four Bishopricks which are subject to this See namely Durham Carlisle Chester and Man or Sodor in the Isle of Man Indeed there was afterward several private Grudges Heart-burnings and Contests betwixt Canterbury and York touching Precedency Appeals and some Ecclesiastical Privileges but by a Decree of Pope Alexander they were quelled who ordained that the Church of York should be subject to Canterbury and obey the Constitutions of that Arch-Bishop as Primate of all Britain in such things as appertain to the Christian Religion But to return again from the Church into the City we find it to have been a place of great Antiquity for it was not only famous for the Sepulture of Eadbryth King of the Northumbers about the Year 738 together with his Brother Egbert Arch-Bishop of this See and long before that time of two greater and more renowned Emperors Severns and Constantius but likewise in that Constantine the Great after the Death of his Father was first here in this place saluted and proclaimed Emperor by the Soldiers at which time it appears to have been in great Repute and Estimation till the Romans deserting it left it a Prey to the barbarous Nations so that not only the Scots and Picts did depopulate and spoil it but afterward the Saxons and Danes as they got Possession still Ransack'd and laid it Waste so that about the Year 867 it grew so extreamly weak through the grievous Oppression of the Danes that Osbright and Ella broke easily through the Walls thereof and encountring there the Danes were both slain in the Battel the Danes remaining Masters of the City saith the Saxon Chronicle tho they lost it at last to Athelstan in the year 928. Nor found it kinder Usage from the merciless Normans who treated it no better than its former Enemies had done so that even till after King Stephen's Days there was little left in it by reason of so many Calamities that befel it but a small poor shadow of a great Name but at last after sundry bitter Blasts and troublesom Storms which had grievously shaken and afflicted it a sweet gale of peaceful Days began to refresh and enliven it and in the space of a few Years it hereby became a Wonder to it self and a Miracle to others by reason of its prosperous Condition and ever since it hath increased in Honour and Wealth in Grandeur and Power till at last it attained to that height of Greatness in which it is now established We diverted our selves for some Days in this City where during our abode we had the Honour to be invited to the Lord Mayors House who treated us with all the Civility imaginable where I cannot omit to observe by the way that there are no Gentlemen more affable and Courteous more Hospitable and Generous more Obliging in their deportment and hearty in their entertainments to all Strangers and foreigners than the generality of the Gentry who are every where dispersed through these Northen Climates The great satisfaction we met withal here made us hope for no less in the rest of our Northern travels and giving us encouragement for a further Progress Malton we set forward from York to Malton a Market Town notable for the great resort of Jockeys who flock thither in abundance to the Fair that is held there every Year for Horses 't is watred by the River Rhie and well frequented for Corn Fish and Instruments of Husbandry and here are still to be seen the ruines of an old Castle belonging formerly to the Vrscies who were ancient Barons in these Parts and in the Reign of King Stephen here was built by Eustace a Gilbertine Priory dedicated to the Honour of the Blessed Virgin From hence we steered towards the Sea Coast and came to Scarborough Scarborough a Town very eminent for its Spaw-water and Castle where Pierce Gavaston the great favourite of King Edward the Second was placed by the King to secure him from the Barons whom he had so extreamly incensed from which notwithstanding he was by force drawn away and immediately beheaded by their Command and Order The Castle is Situated upon a Rock of a wonderful height and bigness which by reason of its steep and craggy Cliffs is almost inaccessible extending it self into the Sea wherewith it is encompassed excepting on that Side which opens to the West on the top it hath a very fair green and large Plain containing diverse Acres of Ground with three fresh Springs one of which comes out of a Rock and a Mill to grind Corn in case of a Siege in the strait passage which leads up to it stands a high Tower and beneath the said Passage stands the Town spreading two sides North and South but the fore-part Westward which is fenced on the front with a Wall of its own on the East fortified by the Castle wherein a Garrison is kept and on both sides watered by the Sea The Town is not very large but conveniently built of Stone and Slate and well inhabited and stands bending upon the Brow of the Hill and served for a Landmark to Ships off at Sea till it was so much defaced in the late Civil Wars It has a commodious Key and enjoys a pretty good Trade About half a Mile from the Town near to the Sea is the Spring which they call the Spaw The Spaw of a very Medicinal and purgative Nature what are the particular qualities and Mineral principles of this Well I leave to Physicians * See Dr. Simpson on this Subject and Naturalists to discuss but sure I am but the effects of this Water have been strange and wonderful and many Persons who in the Summer time resort hither to Drink it do find great benefit and advantage by it From hence the Shore indented and interlaced with Rocks bendeth in as far as the River Teese and by a large compass which it fetcheth there is made a Bay about a Mile broad which from the Famous Outlaw Robin-Hood is called Robin-Hoods Bay Robin-Hoods Bay Here is a small Village but the most celebrated for the Fishing Trade In all these parts for here are caught great quantities of all sorts of Fish in their Seasons which not only supply York but all the adjacent Country and hard by the Shore is a little Hully as they call it which is much like a great Chest bored full of Holes to let in the Sea which at high Water always overflows it where are kept vast quantities of Crabbs and Lobsters which they put in and take out again all the Season according to the quickness or slowness of their Markets Here and all along this Coast are great plenty of Herrings which coming hither in Shoals out of the Northen Seas the beginning of August are caught until November not only by our own Fishermen but by Dutchmen too Afterward they disperse themselves into the British Sea where they continue till Christmas and then betake themselves to the Irish Coast and
thing else contained therein by whom the Cathedral was built on the Elwy whence the Town is called Land Elwy by the Welsh and the Bishop Elwensis in the ancient Latin After that he returned into Scotland he deputed Asaph a Religious and Devout Man to succeed him in the Bishoprick from whom the Place received its Denomination But most remarkable is this County for a little Village called Holy-Well so famous for the strange Cures which have been wrought as is supposed by the Virtue and Intercession of St. Winifrid Holy-Well or St. Winefred 's Well who is the grand Patroness thereof The Water hereof is extreme cold and hath so great a Stream that flows from it that it is presently able to drive a Mill the Stones which are at the bottom being of a sanguine Colour are believed to have received that rubicund Tincture from the drops of Blood which trickled down this holy Virgin 's Body when she was here Beheaded by the Bloody Tyrant that would have ravished her and the Moss which grows upon the sides and bears a very fragrant smell is averred to have been the product of her Hair tho' I find by some we brought away with us that in process of time it looseth all its sweetness Over the Well stands a Chappel dedicated to her built of Stone after a curious manner to which formerly was much resorting by Pilgrims who came hither out of a blind Devotion and the generality of the Commonalty hereabouts who are too much addicted to Popish Superstition are so extremely credulous to believe the Legend of this Martyr'd Virgin and the great Miracle that was wrought by St. Benno who restored her to Life again as they say by clapping on her Head immediately after it was cut off upon her Shoulders that we happening to smile at this fabulous Relation which we had from an old Romish Zealot who gave his Attendance it seeming indeed as ridiculous to us as the Story of Garagantua or the Wandring Jew he presently observed us and replied That he supposed we e'er long would not believe the very Scriptures to be true as if the Holy and undoubted Oracles of God had now no more certain and infallible grounds of Veracity to enforce an assent to the Credibility thereof than such idle and extravagant Fables as these which have only been the Chymical Extracts of some Enthusiastick hot-brained Monks dress'd up finely with some outward shews of probability to cheat the Vulgar into a belief hereof At this place we met divers Persons of as different Qualities as Designs some came hither for the good of their Bodies and others as they hoped for the benefit