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
from the Bretons by Loudham to the Foliambs a great name in these parts to the east lyes Sutton â—â—â—ton where the Leaks have long flourish'd in the degree and honour of Knighthood At some small distance from hence stands Bolsover an old castle seated upon a rising which formerly belong'd to the Hastings Lords of Abergevenny by exchange with King Henry the third who being unwilling that the County of Chester which belong'd to him should be parcell'd out among distaffs gave other lands in lieu here and there to the sisters of John Scot the last Earl The west part on the other side the Derwent which is nothing but hills and mountains for which reason perhaps it was heretofore call'd Peac-lond in Saxon and is call'd Peake â—â—e Peak at this day for the word signifies eminence with us is sever'd by the Dove a very swift and clear river of which in its proper place from Staffordshire This part tho it is rough and craggy in some places yet 5 By reason that under the upper crust of the earth there is Lime-stone which yields a fruitful slugh or humour are there grassy hills and vales in it which feed many cattel and great flocks of sheep very safely For there 's no danger of wolves â—â—lves now in these places tho' infested by them heretofore for the hunting and taking of which some held lands here at Wormhill from whence they were call'd Wolvehunt as is clearly manifest from the records of the Tower Inq. 2 Ed. 2. It produces so much lead Lead that the Chymists who condemn the planets to the mines as if they were guilty of some great crime tell us ridiculously as well as falsly that Saturn Brodaeus whom they make to preside over Lead is very gracious to us because he allows us this metal but displeas'd with the French as having deny'd it to them However I am of opinion that Pliny spoke of this tract in that passage of his In Britain in the very upper crust of the ground lead is dug up in such plenty that a law was made on purpose to stint them to a set quantity Out of these mountains Lead-stones as the Miners call them are daily dug up in great abundance which upon those hills expos'd to the West-wind near Creach and Workesworth taking its name from the Lead works at certain times when that wind begins to blow which they find by experience to be the most constant and lasting of all winds they melt down with great wood fires and from those canals which they make for it to flow in they work it up again into masses which they call Sowes And not only Lead but Stibium also which is call'd Antimony Antimony in the shops is found here in distinct veins us'd formerly in Greece by the women to colour their eye-brows upon which account the Poet Ion calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mill-stones Mill-stones are likewise digg'd up here and Grind-stones Grind-stones for sharpning Iron-tools and sometimes there is found in these mines a kind of white Fluor for those stones in mines like jewels are call'd Fluores Fluores by the metal-men which is in all respects like Crystal Crystal Besides this Workesworth there is nothing here to be met with worth mentioning but Haddon seated upon the river Wye for many years the seat of the Vernons not only an ancient but a very famous family in those parts insomuch that Sir George Vernon Vernon Kt. who liv'd in our time for his magnificence for his kind reception of all good men and his great hospitality gain'd the name of King of Peak among the vulgar Yet by the daughters and heirs of that man this brave inheritance was transferr'd to John Mannours descended from the Earls of Rutland and to Thomas Stanley the off-spring of the Earls of Derby e 6 Son of Thomas Earl of Rutland and to Sir Thomas Stanley son of Edward Earl of Derby Near this lies Bakewell upon the same river which makes it self a passage among these hills into Derwent This was call'd by the Saxons e Bedecanwylla Chron. Sax. BaddecanÆ¿ell and Marianus tells us that Edward the Elder made a burrough of it Whether or no it takes this name from the Baths there which the old English call'd Bade and Baden as the Germans likewise did in their language from whence Baden in Germany and Buda in Hungary I cannot tell This is certain that at the rise of the river Wye not far from hence there are nine Springs of hot water call'd at present Buxton-well Buxton which being found by experience very good for the stomach the nerves and the whole body the most honourable George Earl of Shrewsbury has lately adorn'd them with buildings and they begin to be frequented by great numbers of the Nobility and Gentry About which time the unfortunate and heroick Princess Mary Queen of Scots took her farewell of Buxton in this distich which is nothing but an alteration of Caesar's verses upon Feltria Buxtona quae calidae celebrabere nomine lymphae Fortè mihi post hac non adeunda vale Buxton whose fame thy Baths shall ever tell Whom I perhaps shan't see again farewell But this is besides my business That these Baths were anciently known that Cart-road or Roman Causey call'd Bathgate which continues seven miles from hence to the little village Burgh does plainly shew us f Near this Burgh there stands an old castle upon the top of a hill formerly belonging to the Peverells call'd the Castle in the Peake and in Latin De alto Pecco which King Edw. 3. 46 Edw. 3. gave with this manour and honour to John Duke of Lancaster his son after he had restor'd the Earldom of Richmond to the King Below this there is a den or cave under ground call'd if I may be pardon'd the rudeness of the expression the Devil's Arse Devils Arse in Peake very wide and gaping and having many apartments in it wherein Gervasius Tilburiensis either out of downright ignorance or a lying humour tells us a shepherd saw a spacious country with small rivers running here and there in it and vast pools of standing water Yet from such stories as these this Hole is look'd upon as one of the prodigies of England The same sort of fables are likewise told of another Cave in this neighbourhood call'd Elden-hole Elden-hole which is wonderful for nothing but the vast bigness steepness and the depth of it g But that winds have their vent here is a mistake in those that have writ so nor are those verses of Necham's concerning the miracles of England applicable to either of these Caves Est specus Aeoliis ventis obnoxia semper Impetus è gemino maximus ore venit Cogitur injectum velamen adire supernas Partes descensum impedit aura potens Vex'd with perpetual storms a cave there lies Where from two holes the strugling blasts arise
a bloody battel slew Edwyn the first Christian King of Northumberland and Prince Offride his eldest son in the year 633. Here are many Firr-trees found in the ground and here was also the birth place of Prince William second son of K. Ed. 3. A. 1335. which the rather deserves our mention because by most Historians it is misplac'd at Hatfield in Hertfordshire but that it is an errour plainly appears by the Rolls which tell us that Queen Philippa gave 5 marks per An. to the neighbouring Abbot of Roch and 5 nobles to the Monks there to pray for the soul of this her son William de Hatfield which summs are transferr'd to the Church of York where he was buried and are to this day paid by the Earl of Devonshire to the Bishop and Dean and Chapter of York out of the Impropriation of the Rectory of Hatfield Near the town are many entrenchments as if some great army had been there encampt 'T is said that no Rats have ever been seen in this town nor any Sparrows at a place call'd Lindham in the Moors below it tho' it is a good earth for corn or pasture but encompast with a morass 〈◊〉 k Near the confluence of Don and Are is Cowick the pleasant Seat of the ancient family of the Dawneys which name occurs frequently amongst the Sheriffs of this County of which Sir John Dawney was by King Charles 2. advanc'd to the degree of Viscount Downe in the Kingdom of Ireland â—â—â—th l Not far from Nosthill is Hemsworth where Robert Holgate Arch-bishop of York depriv'd in the first of Queen Mary for being marry'd did An. 1544. found an Hospital for ten poor aged men and as many women who have each about 10 l. per An. and the Master who is to read Prayers to them betwixt 50 and 60 l. per An. He was likewise a Benefactor to if not Founder of the School there 〈◊〉 The Levels or Marshes mention'd by our Author especially eastward and north-east of Thorn a market town are generally a Turf-moor in other places intermix'd with arable and pasture grounds By reason of the many Meres it was formerly well-stor'd with f esh-water fish especially Eels and Fowl But in the reign of King Charles 1. several Gentlemen undertook to drain this morish and fenny country by drawing some large rivers with other smaller cuts There is an angle cut from about Thorne to Gowle which is ten miles in length and extraordinary broad As to what our Author observes of the ground being heav'd up Dr. Johnston affirms he has spoke with several old men who told him that the Turf-moor betwixt Thorn and Gowle was so much higher before the draining especially in winter-time than they are now that before they could see little of the Church-steeple whereas now they can see the Church-yard wall Under the Turf-earth and other grounds from one yard to two yards deep are frequently dug up great quantities of firr-wood and some oaks the wood of the latter being very black At low water the foresaid learned Doctor has often observ'd in the great cut to Gowle-sluce several roots of trees some very large standing upright others inclining to the east some of the trees have been found lying along with their roots fasten'd others seem'd as if cut or burnt and broke off from the roots Upon the digging of these large rivers there were found gates ladders hammers shoes nuts c. and the land in some places was observ'd to lay in ridges and furrows as if it had been plow'd Under some part of the Turf-more firm earth was found but in other places nothing but sand About thirty years since they met with the entire body of a man at the bottom of a Turf-pit about four yards deep with his head northward his hair and nails not decay'd Dr. Johnsâ—â—on has the hand and the arm to the elbow who by laying it in warm water softned it so tho' otherwise like tann'd leather that he took out the bones which were spungy 'T is said that in the cut-river to Gowle there was found a Roman Coyn either of Domitian or Trajan m After the river Don our next direction is the river Calder near which lyes Bradley Bradley famous for the nativity of Sir Henry Savil brother to Sir John mention'd by Mr. Camden Warden of Merton-College and Provost of Eaton the noble editor of St. Chrysostome n At some distance from this river is Halifax Halifax to which town and parish Mr. Nathaniel Waterhouse by Will dated the first of July 1642. was an eminent Benefactor †Extraâ—t of his Will by providing an House for the Lecturer an Hospital for 12 aged poor and a Work-house for 20 children the Overseer whereof is to have 45 l. per An. and a yearly Salary to the preaching Ministers of the 12 Chapelries which with moneys for repair of the banks amounts to 300 l. per Ann. Brian Crowther Clothier gave also 10 l. per An. to the poor and 20 l. per An. to the Free-school of Queen Elizabeth in the Vicarage of Halifax In this Church is interr'd the heart of William Rokeby of the Rokebys of Kirk-Sandal by Doncaster where he was born Vicar of Halifax and person of Sandall afterwards Bishop of Meath and Arch-biâ—hop of Dublin where dying the 29th of Nov. 1521. he order'd his bowels to be bury'd at Dublin his heart at Halifax and his body at Sandall and over each a Chapel to be built which was perform'd accordingly The vast growth and increase of this town may be guess'd at from this instance which appears in a MS. of Mr. John Brearcliff's of one John Waterhouse Esq born An. 1443. He was Lord of the Manour and liv'd nigh a hundred years in the beginning of whose time there were in Halifax but 13 houses which in 123 years were increas'd to above 520 householders that kept fires and answer'd the Vicar An. 1566. It is honour'd by giving title to the Right Honourable George Lord Savile of Eland Earl and Marquiss of Halifax and with the nativity of Dr. John Tillotson Arch-bishop of Canterbury So that this West-riding of Yorkshire has the honour of both the Metropolitans of our Nation Dr. John Sharp Archbishop of York being born in the neighbouring town and contiguous parish of Bradford where Mr. Peter Sunderland of an ancient family at High-Sunderland nigh Halifax besides other benefactions founded a Lecture and endow'd it with 40 l. per An. But nothing is more remarkable than their methods of proceeding against Felons The Law of Halifax which in short was this That if a Felon was taken within the Liberty with Goods stoln out of the Liberties or Precincts of the Forest of Hardwick he should after three Markets or Meeting-days within the town of Halifax next after his apprehension be taken to the Gibbet there and have his head cut off from his body But then the fact must be certain for he must either be taken
of Scotland is contain'd in less bounds being divided from England by the water of Tweed to Carhoom then by Keddon-burn Haddon-rigg Black-down-hill Morsla-hill Battinbuss-hill to the risings of the rivers Keal and Ted after by Kersop-burn Liderwater Esk to the Tod-holls the Marchdike to White-sack and Solloway-frith On the west it hath the Irish-Sea on the north the Deucaledonian and on the east the German Ocean On all which sides bordering upon the Sea it hath several Isles belonging to it From the Mule of Galloway in the south to Dungsbay-head in the east-point of Cathness in the north it is about 250 miles long and betwixt Buchan-ness on the east sea and Ardnamurchan-point on the west 150 miles broad The most southerly part of it about Whitern is 54 degrees 54 min. in Latitude and in Longitude 15 degrees 40 min. The northermost part the above-mentioned Dungsbay-head is 58 degrees 32 some say 30. min. in Latitude and 17 degrees 50 minutes in Longitude The longest day is about 18 hours and two minutes and the shortest night 5 hours and 45 minutes The air temperate It was not without reason that Caesar said Of Britain Coelum Gallico temperatius for even in Scotland the air is more mild and temperate than in the Continent under the same Climate by reason of the warm-vapours from the sea upon all sides and the continual breezes of the wind from thence the heat in Summer is no way scorching The constant winds purifie the air and keep it always in motion so that 't is seldom any Epidemick disease rages here Hills in Scotland The nature of the Country is hilly and mountainous there being but few plains and they of no great extent Those they have are generally by the sea-side and from thence the ground begins to rise sensibly the farther in the Country the higher so that the greatest hills are in the middle of the Kingdom These hills especially upon the skirts of the Country breed abundance of Cows which not only afford store of butter and cheese to the Inhabitants but likewise considerable profit by the vent of their hides and tallow and the great numbers that are sold in England when there is no Prohibition Their size as also that of their sheep is but small but the meat of both of an exceeding fine taste and very nourishing The High-Lands afford great Flocks of Goats with store of Deer and are clear'd from Wolves The whole Country has good store and variety of fowl both tame and wild The quality of the soil Quaity 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 compared in general with that of England is not near so good 'T is commonly more fit for pasture and for that purpose is very well watered Where the surface is leanest there are found Metals and Minerals and considerable quanties of Lead are exported yearly there is also good Copper but they will not be at the pains to work it But in much of the in-land Country especially where it lyeth upon some of the Friths the soil is very good and there all sorts of grain grows that is usual in the South parts of Britain The Wheat is frequently exported by Merchants to Spain Holland and Norwey Barley grows plentifully and their Oats are extreme good affording bread of a clean and wholesome nourishment In the Low-grounds they have store of Pease and Beans which for the strength of their feeding are much used by the Labouring people In the skirts of the Country which are not so fit for Grain these grow great woods of Timber to a vast bigness especially Firr-trees which are found to thrive best in stony grounds Springs of mineral-Mineral-waters which the people find useful in several diseases are common enough No Country is better provided with Fishes Besides flocks of smaller Whales the Porpess and the Meerswine frequently cast in great Whales of the Baleen or Whale-bone kind and of the Sperma Ceti kind are cast now and then upon several parts of the shore Besides the grain and other commodities already named the Merchants export alablaster linnen and woollen cloath freezes plaids plaiding stuff stockings malt and meal skins of Rabbets Hares c. fishes eggs oker marble coal and salt The Christian Religion was very early planted here Chrisâ—nity 〈◊〉 in Scoâ—land for Tertullian's words Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca Christo verò subdita must be understood of the north part of the Island possessed by the Scots and separated by a wall from that part which was subject to the Romans The Religion of the Kingdom establisht by Law is that which is contain'd in the Confession of Faith authoriz'd in the first Parliament of King James 6. and defined in the 19th Article of the said Confession to be That which is contained in the written word of God For the promotion of Learning they have four Universities St. Andrews Glasgow Aberdeen Learnâ—â—â— in Scoâ—land and Edenburgh wherein are Professors of most of the Liberal Arts endowed with competent Salaries The Division of SCOTLAND ALL the Northern part of the Island of Britain was antiently inhabited by the Picts who were divided into two Nations the Dicalidonii and Vecturiones of whom I have spoken already out of Ammianus Marcellinus But when the Scots had gotten possession of this Tract it was shar'd into seven parts amongst seven Princes as we have it in a little antient Book Of the Division of Scotland in these words The first part contained Enegus and Maern The second Atheodl and Goverin The third Stradeern with Meneted The fourth was Forthever The fifth Mar with Buchen The sixth Muref and Ross The seventh Cathness which Mound a Mountain divides in the midst running along from the Western to the Eastern Sea After that the same Author reports from the Relation of Andrew Bishop of Cathness that the whole Kingdom was divided likewise into seven Territories The first from Fryth so termed by the Britains by the Romans Worid now Scottwade to the River Tae The second from Hilef as the Sea surrounds it to a Mountain in the North-east part of Sterling named Athran The third from Hilef to Dee The fourth from Dee to the River Spe. The fifth from Spe to the Mountain Brunalban The sixth Mures and Ross The seventh the Kingdom of Argathel as it were the border of the Scots who were so called from Gathelgas their Captain With respect to the 〈…〉 and. 〈…〉 andâ—â— manners and ways of living it is divided into the High-land-men and Low-land-men These are more civilized and use the language and habit of the English the other more rude and barbarous and use that of the Irish as I have already mentioned and shall discourse hereafter Out of this division I exclude the Borderers â—â—â—derers because they by the blessed and happy Union enjoying the Sun-shine of peace on every side are to be lookt upon as living in the very midst of the British Empire and begin being sufficiently tir'd with war to grow
a Monk or two who pretended S. Michael had appear'd in that Mount But this Vision the Italians too are very earnest to have upon their Garganus and the French upon their Michael's Mount in Normandy At the bottom of this mountain within the memory of our Fathers as they were digging for tinn they met with spear-heads axes Brass Weapons and swords all wrap'd up in Linnen of the same sort with those found long ago in Hircinia in Germany and others lately in Wales For it is plain from the Monuments of Antiquity that the Greeks Cimbrians and Britains made use of brass-weapons notwithstanding that wounds by them are less hurtful upon account of a medicinal virtue in them which Macrobius takes notice of from Aristotle Those ages were not so well vers'd in killing arts as ours is In the rocks underneath and all along this coast breeds the * Pyrrhocorax Cornish cough Pyrrhocorax a Crow with red bill and red feet not peculiar to the Alps as Pliny imagin'd This Bird is found by the Inhabitants to be an Incendiary and very thieving For it often sets houses on fire privately steals pieces of money and then hides them In this place the country is most narrow contracted into a sort of Isthmus there being scarce four miles distance between this and the upper or Severn-sea A little beyond the mountain is a bay pretty large call'd Mountsbay Mountsbay from the mountain 't is a very safe harbour for ships from the South and South-east winds and at low water is six or seven fathom deep More to the East stands Godolcan h Sammes has observ'd that Godolonac in the Phoenician Language is a place of tinn Godolphin-hill a hill famous for store of tinn-mines they now call it Godolphin but much more noted for its Lords of that name Family of the Godolphins whose virtues are no less eminent than their family is ancient The name in Cornish comes from a White Eagle and this Family has still bore for their Arms in a shield gules an eagle display'd between three flower-de-luces argent From S. Michael's mount to the south there jutts out a Chersonese at the entrance whereof we meet with Heilston Heilston in the language of the natives Hellas from the salt-salt-water thereabouts a town famous for the privilege of stamping tinn And a little lower by the conflux of of great many waters is made a lake of two miles in length call'd Loopole Loopole separated from the sea by a little ridge running along and when the violence of the waves breaks through that it makes a wonderful roaring all over the neighbourhood At a little distance from thence there is a military Camp they call it Earth k built in a large circumference of great stones heap'd one upon another without mortar such as are to be met with here and there in other places made as I suppose in the Danish wars Nor is it unlike those fortifications of the Britains which Tacitus calls a rude and confus'd structure of great stones The Peninsula it self pretty large and well stock'd with little villages Menna Meneg is call'd Meneg k without all doubt the same with Menna which Jornandes in his Geticks describes from Cornelius I know not whether the same with Tacitus a writer of Annals and which some Copies read Memma It is says he in the furthest part of Britain abounding with several sorts of metal affording good pasture and in general contributing more to the nourishment of cattel than men But as for what he says of it's abounding with several sorts of metal it is now so far from it that it seems long since to have been quite drain'd It is by mariners call'd the Lizard by Ptolemy the Promontory of the Danmonii and Ocrinum Ocrinum The Lizard by Aethicus in that monstrous Geography of his Ocranum and 't is reckon'd among the mountains of the Western Ocean I dare not be positive that it took it's name from Ocra which as Sextus Pompeius has it signifies a craggy mountain tho' 't is certain that Ocrea among the Alps as also Ocriculum and Interocrea were so called from their steep rough situation But since Ochr in Brittish signifies an edge what if I should imagine that this Promontory had it's denomination from being edg'd and pointed like a cone The shore shooting in again from this Meneg makes a bay full of winding creeks receiving the little river Vale upon which something inward flourish'd an old town call'd Voluba Voluba mention'd by Ptolemy But it has long since either lost it's being or name which yet does still in some measure remain in Volemouth or Falemouth Falemouth This haven is altogether as noble as the very Brundusium of Italy and very capacious for an hundred ships may ride in it's winding bays at such a distance that from no one of them shall be seen the top of another's main-mast 'T is also safe from winds being guarded on all sides with high creeks At the very entrance here is a high uneven rock call'd by the inhabitants Crage and each side of it is fortify'd with it's castle built by K. Henry 8. for the safety of the place and terror of the enemy that on the east is S. Maudit's and that on the west Pendinas Pendinas of which an Antiquarian Poët Pendinas tenet asperi cacumen Celsum montis intonat frequenter Mauditi quoque subsidet rotundum Castrum impetu fulminat furenti Portus ostia quà patent Falensis High on a craggy rock Pendennis stands And with it's thunder all the Port commands While strong St. Maudit's answers it below Where Falmouth's sands the spatious harbour show But the haven it self is call'd by Ptolemy Cenionis ostium Cenionis ostium without all dispute from the British Geneu signifying a mouth and an entrance which Tregenie a town hard by confirms as much as if one should say a little town at the mouth l There are some towns lie upon the inner parts of this Haven Peryn Peryn a famous market where Walter Bronescombe Bishop of Exeter An. 1288. built a Collegiate Church call'd Glasnith Glasnith i The History of the Foundation as it is set down in the Lieger-book of that College expresly mentions XIII Clerici tresdecim personae discretae with twelve Prebendaries Arwenack Arwenak the seat of the ancient and famous family of the Killegrews Truro Truro in Cornish Truru so call'd from three streets in a manner encompass'd with two little rivers 't is famous for being a Mayor-town and for the privileges it has in the business of the Stannaries 〈…〉 Grampound the most remote from the haven 16 And neighbour to it is Golden the inheritance of Tregian a house ancient and well ally'd But descending to the haven's mouth you may see Fenten Gollan in English Harteswell lately the seat of Carminow a family anciently of high esteem for blood and
shall add a sort of grain sown plentifully towards the further end of this County that is Avena nuda Ger. J. B. C. B. Park Naked Oats called hereabouts Pillis or Pill-corn from its being naturally as it were pilled or denuded of the husk wherewith the common Oat is covered It is much esteemed and of equal price with Wheat DEVONSHIRE THE hither Country of the Danmonii which I have mention'd is now commonly call'd Denshire by the Cornish-Britains Deunan by the Welsh-Britains Duffneynt that is deep vallies because they live every where here lowly in the bottoms by the English Saxons a The true Saxon name is Defnascyre for the Saxons never set h after c that being a way of writing which we owe entirely to the Normans Deuenschire from whence comes the latin Devonia and that contracted name us'd by the vulgar b I think in most parts of England it is still commonly call'd Devonshire without such a contraction Denshire and not from the Danes as some Pretenders do stifflly hold This Country as it shoots out on both sides with greater breadth than Cornwall so it has more commodious harbours on each side of it nor is it less rich in tinn mines a especially towards the west-part being enamel'd with finer meadows shelter'd with more woods and very full of towns and houses But the soil in some places is as poor and lean on the other side which however makes a good return to the husbandman if he has skill in husbandry a mind to labour and a good purse to bestow upon it Nor indeed are there many places in England where land requires more charge to till it for it is almost quite barren in most parts unless it be over-spread with a c See the Additions to Cornwall and Philosophical Transactions Numb 103. p. 29. certain sand from the sea 〈◊〉 sand which renders it very fruitful and as it were impregnates the glebe and therefore in places more remote from the shore it is bought dear b In describing this County my way shall be first along the west-side bounded by the Tamar then along the south which lies upon the Ocean from hence by the eastern-bounds where it touches upon the County of Dorset and Somersetshire I will return to the north-coast which is bounded by the Severn-Sea The Tamar which divides these counties first on this side from the east receives the small river Lid upon which stands Lidston a little market-town â—ord and Lidford now a small village but formerly a famous town c most sadly shaken by the Danes in the year 997. This town as it appears from that book wherein William 1. took his survey of England was wont to be taxed at the same time and after the same manner that London was This little river Lid being here at the bridge pent up with rocks has made it self so deep a fall continual working that the water is not to be seen but only the murmure of it to be heard to the great admiration of those that pass over Lower down the Teave a little river runs into the Tamar upon which flourishes Teavistoke commonly Tavistoke formerly famous for an Abbey Tavistoke The foundation Charter which Ordulph the son of Ordgar Earl of Devonshire by the admonishment of a vision from heaven built about the year of our Saviour 961. The place says Malmesbury is pleasant for the convenience of wood for fine fishing and an uniform Church the banks of the river lie along just by the shops which by the force of it's current washes away all the rubbish thrown into it Saint Rumon a Bishop is much talk'd of there where he lies bury'd And there is seen in the same Monastery the sepulcher of Ordgar and the huge bulk of Mausolaeus his Son is look'd upon as a wonder he is call'd Ordulf of gigantick growth and prodigious strength For he could break the bars of gates and go along the river ten foot broad stridewise if we may credit the said William But it had hardly continu'd thirty three years from the foundation of it till it was burnt down by the Danes Yet it flourish'd again and by a laudable institution Saxon Lectures here were Lectures of our old mother tongue I mean the Saxon-language which is now grown into disuse continu'd down to the last age lest that which hath almost now happen'd the knowledge of it should be quite lost d The Tamar having receiv'd the Teave comes next to it's mouth where the Plim in conjunction with it rolls into the sea and gives name to the town Plimouth Plimouth seated on it which was formerly call'd Sutton this seems to have been twofold 13 H. 4. for we find mention in the Acts of Parliament of Sutton Vautort and Sutton Prior which partly belong'd to the family of the Valletorts and partly to the Prior. In the last age from a small fisher-village it grew up to a large town and is not inferiour to a city in number of inhabitants as we see it at this day e The convenience of the Haven was the cause of this rise which admits the greatest ships that are without striking sail and yields them safe harbour tho' never so big as well in the Tamar as the Plim besides it is sufficiently fortify'd to withstand the attacques of an enemy For in the very middle the d The name of this Island is S. Nicholas and contains two acres of ground or more Isle S. Michael lies before it which is also fortify'd And then the Haven at the town is guarded on both sides and block'd up with a chain crossing it upon occasion being guarded on the south by a bastion and by a castle on the next hill built as 't is thought by the Valletorts The whole town is divided into four tribes which we in our language call Wards who are all govern'd by a Mayor ordain'd by Henry 6. and under him formerly a * Capitaners Captain was made to every single ward who had each one also his inferior Officers As to that fable of Corinaeus's wrastling with Gogmagog Gogmagog the giant in this place it may suffice to subscribe a verse or two from the Architrenius concerning our giants Hos avidum belli robur Corinaeus Averno Praecipites misit cubitis ter quatuor altum Gogmagog Herculea suspendit in aëra lucta Anthaeumque suum scopulo detrusit in aequor Potavitque dato Thetis ebria sanguine fluctus Divisumque tulit mare corpus Cerberus umbram With those rude Monsters bred in wars and blood Brave Corinaeus clogg'd the Stygian flood High in the air huge Gogmagog he shook And pitch'd the vile Antaeus from his rock His hated carcass on the waves was tost And Cerberus started at his monstrous ghost That Rock from which the Giant is reported to have been thrust off is now call'd the Haw a hill between the town and the sea on the top whereof which is levelled into a delicate
this city being both besieg'd and storm'd first surrender'd it self to the Saxons and in a few years as it were recovering it self took the new name of Akmancester q and grew very splendid For Osbrich in the year 676. built a Nunnery and presently after when it came into the hands of the Mercians King Offa built another Church but both were destroy'd in the Danish Wars r Out of the ruins of these there grew up another Church dedicated to S. Peter to which Eadgar sirnam'd the Peaceful because he was there inaugurated King granted several immunities the memory whereof the inhabitants still keep up by anniversary sports In the times of Edw. the Confessor as we read in Domesday-book it gelded for 20 Hides when the Shire gelded There were 64 Burgesses of the King 's and 30 of others But this flourishing condition was not lasting for presently after the Norman Conquest Robert Mowbray nephew to the Bishop of Constance who rais'd a hot rebellion against William Rufus plunder'd and burn'd it But it got up again in a short time by the assistance of John de Villula of Tours in France who being Bishop of Wells did as Malmesbury informs us y Malmesbury has it quingentis libris i.e. 500 pounds for five hundred marks purchase the city of Henry 1. whither he translaâ—ed his See z He was only stil'd Bâ—shop of Bath subscribing himself commonly Joannes Lathon as Doctor Gaidot in his MS. history of the place has prov'd by several instances tho' still retaining the name of Bishop of Wells and built him here a new Cathedral But this not long ago being ready to drop down Oliver King Bishop of Bath laid the foundation of another near it exceeding large and stately which he well-nigh finish'd And if he had quite finish'd it without all doubt it had exceeded most Cathedrals in England But the untimely death of that great Bishop with the publick disturbances 38 And the suppression of Religious houses ensuing and the avarice of some persons who as t is said converted the money gather'd thro' England for that end to other uses envy'd it this glory s However from that time forward Bath has been a flourishing place both for the woollen manufacture and the great resort of strangers 39 For health twice a year and is now encompass d with walls wherein they have fix'd some ancient images and Roman Inscriptions to evidence the Antiquity of the place but age has so wore them out that they are scarce legible And lest any thing should be wanting to the Dignity of Bath Earls of Bath it has honour'd some of the Nobility with the title of Earl For we read that Philebert de Chandew born in Bretagne in France had that title conferr'd upon him by King Henry 7. Afterwards King Henry 8. in the 28th year of his reign created John Bourchier Lord Fitz-Warin Iâ—quis 31 Hen. 8. Earl of Bath 40 Who dyed shortly after leaving by his wife the sister of H. Daubenâ—y Earl of Bridgewater John second Earl of this family who by the daughter of George Lord Roos had John Lord Fitz-Warin who deceased before his father having by Frances the daughter of Sir Thomas Kitson of Hengrave Wâ—lliam now third Earl of Bathe who dying in the 31 year of the same King was succeeded by John his son who dy'd in the third year of Queen Elizabeth He before the death of his father had John Lord Fitz Warin from whom is descended William the present Earl of Bath who every day improves the nobility of his birth with the ornaments of learning ss Geographers make the Longitude of this City to be 20 degrees and 56 minutes the Latitude 51 degrees and 21 minutes For a conclusion take if you please those Verses such as they are concerning Bathe made by Necham who flourish'd 400 years ago Bathoniae thermas vix praefero Virgilianas Confecto prosunt balnea nostra seni Prosunt attritis collisis invalidisque Et quorum morbis frigida causa subest Praevenit humanum stabilis natura laborem Servit naturae legibus artis opus Igne suo succensa quibus data balnea fervent Aenea subter aquas vasa latere putant Errorem figmenta solent inducere passim Sed quid sulphureum novimus esse locum Scarce ours to Virgil's Baths the preference give Here old decrepit wretches find relief To bruises sores and ev'ry cold disease Apply'd they never fail of quick success Thus human ills kind nature does remove Thus nature's kindness human arts improve They 're apt to fancy brazen stoves below To which their constant heat the waters owe. Thus idle tales deluded minds possess But what we know that 't is a sulph'ry place Take also if you think them worth your reading two ancient Inscriptions lately digg'd up upon the high-way below the city in Waldcot-field and remov'd by Robert Chambers a great admirer of Antiquities into his gardens where I transcrib'd them C. MVRRIVS C. F. ARNIENSIS FORO IVLI. MODESTVS MIL. LEG II. * Adjâ—â—â—â—cis prae â—licis AD. P. F. IVLI. SECVND AN. XXV STIPEND †Hic sâ—â— est H. S. E. DIS MANIBVS M. VALERIVS M. POL. EATINVS * C. EQ MILES LEG AVG. AN. XXX STIPEN X. H. S. E. I saw likewise these Antiquities fasten'd on the inner side of the wall between the north and west gates Hercules holding up his left hand with his Club in the right In a broken piece of stone is this writing in large and beautiful letters * Decâ—â—ioni DEC COLONIAE †Glevi 〈◊〉 Glocester GLEV. VIXIT AN. LXXXVI Next leaves folded in Hercules bending two snakes and in a sepulchral table between two little images one whereof holds an Amalthaean horn there is written in a worse character and scarce legible D. M. SVCC PETRONIAE VIXIT ANN. IIII. * Meâ—â— M. IIII. †Dies D. XV. EPO MVLVS ET VICTISIRANA ‖ Filix â—rissime â—cerunt FIL. KAR. FEC A little below in a broken piece of stone and large letters is VRN IOP Between the west and south gates Ophiucus enfolded by a serpent two men's heads with curl'd locks within the copings of the walls a hare running and underneath in a great stone this in letters a cross VLIA ILIA A naked man as 't were laying hands upon a soldier also between the battlements of the walls leaves two lying kissing and embracing each other a footman brandishing his sword and holding forth his shield another footman with a spear and these letters a-cross on a stone III VSA IS VXSC. And Medusa's head with her snaky hairs t Upon the same river Avon which is the bound here between this County and Glocestershire on the western bank of it is Cainsham Cainâ—â— so nam'd from Keina a devout British Virgin whom many of the last age through an over-credulous temper believ'd to have chang'd serpents into stones Serpeâ—â— stones because they find sometimes in
quarries some such little miracles of sporting Nature And I have seen a stone brought from thence winded round like a serpent the head whereof tho' but imperfect jutted out in the circumference and the end of the tail was in the center u But most of them want the head In the neighbouring fields and other places hereabouts the herb Percepier â—ercepier grows naturally all the year round It is peculiar to England and one tastes in it a sort of tartness and bitterness 't is never higher than a span and grows in bushy flowers without a stalk It provokes urine strongly and quickly and there is a water distill'd out of it of great use as P. Poena in his Miscellanies upon Plants has observ'd w Scarce five miles from hence the river Avon parts Bristol in the middle â—â—tow call d by the Britains Caer Oder Nant Badon i.e. the City Odera in Badon valley In the Catalogue of the Ancient Cities it is nam'd Caer Brito and in Saxon it is BrightstoÆ¿ i.e. a famous place But a Amongst the rest Leland in his Comment upon the Cygnea cantio pag. 152. those who have affirm'd it to be the Venta Belgarum have impos'd both upon themselves and the world The City is plac'd partly in Somersetshire and partly in Glocestershire so that it does not belong to either having distinct Magistrates of it's own and being a county incorporate by it self It stands upon a pretty high gâ—ound between the Avon and the little river Frome what with walls and the rivers guarded very well for it was formerly enclos'd with a double wall It casts such a beautiful show both of publick and private buildings that it answers it's name and there are what they call Goutes in Latin Cloacae built in the subterraneous caverns of the earth to carry off and wash away the filth x so that nothing is wanting either for neatness or health But by this means it comes that Carts are not us'd here It is also so well furnish'd with the necessities of life and so populous that next to London and York it may justly claim a preeminence over all the cities in Britain For the trade of many nations is drawn thither by the advantage of commerce and of the harbour which brings vessels under sail into the heart of the city And the Avon swells so much by the coming in of the tide when the Moon descends from the Meridian and passes the place opposite that ships upon the shallows are born up 11 or 12 fathoms The citizens themselves drive a rich trade throughout Europe and make voyages to the remotest parts of America At what time and by whom it was built is hard to say but it seems to be of a late date since in all the Danish plunders it is not so much as mention'd in our Histories For my part I am of opinion it rose in the decline of the Saxon government since it is not taken notice of before the year of our Lord 1063. wherein Harald as Florence of Worcester has it set sail from Brytstow to Wales with a design to invade it In the beginning of the Norman times Berton an adjoyning farm and this Bristow paid to the King as 't is in Domesday book 110 marks of silver and the Burgesses return'd that Bishop G. had 33 marks â—â—am of â—â—â—ster and 1 mark of gold y Afterwards Robert Bishop of Constance plotting against William Rufus chose this for a seat of war and fortify'd the little city with that inner wall I suppose part of which remains to this day z But a few years after the Suburbs began to enlarge on every side for on the south Radcliff where were some little houses belonging to the suburbs is joyn'd to the rest of the city by a stone-bridge which is so set with houses that you would not think it a bridge but a street This part is included within the walls and the inhabitants have the privileges of citizens There are hospitals built in all parts for the poor and neat Churches for the glory of God Amongst the rest the most beautiful is S. Mary's of Radcliffe without the walls into which is a stately ascent by a great many stairs So large is it the workmanship so exquisite and the roof so artificially vaulted with stone and the tower so high that in my opinion it goes much beyond all the Parish Churches in England I have yet seen In it the founder William Canninges has two honorary monuments the one is his image in the habit of a Magistrate for he was five times Mayor of this City the other an image of the same person in Clergy-man's habit for in his latter days he took Orders and was Dean of the College which himself founded at Westbury Hard by it is also another Church call'd Temple the tower whereof as often as the bell rings moves to and again so as to be quite parted from the rest of the building and there is such a chink from top to bottom that the gaping is three fingers broad when the bell rings growing first narrower then again broader Nor must we omit taking notice of S. Stephen's Church the stately tower whereof was in the memory of our grandfathers built by one Shipward 41 Alià s Bâ—rstaple a citizen and merchant with great charge and curious workmanship On the east also and north parts it was enlarg'd with very many buildings and those too included within the walls being defended by the river Frome which after it has pass'd by these walls runs calmly into the Avon making a quiet station for ships and a creek convenient to load and unload wares which they call the Kay Under this The marsh between the confluence of Avon and Frome is a champain ground which is set round with trees and affords a pleasant walk to the citizens Upon the south-east where the rivers do not encompass it Robert natural son to King Henry 1. commonly call'd Robert Rufus Consul of Glocester because he was Earl of Glocester built a large and strong Castle for the defence of his city a and out of a pious inclination set aside every tenth stone for the building of a Chappel near the Priory of S. James which he also erected just under the City He took to wife Mabil daughter and sole heir of Robert Fitz-Hamon who held this city in fealty of William the Norman This castle yet scarce finish'd was besieg'd by King Stephen but he was forc'd to draw off without doing any thing and the same person not many years after being prisoner there was a fair instance how uncertain the events of war are Beyond the river Frome over which at Frome-gate is a bridge one goes obliquely up a high hill of a steep and difficult ascent from whence there is a pleasant prospect of the City and haven below it This upon the top runs into a large and green plain shaded all along the middle with a double rank of trees
Camp-place singly-ditch'd called Dun-shat and about one mile and a half from Yanesbury another likewise with a single trench named Woldsbury I have noted the names as the Country people term them that others may collect some matter thereby more than I can The Nadder rising in the south border of this County with a winding stream z Mr. Camden's conjecture is made more probable by the true writing of what we call An adder which ought to be writ a nadder being in Saxon Naeddre and accordingly in our Northern parts we call it A nedder The corruption has happen'd in this as in some others by stealing the initial n from the word it self and giving it to a creeps like an adder from whence it seems to have it's name not far from Wardour a pretty Castle Wardour Castle which once belong'd to the ancient family of S. Martins Now it is in the possession that I may omit several of its intermediate a Amongst whom were the Lords Lovel temp Hen. 4. 5. 6. and J. Tuchet Lord Audley 1 Ed. 4. owners 17 And amongst them the Lord Brook who repair'd it and died at it of John Arundel lately made by King James Lord Arundell of Wardour Baron Arundel of whom very honorable mention is to be made because in his youth he piously went into far countries to serve in the wars against the sworn enemies of Christendom the Turks and there for his singular valour at the storming of Gran he merited the honour to be made Count of the Empire by a Patent from the Emperor Rodolph 2. in these words Count of the Empire Forasmuch as he had behaved himself couragiously in the field and at the siege of several Cities and Castles and especially had given eminent proof of his valour at the assault upon the water-town near Gran taking the Flag from the Turks with his own hands we have created made and nominated him and all and every one of his children his heirs and lawful issue for ever of both sexes true Counts and Countesses of the sacred Empire and have dignified them with the Title and Honour of a County Imperial c. b No less valiant was the Lady Arundel who in 1643. with only 25 men made good this Castle for a week against 1300. of the Parliament Forces and they at last contrary to the Articles of Surrender did 100000 l. damage to the Castle and Parks Vid. Merc. Rustic Week 5. On the other side of the river is Hach Hache not very noted at present but famous in the reign of K. Edw. 1. for it's Baron Eustace de Hache Baron of Hache who was then summoned to Parliament among the rest of the Nobility 18 And a few miles from thence is Hindon a quick Market and known for nothing else that I could see At the conflux of these rivers Willey watereth the place from it denominated Wilton Wilton once the chief town of the County to which it gave name It was in times past call'd Ellandunum as appears from some ancient Charters which expresly make mention of Weolsthan Earl of Ellandunum Ellandunum that is of Wilton and again that he built a little Monastery at Ellandunum that is at Wilton From this name Ellan I am partly induc'd to think this river to be the Alanus which Ptolemy placeth in this Tract Alan riv At this place Egbert King of the West-Saxons fought successfully against Beorwulf the Mercian A. D. 821. but the battel was so bloody on both sides that the river was stained with the blood of near relations s Here also A. C. 871. Aelfred fighting against the Danes was at the first Charge conquerour but the fortune of the battel changing he was driven out of the field In the times of the Saxons it was a very populous place King Edgar founded here a Nunnery and as the Historians relate made his daughter Edith Abbess But it is evident from the ancient Charter of Eadgar himself dated A. D. 974. that the Nunnery was much older for in it are these words The Monastery which was built by my great grandfather K. Edward in a noted place by the Inhabitants called Wilton And we read in the life of Edward the Confessor Whilst S. Edward was building the Abbey of S. Peter at Westminster Editha his wife imitating the royal charity of her Husband laid the foundation of a stately Monastery of stone instead of the wooden Church at Wilton where she was educated The town did not much decay tho' it was miserably plunder'd by Swain the Dane until the Bishops of Salisbury c Leland says that before the turning of the road this town had 12 Parish-Churches but now they are reduc'd to one turn'd the Road into the western Countries from it Since that time it has dwindled by little and little into a small village only it hath the honour of a Mayor for its chief Magistrate and the stately house of the Earls of Pembroke built out of the suppressed Abbey But in old time Sorbiodunum Sorbiodunum was and now New-Sarum which arose out of its ruines is a great obstacle of it's splendor Antoninus's Itinerary calleth that town Sorbiodunum which the Saxons afterward named Searysbyrig and the vulgar Latins Sarum and Sarisburia 19 And Salisburialia Old Sarisbury For the course of the Itinerary and the remains of the name evidently shew this without any remark of mine And without doubt Searesbirig was derived from Sorbiodunum the Saxon word Byryg which denoteth a town being put in the place of Dunum Dunum what it signified with the Gauls and Britains which word the Britains and Gauls usually added to places of lofty situation as this Sorbiodunum is So that as one very well skilled in the Welsh language informed me Sorviodunum signifieth a dry hill t which is a more probable conjecture than the far-fetch'd derivation of it from Saron in Berosus or from Severus the Emperour from whom they call'd it Severia u For it was seated on a high hill and as Malmsbury saith The town was more like a Castle than a City being environ'd with a high wall and notwithstanding it was very well accommodated with all other conveniences yet such was the want of water that it was sold there at a great rate This gave occasion to the distich which was made upon Old Sarum by one that lived in those times Est tibi defectus lymphae sed copia cretae Saevit ibi ventus sed Philomela silet Water's there scarce but chalk in plenty lies And those sweet notes that Philomel denies The harsher musick of the wind supplies By the great pieces of the Walls and the Bulwarks yet to be seen it seems to have been a very strong place and near half a mile in circumference Kinric the Saxon after he had fought against the Britains with good success A. D. 553. was the first of the Saxons that won it
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
