erica baccifera procumbens nigra C. B. baccifera procumbens Ger. baccifera nigra Park baccifera Matthioli J. B. Black-berried Heath Crow-berries or Crake-berries On the moist banks by the new Park at Middleton on that side next London-road where is also found Osmunda Regalis Bistorta major Ger. maj vulgaris Park maj rugosioribus foliis J. B. maj radice minus intorta The greater Bistort or Snakeweed In the meadows at Tamworth and Fasely plentifully Vitis Idaea Thymi foliis Idaea palustris C. B. Vaccinia palustria Ger. Park Oxycoccus seu vaccinia palustria J. B. Marsh Whortle-berries Moss-berries Moor-berries or Corn-berries In the moorish grounds and quagmires in Sutton-Colfeld-park plentifully WORCESTERSHIRE THE Second Province of the Cornavii having now changed its name is from the principal town call'd in Latin Wigorniensis Comitatus in Saxon Wireceaster-scyre and in the present English Worcestershire a The Inhabitants hereof with their neighbours in the time of Bede before England was divided into Counties were call'd b Wiccii Wiccii which name if not given them from the winding course of the river on which they dwell for as I have before observ'd the Saxons stil'd the winding reach of a river Æ¿ic may seem to be deriv'd from the Salt-pits Salt-pits which the ancient English in their language nam'd Witches For in this Country there are noble Brine-pits and many Salt-springs are ever and anon discover'd but are presently stopp'd up because as I learn from ancient writings they are obliged for the preservation of wood to make Salt only in one place Nor let it be thought improbable that places should take their names from Salt-pits seeing there are many instances hereof in all Countries and our Ancestors the Germans as Tacitus reports firmly believed such places to be nearest Heaven and that mens prayers are no where sooner heard by the Gods This County lies bounded by Warwickshire on the East by Glocestershire on the South by the Counties of Hereford and Salop on the West and on the North by Staffordshire To say all in one word the Air and Soil are both so propitious that it 's inferiour to none of its neighbours either for health or plenty 1 And in one part for dainty chiefe surpasseth them It produceth especially Pears in great abundance which though not grateful to nice palates nor do they keep well yet they afford a vinous juice of which is made a sort of counterfeit wine call'd Pyrry Pyrry which is very much drunk though it be like other liquors of that kind both cold and flatulent WORCESTER SHIRE By Robt. Morden Severn at its very first entrance into this County runs between Kidderminster and Beawdley Kidderminster and Bâ—awdley the latter justly taking that name from its most pleasant situation upon the declivity of a hill over the Western bank of the river it was lately remarkable for the wonderful height of the trees in the adjacent forest of Wyre which are now in a manner all gone whence our Poet and Antiquary Leland saith of it Delicium rerum Bellus Locus undique floret Fronde coronatus Virianae tempora Sylvae Fair seated Beawdley a delightful town Which Wire's tall Oaks with shady branches crown But now this little town is celebrated only for its delicate situation and beauty together with the Palace of a The name probably is Ticcen-hill i.e. Goats-hill not Ticken-hall and so has been the name of the place before the house was built which with the adjoyning Park was destroy'd in the late times of Usurpation Tickenhall which King Henry the seventh built to be a place of retirement for Prince Arthur 2 At which time he granted some privileges to Beawdley Hol. Upon the strictest enquiry I cannot find any ground for what Mr. Holiand saith The Town seems to have been first incorporated by King Edw. 4. whose Charter grants them great Privileges both by Land and Sea which sheweth them in those days to have improved the advantage of the river for traffick These Immunities were twice confirmed by King Henry 8. and by Act of Parliament 34 and 35 of his reign Beawdley was annexed to the County of Worcester King James 1. granted them a Charter by the name of the Bailiffs and Burgesses of Beawdley gave them one Burgess to represent them in Parliament The former Kidderminster which is also call'd Kiddelminster lies over against it on the East-side but at a greater distance from the river which is a neat town and a market well furnish'd with all commodities divided by the little river Stour which runs through it The greatest ornaments it hath at present are a very fair Church in which some of the eminent family of the Cokeseys lye interr'd and a fine house of the Blounts a good family honour'd with Knighthood and descended from those of Kinlet But anciently this place was of note for its Lords the Bissets who were in their time very great men whose rich Patrimony at length coming to a division among sisters part went to the Barons of Abergavenny and part to an Hospital of Leprous women in Wiltshire which house one of these sisters being her self a Leper built and endowed with her share of the estate d Afterward it gave the title of
Nobâ—â—â— with Vincent's Corections p. 471. Dugd Baâ—â—â— T. 1. p. 334. f Upon the death of Edward Earl of Shrewsbury Febr. 7. 1617 the last heir-male of John the third Earl of this family the honour came to the house of Grafton now the seat of Charles Earl of Shrewsbury who is the next lineal heir of this Sir Gilbert Talbot mention'd by our Author g From hence this river goes to Droitwich or Durtwich Durtwich the original whereof says our Author may bear some analogy to the Hyetus in Boeotia from its dirty soil And indeed Stephanus Byzantius in his book De Urbibus under 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mentions this reason of the name * See 〈◊〉 saâ—â—â— Nevertheless it is more probable that this town in Boeotia deriv'd its name from Hyettus an exile from Argos who fix'd here for the Greek name is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 h Here says Mr. Camden arise three springs of brine and indeed at present there are only three but anciently as late as King Henry the seventh there were five They do not observe the seasons of wealling which our Author mentions nor do they at any time leave off because the brine is too weak to make salt for the springs yield strong brine all the year round but only when they judge the quantity of salt made sufficient to serve their markets which they are careful not to overstock They now burn coal and not wood in their Seales The town it self is very wealthy it had great privileges granted it by King John whose Charter they have to shew at this day They were also much favour'd by his son King Henr. 3. and other Princes particularly in this present Century K. James 1. in the 22d year of his reign granted them a Charter The Borough is govern'd by two Bailiffs and a certain number of Burgesses they send also two Members to Parliament i As to the Bullions of salt mention'd by Mr. Camden in his quotation from Domesday what proportion that is I cannot determine Monsieur du Cange in his Glossary contents himself to say in general that 't is a measure of Salt I am apt to think 't is the same with Bullitiones in Domesday-book where an account is given of the rent of eight fats belonging to the King and Earl at Nantwich which paid every Friday 16 Bullitiones See Sir Peter Leicester's Antiquities p. 427. Where it follows that 15 of these made unam summam one seam or horse-load or 8 bushels Spelm. Gloss in Summa And in Monast Angl. tom 2. p. 256. col 2. four sums are said to contain 40 bullions which I conceive to be Barrows the size whereof hath been different at different places and times k A little below the Saltwarp joyns it self to the Severn and goes along with it to Worcester Worcestâ—â—â— * Burtoâ— Antoniâ— Iâ—inerat p. 252. whose original is referr'd by John Rous of Warwick to King Constantius I suppose he means Chlorus As to the British name of the place Mr. Burton thinks our Author mistaken when he names it out of Ninnius Caer Guorangon and Guorcon perhaps as to the latter he is which Arch-bishop Usher judgeth to be either Warwick or Wroxeter in Shropshire but as to Caer Guorangon * Primâ—â— Eccles c. 5. the learned Primate agrees with Mr. Camden The conjecture of those who derive the name Wireceaster from Wyre-forest is very groundless for that forest lies near twelve miles from the city and as much in Shropshire as in this County Doubtless Wirecester is a contraction of Wigora or Wigra-cester as 't was call'd in the days of the Conquerour and his sons And Wigracester it self seems to be a contraction of Wic-para-cester i.e. the city of the men of Wiccia just as Canterbury is of Cant-para-byrig i.e. the burrough of the men of Kent The difference in writing Weogora Weogorena Weogorna and Wigra-cester is of no moment for our Saxon-Ancestors used eo and i indifferently as Beorhtpald Birhtpald Weohstan Wihstan so Weogora Wiogora and Wigra-cester And the difference in termination is as little material for as here we have Weogora and Weogorena-cester so in Bede we have Cantpara and Cantparena byrig The present name Worcester is either form'd from Wircester by the change of one vowel or else by contracting and melting the g in Weogorcester 〈…〉 â—â—orâ—â—â—er The name Wigornia is made like Cantuaria by softening the termination after the mode of the Latins Florentius who dy'd above 60 years before Joseph of Exeter dedicating his book to Baldwin us'd the name Wigornia so that Joseph tho' he might be as Mr. Camden hath it one of the first yet he was not as some * â—â—â—on's â—â—â—ent 〈◊〉 Antoâ—â— p. 252 others will have him the first writer who call'd this city by that name l Our Author mentioning the expulsion of Secular Priests notes in the margin A. D. 964. which is the date of King Eadgar's Charter in the Church of Worcester This date tho' very nicely particular having the Indiction the year of the King the day of the month and the week is nevertheless manifestly false For Florentius the Annals of Worcester and other monuments with one consent fix the expulsion of the Secular Priests in the year 969. and some of them add that Winsius was created Prior in the year 971. which Winsius is in the body of this Charter mention'd as then actually Prior so that 964 cannot be the true date †〈…〉 p. 〈◊〉 5â—2 〈◊〉 m Mr. Camden is very particular in recounting the calamities of this city amongst which we may very well reckon the plunder thereof by the Cromwellians after Worcester-fight 〈◊〉 de 〈◊〉 〈…〉 Brit. 〈…〉 Sept. 3. 1651. wherein the Army consisting mostly of Scots who endeavour'd to re-inthrone King Charles the second being routed that Prince was wonderfully conceal'd till he could make his escape into France n He next gives us in short the civil Administration of the city but since that time by virtue of a Charter of King James 1. dated Octob. 2. in the 19th year of his reign this City is govern'd by a Mayor and six Aldermen who are Justices of the Peace these Aldermen are chosen out of the 24 capital Citizens a Sheriff usually chosen out of the said 24 likewise a Common-Council consisting of 48 other Citizens out of which number there are annually elected the two Chamberlains They have also a Recorder a Town-Clerk two Coroners c. The City is a County of it self o Between Worcester and Speechley on a rising ground is probably the old Oswald's-Law which ‖ â—â—â—d's 〈…〉 p. 434. Sir Henry Spelman says signifies as much as Lex Oswaldi and intimates the Constitution for expelling married Priests and is follow'd in that opinion by other learned men But it must be observ'd that in ancient writings it is not Oswaldes laga but law which signifieth a knap or little-hill and Edgar's Charter gives
makes it reasonable enough to suppose that these two might be stations for the reception of the Armies in their march Upon the east side of the road between Streethey and Burton stands Eddingal Eddinghall where is a rais'd way pointing towards Lullington in Derbyshire which Dr. Plot is of opinion might probably be one of the Roman Viae vicinales or by-roads which they had beside their great high-ways for the convenience of going between town and town p More to the West is Blithfield Blithfield the seat of the Bagotts as Mr. Camden tells us It came into this family by the marriage of the daughter and heir of Blithfield in the reign of Edward the second Before which time they were seated at the neighbouring village of Bagotts-Bromley From this family were also descended the ancient Barons of Stafford afterwards Dukes of Buckingham Farther Northward and not far from Checkley by a small brook call'd Peak are the stately ruins of Croxden-Abbey Croxden-Abbey formerly a Monastery of Cistercian Monks founded by Theobald de Verdon a Norman Baron about the time of Henry the second Continuation of the LORDS After Edward Stafford last Duke of Buckingham of that name there were three of that family who enjoy'd the title of Lords Stafford Henry Edward and another Henry the daughter of the last being marry'd to William Howard son of Thomas Earl of Arundel and Surrey King Charles the first created this her husband Nov. 1640. Viscount and Lord Stafford More rare Plants growing wild in Staffordshire The mountainous part of this Country called the Moorelands produceth the same plants with the Peak Country of Derbyshire The more depressed and level parts with Warwickshire At a village called Worton in this County about two miles distant from Newport in Shropshire grow in plenty the Abies Ger. Park faemina sive 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 J. B. The female or Yew-leav'd Firr-tree which whether they were native of this place or anciently planted here is some question That they were natives Dr. Plot gathers not only from their disorderly natural situation and excessive height to which planted trees seldom arrive but chiefly from the stools or stumps of many trees which he suspects to have been Firrs found near them in their natural position in the bottoms of Mosses and Pools particularly of Shebben-pool some of the bodies whereof are daily dug up at Laynton and in the old Pewet-pool in the same parish where these now grow Sorbus Pyriformis D. Pitt The Pear-like Service I have already declared my opinion that this is no other than the common Service-tree Dr. Plot tells us that it grows in the Moorelands at many places Sambucus fructu albo Ger. Park fructu in umbella viridi C. B. acinis albis J. B. White-berried Elder In the hedges near the village of Combridge plentifully Dr. Plot hist nat Staff Tripolium minus vulgare The lesser Sea-star-wort Said to grow in the grounds of Mr. Chetwynd of Ingstree within two miles of Stafford in a place call'd the Marsh near the place where the brine of it self breaks out above ground frets away the grass and makes a plash of Salt-water Dr. Plot. hist nat Staff SHROPSHIRE SHROPSHIRE By Robert Morden Lower upon the river Temd we see Burford Burford which from Theodorick Say's posterity descended to Robert de Mortimer and from his heirs to 4 Sir Jeffrey Jeffrey de Cornubia or Cornwaile Cornwaile of the lineage of Richard Earl of Cornwall and King of the Alemans whose heirs even to our days have bore the honourable title of Barons but were not such Barons as might sit in Parliament Burford is held of the King Inq. 40 E. 3. to find five men towards the Army of Wales and by the service of a Barony as appears by the Inquisition But observe by the way those who held an entire Barony were formerly reputed Barons and some Sages of the Common Law will have Baron and Barony to have been Conjugates Baron and Barony conjugates like Earl and Earldom Duke and Dukedom King and Kingdom Temd here leaves Shropshire and by its Northern Banks arise some hills of no difficult ascent call'd Clee-hill Clee-hill famous for producing the best Barley and not without some veins of Iron c at the bottom of which in a little village call'd Cleybury Hugh de Mortimer built a castle which immediately King Henry the second so entirely demolish'd finding it a Nursery of Rebellion that scarce any remains of it are visible at this day and Kinlet a seat of the Blunts Blunt signifies yellow hair in the Norman tongue a name very famous in these parts denoting their golden locks This is a very ancient and honourable family and hath spread its branches far Then we see Brugmorfe Bridgemorfe commonly call'd Bridgnorth on the right hand bank of the Severn so call'd of Burgh and Morfe a Forest that adjoyns to it before call'd Burgh only a town enclos'd and fortified with walls a ditch a castle and the river Severn which with a very steep fall flows in amongst the rocks It stands secure upon a rock through which the ways that lead into the upper part of the town were cut 'T was first built by Edelfleda Domina Merciorum Lady of the Mercians and wall'd round by Robert de f His right name is Belesme for so the ancient Saxon Annals call him Belism Earl of Shrewsbury who relying upon the strength of the place revolted from Henry the first as likewise did Roger de Mortimer from Henry the second but both with ill success for they were forc'd to surrender and so were quieted At the siege of this castle as our Chronicles say King Henry the second had like to have lost his life by an arrow which being shot at him was intercepted by a truly gallant man and lover of his King 5 Sir Hubert Syncler Hubert de Saint-Clere who sav'd the King's life by being accessary to his own death At this place formerly 6 Sir Ralph Ralph de Pichford behav'd himself so gallantly that King Henry the first gave him the little 7 Burgh Brug near it to hold by the service of finding dry wood for the great chamber of the castle of 7 Burgh Brug against the coming of his Soveraign Lord the King d Willeley is not far off the ancient seat of 8 Sir Warner the Warners of Willeley Willey or Willeley from whose posterity by the Harleys and Peshall it came to the famous family of the Lacons Lacon much advanc'd by intermarriage with the heir of Passelew and lately improv'd by the possessions of Sir J. Blunt of Kinlet Kt. Other castles and towns lye scattering hereabouts as New castle Hopton castle Shipton and Corvesham upon the river Corve the gift of K. Hen. 2. Lib. Inq. to Walter de Clifford Brancroft and Holgot commonly call'd Howgate which formerly belong'd to the Mandutes then
we Wreckceter and Wroxceter Wroxceâ— It was the Metropolis of the Cornavii and built probably by the Romans when they fortify'd the bank of the Severn which is only here fordable and not any where lower towards the mouth of it but this being shatter'd by the Saxon war was quite destroy'd in that of the Danes and is now a very little village inhabited only by country-people who frequently plow up ancient coins that bear witness of it's antiquity Here is nothing to be seen of it but a very few reliques of broken walls call'd by the people m This stands near the midst of the city being about 20 foot high and 100 in length The old works of Wroxceter which were built of hewn stone and laid in ‖ Septeâ—plici Britâ—nicarum dine seven rows 15 In equal distance arch'd within after the fashion of the Britains That where these are was formerly a castle is probable from the unevenness of the ground heaps of earth and here and there the rubbish of walls The plot where this city stood which is no small spot of ground is a blacker earth than the rest and yields the largest crops of the best barley g Below this city went that Roman military high-way call'd Watlingstreet either thro' a ford or over a bridge to the Strattons Stratton before mention'd which name imports they were Towns seated by the high-way the foundation of which bridge was lately discover'd a little above in setting a Wear for so they call a fishing damme in the river but now there is no track of the Way h This ancient name of Viroconium is more manifestly retain'd by a neighbouring mountain call'd Wreken-hill Wrekenhâ— by some Gilbert's-hill which gradually falls into a pleasant level and yields an entertaining prospect of the plains about it n It stands about a mile from Wroxeter and is the highest ground of all the Country thereabout Leland's Itin. This hill shoots it self out pretty far in length is well set with trees and under it where Severn visits it with it's streams at Buldewas commonly call'd Bildas Bildas was formerly a noted Monastery the burying-place of the Burnels a famous family and Patrons of it Above it is a Lodge call'd Watling-street from it's situation upon the publick Street or military high-way and hard by are the reliques of Dalaley-castle â—alaley which upon the banishment of Richard Earl of Arundel King Rich. 2. by Act of Parliament did annex to the Principality of Chester which he had erected Not far from the foot of this hill in the depth of the valley by that Roman military high-way is Okenyate â—kenyate a small village of some note for the pit-coal which by reason of it's low situation and that distance which Antoninus says Us-ocona is both from Uriconium and Pennocrucium undoubtedly must be the same with o Written also according to the variety of Copies Usoccona and Uxacona Burton's Itinerar Us-ocona â—s-ocona Nor does the name make against the conjecture for it is compounded of the word Ys which in Welsh signifies Low and seems to be added to express its lowly situation On the other side under this hill appears Charleton-castle anciently belonging to the Charletons â—harleton Lords of Powis and more eastward towards Staffordshire is Tong-castle 〈◊〉 formerly Toang repair'd not long since by the Vernons as likewise was the College within the town which the Penbriges as I have read first founded The inhabitants boast of nothing more than a great bell famous in those parts for its bigness Hard by stands Albrighton which in the reign of King Edward 1. was the seat of 16 Sir Ralph Ralph de Pichford â—ichford but now belongs to the Talbots who are descended from the Earls of Shrewsbury 17 But above Tong was Lilleshul-Abbey in a wood-land Country founded by the family of Beaumeis whose heir was marry'd into the house of De la Zouch But seeing there is little left but ruins I will leave it and proceed On the other side of the river Tern lies Draiton â—raiton upon the very banks of it where during the Civil wars between the houses of Lancaster and York was a battel fought very fatal to the Gentry of Cheshire for tho' Victory neither turn'd her balance on the one side or the other yet they being divided and adhering to both parties were cut off in great numbers Lower down and pretty near the Tern lies Hodnet formerly inhabited by Gentlemen of that name from whom by the Ludlows it hereditarily fell to the Vernons 〈◊〉 Ed. 2. It was formerly held of the Honour of Montgomery by the service of being Steward of that Honour The Tern after that passing by some small villages is joyn'd by a rivulet call'd Rodan and after it has run a few miles farther near Uriconium before spoken of it falls into the Severn Not far from the head of this river Rodan stands Wem â—em where may be seen the p There is nothing now to be seen but the bank upon which it stood marks of an intended castle It was the Barony of William Pantulph about the beginning of the Norman times from whose posterity it came at length to the Butlers and from them by the Ferrers of Ouseley and the Barons of Greystock to the Barons Dacre of Gillesland q The tile of this Barony was given by K. James 2. to Sir George Jeffreys Lord Chancellour of England and is now descended to his son to whom the manour and Royalty of it do belong A little distant from this upon a woody hill or rather rock which was anciently call'd Rad-cliff stood a castle upon a very high ground call'd from the reddish stone Red-castle â—ed-castle and by the Normans Castle Rous heretofore the seat of the Audleys by the bounty of Mawd the Stranger or Le-strange but now there is nothing to be seen but decayed walls 18 Which yet make a fair shew Hol. But at present they make none some small tokens of it only remaining Scarce a mile off is a spot of ground where a small city once stood the very ruins of which are almost extinct but the Roman Coyns that are found there with such bricks as they us'd in building are evidence of its Antiquity and Founders The people of the neighbourhood call it Bery from Burgh and they affirm it to have been very famous in King Arthur's days 19 As the common sort ascribe whatsoever is ancient and strange to King Arthur's glory After that upon the same river appears Morton-Corbet 20 Anciently an house of the family of Turet â—orton-â—orbet â—astle a castle of the Corbets where within the memory of man Robert Corbet to gratifie the fancy he had for Architecture began a noble piece of building 21 In a barren place after the Italian model for his future magnificent and more splendid habitation but death countermanding his
Stoke And he by Anne his wife daughter of William Lord Hastings had Francis the fifth Earl who begat of Mary daughter to Thomas Lord Dacre of Gilles-land George the sixth Earl a man of approv'd fidelity in weighty affairs of State whose son Gilbert by his wife Gertrude daughter to Thomas Earl of Rutland the seventh Earl maintaineth at this day c. Next succeeded George and after him Francis his son the father of George Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury a States-man of untainted honour and approv'd experience in the weighty affairs of Government whose son Gilbert at present not only supplies his Ancestors room but supports the character too with great grandeur and his own personal merits There are in this Shire about 170 Parishes ADDITIONS to SHROPSHIRE SHropshire being the Frontier between England and Wales has had more Castles in it than any other County in England Insomuch that a * Fuller's Worth late Author says it may seem on the west to be divided from Wales with a wall of continu'd castles and Speed tells us that beside several towns strongly wall'd upon this occasion 32 Castles have been built in it a Of the more ancient Castles there seems to have been one at Chirbury Chirbury near the Severn for Aethelfled Lady of the Mercians is †Chr. Sax. said to have built one at Cyricbyrig Now as to the affinity between the old and new names if we add the Norman h after C the change is very easie and natural and for the condition of the place nothing can answer more exactly for where should she more probably build it than here when her main design was to secure her kingdom against the incursions of the Welsh b From hence toward the south-east was fought that famous battel mention'd by our Author between Ostorius and Caratacus And as the Action was great and eminent ‖ Aubrey 's Monumenta Britan. vol. 2. so are the remains of it to this day very considerable Near Lanterden about the meeting of the rivers Teme and Clun are two barrows in which were found burnt bones and an urn And a little way east of Teme at Brandon Brandon is a single square work with four ports very commodiously situated as having near it the river to serve them with water a thing the Romans were always careful to secure if possible And these are the reliques of the Romans As for the Britains there is a Camp of theirs about half a mile from Brandon at a place call'd Coxoll near Brampton-Bryan-Castle it is now cover'd with great oaks From hence they seem to have been beaten and about three miles towards the north is that large British Camp Caer-Caradock Caer Caradock The trenches are very deep and yet it is hard rock The Rampires are wall'd but the wall is now cover'd with earth which if one remove a little the stones appear * Dugd. Visitation of Shropsh It is now vulgarly call'd the Gair and situate upon the east-point of a very steep hill having no access to it but from a plain on the west part thereof It is three times as long as 't is broad having its entrance to the west fenc'd with a high treble rampire There is also a narrow passage out of it towards the east upon the very pitch of the hill The north-side of it is fortify'd with a deep and double trench but on the south-side it hath but a single trench because the steepness of that side of the hill is of it self a very good defence On the south-point of a high hill a mile north of Clun call'd Tongley Tongley is a large fortification somewhat larger than Caer Caradock it is made circular and defended with 3 deep trenches drawn round it And a mile from Bishops-castle towards Montgomery is a place call'd the Bishops-mote Bishops-mote where is a very steep and high hill like the Keep of a Castle at the west end and towards the east near an acre of ground surrounded with an entrenchment These are all the marks we have left of this memorable engagement c Keeping along the south-coast of the County we come to Clay-hill Clay-hill where are still the remains of an ancient Camp d From whence the Severn leads us to Bridgenorth Bridgnorth a name as Leland has observ'd but of late use it being call'd in all ancient Records Bridge But the most ancient name is that given it by the Saxon Annals Bricge from which by some of our later Historians it is term'd Brugge and Bruggenorth that addition being made upon the building of some bridge over the Severn south of this So that our Author I think is mistaken when he says it was formerly call'd simply Burgh implying thereby some fortification That Castle built by the Danes An. 896. call'd in Saxon CÆ¿atbricge seems to be the very same tho' our Author and Mr. Somner are inclin'd to place it at Cambridge in Glocestershire For 1. 't is said expresly to be upon the Severn whereas Cambridge is two miles distant and beside that was probably built to guard the passage over the Severn 2. The Canterbury-copy reads it expresly Bricge as the Chronicle calls Bridgenorth which is at this day commonly nam'd Brigge And 3. As to the former part of the word there is a town about a mile distant call'd Quatford and another at two miles distance call'd Quat so that one may reasonably imagine CÆ¿atbricge should not be far off The forest Morfe Morfe mention'd by our Author is now a waste with scarce a tree upon it and the Walls and Castle he speaks of quite ruinated Northward from hence is Evelyn from which place the family of that name came into Surrey some ages since along with the Onslows and Hattons where these three seated themselves near one another and have remain'd a long time e Upon the edge of Staffordshire is the Well of S. Kenelm S Kâ—â—â—â—â— Welâ— to whom the Kingdom of Mercia fell at seven years of age But Quendred his sister practising with the young King's guardians made him away f More to the west is Acton-Burnell Acâ—â—â—-Burnell famous as our Author observes for a Parliament there The House of Commons sat in a barn then belonging to the Abbot of the Monastery of S. Peter and S. Paul which is still standing and belongs to Francis Prynce Esq g Next the Severn carries us to the Uriconium Uriconiâ—â— of the Ancients the circumference of which city-wall was about 3 miles built upon a foundation for the most part made of pebble-stones about 3 yards thick and a vast trench round it which in some places appears exceeding deep to this day Our Author refers the decay of it to the Danish wars and that it was burnt is indubitable for the way the fire went is still discoverable by the blackness and rankness of the soil But if we say this was done by the Danes we seem to injure the Antiquity of Shrewsbury
died an Exile in France but his wife being taken suffer'd the worst of miseries for she was starv'd in prison and thus did severe penance for her scurrilous language His son Giles Bishop of Hereford having without regard to his nephew who was the true heir recover'd his father's estate by permission of King John left it to his brother Reginald whose son William was hang'd by Lhewelin Prince of Wales who had caught him in adultery with his wife But by the daughters of that William the Mortimers Cantelows and Bohuns Earls of Hereford enjoy'd plentiful fortunes This country of Brecknock fell to the Bohuns and at length from them to the Staffords and upon the attainder of Edward Stafford Duke of Buckingham considerable revenues were forfeited to the crown in this County This County has 61 Parishes ADDITIONS to BRECKNOCKSHIRE a UPon the river Wye is Bualht whereof in the year 1690. a considerable part being that side of the street next the river Wye was by a casual fire totally consumed b Whether this town of Bualht be the ancient Bullaeum or whether that city or fort allowing it to have been in this County was not at a place call'd Kaereu Kaereu some miles distant from it may be question'd At leastwise 't is evident there hath been a Roman fort at Kaereu for besides that the name implies as much signifying strictly the Walls or Rampire and was prefix'd by the Britains to the names of almost all Roman towns and castles they frequently dig up bricks there and find other manifest signs of a Roman work 'T is now only the name of a Gentleman's house and not far from it there is also another house call'd Castelhan If it be urg'd in favour of Buelht that it seems still to retain its ancient name which Ptolemy might render 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it may be answer'd that Buelht Buelht what it signifies which I interpret Colles boum Ox-Cliff or Oxen-Holt was the name of a small Country here from whence in all likelihood the ancient Bullaeum if it stood in this tract was denominated but that being totally destroy'd and this town becoming afterwards the most noted place of the Country it might also receive its name from it as the former had done But that I may dissemble nothing since the congruity of the names was the main argument that induc'd our learned Author to assign this situation to the ancient Bullaeum Silurum we shall have occasion of hesitating if hereafter we find the ruins of a Roman fort or city in a neighbouring Country of the Silures the name whereof may agree with Bullaeum no less than Buelht c Of the famous Owen Glyn-dwr Owen G yndwr or Glyn-Dowrdwy I find the following account in some notes of the learned and judicious Antiquary Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt Esq Sir Davidh Gam was wholly devoted to the interest of the Duke of Lancaster upon which account it was that Owen ap Gruffydh Vychan commonly call'd Owen Glyn-Dŵr was his mortal enemy This Owen had his education at one of the Inns of Court and was preferr'd to the service of King Richard 2. whose Scutifer as Walsingham saith he was Owen being assured that his King and Master Richard was deposed and murder'd and withall provoked by several affronts and wrongs done him by the Lord Grey of Ruthin his neighbour whom King Henry very much countenanced against him took arms and looking upon Henry as an Usurper caus'd himself to be proclaim'd Prince of Wales And though himself were descended paternally but from a younger brother of the house of Powis yet as ambition is ingenious he finds out a way to lay claim to the Principality as descended by a daughter fâ—om Lhewelyn ap Gruffydh the last Prince of the British race He invaded the lands burnt and destroy'd the houses and estates of all those that favour'd and adher'd to King Henry He call'd a Parliament to meet at Machynlheth in Montgomeryshire whither the Nobility and Gentry of Wales came in obedience to his summons and among them the said David Gam but with an intention to murder Owen The plot being discover'd and he taken before he could put it in execution he was like to have suffer'd as a Traitor but intercession was made for him by Owen's best friends and the greatest upholders of his cause whom he could not either honourably or safely deny Yet notwithstanding this pardon as soon as he return'd to his own Country where he was a man of considerable interest he exceedingly annoy'd Owen's friends Not long after Owen enter'd the Marches of Wales destroying all with fire and sword and having then burnt the house of Sir David Gam 't is reported he spake thus to one of his tenants O gweli di wr côch cam Yn ymofyn y Gyrnigwen Dywed y bôd hi tan y lan A nôd y glo ar ei phen The British name of this river is Wysk Usk. whencâ— nomâ—nâ— which word seems a derivative from Gwy or Wy whereof the Reader may see some account in Radnorshire At present it is not significative in the British but is still preserv'd in the Irish tongue and is their common word for water There were formerly in Britain many Rivers of this name which may be now distinguish'd in England by these shadows of it Ex Ox Ux Ouse Esk c. But because such as are unacquainted with Etymological Observations may take this for a groundless conjecture that it is not such will appear because in Antonine's Itinerary we find Exeter call'd Isca Danmoniorum from its situation on the river Ex and also a city upon this river Usk for the same reason call'd Isca Leg. II. The County of MONMOUTH By Rob t Morden e Bernard Newmarch having discomfited and slain in the field Bledhyn ap Maenyrch â—â—edhyn â—p Meinâ—â—â—ch seised on the Lordship of Brecon and forced his son and heir Gwgan to be content with that share of it he was pleas'd by way of composition to appoint him He gave him the Lordship and Manours of Lhan Vihangel Tal y Lhyn part of Lhan Lhyeni and Kantrev Seliv with lodgings in the castle of Brecknock where in regard he was the rightful Lord of the Country there was such a strict eye kept over him that he was not permitted at any time to go abroad without two or more Norman Knights in his company R. Vaug. ¶ At a place call'd y Gaer near Brecknock there stands a remarkable monument in the highway commonly call'd Maen y Morynnion â—aen y â—orynnion or the Maiden stone It is a rude pillar erected in the midst of the road about six foot high two in breadth and six inches thick On the one side where it inclines a little it shews the portraictures of a man and woman in some ancient habit It seems to have been carv'd with no small labour though with little art for the Figures are considerably rais'd above the superficies of the stone and