of their Souls some we saw kneeling about the Well mumbling over their Beads with such profound Murmurs as the Conjurers did of old who used to invocate old Hecate's Assistance and kissing the Stones on which they kneeled with as great Reverence as if the sacred Feet of St. Winefrid or the Pope's Toe had been there present before others were crossing themselves from Head to Foot with the Holy Water in which they bathed supposing it as effectual to drive away all Evil Spirits from their Bodies as the Spaniard did in Flanders who seeing a Demoniack exorcised who looking earnestly upon him a thing which he had never seen before and being told that the Devil when dispossessed of his former hold had a very great mind to enter into his Posteriors leaps up immediately and clapp'd his Back-side into a Basin of Holy Water by that means hoping to keep it free from that Black intending Inmate Others were gathering up the bloody Stones and picking up the sweet Moss from the sides of the Well which Holy Reliques they resolved to treasure up as carefully as the Nuns in Britany did the Bones of the Eleven hundred Martyr'd Virgins And in fine others went in purely for their Pleasure and Diversion to cleanse and purifie themselves from bodily Pollutions reserving their Souls for other kind of Lustrations more suitable and congruous to their Divine Nature Amongst these Persons we passed away some days in which time by conversing with the Welsh we gathered up from them again an account of some Curiosities in these Northern Counties which we had not then time enough personally to survey which I shall next decypher with as much brevity as I can Montgomeryshire is a mountainous Country Montgomeryshire and yet very fruitful because well irrigated but in nothing more observable than for its excellent Breed of Horses which are of most excellent Shapes strong Limbs and very swift The Hill Plim-limmon raiseth it self up to a wonderful height The Hill Plim-limmon and on that part where it boundeth on this Shire it poureth forth the Severne the greatest River in Britain next the Thames as likewise in the other Parts of it riseth the River Wye and the River Rideal The Hill Cerdon Upon Cerdon-Hill are placed certain Stones in a round Circle like a Coronet in all probability to commemorate some notable Victory Merionethshire Merionethshire may have a wholesom Air but is very barren and exceeding full of spir'd Hills and good for little but Cattel It was not conquered by the English till the Reign of Edward the First A. D. 1283. And in the Reign of Henry the IVth Owen Glendover having drawn this and all Wales into a Combination against that Prince endangered the loss of the whole but that he had to do with too Martial a Prince The Pool near Bala Near Bala is a great Pool of Water that drowns at least 200 Acres of Ground whose Nature is such as they say that the High-land Floods cannot make this Pool swell bigger tho' never so great but if the Air be troubled with violent Tempests of Wind it riseth above the Banks the River Dee runneth into this Pool with a swift Stream and glides through it without mixture of Water for in this Pool is bred the Fish called Juiniad which is never seen in the Dee and in Dee Salmons are taken which are never found in the Pool Upon the Sea Coasts of this County great store of Herrings are taken at time of Year and upon the West side of it the Sea beats so sore and hard that it is thought it hath carried away part of it Anglesey Anglesey is a considerable Island in the North-West part of Wales parted from the Continent by a narrow Arm of the Sea named the Menay The Welsh call this Island Mon or Tie-Mon but since Edward the First conquered it from Llewellen King or Prince of North-Wales it got the Name of Anglesey that is the English Island 'T is in length about Twenty Miles though in breadth scarce Seventeen and herein are frequently found and digged up in the low Grounds Bodies of huge Trees with their Roots and Fir-Trees of a wonderful bigness and length which Trees some believe were cut down by the Romans so that it appears this Island was in
return into England sickned and dyed here July the 6th A. D. 1325 so likewise that this Town gave Birth to some Persons of the worthy Family of the Harveys especially to that Noble 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the great Father of Phisitians the Learned Dr. Harvey who made the first discovery of the Circulation of the Blood by the munificence of which charitable Fratermity was erected a Free-School to the great benefit of the Town to which is allotted a very handsome allowance as also a comfortable Pension to be annually distributed amongst the poor of the Parish and to the end that all things may be fully Executed according to the first Charitable design there are appointed diverse Feoffees in trust to supervise herein who are Men of the best Condition and quality in that part of the County Near this Town upon the Cliffs we met with some Stones of diverse Shapes and Figures very strange and wonderful some resemble a Muscle but are a great deal bigger than they others were like a Kernel of an Almond large and somwhat roundish which are Streaked and crankled like a Cockle-shell but of a more dusky colour others we found somewhat bigger than a Hazlenut and some much less which are like a Cockle too but are as smooth and as black as Jet some we discovered which were wreath'd and intorted like Screws of smaller and larger dimensions others which resemble Cock-spurs being sharp at the end and in every respect shaped like unto them but as smooth and of the same colour with our ordinary Flint-stone others which are form'd like Quills cleer as Amber some we observed whose lower parts seem to be effigiated into diverse little Feet bearing a resemblance to those that are visible in some little creeping insects others altogether resemble Snakes * See Mr John Ray Fellow of the Royal Society concerning Serpent Stones and Petrified Shells P. 113.114 c. of his Topographical observations Printed 1673. with Heads which the VVhitbay Stones are without having a perfect Spina running as it were all along their Back from Head to Tail with little ridges like Ribs on both sides in the form almost of a Roman S. Now tho' the solidity of all these Stones without any Cavity which is visible amongst them may be sufficient to convince any Man that they are by no means petrifications but natural and such as they were always from the Creation though how they came to put on such strange and uncommon Figures is a secret not to be unravelled yet certainly since there are diverse real and natural Shells of Fishes too which are to be found upon these Cliffs as likewise have been gathered upon Mountains particularly in Richmondshire before mentioned far enough remote from the Sea of diverse magnitudes shapes and colours sure in all probability the latter must needs have been left there upon the ebb of the Deluge since otherwise there can hardly be any other satisfactory account given how such Shells should happen to be carried to such Mountainous places From Folk-stone for five or six Miles together is a continued Chain of chalky Hills standing in a row hanging jointly one to another about the middle whereof is a Catarackt of Water which coming a great way as is supposed under Ground and falling down from the Cliffs speeds away to Sea going usually by the name of Lyddals Spout and along these Cliffs grow abundance of that excellent sallad Lydal Spout which they call Samphire These Cliffs I say continue without the least interruption till they are parted by Dover which is seated betwixt two high Cliffs Dover lying opposite to each other on the one whereof stands the Castle a place formerly of that strength and importance that it is Styled by Antiquaries the Key and Lock the Bar and Spar of England and was ever reputed so mightily conducive to the facilitating the Conquest of this Nation by getting it into Possession that Philip King of France told his Son Lewis that notwithstanding he had obtained many signal Victories in this Island and won several Forts and strong holds therein yet he had not one Foot in England till he was Master of Dover Castle Which though some are of Opinion was founded by Arviragus a King of the Britains yet Mr. Somner is very possitive against those who would have it built by Julius Caesar whose abode in Britain was too short for so vast an undertaking however whether the ancient Church belonging to this Castle was built by Lucius our first Christian King or not Mr. Somner is again pretty well assured that as here was formerly placed a Roman Garrison so the Square Tower in the middle between the Body and the Chancel fitted with holes on all parts for speculation was formerly a Roman Specula or Watch-Tower and he farther observes out of Tuine that that which at this Day they call the Devils Drop being a mouldring ruinous heap of Masonrey on the opposite Hill on the other side of the Town was the remains of a Roman Pharos or Structure of theirs intended for the placing of Night lights to secure their Passage otherwise very perillous who should put into this Port by Night On this Hill in a Tenterected for that purpose was that Noble Ceremony performed of Inaugurating the Right Honourable Henry Earl of Romney into that great and Weighty Office of Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque-Ports June 1. 