Derby the second to Alan de la Zouch the youngest to Comine Earl of Buchan in Scotland A long time after this Hugh le Despencer was honour'd with the title during life only by King Edward 2. who made him his most familiar friend and confident but he and his son had too late an experiment how fatal it often proves to be the favourites of a Prince for popular fury put both of them to an ignominious death A pretty while after this by the bounty of King Edward 4. Lewis de Bruges a Belgian Lord of Gruthuse and Prince of Steinhuse who had entertain'd this Prince in Flanders when he fled thither for refuge obtain'd this title with Arms not much differing from those of Roger de Quincy 6 In these words Azur a dix Mascles D'or en orm d'un Canton de nostre propre Armes d'Engleterre cest savour de Goul un Leopard passant d'or armeé d'azur which after the death of K. Edward he surrendred up to K. Henry 7. Within our own memory †Sir William William Powlett Lord Treasurer of England 7 Earl of Wiltshire and Lord St. John of Basing was honour'd by Edward 6. with a new title of Marquess of Winchester 8 A man prudently pliable to times raised not suddenly but by degrees in Court excessive in vast informous buildings temperate in all other things full of years for he lived 97 years and fruitful in his generation for he saw 103 issued from him by Elizabeth his wife daughter to Sir William Capel Knight And now his grandchild William enjoys the said honours which his Posterity now enjoys Winchester stands in the longitude of 22 and the latitude of 51 degrees according to the observation of later ages o From Winchester more Eastward the river Hamble Hamble out at a large mouth runs into the sea Bede calls it Homelea and says it runs through the country of the Jutes and falls into the Solente Solente for so he calls the chanel between Britain and the Isle of Wight into which at certain hours two opposite tides coming up with great violence from the Ocean and meeting here rais'd so great an admiration in our fore fathers that they reckon'd it one of the wonders of Britain Of which take Bede's own words Two tides which flow round the British Island out of the vast northern Ocean do daily meet together and encounter each other beyond the mouth of the river Homelea and when the waves have ended their conflict they retire into the sea from whence they came Into this chanel another small river empties it self which rising near Warnford runs between the forest of Waltham where is a m It was ruin'd in the late Civil Wars stately seat of the Bishops of Winchester and that of Bere 9 Whereby is Wickham a mansion of that ancient family of Vuedal Hol. It is come by marriage to the E. of Carlisle along by Tichfield Tichfield where was formerly a small Monastery built by Peter de Rupibus Bishop of Winchester 10 Where the marriage was solemnized between King Henry 6. and Margaret of Anjou and is now the chief n The Earl of Southampton dying without Issue male this estate came to Edward first Earl of Gainsburrow by marriage with Elizabeth daughter and coheiress of the said Earl whose son dying without issue-male it is now fallen to his two daughters who are at present Minors seat of the Wriotheslys Earls of Southampton Hence the shore turning and winding in the Island call'd Portesey makes a creek at the upper part of which flourish'd formerly Port-peris where tradition says Vespasian first arriv'd Our Ancestors gave it the new name of Portchester not from Porta a Saxon but from portus a harbour For Ptolemy from it's largeness calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. the spacious harbour and so a place in Africa was call'd Portus magnus Portus magnus as we learn from Pliny There is a large Castle still remaining which commands a free prospect of all the harbour below But when the sea retiring from this shore by degrees made the harbour less commodious they remov'd hence to Portsey an adjoyning Island which is about 14 miles round At high tide it is encompass'd with sea-water of which they make salt and is joyn'd to the continent by a bridge which had a small castle to defend it Athelfled wife of King Edgar gave this Island to New-Minster in Winchester and here at the entrance or mouth of the creek our Ancestors built a town which from thence they call'd Portsmouth Portsmouth This in time of war is populous but not so in time of peace and seems more inclin'd to the Arts of Mars and Neptune than of Mercury It has a Church of good ancient work and an Hospital which they call God's-house founded by Peter de Rupibus Bishop of Winchester It was fortify'd with a wall made of timber and well lined with mud with a high mount toward the north-east near the gate and with two sorts of free-stone at the entrance of the harbour which the inhabitants say were begun by K. Edward 4. and finish'd by Henry 7. who they add settled a garrison in this town But within our memory Queen Elizabeth at great expence has so well secured it by new Works that nothing seems now wanting to make it a most complete fortification And of the garrison some keep guard night and day at the Town-gates and others upon the top of the Church-tower where by ringing of a Bell they give notice what Horse and Foot advance toward the Town and by waving of Colours show from what quarter they come p Hence from Portes-bridge upon a little turning of the shore I saw Havant Havant a small market-town and near it Warblington formerly a beautiful seat of the Earls of Salisbury now of the family of Cottons Knights Before these there lie two Islands the larger is call'd Haling the less Thorney from the thorns and each of them has it's Parish-Church In several places along this shore out of sea-water that comes up they make salt which at first is of a sort of pale and green colour but by an art they have 't is afterwards boil'd into a pure white And 't is of this sea-salt not of the other which is made in our English pits British Salt that St. Ambrose is to be understood Let us look upon those things which are common Hexameron lib. 4. cap. 11. and withal full of kindness how water is turned into such firm and solid salt that 't is often cut with instruments of iron which is usual in the British salts that are crusted into a substance as hard and white as marble and are very wholsom At a greater distance from the sea live the Meanvari Meanvari whose Country along with the Isle of Wight Edilwalch King of the South-Saxons received from Wlpher King of the Mercians
general is true but not in a more strict sense for the river Thames is so far from bounding it all along to the north that a piece of Kent over against Woolwich lies on the other side of the river See the Additions to Cornwall under the title Tamar on every side by the Aestuary of Thames and the Ocean except upon the west where it borders upon Surrey and upon part of Sussex to the south KENT THIS Country which we now call Kent 1 Extendeth it self in length from West to East 50 miles and from South to North 26. is not altogether uniform to the west it is more plain and shaded with woods but to the east rises with hills of an easie ascent The inhabitants according to it's situation from the Thames southward distinguish it into three plots or portions they call them degrees the upper lying upon the Thames they look upon as healthy but not altogether so rich the middle to be both healthy and rich the lower to be rich but withal unhealthy â—umney â—sh because of the natural moisture in most parts of it 't is however very fruitful in grass As for good meadows pastures and corn-fields it has these in most places â— l. 15. â— â—rries â—ught inâ—â—ritain â—ut the 〈◊〉 of â—st 48. and abounds with apples to a miracle as also with cherries which were brought out of Pontus into Italy 680 years after the building of Rome and 120 years afterwards into Britain They thrive exceeding well in those parts and take up great quantities of ground making a very pleasant show by reason 〈◊〉 â—â—inâ—an diâ—ae they are set by square and stand one against another which way soever you look It is very thick set with villages and towns 2 And well-peopl'd has pretty safe harbours with some veins of iron but the air is a little thick and foggy because of the vapours rising out of the waters 3 At a word the revenues of the inhabitants are greater both by the fertility of the soil and also by the neighbourhood of a great city of a great river and the main sea The inhabitants at this day may justly claim that commendation for humanity which Caesar bestow'd upon those in his time not to mention their bravery in war 〈◊〉 warâ— couâ—e of the â—â—ish-â—n which a certain Monk has observ'd to be so very eminent in the Kentish men that in their engagements among the rest of the English the front of the battel was look'd upon to belong properly to them as to b The Triarii were always in the Rear Rosin Antiquitat Rom. and therefore the Monk must needs be in an error unless he can be brought off this way that designing to express the Courage of the Kentish men he means no more than that the stress of the battel always lay upon them and then it will very well answer the character of the Triarii so many Triarii Which is confirm'd by John of Salisbury in his Polycraticon As a reward says he of that signal courage which our Kent with great eagerness and steadiness shew'd against the Danes they do to this day lay claim to the honour of the first ranks and the first on-set in all engagements And Malmesbury too has writ thus in their praise The country people and the town-dwellers of Kent retain the spirit of that ancient nobility above the rest of the English being more ready to afford a respect and kind entertainment to others and less inclinable to revenge injuries Caesar to speak something by way of preface Julius Caesar before I come to the places themselves in his first attempt upon our Island arriv'd upon this coast and the Kentish Britains opposing his landing he got to shore not without a hot dispute In his second expedition too he landed his army here and the Britains with their horse and their ‖ Essedis chariots receiv'd him warmly at the river Stour but being quickly repuls'd by the Romans retir'd into the woods Afterwards they had some hot skirmishes with the Roman Cavalry in their march but still the Romans were upon all accounts too hard for them Some time after they attack'd the Romans again broke through the midst of them and after they had slain Laberius Durus a Tribune made a safe retreat and next day surpris'd the forragers c. which I have above related out of Caesar See the general part under the title Romans in Britain At which time Cyngetorix Carvilius Taximagulus and Segonax were Governours of Kent whom he therefore calls Kings because he would be thought to have conquer'd Kings whereas they were really no more than * Reguli Lords of the Country or Noblemen of the better sort After the Roman government was establish'd here it was under the jurisdiction of the Governour of Britannia Prima But the sea-coast which they term'd Littus Saxonicum or the Saxon shore as also the opposite shore from the Rhine to Xantoigne had from the time of Dioclesian a peculiar Governour call'd by Marcellinus Count of the sea coast Count of the Saxon shore by the Notitia Notitia the honourable the Count of the Saxon-shore in Britain whose particular business it was to fix garrisons upon the sea-coast in places convenient to prevent the plunders of the Barbarians especially the Saxons who heavily infested Britaine c To this end he had under him 2200 foot and 200 horse He was under the command of the Illustrious the Master of the foot whom they stil'd d So call'd from his constant presence in the army Calvin's Lexic Juridic in Verb. Praesentalis and who beside the particular garrisons for the ports assign'd him the Victores Juniores Britanniciani the Primani Juniores and the Secundani Juniores these are the names of so many Companies to have ready upon all occasions His Office or Court he had in this manner Principem ex officio Magistri praesentalium à parte peditum Numerarios duos Commentariensem Cornicularium Adjutorem Subadjuvam Regendarium Exceptores Singulares c. i.e. A Principal or Master out of the Masters or Generals relating to the foot two e One of these kept an account of the Emperours gifts another of his Privy purse Accountants a f The places where they kept prisoners were anciently call'd Commentaria Gaoler a g One who wrote and publish'd the Sentences of the Magistrates having his name from a horn by the winding whereof he commanded silence in the Court. Judge-Advocate an h One who officiated in case of the infirmity or necessary absence of any other Officer Brady's Hist of Britain Praef. p. 41. Assistant an Under-Assistant a Register the i Such as kept the accounts of the Army belonging to the Pay-Office were the Exceptores and the Singulares seems to be a distinct thing viz. to signifie some particular and singular employments as Informers Receivers c. particular Receivers
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
more remarkable by giving the title of Viscount Maidstone to the honorable family of the Finches Earls of Winchelsea Elizabeth wife of Sir Moyle Finch sole daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Heneage being first advanc'd to the dignity of Viscountess Maidstone July 8. 21 Jac. 1. with remainder to the heirs males of her body and for a fight which happen'd here June 2. 1648. between Sir Thomas Fairfax General for the Parliament and some Kentish Gentlemen who had taken arms in defence of King Charles 1. and posted themselves in this town Which they so well defended tho' unequal in number the streets being well man'd and the houses well lin'd within that General Fairfax with an army of near 10000 men could not gain it from them till 12 a clock at night it enduring no less than 3 assaults by storm with such obstinacy that the veteran soldiers confess'd whatever they got was by inches and dearly bought and that they had never met with the like desperate service during all the war Lamb. â—â—mb p. â—6 At Maidstone and not below it a rivulet joyneth Medway which riseth saith Lambard at Bygon others at Ewell in a little wood less than a mile west of Lenham Lenham which I cannot allow to be the Aqua-Lena mention'd by our Author much rather should I think it to be the spring in the town call'd Streetwell perhaps from the Strata of the Romans that led hither heretofore which possibly too might give name to the Station here call'd Durolenum Burton's Comment 〈◊〉 the Itin. â— 213. it having the true distance in the Itinerary from Durobrovis or Rochester according to Aldus's copy which is 16 miles but not so from Durovernum or Canterbury which in all the copies I have yet seen is but 12 from Durolevum whereas it is distant from Lenham at least 16 and so suits not very well with our Author's assertion nor could I hear of any Roman Antiquities ever found hereabout to confirm his opinion The distances then disagreeing so much and no Antiquities appearing 't is plain there is little else left beside the similitude of names to support it What then if we should pitch upon Bapchild a place lying between Sittingbourn and Ospringe the ancient name whereof is Baccanceld afterwards contracted into Beck-child and now corruptly call'd Bapchild For as Dur denotes water so Bec in the Saxon answers that or at least the termination celd implying a pool will in some measure suit the old name But what is of more consequence in this matter is its being in the Saxon-times a place of very great note insomuch that Archbishop Brightwald An. 700. held a Synod at it Now 't is a general remark made by Antiquaries that the Saxons particularly fix'd upon those places where the Romans had left their Stations from whence at present so many of our towns end in Chester And even at this day here are the ruins of two old Churches or Chapels besides the Parish-Church Moreover if the Roman-road betwixt the Kentish cities was the same with the present then Durolevum which by the by is only read Durolenum to reconcile it to Lenham must be somewhere about this Parish because no other place in the present road is of so agreeable a distance between the said Cities Now there cannot be a shorter cut between Rochester and Canterbury than that at present is unless one should level hills or travel through bogs and yet by this the distance between is about 25 miles the same with the Itinerary Iter. 2. 4. as also where Durolevum comes between 13 to it from Rochester and 12 from it to Canterbury makes exactly the same number That there are no visible remains of the old Road may be very well attributed to this that having been all along one of the most frequented Roads in England and us'd probably ever since the Roman works were made it is now levell'd with the adjacent earth and only serves for a good bottom The old Causey indeed between Canterbury and Lemanis does still in part remain and is call'd Stone-street being the common way into those quarters But then for these 1000 years that has been private and inconsiderable with respect to this other and the soil too may make a difference For that to Lemanis has a foundation all of natural rock and hard chalk and the adjoyning fields afford sufficient quantity of most lasting materials Whereas from Rochester to Canterbury the soil is of it self soft and tender and the neighbouring parts yield no such supply of durable materials As to it 's having been a constant road it may be thus made probable In Bede's time the distance between Rochester and Canterbury was * Pag. 116. Edit Wheel 24 miles and so some call it at this day 24 others 25. so that it could not be alter'd then In the 12th Century there was a Maison Dieu erected at Ospringe for the receiving Knights Templars coming into and going out of the Kingdom And †Poems pag. 54. Chaucer going in Pilgrimage to St. Thomas pass'd thro' Boughton to Canterbury as they still do However I can rather comply with our Author and be content that Lenham should pass for Durolenum than with ‖ Hist of Cant. p. 25. â—in p. 179 180. c. Mr. Somner or Mr. Burton who place it at Newington near Sittingbourn where 't is true many Roman Antiquities have been found yet being but 8 miles from Rochester and 17 from Canterbury 't is altogether out of distance on both sides But tho' no Antiquities appear at Lenham there is a thing exceeding remarkable mention'd on the Tomb of Robert Thompson Esq in the Church there who was grandchild to that truly religious matron Mary Honywood wise of Robert Honywood of Charing Esq She had at her decease lawfully descended from her 367 children 16 of her own body 114 grandchildren 228 in the third generation and 9 in the fourth her renown liveth with her posterity her body lyeth in this Church and her monument may be seen in Marks hall in Essex wheâ—e she died p The Medway having past Maidstone cometh to Aylesford Aylesford where the Britains not only defeated the Saxons as Mr. Camden tells us but whither also King Edmund Ironside pursu'd the Danes and slew many of them and thence drove them into Shepey where had he not been stop'd by the treachery of Duke Eadric he had finally destroy'd them Here also Radulphus Frisburn under the patronage of Richard Lord Grey of Codnor with whom he return'd from the wars of the Holy Land founded a house for Carmelites in Aylesford wood An. 1240 in imitation of those whose lives he had observed in the wilderness of Palestine †Pas de Script p. 345. 354. where they throve so well that quickly after in An. 1245. there was a general Chapter of the order held here in which John Stock so call'd from his living in a hollow tree was chosen General of the
full of windings and turnings GLOCESTERSHIRE GLocestershire in the Saxon tongue gleaucestâ—schyre was the chief Seat of the Dobuni It is bounded on the west by Monmouthshire and Herefordshire on the north by Worcestershire on the east by Oxfordshire and Warwickshire †And Barkshire Hol. and on the south by Wiltshire and part of Somersetshire A pleasant and fertile County stretching out in length from northeast unto southwest The most eastern part which swelleth with rising Hills is call'd Cotteswold The middle part is a large fruitful Plain which is water'd by the most noble river Severne that gives as 't were life and spirit to the Soil The more western part lying on the other side Severne is altogether shaded with Woods But enough of this William of Malmesbury easeth me of the labour who fully describes this County and sets forth it 's excellence Take what he writes in his Book De Pontificibus The Vale of Glocester is so call'd from its chief City the soil whereof yieldeth variety of fruits and plants and all sorts of grain in some places by the natural richness of the ground and in others by the diligence of the Country-man enough to excite the idlest person to take pains when it repays his sweat with the increase of an hundred fold Here you may behold the high-ways and publick roads full of fruit-trees not set but growing naturally The Earth of its own accord bearing fruit exceeding others both in taste and beauty many of which continue fresh the whole year round and serve the owner till he is supply'd by a new Increase There is no Province in England hath so many or so good Vineyards Vineyards as this County either for fertility or sweetness of the Grape The wine whereof carrieth no unpleasant tartness being not much inferiour to the French in sweetness The Villages are very thick the Churches handsome and the Towns populous and many To all which may be aâ—ded in honour of this County the river Severne Severne than which there is not any in the Land that hath a broader Chanel swifter stream or more plenty of fish There is in it a daily rage and boisterousness of waters which I know not whether I may call a Gulph or Whirlpool casting up the sands from the bottom and rowling them into heaps it floweth with a great torrent but loses its force at the first Bridge Sometimes it overfloweth its banks and wanders a great way into the neighbouring Plains and then returneth back as conquerour of the Land That Vessel is in great danger that is stricken on the side the Watermen us'd to it when they see this Hygre Hygâ— coming for so they call it in English do turn the Vessel and cutting through the midst of it avoid its violence What he says concerning the hundred-fold increase doth not at all hold true neither do I believe with those idle and dissatisfied Husbands whom Columella reprehends that the soil is wore out by its excessive fruitfulness in former Ages and become barren But yet not to mention other things we have no reason to admire that so many places in this County from their Vines are called Vineyards since they formerly afforded plenty of Wine and that they yield none now is rather to be imputed to the sloth and unactiveness of the Inhabitants than the indisposition of the Climate a But why in some parts of this County * See 〈◊〉 Ed. â—â— as we read in our Statutes by a private custom which hath now grown into a Law The Lands and Tenements of condemned persons are forfeited to the King only for a year and a day and after that term expired contrary to the custom of all England beside return to the next heirs let the Lawyers enquire since 't is not to my purpose b And now let us survey those three parts in their order which I mention'd before GLOCESTER SHIRE By Rob t Morden â—â—â—â—ton And since Avon in the British Language signifieth a River it is not improbable it took it's name from the river In the same sense among us to omit many others we have Waterton Bourne Riverton and the Latins have their Aquinum and Fluentium And I am the more ready to believe that this town took it's name from the river because at this place they us'd to ferry over from whence the town opposite to it was called Trajectus by Antonine but without doubt there is an error in the computation of the distance between these two places since he makes it 9 miles betwixt Trajectus and Abone whereas the river is scarce two miles over But I suppose it may have lost it's name or rather dwindld into a village The Ferâ—y when passengers began to ferry over lower or when Athelstan expell'd the Welsh thence For he was the first according to William of Malmesbury who drove the Welsh beyond the river Wye and whereas in former times Severn did divide the Welsh or the Cambri and the English he made the Wye to be their Boundary whence our Countryman Neckham Inde Vagos Vaga Cambrenses hinc respicit Anglos On this side Wye the English views On that the winding Welsh pursues 〈◊〉 Brâ—â—â—â—is Not far from Wye stands amongst tufts of trees St. Breulais Castle more than half demolished famous for the death of Mahel youngest son of Miles Earl of Hereford for there by the just judgment of heaven he was remarkably punished for his greedy designs inhumane cruelty and boundless Avarice always usurping on other men's rights with all these vices he is taxed by the writers of that age For as Giraldus writes being courteously treated here by 2 Sir Walter Clifford Walter de Clifford and the castle taking fire he lost his life by the fall of a stone on his head from the highest tower Here is nothing more remarkable in this woody place e 3 Beside Newnham a pretty market and Westbury thereby a seat of the Bamhams of ancient descent but that Herbert who marry'd the daughter of the aforesaid Mahel Earl of Hereford was in right of his wise call'd Lord of Deane from whom the noble family of the Herbert's deduce their original who gave rise to the Lords of Blanleveny and more lately 〈◊〉 in Dâ—râ—â—shâ—â—e to the Herberts Earls of Huntingdon and Pembroke and others From which family if we may credit D. Powel in his Welsh History Aâ—â—â—â—ny â—â—â—â—erbert was descended Anthony Fitz-Herbert whom the Court of Common Pleas of which he was sometimes chief Justice and his own most elaborate treatises of the Common Law do manifest to have been singularly eminent in his faculty But others affirm he was descended from the Fitz-herberts a Knightly family in the County of Derby and indeed in my opinion more truly â—â—â—â—rn The river Severn call'd by the Britains Haffren after it hath run a long way in a narrow chanel f at it's first entrance into this Shire receives the Avon and
and was not wholly laid aside till the Reign of King Edward 3. g Betwixt these two towns Ware and Hertford which are scarce two miles asunder Lea is augmented by two small rivers that fall into it from the north Asser names them b These two rivers are call'd by the Saxon Chronicle Memera and Benefica Mimera and Beneficia I should guess that to be the Beneficia upon which stands Bennington where the Bensteds a noted family had formerly a small Castle 12 And also Woedhall an habitation of the Bâ—tlers who being branch'd from Sir Ralph Butler Baron of Wem in Shropshire and his wife heir to William Pantulfe Lord of Wem were Lords of Pulre-bach and enrich'd much by an heir of Sir Richard Gobion and another of Peletot Lord of this place in the time of K. Edw. 3. And that to be the Mimera which passeth by Pukerich a place that obtain'd the privilege of a Fair and Market by the Grant of Edward 1. procured by the interest of William le Bland 13 Whereupon also neighboureth Standon with a seemly house built by Sir Ralph Sadleir Chancellour of the Dutchy of Lancaster Privy-Counsâ—llor to three Princes and the last Knight Banneret of England a man so advanc'd for his great Services and stay'd wisdom Behind Puckerich Munden Furnivall presents it self which deserves mention on this account 14 That Geffrey Earl of Britain gave it to Gerard c. that it had for its Lord Gerard de Furnivall Furnivall from whom also it took it's name a younger son of Gerard Furnivall of Sheffield But now let us return to the river Lea and the town of Ware as far as which place the Danes came up the river in their light Pinnaces as Asser relateth it and there built a Fort which when King Alfred could not take by force he digged three new Chanels and so turned the waters of the Lea out of their old course to cut off their fleet from returning that from that time the river was of no great use to the neighbourhood untill it was not long since restored to it 's ancient Chanel and made more commodious for the conveyance of wares corn c. The Lea soon after it hath left Ware takes into it from the east a small river named Stort which first runneth by Bishops Stortford Bishâ—ps Stortford a little town fortified formerly with a small Castle standing upon an hill raised by art within a little island h Castle of Waymore Which Castle William the Conquerour gave to the Bishops of London whence it came to be called Bishops Stortford But King John out of hatred to Bishop c William de S. Maria made Bishop An. 1199. the same year that King came to the Crown W. demolish'd it 15 From thence it maketh his way by Sabridgworth a parcel of the honour of Earl William Mandevile and sometime the possâ—ssion of Geffry Say near Shingle-hall honested by the owners the Leventhorpes of ancient Gâ—ntry So on not far from Honsdon c. From thence it passeth on to Hunsdon which place by the favour of Queen Elizabeth Baron of Hunsdon gave the title of Baron to Sir Henry Cary then Lord Chamberlain For besides that he was descended from that family of the Dukes of Somerset which was of the Blood Royal he also was by his mother Mary Bolen Cousin-German to Qu. Elizabeth The Lea having now receiv'd this small river hast'neth on with a more full and briâ—k current toward the Thames 16 Under Hodsdon a fair through-fair to which H. Bourchier Earl of Essex having a fair house at Baise thereby wâ—ile it stood procur'd a market and in it's passage thither as it were chearfully salutes Theobald-house Theobalds commonly called Tibauld's a place than which as to the Fabrick nothing can be more neat and as to the Gardens the Walks and Wildernesses nothing can be more pleasant i This House was built by that Nestor of Britain the right honorable Baron Burleigh Lord Treasurer of England to whom more particularly this river owns it self obliged for the recovery of it's ancient Chanel But now let us return to the heart of the County where are places more ancient Twelve miles westward from Hertford stood Verolanium in old time a very famous City Tacitus calls it Verulamium Verolamiuâ— Ptolemy Urolanium and Verolamium The situation of this place is very well known to have been close by the town of St. Albans St. Albans in Caisho Hundred which Hundred was without doubt in old time inhabited by those Cassii of whom Caesar makes mention The Saxons call'd it Watlinga-cester from the famous high-way named Watlingstreat and Werlam-ceaster Neither hath it as yet lost it's ancient name for it is still commonly call'd Verulam altho' nothing of it now remains but ruins of walls checquer'd pavements and Roman Coins now and then digg'd up there k It was seated upon the side of an easie hill which faced the east and was fortified with very strong walls a double rampire and deep trenches toward the south And on the east part it had a small rivulet which formerly made on that side a large Mere or standing water whereupon it has been conjectur'd that this was the town of Cassibelinus Cassâ—belinus his town so well defended by the woods and marshes which was taken by Caesar For there is not that I know of any other Mere hereabouts In Nero's time it was esteemed a Municipium which occasion'd Ninius in his catalogue of Cities to call it Caer-Municip So that there is no doubt but this was that Caer Municipium which Hubert Goltzius found in an old Inscription These Municipia Mâ—niâ—ipâ—a were Towns whose inhabitants enjoyed the rights and privileges of Roman citizens And the name was framed à muneribus capiendis i.e. from their capacity to bear publick Offices in the Commonwealth These Municipia as to orders and degrees had their Decuriones their Equites or Gentlemen and their Commons as to their publick Council a Senate and People as to their Magistrates and Priests their Duumviri and Triumviri to administer justice and also their Censors Aedils Quaestors and Flamins But whether this our Verulam was a Municipium with Suffrages or without is not easie to determine A Municipium with Suffrages they call'd that which was capable of publick honours as they called the other which was uncapable a Municipium without Suffrages In the reign of the same Nero when Bunduica or Boadicia Queen of the Iceni out of an inveterate hatred had raised a bloody war against the Romans this town as Tacitus writeth was by the Britains entirely ruined Of which Suetonius makes mention in these words These miseries which were the effects of that Prince's inhumanity were attended with a massacre in Britain where ‖ Verulam and Maldâ—n two of the chiefest towns in that Island were taken and sack'd with a dreadful slaughter both of Roman Citizens and their
the Clergy and Laity residing upon any of the lands appertaining to this Monastery so that the Abbot hereof is not subject to any Archbishop Bishop or any Legate whatsoever but to the Pope alone This also deserves our Observation that when that great Prince Offa made a gift to the Pope of the Peter-pence commonly called Romescot out of his Kingdom he obtained of the Pope this particular privilege for the Church of St. Alban the Protomartyr of England that that Church might collect and retain to it's own use when collected all the Romescot or Peter-pence throughout Hertfordshire in which County that Church standeth Wherefore as the Church it self by the King's grant enjoys all manner of Royalties so the Abbot of the place for the time being hath all Episcopal Ornaments Also Pope Hadrian 4 who was born near Verulam granted to the Abbots of this Monastery these are the words of the Privilege That as St. Alban is well known to be the Protomartyr of the English Nation so the Abbot of his Monastery should in all times be reputed the first in dignity of all the Abbots in England Neither afteâ—wards did the Abbots neglect any particular that might be either useful or ornamental to it filling up with earth that very large Pool or Mere which lay under the town of Verulam The memory of this Pool remains in a certain street of the town still called Fishpool-street Anchors digg'd up Near which when certain Anchors in this age happen'd to be found in digging some men led into that mistake by a corrupted place in Gildas presently concluded that the Thames had formerly had it's course this way But concerning this Mere or Fishpool take if you please what is written by an ancient historian Alfricus the Abbot purchased for a great sum of money a large and deep pond called Fishpool which was very prejudicial by it's vicinity to the Church of St. Alban For the Fishery belonged to the Crown and the King's Officers and others that came to fish in it were troublesome and chargeable to the Monastery and the Monks The said Abbot therefore drein'd all the water out of this Pool and reduc'd it to dry land If I should lay any great stress on the Stories common amongst the people and should upon that bottom tell you what great store of Roman Coins how many images of gold and silver how many vessels how many marble pillars how many capitals in fine how many wonderful pieces of ancient work have been here fetch'd out of the earth I could not in reason expect to be credited However this short account which follows take upon the credit of an ancient Historian About the year 960. Ealred the Abbot in the reign of K. Edgar searching out the old subterraneous vaults of Verulam broke them all down and stop'd up all the ways and subterraneous passages which were arched over head very artificially and very firmly built some whereof were carried under the water which in old time almost encompassed the whole city This he did because these were ordinary lurking places of thieves and whores He also filled up the ditches of the city and stopt up certain caves thereabouts whither malefactors use to fly for shelter But he laid aside all the whole tiles and all such stones as he found fit for building Hard by the bank they happen'd upon certain oaken planks which had nails sticking in them and were covered over with pitch as also some other shipping-tackle particularly Anchors half eaten with rust and Oars of fâ—r And a little after Eadmer his Successor went forward with the work which Ealdred had begun and his diggers levelled the foundations of a palace in the middle of the old city and in a hollow place in the wall contrived like a small closet they happen d upon books having covers of oak and silk strings to them one whereof contain'd the life of St. Alban written in the British language the rest certain Pagan Ceremonies And when they had open'd the earth to a greater depth they met with old stone-tables tiles also and pillars pots and great earthen vessels neatly wrought and others of glass containing the ashes of the dead c. And at last out of these remains of old Verulam Eadmer built a new Monastery to St. Alban Thus much as to the Antiquity and Dignity of Verulam Now as to the praises of the place give me leave to add this Hexastic of Alexander Necham who was born there 400 years ago Urbs insignis erat Verolamia plus operosae Arti naturae debuit illa minus Pendragon Arthuri Patris haec obsessa laborem Septennem sprevit cive superba suo Hic est Martyrii roseo decoratus honore Albanus civis inclyta Roma tuus To ancient Verulam a famous town Much kindness art hath show'd but nature none Great Arthur's fire Pendragon's utmost power For seven long years did the proud walls endure Here holy Alban citizen of Rome Obtain'd the happy crown of martyrdom And in another place Hic locus aetatis nostrae primordia novit Annos foelices laetitiaeque dies Hic locus ingenuus pueriles imbuit annos Artibus nostrae laudis origo fuit Hic locus insignis magnósque creavit alumnos Foelix eximio Martyre gente situ Militat hic Christo noctéque dieque labori Invigilat sancto Religiosa cohors Here my first breath with happy stars was drawn Here my glad years and all my joys began In gradual knowledge here my mind increast Here the first sparks of glory fir'd my breast Hail noble town where fame shall ne're forget The Saint the citizens and happy seat Here heaven's true Soldiers with unwearied care And pious labour wage the Christian war But now the old Verulam is turned into Corn-fields and St. Albans St. Aâ—â—â—â—â— flourisheth which rose up out of the ruins of it a neat and large town The Church of the said Monastery is still in being a pile of building which for its largeness beauty and antiquity may justly challenge a particular regard When the Monks were turned out it was by the towns-men purchased for four hundred pound otherwise it had been laid even with the ground and was converted into a parochial Church It hath in it a very noble Font of solid brass wherein the Children of the Kings of Scotland were wont to be baptized Which Font Sir Richard Lea A Fâ—â—â—aâ—en 〈◊〉 the Scâ—â—â— spoâ—ls Master of the Pioneers brought hither amongst the rest of the spoils taken in the Scotch wars and gave it to this Church whereon is to be read this proud Inscription CUM LAETHIA OPIDUM APUD SCOTOS NON INCELEBRE ET EDINBURGUS PRIMARIA APUD EOS CIVITAS INCENDIO CONFLAGRARENT RICHARDUS LEUS EQUES AURATUS ME FLAMMIS EREPTUM AD ANGLOS PERDUXIT HUJUS EGO TANTI BENEFICII MEMOR NON NISI REGUM LIBEROS LAVARE SOLITUS NUNC MEAM OPERAM ETIAM INFIMIS ANGLORUM LIBENTER CONDIXI LEUS VICTOR SIC VOLUIT
VALE ANNO DOMINI M.D.XLIII ET ANNO REGNI HENRICI OCTAVI XXXVI When Leith a town of good account in Scotland and Edinburgh the principal city of that Nation were on fire Sir Richard Lea Knight saved me out of the flames and brought me into England In gratitude to him for this his kindness I who heretofore served only at the baptism of the Children of Kings do now most willingly offer the same service even to the meanest of the English Nation Lea the Conquerour hath so commanded Adieu A. D. 1543. in the 36th year of King Henry the 8th l But to return to our business As Antiquity hath consecrated this place to Religion so Mars seems to have made it a seat of war To pass by others when our Nation had now almost spent as it were its vital spirits in the Civil wars between the two Houses of York and Lancaster there were two battels fought within this very town by the heads of the two parties with various success In the first fight Richard Duke of York defeated the Lancastrian party took King Henry the sixth prisoner and slew a great many persons of the best quality But four years after the Lancastrians had the advantage under the conduct of Queen Margaret routed the Yorkists and recovered their King m About this town to omit a certain fort in the neighbourhood which the vulgar call the Oister-hills but I am apt to think was the Camp of Ostorius the Propraetor the Abbots erected several pious and charitable foundations as a little Nunnery at Sopwell and St. Julian's Hospital for Lepers and another named St. Mary â—f the â—â—dow de Pree for infirm women Near which they had a great Manour named Gorambery where 17 Sir Nicholas Nicholas Bacon Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England hath erected a structure becoming his character Near to this place lyeth Redborne â—â—â—borne which in modern language signifieth a Red-water And yet the water that runneth by this place 18 From Mergrate sometime a Religious House now a Seaâ— of the Ferrers out of the House of Groby is no more red than that of the Red-Sea It was a place in old time very famous for the Reliques which were there found of Amphibalus the Martyr who was the person that first instructed St. Alban in the Christian Faith for which faith he also suffer'd under Dioclesian At present it is most remarkable for the old military high-way commonly calld Watlingstreet upon which it is seated and also for a certain brook near it call'd â—t is also â—d Weâ—r Wenmer which as the vulgar believe when ever it breaks out and swells higher than usual always portends dearth or troublesome times n Near unto this we have reason to look for Duro-co-brivae â—o-coâ—a a station of which Antoninus makes mention though indeed the distance would perswade us otherwise For Redborne in our language and Dur-coh in the British or Welch tongue signifie one and the same thing to wit Red water Now to search after the situation of ancient places we have no better guides than ancient Inscriptions the course of the great roads the reason and similitude of names and rivers or lakes adjoyning although they do not exactly correspond to the several distances that are assign'd in the Itinerarie which may very well be since corrupted and the passage from one place to another cut shorter Certainly the old Duro-co-brivae must needs have been seated in the same place where that Roman high-way crossed this water to wit below Flamsted For just at this place at seven miles distance from Verulamium though now through the negligence of transcribers the number is chang'd to twelve a good large spring riseth at the road-side and crosseth it with a small stream which though here it have no name yet below St. Albans it is call'd Col. â—ra what 〈◊〉 And as to that termination Briva which is an adjunct to the names of very many places it signified as I suppose among the ancient Britains and Gauls a Bridge or the passage over a River since we find it no where us'd but at rivers In this Island there were one or two Durobrivae that is unless I am much deceiv'd passages over the water In Gaul there was Briva Isariae now Pontoise where was the passage over the Isara or Ysore Briva Oderae over the Odera and Samarobriva for that is the right name over the river Soain Somewhat higher upon a small hill standeth Flamsted â—msted which in the time of Edward the Confessor Leofstan Abbot of St. Albans gave to three Knights Turnot Waldef and Turman upon condition that they should secure the neighbouring country from robberies But William the Conquerour took it from them and gave it Roger de Todeney or Tony an eminent Norman with the title of Barony But in time it was by a daughter transferr'd to the Beauchamps Earls of Warwick Hence I passed southwards to Hemsted â—â—â—â—ted a small Market-town call'd Hehan-hamsted when King Offa made a grant of it to the Monastery of St. Albans It is seated among hills by the side of a small river which a little lower runs into another that goes through Berkhamsted â—â—â—khamâ—â—â—â— In this place the Nobles of England had a meeting when by the perswasion of Fretheric then Abbot of St. Albans they were plotting to throw off the new Norman Government And thither came William the Conqueror in person as we read in the life of this Fretheric much concern'd for fear he should to his great disgrace lose that Kingdom which with so much blood he had purchas'd And after many debates in the presence of Lanfranc the Archbishop the King to settle a firm peace took an Oath upon all the Reliques of the Church of St. Alban and upon the holy Evangelists which the Abbot Fretheric administred That he would inviolably observe all the good approv'd and ancient Laws of the Kingdom which the most sacred and pious Kings of England his Predecessors and especially King Edward had established But most of these Noblemens estates he soon after seized and confiscated and bestowed this town upon Robert Earl of Moriton and Cornwal 19 His halfbrother who according to the common tradition built here a Castle with a rampart and a double ditch to it In which Castle Richard King of the Romans and Earl of Cornwal dy'd full of years and honours Upon default of issue of that Earl King Edward the third gave this town and castle to Edward his eldest son that most renown'd and warlike Prince whom he created Duke of Cornwal from whence even in our times it continues to be part of the possessions of the Dutchy of Cornwal This castle is now nothing else but ruin'd walls and one rude heap of stones above which upon a small hill Sir Edward Cary Kt. Master of the Jewels to the King descended from the house of the Carys in Devonshire 20 And the Beauforts
†Full. Wor. p. 17. That they who buy a house in Hertfordshire pay two years purchase for the air of it But as for the pastures Norden tells us there are but few to be met withall and that their meadows tho' here and there dispers'd are many of them cold and mossy And as to the soil in general he adds That in respect of some other Shires it is but a barren Country without the great toil and charge of the husbandman b In the north-west part of the Shire is Hitching Hitching which according to Mr. Norden had it's name from lying at the end of a wood call'd Hitch that formerly came up to it so that it 's true name must be Hitchend The main business of the inhabitants is Maulting and their market chiefly noted for Corn. c Going from hence to the south-east we find the Barrows â—arrows mention'd by our Author which I am not willing to imagine were either Roman burying-places or bounds but am apt to think they had some relation to the Danes For the Hundred at a little distance call'd Dacorum-Hundred and the place within it Dane-end seem to be an evidence of some remarkable thing or other the Danes either did or suffer'd in this place And Norden tells us but upon what grounds I know not that the incursions of the Danes were stop'd in this place where they receiv'd a signal overthrow which if true and built upon good authority makes the conjecture so much the more plausible d Near the river Lea lies Hatfield Hatâ—â—â—â—d now neither a Royal nor Bishop's seat but ‖ Bâ— p. 1â— belongs to the Right Honorable the Earl of Salisbury being a place of great pleasure upon the account of it's Parks and other conveniences For situation contrivance building prospect and other necessaries to make a compleat seat it gives way to few in England From this place most of our Historians affirm that William de Hatfeld son to King Edw. 3. took his name tho' 't was really from Hatfield in Yorkshire where to the neighbouring Abbot of Roch Qu. Philippa gave 5 marks and 5 nobles per An. to the Monks to pray for the soul of this her son and the sums being transferr'd to the Church of York are now paid by the Earl of Devonshire See the Additions to Yorkshire e Next the river runs to Hertford Heâ—â—â—â—rd call'd in Saxon Heortford a name no doubt took from a Hart with which one may easily imagine such a woody County to have formerly abounded What our Author says of the Rubrum vadum would indeed agree well enough to the south and west parts of the County where the soil is a red earth mix'd with gravel but the Hartingford adjoyning makes for the former opinion and the Arms of the Town which if rightly represented by ‖ 〈◊〉 Mâ—ps Spede are a Hart couchant in the water put it beyond dispute There is a very fair School founded by Richard Hale Esq a native of this County who endow'd it with 40 l. per An. f From hence the river runs to Ware Ware the denomination whereof from the Weares and not as some imagine from Wares or merchandise as it is confirm'd by the abundance of waters thereabouts which might put them under a necessity of such contrivances so particularly from the inundation in the year 1408. when it was almost all drown'd since which time says Norden and before there was great provision made by wayres and sluces for the better preservation of the town and the grounds belonging to the same The plenty of waters hereabouts gave occasion to that useful project of cutting the chanel from thence to London and conveying the New-river to the great advantage and convenience of that City g North from hence is Burnt-Pelham Burnt-Pâ—â—ham from some great fire or other that has happen'd there * Nâ—rd pâ— There were some fragments and foundations of old buildings which appear'd plainly to have been consum'd by fire and so to have given name to the place In the walls of the Church was a very ancient monument namely a man figur'd in a stone and about him an eagle a lion and a bull all winged and a fourth of the shape of an angel possibly contriv'd to represent the four Evangelists Under the feet of the man a cross-flowry and under the Cross a serpent but whether the monument be still there I cannot certainly tell h Next is Stortford â—â—ortfâ—rd since our Author's age grown into a considerable place well stock'd with inns and a good market-town The castle there seems to have been of great strength having within it a dark and deep Dungeon call'd the Convict's prison but whether that name denotes some great privileges formerly belonging to it I dare not with a late Author affirm i But to return to the Lea Tybaulds â—ybaulds in our Author's time seems to have been one of the most beautiful seats in the County As it was built by Sir William Cecil so was it very much improv'd by his son Sir Robert who exchang'd it with King James 1. for Hatfield house Fail Wor. 〈◊〉 1â— In the year 1651. it was quite defac'd and the plunder of it shar'd amongst the soldiers 〈◊〉 Albans k But to go from hence toward the west the ancient Verolamium first offers it self the Antiquities whereof are so accurately describ'd by our Author that little can be added 〈◊〉 Aâ—br MS. Some ruins of the walls are still to be seen and some of the Roman bricks still appear The great Church here was built out of the ruins of old Verulam and tho' time and weather have made the out-side of it look like stone yet if you break one of them or go up to the tower the redness of a brick presently appears About 1666. there was found a copper coin which had on one side Romulus and Remus sucking the Wolf on the other Rome but much defac'd l The brazen Font mention'd by Camden to have been brought out of Scotland 〈◊〉 Full. Wor. â— 32. is now taken away in the late civil wars as it seems by those hands which let nothing stand that could be converted into money m In the middle of this town K. Edw. 1. erected a very stately Cross about the year 1290. in memory of Qu. Eleanor who dâ—ing in Lincolnshire was carry'd to Westminster The same he did in several other places thro' which they pass'd some whereof are mention'd by our Author under their proper heads Viscounts â—arls and Marquesses The place hath given Title to several persons of quality that of Viscount to the famous Francis Bacon Lord Verulam and Lord Chancellour of England created Viscount of this place Jan. 18. 1620. Afterwards Richard de Burgh Earl of Clanrikard in the kingdom of Ireland was created Earl of St. Albans by K. Charles 1. and was succeeded in that honour by Ulick his son with whom that title dy'd for want of