title of Aber Gavenni upon which the majority of voices gave it the heir-male And when he had again proposed Whether the title of Baron Le Despenser Baroness le Despenser should be conferr'd on the female and her heirs they unanimously agreed to it to which his Majesty gave his Royal Assent And Edward Nevil was soon after summon'd to Parliament by the King 's Writ under the title of Baron of Aber-Gavenni And being according to the usual ceremony introduc'd in his Parliament-Robe between two Barons he was placed above the Baron de Audeley At the same time also the King's Patent was read before the Peers whereby his Majesty restored rais'd preferred c. Mary Fane to the state degree title stile name honour and dignity of Baroness le Despenser Baroness le Despenser and that her heirs successively should be Barens le Despenser c. But the question of precedency being proposed the Peers referr'd the decision thereof to the Commissioners for the office of Earl Marshal of England who signâ—d their Verdict for the Barony of le Despenser This was read before the Peers and by their order register'd in the Parliament Diary out of which I have taken this account in short What ought not to be omitted is that John Hastings held this Castle by homage ward and marriage 6 Edw. 2. When it happens as we read in the Inquisition and if there should chance any war between the King of England and Prince of Wales he ought to defend the Country of Over-went at his own charges to the utmost of his power for the good of himself the King and Kingdom The second town call'd by Antoninus Burrium Burrium who places it 12 miles from Gobannium is seated where the river Byrdhin falls into Usk. 'T is call'd now in British by a transposition of letters Brynbiga for Burenbegi and also Kaer-ŵysk by Giraldus Castrum Oskae and in English Usk. Usk. It shews now only the ruins of a large strong Castle pleasantly seated between the river Usk and Oilwy a small brook which takes its course from the east by Ragland a stately castle-like house of the Earl of Worcester's and passes under it The third City call'd by Antoninus Isca Isca and Legio secunda seated on the other side of the river Usk and distant as he observes exactly 12 Italian miles from Burrium is câ—ll'd by the Britains Kaer Lheion and Kaer Lheion ar ŵysk Kaer Lheion ar Wysk which signifies the City of the Legion on the river Usk from the Legio Secunda Augusta called also Britannica secunda This Legion instituted by Augustus and translated out of Germany into Britain by Claudius under the conduct of Vespasian to whom upon his aspiring to the Empire it prov'd serviceable and also secur'd him the British Legions was placed here at length by Julius Frontinus as seems probable in garrison against the Silures How great a City this Isca was at that time our Giraldus informs us in his Itinerary of Wales A very ancient city this was saith he and enjoy'd honourable privileges elegantly built by the Romans with * The câ—â—cuit â—f 〈◊〉 walls aâ—â— 3 miles Enderoy brick walls There are yet remaining many footsteps of its ancient splendour stately palaces which formerly with their gilded Tiles emulated the Roman grandeur for that it was at first built by the Roman nobility and adorn'd with sumptuous edifices an exceeding high tower remarkable hot †An. 16â—â— hot baâ—â—s were dâ—â—â—ver'd 〈◊〉 S. Julâ—aâ— the brâ—â—â— equilateâ—â—ly squâ—â—â— about 〈◊〉 inch tâ—â— like thâ—â— at S. Aâ—â—â—â— Mr. Aâ—â—â— baths ruins of ancient temples theatrical places encompass'd with stately walls which are partly yet standing Subterraneous edifices are frequently met with not only within the walls but also in the suburbs aqueducts vaults and which is well worth our observation Hypocausts or stoves contriv'd with admirable artifice conveying heat insensibly through some very narrow vents on the sides Two very eminent and next to St. Alban and Amphibalus the chief Protomartyrs of Britannia major lye entombed here where they were crown'd with martyrdom viz. Julius and Aaron who had also Churches dedicated to them in this City For in ancient times there were three noble Churches here One of Julius the Martyr grac'd with a Quire of Nuns devoted to God's service another dedicated to St. Aaron his companion ennobled with an excellent order of Canons and the third honour'd with the Metropolitan See of Wales Amphibalus also teacher of St. Alban who sincerely instructed him in the Faith was born here This City is excellently well seated on the navigable river Usk and beautified with meadows and woods Here the Roman Embassadors received their audience at the illustrious court of that great King Arthur And here also the Archbishop Dubricius resign'd that honour to David of Menevia by translating the Archiepiscopal See from this City thither Thus far Giraldus But in confirmation of the antiquity of this place I have taken care to add some ancient Inscriptions lately dug up there and communicated to me by the right reverend Father in God Francis Godwin Lord Bishop of Landaff a lover of venerable antiquity and all other good literature In the year 1602. some labourers digging in a meadow adjoyning found on a checquer'd pavement a statue of a person in a short-truss'd habit with a Quiver and Arrows the head hands and feet broken off and also the fragment of an Altar with this Inscription of fair large characters about three inches long erected by Haterianus Lieutenant-General of Augustus and Propraetor of the Province of Cilicia 〈…〉 HATERIANVS LEG AVG PR PR PROVINC CILIC The next year was discover'd also this Inscription which shews the Statue before mention'd to have been of the Goddess Diana and that Titus Flavius Posthumius Varus perhaps of the fifth Cohort of the second Legion had repair'd her Temple a Id est Titus Flavius Postumius Varus quintae Cohortis Legionis Secundae Augustae Templum Dianae restituit T. FL. POSTVMIVS VARVS V. C. LEG TEMPL DIANAE RESTITVIT Also this votive Altar out of which the name of the Emperour * Geta seems to have been rased when he was deposed by his brother Antoninus Bassianus â—â—e Phil. â—â—ns 〈◊〉 1â—5 and declared an enemy yet so as there are some shadows of the Letters still remaining b Id est Pro salute Augustorum nostrorum Severi Antonini Getae Caesarum Publius Saltienus Publii filius Maecia Thalamus ex hac gente aut tribu nempe Publ. Saltienus ortus est Praefectus Legionis secundae Augustae C. Vampeiano Luciliano Consulibus PRO SALVTE In printed Copies Claudius Pompeianus and Lollianus Avitus Coss An. Chr. 210. AVGG N. N. SEVERI ET ANTONINI ET GETAE CAES. P. SALTIENVS P. F. MAECIA THALAMVS HADRI PRAEF LEG II. AVG. C. VAMPEIANO ET LVCILIAN And this fragment of a very fair Altar the Inscription whereof might perhaps be thus supplied
extended to the river d ee a pleasant small country â—d and well stored with lead especially near Mwyn-glodh a small village denominated from the lead-mines In this part lies Wrexham â—exham call'd in Saxon Writtlesham remarkable for a very neat tower and the Organ there and near this place is Leonis Castrum so call'd perhaps from the Legio vicesima Victrix which kept garrison a little higher on the other side Dee 'T is now call'd Holt â—t and is supposed to have been more lately repair'd by William Stanley and formerly by John Earl of Warren D. Powel who being guardian in trust to one Madok a British Prince seis'd for his own use this Province together with that of Iâl From the Earls of Warren it descended afterwards to the Fitz-Alans Earls of Arundel and from them to 8 Sir William William Beauchamp Baron of Aber Gavenny and afterward to 9 To Sir William Stanley Chamberlain to K. Henry 7. who contesting with his Sovereign about his good services when he was honourably recompens'd lost his head forgetting that Sovereigns must not be beholding to Subjâ—cts howsoever Subjects fancy their own good services William Stanley who being beheaded this as well as the rest of his estate was forfeited to the Crown Southward of Bromfield lies Chirk Chirk call'd in Welsh Gwayn a country also pretty mountainous but honour'd with two castles viz. Chirk whence it receiv'd its name which was built by Roger Mortimer and Kastelh Dinas Brân Castle Dinas seated on the highest top of a sharp hill whereof there remain at present only some ruinous walls The common people affirm that this was built and so call'd by Brennus Brennus General of the Gauls and some interpret the name the King's palace for Bren in British signifies a King from whence possibly that powerful Prince of the Gauls and Britains was call'd by way of eminency Brennus but others will have it derive its name from the situation on a hill which the Britains call Bryn and this in my opinion is the seat of Grufydh ap Madok who when he sided with the English against the Welsh was wont to secure himself here But upon his decease Roger Mortimer who was appointed guardian to his son Lhewelyn seis'd this Chirk into his own hands as John Earl of Warâ—en mention'd before had usurp'd Bromfield When the dominion of the Welsh by factions among themselves and invasions of the English fell to decay and could now subsist no longer the Earls of Chester and Warren the Mortimers Lacy and the Greys whom I have mention'd were the first of the Normans that reduced by degrees this small Province and left it to be possess'd by their posterity Nor was it made a County before the time of King Henry 8. when Radnor Brecknock and Montgomery were likewise made Counties by Authority of Parliament It contains 57 Parishes ADDITIONS to DENBIGHSHIRE a THat Kerrig y Drùdion was so denominated from Druids seems highly probable tho' not altogether unquestionable for that the word Drùdion signifies Druids is for what I can learn only presumed from its affinity with the Latin Druidae and because we know not any other signification of it In the British Lexicon we find no other word than DerwÅ·dhon â—ied by â—yâ—â—â—b â—arâ—c 〈…〉 c. â—o wit 1240. â— â—yrâ—â— Bryâ—â—â—awr 〈…〉 Nat. 〈◊〉 c. 44. for Druids which may be fitly render'd in Latin Quercetani Dèrw signifying in Welsh Oak-trees which agreeing in sound with the Greek might occasion †Pliny's conjecture who was better acquainted with that language than the Celtic or British that Druides was originally a Greek name The singular of Derwydhon is Derwydh which the Romans could not write more truly than Deruida whereof Druida seems only an easier variation The word Drudion might likewise only vary in dialect from Derwydhon and so the name of this place be rightly interpreted by our Countrymen and Mr. Camden Druid-stones but what stones they were that have been thus call'd is a question I could not be thoroughly satisfied in tho' I have made some enquiry The most remarkable stone-monuments now remaining in this parish are two of that kind we call Kistieu maen or Stone-chests whereof some have been mention'd in other Counties and several omitted as not differing materially from those I had describ'd These I have not seen my self but find the following account of them in a Letter from an ingenious Gentleman of this neighbourhood As for ancient Inscriptions either of the Druids or others I believe it 's in vain to glean for them in these parts after Mr. Camden Nor can those he mentions at Voelas in our neighbourhood as we may collect from their characters boast of any great antiquity for that they are so obscure and intricate I impute to the unskilfulness of the stone-cutter supposing they were not plainly legible in those times that first saw them Yet that grave and learned Antiquary as is commonly incident to strangers in their perambulation hath either forgotten or not observ'd the most remarkable pieces of Antiquity in this parish of Kerig y Drudion I mean those two solitary prisons which are generally supposed to have been used in the time of the Druids They are placed about a furlong from each other and are such huts that each prison can well contain but a single person One of them is distinguish'd by the name of Karchar Kynrik Rŵth or Kenric Rŵth's Prison but who he was is altogether uncertain The other is known by no particular title but that of Kist-vâen or Stone-chest which is common to both and seems to be a name lately given them because they are somewhat of the form of large chests from which they chiefly differ in their opening or entrance They stand north and south and are each of them composed of seven stones Of these four being above six foot long and about a yard in breadth are so placed as to resemble the square tunnel of a Chimney a fifth which is not so long but of the same breadth is pitch'd at the South end thereof firmly to secure that passage At the North-end is the entrance where the sixth stone is the lid and especial guard of this close confinement But in regard 't was necessary to remove it when any person was imprison'd or releas'd it 's not of that weight as to be alone a sufficient guard of the prisoner and therefore on the top-stone or uppermost of the four first mention'd lyes the seventh which is a vast stone that with much force was remov'd towards the North-end that with its weight it might fasten and as it were clasp the door-stone These and the name of our parish are all the memorials we have of the residence of those ancient Philosophers the Druids at leastwise all that tradition ascribes to them c. Thus far the Letter which makes it very probable that these are some of the Stones if not all whence this parish receiv'd
years On the West it descends to the Maritim part of the Vale of Cluid and takes up the upper end of that Vale. In the Confines of this County and Denbighshire where the Mountains with a gentle declivity seem to retire and afford an easier pass into the Vale the Romans built at the very entrance a small City call'd Varis Varis a which Antoninus places 19 miles from Conovium This without the least diminution of its name is call'd at this day Bod Vari * Vulgo Bod Farri which signifies the Mansion of Varus and shews the ruins of a City on a small hill adjoyning call'd Moel y Gaer i.e. the City-hill What the name signifies is not evident I have formerly suppos'd that Varia in the old British signified a Pass and accordingly have interpreted Durnovaria and Isannaevaria The Passage of the water and of Isanna Nor does the situation of this Town contradict my conjecture it being seated at the only convenient Pass through these Mountains Not three miles hence lyes Kaer-wysk Caer-wisk which name tho' it savour much of Antiquity yet I observ'd nothing there either ancient or worth notice Below this Varis the river Cluid runs through the Vale and is immediately joyn'd by Elwy at the confluence whereof there 's a Bishop's See call'd in British from the name of the river Lhan Elwy in English from the Patron St. Asaph S. Asaph and in Historians Episcopatus Asaphensis Neither the Town is memorable for its neatness nor the Church for its structure or elegancy yet in regard of its antiquity it is requisite we should mention it For about the year 560. Capgrave Kentigern Bishop of Glascow fleeing from Scotland instituted here an Episcopal Seat and a Monastery placing therein six hundred and sixty three Monks whereof three hundred being illiterate were appointed for tilling the Land the same number for other employments within the Monastery and the rest for Divine Service and all these he so distributed into Convents that some of them attended at prayers continually Upon his return afterwards into Scotland he appointed Asaph a most upright and devout man Governour of this Monastery from whom it receiv'd its present name The Bishop of this Diocese has under his jurisdiction about 128 Parishes the Ecclesiastical Benefices whereof in case of vacancy in the See until the time of Henry the 8. were in the disposal of the Arch-bishop by the Archiepiscopal right which is now a Prerogative of the Crown For so we find it recorded in the History of Canterbury Higher up Rhudhlan Rhuâ—hlan so call'd from the reddish bank of the river Cluid where 't is seated shews a very fair Castle but almost decay'd with age 'T was built by Lhewelyn ap Sitsilht Prince of Wales and first wrested out of the Welshmens hands by Robert de Ruthlan Nepos ‖ nephew of Hugh E. of Chester and fortified with new works by the said Hugh's Lieutenant Afterwards as the Abbot de Monte informs us King Henry the second having repair'd this Castle gave it to Hugh Beauchamp b Below this Castle the river Cluid is discharged into the Sea and tho' the Valley at the mouth of this river does seem lower than the Sea yet it is never overflown but by a natural tho' invisible impediment the water stands on the very brink of the shore to our just admiration of Divine Providence The shore descending gradually Eastward from this place passes first by Disart castle so call d from its steep situation or as others will have it quasi Desert and thence by Basingwerk Basingâ—â—rk which also Henry the second granted to Hugh Beauchamp Under this place I view'd Holy-well Holy-wel a small Town where there 's a Well much celebrated for the memory of Winfrid S. Winfâ—â—d a Christian Virgin ravish'd here and beheaded by a Tyrant as also for the moss it yields of a very sweet scent Out of this Well a small Brook flows or rather breaks forth through the stones on which are seen I know not what kind of blood red spots and runs with such a violent course that immediately it 's able to turn a mill Upon this very Fountain there 's a Chapel which with neat workmanship was hewn out of the live-Rock and a small Church adjoyning thereunto in a window whereof is painted the History and Execution of St. Winifrid 1 How her head was cut off and set on again by S. Benno Giraldus 2 Who yet knew not this well writes that in his time there was not far from hence a rich vein of silver where says he in search of that metal Itum est in viscera terrae c That part of this Country because it affords the most pleasant prospect and was long since reduced by the English was call'd by the Britains Têg-Eingl which signifies Fair England But whereas a certain Author has call'd it Tegenia and supposes the Igeni dwelt there let the reader be cautious how he assents to it For that worthy Author was deceiv'd by a corrupt name of the Iceni From the shore at this place we see Flint-castle Flint which gave name to this County begun by King Henry 2. and finish'd by Edward 1. 3 Where King Richard 2. circumvented by them who should have been most trusty was cunningly induced to renounce the crown as unable for certain defects to rule and was delivered into the hands of Henry of Lancaster Duke of Hereford who soon after claimed the Kingdom and Crown being then void by his cession as his inheritance descended from King Henry 3. and to this his devised claim the Parliament assented and he was established in the Kingdom Beyond that on the eastern limit of the County next Cheshire lies Hawarden-castle near the shore call'd commonly Harden Hardeâ— * Bâ—iâ— Peâ—nardhalawg Vaughâ—â— out of which when Davidh brother of Prince Lhewelyn had led captive Roger Clifford Justiciary of Wales he brought a most dismal war on himself and his countrymen whereby their Dominion in Wales was wholly overthrown This castle which was held by Senescalship of the Earls of Chester was the seat of the Barons of Mount-hault Barons of Monthauâ—â— who became a very illustrious family and bore azure a Lion rampant argent and also encreas'd their honour by marriage with Cecilia one of the daughters of Hugh D'Albany Earl of Arundel But the issue-male being at last extinct Robert the last Baron of this family as we have mention'd already made it over to Queen Isabella wife of King Edw. 2. but the possession of the castle was afterwards transferr'd to the Stanleys who are now Earls of Derby Below these places the south part of this Country is water'd by the little river Alen near which on a mountain at a village call'd Kilken there 's a spring which like the sea ebbs and flows at set times d On this river Alen lies Hope castle Hope-castâ—â— call'd in
and strongly founded upon a rock and not only fortified but beautified with many out-works It was built by Hildebert Lacy a Norman 〈◊〉 to whom William the Conquerour gave this town and the grounds about it after he had dispossest Aâ—ric a Saxon. 〈…〉 But Henry Lacy his Nephew as the Plâ—adings of those times tell us being in the battel of Trenchbrey against Henry 1. was disseised of his Barony of Pontfract and thâ—n the King gave the honour to Wido de Laval who held it till King Stephen's time when Henry de Lacy re-entred upon the said Barony and by the Kâ—ng's intercession the difference was adjusted with Wido for 150 l. This Henry had a son Robert who died without issue leaving Albreda Lisours 〈…〉 his sister by the mother's side his heir for there was no one else so nearly related to him so that by the decease of Robert both the inheritances that of the Lacies by her brother and that of the Lisours by her father descended to her This is word for word out of the Register of Stanlow Monastery She was then married to Richard Fitz-Eustach or the son of Eustachius Constable of Chester whose posterity have took the name of Lacy and have â—â—en honoured with the Earldom of Lincoln The â—ast daughter of this family conveyed this fair inheritance * 〈…〉 by a short Deed to the Earls of Lancaster who have enlarged the Castle very much it was afterwards repaired at great expence by Queen Elizabeth who began a fine Chapel here The Castle has been fatal to great men it was first stain'd with the blood of Thomas Earl of Lancaster 6 The first of the Lancastrian-house that in right of his wife possessed it stained and embrued the same with his own blood Thâ—â—◠〈◊〉 Lanâ—â—â—â— who held it in right of his wife and was the first of this family that own'd it He was justly beheaded here by King Edward 2. for fomenting those plots and rebellions which embroiled the Kingdom however he was afterwards Sainted by the people Here also King Richard 2. deposed by Henry 4. was barbarously destroyed with hunger cold and other unheard-of torments Here Anthony Earl Rivers Uncle to Edward 5. and Sir Richard Grey Knight brother by the mothers-side to the said King Edward were both murder'd notwithstanding their innocence by King Richard 3. For this tyrant was suspicious that men of such spirits and honour as these were might check his designs of tyranny and absolute power As for the Abbey founded here by the Lacies and the Hospital by the bounty of 7 Sir Robert R. Knolles I industâ—iously omit them because the very ruins of them are hardly in being From Legeolium we pass by Shirborn w a populous small town which takes that name from the clearness of the little river there and was given by Athelstan to the Archbishops of York x and so travel on upon a Roman way very high rais'd to Aberford Abeâ—â—â—â— a little town situated just by that way famous for its art of pin-making those here made being in particular request among the Ladies Under the town lies the course of the river Cock or as 't is in books Cokarus Between it and the town theâ—e is the foundation of an old Castle Caâ—â—â— which they call Castle-Cary still visible About two miles from hence where the Cock springs stands Berwick in Elmet Berwâ—â— Eâ—â—â—â— which is said to have been the royal seat of the Kings of Northumberland It has been walled round as the rubbish it self shews Heâ—â—â—â— On the other side stands Hessellwood the chief seat of that particularly famous and ancient family the Vavasors Vaâ—â—â— or Vâ—â—â—â—â— who take that name from their Office being formerly the King 's Valvasors and towards the end of Edward the first 's reign we find by the Writs of Summons of those times that 8 Sir William William Vavasor was summoned to Parliament among the other Barons of this Kingdom y Under the town is the remarkable Quarry called Petres-Post Pâ—â—â—â— because the stately Church at York dedicated to St. Peter was built with the stones hewed out there by the bounty of the Vavasors From Aberford the Cock runs somewhat slow to the river Wherf as if it were melancholy and detested Civil wars ever since it flowed with that English blood which was formerly shed here For upon the very bank of this river 〈…〉 not far from Towton a small country village was truly the English Pharsalia Here was the greatest fight of Nobility and Gentry and the strongest army that ever was seen in England no fewer than an hundred thousand fighting men on each side who under the conduct of two daring and furious Captains engaged here upon Palm-Sunday in the year 1461. The Victory continued wavering for a long time but at last the Lancastrians proved the weakest even by their being too strong For their number proved cumbersome and unweildy which first caused disorder and then flight The York-party gave the chase briskly which together with the fight was so bloody that no less than 35000 English were cut off and amongst them a great many of the Nobility Somewhat below this place â—one-â—â—y near Shirburn at a village called Huddleston there is a noble Quarry out of which when the stones are first cut they are very soft but by being in the air they presently consolidate and harden 9 But to return Coc making no long course sheadeth himself into Wherf Out of the foot of Craven-hills springs the river Wherf or Wharf â—erf riv in Saxon Guerf the course of which for a long way keeps at an equal distance from the Are. If any one would derive the name of it from a British word Guer swift the nature of the river will favour him for it's course is swift and violent fretful and angry as it were at those stones which obstruct it's passage and so rolls them along very strangely especially when it swells by a wet winter However it is dangerous and rapid even in the summer time as I am sensible by experience who in my travels this way run no small risk in passing it For it has either such slippery stones that a horse's foot cannot fix on them or else the current it self is so strong that it drives them from under his feet Tho' the course of it be long no less than fifty miles computing from the first rise to its joyning the Ouse yet there are no considerable towns upon it It runs down by Kilnesey-Cragge the highest and the steepest that ever I saw â—â—y 〈◊〉 to Burnsall where Sir William Craven Alderman of London was born and is now building a stone bridge as he has lately out of a pious concern for the good of his Country founded a Free-school hard by y then to Barden-towre a little tower belonging to the Earls of Cumberland noted for the good hunting thereabouts then to Bolton where stood
excellent Library which Alcuin tells us was founded by his Master Archbishop Egelred The Monastery did not lye long till it rose again but the Cathedral lay neglected till Edw. 1.'s time and then it was begun by John Roman Treasurer of this Church and brought to that stately pitch we now see it of by his son John William Melton and John Thoresby all Archbishops nn together with the contributions of the Gentry thereabouts especially of the Percies and the Vavasors as the Arms of those families in the Church and their portraictures in the gate do shew The Percies are cut out with a piece of timber and the Vavasors with a stone in their hands in memory of the one's having contributed stone and the other timber â—â—â—ent p. p. 〈◊〉 1. to this new fabrick The church as we are told by the Author of the Life of Aeneas Silvius or Pope Pius 2. as he had it from his own mouth is famous for its magnificence and workmanship all the world over and for a lightsome Chapel with shining walls and small thin-wasted pillars quite round This is the beautiful Chapter-house where the following verse is writ in golden Letters Ut Rosa flos florum sic est Domus ista Domorum The chief of Houses as the Rose of flowers About the same time the Citizens began to fortifie themselves with new walls adding many towers for a farther security and made excellent laws for their government King Rich. 2. made it a County incorporate and Rich. 3. began to raise a new Castle in it from the ground That nothing might be wanting in the last age K. Hen. 8. established a Council or Senate here not unlike the Parliaments in France The Council established in the North. who were to judge of all suits arising within these northern parts and to decide them by the rules of right and equity This Court consists of a President and what number of Counsellors the King pleases with a Secretary and under-Officers Our Mathematicians have defined the Longitude of York to be 22 deg and 25 scr the Latitude 54 degr and 10 scr Thus far we have been describing the west part of this County and the City of York which neither belongs to this nor any other part of the Shire but enjoys its own Liberties and a jurisdiction over the neighbourhood on the west-side called the liberty of Ansty Ansty which some derive from Ancienty to denote its antiquity others more plausibly from the German word Anstossen implying a bound or limit I will conclude what I have said of this City with these verses written by J. Jonston of Aberdeen not long since Praesidet extremis Artoae finibus orae Urbs vetus in veteri facta subinde nova Romanis Aquilis quondam Ducibusque superba Quam pòst barbaricae diripuere manus Pictus atrox Scotus Danus Normannus Anglus Fulmina in hanc Martis detonuere sui Post diras rerum clades totque aspera fata Blandius aspirans aura serena subit Londinum caput est regni urbs prima Britanni Eboracum à primâ jure secunda venit O'er the last borders of the Northern land York's ancient towers tho' oft made new command Of Rome's great Princes once the lofty seat Till barbarous foes o'erwhelm'd the sinking state The Picts the Scots Danes Normans Saxons here Discharg'd the loudest thunder of the War But this once ceas'd and every storm o'erblown A happier gale refresh'd the rising town Let London still the just precedence claim York ever shall be proud to be the next in fame The Ouse being past York begins to be disturb'd with eddies or that whirl of waters which we call Higra and so marches by Bishops-Thorp Bishops-Thorpe that is the Bishop's Village formerly called S. Andrew's Thorpe till Walter Grey Archbishop of York purchased it and to bilk the King's Officers who are always ready to seise the Temporalities of Bishops when a See is vacant gave it to the Dean and Chapter of York upon condition they should always yield it to his successors Of whom Richard le Scrope Arch-bishop of York a hot man and still hankering after novelty and change was in this very place condemned of high treason by King Henry the fourth for his seditious practices oo Upon the same river stands Cawood Cawood the castle of the Archbishops which King Athelstan gave to the Church as I have been told Over against it on the other side the river is seated Rical where Harold Haardread arrived with a numerous fleet of the Danes From hence the Ouse runs to Selby a pretty populous little town and remarkable for Henry the first 's being born in it Here William the first his father built a Church in memory of St. German who quash'd the Pelagian Heresie notwithstanding like a Hydra it had frequently revived and struggl'd for life here in Britain The Abbots of this and of St. Maries at York were the only Abbots of these northern parts that could sit in Parliament pp At last the Ouse runs directly to the Humber 14 Leaving first Escricke a seat of the Lascelles sometimes to be remember'd for that K. James advanced Sir Thomas Knivet the owner therâ—of Lord Knivet to the honour of Baron Knivet of Escricke in the year 1607. passing in it's way by Drax Dâ—ax a little village formerly famous for a Monastery 15 Founded there by Sir William Painell where Philip de Tollevilla William Newbrigensis is my Author had a castle strongly situated in the midst of rivers woods and marshes and defended it against K. Stephen relying on the courage of his men and the great store of arms and provisions in the place however it was soon reduced into the King's power qq ADDITIONS to the West-riding of YORKSHIRE YORKSHIRE without any angular advantages extends into a square of fourscore and ten miles * 〈…〉 p. â—74 adequate in all its dimensions to the Dukedom of Wâ—rtenberg in Germany a Following the river Don we first come to Wortley Wortlâ—y the Issue-male of the family of which name expir'd in Sir Francis Wortley †Sid. Reports 315. who devis'd the greatest part of his estate to Anne Newcomen supposed to be his natural daughter the present wife of the Honourable Sidney Wortley Esq ‖ Dugd. Bar. 2 Vol. p. 445 second son of Edward Mountague Earl of Sandwich slain in the Dutch wars 28 May 1672. who in right of his said wife is Lord of Wortley b Not far from hence is Wentworth Wâ—ntworth Of the family of that name and place was the Right Honourable Thomas Viscount Wentworth Lord Lieutenant of Ireland created Earl of Strafford 15 Car. 1. and Knight of the most noble order of the Garter who being beheaded on Tower-hill 12 May 1641. lyeth here interr'd and was succeeded in his Honours by his son William the present E. of Strafford and Knight of the said noble Order c The Don carries us next to
they should keep themselves upright if the sea be never so little rough 'T is true the dashing of the waves cannot do them much harm because the Canoe is cover'd above and the skin-coat they have upon them keeps off the water from getting in at the round hole receiving and encompassing their body A little above the bridge which consists of 14 arches and goes over into Holderness stands the Groenland-house built in the year 1674. at the joint charge of several Merchants but by reason of the bad success of that trade 't is now only employ'd for the laying up of corn and other merchandise At a little distance from this is Gods-house which with the Chapel over against it to the north in the late Civil wars was pull'd down for preventing inconveniencies when the siege was against Hull But now both of them are built again and the house is enlarg'd and the Arms of the De la Poles being found among the rubbish cut in stone are now set over the door with this Inscription Deo pauperibus posuit D. Michael de la Pole A. D. 1384. The Chapel over against it is built on the old foundation with this Inscription over the door Hoc sacellum Deo pauperibus posuit D. Mich. de la Pole An. Do. 1384. quod ingruente bello civili dirutum 1643. tandem auctius instauratum fuit 1673. Ricardo Kitson S. T. B. Rectore domus Dei super Hull Near this Chapel to the east is built a new Hospital for the better reception of the poor belonging to this house the other being not large enough to contain all the poor together with the Master and his family This new one hath over the door Deo pauperibus posuit Michael de la Pole Haec omnes reparata domus perduret in annos W. Ainsworth Rector An. Dom. 1663. Without the walls westward of the town stands the Water-house which at first came from Julian-Well it appearing by an Inquisition made in 3 Hen. 4. that drawing a new Sewer from thence to the town through the meadows and pastures of Anlabie would be no damage to the King or any other person But in the latter end of the said King's reign upon a motion to supply the town from thence it was consider'd that part of the spring descending from the Priory of Haltemprise it could not be done without licence from the Pope and so the Grant thereof was seal'd to the town from Rome in the year 1412. under the hands and seals of three Cardinals Afterward the course of that spring altering and running into the grounds of Sir John Barrington the town was forc'd to compound with him The Mayor of this town hath two Maces a large one for festival days and for ordinary days a small one besides he hath two swords the one given by King Richard 2. and the other which is the larger by King Henry 8. yet but one born before him at a time This town hath given the honourable title of Earl to Robert Pierpoint of Holme Viscount Newark created July 25. 4 Car. 1. who was succeeded by Henry his son created also Marquis of Dorchester Mar. 25. 1645. during life only The Earldom is at present enjoy'd by the same family in the person of the right honourable Evelin Pierpoint i The neighbouring tract Holderness also hath afforded the same title first to John Ramsey Viscount Hardington created Dec. 30. 18 Jac. 1. who dying without issue it was conferr'd Jan. 24. 1643. upon Pr. Rupert Count Palatine of the Rhine At present the right honourable Coniers D'Anvers enjoys this title of E. of Holderness The true ancient writing of the name is Hol-deir-nesse as much as to say the promontory of Hol-deire so call'd to distinguish it from Deira-Æ¿ald now the Wolds Tho' after all the Country seems rather to have had this name of distinction given it from the river Hull which passes through it than as Holland both in Lincolnshire and beyond sea from hol cavus or hollow The Seigniory of Holderness belongs to the right honourable Robert Viscount Dunbar The town of Hedon finds him a prison for those taken in the Liberty of Holderness till they can be sent to the Castle of York The same town finds him a Hall wherein he holds a Court call'd Wapentak-Court for tryal of Actions under forty shillings k What our Author has told us from common Fame concerning the flourishing condition of Headon Headon may be confirm'd from the remains and marks of two Churches besides that one they have which must argue its former populousness and by consequence a flourishing trade In St. Austin's the present Church * See Beverley are the pictures of a King and a Bishop with this Inscription Al 's free make I thee As heart may think or eigh see The old Haven nigh the town being grown up there is a new cut made on the South-east which helps to scowre that part of the Haven now left but without any hopes of rendring it so useful as formerly it was In the year 1656. a great part of the town was consum'd with fire and about two years ago several houses in the market-place suffer'd the same fate but now the greatest part is rebuilt and the town thereby render'd much more beautiful Of late years they have grown in wealth more than formerly which is suppos'd to be owing principally to the several Fairs procur'd for them The Inhabitants have a tradition that the Danes destroy'd this town and there is a Close belonging to it call'd Danes-field to this day l To the two acceptations our Author has given us of Praetorium Praetorium may be added a third and that too the most probable reason why Antoninus should call our Patrington Praetorium I mean the General 's tent in their ordinary encampments in which sâ—nse the most learned †De Miâ—it Rom. lib. 5. p. 40 41. Lipsius has shown it to be us'd And this seems much more agreeable to the Roman affairs in Britain than either of the other two significations m Upon the Spurn-head Spurnhead the utmost part of the Promontory call'd by some Conny-hill is a Light-house built in the year 1677. by one Mr. Justinian Angel of London who had a Patent for it from Charles the second But the Lord Dunbar claiming the ground there arose a difference between them which is not yet ended The Lights however are kept up and in the year 1684. a Day-mark was also erected being a Beacon with a barrel on the top of it n In these parts of Holderness there have been several towns swallow'd up by the Humber and the Sea Frismerk Frismerk particularly which upon the grant of a tenth and fifteenth to the King about the 18th of Edw. 3. represented to the King and Parliament how much they had suffer'd by the Sea and River breaking in upon them and petition'd to have a proportionable deduction made in the Rating Whereupon