1694 being there waited upon by the Barons Mayors Baliffs and Jurats of the Cinque-Ports two ancient Towns and their Members with diverse other Persons of great Quality who attended that Solemnity Below the Castle is placed a strong Fort and on the other Cliff opposite to it is erected another both which Block-Houses are for the defence of the Haven or Peer which of late Years hath been almost choaked and quite Stopped up by a huge quantity of Beach thrown into it by the Sea however by reason of a ready and speedy passage to Callice in France to which some will fain have England to have been formerly united by an Isthmus there is daily in times of peace a great concourse of Foreigners who frequent it The Town being one of the Cinque-Ports of which Folk-stone is a Limb and governed by a Mayor and Jurats is of a good large extent being above a Mile in length from * Artclff Fort. Artcliff Fort to the farther end of Bigginstreet but 't is nothing so Populous nor so well Inhabited as formerly 't is adorned with two Churches and a commodious Market place which is well replenished every Saturday with all necessary Provision of which there is brought great supplies constantly out of the Country and for the Victualling the Kings Ships there is a large Store-House from whence Provisions are conveyed to the Navy But I must not omit farther to observe that in this Town was formerly a House belonging to that ancient order of the Knights Templars wherein was Sealed the submission
of the Door and to my best Remembrance there are one or two Places open upward in the Roof of the passage from whence it is the Opinion of Mr. Childrey in his Britannia Baconica when he has occasion to speak of this Place that the Chapel standing so in the middle much conduceth to the conveying of the Sound so entirely which is helped by the open places of the Roof before-mentioned for they help to draw in the Voice which else would not so well enter into that narrow Passage but reverberate back into that broad open place before the Whispering Entry and the Reason upon which he grounds his Opinion that the Chapel doth a great part of the Work is this Because saith he we see in Viols Lutes and other Musical Instruments there are Holes cut into the Belly of the Instrument just under the playing or striking place which we find by Experience do much augment the Noise of the Notes and make them more Audible But this being only a Conjecture I shall leave it to be further discuss'd by those who delight in such kind of Speculation and proceed to Lassington Astroites at Lassington a little Village near Gloucester where are found many Astroites or Star-stones being about the breadth of a silver Penny but the thickness of half a Crown flat and pointed like a Star or Mullet in Heraldry only the Points of them are not sharp but a little roundish and of a greyish Colour and on both sides curiously graved as it were by Art as if there were a little Mullet within the great one Being put into Vinegar they have a Motion like the Astroites in Germany which the Learned Cambden speaks of and are more fully described by Mr. Childrey in his Natural Rarities of Gloucestershire Having diverted our selves at Gloucester we steer'd our Course for Tewksbury Tewksbury a Market-Town of a great Trade for Cloth Mustard-Seed but more especially for Stockings of which the Townsmen every Saturday buy great Quantities from the Neighbouring Inhabitants 'T is situated among three pleasant Rivers Severn on the one side enricheth it and on the other Avon and another small Rivolet which comes from the East over each whereof stand Bridges which give Entrance into it By the Saxons it was call'd Throâ—â— â—uria from a Religious Man named Throcus who led here an Hermite's Life and hath been reputed famous for a Monastery founded by Odo and Dodo two Saxon Noble Men which was afterward much enlarged by the Earls of Gloucester who lived at Homes-Castle near to this place Homes Castle and were generally here Interred Nor is it of less Fame for the Memorable Battle fought here in 1471 between the House of York and Lancaster which bloody day decided for that time that great Controversie and left the Crown to the former In the Reign of King Henry III. there is a Story Recorded of a Jew that lived in this Town how that falling into a Jakes or Privy on the Jewish Sabbath or Saturday would by no means out of Reverence to that Day suffer any one to come and rescue him out of that Noisome place whereupon Richard then Earl of Gloucester having some Intelligence of his refractary Sullenness gave a strict charge that no one should dare to take him out on the Sunday for the Reverence of that Day and so the poor Circumcised Wretch perished in that loathsome Dungeon through his own Folly Our abode at this place was but short for we hasted into the Confines of Worcestershire Worcestershire which we found a very healthful and plentiful Country In one part it is of Note for its Cheese in most for its Perry which is a very pleasant Liquor made of the Juice of Pears growing here in abundance in the Hedges 't is likewise full of Salt-Pits and hath formerly been admired for abundance of Salt-Springs which have been very oft discovered in this County But that which makes it most Renown'd is the River Severn which Streams along the Country which as also the River Avon is well replenished with divers sorts of Fish but more particularly seem'd to be design'd on purpose by Nature as Stews and Ponds for the Preservation of Lampreys a Fish of great esteem in that County and sent far and near as a very great Present throughout divers parts of England they are called Lampreys from the Latin word Lampetra as if they had their Denomination from licking of Rocks they are like Eels slippery and blackish however on their Bellies they are of a blewish colour in the Spring they are most wholsom and sweet for in the Summer the inner Nerve which is to them instead of a Backbone waxeth too hard for Concoction Naturalists observe that these Fish receive and let in Water at seven Holes for that they have no Gills which are any way visible the Romans always thought this a very noble Dish and when any Person of Quality desired a sumptuous Feast he would be sure to be provided with these and the Italians at this day are very much delighted with them and consequently by their Cookery make them exceeding delicate to the Taste for they take a Lamprey and killing it in Malmsey close the Mouth with a Nutmeg and fill all the Holes with as many Cloves then they roll it up and put Filberd Nut-Kernels stamp'd crums of Bread Oyl Malmsey and Spices to it and so they boil it with great care and then turn it over a soft gentle Fire of Coals in a Frying-pan The first place we came to which was Remarkable in this County was Worcester it self Worcester where the River Severn which in other parts of the County runs along in a swift Current glides on here more softly with a gentle Stream admiring as it were this City This City was called by the Britains Kaerkorangon Rudborn as it passeth by which is famous both for its Antiquity and Beauty 'T is supposed that the Romans built it at that time when they first planted Cities on the Easternside of the Severn to hinder the Incursion of the Britaine who were on the other side as they did on the Southside of the Rhine to repress the Germans 'T is situated partly upon the Brow of a Hill rising with a gentle Ascent and hath a very fair Bridge over the River and is of great Repute for its Manufacture of Cloth by which the Inhabitants become Wealthy and Creditable The Houses are neat and well built the Streets clean and well paved the Churches in number many in Order and Beauty excellent especially the Cathedral in which are divers small Pillars all of pure Marble which stand in Rows and do uphold that vast Bulk and Fabrick somewhat strange to see the Body larger than the Supporters and that so small Props should be able to bear up so great a Weight This Church say some Historians was first built by Ethelred King of the Mercians tho' others by Bishop Sexwolph * Bosel