were Publick Stews call'd by the Latins Lupanaria wherein Whores prostituted and set to sale their modesty because they like rapacious She-wolves hale miserable silly people into their dens But these were prohibited by King Hen. 8. at a time when England was at the height of Lust and Luxury tho' in foreign nations they are still continu'd for gain under the specious pretence of making allowance to humane infirmity But I do not believe that they call'd this place in our language The Stews Stewes from these Bawdy houses but from the fish-ponds here for the fatting of ‖ Lucios Pikes and Tench and scowring off their muddy fennish taste Here I have seen the bellies of Pikes open'd with a knife to shew their fatness and the gaping wounds presently clos'd by the touch of Tenches and by their glutinous slime perfectly heal'd up Among these buildings there is a place for Bull-bating and Bear-bating with certain several Kennels of Band-dogs Canes cathenai which are so strong and bite so close that three of them are able to manage a Bear and four a Lion So that what the Poet said formerly of our Dogs That they could break the necks of Bulls is very true as is also what another observ'd That they are more fierce and eager than the Arcadian ones suppos'd to be engender'd of Lions w At what time this Borough was joyn'd to London by a bridge the City was not only enlarg'd but also modell'd into an excellent form of Government the Citizens being distributed into * Corpora sive Collegia Bodies or Colleges The City it self was divided into 26 Wards Wards and the management of all publick concerns put in the hands of as many ancient Men Tribus call'd in our language from their age Aldermen in Latin Senatores each of whom had the government of one Ward And whereas formerly they had for their chief Magistrate a Port-reve i.e. a †Praefectus Governour of the City King Richard ordain'd two Bailiffs instead of which King John granted them the privilege of choosing a Mayor Mayor yearly out of their twelve principal Companies and of nominating two Vice-Comites or Sheriffs the one call'd the King's and the other the City-Sheriff After this new Government was establisht 't is incredible how it grew in publick and private Buildings and is still growing the rest of the Cities in England rather decaying For to pass by the Senate-house call'd Guild-hall built with great beauty by 65 Sir Thomas Knowles Tho. Knowles Mayor and Leaden hall a large and curious piece of work built by Simon Eire for a common Garner to beat down the price of Corn in times of dearth That circuit of Pillars also or the middle Janus Bursa which the Common-people call the Burse but Queen Elizabeth nam'd the Royal Exchange 1567. Royal Exchange built by Sir Thomas Gresham Knight for the use of Merchants and the ornament of the City A magnificent thing it is whether you consider the Structure it self the resort of Merchants from all Nations or the variety of Commodities The same person being a great admirer of Learning consecrated a spacious house that he had in the City to the improvement of good Letters Gresham-College and settled gentele Salaries upon six Professors of Divinity Law Physick Astronomy Geometry and Musick that London might not only be as it were a shop of all kind of wares but a treasury also of Arts and Sciences To pass by also the house of the Hanse-Company 66 Commonly call'd the Stil-yard as the Easterlings-yard the conveyance of water into all parts of the City by pipes under ground and neat Castles for the reception of it together with the new Aquiduct lately contriv'd by Peter Maurice a German of great ingenuity and industry and by the help of a wheel with little pipes plac'd at a certain level brings water out of the Thames to a great part of the City Besides these I say it is in all parts so beautified with Churches and Religious houses that one would think Religion and Piety had made choice of it for their residence For it has in it 121 Churches more than Rome 67 As great and holy as it is her self can show besides †Nosocomia Xenodochia Hospitals and particularly in that Nursery of young boys call'd Christ-Church it maintains about 600 Orphans x and 1240 poor people that live upon Alms c. It would be too tedious to insist particularly upon the excellency of its Laws and Constitutions the dignity of its Governours loyalty and obedience to their Prince the courteousness of the Citizens the splendour of its buildings the many choice and excellent Wits it produces the pleasure of it's gardens in the Suburbs admirably stockt with foreign Herbs its numerous and well appointed fleet that incredible treasure of all sorts of Commodities particularly it furnishes Antwerp yearly with two hundred thousand †Pannorum Lancorum woollen Cloaths besides what it sends to other places and the great plenty of whatever either the necessity or convenience of humane life requires 68 About four hundred years since So what H. Junius says in his Philippeis is very true Tectis opibúsque refertum Lodinum si fas numeroso cive superbum Larga ubi foecundo rerum undat copia cornu London where circling riches still return Where num'rous tribes the stately piles adorn And willing plenty shakes her fruitful horn And J. Scaliger in his Book of Cities Urbs animis numeróque potens robore gentis For number strength and courage of her men Great London's fam'd Another also hammer'd out these verses concerning London if you vouchsafe to read them Wedding of Tame and 〈◊〉 Londinum gemino procurrit littore longè Aemula maternae tollens sua lumina Troiae Clementer surgente jugo dum tendit in ortum Urbs peramaena situ coelóque solóque beata Urbs pietate potens numeroso cive superba Urbsque Britannorum quae digna Britannia dici Haec nova doctrinis Lutetia mercibus Ormus Altera Roma viris Crysaea secunda metallis Stretch'd on a rising hill betwixt the strands London her mother Troy 's great rival stands Where heaven and earth their choicest gifts bestow And tides of men the spatious streets o'reflow London the mighty image of our Isle That we Great Britain of it self may stile Where Chryse Paris Rome and Ormus yield In metals learning people wealth excell'd Henry of Huntingdon also in the time of King Stephen 69 writes thus in commendation of London Ibis in nostros dives Londonia versus Quae nos immemores non sinis esse tui Quando tuas arces tua moenia mente retracto Quae vidi videor cuncta videre mihi Fama loquax nata loqui moritura silendo Laudibus erubuit fingere falsa tuis And thou rich London shalt my verse adorn Thou in my joyful mind art
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
and this serves us to make Beer of The inhabitants drive a gainful trade with this into the neighbouring Counties The north and farther part by reason of the floods fens and the many islands made by riveâ—s is call'd the Isle of Ely abounds with rich pastures exceeding fresh and pleasant but however somewhat hollow and spungy by reason of the waters that undermine it which sometimes overflow and drown the greatest part of it a One of the Roman high-ways call'd Erming-streat in the Ely-book runs along the west-side of the lower part and carries us directly to Huntingdon by Royston Royston a town on the borders of this County See Hâ—rtfordshâ—re of some note but of no antiquity b 'T is partly in Hartfordshire and partly in this County which we spoke of before and likewise through Caxton Caxton formerly the Baronage of Stephen de Eschallers from whose posterity it descended to the Frevills in the time of Henry 3. and from them by the Burgoins to the Jermins Nor is Gamlinghay far off the habitation formerly of the Avenells whose whole estate fell by marriage to that ancient family of St. George a family that since Henry 1. has produc'd many worthy Knights who liv'd at Hatley from them call'd Hatley St. George Hatley St. George More westward there is a little river which runs through the middle of this part from South to North to mix with the Ouse beginning at Ashwell and passing with many windings by Shengay Shengay where are the most pleasant meadows of the County formerly a †A Câ—mmandeâ—y Praeceptory of the Knights Templars given by Sibyl daughter of Roger Mont-gomery Earl of Shrewsbury and wife of J. de Raines in the year 1130. a little way off Burne-castle Burne which was anciently the Barony of one Picot Sheriff of this County Barons of Burne and also of the Peverills Barnwell-Hist by one of whose daughters the Inheritance and Honours sell to Gilbert Peche the last of which family after he had advanc'd his second wife's children The King heir to private persons made King Edward the first his heir In those days the English Nobility brought up the ancient Roman custom in the time of their Emperors of making their Princes heirs whenever they were out of favour This Castle was burnt down in the Barons war in Henry the third's time set on fire by one Ribald de Insula or L'Isle and at the same time Walter of Cottenham a great man was hang'd for rebellion It 's uncertain how former writers have call'd this river some by the name of Grant but others Cam which to me seems most probable because 't is so crooked for the Brittish word Cam signifies as much whence a crooked river in Cornwal is call'd Camel and also because old Camboritum Camboritum a town mention'd by Antoninus in his third Journey in Britain stood upon it as I am almost perswaded both by its distance and name and also the great number of Roman coins found nigh the bridge For Camboritum signifies a ford over Cam Rith its signification in British and Gaulish or a crooked ford the word rith in the British language signifying a ford I mention this that the French may better understand the meaning of Augustoritum Darioritum Rithomagus and the like in their own Country However the Saxons had rather use Grant-ceaster Grantcester and Gront-ceaster for our Camboritum and though it retains this name still I can't find the derivation of it To derive it from the Saxon word * Gronna Hovd fol. 251. Flor. Wigorniens fol. 402. Gron The meaning of Gron. a fenny place might be a mistake and yet Asserius more than once has call'd some fenny grounds in Somersetshire Gronnas paludosissimas which is a mixture of Saxon and Latin and 't is well known that a city in West-Friezland in the like situation is call'd Groneingen But let others hunt after the Etymology of it About the year 700 this was saith Bede a little desolate city when he tell us that just by its walls was found a little trough or coffin of white marble delicately wrought with a lid of the same most exactly fitted for it Now 't is a small village part whereof Henry Lacy Earl of Lincoln gave to his bastard-son Henry upon condition that all his posterity which have been long since extinct should take no other name but Henry King Henry the sixth of the House of Lancaster and heir to Lacie's estate settled the other part upon his own College call'd King 's in Cambridge Cambridge which town is either a part or a sprig of the ancient Camboritum 't is so nigh it in name and situation Nor am I apt to believe that Cam was ever turn'd out of Grant for this would look like a change too forc'd and strain'd where all the letters are lost but one I should rather think that the common people had kept to the old name of Camboritum or the river Cam though indeed writers more commonly use the Saxon word c It is call'd in Saxon Grantanbryege Grantabriege and Grantebrige Grantbridge This City the other University the other Eye and Stay of the Kingdom this excellent Magazine of all good Literature and Religion stands on the river Cam which after it has most pleasantly sprinkl'd its west side with several little Isles turns to the east divides it into two parts so that 't is joyn'd by a bridge which hath given it that new name of Cambridge Beyond the bridge there is a large old castle which may now seem to have come to its last thred and Magdalen-College On this side the bridge where lyes the far greatest part of the town there 's a pleasant prospect of the form of the Streets of the number of Churches and of sixteen fair Colleges the Muses sacred Mansions wherein great numbers of worthy learned men are maintain'd and where the Studies of Arts and Languages so mightily flourish that they may deservedly be term'd the very fountains of all Literature Religion and Learning which most sweetly scatter their wholesom streams through all the Gardens both of Church and State Nor is there any thing wanting that is requir'd in a most flourishing University were not the Air a little too gross by reason of its fenny situation But perhaps the first founders of it in this place were of Plato's opinion who being of a strong constitution himself made choice of the Academy for his studies a very unwholesom place in Attica the better to keep under the stubborness of the body that it might not too much clog the brain However our Ancestors men of singular wisdom have dedicated this place to their learned studies not without divine direction and have adorn'd it with many noble buildings That we may not seem guilty of the worst sort of ingratitude to these eminent Patrons of Learning or to use Eumenius's words those Parents of
seu foliis gramineis ramosum An gramineum ramosum C. B. J. B. Park Millefolium tenuifolium Ger. emac. ico Fine or Fennel-leav'd Pondweed In the river Cam plentifully Pulsatilla Anglica purpurea Park parad flore minore Ger. minore nigricante C. B. flore clauso caeruleo J. B. Common or English Pasque-flower On Gogmagog-hills on the left hand of the way leading from Cambridge to Haveril just on the top of the hill also about Hildersham six miles from Cambridge Ranunculus flammeus major Ger. palustris flammeus major Park longifolius palustris major C. B. longo folio maximus Lingua Plinii J. B. Great Spear-wort In some ditches at Teversham-moor and abundantly in many great ditches in the fens in the Isle of Ely Ribes nigrum vulgò dictum folio olente J. B. fructu nigro Park Grossularia non spinosa fructu nigro C. B. Black Currans Squinancy-berries By the river-side at Abington Rorella sive Ros soliis folis oblongis J. B. Park folio oblongo C. B. Long-leav'd Rosa solis or Sun-dew On Hinton-moor about the watery places plentifully Salix humilior foliis angustis subcaeruleis ut plurimum sibi invicem oppositis Salix tenuior folio minore utrinque glabro fragilis J. B. The yellow dwarf-willow By the horse-way-side to Cherry-hinton in the Close just by the water you pass over to go thither Scordium J. B. C. B. Ger. legitimum Park Water Germander In many ditches in the Isle of Ely and in the Osier-holts about Ely-city Also in a ditch on the left hand of the road leading from Cambridge to Histon about the mid-way S. Sesamoides Salamanticum magnum Ger. The greater Spanish Catchfly Near the Gravel-pits as you go to the nearest Windmill on the North-side of Newmarket-town This place may be in Suffolk Solanum lethale Park Ger. melanocerasos C. B. manicum multis sive Bella donna J. B. Deadly Nightshade or Dwale In the lanes about Fulborn plentifully Thalictrum minus Ger. Park C. B. minus sive Rutae pratensis genus minus semine striato J. B. The lesser Meadow-Rue About Newmarket and also about Bartlow and Linton in the chalky grounds Trifolium echinatum arvense fructu minore C. B. Medica echinata minima J. B. echinata parva recta Park malè non enim erigitur The smallest Hedgehog-Trefoil In an old gravel-pit in the corn-field near Wilborham Church also at Newmarket where the Sesamoides Salamanticum grows Trifolium sylvestre luteum siliquâ cornutâ vel Medica frutescens C. B. Medica sylvestris J. B. frutescens sive flavo flore Clusii Park Yellow-medick with flat wreathed cods In many places among the corn as between Linton and Bartlow by the road sides between Cambridge and Trumpinton near the river about Quoy Church and Wilborham c. Verbascum nigrum flore è luteo purpurascente C. B. nigrum flore luteo apicibus purpureis J. B. nigrum Ger. nigrum salvifolium luteo flore Lob. Sage-leav'd black Mullein In many places about Gogmagog-hills towards Linton as by the lanes sides and in the closes about Abington Shelford c. Veronica picata recta minor J. B. Spicata minor C. B. mas erecta Park assurgens sive spica Ger. Upright male Speedwell or Fluellin In several closes on Newmarket-heath as in a close near the beacon on the left hand of the way from Cambridge to Newmarket HVNTINGDONSHIRE AT the back of Cambridgeshire lyes the County of Huntingdon by the Saxons call'd huntedunescyre by the common people Huntingdonshire situated so as to have Bedfordshire on the South Northamptonshire on the West as likewise on the North where it is parted by the river Avon and Cambridgeshire on the East a It is a very good Corn Country and for feeding ground the fenny part of the East is fatter than ordinary the rest mighty pleasant by reason of its swelling hills and shady groves in ancient times woody all over according to the report of the Inhabitants That it was a Forest till the beginning of Henry 2. is evident by an old Survey All except Waybridge Sapple and Herthei which were Woods of the Lords demain is still Forest b HUNTINGTON SHIRE By Robt. Morden It is the same place that J. Picus an ancient writer speaks of when he says That King Alfred gain'd such advantages over the Danes that they gave what security he demanded either to leave the Land or turn Christians Which was put in execution for Guthrum the King whom they call Gormond thirty of his Nobility and almost all his people were baptiz'd and himself adopted Alfred 's God-son and call'd by the name of Athelâ—â—an Upon this he settl'd here and had the Provinces of the East-Angles and Northumbers bestow'd on him now to protect them as their lawful Soveraign which before he had wasted as a Robber Nor must it be pass'd over that some of these old writers have call'd this city Gumicester and Gumicastrum positively affirming that Machute had his Episcopal See at this place d 1 And by the name of Gumicester King Henry 3. granted it to his son Edmund Earl of Lancaster Ouse hastning its course frâ—m hence nigh Cambridgeshire glides through pleasant meadows where is a pretty neat town formerly by the Saxons call'd Slepe now St. Ives St. Ives from Ivo a Persian Bishop who they write about the year 600 travell'd over England with a great reputation of sanctity all the way carefully preaching the Gospel and left his name to this place where he left his body too Soon after the Religious remov'd that from hence to Ramsey-Abby e Turning almost three miles on one side I saw Somersham Somersham a large Palace of late belonging to the Bishop of Ely given to the Church of Ely by Earl Brithnot in the year 991 and enlarg'd with new buildings by that every-way-prodigal Bishop James Stanley d It is now in the possession of Anthony Hamond Esq of the ancient family of that name in Kent A little higher stood the famous rich Abby of e In Saxon Ramesige Ramsey among the fenns where the rivers stagnate in a soft kind of grounds For a description of this place you may have it in short out of the private History of the Abby Ramsey Ramsey that is the Rams Isle on the West-side for on all others there are nothing but impassible fens for a great way together it is separated from firm ground almost two Bow shots by rough Quagmires Which place formerly up a shallow river us'd to receive Vessels into the midst of it by gentle gales of wind but now with great pains and cost these clay Quagmires are stopped with large quantities of wood gravel and stone and footmen may pass upon a firm Causey almost two miles long but less in breadth surrounded with Alders which with fresh green Reeds intermix'd with Bulrushes make a beautiful shew long before it was inhabited it was all cover'd over with several sorts of trees but with wild Ashes in
as unfortunate as could be Catharine of Spain and Mary Queen of Scots lye interr'd finding rest here from all their miseries g 〈◊〉 Penns Beneath Peterborow the Nen by this time remov'd about five and forty miles from its Spring-head and carrying along with it in its chanel all the little streams and land-floods occasion'd by rain divides it self into several branches And by this means finding no certain course for its stream diffuses its waters all abroad the plain Country and overflows it far and near in the winter nay and sometimes the greater part of the year so that it seems to be a vast level Ocean with here and there an Island bearing up and appearing above the surface of the waters The cause the neighbouring people alledge to be this that of the three chanels in which such a vast deal of waters was us'd to be convey'd the first that went to the Ocean by Thorney Abby and thence aside by Clowscross and Crow-land the second also by the cut made by Morton Bishop of Ely call'd the New Leame and then by Wisbich have a long time been neglected and upon this account that the third which bends its course down by Horsey-bridge Wittles-mere Ramsey-mere and Salters-load is not able to receive so much water so that it breaks out with more violence upon the adjoyning Flats And the Country complains of the injury done them as well by those who have neglected the keeping open and clearing the chanels as by others that have diverted the water to their private uses and as the Reatines in Tacitus they say That Nature her self hath well provided for man's use in giving all rivers their issues and courses and their endings as well as their springs But of this enough if not too much In this place the County is narrowest for between the Nen and the river Welland one of the boundaries on the North-side it is scarce five miles over Upon the Welland which Ethelwerd an ancient Writer calls c The Saxon-Annals p. 109. call it Weolud and Florence of Worcester Welund Weolod near its spring stands Braibrooke Castle B. brooke Lords of B. brooke built by Robert May alià s de Braibrok a great favourite of King John's whose son Henry having married Christiana Ledet an heiress of a great estate his eldest son took the sirname of Ledet From one of whose grand daughters by his son as I said before it fell to the Latimers and from them to the Griffins who now enjoy it h Hard by amongst the woods I saw some few remains of a Monastery call'd anciently De Divisis now Pipwell Pâ—pwell founded by William Buttevillein for Cistercian Monks in the reign of Henry the second From thence we have a sight of Rockingham a Castle sometime of the Earls of Albemarle built by King William the Conquerour at which time it was a Waste as we find in Domesday-book Domesday-book fortified with rampires bulwarks and a double range of battlements seated upon the side of an hill in a woody forest thereupon named Rockingham Forest i It runs next by Heringworth the seat formerly of the * De Cantempo Cantlows and now of the Lords Zouch who fetch their original from Eudo a younger son of Alan de la Zouch Lords Zouch of Ashby and have grown up to an honourable family of Barons having been much enobled by matches with one of the heirs of Cantlow and also with another of Baron †De Sancto Mauro Seymour who likewise drew his pedigree from the heir of the Lord Zouch of Ashby and the Lovels Lords of Castle-Cary in Somersetshire k Here also in this Forest I saw Deane belonging anciently to the Deanes afterwards to the Tindals which is worth mentioning if it were but for its being at present a pleasant seat of the Brudenels of which Family Sir Edmund Brudenel Kt. lately deceased was a great lover and admirer of venerable antiquity The family likewise of Engain Barons of Engain which was both ancient and honourable had their seat hard by at Blatherwic where now live the House of Staffords Knights descended from Ralph the first Earl of Stafford and converted their Castle named Hymel into a Monastery call'd Finisheved Their Issue-male fail'd about 200 years ago but of the daughters the eldest was married to Sir John Goldington the second to Sir Lawrence Pabenham and the third to Sir William Bernack Knights of great worth and honour Here also we see Apthorp d It is now the possession of the right honourable the Earl of Westmorland the seat of that worthy Knight Sir Anthony Mildemay whose father Walter Mildemay late Privy Councellor to Queen Elizabeth for his virtue wisdom piety favour to learning and learned men shown by founding Emanuel-College in Cambridg hath worthily deserv'd to be registred among the best men of this age In the neighbourhood stands Thornhaugh Thornhaugh belonging formerly to the family of ‖ De Sancto Medardo Semarc and now to the right honourable William Russel son of Francis Earl of Bedford descended of the same family of Semarc whom King James for his virtues and faithful service in Ireland while he was Lord Deputy there advanced to the dignity of Baron Russel of Thornhaugh Neither is the little Town of Welledon Welledon Bassets of Welledon to be past by considering that anciently it went for a Barony which by Maud daughter and heir of Geoffrey de Ridell who was drown'd with King Henry the first 's son descended to Richard Basset Lord Chief Justice of England in whose race it continued till K. Henry the fourth's time when Male-issue failing it fell by the females to the Knevetts and Alesburies From Heringworth the Welland visits Colliweston where the Lady Margaret Countess of Richmond King Henry the seventh's mother built a fine house Beneath Colliweston the neighbouring inhabitants dig great store of Slates Slates for covering Houses for building From hence Wittering-heath a plain runs out a long way Eastward upon which the Inhabitants tell you the Danes receiv'd a memorable overthrow And now Welland arrives at Burghley a most beautiful seat from which that singularly wise and honourable Councellor Sir William Cecil Lord high Treasurer of England the great support of this Nation receiv'd the title of Baron Burghley Burghley Baron Burghley at the hands of Queen Elizabeth This house he adorn'd with the lustre of his own virtues and beautify'd with magnificent buildings laying to it a large Park for that †Parcus word Varro uses encompass'd with a Stone-wall of great circumference l Below this at Berneck lye the old Stone Quarries out of which the Abbies of Peterborow and Ramsey were built Here to use the very words of the History of Ramsey The toiling strength of the Quarriers is often exercis'd yet still there remains work whereon to employ them resting and refreshing them now and then by a cessation And we read in King Edward the
Râ—â—land of this family John departed this life Sept. 29. 1679. and left this title to his only son John the present Earl of Rutland LINCOLNSHIRE THIS County of Lincoln borders upon Rutland on the East call'd by the Saxons Lincollscyre by the Normans upon their first entrance into this Island by a transposal of Letters Nicolshire but commonly now Lincolnshire 'T is a very large County being almost sixty miles long and in some places above thirty broad fitted by the mildness of the air for the produce of corn and feeding of cattel adorn'd with many towns and water'd with many rivers On the East-side it shoots out a †Supercilium foreland of great compass which bounds upon the German Ocean on the North it reaches as far as the Abus or Humber an arm of the sea on the West it joyns to Nottinghamshire and on the South 't is parted from Northamptonshire by the river Welland The whole County is divided into three parts Holland Kesteven and Lindsey as we in our language call it a Holland Holland which Ingulphus calls Hoiland is next the sea and like Holland in Germany is so very moist in many places that the print of one's foot remains in it and the surface it self shakes if stampt on from whence it may seem to have took its name unless with Ingulphus one would have Hoiland to be the right name and that it deriv'd it from the Hay made here 1 With our Progenitors broadly call'd Hoy. b All this part lyes upon that Estuary which Ptolemy calls Metaris Metaris instead of Maltraith at this day The Washes The Washes This Estuary is very large and famous cover'd with water at every flowing of the tide and passable again at every ebb tho' not without danger as King John to his own loss experienc'd for whilst in the Barons war he attempted to pass here he lost all his carriages and furniture near Foss-dyke and Welstream by a sudden inundation as Matthew of Westminster tells us This part of the County call'd Silt which the Inhabitants from the great heaps of sand believe to have been forsaken by the sea is so assaulted on one side with the ocean and on the other with a mighty flood of waters which drain from the higher Country that all the winter they constantly watch it and can hardly with their cast-up banks defend themselves against those dangerous enemies The ground produceth very little corn but much grass and is well stor'd with fish and sea-fowl but the soil is so soft that they work their horses unshod and you shall not find so much as a little stone which has not been brought from some other place yet however the Churches here are beautiful and well built of square stone 'T is very evident from the banks cast up against the waters now distant two miles from the shore and from the hills near Sutterton which they call Salt-hills Salt-hillâ— that the sea came further up Here is great want of fresh water in all places having no other supply but the rain water in pits which if deep soon turn the water brackish if shallow grow presently dry Here are many quick-sands Qâ—ick-sands and the Shepherds and their flocks are often with great danger made sensible that they have a wonderful force in sucking in any thing that comes upon them and retaining it fast LINCOLNSHIRE by Roâ—â— Mâ—rden â—â—l's of â—â—wland If out of the same Author I should describe the Devils of Crowland with their blubber lips fiery mouths scaly faces beetle heads sharp teeth long chins hoarse throats black skins hump shoulders big bellys burning loins bandy legs tail'd buttocks c. that formerly haunted these places and very much troubled Guthlacus and the Monks you 'd laugh perhaps at the story and much more at my madness in telling it Since the situation and nature of the place is strange and different from all others in England and the Monastery particularly famous in former times I shall give you the description of it somewhat at large This Crowland lyes in the fenns so enclos'd and encompass'd with deep bogs and pools that there is no access to it but on the north and east-side and these by narrow Causeys This Monastery and Venice if we may compare things of such different size and proportion have the same situation It consists of three streets separated each from the other by water-courses planted with willows built on piles driven into the bottom of the pool having communication by a triangular bridge curiously built under which the inhabitants say there was a very deep pit dig'd to receive the concourse of waters there Beyond the bridge where as one words it †â—n â—ilum â—atur 〈◊〉 the bog is become firm ground stood formerly that famous Monastery of very small compass about which unless on that side where the town stands the ground is so rotten and boggy that a pole may be thrust down thirty foot deep there is nothing round about it but reeds and next the Church a grove of alders However the town is pretty well inhabited but the cattel are kept far from it so that when the owners milk them they go in boats that will carry but two call'd by them Skerrys Their greatest gain is from the fish and * Anatum 〈◊〉 wild Ducks that they catch which are so many that in August they can drive at once into a single net 3000 ducks they call these pools their corn fields for there is no corn grows within five miles For this liberty of taking of fish and fowl they formerly paid yearly to the Abbot as they do now to the King three hundred pounds sterling 'T is not necessary to write the private history of this Monastery for 't is extant in Ingulphus now printed yet I am willing to make a short report of that which Peter Blesensis * â—â—â—e-â—anâ—â—ius Vice-chancellour to King Henry the second among other things related concerning the first building of this Monastery in the year 1112. to the end that by one single precedent we may learn by what means and supplys so many rich and stately Religious-houses were built in all parts of this kingdom Joffrid the Abbot obtain'd of the Arch-bishops and Bishops of England an Indulgence to every one that helped forward so religious a work for the third part of the penance enjoyn'd for the sins he had committed With this he sent out Monks every where to pick up money and having enough he appointed St. Perpetua's and Felicity's day to be that in which he would lay the foundation to the end the work from some fortunate name might be auspiciously begun At which time the Nobles and Prelates with the common People met in great numbers Prayers being said and Anthems sung the Abbot himself laid the first corner stone on the East-side after him every noble man according to his degree laid his stone some laid money others Writings by
place on the banks of Avon is the principal town of this County which we call Warwick â—arwick the Saxons k Waeringwic Chron. Sax. Warring-Æ¿ic Ninnius and the Britains Caer Guaruic and Caer-Leon All these names since they seem to be l John Rous of Warwick derives it from Gwayr a British Prince and Matthew Paris in Vit. Offae from Waremund father of the first Offa King of the Mercians deriv'd either from the British word Guarth which signifies Praesidium or a Fortress or from Legions posted in such places for their security in a great measure inclin'd me to think altho' I am more of the Sceptick than Critick in matters of Etymology that this was that very town which in Britain by the Romans was call'd Praesidium â—â—sidium where as it is in the Notitia 2 Or abstract of Provinces the Praefect of the Dalmatian horse by the appointment of the Governour of Britain was posted These Troops were levied in Dalmatia and here we may observe the political prudence of the Romans who in their Provinces disposed and quart'red their foreign Troops in garrisons â—reign â—ops in â—rrison with whom and the natives by reason of the great diversity of language and humours there could not likely be any secret combinations form'd against their Government â—â—s l. 4. â—cit For as Florus writes Nations not habituated to the yoke of slavery would otherwise be always attempting to shake it off Whereupon it was that from Africa the Moors from Spain the Asturians and Vettones from Germany the Batavians the Nervii Tungri and Turnacenses from Gaul the Lingones and Morini and from other parts the Dalmatians Thracians Alains c. were brought over to serve in Britain as in their proper places we shall observe But to return to our business no one ought to think the Britains deriv'd the word Guarth from the Franks for if we believe Lazius 't is of Hebrew extraction in which original most Countries agree But that this was the Praesidium 3 That is the garrison-town the authority of our Annals may convince us assuring us that the Roman Legions had here a station and also its situation almost in the centre of the Province intimates no less For it lies at an equal distance from the coast of Norfolk on the East and of Wales on the West just such a situation as was that of Praesidium a town of Corsica in the heart of that Island Nor will it seem strange that the Romans should here have a fortress and military station if we consider its situation on a steep and rocky eminence over the river Avon and h the way on every side leading up to it cut through the rock That it hath been fortified with walls and a ditch is very manifest The castle is very strong both by nature and art the seat heretofore of the Earls of Warwick extending it self South-west i The town it self is adorn'd with fair buildings and owes very much of its beauty to Ethelfleda Lady of the Mercians who in the year 911. raised it out of its ruins At the Norman invasion it was in a flourishing state and had many Burgesses as they call them of whom 12 were by tenure to accompany the King in his wars as may be seen in Domesday-book He who upon warning given did not go was fined 100 shillings to the King But if the King cross'd the Seas against an enemy then they were either to send him four Boatswains or in lieu of them four pound in Deniers In this Barony the King hath in Demesne 113 Burgesses and the Barons of the King 112. Roger second Earl of Warwick of the Norman race built here in the middle of the town the beautiful Church of S. Mary which the Beauchamps succeeding Earls adorn'd with their Monuments †But his Monument in Worcester Cathedral where he lies buried tells us his name was Thomas Littleton More especially the last of the Beauchamps Richard Earl of Warwick and m Lieutenant General Governour of the Realm of France and of the Durchy of Normandy Governour of Normandy who dying at Roan in the year 1439. was with great magnificence and funeral pomp 4 And after a sumptuous Funeral solemniz'd in this Church lies entomb'd in a magnificent Tomb with this Inscription Pray devoutly for the soul whom Gâ—d assoil of one of the most worshipful Knights in his days of manhood and cunning Richard Beauchamp late Earl of Warwick Lord Despenser of Bergavenny and of many other great Lordships whose body resteth here under this Tomb in a full fair Vault of stone set in the bare Roche The which visited with long sickness in the castle of Roan therein deceased full Christianly the last day of April in the year of our Lord Gâ—d 1439. He being at that time Lieutenant General of France and of the Dutchy of Normandy by sufficient authority of our Soveraign Lord King Henry the sixth The which body by great deliberation and worshipful conduct by sea and land was brought to Warwick the fourth of October the year abovesaid and was laid with full solemn exequies in a fair Chest made of stone in the west door of this Chapel according to his last Will and Testament therein to rest till this Chapel by him devised in his life were made the which Chapel founded on the Roche and all the members thereof his Executors did fully make and apparel by the authority of his said last Will and Testament And thereafter by the said authority they did translate worshipfully the said body into the Vault aforesaid Honoured be God therefore brought over and interr'd here k Near Warwick to the North is Blacklow-hill Blacklow-hill on which Peter de * Al. Gaversden Gaveston whom Edward the second from a mean condition had raised to the honour of the Earldom of Cornwall n Guy de Beauchamp Earl of Warwick seiz'd on him at Wallingford as they were carrying him prisoner to London brought him hither and without any process of Law cut off his head was beheaded by the Barons For this man puff'd up with the favour of his Prince and the flattery of fortune had assumed an excessive liberty debauch'd the King vilify'd all good men prey'd upon the estates of all and like a crafty old Courtier promoted quarrels betwixt the King and the Nobility Hard by upon the Avon stands Guy-cliff Guy-cliff call'd by others Gibcliff the present seat of Thomas de Bellofago or Beaufoe of the old Norman race J. Rouse of Warwick This place is the seat of Pleasure it self there is a shady grove crystal springs mossey caves meadows ever green a soft and murmuring fall of waters under the rocks and to crown all solitude and quiet the greatest darling of the Muses Here fame tells us that Guy of Warwick Guy of Warwick that celebrated Hero after he had finish'd his Martial atchievements built a Chapel led a Hermit's life
Baron to John Beauchamp Steward of the Houshold to Richard the second who by his Letters Patents created him Baron Beauchamp of Kidderminster Baron Beauchamp 〈◊〉 Kâ—dderâ—â—â—r Soon after this he with many other eminent persons in defiance of that King was condemned and beheaded by the Barons who making an Insurrection with the Commons in contempt of the King's Authority call'd all his prime Favourites to account for male-administration Hence Severn taking somewhat an oblique course salutes Hertlebury Hertlebury a Castle of the Bishops of Worcester 〈◊〉 in old â—â—glish â—â—â—ds or â—â—â—cts not far distant and so goes on to Holt which hath that name from the thick Woods a castle anciently belonging to the Abtots and since to the Beauchamps who springing from William Beauchamp sirnam'd the blind Baron grew up into a very honourable family whose estate after some time by heirs-female came to the Guises and Penistones e In its passage downward Severn feeds such a number of River-Lampreys Lampreys that Nature seems to have made a pond for them in this place such as the Romans anciently invented in the height of their Luxury Lampreys have their name from the Latin Lampetra from licking the rocks they are like Eels slippery and of a dark colour only somewhat blueish on the belly on each side the throat they have seven holes at which they receive water having no gills at all They are best in season in the Spring as being then of a most delicious taste whereas in the Summer the string within them which doth the office of a back-bone groweth hard The Italians do much improve the delicacy of their taste by a particular way of dressing them First they kill the fish in * Vino Cretico Malvesey and stop the mouth with a nutmeg and reach hole with a clove then rolling them up round they add the kernels of filbirds stamp'd crums of bread oil Malvesey and Spices stewing them all together carefully in a pan over a moderate fire for some little time But to instruct Cooks and Epicures is no business of mine Below Holt Severn opens its Eastern bank to receive the river Salwarp 3 This hath its first veins out of the Lickey-hill most eminent in the North-part of this Shire near unto which at Frankley the family of the Littletons were planted by †John Littleton alias Westcote the famous Lawyer Justice in the King's Bench in the time of King Edw. 4. to whose Treatise of Tenures the Students of our Common Law are no less beholden than the Civilians to Justinian's Institutes Hol. which rising in the North-part of the County runs by Brome's-grave Bromes-grave a very considerable market-town not far from Grafton Grafton a seat of the renowned family of the Talbots which King Henry the seventh gave to Gilbert Talbot a younger son of John the second Earl of Shrewsbury whom for his bravery in war and his extraordinary wisdom he also made Knight of the Garter and Governour of Calice in France f From Brome's-grave Salwarp proceeds to Droitwich Durtwich Durtwich some call it from the Brine-pits and its wet situation as Hyetus in Boeotia from its dirty soil g Here rise three Springs Salt-springs by natures particular bounty yielding plenty of Brine h they are separated by a brook of fresh water which runs between them And out of them is made the purest and whitest kind of Salt for six months in the year that is from the Summer to the Winter Solstice It is prepared in little boiling houses built about the pits What a prodigious quantity of wood these Salt-works consume though men be silent yet Feckenham Forest Feckenham Forest once very thick with trees and the neighbouring woods will by their thinness declare daily more and more If I should say that Richard de la Wich Richard de la Wich Bishop of Chichester who was born here did by his prayers obtain these Salt-springs I am afraid some would censure me as very injurious to the Divine Providence and over-credulous of old wives fables Nevertheless so great was the pious credulity of our Ancestors that they did not only believe it firmly themselves and transmit it in writing to us but also upon that account paid him honours in a manner divine when for his skill in the Canon-Law and sanctity of life he was solemnly canonized for a Saint by Urban the fourth Yet before this Richard was born Gervase of Tilbury wrote the following account of these Springs though not exactly true In the Diocese of Worcester there is a village not far from that city nam'd Wich where at the foot of a little hill there runs a stream of very sweet water On the bank hereof are certain pits few in number and of no great depth whose water is extreamly salt which boiled in pans condenseth into very white salt All the Country report that from Christmas to Midsummer there comes up very strong brine but all the rest of the year the water is somewhat fresh and unfit to make salt And which I think more wonderful when the water b Mr. Camden citing Gervase of Tilbury in the margin hath locus corruptus and by an asterisk directs to these words oportuni partem which I guess should be thus corrected oportuna parum not strong enough for making salt riseth it scarce ever runs over the pit at the season of its saltness the brine is not in the least weakned by the vicinity of the fresh river and yet it is not at all near the Sea Moreover in the King's Survey which we call Domesday-book In Wich there be eight fats of salt belonging to the King and to the Earl which every week of wealling yield on the Friday 16 i Bullions 4 Salwarp having now entertain'd a small brook descending from Chedesley where anciently the family of Foliot flourished as after at Longdon makes haste to Severne Not four miles lower Severn with a slow course as it were admiring passeth by Worcester Worcester the chief town of this Shire seated on its bank and really it deserveth admiration both for its Antiquity and Beauty For Antoninus mentions it by the name of Branonium and Ptolemy in whom by the transcriber's negligence it is misplaced by the name of Branogenium Branogenium whence the Britains or Welsh call it at this day Cair Vrangon and in the Catalogue of Ninnius it is Caer Guorangon and Caer Guorcon Afterwards the Saxons called it Weogare-ceaster Wegeorna-ceaster and Wire-ceaster perhaps from Wire a woody forest adjoyning In Latin it is Wigornia One of the first who mentions it by that name if I mistake not is Joseph of Exeter the most elegant Poet of that age whose book passeth under the name of Cornelius Nepos in these verses to Baldwin Archbishop of Canterbury In numerum jam crescit honor te tertia poscit Infula jam meminit Wigornia Cantia discit Romanus meditatur apex
the Counties of Wilts and Somerset Provinces of the West-Saxon Kingdom u Mr. Camden having left the west-side of this County in a manner untouch'd it will be necessary to give a more particular view thereof The river Teme Teme in Latin Temedus waters the north-west part of this Shire taking its course into the Severn through rich meadows and the soil on both sides produceth excellent Syder and Hops in great abundance On the edge of Shropshire the river gives its name to Temebury a small but well-frequented market-town This town with most of the Lands between Teme and Herefordshire were held by Robert Fitz Richard Lord of Ricards Castle whose son Hugh marrying Eustachia de Say a great heiress the issue of that match took the sirname of Say These Lands by Margery an heir-female came to Robert Mortimer about K. John's time and the issue-male of the family of Mortimers failing the patrimony was divided between two daughters the elder of which being marry'd to Geoffry Cornwall part of it continues in the hands of their posterity but the rest hath often chang'd its Lords About 7 miles below Temebury the river passeth under Woodbery-hill Woodbery-hill remarkable for an old entrenchment on the top vulgarly call'd Owen Glendowr's Camp which notwithstanding is probably of greater antiquity Hence runs a continu'd ridge of hills from Teme almost to Severn and seems to have been the boundary of the Wiccian Province At the foot of Woodbery-hill stands Great-Witley Gâ—eâ—t â—â—â—ley where is a fair new-built house the chief seat of the Foleys who bought it of the Russels to whom it came about King Henry the 7th's time by marriage with one of the coheirs of Cassy who had marry'd the heir-general of the Coke-sayes it s more ancient Lords Under the west-side of Woodbery-hill lies Shelsley Beauchamp and over against it Shelsley Walsh Sheâ—â—ey Waâ—sh where dwelt Sir Richard Walsh the famous Sheriff of this County at the time of the Powder-plot who pursu'd the traytors into Staffordshire and took them there A little lower stood Hammme-castle and now in the place of it a fair seat which the ancient family of the Jeffreys have enjoy'd about 200 years Hence by Martley Teme passeth under Coderidge Coderiâ—â—â— a manour of the Berkleys formerly the Actons and in more ancient times belonging to the Mortimers and Says On the opposite bank stands Leigh Leâ—gh a manour of the Viscount of Hereford whence the river hasting to Powick falls into the Severn Continuation of the EARLS Henry son of Edward succeeding his father was created Marquiss of Worcester by K. Charles 1. which honour was after him enjoy'd by Edward his son and Henry his grandson who being created Duke of Beaufort by King Charles 2. the title of Marquiss of Worcester is now given to Charles Somerset his eldest son a Gentleman of great parts and worth who merits no less a character than that Mr. Camden gives his noble Ancestor with whom he concludes his description of Worcestershire More rare Plants growing wild in Worcestershire Colchicum vulgare seu Anglicum purpureum album Ger. Park Common meadow-Saffron I observed it growing most plentifully in the meadows of this County Cynoglossum folio virenti J. B. Cynoglossum minus folio virente Ger. semper virens C. B. Park The lesser green-leaved Hounds-tongue It hath been observed in some shady lanes near Worcester by Mr. Pitts an Apothecary and Alderman of that City Sorbus pyriformis D. Pitts which I suspect to be no other than the Sorbus sativa C. B. legitima Park That is the true or manured Service or Sorb-tree Found by the said Mr. Pits in a forest of this County Triticum majus glumâ foliaceâ seu Triticum Polonicum D. Bobert An Trit speciosum grano oblongo J. B Polonian Wheat It is found in the fields in this County and as Dr. Plot tells us in Staffordshire also STAFFORDSHIRE THE third part of that Country inhabited by the Cornavii now Staffordshire in Saxon Stafford-scyre the people whereof as living in the heart of England are call'd in Bede Angli Mediterranei Angli Mediterranei bounded on the east by Warwickshire and Derbyshire on the south by the County of Worcester and on the west by Shropshire lies from south to north almost in the form of a Rhombus being broad in the middle but narrow and contracted towards the ends of it The north part is mountainous and less fertile but the middle which is water'd by the Trent is fruitful woody and pleasant by an equal mixture of arable and meadow grounds so is also the south which has much pit-coal and mines of iron Iron but whether more to their loss or advantage the natives themselves are best Judges and so I refer it to them STAFFORD SHIRE by Robt. Morden After this we find memorable in this tract Chellington Chellington a very fine seat and the manour of that ancient and famous family the Giffards The Gâ—ffards given to Peter Giffard in the reign of Hen. 2. by Peter Corbuchin to whom also Richard Strongbow who conquer'd Ireland gave Tachmelin and other lands in that Country Vulfrunes-hampton so call'd from Vulfruna a very pious woman who built a Monastery in the town which before had the name of Hampton and hence for Vulfrunes-hampton it is corruptly call'd Wolverhampton Wâ—lverhampton which is chiefly remarkable for the College there annex'd to the Dean and Prebendaries of Windsor b Theoten-hall 〈…〉 that is to say a house of Pagans now Tetnall where many of the Danes were cut off in the year 911. by Edward the elder c Weadesburg now Weddsborrow Weddsborâ—ow heretofore fortified by Aethelfleda Governess of the Mercians and Walsall none of the meanest market-towns Near this lies the course of the river Tame Tame which rising not far off runs for some miles on the east-side of this County toward the Trent passing at some small distance by Draiton Basset â—â—set the seat of the Bassets who are descended from one Turstin Lord of this place in the reign of Hen. 1. and grown up into a numerous and famous family For this is the stock from which the Bassets of Welleden Wiccomb Sapcott Chedle and others of them are propagated But of these Bassets of Draiton Ralph was the last a very eminent Baron who marry'd the sister of John Montfort Duke of Bretagne and died without issue in the reign of Rich. 2. From hence the Tame passing thro' the bridge at Falkesley over which an ancient Roman-way lay runs by the lower part of Tamworth â—â—mworth in Saxon Tamapeord in Marianus Tamawordina so situated between the borders of the two Shires that the one part of it which formerly belong'd to the Marmions is counted in Warwickshire the other which belong'd to the Hastings is reckon'd in this County It takes its name from the river Tame which runs by it and the Saxon word Weorth which signifies