original Charter it self still extant in the Cottonian Library and publisht by Sir Roger Twisden at the end of the Hist Eccles Sim Dunelm abundantly testifie 684 gave with the ground three miles round it to S. Cuthbert by whom it came to the Church of Durham Scarce four miles from hence Sherry-hutton Sherry-hutton a very neat Castle built by 9 Sir Bertrand Bulmer Bertrand de Bulmer and repair'd by Ralph Nevill first Earl of Westmorland is pleasantly seated among the woods near which is †This Castle was a great part of it lately burnt down Hinderskell Hinderskel a Castle built by the Barons of Greystock which others call ‖ Centum fontes Hunderd-skell from the many fountains that spring there Behind the hills to the Westward where the Country falls again into a level and the fields are more fruitful North Alvertonshire lyes Alvertonshire commonly North-Allerton a small territory water'd by the little river Wiske It takes its name from the town of Northalverton formerly Ealfertun which is nothing but a long street yet the most throng Beast-fair upon St. Bartholomew's day that ever I saw King William Rufus gave this place with the fields about it to the Church of Durham to the Bishops whereof it is much obliged For William Comin who forcibly possess'd himself of the See of Durham built the Castle there and gave it to his nephew which is almost decay'd The Bishops likewise his Successors endow'd it with some privileges For in the Book of Durham Cap. 1â— we find that Hugh de Puteaco Bishop of Durham fortified the Town having obtain'd this favour of the King that of all those unlawful Castles which by his order were then destroy'd up and down throughout England this alone should still be permitted to remain entire which notwithstanding the King afterwards commanded to be rased 113â— and laid even with the ground The Bâ— of Staâ—â—ard Near this was fought the battel commonly call d c One part of the History written by Richard Prior of Hexham bears the title De Bello Standardi Pits de Script Angl. p. 259. The Standard wherein David King of Scotland who by his unheaâ—d of cruelty had made this Country a mere desert Hovedâ— was put to flight with such slaughter of his men that the English themselves thought their revenge then at last sufficiently completed For what Ralph the Bishop said in his Exhortation to the English befoâ—e the fight was fully effected A multitude without discipline is a hindrance to it self either to hurt when they conquer or to escape when they are conquer'd This was call'd the Battel of Standard because the English being rang'd into a body about their Standard there receiv'd and bore the onset of the Scots and at last routed them Now this Standard as I have seen it dâ—awn in old books was a huge Chariot upon wheels with a * Maâ—â— mast of great height fix'd in it on the top whereof was a cross and under that hung a banner This was a signal only us'd in the greatest Expeditions and was lookt upon as the sacred Altar being indeed the very same with the Carrocium Carrocâ—â—â— among the Italians which was never to be used but when the very Empire it self lay at stake There is farther remarkable in this division Thresk Thresk commonly Thrusk which had formerly a very strong Castle where Roger de Mowbray began his rebellion and call d in the King of Scots to the destruction of his Country King Henry the second having very unadvisedly digg'd his own grave by taking his son into an equal share of the Government and Royalty But this Sedition was at last as it were quencht with blood and the Castle utterly demolisht so that I could see nothing of it there besides the rampire Another flame of Rebellion likewise broke out here in King Henry the seventh's reign For the lawless Rabble repining most grievously at that time that a small subsidy was laid on them by the Parliament drove away the Collectors of it and forthwith as such madness upon the least success spurs on without end or aim fell here upon Henry Percie Earl of Northumberland who was Lieutenant of this County Earl of Northâ—â—berland slain by 〈◊〉 Rebels and kill'd him then under the conduct of John Egremond their Leader took up Arms against their King and Country Yet it was not long before they were brought to such heavy punishments as were due to them Here hard by stands Soureby and Brakenbak belonging to the truly ancient and famous family of Lascelles Lascellâ—â— and more to the Southward Sezay formerly the estate of the Darells after that of the Dawnies who flourish'd long under the title of Knights The first and only Earl of Yorkshire after William Mallet and one or two Estotevills Earls 〈◊〉 Dukes oâ— York both of Norman extraction whom some would have to have been hereditary Viscounts here was Otho son of Henry Leon Duke of Bavaria and Saxony An. 1 R Hovedâ— by Maud the daughter of Henry the second King of England who was afterwards greeted Emperour by the name of Otho the fourth From whose brother William another son by Maud the Dukes of Brunswick Dukes oâ— Brunsâ—â—â—â— and Lunenburgh in Germany are descended who as an instance of this relation of theirs to the Kings of England us'd the same Arms with the first Kings of England that were of Norman descent namely two Leopards or Lions Or in a Shield Gules Long after this King Richard the second made Edmund of Langley fifth son to King Edward the third Duke of York who by one of the daughters of Peter King of Castile and Leon had two sons Edward the eldest in the life time of his father was first Earl of Cambridge after that Duke of Albemarle and last of all Duke of York who without issue lost his life valiantly in the battel of Agincourt in France Richard the second son was Earl of Cambridge he married Ann sister of Edmund Mortimer Earl of March whose grandmother likewise was the only daughter and heir of Leonel Duke of Clarence and attempting to set the Crown upon the head of his wife's brother Edmund was presently found out and beheaded as if he had been hired by the French to destroy King Henry the fifth Richard his son in the sixteenth year after by the great but unwary generosity of Henry the sixth â— 10 H. was fully restored as son of Richard the brother of Edward Duke of York and Cousin German to Edmund Earl of March. And now being Duke of York Earl of March and Ulster Lord of Wigmore Clare Trim and Conaght he grew to that pitch of boldness that whereas formerly he had sought the Kingdom privately by ill practices complaining of male-administration dispersing seditious rumours and libels entring into secret combinations by raising broils next to wars against the Government at last he claims it publickly
as his right in Parliament against Henry the sixth Rolls â— 6. as being son of Ann Mortimer sister and heir to Edmund Earl of March descended in a right line from Philippa the daughter and sole heir of Leonel Duke of Clarence third son of King Edward the third and therefore in all justice to be preferred in the succession to the Crown before the children of John of Gaunt the fourth son of the said Edward the third When it was answer'd him That the Barons of the Kingdom and the Duke himself had sworn Allegiance to the King that the Kingdom by Act of Parliament was conferr'd and entail'd upon Henry the fourth and his heirs that the Duke deriving his title from the Duke of Clarence never took the Arms of the said Duke and that Henry the fourth was possess'd of the Crown by the right he had from Henry the third All this he easily evaded by replying that the said Oath sworn to the King being barely a human Constitution was not binding because it was inconsistent with truth and justice which are of Divine appointment That there had been no need of an Act of Parliament to settle the Kingdom in the line of Lancaster neither would they have desired it if they could have rely'd upon any just title and as for the Arms of the Duke of Clarence which in right belonged to him he had in prudence declin'd the using them as he had done challenging the Kingdom till that moment and that the title derived from Henry the third was a ridiculous pretext to cloak the injustice and exploded by every body Tho' these things pleaded in favour of the Duke of York shew'd his title to be clear and evident yet by a wise foresight to prevent the dangers that might ensue upon it the matter was so adjusted That Henry the sixth should possess and enjoy the Kingdom for life and that Richard Duke of York should be appointed his heir and successor in the Kingdom 10 He and his heirs to succeed after him with this proviso that neither of them should contrive any thing to the prejudice of the other However this heady Duke was quickly so far transported with ambition that by endeavouring to anticipate his hopes he raised that pernicious war between the Houses of York and Lancaster Wars between the House of York and Lancaster or between the Red-rose and the white distinguish'd by the white and the red Roses Which in a short time prov'd fatal to himself at Wakefield King Henry the sixth was four times taken prisoner and at last deprived of his Kingdom and his Life Edward Earl of March son of Richard then obtain'd the Crown and tho' he was deposed yet he recover'd it thus Fortune inconstant and freakish made her sport with the rise and fall of Princes many of the Blood-royal and of the greatest of the Nobility being cut off those hereditary and rich Provinces of the Kings of England in France being lost Ireland neglected and relapsed to their old wildness the wealth of the Nation wasted and the harass'd people oppress'd with all sorts of misery Edward being now settled in his Throne the fourth King of that name bestow'd the title of Duke of York upon Richard his second son who with the King his brother was destroy'd very young by that Tyrant Richard their Uncle Next Henry the seventh conferr'd it upon his younger son who was afterwards by the name of Henry the eighth crown'd King of England And now very lately King James invested his second son Charles whom he had before in Scotland made Duke of Albany Marquis of Ormond Earl of Ross and Baron Ardmanoch 11 A little child not full four years of age tho' but a child Duke of York by girding him with a Sword to use the words of the form putting a Cap and Coronet of Gold upon his head and by delivering him a Verge of Gold after he had the day before according to the usual manner created both him and eleven others of noble families Knights of the Bath There are in this County 459 Parishes with very many Chapels under them which for number of Inhabitants are comparable to great Parishes RICHMONDSHIRE THE rest of this County which lyes towards the North-west and is of large extent is call'd Richmondshire or Richmountshire The name is taken from a Castle built by Alan Earl of Bretagne in Armorica to whom William the Norman Conquerour gave this shire which belong'd to Edwin an English-man by this short Charter I William sirnam'd Bastard King of England do give and grant to you my Nephew Alan Earl of Bretagne and to your heirs for ever all the villages and lands which of late belong'd to Earl Eadwin in Yorkshire with the Knights-fees and other Liberties and Customs as freely and honourably as the same Eadwin held them Dated from our Siege before York With craggy Rocks and vast Mountains this shire lyes almost all high the sides of them here and there yield pretty rank grass the bottoms and valleys are not altogether unfruitful The hills afford great store of Lead Pit-Coal and also Brass Brass Lead and Pit-coal In a Charter of Edward the fourth's there is mention'd a Mineral or Mine of Coper near the very City of Richmond But covetousness which carries men even to Hell has not induced them to sink into these Mountains diverted perhaps by the difficulties of carriage On the tops of these Mountains Stone-cockles as likewise in other places there have sometimes been found stones resembling Sea cokcles and other Water-animals which if they are not the Miracles of Nature I cannot but think with Orosius a Christian Historian tâ—at they are the certain signs of an universal deluge in the times of Noah The Sea as he says being in Noah's time spread over all the earth and a deluge pour'd forth upon it so that this whole world was overfloated and the Sea as heaven surrounded the earth all mankind was destroyed but only those few saved in the ark for their faith to propagate posterity as is evidently taught by the most faithful Writers That this was so they have also been witnesses who knowing neither past times nor the Author of them yet from the signs and import of those stones which we often find on mountains distant from the sea but overspread with cockles and oysters yea oftentimes hollow'd by the water have learn'd it by conjecture and inference k Where this Shire touches upon the County of Lancaster the prospect among the hills is so wild solitary so unsightly and all things so still that the borderers have call'd some brooks that run here Hell becks Hell beâ—ks that is to say Hell or Stygian rivulets especially that at the head of the river Ure which with a bridge over it of one entire stone falls so deep that it strikes a horror upon one to look down to it Here is safe living in this tract for goats deer and stags which
were drowns the lesser and the King of England and Duke of Normandy at that time was the self same person But where am I thus roving After Arthur there succeeded in the Earldom of Richmond Guy Vicount of Thovars second husband of Constantia aforesaid Ranulph the third Earl of Chester third husband to the said Constantia Peter de Dreux descended from the Blood-royal of France who married Alice the only daughter of Constantia by her husband Guy Thovars 7 Then upon dislike of the house of Britain Peter of Savoy c. Peter of Savoy Uncle of Eleanor Consort to King Henry the third who fearing the Nobility and Commons of England that grumbled at that time against foreigners voluntarily renounced this honour John Earl of Britain son of Peter de Dreux John the first Duke of Britain and his son who married Beatrice daughter to Henry the third King of England He had issue Arthur Duke of Britain who according to some Writers was also Earl of Richmond For certain Robert de Arthâ—is wâ— not Earl oâ— Richmâ—â—d as Frâ—â—sardus has â— but of â—â—lomorâ— Lib. Feâ—d Richmâ—â—diae John his younger brother presently after the death of his father enjoy'd this honour who added to the ancient Arms of Dreux with the Canton of Britain the Lions of England in bordure He was ‖ Custoâ— Governour of Scotland under Edward the second where he was kept prisoner three years and at last dy'd without children in the reign of Edward the third and John Duke of Britain his Nephew the son of Arthur succeeded in this Earldom He dying without issue at a time when this Dutchy of Britain was hotly * Between John de Montâ—foâ—â— and Jâ— Clauâ— wife of Charles of Blâ—is contended for 8 Between John Earl of Monfort of the half-blood and Joan his brother's daughter and heir of the whole blood married to Charles of Blâ—ys Edward the 3d to advance his interest in France gave to John Earl of Montford who had sworn fealty to him for the Dutchy of Britain all this Earldom till such time as he should recover his Lands in France he seeming preferable to the daughter of his brother deceas'd 9 To whom the Parliament of France had adjudg'd it both as he was a man as he was nearer ally'd and as he had a better title His lands being at length regain'd by means of the English the same King gave it to John of Gaunt his son who at last restor'd it to the King his father for other Lands in exchange The King forthwith created John Earl of Montford the second Duke of Britain sirnam'd the Valiant to whom he had married his daughter Earl of Richmond that he might oblige him by stronger ties being a warlike man and a bitter enemy to the French Yet by an Act of Parliament in the 14th of King Richard the second he was deprived of this Earldom for adhering to the French against the English However he retain'd the title and left it to his posterity The Earldom it self was given by the King to Joan of Britain his sister widow of Ralph Basset of Draiton After her death first Ralph Nevil Earl of Westmorland by the bounty of Henry the 4th had the Castle and County of Richmond for term of Life and then John Duke of Bedford Afterwards Henry the sixth conferr'd the title of Earl of Richmond upon Edmund de Hadham his brother by the mother's side with this peculiar privilege That he should take place in Parliament next the Dukes To him succeeded Henry his son afterwards King of England by the name of Henry the seventh But whilst he was in exile George Duke of Clarence and Richard Duke of Glocester had this County bestow'd upon them by King Edward the fourth their brother Last of all Henry natural son to Henry the eight was by his father invested Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond but in the year of our Lord 1535. he dy'd without issue 10 As for Sir Thomas Grey who was made Baron of Richmond by King Henry the sixth he was not Lord of this Richmond but of a place in Bedfordshire call'd Rugemound and Richmount Greies There are reckon'd in this County 104 great Parishes besides Chapels of Ease ADDITIONS to the North-Riding and Richmondshire a IN the North-riding the first place our Author speaks of is Scarborough â—â—â—â—boâ—â—â—gh which drives a great trade with fish taken in the Sea thereabout wherewith they supply the City of York tho' thirty miles distant Besides Herings which he takes notice of they have Ling Cod-fish Haddock Hake Whiting Makrel with several other sorts in great plenty On the North-east it is fortified with a high and inaccessible rock stretcht out a good way into the Sea and containing at the top about eighteen or twenty acres of good Meadow and not near sixty as Mr. Camden has told us out of Newbrigensis Whether the difference lye in the several measures of Acres or the greater part of it be washt away by the Sea or lastly may have been caus'd through an error of that Historian I shall not dispute since the matter of fact is plain Wittie's â—â—â—ription â—carboâ—â—â—gh â— The Spaw-well is a quick Spring about a quarter of a mile South from the Town at the foot of an exceeding high cliff arising upright out of the Earth like a boyling pot near the level of the Spring-tides with which it is often overflown It is of that sort of Springs which Aristotle calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in the most droughty years are never dry In an hour it affords above 24. gallons of water for the stones through which it flows contain more than 12 gallons and being empty'd every morning will be full within half an hour It 's virtue proceeds from a participation of Vitriol Iron Alum Nitre and Salt to the sight it is very transparent inclining somewhat to a sky-colour it hath a pleasant acid taste from the Vitriol and an inky smell The right honourable Richard Lumley has from this place his title of Earl of Scarborough b Upon the same coast is Whitby â—â—itby not call'd in Saxon Streanes-Heale as our Author has it but Streones HalH as it is in the Saxon Paraphrase of Bede and also the best Latin Copies And therefore Mr. Junius in his Gothick Glossary under the word Alh seems to have hit the true original when he fetches it from the Saxon hael hal or healh call'd by Caedmon alh which as our Northern word Hall still in use signifies any eminent building Hence the Pagan God Woden's Valhol or Valhaul so frequently mention'd in the Edda and other old Cimbrian Writers and Crantzius fetches the name of the City of Upsal from the same original c As for the Serpent-stones â—â—â—pent-â—â—â—â—es Mr. Nicholson who has made large observations upon the Natural Rarities of those parts affirms them to be the same with those the Modern Naturalists call Cornua Ammonis Whether
and all along the rivulet that runs by the Well for a mile or more This never degenerates into the common Roman or French Sorrel Persicaria siliquosa Ger. Noli me tangere J. B. Mercurialis sylvestris Noli me tangere dicta sive Persicaria siliquosa Park Balsamine lutea sive Noli me tangere C. B. Codded Arsmart Quick in hand Touch me not I observ'd it growing plentifully on the banks of Winander-mere near Ambleside and in many other places Rubia erecta quadrifolia J. B. Cross-wort-madder Near Orton Winander-mere and elsewhere in this County plentifully Salix folio laureo sive lato glabro odorato P. B. Bay-leav'd sweet Willow Frequent by the river-sides in the meadows among the Mountains Tormentilla argentea Park Alpina folio sericeo C. B. Pentaphyllum seu potiùs Heptaphyllum argenteum flore muscoso J. B. Pentaphyllum petrosum Heptaphyllum Clusii Ger. Vera genuina Alchymillae species est Cinquefoil Ladies-mantle On the rocks by the side of the Lake call'd Huls-water or as some write it Ulles-water To these I might add Lunaria minor ramosa Lunaria minor foliis dissectis That is branched Moon-wort and cut-leav'd Moon-wort both observ'd by Mr. Lawson at great Strickland though they be I suppose but accidental varieties Vitis Idaea magna sive Myrtillus grandis J. B. The great Billberry Bush In the forest of Whinfield Mr. Lawson CVMBERLAND BEfore Westmoreland to the West is stretched out Cumberland in Latin Cumbria the farthest County in this part of England as bounding upon Scotland to the North encompass'd by the Irish-sea on the South and West and on the East above Westmoreland bordering upon Northumberland The name it had from the Inhabitants who were the true and genuine Britains and call'd themselves in their own language Kumbri and Kambri For that the Britains in the heat of the Saxon wars posted themselves here for a long time we have the authority of our Histories and of Marianus himself who calls this County Cumbrorum terra i.e. the Land of the Cumbri Not to mention the many names of places purely British such are Caer-luel Caer-dronoc Pen-rith Pen-rodoc c. which are a plain evidence of the thing and a pregnant proof of my assertion a The Country tho' the Northern situation renders it cold and the Mountains rough and uneven has yet a variety which yields a prospect very agreeable 1 And givâ—th contenâ—ment to as many as travel it For after * Verrucosas swelling rocks and the crowding mountains big as it were with Metals between which are Lakes stor'd with all sorts of wild Fowl you come to rich hills cloath'd with flocks of sheep and below them are spread out pleasant large plains which are tolerably fruitful The Ocean also which beats upon this shore affords great plenty of the best fish and as it were upbraids the Inhabitants with their idleness in not applying themselves closer to the fishing trade The South part of this County is call'd Copeland Copeland and Coupland because it rears up its head with sharp mountains call'd by the Britains Kopa or as others will have it Copeland as if one should say Copperland from the rich veins of Copper In this part at the sandy mouth of the river Duden by which it is divided from Lancashire is Millum Millum-Castle a Castle of the ancient family of the Hodlestons b From whence the shore wheeling to the North comes to Ravenglas Ravengâ—as a harbour for ships and commodiously surrounded with two rivers where as I have been told were found Roman Inscriptions Some will have it formerly call'd Aven-glas as if one should say an †Caertâ—â—â— azure sky-colour'd river and tell you abundance of stories about one King Eveling who had his Palace here The one of these rivers Esk rises at the foot of Hard-knott Hard-kâ—â—t a steep ragged mountain on the top whereof were lately dug up huge stones and the foundation of a Castle not without great admiration considering the mountain is so steep that one can hardly get up it c Higher up the little brook Irt Irt â—â—er runs into the Sea wherein the shell-fish gaping and eagerly sucking in its dewy streams conceive and bring forth Pearls or to use the Poet's name Shell-berries d Pearls See Pliny These the Inhabitants gather up at low water and the Jewellers buy them of the poor people for a trifle but sell them at a good price Of these and such like Marbodaeus seems to speak in that verse of his Gignit insignes antiqua Britannia baccas And Britain 's ancient shores great Pearls produce CUMBERLAND By Robert Morden From hence the shore runs by little and little to the westward and makes a small Promontory commonly call'd S. Bees Bees instead of S. Bega For Bega a pious and religious Irish Virgin led a solitary life there and to her sanctity they ascribe the Miracles of taming a Bull and of a deep Snow that by her Prayers fell on Midsummer-day and cover'd the valleys and tops of mountains e Scarce a mile from hence is Egremont-Castle â—â—emont-â—â—stae upon a hill formerly the seat of William de Meschines upon whom King Henry the first bestow'd it â—rds of â—â—eland 〈…〉 to hold by one Knight's Service who should be ready upon the King's Summons to serve in the wars of Wales and Scotland He left a daughter the wife of William Fitz-Duncan of the Blood-Royal of Scotland by whose daughter also the estate came to the family of the Lucies and from them by the Moltons and Fitz-Walters the title of Egremont descended to the Radcliffs Earls of Sussex Notwithstanding 2 Sir Thomas Th. Percy by the favour of King Henry the sixth enjoy'd that title for some time and was summon'd to Parliament by the name of Thomas Percy of Egremont 〈…〉 From S. Bees the Shore draws it self in by little and little and as appears by the ruins has been fortify'd by the Romans in all such places as were convenient for landing For this was the utmost bound of the Roman Empire and the Scots when like some deluge out of Ireland they pour'd in upon our Island met with the greatest opposition upon this coast 'T is very probable that the little village Moresby 〈◊〉 where is now a harbour for ships was one of these Forts There are many remains of Antiquity about it in the Vaults and Foundations of Buildings several Caverns which they call Picts-holes several pieces of stones dug up with Inscriptions Upon one of them is LVCIVS SEVERINVS ORDINATVS Upon another COH VII And I saw this Altar lately dug up there with a horned little image of Silvanus â—e God â—â—us â—cond â—rt of â—gâ—nes â— the â—aâ—d â— Pomâ— M Saâ—â— DEO SILVAN COH I I. LING CVI PRAEES G. POMPEIVS M SATVRNIN As also this fragment which was copy'd out and sent me by Mr. J. Fletcher Lord of the Place OB PROSPE RITATEM
Conquest and all in the forest of Englewood or bordering very near upon it It was sixteen miles in length reaching from Penrith to Carlisle * Chron. Laneâ—c and Edward the first in hunting in this forest is said to have kill'd two hundred Bucks in one day n Half a mile below the confluence of Eden and Eimot on the very bank of the former is a Grotto A Grotto of two rooms dug out of the rocks call'd Isis Parlish to which there is a difficult and perillous passage In former times it was certainly a place of strength and security for it had Iron-gates belonging to it which were standing within these few years o Below Graystock upon the banks of Petterel lyes Blencow Blencow belonging to an ancient and worthy family of that name Here is a very good Grammar-School founded and endow'd 20 Eliz. by Mr. Thomas Bourbank a person of piety and learning who was born in the Town and had taught School himself in Northamptonshire p From hence the river runs to Hutton-hall anciently the possession of a family of that name of whom it was purchas'd by the Fletchers who have so much improv'd it in buildings walks gardens c. that now 't is one of the pleasantest seats in this Country 'T is now the dwelling place of Sir George Fletcher Knight and Baronet to whose care and contrivance it is chiefly beholden for its Improvements The estate is within the Haia de Plompton and †Esâ—act An â—il held of the King by this Service amongst others that the Lord of Hutton shall Tenere stippam sellae Domini Regis dum equum suum in Castro suo Carlioli scanderit or hold the King's stirrop at Carlisle-Castle q Rose-Castle Rose 〈◊〉 in our Author's time might be what he terms it Nitidum Castellum but in the Civil wars it was burnt down by order of Col. Heveringham An. 1652. What was standing of it at the Restoration Dr. Stern then Bishop repair'd and made habitable Dr. Rainbow his successor built a Chapel and put the House in somewhat better condition Dr. Thomas Smith the present Bishop has added a new Tower to the former building and by the great expence he has been at in altering and beautifying has made it a very convenient House but 't is still far short of its former magnificence King Edward the first in his expedition against Scotland lodg'd here and dated his Writs for summoning a Parliament apud le Rose r More Northward is Carlisle Carâ—â—â—â— whither a Colony of Southern English-men were sent in the time of William Rufus as our Author tells us The Saxon Chronicle indeed has it Eyrlisces folces which at first sight should seem to be an errour for Englisces and so our Author's assertion were made good But 't is undoubtedly an errour of the Librarian for Cyrlisces and so the words imply That a great number of Husbandmen were sent thither and not English-men for before that time the Inhabitants of Carlisle were English And what follows in the Saxon Chronicle ðat land to tilianne strengthens the conjecture expressing the errand upon which they were sent viz. to cultivate those parts To this Colony it is that all the Records ascribe the first tillage that was known thereabouts 'T is certain the whole forest of Inglewood lay uncultivated for many years after This grand benefaction to Cumberland is plac'd by Matthew Paris and our other Historians under the year 1093. only the Saxon Chronicle says it was in 1092. Our Author mentions a complaint against this Church made by the Church of Durham But there could be no reason for any such complaint for that which is now the Diocese of Carlisle was then lookt upon as part of the Arch-deaconry of Richmond MSS. Lâ— land Chron. Lanerrâ— Bibl. Coâ—ton was granted to the new Bishop by Thurstan Archbishop of York and confirm'd by the Dean and Chapter of York The Arch-deacons indeed did claim it and had a long suit at Rome about it An 1201. but it does not appear that either the Bishop of Candida Casa or of Durham did ever put in their claim or question the King 's and Archbishop's power in what they had done as neither at what time nor upon what account the Grant of some part of it to S. Cuthbert was reversed Upon the Restoration of King Charles the second this place gave the honourable title of Earl to Charles son of Sir William Howard created April 2. in the thirteenth of his reign Lord Dacres of Gillesland Vicount Howard of Morpeth and Earl of Carlisle for being highly instrumental in that happy Restoration s Over the river Eden is Stanwicks Stanwicâ— or Stanewegges i.e. a place upon the Stony-way a Town in the time of Henr. 1. who gave the Appropriation to the Church of Carlisle The Picts wall is very visible here and at Draw-dykes a seat of John Aglionby Esq is a Roman Altar with this Inscription I. O. M. ALA AVG O. B. VRI APPIA IVL. PVB P S. T. T B. CETBERI t At Netherby Netherbâ— the seat of the Grayhams besides the Roman Inscription set down by our Author there are several others collected and carefully placed in order by Sir Richard Grahme Knight and Baronet Grandfather to the honourable Richard L. Viscount Preston There was found lately a gold Coin of Nero's of good value and two stones with the following Inscriptions The one IMP. COMM. COS. i.e. Imperatori Commodo Consuli which I suppose was erected in the year of Christ 155. when that Emperour was saluted by the title of Imperator Britannicus The other DEO MARTI BELATVCADRO RO. VR RP CAII ORVSII M. Whereby it appears that Belatucadrus was the same with Mars under a more terrible name 'T is probable it comes from Bel Baal and Belinus the great Idol of the Assyrians which Cedrenus says was the same with Mars and which the Roman and German Souldiers might like better under a harsh and fuller termination u The letters of the Inscription at Beau-Castle â—â—â—u-castle are still legible enough A few of them but unskilfully copy'd were communicated to our Author himself A.D. 1618. as Vid. Olai â—ermii â—â— Dan. â—g 161. Sir Henry Spelman witnesses Others are explain'd in a Letter to Mr. Walker sent him by the same learned Gentleman who communicated his thoughts of that at Bridekirk to Sir William Dugdale For your satisfaction please to take the account at large SIR Carlile Nov. 2. 1685. 'T is one entire Free-stone of about five yards in height wash'd over as the Font at Bridekirk with a white oily Cement to preserve it the better from the injuries of time and weather The figure of it enclines to a square Pyramid each side whereof is near two foot broad at the bottom but upwards more tapering On the West side of the Stone we have three fair Draughts which evidently enough manifest the Monument to be Christian The lowest of these represents
Orchis palmata palustris Dracontias Upon the old Mill-race at little Salkeld and on Langwathby Holm Cumberland Cynosorchis militaris purpurea odorata On Lance-Moor near Newby and on Thrimby Common Westmoreland Serratula foliis ad summitatem usque indivisis Found first by Reginald Harrison a Quaker in the Barony of Kendal Westmoreland Thlaspi minus Clusii On most Limestone pastures in both Counties Tragopogon Purpureum In the fields about Carlisle and Rose-castle Cumberland Virga aurea latifolia serrata C. B. It grows as plentifully in our fields at Salkeld as the Vulgaris which it as common as any Plant we have NORTHUMBERLAND by Robt. Morden OTTADINI NEXT after the Brigantes Ptolemy places those who according to the various readings of several Copies are call'd a All the Copies Dr. Gale has perus'd read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. with a single Ï„. And Selden's Manuscriptâ— contracts the word as it does most others of the like kind into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ottalini Ottadeni and Ottadini instead of all which I would willingly with a very easie alteration read Ottatini that so the word might signifie beyond or upon the river Tyne Thus the name of the inhabitants would exactly agree with the situation of their Country For these men were seated beyond the Tyne and our modern Britains call that Country in Wales which lyes beyond the river Conway Uch-Conway that beyond the Mountains Uch-Mynyth beyond the Wood Uch-Coed beyond the River Gyrway Uch-Gyrway Nor would it be at all improper if by the same rule they nam'd this Country beyond the Tyne Uch-Tin out of which by a little disjointing and mellowing of the word the Romans may seem to have form'd their Ottadini Yet since as Xiphiline reports out of Dio Nicaeus all the Britains that dwelt near the formention'd Wall were call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Maeatae a Maeatae 't is reasonable to believe that our Ottadini living on the Wall were some of those Maeatae who in that remarkable Revolt of the Britains wherein the Caledonians were brought into the Confederacy took up Arms when the Emperour Severus gave orders to his Souldiers to give no Quarter to the Britains in Homer's words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 None our Arms shall spare None shall escape the fury of the war Children unborn shall dye But the storm of this rebellion was calm'd by the death of Severus who dy'd at York in the midst of his preparations for war A good while after this Country seems to have been part of Valentia Valentiâ— for so Theodosius nam'd it in honour of the Emperour Valentinian after he had vanquish'd the Barbarians and recover'd this lost Province But in the Saxon wars these ancient names grew out of date and all those Countries which lye North of the Frith of Humber took the Saxon Name of Norê§an-Humbra-ric i.e. the Kingdom of the North-Humbrians And yet even this name is now lost in the other Counties being only retain'd in this of Northumberland Which we are now to visit NORTH-HVMBER-LAND NNorthumberland call'd by the Saxons Norê§an-Humber-lond lyes enclos'd in a sort of a Triangle but not Equilateral On the South towards the County of Durham 't is bounded with the river Derwent running into Tine and with Tine it self The East-side is washt with the German Ocean The West reaching from b For above twenty miles together it borders South-west on Cumberland from above Garry gill in the head of Aulston-Moor down to the river of Kelsop Southwest to North-East fronts Scotland and is first bounded with a ridge of Mountains and afterwards with the river Tweed Here were the Limits of both Kingdoms over which in this County two Governours were appointed whereof the one was stil'd Lord Warden of the Middle Marches â—dens of â— Marâ—â—keâ—ers and the other of the c Occidui But Holland gives it more truly of the East Marches Western The Country it self is mostly rough and barren and seems to have harden'd the very carcasses of its Inhabitants whom the neighbouring Scots have render'd yet more hardy sometimes inuring them to war and sometimes amicably communicating their customs and way of living whence they are become a most warlike people and excellent horse-men And whereas they generally have devoted themselves to war there is not a man of fashion among them but has his little Castle and Fort and so the Country came to be divided into a great many Baronies â—ny Baâ—â—ies in â—â—thumâ—â—and the Lords whereof were anciently before the days of Edward the first usually stil'd Barons tho' some of them men of very low Fortunes b But this was wisely done of our Ancestors to cherish and support Martial Prowess in the borders of the Kingdom with at least Honour and Title However this Character they lost when under Edward the first the name of Barons began to be appropriated to such as were summoned by the King to the High Court of Parliament On the Sea-Coasts and along the river Tine the ground with any tolerable husbandry is very fruitful but elsewhere much more barren and unviewly In many places the stones Lithancraces which we call Sea-coals Sea-coalâ— are digg'd very plentifully to the great benefit of the Inhabitants The nearer part which points to the South-west and is call'd Hexamshire Hexamshire had for a long time the Archbishop of York for its Lord and challeng'd how justly I know not the Rights of a County Palatine but when lately it became part of the Crown-Lands by an exchange made with Archbishop Robert it was by Act of Parliament joyn'd to the County of Northumberland being subjected to the same d That is in Civil matters For its Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction is not the same with the rest of the County it being still a peculiar belonging to the Archbishop of York Judicature and having their Writs directed to the Sheriff thereof South Tine South Tine so call'd if we believe the Britains from its being narrowly pent up within its banks for so much Tin signifies say some in the Brittish Languague rising in Cumberland near Alstenmoor where there is an ancient Copper-Mine runs by Lambley formerly a Nunnery built by the Lucies but now much worn away by the floods and Fetherston-haugh the seat of the ancient and well-descended Family of the Fetherstons e The Male line of the Fetherstous of this place being extinct the Lands are fallen into the possession of Fetherston Dodson Gone and being come to Bellister-Castle turns Eastward keeping a direct course along the Wall which is no where three miles distant from it For the Wall having left Cumberland Picts Walâ— and cross'd the little river of Irthing carry'd an Arch over the rapid brook of Poltross Poltross where we saw large Mounts cast up within the wall as design'd for watching the Country Near this place stands Thirlwal-castle Thirlwall no large structure which gave