most admirable Rarities and refreshed our selves a while after some few troublesom Fatigues we mounted again and made the best of our way thro' Ashbourn Ashbourn another Market-Town of a considerable Trade to Vtcester or Vtoxeter Utcester which being within the Limits of Staffordshire is situated upon the River Dove amongst verdant Meadows and consequently rich in Pasture and Castle Historians tell us that Vlferus King of Mercia residing at his Castle of Vlfercester contractly Vlcester and understanding that his Son Vlfade had carried his Brother Ruffus under a pretended colour of Hunting to St. Chad a famous Father of the Church in those days and that they were both instructed and baptized into the Christian Faith by the persuasion of Werebode a great Favourite of his goes immediately to the Oratory of this Holy Man where finding both his Sons in a devout Contemplation he kills them immediately with his own Hand whereupon Ermenhelde his Queen and their Mother entombed them in a Sepulchre of Stone and in process of time caused a Church of Stone to be erected over them which place was afterward called Stones by reason of the many Stones that were brought hither by devout People in order for this sacred Structure After this Vlfer being extreamly dissatisfied with this inhumane Action and repenting heartily for his barbarous Butchery did himself turn Christian and to shew his Zeal for the Christian Cause destroyed the Pagan Temples burnt their Idols and erected divers Churches and Religious Houses in their stead As we travelled along we found this County of a healthy Air and pleasant Soil Staffordshire though Northward it appears more hilly and barren in some parts it is full of Woods in others it abounds with Coal and Iron and so great was formerly the number of Parks and Warrens here that most Gentlemens Seats were accommodated with both It s principal Rivers are the Dove which so enricheth the Ground that the adjacent Meadows are noted for yielding as some will have it the sweetest Mutton in England and the famous Trent which runs along thro' the middle of the County being commonly reputed the third River in England receives its Denomination either say some because there are Thirty Rivolets which run into it or Thirty sorts of Fish that swim within its Streams nay others go so far as positively to assert what the Hungarians do of their River Tibiscus that two Parts are Water and the third Fish Stafford Stafford is about ten Miles from Vtcester of great Antiquity and hath gone under divers Names it was at first built by Edward the Senior under the name of Betheny where one Berteline that was afterward Canoniz'd for a Saint for his great Piety led an Hermites Life afterward Statford and now Stafford The noble Lady Elfleda Wife to Ethelred Duke of Mercia was very liberal in her Contributions in order to its Repairs as she was likewise to divers other eminent Cities who had suffered by the Danes 'T is situated in a fair Soil and a sweet Air on the Banks of the River Sowe with a Bridge over it 't is adorn'd with two Churches one whereof is very large and spacious and a Free-School beautified with a large and uniform Market-Place in which is a House where the Assizes are held for the County the Streets are clean and well paved the Buildings of Stone and Slate and some of the Structures are very modish and beautiful King John made it a Corporation and Edward the Sixth confirmed and enlarged the Charter Here was a Priory of Black Canons built by Rich. Peche Bishop of Coventry and Litchfield A. D. 1162. to the Memory of St. Thomas of Canterbury and a College of a Dean and Canons dedicated to St. Mary and not far from hence are to be seen the Ruins of an ancient Castle belonging heretofore to the Barons of Stafford but in our late unhappy Broils it underwent the same Fate which divers other Castles did then undergo Whilst we were resident in this place we had some notice that the great Asylum which preserved his Sacred Majesty King Charles Second was not far from this place whereupon being then a little impatient to behold that unparallell'd Sanctuary we went from hence to Long Birch Long-Birch a pleasant Seat situate about eight or nine Miles from Stafford and as then finding no convenient Opportunity to finish some particular Business which we had there to dispatch we rode on till we came at last to that noted Wood where that famous Oak stood in which his Majesty was preserved The Royal Oak we found it paled in with high Pales which were beset with Spikes of Iron to keep off all Sons of Violence from offering it any harm 'T is true a little before his Majesty's Restauration the whole Wood being felled the top of this with the upper Branches were all then lopt off but the Body of it did then remain very firm and entire and was ordered to be preserved to future Generations Not far from that Wood stands a House called the White Lady's The White Lady 's belonging to the Penderels who though but at first of a mean Extraction and Fortune yet could never be bribed to betray their Sovereign who for some time lay thereabouts concealed amongst them And indeed all things did so strangely concur to his Majesty's Protection that Providence seem'd to have laid a golden Link of Causes on purpose to be instrumental to his glorious Preservation thus tho the Oak stood by the common High-way which led through the Wood and the bloody Sons of Mars rode under the very Boughs of it whilst the King was there present though the Persons who at first had provided him that Sanctuary being poor and indigent might have been wrought upon to betray their Trust and rather balanced that way by the great Rewards that were then promised and Majesty being then at a very low Ebb a Royal Assurance of some future remembrance might have then passed for a very unsuitable and insignificant Obligation to Fidelity and though those grand Secrets being committed to some of the other Sex might have been in danger to have slipped thro' such chinky crannies yet all went well not the least discovery was made of any thing and impartial Justice and Loyal Piety did never more visibly appear in the Cottages of the Country than when Rural Swains became Protectors of their injured Sovereign and Majesty was shrouded safely under a Peasant's Weeds We retired from hence to a Village called Tonge Tonge about 3 Miles farther within the Limits of Shropshire which receives its Name from an old ruinated Castle belonging to the Family of the Pierpoints * Isabel the Wife of Fulk Penbridge Kt. Founded here a Collegiate Church and dedicated it to St. Bartholomew A. D 1131. where finding but little to divert us save what the Church afforded us with its Ring of tunable Bells one whereof is of very large size and near
Descent of the Holy Ghost with the perfect Figures and Resemblances of our Lord's Crucifixion and Resurrection and divers other Circumstances that attended him both at his Nativity and Passion And for the Encouragement of Piety and Learning every Sunday Morning throughout the Year there is a Sermon preached by such Ministers as the Bishop shall appoint to each of which is presented Twenty Shillings left as a Legacy to the Church for this Religious purpose by one who had formerly been Mayor of this City But before I leave this place as the Duke of Norfolk's Palace adorned with curious Granaries and a large and spacious Bowling-Alley so the Mount on the East-side of the City called Ket's-Castle must not be passed by in silence for it was the Harbour and Nest of Ket a Tanner of Windham that notorious Ring-leader of Rebellion in King Edward the Sixth's Days who with no less Violence assaulting the City than afflicting the Citizens did at last receive the just Reward of his Rebellion when all the Seditious Rabble being persuaded to desert him he was hanged up in Chains on the Top of Norwich Castle After some few Days abode in this City we travelled on to a little Village called Tettles-Hall Tettles-Hall in the Parish Church whereof is erected a stately Monument of Marble in Honour to Sir Edward Cook that most famous Lawyer of his time on the top are placed his Coat of Arms with the four Cardinal Virtues to support them at each corner his Effigies is of Marble laid out in full length above which this Motto is engraved Prudens qui Patiens and underneath in Golden Characters this following Inscription The Monument of Sir Edward Cook Knight born at Mileham in Norfolk Recorder of Norwich and London Sollicitor to Queen Elizabeth and Speaker to the Parliament afterward Attorney-General to Her and King James Chief Justice of both Benches a Privy-Counsellor as also of Council to Queen Ann and Chief Justice in Eyre of all her Forests Chases and Parks Recorder of Coventry and High-Steward of Cambridge of which he was a Member in Trinity-College He died in the Eighty-third year of his Age his last Words being these Thy Kingdom come thy will be done His Epitaph this Deo Optimo Maximo Hae exuviae humanae exspectant Resurrectionem Piorum Hic situs est Non perituri Nominis Edvardus Cooke Eques Auratus Legum anima interpres Oraculum non dubium Arcanorum Promicondus Mysteriorum Cujus fere unius beneficio Jurisperiti nostri sunt Jurisperiti Eloquentiae flumen torrens fulmen Suadae Sacerdos Vnicus Divinus Heros Pro rostris ita dixit Vt literis insudasse crederes non nisi humanis Ita vixit ut non nisi divinis Sacerrimus integrae pietatis Indagator Integritas ipsa Verae semper caussae constantissimus assertor Nec favore nec muncribus violandus Eximic misericors Charior erat huic Reus quam sibi Miraculi instar est Sicculus saepe ille audiit sententiam in se prolatam Nunquam hic nisi madidoculus protulit Scientiae Oceanus Quique dum vixit Bibliotheca viva Mortuus dici meruit Bibliothecae Parens Duodecim Liberorum Tredecim Librorum Pater Facescant hinc Monumenta Facessant Marmora Nisi quod pios fuisse denotarunt posteros Ipse sibi suum est Monumentum Marmore perennius Ipse sibi sua est Aeternitas Next to Sir Edward stands likewise a Marble Monument of his first Wife Bridget