which is but shallow however they have communication with one another by two Causeys made over it which have each of them their respective sluces The South part or that hithermost is by much the greater divided into several streets and has in it a School and for the relief of poor people a pretty large Hospital dedicated to St. John The further is the less yet beautified with a very sightly Church which with the fine walls that castle like surround it those fair neat houses for the Prebendaries and the Bishop's Palace all about it makes an incomparable shew with those three lofty Pyramids of stone in it This was a Bishop's See many ages since For in the year of our Redemption 606. Oswy King of Northumberland having conquer'd the Pagan Mercians built a Church here for the propagation of the Christian Religion and ordain'd Duina the first Bishop whose Successors were so much in favour with their Princes that they not only had the preheminence among all the Mercian Bishops and were enrich'd with very large possessions Cankwood or Canoc a very great wood and other exceeding rich farms being given them but the See also has had an Arch-Bishop namely Eadulph to whom Pope Adrian gave the Pall and made all the Bishops of the Mercians and the East-Angles subject to him being induc'd to it by the golden arguments of Offa King of the Mercians out of envy to Jeambert or Lambert Arch-Bishop of Canterbury About 〈◊〉 year 〈◊〉 Hiâ—t Roâ—â—â—s who offer'd his assistance to Charles the Great if he would invade England But this Archiepiscopal dignity expir'd with Offa and Eadulph Among the Bishops the most eminent is * S. Câ—â—â— Chad who was canoniz'd for his sanctity and as Bede says when the Prelacy was not as yet tainted with excess and luxury made himself a house to live in not far distant from the Church wherein with a few others that is with seven or eight of his brethren he was wont privately to read and pray as often as he had leisure from his labour and administring of the word of God In that age Lichfield was but a small village and in populousness far short of a City The Country about it is woody and a little river runs near it The Church was but of small circuit according to the meanness of those ancient times When in a Synod 1075. 't was prohibited that Bishop's Sees should be in obscure villages Peter Bishop of Lichfield transferr'd his seat to Chester But Robert of Limsey his successor remov'd it to Coventry A little after Roger Clinton brought it back again to Lichfield and began a very fine Church in 1148. in honour to the Virgin Mary and St. Ceada and repair'd the castle which is quite decay'd and nothing of it to be seen at this day The town within the memory of our fathers was first incorporated under the name of Bailiffs and Burgesses by K. Edward the sixth being 52 degrees and 42 minutes in Latitude and in Longitude 21 degrees 20 minutes o * Bishop Usher had rather place this Terra Conallea at Clan-conal in the County of Down Antiquitat Brit. Eccl. p. 369. fol. This Lake at Lichfield is at first pent up into a narrow compass within its banks and then it grows wider afterwards but uniting it self at last into a chanel it presently falls into the Trent which continues its course Eastward till it meets the river Tame from the South in conjunction with which it runs through places abounding with Alabaster Alabaster to the Northward that it may sooner receive the river Dove and almost insulate Burton Burton upâ—â— Trent formerly a remarkable town for the Alabaster-works for a castle of the Ferrars 13 Built in the Conquerour's time for an ancient Monastery founded by Ulfric Spot Earl of the Mercians and for the retirement of Modwena 〈◊〉 is also 〈◊〉 Mowâ—â—â— an Irish woman Of the Abbey the Book of Abingdon speaks thus A certain servant of King Aethelred's call'd Ulfric Spot built the Abbey of Burton and endow'd it with all his paternal estate to the value of 700 l. and that this gift might stand good he gave King Aethelred 300 mancs of gold for his confirmation to it and to every Bishop five mancs besides the town of Dumbleton over and above to Alfrick Arch-Bishop of Canterbury So that we may see from hence that gold was predominant in those ages and that it sway'd and byass'd even in spiritual matters In this Monastery Modwena eminent for her sanctity in these parts lies buried and on the Tomb these Verses were inscribed for her Epitaph Ortum Modwennae dat Hibernia Scotia finem Anglia dat tumulum dat Deus astra poli Prima dedit vitam sed mortem terra secunda Et terram terrae tertia terra dedit Aufert Lanfortin quam * â— Conel terra Conallea profert Foelix Burtonium virginis ossa tenet By Ireland life by Scotland death was given A Tomb by England endless joys by Heaven One boasts her birth one mourns her hopeless fate And one does earth to earth again commit Lanfortin ravish'd what Tirconnel gave And pious Burton keeps her sacred grave Near Burton between the rivers Dove Trent and Blith which waters and gives name to Blithfield Blithfield the delicate house of an ancient and famous family of the Bagot 's p stands Needwood â—edwoodâ—â—â— a large Forest with many Parks in it wherein the Gentry hereabouts frequently exercise themselves with great labour and application in the pleasant toils of hunting So much for the inner parts The North-part of the County gently shoots into small hills which begin here and as the Appennine do in Italy run through the middle of England in one continu'd ridge rising higher and higher from one top to another as far as Scotland but under several names For here they are call'd Mooreland â—â—oreland after that Peake then again Blackston-edge anon Craven next Stanmore and last of all when they branch out apart into horns Cheviot This Mooreland which is so call'd because it rises into hills and mountains and is unfruitful which sort of places we call in our language Moors is a tract so very rugged foul and cold that snow continues long undissolv'd on it so that of a Country village here call'd Wotton seated at the bottom of Wever-hill the Neighbours have this verse among them intimating that God never was in that place Wotton under Wever Where God came never 14 Nevertheless in so hard a soil it brings forth and feeds beasts of a large size 'T is observ'd by the Inhabitants here that the West-wind always causes rain but that the East-wind and the South-wind which are wont to produce rain in other places make fair weather here unless the wind shift about from the West into the South and this they ascribe to their small distance from the Irish-sea From these mountains rise many rivers in this Shire
the chief are the Dove the Hans Churnet Tein Blath and Trent which receives them all and carries them with it into the Sea The Dovus or Dove Dove bank'd with hard Limestone which they burn to manure their fields with runs swiftly for a great way along the East-part of this County severing it from Derbyshire by its white clayish chanel without any shelves of mud in it Lying in a Lime-stone soil it sucks in such richness from it that in the very middle of winter the meadows on both sides of it look fresh and green and if it overflows and lays the meadows afloat in April like another Nile it makes them so fruitful that the Inhabitants thereabouts joyfully tell you their common rhyme In April Dove's flood Is worth a King 's good This river will swell so much in twelve hours time that to the great terrour of the Inhabitants thereabouts it will wash off sheep and cattel and carry them along with it yet falls again within the same time and returns to its old bounds whereas the Trent being once over the banks keeps the field in float four or five days together But now for those rivers which run into it The first is Hans Hans which dipping under ground breaks out again three miles off The next that joyns it is the Churnet Churnet which runs by De-la-Cres De-la-Cres Abbey built by Ranulph the third of that name Earl of Chester Leike noted for its Market and then Aulton Aulton formerly the Castle of the Barons de Verdon 15 Who founded here the Abbey of Croxden from whom by the Furnivals it descended to the Talbots Earls of Shrewsbury A little lower the Tein Tein a small river runs into the Dove which rising not far from Cheddle the ancient seat of the Bassets descended from the Bassets of Draiton runs on in a course so uneven and winding that in a mile's riding I had it to cross four times Near this in Checley Church-yard Checley stand three stones raised Spire-like two of which have little images cut out in them and that in the middle is the highest The Inhabitants talk of an engagement between two Armies there the one with weapons the other without and that three Bishops were slain in that battel in memory of whom these stones were erected What historical truth may beveil'd under this story I am not as yet sensible 16 As for Blith it hath in this Moorland a little castle nam'd Careswell which Sir William Careswell built with great ponds having their heads made of square-stones and Draicot which gave a sirname to a family of great antiquity in this Country Now the Dove 17 After it hath receiv'd Tine runs under a firm Stone-bridge to Utcester Utcester in Saxon Uttok-cester seated upon a hill of easie ascent and rather rich upon the account of its fine meadows and cattel than neat and handsome in respect of building Before I saw it I took it for Etocetum being induc'd to this opinion by the affinity of the two names But now time has furnish'd me with more certainty in this matter Afterwards where the Dove draws towards the Trent it sees Tutbury Tutesbury castle formerly very large and also call'd Stutesbury commanding as it were the lower Country by its high situation on an Alabaster-hill built with the little Monastery by Henry de Ferrars a noble Norman to whom William the first gave large possessions in this County which were all lost by Robert de Ferrariis Earl of Derby upon his second revolt from Hen. 3. For tho' after the many troubles he had raised in the Barons war he was receiv'd again into favour by the King and then bound by a strict oath to be faithful to him for the future yet the restless temper of this man that he might make fortune comply by force since he could not by caress and courtship soon after hurry'd him again into arms against his Soveraign and being at last took that I may use the words of the record according to the form of his obligation he suffer'd this great loss of his whole estate and honour There is a lake some where in this Shire if Necham does not deceive us into which no wild beast will enter upon any account but since the place is uncertain and indeed the thing more In lib. de laudibus Divinae Sapientiae I will only subscribe these verses of Necham's about it intitled by him De Lacu in Staffordia Rugitu Lacus est eventûs praeco futuri Cujus aquis fera se credere nulla solet Instet odora canum virtus mors instet acerba Non tamen intrabit exagitata lacum A Lake that with prophetick noise does roar Where beasts can ne'er be forc'd to venture o'er By hounds or men or fleeter death pursu'd They 'll not plunge in but shun the hated flood Of another Lake also in this County Gervasius Tilburiensis Gerv. Tilburiensis in his Otia Imperialia to Ocho the fourth writes thus In the Bishoprick of Coventry and in the County of Stafford at the foot of the mountain Mahull so call'd by the inhabitants there is a water like a Lake very broad in the out-grounds of a village which they call Magdalea There is great store of wood all along upon the lake the water of which is very clear and so effectual in refreshing that when the hunters have given chace to a stag or other wild beast till their horses are spent and weary if they drink of this water in the scorching heat of the sun and likewise water their horses with it they recover their strength to run again to that degree that one would think they had not run at all As for the title of Stafford it has continu'd from Robert of Stafford whom William the Norman enrich'd with great possessions in his posterity till our times A family exceeding eminent and old and which has undergone several turns of fortune For first they were Barons of Stafford Earls and Barons of Stafford 18 Then few of them Earls viz. Ralph created by K. Edw. 3. Earl of Stafford who marry'd the heiress of Hugh Audley Earl of Glocester Hugh his son who dy'd in pilgrimage at Rhodes and his three sons successively Thomas and William both without issue and Edmund who took to wife the daughter and heiress of Thomas of Woodstock Duke of Buckingham Afterward three of them were Dukes of Buckingham and Earls of Stafford c. as it hath been before declared By the attainder of the last of them those ample inheritances c. then Earls after that Dukes of Buckingham and Earls of Stafford And now 't is their ill fortune to be fallen back to their old title of Baron only and those great estates which they have gain'd by their most honourable marriages are as it were fled and scatter'd In lieu whereof they enjoy a happy security which never cohabits with
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
has gradually withdrawn it self so that the town has lost the benefit of them and the advantage of a harbour which it enjoy'd heretofore It 's situation in Longitude is 20 degrees and 23 minutes in Latitude 53 degrees 11 minutes Whoever desires to know more of this City may read this passage taken out of Lucian the Monk who lived almost five hundred years ago First it is to be considered that the City of Chester is a place very pleasantly situated and being in the west parts of Britain stood very convenient to receive the Roman Legions that were transported hither and besides it was proper for watching the frontiers of the Empire and was a perfect key to Ireland For being opposite to the north parts of Ireland it opened a passage thither for ships and mariners continually in motion to and again Besides it lyes curiously not only for prospect towards Rome and the Empire but the whole world a spectacle exposed to the eye of all the world so that from hence may be discern'd the great actions of the world and the first springs and consequents of them the persons who the places where and the times when they were transacted We may also take example from the ill conduct of them to discern the base and mean things and learn to avoid them The City has four gates answering the four winds on the east-side it has a prospect towards India on the west towards Ireland and on the north towards the greater Norway and lastly on the south to that little corner wherein God's vengeance has confined the Britains for their Civil wars and dissentions which heretofore changed the name of Britain into England and how they live to this day their neighbours know to their sorrow Moreover God has blest and enrich'd Chester with a river running pleasantly and full of fish by the city walls and on the south side with a harbour to ships coming from Gascoign Spain Ireland and Germany who by Christ's assistance and by the labour and conduct of the mariners repair hither and supply them with all sorts of commodities so that being comforted by the grace of God in all things we drink wine very plentifully for those countries have abundance of vineyards Moreover the open sea ceases not to visit us every day with a tide which according as the broad shelves of sand are open or shut by tides and ebbs continually is wont more or less to change or send one thing or other and by reciprocal ebb and flow either to bring in or carry out From the city northwestward there runneth out a Chersonese into the sea inclosed on one side with the aestuary Dee and on the other with the river Mersey we call it Wirall Wâ—â—â— the Welsh because it is a corner Kill-gury d this was all heretofore a desolate forest and not inhabited as the natives say but King Edw. 3. disforested it Now it is well furnish'd with towns which are more favoured by the sea than by the soil for the land affords them very little corn but the water a great many fish In the entry into it on the south-side by the aestuary stands Shotwick a castle of the Kings on the north stands Hooton a manour which in Richard 2.'s time fell to the Stanleys who derive themselves from one Alan Sylvestris upon whom Ranulph the first of that name Earl of Chester conferr'd the Bailywick of the forest of Wiral by the delivery of a horn Just by this stands Poole from whence the Lords of that place who have liv'd very honourably and in a flourishing condition this long time took their name Near this is Stanlaw that is Law 〈◊〉 as the Monks there have explain'd it a stony-hill where John Lacy Constable of Chester built a little Monastery which by reason of inundations was forced afterwards to be remov'd to Whaly in the County of Lancaster 11â— At the farthest end of this Chersonese there lies a little barren dry sandy Island called Il-bre Iâ—â— which had formerly a small cell of Monks More inward east of this Chersonese lies the famous forest called the Forest of Delamere the foresters whereof by inheritance are the Dawns of Utkinton of an honourable family being descended from Ranulph of Kingleigh to whom Ranulph the first Earl of Chester gave the inheritance of that office of Forester In this forest Aedelfleda the famous Mercian Lady built a little city called Eades-burg that is a happy town which has now d There is no reason why the name of this place should be thought altogether lost or it's ruins grop'd for in the Forest of de la mer so long as we have still in the County so noted a place as Edisbury-hall which gives name not only to an eminent family but to a whole Hundred lost both its name and being for at present 't is only a heap of rubbish which they call the Chamber in the forest About a mile or two from it are also to be seen the ruins of Finborrow Finborâ—â— another town built by the same Lady Through the upper part of this forest lies the course of the river Wever which issues out of a lake in the south-side of the County at a place called Ridley Ridâ—â—y the seat of the famous and ancient family of the Egertons a branch of the Barons of Malpas as I have already observed and not far from Bunbury 4 Contractly so call'd for Boniface Bury for St. Boniface was the Patron Saint there where is an ancient College built by them and near to Beeston-castle 5 Which gave sirname to an ancient family Boestâ—â— a place well guarded both by the mountains the vast extent of the walls and the great number of its towers with a steep access to it This Castle was built by Ranulph the last Earl of Chester of that name whereof Leland writes thus Assyrio rediens victor Ranulphus ab orbe Hoc posuit Castrum terrorem gentibus olim Vicinis patriaeque suae memorabile vallum Nunc licet indignas patiatur fracta ruinas Tempus erit quando rursus caput exeret altum Vatibus antiquis si fas mihi credere vati Ranulph returning from the Syrian Land This Castle rais'd his Country to defend The borderers to fright and to command Tho' ruin'd now the stately fabrick lies Yet with new glories it again shall rise If I a Prophet may believe old prophecies Hence the Wever continues his course southward not far from Woodhay Woâ—â— where the famous and Knightly family of the Wilburhams liv'd long in great reputation also by Bulkely and Cholmondly Bulkeâ—â— which gave names to two famous and Knightly families and lastly not far on one hand from Baddely formerly the seat of the ancient family of the Praeries nor on the other hand from Cumbermer in which William Malbedeng founded a little Religious-house 11â— When this river touches the south part of this County it passes through
heaths and low places where as in other parts of this County they often dig up trees 〈…〉 â—â—â—d which they suppose have lain there ever since the Deluge Afterwards as it passeth through fruitful fields it receives a little river from the eastward upon which is situated Wibbenbury so called from Wibba King of the Mercians Next to that is Hatherton formerly the seat of the Orbies after that of the Corbets and at present of Thomas Smith son of Sir Laurence Smith Knight then Dodington the estate of the Delvesies Batherton of the Griphins and Shavington of the Wodenoths who by their name seem to have sprung from the Saxons besides the seats of many other honourable families which are very numerous in this County From hence the river Wever goes on by Nantwich at some distance from Midlewich to Norwich These are the noble Salt-wiches about 5 or 6 miles distant one from another where they draw brine or salt-water out of pits and do not according to the method of the old Gauls and Germans pour it upon burning wood but boil it upon the fire to make Salt of Nor do I question but these were known to the Romans and that their impost for salt was laid on them For there was a noble Way from Midlewich to Northwich which is raised so high with gravel that one may easily discern it to be Roman especially if he considers that gravel is scarce in this County and that private men are even forced to rob the road of it for their own uses Matthew Paris says these Salt-pits were stop'd by Hen. 3. when he wasted this County that the Welsh who were then in rebellion might have no supplies from them But upon the next return of peace they were open'd again 〈◊〉 Nantwich the first of them that is visited by the Wever is the greatest and best-built town of this County call'd by the Welsh Hellath Wen that is White-salt-wich because the whitest salt is made here by the Latins Vicus Malbanus probably from William called Malbedeng and Malbanc who had it given him upon the Norman Conquest There is but one Salt-pit they call it the Brine-Pit distant about 14 foot from the river From this Brine-Pit they convey salt-water by wooden troughs into the houses adjoyning where there stand ready little barrels fixed in the ground which they fill with that water and at the notice of a bell they presently make a fire under their Leads whereof they have six in every house for boiling the water These are attended by certain women call'd Wallers who with little wooden rakes draw the Salt out of the bottom of them and put it in baskets out of which the liquor runs but the Salt remains and settles d Of the manner of making Salt in this place see Ray's Northern words pag. 204. There is but one Church in this town a neat fabrick belonging heretofore as I have heard to the Monastery of Cumbermer Hence the Wever runs in a very oblique course and is joyn'd by a little river which rises in the east and passes by Crew where formerly lived a famous family of that name At some farther distance from the west-side of it â—â—y stands Calveley which has given both a seat and name to that noble family the Calveleys of whom in Richard 2.'s time was Sir Hugh de Calveley who had the reputation of so great a souldier in France that nothing was held impregnable to his valour and conduct Hence the river goes on by Minshul â—â—yal the seat of the Minshuls and by Vale Royal an Abbey founded in a pleasant valley by King Edward the first where now the famous family of the Holcrofts dwell 〈◊〉 then by Northwich in British Hellath Du signifying the black Salt-pit where 5 Very near the brink of the river Dan. there is a deep and plentiful Brine-pit with stairs about it by which when they have drawn the water in their leather-buckets they ascend half naked to the troughs and fill them from whence it is convey'd to the Wich-houses that are furnish'd with great piles of wood Here the Wever receives the Dan which we will now follow This Dan or Davan springs from the mountains which separate this County from Staffordshire and runs without any increase by e See in the Bishoprick of Durham about Presbrig whither perhaps this place may be transferr'd Condate a town mention'd in Antoninus and now corruptly nam'd Congleton the middle whereof is watered by the little brook Howty the east-side by the Daning-Schow and the north by the Dan it self Altho' this town for greatness resort and commerce has deserved a Mayor and six Aldermen to govern it yet it has only one Chapel in it and that entirely of wood unless it be the quire and a little tower The Mother-Church to which it belongs is Astbury about two miles off which is indeed a curious thing and tho' the Church be very high yet the west porch is equal to it there is also a spire-steeple In the Church-yard there are two grave-stones having the portraicture of Knights upon them and in shields two bars Being without their colours 't is hardly to be determin'd whether they belong'd to the Breretons the Manwarings or the Venables which are the best families hereabouts and bear such bars in their arms but with different colours Next it arrives at Davenport Davenport commonly Danport which gives name to the famous family of the Davenports and Holmes-Chapel well known to travellers where within the memory of this age J. Needham built a bridge Not far from this stands Rudheath formerly an Asylum or Sanctuary to those of this Country and others that had broken the laws where they were protected a year and a day Next it runs by Kinderton the ancient seat of that old family the Venables who from the time of the Conquest have flourish'd here and are commonly called Barons of Kinderton Below this place towards the south the river Dan is joyn'd by the Croc a brook rising out pf the lake Bagmere which runs by Brereton As this town has given name to the famous ancient numerous and knightly family of the Breretons so Sir William Brereton has honour'd it by raising very stately buildings therein Here is one thing incredibly strange but attested as I my self have heard by many persons and commonly believ'd Before any heir of this family dies there are seen in a lake adjoyning the bodies of trees swimming upon the water for several days together not much different from what Leonardus Vairus relates upon the authority of Cardinal Granvellan Lib. 2. de Fascino That near the Abbey of St. Maurice in Burgundy there is a fish-pond into which a number of fishes are put equal to the number of the Monks of that place And if any one of them happen to be sick there is a fish seen floating upon the water sick too and in case the fit of sickness prove fatal to
room William the son of Osbern of Crepon or as the Normans call'd him Fitz-Osbern a person very nearly allied to the Dukes of Normandy He being slain in the 4 Assisting the Earl of Flanders wars in Flanders was succeeded by his son Roger sirnam'd de Bretevill who died 5 Condemn'd to perpetual prison for a Conspiracy against the Conquerour out-law'd Proscriptus leaving no legitimate issue Then King Stephen restor'd to Robert le Bossu Earl of Leicester 6 Who had marry'd Emme or Itta heir of Bretevill son of Emme de Bretevill's heir I speak out of the original it self the Borough of Hereford and the Castle and the whole County of Hereford to descend by inheritance but to no purpose For Maud the Empress who contended with Stephen for the Crown advanced Miles the son of Walter Constable of Glocester to that honour and 7 Also granted to him Constabulariam Curiae suae the Constableship of her Court whereupon his posterity were Constables of England as the Marshalship was granted at the first by the name of Magistratus â—lariscalâ—iae Câ—riae nostrae made him high Constable of England Constables of England Nevertheless King Stephen afterwards divested him of these honours This Miles had five sons Roger Walter Henry William and Mahel all persons of great note and who died untimely deaths after they had all but William succeeded one another in their father's inheritance having none of them any issue King Henry amongst other things gave to Roger The Mote of Hereford with the whole Castle Girald Cambriae Itin. l. 1. c. 2. and the third penny of the revenues of the Pleas of the whole County of Hereford whereof he made him Earl But upon Roger's death if we may credit Robert Montensis the same King kept the Earldom of Hereford to himself Margaret the eldest sister of these was married to Humphrey Bohun the third of that name and his Posterity were High Constables of England viz. Humphrey Bohun the fourth Henry his son 2 Par. Chart. An. 1 Reg. Joan. Matth. Paris Lib Waldensis Lib. Monasterii Lanthony to whom King John granted Twenty pound to be received yearly of the third penny of the County of Hereford whereof he made him Earl This Henry married the sister and heir of William Mandevill Earl of Essex and died in the fourth year of King Henry the third Humphrey the fifth his son who was also Earl of Essex and had Humphrey the sixth who died before his father having first begot Humphrey the seventh upon a daughter and one of the heirs of William Breos Lord of Brecknock His son Humphrey the eighth was slain at Boroughbrigg leaving by Elizabeth his wife daughter of King Edward the first and dowager of the Earl of Holland a numerous issue viz. John Bohun Humphrey the ninth both Earls of Hereford and Essex who dyed issueless and William Earl of Northampton who had by Elizabeth 8 Daughter sister and one of the heirs of Giles Lord Badlesmer Humphrey Bohun the tenth and last of the Bohuns Earl of Hereford Essex and Northampton as also Lord High Constable of England He left two daughters Eleanor the wife of Thomas de Woodstock Duke of Glocester and Mary married to Henry of Lancaster Earl of Derby Henry 〈◊〉 fourâ—◠〈◊〉 of Eâ—gâ—â—â—â— who was created Duke of Hereford and was afterwards crowned King of England After this the Staffords Dukes of Buckingham had the title of Earls of Hereford who were descended from a daughter of Thomas of Woodstock which daughter was afterwards married to William Bourchier called Earl of Ew But in our memory King Edward the sixth honour'd Walter D'Eureux descended by the Bourchiers from the Bohuns with the title of Viscount Hereford whose grandchild by a son was afterwards created Earl of Essex by Queen Elizabeth This County contains 176 Parishes ADDITIONS to HEREFORDSHIRE a THE County of Hereford being as it were a Frontier in all the wars between the English and Welsh has upon that account been very remarkable for its number of Forts and Castles no fewer than 28. the greatest part whereof have now little to show beside the name Our Author observes it to be a very good Corn-Country but its present peculiar eminence is in Fruits of all sorts which give them an opportunity particularly of making such vast quantities of Syder as not only to serve their own families for 't is their general drink but also to furnish London and other parts of England their Red-streak from a sort of Apple they call so being exrtemely valu'd b Upon the river Wye two miles from Hereford is Eaton-wall Eaton * Aubr MS. a Camp containing about thirty or forty acres The works of it are single except a little on the West-side And about two miles from hence and a mile from Kenchester is Creden-hill upon which is a very great Camp and mighty works the graff here is inwards as well as outwards and the whole contains by estimation about forty acres c Near which is Kenchester Kenchester †Blome where about the year 1669. was found in a wood a great vault with tables of plaster in it The vault it self was pav'd with stone and thereabouts were dug up also many pieces of Roman Coins with large Bones leaden Pipes several Roman Urns with ashes in them and other vessels the use whereof was unknown d A little lower stands its daughter Hereford Hereford in which name our Author would find some remains of the old Ariconium whereas it is of a pure Saxon original implying no more than a ford of the army nor ought the vulgar's pronouncing it Hariford be of any weight when it appears by * See the Glossary and the several places wherein 't is mention'd our most ancient Annals that it was constantly written hereford Which interpretation doth also suit the situation of the place exceeding well the Severn being for many hundreds of years the frontier between two Nations almost always at war e Leland †Itinerar MS. has told us that the Castle by the ruins appear'd to have been one of the fairest largest and strongest in all England The walls were high firm and full of great towers and where the river was not a sufficient defence for it there it was strongly ditch'd It had two wards each of them surrounded with water the dungeon was high and exceeding well fortify'd having in the outward wall or ward ten towers of a semiciâ—cular figure and one great tower in the inner ward As to the building of it the sâ—me Leland has left us what tradition was on foot in his time without taking any notice of our Author's Earl Milo Some think says he that Heraldus â—gan this Castle after that he had conquer'd the rebellion of the Welshmen in King Edward the Confessor's time Some think that the Lacies Earls of Hereford were the great makers of it and the Bohuns Earls of Hereford
kind which they call Peregrins For according to the account they give of them I need not use other words to describe them than these verses of that excellent Poet of our age Augustus Thuanus Esmerius in that golden book he entitles Hieracosophion Depressus capitis vertex oblongaque toto Corpore pennarum series pallentia crura Et graciles digiti ac sparsi naresque rotundae Flat heads and feathers laid in curious rows O'er all their parts hook'd beaks and slender claws The sea now with great violence assails the land receding from this Promontory which is a small region call'd the Lordship of Kemaes B◠〈◊〉 Kâ—â—â—â— Fâ—â—â—â— The chief place in it is Fiscard seated on a steep rock and having a convenient harbour for shipping so call'd by the English from a Fishery there and by the Britains Aber-Gwain which signifies the mouth of the river Gwain The next is Newport Neâ—pâ—â—â— * At the foot of a high mountain on the river Nevern call'd in British Trevdraeth which signifies the town on the sand 6 And in Latin Records Novus Burgus This was built by Martin of Tours whose posterity made it a corporation granted it several privileges and constituted therein a Portrieve and Bayliff and also built themselves a Castle above the town which was their chief seat They also founded the Monastery of St. Dogmael St. Dogmael bâ—â—â— St. Tegâ—â—â— 7 According to the Order of Tours on the bank of the river Teivi in a Vale encompass'd with hills from which the village adjoyning as many other towns from Monasteries took it's beginning This Barony was first wrested out of the hands of the Welsh by Martin of Tours Lords â—f Kemaâ—â— The faâ— iâ— of the Mâ—â—tinâ— from whose posterity who were from him call'd Martins it descended by marriage to the Barons de Audeley They held it a long time until the reign of King Henry 8. when William Owen descended from a daughter of Sir Nicholas Martin after a tedious suit at law for his right at last obtain'd it and left it to his son George who being an exquisite Antiquary has inform'd me that there are in this Barony besides the three Burrows Newport Fishgard and St. Dogmael 20 Knights-fees and 26 Parishes More inward on the river Teivi already mention'd lies Kil Garan 〈◊〉 Garan which shews the ruins of a Castle built by Giraldus But now being reduc'd to one street it 's famous for no other thing than a plentiful Salmon Fishery For there is a very famous Salmon-Leap â—â—e Salâ—â—â—â—eap where the river falls headlong and the Salmons making up from the sea towards the Shallows of the river when they come to this cataract bend their tails to their mouths nay sometimes that they may leap with greater force hold it in their teeth and then upon disengaging themselves from their circle with a certain violence as when a stick that 's bent is reflected they cast themselves from the water up to a great height even to the admiration of the spectators which Ausonius thus describes very elegantly Nec te puniceo rutilantem viscere Salmo Transierim latae cujus vaga verbera caudae Gurgite de medio summas referuntur in undas Nor thou red Salmon shalt be last in fame Whose flirting tail cuts through the deepest stream With one strong jerk the wondring flood deceives And sporting mounts thee to the utmost waves There have been divers Earls of Penbroke â—â—rls of â—â—nbrâ—ke descended from several families As for Arnulph of Montgomery who first conquer'd it and was afterwards out-law'd and his Castellan Girald of Windsor whom King Henry 1. made afterwards President over the whole country I can scarce affirm that they were Earls King Stephen first conferr'd the title of Earl of Pembroke upon Gilbert Strongbow son of Gislebert de Clare He left it to his son Richard Strongbow the Conquerour of Ireland who was as Giraldus has it à Clara Clarensium familia oriundus descended from the famous family of the Clares Isabella the only daughter of this Earl brought this title to her husband William Marshal so call'd for that his Ancestors had been hereditary Marshals of the King's palace a very accomplish'd person well instructed in the arts of peace and war Of whom we find this Epitaph in Rudburn's Annals Sum quem Saturnum sibi sensit Hibernia Solem Anglia Mercurium Normannia Gallia Martem Me Mars the French their Sun the English own'd The Normans Mercury Irish Saturn found After him his five sons were successively Earls of Pembroke viz. William call'd the younger Richard who having rebell'd against Henry 3. fled into Ireland where he died in battel Gilbert who at a tournament in War was unhors'd and so kill'd and Walter and Anselm 8 Who enjoy'd this honour but a few days All these dying in a short space without issue King Henry 3. invested with the honour of this Earldom William de Valentia of the family of Lusignia in Poictiers who was his own brother by the mother's side and marry'd Joan the daughter of Gwarin de Mont Chensey by a daughter of William Marshal To William de Valentia succeeded his son Audomar who was Governour of Scotland under K. Edw. 1. His 9 Eldest second sister and coheiress Elizabeth being marry'd to John Lord Hastings brought this title into a new family For Lawrence Hastings his grandchild by a son 10 Lord of Weishford and c. who was Lord of Abergavenny was made E. of Penbroke by a Rescript of K. Edward 3. a copy whereof it may not be amiss to subjoyn here that we may see what right there was by heirs-female in these honorary titles Rex omnibus ad quos c. salutem Know ye that the good presage of wisdom and virtue which we have conceiv'd by the towardly youth and happy beginnings of our most well beloved Cousin Lawrence Hastings deservedly induce us to countenance him with our especial grace and favour in those things which concern the due preservation and maintenance of his honour Whereas therefore the inheritance of Aimar of Valence sometime Earl of Penbroke deceas'd long since without heir begotten of his body hath been devolv'd upon his sisters proportionably to be divided among them and their heirs because we know for certain that the foresaid Lawrence who succeedeth the said Aimar in part of the inheritance is descended from the eldest sister of Aimar aforesaid and so by the avouching of the learned whom we consulted about this matter the Prerogative both of name and honour is due unto him We deem it just and due that the same Lawrence claiming his title from the elder sister assume and have the name of Earl of Penbroke which the said Aimar had whilst he liv'd Which as much as lyeth in us we confirm ratifie and also approve unto him willing and granting that the said Lawrence have and hold the Prerogative and honour of Earl-Palatine in those lands
the liver and spleen and the late Dr. Owen assured me that he found relief from it in the acutest fits of the stone Upon the death of William Herbert Earls continued the last Earl mention'd by our Author the honour of Earl of Pembroke descended to Philip Herbert who was also Earl of Montgomery and was succeeded by Philip his son After whose death William his son and heir succeeded and upon his death Philip Herbert half-brother to the last William At present Thomas of the same name enjoys the titles of Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery CARDIGANSHIRE THE shores being obliquely driven back towards the east from Octopitarum or St. David's promontory receive the sea into a vast bay much of the form of a half-moon on which lies the third Region of the Dimetae call'd by the English Cardiganshire in British Sir Aber Teivi and by Latin Writers Ceretica If any suppose it denominated from King Caratacus â—â—â—g Caraâ—â—â—â—â— his conjecture may seem to proceed rather from a fond opinion of his own than any authority of the Ancients And yet we read that the same renowned Prince Caratacus rul'd in these parts On the west towards the sea it is a champain country as also to the south where the river Teivi divides it from Caer-Mardhin-Shire But towards the east and north where it borders on Brecknock and Montgomeryshire there is a continued ridge of mountains but such as afford good pasturage for sheep and cattel in the valleys whereof are spread several lakes or natural ponds That this country was peopl'd formerly not with cities but small cottages may be gathered from that saying of their Prince Caratacus who when he was a captive at Rome having view'd the splendour and magnificence of that city said â—â—â—â—ras Seeing you have these and such like noble structures why do you covet our small cottages a However let us take a slight view of such places as are of any noted Antiquity 〈…〉 â—â—â—er 〈◊〉 The river Teivi call'd by Ptolemy Tuerobius corruptly for Dwr Teivi which signifies the Teivi water springs out of the lake Lhyn Teivi under the mountains already mention'd At first 't is retarded by the rocks and rumbling amongst the stones without any chanel takes its course through a very stony country near which the Mountaneers have at Ros a very great Fair 〈◊〉 Fâ—ir for cattel to Stratfleur â—â—râ—â—â—r â—â—â—a fâ—oâ—â— a Monastery heretofore of the Cluniack Monks encompass'd on all sides with high mountains From hence being receiv'd into a chanel it runs by Tre ' Gâron â—â—e ' Gââ—â—n 〈◊〉 Pheâ—â—â—â—â— and by Lhan Dhewi Brêvi a Church dedicated to the memory of St. David Bishop of Menevia and thence denominated Where in a full Synod he confuted the Pelagian heresie at that time reviving in Britain and that not only out of sacred Scripture but likewise by miracle for 't is reported that the ground on which he stood preaching mounted up to a hillock under his feet b Thus far and farther yet the river Teivi runs southward to Lhà n-Bedr â—â—â—â—-Bedr a small market-town From whence directing it's course to the west it makes a broader chanel and falling over a steep precipice a near Kil-Garan â—â—â—-Garan makes that Salmon-Leap I have already mention'd in Penbrokeshire For this river abounds with Salmon and was formerly the only river in Britain as Giraldus supposed that bred Beavers â—â—â—vers A Beaver is an amphibious animal having it's fore-feet like a dog's but footed behind like a goose of a dark gray colour and having an oblong flat cartilagineous tail which in swimming it makes use of to steer it's course Giraldus makes several remarks upon the subtilty of this creature but at this time there are none of them found here c Scarce two miles from this Kîl-Gâran lies Cardigan Cardigan call'd by the Britains Aber Teivi i.e. Teivi-mouth the chief town of this County fortified by Gilbert the son of Richard Clare but being afterwards treasonably surrender'd it was laid waste by RhÅ·s ap Gryffydh and the Governour Robert Fitz-Stephen Fitz Steven whom some call Stephanides taken prisoner who after he had remain'd a long time at the devotion of the offended Welsh for his life was at length releas'd but compell'd to resign into their hands all his possessions in Wales Whereupon he made a descent into Ireland though with a small army yet very successfully and was the first of the Normans who by his valour made way for the English-Conquest of that Kingdom From the mouth of Teivi the shore gradually retiring is wash'd by several rivulets Amongst them that which Ptolemy calls Stuccia Stuccia or the river Ystwyth at the upper end of the County deserves our notice the name whereof is still preserv'd by the common people who call it Ystwyth Near the source of this river there are Lead-mines d and where it is discharged into the sea is the most populous town of this whole County call'd Aber-Ystwyth which was also fortified with walls by the above-mention'd Gilbert Clare and defended a long time by Walter Beck an Englishman against the Welsh Not far from hence lies Lhan-Bà darn-Vawr i.e. Great St. Patern's who as we read in his life was an Armorican and govern'd the Church here by feeding and fed it by governing To whose memory a Church and Bishop's See was here consecrated but the Bishoprick as Roger Hoveden writes fell to decay long since for that the people had most barbarously slain their Pastor At the same place the river Rheidiol Rheidiol also casts it self into the Ocean having taken it's course from that very high and steep hill Plin-Lhymmon which terminates the north part of the County and pours forth besides this those two noble rivers we have already mention'd Severn and Wye Not very far from Aber-Å·stwyth the river DÅ·vy the boundary betwixt this County and Merionydhshire is also discharg'd into the Ocean The Normans had scarce setled their conquest in Britain when they assail'd this coast with a navy and that with good success For in the time of William Rufus they wrested the sea coasts by degrees out of the Welshmen's hands but granted most part of it to Kadŵgan ap Blèdhyn a most prudent Britain Lords of Cardigan a person of great interest throughout Wales and at the same time in much favour with the English But This Salmon-Leap is not at Kil-Garan but between Kennarth and Lhan Dugwydh his son Owen proving a rash young man and a hater of Peace and annoying the English and Flemmings who had lately settled there with continual excursions the unhappy father was depriv'd of his Inheritance and forced to suffer for the offences of his son who was also himself constrain'd to leave his native Country and to flee into Ireland King Henry the first granted this County of Cardigan to Gilbert Clare who planted Garisons therein and fortified several Castles But Kadŵgan with his son Owen being
performed this for three years he desisted the fourth alledging he could not find one more However that there remain'd some long after is manifest from unquestionable Records The inhabitants who apply themselves wholly to the breeding of cattel and who feed on milk-meats viz. butter cheese c. notwithstanding that Strabo formerly derided our Britains as ignorant of the art of making cheese are scarce inferiour to any people of Britain in stature clear complexion comeliness and due proportion of limbs but have an ill character amongst their neighbours for Incontinency and Idleness It hath but few towns On the east where Dyvy runs Kwmmwd Mowdhwy Mowdhwy is a place well known which was formerly the inheritance of William otherwise call'd Wilkok Mowdhwy a younger son of Grufydh ap Gwenwynwyn and by his son's daughter it descended to 2 Sir Hugh Burgh Hugo Burgh and again by daughters of that house to the honourable families of Newport Leighton Lingen and Mitton Where the river ‖ Dôl Gelheu Avon runs more westerly lies Dôl Gelheu a small market-town so call'd from the valley wherein 't is seated b And close by the sea in the small Country of Ardudwy stands the castle of Ar-lech Harlech call'd heretofore Kaer Kolhwyn on a steep rock which as the inhabitants report was built by Edward 1. and took it's name from the situation for Ar-lech in the British signifies on a rock though some call it Harlech †Quasi Hardh-lech and interpret it A rock pleasantly situated When England was embroil d in civil wars Davidh ap Jenkin ap Enion a British Nobleman who sided with the house of Lancaster defended this castle stoutly for a long time against Edward 4. until 3 Sir William William Herbert Earl of Penbâ—oke forcing his way thorough the midst of the Alps of Wales though a very toilsome journey storm'd it with that vigour that it was surrender'd into his hands It 's almost incredible what great difficulties he struggl'd with in this troublesome journey when in some places whilst he ascended the mountains he was forced to creep and elsewhere in descending to tumble down in a manner together with his soldiers whence that way is call'd by the neighbours at this day Lhé Herbert Herbeâ—â— way c Higher up in the confines of this County and Caernarvonshire two notable arms of the sea encroach on the land call'd Y Traeth mawr and Traeth bychan that is the Greater Wash or Frith and the Lesser And not far from hence near a small village call'd Festineog Festâ—â—â— there is a high road or military way of pitch'd stones which leads thorough these difficult and almost unpassable mountains and seeing it is call'd in British Sarn Helen or Helen's way Heleâ—â— way it is but reasonable that we suppose it made by Helena the mother of Constantine the Great whose works were many and magnificent throughout the Roman Empire d Nor is Kaer Gai i.e. Caius's castle far from this place built by one Caius a Roman of whom the common people of that neighbourhood report great things and scarce credible In the east part of the County The â—â—tains oâ— Dee the river Dee springs from two fountains whence 't is supposed it deriv'd it's name for they call it Dŵy which also signifies the number two though others contend it took the name from the word Duw as if a sacred river This â—iâ—â— is calâ—â— Weâ—sh Dowâ—â— Sâ—e 〈◊〉 shire 〈◊〉 not r Pimble Meaâ— and some from Dû which denotes black from the colour of the water This river after a very short course passes entirely and unmix'd through a large lake call'd Lhyn Tegid in English Pimble Mear and ‖ Crâ—â— for iâ— Meâ— Guiâ—â—â— Fish Plenlyn Mear carrying out the same quantity of water it brought in For neither are the Gwiniad e which are a fish peculiar to this lake found in the Dee nor any Salmons taken in the lake tho' commonly in the river but if you please take here an accurate description of this lake by an Antiquarian Poet. Hispida qua tellus Mervinia respicit Eurum Est lacus antiquo Penlinum nomine dictus Hic lacus illimeis in valle Tegeius altâ Latè expandit aquas vastum conficit orbem Excipiens gremio latices qui fonte perenni Vicinis recidunt de montibus atque sonoris Illecebris captas demulcent suaviter aures Illud habet certè lacus admirabile dictu Quantumvis magnâ pluviâ non aestuat atqui Aëre turbato si ventus murmura tollat Excrescit subito rapidis violentior undis Et tumido superat contemptas flumine ripas Where eastern storms disturb the peaceful skies In Merioneth famous Penlin lies Here a vast Lake which deepest vales surround His watry globe rowls on the yielding ground Encreas'd with constant springs that gently run From the rough hills with pleasing murmurs down This wondrous property the waters boast The greatest rains are in it's chanels lost Nor raise the flood but when loud tempests roar The rising waves with sudden rage boyl ore And conqu'ring billows scorn th' unequal shore On the brow of this Lake lies Bala Bala a small priviledg'd town having but few inhabitants and the houses rudely built which yet is the chief market of these mountaneers f Hugh Earl of Chester was the first Norman that seiz'd this Country and planted garrisons in it whilst Grufydh ap * Coâ—â— Kynan was his prisoner but he afterwards recovering this land with the rest of his Principality left it to his posterity who possess'd it till their fatal period in Prince Lhewelyn There are in this County 37 Parishes ADDITIONS to MEIRIONYDHSHIRE a THis Country as Giraldus observes generally consider'd is the most mountainous of all the Welsh Counties though it's mountains are not the highest those of Snowdon in Caernarvonshire exceeding them in height and being at least equal to them in rocky precipices But whereas Giraldus calls it the roughest and most unpleasant country in all Wales it may be answer'd if that be worth notice that for the pleasing prospect of a Country there is hardly any standard most men taking their measures herein either from the place of their own nativity and education or from the profit they suppose a Country may yield But if as some hold variety of objects make a Country appear delightful this may contend with most as affording besides a sea-prospect not only exceeding high mountains and inaccessible rocks with an incredible number of rivers cataracts and lakes but also variety of lower hills woods and plains and some fruitful valleys Their highest mountains are Kader Idris Aren Voudhwy Aren Benlhyn Arennig Moelwyn Mannod c. These maintain innumerable herds of cattel sheep and goats and are in regard they are frequently fed with clouds and rains and harbour much snow considerably more fertil though the grass be coarse than the hills and ridges of lower Countries Kader