Marquiss Montacute After which Edward the fourth graciously restor'd to his father's Honours Henry Percie son of the fore-mention'd Henry who in the reign of Henry the seventh was slain by a rabble of the Country People in a Mutiny against the Collectors of a Tax impos'd on them by Act of Parliament To him succeeded Henry Percie the fifth Earl from whom who was himself the son of a Daughter and Co-heiress of Robert Spenser and Eleanor Daughter and Co-heiress of Edmund Beaufort Duke of Somerset descended Henry the sixth Earl He having no Children and his brother Thomas being executed for rebelling against Henry the eighth in the beginning of the Reformation squander'd away a great part of his fair Estate in Largesses upon the King and others as if his Family had now been reduc'd to a final period A few years after John Dudley Earl of Warwick got the Title of Duke of Northumberland Duke â—f Norâ—â—â—berland 13 By the name of John Earl of Warwick Marshal of England Viscount Lisle Baron Somery Basâ—â—t and Ties Lord of Dudley Great Master and Steward of the King's House when in the Non-age of Edward the sixth the Ring-leaders of the several Factions shared the Titles of Honour among themselves and their Abettors This was that Duke of Northumberland who for some time as a Whirlwind troubled the Peace of his Native Countrey by endeavouring to exclude Mary and Elizabeth the Daughters of Henry the eighth from their lawful Right of Succession designing by the countenance of some Lawyers inclinable enough to serve Great men to have settled the Crown on Jane Grey to whom he had married his son Hereupon being convicted of High Treason he lost his head and on the Scaffold openly own'd and profess'd the Popish Religion which either in good earnest or k The account we have of his Speech as to this particular is That he exhorted the people to stand to the Religion of their Ancestors to reject all Novelties and to drive the Preachers out of the Nation and declared he had temperiz'd against his Conscience and that he was always of the Religion of his Forefathers Burnet seemingly and to serve a turn he had for a good while before renounc'd Upon his death Queen Mary restor'd Thomas Percie Nephew to Henry the sixth Earl by his brother Thomas creating him at first Baron Percie and soon after by a new Patent Earl of Northumberland 3 â— Pâ— Maâ— To himself and the Heirs-male of his Body and for want of such to his Brother Henry and his Heirs-male But this Thomas the seventh Earl under pretence of restoring the Romish Religion rebelled against his Prince and Country and so lost both his Life and Honour in the year 1572. Yet by the special bounty of Queen Elizabeth his brother Henry according to the Tenure of Queen Mary's Patent succeeded him as the eighth Earl and dy'd in Prison in the year 1585. He was succeeded by his son Henry the ninth Earl of Northumberland of this Family who was also son of Katharine eldest Daughter and one of the Heirs of J. Nevil Baron Latimer ADDITIONS to NORTH-HVMBER-LAND a HUmphrey Lhuyd places these People about Lothian in Scotland and herein he is not contradicted by Buchanan who never fails of doing it when he can have an opportunity All agree they were Picts and therefore if they did inhabit some part of this County it must have been beyond the Wall Possibly Naeatae is the true reading And then they are more probably placed by our Author near the Wall or Rampire For Naid or Nawd in the old British signifies a Defence or Security And why may not the Transcribers of Dio for he is the only man of Antiquity that mentions these People turn his Naeatae into Maeatae as well as those of Marcellinus have made Attigotti Catacotti and Catiti out of his Attacotti b Our Author observes this Country was divided into Baronies â—â—â—â—nies and very good Baronies they were according to the old and true import of the word For the Civilians define a Barony to be Merum mistúmque Impertum in aliquo Castro Oppidóve concessione Principis Alciat Lib. de Sing Cert cap. 32. Such a Jurisdiction it was requisite the Men of rank should have here on the Borders and upon obtaining the Grant they were properly Barones Regis Regni See the signification of the word at large in Sir Henry Spelman's Gloss voc Baro. All Lords of Manours are also to this day legally nam'd Barons in the Call and Stile of their Courts which are Curiae Baronum c. Selden's Titles of Honour Part 2. cap. 5. But long before King Edward the first 's time the name of Barones was chiefly apply'd to the Peers in Parliament Thus in the famous Contest about the Votes of Bishops in Criminal Matters in the reign of Henry the second A. D. 1163. we have this decision of the Controversie Archiepiscopi Episcopi c. sicut caeteri Barones debent interesse judiciis Curiae Regis cum Baronibus quousque perveniatur ad diminutionem Membrorum vel ad mortem Matth. Par. edit Watsii p. 101. Many like Instances might be given 〈…〉 c Caer-vorran may not improbably be Glanoventa which Mr. Camden imagines to have been somewhere on Wentsbeck For there is a place near it which is still call'd Glen-welt The distance from hence to Walwick will suit well enough with the Itinerary and 't is not the first Elbow which Antonine has made in his Roads through this part of the Country Thus by fetching in Castra Exploratorum he makes it twenty four miles from Blatum Bulgium to Luguvallum whereas the common Road 't is only ten very short ones d Bede's Account of the Roman Wall Eccl. Hist l. 5. c. 10. is very likely fair and true For in some places on the Wasts where there has not been any extraordinary Fortifications several fragments come near that height and none exceed it His breadth also at eight foot is accurate enough For whereever you measure it now you will always find it above seven 〈◊〉 e Old-town seems more likely to be the Alone of Antoninus in the Liber Notitiarum Alione than any other place which has hitherto been thought on It answers best the distances both from Galana and Galacum and many Roman Antiquities which have been found there strengthen the conjecture The name of the river also whereon 't is seated argues as strongly for this place as West-Alon can do for Whitley f The huge heaps of small Cobbles are not the only Monuments which these Wasts afford There are also large stones erected at several places in remembrance as is fancied of so many battels or skirmishes either anciently betwixt the Britains and Picts or of later times betwixt the English and Scots Particularly near Ninwick in the Parish of Simondburn four such stand still erected and a fifth lyes fall'n to the ground g Notwithstanding the great encouragement which
Gareock and Strath-Bogie-Land A small part of Buchan Strathdovern Boyn Einzie Strath Awin and Balvenie The East part of Murray The West part of Murray Badenoch Lochabir and the south part of Ross A small part of Ross lying on the south side of Cromartie-Frith The rest of Ross with the Isles of Sky Lewis and Herris Sutherland and Strathnavern Cathness Beside the Stewartries mentioned by our Author there is that of Orkney which contains all the Isles of Orkney and Zetland The Constabularie of Hadington contains East-Lothian To pursue Mr. Camden's method in his general Description of England it will be necessary to give a scheme of the bounds and extent of the several Dioceses of this kingdom Diocese of St. Andrews Glasgow Edinburgh Dunkeld Aberdeen Murray Brichin Dumblam Ross Cathness Orkney Galloway Argile The Isles Contains Part of Perthshire and part of Angus and Mernes The shires of Dunbarton Ranfrew Air Lanerick part of the shires of Roxburgh Dumfreis Peebles and Selkirk The shires of Edinburgh Linlithgow part of Strivelingshire Berwick-shire the Constabularie of Hadington and Bailery of Lauderdale The most part of Perthshire part of Angus and part of West-Lothian Most part of Bams-shire and part of Mernis The shires of Elgin Nairn and part of Inverness and Bamf-shire Part of Angus and Mernis Part of Perth and Striveling-shires The shire of Tain Cromertie and the greatest part of Inverness-shire Cathness and Sutherland All the Northern Isles of Orkney and Zetland The shire of Wigton the Stewartrie of Kircudbright the Regality of Glentrurie and part of Dumfries-shire Argile Lorn Kintyre and Lohaber with some of the West Isles Most of the west Isles Under this Constitution the Government was thus 1. In every Parish the cognizance of some scandals belong'd to the Session a Judicature compos'd of the greatest and worthiest persons in each parish where the Minister presided ex officio 2. But if the Case prov'd too intricate it was referred to the Presbyterie a superior Judicature consisting of a certain number of Ministers between 12 and 20 who met almost every fortnight The Moderator herein was nam'd by the Bishop and besides the censures they inflicted 't was by them that such as enter'd into Orders were solemnly examined The Presbyteries are these that follow Dunce Chernside Kelso Ersilton Jedburgh Melross Dumbar Hadington Dalkeith Edinburgh Peebles Linlithgow Perth Dunkeld Auchterarder Striveling Dumblane Dumfreis Penpont Lochmabane Midlebie Wigton Kircudbright Stranraver Aire Irwing Paselay Dumbarton Glasgow Hamilton Lanerick Biggar Dunnune Kinloch Inerary Kilmore Sky St. Andrews Kirkaldy Cowper Dumfermelin Meegle Dundee Arbroth Forfar Brichen Mernis Aberdeen Kinkardin Alfoord Gareoch Deir Turref Fordyce Ellon Strathbogie Abernethie Elgin Forres Aberlower Chanrie Tayn Dingwell Dornoch Week Thurso Kirkwal Scaloway Colmkill 3. Above this was the Provincial-Synod who met twice a year in every Diocese and had the examination of such cases as were referred to them by the Presbyteries here the Bishop presided ex officio 4. Above all was the Convocation when the King pleas'd to call it wherein the Archbishop of St. Andrews presided And besides these every Bishop for the cases of Testaments c. had his Official or Commissary who was judge of that Court within the Diocese Of these Edenburgh had four the rest one But since Presbyterie has been introduced the Church-government stands thus 1. They also have their Parochial Sessions but with this difference that though the Minister presides yet a Lay-man a Bailie ordinarily assists 2. In their Presbyteries they chose their own Moderator to preside 3. They have their Synod or Provincial Assembly but without a constant head for every time they meet they make choice of a new Moderator 4. Their General Assembly this consists of two members from every Presbytery and one Commissioner from each University The King too has his Commissioner there without whose consent no Act can pass and before they be in force they must be also ratify'd by the King Thus much of the several Divisions of Scotland As to the Orders and Degrees of this Kingdom there appears no alteration in them since our Author's time and if any one desires to have a more particular information in their Courts of Justice and Methods of Proceeding a separate Treatise upon this subject written by the Learned Sir George Makenzy late Lord Advocate of Scotland will give him ample satisfaction The Degrees of SCOTLAND THE Government of the Scots as that of the English consists of a King Nobility and Commonalty The King to use the words of their own Records is directus totius Dominii Dominus direct Lord of the whole Dominion or Domain and hath Royal Authority and Jurisdiction over all the States of his Kingdom as well Ecclesiastick as Laick Next to the King is his Eldest Son who is stiled Prince of Scotland and by a peculiar right is Duke of Rothsay and Steward of Scotland But the rest of the King's Children are called simply Princes Amongst the Nobles the greatest and most honorable were in old times the Thanes Thanes that is if I have any judgment those who were ennobled only by the office which they bore for the word in the antient Saxon signifies The King's Minister Of these they of the higher rank were called Ab-thanes of the lower Under-Thanes But these Names by little and little grew out of use ever since King Malcolm the 3. conferred the Titles of Earls and Barons borrow'd out of England from the Normans upon such Noblemen as had deserv'd them Since when in process of time new Titles of Honour have been much taken up and Scotland as well as England hath Dukes Marquisses Earls Viscounts and Barons Dukes Marquesses Earls Viscoun◠Barons As for the title of Duke the first that brought it into Scotland was Robert the Third about the year of our Lord 1400 as the honourable titles of Marquiss and Viscount were lately brought in by our most gracious Sovereign King James the sixth These are accounted Nobles of a higher degree and have both place and voice in Parliaments and by a special name together with the Bishops are called Lords Amongst the Nobles of a lower degree in the first place are Knights Knight◠who are certainly made with greater solemnity than any where else in Europe by taking of an Oath and being proclaim'd publickly by the Heralds In the second are those who are called Lairds Lairds and commonly without any addition Barons amongst whom none were antiently reckoned but such as held immediately from the King Lands in Capite and had the * Powe◠hang 〈◊〉 Jus Furcarum In the third place are such as being descended of Honourable Families and dignify'd with no certain title are term'd Gentlemen Gentlemen All the rest as Citizens Merchants Artificers c. are reckoned among the Commons The COURTS of JUSTICE THE supream Court as well in dignity as authority is accounted the Assembly of the States of the Kingdom which is called a
Parliament The Parliament by the same name as it is in England and hath the same absolute Authority It consists of three States of the Lords Spiritual that is the Bishops Abbots and Priors of the Lords Temporal viz. Dukes Marquisses Earls Viscounts and Barons and the Commissioners for the Cities and Buroughs To whom were joyned not long since for every County also two * Delegati Commissioners It is called by the King at pleasure allowing a certain time for notice before it is to sit When they are convened and the causes of their meeting are declared by the King and the Chancellour the Lords Spiritual retire apart and choose eight of the Lords Temporal the Lords Temporal likewise as many out of the Lords Spiritual Then all these together nominate eight of the Knights of the Shires and as many of the Burgesses which all together make 32. and are called Lords of the Articles and with the Chancellor Treasurer Privy-Seal the King's Secretary c. admit or reject all matters that are propos'd to the States after they have been first communicated to the King After they are approved by the whole Assembly of the States they are throughly examined and such as pass by a majority of Votes are presented to the King who by touching them with his Scepter signifies the confirming or vacating of them But if the King dislikes any thing it is first razed out Next to the Parliament is the College of Justice The College of Justice or as they call it the Session which King James 5. instituted An. 1532. after the manner of the Parliament at Paris consisting of a President fourteen Senators seven of the Clergy and as many of the Laity to whom was afterwards added the Chancellor who takes place first and five other Senators three principal Clerks and as many Advocates as the Senators shall think convenient These are to administer justice not according to the rigour of the Law but with reason and equity every day except Sunday and Monday from the first of November to the fifteenth of March and from Trinity Sunday to the first of August All the space between as being the times of sowing and harvest is Vacation and intermission from Suits and matters of Law They give judgment according to Acts of Parliament and where they are defective according to the Civil Law There are besides in every County inferiour Civil Courts wherein the Sheriff or his deputy decides controversies amongst the inhabitants about ejections intrusions damages debts c. from whom upon suspicion of partiality or alliance they appeal sometimes to the Session These Sheriffs are all for the most part hereditary For the Kings of Scotland as well as of England to oblige the better sort of Gentlemen more closely to them by their favours in old time made these Sheriffs hereditary and perpetual But the English Kings soon perceiving the inconveniencies happening thereupon purposely changed them into annual There are Civil Courts held also in the Fiefs of the Crown by their respective Bailiffs to whom the King hath graciously granted Royal privileges as also in free Boroughs and Cities by their Magistrates There are likewise Courts called The Commissariat the highest of which is kept at Edenborough wherein before four Judges actions are pleaded concerning matters relating to Wills the right of Ecclesiastical Benefices Tythes Divorces c. and Ecclesiastical Causes of like nature But in almost all the other parts of the Kingdom there sits but one Judge on these Causes In criminal Causes the King 's Chief Justice holds his Courts generally at Edenborough which Office hath for some time been executed by the Earls of Argyle who depute two or three Counsellors to take cognizance of actions of life and death loss of limbs or of goods and chattels In this Court likewise the Defendant is permitted even in case of High Treason to retain an Advocate to plead for him Moreover in criminal matters Justices are sometimes appointed by the King's Commission for deciding this or that particular cause Also the Sheriffs in their territories and Magistrates in some Boroughs may sit in judgment of Manslaughter in case the Manslayer be apprehended in the space of 24 hours and having found him guilty by a Jury may put him to death But if that time be once overpast the cause is referred to the King's Justice or his Deputies The same privilege also some of the Nobility and Gentry enjoy against Thieves taken within their own Jurisdictions There are likewise who have such Royalties that in criminal causes they may exercise a jurisdiction within their own limits and in some cases recall those that dwell within their own liberties from the King's Justice provided they judge according to Law These matters as having had but a transient view of them I have lightly touched upon What manner of Country Scotland is and what men it breeds Pomponius Mela. as of old that excellent Geographer writ of Britain will in a little time more certainly and evidently be shown since the greatest of Princes hath opened a passage to it which was so long shut up In the Interim I will proceed to the Places which is a subject I am more immediately concern'd in GADENI or LADENI UPon the Ottadini or Northumberland bordered the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gadeni who by the turning of one letter upside down are called in some Copies of Ptolemy Ladeni seated in that Country lying between the mouth of the River Tweed and Edenborough-Frith Joh. Skene de Verborum significatione which is now cantoned into many petty Countries The principal of them are Teifidale Twedale Merch and Lothien in Latin Lodeneium under which general name the Writers of the middle age comprised them all a TEIFIDALE TEifidale that is to say the Valley or Dale by the River d This river divideth that part of the shire properly called Teviotdale into that which lyeth on the South and that which lyeth on the North. Tefy or Teviot lying next to England amongst cliffs of craggy hills and rocks is inhabited by a warlike people who by reason of so frequent encounters between the Scots and English in former ages are always very ready for service and sudden invasions The first place we meet with amongst these is Jedburg a Borough well frequented standing near the confluence of the Tefy and Jed from whence it takes its name and Mailros â—â—â—â—ross a very ancient Monastery wherein in the Church's infancy were Monks of that antient instituion that gave themselves to prayer and with the labour of their hands earn'd their living And more Eastward where the Twede and the Tefy joyn in one stream â—â—â—oâ—â—â—h e The Royalty of this place was transmitted to the town of Iedburgh the chief burgh-royal of the shire Rosburg called also Roxburgh and in antient times Marchidun from its being seated in the Marches where stands a Castle that by its natural situation and tow'red fortifications
was in times past exceeding strong Which being surprized by the English while King James 2. of Scotland was besieging it he was untimely slain in the flower of his youth by a piece of Cannon that casually burst He was a Prince much missed and lamented by his Subjects Notwithstanding this the Castle was surrender'd and being mostly demolished is now scarce to be seen But the adjacent Territory called from it the Sheriffdom of Roxborough â—â—â—â—â—ffâ—â—â—e of â—â—â—boâ—â—â—gh â—â—â—editaâ—â—â—heriffs hath an hereditary Sheriff of the family of Douglass who is usually called the Sheriff of Teviotdale And now f It is now an Earldom belonging to the same Family Roxborough by the favour of King James 6. is also a Barony in the person of Robert Kerr Kerr of the house of the Kerrs a very noble and numerous family in this tract from which are descended the Fernhersts and others who being educated in the school of Arms have render'd themselves very illustrious Twede Twedale aforesaid runs through the middle of a Valley or Dale that takes its name from it abounding in sheep whose wool is very valuable This is certainly a Noble River which having its source amongst the hills more inwardly Westward and running as it were with a streight Channel by Drimlar-Castle by Peeblis Peeblis a Market-Town * See more in the Additions which hath for its Sheriff Baron Zester as also g This town is a burgh-Royal has a weekly market and several â—airs is the head burgh of the shire and the seat of the Sheriff and Commissary-Courts Selkirk Selkirk †See more in the Additions hard by which hath one out of the family of Murray of Fallo-hill it receives the little River Lauder upon which appears h Here the late Duke of Lauderdale has built a well-contriv'd handsom Church consisting of four Isles with a large Steeple rising in the middâ—e Lauder together with Thirlestan Here Sir John Maitland not long since Chancellor of Scotland for his singular prudence created by K. James the 6. Baron of Thirlestan Baron of Thirlestan hath a very beautiful seat i The said Duke has adorned it with avenues pavillions out-Courts and other beauties requir'd to the making of a compleat Seat Then being increased by the accession of the River Teviot beneath Roxburgh it watereth the Sheriffdom of Berwick which is most of it the Estate of the Humes wherein the Head of that Family exerciseth now the Jurisdiction of a Sheriff and then running under Berwick the best fortified Town of Britain whereof I have already spoken with a prodigious plenty of Salmon it emptieth it self into the Sea b MERCHIA MERCH or MERS MErch which is next and so named because it is a March-Countrey lieth wholly upon the German Ocean Here k It was demolished by the English in the late War Hume Castle first presents it self the ancient possession of the Lords of Home or Hume who being descended from the Earls of Merch have spread themselves into a numerous and noble family Of which Alexander Hume who was before Primier Baron of Scotland and Sheriff of Berwick was lately advanced by James King of Great Britain to the Title of Earl of Hume Earl Hume Not far off under this Castle lieth l It is a burgh of Barony and a large beautiful Town Kelso Kelso formerly famous for a Monastery founded by King David the first among thirteen more for the propagation of God's glory but to the great impairing of the Crown Lands Thence we have a prospect of Coldingham Coldingham called by Bede Coldana and Coludi urbs perhaps the Colania Colania of Ptolemy consecrated many Ages since to professed Nuns whose Chastity is recorded in ancient Writings for their cutting off together with Ebba their Prioress their Noses and Lips chusing to secure their Virginity from the Danes rather than preserve their Beauty but they notwithstanding burnt them together with their Monastery Hard by is Fastcastle belonging to the Humes so called from its strength near the same St. Ebbe's Promontory who being the Daughter of Edelfrid King of Northumberland when her Father was taken Prisoner seized upon a Boat in the Humber and passing along the tempestuous Ocean landed in safety here became famous for her sanctity and left her name to the place But Merch is much more celebrated in History for its Earls Earls of Merch. than places who were highly commended for their Martial Courage They were descendants of Gospatrick Earl of Northumberland who after his being driven out of his Countrey by William the Conqueror was entertained by Malcolm Conmer that is Great-head King of Scotland and honoured by him with Dunbar-Castle and the Earldom of Merch. His Posterity besides very large possessions in Scotland held as appears by an old Inquisition the Barony of Bengeley in Northumberland that they should be Inborrow and Utborrow between England and Scotland What the meaning should be of these terms let others guess what my conjecture is I have said already But in the reign of King James the first George of Dunbar the Earl of Merch by authority of Parliament upon the account of his Father's Rebellion lost the propriety and possession of the Earldom of Merch and the Seigniory of Dunbar And when he proved by good Evidence that his Father had been pardoned that fault by the Regents of the Kingdom he was answered that it was not in the Regents power to pardon an offence against the State and that it was provided by the Laws that the Father's transgression should succeed to the Children to the end that being Heirs to their Father's Rashness as well as Estate they should not at any time out of a vain opinion of power plot against their Prince and Country The Title of Earl of Merch was afterwards amongst other Honourable Titles conferr'd on Alexander Duke of Albany And in our memory this title of honour was reviv'd in Robert the 3. Brother of Matthew Earl of Lenox who being of Bishop of Cathness made Earl of Lenox soon after resigned up that Title to his Nephew created Duke of Lenox and received of the King by way of recompence the name and stile of Earl of Merch c LAVDEN or LOTHIEN LOTHIEN also called Lauden Lauden and anciently from the Picts Pictland shoots out along from Merch as far as the Scottish Sea or the Frith having many hills and little woods but for its excellent Corn-lands and civility is commended above any County in Scotland About the Year of our Lord 873. Edgar King of England between whom and Keneth the third King of Scotland there was a strict alliance against the Danes the Common Enemy resigned up his right in this Lothian unto him as Matthew Florilegus asserts and to tie his heart the closer to him He bestowed upon him moreover many Lodges in the way wherein both he and his Successors in their coming to the Kings
March Marr and Garioth Lord of Annandale and Mann was out-law'd by his brother James the 3. and after many struglings with the world and its troubles in the end as he stood by to see a Tournament at Paris he happen'd to be wounded by a splinter of a broken Lance and so died His son John the 4th Duke of Albany Regent likewise and made Guardian to K. James the 5. being charm'd with the pleasures of the French Court as having married a daughter and coheir of John Earl of Auvergne and Lauragueze died there without issue Whom out of respect and deference to the bloud Royal of Scotland Francis the 1. King of France honour'd so far as to allow him a place in France between the Archbishop of Longres Tily and the Duke of Alencon Peers of the Realm After his death there was no Duke of Albany till Queen Mary 11 In our memory conferr'd this honour upon Henry Lord Darley whom some few days after she made her Husband and K. James the 6. granted the same to his second son Charles an Infant now Duke of York These Parts are inhabited by a sort of people barbarous warlike and very mischievous commonly called Highland-men Highland-men who being the true race of the antient Scots speak Irish and call themselves Albinnich People they are of firm and compact bodies of great strength swift of foot high minded born as it were for the exercises of War or rather of robberies and desperately bent upon revenge They wear after the manner of the Irish †Plaids strip'd Mantles of divers colours with their hair thick and long living by hunting fishing fowling and stealing In war their armour is an iron head-piece and a coat of Mail their arms a bow barbed arrows and a broad back-sword And being divided into Families which they call Clanns what with plundering and murdering they commit such barbarous outrages Parliam 1581. that their savage cruelty hath made this Law necessary That if one of any Clann hath committed a trespass whoever of that Clann chances to be taken shall repair the damage or suffer death 12 Whereas the whole Clan commonly beareth feud for any hurt receiv'd by any one member thereof by excution of Laws order of Justice or otherwise PERTHSHIRE OUT of the very bosom of the Mountains of Albany issues the Tay The River Tay. the greatest river in all Scotland and rolls along thro' the fields till widening it self into a Lake full of Islands it there restrains its course After this kept within banks it waters Perth a large plentiful and rich country and receives the Amund a little River coming out of Athol This Athol Athâ—l to make a little digression is infamous for Witches but a country fruitful enough having woody valleys where once the Caledonian Forest The Caledâ—nian Forest dreadful for its dark intricate windings for its denns of bears and its huge wild thick-maned bulls extended it self in former ages far and near in these parts As for the places herein they are of little account but the Earls are very memorable Thomas a younger son of Rolland of Galloway was in his Wife 's right Earl of Athol Earls of Athol whose son Patrick was murder'd at Hadington by the Bissets his Rivals and they immediately set the house on fire Chronicon Mailrâ—ss that it might be supposed he perished casually in the flames In the Earldom succeeded David Hastings who had married Patrick's Aunt by the mother's side whose son that David sirnamed of Strathbogy may seem to have been who a little after in the Reign of Hen. 3. of England was Earl of Athol married one of the daughters and heirs of Richard base son to King John of England and had a very noble Estate with her in England She bore him two sons John Earl of Athol who being very unsettled in his allegiance was hanged on a Gallows fifty foot high and David Earl of Athol who by a marriage with one of the daughters and heirs of John Comin of Badzenoth by one of the heirs of Aumar de Valence Earl of Pembroke got a mighty estate He had a son David who under King Edw. 2. was sometimes summoned to Parliament amongst the English Earls and being made under King Edward Baliol Lieutenant-General of Scotland was conquer'd by the valour of Andrew Murray and slain in a battle in Kelblen Forest in the year 1335. His son David had only two young daughters Elizabeth married to Tho. Percy from whom the Barons de Burrough fetch their original and Philippa married to Sir Tho. Halsham an English Knight Then fell the title of Athol to that Walter Stewart son to King Robert 2. who barbarously murder'd James 1. King of Scotland and was agreeably punished for that execrable piece of cruelty insomuch that Aeneas Sylvius then Pope Eugenius the 4th's Nuncio in Scotland is reported to have said That he could not tell whether he should give them greater commendations that revenged the King's death or punish them with a sharper censure of condemnation that polluted themsâ—lves with so heinous a Parricide After an interval of some few years this honour was granted to John Stewart of the house of Lorne son of James sirnamed the Black Knight by Joan the widow of King James 1. daughter of John Earl of Somerset and ‡ Nepti neice to John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster whose Posterity enjoy it at this day a 'T is now a Marquisate in the Family of Murray Now the Tay by the Influx of the Almund being enlarged makes for Dunkell Dunkeld adorned by King David with an Episcopal See This upon account of the signification is lookt upon by most as a town of the Caledonians and they interpret it The hill of Hazles who will have it take the name from the Hazles of the Caledonian Forest * See â—he Additions Bâ—r h. From hence the Tay takes its course by the ruins of Berth a little desolate City not forgetting what calamity it brought upon it in times past when with an impetuous torrent it overflow'd the pasture and corn grounds destroyed all the labours of the Husbandman and hurried headlong with this poor city a Royal infant and all the Inhabitants Instead whereof King William built Perth Perth much better situated which presently grew so rich that Necham who lived in that age made this distick upon it Transis ample Tai per rura per oppida per Perth Regnum sustentant istius urbis opes Great Tay through Perth through towns through country flies Perth the whole Kingdom with her wealth supplies But posterity hath named it from a Church founded in honour of St. John St. John's town St. Jâ—hns Town And the English in the heat of the war between the Bruses and the Baliols fortified it with great Bulwarks which the Scots afterwards mostly demolished It is nevertheless a neat little City pleasantly seated between two Greens
in his writings Records of above 1000 years standing concerning these remote parts of the world the Hebrides and the Orcades when in Italy the nurse of excellent wits for so many ages after the expulsion of the Goths there was such a scarcity of writers See the â—â—ditions But upon this place Johnston born not far from hence hath these verses TAODUNUM Or DEIDONUM Quà Notus argutis adspirat molliter auris Hâc placidè coëunt Taus Oceanus Hic facili excipiens venientes littore puppes Indigenis vasti distrahit orbis opes Saepe dolis tentata belli exercita damnis Invictis animis integra praestat adhuc Fama vetus crevit cum Relligione renatâ Lucis hinc fulsit pura nitela aliis Alectum dixere priùs si maxima spectes Commoda fo rs Donum dixeris esse Dei. Tu decus aeternum gentisque urbisque Boëti Caetera dic patriae dona beata tuae Where the calm South with gentle murmurs reigns Tay with the sea his peaceful current joyns To trading ships an easie port is shown That makes the riches of the world it s own Oft have her hapless sons been forc'd to bear The dismal thunder of repeated war Yet unsubdu'd their noble souls appear Restor'd Religion hath advanc'd her height And spread through distant parts the sacred light Alectum once 't was nam'd but when you 've view'd The joys and comforts by kind heav'n bestow'd You 'll call it Donum Dei Gift of God Boetius honour of the realm and town Speak thou the rest and make thy mother's honours known Hence we have a sight of Brochty-crag Brochty-Crag a Fort defended by a Garison of English many months together when out of an earnest desire of a perpetual peace they sued for a Marriage between Mary of Scotland and Edward 6. of England and upon promise thereof demanded the performance by force of arms but the Garison at length abandoned it Then to the open sea lies Aberbroth in short Arbroth Arbroth a place endowed with ample Revenues formerly consecrated to Religion by King William in honour of St. Thomas of Canterbury Near this the Red-head Red-head shooteth out into the sea a Promontory to be seen afar off Hard by South-Eske enters the Ocean which flowing out of a lake passes by Finnevim-Castle much fam'd for being the seat of the Lindsays The Lindsays Earls of Crawford of whom I have spoken already Then Brechin Brechin standing upon the same River which King David the first adorned with a Bishop's See * See the Additions and at its very mouth Mont-rose Montrose that is The Mount of Roses a town antiently called Celurca built out of the Ruines of another of the same name and situated between the two Eskes which gives the title of Earl to the Family of Graham Upon which thus Johnston CELURCA or MONS ROSARUM Aureolis urbs picta rosis mons molliter urbi Imminet hinc urbi nomina facta canunt At veteres perhibent quondam dixisse Celurcam Nomine sic prisco nobilitata novo est Et prisca atque nova insignis virtute virûmque Ingeniis Patriae qui peperere decus A leaning mount which golden roses grace At once adorns and names the happy place But ancient times Celurca call'd the town Thus is it proud of old and late renown And old and late brave sons whose wit and hand Have brought new trophies to their native land Not far from hence is Boschain Boschain belonging to the Barons of Ogilvy Baroâ—s Ogilvy of very ancient nobility descended from that Alexander Sheriff of Angus who was slain in the bloody battle at Harley against the Mac-donalds of the Isles As for the Earls of Angus Earls of Angus Gilchrist of Angus a person illustrious for his brave exploits under Malcolm the 4th was the first Earl of Angus that I read of About the year 1242 John Comin was Earl of Angus who died in France and his Dowager perhaps heiress of the Earldom was married to Gilbert Umfravile an Englishman For both he and his heirs successively were summoned to the Parliament of England till the 3d year of K. Richard 2d under the title of Earls of Angus But the English Lawyers refused in their Instruments to own him for an Earl because Angus was not within the Kingdom of England till he produced in open Court the King 's Writ whereby he was summoned to Parliament under the name of Earl of Angus In the reign of David Brus Sc tâ—â— chron con Tho. Steward was Earl of Angus who took Berwick by surprize but presently lost it again and a little after died miserably in prison at Dunbritton The Douglasses men of haughty minds and invincible hearts ever since the reign of Robert the 3d have been Earls of Angus after that Geo. Douglass had married the Kings Daughter and are reputed the chief and principal Earls of Scotland whose Office it is to carry the Regal Crown before the Kings at all the solemn Assemblies of the Kingdom The sixth Earl of Angus of this race was Archibald who married Margaret daughter to Henry the 7th and mother to James the 5th King of Scotland by whom he had issue Margaret Wife to Matthew Stewart Earl of Lennox she after her brother's death without issue willingly resigned up her right to this Earldom with the consent of her husband and sons to David Douglass of Peteindreich her Uncle's son by the father's side to the end that by this obligation she might engage that family more closely to her which was already the nearest allied in bloud At the same time her son Henry was about to marry Queen Mary By which marriage King James Monarch of Great Britain was happily born for the general good of these nations h s Now it is a Marquisate in the same family MERNIS THese parts were in Ptolemy's time inhabited by the Vernicones the same perhaps with Marcellinus's Vecturiones But this name of theirs is now quite lost unless we can imagine some little piece of it remains in Mernis For oftentimes in common discourse in the British tongue V is changed into M. THis little Province Mernis butting upon the German Ocean is of a rich soil and generally a level and champagne countrey The most memorable place in it is Dunotyr Dunotyr a castle advanced upon an high and inaccessible rock looking down on the sea beneath fortified with strong walls and towers at certain distances which hath long been the seat of the Keiths Kâ—ith a very ancient and noble family and they in recompence of their valour have long been hereditary Earls Marshals Earls Marshals of the Kingdom of Scotland and Sheriffs of this Province Sheriffdom of Kincarain or Mernis In a Porch here is to be seen that ancient Inscription abovementioned of a * Vex. â—ticâ—is Company belonging to the XXth Legion the letters whereof the most