Daughter of John Paston Esq with Eight of her Children six Sons and two Daughters his second Wife was the Lady Elizabeth Daughter to Thomas Earl of Exeter by whom he had only two Daughters Having given a solemn Vale to this great Man's Tomb Lyn. we took up our next Quarters at Lyn which though but of a late being having received its Original from Old Lyn which is seated in the Marsh-Land and is opposite against it yet it is grown of far greater request for the commodiousness of its Haven and safe Harbour cause a great resort of Mariners to frequent it and the Vessels which coming loaded with Coals from Newcastle do lighten here their Burdens and are conveyed up the River by Lighters and Barges drawn along by Horses into divers parts of the adjacent Counties 'T is a large Town surrounded with a deep Trench and for the most part Walled the Streets are well paved and kept clean and 't is divided by two small Rivers over which there are Fifteen Bridges It is called Old Lyn and Linnum Regis i. e. King 's Lyn though before the Reign of Henry the Eighth it was called Bishop's Lyn because the Ground it stands upon belonged to the Bishops of Norwich There are five Churches with a Free-School to adorn it the chief of which is a curious Fabrick dedicated to St. Margaret upon the top of which stands a large and stately Lanthorn very admirable for its rare Workmanship and here is once a Year about February held a great Mart for all sorts of Commodities by which no small Benefit accrues to it The Town is governed by a Mayor and Aldermen who have received great Favours and Privileges from their Sovereigns but their chief and most munificent Benefactor was King John who for the good Service they had done him in the defence of his Quarrel not only presented them with his own Sword from his side which is continually carried before the Mayor whenever he pleaseth to appear in State but likewise gave them a great Silver Cup gilt for the use of the Corporation which because they shew as a main Badge and Cognizance of Royal Favour to all Strangers and Foreigners of any Note or Repute they seldom produce it unless filled with Wine to drink His Majesty's and Mr. Mayor's Healths for which there is a generous Allowance proportioned by the Town We rested here one Night but the next Day being summoned away by the Tide whose Motions we were enforced to wait on and observe we Ferried over into Mersh-Land and posted away for the Washes through which we were to pass into the Frontiers of Lincolnshire The Washes The Washes are called by Ptolemy Metaris Aestuarium being a very large Arm which every Tide and high Sea covers over with Water but when the Sea Ebbs and the Tide is gone 't is as easie to pass over them as upon dry Ground though not without some danger for Strangers who are unacquainted with their Tracts and Channels which King John found true by woful Experience for whilst for the more speed he journeyed this way when he was engaged in the War against the disaffected Barons his Men not aware of such Irruptions the Waters unexspectedly broke in upon them by which means he lost all his Carriage and Furniture Hereupon to prevent all such unwelcom Dangers we hired a Guide to ride before us by whose conduct we nimbly tripped over those dangerous Plains and arrived safe at last out of these troublesom Territories of
after they have coasted round about Britain away they hie into the Northern Ocean as to their own proper home where having setled and rested themselves a while till June they cast their Spawn and bring forth a young Frie and then return hither in innumerable companies and so march constantly about these Islands The great quantity of Fish which is here taken causeth as great a cheapness throughout all the neighbourhood and indeed we found every thing so plentiful and cheap in these parts that a five Shillings Ordinary in many other places of England would hardly produce what Sixpence or to be sure Twelvepence would here Four Miles further lies Whitbay Whitbay called by the Saxons of old Streaneshalh and Streonesheal which probably might be taken as the Learned Mr. Gibson observes in his Glossary from the Saxon word Heale which Signifies a Palace or Hall It was formerly remarkable for a Monastery founded by St. Hilda about A. D. 650 who died here in the Year 680. It was destroyed by the Danes but reedified for Benedictine Monks by William de Percy to the Honour of St. Peter and St. Hilda A. D. 1067. The Town has a convenient Harbour that can receive Ships of considerable Burdens and is famous for some Stones scattered here and there so atificially and yet naturally round that one would think they had been turned into Shot for small Ordnance which take and break by heating them red hot in the Fire and then quenching them with cold Water and when the crust is fallen off you will find Stones wrapped and folded up together in a Wreath looking just like Snakes or Serpents Nature as one speaks disporting her self with the production of such Phenomena and being wearied with more serious Works shapes and forms such things by way of Sport and Recreation We were presented with several of divers dimensions and one might be apt to think they were little petrified Snakes only they are headless and are covered over some of them with a bright shining Coat though others again appear of a more dark and dusky Colour But it would argue great credulity and Surperstitious to attribute their Transformations to the Prayers of St. Hilda as it would be Folly or Levity to ascribe to her Holiness the sudden and immature Death of certain Wild geese which in the Winter when they change their Air and seek out for fresh Rivers that are not frozen in the Southern Parts by flying over some certain Fields adjoyning to this place as is reported suddenly fall down dead to the Ground whereas this may be caus'd by some malignant Vapours arising from this Soil which become very noxious and destructive to them Not far from Whitbay stands a little Village by the Sea side called Leith Leith very Famous for some Alum Mines Alum Mines which belong to the Earl of Mulgrave now Marquess of Normanby Here are abundance of Labourers employed in this Service to dig and hew this out of a high Rock which hangs over into the Sea this Mineral is of the colour of Slate of which when they have got a good quantity together they burn it as we do Lime till it changeth to a more ruddy Colour afterward they steep it in pits of Water which are digg'd for that purpose and when it hath lain there as many Hours as is convenient they convey it away in certain Pipes laid along the Ground to a House below the Rock where it is afterward boil'd and clarified as we find it the Charge is great and the Trouble unspeakable before it can be purified or refin'd as it ought but the great Revenues and Profits that do amount from it sufficiently countervail all Expences and other inconveniencies that attend it From hence all along the Shore Other Rarities on this Shore by Mulgrave-Castle are dispersed other strange and wonderful Varieties for by Mulgrave-Castle is often found Jet and upon the same Shore are discovered Stones some yellow some reddish some with a rough cast crust over them of a Salt Nature which by their smell and taste make a shew of Copperas Nitre and Brimstone and not far from Huntcliff appear certain Rocks Huntcliff about which the seal-Seal-fishes meet together to sleep and sun themselves and upon that Rock which is next the Shore one of the Seals lies to keep Sentry and as any man approacheth he either throws down a large Stone or tumbles himself into the Water with a great noise as a signal for all the rest to wake and get into the Water they are not afraid of Women but only Men and therefore they that do catch them commonly put on Woman's apparel and they say that when they are chased by Men if they be destitute of Water they will with their hind Feet fling back a cloud of Sand and Gravel in the Faces and Eyes of the pursuers yea and many times drive them away making them by this means weary of their designs But we hastned from hence to Gisborough Gisborough which stands very high about four Miles from the Mouth of the River Tees this is now a small Market Town but when it appeared in its flourishing Condition it was very renowned for a Priory of Black Canons built here to the Honour of the Blessed Virgin about the Year 1119 by Robert de Bruce Lord of the place and that it was the common burying Spot of all the Nobility and Gentry of this tract 'T is much commended for a sweet pleasant and healthful place the Land about it is very fertile and as is reported beareth Flowers the greatest part of the Year It abounds with Veins of Metal and Alum Earth of sundry colours and with some Iron some of these Veins of Earth Sir Thomas Chaloner Tutor to Prince Henry first discovered by observing that the Oaks thereabouts had their Roots spreading Broad but very shallow within the Earth which had much strength but small store of Sap and that the Earth standing upon Clay and being of divers colours whitish yellowish and blue was never frozen and in a clear Night glistered in the Paths like Glass Roseberry-Topping or Ounsberry-Hill Not far from this Town is Ounsberry-Hill or Roseberry-Topping which mounts aloft and makes a great shew at a distance serving unto Sailors for a mark of Direction and to the Neighbour Inhabitants for a Prognostication for as often as the Head of it hath its cloudy Cap on there commonly follows Rain whereupon they have a Proverbial Rhyme When Roseberry-Topping wears a Cap. Let Cleveland then beware a Clap. Near to the top of it out of a huge Rock there flows a Spring of Water Medicinable for diseased Eyes and from thence there is a most delightful Prospect upon the Valleys below to the Hills above green Meadows delightful Pastures fruitful Corn-Fields Rivolets stored with Fish the River Tees Mouth full of Roads and Harbours the Ground plain and open without danger of Inundations and into the Sea where