aloft that it seems I shall not say to threaten the sky but even to thrust its head into it And yet it harbours snow continually being throughout the year cover'd with it or rather with a harden'd crust †Nivium senio of snow of many years continuance And hence the British name of Kreigieu Eryreu and that of Snowdon Snowdon Hills in English both which signifie Snowy mountains so Niphates in Armenia and Imaus in Scythia as Pliny informs us were denominated from Snow Nevertheless these mountains are so fertile in grass that it 's a common saying among the Welsh That the mountains of Eryreu would in a case of necessity afford pasture enough for all the cattel in Wales I shall say nothing of the two lakes on the tops of these mountains in one of which there floats a wandring island and the other affords plenty of fish each whereof has but one eye lest I might seem to countenance fables tho' some relying on Giraldus's authority have believ'd both However that there are lakes and standing waters on the tops of these mountains is certain whence Gervase of Tilbury in his book entitl'd Otia Imperialia writes thus In the land of Wales within the bounds of Great Britain are high mountains which have laid their foundations on exceeding hard rocks on the tops whereof the ground is so boggy that where you do but just place your foot you 'll perceive it to move for a stones cast Wherefore upon a surprisal of the enemy the Welsh by their agility skipping over that boggy ground do either escape their assaults or resolutely expect them while they advance forward to their own ruin Joannes Sarisburiensis in his Polycraticon calls the inhabitants of these mountains by a new-coin'd word Nivi collinos of whom he wrote thus in the time of Henry 2. Nivicollini Britones irruunt c. The Snowdon-Britains make inroads and being now come out of their caverns and woods they seize the plains of our Nobles and before their faces assault and overthrow them or retain what they have got because our youth who delight in the house and shade as if they were born only to consume the fruit of the land sleep commonly till broad day c. a But let us now descend from the mountains to the plains which seeing we find only by the sea it may suffice if we coast along the shore That promontory we have observ'd already to be extended to the south-west is call'd in the several copies of Ptolemy Canganum Cangaâ—â—â— Janganum and Langanum Which is truest I know not but it may seem to be Langanum seeing the inhabitants at this day call it LhÅ·n Lhyn It runs in with a narrow Peninsula having larger plains than the rest of this County which yield plenty of Barley It affords but two small towns worth our notice the innermost at the bay of Pwlh heli Pwlh 〈◊〉 which name signifies the Salt Pool and the other by the Irish sea which washes one part of this Peninsula call'd Nevin Nevin where in the year 1284 the English Nobility as Florilegus writes triumphing over the Welsh celebrated the memory of Arthur the Great with Tournaments and festival pomp If any more towns flourish'd here they were then destroyed Vita Gâ—fydâ—â—naâ—â— when Hugh Earl of Chester Robert of Rutland and Guarin of Salop the first Normans that advanc'd thus far so wasted this promontory that for seven years it lay desolate From Nevin the shore indented with two or three promontories is continued northwards and then turning to the north-east passes by a narrow frith or chanel call'd Meneu â—neu or â—nat See â—irebeâ— which separates the Isle of Anglesey from the firm land Upon this Fretum stood the city Segontium â—â—goâ—tium mention'd by Antoninus of the walls whereof I have seen some ruins near a small Church built in honour of St. Publicius 〈…〉 It took its name from a river that runs by it call'd to this day Seiont which issues out of the lake LhÅ·n Peris wherein they take a peculiar fish not seen elsewhere call'd by the inhabitants from its red belly Torgoch â—â—â—goch Now seeing an ancient copy of Ptolemy places the haven of the Setantii â—ntii in this coast which other copies remov'd much farther off if I should read it Segontiorum Portum and should say it was at the mouth of this river perhaps I should come near the truth at least a candid reader would pardon my conjecture Ninnius calls this city Kaer Kystenydh and the author of the life of Grufydh ap Kynan tells us that Hugh Earl of Chester built a castle at Hén Gaer Kystenin which the Latin Interpreter renders The ancient city of the Emperour Constantine Moreover Matthew of Westminster hath recorded but herein I 'll not avouch for him that the body of Constantius the father of Constantine the Great was found here in the year 1283. and honourably interr'd in the Church of the new town by command of King Edward 1. who at that time built the town of Kaer'n Arvon out of the ruins of this city â—narâ— a little higher by the mouth of the river in such a situation that the sea washes it on the west and north This as it took its name from its situation opposite to the island Mona so did it communicate that name to the whole County for thence the English call it Caernarvonshire This town is encompass'd with a firm wall tho' of a small circumference almost of a circular form and shews a beautiful castle which takes up all the west-side of it The private buildings for the manner of the Country are neat and the civility of the inhabitants much commended They esteem it a great honour that King Edward 1. was their founder and that his son Edward 2. the first Prince of Wales of English extraction was born there who was therefore stiled Edward of Caernarvon Moreover the Princes of Wales had here their Chancery their Exchequer and their Justiciary for North Wales In a bottom seven miles hence on the same Fretum lies Bangor â—gor or Banchor enclosed on the south-side with a very steep mountain and a hill on the north so call'd à choro pulchro or as others suppose quasi locus chori â—ee ◠〈◊〉 â—sh D. 〈◊〉 in word 〈◊〉 â—eâ— â—â—i Penâ—â— or 〈◊〉 Ceâ— which is a Bishop's See and contains in it's Diocese 96 Parishes The Cathedral is consecrated to Daniel once Bishop thereof it 's no very fair building having been burnt by that most profligate Rebel Owen Glyn Dowrdwy who design'd no less than the destruction of all the Cities of Wales 'T was afterwards restored in the time of Henry 7. by the Bishop thereof Henry Deny but hath not yet recover'd it's ancient splendour 'T is now only a small town but was heretofore so considerable â—a Gâ—â—f that for it 's large extent it was call'd Bangor-vawr and
streams that fall into it and many other very considerable rivers discharge themselves here And it is without question the most spacious Aestuary and the best stor'd with fish of any in the Kingdom At every tide it flows as the sea does and at ebb returns it 's own waters with those borrowed from the Ocean with a vast hurry and murmur and not without great danger to those that then sail in it Hence Necham Fluctibus aequoreis Naeutis suspectior Humber Dedignans urbes visere rura colit Humber whom more than seas the Pilots fear Scorning great towns doth thro' the country steer The same Author still following the British history as if the Humber deriv'd this name from a King of the Hunns continues Hunnorum princeps ostendens terga Locrino Submersus nomen contulit Humbris aquae The Hunne's great Prince by Locrin's arms subdu'd Here drown'd gave name to Humber's mighty flood Another Poet says of the same river Dum fugit obstat ei flumen submergitur illic Deque suo tribuit nomine nomen aquae Here stopt in 's flight by the prevailing stream He fell and to the waters left his name However in Necham's time there was no city seated upon this Aestuary tho' before and in after-ages there flourished one or two in those places In the Roman times not far from its bank upon the little river Foulnesse where Wighton â—â—ghton a small town well frequented with husbandmen now stands there seems to have stood Delgovitia â—goviâ—ia as is probable both from the likeness and the signification of the name without drawing any other proofs from its distance from Derventio For the word Delgwe in British signifies the Statues or Images of the heathen Gods and in a little village not far off there stood an Idol-Temple Bede in very great glory even in the Saxon times which from the heathen Gods in it was then called God-mundingham and now in the same sense Godmanham Godmanâ—am Nor do I question but here was some famous Oracle or other even in the British times an age wherein weakness and ignorance exposed the whole world to these superstitions A Temple of the Gods But after Paulinus had preach'd Christ to the Northumbrians Coyfi who had been a priest of these heathen Ceremonies and was now converted to Christianity first profaned this Temple the house of impiety as Bede tells us * Injâ—â—ta lancâ—a by throwing a spear into it nay destroyed and burnt it with all its †Sepâ—â—â— hedges f Somewhat more eastward the river Hull runs into the Humber the rise of it is near a village call'd Driffeild Driffeild remarkable for the monument of Alfred the most learned King of the Northumbrians and likewise for the many Barrows rais'd hereabouts The same river posts on running not far from Leckenfeld Leckenfeld a house of the Percies Earls of Northumberland near which at a place called Schorburg is the habitation of a truly famous and ancient family the Hothams and at Garthum not far from thence the rubbish of an old castle which belonged to P. de Malo-lacu or Mauley The river-Hull begins now to approach near Beverley Beverley in Saxon Beuer-lega which Bede seems to call Monasterium in Deirwaud that is the Monastery in the wood of the Deiri a town large and very populous From it's name and situation one would imagine it to be the Petuaria Parisiorum Petuaria tho' it pretends to nothing of greater antiquity than that John sirnamed de Beverley Archbishop of York a man as Bede represents him that was both devout and learned out of a pious aversion to this world renounced his Bishoprick and retired hither where about the year 721 he died Life of Jo. de Beverley The memory of him has been so sacred among our Kings particularly Athelstan who honoured him as his Guardian-Saint after he had defeated the Danes that they have endowed this place with many considerable immunities 3 And Athelstan granted them Liberties in these geâ—eral words All 's free make I thee As heart may think or eye may see They granted it the privilege of a Sanctuary that it should be an inviolable protection to all Bankrupts and those suspected of Capital crimes Asylum Within it stood a Chair made of stone with this Inscription HAEC SEDES LAPIDEA Freedstooll DICITVR i. PACIS CATHEDRA AD QVAM REVS FVGIENDO PERVENIENS OMNIMODAM HABET SECVRITATEM That is This Stone-seat is call'd Freedstooll i.e. the Chair of Peace to which what Criminal soever flies shall have full protection By this means the Town grew up to a considerable bulk strangers throng'd thither daily and the Towns-men drew a chanel from the river Hull The river Hull for the conveyance of foreign commodities by boats and barges The Magistrates of the Town were first twelve Wardens which were after that chang'd to Governours and Wardens But at this day by the favour of Queen Elizabeth the Town has a Mayor and Governours g More to the Eastward flourish'd Meaux-Abbey Regist Monast de Meaux so denominated from one Gamell born at Meaux in France who obtain'd it of William the Conquerour to live in Here William le Gross Earl of Albemarle founded a Monastery for the Monks of the Cluniack Order to atone for a vow he had made whereby he was oblig'd to go to Jerusalem Somewhat lower stands Cottingham Cottingham a long Country-town where are the ruins of an old Castle built by King John's permission by Robert Estotevill Estotevil descended from Robert Grundebeofe a Norman Baron and a man of great note in those times whose estate came by marriage to the Lords de Wake and afterwards by a daughter of John de Wake to Edmund Earl of Kent from whom descended Joan wife to Edward that most warlike Prince of Wales who defeated the French in so many Engagements The river Hull about six miles from hence falls into the Humber Just at its mouth stands a Town call'd from it Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull but commonly Hull The Town is of no great antiquity for King Edward the first whose royal virtues deservedly rank him among the greatest and best of Kings Plac. an 44 Ed 3 Ebor. 24. having observ'd the advantagious situation of the place which was first call'd Wik had it in exchange from the Abbot de Meaux and instead of the Vaccarii and Bercarii that is as I apprehend it Cribs for Cows and Sheep-folds which he found there he built the Town call'd Kingston signifying the King's Town and there as the words of the Record are he made a harbour and a free burgh making the inhabitants of it free burgesses and granting them many liberties By degrees it has grown to that dignity that for statley building strong forts rich fleets resort of merchants and plenty of all things 't is without dispute the most celebrated Town in these parts All this
Commissioners were appointed to make enquiry concerning it who certify'd that a third part of their lands were totally destroy'd by the tides so the King issued out his Precept to the Assessors and Collectors to supersede c. and they were assess'd according to their moveables at 1 l. 6 s. 8 d. for each of the two years He also sent his Mandate to the Barons of the Exchequer commanding that neither then nor on the like occasion for the future they should be rated at any greater summ The like Mandate was directed to the Collectors of Wooll in the East riding for a proportionable abatement to the Inhabitants of the town of Frismerk In the sixteenth of Edward the third among other Towns in Holderness bordering on the Sea and Humber mention is made of Tharlethorp Redmayr Penysthorp but now not one of them is to be heard of At what time precisely they were lost does not appear but about the 30th of Edw. 3. the tides in the rivers of Humber and Hull flow'd higher by four foot than usual so t is likely they might then be overflow'd Probably also about the same time Ravensere which seems to be the same with Mr. Camden's Ravenspur and Ravensburg was much damnify'd and not long after totally lost The Inhabitants hereabouts talk of two other towns Upsall and Potterfleet which are quite destroy'd About 38 Edw. 3. the Lands and Meadows between Sudcote-steel and Hull were much overflow'd when probably Ravensere was entirely lost and the town of Dripool with the adjoyning grounds very much damnify'd at which town 't is said they of Ravensere design'd to settle but were forc'd to go to Hull Likewise before about the 30th of Edw. 3. the High-way betwixt Anlaby and Hull as also the Grounds and Pastures lying between both these places and Hessel were all drown'd but the said King by his Letters Patents order'd several persons to see that an old ditch thereabouts should be dress'd and a new one 24 foot broad should be made and the way rais'd higher which was accordingly effected o As little as our Authour values John de Bridlington Bridlingâ—â—â— who dyd A. D. 1379. he has to this day in all that neighbourhood the repute of a Saint And very justly too if all the mighty things be true of him which Nicholas Harpsfield in his Ecclesiastical History has related with gravity and good assurance P. 557. In the 16th of Car. 2. Richard Boyl Baron Clifford c. was created Earl of Bridlington or Burlington A little overward from Hornsey is the Marr Marr. a water pretty deep and always fresh about a mile and a half long and half a mile broad well-stor'd with the best Pikes Perches and Eels Whether it has been caus'd at first by some Earth-quake with an overflow that might follow it is hard to say but they tell you that there have been old trees seen floating upon it and decay'd nuts found on the shore And 't is certain that in the Sea-cliffs against Hornsey both have been met with at present also there is or at least was very lately a vein of wood that looks as black as if it had been burnt which possibly is occasion'd by the saltness of the sea-Sea-water both preserving wood better than fresh-water and also by its saltness and consequently greater heat helping to turn it black p Upon the Coast of the German Ocean is Hornsey Hornsey the Church-steeple whereof being a high broach or spire is a notable Sea-mark tho' now it is much fal'n to ruin and the Inhabitants are scarce able to repair it Not many years ago there was a small street adjoyning to the Sea call'd Hornsey-beck which is now washt away except one or two houses and about Skipsie Skipsie a few miles north of Hornsey they have a tradition of a town call'd Hide being devour'd by the Sea More inward into the Land is Rudston Rudston where in the Church-yard is a kind of Pyramidal-stone of great height Whether the name of the town may not have some relation to it can be known only from the private History of the place but if the stone bear any resemblance with a Cross Rod in Saxon implies so much q Concerning the Vipseys Vipseys hereabouts take what the ingenious Mr. Ray was pleas'd to communicate among other things relating to these parts These Vipseys or suddain eruptions of water whether the word in Newbrigensis were by mistake of the Scribe and change of a letter put in stead of Gipseys or whether Vipseys were the original name and in process of time chang'd into Gipseys I know not certain it is they are at this day call'd Gipseys of which Dr. Wittey in his Scarborough Spaw writes that they break out in the wolds or downs of this Country after great rains and jet and spout up water to a greaâ— height Neither are these eruptions of Springs proper and peculiar to the wolds of this Country but common to others also as Dr. Childrey in his Britannica Baconica witnesseth in these words Sometimes there breaks out water in the manner of a suddain Land-flood out of certain stones that are like rocks standing aloft in open fields near the rising of the river Kinet in Kent which is reputed by the common people a fore-runner of dearth and Newbrigensis saith the like of the Gipseys that the flowing of them is said infallibly to portend a future famine So we see these Gipseys do not come at set times every other year as Newbrigensis would make us believe but only after great gluts of rain and lasting wet weather and never happen but in wet years and moreover that they always portend a dearth not as a Divine indication or forewarning but by a natural significancy THE NORTH RIDING OF YORKSHIRE by Rob t Morden it being well known that cold and wet Springs and Summers mar the corn and do almost constantly and infallibly induce a dearth thereof in England which a drought how lasting soever it be hath never in my memory been observed to do If any be so curious as to enquire how a glut of rain comes to cause such a springing up of waters I answer that there are hereabout in the wolds and in like places where such jets happen great subterraneous basins or receptacles of water which have issuing out from their bottoms or near them some narrow small veins or chanels reaching up to the surface of the earth So the water in the basin lying much higher than the place of eruption by its weight forces that in the veins upward and makes it spout up to a great height as is evidently seen in the Lacus Lugeus or Zirchnitzer-Sea in which this spouting up of water happens every year after the rains are fall'n in the Autumn These suddain and intermittent fountains or eruptions of water have a particular name in Kent as well as Yorkshire being there call'd Nailbourns From Richard de Beauchamp the last Earl of Albemarle
of Hilda's Hilda prayers as if she had transform'd them c In the infancy of the Saxon Church she withstood to the utmost of her power the tonsure of the Clergy and the celebration of Easter after the Roman manner in a Synod touching these matters An. 664. held in the Monastery she had founded in this place whereof her self was first Governess d Geese droping down It is also ascribed to the power of her sanctity that those wild Geese which in the winter fly in great flocks to the lakes and rivers unfrozen in the southern parts to the great amazement of every one fall down suddenly upon the ground when they are in their flight over certain neighbouring fields hereabouts a relation I should not have made if I had not received it from several very credible men But those who are less inclin'd to heed superstition attribute it to some occult quality in the ground and to somewhat of antipathy between it and the Geese such as they say is between Wolves and Scylla-roots For that such hidden tendencies and aversions as we call Sympathies and Antipathies Sympathy and Antipathy are implanted in many things by provident nature for the preservation of them is a thing so evident that every body grants it Edelfleda the daughter of King Oswin afterwards enriched this Abbey with very large revenues and here also she buried her father But at length in the times of the Danish ravages it was destroyed and although Serlo Percius who presently after the Conquest was made Governour of it rebuilt it yet at this day it has hardly the least shew of its ancient greatness Hard by upon a steep hill near the sea which yet is between two that are much higher a Castle of Wada a Saxon Duke is said to have stood Duke Wada from whom the family of the Wadâ—s derive their pedigree who in the confused disorderly times of the Northumbrians so fatal to petty Princes having combined with those that murder'd King Ethered gave battel to King Ardulph at Whalley in Lancashire but with such ill fortune that his army was routed and himself forced to fly for it Afterwards he fell into a distemper which kill'd him and was interr'd on a hill here between two hard stones about seven foot high which being at twelve foot distance from one another Wadesgrave occasions a current report that he was a gyant in bulk and stature Long after Peter de Malo-lacu built a Castle near this place which from its grace and beauty he nam'd in French Moultgrace Moulgrave Castle as we find it in the History of Meaux but because it became a grievance to the neighbours thereabouts the people who have always the right of coyning words by changing one single letter call'd it Moult-grave by which name it is every where known tho' the reason of it be little understood Barons de Malo-lacu This Peter de Malo-lacu commonly called Mauley that I may satisfie the curious in this point born in Poictou in France married the only daughter of Robert de Turnham in the reign of Rich. 2. by whose right he came to a very great inheritance here enjoyed by seven Peters Lords de Malo-lacu successively who bore for their Arms a bend sable in an Escocheon Or. But at last the seventh dying without issue 1 The inheritance of Dancaster Bainton Bridesalle c. were parted c. the inheritance came to be parted by the sisters between the Knightly families of the Salvains and Bigots e Near this place and elsewhere on this shore is found Black Amber or Geate Geate Some take it to be the Gagates Gagates which was valued by the Ancients among the rarest stones and jewels It grows upon the rocks within a chink or cliff of them and before it is polish'd looks reddish and rusty but after is really as Solinus describes them black and shining like a diamond Others are of opinion that our Pit-coal is a sort of Gagates Of which thus Rhemnius Palaemon from Dionysius Praefulget nigro splendore Gagates Hic lapis ardescens austro perfusus aquarum Ast oleo perdens flammas mirabile visu Attritus rapit hic teneras ceu succina frondes All black and shining is the Jeat In water dip'd it flames with sudden heat But a strange coldness dip'd in oyl receives And draws like Amber little sticks and leaves Likewise Marbodaeus in his Treatise of Jewels Nascitur in Lycia lapis prope gemma Gagates Sed genus eximium foecunda Britannia mittit Lucidus niger est levis laevissimus idem Vicinas paleas trahit attritu calefactus Ardet aqua lotus restinguitur unctus olivo Jeat-stone almost a gemm the Lybians find But fruitful Britain sends a wondrous kind 'T is black and shining smooth and ever light 'T will draw up straws if rubb'd till hot and bright Oyl makes it cold but water gives it heat Hear also what Solinus says In Britain there is great store of Gagates or Geate a very fine stone If you ask the colour it is black and shining if the quality it is exceeding light if the nature it burns in water and is quenched with oyl if the virtue it has an attractive power when heated with rubbing f From Whitby the shore winds back to the westward near which stands Cliveland Clivâ—laâ—â— so called as it seems from precipices which in our language we call Cliffs for it is situated by the side of several steep hills up and down here from the foot of which the country falls into a plain fertile ground g Upon the shore Skengrave a small village flourishes by the great variety of fish it takes where seventy years ago it is reported they caught a ‖ Homâ— ma◠〈…〉 sea-man A Sea Mâ— who lived upon raw fish for some days but at last taking his opportunity he made his escape again into his own element When the winds are laid and the sea in a still calm the waters thereof being spread into a flat plain very often a hideous groaning is suddenly heard here and then the fishermen are afraid to go to sea who according to their poor sence of things believe the Ocean to be a huge monster which is then hungry and eager to glut it self with mens bodies Beneath Skengrave stands Kilton Kilton a castle with a park quite round it this belonged formerly to the famous family of the Thwengs whose estate fell to the Barons of Lumley Hilton and Daubeny Very near this place is seated Skelton-castle which belongs to the ancient family of the Barons de Brus Bruis of Skeâ—ton who are descended from Robert Brus a Norman He had two sons Adam Lord of Skelton Skelton and Robert Lord of Anan-dale in Scotland from whom sprang the Royal Line of Scotland But Peter Brus the fifth Lord of Skelton died without issue and left his sisters heirs Agnes married to Walter de Falconberg Barons
Fâ—â—conberg Lucie married to Marmaduke de Thwenge from whom the Baron Lumley is descended Margaret married to Robert de Roos and Laderina married to John de Bella-aqua men of great honour and repute in that age The Posterity of Walter de Falconberg flourish'd a long time but at last the estate fell by a female to 2 Sir William William Nevil famous for his valour and honour'd with the title of Earl of Kent by King Edward the fourth His daughters were married to J. Coigniers N. Bedhowing and R. Strangwayes Near Hunt-cliff on the shore when the tide is out the rocks shoot out pretty high and upon these your Sea-calves which we contractedly name Seales as some think for Sea-veals or Sea-calves lodge in great droves and there sleep and sun themselves Upon one of the rocks nearest to the shore some one of these stands centry as it were and when any body comes near he either pushes down a stone or casts himself upon the water with great noise to alarm the rest that they may provide for themselves and get into the water Their greatest fear is of men if they are pursued by them and want water they commonly keep them off by casting up sand and gravel with their hinder feet They are not in such awe of women so that those men that would take them disguise themselves in their habit Here are found on this Coast yellowish and reddish stones some rusted over with a brinish substance which by their smell and taste resemble Coperas Nitre and Brimstone and also great store of Pyrites like brass in colour Near at Huntly Nabb the shore which for a long way together has lain open now riseth high with craggs and up and down at the bottoms of the rocks lye stones of several sizes so exactly form'd round by nature that one would think them bullets cast by some Artist for the great Guns If you break them you find within Stony-serpents wreath'd up in Circles but generally without heads Hence we come in view of Wilton-castle â—â—â—ton formerly belonging to the Bulmers Higher up at Dobham the river Tees flows into the Sea having first receiv'd many small rivulets the last of which is a nameless one entring it near Yarum â—â—â—um known for its market and washes Stokesley â—â—â—kesley a small market-town likewise which hath been long in the hands of the famous family de Eure. Below these â—â—â—â—lton stands Wharlton-castle which formerly belonged to the Barons Meinill and Harlsey to the family of Hothom but afterwards to the Strangwayes both of them old and ruinous The mouth of the Tees I spoke of was hardly trusted by Mariners heretofore but now it is found to be a safe Harbour and to direct the entrance there were Light-houses made upon both sides of it within the memory of this age Four miles from the mouth of this river Gisburgh stands upon a rising ground at present a small town while it was in its prime it was very much graced by a beautiful and rich Monastery built about the year 1119. by Robert de Brus Lord of the town It has been the common burial-place for all the Nobility of these parts and has produced Walter de Hemingford no unlearned Historian The place is really fine and may for pleasantness a curious variety and the natural advantages of it compare with Puteoli in Italy and then for a healthful and agreeable situation it certainly far surpasses it The coldness of the air which the sea occasions is qualified and broken by the hills between the soil is fruitful and produces grass and fine flowers a great part of the year it richly abounds with veins of metal and Alum-earth of several colours but especially with those of ocher and murray from which they now begin to extract the best sort of Alum and Coperas in great plenty This was first discover'd a few years since by the admirable sagacity of that learned Naturalist Sir Thomas Chaloner Kt. to whose tuition his present Majesty has committed the delight and glory of Britain his son Prince Henry by observing that the leaves of trees were ‖ 〈◊〉 is â—rere of a more wealky sort of Green here than in other places that the oaks shot forth their roots very broad but not deep and that these had much strength but little sap in them that the soil was a white clay speckled with several colours namely white yellowish and blue that it never fâ—oze and that in a pretty clear night it shin d and sparkl'd like glass upon the road-side h Next Ounesbery-Topping a steep mountain and all over green riseth so high that it appears at a great distance and it is the land-mark that directs sailers and a prognostick to the neighbours hereabouts For when it's top begins to be darken'd with clouds rain generally follows 3 Whereupon they have a pâ—overbial ‑ Rhime When Rosebery Topping wears a Cap Let Cliveland then beware of a Clap. Near the top of it a fountain issues from a great stone very good for sore eyes And from hence the valleys round it the grassy hills green meadows rich pastures fruitful corn-fields fishy rivers and the creeky mouth of the Tees low and open shores yet free from inundation and the sea with the ships in it render the prospect very delicate Beneath this stands Kildale a Castle belonging to the Percies Earls of Northumberland and more to the eastward Danby which from Brus by the Thwengs came to the Barons Latimer from whose heir are descended the Willoughbies Barons Broke But this Danby among other estates was sold to the Nevils of whom George Nevil was summon'd among the Barons to Parliament by Henry 6. under the title of Lord Latimer Barons Latimer in whose posterity that dignity remain'd to our age i I have nothing now to observe here The History of Câ—nterbury but that the Baron de Meinill held some lands in this County of the Archbishops of Canterbury and that the Coigniers and Strangwaies 4 And â—aâ—cks â—â—scended c. with some others descended from them are obliged to be attendant and to pay certain military services to the Archbishops for the same Praerogativ Reg. 1â— Edw. 2. Wardship And whereas the King of England by his prerogative these are the very words of it shall have the Wardship of all the lands of them that hold of him in chief by Knights service of which themselves as tenants have been seised in their demesne as of fee at the time of their decease of whomsoever they held by the like service so that themselves notwithstanding hold of the King any tenement of the ancient demesne of the crown till such time as the heir has come to years Yet these fees are excepted and others of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Durham 5 â—etween Tine and Tâ—es so that they shall have the wardship of such lands tho'
for their great bulk and branchy heads are very remarkable and extraordinary The river Ure which we have often mention'd has its rise here out of the western mountains and first runs through the middle of the vale Wentsedale Wentsedale which is sufficiently stock'd with cattel and has a great deal of lead in some places Not far from the first spring while it is yet but small 't is encreased by the little river Baint from the south which issues from the pool Semur with a great murmur At the confluence of these two streams where some few cottages call'd from the first bridge over the Ure Baintbrig was formerly a Roman garison Bracchium of which some remains are yet extant For upon the hill which from a burrough they now call Burgh there are the groundworks of an old fortification about five acres in compass and under it to the east the signs of many houses are yet apparent Where among several proofs of Roman Antiquity I have seen this fragment of an old Inscription in a very fair character with a winged Victory supporting it IMP. CAES. L. SEPTIMIO PIO PERTINACI AVGV IMP CAESARI M. AVRELIO A PIO FELICI AVGVSTO The name o◠〈…〉 eras'd BRACCHIO CAEMENTICIVM VI NERVIORVM SVB CVRA LA SENECION AMPLISSIMI OPERI L. VI SPIVS PRAE LEGIO From which we may conjecture that this fort at Burgh was formerly called Bracchium which before had been made of turf but then was built with stone and mortar that the sixth Cohort of the Nervii garison'd here who also seem to have had a Summer Camp upon that high hill trenched round which is hard by and is now called Ethelbury It is not long since a Statue of Aurelius Commodus the Emperour was dug up here Statue of Commodus the Emperour who as Lampridius has it was stil'd by his flatterers Britannicus even when the Britains were for chusing another against him This Statue seems to have been set up when through an extravagant esteem of himself he arriv'd to that pitch of folly that he commanded every one to call him The Roman Hercules son of Jupiter For it is formed in the habit of Hercules his right-hand armed with a club and under it as I am inform'd was this broken and imperfect Inscription which had been ill copied and was quite decay'd before I came hither CAESARI AVGVSTO MARCI AVRELII FILIO SEN IONIS AMPLISSIMI VENTS _____ PIVS This was extant in Nappa Nappâ— a house built with turrets and the chief seat of the Medcalfs The 〈…〉 which is counted the most numerous family this day in England For I have heard that Sir Christopher Medcalf Knight the chief of the family being lately Sheriff of the County was attended with 300 Knights all of this family and name and in the same habit to receive the Justices of the Assize and conduct them to York From hence the Ure runs very swiftly with abundance of Crey-fishes Crey-â— ever since C. Medcalf within the memory of this age brought that sort of fish hither from the south parts of England l and between two rocks from which the place is called Att-scarre it violently rolls down its chanel not far from Bolton Bolton the ancient seat of the Barons de Scrope Barons 〈◊〉 Scrâ—pâ— and a stately castle which Richard Lord le Scrope Chancellour of England in Richard the second 's time built at very great charge Now taking its course eastward it comes to the town of Midelham Midâ—ehâ—â— the Honour of which as we read in the Genealogy of the Nevils Alan Earl of Richmond gave to his younger brother * By 〈◊〉 Ribaa Rinebald with all the lands which before their coming belonged to Gilpatrick the Dane His grandchild by his son Ralph Lords of Midâ—ehâ—â— called Robert Fitz-Ralph had all Wentsedale bestowed on him by Conanus Earl of Bretagne and Richmond and built a very strong castle at Midleham Ranulph his son built a small Monastery for Canons at Coverham now contractedly called Corham in Coverdale Genealâ—â—â— antiquâ—â—â— and his son Ralph had a daughter Mary who being married to Robert Lord Nevill brought this large estate for a portion to the family of the Nevils This Robert Nevill having had many children by his wife was taken in adultery unknown and had his privy members cut off by the adulteress's husband in revenge which threw him into such excessive grief that he soon dy'd From hence the Ure having pass'd a few miles washes Jervis or Jorvalle-Abbey 1 Of Cistertians founded first at Fo rs add after translated hither by Stephen Earl of Britain and Richmond which is now decay'd then runs by Masham Mashaâ— which belonged to the Scropes of Masham who as they are descended from the Scropes of Bolton fo are they again grafted into the same by marriage On the other side of this river but more inward stands Snath Snath the chief seat of the Barons de Latimer whose noble extraction is from G. Nevill younger son of Ralph Nevill first Earl of Westmorland who had this honourable title conferr'd on him by K. Henry the sixth of that name when the elder family of the Latimers had ended in a female Barons Latimeâ— and so in a continu'd succession they have flourished till our time when for want of heirs-male to the last Baron this brave inheritance was parted among his daughters who were married into the families of the Percies the Cecils the D'anvers and Cornwallis There is no other place in these parts remarkable upon the Ure but Tanfeld Tanfeâ—â— formerly the seat of the Gernegans Knights from these it descended to the Marmions Marmâ—â—â— lâ— q. 6. â— the last of these left Amice his heir the second wife of John Lord Grey of Rotherfeld whose two children taking the name of Marmion were heirs to their mother 2 John that assum'd the sirname of Marmion and dy'd issueless and Robert who left behind him one only daughter and sole heir Elizabeth wife to Sir Henry Fitz-Hâ—gh a nâ—ble Baron and one of them left an only daughter and heiress Elizabeth the wife of Fitz-Hugh a famous Baron The Ure now receives the Swale Swalâ— sacred â—â—ver so called as Thom. Spott has it from its swiftness which enters it with a great leaping and hurry of waters This also rises out of the western mountains hardly five miles above the head of the river Ure and runs to the eastward It was very sacred among the ancient English because when the Saxons were first converted to Christianity there were baptiz'd in it on one day with great joy by Paulinus Archbishop of York above ten thousand men besides women and children The course of the Swale lies through a pretty large vale which is called Swaldale from it and has grass enough but wants wood and first by Marricke â—â—rricke where stood a Cloister built by the Askes men of great note heretofore
then by Mask where there is great store of lead From thence by Richmondia commonly Richmond â—â—chmond the chief city of this Shire enclos'd with walls of no great compass yet by the sâ—burbs which shoot out in length to the three gates it is pretty populous It was built by Alan the first Earl who not daring to rely upon Gilling â—â—lling his village or manour hard by to withstand the assaults of the Saxons and Danes whom the Normans had strip'd of their inheritances grac'd it with this name signi ying a Rich Mount and fortify'd it with walls and a very strong castle situated upon a rock from whence it looks down upon the river Swale which with a great murmur seems to rush rather than run among the stones The village Gilling was rather holy upon the account of Religion than strong in respect of its fortifications ever since Oswius K. of Northumberland by the treachery of his Hospitis Host was slain in this place which is called by Bede Gethling To expiate whose murder a Monastery was built here which was highly esteem'd and honour'd by our ancestors More towards the north stands Ravenswath â—â—vensâ—â—th a castle encompass'd with a pretty large wall now ruinous which belonged to those Barons called Fitz-Hugh â—â—ron Fitz-â—â—gh descended from an old line of English who were Lords of this place before the Norman Conquest and flourish'd till the time of Henry 7. being enriched with great estates by marriages with the heirs of the famous families of the Forneaux and Marmions which went at last by females to the Fienes Lords Dacre in the South and to the Parrs Three miles below Richmond the Swale flows by that old city which Ptolemy and Antoninus call Caturactonium â—â—â—uractoâ—â—â—m and Catarracton but Bede Catarractan and in another place the village near Catarracta â—â—â—aricke which makes me think that name given it from the Catarract seeing here is a great fall of water hard by tho' nearer Richmond where as I already observ'd the Swale rather rushes than runs its waters being dashed and broken by those crags it meets with And why should he call it a village near Catarracta if there had been no cataract of the waters there That it was a city of great note in those times may be inferr'd from Ptolemy because an Observation of the Heavens was taken there For in his Magna Constructio lib. 2. cap. 6. he describes the 24th parallel to be through Catarractonium in Britain and to be distant from the aequator 57 degrees Yet in his Geography he defines the longest day to be 18 Equinoctial hours so that according to his own calculation it is distant 58 degrees â—gnum 〈◊〉 nisi noâ— habet But at this day as the Poet says it has nothing great but the memory of what it was For it is but a very small village called Catarrick and Catarrick-bridge â—â—tarrick â—â—â—dge yet remarkable for its situation by a Roman highway which crosses the river here and for those heaps of rubbish up and down which carry some colour of antiquity especially near Ketterickswart and Burghale which are somewhat distant from the bridge and likewise more eastward hard by the river where I saw a huge mount as it were with four bulwarks cast up with great labour to a considerable height m What it might suffer from the Picts and Saxons when with fire and sword they laid waste the Cities of Britain I cannot certainly tell yet when the Saxon Government was establish'd it seems to have flourish'd though Bede always calls it a village till in the year 769 it was burnt by Eanredus or Beanredus the tyrant who destroyed the Kingdom of Northumberland But immediately after he himself was miserably burnt and Catarractonium began to raise its head again for in the 77th year after King Etheldred solemnized his marriage with the daughter of Offa King of the Mercians here Yet it did not continue long flourishing for in the Danish outrages which followed it was utterly destroy'd The Swale after a long course not without some rubs flows pretty near Hornby Hornby a castle of the family de S. Quintin which afterwards came to the Cogniers and besides pleasant pastures and country villages sees nothing but Bedal Bedal situated upon another little river that runs into it which in the time of King Edward the first gloried in its Baron 3 Sir Brian Brian Fitz-Alan Fitz-Alan famous for his ancient Nobility being descended 4 From the Earls of Britain and Richmond from the Dukes of Britain and the Earls of Richmond but for default of issue-male this inheritance was brought by daughters to the Stapletons and the Greys of Rotherfeld The Swale being now past Richmondshire draws nearer to the Ure where it sees Topcliffe Topcliffe the chief seat of the Percies call'd by Marianus Taden-clife who says that in the year 949. the States of Northumberland took an oath of Allegiance there to King Eldred the West-Saxon brother to Edmund n At the very confluence of these two rivers stands Mitton Mitton a very small village but memorable for no small slaughter there For in the year 1319 when England was almost made desolate by a raging plague the Scots continued their ravages to this place and easily routed a considerable body of Priests and Peasants which the Archbishop of York had drawn together against them But now to return From Catarractonium the military-way falls into two roads that towards the north lies by Caldwell Caldwell and Aldburgh Aldburgh which imports in the Saxon language an old burgh By what name it went formerly I cannot easily guess It seems to have been a great City from its large ruins and near it by a village called Stanwig lies a ditch of about eight miles long drawn between the Tees and the Swale As the Way runs towards the ‖ Circium north-west twelve miles off it goes by Bowes Bowes at present a little village and sometimes writ Bough where in former ages the Earls of Richmond had a little castle a tribute called Thorough-toll and their Gallows But formerly it was called in Antoninus's Itinerary Lavatrae Lavatrae and Levatrae as both its distance and the situation by a military way which is visible by the ridge of it do plainly demonstrate The antiquity of it is farther confirmed by an old stone in the Church used there not long ago for a Communion-table with this Inscription in honour of Hadrian the Emperour IMP. CAESARI DIVI TRAIANI PARTHICI Max filio DIVI NERVAE NEPOTI TRAIANO Hadria NO AVG. PONT MAXM COS. I. P.P. COH IIII. F. IO. SEV This fragment was also dug up here NO L. CAE FRONTINVS COH I. THRAC In Severus's reign when Virius Lupus was Legate and Propraetor of Britain the first Cohort of the Thracians was garison'd here â—neum Bâ—â—neum for whose sake he restored the Balneum or bath also
flower and fruit Both Gerard and Parkinson make two Plants of it Valeriana Graeca Ger. Park Graeca quorundam colore caeruleo albo J. B. caerulea C. B. Greek Valerian which the vulgar call Ladder to Heaven and Jacob's Ladder Found by Dr. Lister in Carleton beck in the falling of it into the river Are but more plentifully both with a blue flower and a white about Malham-cove in the Wood on the left hand of the water as you go to the Cove plentifully as also at Cordill or the Whern a remarkable Cove where there comes out a great stream of water near the said Malham To these I shall add a Plant which tho' perchance it be not originally native of this County yet is planted and cultivated in large Gardens at Pontefraict for sale and hath been taken notic of by Camden and Speed that is Glycyrrhiza vulgaris Ger. emac. vulg siliquosa Park siliquosa vel Germanica C. B. radice repente vulgaris Germanica J. B. Common Liquorice The quality of this Plant in taking away the sence of hunger and thirst we have taken notice of in Cambridgeshire-Catalogue The BISHOPRICK of DVRHAM THE Bishoprick of Durham or Duresme bordering upon Yorkshire on the North is shap d like a Triangle the utmost Angle whereof lies to the Westward made there by a contact of the North boundary and the Tees's head That side of it towards the South is bounded all along by the course of the river Tees The other which lyes Northward is at first mark'd out by a short line from the outmost point to the river Derwent and thence by the Derwent it self until it receives the little river Chopwell and after that by the river Tine The basis of this triangle which lyes Eastward is made by the Sea-shore which is wash'd by the German Ocean with great rage and violence In that part where it contracts it self into an angle the fields are naked the woods very thin and the hills bald but not without veins of Iron in them but the vales produce grass pretty well for the Appennine of England which I have already spoke of cuts it at this angle But on the East part or the basis of this triangle as also at the sides of it the ground is made very f uitful by tillage and the return of it answerable to the pains of the husbandman being enamell'd with Meadows Pastures and Corn-fields thick set with Towns in all parts of it and very productive of Sea-coal which we use for fewel in many places Some would have this Sea-coal to be a black earthy bitumen others to be Jeat and others the Lapis Thracius Sea-coal all which that great Master of Mineral learning Georgius Agricola proves to be the very same For certain this of ours is nothing but bitumen harden'd and concocted by heat under ground for it casts the same smell that bitumen does and if water be sprinkled on it it burns the hotter and the clearer but whether or no it is quench'd with oyl I have not yet try'd If the Lapis Obsidianus be in England I should take it for that which is found in other parts of this Kingdom and commonly goes by the name of Canole Coal for that is hard shining light and apt to cleave into thin flakes and to burn out as soon as it is kindled But let us leave these points to men that pry into the secrets of nature more narrowly EPJSCOPAIUS DUNELMENSIS Vulgo The Bishoprick of DURHAM By Robt. Morden â—ees â—â—â—is The river that bounds the South part of this County is call'd by the Latins Teisis and Teisa commonly Tees by Polydore an Italian who was certainly then thinking of Athesis in his own Country without any grounds Athesis by Ptolemy it seems to be call'd a 'T is very likely that in the Câ—pies we have of Ptolemy's Tables 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as some Books have it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are transplac'd the former being further north and as the learned Sir George Mackenzy has well noted Defence of the Royal Line c. p. 79 is now known by the name of the March of Angus being the Frith or Oat let of the river Tay. So that this is still to be left in Scotland however the other be dispos'd 〈…〉 ΤΟΥΑΣΙΣ and Tuesis yet I am of opinion that by the heedlessness of Transcribers it is misplac'd in him For whereas he makes the Tuesis or Tina to be in â—he remoter parts of Britain now inhabited by the Scots and the Tesis or Tina is the boundary to this County if I durst criticise upon this ancient Geographer I would recall it back hither to its proper place and that as I hope without offence to the Scots who have no rivers to which they can rightly apply these names The Tees rises in that stony ground call'd Stanemore and with the many currents which joyn it on both sides flows through rocks out of which at Egleston where C. Earl of Britain and Richmond built a Monastery they hew Marble and first it runs by Bernard-castle â—ernard-â—astle built by Bernard Balliol great grand-father to John Balliol King of Scots and denominated from him But John Balliol whom Edward the first had declar'd King of Scots lost this with other possessions in England for falling from the Allegiance he had sworn to King Edward At which time the King being displeas'd with Anthony Bishop of Durham as the History of that place tells us took this Castle with all its appurtenances from him and conferr'd it upon the Earl of Warwick Herks and Hertnes he bestow'd upon Robert Clifford Kewerston upon Galfrid de Hertlpole which the Bishop had as forfeited by J. de Balliol R. de Brus and Christopher de Seton But some few years after Ludovicus de Bellomonte the Bishop descended from the Royal Line of France who as it is written of him was but ignorant and a meer stranger to matters of Learning went to law for this Castle and other Possessions and carry'd the Cause Sentence being given in these words The Bishop of Durham ought to have the forfeitures in war within the liberties of his Bishoprick as the King has them without Near this stands Stretlham Stretlham for a long time the Seat of the famous and knightly family of the Bowes Bâ—â—es or De Arcubus who have often done great service to their King and Country in times of extremity Their pedigree is from W. de Arcubus to whom as I have read Alanus Niger Earl of Britain and Richmond gave it in these words that he should bear for his Arms the Scutcheon of Britain with three bent Bowes in it At less than five miles distance from hence and somewhat farther from the Tees is Standrope Standrope which is also call'd Stainthorp that is to say A stony village a small market-town where stood a Collegiate Church built by the Nevills which
Kirkby late Vicar gave by Will 70 l. f Of the Pits call'd Hell-Kettles Hell-Kâ—ttles take this account as I had it in a Letter from a very ingenious Gentleman who view'd them SIR ACcording to the promise which I made you I went to sound the depth of Hell-Kettles near Darlington The name of bottomless pits made me provide my self with a line above two hundred fathoms long and a lead weight proportionable of five or six pound weight but much smaller preparations would have serv'd for the deepest of them took but fifteen fathoms or thirty yards of our line I cannot imagine what these Kettles have been nor upon what grounds the people of the Country have suppos'd them to be bottomless They look like some of our old wrought Coal-pits that are drown'd but I cannot learn that any Coal or other Mineral has ever been found thereabouts They are full of water cold not hot as Mr. Camden has been misinform'd to the very brim and almost the same level with the Tees which runs near them so that they may have some subterraneal communication with that river But the water in the Kettles as I was inform'd is of a different kind from the river-water for it curdles milk and will not bear soap But this I did not try Below Darlington stands Yarum bigger and better built than Darlington a considerable Market and about three miles below Yarum by Land but eight or ten by water stands Stockton a considerable town well-built and a Corporation having a great trade in Lead and Butter tho' about thirty years since it had neither trade nor houses but of clay and tâ—atch'd g Aukland Aukland formerly call'd North-Aukland sometimes Market-Aukland is now call'd Bishop-Aukland from the Bishop's house there which was ruin'd by Sir Arthur-Haslerig but magnificently repair'd by Bishop Cosins The same learned and pious Prelate built likewise a stately Chapel An. 1665. in which he was bury'd founded also and endow'd here an Hospital for two Men and two Women h In the Parish of Branspeth lyes Haircholme commonly Hairum â—â—irum whither 't is reported some of the murderers of Thomas Becket fled after the fact and built a Chapel there to his memory i At Durham Durham the late Bishop Dr. Jo. Cosins expended vast summs of money in beautifying his Palace and erecting a Library well furnisht with Books The story of Aldwin's settlement here as our Author has given it is far from being so full as the Historian Turgot whom he quotes has deliver'd it To omit the many pretended Miracles and other passages of less moment he says that the first Church erected at Dunholm by Bishop Aldwin was facta citissimè de virgis Ecclesiola just such another structure as that which is sâ—id to have been first built at Glassenbury whereof Sir Henry Spelman Concil T. 1. p. 11. has given us a draught at large k At Finchale Finchale call d in Saxon Pincanheal by Henry Huntingdon Wincanhale by Hovden Phincanhal and by others Finchale which difference has risen from the likeness of the Saxon p Æ¿ and f there was a Synod held in the year 788. l When Malmesbury tells us that the two Churches were upon the banks of the river it is a manifest mistake For St. Paul's was at Girwy or Jarrow some miles distance from Weremuth as appears from all the rest of our Historians and also fâ—om the Inscription Mr. Camden himseâ—f gives us a little after On the Southern bank of the Were stands Sunderland Sâ—â—dâ—râ—aâ— a handsom populous town built since our Author's time and very much enrich'd by the Coal-trade Were the Harbour so deep as to entertain Ships of the same burthen as the river Tine does it would be no small loss to Newcastle It gave the title of Earl to Emanuel Lord Scrope of Bolton created Jun. 19. 3 Car. 1. who dying without lawful issue Henry Lord Spencer of Wormleighton was honour'd with this title by King Charles 1. and being slain the same year at the first battel at Newbury was succeeded by Robert his son and heir Near Whitburn Wâ—â—â—â—â—â— not far from this place were some Copper Coyns taken up within these few years most whereof were Constantine's with the Sun on the Reverse and these words Soli invicto Comiti One of them was of Maxentius with something like a Triumphal Arch on the reverse and these words Conservatori Urbis There were likewise one or two of Licinius and one or two of Maximianus m In the Inscription the XVI should be XV. For King Egfrid reigned no more than 15 years And so indeed Sir James Ware has given it in his Notes upon Bede's History of the Abbots of Wiremuth But it ought not from this Inscription to be inferr'd that Ceolfrid was the Founder of this Monastery since it appears from Bede's account that he was only constituted first Abbot of the place by Benedictus Biscopius who sent him hither with a Colony of about seventeen Monks from Weremuth n Some years ago upon the bank of Tine was discover'd a Roman Altar the figure and description whereof take here as it was deliver'd to the Royal Society by the ingenious and learned Dr. Lister Fig. 1. Fig. 5. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. â— Liâ—ter's â—er I have with much trouble got into my hands a piece of Roman Antiquity which was but a very few years ago discover'd upon the south bank of the river Tine near the Sheilds in Bishoprick It is a very large and fair Roman Altar of one entire stone But after all my cost and pains I am very sorry to find the Inscription very ill defaced that much of it is not legible And I believe it hath been also mishandled by those who have endeavoured to read it whereas if the remainder of the Letters had been exactly measured and the face black'd and lightly wash'd off again as in prints some things more might have been spelled As to the nature of the stone it self it is of a coarse Rag the same with that of the Pyramids at Burrow-Briggs It is four foot high and was ascended to by steps which appeareth in that all the sides but the front have two square holes near the bottom which let in the irons that joyn'd it to the steps I have carefully designed it in all it's sides and have given the plane of the top also which if you please we will survey in order 1. The back-side opposite to the Inscription on which is engraven in bass-relief a Flower-pot furnished I suppose with what pleased the Stone-cutter for these men needed not to be more curious than the Priests themselves who were wont to make use of herbs next hand to adorn the Altars and therefore Verbenae is put for any kind of herb yet if we will have it resemble any thing with us I think it most like if not truly Nymphaea a known and common river-Plant 2. One of the sides which is somewhat