is inferior to none for its lakes and rivers admirably well stock'd with fish Upon Logh-lothy stands Innerlothy 〈…〉 strengthned with a fort and formerly of much note occasioned by the great resort of Merchants thither but having been ruined by the depredations and insults of the Danes and Norwegians it hath been so abandoned and disused for many ages that there scarce remains now any appearance of it which is intimated in the verses I produced a little above I never yet read of any Earls that Loghuabre hath had â—â—qhuo â—ne of 〈◊〉 but about the year 1050 of one Banqhuo a most noted Thane made away by Macbeth the Bastard after by murder and blood-shed he had seized the Kingdom out of fear and jealousie For he had found by a prophecy of certain â—â—agaâ— Witches that the time would come when after Macbeth's line was expired Banqhuo's posterity should one day obtain the Kingdom and by a long succession reign in Scotland Which indeed fell out accordingly For Fleanch Banqhuo's son who unknown in the dark escaped the snares that were laid for him fled into Wales where for some time he kept himself close and having afterwards married Nesta the daughter of Griffith ap Llewelin Prince of North-Wales he begat Walter who returning into Scotland The Original of the family of Stewart suppress'd the rebellion of the Islanders with the reputation of so much bravery and managed the King's revenues in these parts with so great prudence that the King made him Stewart of the whole Kingdom of Scotland Whereupon this name of an Office gave the sirname of Stewart to his posterity which spreading through all parts of Scotland in many noble branches being advanced to several honours hath long flourished there Three hundred and thirty years ago Robert Stewart a descendant of this House in right of Marjorie his mother daughter of K. Robert Brus obtained the Kingdom of Scotland And now lately James Stewart the 6th of that name King of Scotland in right of Margaret his Great Grandmother daughter of Henry the 7th by the divine appointment of the ruler of all things with the general applause of all Nations is advanced to the Monarchy of Great-Britain 15 And the Isles adjacent ROSSE ROsse so call'd from an old Scottish word which some interpret a Promontory others a Peninsula was inhabited by a people called Cantae 〈◊〉 Canâ—â— which term in effect intimates as much in Ptolemy's time This extends it self to such a wideness that it hath a prospect of both Oceans On that side where it looks upon the Vergivian or western Ocean it rises up in many swelling mountains with woods here and there full of stags roebucks fallow deer and wild fowl On the other side next the German sea it is more fruitful having much corn and meadow grounds and is much better cultivated 〈◊〉 â—are◠〈◊〉 â—â—naâ—â— In the very entrance into it Ardmanoch no small territory which gives the title of Baron to the second sons of the Kings of Scotland shoots up in very high mountains always covered with snow I have been told by some persons very strange stories of their heighth The heighth of hills and the depth of the sea Plutarch in P. Aemil concerning Olympus and yet the ancient Geometricians have written that neither the depth of the sea nor the heighth of the mountains exceed by line and level 10 stadia that is a mile and a quarter Which notwithstanding they that have beheld Tenariff amongst the Canary Islands 15 leagues high and have sailed in the neighbouring sea will by no means admit for a truth In these parts stands Lovet a Castle and Barony of the noble family of the Frasers made Barons as 't is reported by K. James 2d for the singular services they had done the Crown of Scotland Which family in a quarrel had been entirely extinguished by the Clan Ranalds a most bloody people had not fourscore of the principal of them by the providence of God left their wives big with child at home who being delivered of so many sons renewed and restored it At Nesse-mouth stood Chanonry formerly a noted place so called from a rich College of Canons in the flourishing times of the Church in which there is erected a See for the Bishop of Rosse * Sâ—e the Adâ—itiâ—ns Hard by Cromartie is placed where Urqhuart a Gentleman of noble extraction administers Justice as hereditary Sheriff of this District and this is so commodious and so safe a Harbour for any Fleet though never so great that Mariners and Geographers give it the name of Pertus Salutis Pâ—râ—us Sâ—â—uâ—is or the Haven of safety * S â— the Aâ—ditioâ—â— Above it is Littus Altum Lâ—â—â—us Altum mentioned by Ptolemy called now as it seems Tarbarth for there the shore rises to a great heighth enclosed on one side with Cramer a very secure port on the other with the river Celnius now Killian The River Câ—â—nius Killian And thus much of the places lying towards the Eastern Ocean Into the Western Sea runs the river Longus mentioned by Ptolemy now called Logh-Longas next the Cerones Cerones anciently dwelt where now Assen-shire is a Country divided into several parcels by the breakings in of the sea It would be a very difficult piece of work to make up a perfect succession of the Earls of Ross Eâ—rls of Ross out of the several Historians About 400 years ago Ferqhuard flourished under this title but upon the failure of issue male it came by a daughter to Walter Lesley for his valiant atchievements under Lewis the Emperor deservedly stiled the Noble or Generous Knight by whom he had Alexander Earl of Ross and a daughter married to Donald Lord of the Western Isles This Alexander had issue one only daughter who passed over all her right and title to Robert Duke of Albany which so enrag'd Donald of the Isles that in the reign of James the 3d he proclaimed himself King of the Isles and Earl of Ross and harrassed all the Country round about with fire and sword At length King James the 3d by Authority of Parliament in the year 1476 so firmly annext the Earldom of Ross to the Crown that it might not be lawful for his successors to alienate from it either the Earldom it self or any part thereof or upon any account grant the same to any person but only to the King 's second sons lawfully begotten Whereupon Charles the King's second son Duke of York now uses and enjoys that title SVTHERLAND BEyond Ross lies Sutherland looking towards the German Ocean a countrey more fit for breeding of cattle than bearing of corn Here there are hills of white marble Hills of white Marble a thing very unusual in so cold a climate but it is almost of no use because that excess in buildings and that vain ostentation of riches has not yet reached these remote countreys Here stands Dunrobin
from the Church as a Feudatory and Vicegerent and obliged his Successors to pay three hundred Marks to the Bishop of that See Yet the most eminent 1 Sir Thomas Hol. Thomas Moor who sacrificed his life to the Pope's Prerogative denies this to be true For he says the Romanists can shew no grant and that they have never demanded the said money nor the Kings of England acknowledged it However with submission to this great man the thing is really otherwise as most clearly appears from the Parliament-Rolls which are evidence incontestable For in a Parliament in Edward the third's Reign the Chancellor of England informs the House That the Pope intended to cite the King of England to a tryal at Rome as well for homage as for the tribute due and payable from England and Ireland and to which King John had bound both himself and his Successors and desired their opinion in it The Bishops required a day to consider of this matter apart as likewise did the Lords and Commons The next day they met again and unanimously voted and declared that forasmuch as neither King John nor any other King whatsoever could put the Kingdom under such a servitude but by the consent and agreement of a Parliament which was never had and farther that since whatsoever he had done in that kind was directly contrary to the Oath which he solemnly took before God at his Coronation if the Pope would insist upon it they were resolved to oppose him with their lives and fortunes to the very utmost of their power Such also as were learned in the law made the Charter of King John to be void and insignificant by that clause of reservation in the end saving to us and our heirs all our rights liberties and regalities But this is out of my road From King John's time the Kings of England were stiled Lords of Ireland till within the memory of our fathers Henry the eighth was declared King of Ireland by the States of that Realm assembled in Parliament the title of Lord seeming not so sacred and venerable to some seditious persons as that of King In the year 1555 when Queen Mary offered the subjection of the Kingdom of England by the hands of her Ambassadors to Pope Paul the fourth this name and title of Kingdom of Ireland was confirmed by the Pope in these word To the praise and glory of Almighty God and his most glorious mother the Virgin Mary to the honour of the whole Court of Heaven and the exaltation of the Catholick Faith We at the humble request of King Philip and Queen Mary made unto us by the advice of our brethren and by virtue of our full Apostolical authority do erect the Kingdom of Ireland and do for ever dignifie and exalt it with the title honours powers rights ensigns prerogatives preferments Royal praeeminencies and such like privileges as other Christian Realms have use and enjoy or may have use and enjoy hereafter Having accidentally found a Catalogue of those English Noble men who went in the first invasion of Ireland and with great valor subdued it to the Crown of England lest I should seem to envy them and their posterity the glory of this atchievment I will here give you them from the Chancery of Ireland for so 't is entitled The Names of such as came with Dermic Mac Morrog into Ireland Richard Strongbow Earl of Pembroke who by Eve the daughter of Morrog the Irish petty King aforesaid had an only daughter who brought to William Mareschall the title of Earl of Pembroke with a fair estate in Ireland and had issue five sons who in order succeeded one another all childless and as many daughters who enriched their husbands Hugh Bigod Earl of Norfolk Guarin Montchensey Gilbert Clare Earl of Glocester William Ferrars Earl of Derby and William Breose with children honours and possessions Robert Fitz-Stephens Harvey de Mont Marish Maurice Prendergest Robert Barr. Meiler Meilerine Maurice Fitz-Girald Redmund nephew to Stephen William Ferrand Miles de Cogan Richard de Cogan Gualter de Ridensford Gualter sons of Maurice Girald Alexander sons of Maurice Girald William Notte Robert Fitz-Bernard Hugh de Lacy. William Fitz-Aldelm William Macarell Hunfrey Bohun Hugh de Gundevill Philip de Hasting Hugh Tirell David Walsh Robert Poer Osbert de Harloter William de Bendenge Adam de Gernez Philip de Breos Griffin Nephew of Stephen Ralph Fitz-Stephen Walter de Barry Philip Walsh Adam de Hereford To whom out of Giraldus Cambrensis may be added John de Curcy Hugh Contilon Redmond Cantimore Edmond Fitz-Hugh Miles of St. Davids and others The Government of the Kingdom of IRELAND SInce Ireland has been subject to the Crown of England the Kings of this Realm have ever sent their Vice-Roys to manage the publick affairs there who at first in their Letters Patents or Commissions Loâ—d Depâ—â—ies of â—â—â—â—and were stilled Keepers of Ireland after that Justices of Ireland or at pleasure Lieutenants and Deputies Their jurisdiction and authority is really large and Royal they make war and peace have power to fill all Magistracies and other Offices except some very few to pardon all crimes but those of high treason and to confer Knighthood c. These Letters Patents when any one enters upon this honourable office are publickly read and after the new Deputy has took a solemn oath of a certain set form for that purpose before the Chancellor the sword which is to be carried before him is delivered into his hands and he is seated in a Chair of state attended by the Chancellor of the Realm the Members of the Privy-Council the Peers and Nobles of the Kingdom the King at Arms a Serjeant at Arms and other Officers of State So that whether we consider his jurisdiction and authority or his train attendance and splendor there is certainly no Vice-roy in Christendom that comes nearer the grandeur and majesty of a King His Council are the Chancellor of the Realm the Treasurer and such others of the Earls Barons and Judges as are of the Privy-Council Orders or degrees iâ— Ireland For Ireland has the same orders and degrees of honour that England has Earls Barons Knights Esquires c. The Courts or Tribunals of IRELAND THE supream Court in Ireland is the Parliament which Parliament at the pleasure of the King of England is either called or dissolved by his Deputy â—as an 〈◊〉 12. and yet in Edward the second 's time it was enacted That Parliaments should be held in Ireland every year 2 Which seemeth yet not to have been effected Here are likewise observed foure Law-terms in the year as in England and five Courts of Justice held 〈◊〉 the a The Court was called The Court of Castle-chamber because it was usually kept in the Castle of Dublin but has never been held since the Court of Star-Chamber was supprest in England Star-Chamber the Chancery King's-Bench Common Pleas and the Exchequer Here are
also by his valour and conduct he so fortunately suppressed that by the self same Victory he both recovered the town surrender'd to him with the Spaniards in it and disarm'd the whole Kingdom of Ireland when with fire and sword they had not only resolved to rebel but were now actually revolting Off from Kinsale on the other side of the river lyes h Called at this day Kyrycurry Kerry-wherry Kerry-wherry a small territory lately belonging to the Earls of Desmond Just before it runs that i At present called Lee. river The river which Ptolemy calls Daurona Dauron and Giraldus Cambrensis by the change of one letter Sauranus and Saveranus which springing from the mountains of Muskerey passes by the principal City of the County grac'd with an Episcopal See whereunto is also now annext the Bishoprick of Clon which Giraldus calls Corcagia in English Cork Cork and among the natives k Corkig This Cork is now mostly inhabited with English who by their industry have so improved their estates trade and city that it far exceeds any city in Ireland Dublin only excepted Corcach It is of an oval form enclos'd with walls and encompass'd with the chanel of the River which also crosses it and is not accessible but by bridges lying along as it were in one direct street with a bridge over it 'T is a populous little trading town and much resorted to but so beset with Rebel-enemies on all sides that they are obliged to keep constant watch as if the town was continually besieged and dare not marry out their daughters into the country but contract one with another among themselves whereby all the Citizens are related in some degree or other They report here that Brioc the Religious person who in that fruitful age of Saints flourished among the Gauls and from whom the Diocese of Sanbrioch in Armorica commonly called St. Brieu S. Brieu takes its name was born and bred in this town Beneath Cork the chanel of the river is divided into 2 branches which uniting again make a large and very pleasant l It is called The Great Island Island over against the chief dwelling house of the Barries an antient and noble family and thereupon is called Barry Court For they are descended from Robert de Barry Barons Barry an Englishman of great worth one who was rather ambitious to be really eminent than to seem so he was the first man that was wounded in the conquest of Ireland G. Camâ—â—â— and that ever mann'd a hawk in that Island His posterity also by their great loyalty and valour have been honoured first with the title of m They are now Earls of Barry-more Baron Barry and afterwards with that of Vicount Butiphant by the Kings of England Vicount Butipcaâ— and from their riches and estates have been called by the people Barry More or Barry the great A little below this the river Saveren near Imokelly formerly the large possession of the Earls of Desmond falls from a creeky mouth into the sea As the Saveren watereth the lower part of this county so n Now commonly called Black-water Broodwater formerly Aven-more that is a great water supplies the upper Upon which is the seat of the noble family de Rupe or Roch Baron Roche transplanted out of England hither where it hath grown and flourished and now enjoys the title of Vicount Fermoy Vicount Fermoâ— In Edward the second 's time they were certainly Barons of Parliament Par. 9 〈◊〉 an 8 Ed. for George Roche was fined 200 Marks for not being present at the Parliament of Dublin as he was summoned As the river Broodwater which by its course for some time is the boundary between this County and Waterford runs into the sea and makes a haven stands Yoghall Yoghall not very large but walled round of an oblong form and divided into two parts the upper which is the greater part stretches Northward having a Church in it and a littley Abby without the wall called North Abby the lower part to the Southward is named the Base-town and has also an Abby called South Abby The convenience of the haven which hath a well fenced Kay in it as also the fruitfulness of the country hereabouts draws Merchants hither so that the town is prety populous and has a Mayor for its chief Magistrate At present the County of Cork reaches only thus far which as I have already observed was heretofore counted a Kingdom Kingdoâ— of Carâ— and was of greater extent containing Desmond also within the bounds of it King Henry 2. gave this Kingdom to 7 Sir Robert Robert Fitz-Stephens and 8 Sir Miles Miles de Cogan in these words Know ye that I have granted the whole Kingdom of Cork except the City and Cantred of Oustmans to hold to them and their heirs of me and my son John by the service of sixty Knights From the heir of this Fitz-Stephen 9 Sir George George Carew now Baron Carew of Clopton is descended in a right line who was not long since Lord President of Mounster and as I most willingly acknowlege has given me great light into the Irish Antiquities The County of WATERFORD ON the East of Ireland between the rivers Broodwater on the West and the Suire on the East the Ocean on the South and the County of Tipperary on the North lyes the County of Waterford a County very fair and delicate both in respect of pleasure and richness Upon Broodwater at its leaving the County of Cork stands Lismor â—â—smor remarkable for its Bishop's See where presided Christian Bâ—â—hop Christian the Bishop and Legat of Ireland about the year 1148. a person very deserving of the Church of Ireland educated at Clarevall in the same Cloister with St. Bernard and Pope Eugenius At present by reason the possessions hereunto belonging have been almost all of them alienated it is annext to the See of Waterford Near the mouth lyes Ardmor Ardmor a small village of which and this river thus heretofore Necham Urbem Lissimor pertransit flumen Avenmor Ardmor cernit ubi concitus aequor adit Avenmor guides his stream through Lismor town Small Ardmor to the ocean sees him run The little adjoyning territory is called Dessee â—â—see the Lord whereof descended from the Desmonds had since our time the honourable title of Vicount Dessee conferred upon him which died soon after with him for want of issue-male Not far from hence stands Dungarvan â—â—â—garâ—â—n upon the sea a town well fortified with a Castle and advantageously situated for a haven King Henry 6. gave this with the Barony of Dungarvan to John Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury but afterwards by reason it stood convenient to command that part of Mounster which was to be reduced the Parliament annext it to the Crown of England for ever â—â—ers Baâ—â—â— of Câ—â—raghâ—ore Near this the Poers an
into the Neor upon which stands the third Burrough-town of this County that takes the name Kallan from it and also Inis-Teag Inis-Teag a fourth The family of the Butlers spreads its branches almost all over this Country and has flourish'd in great honour being for their eminent virtues dignified with the title of Earls of Ormond Wiltshire in England and as it is already said of Ossery Besides the Earl of Ormond Viscount Thurles and Knight of the Garter there are of this family the Viscount Mont-Garret the Viscount Tullo the Barons de Dunboyn and Cahyr with many other noble branches The rest that are eminent in these parts are also of English original the Graces the Walshes Levels Foresters Shortels Blanch-felds or Blanchevelstons Drilands Comerfords c. The County of CATERLOGH THE County of Caterlogh by contraction Carlogh bounds upon Kilkenny on the east lying wholly in a manner between these two rivers the Barrow and the Slane The soil is fruitful and well shaded with woods It contains two towns considerable more eminent than the rest both situate upon the west of the Barrow the one Caterlogh about which Leonel Duke of Clarence begun to build a wall and Bellingham that famous and excellent Lord Deputy of Ireland built a strong Castle for the defence of it The other is Leighton in Latin Lechlinia where was formerly a Bishop's See now annex'd to the Bishoprick of Farnes These towns have both of them their Wards and Constables to govern them The greatest part of this County belonged by inheritance to the Howards The Stat. of Absenties Dukes of Norfolk descended by the Earls of Warren from the eldest daughter of William Marshall Earl of Pembroke but King Henry the eight by Act of Parliament had all the lands and possessions granted him either belonging to him and the other Gentry or to the Monasteries here in England b See the County of Waterford the last paragraph because that by their absence and neglect of private affairs there they had endangered the publick interest From hence the Barrow runs through the Barony of Ydron Baron Ydron which belonged to the Carews of Devonshire 13 For Sir John Carew an English Knight died sâ—isâ—d thereof in the time of King Edward 3. ever since Sir N. Carew an English Knight married the daughter of Digo an Irish Baron which has since our memory been recovered after a long usurpation by Peter Carew Upon the river Slane stands Tullo memorable for Theobald Butler brother's son to the Earl of Ormond who was lately honoured with the title of Viscount Tullo by King James The Cavanaughs Cavanaghs are very numerous in these parts descended from Duvenald a younger son or Bastard as some say of Dermot the last King of Leinster warlike men and famous for their good horsemanship and though very poor at this day yet of as much honour and generosity as their forefathers Upon the account of some slaughters which many years ago they committed upon one another they live in a state of war at this day Some of these being trusted by the English to manage their possessions in these parts about King Edward the second 's time usurp'd all to themselves assuming the name of O-More O-Moâ— From 〈◊〉 book oâ— Patricâ— Fingâ—â— and taking the Toles and Brens into their confederacy by which means they dispossess'd the English of all that territory between the Caterlogh and the Irish-Sea Among these the river Neor joins the Barrow and after they have travell'd some miles together in one stream they quit their names and present that with their waters to their eldest sister the Swire which empties it self soon after from a rocky mouth into the sea where on the left there is a little narrow-neck'd promontory upon which stands a high tower built by the merchants of Rosse while they flourished to direct their vessels into the river-mouth Hooktowâ—â— QVEENS-COVNTY TOwards the north-west above Caterlogh lies a woody boggy tract call'd in Irish the Lease Lease in English the Queens-County which Queen Mary by her Minister Thomas Ratcliff Earl of Sussex and Lord Deputy at that time first reduced into a County Hence the chief town is call'd Mary-Burgh Mary-Burgh defended by a garison under the command of a Seneschal who with much ado keeps off the O-mores pretending to be Lords of it as also the Mac-Gilpatricks the O-Dempsies and others a mischievous and unquiet sort of people who are daily conspiring against the English and endeavouring to free themselves from their laws At the first coming of the English into these parts Meilere was sent hither to subdue this wild and hostile part of the country Hugh Lacy Lord Deputy built a castle at Tahmelio for him as also another at Obowy a third upon the river Barrow and a fourth at Norrach Among others also he fortified Donemaws Donemawâ— an ancient castle situate in the most fruitful part of this territory which fell to the Breoses Lords of Brecknock by Eva the youngest daughter of William Mareshall Earl of Pembrook Where also the Barrow rising out of Slew-Blomey-hills westward after a solitary course through the woods sees the old city Rheba Rhebâ— a name it stiâ—l preserves entire in its present one Rheban though instead of a city 't is now only the reliques of one consisting of some few cottages and a fort However it gives the title of Baronet to that noble Gentleman N. of S. Michael commonly called the Baronet of Rheban Baroâ— Rhebâ—â— The KING's-COVNTY AS the Queen's County aforesaid was so named from Queen Mary so the adjacent little County on the north divided by the river Barrow and called heretofore Offalie was term'd in honour of Philip King of Spain her husband the King's County as likewise the head-town in it Philips-town Philips-town where there is a garison a Seneschal and several noble families of the English the Warrens Herberts Colbies Mores and the Leicesters of the Irish the family of O-conor to whom a great part of it formerly belong'd as also of Mac Coghlam and O maily Fox and others who stoutly defend this and the other possessions left them here by their ancestors while the natives complain that the estates of their families are took from them and no other possessions in lieu assigned them to live upon For this reason they break out into rebellion upon every occasion and annoy the English with great outrage and cruelty The County of KILDAR THE County of Kildar lies along like a foreland to the King and Queen's Counties on the east very rich and fruitful Giraldus Cambrensis applies those verses of Virgil to the pastures of it Et quantum longis carpunt armenta diebus Exiguâ tantum gelidus ros nocte reponit What in long days the browzing cattle crop In the short nights the fertil dew makes up The a The Shire-town at this day is Nans near which at Sigginstowne Thomas
Earl of Strafford Lord Lieutenant of Ireland erected a large and magnificent Pile and designed to make it the seat of his Family principal and head town of this County is Kildar Kildar eminent in the first ages of the Irish Church for Brigid â— Brigid a virgin of great esteem for her devotion and chastity not she who about 240 years since instituted the Order of the Nuns of S. Brigid namely that within one Monastery both Men and Women should live together in their several apartments without seeing one another but one more ancient who lived about a thousand years ago was a disciple of S. Patrick and very famous both in Ireland Scotland and England Her miracles and the fire which never goes out being preserved and cherished in the * Adytis â—â—â—traliâ—â—â— inner sanctuary like that of Vesta by the sacred Virgins and still burns without any addition or increase of ashes are related by some Authors This town has the honour of being a Bishops See formerly stil'd in the Pope's Letters Episcopatus Darensis 14 And after the entrance of the English into Ireland was c. and was first the habitation of Richard Earl of Pembrook afterwards of William Marshall Earl of Pembrook his son in law by whose fourth daughter Sibill it came to William Ferrars Earl of Derby and by a daughter of his by her likewise to William Vescy whose son 15 William Lord Vescy William Vescy Lord Chief Justice of Ireland being out of favour with King Edward the first upon a quarrel between him and John the son of Thomas Fitz-Girald and having lost his only legitimate son gave Kildare and other lands of his in Ireland Aâ—chivâ—â—â—geta to the King upon condition he should infeoff his natural son sirnamed de Kildare with all his other lands in England A little after that the said John son to Thomas Fitz-Girald whose ancestors descended from Girald Windesor Castellan of Pembrook by their great valour did much service in the conquest of Ireland had the castle and town of Kildare together with the title and name of Earl of Kildare Earls of Kildar bestow'd upon him by King Edward the second These Fitz-Giralds or Geraldins as they now call them were very great men and particularly eminent for their brave actions who of themselves as one says preserved the sea-coasts of Wales and conquered Ireland And this family of Kildare flourished with their honour and reputation unsullied for a long time having never any hand in rebellions till Thomas Fitz-Girald son of Girald-Fitz-Girald Earl of Kildare and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in Henry the eighth's time upon the news that his father who was sent for into England and charg'd with male-administration was executed was so far transported by the heat of youth upon this false rumour that he rashly took up arms against his King and Country invited Charles the 5th to take possession of Ireland wasted the Country with fire and sword besieged Dublin and put the Archbishop thereof to death for which outrage he was soon after hang'd with five of his uncles his father being dead before of grief and trouble at these proceedings However this family was restored by Queen Mary to its ancient grandeur who promoted Girald brother of the said Thomas to the Earldom of Kildare and the Barony of Offaly 16 He ended this life about the year 1558. His eldest Son Girald died before his father leaving only one daughter married to Sir Robert Digby Henry his second son succeeded who when he had by his wife Lady Frances daughter to Charles Earl of Nottingham only two daughters William the third son succeeded to the Earldom who was drowned in passing into Ireland in the year 1599 having no issue And then the title of Earl of Kildare came to Girald Fiâ—z Girald son to Edward their uncle who wan restored to his blood in lineage to make title by descent lineal or collateral from his father and brother and all his ancestors any attainder or corruption of blood to the contrary notwithstanding his two sons Henry and William having both succeeded him without issue male the title of Earl fell to Girald Fitz-Girald their Cousin-german 17 With a fair patrimony seduced by the Religious pretext into Rebellion Other eminent towns in this county are Naas a market town Athie situate upon the river Barrow Mainoth a castle of the Earls of Kildare and endowed with the priviledge of a market and a fair by King Edw. the first in favour of Girald Fitz-Moris Castle-Martin the chief seat of the family of the Fitz-Eustaces descended from the Poers in the County of Waterford of whom Rowland Fitz-Eustace Barons Fitz Eustace for his great worth was made a Baron of Parliament by Edward the fourth and had the manour of Portlester bestow'd upon him as also the title of Vicount Baltinglas by Henry the eighth Pat. 2. Ed. 4. Viscounts Baltinglas all which dignities Rowland Fitz-Eustace lost 7 being banish'd in Q. Elizabeth's time for his treachery The more considerable families here besides the Fitz-Giralds are all likewise English the Ougans De-la-Hides Ailmers Walshes Boisels Whites Suttons c. As for the Gyant 's dance which Merlin by art magick transferred as they say out of this territory to Salisbury-plain as also the bloody battle to be fought hereafter between the English and the Irish at Molleaghmast I leave them for the credulous and such as doat upon the fabulous part of antiquity and vainly admire prophesies For it is not answerable to my design to dilate upon stories of this nature These are the midland Counties of Leinster now for those upon the sea coast The County of WEISFORD BElow that mouth from which the three sister-rivers the Barrow the Neore and the Swire empty themselves into the sea upon a Promontory eastward where the shore is rounding lies the County of Weisford or Wexford in Irish County a Which signifies Coarse or rough Reogh where the Menapii Menapii are placed by Ptolemy That these Menapii were the off-spring of the Menapii that peopled the sea-coast in the Lower Germany the name it self seems to intimate But whether that Carausius Carausius who put up for Emperor and held Britain against Dioclesian were of this or that nation Published by Sâ—hottus I leave to the discovery of others For * Aurelius Victor calls him a citizen of Menapia and the city Menapia is in Ireland and not in the Low-Countreys of Germany according to Geographers Upon the river Barrow in this County formerly flourished Ross a large b Now a burrough city of good trade and well inhabited fortified with a wall of great compass by Isabel the daughter of Earl Richard Strongbow which is the only remains of it at this day For the dissention between the citizens and the religious here has long since ruined the town and reduced it to little or nothing More eastward Duncanon Duncanon
the titles of the Dukes of York who write themselves Lords of Trim. After that it runs by Navan Navan which has its Baron or Baronet but not Parliamentary and is for the most part honoured with the residence of the Bishop of this Diocess who has now no Cathedral Church but acts in all matters with the assent of the Clergy of Meth. His See seems to have been at Cluanarard also called Clunart where Hugh Lacy formerly built a Castle for thus we find it in the * Apostollâ—cis Apostolical Letters Episcopus Midensis sive Clunarardensis and corruptly as it seems in a Roman Provincial Elnamirand The c This is the river famous for the battle fought on the banks of it between King William and King James on the first day of July 1690. Boyn now grows larger and after a speedy course for some miles falls into the sea near Drogheda And what if one should imagine this river to be so called from its rapid stream for Boan not only in Irish but in British also signifies swift and our Countryman Necham sings thus of it Ecce Boan qui Trim celer influit istius undas Subdere se salsis Drogheda cernit aquis See how swift Boyn to Trim cuts out his way See how at Drogheda he joyns the Sea The families of greatest note in this County besides those already mentioned the Plonkets Flemings Barnwells and Husseys are the Darceys Cusakes Dillons Berminghams De la Hides Netervills Garvies Cadells and others who I hope will pardon me for not taking notice of them as well as those I mention though their dignity may require it WEST-METH THE County of West-meth so called in respect of the former upon which it borders to the West comes up to the Shanon and lyes upon the King's County on the South and the County of Longford on the North. It is hardâ—y inferiour to either of them for fruitfulness number of inhabitants or any other quality except civility and mode Molingar â—â—â—ngar by Act of Parliament was made the head town of this County because it lyes as it were in the very middle The whole is divided into 12 Baronies Fertulogh where the Tirells live Ferbille the seat of the Darcies Delvin Baroâ— Delvin which gives the title of Baron to the Nogents a famous English family descended from 27 Sir Gilbert Gilbert Nogent whom Hugh Lacy who conquer'd Meth for his great services in the wars of Ireland rewarded with these Lands and those of Furrey as that learned Gentleman Richard Stanihurst has observed Then this Furrey aforesaid as also Corkery where the Nogents dwell Moyassell the seat of the Tuts and Nogents Maghertiernan of the Petits and Tuts Moygoisy of the Tuts and Nangles Rathcomire of the Daltons Magirquirke of the Dillons all English families also Clonlolan where the O-Malaghlins who are of the old Royal Line of Meth and Moycassell where the Magohigans native Irish do live with many others called by a sort of barbarous names But however as Martial the Poet said after he had reckon'd up certain barbarous Spanish names of places being himself a Spaniard he liked them better than British names so the Irish admire these more than ours and one of their great men was wont to say he would not learn English lest it should set his mouth awry Thus all are partial in passing a judgment upon their own and think them pleasant and beautiful in comparison of others Meth had its petty Kings in old times and Slanius the Monarch of Ireland as 't is said appropriated the revenues of this County to supply provision for his own table When the English got footing there Hugh Lacy conquer'd the greatest part of it and King Henry the second gave it him in fee with the title of Lord of Meth Lords of Meth. who at the building of Derwarth Castle had his head struck off by a Carpenter as he held it down to give him directions This Hugh had two sons Hugh Earl of Ulster of whom more hereafter and Walter Lord of Trim who had a son Gilbert that died in the life-time of his father By the daughters of this Gilbert Margaret and Maud the one part of this estate by the Genevills Genevills who are said to be of the family of Lorain and the Mortimers came to the Dukes of York and so to the Crown For Peter de Genevill Maud's son had a daughter Joan who was married to Roger Mortimer Earl of March the other part by Margaret wife of John Verdon and by his Heirs Constables of Ireland Constables of Iâ—eland fell at length to several families of England 28 As Furnivall Burghersh Crophull c. The County of LONGFORD TO West-Meth on the North side joyns the County of Longford reduced into the form of a County by 29 Sir Henry Sidney H. Sidney Lord Deputy some years ago formerly called c Or Annaly Analè Anale and inhabited by a numerous family of the d O Farrâ—l O-Pharols O-Pharoll of which there are two eminent Potentates the one in the South part called O-Pharoll Boy or the Yellow and the other ruling in the North called O-Pharoll Ban i.e. the white Very few Englishmen live among them and those that do are of long continuance The side of this County is water'd by the Shanon the noblest river in all Ireland which as we observed runs between Meth and Conaught Ptolemy calls it Senus Riv. Senus Shannin and Shanon Orosius Sena and in some Copies Sacana Giraldus Flumen Senense The natives thereabout call it the e i.e. Shan-awn Shannon that is as some explain it the antient river It rises in the County of Le Trim in the mountains of Therne from whence as it runs along Southward it grows very broad in some places Then again it contracts it self into a narrow stream and after it has made a lake or two it gathers in it self and runs to Macolicum Macolicum mentioned in Ptolemy now Malc Malc as the most learned Geographer G. Mercator has observ'd Soon after it is received by another broad lake called Lough Regith the name and situation whereof makes it seem credible that the City Rigia Rigia which Ptolemy places in this County stood not far off When it is passed this lake it contracts it self again within its own banks and runs by the town Athlon of which in its proper place From hence the Shanon having passed the Catarach at f Killaloo Killoloe whereof I shall take notice by and by grows capable of bearing ships of the greatest burthen and dividing its stream encompasses the city Limirick of which I have spoken already From hence after a direct course for threescore miles together wherein by a fetch or winding it takes in an Island ever now and then it plies very swiftly to the Westward Where it is fordable at low water it is guarded with little