on the West side serveth the River Levin on the South Clyde and on the East a boggy Flat which on every side is wholly covered over with Water and on the North side the very upright steepness of the place is a sufficient Defence to it Directly under the Castle at the Mouth of the River Clyde as it enters into the Sea there are a number of Clayk Geese so called black of colour which in the night time do gather great quantity of the crops of Grass growing upon the Land and carry the same to the Sea then assembling in a round with a great curiosity do offer every one his Portion to the Sea Flood and there attend upon the flowing of the Tide till the Grass be purified from the fresh tast and turned to the salt and lest any part of it should escape they hold it in with their Bills after this they orderly every Fowl eat their own Portion and this Custom they observe perpetually Universities The Universities are four in number St. Andrews Aberdeen Glasgow and Edinburgh from which every Year there is a fresh supply of learned Persons fit for publick Employments and Dignities in Church and State St. Andrews St. Andrews was Founded by Bishop Henry Wardlaw A. D. 1412. and is endowed with very ample Privileges the Arch-Bishops of St. Andrews were perpetual Chancellors thereof The Rector is chosen Yearly and by the Statutes of the University he ought to be one of the three Principals his power is the same with that of the Vice-Chancellor of Cambrige or Oxford There are in this University three Colleges St. Salvator's St. Leonard's and New-College St. Salvator's College was founded by James Kennedy Bishop of St. Andrews he built the Edifice furnished it with costly Ornaments and provided sufficient Revenues for the Maintenance of the Masters Persons endowed at the Foundation were a Doctor a Batchellor a Licentiate of Divinity four Professors of Philosophy who are called Regents and eight poor Scholars called Bursars St. Leonard's College was Founded by John Hepburne Prior of St. Andrew's 1520 Persons endowed are a Principal or Warden four Professors of Philosophy eight poor Scholars New-College was Founded by James Beaton Arch-Bishop A. D. 1530 The Professors and Scholars endowed are of Divinity for no Philosophy is taught in this College Aberdeen In the Reign of King Alexander the Second A. D. 121. there was a Studium Generale in Collegio Canonicorum where there were Professors and Doctors of Divinity and of the Canon and Civil Laws and many Learned Men have flourished therein King James the Fourth and William Elphinstown Bishop of Aberdeen procured from Pope Alexander the Sixth the Privileges of an University in Aberdeen 1494. It is endowed with as ample Privileges as any University in Christendom and particularly the Foundation relates to the Privileges of Paris and Bononia but hath no reference to Oxford or Cambrige because of the Wars between England and Scotland at that time the Privileges were afterward confirmed by Pope Julius the Second Clement the Seventh Leo the Tenth and Paul the Second and by the Successors of King James the Fourth The Bishop of Aberdeen is perpetual Chancellor of the University and hath power to visit in his own Person and to reform Abuses and tho' he be not a Doctor of Divinity yet the Foundation gives him a power to confer that Degree The Office of Vice-Chancellor resides in the Official or Commissary of Aberdeen The Rector who is chosen Yearly with the assistance of his four Assessors is to take notice of Abuses in the University and to make a return thereof to the Chancellor if one of the Masters happen to be Rector then is his Power devolved upon the Vice-Chancellor The College was Founded by Bishop William Elphinstone Anno 1â—00 and was called the King's College because King James the Fourth took upon him and his Successors the special Protection of it Persons endowed were a Doctor of Theology who was Principal a Doctor of the Canon-Law Civil-Law and Physick a Professor of Humanity to teach Grammer a Sub-Principal to teach Philosophy a Canton a Sacrist three Students of the Laws three Students of Philosophy six Students of Divinity an Organist five Singing Boys who were Students of Humanity The Marischal-College of Aberdeen was Founded by George Keith Earl of Marischal A. D. 1593. Persons endowed were a Principal three Professors of Philosophy Since that there hath been added a Professor of Divinity and Mathematicks a fourth Professor of Philosophy twenty-four poor Scholars Of the other two Universities I shall treat afterward Mountains and Rivers The chief Mountains are Cheriot-Hill and Mount Grampius spoken of by Tacitus the safest shelter of the Picts or North-Britains against the Romans and of the Scots against the English now called the Hill of Albany or the Region of Braid-Albin Out of these ariseth Tay or Tau the fairest River in Scotland falling into the Sea about Dundee on the East-side Clayd falling into Dunbritton-Frith on the West-side of the Kingdom besides which there are other small Rivers as Bannock Spay d ee well replenished with Fish which furnish the Country with great Store of that Provision The Nature of the Air Soil and Commodities The Air of this Kingdom hath its variety according to the situation of several places and parts of it but generally it is healthful because cold the Soil in the High-landers is poor and Barren but in the Low-landers 't is much better bearing all sorts of Grains especially Oats which are much ranker than ours in England Their chief Commodities are Cloth Skins Hides Coal and Salt their Cattle are but small and their best Horses are commonly bred about Galloway where Inhabitants follow Fishing as well within the Sea which lies round about them as in lesser Rivers and in the Loches or Meers standing full of Water at the foot of the Hills out of which in September they take in Weels and Weer-nets an incredible number of most sweet and toothsom Eels For Bernacles or Soland Geese they have such an infinite number of them that they seem even to darken the very Sun with their flight these Geese are the most rife about the Bass an Island at the mouth of the Frith going up to Edinburgh and hither they bring an incredible number of Fish and withal such an abundance of Sticks and little twiggs to build their Nests that the People are thereby plentifully provided of Fuel who also make a great gain of their Feathers and Oil There hath been a dispute amongst the learned about the generation of these Geese some holding that they were bred of the leaves of the Bernacle-Tree falling into the Water others that they were bred of moist rotten Wood lying in the Water but 't is of late more generally believed that they come of an Egg and are certainly hatched as other Geese are In the West and North West Parts the People are very curious and diligent in
Countries in England and taking its Name both from its Situation and the great number of Moors in it 'T is likewise a Hilly Country two ridges of high Hills crossing it as far as Cumberland which besides their Northern Situation sharpen the Air and make it less Subject to Fogs and Vapours then many other Counties by reason of which the People are free from strange and infectious Diseases being healthful and living generally to great Ages but in the Southern parts of it it is more fruitful and pleasant In this County near the River Lowther Piramidal Stones near the Lowther is a Spring that Ebbs and Flows many times in a Day and in the same place there are huge Pyramidal Stones some nine Foot high and thirteen Foot thick pitched directly in a row for a Mile together Cataracks near Kendale and placed at equal distances from each other and in the River Ken near Kendale are two Cataracks or Water-falls where the Waters descend with a great and mighty noise and when that which standeth North from the Neighbours living between them sounds clearer and lowder than the other they certainly look for fair or foul Weather to follow but when that on the South-side doth so they look for Foggs and Showers of Rain Appleby We arrived at Appleby a Town in this County memorable for its Antiquity and Situation having formerly been a Roman Station and standing very pleasantly being almost encompassed with the River Eden over which it has a Stone Bridge but so slenderly inhabited and the Buildings so mean that all the Beauty of it lies in one mean