Preston in Andernesse 〈…〉 instead of Acmundesnesse for so the Saxons nam d this part of the country because between the rivers Ribell and Cocar it hangs out for a long way into the Sea like a Nose it was also afterwards call'd Agmonderâ—nes In William the Conqueror's time there were only 16 villages in it inhabited the rest lay wast as we find in Domes-day and it was possess'd by Roger of Poictiers Afterwards it belong d to Theobald Walter from whom the Butlers of Ireland are descended for so we read in a charter of Richard the first Know ye that we have given and by this present charter confirm'd to Theobald Walter for his homage and service all Agmondernes with all other appurtenances thereunto c. This soil bears oats pretty well but is not so good for barley it makes excellent pasture especially towards the Sea where it is partly champain whence a great part of it is call'd the File 〈…〉 as one would guess for the Feild Yet in the records of the tower it is express'd by the latin word Lima which signifies a File a Smith's Instrument wherewith iron or other things are polish'd In other places it is fenny and therefore counted less wholsom The Wyr a little river which comes from Wierdale a solitary and dismal place touches here as it runs along in a swift stream and passes by Grenhaugh-castle Grenhaugh castle built by Thomas Stanley the first Earl of Derby of that family while he was under apprehension of danger from certain of the nobility outlaw'd in this County whose estates had been given him by Henry the 7th for they made several attempts upon him frequently making inroads into his grounds till at last these feuds were wisely quieted by the moderation of this excellent person In many places along this coast there are heaps of sand b Mr. Ray Northern words p. 20â— has given us an account of the manner of making salt of sea-sand in this County upon which they now and then pour water A new way of making Salt till they grow saltish and then with a hot turf-fire they boil it into a white salt Here are also some deceitful and voracious sands they call them quick-sands Quicksands so dangerous to travellers who when the tide is out take the shortest cut that they ought to use great care lest as Sidonius expresses it they sink and are shipwrack d in their travels by land especially near the mouth of the Cockar where in a field of quicksands if I may so say stands Cockarsand-Abbey Syrticus Ager formerly a small Monastery of the Cluniacks founded by Ranulph de Meschines It lies expos'd to the winds situated between the mouth of the Cockar and the Lune commonly call'd the Lone with a large prospect into the Irish sea The Lone commonly Lune Lune riv which has its rise among the mountains of Westmoreland runs southward in a crooked chanel bank'd so as that the current of the water is much hinder'd To the great gain of those that live thereabouts it affords store of Salmon Salmon in the summer time for this sort of Fish taking great delight in clear water and particularly in sandy fords comes up in great shoals into this and the other rivers on this coast As soon as it enters Lancashire the Lac a little river joyns it from the east Here at present stands Over-burrow Over burrow a small country village but that it was formerly a great city taking up a large plot of ground between the Lac and the Lone and was forc'd to surrender by the utmost misery of a siege and famine I learnt from the inhabitants who have it by a tradition handed down from their Ancestors The place it self shews its own antiquity by many old monuments inscriptions upon stones chequer'd pavements and Roman coins as also by this its modern name which signifies a Burrow If it ever recover its ancient name it must owe it to others and not to me tho' I have sought it with all the diligence I could And indeed one is not to imagine that the particular names of every place in Britain is to be found in Ptolemy Antoninus the Notitia and in Classick Authors If a man might have the liberty of a conjecture I must confess I should take it to be Bremetonacum Bremetonacum which was a distinct place from Brementuracum as Jerom Surita a Spaniard in his notes upon Antoninus very reasonably supposes upon the account of its distance from Coccium or Riblechester From this Burrough the river Lone runs by Thurland-Tunstalls a fort built in Henry the fourth's time by Sir Thomas Tunstall Knight the King having granted him leave to fortifie and kernel his mansion that is What it is to kernel to embattel it and then by Hornby a fine castle Hornby-castle which glories in its founder N. de Mont Begon and in its Lords the Harringtons and the Stanleys Barons de Monte Aquilae or Mont-Eagle Barons Monteagle descended from Thomas Stanley first Earl of Derby 6 And advanc'd to that title by K. Henr. 8. William Stanley the third and last of these left Elizabeth his only daughter and heir marry'd to Edward Parker Lord Morley She had a son William Parker who was restor'd by King James to the honour of his ancestors the Barony of Mont-Eagle and must be acknowledged by us and our posterity to have been born for the good of the whole Kingdom for by an obscure letter privately sent him and produc'd by him in the very nick of time Gun powder-plot the most hellish and detestable treason that wickedness it self could project was discover'd and prevented when the Kingdom was in the very brink of ruin for some of that wicked gang under the execrable masque of Religion stood ready to blow up their King and Country in a moment having before planted a great quantity of Gun-powder under the Parliament-house for that purpose The Lone after it has gone some miles further sees Lancaster on the south side of it the chief town of this county which the inhabitants more truly call c This is its name in all the North part of England Loncaster Lancaster and the Scots Loncastell from the river Lon. Both its name at this day and the river under it in a manner prove it to be the Longovicum wâ—ere under the Lieutenant of Britain as the Notitia informs us a Company of the Longovicarians who took that name from the place kept gaâ—â—ison Thoâ— at present the town is not populous and the inhabitants thereof are all husbandmen for the grounds about it are well cultivated open flourishing and woody enough yet in proof of its Roman antiquity they sometimes meet with coins of the Emperors especially where the Fryers had their cloyster for there as they report stood the marks of an ancient city which the Scots in a sudden inroad in the year 1322 wherein
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-Huls-water or as some write it ulles-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
CVLMINIS INSTITVTI 〈◊〉 But there has been none yet found to encourage one to believe that this was the Morbium where the Equites Cataphractarii quarter'd tho' the present name seems to imply it Nor must I omit the mention of Hay-Castle â—â—tle which I saw in the neighbourhood very venerable for its antiquity and which the Inhabitants told me belong'd formerly to the noble families of Moresby and Dissinton After this the river Derwent falls into the Ocean which rising in Borrodale a Vale surrounded with crooked hills runs among the mountains call'd Derwent-fells wherein at Newlands and other places some rich veins of Copper 〈◊〉 not without a mixture of Gold and Silver were found in our age by Thomas Thurland and Daniel Hotchstetter a German of Auspurg tho' discover'd a good while before as appears from the Close Rolls of Henry the third n. 18. About these there was a memorable Trial between our most Serene Queen Elizabeth and Thomas Percie Earl of Northumberland and Lord of the Manour but by virtue of the Royal Prerogative it appearing that there were also veins of gold and silver Veins of gold and silver it was carry'd in favour of the Queen So far is it from being true what Cicero has said in his Epistles to Atticus 'T is well known that there is not so much as a grain of silver in the Island of Britain Nor would Caesar if he had known of these Mines have told us that the Britains made use of imported Copper when these and some others afford such plenty that not only all England is supply'd by them but great quantities exported yearly Here is also found abundance of that Mineral-earth or hard shining Stone which we call a The people thereabouts call it Wadd It is much us'd in cleansing rusty Armour having a particular virtue for that purpose 'T is said there is a Mine of it in the West-Indies but there 's no need of importing any for as much may be dug here in one year as will serve all Europe for several years By the descriptions which the ancient Naturalists give us of their Pnigitis it does not seem as if that and our Black-lead were the same for theirs agree better with the composition of that black chalk mention'd by Dr. Plott Nat. Hist of Oxfordsh p. 56 57. It may perhaps be allow'd to fall rather under the Catalogue of Earths than either Metals or Minerals But then as Ruddle is acknowledg'd to be an Earth strongly impregnated with the Steams of Iâ—on so is this with those of Lead as may be made out from its weight colour c. Dr. Merret in his Pinax Rer. Nat. p. 218. gives it the name of Nigrica fabrilis telling us that it wanted a true one till he bestow'd this on it at Keswick And he further adds that 't is the peculiar product of Old and New England Blacklead Black-lead us'd by Painters in drawing their Lines and †Monochromata shading such pieces as they do in black and white Which whether it be Dioscorides's Pnigitis or Melanteria or Ochre a sort of earth burnt black is a point I cannot determine and so shall leave it to the search of others The Derwent falling through these mountains spreads it self into a spacious Lake call'd by Bede Praegrande stagnum i.e. a vast pool wherein are three Islands one the seat of the famous family of the Ratcliffs Knights * King James 2. An. regni 3. created Sir Francis Ratcliffe of Dilston in Northumberland Baron of Tindale Vicount Ratcliffe and Langley and Earl of darent-Darent-water another inhabited by German Miners and a third suppos'd to be that wherein b The story of St. Herbert's great familiarity with St. Cuthbert their endearments at Carlisle their death on the same day hour and minute c. we have at large in Bede Eccl. Hist l. 4. c. 29. Vit. S. Cuthb c. 28. All which are repeated in an old Instrument of one of the Bishop of Carlisle's Register-Books whereby Thomas de Apulby Bishop of that See A. D. 1374. requires the Vicar of Crosthwait to say a yearly Mass in St. Herbert's Isle on the thirteenth of April in commemoration of these two Saints and grants forty days Indulgence to such of his Pashioners as shall religiously attend that Service Regest Tho. de Apul. p. 261. Bede tells us St. Herbert led a Hermit's life Upon the side of this in a fruitful field encompass't with wet dewy mountains and protected from the north-winds by that of Skiddaw lyes Keswick Keswick a little market-town formerly a place noted for Mines as appears by a certain Charter of Edâ—ard the fourth and at present inhabited by Miners 3 Who have here their smelting-house by Derwent-side which with his forcible stream and their ingenuous inventions serveth them in notable stead for easie bellows works hammer works forge works and sawing of boords not without admiration of those that behold it The privilege of a Market was procur'd for it of Edward the first by Thomas of Derwent-water Lord of the place from whom it hereditarily descended to the Ratcliffs f Skiddaw a very high mountain The Skiddaw I mention'd mounts up almost to the Clouds with its two tops like another Parnassus and views Scruffelt a mountain of Anandal Anandal in Scotland with a sort of emulation From the Clouds rising up or falling upon these two mountains the Inhabitants judge of the weather and have this rhyme common amongst them If Skiddaw hath a cap Scruffel wots full well of that As also of the height of this and two other mountains in those parts Skiddaw Lauvellin and Casticand Are the highest hills in all England From thence the Derwent sometimes broad and sometimes narrow rowls on to the North in great haste to receive the river Cokar Which two rivers at their meeting almost surround Cokarmouth Cokarmouth a populous well-traded market-town where is a Castle of the Earls of Northumberland 'T is a town neatly built but of a low situation between two hills upon one is the Church and upon the c This is evidently an artificial Mount cast up on purpose to give a better prospect to the Castle other over against it a very strong Castle on the gates whereof are the Arms of the Moltons Humfranvills Lucies and Percies Over against this on the other side of the river ‖ Ad alterum milliare at some two miles distance are the ruins of an old Castle call'd Pap-castle the Roman Antiquity whereof is attested by several Monuments Whether this is the Guasmoric Guasmoric which Ninnius tells us King Guortigern built near Lugaballia and that it was by the old Saxons call'd Palm-castle I will not determine Here among other Monuments of Antiquity was found a large open vessel of greenish stone with several little images curiously engraven upon it which whether it was an Ewer to wash in S. Ambrose
his King and Country and being taken was punish'd with an ignominy answerable to his treachery Th. Avensbury For being degraded he had his spurs cut off with a hatchet then his sword-belt was taken from him next his shoes and gloves were pull'd off after which he was drawn hang'd beheaded and quarter'd Luguballia or Carlisle is 21 degr 31 min. in Longitude and 54 degr 55 min. in Latitude I will bid it farewel in that Encomium of J. Jonston CARLEOLUM Romanis quondam statio tutissima signis Ultimaque Ausonidum meta labosque Ducum E specula latè vicinos prospicit agros Hinc ciet pugnas arcet inde metus Gens acri ingenio studiis asperrima belli Doctaque bellaci figere tela manu Scotorum Reges quondam tenuere beati Nunc iterum priscis additur imperiis Quid Romane putas extrema hîc limina mundi Mundum retrò alium surgere nonne vides Sit vidisse satis docuit nam Scotica virtus Immensis animis hîc posuisse modum CARLISLE Where the bold Eagles stopt their noble course The latest labour of the Roman force On subject fields from her high rock looks down Thence galls her foes and thence secures her own Her people sharp and ever fam'd in war Fights are their study and their only care In ages past she serv'd the Scottish crown And now her ancient Lord again does own Romans how thought you here the world could end When you might see another world beyond Yet only see the Scot's victorious hand Here fix'd the limits of your wide command Crossing the Eden you see Rowcliffe just upon the bank a little Castle built not long since by the Lords Dacres for their own private defence s Above this two rivers Esk and Leven with joynt streams enter the aestuary of Ituna almost at the same mouth Esk comes out of Scotland but for some miles owns it self to belong to England and receives the river Kâ—rsop where were fixt not long since the limits between the English and Scots tho' 't is not so much water that keeps them within bounds as a mutual dread having had sufficient experience of each others valour Upon this where we see Netherby a little village of two or three cottages the ruins of some ancient City are so very wonderful and great and the name of Esk running by does so well second it that I imagine the old Aesica stood there wherein formerly the Tribune of the first Cohort of the Astures kept garison against the Barbarians 'T is now the seat of the Head of the Family of Grayhams The Grayhams very famous among the Borderers for their great valour and in the walls of the house is this Roman Inscription t set up in memory of Hadrian the Emperour by the Legio Secunda Augusta IMP. CAES. TRA. HADRIANO AVG. LEG II. AVG. F. Where the Lid joyns the Esk stood formerly Liddel Barony 〈◊〉 Lidell a Castle as I have been told and a Barony of the Estotevills who held Lands in Cornage which Earl Ranulph as we read in an old Inquisition gave to Turgiss Brundas Lidesâ—aâ— From Estotevill it descended hereditarily to the Wakes and by them to the Earls of Kent 16 Of the Blood-Royal John Earl of Kent granted it to King Edward the third Anâ— R. and King Richard the second to John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster Beyond this Esk also the Country for some miles together is reckon'd English ground in which compass is Sollom-moss The 〈◊〉 of Soâ—â—â—â—-mosâ— noted for the taking of many of the Scotch Nobility prisoners in the year 1543. For when the Scots were ready to attack the English who were commanded by 17 Sir Thomas Th. Wharton Lord Warden of the Marches and found that Oliver Sincler a person for whom they had no manner of kindness was constituted General each lookt upon it as an affront to himself and they were so incens'd at it as to revenge the injury that was the construction they put upon it with their own disgrace and damage for they fell to mutinies broke the ranks and put all into disorder The English who were posted upon the higher ground observing that fell upon them and put them to flight Great numbers were taken for they threw down their Arms and submitted themselves generally to the English and the Moss-troopers so that only a Souldier here and there was kill'd This James the fifth King of Scotland laid so to heart that he dy'd of grief The neighbouring parts are call'd Batable-ground Batable-ground or The ground in debate because the English and Scots cannot agree about it For the Inhabitants on both sides as living upon the Frontiers are a swift Limâ—â—â— subtil and nimble sort of Souldiers as being inur'd to it by frequent skirmishes q Since the happy union of the two Kingdoms in King James 1. all these feuds and quarrels upon the borders are ceas'd and a man may live there with as much security as in any place whatsoever Leven Leveâ— the other of the rivers I mention'd arising in the very limits of the two Kingdoms runs by nothing memorable besides Beucastle Bâ—u-Câ—â—â— as they commonly call it a Castle of the Kings which in those solitary parts is defended by a small Garison In the publick Records it is written Bueth-castle so that one might imagine the name were deriv'd from that Bueth who about Henry the first 's time had almost got the entire government of those parts However 't is certain that in Edward the third's reign it belong'd to 18 Sir John of Strivelin a Baron John Baron Strivelin Baron Strivâ—â—â—â— who marry'd the daughter and coheir of Adam de Swinborn In the Church now almost quite ruinated there lyes a Grave-stone brought hither from some other place with this Inscription LEG II AVG FECIT In the Church-yard is a Cross of one entire square-stone about twenty foot high and curiously cut there is an Inscription too but the letters are so dim that they are not legible But seeing the Cross * Ita 〈◊〉 stinâ—ta châ—â—◠〈◊〉 is of the same kind as that in the Arms of the Vaulx one may conjecture that it has been made by some of that Family u This was also found there in an old Vault wherein the name of the Emperour's Lieutenant and Propraetor in Britain is unluckily worn out Along near Brampton runs the little river Gelt upon the bank whereof in a rock call'd Helbeck is this gaping imperfect Inscription set up by an Ensign of the second Legion call'd Augusta possibly that Optio under Agricola the Propraetor with some others the sight whereof time has envy'd us In the same rock also we read in a more modern character OFICIVM ROMANORVM Here the Gelt empties it self into the river Irthing which runs with a violent and rapid stream along by â—â—â—rth-Castle now belonging to William Howard â—â—â—e-mention'd who is repairing it but lately
Oxford â—â—ede Upon this shore there is nothing further worth mentioning except Holy-Island of which in its due place till we come to the mouth of Twede which for a long way divides England from Scotland and is call'd the Eastern March Whereupon thus our Country-man Necham 6 Insinuating that the hither part of Scotland was call'd Pict-land Anglos à Pictis sejungit limite certo Flumen quod Tuedam pristina lingua vocat The Picts are sever'd from the English ground By Twede so call'd of old a certain bound This river rises in a large stream out of the Mountains of Scotland and afterwards takes a great many turns among the Moss-Troopers and Drivers to give them no worse name who as one expresses it determine Titles by dint of Sword When it comes near the village of Carram â—â—â—ram being encreas'd with many other waters it begins to distinguish the Confines of the Kingdoms â—k and having pass'd Werk-Castle sometime enjoy'd by the Rosses and now by the Greys who have been long a Family of great valour and frequently assaulted by the Scots is inlarg'd by the river of Till This river has two names For at its rise which is further within the body of this County 't is call'd Bramish â—â—â—mish and on it stands Bramton â—â—â—mton a little obscure and inconsiderable Village cc Hence it runs Northward by Bengely which together with Brampton Bromdum Rodam which gave name to a Family of good note in these parts Edelingham c. was the Barony of Patrick Earl of Dunbar in the reign of Henry the third Doomsday-Book says he was Inborow and Outborow betwixt England and Scotland that is if I understand it right he was here to watch and observe the ingress and egress of all Travellers between the two Kingdoms â—â—â—row â—t For in the old English Language Inborou is an Ingress or Entry More North upon the river stands Chevelingham or Chillingham which was a Castle that belong'd to one Family of the Greys as Horton-Castle did to another dd But those two are now match'd into one Near this is the Barony of Wollover â—llover which King Henry the first gave to Robert de Musco-campo or Muschamp â—â—s of the â—â—â—champs who bare Azure three Butterflyes Argent From him descended another Robert who in the reign of Henry the third was reckon'd the mightiest Baron in all these Northern parts But the Inheritance soon after was divided and shared among women â— 35 H. 3. whereof one was marry'd to the Earl of Strathern in Scotland another to William de Huntercombe and a third to Odonel de Ford ee Soon after Till is encreas'd by the river of Glen which gives the name of Glendale â—â—â—ndale to the Valley through which it runs Of this rivulet Bede gives us the following account c The Saxon Paraphrase gives us a further direction besides what we have from the river Glen for the finding out the place there mention'd by telling us that Tha stowe sindon on Beornica magthe i.e. Those places are in the Country of the Bernicians Which is a full refutation of what Bede is made to say before That King Oswald first brought Christianity into that Kingdom â—2 c. 14. Paulinus coming with the King and Queen to the Royal Manour of Ad-gebrin 't is now call'd Yeverin stay'd there with them six and thirty days â—erin which he spent in the duties of Catechising and Baptizing For from morning till night his whole business was to instruct the Country People that flock'd to him from all places and villages round in the Principles of Christianity and after they were so instructed to baptize them in the neighbouring river of Glen This Manour-house was disus'd by the following Kings and another erected in its stead at Melmin now Melfeld Melfeld Here at Brumford near Brumridge King Athelstan fought a pitch'd Battel against Anlaf the Dane Battel of Brumford See H. Hunting d. Will. Malmesb. and Ingulphus Constantine King of Scots and Eugenius petty King of Cumberland ff wherein he had such success that the Engagement is describ'd by the Historians and Poets of that Age in extraordinary Raptures of Wit and 7 In barbarous Latin Holland It might have been in Heathen-Greek for any thing he knew The whole 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is only in good old English See the Saxon Chron. in the year 938. Bombast In this place the name of Bramish is lost in Till which first passes by Ford-Castle Ford. heretofore the property of the valiant Family of the Herons now of the Carrs and Etal Etal formerly the seat of the Family of d Mr. H. Collingwood of Brankerton has Deeds by him whereby it appears that Etal was in the possession of his Ancestors of the same name in the reign of Edward the sixth Manours or de Maneriis which was long since of a knightly rank and out of which the present Right Honourable Earls of Rutland are descended I wittingly omit many Castles in this Country for 't were endless to recount them all since 't is certain that in the days of Henry the second there were 1115 Castles in England 1115. Castles in England Over against this Ford Westward rises the high Mountain of Floddon 8 Near Bramton Battel of Floddon 1513. famous for the overthrow of James the fourth King of Scots and his Army who while King Henry the eighth lay at the siege of Tournay in France with a great deal of Courage and a greater deal of Hopes for before they began their March they had divided our Towns among them invaded England Here Thomas Howard Earl of Surrey with a good Army bravely receiv'd him The Dispute was obstinate on both sides till the night parted them unable still to determine which way Victory inclin'd But the next day discover'd both the Conquerour and the Vanquish'd and the King of Scots himself being mortally wounded in several places was found among the heaps of the slain Whence a new Addition was given to the Arms of the Howards 9 As I have formerly specified Twede encreas'd by Till runs now in a larger stream by Norham Norham or Northam which was formerly call'd Ubban-ford The Town belongs to the Bishops of Durham For Bishop Egfrid built it and his Successor Ralph erected the Castle on the top of a steep rock and moted it round In the utmost Wall and largest in Circuit are plac'd several Turrets on a Canton towards the river within which there is a second Enclosure much stronger than the former and in the middle of that again rises a high Keep But the well-establish'd Peace of our times has made these Forts to be long neglected notwithstanding that they are placed upon the very Borders gg Under the Castle on a Level Westward lyes the Town and Church wherein was buried Ceolwulph King Ceolwulph King of Northumberland to whom Venerable Bede
the Inscription gives to the placing of Bremenium Bremenium at Rochester I still fancy Brampton in Gillesland was the place as our Author himself sometime thought Brampton in Northumberland to be The distance from this Brampton to Corbridge is as agreeable as from Rochester and 't is gratis dictum and ought to be well prov'd before the weight of the Objection can be taken off that the words id est à vallo are an Interpolation of the Transcribers h We may be allow'd to remark here what a person of great honour and skill in our English Antiquities has noted before that the old Ballad of Chevy-Chase Chevy-Chase Sir Philip Sydney's Delight has no other foundation for its story save only the Battel of Otterburn There was never any other Percy engag'd against a Douglass but this Henry who was indeed Heir to the Earl of Northumberland but never liv'd to enjoy the Honour himself Sir John Froyssart who liv'd at the time gives the fullest account of this Battel but says 't was Earl James Douglas who was the Scotish General i Riese in the German Language does signifie a Gyant as our Author observes But I doubt whether our Saxons used the word or if they did whether the name of this place imports any more than its situation on a high and rising ground Most of the Villages in these parts were anciently so placed though afterwards the Inhabitants drew down into the Valleys k Chipches Chipches is now the Seat of Sir John Heron Baronet whose Ancestors have for many and many Generations been of eminent note in this County 'T is true we meet with their name variously spell'd in our Histories and Records as Hairun Heyrun Heirun c. Amongst whom William Heyrun was for eleven years together Sheriff of this County in the reign of Henry the third And some of our Histories seem to hint that he was well enrich'd by the Preferment The Family afterwards was branch'd out into the Herons of Netherton Meldon c. l As to the story of Oswald Oswald Bede indeed seems to say the Battel was against Cedwall but Matthew of Westminster says it was fought against Penda King of the Mercians who was at that time General of Cadwalline's Forces And the story of setting up the Banner of the Christian Faith must be understood to be in Berniciorum Gente as Bede says in the place cited if it have any truth in it For Christianity was some years before planted in the Kingdom of Northumberland by Paulinus and a Church was built at York by King Edwin Oswald's Predecessor But when all 's done this remark is not in the Saxon Paraphrase of Bede's History so that we have reason to look upon it as a spurious Corruption It does indeed contradict the account which himself elsewhere gives of Paulinus's baptizing great numbers in these very parts which surely was Fidei Christianae signum See the Note on Yeverin Nor was Heavenfield the place where the Battel was fought and as is here asserted the Victory obtain'd for â—hat was done at another place in the neighbourhood which Bede calls Denises burna and which our Author as we shall see anon takes to be Dilston The Writer of Oswald's Life 't is true supposes this to have been the Scene of the Action tho' Bede says only that here was the Cross erected and here afterwards the Chapel built m 'T is no wonder to find a deal of Poets and a great deal they are that have written in the praise of S. Oswald His introducing of Christianity was not the thing that rais'd his credit for so much King Edwin had done before him but his chief stock of Merit consisted in his bringing in Monkery along with it 'T was this that gave him so considerable a figure amongst the men of the Cloyster and advanc'd him to a like honour with what his name-sake-Saint of York attain'd to afterwards n The Prior's account of the place is much fuller than our Author has thought fit here to give it He is very particular in his description of the Church's Fabrick in its Walls Roof Cieling Stairs Pillars c. and at last concludes That no such stately structure was at that time to be met with on this side the Alpes Which latter part of its Character is also confirm'd by Will of Malmesb. de Gest. Pontif. lib. 3. Prior Richard informs us also at large what Immunities and Privileges were granted by our Saxon Kings to this Church how well they were secur'd to her how far the bounds of her Fridstol or Sanctuary extended c. All which the Reader may see in his Hist. lib. 1. cap. 3 5. lib. 2. cap. 3. 14. o All the Latin Copies of Bede that I have seen say Oswad's victory was in loco qui linguâ Anglorum Denises burna vocatur And the Saxon Copies of King Aelfred's Paraphrase have denisses denisces and denises burna The Saxon Chronicle has not recorded this story Sir Francis Ratcliff Baronet the present Proprietor of the place is now Baron of Dilston Viscount Langley and Earl of Derwent-water not in Yorkshire as a late Writer of the state of England asserts but in Cumberland p Though King John could meet with no Discoveries at Corbridge Corbridge there was a considerable one accidentally made here about four years ago The bank of a small Torrent being worn by some sudden showers the Skeleton of a Man appear'd of a very extraordinary and prodigious size The length of its thigh-bone was within a very little of two yards the skull teeth and other parts proportionably monstrous So that by a fair computation the true length of the whole body has been reckon'd at seven yards Some parts of it are still in the possession of the right honourable the Earl of derwent-Derwent-water at Dilston but his Lordship having had no notice of the thing till 't was in a great measure squander'd and lost by the unthinking discoverers the Rarity is not so compleat as whoever sees the remains of it will heartily wish it were The like bones are reported to have been frequently discover'd on the the shore near Alnmouth in this County all of 'em at a greater depth in the ground than they can well be imagin'd ever to have been buried q From Newcastle New-castle down to a little within the Bar of Tinmouth which is a sand that lies cross the river's mouth not above 7 foot deep at low water the chanel is good and secure but there you meet with a deal of Rocks which they call the Black Middins very dangerous To prevent much of the mischief which might happen among these in the night-time there are two Light-houses maintain'd by the Trinity-house in Newcastle near which was built Clifford's Fort in the year 1672. which effectually commands all Vessels that enter the River r There are in this Town besides St. Nicholas's the Parochial or Mother-Church six other Churches or Chapels
great men than any conduct or bravery of the Enemies The most considerable Houses Houses are Brocksmouth the chief residence of the Earl of Roxburgh Tiningham the residence of the Earl of Hadington near which there is a quarry of Marble Seaton and Winton the houses of the Earl of Winton The Templars and after them the Knights of Rhodes and Malta had a residence in this Shire at St. Germains It has at present two Presbyteries of Hadington and Dunbar e The Sheriffdom of Edenburgh commonly called Mid-Lothian Mid-Lothian is the principal Shire of the Kingdom and is in length 20 or 21 miles the breadth of it is different according to the several parts in some 16 or 17 miles in others not above 5 or 6. On the south it is bounded with the Sheriffdom of Hadington for 13 miles together on the east with the Baillery of Lauderdale for about four on the south with the Sheriffdom of Twedale for 13 miles on the south-west with the Sheriffdom of Lanerick for 6 or 7 miles and on the west for two miles by the said Sheriffdom on the north-west with the Sheriffdom of Linlithgow for 14 miles and on the north with the Firth or Forth for the space of 8 miles This tract is abundantly furnished with all necessaries producing a great deal of corn of all sorts and affording good pasture for cattle It has very much coal and lime-stone as also a sort of soft black marble and some few miles from Edenburgh near the water of Leith they have a Copper-mine Edenburgh * Theatrum Scotiae p. 7. is not only the most considerable place in those parts but the chief City of the Kingdom of Scotland The Romans could not well have made choice of a better place for a Fortification for the rock on which the present Castle is situated is inaccessible on all sides except the East The first building of a Fort here seems to have given Rise to the town and to have encouraged the neighbours to fix under the protection of it So that the houses and inhabitants by little and little increasing have brought it down to the very foot of the ascent toward the east and made it an entire Scotch mile in length and half a mile in breadth The ascent upon which the City stands has on the north-side a pool call'd the North-Loch and was formerly guarded by another on the south call'd the South-Loch as appears from the leases of some houses of S. Ninian's Row that are let with the privilege of a boat annext But this is drain'd many years ago and upon the banks of it are built two several tracts of houses The City has six Gates the principal whereof to the East was magnificently rebuilt in the year 1616 and adorned with Towers on both sides Two streets run along the whole length of the town The High-street from the Castle to the Abby said to be the broadest in Europe is of late built of hewen stone since by an Act of the Town-Council they have been prohibited to build any more of Timber either in the City or Suburbs upon account of the many Fires which have happened And as the private Buildings Publick Buildings so also the publick do very much exceed those in other parts of that Kingdom In the middle of the City is St. Giles's Church Churches a Cathedral built of hewn stone and adorned with stone pillars and vaultings 'T is so large as to be divided into 3 Churches each whereof has its Parish Besides this Grey-friers they have the South-Church in the Church-yard whereof amongst many other monuments is that of Sir George Mackenzy The Trone-Church built in 1641. The Collegiate Church of the Sacred Trinity built by Mary of Gueldres King James the Second's Queen The Lady Yester's Church built and endowed by one of the Lady Yesters and another very beautiful one built within these 5 years To these we must add two Chapels St. Magdalens and St. Mary's with another at the foot of the Canon-gate Next to these are their Hospitals Hospitals St. Thomas's and Heriot's Hospital In the first the poorer sort of Inhabitants are maintained very handsomly and have their own proper Chaplain The second so called from the founder George Heriot Jeweller to James 6. is a stately Fabrick like a Palace In the inner Frontispiece is the Statue of the Founder erected and round about the houses are pleasant gardens adorned with large Walks and Greens 'T is a Nursery for boys wherein the children of the poorer Citizens have their education till they be fit for the publick Schools and Colleges Other Buildings Near the Cathedral-Chuch is the Parliament-house standing in a great Court which on one side is enclosed with the upper and lower Exchange and with a tract of very stately buildings Here is one of the highest houses perhaps in the world mounting seven stories above the Parliament-Court and being built upon the descent of a hill the back-part is as far below it so that from the bottom to the top one stair-case ascends 14 stories high In the middle of the Court is the Statue of King Charles II. in brass erected upon a stately Pedestal at the charge of the City On the South-side is the College of King James the sixth founded in the year 1580 and endowed with all the Privileges of an University The precincts are very large and the whole is divided into 3 Courts adorned on all sides with excellent buildings two lower and one higher which is as large as both the other They have their publick Schools and a Common-hall wherein Divinity Hebrew and Mathematicks are taught Their Library is well stor'd with printed books and and has some Manuscripts under that is the King's Printing-house The Students have very good accommodation and the Professors neat and handsom Lodgings with very good Gardens for their recreation The Royal-Palace Palace whereof his Grace the Duke of Hamilton is hereditary Keeper hath four Courts The Outer-Court which is as big as all the rest has four principal Entries 'T is on all hands bounded with lovely Gardens on the south lies the King's Park which hath great variety of medicinal plants The Entry of the Palace is adorned with great pillars of hewn stone and a Cùpilo in fashion of a Crown above it The forepart is terminated by four high towers two towards the north erected by King James V. and the rest by King Charles II. The Inner-Court has Piazza's round it all of hewn stone But above all the Long-Gallery is most remarkable being adorned with the pictures of all the Kings of Scotland from Fergus I. About 20 years ago Water the Magistrates were at great expence to bring one of the best Springs of Scotland into the City which they did by leaden Pipes from a Hill at above 3 miles distance And to make it more convenient they have erected several stately Fountains in the middle of the
High-street to serve the town with water There is here also a College of Justice which hath its Dean of faculty They try their Intrants or Candidates and have a Bibliotheque well furnished with Books of Law and History King Charles the second did likewise erect at Edinburg a College of Physicians giving them by a Patent under the Great Seal an ample Jurisdiction within this City and the Liberties thereof appointing the Judicatures to concur to the execution of their Decreets by a latter Grant they have the faculty of professing Physick They have their conferences once a month for the improvement of Medicine and have begun to erect a Library Near to this City is Leith a convenient harbour for Ships As this Country has at present several considerable Houses whereof Hawthornden is famous for its caves hewen out of the rock and Roslin for the * Vide Theatrâ—â— Scotiae stately Chapel so can it produce some remains of Antiquity For near the Town of Cramond at which Salmon and several other Fish are taken many stones have been dug up with Roman Inscriptions Also in the grounds of Inglistown belonging to Hugh Wallace were found not long ago two stones parts of a Pillar upon one of which is a Lawrel-Crown upon the other the longest of the two there is on each side the Roman Securis The name of the Emperor is broken off but by the progress of the Roman Arms described by Tacitus it appears to have been set up in the time of Julius Agricola's government And since only the Emperor's name is struck off and it appears that by order of the Senate the Statues and Inscriptions of Domitian were defaced one may probably conclude that 't was erected in honour of that Emperor What remains of it is this AVG. COS. IV. GERMANICVS PONTIFEX MAX. These Stones are to be seen in the Garden at Edinburgh belonging to Sir Robert Sibbalds Doctor of Physick Next the Antiquities * Scotia Ilustrat Cap. 10. p 24. that noted spring two miles south of Edinburgh deserves our notice The name of it is St. Catharine's-Well though 't is commonly call'd The Oily Well because it sends up along with the water an Oil or Balsom which swims upon it 'T is found by experience to be exceeding good not only for the cure of Scabs but likewise of any pains proceeding from cold as also for strengthening and putting life into any decaying part It has two Presbyteries Edinburg and Dalkeith f The Shire of LINLITHGOW call'd West-Lothian West-Lotâ—ian takes it's name from Linlithgow the head burgh and has on the north the Forth is divided from Mid-Lothian toawrds the south and east by the waters of Almond and Breichwater to the north-west it meeteth with part of Stirlingshire and to the west with part of Clidisdale 'T is in length 14 miles and in breadth about nine It affords great plenty of Coal Lime-stone and of White Salt and in the reign of King James 6. a Silver Mine was found in it out of which they got a great deal of Silver The Town of Linlithgow â—â—nlithâ—â—w mentioned by our Author * â—heatr â—â—â—â—ae is a Royal-burgh well built and is accommodated with Fountains that furnish water to the Inhabitants with a stately Town-house for the meeting of the Gentry and Citizens and with a harbour at Blackness But it 's greatest ornament is the King's house which stands upon a rising ground that runs almost into the middle of the Loch and looks like an Amphitheater having Terras-walks as it were and a descent from them but upon the top where the Castle stands it is a plain The Court has apartments like towers upon the four corners and in the midst of it a stately fountain adorned with several curious statues the water whereof rises to a good height The Levingstons Earls of this place are hereditary Keepers of it as they are also hereditary Bailifs of the King's Bailifry and hereditary Constables of the King's Castle of Blackness Near the Palace upon a level with it stands the Church a curious work of fine stone Nor ought we to omit Borrostoness â—â—â—â—â—stoâ—â—â—â— north from hence upon the sea-coast erected into a burgh of Regality by his Grace the Duke of Hamilton who hath in the neighbourhood his castle of Kineil of late adorned with large Parks and stately Avenues Torphichen â—â—â—phiâ—â—â—n to the south of Linlithgow deserves also our notice as being a burgh of Regality and once the residence of the Knights of Malta but now giveth the title of Lord to the chief of the name of Sandilands And Bathgate Bathgate the parish whereof is erected into a Sherifdom by it self And as the Towns so also some Houses of note require our mention Nidry-Castle Nidry southwest from Linlithgow upon a river the Manor of Sir Charles Hope who by these lands is hereditary Bailif of the Regality of Kirkliston and by the Barony of Abercorn is hereditary Sheriff of the Shire And north from thence Dundass Dundass formerly a fortification now adorned with parks and fine gardens wherein are many curious Plants by the care of that worthy Gentleman Mr. Patrick Murray the owner thereof who whilst he lived was the ornament of his Countrey From whence to the west between this and Linlithgow is the Bins Bins the residence of General Dolzâ—ll adorned by his Excellence with Avenues large Parks and fine Gardens After he had procured himself a lasting name in the Wars here it was that he fix'd his old Age and pleased himself with the culture of curious Flowers and Plants And upon the same coast Medop Medop the residence of the Earl of Linlithgow famous likewise for its fine Gardens which the father of the present Earl enclosed with high walls furnish'd with Orange-trees and such like curious Exoticks But from the present places to descend to those of Antiquity at the east end of the enclosure of the Kipps Kipps south from Linlithgow there is an ancient Altar of great stones unpolish'd so placed as each of them does support another and no one could stand without leaning upon another Hard by it there are several great stones set in a Circle and in the two adjacent hills the remains of old Camps with great heaps of stones and ancient Graves Some miles also to the west of Queens-Ferry upon the sea-coast is Abercorn-Castle Abercorn Castle near which place Bede tells us the Roman wall began One may trace it along towards Cariddin where a figured stone is to be seen and a gold Medal was found In a line parallel about a mile to the south of this there is a Village which still keeps the remains of the old wall being called Walltoun From the name and the artificial Mount cast up there one would believe it to be the very place which Bede calls Penvalltoun The track of the wall appears in several places between this and Kinweill and from thence to
Falkirk but we need not here be particular in the Description of it designing a separate discourse upon that subject at the end of this Kingdom SELGOVAE BEneath the Gadeni to the South and West where now lie the small Territories of Liddesdale Eusdale Eskdale Annandale and Nidisdale q To which add Wachopdale so called from Rivulets running through them which all lose themselves in Solway-Frith were anciently seated the Selgovae the reliques of whose name seem to me whether to others too I knâ—w not to remain in the name Solway IN Liddesdale â—â—ddâ—sâ—â—â—e we have a high prospect of Armitage so called because anciently dedicated to a solitary life But now it is a very strong Castle which belonged to the Hepburnes who deduce their Original from a certain English Captive whom the Earl of March for delivering him out of a danger much enriched They were Earls of Bothwell â—â—rls of â—â—thwell and for a long time Admirals of Scotland by inheritance But by a sister of James Earl of Bothwell last of the Hepburnes â—â—pburnes married to John Prior of Coldingham a natural son of K. James 5. who had several such issue both title and estate devolved to his son Hard by is Brakensey â—â—akensey the seat of the warlike Family of Baclugh â—â—â—d â—â—clugh sirnamed Scot with many other little Forts of men of Arms up and down the Country In Eusdale Eusdale I should be apt to think from the affinity of the name that the ancient Uzellum Uzellum mentioned by Ptolemy lay upon the River Euse In Eskdale Eskdale some are of opinion that the Horesti Horesti dwelt into whose borders Julius Agricola after he had subdued the Britains that inhabited this Tract led the Roman Army especially if we read Horesci for Horesti For the British Ar-Esc signifies a place by the River Eske As for Aesica in Eskdale I have spoken of it before in England and need not repeat it here a ANNANDALE JOined to this on the west-side lies Annandale Annandale that is the Valley or Dale upon the river Annan into which the access by land is very difcult The places of greatest note are a Castle upon Lough-Maban Lough-Maban which is three parts surrounded with water and strongly walled And Annandale Town almost upon the very mouth of the river Annan divested of all its glory by the English War in the reign of Edward 6. In this Territory the Jonstons The Jonstons are men of greatest name a family born for Wars between whom and the Maxwells who by ancient right preside over the Stewartry The Stewartry of Annandale for so 't is term'd there hath been too long an open enmity and defiance even to bloodshed This Valley Edgar King of the Scots upon his restoration to his Kingdom by the Auxiliaries he had out of England gave for his good services to Robert Brus The Bruses Lord of Cleaveland in the County of York who bestowed it by the King's permission upon Robert his younger son being unwilling himself to serve the King of Scots in his Wars From him are branched the Bruses Lords of Annandale of whom Robert Bruse married Isabella the daughter of William King of Scots by the daughter of Robert Avenel his son likewise Robert the third of that name married the daughter of David Earl of Huntingdon and Garioth whose son Robert sirnamed the Noble upon the failure of the issue of Alexander the third King of Scotland challenged in his mother's right the Kingdom of Scotland before Edward I. K. of England as the direct and superior Lord of the Kingdom of Scotland as the English give out or as an Honorary Arbitrator as the Scots will have it as being more nearly related in degree and bloud to King Alexander the third and to Margaret daughter to the King of Norway although a second sister's son Who soon after resigning up his own right granted and gave over to his son Robert Brus Earl of Carrick and to his heirs I speak out of the very Original all the right and claim which he had or might have to the Kingdom of Scotland But the point was determined in favour of John Baliol who sued for his right as descended from the eldest sister though in a more remote degree in these words Because the person more remote in the second degree descending in the first line is to be preferred before a nearer in the second line in the succession of an inheritance that cannot be parted Nevertheless the said Robert son to the Earl of Carriot by his valour possess'd himself of the Kingdom and establish'd it in his posterity A Prince who as he was illustrious for his glorious Actions so did he successfully triumph over Fortune so often his Adversary with a courage and presence of mind invincible b NIDISDALE CLose to Annandale on the West lies Nidisdale abounding in arable and pasture grounds so named from the River Nid The River Nid by Ptolemy falsely written Nobius for Nodius or Nidius of which name there are other Rivers in Britain full of muddy shallows as this Nid is It springs out of the Lake Lough-Cure upon which stood anciently Corda Corda a Town of the Selgovae It takes its course first by Sanqhar a Castle of the Creightons The Creightons Barons of Sanqhar who were long honoured with the Title of Barons of Sanqhar and the authority of hereditary Sheriffs of Nidisdale next by Morton Earls of Morton which gave the Title of Earl to some of the family of Douglass of which others are seated at Drumlanrig upon the same River near the mouth whereof stands Dunfreys Dunfreys between two Hills the most flourishing Town of this Tract which still shews its ancient Castle a Town famous for its woollen Manufacture and remarkable for the murder of John Commin a man of the greatest Interest amongst the Scots whom Robert Brus lest he should oppose his coming to the Crown ran through in the Church and easily got a pardon of the Pope for a murder committed in a sacred place Nearer to its mouth Solway a Village still retains somewhat of the old name of Selgovae Upon the very mouth is situated Caer-Laverock Caer-Laverock Ptolemie's Carbantorigum a Fort looked upon as impregnable when K. Edw. I. accompanied with the flower of the English Nobility besieged and took it But now 't is a weak Mansion-House of the Barons Maxwell who being of ancient Nobility were long Wardens of these Western Marches and lately advanced by a marriage with a Daughter and Coheir of the Earl of Morton whereby John Lord Maxwell was decâ—ared Earl of Morton as also by the Daughter and Heir of Hereis Lord Toricles whom J. a second son took to wife and had by her the title of Baron Hereis Barons Hereis In this valley also upon the lake lies Glencarn Glencaâ—â— of which the Cunninghams about whom I shall speak