killed with a stone and buried in Iona. 1230. Olave came with Godred Don and the Norwegians to Man and they divided the Kingdom Olave was to have Man Godred being gone to the Isles was slain in Lodhus So Olave came to be sole King of the Isles 1237. On the twelfth of the Calends of June died Olave the son of Godred King of Man in St. Patrick's Isle and was buried in the Abbey of Russin He reigned eleven years two in the life time of his brother and nine after His son Harald then fourteen years old succeeded him and reigned twelve years In the first year of his reign he went to the Isles and made Loglen his Kinsman Keeper of Man In the autumn following Harald sent three sons of Nell viz. Dufgald Thorquel and Molmore and his friend Joseph to Man to consider of affairs Accordingly on the twenty fifth day they met at Tingala where upon a quarrel that then happened between the sons of Nell and Loglen there arose a sore fight on both sides in which Dufgald Mormor and the said Joseph lost their lives In the spring following King Harald came to the Isle of Man and Loglen who fled into Wales with Godred the son of Olave his pupil was cast away with about forty others 1238. Gospatrick and Gillescrist the son of Mac-Kerthac came from the King of Norway into Man and kept out Harald converting the tributes of the Country to the service of the King of Norway because he had refused to appear in person at the Court of that King 1240. Gospatric died and was buried in the Abbey of Russin 1239. Harald went to the King of Norway who after two years confirmed to him his heirs and successors under his Seal all the Islands that his Predecessors had enjoyed 1242. Harald returned out of Norway to Man was honourably received by the Inhabitants and made peace with the Kings of England and Scotland 1247. Harald as his father had been before him was Knighted by the King of England and returned home with many presents The same year the King of Norway sent for him and a match was made between Harald and his daughter In the year 1249 as he was on his voyage home with with her accompanied with Laurence the elect King of Man and many of the Nobility and Gentry he was cast away by a sudden storm near the coasts of Radland 1249. Reginald the son of Olave and brother to Harald began his reign the day before the Nones of May and on the thirtieth day thereof was slain by one Yvar a Knight and his accomplices in a meadow near Trinity Church on the south side His Corps were buried in the Church of S. Mary of Russin Alexander King of Scots prepared a great fleet about this time intending to conquer the Isles but a feavor seized him in the Isle of Kerwaray whereof he died Harald the son of Godred Don assumed the title of King of the Islands banished all the Noblemen that Harald King Olave's son had preferred and instead of them recalled such as were fled from him 1250. Harald the son of Godred Don upon letters mandatory from the King of Norway went to him and was imprisoned for his unjust usurpation The same year Magnus son of Olave and John the son of Dugald who named himself King arrived at Roghalwaht but the people of Man taking it ill that Magnus had not that title beat them off their coast and many of them were cast away 1252. Magnus the son of Olave came to Man and was made King The next year after he went and took a voyage to the Court of Norway and tarried there a year 1254. Haco King of Norway made Magnus the son of Olave King of the Isles confirming them to him and his heirs and expresly to his brother Harald 1256. Magnus King of Man went into England and there was Knighted by the King 1257. The Church of S. Mary of Russin was consecrated by Richard of Sodore 1260. Haco King of Norway came to Scotland and without effecting any thing died in his return to Orkneys at Kirwas and was buried at Bergh 1265. This year died Magnus the son of Olave King of Man and of the Islands at Russin castle and was buried in S. Mary's Church there 1266. The Kingdom of the Isles was translated by means of Alexander King of Scots What follows was written in a different and later Character 1270. On the seventh of October Alexander the King of Scots's navy arrived at Roghalwath and before sun-rise next morning a battle was fought between the Inhabitants of Man and the Scots who slew five hundred thirty five of the former whence that of a certain Poet L. decies X. ter penta duo cecidere Mannica gens de te damna futura cave 1313. Robert King of Scots besieged the castle of Russin which was defended by Dingawy Dowyll and at last took it 1316. Upon Ascension-day Richard de Mandevile and his brothers with others of the Irish Nobility arrived at Ramaldwath desiring a supply of money and victuals being stript of all by continual depredations When the Commonalty denied it they took the field in two bodies against those of Man advancing still till they came to the side of Warthfell-hill in a field where John Mandevile was posted Upon engaging they carried the victory spoiled the Isle and the Abbey of Russin Thus far out of that ancient Book and after a whole months ravagement they returned home full fraught with pillage The end of the Chronicle of the Kings of Man A Continuation of the foregoing History collected out of other Authors ALexander the third King of Scots having made himself master of the Western Islands partly by his sword and partly by purchase from the King of Norway at last invaded Man also as one of that number and by the valiant conduct of Alexander Steward entirely subdued it and set a King over the Isle upon this condition that he should be ready to assist him with ten ships in any of his wars by Sea when ever he demanded them However Mary the daughter of Reginald King of Man who was the Liege-man of John K. of England address'd her self to the King of England for justice in this case Answer was made That the King of Scots was then possess'd of the Island and she ought to apply her self to him Lords of Man Her grandchild by a son John Waldebeof for Mary married into this family notwithstanding this sued again for his right in Parliament held the 33d of Edw. the first urging it there before the King of England as Lord Paramount of Scotland Yet all the answer he could have was as it is in the very Record That he might prosecute his title before the Justices of the King's Bench let it be heard there and let justice be done But what he could not effect by law his kinsmanâ— 1 Sir William Hol. William Montacute for he was of the royal
petty Kings or Princes therein The possession of this Island did without any interruption continue in the name and family of the Stanleys for 246 years the Grant thereof together with the Patronage of the Bishoprick having been given by Henry the fourth by Letters Patents to Sir John Stanley and his Heirs in the year 1403. And during our late Civil Wars in the year 1649. the Lord Fairfax Captain General of the Parliament's Forces obtained a Grant of the said Island from the Parliament of England the then Earl of Derby's estate being confiscate for bearing Arms for the King against the Parliament and himself beheaded at Bolton But it was afterwards restored to the Family of Derby who are the present Lords of that Island The supream and principal Officers in this Island The prinâ—â—pal Officers in the â—â—and are only five in number and they constitute the Lord's Privy Council They are the Governour of the Island the two Deemsters the Controller and the Receiver General They all of them hold their Offices durante bene placito and are obliged to be constantly resident in Castletown that they may be ready to advise and consult with the Lord upon any emergent occasion The Governour has the whole command of the Island under the Lord. The Deemsters are their Judges both in civil and criminal Cases They are always chosen out of the Natives by the Lord it being necessary they should understand and speak the Manks Language that they may give sentences in Courts and understand the Pleadings of the Plaintiffs and Defendants before them They are only two in number and divide the Island betwixt them the one having jurisdiction over the North part the other over the South The Controller's Office is to call the Receiver General to an account once every Quarter he is also Clerk of the Rolls and has the Pension belonging thereto The Receiver General is by his place to receive all the Rents due to the Lord of the Island from the inferiour Collectors To these are subordinate some other Officers The subordinate Officers as the 24 Keys of the Island a Water-Bailiff the Lord's Attorney-General the Coroners and the Moors The Water-Bailiff is as it were Admiral of the Island his office is to seize on all wrecks at sea for the Lord's use and to take care of all business relating to the Herring-Fishing The Attorney-General is to plead all the Causes in which the Lord of the Island is concerned and all the Causes of Widows and Infants The Keys of the Island are so called because they are to lay open and discover the true antient Laws and Customs of the Island They are chosen by the Lord himself out of the natives and though they together with the Deemsters hold their Offices but durante bene-placito yet are they seldom turned out during their lives They are always assisting to the Deemsters in the determining of Cases of great difficulty and from the Sentence of these there is commonly no Appeal No new Law can be made or Custom introduced or abolished but by the consent of the Deemsters and the 24 Keys of the Island These Keys write down all the Customs and Statutes of the Island for the help of their memory that thoy may be the better enabled to give Sentence when called to consult of any of these matters As to the number of the Keys Mr. Camden has been misinformed for he says they are only 12. whereas they are 24 in number 'T is true that since the time of the antient Orrys they have not been constantly this number that depending on the pleasure of the Lord of the Island but there is no ground to believe they were ever so few as twelve and they have been for the most part 24. The Coroners or Crowners in Man who in the Manks language are called Annos are the same as our Sheriff's in England and each of them has under him another Officer who is as it were Under-Sheriff and is called a Lockman The number of the Coroners is according to the number of the Sheedings which are six every Sheeding hath its Coroner The Moors are the Lord's Bailiffs to gather up his Rents in that Sheeding where they reside and to pay the same to the Receiver General It is customary in this Island Some peculiar customs of this Island and that from all antiquity that some of the Clergy be present and assist at the Court of Gaol-delivery the Bishop himself being present there when in the Island The Evidence against Delinquents is first to be taken by spiritual Officers and by them testified to the temporal Court But they are obliged to remove when any Sentence of death is to be pronounced No person guilty of Man-slaughter is allowed the Benefit of Clergy nor can be saved but by the Lord of the Island 's Pardon No Execution of any Malefactor is to be in the Passion-week No Merchant can transport money out of the Island without Licence neither without Licence can any Native go out of the Island If any one do force or ravish a woman if she be married he is to suffer death but if a maid or single-woman the Deemster gives her a Rope a Sword and a Ring and she has it put in her choice either to hang him with the rope or to cut off his head with the sword or to marry him with the ring In former times Women-Malefactors were to be put in a sack and sowed up and so flung from a rock into the sea as Mr. Camden says but now the women are hanged as the men only Witches are burnt If any man have a child by a woman and within two years after marries the woman the child is legitimated by the customary Laws If a woman bring forth a dead child the child is not to be buried in the Church-yard except the Mother take her oath that she has received the Sacrament since the quickening of the child All the Swine of what age soever belonging to Felons are the Lord's and all their Goats do belong to the Queen of Man No Act of Parliament made in England doth bind the King's Subjects in the Isle of Man unless the said Island be therein expresly named The Isle of Man being within the Fee of the King of England the Manksmen are adjudged to be the King 's natural Subjects born and are capable of inheriting Lands in England Thâ—ir Relig on The Religion professed in this Island is exactly the same with the Church of England The Manksmen are generally very respectful to their Clergy and pay their Tithes without the least grudging They own St. Patrick for their Apostle and hold him in greatest veneration Next to him they honour the memory of St. Maughald one of their Bishops whose Feast they never fail to celebrate twice a year The Bible was translated into the Manks tongue by Dr. Philips Bishop of Man but by reason of his death it never came to the Press so
that the Ministers read the Scriptures to the people in the Manks language out of the English There have been three Monasteries Thâ— Monasteries in this Isle the chief of which was the Monastery of Russin in Castle-town the common burying-place of the King 's of Man which by the Ruines thereof appears to have been a goodly Fabrick There was also the Priory of Douglas and a house of the Friers Minors at Brinnaken Besides these Monasteries there were several others without the Kingdom upon which the Kings of this Isle conferred titles or lands within the Island as the Priory of St. Bees or de Sancta Bega in Cumberland upon the Abbey of Whittern or Candida Casa in Galloway of Scotland and upon the Abbey of Banchor in Ireland For this cause the Prior and Abbots of these houses were Barons of Man and were obliged to give their attendance as such upon the Kings and Lords thereof when required Mr. Camden's error touching the Bishoprick of Man As to the Bishoprick of Man Mr. Camden saith That it was founded by Pope Gregory the fourth about the year 140. and that the Bishop thereof was named Sodorensis from a little Island near Castletown in the Isle of Man where the Episcopal See was instituted This error of Mr. Camden's is confuted by the authority not only of the Irish and Manks Tradition concerning their first conversion to Christianity but likewise of all the Historians that have wrote the life of St. Patrick who is generally believed to have converted that Island to Christianity They affirm * â—osâ—â—lin vita Pat. c. 92. that St. Patrick having converted the Island about the year 447. left one Germanus Bishop thereof and after his death consecrated two other Bishops to succeed him whose names were Conindrius and Romulus fellow-Bishops and to them succeeded one St. Maughald This is confirmed by the testimony of the learned Antiquary Bishop Usher a Usser antiâ— Br. c. 6. p. 644. Besides these four there is another Bishop of Man mentioned by Boethius b Boeth Hist â—cot p 114. and Hollinshead c Hollâ—sh p. 144. whose name was Conanus and who had been Tutor to Eugenius the fifth King of Scotland who began to reign An. Dom. 684. which was above 130 years before Gregory the fourth sate in St. Peter's Chair So that this Bishoprick appears to be near 4â—0 years of greater antiquity than Mr. Camden makes it These Bishops above named were called Bishops of Man only and not Bishops of Sodor for that Bishoprick was not founded till near 400 years after and the Bishops of Man were never called Bishops of Sodor till after the union of the two Bishopricks Sodor and Man Mr. Camden's mistake may proceed from confounding the Bishopricks of Sodor and Man making them one and the same whereas they were quite distinct The Bishoprick of Sodor was indeed first instituted by Pope Gregory the fourth about the time that Mr. Camden places the foundation of the Bishoprick of Man But it is placed in the Isle Jona or St. Columb's Isle corruptly called Colm-kill a little Island among the Hebrides belonging to Scotland This new erected title of Sodor the Bishops of the Western Isles possessed solely until the year 1098. that King Magnus of Norway conquering the Western Isles and the Island of Man united the two Bishopricks of Sodor and Man which continued so united for the space of 235 years till the English were fully possessed of the Isle of Man in 1333. During this union the Bishops always stiled themselves Bishops of Sodor and Man but before the uniting of the Bishopricks the Bishops of Man were never stiled Bishops of Sodor The Bishops The Bishop of Man were heretofore looked upon as Barons and were always to assist at the Inauguration of a new King or Lord of Man and there to pay their homage to him for the temporalities they enjoyed The Bishop hath his own particular Court where the Deemsters of the Island sit Judges The Bishop himself hath no hand in the assessment of the fines in his own Court yet has he all the fines and perquisites after they are assessed by the Deemsters and other Officers of the Lord's that are present This particular Privilege the Bishop of Man has at this day That if any of his tenants do commit Felony and be brought to the Bar of the Court of the Gaol-delivery with the rest of the Felons before rhe Governor and Deemster the Bishop's Steward may demand the Prisoner from the Bar and he shall have him delivered to be tried at the Bishop's Court. The forfeitures of Lands of any Delinquent holding of the Bishop do belong to him but the Delinquent's goods and person are at the Lord's disposal The Abbots of this Island were allowed the like privileges The Bishop of Man keeps his residence in the village called Bal-Curi The Bishoprick is under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of York During the Norwegian Conquest they were under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan of Norway which is Drontheim When the Bishoprick falls void the Lord of the Island names a Bishop and presents him to the King of England for his Royal Assent and then to the Archbishop of York for his Consecration This Bishop has no voice in the upper house of Parliament but is allowed to sit uppermost in the lower house of Convocation in England The Clergy The Clergy here are generally natives and have had their whole education in the Island They are not any ways taxed with ignorance or debauchery they have all a competent maintenance at least 50 or 60 pounds a year The Ministers who are Natives have always the addition of Sir unless they be Parsons of the Parishes which are but few most of the Parsonages being impropriated to the Lord of the Isle or the Bishop As thus Sir Thomas Parr Minister of Kirk-Malew But if they have the title of Parson then they are only called Mr. as Mr. Robert Parr Parson of St. Mary of Ballaugh * The end of the Additiâ—ns to the Isle of Man FRom Man as far as the Mull of Galloway or the Promontory of the Novantes we meet with none but small and inconsiderable Islands but after we are past that in the Frith of Glotta or Dunbritton-Frith we come to the Isle Glotta The Isle Gâ—oâ—ta mentioned in Antoninus called by the Scots at this day Arran whence the Earls of Arran A ran in that Country take their title And then to a neighbouring Island formerly called Rothesia now Buthe so denominated from a Cell which Brendan built in it for so the word signifies in Scotch After these we arrive at Hellan heretofore Hellan-Leneow that is as Fordon explains the word an Isle of Saints and Hellan Tinoc an Isle of Swine all visible in the same Frith Pag. 913. But of these we have said enough already Beyond this aestuary lye a cluster of Isles which the Scotch inhabitants call Inch-Gall
the West of Kirkwal at the bottom of a large Bay lyes a little Isle called Damsey with a Holm beside it as big as it self To the North-north-west lyes Rousa a large Isle about six miles long full of heatherly hills well stored with Plover and Moor-fowl it is but thinly inhabited Betwixt it and the main land lyes Inhallo and toward Kirkwal lyes Wyre and Gairsa small but profitable Isles North from Kirkwal at eight miles distance stands Eglesha something more than two miles long but pleasant and fertile having a convenient road for ships betwixt it and Wyre there is in it a little handsome some Church where it is said that St. Magnus the Patron of this Country lyes buryed To the North of Eglisha is Westra seven miles long pleasant fertile and well inhabited it hath a convenient harbour for ships at Piriwa at the East end of it lyes Faira called for distinction Faira be North and to the North-and-by-east is Papa-Westra a pleasant Isle three miles in length famous for Saint Tredwel's Chapel and Loch of which many things are reported by the vulgar All these Isles are indifferently fruitful well stored with fields of Corn and herds of Cattle and abound with Rabbets but destitute of Wheat Rye and Pease The chief products of this country and which are exported yearly by the Merchant are Beer Malt Meal Fish Tallow Hides Stockings Butter Selch-skins Otter-skins Rabbet-skins Lamb-skins white Salt Stuffs Writing-Pens Downs Feathers Hams Wooll c. Thus much of the particular Islands They have good store of field and garden-plants and make great quantities of butter Their Ews are so fertile that most of them have two at a birth and some three nay Mr. Wallace affirms that he has seen four at a birth all living and following the Dam. Their horses are but little yet strong and lively they have great herds of Swine and Warrens almost in every Isle well stored with rabbets That they can want either fish or fowl considering the situation of the Country we cannot well imagine The Eagles and Kites are there in great plenty and are very troublesome seizing sometimes upon young Children and carrying them a good way off So that if any one kills an Eagle he may by law claim a hen out of every house in the parish where it is killed Hawks and Falcons have their nests in several parts of the Islands and the King's Falconer comes every year and takes the young who has twenty pound sterling in salary and a hen or a dog out of every house in the Country except some houses that are privileged They have several Mines of Silver Tin Lead and perhaps of other Metals but none are improved They find abundance of Marle which turns to good account to the Husbandman Free-stone quarries with grey and red slate are in many places and in some Marble and Alabaster When the winds are violent the sea casts in pieces of trees and sometimes hogsheads of wine and brandy Ambergreese exotick Fowls c. Forest or Wood they have none nor any Trees except in the Bishop's garden at Kirkwall where there are some Ashes Thorn and Plum-trees Here and there in a Gentleman's garden there are Apple and Cherry-trees but the fruit seldom comes to any maturity Yet it should seem there have been Woods formerly for they find Trees in the Mosses of twenty or thirty foot in length with their branches entire Where the Country is divided into so many small Islands it cannot be expected there should be any large rivers yet bourns and torrents they have well replenished with Trouts There are many Lochs but they serve to no further use than affording water to their Mills or Cattle The many excellent roads bays and ports make it exceeding commodious for navigation Thus much of the Country in general Particular places are no ways considerable except it be Kirkwall an account whereof take from my Author together with the ancient state of the Church of Orkney the Cathedral and Bishop's Palace being both in this Town Mr. Wallacâ—'s account of Kâ—râ—wall The only remarkable town in this Country is Kirkwall an ancient borough long possessed by the Danes by whom it was called Cracoviaca built upon a pleasant Oyse or inlet of the sea near the middle of the main land near a mile in length with narrow streets having a very safe harbor and road for ships Here is the seat of justice the Stewart Sheriff Commissary all of them keeping their several Courts in this place Almost all the houses in it are slated but the most remarkable edifices in it are St. Magnus's Church and the Bishop's Palace As for the King's Castle it is now demolished but by the ruines it appears to have been a strong and stately fort and probably built by some of the Bishops of Orkney as appears from a remarkable stone set in the midst of the wall that looks towards the Streat which has a Bishop's Miter and Arms engraven on it There is in it a publick School for the teaching of Grammar endowed with a competent salary and at the north end of the town is a place built by the English ditch'd about and on which in time of war they plant Cannons for the defence of the harbor against the ships of the enemy as it fell out anno 1666 when there was war between our King and the Hollanders a Dutch man of war coming to the road who shot many guns at the Town with a design to take away some of the ships that were in the harbor was by some Cannon from the Mount so bruised that he was forced to flee with the loss of many of his men This Town had been erected into a royal borough in the time of the Danes and Anno 1480 King James the third gave them a Charter confirming their old erection and privileges specifying their antiquity and giving them power to hold Borough-Courts to incarcerate and arrest to make laws and ordinances and to elect their own Magistrates yearly for the right government of the town to have a weekly Market on Tuesday and Friday and three Fairs in the year one about Palm-Sunday another at Lammas and the third at Martinmas each to continue three days He moreover disposed to them some lands about the town with the customs and shore-dues and the power of a Pitt and Gallows and all other privileges granted to any Royal Borough within the Kingdom exempting them from sending any Commissioners to Parliament unless their own necessities requir'd it This Charter is dated at Edinburgh the last of March 1486. And in the year 1536 February the 8th King James the fifth ratified the former charter by a new Charter of confirmation And in the year 1661 King Charles after his restoration ratified the former Charters by a signiture under his royal hand dated at Whitehall May the 25th whereupon the Parliament at Edinburgh the 22d of August 1670 confirmed all by their Act yet with this special provision
and many Christians cut off MCLXXXVII On the Kalends or first of July the Abby of Ynes in Ulster was founded MCLXXXIX Henry Fitz Empress departed this life was succeeded by his son Richard and buried in Font Evrard This same year was founded the Abby De Colle Victoriae i.e. Cnokmoy MCXC. King Richard and King Philip made a Voyage to the Holy Land MCXCI. In the Monastery of Clareval the translation of Malachy Bishop of Armagh was celebrated with great solemnity MCXCII The City of Dublin was burnt MCXCIII Richard King of England in his return from the Holy Land was taken Prisoner by the Duke of Austria and paid to the Emperor 100000 Marks for Ransom besides 30000 to the Empress and 20000 to the Duke upon an Obligation he had made to them for Henry Duke of Saxony He was detain'd in Prison by the Emperor a year six months and three days all the Chalices in a manner throughout England were sold to raise this Sum. This year was founded the Abby De Jugo Dei. MCXCIV The Reliques of S. Malachy Bishop of Clareval were brought into Ireland and receiv'd with great honour into the Monastery of Millifont and other Monasteries of the Cistercians MCXCV. Matthew Archbishop of Cassil Legat of Ireland and John Archbishop of Dublin got the Corps of Hugh Lacy that conquered Meth from the Irish and interr'd them with great solemnity in the Monastery of Blessedness or Becty but the Head of the said Hugh was laid in S. Thomas 's Monastery in Dublin MCXCVIII The Order of the Friers Predicants was begun about Tolouse founded by Dominick II. MCXCIX Died Richard King of England succeeded by his Brother John who was Lord of Ireland and Earl of Moriton Arthur the lawful Heir Son of Geffrey his whole Brother was slain by him The death of Richard was after this manner When King Richard besieg'd the Castle of Chaluz in Little Bretagn he receiv'd his mortal Wound by an Arrow shot at him by one of those in the Castle nam'd Bertram de Gourdon As soon as the King found there was no hopes of Life he committed his Kingdom of England and all his other Possessions to the Custody of his Brother All his Jewels and the fourth part of his Treasure he bequeath'd to his Nephew Otho Another fourth part of his Treasure he left to be distributed among his Servants and the poor People When Bertram was taken and brought before the King he ask'd him for what harm he had kill'd him Bertram without any fear told him That he had kill'd his Father and two of his Brethren with his own Hand and then intended to do the same with him That he might take what Revenge he pleas'd but he should not care since he was to die too that had done so much mischief in the World Notwithstanding the King pardon'd him and order'd him to be set at liberty and to have a 100 Shillings Sterling given him Yet after the King's death some of the King's Officers flea'd him and hung him up The King died on the eighteenth of the Ides of April which happen'd to be the fourth * Feria day before Palm-sunday and the eleventh day after he was wounded He was buried at Font Eberard at the feet of his Father A certain Versificator writ this Distich upon his death Istius in morte perimit Formica Leonem Proh dolor in tanto funere mundus obit An Ant a Lyon slew when Richard fell And his must be the World 's great Funeral His Corps were divided into three Parts Whence this of another Viscera Carceolum Corpus Fons servat Ebrardi Et cor Rothomagum magne Richarde tuum Great Richard's Body 's at Fontevrault shown His Bowels at Chalons his Head at Roan After the death of King Richard his Brother John was begirt by the Archbishop of Roan with the Sword of the Dukedom of Normandy upon the 7th of the Kalends of May next following The Archbishop also set a Crown adorn'd with golden Roses upon his Head Afterwards upon the 6th of the Kalends of June he was anointed and crown'd King of England in S. Peter's Church Westminster upon Ascension-day attended with all the Nobility of England Afterwards he was summon'd to Parliament in France to answer for the death of his Nephew Arthur and depriv'd of Normandy because he came not accordingly This same Year was founded the Abby of Commerer MCC Cathol Cronerg King of Conaught founder of the Abby De Colle Victoriae was expell'd Conaught This year the Monastery De Voto was founded that is to say Tyntern Monastery by William Marshall Earl Marshal and Pembroch who was Lord of Leinster viz. of Wrisford Ossory Caterlagh and Kildare in right of his Wife who married the daughter of Richard Earl of Stroghul and of Eve the daughter of Dermic Murcard This William Earl Marshal being in great danger of Shipwreck a night and a day made a Vow That if he escap'd and came to Land he would found a Monastery and dedicate it to Christ and his Mother Mary So as soon as he arriv'd at Weysford he founded this Monastery of Tynterne according to his Vow and it is nam'd De Voto This year also was founded the Monastery de Flumine Dei MCCII. Cathol Cronirg or Crorobdyr King of Conaught was restor'd to his Kingdom The same year was founded the house of Canons of S. Marie of Connal by Sir Meiler Fitz-Henry MCCIII The Abby of S. Saviour i.e. Dawisky which was before founded was this Year and the next following finish'd MCCIV. A Battle was fought between John Courcy first Earl of Ulster and Hugh Lacie at Doune with great slaughter on both sides Yet John Curcy had the Victory Afterwards upon the 6th day of the Week being Good Friday as the said John was unarm'd and going in Pilgrimage barefoot and in a linnen Vestment to the Churches after the common manner he was treacherously taken Prisoner by his own People for a sum of Mony part in hand and part promis'd to be paid afterwards and so he was deliver'd to Hugh Lacy who brought him to the King of England and receiv'd the Earldom of Ulster and the Seigniory of Connaught upon that account both belonging to John Curcy Hugh Lacy now being made Earl rewarded the said Traytors with Gold and Silver some more some less but hung them up as soon as he had done and took away all their Goods by these means Hugh Lacy ruleth in Ulster and John Curcie is condemn'd to perpetual Imprisonment for his former Rebellion against King John refusing to do him homage and accusing him for the death of Arthur the lawful and right Heir to the Crown While the Earl was in Prison and in great Poverty having but a small allowance of Provisions and the same mean and course he expostulated with God why he dealt thus with him who had built and repair'd so many Monasteries for him and his Saints After many Expostulations of this kind he fell asleep and the Holy