Street which riseth with a gentle ascent in the upper part whereof stands the Castle and in the nether end the Church and by it a School which Robert Langton and Miles Spencer Doctors of Law founded for the advancement of Learning That this Castle was surprized by William King of Scots a little before himself was taken Prisoner at Alnwick our Chronicle-inform us but King John having afterwards recovered it from the Scots bestowed it out of his Princely Favour upon Robert Vipon for some singular services he had done to him and the State Burgh under Stanemoor Six Miles further lies Burgh commonly called Burgh under Stanemoor which though now but a poor small Village was in all probability the place where stood the antient Town Vertera in which in the declining Age of the Roman Empire the Band of the Directores kept their Station which Opinion is the more likely becase the distance thereof from Levatra or Bows on the one side and Brovonacum or Appleby on the other being reduced to Italian Miles do exactly agree with Antonines Computation as Cambden observes out of his Itinerary and further for that the High-street of the Romans as is yet evidently apparent by the Ridges thereof leads this way directly to Brovonacum or Appleby But besides this there is nothing here remarkable at all excepting only that in the beginning of the Norman government the Northern English conspired here first against William the Conquerour and that the most Heroick King Edward the First died here of a Dysentery A. D. 1307. and was buried at Westminster When we were past Burgh we began to climb that hilly and solitary Country exposed to Wind and Weather Stanemoor which because 't is all Rocky and Stony is called in the Northern Dialect Stanemoor and here round about us we beheld nothing but a rough wide mountainous Desart save only a poor homely Hostelry rather than an Inn in the very midst thereof called the Spittle on Stanemoor to entertain Travellers and near to it a Fragment of a Cross which we call Rere-Cross Rere-Cross and the Scots Re-Cross i. e. the King 's Cross which formerly served as a Land-mark betwixt the two Kingdoms the same being erected upon a Peace concluded between William the Conquerour and Malcolm King of Scots with the Arms of England on the South-side and those of Scotland on the North and a little lower upon the Roman High-way stood a small Fort built four-square which they called the Maiden Castle from whence as the Borderers reported the said High-way went with many Windings in and out as far as to Carevorran in Northumberland After we had made a shift to scramble over these Mountains we found a little Village on the other side called Bows Bows the same which I observed before Antonine calls Levatra in which was formerly a small Castle belonging to the Earls of Richmond where in was a certain Custom called Thorough Toll and their Jus furcarum i. e. power to hang c. Through this place lies the Road to Richmond Richmond the chief Town hereabouts encompassed with a Wall out of which are three Gates now well peopled and frequented It was built upon the Norman Conquest by Alan Earl of Bretagne who reposing small trust in Gilling a place or manner of his own hard by to withstand the Violence of the Danes and English whom the Normans had despoiled of their Inheritance fenced it with a Wall and a Castle which standing upon a Rock looks down upon the Swale over which it has a Stone bridge which River was reputed Sacred by the ancient English for that Paulinus the first Arch-Bishop of York Baptized in it in one Day above Ten thousand Men besides Women and Children and then gave it the Name of Richmond as a place of Strength and Beauty Here is held a great Market to the benefit of the Country who expose to Sale great quantities of Stockings which being bought up at cheap Rates are afterwards sent into other parts of the Nation This Town gives name to five Wapentakes or Hundreds within its Jurisdiction from hence called Richmond-shire Richmondshire a wild and hilly tract of Ground but yielding good Grass in some places the Hills are stored with Lead Coals and Copper and on the tops or surface thereof are found many times Stones like Sea Winkles Cockles Muscles and other Fish which saith Cambden are either natural or else are the Relicts of Noah's Flood petrified Orosius speaks as much of Oysters of Stone found upon Hills far from the Sea which have been eaten in hollow by the Water in all likelyhood these stone Fishes are of the same kind which some Naturalists have discovered at Alderby in Glocester-shire and I my self have since taken up upon the high Cliffs near Folk-stone in Kent which I shall describe more particularly when I come to speak of that place But to return on our way out of Richmond-shire we made an entrance into the West-Riding of York-shire where we were first saluted by Rippon Rippon situated upon the River Vre which divides the North and West-Riding and is full of Crea-Fishes the breed whereof as they say was brought out of the South parts by Sir Christopher Medcalfe It received all its Dignity and ancient renown from a Monastery built here A. D. 660. by Wilfrid Arch Bishop
of the bottom of the Hill Pennigent doth as it were sport it self with winding in and out as if it were doubtful whether it should return back to its Spring-head or run on still to the Sea Skipton we came to Skipton in Craven a Country so rough and unpleasant with craggy Stones hanging Rocks and rugged Ways that it seems to have derived its very name from Cragg which in the British Language doth signifie a Stone in the midst hereof in a low bottom stands Skipton lying hid and enclosed about with steep Hills and precipices not unlike Latium in Italy which Varro supposeth to have been so called because it lieth close under the Apennine and the Alps the Town for the bigness of it and manner of its buildings is Fair enough being more especially beautified with a Castle which belongs to the Earldom of Pembrook in the Reign of Edward the Second it underwent the same dismal calamities from the Scots which the Neighbouring parts at the same time suffered A little further upon the edge of this County at Giggleswick which is not far distant from Settle Settle a small Market Town we rode by a little Spring rising under a Hill The ebbing and flowing Well and Robinhood's Mill by Giggleswick which ebbs and flows several times in an Hour it flows about a quarter of a yard high and at ebb falls again so low that it is scarce an inch deep with Water and on the other side of this Hill is heard a clacking noise such as is made by a Mill which is caused as is supposed by some current of Water which creeping under Ground falls down upon the Rocks and this the Country people call Robin-Hood's Mill. We arrived quickly from hence within Lancashire commonly called Lonkashire Lankashire and the county Palatine of Lancaster because it gives a Title to a Count Palatine * Famous for the four Henries the 4th 5th 6th and 7th Kings of England derived from John Gaunt Duke of Lancaster The Air hereof is thin and piercing not troubled with gross mists or foggs which makes that People healthy strong and long-liv'd the Soil differs much in nature and situation some parts being Hilly and others flat and of these some being fruitful some mossy and others moorish the Champain Country for the most part good for Wheat and Barly and that which lies at the bottom of the Hill yields the best of Oats yet it breeds great number of Cattel that are of a huge proportion and have goodly Heads and large spread Horns and for Fish and Fowl here is great abundance particularly in Winander Meer Winander Meer which is ten Miles long and four broad and has such a clear pebly bottom that the common saying amongst them is that it is all paved with Stone besides Trouts Pikes c. there is one most dainty Fish called a Char not to be found elsewhere except in Vlles Water Ulles Lake another Lake upon the borders of Cumberland and that two principally in Lent at which time some zealous Romanists will tell you that they more freely come to Net than at any other season for afterward they scond and are not easily taken Besides all this the Country abounds with Flax to make Linnen with Turfs and pit Coal for fuel and with Quarries of good Stone for building and in some boggy places are digged up Trees which will burn clear and give light like touch-wood Here are three great Hills not far distant asunder seeming to be as high as the clouds Ingleborow Penigent and Pendle which are Ingleborow Penigent and Pendle on the top of which grows a peculiar Plant called Cloudsberry as though it came out of the Clouds this Hill formerly did the Country much harm by reason of an extraordinary deal of Water gushing out of it and is now famous for an infallible sign of Rain whensoever the top of it is covered with a mist and by reason of the excessive height for which they are all three celebrated there is this Proverbial Rhime goes currant amongst them Ingleborow Pendle and Penigent Are the highest Hills betwixt Scotland and Trent Lancaster Lancaster is the chief Town of the County of no large extent but very sweet and clean fortified