the south the Irish Sea upon the west the Frith of Clyde upon the north Carick and Kyle and to the north-east the river of Nith 'T is in length from North-east to South-west about seventy miles in breadth from North to South in some places 24 in others 20. and in others only sixteen It is divided into the Higher and Lower Country The Higher lyes between the water of Cree and the point or Mule making the Sheriffdom The Lower takes up the rest namely all upon the water of Cree making the Stewardry of Kilcumbright The plenty of pastures induces them to keep vast flocks of Sheep as also of Cows which they send into England in great numbers when there is no Prohibition b The second part of the Novantes is said to be the Sheriffdom of Aire so called from the Town of Aire the head Burgh of the shire though the north part of this tract seems rather to have belonged to the Damnii The country is bounded on the north by the Shire of Rainfrew on the south with Galloway on the east with Clidsdale and on the west with the Frith of Clyde It generally produces good store of Corn and Grass is very populous and the Inhabitants of it are exceeding industrious 'T is divided into three Baileries Carick Kyle and Cunningham The most considedrable Loch in it is that of Dun six mile in length and two in breadth with an Isle in it upon which is an old house call'd Castle-Dun Upon the Water Down is a bridge of one arch ninety foot long But the most noted place in these parts is Aire the chief market-town in the west of Scotland Theatr. Scot. * It 's situation is in a sandy plain yet hath it pleasant and fruitful fields with Greens which afford a good prospect both winter and summer The Church is stately enough and there is a bridge of four arches which joyns it to the New-Town seated on the north side of the water The ancient name of this Aire was St. John's Town but that is now lost By the King's Patent it is the Sheriff's Seat having within its Jurisdiction thirty two miles A mile north of the Town not far from the sea-shore there is a Lazer-house commonly called the King's Chapel which King Robert de Brus set apart for the maintenance of Lepers DAMNII BEyond the Novantes along the River Glotta and Cluyde and farther up even to the very Eastern sea dwelt the Damnii and if I have any judgment for who can give the certainty of things at such a distance and in so much obscurity in Cluydesdale the Barony of Renfraw Lenox Sterling Menteith and Fife CLVYDESDALE NEAR the head of the Cluyde Cluydesdale in Crawford-Moor among the wasts certain Husbandmen of the Country after violent Rains happened to find a sort of shavings of Gold which hath long given great hopes of much riches more especially in our times since B. Bulmer hath undertaken with great application to find out a Mine of Gold A Gold Mine They certainly dig up daily * Azurum the Lapis Lazuli with little or no labour Crawford-Castle together with the title of Earl of Crawford The Lindsays Earls of Crawford was conferr'd by K. Robert the 2. on James Lindesay who in a single Combat with Baron Welles an Englishman got much commendation for his valour The Lindsays have generally deserved well of their Country and are of antient Nobility ever since William Lindesay married one of the Heirs of William de Lancaster Lord of Kendal in England whose great grand-daughter was married into the honourable family of Coucy in France The Cluyd after with much strugling it hath forced its way Northward by the seat of Baron Somervill Baron Somervill receives from the West the river Duglas or Douglas so called of its dark greenish water This river gives name to the Valley through which it runs called Douglasdale and to the Castle therein which gives its name to the family of Douglass This family is very antient but hath been most eminent ever since James Douglas Douglass or Duglass stuck always very close to King Robert Brus and was ever ready with extraordinary courage and singular prudence to assist him while he claim'd the Kingdom in those troublesom times to him it was that the same Robert gave his heart in charge to be conveyed to the Holy Land for the performance of his Vow In memory whereof the Douglasses The Douglasses has inserted a Man's heart in their Coat of Arms. Since when this family hath grown up to such mighty power and greatness especially after William's being created Earl of Douglass by David the 2. that they have awed even the Kings themselves for almost at the same time it had six Earls of it viz. of this Douglas of Angus Ormond Wigton Murray and of Morton amongst whom the Earl of Wigton for his Martial valour and in requital of his good services was honour'd by K. Charles the 7. of France with the Title of Duke of Tourain Dukes Tours Touraâ—â— and left the same to two Earls of Douglass his heirs Above the confluence of the Douglas and the Cluyde lies Lanerick Sheriffdom oâ— Laneriâ—â— the hereditary Sheriffdom of the Hamiltons who owe their name to Hamilton-Castle seated somewhat higher upon the Cluyd's bank in a place extremely pleasant and fertile †* See 〈◊〉 of it inâ—â— Additâ—â—â— The Hâ—milton but their original is from England as they give out from a certain Englishman sirnamed Hampton who taking part with Robert Brus received from him large possessions in this tract Their Estate was much augmented by King James the 3d's liberality who gave his own eldest sister after he had taken her from Boid in marriage to James Hamilton together with the Earldom of Arran but their Honours by the States of the Kingdom who after the death of King James 5. ordained James Hamilton this Lord's Grandson Regent of Scotland who was likewise made Duke of Chasteau-Heralt Duke 〈◊〉 Chastâ—â—â— Heralâ— in Poictou by Henry the 2. King of France as also by K. James 6. who created his son John Marquiss of Hamilton Marquâ—â—â— Hamilâ—â—â— a title new and never us'd before in Scotland The Glotta or Cluyd runs from hence by Bothwell Earls Bothwâ—â—â— proud of its Earls viz. John Ramsey too great a creature of K. James the 3d's to his own and the Prince's ruin and the Hepburns of whom before Then it runs streight through Glasgow Glascoâ— antiently a Bishop's see but long discontinued till restored by K. William Now an Archbishoprick and an University Anno 1154. founded by Bishop Turnbull who for the advancement of Religion built a College here It is the most celebrated Mart of this Tract much commended for its pleasant situation and plenty of Fruit having also a handsome bridge supported with eight Arches * See the â—â—aditions Of which thus J. Johnson Non te Pontificum
is not large but has been well fortified with three fosses and dykes of earth of which so much is still remaining that one on horseback cannot see over them It seems to have inclos'd all that ground on which the town stands and may have been about a mile in compass When you tread upon the ground of the Praetorium it gives a sound as if hollow occasioned probably by some Vaults underneath such as are at Camelon and Airdoch two others of their Camps About a quarter of a mile from this are two other risings one to the South and the other to the West which along with this make a triangular form By the footsteps remaining they seem to have been little larger than the Praetorium of the first without any fortifications save a single Fosse and a Dyke of the same form 'T is probable enough that these might be the Stations for the outer guards At Langsyde Langsydâ— also there is the appearance of an old Camp on the top of the hills Here a battle was fought between Queen Mary and the Earl of Murray call'd the field of Langsyde In the lands of New-yards near Pasly Ebbing-spring there is a remarkable spring which is observed to ebb and flow with the tyde tho' it be on a far higher ground than any place where the tide cometh The water of the River Whyte-Cart upon which Paslay stands is commended for its largeness and the fineness of the Pearls that are frequently found hereabouts and three miles above They fish for them mostly in summer-time and meet with them at the bottom of the water in a fish-shell much larger than the ordinary Muscle c LENNOX Lennox also called likewise Dumbartonshire from Dumbarton a Burgh-royal and chief town in the shire is made by our Author a part of the Damnii tho' some learned men according to the division of it into the High country and the Low have thought it more convenient to make the latter part of the Gadeni and the former the seat of the Vacomagi the remains of which name they observe in a village upon Loch-lomund called Blowvochie 'T is bounded on the South with the River Clyde and its Firth on the West it hath Logh-Lung and a water of the same name which falleth into it on the North it hath the Grampion-hills and on the East the water of Blane divides it from Sterlingshire It s length is about 24 miles and its breadth about 20. The Lower part lyes to the East and is very fertil in corn especially towards the Rivers The Higher is hilly moorish and more fit for pasture especially where the Grampion-mountains begin The country is very well furnished with Gentlemens seats and here is the Castle of Murdock the residence of the Marquis of Montross They have Lochs both of salt and fresh water the greatest of the fresh-water Lochs is Loch-Lomond Lâ—ch Lâ—mond 24 miles in length in breadth about eight miles where broadest and where narrowest two 'T is surrounded with hills on all sides except the South and is full of Isles some whereof are cultivated and inhabited d STERLINGSHIRE Sterlingshire is the fourth of those comprehended by our Authour under the antient Damnii but Sir Robert Sibbalds who has consider'd these matters very accurately is of opinion that this as well as the adjacent part of Dumbartonshire belonged to the Gadeni a name referring to this narrow neck of land It is encompassed to the West with Dumbartonshire to the South with part of Clydsdale and part of Dumbartonshire to the East with the shire of Linlithgow and to the North with the Firth and river of Forth where 't is longest it is about 20 miles and where broadest twelve miles over The South part is high hilly ground somewhat moorish and fit for pasture but that which lyes upon the Firth of Forth is very fertil and abounds with Coal Besides Sterling a Royal Burgh where the Courts meet there is Kilsyth Kilsyth a Burgh of Barony which giveth title to the Viscount thereof named Levingston who has several manours and lands in the neighbourhood Falkirk Falkirk another Burgh of Barony well built upon a rising ground much beautified with buildings by the first Earl of Kalendar brother to the Earl of Linlithgow a person famous for his valour and conduct Elphinston Elphinston the residence of the Lord of that name adorned with a large wood of Firs c. with several other seats Near to Sterling stands the Abbey of Cambuskeneth which belonged to the Monks of the Order of S. Augustin and was founded by King David Emanuel is a Nunnery of the Cistertian Order founded by Malcolm 4. and stands upon Evan water CALEDONIA ALL that part of Britain lying Northward beyond Graham's Dyke or the forementioned Wall of Antoninus Pius and jetting out on both sides is called by Tacitus Caledonia as its people are The Britains inhabiting Caledonia Ptolemy divides them into many nations viz. the Caledonii Epidii Vacomagi c. All these were afterwards from retaining that custom of painting their bodies called Picts by the Romans and Provincials They are divided by Ammianus Marcellinus into two Nations the g The Dicaledones seem to have possess'd the countries of Argile Perthshire part of Loughaber and the mountanous part of Angus and the Vecturiones the rest of Scotland north of the Firth of Forth Dicaledones and Vecturiones which have been treated of before Nevertheless in Classick Authors they go all under the name of Caledonii who I should think were so called of Kaled a British word signifying hard making in the Plural number Kaledion whence Caledonii that is a people hardy rough unciviliz'd wild and rustick such as the Northern nations generally are as observ'd to be of a fiercer temper from the extream coldness of their climate and more bold and forward from their abundance of blood And beside their clime the nature of the country confirms it which rises up every where in rough and rugged mountains and Mountaineers are lookt upon by all as a hardy and robust sort of people But whereas Varro alleges out of Pacuvius that Caledonia breeds men of exceeding large bodies I should rather think it meant of that part of Epirus called Caledonia than of ours although ours too may justly challenge this commendation Amongst these was the Sylva Caledonia â—â—â—â—a Caâ—â—â—â—â—â—a called by Lucius Florus Saltus Caledonius spreading out to a vast compass and by the thickness of its trees impassible divided also by the Mountain Grampius now called Grantzbaine that is the crooked Mountain Solinus tells us it is plain that Ulysses arrived in Caledonia â—â—â—sses's 〈◊〉 by a votive Altar inscrib'd with Greek Characters But I should rather think it was set up in honour of h. Concerning Ulysses's being in Britain and the Altars being inscrib'd to him in sâ—veral nations see the General part p. 36. Ulysses than by Ulysses himself Martial also in this verse mentions
where is a Castle the chief residence of the Earl of Marr hereditary Governor of Sterling-Castle It is also adorned with fine Gardens and inclosures â—â—â—â—â—ss-â—e b Kinross-shire is another little tract lying to the north so called from a town seated in the middle of the Shire not far from a Loch about four miles in length and as many in breadth which abounds with Pykes Trouts c. with all sorts of water-fowl It has one Island upon which the Castle stands and another wherein are to be seen the ruines of the Priory of Portmolloch which belonged to Monks of St. Augustin's Order 't is called St. Serf's inch and was anciently the residence of some of the Kuldees Out of this Loch flows the water of Levin Between the town and the Loch is a pleasant plain where Sir William Bruce the Proprietor has built a stately house which for the goodness of the stone the curious Architecture the avenues gardens inclosures together with the pleasant prospect of the Lough and the Castle yields to few seats in Scotland c The Sheriffdom of FIFE was anciently called Ross the remains of which name are still preserved in Culross i.e. the back or hinder part of Ross and Kinrose i.e. the head of Ross The name of Fife it had from Fifus a Noble man to whom it was given by King Keneth the second for his great service against the Picts The Sibbalds of Balgonie for more than an hundred years were Hereditary Sheriffs of it and upon the failing of that Family the Sheriffdom was transferred to the Family of Rothess in which it still continues To the north it is divided from Angus by the Firth of Tay to the north-west from part of Perth-shire by the same Firth of Tay meeting also with a part of Strathern to the west it hath the Ochill-hills Kinross-shire and part of Perth-shire to the South the firth of Forth dividing it from the Lothians and to the east the German Ocean 'T is in length thirty two miles and about seventeen wide To the west it is more mountainous to the east much plainer The north and south parts are very fertile in corn and full of Towns with good bays and harbors but the middle is more proper for pasture On the south side also there is much coal and many salt-pans where very good salt is made They have a quarry at Dalgate of excellent free stone employ'd in the best pieces of Architecture and near the water of Ore they find Lead as also many fine Chrystals of several colours at the Bin and at Orrock They have also several Mineral Waters as the Spaw at Kinghorn and Ballgrigie Culross Culross * Theatrum Scotiae is seated on a descent and its chief Commodities are Salt and Coals It s greatest ornament is the stately building of the Earl of Kincardin with the gardens and Terrace-walks about it which has a pleasant prospect to the very mouth of the River Forth St. Andrews Sâ— Andrews * Ibid. takes its name from St. Andrew whose bones are said to have been brought over hither from Patras in Peloponnesus by Regulus a Grecian Monk in the year 368 and was the principal See of the ancient Culdees The City lyes towards the east with a pleasant prospect to the Ocean and has a harbour for ships It had formerly a very strong Castle some remains whereof are yet to be seen upon the rocks to the north and the ruines of the Cathedral Church and Monastery show their ancient magnificence The chief Church is that called the New Church not far from the New Colledge wherein is a very stately monument of Archbishop Sharp they have also another Church which is called St. Leonard's But their greatest ornaments are the three Colleges 1. St. Salvator commonly called the Old College founded by James Kennedy Bishop of St. Andrews together with a Church wherein he has a curious Monument Dr. Skene Principal has of late repair'd and augmented it and also founded a Library which is now very well furnished with books 2. St. Leonard's College was founded by James Hepburn Prior of St. Andrews in which are several Professors the Principal who is always Doctor of Divinity and the four Professors of Philosophy to whom Sir John Scot added a Philology-Professor with a liberal Salary and augmented the Library with the gift of several considerable Volumes since encreased by the great Collection of Books left to it by Sir John Wedderburne 3. The New College was founded by James Beaton Archbishop wherein are two Professors always Doctors of Divinity the one stiled Principal Professor of Theology the other only Professor of Theology To these was added of late a Professor of Mathematicks for the improvement of which Science the first Professor Mr. James Gregory got an Observatory erected in the College-garden and furnished them with many Mathematical Instruments As the coast of this Shire is accommodated with several convenient harbours so is the Country all over adorned with stately houses of the Nobility and Gentry Near Doctan a village belonging to the Countess of Rothesse upon a rising ground there is a stone fixed in a Pedestal and upon it the figure of one on horseback engraven with some old Characters like Runick and something like a Scroll upon one of the sides d The Stewartrie of STRATHERN Strathern seems to be the lerne mentioned by Roman Writers For in it are many Roman Camps one particularly at Ardoch very remarkable the figure and description whereof is in the account of the Thule written by Sir Robert Sibbalds Besides which there is a Via Militaris or Roman high-way towards Perth several Roman Medals have also been found and of late two Fibulae curiously enamelled with a Sepulchral-stone the Inscription whereof the aforesaid Thule has given us an account of The Ochil-hills which run along the South parts of this Shire abound with metals and minerals particularly they find good Copper and the Lapis Calaminaris as in Glen-Lyon they meet with Lead Here is great want of Coal but their excellent Peats and the abundance of wood supply that defect They have several Seats of the Nobility and Gentry Drumond-Castle Drumond-Castle the chief residence of the Earl of Perth hereditary Stewart of Stratherne Kincairne Kincairne belonging to the Marquis of Montross Dunkeld Dunkeld where is a stately house the residence of the Marquiss of Athole Sheriff of the Shire with several others Dumblane Dumblane * Theatrum Scotiae p. 38. is a pleasant little town on the bank of the river Allan where the ruines of the Bishops and regular Canons houses are to be seen Here was also a Church of excellent workmanship part of which remains yet entire In the ruines of it is an ancient Picture representing the Countess of Stratherne with her children kneeling and asking a blessing from St. Blanus cloathed in his Pontifical habit Not long since Robert Leighton was Bishop
bounded with the sea to the south with the water of North-Esk to the west with the Gransbain-hills and to the north with the River of Dee In length it is about twenty six miles or as some say twenty eight miles in breadth about twenty Upon the sea-coasts they have several convenient Crecks and some good harbours whereof Stone-hive is one of the best and for its greater safety the Earl Marshal who has a Salmon-fishing upon the north side of the harbour is now raising a Peer of stone Where the water of Cowy falls into the sea stands Cowy 〈◊〉 a free burgh Beneath the town are to be seen the ruines of a Castle built as 't is reported by Malcolm Kenmore who made the town a free Burgh On the Lands of Arduthie and Redcloak are some trenches to be seen cast up by the Danes at one of their Invasions made upon those parts and round the hill of Urie there is a deep ditch where the Scots encamped â—â—tyr Dunnotyr-Castle stands upon a rock washed by the sea on three sides and joyned to the Land only by a narrow neck Towards the entrance of the Gate is a huge rock near forty ells high which one would think were always just ready to fall The Court is a large plot of green ground and the old buildings seven story high have exceeding thick walls It had once a Church which was demolished in the late Civil wars In the new buildings there are some rooms very stately and a Closet wherein is the Library of the family Within the Close there is a large Cistern about thirty cubits about Not far from this place is a dropping Cave where the water petrifies St. Padie's Church here is famous for being the burial place of St. Palladius â—â—deen-â— k ABERDEEN-SHIRE so called from the chief burgh in it contains the Countries or Marre Fourmanteen Garioch Strathbogie and that part of Buchan which lyeth south to the water of Ugie To the South it is bounded with the River Dee and the Gransbain mountains to the north-west and west it hath Bamf-shire and the river of Doverne to the east the Ocean and to the north part of Murray-Firth In length it 's about forty six miles and in breadth twenty eight The Inhabitants are generally very civil and polite They find here a spotted sort of Marble and much Slate and in the waters abundance of Pearls some of them very big and of a fine colour They have Deer in great abundance And the Eagles have their Nests upon the Craigs of Pennan Old Aberdeen 〈◊〉 Aberâ—â—â—â—â—â—eatr â—a â— 28. is the Bishop's Seat and hath a Cathedral Church commonly call'd St. Machars large and stately built by several Bishops of this See In this Church was formerly a Library but about the year 1560 it was almost wholly destroyed so that now only the ruines remain The King's College so called from King James the fourth who assumed the Patronage of it is seated upon the south side of the town and for neatness and stateliness much exceeds the rest of the houses One side is covered with Slate the rest with Lead The windows of the Church wherein is a fine monument of Bishop Elphingston the Founder were formerly very remarkable for their painted glass and something of their ancient splendor still remains The Steeple besides others hath two bells of a very extraordinary bigness the top is vaulted with a double cross Arch above which is a King's crown having eight corners upheld by as many pillars of stone a round globe of stone with two gilded crosses closing the crown Hard by the Church there is a Library well stock'd with Books enlarged lately by those which Doctor Henry Scougal Professor of Divinity there and his Father Bishop of Aberdeen gave to it The College has a Primate or Principal a Professor of Divinity a Professor of the Civil Law a Professor of Physick a Sub-Principal who is also Professor of Philosophy three other Philosophy Professors and a Professor of the Languages New Aberdeen New Aberdeen * Theatrum Scotiae p. 29. about a mile from the Old as it is the Capital of the Sheriffdom of Aberdeen and the Seat of the Sheriff for tryal of causes so does it much exceed the rest of the Cities in the north of Scotland in bigness trade and beauty The air is wholsome and the Inhabitants well bred The Streets are paved with flint or a very hard sort of stone like it and the houses are very beautiful generally four Stories high or more which having for the most part Gardens and Orchards behind them make the whole City at a distance look like a Wood. In the High street there is a Church of Franciscans of free-stone begun by Bishop Elphingston and finished by Gavin Dumbar Bishop of the place The same Gavin built also a bridge of seven Arches over the river Dee about a mile from the City But the greatest ornament of this City is its College called the Mareshallian Academy as being founded by George Keith Earl Marshal in the year 1693 which the City of Aberdeen hath very much adorned with several additional buildings Besides a Primary-Professor who is called Principal it has four Professors of Philosophy one of Divinity and one of Mathematicks There is also a famous Library founded by the City supplied with Books by the benefactions of several learned men and well furnished with mathematical Instruments This College with that in the New Town make up one University called the University of King Charles Add to these the School-house founded by Dr. Dune which has one head Master and three Ushers and the Musick-School St. Nicholas's Church the Cathedral is built of Free-stone and covered with lead Formerly it was divided into three Churches the biggest was called the Old Church another the New Church and a third the Arch'd-Church They have also an Alms-house for the maintenance of such Inhabitants as are old and poor with three Hospitals founded by several Persons The City is built upon three hills but the greatest part upon the highest and the outer parts are spread out upon the plain from whence there is an easie access by an ascent every way It had formerly a Mint as appears by silver Coins stamped there with this Inscription Urbs Aberdeae which are still preserved in the Closets of the curious At the West end of the City is a little round hill at the foot whereof there breaks out a fountain of clear water And in the middle another spring bubbles out called the Aberdonian-Spaw coming near the Spaw-water in the Bishoprick of Liege both in taste and quality Besides Aberdeen Kintor is a Burgh-Royal upon the Don and giveth title to the Earl of Kintor Kintor And Inerurie Inerurie erected into a Burgh-Royal by King Robert Bruce upon account of his having gain'd a signal victory at it Upon the South side of the water of Ugie stands Peterhead which has a Road
that will contain some hundreds of ships and at this place it is high-high-water when the Moon is directly South Circles of Stones In many places of this Shire there are great stones set in a circle and one of the greatest in the middle toward the South which seem to have been places of worship in the times of Heathenism Obelisks In several places also there are Obelisks some with figures upon them one would imagine they had been set up for monuments of battles And they have likewise several Cairns of stones Cairns of Stones some whereof are upon the tops of mountains In some of them bones have been found and in one they met with the head of an Ax of brass which seems to have been employ'd in their sacrifices The dropping Cave of Slains is very remarkable of the petrified substance whereof they make excellent Lime The Nobility and Gentry have a great many pleasant seats all over this County Bamfe l The Shire of BAMFE so called from Bamfe the chief Burgh comprehends that part of Buchan which lyes North of the River Ugie with the Countries of Strathdoverne Boin Enzie Strathaven and Balvenie To the South is is separated from that part of Buchan which belongeth to Aberdeenshire by the water of Ugie to the East it hath the water of Doverne to the West the water of Spey to the South-west it hath Badenoch and the Brae of Mar and Murray-firth on the North. The length from West to East is about 32 miles and the breadth about 30. In Balvenie is found the stone of which Alom is made and in the country of Boin great quarries of spotted marble have been discovered of late The country generally is well furnished with grass and corn Bamâ—e Bamâ—e a Burgh-Royal is seated at the mouth of Doverne in the Boine where the Sheriff hath his Courts The country about is very fertil and the Salmon-fishing very advantageous It shows the ruins of an old Castle Near to this is the Abbey of Deer which belonged to the Cistercians and was founded by William Cumin Earl of Buchan At the Bogâ—hilt resides the Duke of Gordon This seat is adorned with excellent gardens enclosures and woods of oak about it m MURRAY Murray comprehendeth the shire of Elgin and the shire of Nairne Upon the North it hath Murray-firth and the water of Nesse which separates it from the shire of Innernesse to the East it is separated from Bamfshire by the River of Spey to the South it hath Badenoch and to the West part of Lochabyr 'T is about 30 miles long and 20 broad The shire of Elgin comprehends all that part which lyeth to the East of the River Findorne the shire of Nairne what is upon the West side of the said River They have an air very wholsom and winters mild the Low-country bears very much corn which is soon ripe but the High-country is fitter for pasture They have many great woods of Firs and other trees especially upon the River of Nearne The River of of Spey watereth this country famous for the incredible number of Salmon that are taken in it Elgin Elgin is a Royal-burgh where are the ruines of an antient Castle as also of one of the most stately Churches in the Kingdom Nearne Nearne also is a Royal-burgh situate upon the coast of Murray-firth where the water of Nearne runneth into the sea Not far from Killosse Killosse is an Obelisk of one stone a monument of the fight between King Malcolm son of Keneth and Sueno the Dane Within the precincts of Murray our Author includes the Sheriffdom of INNERNESSE Innernesse Sheriffdom which comprehends Lochaber Badinoch and the South part of Rosse To the South it hath the Brae of Marr and Athol to the West the Western-sea to the North Rosse and to the East part of Murray-frith The length of it from Inverlochee to Invernesse in a streight line is 50 miles It has plenty of Iron-Ore great woods of Firr ten miles long with some large woods of Oak and that part called Badenoch has many Deer Invernesse Invernesse * Theatr. Scotiae p. 44. is the head town of this Sheriffdom and the Sheriffs seat where he keeps his Court. It is commodiously situated upon the South side of the River Nesse on the very bank of it which renders it exceeding convenient for commerce with the neighbouring places It was formerly the seat of the Kings of Scotland and has a Castle standing on a pleasant hill with a fine prospect into the fields and town Near the Castle there is lately a Bridge built over the water of Nesse consisting of seven Arches all of hewen stone It hath a harbour for smaller vessels There are in it two Churches one for the English and the other for the Irish Here is Loughness 24 miles long and of a considerable depth which never freezes as neither does the water of Nesse Near the town of Innerlochie there is a fort with a garison upon the bay of Lochyol n ROSSE comprehends the Shires of Tayn and Cromartie The first includes the greater part of Rosse Rosse with the Isles of Skye Lewis and Herris the second a small part of Rosse lying upon the South-side of Cromartie-Frith 'T is in length 50. and in breadth 30. miles The Straths or Valleys upon the water-sides are full of wood particularly upon Charron the water of Braan and near Alfarig there are great woods of Firr And on the hills is great store of game of all sorts Tain a good trading town is a Royal Burgh and gives name to the shire It s Firth is about 20 miles long but admitteth not ships Loughbruin-Bay which is ten miles long is famous for the vast number of herrings taken in it Dingwall another Burgh-Royal is situate in the utmost part of the Firth to the North of which lyes the great mountain Weeves Channerie Channâ—â—â—â— had a large Cathedral Church †The 〈◊〉 Scotiâ—â— p. 53. a part whereof still remains At present it shows a stately house of the Earl of Seaforth who has considerable revenues in this county Cromartie Cromâ—â—â—â—â— is a Royal Burgh the Firth whereof is about 15 miles long and in many places two miles broad though the entrance of it be narrow yet is it very safe and easie Into this runneth the water of Connel famous for the Pearls found in it The Viscount of Tarbat who has his residence at Tarbat is sheriff and proprietor of that antient estate o All that tract of land lying between Portnacour and Dungsby was of old called CATTEY So much of it as lyes Eastward from the hill Orde was named Catey-nesse and afterwards Cathnesse but so much as lay on this side of Orde was called South-Catley and Sutherland SUTHERLAND Sutherland contains the country that pass'd under that name with Strathnaver Edernchiles and Dicrinesse having Cathnesse to the East and North-east the main
Forts by our provident forefathers to preserve the country against inroads Then it falls from a huge mouth into the * Called by otherâ— Marc Brâ—danicum Western Ocean beyond Knoc-Patrick i.e. Patrick's hill for so Necham calls it in these Verses of his upon the Shanon Fluminibus magnis laetatur Hibernia Sineus Inter Connatiam Momoniamque fluit Transit per muros Limerici Knoc Patric illum Oceani clausum sub ditione videt Great streams do Ireland's happy tracts adorn Shanon between Conaught and Munster's born By Limerick's walls he cuts his boundless way And at Knoc-Patrick's shore is lost i' th' sea CONAGHT THE fourth part of Ireland which looks westward enclosed with the river Shanon the out-let of Lough Erne by some called Trovis by others Bana and with the main Western Ocean is called by Giraldus Cambrensis Conoghtia and Conacia by the English Conaght and by the Irish Conaghty Antiently as appears from Ptolemy the Gangani Gangani otherwise called the Concani Concani Auteri Aâ—teri and Nagnatae Nagnatae lived here These Concani or Gangani as the Luceni their neighbours descended from the Lucensii of Spain are probably both from the affinity between the names and places derived from the Concani of Spain who in different Copies of Strabo are writ Coniaci and Conisci these were originally Scythians and drank the blood of horse as Silius testifies a thing not unusual heretofore among the wild Irish Et qui Messagetem monstrans feritate parentem Cornipedis susa satiaris Concane vena Concans that prove themselves of Scythian strain And horses blood drink from the reeking vein And Horace also Et laetum equino sanguine Concanum And Concans warm with horses blood Unless perhaps Conaughty this Irish name could be thought compounded of Concani and Nagnatae The Country as in some places 't is pleasant and fruitful so in others that are wet and marshy called Boghs from their softness which are common also in other parts of this Island it is dangerous but produces good grass and very much wood The Sea-coast has so many bays and navigable rivers in it that it seems to invite the inhabitants to navigation However these advantages have not that effect upon this people so charm'd with sloth and idleness that they had rather live by begging than supply their own wants by their own labour At present it is divided into these Counties Twomond or Clare Gallway Maio Slego Letrim and Roscoman The Concani above mentioned peopled the South part of Conaght where now lye the Counties of Twomond or Clare Gallway the Territory of Clan-Richard and the Barony of Atterith TWOMOND or the County of CLARE TWomon or Twomond by Giraldus Thuetmonia by the Irish Towown i.e. the North-Mounster shooteth out with a very great Promontory which tapers by little and little into the sea Though it lye beyond the Shanon yet it was a It has been since made part of Munster at the request of the Earl of Twomond and continues so to this day formerly counted within Mounster till 30 Sir Henry Henry Sidney Lord Deputy laid it to Conaght On the East and South side it is enclosed by the winding course of the Shanon which still waxes bigger and bigger as it runs along on the West it is so shut up by the Sea and on the North by the County of Gallway that there is no coming to it by land but through the territory of Clan-Richard Neither the sea nor the soil would be wanting to the happiness of this County if the Inhabitants would contribute their pains and industry which was formerly excited by 31 Sir Robert Robert de Muscegros an English Gentleman Richard Clare and Thomas Clare younger sons of the family of the Earls of Glocester to whom Ed. 1. gave this County Here they built many towns and castles and invited the natives to live sociably From their name the head town of this county is called Clare which is now the habitation of the Earl of Twomond and gives name to the County of Clare The places more eminent in it are Kilfennerag and Killaloe â—â—loe or Laonensis a Bishop's See This in the Roman Provincial is called Ladensis here a rock stands in the middle of the Shanon from whence the water falls down with great noise and violence â—â—â—ract This rock hinders ships from sailing any higher up and if it could be cut through or removed or if the chanel could be drawn round it the river might bring up ships far higher into the country which would much conduce to the wealth of it Not far from the Shanon stands b Bunratty and Clare are at this day very sorry villages Ennis being the Shire-town and by much the best in the County Bunraty Bunraty for which 31 Sir Robert Robert Muscegros obtained the privilege of a market and fair from King Henry 3. and after he had also fortified it with a Castle he gave it to King Edward who gave this and the whole County to Richard Clare already mentioned Seven miles from hence stands Clare Clare the chief town of this County upon a Creek of the Shanon full of Islands and these are the 2 only Market-towns in this shire Many of those English who were formerly transplanted hither are either rooted out * Vel degenerarunt or turned Irish At present the wealth and interest of this County is in the hands of the Irish the c Mac-Nemarras Mac-Nemars Mac-Mahons O-loghtons and above all the O-Briens descended from the antient petty Kings of Conaght or as they say from the Monarchs of Ireland Of these Morogh O-Brien was the first Earl of Twomond Earls of Twomond who had that honour given him by King Henry 8. for term of life and after to his Nephew Donogh who was made at the same time Baron of Ibercan he succeeded him in the Earldom and was slain by his brother 32 Sir Donell Hol. Donell Connogher d This O-Brien seems to have been Connagher O-Brien Donagh's son O-Brien son of this Donogh was the third Earl and had a son Donogh the fourth Earl who has given sufficient proofs of his valour and loyalty to his King and Country The County of GALLWAY THE County of Gallway on the south borders upon Clare on the west upon the Ocean on the north upon the County of Meth and on the east upon the river Shanon The soil very well requites the pains both of the husband-man and the shepherd The west-side is much chop'd and dinted with many little aestuaries bordered all along with a mixture of green Islands and rugged rocks among them are the four Islands called Arran 〈◊〉 of â—ron which make a Barony fabulously talk'd of as if they were the Islands of the living and the inhabitants exempt from the common fate of mortals Next Inis-ceath formerly famous for a Monastery of Scots and English founded by Colman a person of great sanctity
at Fereal and give him battle But the Earl prevented him by his speedy march having some information of the design for it is certain that some even of the Queen's Council were well-wishers to the Earl and his proceedings As soon as the Lord Deputy got back to Dublin he employ'd himself wholly in reviewing his troops and choosing out a detachment of old soldiers to be transported to Logh-Foil and Bala-Shannon near the mouth of the Lough Erne that by his garisons there he might annoy the enemy both in the flank and in the rear and also to reinforce his garisons in Lease and Ophaly a matter of no small danger and difficulty by reason of the enemy on all sides In the beginning of May the Lord Deputy took his march towards Ulster to divert the enemy on that side while 43 Sir Henry Henry Docwra might have opportunity to plant a garison at Logh-Foil and 44 Sir Matthew Morgan another at Bala-Shannon The Earl was so well diverted by the Lord Deputy who was daily engaging him in some little skirmish or other with good success that 45 Sir Henry Docwra and the other easily compassed their design and the Earl himself grew sensible of a change of fortune and that he would be beat back to his own corners The Lord Deputy having planted these garisons returned about the middle of June and sent into England for a supply of troops and provision that he might plant another garison at Armach on this side to straiten the Rebels In the mean time he made an expedition into Lease which was the refuge of all the rebels in Leinster and therein cut off Ony-Mac-Rory-Og chief of the family of O-More a most bloody desperate young fellow who had lately raised the commotions in Munster with many other such profligates and then having wasted their Country drove them into their woods and boggs in such consternation that they never made head again in those parts The supplies from England being now arrived though his Lordship laboured under the want both of money and provision and though the Equinox was past and winter begun already in this climate yet he set out again towards the passage of the Moyery three miles beyond Dundalk This passage is by nature the most difficult in Ireland but besides the Rebels had with great art and industry block'd it up with pallisadoes stakes hurdles stones and clots of earth as it lyes along between the hills woods and boggs on both sides and had also lin'd it with soldiers to secure it Moreover the weather was bad and the great fall of rain that had happened for some days together made the rivers impassable As soon as the waters fell the English opened their way through this passage with great courage and notwithstanding all these difficulties to incumber them beat back the enemy and marched forwards towards Armach which was quite devoured by the Rebels so that the Lord Deputy planted his garison eight miles from the town and in memory of 46 Sir John John Norris under whom his Lordship had first learned the rudiments of war called it Mount Norris committing it to the charge of E. Blany a man of great diligence and valor who gall'd the enemy sore on this side as 47 Sir Henry Henry Docwra did on the other and kept them in great awe Not to mention the particular skirmishes that daily happened in his return in the straits near Carlingford which the Rebels had blocked up he gave them a memorable defeat Some few days after though it was now mid winter the Lord Deputy to make the most of his time went into the 48 A secure Receptacle of Rebels Glynnes or the vallies of Leinster that had continued hitherto untouched having wasted the Country he forced Donel Spamoh Phelim Mac Feogh and the seditious race of the O-Tools to give hostages and submit After this he went on as far as Fereal and drove Tirell the best commander among the Rebels out of his strong hold or Fastnesses as they call them being boggy places beset with thick bushes into Ulster whither he pursued them with his victorious army by an indirect march In the first place he laid wast the territory of Ferney with the slaughter of the two sons of Evar Mac Cowly and did the like to Fues by a detachment under the command of 49 Sir Richard Richard Morison At the same time he sent 50 Sir Oliver Oliver Lambard to plant a garison in Breany and then turned towards Drogheda where he received such of the principal Rebels into his protection as submitted themselves namely Turlogh Mac Henry a Seignior in Fues Ever Mac Cowly O-Hanlon who has the honour to be Standard-bearer to the Kings of Ulster by inheritance and many of the Mac Mahons and O-Realies who gave up their dearest friends as hostages As soon as the spring came on the Lord Deputy before his forces were got together marched again to the Moyery cut down the woods that the way might be passable and erected a fort In this expedition he drove the Mac Genisses out of Lecal which they had usurped and reduc'd all the castles of the enemy as far as Armagh in which he also planted a garison Nay he advanced so far that the Earl who was well encamped upon Black water was obliged to remove and the Deputy design'd to erect a sort somewhat lower but received many letters of advice that the Spaniards were certainly landed in Munster as he had heard by flying reports before Upon this he was forced to desist for he was not now to defend Ireland from a civil war but from a foreign invasion However to secure what he had already gain'd he reinforced his garisons and set forward at the head of one or two 〈◊〉 troops of horse in great hast for Munster commanding his foot to follow him For while the Lord Deputy was imploy'd in Ulster the Earl and those of his party in Munster had by their agents viz. a certain Spaniard made Archbishop of Dublin by the Pope the Bishop of Clonfort the Bishop of Killalo and one Archer a Jesuit induced the King of Spain by their earnest prayers and intreaty to send a reinforcement to the Rebels in Munster under the conduct of John de D'Aquila with hopes that the whole Province would presently revolt and the titular Earl of Desmond as also Florens Mac-Carty would joyn them But the President 51 Sir George George Carew had took care to intercept and transport them into England D'Aquila landed at Kingsale in Munster with two thousand veterane Spaniards and some Irish fugitives on the last of October and forthwith published his Manifesto wherein he stiled himself Master General and Captain of His Catholick Majesty in the war of God for preserving the faith in Ireland perswading them that Queen Elizabeth was deprived of her Kingdom by the sentence of several Popes and all her subjects absolv'd from their allegiance
whole Island have been for it had they not blinded their eyes and possessed their hearts with a mad and stubborn conceit of their own country fashions in opposition to better manners The Irish are so wedded to their own customs that they not only retain them themselves but corrupt the English that come among them for so ready is human nature to incline to evil that it is scarce credible how soon they degenerate THE SMALLâ— ISLAND in the BRITISH OCEAN By Rob t Morden Sold by Abel Swale Awnsham and John Churchâ— The smaller ISLANDS in the British Ocean HAving now at last set sail from Ireland I will steer my course towards those Islands that lye scattered upon the Coast of Britain and take a survey of them If I durst imagine my self able or could confide in my own sufficiency I would try to make some discoveries in every one of them but since my design is only to give some light into their antiquities such of them as are of little note I shall not much trouble my self with but such as are more eminent I will land at and make some short stay in that now at last I may be so happy as to restore them to the honour of their respective Antiquities That this voyage may be regular and orderly I will take my course from Ireland towards the Severn-Sea and from thence after I have doubled the utmost point of Scotland towards the German ocean from hence by the British Sea which reaches as far as Spain I will sail on as directly as I can but not without some apprehension that this ship of mine with me at the head of it will now and then touch upon rocks of error or else sink in the depth of antiquity for want of skill in the Pilot to direct it However I am embarked now and must go through 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. Adventure is the best Sea-captain says Antiphilus and whoever follows me may perhaps make a more successful voyage But first it will not be foreign to my business to set down that which Plutarch reports of these Islands in general from a fabulous relation of Demetrius 1 Who seemeth to have lived in Hadrian's time He says that about Britain there was many small and desolate Islands some of which were called the Isles of Daemons or Demy Gods and that he himself at the command of the Emperor sailed to the nearest of those places for curiosity's sake where he found few inhabitants but those that were all look'd upon as sacred Not long after he arrived there the air and weather grew foul and tempestuous and there followed a terrible storm of wind and thunder which at length ceasing the Inhabitants told him that one of the * Epraestantioribus Daemons or Demy Gods was deceased A little after he says also that in one of those Islands Saturn is detained prisoner fast a sleep and in the custody of Briareus that sleep is instead of chains and fetters and that he has several of those Daemons about him for attendants Thus our fore-fathers as we do at this day took the liberty of telling monstrous strange things of places afar off which is a good safe way of Romancing In the Severn there first appear two small Islands the one being plain and level is called Flatholme Flatholme in the same sense with Planarie in Italy the other being steep is called Stepholme Stepholme and in British Reoric but the Britains termed them both Echni as we do now Holmes Holmes for so the Saxons always called a grassy plot of ground enclosed with water Formerly they were famous for nothing else but for the Danes that harbored there and for the burial of Gualch a Britain of great piety whose Disciple Barruch has given name to the Island Barry Barry Giraldus v. p. 739. in Wales as we learn from an ancient monument of the Church of Landaff and thus the Island it self has done the same to the Barraies a noble family in Ireland Hard by this lyes Silly Silly a small Island upon the coast of the ancient Silures a name whereof it retains some remains to this day as a small town over against it in Glamorganshire likewise does Yet I will not affirm this to be the very Silura or Insula Silurum which Solinus speaks of because there are Islands of the same name though at some farther distance From hence we arrive at Caldey Caldey in British Inispir pretty near the shore and over-against it more into the sea is Londey Londey which faces Devonshire being fourteen miles distance from the promontory Hertness This is reckoned the larger of the two and yet is not much above two miles broad and a mile long so pent in with rocks that there 's no coming to it but by one or two places Here has formerly been a fort the ruines of which as also the remains of S. Helen's Chapel are visible Heretofore it has been plow'd as is manifest from the furrows but now all the gain and profit made of it arises from the sea-fowl which flock in great numbers hither No trees grow in it except stinking elders to which the Starlings flock in such numbers that one can hardly come at them for dung But why should I launch out into such observations since Sir Thomas Delamere Kt. has thus described it when he tells us How poor King Edward the 2d endeavoured to shelter himself here from his troublesome wife and rebellious Barons who pursued him with great fury and threatning Londay is an Island situate in the mouth of the Severn about two miles over every way full of good pasture and well stock'd with rabbets pigeons and starlings Alexander Necham calls them Ganimede's birds which are breeding continually Though it is encompassed with the sea yet it affords the inhabitants good fresh spring water It has only one way to it which is so strait that two men can hardly walk a-breast in it On all sides else the horrible steep rocks make it inaccessible Our Historians hardly make mention of it but upon the account of William de Marisco a sad mischievous pirat that infested these coasts in the reign of Henry the third In Edward the third's time it was part of the estate of the Lutterels From hence we arrive at Gresholme Stockholme and Scalmey Greshâ—lme Stockholme Scalmey situated in the very bend or turning of Pembrookshire grass and wild thyme grow plentifully in them I was heretofore of opinion that this Scalmey was the Silimnus Silimnus in Pliny but since I have had some reason to be of another mind For this Silimnus in Pliny may probably from the resemblance of the two names be the Limni in Ptolemy that this is the same that the Britains call'd Lymen is clear from the word it self it goes by the name of Ramsey Ramsey at this day and lies over-against the Bishoprick of St. David's to which it belongs