being still Justiciary as before His Wife died this year MCCLXXXI Adam Cusak younger kill'd William Barret and many others in Conaught Frier Stephen Fulborn was made Justiciary of Ireland The Lord Robert d'Ufford return'd into England MCCLXXXII This Year Moritagh and Arte Mac-Murgh his Brother were slain at Arclowe on S. Mary Magdalen Eve And Roger Lord Mortimer died MCCLXXXIII The City of Dublin was in part burnt and the Belfrey of Trinity Church upon the third day before the Nones of January MCCLXXXIV The Castle of Ley was taken and burnt by the petty Kings of Offaly the morrow after S. Barnaby's Day Alphonsus the King's Son twelve years old departed this Life MCCLXXXV The Lord Theobald le Botiller died on the 6th of the Kalends of October in the Castle of Arclowe and was buried there in the Convent of the Friers Predicants Gerald Fitz Maurice was taken Prisoner by his own Irish Subjects in Ofaly with Richard Petit and S. Deget and many others and at Rathode was a great slaughter MCCLXXXVI Le Norragh and Arstol with other Towns were successively burnt by William Stanton on the 16th of the Kalends of December About this time Eleanor Queen of England mother of King Edward took a religious habit at Ambresbury upon the day of S. Thomas's translation having her dower confirmed by the Pope and assur'd to her for ever Calwagh was taken Prisoner at Kildare The Lord Thomas Clare departed this Life MCCLXXXVII This year died Stephen Fulborn Archbishop of Tuam and was succeeded in the Office of Justiciary for a Time by John Sampford Archbishop of Dublin This year the King of Hungary renounc'd Christianity and turned Apostate and having fraudulently assembled his Nobility under pretence of a Parliament Miramomelius a potent Saracen came upon them with an Army of 20000 men and took the King and all the Christians there away prisoners on S. John Baptist's eve As the Christians were carried along the weather turn'd cloudy and a tempest of Hail fell suddenly and killed many thousands of the Infidels So the Christians return'd to their own homes and the Apostate King went alone with the Saracens The Hungarians crown'd his Son King and continued in the Catholick Faith MCCLXXXIX Tripoly a famous City was demolish'd after great effusion of Christian blood by the Sultan of Babylon Who commanded the Images of the Saints to be dragg'd at the horses tails through the ruinous City in contempt of Christ MCCXC Inclyta stirps Regis sponsis datur ordine legis The issue of the King becomes a Spouse The Lord Gilbert Clare took to Wife the Lady Joan de Acon a daughter of our Lord King Edward in the Abby of Westminster and the marriage was celebrated in May And John the Duke of Brabant's son married Margaret the said King's daughter also in the Church aforesaid in July This year the Lord William Vescie was made Justiciary of Ireland and enter'd upon the Office on S. Martin's day Item O Molaghelin King of Meth was this year slain MCCXCI Gilbert Clare the son of Gilbert and the Lady Joan de Acon was born on the 11th of May betimes in the morning Item there was an army led into Ulster against O Hanlan and other Princes that had broke the Peace by Richard Earl of Ulster and William Vescie Justiciary of Ireland Item The Lady Eleanor formerly Queen of England and mother of King Edward died this year on S. John's day after a laudable life spent four years eleven months and six days in a religious habit as she had desir'd in the Abby of Ambresbury where she was a profess'd Nun. Item the news came to our Lord Pope Martin on the eve of S. Mary Magdalen concerning the city of Acon in the Holy Land which was the only place of refuge for the Christians that it was besieg'd by Mislkadar the Sultan of Babylon with a numerous army He besieg'd it hotly for about forty days viz. from the 8th day before the Ides of April till the 15th before the Kalends of July At last the Wall was pull'd down by the Saracens and they entred the city in great numbers many Christians being slain and some drown'd in the sea for fear Among whom was the Patriarch and his Train The King of Cyprus and Oto de Grandison escap'd in a ship with their followers Item This year the Lord Pope Martin granted our Lord King Edward the tenth of all Ecclesiastical Benefices in Ireland for seven years together as a supply towards a relief for the Holy Land Item the eldest son of the Earl of Clare was born the same year MCCXCII Edward King of England again entred Scotland and was chosen King John Lord Balliol of Gallweya obtain'd the whole Kingdom of Scotland by right of inheritance and did homage to our Lord Edward King of England at Newcastle upon Tine on S. Stephen's day Florentius Earl of Holland Robert Brus Earl of Carrick John Hastings John Comin Patrick de Dunbar John Vescie Nicholas Souls and William Roos who were then at difference in the said Kingdom submitted themselves to the judgment of King Edward Item A fifteenth of all the Goods of Laymen in Ireland was granted to our Lord the King of England to be collected on the Feast of S. Michael Item Sir Peter Genevile Knight died this year Item Rice ap Meredyke was brought to York and there dragg'd at the horses tails c. MCCXCIII A general and open war was this year waged at sea with the Normans Item no small number of the Normans was cut off in a sea-engagement by the Barons of the Ports of England and others their coadjutors between Easter and Whitsuntide For this a war broke out between England and France whereupon Philip King of France directed his letters of citation to the King of England to appear in person at his Parliament to answer what the King had to say to him but finding no compliance with this order he forthwith by the counsel of his Parliament declar'd him outlaw'd and condemn'd him Item Gilbert Clare Earl of Glocester and his wife came into Ireland about the feast of S. Luke MCCXCIV William Montfort in the King's Council holden at Westminster before the King died suddenly He was Dean of S. Paul's in London The Bishops and Clergy who doubted what the King would expect from every one of them had instructed him as a person whom the King would confide in what to signifie from them to him as soon as he return'd to the King and was addressing himself to speak as he had design'd he grew speechless fell down and was carried out by the King's servants in a miserable condition Upon this sight people grew fearful and began to take him for the great procurer of the tenths of ecclesiastical benefices to the King and of the scrutiny and search after the fold of Christ as also of the contributions granted the King afterward Item The city of Bordeaux with the adjacent country of Gascoign was taken
into possession by the King of France upon certain conditions but was detain'd unjustly and treacherously John Archbishop of Dublin and some other great men were sent to the Kinâ— in Almain upon this account After they had receiv'd their answer in Tordran the Archbishop return'd into England and died oâ— S. Leodegarys day The bones of which John Sampford werâ— interr'd in S. Patrick's Church in Dublin on the 10th day beforâ— the Kalends of March. The same year there arose a debate between William Lord Vescy then Justiciary of Ireland and the Lord John Fitz Thomas and the said Lord William Vescy went into England and lefâ— Sir William de la Hay to officiate as Justiciary But when botâ— them were before the King for combat upon an appeel for treason William Vescy fled into France and would not fight Whereupon the King of England gave all the Seigniories that belong'd to him to Sir John Fitz Thomas viz. Kildare Rathemgan and manâ— others The same year Gilbert Clare Earl of Glocester return'd ouâ— of Ireland into England Likewise Richard Earl of Ulster sooâ— after S. Nicholas's day was taken prisoner by Sir John Fitz Thomas and kept within the castle of Ley till the feast of S. Gregory Pope but was then set at liberty by the Council of our Lord thâ— King in a Parliament at Kilkenny John Fitz Thomas gave aâ— his lands for taking him viz. Slygo with other Possessions belonging to him in Conaght Item this year the castle of Kildare was taken but Kildarâ— and the Country round it was wasted by the English and the Irish Calvagh burnt all the Rolls and Tallies of the said Earl This yeaâ— and the two next following there was much dearth and Pestilencâ— throughout Ireland Item William Lord Dooddyngzele was made Justiciary of Irelanâ— MCCXCV Edward King of England built the Castle de Beâ— Marisco i.e. Beaumaris in Venedocia which is call'd the motheâ— of Cambria but commonly Anglesey and enter'd it immediatelâ— after Easter subduing the Venedotes i.e. the able men of Anglesey and making them subject to him Soon after this viz. about thâ— Feast of S. Margaret Madock at that time Prince elect of Waleâ— submitted himself to the King's mercy and was brought to Londoâ— by John de Haverings where he was clapt in the Tower to waâ— the King's grace and favour This year died William Dooddingzeâ— Justiciary of Ireland the day after S. Mary of Egypt Sir Thomas Fitz-Maurice succeeded him Also about the same time thâ— Irish in Leinster destroy'd that Province burning the new Castâ—â— with other Villages Item Thomas de Torbevile a seducer oâ— the King and betrayer of his Country was drawn through the middle of London lying out at length and guarded with four Toâ—mentors in Vizards who revil'd him as we went along At lasâ— he was gibbeted and deny'd the privilege of Burial having nonâ— to attend his Funeral but Kites and Crows This Thomas waâ— one of them who in the Siege of the Castle of Rions was takeâ— and carry'd to Paris Whereupon he promis'd the Nobility oâ— France that he would deliver to them the King of England anâ— leaving his two Sons as Pledges came over and told the King oâ— England and his Council how narrowly he escap'd out of Prisoâ— When he had inform'd himself of the designs of the King anâ— state of the Kingdom he sent the whole in writing to the Provoâ— of Paris Of which being convicted he was executed iâ— the manner aforesaid About the same time the Scoâ— having broken the Peace which they had covenanted with oâ—â— Lord King of England made a new league with the King oâ— France and conspiring together rose up in Arms against their owâ— sovereign Lord and King John Baillol and shut him up in the midland parts of Scotland in a Castle encompass'd with Mountain This was done in pure spight and contempt to the King of England because he had set the said John over them without theâ—â— will and consent The King of England brought another Army 〈◊〉 Scotland the Lent following to chastise the Scots for their presumption and arrogance against their own Father and King Sâ— John Wogan was made Justiciary of Ireland and the Lord Thomas Fitz-Maurice give place to him This Wogan made a Trucâ— for two years between the Earl of Ulster and John Fitz-Thomas and the Geraldines About Christmas-day this year Gilbert Clarâ— Earl of Glocester departed this life Item the King of Englanâ— sent his Brother Edmund with an Army into Gascoign MCCXCVI The Lord Edward King of England on the thirâ— day before the Kalends of April viz. upon Friday that fell oâ—â— then to be Easter-week took Berwick with the slaughter of seveâ— thousand Scots and not of above one of the English Knights viâ— Sir John of Cornwall and seven Footmen more Shortly after abouâ— the 4th of May he enter'd the Castle of Dunbar and took abouâ— forty of the Enemy Prisoners who submitted themselves to thâ— King's mercy having before defeated the whole Army of the Scots that is to say slain seven hundred Horse with the loss of Footmeâ— only on the English side Item upon S. John's-day before Port-latin about 15000 Welchmeâ— were sent to invade Scotland by the King's Order At the same timâ— the Nobility of Ireland viz. John Wogan Justiciary Richard Bourâ— Earl of Ulster Theobald Butler and John Fitz-Thomas witâ— others came to assist in this Expedition to Scotland The Kinâ— of England also entertain'd them with others of the English Nobility upon the third day before the Ides of May viz. Whitsuâ—day with a great Feast in the castle of Rokesburgh Item on thâ— next Wednesday before S. Barnabas he enter'd the Town of Edinburgh and won the castle before the Feast of S. John Baptist shortly after in the same Summer all the castles in Scotland were surrender'd up to him Item John Balliol King of Scotland came tho' much against his will to the King of England upon the Sunday next after the Translation of S. Thomas the Archbishop attended with many Earls Bishops and Knights and they surrender'd all to the King but their lives and limbs and their Lord John Balliol gave up all his Right and Title in Scotland to the King of England who sent him under a safe guard towards London Item Edmund Brother to the King of England died this year in Gascoign MCCXCVII Our Lord Edward King of England sail'd into Flanders with an Army against the King of France where after much expence and altercation a form of Peace was concluded between them upon condition they should stand to the award and judgment of the Pope From the one side and the other certain Messengers were sent to the Court of Rome but while the King was in Flanders William Walleis according to a general Resolution of the Scots came with a great Army to Strivelin-bridge to engage John Earl of Warren in which Battel many were slain on both sides and many drown'd but however the English were
call'd Hogelyn John de Northon John de Breton and many others Item On the 16th before the kalends of July Dolovan Tobyr and other towns and villages bordering upon them were burnt down by the said malefactors Item Soon after this a great Parliament was held at London wherein a sad difference arose between the Barons upon the account of Pieirs Gaveston who was banish'd out of the Kingdom of England the day after the feast of S. John the baptist's nativity and went over into Ireland about the feast of the Saints Quirita and Julita together with his wife and sister the Countess of Glocester and came to Dublin in great state and there continued Item William Mac Baltor a stout robber and incendiary was condemn'd in the court of our Lord the King at Dublin by the Lord Chief Justice John Wogan on the 12th before the kalends of September and was drawn at a horse's tail to the gallows and there hang'd as he deserv'd Item This year a marble cistern was made to receive the Water from the conduit-head in Dublin such as was never before seen here by the Mayor of the City Master John Decer and all at his own proper expences This same John a little before made a bridge to be built over the river Aven-Liffie near the priory of S. Wolstan He also built the Chappel of S. Mary of the Friers minors wherein he was buried and the Chappel of S. Mary of the Hospital of S. John in Dublin Item This John Decer was bountiful to the convent of Friers Predicants in Dublin For instance he made one stone-pillar in the Church and laid the great stone upon the high altar with all its ornaments Item He entertain'd the friers at his own table on the 6th day of the week out of pure charity as the seniors have reported to their juniors Item The Lord John Wogan took ship in Autumn to be at the parliament of England and the Lord William Bourk was appointed Keeper of Ireland in his room Item This year on the eve of S. Simon and Jude the Lord Roger de Mortimer and his Lady the right heir of Meth the daughter of the Lord Peter son of Sir Gefferey Genevil arriv'd in Ireland As soon as they landed they took possession of Meth Sir Gefferey Genevil giving way to them and entring himself into the order of the Friers predicants at Trym the morrow after S. Edward the Archbishop's day Item Dermot Odympsy was slain at Tully by the servants of Sir Piers Gaveston Item Richard Bourk Earl of Ulster at Whitsontide made a great feast at Trym and conferr'd Knighthood upon Walter Lacie and Hugh Lacie In the vigil of the Assumption the Earl of Ulster came against Piers Gaveston Earl of Cornwal at Drogheda and at the same time turn'd back towards Scotland Item This year Maud the Earl of Ulster's daughter imbark'd for England in order for a marriage with the Earl of Glocester which within a month was consummated between them Item Maurice Caunton kill'd Richard Talon and the Roches afterwards kill'd him Item Sir David Caunton was hang'd at Dublin Item Odo the son of Cathol O Conghir kill'd Odo O Conghiâ— King of Connaght Item Athi was burnt by the Irish MCCCIX Peter Gaveston subdued the O Brynnes in Ireland and rebuilt the new castle of Mackingham and the castle of Kemny he also cut down and scour'd the pass between Kemny castle and Glyndelagh in spite of all the opposition the Irish could make and sâ— march'd away and offer'd in the Church of S. Kimny The same year the Lord Peter Gaveston went over into Englanâ— on the eve of S. John Baptist's Nativity Item The Earl of Ulster's son's wife daughter of the Earl oâ— Glocester came into Ireland on the 15th of October Item On Christmas-eve the Earl of Ulster returned out of England and landed at Drogheda Item On the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sir John Bonevil was slain near the town of Arstol by Sir Arnold Pover and his accomplices and buried at Athy in the Church of the Frierâ— predicants Item A Parliament was held at Kilkenny in the octaves of thâ— Purification of the Blessed Mary by the Earl of Ulster John Wogan Justiciary of Ireland and others of the nobility wherein a difference among certain of the great men was adjusted and many proviso's made in the nature of statutes that might havâ— been of good consequence to the Kingdom if they had been observ'd Item Shortly after Sir Edward Botiller return'd out of England where he had been knighted at London Item The Earl of Ulster Roger Mortimer and Sir John Fitz-Thomas went over into England Item This year died Sir Theobald Verdon MCCCX. King Edward and Sir Peter Gaveston took theiâ— march for Scotland against Robert Brus. Item There was this year a great scarcity of corn in Ireland * Eranca an eranc of corn sold at the rate of twenty shilling and upwards Item The Bakers of Dublin were punish'd after a new way foâ— false weights For on S. Sampson the Bishop's day they werâ— drawn upon hurdles at the horses tails along the streets of thâ— City Item In the Abby of S. Thomas the Martyr at Dublin Sir Neiâ— Bruin Knight Escheator to our Lord the King in Ireland departed this life his corps was buried at the Friers-minors in Dublin witâ— such a pomp of tapers and wax-lights as never was before seen iâ— this Kingdom This year a Parliament was held at Kildare wherin Sir Arnold Pover was acquitted of the death of the Lord Bonevil for it waâ— found Se defendendo Item On S. Patrick's day Mr. Alexander Bickenor was witâ— the unanimous consent of the Chapter made Archbishop of Dublin Item The Lord Roger Mortimer in the octaves of the nativity of the Blessed Virgin return'd into Ireland Item This year died Henry Lacy Earl of Lincoln MCCCXI In Thomond at Bonnorathie the Lord Richarâ— Clare gave the Earl of Ulster's party a very strange defeat Thâ— Lord William Bourk and John the Lord Walter Lacy's Son werâ— taken prisoners with many others This battle was fought on thâ— 13th before the kalends of June and great numbers both of thâ— English and the Irish slain in it Item Tassagard and Rathcante were invaded by the rapperies namely the O Brinnes and O Tothiles the day after S. John Baptist's nativity Whereupon in the Autumn soon after a greaâ— army was rais'd in Leinster to defeat them both in Glindelory anâ— in other woody places Item In August a Parliament was holden at London between thâ— King and the Barons to consider the state of the Kingdom and thâ— King's houshold and a committee of six Bishops six Earls and six Barons was appointed to consult the good of the Realm Item On the 2d day before the Ides of November the Lord Richard Clare cut off 600 Galegolaghes Item On All saints day last past Peter Gaveston was banished out of England by the Earls and Barons and many good statutes were
Followers met together to concert what measures were to be taken against the Scots this Debate continued for a whole week and at last they came to no Resolution tho' their Army amounted to 30000 armed Men or thereabouts On Thursday in Easter-week Roger Mortimer arriv'd at Yoghall with the King's Commission for he was Chief Justice at that time and on the Monday following went in great haste to the Army having sent his Letters to Edmund Botiller who as it has been said was formerly Chief Justice to enterprise nothing before his Arrival against the Scots but before Mortimer got to the Camp he admonish'd Brus to retreat so in the Night Brus march'd towards Kildare and in the week after the English return'd home to their several Countries and the Ulster-Army came to Naas At the same time two Messengers were sent from Dublin to the King of England to give him an account of the state of Ireland and the delivery of Ulster and to take his Majesty's advice upon the whole At the same time likewise Roger Lord Mortimer Justiciary of Ireland and the Irish Nobility were met together at Kilkenny to consider how they might most conveniently proceed against Brus but came to no Resolution About a month after Easter Brus came with an Army within four Leagues or thereabouts of Trym under the covert of a certain Wood and there continu'd for about a week or more to refresh his Men who were almost undone with fatigue and hunger which occasion'd a great mortality among them Afterwards on S. Philip and James's-day the said Brus began his march towards Ulster and after the said feast Roger Lord Mortimer Chief Justice of Ireland came to Dublin with John Lord Wogan Sir Fulk Warin and thirty other Knights with their Retinue who held a Parliament with all the Nobility of the Kingdom at Kylmainan but came to no conclusion but about the delivery of the Earl of Ulster On the Sunday before the Ascension they held another Parliament at Dublin and there thc Earl of Ulster was deliver'd upon Mainprise Hostages and Oath which were That he should never by himself nor any of his Friends and Followers do or procure any mischief to the Citizens of Dublin for his apprehension save only what the Law allow'd him in those Cases against such Offenders whereupon he had till the Nativity of S. John allow'd him for that benefit but he came not Item This year Corn and other Victuals were exceeding dear Wheat was sold at three and twenty Shillings the Cranock and Wine for eight pence and the whole Country was in a manner laid waste by the Scots and those of Ulster Many House-keepers and such as were formerly able to relieve others were now reduc'd to Beggary themselves and great numbers famish'd The dearth and mortality was so severe that many of the Poor died At the same time Messengers arriv d at Dublin from England with Pardons to make use of as they should see fit but the Earl was deliver'd before they came And at the feast of Pentecost Mortimer Lord Chief Justice set forward for Drogheda from whence he went to Trym sending his Letters to the Lacies to repair to him but they refus'd the Summons with contempt Afterwards Sir Hugh Crofts Knight was sent to treat of a Peace with the Lacies but was unworthily slain by them After that the Lord Mortimer drew an Army together against the Lacies by which means their Goods Cattle and Treasures were all seiz'd many of their Followers cut off and they themselves drove into Conaught and ruin'd It was reported That Sir Walter Lacy went out as far as Ulster to seek Brus. Item About the feast of Pentecost the Lord Aumar Valence and his son were taken Prisoners in S. Cinere a Town in Flanders and convey'd from thence into Almain The same year on the Monday after the Nativity of S. John the Baptist a Parliament of the Nobility was held at Dublin by which the Earl of Ulster was acquitted who found Security and took his Oath to answer the King's writs and to fight against the King's Enemies both Scots and Irish Item On the feast of S. Process and Martinian Thomas Dover a resolute Pyrate was taken in a Sea-engagement by Sir John Athy and forty of his Men or thereabouts cut off his Head was brought by him to Dublin Item On the day of S. Thomas's Translation Sir Nicholas Balscot brought word from England That two Cardinals were come from the Court of Rome to conclude a Peace and that they had a Bull for excommunicating all such as should disturb or break the King's Peace Item On the Thursday next before the feast of S. Margaret Hugh and Walter Lacy were proclaim'd Felons and Traytors to their King for breaking out into war against his Majesty Item On the Sunday following Roger Lord Mortimer Chief Justice of Ireland march'd with his whole Army towards Drogheda At the same time the Ulster-men took a good Booty near Drogheda but the Inhabitants sallied out and retook it in this action Miles Cogan and his Brother were both slain and six other great Lords of Ulster were taken Prisoners and brought to the Castle of Dublin Afterwards Mortimer the Lord Chief Justice led his Army against O Fervill and commanded the Malpass to be cut down and all his Houses to be spoil d After this O Fervill submitted and gave Hostages Item Roger Lord Mortimer Chief Justice march'd towards Clony and empannell'd a Jury upon Sir John Blunt viz. White of Rathregan by this he was found guilty and was fin'd two hundred marks On Sunday after the feast of the Nativity of the blessed Marie Mortimer march'd with a great Army against the Irish of O Mayl and came to Glinsely where in a sharp Encounter many were slain on both sides but the Irish had the worst Soon after O Brynne came and submitted Whereupon Roger Mortimer return'd with his Men to Dublin-castle On S. Simon and Jude's-day the Archeboldes were permitted to enjoy the King's Peace upon the Mainprise of the Earl of Kildare At the feast of S. Hilary following a Parliament was held at Lincoln to conclude a Peace between the King the Earl of Lancaster and the Scots The Scots continued peaceable and quiet and the Archbishop of Dublin and the Earl of Ulster stay'd in England by the King's Order to attend that Parliament About the feast of Epiphany News came to Dublin That Hugh Canon Lord Chief Justice of the King's-bench was slain between Naas and Castle-Martin by Andrew Bermingham Item At the feast of the Purification of the blessed Virgin Mary came the Pope's Bulls whereupon Alexander Bicknor was confirm'd and consecrated Archbishop of Dublin and the Bulls were read and publish'd in Trinity-church Another Bull was read at the same time for establishing a Peace for two years between the King of England and Robert Brus King of Scotland But Brus refus'd to comply with it These things were thus transacted about the feast of
year of his Age. MCCCXXIV Nicholas Genevile son and heir to the Lorâ— Simon Genevile died this year and was buried in the Church oâ— the Friers-predicants at Trym Item there happen'd a very higâ— wind on the 12th day at night Item There was a general murrain of Oxen and Kine in Irâ—land MCCCXXV Richard Lederede Bishop of Ossory cited Damâ— Alice Ketyll to answer for her heretical and perverse Opinions and forc'd her to appear in Person before him And being examâ—ned for Sorcery it was found that she had us'd it among others this was discover'd That a certain Spirit call'd Robin Artyssoâ— lay with her and that she offer'd him nine red Cocks at 〈◊〉 Stone-bridge where the High-way branches out into four severaâ— Parts Item That she swept the streets of Kilkenny with Beesoms between Complin and Courefew and in sweeping the Filth towards the house of William Utlaw her son by way of conjuring wish'd that all the wealth of Kilkenny might flow thither The accomplices of this Alice in these devilish practices were Pernil of Meth and Basilia the daughter of this Pernil Alice being found guilty was fined by the Bishop and forc'd to abjure her sorcery and witchcraft But being again convicted of the same practice she made her escape with Basilia and was never found But Pernil was burnt at Kilkenny and before her death declar'd That William above-said deserv'd punishment as well as she and that for a year and a day he wore the Devil's girdle about his bare body Hereupon the Bishop order'd the said William to be apprehended and imprison'd in the castle of Kilkenny for eight or nine weeks and gave orders that two men should attend him but that they should not eat or drink with him and that they should not speak to him above once a day At length he was set at large by the help of Arnold Lord Poer Seneschal of the County of Kilkenny whereupon he gave a great sum of mony to the said Arnold to imprison the Bishop likewise Accordingly he kept the Bishop himself in Prison for three months Among the goods of Alice they found a holy wafer with the Devil's name upon it and a Box with Ointment with which she us'd to daub a certain piece of wood call'd a Cowltre after which she and her accomplices could ride and gallop it wheresoever they pleas'd let the roads be good or bad without either hurt or hindrance These things being so notorious and crying Alice was cited again to appear at Dublin before the Dean of S. Patrick's Church having some hopes of greater favor given her She made her appearance and crav'd a day to answer having given sufficient bail as it was thought However she was not to be found for by the counsel of her son and others unknown she hid her self in a certain village till the wind would serve for England and then she sail'd over but it could never be known where she went William Utlaw being found by the trial and confession of Pernel who was condemn'd to be burnt to have been consenting to his mother in her sorcery and witchcraft the Bishop caus'd him to be arrested by the King 's writ and put in prison yet he was set at liberty again by the intercession of some great Lords upon condition that he should cover S. Mary's Church in Kilkenny with lead and do other acts of charity within a certain day and that if he did not perform them punctually he should be in the same state as he was when first taken by the King 's writ MCCCXXVI At Whitsontide a Parliament was held in Kilkenny where was present Richard Lord Burk Earl of Ulster though somewhat weak and out of order and all the Lords and great men of Ireland who with the people were all nobly feasted by the Earl Afterwards the Earl taking his leave of the Lords and Nobles went to Athisel and there died A little before the feast of John the Baptist he was there interr'd William Lord Burk was his heir MCCCXXVII There happen'd an out-fal between Moris Lord Fitz Thomas and Arnold Lord Pouer. The Lord Moris was seconded by the Lord Botiller and William Lord Bermingham and the Lord Arnold with the Bourkeyns many of whom were â—ain in this fray by the Lord Moris Fitz Thomas and some driven iâ—to Conaught The same year after Michaelmas the Lord Arnold came to assist the Bourkeins and upon the Lord Arnold's calling him Rymour and affronting him with some uncivil terms the Lord Maurice raised an Army and together with Botiller and the said William Bermingham burnt and wasted the lands and territories of the Lord Arnold in Ofath Bermingham burnt also the lands and mannor-houses which belong'd to him in Mounster and burnt Kenlys in Ossory So that the Lord Arnold was forc'd to fly with the Baron of Donnoyl to Waterford where they remain'd a month and then the Earl of Kildare Chief Justice of Ireland and others of the King's Counsel order'd them to parlee However the Lord Arnold would not observe it but came to Dublin and about the feast of the Purification embark'd for England Upon this Moris Botiller and William Lord Bermingham came with a great army and burnt and wasted his lands the King's Counsel began to dread this powerful army and the mischiefs they had done so much that they strengthned their city-guards lest they themselves might be surpriz'd The Lord Moris Lord Botiller and Bermingham hearing of this provision against them sent to the King's Counsel that they would come to Kilkenny and there clear themselves to satisfie them they had no design upon the lands of their Sovereign Lord the King but only intended to be reveng'd of their enemies The Earl of Kildare Chief Justice of Ireland the Prior of Kilmaynon namely Roger Outlaw Chancellour of Ireland Nicholas Fastal Justiciary in Banco and others of the King's Council came accordingly to this Parliament the Lord Moris and Bermingham demanded the King's Charter of peace in the first-place But they of the King's Counsel warily desir'd that they might have till a month after Easter to consider of it Before Lent this year the Irish of Leinster assembled and set up Donald the son of Arte Mac Murgh for their King Whereupon he took a resolution to set up his Banner within two miles of Dublin and march from thence into all parts of Ireland But God seeing his pride and malicious designs suffer'd him to fall into the hands of Henry Lord Traharn who brought him to the Salmon's-leap and had 200 l. of him to save his life from thence he carried him to Dublin to stay in the castle till the King's Council should give farther Orders After this the Irish in Leinster underwent many misfortunes David O Thohil was taken prisoner by John Lord Wellesley and many of them were cut off The same year Adam Duff the son of Walter Duff of Leinster who was related to the O Tothiles was convicted for denying the incarnation of Christ
vincula there was bread made of new wheat and wheat was sold in Dublin for 6 pence a peck Item D. Reimund Archedekin Kt. with many others of his family were kill'd in Leinster MCCCXXXVII On the eve of S. Kalixtus the Pope seven partridges leaving the fields God knows why came directly to Dublin where flying very swiftly over the Market-Place they settled on the â—op of a brew-house which belonged to the Canons of S. Trinity in Dublin Some of the Citizens came running to this sight wondring very much at so strange a thing the Town-boyes caught two of them alive a third they kill'd at which the rest being frightned-mounted in the air by a swift flight and escap'd into the opposite Fields Now what this should portend a thing unheard of before I shall leave to the judgment of the more skilful Item Sir John Charleton Knight and Baron came with his wife children and family Lord Chief Justice of Ireland at the feast of S. Kalixtus the Pope and some of his sons and family died Item The same day came into Dublin haven D. Thomas Charleton Bishop of Hereford Justice of Ireland with the Chief Justice his Brother Chancellor of Ireland and with them M. John Rees Treasurer of Ireland Mr. in the Decretals besides 200 Welshmen Item Whilst D. John Charleton was Lord Chief Justice and held a Parliament at Dublin Mr. David O Hirraghcy Archbishop of Armagh being called to the Parliament laid in his provisions in the Monastry of S. Mary near Dublin but the Archbishop and his Clerks would not let him keep house there because he would have had his Crosier carried before him Item The same year died David Archbishop of Armagh to whom succeeded an ingenious man M. Richard Fitz-Ralph Dean of Litchfield who was born in Dundalk Item James Botiller the first Earl of Ormond died the 6th of January and was buried at Balygaveran MCCCXXXVIII The Lord John Charleton at the instigation of his Brother the Bishop of Hereford was by the King turn'd out of his place upon which he came back with his whole family into England and the Bishop of Hereford was made Lord Keeper and Chief Justice of Ireland Item Sir Eustace Pover and Sir John Pover his Uncle were by the Justice's order brought up from Munster to Dublin where the third of February they were imprison'd in the Castle Item In some parts of Ireland they had so great a frost that the river Aven-liffie on which the City of Dublin stands was frozen hard enough for them to dance run or play at foot-ball upon and they made wood and turfe fires upon it to broil Herrings The Ice lasted a great while I shall say nothing of the great snow which fell during this frost since the greatness of the depth has made it so remarkable This Frost continued from the second of December till the 10th of February such a season as was never known in Ireland MCCCXXXIX All Ireland was up in Arms. The Lord Moris Fitz-Thomas Earl of Desmond with the Geraldines who live about Kernige made a great slaughter of the Irish besides 1200 of them who were drown'd in the retreat Item The Lord Moris Fitz-Nicholas Lord of Kernige was by the Lord Moris Fitz-Thomas Earl of Desmond apprehended and put in prison where he died for want of meat and drink for his allowance was but very little because he had rebell'd with the Irish against the King and the Earl Item A great number of the O Dympcies and other Irish were by the English and the vigorous pursuit of the Earl of Kildare kill'd and drowned in the Barrow Item the latter end of February Thomas Bishop of Hereford and Chief Justice of Ireland with the help of the English of that Country took from the Irish about Odrone such a great booty of all sorts of cattle as has not been seen in Leinster MCCCXL The Bishop of Hereford Justice of Ireland being commanded home by his Majesty return'd into England the 10th of April leaving Frier Roger Outlaw Prior of Kilmainan in his place who died the 13th of February Item The King of England made John Darcy Lord Chief Justice of Ireland for life MCCCXLI In May Sir John Moris came Lord Chief Justice of Ireland as Deputy to John Darcy Item In the County of Leinster there happen'd such a strange prodigy as has not been heard of A person travelling along the road found a pair of gloves fit for his hands as he thought but when he put them on he he lost his speech immediately and could do nothing but bark like a dog nay from that moment the men and women throughout the whole County fell into the same condition and the children waughed up and down like whelps This plague continued with some 18 days with others a month and with some for two years and like a contagious distemper at last infected the neighbouring Counties and set them a barking too Item The King of England revok'd all those grants that either he or his Ancestors had made to any in Ireland whether of liberties lands or goods which occasion a general murmur and discontent insomuch that the whole Kingdom grew inclin'd to a revolt Item A Parliament was called by the King's Council to sit in October Fitz-Thomas Earl of Desmond absented Before this there never was seen so much rancor and division between the English of both Kingdoms at last without asking Counsel of the Lord Chief Justice or any other of the King's Ministers the Mayors of the King's Cities together with the Nobility and Gentry of the Kingdom resolv d among other things to hold another Parliament at Kilkenny in November in order to treat of such matters as concern'd the King and Kingdom Neither the Lord Chief Justice nor any other of the King's Ministers durst repair thither It was concluded in this Parliament by the Nobility and the Mayors aforesaid to dispatch away an ambassadour to the King of England to intercede for Relief and represent the unjust administration of the great Officers in Ireland and declare they could no longer endure their oppression They were particularly instructed in their complaints of the said Ministers to ask How a Land so full of wars and trouble could be govern'd by a Person that was wholly a Stranger to warlike Affairs Secondly How a Minister of the Kings could be imagin'd to grow so rich in a short time And thirdly What was the reason that the King of England was never the richer for Ireland MCCCXLII On the 11th of October and the 11th of the Moon two several Moons were seen by many about Dublin in the morning before day Theone was bright and according to its natural course in the West the other of the bigness of a round loaf stood in the East but not so bright as the former MCCCXLIII S. Thomas's-street in Dublin was accidentally burnt on S. Valentine the Martyr's-day Item The 13th of July D. Ralph Ufford with his Wife the Countess of