with a Castle which is made use of for the Assizes and adorned with one large Church both which are situated upon a high Hill from whence is a pleasant prospect into the adjacent Fields which are delicately enriched with the best of Earths Tapestry and are watred by the Christal streams of the River Lone which pays here a petty tribute before it posts away to do homage to the Ocean in the descent and sides of the Hill where it is steepest hard by the Stone-Bridge which hath five Arches hangs an ancient piece of Wall called Wery-wall supposed to have been some ancient Work of the Romans by reason of several Roman Coins which have been found hereabouts the grants and privileges which have been conferred upon this Town by the Kings of this Realm have been very great and considerable and King John and Edward the Third have ever been esteemed two of its principal Benefactours From hence the great Road led us directly through Garstange Garstange a small market Town noted chiefly for a great Fair held here every Year in the beginning of July to Preston Preston being a delightful place well peopled with the more wealthy and gentile sort situate upon the Ribble with a fair Stone Bridge over it the same is honoured with the Court of Chancery and the Offices of Justice for Lancaster as a County Palatine and not far from it stands Ribchester Ribchester supposed to be the ancient Bremetonacum counted in its flourishing times the richest Town in Christendome about which have been digged up so many pieces of Roman Antiquity that one may conclude it from thence to have been a place of great account in the time of the Romans Passing after this through Wigan another Market Town and Corporation Wigan well known by reason of the great Trade for Coverlids Rugs Blankets and other sorts of Bedding which is made there Leverpool we came to Leverpool a Sea Port Town situated at the Mersey's-mouth where it affords a safe Harbour for Ships and a convenient passage for Ireland for its denfence it hath on the South side a Castle built by King John and on the West side a Tower upon the River being a stately and strong piece of Building We ferried over from thence into Cheshire Cheshire which lies opposite to it on the other side of the River This shire is a County Palatine and the Earls hereof have formerly had such Royalties and Privileges belonging to them that all the Inhabitants have Sworn fealty and allegiance to them as to their King the Air of it is so healthy that the People are generally long-liv'd and the Irish vapours rising from the Irish Sea do
for Victualling and Fresh Water Here we took Boat and set Sail for Southampton but no sooner were we got off to Sea but there arose such a Storm that the Seas and Winds seem'd to be in a mutual Conspiracy for our destruction insomuch that we began to think Anacharsis the Philosopher's saying to be true That be that was at Sea was but four or five inches distant from the Territories of Death until we came into the Mouth of the River Test formerly called Terstan and Itching over against Calshot Castle Calshot Castle placed there by King Henry the Eighth to defend the Port of Southampton which lying up a little higher in the River we at last arrived at in safety and came on shore very early in the Morning where Cerdick himself Mr. Gibson's Glossary P. 20. as some Antiquaries will have it arrived called from thence Caldshort corruptly for Cerdick-Shore After we had a little refresh'd our weather beaten Carcasses we took a view of this Town Southamton which is situated betwixt two Rivers the one running on the West side and the other on the East that this or near unto it was formerly Clausentum is not at all improbable an ancient Colony of the Romans which they planted there to hinder ravenous Depredations of the Saxons about the Year 981 old Hanton as it was afterward called was ruin'd by the Danes and in the Reign of Edward the Third plundred and burnt by the French out of the Ashes whereof Sprung the Town now in being which the fair and stately Buildings with two Keys for Shipping do highly adorn the great concourse of Merchants and three Markets a Week do mightily enrich which five Parish Churches with one for the French and an Hospital called God's House doth very much enoble which a strong Wall with seven Gates and a double ditch and a Castle of Square Stone upon a Mount cast up to a great height built by King Richard the Second doth sufficiently defend and in fine which a Corporation placed there by King Henry the Sixth who constituted it both Town an County doth abundantly dignifie Memorable is a Story here of Canutus King of Denmark who to convince the fawning Flatterers of his Court that his power was not as they would have perswaded him more then humane used this Act being once at this Town he commanded his Chair of State to be set upon the shore just as the Sea began to flow in and then sitting down before all his Courtiers he spake to that Element after this manner I charge thee that thou presume not to enter into my Land nor wet these Robes of thy Lord which are about me but the Sea giving no heed to this his Royal Command and keeping on its usual course of Tide first wet his Skirts and afterwards his thighs whereupon suddenly rising up he broke forth into these expressions Let all the Inhabitants of the World know that vain and weak is the Power of their Kings and that none is worthy of that Name or Title but he alone who keeps both Heaven and Earth and Sea in obedience After which he would never suffer the Crown to be put upon his Head but presently crowned therewith the Picture of Christ at VVinchester from which perhaps saith Sir Richard Baker who relates this Story arose the custom of hanging up the Arms of worthy Men in Churches as offerings consecrated to him who is the Lord of Battel Having spent a good part of the Day in this place in the Afternoon we began to advance towards Portsmouth which being but twelve Miles distant from this Town we easily compass'd about the shutting in of the Day This Town is situated in the little Island of Portsey Portsmouth which is about 14 Miles in compass floating at a full Tide in Salt-Water but joyned to the Continent by a Bridge on the North it was probably so called say our most ancient Historians from one Port a Noble Saxon who with his two Sons Bleda and Magla arrived here it is now a place of great strength and importance by reason of the Dock where many of the King 's greatest Men of War are built those impregnable Wooden Walls of our British Island 't is fortified with a Wall made of Timber and the same covered with thick Banks of Earth 't is likewise environed with a double Trench over which are placed two Draw-Bridges from which about a Mile distance is another at all which stands Sentries belonging to the Garrison with a little Fortress adjoining to it which leads to the Continent To the Sea-ward is a Castle and Block-Houses which being first begun by King Edward the Fourth King Henry the Seventh as it is reported did afterward complete which Fortifications have of late Years received exceeding great augmentations by the succeeding Monarchs especially in the late King James his Reign Here is only one Church and an Hospital called God's House built by Peter Rock Bishop of Winchester and though 't is counted unwholesom for want of good Air and Water yet it is much resorted unto by Sea-faring Men and whereas formerly it had little Trade but what arose from the boiling of Salt it begins of late to be in a flourishing condition and grows very populous and is now become one of the best Nurseries that we have for Seamen Our next remove was to Chichester in Sussex Chichester which is not above half a Days Journey from Portsmouth a good large City well Walled rebuilt by Cissa a Saxon the Second King of this Province and of him so named for by a Story of Sir Richard Baker's it seems to have had a being before Cissa's Time for saith he Careticus one of the Kings of the Britains setting upon the Saxons and being beaten fled into the Town of Chichester whereupon the Saxons catching certain Sparrows and fastning Fire to their Feet let them fly into the Town where lighting upon Straw and other matter apt to take Fire the whole City in a short time was burnt whereupon Careticus after a three Years unhappy Reign flying into VVales and dying there the Saxons got all the East part of the Kingdom into their Possession Yet was it before the Conquest of as small repute as circuit being known only by an old Monastery founded by St. VVilfrid A. D. 673. to the Honour of the Blessed Virgin and St. Peter and endowed by King Ceadwalla A. D. 711. Eadbert Abbot of this House being consecrated the first Bishop of the South-Saxons the Episcopal Seat was first placed at Selsey till by an Edict of VVilliam the Conquerour which ordered all Bishops Sees to be translated out of small Towns into places of greater Name and Resort Stigand translated it hither not many Years after which Bishop Rolfe built a Cathedral which before he had finished was consumed by Fire but by his own endeavours and the bounteous Liberality of King Henry the first it was raised up again and Suffering the same