family of Man soon did by force of arms For having raised a body of English he drove the Scots out of the Isle with these raw soldiers But having plunged himself into debt by the great expence of this war and become insolvent he was was forced to mortgage the Island to Anthony Bec Bishop of Durham and Patriarch of Jerusalem and make over all the profits thereof to him for seven years and quickly after the King gave the Island to the said Anthony for term of life Afterwards King Edw. 2. gave it to his great favourite Peter de Gaveston having made him Earl of Cornwall at the same time He being cut off the King gave it to Henry Beaumont with all the demesn and royal jurisdiction thereunto belonging Soon after this the Scots recovered it again under the conduct of Robert Brus and from that time Thomas Randolph a warlike Scot as also a long time after Alexander Duke of Albany stiled themselves Lords of Man The Arms of the Kings of Man and bore the same Arms that the later Kings of the Island did namely three arm'd legs of a man link'd together and bending in the hams just like the three legs naked which were formerly stamp'd in the coins of Sicily to signifie the three Promontories The old Coat of Arms of Sâ—cily But yet the ancient Arms of the Kings of Man was a * Vâ—lo complicatâ— Ship with the sail hoised with this inscription Rex Manniae Insularum The King of Man and of the Islands as I have seen in the sails they used Afterwards about the year 1340 William Montacute the younger Earl of Salisbury rescued it by force of arms from the Scots and in the year of our Lord 1393 sold Man and the Crown thereof to William Scrope for a great sum of money as Walsingham tells us Scrope being beheaded afterwards and his goods confiscated for treason it fell into Henry the 4th's hands who bestowed it upon Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland then triumphing over William Scrope having himself though only a private person taken and beheaded him for aspiring to the Crown upon this condition That he and his posterity at the Coronation of the Kings of Kings of England should carry the Sword before him which the said Henry wore by his side at his Restoration or return from Exile commonly called Lancaster sword But take the King 's own words as they stand in the Record We of our special grace An. 1. H. 9. Rot. 2. bundle 2. have gâ—ven and granted to Henry Earl of Northumberland the Isle Castle Pile and Lordship of Man with all such Islands and seigniories thereunto belonging as were Sir William Le Scoâ—p 's Kt. now deceased whom in his life we conquered and do declare to be conquered and which by reason of this our conquest fell to us Which very Conquest and Decree as touching the person of the said William and all the lands tâ—nements goods and chattels as well within as without the Kingdom belonging to him are now at the petition of the Communs of our Kingdom and by the consent of the Lords Temporal now assembled in Parliament ratified and confirmed to have and to hold to the said Earl and his heirs c. by service of carrying at every coronation-day of us and our heirs at the lift shoulder of us and our heirs either by himself in person or â—y some sufficient and honourable deputy that sword naked which we wore when we arrived at Hâ—lderness called Luncaster-sword c. However this Henry Percy was banished four years after Annals of Thom. Otterborn an 7. H. 4. and though it was not long before his attainder was took of yet he was deprived of Man which was given first to William Stanley and after that to John Stanley together with the advowson of the Bishoprick c. whose posterity have been honoured with the title of Earls of Derby and commonly called Kings of Man Additions to the ISLE of MAN The Division of the Land THE extent and situation of this Island of Man and the different names under which it is mentioned by the Ancients are faithfully related by Mr. Camden which I shall not here repeat The Island is divided into seventeen parts which are distinguished not by the name of Shires or Counties but of Kirks and are called The seventeen Parish Churches every Church or Parish bearing the additional name of the Saint to whom the Parish-Church or Chapel in old time was dedicated Their names are Kirk Christ of Rushin Kirk Harbery Kirk Melue Kirk Santon Kirk Bradon Kirk Marcom Kirk Concan Kirk Connon Kirk Maughald Kirk Christ of Ayre Kirke Bride Kirk Andrew Jorby or St. Patrick of Jorby Ballough Kirk Michael Kirk Jerman Kirk Patrick of Peel These seventeen Kirks or Parishâ—s are divided into six parts which in the Manks language are called Sheedings every Sheeding comprehending three Kirks or Parishes except one which has only two There are three small Islands which belong to the Isle of Man the biggest of which is called the Calf of Man Calf of Man and lies on the south side thereof pointing westward It is well stored with a fort of sea fowl called Puffins which are of a very unctuous Constitution They breed in the Coney-holes the Coneys leaving their Burrows for that time and are never seen with their young but either very early in the morning or late in the evening nourishing as is conceived their young with oyl which drawn from their own constitution is dropped into their mouths For being open there is found in their crops no other sustenance but a single sorrel leaf which the old give their young for digestion's sake as is conjectured The flesh of these birds is nothing pleasant being of a rank fish-like taste but pickled or salted they may be ranked with Anchâ—vies Caviare or the like They are profitable in their feathers and oyl of which the Inhabitants make great use about theiâ— wooll They have likewise another sort of sowl in this â—ites Island which the Inhabitants call Barnacles commonly said to be the same with the Soland-geese of Scotland but really the Soland-geese in that Kingdom have no affinity to Barnacles being quite of another kind The other little Isle is called St. Michaels Island and lies in the south-east part of Man The third is Peel Island situated on the west side of Man which tho' it be the least yet is it of greatest consequence because of a castle therein The danger of the â—oast for Ships The Island is not only environed with huge rocks round about but likewise at the mouth of every Haven there are a great many rocky stones pointed like a pyramide above water besides a great many rugged stones that lie undiscovered under water So that it is dangerous to enter any of the Havens of this Island without the assistance and conduct of some of the Native Mariners The Haven of Douglass is reckoned the best
and securest of any in the Island but there are on both sides of the Island divers other Havens very commodious for trade The Air and Soil The Air of this Island is sharp and cold in winter but much more mild than in Wales the frosts are short and seldom The place is very wholesom to live in for they never have any damps or venomous vapours arising out of the earth The Plague was never known to have been there in any of their Ancestors memory The Inhabitants are long-lived they ordinarily living to fourscore many to an hundred years and upwards The Women are very fruitful The soil in the northern part of the Island is for the most part heathy and gravelly ground much resembling the mountainous parts of Wales in the south they have very good meadow and pasture-ground All parts of the Island yields store of all sorts of grain both barly wheat rye and oates not only enough for its own Inhabitants but likewise for exportation to other places They have oates in greatest plenty of which the inhabitants generally make their bread They have likewise good store of honey flax and hemp The Cattle Their Neat for the most part feed in heathy ground and lye continually in the open fields both winter and summer so that they are but small and poor resembling those of Ireland and much inferior to the English breed Their horses are likewise poor and small and very unsightly because of the little care taken about them For they are never housed or dressed but exposed to wind and weather in the coldest season They will endure a great deal of labour and hardship being all of a sooty black colour and their hair long and stragling The sheep thrive very well in this Island they are fat and their flesh well-tasted but generally of a small bulk The wooll of their sheep is very good but they have a small quantity of a certain sort which is remarkable and far exceeds their other wooll in fineness This sort the Manksmen call Laughton-wooll which in their language signifies wooll of a greyish colour though according to my Author it resembles rather a sandy or deer-colour The rarity of it is that 't is not to be found in any certain place of the Island but that one only sheep of a whole flock always has this coloured wooll and they are observed never to impart the same to their lambs so that there is but a small quantity of it to be had throughout the Island Here they have plenty of hogs of an ordinary bigness There is also here great store of Otters Badgers Foxes Hares and Conies The Hares of this Island are very fat which is a property in them not to be met with in many other Countries There are some Deer in the Mountains but they belong to the Lord of the Island and therefore none are permitted to hunt them without a licence from him under the penalty of a fine of three pounds besides imprisonment during the Lord's pleasure The Fowl The Hawks here are very good and thought to equal if not exceed those of Ireland And therefore it was that King Henry the fourth in his Letters Patents of the grant of this Island to Sir John Stanley the first King of Man of that name and race obliged him in lieu of all other services upon the day of his and his Successors Coronation to present him with a Cast of Hawks They have here store of geese hens ducks and wild fowl Neither Partridges nor Farkers will live in this Isle though imported The Isle of Man has this in common with Ireland that it is free from toads snakes and all other such venemous creatures I know * Top. Hib. cap. 15. Giraldus Cambrensis and from him Mr. Camden doth say that this Island being equally distant from England and Ireland there arose anciently a controversie to which of the two Kingdoms it should belong which was decided by making experiment whether the soil thereof would foster any venemous creatures and accordingly some toads and other venemous creatures being brought to make trial and living upon the soil the Island was adjudged to belong to Britain as participating more of the nature of its soil than that of Ireland But it seems those that were brought to make the trial did not propagate their kind for the Manksmen do at this day glory in their immunity from such noxious creatures and my author does aver that during his abode in the Island he neither did see nor hear of any such except only Spiders which Ireland also hath though without venom But whether these spiders of the Isle of Man had that quality to be without venom he made no experiment The Island abounds with many little currents of fresh water which because of their smallness may be more properly called Rivulets than Rivers Their spring-spring-water is of a pure pleasant taste Here they have great store of salmon cod haddock Macrel raie place thornback and other sorts of fish but especially of herrings There are few or no oysters or muscles but of crabs lobsters and cockles great abundance There are no woods in the Island Their Fewel although in former times they had them in great plenty and many oaks are now often digged up under ground There is not a tree to be seen any where in the Island except such as grow in gardens There is no sea-coal as yet discovered in the Island so their woods being destroyed there would be a great scarcity of fewel were it not that they have sufficient store of sea-coal imported The only fewel which the Island naturally produces is gorze and heath which they call ling as also broom They have plenty of a coarse sort of turf but of Turf that is good they have but a small quantity The Island of Man is indifferently populous Their Towns and Foâ—â— neither wanting nor abounding with Inhabitants in former times it had more Towns and was better peopled than now At present they have only four principal Towns which are Castle-town the Metropolis of the Island that went formerly by the name of Russin Douglas Ramsey and Peel They are all four situated in the maritime parts of the Island each of them has a harbor and at every haven there is a castle and a sconce or block-house The houses are all of one fashion low built and thatch'd and only two stories high the upper rooms which they commonly let to strangers to lodge in are cieled over head and plaistered They begin to improve in their building for in Castle-town and Douglas they build their houses three stories high and cover them with tile instead of thatch In these Towns of the Isle of Man they have no Mayors or Aldermen nor so much as a Recorder Town-Clerk or any such Officer When any riots or disorders happen in the Towns either some of the Lord's Officers or the Constable which is the same as Governor of the next
may believe Tacitus but questionless they were known in the time of Claudius the Emperor for Pomponious Mela who then lived mentioneth them Yet doubtless Orosius is untrue in that he writeth that Claudius conquered them So little right has Claudius to this conquest as Hierom relates in his chronicle that Juvenal in Hadrian's time writes thus of them Arma quid ultra Littera Juvernae promovimus modo captas Orcades minima contentos nocte Britannos What tho' the Orcades have own'd our power What tho' Juverna's tam'd and Britain's shore That boasts the shortest night Afterwards when the Roman Empire was utterly extinct in Britain 4 The Saxons the Picts planted themselves in these Islands thus Claudian poetically alludes Maduerunt Saxone fuso Orcades The Orcades with Saxon gore or estow'd Ninnius also tells us that Octha and Ebissus both Saxons who served under the Britains sailed round the Picts in 5 40 vl Kyules and wasted Orkney After that they fell under the dominion of the Norwegians upon which account the Inhabitants speak Gothick by the grant of Donald Ban who after the death of his brother Malcolm Can Mor King of Scots had excluded his nephews and usurped the Kingdom and thought to procure a second by this means to support him in his designs The Norwegians continued in possession of them till the year 1266. Then Magnus the fourth of that name King of Norway being exhausted by a war with Scotland surrendered it to Alexander the third King of Scots by treaty which was afterwards confirmed to King Robert Brus in the year 1312 by Haquin King of Norway At last in the year 6 1498. 1468 Christian the first King of Norway and Denmark renounced and quitted all the right either of him or his successors in it to James the third King of Scotland upon a marriage between him and his daughter and so transferred all his right upon his son in law and his successors for ever For the better warrant and assurance whereof it was also confirm'd by the Pope As for the Earls of Orkney Earls of Oâ—kney not to mention the ancient who also held the Earldom of Cathness and Strathern as an inheritance This title was at last by an heir female derived upon William de Sentcler and William the fourth Earl of this family sirnamed the Prodigal run out the estate and was the last Earl of the family Yet his posterity have enjoyed the honour of Barons Sentcler till within this little while And the title of Cathness remains at this day in the posterity of his brother But as for the honourable title of Earl of Orkney it was since this last age together with the title of Lord of Shetland conferr'd upon Robert a natural son of King James the fifth which his son Patrick Steward enjoys at this day * The present Governors are stiâ—ed Stewards of Orkney Additions to the ORCADES THE Isles of Orkney are generally so little known and yet withall so slightly touch'd upon by our Author that the Curious must needs be well pleas'd to see a farther Description of them Mr. James Wallace is our authority a person very well vers'd in Antiquities and particularly in such as belong'd to those parts where his station gave him an opportunity of informing himself more exactly He was Minister of Kirkwall Orkney lies in the Northern temperate Zone in longitude 22 degr 11 min. in latitude 59 degr 2 min. The length of the longest day is 18 hours and some odd minutes For a great part of June it will be so clear at midnight that one may read a letter in their chamber yet what Bleau tells us cannot be true that from the hill of Hoy a man may see the sun at midnight It cannot be the true body of the sun but only the image of it refracted through the sea or some watery cloud about the Horizon seeing it must be as far depressed under our Horizon in June as 't is elevated above it in December and from that hill the sun is to be seen in the shortest day of December above 5 hours and a half The Air the Seasons and the particular Islands my Author shall describe to you in his own words The air and clouds here by the operation of the sun do sometime generate several things for instance Not many years since some fishermen fishing half a league from land over-against Copinsha in a fair day there fell down from the air a stone about the bigness of a foot-ball which fell in the midst of the boat and sprung a leak in it to the great hazard of the lives of the men that were in it which could be no other but some substance generated in the clouds The stone was like condensed or petrified clay and was a long time in the custody of Captain Andrew Dick at that time Stewart of that Country Here our winters are generally more subject to rain than snow nor does the frost and snow continue so long here as in other parts of Scotland but the winds in the mean time will often blow very boistrously sometimes the rains descends not by drops but by spouts of water as if whole clouds fell down at once About four year ago after a thunder in the month of June there fell a great flake of ice more than a foot thick This Country is wholly surrounded with the sea having Pightland-Frith on the south the Deucaledonian ocean on the west the sea that divides it from Zetland on the north and the German sea on the east Zetland stands north east and by east from Orkney and from the Start in Sanda to Swinburgh-head the most southerly point in Zetland will be about 18 leagues where there is nothing but sea all the way save Fair-Isle which lies within eight leagues of Swinburgh-head Pightland-Firth which divides this Country from Caithness is in breadth from Duncans-bay to the nearest point of South Ronalsha in Orkney about twelve miles in it are many tides to the number of twenty four which run with such an impetuous current that a ship under sail is no more able to make way against the tide than if it were hindred by a Remora which I conceive is the cause why some have said that they have found the Remora in these seas In this Firth about two miles from the coast of Caithness lies Stroma a little isle but pleasant and fruitful and because of its vicinity to Caithness and its being still under the jurisdictions of the Lords of that Country it is not counted as one of the isles of Orkney On the north side of this isle is a part of the Firth called the Swelches of Stroma and at the west end of it betwixt it and Mey in Caithness there is another part of it called the Merrie Men of Mey both which are very dangerous The sea ebbs and flowes here as in other places yet there are some Phaenomena the reason of which cannot easily
be found out as in the isle of Sanda it flows two hours sooner on the west side than it does on the east side and in North Faira which lies betwixt Eda and Westra the sea ebbs nine hours and flows but three And at Hammoness in Sanda both ebb and flood runs one way except at the beginning of a quick stream when for two or three hours the flood runs south The sea here is very turbulent in a storm and as pleasant in a calm The tides are very swift and violent by reason of the multitude of the isles and narrowness of the passage for when all the rest of the sea is smooth these tides carry their waves and billows high The tides run with such violence that they cause a contrary motion in the sea adjoining to the land which they call Easter-birth or Wester-birth according to its course Yet notwithstanding all this rapidity of these tides and births the inhabitants daily almost travel from isle to isle about their several business in their little cockboats Whatever the ancients have written of the number of the isles of Orkney it 's certain there are but 26 at present inhabited viz. South Ronaldsha Swinnà Hoy Burra Lambholm Flotta Faira Cava Gramsey Mainland Copinsha Shapinsha Damsey Inhallo Stronsa Papa-Stronsa Sanda North Ronaldsha Eda Rousa-Wyre Gairsa Eglesha North-Faira Westra Papa Westra The rest of the isles are called Holms and are only used for pasturage all of them being separated from one another by some narrow streights where you may remark that the most of these names end in A or Ey which in the Teutonick Tongue signifieth water to shew that these isles are pieces of land surrounded with water They are of different natures some sandy some marish some abounding in moss and some that have none some mountainous and some plain Of these some are called the south isles and others the north-isles and that as they stand to the south or north of the greatest isle called the Mainland South Ronalsha is the Southermost of these Isles five miles long fertile in Corn and abounding with People To the South-east lye the Pightland-Skerries dangerous to Seamen but to the North is St. Margarets Hope a very safe Harbour for ships which has no difficulty in coming to it save a Rock in the midst of the Sound betwixt this Isle and Burra called Lippa From Burwick in this Isle is the usual ferry to Duncans-bay in Caithness A little separated from this to the South-west lyes Swinna a little Isle and only considerable for a part of Pightland Firth lying a little to the West of it called the Wells of Swinna which are two whirlpools in the sea occasioned as it is thought through some hiatus that is in the earth below that turn about with such a violence that if any boat or ship come within their reach they will whirl it about till it be swallowed up and drowned They are only dangerous in a dead Calm for if there be any wind and the boat under sail there is no danger to go over them If a boat happen to come near them in a Calm through the force of the tide the Boats-men take this way for their preservation they throw a barrel or oar or any thing that comes next to hand into the Wells and when it is swallowed up the sea remains smooth for a time for any boat to pass over Beyond this and to the West of South-Ronaldsha lyes Waes and Hoy thought to be the Dumna of Pliny which are but one Isle about 12 miles long full of high mountains and but thinly inhabited unless in Waes where the ground is more pleasant and fertile From Snel-setter there is the other ferry out of this country to Ham in Caithness Here are several good harbours Kirk-hope North-hope Ore-hope and others but not much frequented To the North of South Ronaldsha about a mile lyes Burra a pleasant little Isle fruitful of Corn and abounding with Rabbets Betwixt it and the Main-land is Lambholm and to the West toward Hoy-mouth lyes Flotta Faira Cava and Graâ—nsey all of them fruitful and pleasant Isles though they be not large Next to these is the Main-land called by the antients Pomona or Pomonia about 24 miles long and well inhabited About the middle of this Isle looking to the North stands Kirkwall the only town in all this country There are in it especially four excellent harbours for ships one at Kirkwall both large and safe without any danger of shoals or blind rocks as they come to it unless they come from the West by Inhallo and Gairsa another is at Deirsound which is a great bay and a very safe road for ships having good anchoring ground and capable to give shelter to the greatest Navies The third is at Grahamshall toward the East side of this Isle where is a convenient road but the ship that sails to it from the East would do well to keep betwixt Lambholm and the Main-land for the other way betwixt Lambholm and Burra which appears to them to be the only open is very shallow and dangerous even for small ships The fourth is at Kairston a small village at the West end of the Main-land where is a very safe and commodious harbour well fenced against all winds and weathers by two small Holms that stand at the entry To the East of the Main-land lyes Copinsha a little Isle but very conspicuous to sea-men in which and in several other places of this countrey are to be found in great plenty excellent stones for the game called Curling To the North-east of this Isle is a Holm called The horse of Copinsha To the North of the Main-land lye the North Isles the first of which is Shapinsha betwixt five and six miles long and hath a safe harbour for ships at Elwick Of an equal bigness to that toward the South-east lyes Stronsa which hath two convenient harbours one at Lingasound fenced with Linga-holm the other at Strynie fenced with a little pleasant Isle to the North of it called Papa-stronsa Beyond these toward the North at a pretty distance lyes Sanda of about 11 or 12 miles in length but very narrow well stored with Corn and Rabbets It hath two roads for ships one at Kitle-toft guarded by a little Holm called The Holm of Elness the other at Otterswick guarded by the most Northern Isle in all this country called North-Ronalsha which is a little fruitful Isle but both it and Sanda are destitute of moss-ground and are forced to bring their peits or turfs a great way off from the adjacent Isle Eda This Eda lyeth to the South east of Sanda thought to be the Ocetis of Ptolemy near five miles in length full of moss and hills and but thinly inhabited unless it be about the skirts of it it hath a safe road to the North called Calf-sound guarded by a large Holm called The Calf of Eda in which there is a good Salt Pan. Three miles to
side there is an ancient fort and a dwelling house built at the charge of the Chamberlans for the fee farm of the Isle was granted by Queen Elizabeth to G. Chamberlane son to Sir Leonard Chamberlane of Sâ—â—rburne in Oxfordshire when he recovered it from the French And under this fort the sand with violent drifts from the Northwest overlaid the land so that now it serveth thereabout most for comes is hardly seven miles from the promontory Le Hague in Normandy and about eight miles in compass The soil is rich and produces both grass and corn very well The Island contains one church and about eighty houses I need hardly take notice of a gyants tooth found here The Gyâ—â—â—oorth 〈◊〉 civ 〈◊〉 l. 15. 〈◊〉 9. which was full as big as a mans fist since St. Austin says he has seen one so large that it might be cut into a hundred teeth as big as any ordinary mans From hence there runs a ridge of high rocks for some way to the westward which 3 Which have their several Eddies and therefore are dreaded c. are dreaded by the mariners who call them the Quasquettes 4 Out of one of the which properly named Casquet there gusheth a most sweet spring of frâ—sh water to the great comfort of the Island fishermen beating up and down hereabout At these to remember incidently that the memory of a well-deserving Patriot may not perish the fleet which John Philipot Citizen of London set forth and manned at his own private charges had a glorious victory over a rabble of Pirates who impeached all traffick taking their Captain and fifteen Spanish ships that consorted with them Which worthy man also maintained 1020 Soldiers at his own pay for the defence of the Realm against the French who sore infested the southern coast in the beginning of the reign of King Richard the second to omit his great loans to the King and other good and laudable offices to his country Under these southward lies Caesarea Câ—sarea mentioned by Antoninus hardly twelve miles distant which the French havve contracted in pronouncing just as they have done Caesaris Burgus in Normandy and as the Spaniards Caesaraugusta in Spain for they call it Gearzey â—â—â—rsey as they do Cherburgh for Caesaris Burgum and as Saragosa is generally spoke for Caesaraugusta Gregorius Turonensis call it Insula Maris quod Constantiae civitati adjacet i.e. the Island of the sea that lyeth to the City Constantia and tells us how Praetextatus Bishop of Roan was confined here Thus Papirius Massonius calls it Insula littoris Constantini because it lies over-against Constantia an old City which seems to be called in Ammianus Castra Constantia â—â—â—ra â—onstanâ—â—â—oritoâ—um and in former ages Moritonium for Robertus Montensis writes thus Comes Moritonii id est Constantiarum unless this be the gloss of the Librarian for Moritonium or Mortaigne as it is now call'd is more remote from the sea This Island is about thirty miles in compass and defended with rocks and quicksands which are shallow places dangerous for such as sail that way The soil is fertil so that the Isle has great plenty of fruit and good stocks of cattle and sheep many whereof carry b They have six horns three on each side one bent towards the nose another towards the neck and the third standing upright between the other two but these now are become very rare four horns The air is very wholesom the Inhabitants are subject to no distempers but * Agues Fevers and those in the month of September which therefore they call Settembers for this reason there are no Physitians to be found among them The Island affords very little fewel and therefore they use a sea-weed instead of wood which they term Uraic Uraic and which is supposed to be Pliny's Fucus marinus Fuâ—us Mâ—rinus produced very plentifully in rocks and craggy Islands This being dried in the sun serves for fire and after it is burnt the ashes is as good as marle or dung for manuring the fields and fallows and does as much enrich them But they are not to gather this but in the spring and in the summer and then only on certain days appointed by the Magistrate And at the times allowed they repair with their Cars to the shore or in boats to the neighbouring rocks with great joy and readiness However the poor people are permitted to take up all that the sea casts up of it for their own uses The midland part of this Isle is somewhat high and mountainous but the valleys under these hills are finely watered with brooks and very pleasant being planted with fruit-trees but apple-trees especially of which they make Cyder The villages stand thick and make in all twelve parishes which have the advantage of many fine creeks for ships the securest of which is that on the south-side of the Island S Hilarius between the towns of S. Hilary and S. Albans which harbour has also a little Isle belonging to it and therein a garison that cuts off all manner of access S. Hilary Bishop of Poictiers that was banished hither is said to be buried here For the town which is dedicated to his name lies just over-against the Island and is reckoned the chief both because of its trade and market and also upon the account of a Court of Justice which is fixed here On the east-side where it looks towards the City Constantia over-against it stands a very strong castle situated upon a steep rock called by the proud name of Mont-Orgueil repaired by Henry the 5th Mont Oâ—gue◠〈◊〉 iâ— to say A p oud thiâ—â— and commanded by the Governor of the Isle who was formerly stil'd The Keeper of the Isle and in Henry the 3d's time had a yearly Salary of 200 l. On the south but at greater distance lies S. Malo which takes this new name from Maclovius a man of great piety being formerly called the city Diablintum and Aletum Aletum in the old Notitia for in a Manuscript of Isiodorus Mercator it is expressly read Civitas Diablintum quae alio nomine Aletum i e The City Diablintum otherwise called Aletum The people apply themselves to fishing but especially to Agriculture The women make great gain by knitting hose which they call Gersey Stockes As for the State and Polity of this Isle whoever the King of England sends to govern it is the supream Magistrate He substitutes a Bailiff who with twelve Jurors chosen out of each parish by their respective parishioners to sit and assist him has the trial of pleas In capital causes he 's to have seven of these assessors with him in civil three only c A very particular account of the Island of Jersey is lately publish'd by Mr. Philip Falle Rector of S. Saviour in that Island Twenty miles north west of this lies another Island which Antoninus calls Sarnia Sarnia and we
are not mentioned by old writers and therefore may be reasonably omitted here After these upon the same coast appears an Island which Antoninus calls Liga Liga a name which it still retains in that it has at this day being call'd Ligon Next to them lie seven Islands which Antoninus terms Siadae from the number for Saith in British signifies seven the French at this day Le set Isles These I take to be corruptly called Hiadatae by Strabo for he tells us it is not a days sail from these to Britain Seven furlongs from these Siadae lies BarsaÌ„ BursaÌ„ mentioned by Antoninus the French call it the Isle de Bas the English Basepole A view of the Ocean for bas in British signifies shallow and so the mariners find the sea here when they sound it Where the B itish sea is deepest For 't is hardly above seven or eight fathom deep here whereas in other parts of the coast they find 12 18 or 20 fathom water as we may see by their Hydrographical charts Between these Islands and Foy in Cornwall mariners find the sea to be very deep no less than 58 fathom or thereabouts in the Chanel From hence I will set sail for our own coast of Britain As we steer along by the shore after we have pass'd Ideston Mousehole and Long ships which are rather infamous rocks than Islands we come within sight of Antoninus's Lisia Lisia at the very utmost point of Cornwall called by the people thereabouts Lethowsow by others the Gulfe which is only visible at low water The Gulf Lisia by transposâ—â— makes Silia This I take to be that which the Antients called Lisia for Lis as I have heard among our Britains signifies the same So Liso implies a great sound and roaring like that which is made in whirlpools and from this place the tide presses both northward and eastward with great noise and violence being pent in and streightned between Cornwal and the Islands which Antoninus calls Sigdeles Sulpitius Sillinae Solinus Silures the English Silly the Dutch Seamen Sorlings and the ancient Greeks Hesperides and Cassiterides For thus Dionysius Alexandrinus names them from their western situation in those verses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which Priscian translates thus Sed * Sacrum promentonum summam contra Sacram cognomine dicunt Quam caput Europe sunt stanni pondere plenae Hesperides populus tenuit quas fortis Iberi Against the sacred cape great Europe 's head Th' Hesperides along the Ocean spread With mines of tin and wealthy hills abound And stout Iberians till the fertile ground Festus Avienus calls them the Ostrymnides in his Poem De oris Maritimis wherein he has these verses according to the Paris edition and the notes upon it In quo insulae sese exerunt Oestrymides Laxè jacentes metallo divites Stanni atque plumbi multa vis hic gentis est Superbus animus efficax solertia Negotiandi cura juris omnibus * Non usqâ—â— novibus we read in the notes of Parâ— Nolusque cumbis turbidum latè fretum Et belluosi gurgitem Oceani secant Non hi carinas quippe pinu texere Facere morem non abiete ut usus est Curvant phasello sed rei ad miraculum Navigia junctis semper aptant pellibus Corioque vastum saepe percurrunt salem Where the wide Isles Oestrymnides are seen Enrich'd with deepest veins of lead and tin Stout are the natives and untam'd in war Gain is their study trade their only care Yet not in ships they try the watry road And rouze the shapeless monsters of the flood For neither Gallies of the lofty pine They know to frame nor weaker maple join In shallow barks but skins to skins they few Secure in these to farthest parts they go And pathless seas with keels of leather plow Such also were us'd upon this coast in the year 914. For we read of certain pious men transferr'd from Ireland into Cornwal in a Carab or Caroch which was made of two hides and a half Thus also the same Avienus tells of these Islands in another place afterwards Tartesisque in terminos Oestrymnidum Negotiandi mos erat Carthaginis Etiam colonis Oft the Tartessians thro' the well known seas Would sail for traffick to th' Oestrymnides And Carthaginians too Other Greek writers called these the Cassiterides from the Tinne as Strabo calls a certain place among the Drangi in Asia Cassiteron for the same reason and Stephanus in his book de Urbibus observes from Dionysius that a certain Island in the Indian sea was called Cassitera from Tinne As for Mictis which Pliny upon the authority of Timaeus says is six days sail inward from Britain and produces white lead I dare hardly affirm it was one of these Yet I am not ignorant that the learned Hermolaus Barbarus found some MSS. that have it Mitteris for Mictis and thereupon would read Cartiteris However I may warrant these both from the authority of the Ancients from the situation and from the veins of Tinn in them to be the very Cassiterides so much sought for Over against the Artabri on the north says Strabo which are opposite to the west parts of Britain lie those Islands which they call Cassiterides situate as it were in the same Climate with Britain Thus also in another place The Sea is much wider between Spain and the Cassiterides than between the Cassiterides and Britain The Cassiterides look towards the coast of Celtiberia saith Solinus Diodorus Siculus In those Islands next the Iberian Sea call'd from the Tinn Cassiterides Eustathius the Cassiterides are ten Islands lying close by one another northward Now considering that these Isles of Silly are opposite to the Artibri i.e. Gallilia in Spain that they bend directly to the north from them that they lie in the same clime with Britain that they look towards the coast of Celtiberia that the sea is much broader between them and Spain than between them and Britain that they lie just upon the Iberian Sea and close to one another northward that there are only ten of them of any note viz. Saint Maries Aniuth Agnes Sumpson Silly Brefer Rusco or Trescaw Saint Helens Saint Martins and Arthur again considering this which is more material that they have veins of Tinn as no other Isle besides has in this tract and lastly that two of the lesser sort Minan-Witham and Minuisisand seem to derive their names from mines I should from all this rather take these for the Cassiterides than either the Azores which lie too far westward or Cisarga as Olivarius does which in a manner joyns to Spain or even Britain it self as Ortelius does since there were many of the Cassiterides and Dionysius Alexandrinus after he has treated of the Cassiterides gives a separate account of Britain If any deny these to be the
it The same year on S. Laurence's-eve Thomas Lord Botiller marched with a great army into the Country of Ardnorwith where he fought with the Lord Thomas William Macgoghgan and was there kill'd to the great loss of Ireland and with him John Lord Ledewich Roger and Thomas Ledewich John Nangle Meiler and Simon Petitt David Nangle Sir John Waringer James Terel Nicholas White William Freynes Peter Kent and John White besides 140. whose names we know not The Tuesday before the feast of S. Bartholomew the said Lord Thomas's body was convey'd to Dublin and laid in the house of the predicant Friers unburied till the sunday after the feast of the beheading of S. John Baptist when he was very honourably carried through the City and interr'd in the Church of the predicant Friers which very day his wife gave a great entertainment The same year John Lord Darcy came a second time Justice of Ireland who at Maynoth on the third of July espoused the Lady Joan Burg Countess of Kildare Item Philip Staunton was slain and Henry Lord Traharn was treacherously taken in his own house at Kilbego by Richard son to Philip Onolan James Lord Botiller Earl of Ormond burnt Foghird in revenge to Onolan for his brother Henry's sake The same year the Wednesday after the feast of the Ascension of the blessed Virgin John Lord Darcy Justice of Ireland went towards the Country of New-castle of Mackingham and of Wikelow against the O Brynns and the Monday following some of the Lawles were killed and more wounded and Robert Locam was wounded and of the Irish the better sort were slain many wounded and the rest ran away But Murkad O Brynne with his son uncle and uncle's son yielded themselves hostages and were carried to the Castle of Dublin But were afterwards in exchange of Hostages who were of the best of their Kindred set at liberty The same year John Lord Darcy Chief Justice and the King's Council in Ireland about the feast of our Lord's Circumcision commanded Moris Lord Fitz Thomas of Desmond to march with his Army against his Majesties enemies for to subdue them And that the King would take care to defray the Charge he should be at both for himself and his Army so the Lord Fitz-Thomas accompanied by Briene O-Brene came with an Army of ten thousand Men with which he march'd against the O-nolanes and conquer'd them having got a considerable Booty and wasted their Country by fire the O-nolanes fled but afterwards deliver'd Hostages who were sent to the Castle of Dublin Hence he march'd against the O-Morches who gave Hostages with a promise of living quietly The same time the Castle of Ley which O-Dympcy had taken and kept was surrender'd to him This year after the Epiphany Donald arte Mac-Murgh made his escape out of the Castle of Dublin by a Cord which one Adam Nangle had bought him who for his pains was drawn and hang'd MCCCXXX About the feast of S. Catherine S. Nicholas and the Nativity of our Lord the winds were in several places very high so that on S. Nicholas-eve they blew down part of the wall of a certain House which in the falling kill'd Sir Miles Verdon's wife and daughter there was never yet known such winds in Ireland There was such an overflowing of the River Boyn this year as was never seen before which flung down all the Bridges upon this River both Wood and Stone except Babe-bridge The violence also of the water carried away several Mills and did very much damage to the Friers-minors of Trym and Drogheda by breaking down their Houses The same year about S. John Baptist's-day there was a great dearth of Corn in Ireland which lasted till Michaelmas A cranoc of Wheat was sold for 20 Shillings a cranoc of Oats Pease Beans and Barly for 8 Shillings This dearth was occasion'd by the great Rains so that a great deal of the standing Corn could not be cut before Michaelmas The same year about Lent the English in Meth killed some of the Irish viz. the Mac-goghiganes near Loghynerthy which did so incense Mac-goghigan that he burnt and sack'd in those Parts 15 small Villages which the English seeing gathered together in a Body against him and kill'd 110 of his men among whom were three Irish Kings sons Item The Lord William Burgh Earl of Ulster march'd with his Army out of Ulster against Briene O Brene in Munster Also the Lady Joan Countess of Kildare was at Maynoth brought to Bed of William her first Son which the Lord John Darcy had by her who was then in England Item Reymund Lawles was treacherously kill'd at Wickelow This year Frier Roger Utlaw Prior of Kylmainan then Deputy to the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland held a Parliament at Kilkenny where were present Alexander Archbishop of Dublin William Earl of Ulster James Earl of Ormond William Lord Bermingham Walter Burg of Conaught who all went with a considerable force to drive Briene O-Brene out of Urkyst near Cashill Item Walter Burg with the Forces he rais'd in Conaught plunder'd the Lord Moris Fitz-Thomas's lands and brought away with him the Booty to Urkyff Also the Earl of Ulster and the Earl of Desmond viz. the Lord Moris Fitz-Thomas for I never yet call'd him Earl by Frier Roger Utlaws order then Justice of Ireland were committed to the custody of the Marshal at Limerick But the Earl of Desmond very cunningly made his escape MCCCXXXI The Lord Hugh Lacy having got the King's Pardon came into Ireland And the Earl of Ulster came into England The 19th of April the English beat the Irish in O-Kenseley and the one and twentieth of April the Irish perfidiously took the Castle of Arclo The same day on S. Mark the Evangelist's-eve the O-Totheles came to Tanelagh and forced away from Alexander Archbishop of Dublin 300 Sheep and killed Richard White with many other Gentlemen of his Company There were divers Reports at Dublin about this Plunder and Slaughter and Sir Philip Bryt Frier Moris Fitz-Gerald Knight of the Order of the Hospitalers Hammund Lord Archdekyn John Chamberlaine Robert Tyrell and Reginald Bernewall's two Sons besides many others but especially of the Archbishop of Dublin's Retinue were kill'd by David O-Tothill in an Ambuscade in Culiagh The Lord William Bermingham march'd with a great Army against the foresaid Irish to whom he did much harm and had not the Irish made some false Promises would have done them much more The Third of June the Lord Anthony Lucy came Chief Justice of Ireland This year also the English who inhabit about Thurles in the month of May gave the Irish under the command of Briene O-Brene a great overthrow and upon the 11th of June gave them another at Finnagh in Meth. The 27th of June when there was so great a Famine in Ireland through God's mercy there came a-shoar such a vast number of great Sea-fish called Thurlhedis as had not been seen in many Ages for according to the common estimate there
river rises near Healy castle built by the Barons of Aldelegh or Audley Barons Audley to whom this place was given by Harvy de Stafford as likewise Aldelegh it self by Theobald de Verdon and from these spring the family of the Stanleys Earls of Derby 8 Strange it is to read what Lands King Henry 3. confirm'd to Henry Audeley which were bestow'd on him through the bounty of the Peers and even of private Gentlemen not only in England but also in Ireland where Hugh Lacy Earl of Ulster gave him Lands together with the Constablish of Ulster so that without doubt he was either a person of singular virtue or a very great Favourite or an able Lawyer or perhaps was endu'd with all these qualifications His posterity were all â—â—d in marriage with the heirs of the Lord Giffard of Brimsfield of Baron Martin Lord of Keimeis and Barstaple as also a younger brother of this house with one of the heirs of the Earl of Glocester who was by King Edward 3. created Earl of Glocester About which time James Lord Aualey acquir'd a very great reputation on the account of his valour and skill in war-like affairs who as it is related by French Historians being dangerously wounded in the battel of Poitiers when the Black Prince with many high commendations had given to him a pension of 400 marks per annum bestow'd it immediately on his four Esquires that always valiantly attended him and satisfy'd the Prince doubting that his gift might be too little for so great service with this answer gratefully acknowledging his bounty These my Esquires sav'd my life amidst my enemies and God be think'd my Ancestors have left me sufficient Revenues to maintain me in your Service Whereupon the Prince approving this prudent Liberality both confirm'd his Donation to his Esquires and besides assign'd to him Lands to the value of 600 marks yearly But by his daughter one of the co-heirs to her brother the title of Lord Audley came afterward to the Touchets and in them continueth but the inheritance and name descended to the Touchetts in whose posterity and name that family is still remaining i I must not go on here without taking notice of that house call'd Gerards Bromley both upon the account of its magnificence and also because 't is the chief seat of Thomas Gerard whom King James in the first of his reign created Baron Gerard of Gerards Bromley The Sow keeps like a parallel line at equal distance from the Trent and runs by Chebsey which formerly belong'd to the Lords Hastings 9 Reckon'd among the principal Noble-men in the time of King Edward the first and then not far from Eccleshal the residence of the Bishop of Lichfield k and Ellenhall which formerly was the seat of the Noels Noel a famous family who founded a Monastery here at Raunton from them it descended hereditarily to the Harcourts who are of an ancient and noble Norman race and flourish'd for a long time in great dignity Of the male-line of these Noels is Andrew Noel of Dalby an eminent Knight and the Noels of Wellesborow in the County of Leicester and others remaining at this day l From hence the Sow runs by Stafford Stafford heretofore Statford and first of all Betheney where Bertelin with the reputation of great sanctity liv'd formerly an Hermite Edward the elder in the year 914. built a Tower upon the North-side of the river here When William the first took his Survey of England as it is said in Domesday-book the King had only eighteen Burgesses here belonging to him and twenty mansion houses of the Honour of the Earl it paid in gross for all customs nine pounds in deniers 10 And had 13 Canons-Prebendaries who held in Frank-Almoin In another place The King commanded a castle to be made there which was lately demolish'd But at that time as it is at this day Stafford was the chief Town of this County which owes its greatest glory to Stafford a castle adjoyning to it 11 Which the Barons of Stafford of whose Progeny were the Dukes of Buckingham built for their own seat who prevail'd with King John to erect it into a Burrough with ample liberties and priviledges caus'd to be partly enclos'd with a wall and founded a Priory of Black-Canons in honour of St. Thomas of Canterbury built by the Barons of Stafford for a seat m Below this the Sow is joyn'd by a little river call'd Penke which gives name to Pennocrucium an ancient town of which we have already made mention Near the confluence of the Sow and the Trent stands Ticks-hall where the family of the Astons dwell which for antiquity and kindred is one of the best families in these parts n With these waters the Trent glides gently through the middle of the County to the Eastward having Chartley Chartley. castle at two miles distance on the left of it which from Ranulph Earl of Chester who built it fell to the Ferrars by Agnes his sister who was married to William de Ferrars Earl of Derby from whom descended and flourish'd the Lords Ferrars of Chartley Lords Ferrars of Chartley. and Anne the daughter of the last of them brought this Honour with her as a portion to Walter D'eureux her husband from whom is Robert D'eureux Earl of Essex and Lord Ferrars of Chartley. On the right side of this river almost at the same distance stands Beaudesert Beaudesert most delicately seated among the woods formerly the house of the Bishops of Lichfield but afterwards of the Barons Pagets Barons Paget For William Paget who for his great prudence and knowledge of the world being eminent both at home and abroad was in great favour with Henry the eighth and King Edward the sixth having got a large estate was created Baron Paget of Beaudesert by Edward the sixth 12 He was as it may be collected from his Epitaph Secretary and Privy Counsellor to King Henry 8. and constituted by his Testament Counsellor and Adjutant to King Edward the sixth during his minority to whom he was Chancellour of the Dutchy of Lancaster Comptroller of the Houshold and by him created as I have already intimated Baron and Knight of the Garter as also by Queen Mary Lord Privy-Seal Whose grandson William is now the fourth Baron Pagett His grandson Thomas the fourth Baron flourishes now at this day who by his virtue and progress in the best kinds of learning is a grace and ornament to his whole family and in this respect but justly distinguisht by an honourable mention here From hence the Trent visits Lichfield Lâ—â—hfieâ—d scarce four miles distant from the right side of it Bede calls it Licidfeld which Rous of Warwick renders a field of carcasses and tells us that many Christians suffer'd martyrdom there under Dioclesian The city stands low is pretty large and neat and divided into two parts by a kind of lough or clear water