and made ready to entertain the Conquerors whosoever they should be usually saying upon this occasion That it would be a shame if such Guests should come and find him unprovided It pleasing God to bless them with the Victory he invited them all to Supper to rejoice with him giving God the thanks for his success telling them He thought the things look'd as well upon his Table as running in his Fields notwithstanding some advis'd him to be saving He was buried in the Convent-church of the Friers-predicants of Coulrath near the river Banne Item The Earl of Ormond Chief Justice of Ireland went into England and Moris Fitz-Thomas Earl of Kildare was made Chief Justice of Ireland by a charter or commission after this manner Omnibus c. To all whom these Presents shall come greeting Know ye that we have committed to our faithful and loving Subject Moris Earl of Kildare the office of Chief Justice of our Kingdom of Ireland together with the Nation it self and the Castles and other Appurtenances thereunto belonging to keep and govern during our will and pleasure commanding that while he remains in the said office he shall receive the sum of five hundred pounds yearly cut of our Exchequer at Dublin Vpon which consideration he shall perform the said office and take care of the Kingdom and maintain twenty Men and Horse in arms constantly whereof himself shall be one during the enjoyment of the said commission In witness whereof c. Given at Dublin by the hands of our beloved in Christ Frier Thomas Burgey Prior of the Hospital of S. John of Jerusalem in Ireland our Chancellor of that Kingdom on the 30th of March being the 35th year of our reign Item James Botiller Earl of Ormond return'd to Ireland being made Lord Chief Justice as before whereupon the Earl of Kildare resign'd to him MCCCLXI Leonel son to the King of England and Earl of Ulster in right of his Wife came as the King's Lieutenant into Ireland and on the 8th of September being the Nativity of the blessed Virgin arriv'd at Dublin with his Wife Elizabeth the Daughter and Heir of William Lord Burk Earl of Ulster Another Pestilence happen'd this year There died in England Henry Duke of Lancaster the Earl of March and the Earl of Northampton Item On the 6th of January Moris Doncref a Citizen of Dublin was buried in the Church-yard of the Friers-predicants in this City having contributed 40 l. towards glazing the Church of that Convent Item There died this year Joan Fleming wife to Geffery Lord Trevers and Margaret Bermingham wife to Robert Lord Preston on S. Margaret's eve and were buried in the Church of the Friers-predicants of Tredagh Item Walter Lord Bermingham the younger died on S. Lawrence-day who left his Estate to be divided among his Sisters one of whose Shares came to the aforesaid Preston Item Leonel having arriv'd in Ireland and refresh'd himself for some few days enter'd into a War with O Brynne and made Proclamation in his Army That no Irish should be suffer'd to come near his Army One hundred of his own Pensioners were slain Leonel hereupon drew up both the English and the Irish into one body went on successfully and by God's mercy and this means grew victorious in all places against the Irish Among many both English and Irish whom he knighted were these Robert Preston Robert Holiwood Thomas Talbot Walter Cusacke James de la Hide John Ash and Patrick and Robert Ash Item He remov'd the Exchequer from Dublin to Carlagh and gave 500 l. towards walling the Town Item On the feast of S. Maur Abbot there happen'd a violent Wind that shook or blew down the Pinnacles Battlements Chimnies and such other Buildings as overtop'd the rest to be particular it blew down very many Trees and some Steeples for instance the Steeple of the Friers-predicants MCCCLXII In the 36th year of this King's reign and on the 8th of April S. Patrick's church in Dublin was burnt down through negligence MCCCLXIV In the 38th year of this reign Leonel Earl of Ulster arriv'd on the 22d of April in England leaving the Earl of Ormond to administer as his Deputy On the 8th of December following he return'd again MCCCLXV In the 39th of this reign Leonel Duke of Clarence went again into England leaving Sir Thomas Dale Knight Deputy-keeper and Chief Justice in his absencc MCCCLXVII A great feud arose between the Berminghams of Carbry and the People of Meth occasion'd by the depredations they had made in that Country Sir Robert Preston Knight Chief Baron of the Exchequer put a good Garrison into Carbry-castle and laid out a great deal of mony against the King's Enemies that he might be able to defend what he held in his Wife 's right Item Gerald Fitz-Moris Earl of Desmond was made Chief Justice of Ireland MCCCLXVIII In the 42d year of the same reign after a Parliament of the English and Irish Frier Thomas Burley Prior of Kylmaynon the King's Chancellor in Ireland John Fitz-Reicher Sheriff of Meth Sir Robert Tirill Baron of Castle-knoke and many more were taken Prisoners at Carbry by the Berminghams and others of that Town James Bermingham who was then kept in Irons as a Traytor in the castle of Trim was set at liberty in exchange for the Chancellor the rest were forc'd to ransom themselves Item The Church of S. Maries in Trim was burnt down by the negligent keeping of the fire in the monastery Item On the vigil of S. Luke the Evangelist Leonel Duke of Clarence died at Albe in Pyemont He was first buried in the city Papy near S. Augustin and afterwards in the Convent-church of the Austin Fryers at Clare in England MCCCLXIX In the 43d year cf this reign Sir Willium Windefore Knight a Person of great valour and courage being made the King's Deputy came into Ireland on the 12th of July to whom Gerald Fitz-Moris Earl of Desmond resign'd the office of Chief Justice MCCCLXX In the 44th year of this reign a Pestilence rag'd in Ireland more violent than either of the former two many of the Nobility and Gentry as also Citizens and Children innumerable died of it The same year Gerald Fitz-Maurice Earl of Desmond John Lord Nicholas Thomas Lord Fitz-John and many others of the Nobility were taken Prisoners on the 6th of July near the Monastery of Magie in the County of Limerick by O-Breen and Mac Comar of Thomond many were slain in the Fray Whereupon the Lieutenant went over to Limerick in order to defend Mounster leaving the War against the O-Tothiles and the rest in Leinster till some other opportunity This year died Robert Lord Terell Baron of Castle Knock together with his son and heir and his Wife Scolastica Houth so that the Inheritance was shared between Joan and Maud the sisters of the said Robert Terell Item Simon Lord Fleming Baron of Slane John Lord Cusak Baron of Colmolyn and John Taylor late mayor of Dublin a very
rich man died this year This Continuation following is took from a Manuscript Chronicle in the Hands of Henry Marleburgh MCCCLXXII SIr Robert Ashton being made Chief Justice came into Ireland MCCCLXXIII A great war between the English of Meth and O-Feroll with much slaughter on both sides Item John Lord Husse Baron of Galtrim John Fitz Richard Sheriff of Meth and William Dalton were in May kill'd by the Irish in Kynaleagh MCCCLXXV Died Thomas Archbishop of Dublin the same year Robert of Wickford was consecrated Archbishop of this see MCCCLXXXI Edmund Mortimer the King's Lieutenant in Ireland Earl of March and Ulster died at Cork MCCCLXXXIII A raging pestilence in Ireland MCCCLXXXV Dublin bridge fell down MCCCXC Died Robert Wikford Archbishop of Dublin Robeâ—t Waldebey Archbishop of Dublin of the order of the Austin Friers was translated also this year MCCCXCVII Died Frier Richard Northalis Archbishop of Dublin of the order of the Carmelites This year Thomas Crauley was consecrated Archbishop of Dublin Thomas Lord Burk and Walter Lord Bermingham cut off 600 of the Irish and Mac Con their Captain * Read Roger. Edmund Earl of March Lieutenant of Ireland with the assistance of the Earl of Ormond wasted the Country of O Bryn and knighted Christopher Preston John Bedeleu Edmund Loundris John Loundry William Nugent Walter de la Hide and Rober Cadel at the storming of a strong mannor-house of the said O Bryn MCCCXCVIII Forty English among whom were John Fitz Williams Thomas Talbot and Thomas Comyn were unfortunately cut off on the Ascension day by the Tothils On S. Margaret's day this year Roger Earl of March the King's Lieutenant was slain with many others by O Bryn and other Irish of Leinster at Kenlys in that province Roger Grey was appointed to succeed him in the office of Chief Justice On the Feast of S. Mark Pope and Confessor the noble Duke of Sutherey came into Ireland being made the King's Deputy Lieutenant thereof accompanied with the Archbishop of Dublin Thomas Crawley MCCCXCIX In the 23d year of King Richard being Sunday the very morrow after S. Petronil or Pernil the Virgin 's day King Richard arriv'd at Waterford with 200 sail At Ford in Kenlys within Kildare on the 6th day of this week two hundred of the Irish were slain by Jenicho and others of the English the next day the people of Dublin made an inroad into the Country of O Bryn cut off 33 of the Irish and took to the number of 80 men and women with their children prisoners The King came to Dublin this year on the fourth before the kalends of July and embark'd in great haste for England upon a report of Henry duke of Lancaster's being arriv'd there MCCCC At Whitsontide in the first year of King Henry IV. the Constable of Dublin-castle and several others engag'd the Scots at Stranford in Ulster which prov'd unfortunate to the English many of them being cut off and drown'd in that encounter MCCCCI In the second year of this reign Sir John Stanley the King's Lieutenant went over into England in May leaving Sir William Stanley to supply his office On Bartholomew-eve this year Stephen Scrope came into Ireland as Deputy to the Lord Thomas of Lancaster the King's Lieutenant The same year on the feast of S. Brice Bishop and Confessor Thomas Lord Lancaster the King's son being Viceroy of Ireland arriv'd at Dublin MCCCCII The Church of the Friers Predicants at Dublin was consecrated on the 5th of July by the Archbishop of this City The same day 493 Irish were slain by John Drake Mayor of Dublin assisted with the Citizens and the Country people near Bree where they gain'd a considerable victory In September this year a Parliament was held at Dublin Sir Bartholomew Verdon James White Stephen Gernon and their accomplices kill'd John Dowdal Sheriff of Louith in Urgal during this session MCCCCIII In the fourth year of King Henry IV. Sir Walter Beterley a valiant Knight then steward there with thirty more was kill'd in May. About the feast of S. Martin this year the King's Son Thomas went over into Enlgand leaving Stephen Scroop to officiate as his Deputy who return'd also on the first day of Lent into England after which the Lords of the Kingdom chose the Earl of Ormond Lord Chief Justice of Ireland MCCCCIV In the 5th Year of King Henry's reign died John Cowlton Archbishop of Armagh on the 5th of May and was succeeded by Nicholas Fleming The same year on S. Vitali's day a Parliament was held at Dublin by the Earl of Ormond at that time Chief Justice of the Kingdom where the Statutes of Kilkenny and Dublin and the Charter of Ireland was confirm'd Patrick Savage was this year treacherously slain in Ulster by Mac Kilmori his brother Richard being also given in hostage was murder'd in prison after he had paid a ransom of 200 marks MCCCCV In the 6th year of King Henry three Scotch Galleys two at Green Castle and one at Dalkey were taken in May with the Captain Thomas Mac Golagh The merchants of Tredagh entred Scotland this year and took hostages and booty The same year Stephen Scroop went into England leaving the Earl of Ormond to officiate as Justice during his absence In June this year the people of Dublin invaded Scotland entering it at S. Ninians where they gallantly behav'd themselves after which they made a descent upon Wales and did great hurt among the Welsh in this expedition they carried the shrine of S. Cubie to the Church of the Holy Trinity in Dublin Item This year on the vigil of the blessed Virgin died James Botiller Earl of Ormond at Baligauran during his office he was much lamented and succeeded by Gerald Earl of Kildare MCCCCVI In the seventh year of King Richard the Dublinians on Corpus Christi day with the assistance of the country people overcame the Irish and kill'd some of them they took three ensigns and carried off several of their heads to Dublin The same year the Prior of Conal in a battle with 200 well-arm'd Irish on the Plain of Kildare vanquish'd them by his great valour killing some and putting the rest to flight The Prior and his party were not above twenty such is the regard of Providence to those that trust in it The same year after the feast of S. Michael Scroop Deputy Justice to Thomas the King's son Viceroy of Ireland arriv'd here The same year died Innocentius VII succeeded in the chair by Gregory The same year on S. Hilaries-day a Parliament was held at Dublin which broke up in Lent at Trym Meiler Bermingham slew Cathol O Conghir in the latter end of February about the same time died Sir Geffery Vaux a valiant Knight of the County of Carlagh MCCCCVII A perfidious base Irishman call'd Mac Adam Mac Gilmori never christen'd and therefore call'd Morbi nay one that had been the ruin of forty Churches took Patrick Savage prisoner forc'd him to pay 2000 marks for ransom
and after all kill'd both him and his brother Richard The same year on the feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross Stephen Scroop deputy Lieutenant to the King's son Thomas accompanied with the Earls of Ormond and Desmond the Prior of Kilmainan and many others out of Meth march'd out of Dublin and invaded the territories of Mac Murgh upon engaging the Irish had at first the better but they were at last beat back by the bravery of these commanders O Nolam with his son and others were taken prisoners But upon the sudden news that the Bourkeins and O Kerol had continued for two days together doing mischief in the County of Kilkenny they went immediately in all haste to the village of Callan surpriz'd them and put them to flight O Kerol and 800 more were cut off in this action Stephen Scroop went into England this year and James Botiller Earl of Ormond was by the Country elected Chief Justice MCCCCVIII The said Chief Justice held a Parliament at Dublin which confirm'd the Statutes of Kilkenny and Dublin and a Charter was granted under the great seal of England against Purveyors The very day after the feast of S. Peter ad vincula this year Thomas Lord of Lancaster the King's son arriv'd as Lieutenant Deputy at Carlingford in Ireland from whence he came next week to Dublin As the Earl of Kildare went to welcom him he was arrested with three more of his retinue His Goods were all sharped away by the Lord Deputy's servants and he himself imprison'd till he paid a fine of 300 marks On S. Marcellus's day the same year died Stephen Lord Scroop at Tristeldermot Thomas of Lancaster was this year wounded at Kilmainan and that so very ill that he almost died After his recovery he made Proclamation That all that were inbebted to the King upon the account of Tenure should make their appearance at Rosse After S. Hilary he call'd a Parliament at Kilkenny for having Tallage granted him On the third before the Ides of March he went into England leaving the Prior of Kilmainon to officiate in his absence This year Hugh Mac-Gilmory was slain at Cragfergus in the church of the Friers-minors which he had formerly destroyd and broke the Windows thereof for the sake purely of the Iron-bars which happen'd to give his Enemies viz. the Savages admittance MCCCCIX In the 10th year of the reign of King Henry 80 of the Irish were in June cut off by the English under the conduct of Janico of Artoys in Ulster MCCCCX On the 13th of June a Parliament was held at Dublin which continued sitting for three Weeks the Prior of Kilmainan being Deputy for the Chief Justice The same year on the 10th of July the said Justice began to build Mibrackly-castle de O Feroll and built De la Mare also There was great scarcity of corn this year The same year the Chief Justice invaded the Territory of O-Brin at the head of fifteen hundred Kerns of whom eight hundred deserted and went over to the Irish so that if the People of Dublin had not been there there would have been much more woe and misery however John Derpatrick lost his life MCCCCXII About the feast of Tiburce and Valerian O-Conghir did much harm to the Irish in Meth and took above 160 Prisoners The same year O-Doles a Knight and Thomas son of Moris Sheriff of Limerick kill'd each other On the 9th of June this year died Robert Monteyn Bishop of Meth succeeded by Edward Dandisey formerly Arch-deacon of Cornwall MCCCCXIII On the 7th of October John Stanley the King's Lieutenant in Ireland arriv'd at Cloucarfe and on the 6th of January died at Aterith The same year after the death of John Stanley Lord Lieutenant Thomas Cranley Archbishop of Dublin was elected Chief Justice of Ireland on the 11th of February Another Parliament was held at Dublin on the morrow of S. Matthias the Apostle which continued sitting for 15 days during which time the Irish set many Towns on fire as they us'd to do in Parliament-times upon which a Tallage was demanded but not granted MCCCCXIV The O-Mordries and O-Dempsies Irish were cut off by the English near Kilda as the Chief Justice Archbishop of Dublin went in Procession at Tristildermot praying with his Clerks at which time 100 Irish were likewise routed by his Servants and others their Country-men Upon the feast of S. Gordian and Epimachus the English of Meth were defeated Thomas Maurevard Baron of Scrin and many others were slain and Christopher Fleming and John Dardis were taken Prisoners by O-Conghir and the Irish On S. Martin's-eve John Talbot Lord Furnival being made Lieutenant of Ireland arriv'd at Dalkay MCCCCXV Robert Talbot a Nobleman who wall'd the Suburbs of Kilkenny died in November this year Item After All Saints died Frier Patrick Baret Bishop of Ferne and Canon of Kenly where he was buried MCCCCXVI On the Feast-day of Gervasius and Prothasius the L. Furnival had a son born at Finglas About this time the reverend Stephen Fleming Archbishop of Armagh departed this life and was succeeded by John Suanig At the same time the Bishop of Ardachad died likewise viz. Frier Adam Lyns of the order of Friers-predicants Item On S. Laurence-day died Thomas Talbot son of the Lord Furnival lately born at Finglas and was buried in the Quire of the Friers-Predicants at Dublin within the Convent A Parliament was held at Dublin during which the Irish fell upon the English and slew many of them and among the rest Thomas Balimore of Baliquelan This Session continued here for six Weeks and then adjourned till the 11th of May at Trym where it sate for eleven days and granted a Subsidy of four hundred Marks to the Lieutenant MCCCCXVII On the eve of Philip and Jacob Thomas Cranley Archbishop of Dublin went over into England and died at Farindon and was buried in New-colledge in Oxford a Person very liberal and charitable a great Clerk Doctor of Divinity an excellent Preacher a great Builder Beautiful and of a fair Complexion but withal sanguine and tall so that it might be well said of him Fair art thou and good-like above the sons of Men Grace and Eloquence are seated in thy Lips He was eighty years old and govern'd the See of Dublin peaceably for almost 20 years together MCCCCXVIII The feast of the Annunciation happen'd this year on Good Friday immediately after Easter the Tenants of Henry Crus and Henry Bethat were plunder'd by the Lord Deputy Item On S. John and S. Paul's day the Earl of Kildare Sir Christopher Preston and Sir John Bedleu were taken at Slane and committed to Trym-castle who had a mind to talk with the Prior of Kilmainan On the 4th of August died Sir Matthew Husee Baron of Galtrim and was buried in the Convent of the Friers-predicants at Trym MCCCCXIX On the 11th of May died Edmund Brel formerly Mayor of Dublin and was buried in the Convent of the Friers-predicants in the same
Isabella and Delaley and other large Possessions which by the Outlawry of Richard Earl of Arundel were then forfeited to the Crown Richard himself was styl'd Princeps Cestriae Prince of Chester But this title was but of small duration no longer than till Henry the fourth repeal'd the Laws of the said Parliament for then it became a County Palatine again and retains that Prerogative to this day which is administred by a Chamberlain 11 Who hath all jurisdiction of a Chancellour within the said County Palatine a Judge Special 12 For matters in Common-Plees and Plees of the Crown to be heard and determin'd in the said County two Barons of the Exchequer three Serjeants at Law a Sheriff an Attorney an Escheator 13 And the Inhabitants of the said County for the enjoying of their Liberties were to pay at the change of every owner of the said Earldom a sum of money about 3000 marks by the name of a Mize as the County of Flint being a parcel thereof about 2000 marks if I have not been misinform'd c. We have now survey'd the Country of the Cornavii who together with the Coritani Dobuni and Catuellani made one entire Kingdom in the Saxon Heptarchy then called by them Myrcna-ric and Mearc-lond but render'd by the Latins Meâ—cia from a Saxon word Mearc which signifies limit for the other Kingdoms border'd upon this This was by far the largest Kingdom of them all begun by Crida the Saxon about the year 586. and enlarg'd on all hands by Penda and a littlâ— after under Peada converted to Christianity But after a duration of 250 years it was too late subjected to the Dominion of the West-Saxons when it had long endured all the outrage and misery that the Danish wars could inflict upon it This County has about 68 Parishes ADDITIONS to CHESHIRE AS the County of Chester exceeds most others in the antiquitâ— and Royalty of it's jurisdiction and multitude of it's ancient Gentry so the famous Colony settled in it under the Roman Government has render'd it very considerable for Antiquities Nor had that Subject wanted a due examination or the remains of Antiquity layn so long undiscover'd if most of it's Historians had not been led away with a chain of groundless stories and extravagant conjectures 'T is true Sir Peter Leicester has made due searches into the Records relating to this County especially to Bucklow-Hundred and reported them with great exactness and fidelity but the Roman affairs he has left so entirely untouch'd that 't is plain he either industriously declin'd them as foreign to his business or wanted experience to carry him through that part of history In like manner Sir John Doderidge a man of great learning in his Treatise concerning this County hath exactly stated the ancient and present revenues thereof but was not so diligent in his enquiries concerning the original of the County Palatine as might from a man of his Profession have been reasonably expected However his defect in this point is in a great measure supply'd by what the learned Mr. Harrington has left upon that subject a Gentleman by whose death Learning in general and particularly the Antiquities of this County which he had design'd to illustrate and improve have suffer'd very much a To begin then with Mr. Camden who first observes that this is a County Palatine County Palatine It may be worth our notice that it had this additional title upon the coming over of the Normans At first indeed William the Conquerour gave this Province to Gherbord a Nobleman of Flanders who had only the same title and power as the Officiary Earls amongst the Saxons had enjoy'd the inheritance the Earldom and grandeur of the Tenure being not yet settl'd Afterwards Hugh Lupus son of the Viscount of Auranches a Nephew of William the Conquerour by his sister receiv'd this Earldom from the Conquerour under the greatest and most honourable Tenure that ever was granted to a Subject Totum hunc dedit Comitatum tenendum sibi haeredibus suis ita liberè ad gladium sicut ipse Rex tenebat Angliae coronam The vast extent of the Powers convey'd in this Grant carry'd in them Palatine jurisdiction tho' it is certain that neither Hugh Lupus nor any of his successors were in the Grant it self or any ancient Records stil'd Comites Palatini As to the original of Palatinates in general it is clear that anciently in the decline of the Roman Empire the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the name imports were only officers of the Courts of Princes The term in process of time was restrain'd to those who had the final deteâ—mination of Causes under the King or Emperour And those that exercis d this sovereignty of jurisdiction in any Precinct or Province were call'd Comites Palatini and the place where the jurisdiction was us'd Palatinatus a Palatinate Instances of such personal offices in the Court we may still observe in the Palatine of Hungary and examples of such local authority we have in the Palatinates of the Rhine Durham and Lancaster Whether therefore the ancient Palatines were equal to the Praefecti Praetorio the Curopalatae the Grand Maistres in France or the ancient Chief Justices in England we need not dispute since it is clear that the Comites Palatini as all new-erected Officers titles retain'd many of the powers of the ancient but still had many characters of difference as well as some of resemblance By virtue of this Grant Chester enjoy'd all sovereign jurisdiction within its own precincts and that in so high a degree that the ancient Earls had Parliaments consisting of their own Barons and Tenants and were not oblig'd by the English Acts of Parliament These high and unaccountable jurisdictions were thought necessary upon the Marches and Borders of the Kingdom as investing the Governour of the Provinces with Dictatorial power and enabling them more effectually to subdue the common enemies of the Nation But when the same power that was formerly a good bar against Invaders grew formidable to the Kings themselves Henry 8. restrain'd the sovereignty of the Palatinates and made them not only subordinate to but dependent on the Crown of England And yet after that restraining Statute all Pleas of Lands and Tenements all Contracts arising within this County are and ought to be judicially heard and determin'd within this Shire and not elsewhere and if any determination be made out of it it is void and coram non judice except in cases of Error Foreign-Plea and Foreign Voucher And there is no other crime but Treason that can draw an inhabitant of this County to a Tryal elsewhere This jurisdiction tho' held now in other Counties was most anciently claim'd and enjoy'd by this County of Chester The Palatinate of Lancaster which was the Favourite-Province of the Kings of that House was erected under Edw. 1. and granted by him to Henry the first Duke of Lancaster and even in the Act of
Parliament that separates that Dutchy from the Crown of England King Hen. 4. grants Quascunque alias libertates jura Regalia ad Comitatum Palatinum pertinentia adeo liberè integrè sicut Comes Cestriae infrà eundem Comitatum Cestriae dignoscitur obtinere Which ancient reference proves plainly that the County of Chester was esteem'd the most ancient and best setled Palatinate in this Kingdom And although the Bishop of Durham doth in ancient Plea lay claim to Royal jurisdiction in his Province à tempore conquestûs anteà yet it is evident that not Durham it self much less Ely Hexamshire or Pembroke was erected into a County Palatine before Chester And as this is the most ancient so is it the most famous and remarkable Palatinate in England insomuch that a late Author Bâ—cman who usually mistakes in English affairs says of Cheshire Comitatui singulare est quòd Titulum Palatinatus gerat solis Germanis alià s notum b Having premis'd thus much concerning the nature of Palatinates let us enter upon the County it self wherein the river Dee first leads us to Banchor Banâ—hâ—â— famous for the Monastery there But before we go any farther it will be necessary to arm the reader against a mistake in * Mâ—â— i◠〈…〉 Poâ—â—â—â—â— Malmesbury who confounds this with the Episcopal seat in Caernarvonshire call'd Bangor whereas as Mr. Burton observes the latter was like a Colony drawn out of the former That Gildas the most ancient of our British writers was a member of this place we have the authority of Leland but upon what grounds he thinks so is not certain †Bâ—â— Eâ—â—â—â— lib. â— As for Dinothus he was undoubtedly Abbot there and sent for to meet Austin at the Synod which he call'd here in this Island Whether Pelagius the Heretick beiong'd also to this place as Camden intimates is not so certain Ranulphus Cestrensis tells us in his time it was thought so by some people ‖ Pâ—â—câ—◠〈◊〉 c. 3 Tradunt nonnulli c. and John of Tinmouth in the life of St. Alban expresly says that he was Abbot here But this man's relation to the place is not like to derive much honour upon it the remains of Roman and British Antiquity that have been discover'd there by the Plough-men for now the place is all corn-fields are a much greater testimony of it's ancient glory * Lâ—â—â— Such are the bones of Monks and vestures squar d stones Roman coyns and the like c From hence the river Dee runs to Chester the various names whereof are all fetch'd from the affairs of the Romans the British from the Legion and the Saxon Ceaster from the Fortifications made in that place upon account of the Legion being there quarter'd That the Legio xx was there is agreed on all hands but by what name it was call'd or when it came over are points not so certain but they may admit of some dispute For the first it is generally call'd Legio Vicesima Victrix and Camden assents to it but that seems to be defective if we may depend upon the authority of an old Inscription upon an Altar digg'd up in Chester A. D. 1653. and compar'd with what Dio has said of this Legion The Inscription is this I. O. M. TANARO T. ELVPIVS GALER PRAESENS GWTA PRI·LEG·XXW COMMODO · ET LATERANO COS. V. S. L. M. Which I read thus Jovi Optimo Maximo Tanaro Titus Elupius Galerius Praesens Gubernator Principibus Legionis Vicesimae Victricis Valeriae Commodo Laterano Consulibus Votum solvit lubens merito For if that Legion was call'd simply Vicesima Victrix what occasion was there for doubling the V To make it Vigesima quinta would be a conjecture altogether groundless and yet if the first V denote Victrix the second must signifie something more 'T is true Mr. Camden never saw this Altar yet another he had seen which was digg'd up at Crowdundal-waith in Westmorland should have oblig'd him not to be too positive that those who thought it might be call'd Valens Victrix or Valentia Victrix were necessarily in an errour VARONIV ......... ECTVS LEG XX. V. V. c. Here also we see the V. is doubl'd Whether the latter signifie Valeria will best appear out of Dio that great Historian who in his recital of the Roman Legions preserv'd under Augustus hath these words concerning the 20th Legion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The 20th Legion saith Dio which is also call'd Valeria and Victrix is now in Upper-Britain which Augustus preserv'd together with the other Legion that hath the name of Vicesima and hath it's winter-quarters in Lower-Germany and neither now is nor then was usually and properly call'd Valeria Mr. Burton is induc'd by the Westmorland-monument to make an addition to Victrix and sets down Valens but why this passage should not have induc'd him rather to make choice of Valeria I confess I perceive no â—eason For first the distinction he makes between the Vicesima in Britain and that in Germany is plain not only from the natural constâ—uction of the words but likewise because Dio's 19 Legions which were kept entire by Augustus cannot otherwise be made up Next supposing this distinction 't is very evident that he positively applies the name Valeria to the first and as plainly denies that the second ever had that title And why should not we as well allow the name of Valeria to this as we do to other Legions the additional titles of Ulpia Flavia Claudia Trajana Antoniana The second head When this Legion came over or when they were here settl'd cannot be precisely determin'd That this was a Colony settl'd by Julius Caesar as Malmesbury seems to affirm implies what never any one dreamt of that Julius Caesar was in those territories Giving an account of the name Caerlegion he lays down this reason of it quod ibi emeriti Legionum Julianarum resedere The learned 4 Selden would excuse the Monk by reading Militarium for Julianarum 〈◊〉 ad 〈…〉 but that his own ancient Manuscript would not allow To bring him off the other way by referring Julianarum not to Caesar but Agricola who in Vespasian's time had the sole charge of the British affairs seems much more plausible Before that time we find this Legion mention'd by Tacitus in the Lower-Germany and their boisterous behaviour there And in Nero's time the same Author acquaints us with their good services in that memorable defeat which Suetonius Paulinus gave to Queen Boadicia So that whenever they might settle at Chester to repel the incursions of the active Britains it plainly appears they came over before Galba's time from the reign of which Emperour notwithstanding Mr. Camden dates their landing here Another Altar was found at Chester with this Inscription It was discover'd by the Architect in digging for a Cellar in the house of Mr. Heath and was view'd and delineated by Mr. Henry Prescott a curious Gentleman of that city to whom we are
of Parliament annex'd a very great estate to this Dutchy which had fall'n to him in right of his mother 13 Dame Mary who was the daughter and coheir of Humphry Bohun Earl of Hereford And in this state and condition it remain'd from that time saving that Edward the fourth in the first of his reign when he had attainted Henry the sixth in Parliament for Treason appropriated it as they term it to the Crown that is to say to him and his heirs Kings of England However Henry the seventh soon broke this entail and so at this day it has its particular Officers namely a Chancellor Attorney Receiver Clerk of the Court six Assessors a Messenger two Auditors three and twenty Receivers and three Supervisors There are reckon'd in this Shire besides several Chapels only 36 Parishes but those very populous and such as for number of Parishioners far exceed the greatest Parishes anywhere else ADDITIONS to LANCASHIRE a THo' Lancaster has given the name to this County yet Manchester â—â—â—â—â—eâ—â—er whether one consider Antiquity number of inhabitants or growth seems to be more considerable And yet for all that it is neither a Corporation nor does it send Burgesses to Parliament tho' perhaps of an in-land town it has the best trade of any one in the north of England It is water'd with the rivers Irke and Irwell but there is no such river about it as Spolden upon which the late Historical and Geographical Dictionary has falsly plac'd it as it hath also it's distance from London which is really 147 miles The Fustian-Manufacture call'd Manchester-Cottons still continues there and is of late very much improv'd by some modern inventions of dying and printing and this with the great variety of other manufactures known by the name of Manchester-Wares renders not only the town it self but also the parish about it rich populous and industrious Sixty years ago there were computed near 2 000 Communicants in the town and Parish since which time the inhabitants are much more numerous proportionable to the increase of trade The Collegiate Church which was built in the year 1422. is a very large beautiful and stately edifice and the Quire is particularly remarkable for it's neat and curious carv d work It is likewise beautify'd with three remarkable Foundations a College a Hospital and a Publick School the following account whereof we owe to the worthy Warden of this place The College was first founded A. D. 1421. by Thomas De la Ware at first Rector of the said Parish-Church and brother to the Lord De la Ware whom he succeeded in the estate and honour and then founded a College there consisting of one Master or Keeper eight Fellow-Chaplains four Clerks and six Choristers in honour of St. Mary to whom the said Parish-Church was formerly dedicated St. Dennis of France and St. George of England This foundation was dissolved 1547. in the first year of King Edward 6. the lands and revenues of it taken into the King's hands and by him demised to the Earl of Derby and the College-house and some lands sold to the said Eaâ—l The College was re-founded by Queen Mary who restored most of the lands and revenues only the College it self and some of its revenues remain'd still in the hands of the Earl of Derby It was also founded a-new by Queen Elizabeth A. D. 1578. by the name of Christ's College in Manchester consisting of one Warden four Fellows two Chaplains four Singing-men and four Choristers the number being lessen'd because the revenues were so chieflâ— by the covetousness and false-dealing of Thomas Herle then Warden and his Fellows who sold away or made such long leases of the revenues as could never yet some of them be retrieved It was last of all re-founded by King Charles 1. A. D. 1636 constituting therein one Warden four Fellows two Chaplains four Singing men and four Choiristers and incorporating them by the name of the Warden and Fellows of Christ's College in Manchester the Statutes for the same being drawn up by Archbishop Laud. The Hospital was founded by Humphrey Cheetham Esquire and incorporated by King Charles 2. designed by the said bountiful Benefactor for the maintâ—nance of 40 poor boys out of the Town and Parish of Manchester and some other neighbouring Parishes But since 't is enlarged to the number of 60 by the Governours of the said Hospital to be taken in between the age of 6 and 10 and there maintained with meat drink lodging and cloaths to the age of 14 and then to be bound Apprentices to some honest trade or calling at the charge of the said Hospital For the maintenance of which he endowed the same with the yearly revenue of 420 l. which is since improved by the care and good husbandry of the Feoffees or Governours to the yearly sum of 517 l. 8 s. 4 d. they having laid out in the purchace of lands the sum of 1825 l. which was saved out of the yearly income over and above the maintenance of the poor children and others belonging to the said Hospital wherein there are annually near 70 persons provided for Within the Hospital and by the bounty of the said Founder is also erected a very fair and spacious Library already furnished with a competent stock of choice and valuable books to the number of near 4000 and daily encreasing with the income of 116 l. per an setled upon the same by the said worthy benefactor to buy Books for ever and to afford a competent salary for a Library-keeper Theâ—e is also a large School for the Hospital-boys where they are daily instructed and taught to write and read The Publick School was founded A. D. 1519 by Hugh Oldham D. D. and Bishop of Exeter who bought the Lands on which the School stands and took the Mills there in lease of the Lord De la Ware for 60 years Afterwards with the Bishop's money Hugh Bexwick and Joan his sister purchased of the Lord De la Ware his Lands in Ancoates and the Mills upon lâ—k and left them in Feoffment to the said Free school for ever Which Revenues are of late very much encreas'd by the Feoffees of the School who out of the improvements have as well considerably augmented the Masters salaries as the Exhibitions annually allowed to the maintenance of such scholars at the University as the Warden of the College and the high Master shall think requisite and have besides for some years past added a third Master for whom they have lately erected a new and convenient School at the end of the other Besides these publick Benefactions and Endowments there have been several other considerable sums of money and annual revenues left and bequeathed to the Poor of the said Town who are thereby with the kindness and Charity of the present inhabitants competently provided for without starving at home or being forced to seek relief abroad The Town gives title to an honourable family Henry Mountague being